On modern-day Blue Star, martial arts had been revived for half a century. Martial artists were no longer a hidden legend, but an openly recognized special group. Martial arts had become part of everyday society: the authorities established martial arts bureaus to regulate martial artists, major corporations and powerful families kept martial artists in their employ, and martial arts schools flourished everywhere. Yet elite resources and top-tier techniques remained firmly monopolized by the upper classes. Ordinary people at the bottom could spend their entire lives learning only the basics, if they even qualified to begin.
City life carried on as usual, with ride-hailing services, food delivery, and office jobs, but under the surface, currents stirred as martial artists’ rivalries quietly seeped into every industry.
