“Brother, you’re back!” came the clear, pleasant voice of a young girl, followed by the sound of wheels rolling over wooden boards. A girl of about thirteen or fourteen appeared, maneuvering an electric wheelchair out of a room.

This girl looked to be around thirteen or fourteen, but her body was only the size of an eleven- or twelve-year-old. She was clearly much shorter than her peers, and her legs below the waist were visibly atrophied, covered by a blanket.

Brian Carter walked over and patted the girl on the head. Where she couldn’t see, a trace of pain and helplessness flashed in his eyes.

This was his younger sister, Emily Carter, the apple of the family’s eye, but also the source of their greatest sorrow.

Because of a congenital genetic defect, her lower body had begun to atrophy from birth. No one knew exactly when, but eventually she could only get around in a wheelchair. Her health was poor, and she grew thinner by the day. Though she was thirteen or fourteen, she looked only eleven or twelve, and even her hair was a bit dry and yellow.

In the Kunlun Calendar era, human medical technology was already extremely advanced. Diseases that were incurable in the Gregorian era—cancer, AIDS, heart disease—were no longer a problem, just minor illnesses.

But congenital genetic defects were still a major issue. Although technology to treat such defects had been invented in recent years, even the cheapest treatment cost tens of millions of federal credits. No matter how much the The Carter Family cared for Emily Carter, they were powerless.

The The Carter Family’s income depended entirely on the parents’ monthly salaries of four or five thousand, plus some side jobs totaling just over ten thousand. Even if they spent nothing, it would take over a hundred years to afford the treatment.

Moreover, just maintaining Emily Carter’s current condition required her to take large amounts of medication and various nutritional supplements every day, which was already a huge expense.

That’s why, if he couldn’t get into the martial arts program, Brian Carter wouldn’t even consider going to a liberal arts university—he’d have to start working to help support the family.

Although Emily Carter had been like this since childhood and couldn’t even go to school, she was so well-behaved it made people ache for her. She understood the family’s difficulties and never made any unreasonable demands. On the contrary, she stayed home every day, learning online. Not only was she not behind her peers in junior high, she far surpassed them. Gifted and quick-witted, there was hardly any problem she couldn’t solve. Even Brian Carter often had to ask her for help with questions he couldn’t figure out.

If not for her physical limitations, if she could practice martial arts, she would definitely be a genius far beyond Brian Carter. If she studied academics, she would become a world-renowned scientist.

Precisely because of this, Brian Carter felt even more pain, wishing he could take her place. He could practice martial arts, but whether in academics or martial arts, his talent was just average—far inferior to his sister.

“Brother, I found a job today! I’m doing commentary for martial arts livestreams online, and I already have quite a few fans. Soon I’ll be able to earn money myself and won’t be a burden on you anymore!”

Emily Carter looked up at him with her big eyes, speaking excitedly.

“You dummy, what are you talking about, being a burden or not!”

The more sensible Emily Carter was, the worse Brian Carter felt. He secretly vowed that one day, he would find a way to earn enough money to cure his sister’s congenital genetic defect.

Chapter 4: Genius and Failure

“Why are you doing commentary too? Would anyone want a little girl like you?” Brian Carter put away his sadness and smiled.

In the Kunlun Calendar era, the internet had fully evolved into the kind of virtual network described in Gregorian-era novels. Online, it was almost indistinguishable from reality.

With human technology alone, it would have been impossible to enter such a virtual network. According to history books, during humanity’s advance into the Kunlun Realm, they obtained a powerful artifact called the Virtual Realm. All modern networks were built around the Virtual Realm, which was the fundamental reason virtual networks could exist.

Now, with everyone practicing martial arts, real-life sparring was risky, but online it wasn’t. So there were all kinds of martial arts competitions online, many of them livestreamed. Especially matches between top experts—those were always packed with viewers.

The popularity of martial arts livestreams naturally gave rise to many commentators. The best commentators could instantly identify the moves used by the experts and predict the outcome of the matches.

These commentators often attracted many fans, and the top ones earned a lot.

“Brother, you really underestimate me! My martial arts commentary videos online have millions of views, which is why a livestreaming site invited me to do live commentary!” Emily Carter said, unable to hide her excitement.

“All right then, go for it! I didn’t expect my little sister to become an internet celebrity. Looks like I can’t underestimate you anymore!” Brian Carter patted Emily Carter’s little head.

Thinking about it, he realized it wasn’t surprising. To be a martial arts commentator, you had to be highly skilled in martial arts and have excellent judgment.