5: Chapter 5 The Newlyweds, Poor Scholars, Rich Warriors

Hearing this, Fang Zhuo smiled. Looking into Bai Shiwei's eyes, he said word by word, "After marriage, I will support your martial arts practice, but I will manage the money."

"Including, but not limited to, how much we invest and what resources we buy..."

Bai Shiwei raised an eyebrow.

After a long pause, a soft hum escaped her throat, and she said, "Fine."

Once they signed the contract and registered their marriage, Fang Zhuo would have to provide money to support her continued martial arts training for the next five years, no matter what.

Was he just trying to save face?

Bai Shiwei wrinkled her small, cute nose. For a moment, neither of them spoke, and the atmosphere became delicate.

Truth be told, both of them had their own motives. Yet they hit it off on their very first blind date, their respective core needs met, essentially solidifying their future relationship.

They were about to become a legally married couple.

Such a massive shift in their relationship was hard to adapt to so quickly.

Fang Zhuo couldn't quite describe the feeling. Looking at the gorgeous female Martial Arts Undergraduate in front of him, he was slightly dazed.

In his previous life, despite only having an associate degree, he had managed to become a fairly wealthy small business owner after tumbling through society for over a decade, thanks to decent luck and a good head for business.

They say men go bad once they have money.

Fang Zhuo indeed went bad in his past life. It was mainly because he couldn't get what he wanted when he was young, so once he had the money and ability, he easily fell into vengeful indulgence.

He had known all kinds of women.

But in this era, compared to Bai Shiwei, they all fell short by more than a bit. The difference in looks wasn't huge, but they couldn't compare in terms of figure and aura.

The tempered physique of a martial artist and her unique, vibrant aura.

With a Life Level of 18, Bai Shiwei was close to becoming an Intermediate Martial Artist. How sharp must her senses be?

Fang Zhuo's intense gaze felt like needles pricking her skin, making her feel quite uncomfortable.

Just as Bai Shiwei was about to lose her patience, the waiter walked over with a tray.

"Enjoy your meal, you two."

"Thank you."

Bai Shiwei let out a heavy breath, straightened the tray, took out a steaming bowl of beef ramen, and pushed it in front of Fang Zhuo.

"Now that we've settled everything, eat up quickly. After we eat, we'll go get registered. I still have to practice martial arts tonight."

"Are you in such a hurry to... get married?"

Fang Zhuo teased.

"What are you talking about?!"

Bai Shiwei caught the tease and explained with a huff, "Ages fifteen to twenty-five is the golden age for martial arts practice. Because my funds dried up, I haven't used a qi-blood potion in a long time."

"After we register, let's use the Elite Couple subsidy from the Federation to buy qi-blood potions first, okay?"

In the Blue Moon Federation, an "Elite Couple" refers to a man and a woman who both have a Life Level of 10 or above and hold a Parent Certificate.

The Elite Couple subsidy is 100,000 federation currency, which isn't much compared to the childbirth subsidy, but it's still a decent amount.

Fang Zhuo smiled and said, "Sure. Also, you don't seem interested in the childbirth subsidy. A one-million subsidy for the first child—doesn't that tempt you?"

Bai Shiwei shook her head, her cheeks stuffed with ramen. "We're still young, there's no rush. Besides, the childbirth subsidy is tempting, but how am I supposed to practice martial arts if I'm pregnant?"

She rolled her eyes. Did he really think she was stupid?

Fang Zhuo smiled and said nothing. He lowered his head and took a few bites of the ramen. It tasted surprisingly good, but since he had already eaten at home, he was feeling a bit full now.

In the end, it all went into Bai Shiwei's stomach.

"Your parents aren't even giving you living expenses anymore?"

Fang Zhuo was somewhat surprised.

Cutting off martial arts funding was one thing—it wasn't uncommon, and his own old man had done the same to him.

In today's Blue Moon Federation, the starry sky origin power was thinning. Although the general public still yearned for martial arts, once a young person reached Life Level 15 without awakening a Mid-tier Martial Aspect, their family would cut off their martial arts funding.

Because if they couldn't absorb the starry sky origin power, forcing their way forward by piling on resources would turn it into a bottomless money pit.

But they shouldn't go as far as cutting off living expenses...!

"They offered it."

"I didn't take it."

There was no visible change on Bai Shiwei's face, and her tone was perfectly casual.

Fang Zhuo picked up on the underlying story, but he didn't pry. After all, they weren't that close yet. Even if they were about to get married right after a blind date...

it was still a marriage of convenience where the status came first and feelings would have to be built up later.

After eating a whole bowl of ramen plus more than half of Fang Zhuo's, Bai Shiwei let out a satisfied burp, her face slightly flushed. "Let's pay, and then head to the Civil Affairs Bureau."

"Didn't we say we'd go Dutch?"

Fang Zhuo teased on the way to the Civil Affairs Bureau.

"That was only if we didn't work out. Now that we're getting married, of course I'm not splitting it with you. What's yours is mine, and what's mine is yours."

Bai Shiwei squinted her eyes.

...

Jinhe City Civil Affairs Bureau.

"Smile!"

The robot on twenty-four-hour duty gesticulated as it spoke.

Fang Zhuo and Bai Shiwei held hands and smiled in front of the camera.

*Click!*

The image froze.

Bai Shiwei's hand was very soft, and her palm was slightly sweaty.

Even though she controlled her expression well, her slightly rapid breathing was 'heard' by Fang Zhuo through her skin.

Fang Zhuo didn't say anything either.

The process was very quick. In less than ten minutes, two red booklets appeared in the robot's hands and were handed to the newlyweds, Fang Zhuo and Bai Shiwei.

"Congratulations to you both!"

"We wish you a happy marriage and a healthy baby soon!"

The Blue Moon Federation robot's voice carried a hint of realistic emotion as it escorted Bai Shiwei and Fang Zhuo out of the Civil Affairs Bureau.

...

The Blue Moon Federation encouraged eugenics.

They were incredibly efficient when dealing with newlyweds who both held 'Parent Certificates'.

After completing the marriage registration at nine in the evening, the Federal System allocated a subsidized apartment to them in less than half an hour.

A sixty-square-meter apartment located in the East District of Jinhe City. It was far from the city center, and while the housing prices were relatively low there, the total price was still close to 800,000 credits.

"Since we're taking possession of the apartment tonight, let's live here for a while. There's no rush to sell it."

When Fang Zhuo and Bai Shiwei arrived at the residential community, the grid administrator handed the keys over to him.

"...Mm."

Bai Shiwei gave a soft reply, the clicking of her high heels slowing down.

Fang Zhuo didn't rush her. He just held her hand tightly. Using a martial artist's 'listening' force, he could clearly feel her heartbeat.

It was intense and rapid, like a great bell tolling in his ears.

For a distance of just a few hundred meters, Fang Zhuo pulled Bai Shiwei along, taking a good ten minutes.

*Click~*

The lock turned.

Fang Zhuo pushed open the door and stepped inside.

The Blue Moon Federation's subsidized apartments were quite small, with a one-bedroom, one-living-room layout, but they came fully furnished and ready to move in.

The key was that it was free—getting something for nothing was always the best!

As a transmigrator, Fang Zhuo felt this deeply.

*Buzzz~*

"Huaxia Bank account ending in 0811 received a deposit of 100,000. Available balance: 510,862."

While Fang Zhuo was looking around the apartment, his phone vibrated. The marriage subsidy given to Elite Couples by the Blue Moon Federation had arrived.

His savings had reached 510,000 credits...!

After working part-time as a coach at the Tengfei Martial Arts Hall for a year, his performance bonuses and salary had barely saved him 210,000. Along with the 200,000 blind date fund from his old man and the 100,000 marriage subsidy from the Federation...

He had finally scraped together enough!

He could finally purchase the spirit-nourishing pill, a precious martial arts medicine that enhanced mental energy!

Fang Zhuo's breathing grew slightly rapid. He had yearned for the spirit-nourishing pill for so long, and now that it was within reach, he couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.

He took several deep breaths to calm himself down.

No rush...!

He had to buy the spirit-nourishing pill, and he would use it, but there was no rush to do it right this second.

Thinking about it carefully, the Martial Aspect he visualized almost filled the entire starry sky, and what he had finished visualizing so far was just the tip of the iceberg. A single spirit-nourishing pill, even if it doubled his mental energy, would absolutely not be enough to successfully awaken his Martial Aspect.

The key was to test the system's function first.

Just how did the resources consumed by his wife get rebated?

Fang Zhuo immediately placed an order on the Federal System. One spirit-nourishing pill for 500,000, and two qi-blood potions for a total of 10,000. His 510,000 savings were instantly wiped out.

"Martial arts really is for the rich...!"