《When system cheat becomes rampant!》 Chapter 1: Chapter 1: When Systems Overwhelm The senior-year ssroom was as stifling as a pressure cooker. The old electric fan whirred noisily, blowing the mountains of books piled on the desks. Thud! Thud! Thud! With familiar sounds of leather soles hitting the floor, Professor Yang walked into the ssroom with a stern face and smacked a stack of papers onto a desk with a "p". "Pull yourselves together!" Professor Yang was their senior ss seven''s homeroom teacher, wearing gold-rimmed sses and always sporting an impassive face, never indulging in any small talk or smiles. In such a special period as the senior year, heid down strict regtions in every aspect; the school requiredmuting students to arrive by 7:20 AM, he demanded 7:00 AM. The homeroom teacher signaled the ss representative to distribute the papers, and soon the white sheets were being passed around the room. Xiang Beifei also received his paper and nced at the score. 43 points. "I am very dissatisfied with the results of this mock exam!" "Extremely dissatisfied!" "The college entrance exam is only two months away! Look at what you have scored? How many times have I gone over the key points, yet you still get them wrong. Many of you have regressed. The top student scored ten points less than those in other sses. How do you expect to get into college with this attitude?" The homeroom teacher''s voice was filled with irritation. He couldn''t talk enough about the college entrance exam, always emphasizing its importance before every ss. "The college entrance exam is a major hurdle in your life!" "The college entrance exam will determine your fate!" "The college entrance exam can change your future!" "Thousands of candidates vie for a single narrow bridge, and only those who cross it are qualified to live in this world." The homeroom teacher spoke with such fervor that he seemed ready to grab the non-performing students by the ears and pour his words into them. "However, before the college entrance exam, there is something even more important to do!" The homeroom teacher changed tack and said aloud, "That is to awaken your very own system!" Awakening System! The ssroom buzzed with excitement as many students looked up in anticipation, some even whispering to each other, unable to hide their excitement. To awaken their own system was something everyone had dreamed of! They had waited so many years just for today''s arrival! After this ss, they would go downstairs to participate in the System Awakening Ceremony! The homeroom teacher snorted coldly and continued, "Only an excellent system can earn you bonus points in the college entrance exam and catch the eye of prestigious universities! Whether your awakened system is superior or inferior, good or bad, will determine your future!" Sitting in thest row, Xiang Beifei slouched slightly and started spinning his pen again. "This world has really gone mad," muttered Xiang Beifei. That happenedst week when he sat in his own ssroom, looking at the ceiling fan overhead that creaked due to a loose screw. At that time, he wondered what would happen if the rapidly spinning ceiling fan suddenly fell down; would it slice through the air, blood sttering five steps away, heads flying everywhere, or what? And then the ceiling fan really did fall. It fell on his head. When he woke up, he discovered that he had crossed over. He had crossed over into a very strange world. Many ces in this world were just like Blue Star, as if it were a parallel universe, with a simr education system and social structure, where everyone struggled for the college entrance exam during their student years. Except, the difference was, in this world, there was no dullness; everyone had their own cheat codes. This ce was full of Spiritual Energy, and everyone could possess special system cheat codes, using various systems to absorb the external Spiritual Energy to enhance their own strength! And during the third year of high school, everyone had to undergo a special Awakening Ceremony to awaken their own system! The system one carried determined the course of their life. The Schr System could turn them into heavyweights in the academic world! The Business System could let them lose ten billion without batting an eye! The Gourmet System could make them stand out in the catering industry! The Sect System could allow them to establish a sect and be a regional overlord! ... In this world, the systems are no longer unique, but something everyone has. What people need to do is, ording to the Awakening System they''ve awakened to, make an effort to grow stronger, diligentlyplete system tasks, and fight for a bright and vast future for themselves! Systems, in this world, have suddenly be an overflowing disaster! ¡ª¡ª The homeroom teacher was still emphasizing the importance of the Awakening System and the techniques needed for awakening systems. Xiang Beifei, on the other hand, was looking at the test paper he had just received, deep in thought. Written on the test paper was: ¡ª¡ªJiuzhou Joint College Entrance Examination (Mock Test) Year 3030 Comprehensive Ability Test for System Subjects (Paper A) ... In this world, there was no concept of countries, only the Jiuzhou Union; hence, the test paper had be the Jiuzhou Union Unified Exam. As for "System Subjects," it was simr to the science and liberal artsprehensive subjects on Blue Star; only here, it was called "System Comprehensive." System Subjects specifically taught the basic knowledge about the systems in this world, helping everyone better understand the world of systems. This knowledge was something everyone had to master during their student days. Just like the first multiple-choice question: ¡ª¡ªTo date, the levels of systems awakened by humans are divided into six ranks. What is the third highest potential level of systems from the top? A. R grade B. S grade C. SR grade D. SSR grade Xiang Beifei chose B, but the answer was wrong. The correct answer is C. In their senior year of high school, everyone will awaken to their own system, but the potential of each person''s system varies. The stronger the system, the more generous the rewards forpleting tasks. So the level of the system is very important. When Beifei traveled to this world, he saw this question but did not understand the system level division of this world, so he arbitrarily chose the S grade. In actuality, the talent grades of the awakened systems from lowest to highest are [N grade, R grade, S grade, SR grade, SSR grade, UR grade]. "Xiang Beifei, stand up right now!" Noticing Beifei''s distraction, the homeroom teacher yelled out. Beifei''s attention was pulled away from his paper, and with a sense of resignation, he stood up. "Xiang Beifei, tell us what''s going on with you! It''s one thing to fail and hold back the ss every time, but not knowing the answers to the test and still writing whateveres to mind! Come on, exin to everyone what did you write for the third short answer question!" The homeroom teacher was ring at Beifei furiously, as if he wanted to tear him apart. Beifei looked at the third short answer question: [As we all know, besides oneself, no one else can see the system one has awakened. Therefore, after we have awakened a system, we must learn to keep it a secret and must not reveal our system to anyone. Now the question is! If someone finds out what our system is, what will be the consequence? Please give an example.] Beifei nced at the answer he wrote: [If others find out what our system is, the consequences will be very serious, because then... we won''t be able to show off anymore.] This short answer question was worth six points, and Beifei got zero. Chapter 2: Chapter 2: The Homeroom Teachers System The reference answer in the textbook is: ¡ª¡ª Once you reveal the unique features of your system, others will intentionally target your system, preventing you frompleting the system''s tasks, and the road to bing a strong person will be extremely difficult. It''s like awakening a "Negative Emotion System," where upsetting others will strengthen yourself. Then if your opponent knows about your system, they will not easily generate negative emotions for you to take advantage of during your interactions. Once more people know about your system, it will be useless. Therefore, keeping your system a secret is of great importance. ¡ª¡ª That is the correct answer. However, when Xiang Beifei crossed over, he found himself in the middle of an exam. It happened to be April Fool''s Day, and he thought the teacher had prepared such a test for the senior students to rx, so he casually gave a response. After the exam, he realized that this world had changed. It had be incredibly absurd. The ss teacher, furious, read Xiang Beifei''s answer aloud to the whole ss, and everyone burst intoughter. "This is a question that gives you points! You all got it wrong, and you still want to get into college? How many times have I told you, in the college entrance exam, eighty percent is based on fundamental knowledge, as long as you secure the basic points, getting into a key university is not a problem! Look at what you''ve done, even the basics are wrong, and you still have the face tough at me!" The ss teacher lifted his sses, red angrily, and all the students quickly tried their best to suppress theirughter. Whatever the ss teacher was saying after that, Xiang Beifei was no longer listening; he was just staring at the previous question, lost in thought. "As everyone knows, besides oneself, other people cannot see the system one awakens to..." Can everyone really only see their own system and not others? Xiang Beifei pondered over this sentence, finding it very strange, and couldn''t help but look up at the ss teacher. Right above the ss teacher''s head, there was a system panel that read: [Host: Yang Hua] [Rank R, Master Dao System] [Realm: Late-stage Qi-Controlling] This interface seemed to be disying the ss teacher''s awakened system level and information. After the ss teacher finished scolding the ss, another line of text floated up: [You criticized Xiang Beifei for being distracted, teacher prestige +1] [You made the whole ss quiet down, teacher prestige +1] ... "Isn''t it said that other people can''t see one''s system except oneself? Then why can I see other people''s system panels?" Xiang Beifei was very puzzled. He had been familiarizing himself with this world for the past week, and the more he understood it, the more he couldn''tprehend this point. Besides those students under eighteen who had not yet awakened to a system, he had seen many people''s system panels. Teachers from other sses, the bus driver, even the auntie selling breakfast had her own "Little Food God System," with today''s task being to earn 10 wealth value points for each bun sold, which could then be exchanged for corresponding rewards in the system mall. Systems in this world were asmon as freebies, one per person, as if this ce was a wholesale world of systems. He had confirmed that everyone could not see other people''s systems, but he alone could. This also had a benefit; at least he would know why each person was doing something, and he was clear about the purpose of their anger, such as the ss teacher currently criticizing a student. ss teacher Yang Hua was scolding Xiang Beifei''s deskmate, Kong Xiuwen. Kong Xiuwen was a bottom-of-the-ss student, with an integrated score of 23 points, and his face was full of gloom as he was being scolded. Another line of text appeared on the system panel of teacher Yang Hua: [You criticized Kong Xiuwen for failing inposite score, teacher prestige value +1] Yang Hua looked annoyed, as if he was frustrated with the student''sck of improvement, but there was a smile at the bottom of his eyes because he knew very well the purpose of his anger. His "Master Dao System" needed to umte "teacher prestige value"; reaching 10,000 points wouldplete a task and earn him a Soul Condensing Pill to cultivate spiritual power! At that moment, teacher Yang Hua''s system panel already had 9,997 teacher prestige points! Yang Hua''s heart was racing with excitement. To umte these ten thousand teacher prestige points, he had been working hard for two whole months and three days! Finally, today he wouldplete his task! Yang Hua seemed impatient, "Just 3 points, 3 more prestige points, who should I scold next? Who would be a good choice to scold?" His Master Dao System had many tasks, and when he normally scolded students, it would bring him prestige points, which could enhance his power. His power had a significant corrtion with his performance reviews and rewards! Unfortunately, each student could only add to his prestige once a day for a given incident, which made his prestige points rise very slowly. However, he could always find other ws in his students to exploit. Today, Yang Hua had already scolded all the students he could. Now it was time to find another reason to continue scolding. He set his sights on Xiang Beifei, noticing that Beifei''s hair on the sides was nearly touching his ears. Seizing the opportunity, he put on a stern face and scolded: "Xiang Beifei! How many times have I said it? As a senior high school student, do not let your hair grow too long; you should maintain a standard buzz cut. What''s with the length of your hair? I''ve said it so many times, a buzz cut looks sharp, helps you concentrate on your studies¡ªare you waiting for me to give you a haircut myself?" [You reprimanded Beifei, whose hair doesn''t meet the standards, increasing teacher prestige value by +2] Yang Hua was overjoyed inside, his teacher prestige value had umted to 9999 points. Reprimanded, Beifei felt somewhat helpless and muttered, "Looks like I''ll have to get a haircut after school." Yang Hua saw Beifei''s lips moving and, thinking Beifei wasining, immediately took another opportunity: "Xiang Beifei, what are you mumbling? Are you dissatisfied with my teaching? If you''re dissatisfied, you can go to another ss¡ªsee if any other homeroom teacher would want you! What an attitude! Poor grades and still disobeying discipline, what can you do in the future like this?" Beifei opened his mouth, looking rather innocent. [You reprimanded Beifei for talking back, increasing teacher prestige value by +2] Even though Yang Hua was still keeping a stern face, his eyes were now filled with unparalleled excitement¡ªhe had reached 10001 prestige value! Atst, the task wasplete! Yang Hua was in tears. Collecting the teacher prestige value had been way too difficult. He couldn''t add prestige value again the same day for criticizing minor things he had already addressed, so he established various ss rules and every day he would creatively find faults with the students, giving them a scolding, nitpicking over the smallest issues. Of course, Yang Hua was selective about which students he scolded. He would investigate their family backgrounds; students from families with SSR or higher-level System Awakeners, he wouldn''t dare to scold, he would even show them extra care. But students from ordinary families without high-level system backgrounds, he had no such reservations. "Go over the test papers yourselves first, I''ll exin them in a moment!" Yang Hua hurriedly said, eager to im his system task reward as he had umted ten thousand prestige value. Beifei was also curiously staring at Homeroom Teacher Yang Hua''s system panel, which disyed a new message: [You''vepleted the current task, reward: one Soul Condensing Pill. Would you like to im your reward?] "Yes! Of course, yes!" Yang Hua clenched his fist, almost roaring with excitement. [System task confirmation, dispensing task reward...] Yang Hua hummed a little tune, joyful at heart. [Dispensing task reward...] Yang Hua paused, huh? Strange, why hasn''t it been dispensed yet? Maybe his Master Dao System needed time to confirm? No worries, just wait a bit longer. [Task reward dispensingplete] "It''splete?" Yang Hua looked at his empty hands¡ªwasn''t the system supposed to have dispensed the reward? Why did no Soul Condensing Pill appear in his hands? "Wait a minute, system, where''s my Soul Condensing Pill?" Yang Hua frantically checked his system. [Reward dispensed, please select your next task] "Bullshit! When was it dispensed?" Yang Hua pped the desk, shouting furiously. Instead of thinking these words, this time he shouted them out loud, startling all the students. "Teacher, what''s wrong?" the ss president Zhuo Jing asked with concern. "Shut up!" Yang Hua bellowed! Zhuo Jing was utterly bewildered. Yang Hua quickly realized he had lost hisposure and said in a hurried tone to the ss, "What I mean is... focus on your self-study, I need to deal with something concerning the Awakening System in a moment, so everybody stay quiet!" Yang Hua was so furious he could burst¡ªafter all the trouble of collecting prestige value for months by scolding students, it seemed as though the Master Dao System had swallowed it whole. He simply couldn''t stand it! Enraged, Yang Hua stormed out of the ssroom, intending to find a ce where he could confront his system with what was really up! "What''s gotten into the homeroom teacher? Feels like he''s just eaten a barrel of gunpowder?" All the students began to discuss. Only Beifei sat silently in the back row of the ssroom, not participating. Gazing thoughtfully at his hand, therey a brown pill¡ªexactly the Soul Condensing Pill that had just been on Homeroom Teacher Yang Hua''s system task reward list! Chapter 3: Chapter 3: A Variety of Systems "I really can get other people''s quest rewards, how bizarre!" Xiang Beifei weighed the Soul Condensing Pill in his hand, his gaze flickering slightly for a moment, finding it quite strange. This wasn''t the first time he had taken someone else''s quest reward. In the morning, the auntie selling steamed buns had a task from the Little Food God System, "Gather five thousand wealth values to exchange for five thousand dors and upgrade her shop." Xiang Beifei bought two buns, which just helped herplete the task, but she found that after exchanging, the money was gone. The money mysteriously appeared in Xiang Beifei''s pocket. Because Xiang Beifei bought two buns, he just happened to help the auntieplete her task. However, Xiang Beifei still chose to discreetly drop the money on the ground and reminded the auntie that there was something on the ground, returning the money to her. Ever since he could see other people''s systems, he found things were very off. When others werepleting tasks issued by their systems, if the tasks involved Xiang Beifei, or if Xiang Beifei helped themplete the tasks, then the rewards issued by the systems ended up in Xiang Beifei''s hands. Just like Professor Yang''s Master Dao System, when he criticized Xiang Beifei, he gained prestige value for teachers, and when the task waspleted, the rewards ended up with Xiang Beifei. He didn''t understand why this was happening, just felt like he had be an anomaly in this system world. Xiang Beifei looked at the Soul Condensing Pill in his hand; such a pill could enhance his spiritual power, undoubtedly a great medicine, very rare for those cultivating spiritual power techniques. "Then I might as well reluctantly ept it." Xiang Beifei examined the Soul Condensing Pill and ced the pill into his pocket. The homeroom teacher always thought about scolding him toplete his own system tasks, and along the way, he always became the target of the homeroom teacher''s tasks, grabbing some rewards... Shouldn''t be anything wrong with that, right? He felt the real Master Dao System should be about educating people, not nitpicking and unfairly criticizing students. Although he had this peculiar ability, he still chose to use it selectively. There were some people''s system rewards he would take, and others he would not. Xiang Beifei could refuse the money from the bun-selling auntie, but this kind of reward, he feltpletely justified in taking. ¡ª Yang Hua''s face was livid; he was almost driven mad by his own system. He let the students self-study for an entire ss period while he kept questioning his own system, protesting about where his quest rewards had gone. But the system always coldly replied, "Reward has been issued, please select the next task." Yang Hua was nearly at his breaking point. He understood he couldn''t contend with the system because it was very rigid, wouldn''t negotiate anything, and there was no chance of reconfiguring it, so he gave up and continued to choose the next task. The ss period passed quickly. Yang Hua mmed his hand down on the desk and said, "Everyone, gather on the sports field, get ready for today''s Awakening System ceremony!" All the ssmates got excited and rushed out of the ssroom. The "Awakening System Ceremony" was a turning point in the life of every student taking the college entrance examination and was crucial in determining their future; everyone hoped they would awaken a high-level system. "Finally, the system awakening, Xiang Beifei, what kind of system do you think you''ll awaken?" Kong Xiuwen closed his book and turned to ask. Xiang Beifei rested his chin on his hand, what kind of system would he awaken? He had never really considered this question. Actually, he thought that what system he awoke didn''t matter. What systems others awoke was what''s most important. Before Xiang Beifei could answer, Kong Xiuwen started talking to himself, "I''m not asking for much, just to awaken an S-rank system would be enough, then I wouldn''t have to be scolded by the homeroom teacher every day. Haven''t you noticed he always likes to pick faults with us two? If I awaken an S-rank system, let''s see if he dares to scold me in the future!" "S-rank systems are quite rare, aren''t they?" Xiang Beifei asked. Kong Xiuwen nodded and said, "Yes, they say it''s a five percent chance, usually not more than three per ss every year." "What about people who have awakened an SR system?" Xiang Beifei asked again. "SR systems are as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, a one in fifty thousand chance! Thest time someone in our school awakened such a rare system was five years ago! That person was directly admitted to an elite university!" Kong Xiuwen spoke enviously of the system; if he could awaken such a powerful system, his future achievements would be limitless! "Come on,e on, everyone has gone to the sports field, it''s just us left." Kong Xiuwen stood up and hurriedly urged Xiang Beifei. Xiang Beifei didn''t linger any longer and followed Kong Xiuwen to the sports field. The sports field was already packed with people, not only students from the first and second year of high school but also parents who hade especially to see their children''s system potential. The Awakening System,parable to filling out college entrance preferences, was a life-changing event! Every parent constantly paid attention to it! They all hoped their children would awaken an R-level or higher system, which not only gave extra points in their college entrance exams but also brightened their future prospects! Beifei Xiang and Kong Xiuwen squeezed into their ss lineup, where the ss monitor Zhuo Jing was maintaining order. The homeroom teacher, Yang Hua, stood in front of the line, lips pursed, face ashen; seeing Beifei and Xiuwen arrivingst filled him with anger once more. Normally, he would have scolded them by now to boost his own prestige value as a teacher. But with so many people around, along with the presence of many parents, he restrained his anger. Beifei nced around; most students had not yet awakened any system, yet the teachers and parents had. He briefly looked around, noticing the various systems in y. For instance, Beifei''s PE teacher had awakened the "Modesty System"; he seemed to have justpleted a task this morning: [Yield PE ss to the math teacher, Modesty Points +2]. No wonder what all the main subject teachers repeatedly said was, "Your PE teacher is busy, I''ll take this ss." The PE teacher always had something on every time his ss was about to start. So approachable and empathetic¡ªapparently, it was because he had the Modesty System and often willingly gave up his sses. Case solved! Then there was Beifei''s physics teacher, who had astonishingly awakened the "Hypnosis System," and had also sessfullypleted a task in thest ss: [Sessfully put 9 students to sleep, Hypnosis Value +9] The physics teacher''s lectures were dry as dust, akin to chanting scriptures, and he liked to schedule his ss right after lunch. His students struggled to stay awake during physics, believing theycked a talent for the subject. Thinking about it now, the physics teacher was really crafty! "Hand over your phone!" Just as Beifei was pondering, the head disciplinarian suddenly barked at a senior student in front. The student reluctantly pulled out his phone. "I''m doing this for your own good! School time is for studying¡ªhow can you casually bring a phone to school? It can easily distract you from studying, and at your age, it''s easy to be dazzled by all the shy things online." The disciplinarian lectured the student earnestly. However, Beifei saw the disciplinarian''s system interface: [Host: Zhao Gang] [N-level, Confiscation System] [Realm: Late Qi-Controlling Stage] ... [You confiscated a student''s phone, Confiscation Value +1] Apparently, the disciplinarian liked confiscating students'' phones purely for his Confiscation System! This type of system, if not used as a city urban management officer, then serving as a school disciplinarian wasn''t bad either. Of course, not all teachers had systems rted to their professions, some teachers'' systems weren''t connected to their jobs at all, like the Chinese teacher from the ss next door, who had awakened the "Suffering System." Every loss he took made his spiritual power grow stronger. And the Chinese teacher turned out to be ate-stage spiritual power practitioner of the Qi-Controlling Realm. Everyone''s awakened system ultimately aimed at increasing strength, and while some systems enhanced physical agility, speed, or strength, naturally there were also systems that boosted one''s spiritual power, soul strength, and more. The more Beifei saw, the more fascinated he became¡ªevery person in this parallel world had their own system, which determined their personalities and modes of action. Oftentimes, when people performed an action, they were doing it toplete a system task rather than acting on their own volition. Sometimes when you saw the opposite party furious enough to erupt, you thought you had gained an advantage, but actually, it was just because their system made them let you benefit. Of course, this was except for Beifei. Others wouldn''t know about someone else''s system, so they could only specte about a person. But Beifei could see everyone''s system tasks crystal clear. Chapter 4: Chapter 4: Strength "Quiet! Now, please wee our principal to speak!" The head of the Disciplinary Committee''s words quieted everyone down. Principal Li Nanxing of Luhe High School had already begun his speech on the podium. Principal Li Nanxing looked to be in his sixties, with age upon him, his hair white and sparse, but he was spirited and wore a proper and friendly suit. He was approachable, without any airs, and was highly regarded among the students. Xiang Beifei did not listen to the principal''s speech, as it was probably about the importance of System Awakening and the hope for everyone to have a bright future. He was interested in Principal Li Nanxing''s system: [Host: Li Nanxing] [S-rank, Confucian Saint System] [Realm¡ª¡ª] Xiang Beifei couldn''t see Principal Li Nanxing''s realm, nor could he check the other''s system tasks, which he found strange. He spected that his abilities were probably limited, and maybe if someone''s realm was high enough, he would not be able to inspect it. No matter what system everybody had, the goal ofpleting tasks was to obtain higher strength, and the divisions of realms were the same. [Qi-Controlling, Meridian Opening, God Refining, Orifice Transforming, Heavenly Connection, Immortality] Each realm was divided into three sub-realms: early stage, middle stage, andte stage. And currently, Xiang Beifei could only see individuals who were in the Qi-Controlling realm. Principal Li Nanxing''s realm must certainly be above that of Qi-Controlling. "I''m sure your homeroom teachers have already exined the importance of systems quite clearly, so I won''t dwell on it here. I hope that each of you will awaken an excellent system, work hard, and reach the pinnacle of life as soon as possible!" The white-haired Principal Li Nanxing said with a smiling face. Perhaps rted to the system he awoke, he had an intrinsic air of Confucian elegance, highly respected. When he spoke, the whole venue listened quietly, and there were few who were distracted. Every ss had already lined up, with ten senior sses in their school in total. Xiang Beifei was in ss Nine. At this moment, every homeroom teacher stood in front of their ss, with a blue stone before them. This stone was only about the size of a palm,pletely crystalline and translucent, with faint traces of lightning swirling around it, floating mid-air, making it seem particrly solemn. That was the Electric Shock Thunderstone used for System Awakening. Made of special materials, it would emit lightning that struck the soul directly, stimting thetent talents within everyone''s body. As talents were awakened, the Thunderstone would also evaluate the level of one''s talents. The origins of this Thunderstone were extraordinary; it was said to be created by a big-shot from Yang''s, known as¡ª [Electric Shock Thunderstone] Just the name sounded formidable! After all, getting struck by lightning could awaken one''s talent system; who would dare underestimate this Thunderstone? "Proceed one by one ording to your seat number." Yang Hua said to his ss in a deep voice. Actually, Yang Hua was also looking forward to it; if a student from his ss awakened an S-rank system, it would reflect well on him, not to mention that he could receive a generous bonus. On the other hand, it could also increase his prestige value as a teacher, as nurturing a genius would certainly be noticed by the Master Dao System, and might even trigger hidden tasks within the Master Dao System. Thinking of his Master Dao System acting up earlier that day, randomly losing a Soul Condensing Pill, he was so pained he almost felt suffocated, wishing desperately for a good oue from the student''s S-rank System awakening. Student number one, Wang Dan, walked nervously to the side of the Thunderstone, pressing her hand onto the floating stone with trepidation. Blue lightning "zapped" from the Thunderstone, transferring up her arm into her body with a sound, and she let out a shriek, her whole body enveloped by the tendrils of lightning. Intense fluctuations emanated from Wang Dan''s body, and soon after, the surrounding lightning began to shake violently, forming wave after wave of ripples. As the blue lightning gradually converged, but the color of the lightning was not very clear. Beside it was a miniature electronic disy screen, which would show the tier of talent based on the voltage from the Thunderstone. An "N" appeared on the electronic disy! Wang Dan''s face was filled with disappointment. An N-grade system is the most basic of systems. Without an R-grade system, there are no bonus points for the college entrance exam, which means starting at a lower point than others! She looked very upset. "N-grade system, amon talent system, don''t be discouraged. As long as you dig deep into your system''s potential, N-grade systems can sometimes exhibit strong capabilities," Principal Li Nanxing just happened to pass by, saw Wang Dan awaken her system, and didn''t disparage her but instead encouraged her with a smile. Despite his words, Wang Dan still walked back dispiritedly. While others couldn''t see what system Wang Dan had awakened, Xiang Beifei could see it clearly. Wang Dan''s awakened system was the "Flower Cultivation System," which required her to sessfully raise a flower in order to increase her flower value by +1. Such a system destined her to apply for an agricultural college when it came time to choose a university. Looking at Wang Dan, she didn''t seem to like cultivating flowers. "Number 2!" As the ss teacher, Yang Hua was still brooding over his own system issues and did not offerfort or disparagement, but instead urged the next student. ... Xiang Beifei watched his ssmates awaken their own talent systems one by one, and some of the bizarre systems truly surprised him. Take the strange "Dishwashing System," for example, which relied on the number of dishes washed to earn points. One had to wash a hundred dishes to get +1 diligence value. It goes without saying how despondent that delicate-looking boy was when he discovered he had awakened the "Dishwashing System." Wang Pangzi from their ss, weighing 200 pounds, had awakened the "Dance King System," which required mastering all kinds of dances from around the world, and only afterpleting a dance to the standard could he earn one Dance King value. Wang Pangzi was devastated when he saw the system he had awakened. And then there were quirky systems like the "Eating Dirt System," "Brick Moving System," and "Moonlight Race System"¡­ all of which Xiang Beifei found fascinating. More and more people publicly awakened their systems, and some students were overjoyed after discovering theirs, clearly satisfied with the systems they had awakened. For example, Sun Ke from Xiang Beifei''s ss had awakened the "N-grade Real Estate System." Although it was amon system, the initial tasks were particrly difficult toplete, with the first task being to purchase amercial property. This was almost impossible for someone still in school unless their family had the means to support such endeavors. Considering Sun Ke''s wealthy family background and the system he had awakened, it was certain that his family wouldter assist him in striving to be a real estate tycoon. Therefore, Sun Ke wasn''t too disappointed. Simrly, systems like "Restaurant Chain System" and "Supermarket Empire," among others, were part of the "Business System" category. Representative figures in the Business System included Ma Dayun from Alibaba and Ma Dateng from the Penguin Nobility. Even though no one knew what their systems were, it could be inferred that the individuals representing the two major Ma corporations had systems rted to business, and those tycoons were rumored to have awakened SSR systems, which were likely linked to Business! Legends that one could only look up to! "Maybe I could awaken a UR-grade system, and then I could finally stand tall and proud," Kong Xiuwen said beside him, full of longing. UR is a system with even greater potential than SSR, strong enough to crush allpetitors, almost standing at the pinnacle of this world! "You dreaming of awakening a UR system? That''s daydreaming," ss Leader Zhuo Jing said with an unexpected jab. "Mind your own business!" Kong Xiuwen retorted and, disregarding Zhuo Jing''s ugly expression, turned back to Xiang Beifei and said, "Xiang Beifei, this is our only chance for a turnaround. If I awaken a UR-grade system, then let''s see them act arrogant." Those who could awaken an S-grade system would be the focus of the entire school. Come the college entrance exams, getting points deducted or being admitted without examination would not pose a problem. If it were a UR system, it would likely cause a major sensation! However, up to this point, no one at their Luhe High School had been heard to have awakened a UR system, and even SSR systems were rare. In the hundred years since Luhe High School was founded, there had only been one person who had awakened an SSR system, a person whose achievements were looked up to, with unfathomable cultivation skills. Chapter 5: Chapter 5: The First S-Class System "What system do you hope to awaken?" Xiang Beifei asked. "The best would be the Schr System. It''d allow a show-stopping debut, let''s see the ckers turn the tables and give those losers a beatdown. Wonder if they''d still dare tough at our poor grades," Kong Xiuwen said animatedly, then added, "The Superstar System wouldn''t be bad either. Venturing into the entertainment industry could be a good choice. And if all else fails, I wouldn''t turn my nose up at the Tycoon System either." Lost in his merry fantasies, Kong Xiuwen believed that any system was intended to improve oneself, but a good system could make that improvement happen much faster. The trajectory of many people''s lives during their college entrance exam year can be altered, as awakening a system that year can change their future choices. If someone has been interested inputer science since childhood but awakens a medical system, they would have to abandon their dreams to apply for medical school. This is quite simr to the real world, where parents force their children to apply for majors they think are promising. Therefore, the best system to awaken is one that matches one''s own interests because only then would there be motivation toplete tasks. Momentster, Kong Xiuwen asked again, "What about you, Xiang Beifei? What system do you hope to awaken?" "Me? I''m not picky, anything goes." Xiang Beifei, new to this world, hadn''t fully grasped it yet, so he wasn''t very demanding about the system. Kong Xiuwen said, "How can you be so ambitionless! That won''t do. Let me tell you a secret..." Kong Xiuwen nced at the others, leaned into Xiang Beifei''s ear, and whispered mysteriously, "My old man spent a fortune on a medicinal herb from an enlightened master. He''s researched talent systems for years. Supposedly, if you take this herb, there''s a fifty percent chance of awakening the system you want." Kong Xiuwen held out his hand, revealing two ck pills emitting a pungent, strange odor, "Dad told me to take both. With one, there''s a fifty percent chance, but with two, it''s a sure thing!" Uh? Fifty percent with one pill, and a hundred percent with two? The math here is quite magical! Xiang Beifei couldn''t help but grin; he felt that the master Kong Xiuwen mentioned was very likely someone who had awakened the Bluff System or Chatan System. Kong Xiuwen, looking dead serious, shoved a ck pill into Xiang Beifei''s hand and said, "I don''t need a hundred percent certainty, this one''s for you." Xiang Beifei was surprised, "For me?" "Shh, keep it down. It costs over ten thousand a pill! Dad told me to keep it quiet. I can''t stand how the homeroom teacher always picks on us, we need to awaken an SR system and show them, give ourselves some breathing room." Kong Xiuwen''s family was rtively well-off, and Xiang Beifei''s was struggling, but the two got along well, and Kong Xiuwen was always quite generous with Xiang Beifei. Wei s (Amended as Weighing) the ck pill in his hand, Xiang Beifei was certain such a thing couldn''t be effective¡ªif it were, there would already be geniuses all over the world. "You keep it for yourself! I''ll leave it to fate," Xiang Beifei insisted, heart not set on destroying Kong Xiuwen''s illusion as he handed the pill back. But Kong Xiuwen adamantly forced the pill back into Xiang Beifei''s hand, pping him on the shoulder, "Take it, what''s with the formality between us? What are friends for? Don''t worry! If I awaken an advanced talent system, I''ve got your back!" "Then I''m going to cling to your coattails in advance." Xiang Beifeiughed. As they were discussing, a wave of envious exmations suddenly burst from another corner of the crowd. "Oh my! Someone has awakened an S-ss system!" "So jealous, that''s the first S-ss system awakener today!" The crowd became restless, craning their necks and looking on with envy at the person who had awakened an S-ss system. She was a girl from ss One named Liu Qianrou, not only outstanding academically but also exceptionally pretty. Tall and elegant, demure and refined, she was a goddess within ss One, known as the ss Belle, and many boys harbored a secret crush on her. "Oh my! It''s her, my goddess awakened an S-ss system, oh my! I must work harder to awaken an S-ss system and be with her!" a boy from ss Two eximed. "Pfft, keep dreaming! Why don''t you just take a piss and look at yourself." "My pee is yellow, let me enlighten him!" "My breath stinks, let me have a talk with him!" Many boys were all discussing animatedly, eyes filled with admiration, and quite a few girls were also mixing envy with jealousy, it wasn''t enough to be good-looking, but even the grade of the awakened system was so high. Xiang Beifei curiously looked toward Liu Qianrou. A light-yellow dress, fluffy hair. The outfit was very fashionable. Xiang Beifei nced at her system: [Host: Liu Qianrou] [S-rank, Backup Snatch System] [Status: Ordinary Person] [Mission: Please find five backups] ... Liu Qianrou seemed to be contemting her system''s abilities as well, and after a moment of thought, she walked toward the crowd under everyone''s envious gaze. When she reached the boy from ss Two who had not yet awakened his system but fantasized about being with the goddess, she identally twisted her foot and bumped into the boy. "I''m sorry, I''m sorry, I didn''t do it on purpose," Liu Qianrou said with a remorseful face. The boy was stunned, he had actually been identally bumped by the goddess! The goddess even apologized to him! "No, no, no problem!" The boy was extremely excited and a bit carried away. "Hello, my name is Liu Qianrou." Liu Qianrou revealed a gentle and graceful smile, extending her hand to shake with the boy. ¡ª¡ªOh my god, is today my lucky day? Not only did the goddess apologize to me, but she also wants to shake my hand! The boy''s eyes shone with a certain light. "Hello, I''m Zhao Tian from ss Two, really, really nice to meet you." Zhao Tian hastily stretched out his hand, holding Liu Qianrou''s delicate palm. ¡ª¡ªThe goddess''s hand is as soft as if it has no bones, I''m not washing my hands for a month! Zhao Tian thought excitedly. At this time, Xiang Beifei saw that Liu Qianrou''s system interface already disyed a new line of text: [You have gained a potential backup, backup value +1] [You shook hands with the backup, you snatched the backup''s arm strength, your strength +1] [You conversed with the backup, you snatched the backup''s social skills, your social skills +1] ... Everyone was unaware of what system Liu Qianrou had awakened, only knowing that Liu Qianrou was an S-rank top student, with boundless potential, but only Xiang Beifei saw everything very clearly! "This system is a bit sinister!" Xiang Beifei couldn''t help but think, Liu Qianrou''s system was actually about raising backups and then snatching their various abilities? And getting a backup was so easy, as long as someone was interested in her, they would automatically be a backup? What a green tea bitch! Xiang Beifei looked at the boy who was being used as a backup and snatched of his abilities without knowing, feeling quite sympathetic, if in the future he kept following Liu Qianrou around, probably all his abilities would bepletely taken by Liu Qianrou. This system epitomized what is called a loser dog, in the end, losing everything by licking boots. Chapter 6: Chapter 6: System Testing! Xiang Beifei shook his head. Although the system was bizarre and powerful, considering that Liu Qianrou had little to do with him, he didn''t want to intervene. While there was a buzz on that side, the Awakening Ceremony here continued, and soon, Xiang Beifei''s ss also burst into exmations¡ªa S-level system had appeared! It was Monitor Zhuo Jing! "Monitor Zhuo is also S-level!" "Amazing!" Many ssmates cast envious looks in Zhuo Jing''s direction. A student who awakened an S-level talent system started a whole ss higher than everyone else, as if in a hundred-meter race, they had run ahead by twenty meters! Zhuo Jing was also incredibly excited. Immediately he straightened up and puffed out his chest, basking in the adoration and admiration of all eyes on him, very pleased with his own system. "Very good! Very good! I knew I wasn''t wrong about you!" Yang Hua was thrilled. The testing had gone on for quite some time, and the systems awakened by the students in his ss were only N-level, with six being R-level ¨C too low a level. Originally when he first became a teacher, if a student had an R-level system, his prestige value would increase. But as the system missions gradually increased in difficulty, now only an S-level could add to his teacher prestige value. Because of Zhuo Jing''s appearance, his teacher prestige value had just increased by 500 points! Yang Hua almost cried! 500 teacher prestige points! This was much easier than criticizing students all day long! "It''s over. I was thinking of suppressing him with my system, to see if he would dare to be arrogant with us in the future, but I didn''t expect this guy to be so lucky!" Kong Xiuwen spoke with both envy and jealousy. Xiang Beifei had nned to check out what kind of system Zhuo Jing had, but Yang Hua had already called Xiang Beifei to go up and take part in the Awakening Ceremony. Xiang Beifei had no choice but to retract his gaze and walk towards the floating Electric Shock Thunderstone. "What system will I awaken?" Xiang Beifei pondered to himself. Although he was able to see other people''s systems, in this world, power still ruled supreme. Without a Cultivation Technique or promotion means, it was still useless; he had to increase his own strength. The thunderstone emitting blue electric arcs was flickering before his eyes, and every now and then, a spark of electricity lit up. The thunder and electricity emitted by the thunderstone stimted the potential within the human body, awakening the innate system. After stimting potential, the intensity of the sparks produced by the thunder and electricity determined the talent level of a person''s system. Generally speaking, For an N-level system, the electric arc is blue. An R-level system turns the arc deep blue. An S-level system turns it ck. An SR-level system is red. An SSR-level system is white. A UR-level system is golden yellow! Actually, based on the color of the electric arcs, one could judge what someone''s talent really is. Xiang Beifei carefully pressed his palm against the thunderstone! Hiss! There was a slight tingling in his palm, and sparks of electricity followed Xiang Beifei''s palm into his body, swiftly coursing through his limbs and bones, as if searching for something. Whoosh! The thunderstone suddenly lit up with a dazzling golden yellow light! This color was incredibly eye-catching, instantly drawing everyone''s gaze towards it! "What? Is that golden yellow? Isn''t that, that the legendary..." Yang Hua, the ss teacher, gasped. A golden yellow electric arc meant the legendary UR-level system, an exceedingly rare existence in the world! The Electric Shock Thunderstone in Xiang Beifei''s hand immediately attracted a lot of attention, whether from teachers or students, all captivated by the splendid golden yellow electric arcs! "My God! Am I dreaming? Is this¡ªa UR system?" Somebody eximed in disbelief. Even Principal Li Nanxing, who was at a distance, suddenly turned into an afterimage, instantly appearing beside Xiang Beifei, his expression extremely astonished! The light of the UR system! "Could it be... Could it be..." Principal Li Nanxing was immensely excited! Endowed with the "Confucian Saint System," he naturally strived tirelessly toward this goal, teaching and nurturing with the aim of fostering a generation of renowned Confucian schrs. Now that his students were spread far and wide, as long as a student under his tutge made a name for themselves, the system would also bring him benefits! If a student of UR level were to emerge from his school, it would likely propel him directly to the next realm! On the other hand, Yang Hua, the homeroom teacher, was also trembling with excitement! If a UR-level genius appeared in his ss, wouldn''t that add a whopping hundred thousand points to his prestige value? However, gradually, people started to sense that something was amiss. The color of the electric arc suddenly dimmed, turning from golden yellow to white! "Eh? What''s happening here?" Many people were puzzled. Wasn''t it the legendary, rare UR system just moments ago? How did it downgrade to SSR? But even the white electric arcs symbolizing the SSR system were shocking enough! That''s SSR! Even if it''s not on par with UR, it''s still enough to drive people wild! And yet, soon people felt something was off again. The color of the electric arc of the Electric Shock Thunderstone suddenly turned red! Was that the SR system? Why did the levels disyed by the thunderstone continuously decrease? Sizzle! The electric arc changed to the ck color that represented the S-level system; following that was the navy blue of R, and then it reverted back to light blue of N¡­ "What''s going on? Wasn''t it a golden yellow arc just now? I thought our school was about to witness the rise of an unparalleled genius, but why has it changed to the lowest level N system?" "Could the thunderstone be malfunctioning?" Crack! The Electric Shock Thunderstone in Xiang Beifei''s hand turned into an unsightly rock, with the electric sparks suddenly disappearing altogether. Xiang Beifei looked at the thunderstone in his hand with some confusion. "What exactly is going on? Did your system awaken?" Principal Li Nanxing asked urgently. He had lived more than half his life and had never seen such a phenomenon. Initially thinking that a golden yellow UR system had emerged, he was so thrilled that he almost shouted out loud, but he had never expected the thunderstone''s arc to keep changing, falling all the way to N level. "No, I don''t feel any system awakening." Xiang Beifei frowned; he didn''t see any system prompts. "Then why did the thunderstone turn out like that just now?" Principal Li Nanxing asked impatiently. Yang Hua eagerly stepped forward, taking the thunderstone from Xiang Beifei''s hand, only to find that the thunderstone no longer showed an electric arc. After inspecting it, he looked at Xiang Beifei with a strange expression and said, "This thunderstone, it seems, seems to be broken?" Everyone was taken aback! "So the thunderstone was broken, no wonder!" "I was saying, with his poor grades, how could he possibly awaken such a high-level system? It must have been an issue with the thunderstone." Everyone''s gaze toward Xiang Beifei normalized a bit; if a student with terrible grades had awakened a UR-level system, it would surely have caused rancor. Principal Li Nanxing also took the thunderstone, gave it a brief inspection, and his hopeful gaze dimmed, as the thunderstone indeed elicited no response. "It seems the thunderstone was the issue just now; bring another thunderstone." Principal Li Nanxing couldn''t help but take another look at Xiang Beifei, feeling somewhat regretful. He didn''t know Xiang Beifei, but he had earnestly hoped that Xiang Beifei had truly awakened an SR or higher level system. In that case, Luhe High School would surely rise to the ranks of top schools, gaining fame and distinction. All the restlessness and shock of the crowd settled back down. If the principal himself said so, then the thunderstone must indeed be broken. Glimpses towards Xiang Beifei took on a touch of schadenfreude. This guy had ridden an emotional roller coaster today; just as he thought he was about to turn the tables and be in the spotlight, it turned out to be a huge farce, ending in aplete flop. Xiang Beifei held the thunderstone in his hand, indifferent to the stares of the others, who all thought the thunderstone was broken. Yet, he harbored a peculiar thought in his mind. In the process just then, the lightning had desperately tried to prate his body for quite some time, searching for the so-called system talent. But as the thunderstone''s power surged to the max, there remained no sign of activity within Xiang Beifei. The thunderstone didn''t give up, continuing to surge until, atst, it ran out of steam¡­ So to be precise, the powerful Yang''s "Electric Shock Thunderstone" wasn''t broken. It was just that Xiang Beifei had drained it¡ª of its power. Chapter 7: Chapter 7: The Little Puppy This result even made Xiang Beifei want to cry andugh at the same time. It''s as if the thunderstone was fitted with a fake battery; why did it run out of power during the test? What if I bring over another thunderstone and the same thing happens again? One malfunctioning thunderstone is an ident, but two is a cause for concern. Xiang Beifei couldn''t help but feel worried. He had no desire to draw too much attention to himself. In this new world, without a strong background, if he awakened a truly powerful system and drew the interest of the wrong people, that would spell trouble. It''s better to keep a low profile. Get rich quietly. The dean of instruction soon brought over another thunderstone. This one crackled with electric sparks, sounding very energetic, probably a brand new piece that hadn''t been used before. As soon as the dean let go, the thunderstone floated still in mid-air. Everyone was watching him, curious to know what system Xiang Beifei would awaken this time. Xiang Beifei hesitated for a moment before cing his hand on the thunderstone again. Whoosh! The thunderstone became restless again, its blue arcs of electricity appeared to be changing, but just then a strange warm current surged through Xiang Beifei''s body, and with a cry that sounded like a baby''s roar, a shadow appeared in front of Xiang Beifei''s eyes. "Woof." It was an unknown little creature, at first nce resembling a small puppy, palm-sized, with snow-white fur and sapphire-blue eyes that seemed to contain the stars in the sky, quite extraordinary. At the same time as the little puppy appeared, it excitedly barked, pounced on the thunderstone, and bit into it with its tiny mouth. Crackle! Before the thunderstone had a chance to flicker its colors, it dimmed down. The previously vigorous sparks seemed about to be exhausted. "Damn it, is it going to run out of power again? Wait! Stop messing around! Get away from that stone," Xiang Beifei shouted urgently. "Woof!" The puppy paused, looking at Xiang Beifei with confusion. Please, what on earth is this! Where''s my system? Xiang Beifei waspletely befuddled; if this wasn''t his system, then how was he supposed to build his own system into a supreme, invincible one? It seemed as though the puppy understood what Xiang Beifei meant, as it let go of the thunderstone and jumped onto Xiang Beifei''s shoulder. At this moment, the color disyed on the thunderstone in Xiang Beifei''s hand was even more pitiful than pale blue. "N grade!" The level assessment appeared on the thunderstone''s electronic disy! "Only N grade?" Principal Li Nanxing appeared more disappointed than anyone else. Even after the thunderstone malfunctioned, he had held on to a sliver of hope for Xiang Beifei, hoping that his school would produce a genius, which would turn his institution into an internationally famous high school and himself into a renowned principal, securing better resources for the school. Unfortunately, he had celebrated too early. Yang Hua also looked distressed on the other side. Just now, his system had malfunctioned, losing the reward, and he was still brooding over how to make it up. When Xiang Beifei''s test showed the UR glow, he was ecstatic, but now it only added to his frustration. "I thought our school was going to have a UR prodigy! What a pity." "Yeah, I was getting ready to be envious of him, even thinking about quickly holding onto his coattails, but it turned out that it was me, an R-level, who actually became the ''big thigh'' to hold onto." Many people looked at Xiang Beifei with considerable sympathy. This dramatic change caught them off guard. Those who didn''t know Xiang Beifei felt sorry for him, but many of his ssmates actually thought it was only to be expected. After all, he was the student with the lowest grades in the ss; if he had awakened a UR system, it definitely would have upset the bnce for them. Being N-level was normal too. There were quite a few N-level awakeners present; nobody had the right to pass judgment on anyone else. "No matter, an N-level system shouldn''t discourage you, quite a lot of people became figures of great influence with an N-level system. Starting from a lower point than others doesn''t mean your future will be any worse, we all create our own futures with our bare hands." Principal Li Nanxingforted Xiang Beifei. After all, he was a renowned schr of his generation, always kind to his students and never looking down on anyone, believing that learning has its own sequence and every profession has its master, and from every field emerges a top schr. Students with poor talent have turned their lives around to be sessful people after putting in effort; such cases were numerous. Having lived for many years, Li Nanxing was very clear about this. "I know, thank you for the advice, Principal," Xiang Beifei said. Although what Principal Li Nanxing said rted to his system, it was undeniable that he truly had the students'' best interests at heart. As the students seeded, he also benefited from the system, so Li Nanxing never gave up on any student, often encouraging them to be proactive and helping them solve problems. This was something that Xiang Beifei still respected. "Woof!" The little puppy also barked cheerfully. But it seemed like no one else saw Xiang Beifei''s little puppy. Xiang Beifei walked back with his little puppy. Kong Xiuwen came over, his expressionplicated as heforted, "You really scared me just now. I thought you were about to awaken a legendary system and skyrocket, I was ready to follow you. What a pity... Are you okay?" Kong Xiuwen was worried Xiang Beifei might take it hard and was thinking about how tofort him. Anyone put in this situation, without a strong heart, would probably not make it through. "I''m fine, you just do your best," Xiang Beifei said. Yang Hua called out from above, "Next, Kong Xiuwen!" "It''s my turn now, I hope I can awaken a good system." Hearing the homeroom teacher calling his name, Kong Xiuwen hurriedly ran up the stage. On the other hand, the ss president Zhuo Jing was basking in everyone else''s praise, looking very smug as he saw Xiang Beifei return to the crowd. He had awakened an S-level "Appreciation System," and his first task after awakening was: [Gather 250 appreciation values within one hour. If someone you know praises or envies you, appreciation value +1, if someone you don''t know praises or envies you, appreciation value +0.01] [Task Reward: Qi-Controlling Pill] After awakening his system, Zhuo Jing received the envy of countless people. Today, being another great day for awakenings, the entire field was full of students, teachers, and parents, and students with S-level systems received attention from all around. Less than ten minutes after he awakened his system, he received 249 appreciation values! Just one point shy, and he could have collected 250 to sessfully exchange for a rare Qi-Controlling Pill, which would have allowed him to step directly into the early stages of Qi-Control! This showcased the twisted power of an S-level system; others would have to train hard for at least two months to several years to reach the Qi-Controlling realm, but with his initial task, he was already ahead of others and got off to a very quick start. However, during Xiang Beifei''s test, all attention was drawn to him, causing the spotlight Zhuo Jing was just about to enjoy to bepletely overshadowed. Although Xiang Beifei''s test turned out to be a farce in the end, people''s focus on Zhuo Jing was no longer as intense as in the beginning, causing his appreciation value to stagnate. "Damn it, just one point short of appreciation value, why has everyone stopped praising me?" Zhuo Jing was inwardly anxious. Praise from those who had already praised him was ineffective; he needed to be envied by those who hadn''t praised him yet. Chapter 8: Chapter 8: Be Cautious in Seeking Praise In order to collect 250 appreciation values, he had secretly taken out his phone and posted a real photo of himself on social media with the caption "Have awakened an S-ss system!" But most of his social media friends were his ssmates, who were all busy awakening and understanding their own systems. Afraid of having their phones confiscated by the disciplinarian, they didn''t dare to take them out, and his likes were stuck at 249 and wouldn''t budge. Whenever someone praised or envied him, the system would prompt him, and he quickly discovered that in the entire ss, only Xiang Beifei and Kong Xiuwen had not praised him. Because a known person''s praise added 1 point, while a stranger''s only added 0.01, so he needed to make Xiang Beifei or Kong Xiuwen envy him, which would be much better than finding 100 strangers. With an hour nearly up, if he didn''t hurry and the time passed, he would have to start over, so he had to quickly amass those 250 points. Since Kong Xiuwen was still undergoing testing, the target naturally became Xiang Beifei! Zhuo Jing saw Xiang Beifei with his head down, looking somewhat dejected, and he immediately strode over to Xiang Beifei. Thinking that he didn''t get along very well with Xiang Beifei, he pondered a bit, organized his wording, and then offered fakefort, "Xiang Beifei, it''s okay, don''t be discouraged, the teacher said that N-ss systems can also be promising, never give up!" "How can hepare with your S-ss system, monitor?" a ssmate said enviously. However, this ssmate''s words did not bring Zhuo Jing any appreciation value, as the person had already contributed. What Zhuo Jing wanted was not this person''s praise, but Xiang Beifei''s! "You can''t say that, look, even though I''ve awakened an S-ss system, as the ss monitor, I treat all ssmates equally. With college entrance examsing up, we need to help each other, I''ve always believed that ssmates who awaken N-ss systems can also have a bright future!" Zhuo Jing mustered a smile and said patiently. "The monitor speaks so well!" "The monitor has awakened an S-ss system and is still so approachable, such an open-mindedness!" A bunch of ssmates praised from the side. But Zhuo Jing''s appreciation value still did not rise. ¡ª¡ªXiang Beifei, you must be envious, right? I''m someone with an S-ss system¡ª shouldn''t you hurry up and praise me? Zhuo Jing thought impatiently, he could hardly wait any longer. Xiang Beifei looked up at Zhuo Jing''s "Appreciation System." Others didn''t know what system Zhuo Jing had awakened, but Xiang Beifei could see it clear as day. This guy just needs one more like. But Xiang Beifei didn''t feel there was anything to envy! He was still pondering over the issues with his own puppy, questioning in his mind for a long time, but the puppy could only say one word: "Woof!" The little puppy didn''t seem like a system at all, which was quite troublesome! Zhuo Jing, realizing his words weren''t effective, tried another approach: "Xiang Beifei, even though you have only an N-ss system, if you face any difficulties in the future, feel free to ask me for help, understand?" Zhuo Jing''s tone was unusually gentle while speaking to Xiang Beifei for a change. ¡ª¡ªHurry up! You damn fool! I''m talking to you like this, so hurry up and praise me! Hurry up and praise me! Quick! Praise! Me! Zhuo Jing was internally roaring! Xiang Beifei stroked his chin, blinking his eyes. The reward for this guy''s task is a Qi-Controlling Pill? A Qi-Controlling Pill is such a great thing, it can directly bring someone into the initial phase of Qi-Controlling, what an outrageous item. To think that even the ss teacher Yang Hua, who has awakened an R-ss system for almost ten years, is still only in theter phase of Qi-Controlling, whereas Zhuo Jing''s first task reward for his S-ss system is the initial phase of Qi-Controlling. With Zhuo Jing''s gifted system, he wouldn''t need ten years to surpass the ss teacher. No wonder many universities favored students with S-ss systems. The ss teacher Yang Hua, for his system, would always reprimand Xiang Beifei in various ways, and Zhuo Jing, to ingratiate himself with the teacher, never refrained from mocking Xiang Beifei coldly and heatedly. To know that before the system awakening, Zhuo Jing was still mocking him and Kong Xiuwen! Now in order to get their praise, he immediately changed face and pretended to care about his ssmates. Xiang Beifei had no fondness for this insincere fellow. He was already brooding over issues with his system, feeling quite annoyed, and seeing Zhuo Jing prancing about in front of him with a weirdly contrived expression only added to Xiang Beifei''s helplessness. ¡ª¡ªThis is what you want me to seek praise for! It''s not my fault. "ss leader, you''re really awesome!" Xiang Beifei said sincerely. "Where! Where! We''re all ssmates after all!" When Zhuo Jing heard Xiang Beifei''s words, his face broke into a delighted smile; he hadpleted his first task with such ease! He couldn''t wait to check his system: [You have received praise from Xiang Beifei. Appreciation value +1,] Zhuo Jing was overjoyed. Finally, it reached 250! He was about to break through to the Qi-Controlling realm! In his mind appeared countless fantasies. As soon as he broke through the Qi-Controlling realm, he would definitely attract everyone''s attention again, and then there would be even more people praising him, from which he could harvest arge wave of appreciation values¡­ Thinking of this, Zhuo Jing felt even the air was refreshingly sweet. [You havepleted a task. Task reward: Qi-Controlling Pill] [Would you like to im your reward?] "Yes! Of course!" Zhuo Jing eagerly watched the system interface. He was well aware of what a Qi-Controlling Pill meant. A Qi-Controlling Pill could let someone skip the painful early stages of cultivation, to truly step into the ranks of cultivators! As long as he was the first to step into the Qi-Controlling realm, he would be the standard "child of someone else" in the eyes of all parents! Zhuo Jing nervously spread his hands, waiting for the Qi-Controlling Pill to fall into them! [Reward has been issued. Host, please keep up the good work! Seek praise wholeheartedly, create a better future!] "Issued?" Zhuo Jing immediately checked his hands, but there was no reward. Then he searched his own pockets, still nothing. "Could it be in the backpack?" Zhuo Jing rushed towards the ssroom in a flurry to search for the reward issued by the system. "I''m about to be the first person in the ss to step into the Qi-Controlling realm! If this news is known by everyone, the appreciation value I''ll reap next will skyrocket, hahaha..." Zhuo Jing felt even his running posture was cool and impressive! Xiang Beifei watched Zhuo Jing''s retreating figure with a contemtive look, hands in his pockets, appearing quite calm. In his pocket, there was a pale yellow pill! That was the Qi-Controlling Pill for Zhuo Jing''spletion of his first task. "Should this reward be returned?" Xiang Beifei pondered slightly. ss teacher Yang Hua would use Xiang Beifei as a negative example for his own tasks, making a big deal out of every trivial matter to criticize him. Zhuo Jing, too, was showing off in front of Xiang Beifei deliberately, trying toplete his own tasks through Xiang Beifei. But they all picked the wrong target. After a while, Xiang Beifei made a decision. "When you''re doing your tasks, don''t try to drag me into it intentionally, nor seek validation from me; if that''s the case, all is well. Otherwise, I can only¡ª¡ª" "Reluctantly ept your rewards." Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Only a Bald Head Away from Being Strong He nned to wait until he got home to properly research the two Qi-Controlling Pills he had received today, otherwise, if he took them right in front of everyone, an N-level System Awakener suddenly breaking through to Qi-Controlling realm would seem far-fetched. Of course, he could exin it as the work of his system, but after all, being N-level, the starting point shouldn''t be so high. Xiang Beifei actually cared more about the little puppy he had awakened. He still didn''t understand what his little puppy was for. "What in the world are you?" Xiang Beifei picked up the little puppy and studied it over and over. "Woof woof!" The little puppy barked happily, wagging its tail twice. But Xiang Beifei couldn''t understand what it was saying; it seemed to be just barking simply. Xiang Beifei asked all sorts of questions, and the little puppy could only bark twice. "You''re not just here to be cute, are you?" Xiang Beifei stroked the little puppy''s head. The little puppy squinted its eyes on his palm. Xiang Beifei thought for a moment and said, "I should give you a name." The little puppy, with its tongue out, looked eagerly at Xiang Beifei. "You''re so cute, all your fur is so white, white like a ball of snow, hmm¡ªthen I''ll call you Xiaohei!" Xiang Beifei said. "..." Xiaohei blinked, looking somewhat astonished. "I''ve always wanted to get a dog and name it Xiaohei! Xiang Beifei burst intoughter. "Whine!" The all-white Xiaohei whined discontentedly and bit at Xiang Beifei''s palm. But it didn''t have teeth yet, so the bite on Xiang Beifei''s palm was neither light nor itchy. Xiang Beifei found this little guy very amusing and gently flicked its ear with his finger. This Xiaohei, clearly newborn and confused, seemed not even to know what it was. But intuition told Xiang Beifei that Xiaohei was probably not that simple. ¡ª¡ª In the distance, exmations were heard again, as if someone else had awakened an S-level system. So far, it seemed there were already neen students who had awakened S-level systems With ten sses in the senior year, that was about two per ss on average. This result was rather normal, and Xiang Beifei was not surprised. Xiang Beifei had been keeping an eye on Kong Xiuwen and noticed that Kong Xiuwen had awakened an S-level system too! "Excellent! Excellent! I knew I was not wrong about you, Kong Xiuwen!" Yang Hua excitedly patted Kong Xiuwen on the shoulder. His Kong Xiuwen, however, looked utterly dejected. "Bad luck, such bad luck! I actually awakened this system... Ah, it''s outrageous!" Kong Xiuwen looked like he was about to cry. Xiang Beifei nced at Kong Xiuwen''s system and almost burst outughing. [Host: Kong Xiuwen] [S-level, Bald System] [State: Ordinary person] ... Bald System? What kind of weird thing is that! Xiang Beifei''s expression turned strange as he secretly pulled closer to Kong Xiuwen''s system interface and quickly reviewed the introduction of Kong Xiuwen''s system. [Bald System, the less hair you have, the stronger you are, you''re only one bald head away from being a powerhouse!] [Note: Manually removing hair will still grow back, to perfectly utilize the system''s abilities, you must stimte your potential through various external pressures] [Newbie Task: Stay up studying for one night] [Task Reward: Lose five hairs] [Note: Hair can be exchanged for corresponding rewards in the system store] Xiang Beifei looked at Kong Xiuwen''s hair, ck and lush like seaweed, and couldn''t help butugh. Manually removing hair doesn''t count, meaning shaving your head or plucking hair doesn''t qualify. You should know, a normal person has about one hundred thousand strands of hair, someone like Kong Xiuwen, with his robust hair growth, probably has about one hundred fifty thousand. And he, after staying up studying for one night, only lost five hairs! This system, it''s a long and arduous journey! "You''ve awakened an S system, which is quite impressive, it adds 50 points to your college entrance exam," Xiang Beifei said, not really knowing how to feel about Kong Xiuwen''s system, he could only feign ignorance and patted Kong Xiuwen on the shoulder, enviously. "Ah, you have no idea what my system is¡ªnever mind, I can''t discuss systems carelessly. In any case, I would rather not have those extra fifty points," Kong Xiuwen said as he covered his face and sighed. Then he spat viciously, "That so-called Dao achieving expert, he actually tricked me! The pills have no effect whatsoever!" He had just swallowed two pills that had a "fifty percent chance to awaken an SR system," and he ended up awakening an S-tier system. Though he could ept the oue, he was still annoyed by this system. "However, how should I get involved with a system like Kong Xiuwen''s?" Xiang Beifei fell into thought again. It''s not that he coveted Kong Xiuwen''s system rewards, as Kong Xiuwen is a very genuine person, and they have a good rtionship. Even if Beifei were to receive Kong Xiuwen''s rewards, he would return them. But he must consider the types of systems that allow him to receive rewards from others. Such as those "Top Student Futuristic Tech" systems, these systems that train you to be a top student rarely require help from others. Could he then participate in the missions together with others? He needed to properly explore these issues. ¡ª¡ª After thest student awakened the [R-Tier Heavenly Punishment System], the entire awakening ceremony had ended. At Luhe High School, only twenty-one students had awakened an S-tier system, and although everyone wasn''t clear about the specifics of these twenty-one systems, they all envied them. Among these twenty-one, twenty were full of confidence about their futures, but one looked as if he had swallowed a fly, face livid with disgust. Zhuo Jing was still hopping mad, searching everywhere for his system rewards. He didn''t suspect Beifei but was adamant that there had been a mistake with the distribution of his reward and decided to sort it out with the system store when he got back! "Let''s give our warmest apuse to these twenty-one outstanding students! And don''t be discouraged, the system is just a supplement; ultimately, we rely on our own cultivation. I hope everyone can be a strong cultivator!" Principal Li Nanxing gave another rousing speech, especially to those twenty-one students with an S-tier system. Students with an S-tier system, their future aplishments are boundless, This represents the most outstanding students of Luhe High School this year; whatever their systems, it means they have already taken a significant lead, and the others can only look up to them. Li Nanxing naturally wanted to nurture them well. Xiang Beifei, observing these twenty-one S-tier systems, found their systems were indeed impressive, including the [Summoning Monster System], [Dao Achieving System], and the [Heavenly Dao System], among others. These systems,pared to other quirky ones, had a higher likelihood of them bing powerful martial cultivators. With their strong system talents, as long as they diligentlypleted the system tasks, bing powerhouses was just a matter of time. Xiang Beifei received Qi-Controlling Pills from Zhuo Jing, meaning he could step into the Qi-Controlling realm faster than the others. Yet, he stillcked a Cultivation Technique, without which his cultivation could not progress. Of course, there are Cultivation Techniques sold in the market; lots of people, aiming to make money, would sell their system rewards. But these Cultivation Techniques are not only expensive, they are also iplete, mostly fragmented as no one wants their system-awarded techniques to be fully passed on, there would definitely be ws. So Xiang Beifei currently needed to figure out a way to obtain aplete Cultivation Technique. How to do that? That is indeed a problem. Chapter 10: Chapter 10: The Pioneer Having just awakened their systems, everyone was too eager to explore their own systems to have any interest in studying, so the school wisely gave all the senior three students a half-day holiday. After returning to the ssroom, some students hurried off as if they wanted to rush toplete their first system tasks, ready to turn from underachiever to top student, experiencing a reversal of fortune that could change the course of thirty years. Others were chatting with their peers, curious about each other''s systems and attempting to figure out what systems the others had. At most, one could only identify the level of another person''s system but could not know the specifics of it. From the beginning of school, everyone had been indoctrinated with the importance of "keeping your system a secret," so no one would reveal their system type. If someone with malicious intent tried to probe into one''s system to target them, even someone close could potentially divulge it, so keeping it secret was critical, and people generally wouldn''t tell their family members either. After some discussion and finding they couldn''t dig out any information, everyone reluctantly left to attend to their system tasks. Xiang Beifei and Kong Xiuwen left the ssroom together, their homes were nearby, so they headed back in the same direction conveniently. Kong Xiuwen kept running his hands through his thick, jet-ck hair, looking very disconste. There was a time when he took great pride in having a head of hair that even girls would envy, but who would have thought that the system would y such a joke on him! "Am I truly destined to be forever unattractive?" Kong Xiuwen looked up to the sky and let out a long sigh! Curse this hair loss! He was only eighteen years old and was already facing the most devastating process in his life! "Is your system task difficult toplete?" Although Xiang Beifei knew about Kong Xiuwen''s system task, he still feltpelled to ask the polite question. "It''s not that it''s hard to do, it''s just that it''s time to say goodbye to my past self, my youth is over!" Kong Xiuwen''s expression was one of tragic resolve. Hair loss had truly begun. Xiang Beifei knew that Kong Xiuwen was a veryx person, extremelyzy, with a severe tendency to procrastinate. To make him study was like asking for his life, and to have him stay up all night studying was as ludicrous as teaching a pig to climb a tree. "Is the novice task released by your system easy?" Kong Xiuwen inquired. "Just so-so," Xiang Beifei replied indifferently. Xiang Beifei didn''t have a normal system at all and had no concept of what a novice task was. But he had a Soul Condensing Pill and a Qi-Controlling Pill in hand, so he found his way to navigate through the novice period rather simple. After consoling Kong Xiuwen for a bit, Xiang Beifei parted ways with him and walked towards his own home. Kong Xiuwen''s father was a businessman, and his family was quite wealthy, living in a brand-new residential area, while Xiang Beifei lived in an urban vige just across from theplex. He opened the door to an old rental house. The ce was aged, the furniture looked well-used, but the entire room was tidily kept. He lived with his grandfather. Xiang Beifei''s grandfather, named Xiang Qingde, was a vegetable farmer who sold vegetables at the market. As for his parents¡ª When he was very young, Xiang Beifei''s parents went off to the outer wilderness to carry out tasks and never returned. The existence of the outer wilderness was why the world had formed the Jiuzhou Grand Alliance. How vast the outer wilderness is remains unclear to anyone. Because humanity has yet to traverse this expanse of wilderness, they cling to a small corner of the immense, boundless territory, like an isted ind in the midst of the ocean, fiercely guarding their own. In the wilderness beyond human territory, there exist various savage deste beasts that continually invade humannds, devouring our territory. To counter these invasions, humans, through the Awakening System, absorb external Spiritual Energy with the system''s aid, empowering themselves to struggle against the deste beasts. Countless powerful individuals ceaselessly battle these deste beasts, reiming their territories. The human territories were once vast, but three hundred years ago, the Jiuzhou Grand Alliance''s defenses faltered, leading to an invasion by the deste beasts from beyond, which caused a sudden halving of humannds! As the poption has kept growing, space and housing prices have be increasingly strained, making it essential for humanity to gradually expand their territory and bring thosends under the Jiuzhou Grand Alliance''s domain. Expanding territory is not an easy task, as one must always be ready for the deste beasts'' counterattacks, and some terrains are unsuitable for residence, disturbed by poisonous gases from beyond the domain, which must be slowly purified. To reim the lostnds for humanity, a noble profession has arisen within the Alliance, known as "Pioneers." Pioneers are required to carry out missions in the outer wilderness, constantly facing life-threatening dangers. Xiang Beifei''s parents were both Pioneers. But when Xiang Beifei was fourteen, after they set out on a mission, they suddenly disappeared. In the Jiuzhou Grand Alliance, the status of Pioneers is highly esteemed as they battle for human territories, so the Alliance ensures the well-being of the Pioneers'' families. After his parents'' incident, they provided a considerable sum ofpensation. But money is something that will eventually run out; to save on expenses, they moved here. Xiang Beifei''s grandfather also often went out to sell vegetables, saving money to support his grandson. Xiang Beifei nced at the time, it was only eleven o''clock. Normally at this time, he would still be in ss, today, school ended rather early. At that moment, the door creaked open, and an elderly man with grizzled hair hurried in. On seeing Xiang Beifei, he immediately showed a smile. "Beifei, you''re back?" Xiang Qingde put down the basket of vegetables he was carrying, then quickly walked over, apologizing, "Sorry, Beifei. Today was the day for your Awakening System, and I should have been at school to see it, but there was a sudden sanitation inspection at the market. To avoid a fine, I got held up, and by the time I got to the school, sses had already dismissed..." "It''s okay, Grandpa," said Xiang Beifei. Xiang Qingde asked tentatively, "So... what level of system did you awaken?" Xiang Beifei hesitated, then said, "N-level." Xiang Qingde''s expression dimmed slightly. N-level signified the mostmon of people, those whose future aplishments were destined not to be very high. But he quickly said, "N-level is also fine! The system is just an aid after all. As long as one works hard, any system can help us live better. Think about the Governor of Liangzhou in our Jiuzhou Grand Alliance. It''s said that he is a host to an N-level system." The Governor of Liangzhou, Shang Tianxiong, represents a rational archetype. When he first awakened, it was an N-level system, yet he managed to be a high-ranking official in Jiuzhou with sheer perseverance, was written into textbooks, and became a model story for our times. "I understand, Grandpa." Xiang Beifei smiled. In truth, he knew all too well that the higher the level of the system, the more substantial the rewards forpleting system missions, and the faster one''s strength and wealth would increase. This was nearly a universal understanding. Those like Shang Tianxiong, who rose to legendary status starting with an N-level system, are after all a rarity. Xiang Qingde knew this too, yet he still encouraged his grandson, not wanting Xiang Beifei to be disheartened due to the low level of his system. Xiang Beifei looked at his grandfather''s system panel. Then, he frowned slightly. Disyed on his grandfather''s system panel was a snowke. His system appeared to be ¡ª broken. Chapter 11: Chapter 11: The Broken System Grandpa''s system panel was broken, something Xiang Beifei had discovered on the first day he transmigrated back home. During his transmigration, he had inherited the original owner''s memories, but the original Xiang Beifei had never possessed the ability to see other people''s system panels, so he wasn''t clear about what Xiang Qingde''s system was, let alone why his own grandfather had lost his system. Over the past month, the more Xiang Beifei explored the rules of this system world, the more curious he felt. He had seen various people on the streets, and as long as someone reached adulthood, they would awaken their own system, which meant that every adult, regardless of talent, had their own system. Whether it was the "Tracking System" forw enforcement or the "Old Driver System" for those who drove, everyone chose their professions based on their systems. Yet seeing an adult like his grandfather with a system panel turned into static was something Xiang Beifei had never encountered before. But in this world, people couldn''t see others'' system attributes, so Xiang Beifei couldn''t tell his grandfather that he was a transmigrator and could see other people''s system attributes, nor could he openly ask his grandfather why he didn''t have a system panel. "What are you thinking about?" Xiang Qingde had already prepared the meal and cheerfully brought it to the table. "Nothing much, just thinking about my own system," Xiang Beifei replied casually as he sat at the dining table, staring at the broken system panel above his grandfather''s head. "By the way, I haven''t asked yet, which aspect is your system awakened in? Physical strength, intelligence, or financial power? Doespleting system tasks require money?" Xiang Qingde asked. Before Xiang Beifei could answer, Xiang Qingde added, "Whatever the specifics of your system, you don''t need to tell me. It''s a secret, and even the closest people shouldn''t reveal it! But if it requires financial resources, just let me know, and I''ll find a way to gather the money." There was a pension fund at home, which Xiang Qingde had always saved, not spending it, just waiting to use it for his grandson. After a moment''s thought, Xiang Beifei shook his head and said, "I don''t need money for now, my system... um, it''s rted to intelligence." He actually didn''t have a system at all, just an all-white Xiaohei. However, considering his unique circumstances, he decided to keep it a secret for now. "Intelligence?" Xiang Qingde suddenly realized and then said, "An intelligence-based system, that''s good, being smart is better than being simply honest. Don''t be discouraged, just strive hard. Although Grandpa may not be very capable, I will never let you suffer." Xiang Qingde was an optimistic old man who always held hope for life. Even if his grandson had only awakened an N-level system, he believed his grandson could still carve out a future. Xiang Beifei propped up his chin, deep in thought, and after a long while, he asked, "Grandpa, what type of system did you awaken?" Xiang Qingde smiled gently and said, "Grandpa''s system talent isn''t great, just a vegetable-selling system, but telling you won''t hurt. Although I''m also trying hard to make money, even the weakest system can still help us in life." Xiang Beifei looked thoughtfully at Xiang Qingde, not asking further. Days before, he had looked through books rted to systems, learning about system principles. The origin of systems was beyond verification. They seemed to integrate into each person''s genes; after reaching adulthood, they possessed the ability to awaken. Humans without an awakened system had long gone extinct in this world! Everyone would awaken a system¡ªeven if that system was terribly wed. Ordinary means couldn''t cause a system to fail. Of course, low-level systems made the system tasks extremely arduous, but there was still a system interface. But having a system screen turn into static and fail was something Xiang Beifei was hearing about for the first time. So far, there had been no records of system failure in books. Xiang Beifei felt that his grandfather seemed to be hiding something. ¡ª¡ª After dinner, Xiang Beifei returned to his own room and then began to contemte Xiaohei''s situation. Xiaohei, white as a cotton ball,y on Xiang Beifei''s shoulder, yawning sleepily. "Xiaohei, what can you do?" Xiang Beifei ced Xiaohei in the palm of his hand and gently tapped Xiaohei''s head with his finger. "Woof woof!" Xiaohei barked twice, blinked its small eyes a couple of times, and then shook the fur on its body. The immacte white fur suddenly turned pitch ck as ink, like a lump of coal! "Huh? You can transform?" Xiang Beifei looked at Xiaohei in surprise. Xiaohei proudly raised his head, wagging his tail. "Try turning yellow?" "Woof woof!" Xiaohei shook his fur and turned into a white furball. "So your ability is only to turn ck and white?" Xiang Beifei asked. Xiaohei barked twice, unclear what he was trying to express. That''s going to be a problem! Xiang Beifei realized it was very difficult tomunicate with Xiaohei; he was like a newly born, ignorant fellow who couldn''t even speak, makingmunication tough. But at least he had appeared during the Awakening System activation today. Well, might as well treat him as a mascot. Xiang Beifei took out today''s Soul Condensing Pills and Qi-Controlling Pill, weighing them carefully. In this world, there existed Spiritual Energy. Draw the energy into the body, control the energy with your will. The first realm for a cultivator, is called Qi-Controlling. This Qi-Controlling Pill is a beginner''s reward from the S-level system, a powerful system where just one pill can help you step into the realm of Qi-Controlling. In the discipline of "System Integration," it''s mentioned that normal S-level system Awakeners generally step into the realm of Qi-Controlling within five days. An R-level system requires one to six months to reach the Qi-Controlling realm. As for the N-level, it depends on the system type; the least takes a few months, while at most it takes a year, and there are even those taking several years. It is said that the longest record for an N-level system is ten years! S-level system Awakeners have an advantage at the starting line, and it''s not just a casual expression. Xiang Beifei examined the Qi-Controlling Pill, a pill he had gotten from Zhuo Jing, wondering if it would also be effective for him? Just as he was about to try the Qi-Controlling Pill, suddenly Xiaohei jumped over and snatched the pill away. "Hey! That''s my stuff!" Xiang Beifei said. "Woof woof!" Xiaohei pointed at the Qi-Controlling Pill and then at his mouth. "You want to eat it?" Xiang Beifei asked, puzzled. Xiaohei nodded his head. Xiang Beifei remembered today during the activation of the Awakening System, Xiaohei was absorbing a thunderstone but was interrupted by him. Could it be that this guy was running low on energy? Maybe consider recharging him at the outlet? But Xiaohei eagerly hugged the pill, continuously licking it. "Fine, fine, just eat it," Xiang Beifei said helplessly. Xiaohei happily swallowed the Qi-Controlling Pill. An odd aroma spread from Xiaohei''s body, his aura constantly transforming, faint but powerful fluctuations spreading. Xiang Beifei watched Xiaohei in astonishment. This mascot had seemingly transformed from his frail appearance just moments ago, and that somewhat imperceptible authoritative aura was very familiar because he had seen it in many of his teachers¡ª It was the aura of the Qi-Controlling realm! Xiaohei had taken the step into the Qi-Controlling realm before him! Chapter 12: Chapter 12: Learn by Analogy "Woof woof!" Xiaohei barked joyfully twice, then his eyes rolled and he stretched out his little paw, fumbling in the air for a bit. Suddenly, a sh of light passed, and beneath Xiaohei''s feet appeared a strange book. The book was brown, with an antique cover, resembling an ancient tome. It had two peculiar ck and white energies faintly flowing through it. Two characters were written on the cover: [Spirit Gathering] "Spirit Gathering? Spirit Gathering Book? What does this mean?" Xiang Beifei felt curious and flipped open the first page of the Spirit Gathering Book. On the simple page, an image of a star constetion emerged. Each star was extremely dim, shown in gray, and they were not fixed on the page. Instead, they moved slowly, like flowing light. And at the very center of the stars, one ck and one white peculiar sphere circled each other. Within these orbs, there was a line of text: [The Yin Yang Two Qi begin in the void, giving rise to all things in wondrous forms] "Yin Yang Two Qi?" Xiang Beifei stared at the ck and white orbs. In that instant, it was as if everything before his eyes suddenly shook, and he was pulled into the two ck and white rays of light. In the blink of an eye, he found himself amidst a vast expanse of stars. Among those stars, he seemed to see two mysterious children. Xiang Beifei couldn''t make out the appearances of the two children, but there was a very profound aura about them that made his heart tremble. "Haha, shall we choose him?" It was the voice of a young boy, yful and delighted. Xiang Beifei curiously watched the objects in the children''s hands. It could have been an illusion, but it seemed like each of them was holding a cup¡ª Milk tea? "Yes, him, we need to leave, we''re short on time," the other little girl urged the boy. Whoosh! Whoosh! The two figures turned into ck and white energies and disappeared before his eyes. At the same time, all the stars jumped before Xiang Beifei''s eyes, forming a peculiar spectacle. Looking at the dazzling stars, he felt as if he had entered an ethereal realm. His mind cleared of all distractions, leaving only these stars. These stars seemed to be pulling at his senses, and bit by bit, he felt as if he were about to merge with them. Just as this thought shed through his mind, all the stars suddenly contracted back, shooting into his body, moving through his meridians, and then disappeared. Xiang Beifei''s vision flickered, and he found himself still in his room, with nothing particrly different around him. "The Twenty-Eight Constetions?" Images of these stars'' origins surfaced in Xiang Beifei''s mind; he had studied the knowledge of constetions before. Before he had crossed over, he had a great interest in astronomy and had researched the Twenty-Eight Constetions. In a constetion, there are countless stars, but the most representative are only a few. For example, among the Twenty-Eight Constetions, the Horn Constetion is represented by only two stars, Horn Constetion One and Horn Constetion Two. Simrly, the Arrogant Dragon Constetion is represented by four stars. "Woof woof!" Xiaohei barked once, then opened his mouth and spat out a white starlight, whichnded on Horn Constetion One, causing it to quickly light up. Xiang Beifei watched in amazement at Horn Constetion One. "Do these stars need to be lit up?" Xiang Beifei asked. "Woof woof!" Xiaohei then looked towards the Soul Condensing Pill in Xiang Beifei''s hand. This pill was a system reward from Yang Hua. Xiang Beifei hesitantly asked, "Do you want this?" Xiaohei wagged its tail and blinked its eyes. Xiang Beifei hesitated for a moment, then gave the Soul Condensing Pill to Xiaohei. Xiaohei ''smacked'' his lips and swallowed the Soul Condensing Pill in one gulp. Xiang Beifei''s mouth twitched. This was precious stuff, yet Xiaohei just ate it like that, without even chewing. However, considering that Xiaohei hade with him after all, he calmed down to see what Xiaohei was actually going to do. Soon, Xiaohei opened his mouth again and expelled another cluster of white starlight, whichnded on Horn Constetion Two. At that moment, a slender beam of light appeared between the two illuminated stars of Horn Constetion One and Horn Constetion Two, linking them. A light then shed from the connection, transforming into the shadow of a flood dragon. Xiang Beifei immediately knew about this flood dragon in his mind. The Twenty-Eight Constetions were divided into four directions, each direction containing seven constetions. The flood dragon before him must be one of the Seven Constetions of the East, the Horn Constetion, Jiao Mu Jiao! The Jiao Mu Jiao in the sky quickly turned into a shadow and transformed into a turtle shell que. The book also revealed a line of text: [Ability of Jiao Mu Jiao: Learn by Analogy] [Source: Zhou Yi, "Extend and expand it, learn by analogy, and all affairs under heaven can be aplished."] [Ability Introduction: By divination with a turtle shell, one canprehend the essence of things and learn from it] Xiang Beifei looked at the line of text with amazement, his gaze falling on the turtle shell que; the shell then turned into a beam of light and entered his mind. His senses became incredibly sharp in an instant. "Learn by Analogy, do I possess this ability now?" Xiang Beifei was greatly astonished inside, eager to know what this ability could bring him. His gaze fell on a pencil lying on the table. But nothing happened. Did Learn by Analogy require preliminary learning to master simr types of things? He thought for a while, then searched online for how pencils were made. Once he understood the information about pencils, he looked at the pencil on the table, and suddenly, his mind was filled with information: ¡ª¡ªTwilight Pencil, 2 grams, the core made of graphite and y, the body of linden wood, used for 3 months and 2 days,st used 15 hours ago, manufacturing method as follows... Moreover, once he knew how this pencil was made, he instantly understood other types of pens, including fountain pens, ballpoint pens, and gel pens¡ªthe manufacturing methods and detailed information for all kinds of pens. The ability "Learn by Analogy" seemed to allow him to quickly grasp all the knowledge rted to the category of "pens"! "Such a strong learning ability!" Xiang Beifei was moved and searched again, this time for knowledge rted to the wall tiles. Once he figured out the structure and materials of the wall tiles, he suddenly understood the knowledge of other types of tiles. He had only illuminated two stars of the Horn Constetion but already gained such a powerful ability. If he were to light up the remaining twenty-seven constetions, wouldn''t it mean he could have twenty-seven more abilities? "Xiaohei, must the method to illuminate the constetions rely upon system rewards?" Xiang Beifei inquired. "Woof woof!" Xiaohei barked twice while tilting his head. But as Xiang Beifei could not understand the beasts''nguage, he couldn''t be sure whether Xiaohei was agreeing or disagreeing with him. "Why is it so hard tomunicate with you!" Xiang Beifei sighed, but then it urred to him that since he now had the ability "Learn by Analogy," did it mean he could also learn Xiaohei''snguage? "Xiaohei, bark a few more times; I need to understand what you mean," he said, focusing on Xiaohei. "Woof woof!" Xiaohei pointed at himself, then at Xiang Beifei, before starting to gesture excitedly with his paws and feet. Learning anguage was obviously not something that could be achieved instantly; it was much more difficult than learning about pencils, as Xiaohei only had one "woof," and Xiang Beifei needed to analyze its tone andbine it with Xiaohei''s bodynguage to figure it out. "You''re wagging your tail so energetically; tail wagging... wag... wag, which rhymes with handsome. Oh, does that mean you''re saying I''m handsome?" Xiang Beifei asked seriously. Xiaohei stared at Xiang Beifei with a confused expression! "Well then, I''ll take your tail wagging as apliment for my handsomeness from now on!" Xiang Beifei dered cheerfully. Xiaohei extended a paw toward the clock on the table, then pointed his paw at Xiang Beifei''s face. "One paw, clock... face... Oh, are you gesturing that looking at my face, I seem like a handsome and talented man?" Xiang Beifei pondered and said. Xiaohei: "..." Chapter 13: Chapter 13: Confucian Saint System Learning Xiaohei''snguage wasn''t too hard, Xiang Beifei understood what Xiaohei could understand, but Xiang Beifei couldn''t understand Xiaohei''s barks, so Xiang Beifei tried a different approach. He would say something and let Xiaohei "trante" it using his barks. "Praise me for being handsome in your barknguage," Xiang Beifei said. Xiaohei: "..." "Hurry up, I need to learn your barknguage, this is a very serious matter," Xiang Beifei insisted solemnly. Xiaohei, looking disgusted and reluctant, barked: "Woof woof woof." As this barknguage was spoken, the ability to Learn by Analogy added something to Xiang Beifei''s mind, as if some barriers had been broken through. He sorted out the meaning of Xiaohei''s barks. Xiaohei''s barknguage had only one sound, but depending on the speed and tone of the barks, as well as the pauses between barks, it conveyed different meanings. So, their conversation became quite peculiar. "So, now that I''ve activated the Horn Constetion, if I want to gain another ability, I need to light up the Arrogant Dragon Constetion next?" "Woof woof woof!" "The Arrogant Dragon Constetion has four stars, does that mean I need to obtain four rewards from other people''s systems? Any reward will do?" "Woof woof woof!" "Oh, it has to be a reward from a system of the same realm as mine or higher? Then why don''t I just not upgrade and participate in other people''s system tasks as a normal person?" "Woof woof woof!" "Oh, that won''t work?" ... Xiang Beifei basically understood what Xiaohei meant. This world was filled with abundant Spiritual Energy, and being able to absorb Spiritual Energy to improve oneself was key to advancing one''s realm. For cultivators wanting to absorb this Spiritual Energy, progressing in cultivation was very slow if relying solely on oneself. The existence of the system was to make everyone''s cultivation faster. The system each person awakened would assess the host''s situation and assist people in this world in different ways. No matter what profession they were in, the system could help them achieve their goals faster and be stronger. In the world of systems, Spiritual Energy was key! When other people advanced their realms, they could rely on the system to extract Spiritual Energy and convert it into system rewards. For example, a Qi-Controlling Pill could directly advance someone to the Qi-Controlling realm, skipping the cultivation process. But that didn''t work for Xiang Beifei; rewards that directly increased cultivation were ineffective on him. This meant that even if he had taken the Qi-Controlling Pill just now, he wouldn''t have been able to reach the Qi-Controlling realm. He needed toy a solid foundation, step by step, through his own cultivation to improve his realm. Luckily, all system rewards could be viewed as a type of Spiritual Qi Crystal in Xiaohei''s eyes. Whether it was Qi-Controlling Pills or Soul Condensing Pills, once obtained, Xiaohei could turn them into Spiritual Qi Crystals to help Xiang Beifei. Each constetion in that book actually needed to be activated with Spiritual Qi Crystals. Xiaohei would convert the system rewards that Xiang Beifei obtained back into Spiritual Qi Crystals, infuse them into the Spirit Gathering Book, then light up constetions to obtain different abilities. However, since different constetions required different intensities of Spiritual Energy to activate their abilities, many powerful abilities in the Spirit Gathering Book required a higher level of cultivation to use, so Xiang Beifei had to take it slow. To Xiang Beifei, it didn''t matter what others'' rewards were; he saw them all as Spiritual Qi Crystals. The book provided him with a cultivation technique called the "Two Qi Form," which is Chaotic Yin and Yang. This technique was extremelyplex, mysterious, and profound. Xiang Beifei pondered it for a long time before realizing that cultivation was not something that could be aplished overnight. So far, Xiaohei was still better than him. There are gains and losse s. Xiang Beifei was in good spirits. This afternoon was a holiday, and he needed to spend time practicing the "Two Qi Form." ¡ª¡ª Luhe High School, principal''s office. "Strange, is that boy really just an N-level system?" Li Nanxing sat in his chair, staring at the thunderstone in front of him with a furrowed brow. This thunderstone was precisely the one that malfunctioned that morning during the test. Li Nanxing''s memory of the incident was still fresh because the thunderstone had lit up with a golden-yellow glow indicating a UR-level system, causing him an indescribable excitement! After all, that was a legendary UR system! If a student under his supervision had awakened a UR-level system, then their Luhe High School would be famous throughout the entire Jiuzhou education sector! But most importantly¡ª His Confucian Sage System''s tasks were bing increasingly difficult toplete, and his cultivation had been stagnant for quite some time. If a UR System Awakener emerged from his school and he properly nurtured this talented student to make a name for themselves, he too would step into a new realm! Unfortunately, it ended up being just a false rm. He had already checked once in the morning, finding no response from the thunderstone and thinking it really was broken, but after the system awakening ceremony, the more he thought about it, the more he felt something was amiss, so he took the thunderstone to check it again. Li Nanxing reached out and touched the thunderstone, his hand shimmering with a strange light, and his Spiritual Power entered the thunderstone. One minuteter. Zap! The previously inert thunderstone suddenly sparked with blue electricity! Electric sparks joyfully danced over the Thunder Stone, crackling pleasantly and crisply. Li Nanxing''s expression faltered! "This Thunder Stone... The Thunder Stone isn''t broken!" His heart started pounding again! Could it be¡ª Li Nanxing hastily took out a ss jar from the cab behind him. The ss jar was tightly sealed, with blue lightning asionally flickering inside. Thunder Stone is a type of high-tech product, with its energy derived from the outer realms'' wilderness. This kind of lightning ismon in the outer realms'' wilderness and is not hard to collect; every school has a substantial reserve of it. When the Thunder Stone''s energy used to awaken system talents is depleted, it needs to be recharged with this backup energy. Li Nanxing inserted the ss jar into the groove of the Thunder Stone and gave it a twist, causing the Thunder Stone to immediately tremble into action! Whirr! The Thunder Stone restored to its original state! "Could it really¡ªreally have run out of power?" Li Nanxing muttered to himself. This morning, before the awakening ceremony, he made sure to charge all the Thunder Stones; one Thunder Stone was supposed to awaken a hundred students, and there were about fifty people in each ss. One Thunder Stone per ss¡ªit shouldn''t have been possible for the Thunder Stone''s energy to run out under normal circumstances. Li Nanxing looked at his "Confucian Sage System" interface and said, "Pull up Xiang Beifei''s data for me, let''s see his seat number." The Confucian Sage System stored all student data from Li Nanxing''s school, including Xiang Beifei''s enrollment information. Soon, a line appeared on the system interface: [Xiang Beifei, N-level System Awakener, ss Seat Number 37] "Was he the 37th to be tested in their ss? Then it couldn''t have been him who depleted the Thunder Stone''s energy!" The more Li Nanxing thought about it, the more bewildered he became. "Could it be that his system level is too powerful, exceeding what the Thunder Stone can handle?" This thought popped into Li Nanxing''s mind! But he quickly dismissed his own guess. "No, the most powerful talent systems are of the UR level; it should not be due to this reason." Li Nanxing was very certain of this! His "Confucian Sage System" was extremely special and couldpletely discern the system talent level of each student. He reviewed the system values in the "Confucian Sage System" today: [Student Liu Qianrou, awakened S-level talent, your prestige +1000] [Student Zhuo Jing, awakened S-level talent, your prestige +1000] ... [Student Zhang Tian, awakened R-level talent, your prestige +100] ... [Student Xiang Beifei, awakened N-level talent, your prestige +10] ---- The prestige points Xiang Beifei added to Li Nanxing''s Confucian Sage System were only 10! This indicates that Xiang Beifei indeed only awakened to the most ordinary N-level system. "Could it really just be a misunderstanding?" Li Nanxing frowned; he couldn''t figure it out and could only attribute it to some fluke. In the school he managed, every student who awakened to a system would add prestige points to him. He had worked hard his whole life, bing a high school principal, all for these prestige points. The higher the realm, the more prestige points required to advance, and although today he awakened twenty-one S-level talent students and over a hundred R-level ones, it was still far from enough to promote him to the next realm. The more students the school had, the more system values they would add to him. However, the Jiuzhou alliance is very strict about education; it is not so easy to expand student enrollment. Thus, he could only focus on improving student quality, trying his best to cultivate them so they could be sessful in the future. Generally speaking, even if many years have passed since a student graduated, making a name for themselves would still add to his prestige. Those with S-level potential are naturally extraordinary, but there are also many N-level students who have risen above to be exceptional individuals. His many years of experience in education had taught him this truth, so he wouldn''t look down on any student with poor grades, trying to treat everyone equally. For him, the ideal scenario would be for every student who graduates from Luhe High School to be an elite in the future. "I really wish he had a UR-level talent!" Li Nanxing looked at Xiang Beifei''s data with regret in his heart. An emergence of a student with UR-level talent would add at least a million prestige points to him, and the system reward would probably be unprecedentedly generous! Chapter 14: Chapter 14: Simple and Unadorned Love Sensing the Spiritual Energy of this world seemed not difficult for Xiang Beifei. He circted the Chaos Yin-Yang Form once, and a faint trace of Spiritual Power flowed vaguely within his body. This Spiritual Power spread throughout the meridians of his entire body, feeling his constitution and making him feel rejuvenated. "Is this the Qi-Controlling Realm?" Xiang Beifei stood up, stretchingzily. It had taken him about ten hours to step into the Qi-Controlling Realm through his own cultivation. The Qi-Controlling Realm is the foundation for cultivators. For those with S-rank systems, usually, their first task would allow them to step into the Qi-Controlling Realm. People with R-rank and N-rank systems who are willing to work hard on their tasks can also be Qi-Controlling practitioners within a few months. Unless it''s a system with unreasonably difficult tasks, normally anyone could reach the Qi-Controlling Realm within a year. However, most people began to show disparities after entering the Qi-Controlling Realm. Many might remain at the early stage of the Qi-Controlling Realm for their entire lives, or it might take them ten years to reach the middle stage, depending on the difficulty of the system''s tasks. ¡ª¡ª Xiang Beifei looked out the window, and it was already dark. He had been cultivating from yesterday afternoon until night. He walked out of the bedroom and found that his grandfather had already gone to sleep but had left him dinner kept warm in the rice cooker. Xiang Qingde knew that Xiang Beifei had just awakened his system and needed to explore it, so he didn''t disturb him. Xiang Beifei hurried through his dinner, then went straight to sleep. The next morning, Xiang Qingde, as usual, made breakfast and then went to the market. After breakfast, Xiang Beifei walked toward school. Along the way, he observed the systems of the people he passed. He liked to watch everyone''s systems; many of them were quite interesting, and although they didn''t possess muchbat power, they could still achieve sess. Like the "N-level Inte Celebrity System," its host was a beauty with a chin sharp enough to crack walnuts. The system''s task was to increase her strength based on the number of followers, and currently, she had only reached twenty thousand followers. When passing by the hospital, some doctors who had just started their shifts were at the entrance, and although they were not yet inb coats, Xiang Beifei could identify them in the crowd at a nce. A young man with sses hurriedly alighted from the bus, and he had awakened the "Live Surgery System," whose ultimate task was to be a leading figure in the medical field. The systems of the other doctors mostly rted to the medical field, such as the "Skillful Healer System" and the "Strongest Dentist System." After arriving at school, Xiang Beifei went up the stairs and saw a familiar person at the entrance on the upper floor. It was Liu Qianrou, the genius girl who was the first to awaken an S-rank system yesterday! Liu Qianrou had awakened the Backup Snatch System. Every backup she found and interacted with would grant her the backup''s power. At that moment, her task interface showed that she already had twenty-one backups! "What a powerful social butterfly." Xiang Beifei couldn''t help but admire in secret. In just one afternoon and evening, Liu Qianrou had gained so many backups! He wondered where she went yesterday for the encounter. Liu Qianrou looked frail and quiet, seemingly harmless, and her pitiful big eyes made others feel very protective. Nobody could associate her with the word "scheming." At this moment, she was probably looking for her twenty-second backup. Xiang Beifei nced toward the boy talking with Liu Qianrou. The boy was handsome and somewhat famous as the heartthrob of ss five, known as Xiao Sa, and was a notable figure in their year. Xiao Sa had a handsome and spirited look, with a high nose bridge and a striking appearance that drew attention in any crowd. His family was wealthy, he wore designer clothes, and he was eloquent, very popr among the girls. The two leaned against the banister, the morning breeze teasing their hair, and the rising sun shone on them, outlining their figures in a fresh and gentle light. "Why do you always look at me like that?" Liu Qianrou lowered her head, her face slightly red. Xiao Sa smiled gently, "You should ask yourself why you are so pretty that I can''t take my eyes off you." His voice was low and rich, with an irresistible maism. Liu Qianrou''s face was nowpletely flushed. She covered her face with her hands, sneaking a nce at Xiao Sa through the gaps between her fingers, then quickly covered her eyes again. She looked like a girl, naive to the ways of the world, suddenly pursued and somewhat at a loss. "How do I know that you are telling the truth?" Liu Qianrou asked shyly. Xiao Sa stretched out his hand and held Liu Qianrou''s palm, his eyes bright with her reflection, as if she were his whole world. "The morning sun is so warm, yet it doesn''tpare to your smile. How could I deceive you?" He slightly leaned toward Liu Qianrou, whispering softly, "Will you be my girlfriend, please?" The simple and honest whisper echoed in Liu Qianrou''s ears. To a girl, it was all about a sense of security. Liu Qianrou seemed very conflicted as she shook her head, saying, "I''m about to graduate, and I want to focus on my studies and get into a good university." "Is that so?" Xiao Sa seemed a bit disappointed. Liu Qianrou lowered her voice, looked up into Xiao Sa''s eyes, thinking he was going to give up, and then hastily added, "But if you can wait for me, after graduation, I will consider it." Xiao Sa, hearing Liu Qianrou''s words, smiled, a smile with a contagious quality, as refreshing as a spring breeze. "Okay, I can wait for you, even if it takes forever, I will wait!" ... Beifei was dumbstruck hearing the two''s romantic exchange. Such green, straightforward love! Two young hearts, creating brilliant sparks, heart-wrenchingly beautiful! Had it not been for Beifei seeing Liu Qianrou''s system panel rapidly increasing ¡ª [You''ve gained an S-tier backup, backup value +1] [You''ve conversed with an S-tier backup, you''ve snatched the backup''smunication skill, yourmunication skill +20] [You shook hands with an S-tier backup, you''ve snatched the backup''s arm strength, your arm strength +20] ... Xiao Sa was clearly an S-tier system''s Awakener, no doubt, this S-tier backup was powerful. Just yesterday, a normal boy had been snatched by Liu Qianrou and only gave 1 point, while Xiao Sa could add 20 points! No wonder Liu Qianrou approached Xiao Sa. Beifei shifted his gaze from Liu Qianrou''s system, looking toward Xiao Sa''s system ¡ª [Host: Xiao Sa] [S-tier, Bootlicker System] [Stage: Early Qi-Controlling] ... Xiao Sa''s system panel was also increasing rapidly ¡ª [You''ve sessfully captured the heart of S-tier talent Liu Qianrou, gaining her favor] [You shook hands with Liu Qianrou, you''ve snatched her poise, your poise +20] [Youplimented Liu Qianrou, you''ve snatched her charm, your charm +20] ... Beifei nced at Xiao Sa, then Liu Qianrou, and was dumbfounded. The two systems ¡ª One a Backup System, the other a Bootlicker System. Mutual... snatching? Such in love, yet so moving. It brings tears to one''s eyes. Chapter 15: Chapter 15: Liu Qianrou "It seems that my idea yesterday was wrong," Xiang Beifei sighed. Being a bootlicker doesn''t necessarily mean you end up with nothing. As long as you have the system, you can lick your way to a bright universe! Xiao Sa and Liu Qianrou, both well-known figures in their grade, had both awakened S-level systems yesterday and were widely known¡ªthese two were definitely in the spotlight now. But Liu Qianrou didn''t agree to be with Xiao Sa because she had to y the long game, fishing for big fish. Her system was designed to find backups, not a real boyfriend. If she had immediately agreed to be with Xiao Sa and they had confirmed their rtionship, other righteous boys would recoil in fear, hindering her backup hunting. However, if she kept the rtionship ambiguous, just teasing him and making all the boys think they still had a chance, she could fulfill her system''s tasks. Liu Qianrou was masquerading as the innocent girl, reaping her backups. So, when S-level talent Xiao Sa approached her today, she agreed without much thought. But she probably didn''t realize that Xiao Sa had his own agenda too! Xiao Sa''s awakened system was the S-level Bootlicker System. Liu Qianrou was a girl with high talent and good looks. He didn''t hesitate at all and went straight for the lick! Everyone could only see their own system and had no way of seeing others'', so Liu Qianrou and Xiao Sa were both unaware of each other''s systems. Thus, they hadn''t yet realized what was happening to them. After all, it was a consensual deal, both aiming for their tasks, no debts owed. "I really hope those two get together!" Xiang Beifei was eager to see how their systems would y out. What each seized from the other was different, and it seemed like their systems had not recognized that the other''s system had plundered some qualities from their hosts; there were no prompts about this. If they were together, one madly licking, the other ying hard to get, who would win in the end? Xiang Beifei was contemting this when Liu Qianrou and Xiao Sa parted with longing looks, ncing back three steps and swaying heads every five as they headed to their respective ssrooms. At the corner, Liu Qianrou happened to bump into Xiang Beifei. Her heart suddenly skipped. "Hey, isn''t that Xiang Beifei from ss 7?" Liu Qianrou took a second look at Xiang Beifei. Yesterday, when the thunderstone incident urred, Xiang Beifei had be famous throughout the school! Everyone knew that Xiang Beifei''s thunderstone had emitted a golden glow symbolic of the UR-level! The moment the glow appeared, the whole school was watching, thinking that a peerless genius was about to emerge at Luhe High School. Everyone was quickly inquiring about who this person was. But it turned out to be a misunderstanding. Everyone harbored a schadenfreude attitude toward Xiang Beifei; after all, no one wanted others to have a better awakened talent than theirs. In the end, Xiang Beifei had awakened the weakest N-level system, bringing some bnce to everyone''s feelings. And thus, the name Xiang Beifei was also memorably etched into their minds. Liu Qianrou recognized Xiang Beifei and thought deprecatingly that he was only an N-level Awakener. After all, an S-level like Xiao Sa had a much stronger plundering abilitypared to an N-level Awakener! However, considering that she was still a novice, she shouldn''t be too picky. A mosquito''s leg is still meat, after all. Yes, right! Don''t dismiss any potential backups! "Yesterday he went through a great upheaval in his life, and today his mood must be quite down. If I show some kindness now, I could probably turn him into my backup with just a few words," Liu Qianrou pondered internally. Anyone who experienced what Xiang Beifei went through would hardly remain calm¡ªthinking they were about to be a peerless genius, stepping into the spotlight of a life''s peak, only to be knocked back down to square one. Those with unstable minds would probably go mad. Even if not mad, the mind might be hazy. So now must be his weakest moment in terms of mental defense. If Ifort him, he might end up overflowing with gratitude and start to admire me from the bottom of his heart, eventually bing truly devoted as a backup. I would have one more target to plunder! "Good morning, Xiang Beifei." Liu Qianrou gave Xiang Beifei an innocent smile. "You recognize me?" Xiang Beifei asked, puzzled. "Who in the school doesn''t know you?" Liu Qianrou replied. "Oh, is that so!" Xiang Beifei suddenly realized. It seems I really have be famous, probably a whole bunch of people are waiting to see me make a fool of myself. No problem, just stay steady. Don''t panic. Liu Qianrou earnestly said, "The ordeal you went through yesterday must have been very upsetting. I sincerely hope our school can produce a UR-level genius so he can set a benchmark for us all, bing a role model for everyone to follow." Sincerely hope my foot! "You''re right," Xiang Beifei responded nonchntly. "But don''t be discouraged. The principal said yesterday that there are countless examples of N-level Awakeners turning the tables. With perseverance, determination, hope for the future, and a positive approach, you can definitely achieve great things!" Liu Qianrou''s voice was potent and inspiring. Xiang Beifei paused. He understood. This girl, wants to make me her backup? Liu Qianrou spoke so earnestly, and if Xiang Beifei couldn''t see other people''s system information, he would have almost believed her. But what''s in it for me to be your backup? Xiang Beifei checked the other''s system rewards. The rewards need to entice me before I consider cooperating and bing your potential backup. Otherwise, I''ll just end up being plundered of various powers by you for nothing. What a loss! On Liu Qianrou''s system panel, there was the next phase''s target and reward¡ª [Backup value reaches 30, receive an S-level Agility Secret Manual which enhances bodily agility. The subsequent plundering of the backup''s agility ability value increases by 1 point] So by increasing the amount I plunder from 1 point of agility to 2 points? "Xiaohei, can this agility secret manual unlock a constetion?" Xiang Beifei looked at Xiaohei on his shoulder. Others couldn''t see Xiaohei, and he couldmunicate with Xiaohei in his mind. "Woof, woof!" Xiaohei barked softly in denial. Having learned Xiaohei''s dognguage, Xiang Beifei could now trante it intoprehensiblenguage in his mind. "So, this reward is useless?" Xiang Beifei felt somewhat disappointed. Because to unlock the next constetion, he needed a higher strength of Spiritual Qi Crystal, meaning the rewards from others needed to be higher too. If Xiang Beifei were to unlock the first constetion, this manual might suffice, but to unlock the second constetion, Liu Qianrou''s manual clearly isn''t up to par. That''s unfortunate. "Then, can I learn this secret manual?" Xiang Beifei asked again. After all, it''s an S-level manual that improves bodily agility. "Woof! Woof, woof, woof! Woof, woof!" Xiaohei barked cheerfully. Xiang Beifei understood. This thing wasn''t suitable for him, but he could collect all these rewards and convert them into Spiritual Qi Crystals. As long as he has enough Spiritual Qi Crystals, he could unlock the constetions. This actually isn''t too bad. Chapter 16: Chapter 16: Free Shipping! However, if he had to cooperate and be her backup, his body''s various qualities would be plundered by the other party. Xiang Beifei was pondering whether this exchange was worth it. He didn''t have much cultivation anyway, and being plundered by Liu Qianrou of those powers felt like a loss. At this moment, Liu Qianrou spoke again, "Xiang Beifei, you must not give up hope! Keep pushing, and if you encounter any difficulties, feel free toe to me." Liu Qianrou had already lowered her stance significantly, constantly watching her system panel. ¡ªI''ve been so gentle and considerate, so why haven''t you be my backup yet? You fool, admire me quickly! I am running out of time! She was getting impatient. If it weren''t for getting through the newbie period, she wouldn''t bother talking to such an N-level person! Xiang Beifei then asked Xiaohei, "How much power does this plundering equate to? How much power do I have for her to plunder?" Xiaohei said, "ording to the other''s system conversion, the strength of an ordinary person is about 500 points, Qi-Controlling period is about 1000 points." 1000 points, losing 1 point doesn''t hurt at all. "Then, can the power that was plundered be recovered?" Xiang Beifei asked. "Yes, but the Spiritual Qi Crystal I swallowed yesterday has leftovers, which can be converted into 300 system points; you can use those to offset the loss," Xiaohei woofed. Alright then! Since that''s the case, I might as well go along with it. "Thank you, Qianrou, I didn''t expect you to care about me so much." Xiang Beifei looked at Liu Qianrou, his face sincere. He had already confirmed that he could choose independently whether to participate in someone else''s tasks. Liu Qianrou''s system panel disyed a line of text: [The other party has expressed gratitude to you, you have gained a potential backup, backup value +1, please work hard to develop him into your official backup] [You conversed with a potential backup, yourmunication skills were plundered from the other party, yourmunication skills +1] ... "Where! Where! We are all ssmates, mutual help is natural." Liu Qianrou gave Xiang Beifei a gentle and thoughtful smile. But a hint of scorn shed in the depths of her eyes. ¡ªHmph, if it wasn''t for the system, would I care about you, an N-level Awakener? Don''t even look in the mirror, I, an S-level genius girl, am out of your league! You pathetic thing, being sold and still clueless! Liu Qianrou sneered disdainfully in her heart, but outwardly she remained demure and graceful. Potential backup only meant that there was a chance to be a backup; this rtionship was unstable, and not much ability was plundered; any boy could be her potential backup. But an official backup was the target she wanted to develop. Her backup value had already reached twenty-three, just seven more backups to go before she could get that Cultivation Technique. With the task at hand urgent, she had to quickly look for her next target. Xiang Beifei shrugged his shoulders; he clearly knew what Liu Qianrou was thinking¡ªsuch outwardly sweet girls were deeply scheming. But he didn''t mind. Once Liu Qianrou found another seven backups, that Cultivation Technique would be his. With her ability, she should probably finish today, right? "By the way, Xiaohei, if shepletes the task and I''m not around her, will the reward stille to me?" Xiang Beifei asked. Xiaohei wagged his tail, carefreely woofing, "Within a certain distance, express delivery is postage free!" "Awesome!" Postage free¡ªthose two words sounded soforting. Xiang Beifei couldn''t help but think of every time he shopped online; the same product, one store sold for 89 yuan but added 10 yuan shipping, another sold for 99 yuan but with postage included. He would definitely choose thetter. Not for anything else, just for "postage free." Truly. Xiang Beifei quickly arrived at his ssroom. There were already about a dozen people in the ssroom, all of whom had awakened their systems yesterday. Most of them looked excited, pondering how toplete their tasks, but some had furrowed brows, seemingly finding their system tasks quite challenging. Xiang Beifei''s deskmate, Lu Ze, had awoken to the "R-level Dungeon System," a video game-type system, which he wouldplete by clearing game levels. This was a virtual game where he would be taken by the system into relevant game scenarios. For each level cleared, the system would provide corresponding rewards. As a beginner, he had ten lives per day. When Xiang Beifei checked the other''s system panel, he found that Lu Ze had already cleared six levels, but he had used up all his lives for the day, looking like he had stayed up all night gaming hard. He was now somewhat troubled, as the rewards from clearing six levels were far from enough to help him enter the Qi-Controlling realm. Xiang Beifei was wondering whether he could participate in this kind of system himself? It wouldn''t be bad if he had the chance to help him y the game as well. He wanted to understand the characteristics of each system, so as to have a better grounding in the world governed by these systems. However, his rtionship with Lu Ze wasn''t too bad, so he wasn''t going to scheme for Lu Ze''s system rewards, and he would return them even if he did obtain them. ¡ª¡ª "Morning." Kong Xiuwen yawned as he sat down next to Xiang Beifei, shoved his school bag into his drawer, andy down on the desk sighing. "Morning." Xiang Beifei looked at Kong Xiuwen''s system panel and saw that he had finallypleted a task. Which meant that he had lost five strands of hair! Of course,pared to 150,000 strands of hair, this was just a drop in the ocean. "You look out of sorts, did you stay upte?" Xiang Beifei asked. Under his dark circles, Kong Xiuwen said, "You would never believe what I didst night." He tugged at his thick hair, both sentimental and exhausted. He still couldn''t ept the fact that he had awakened the "Bald System." "Definitely doing a system task, it''s the same for everyone." Xiang Beifei said. In fact, he had slept quite soundlyst night. "Yeah! I''m so tired, was up all night studying!" Kong Xiuwen said listlessly. Xiang Beifei looked at Kong Xiuwen''s system shop, where the hair Kong Xiuwen lost while doing his tasks could be used as currency to be exchanged. One strand of hair could be exchanged for a drop of Stimting Elixir. Five strands of hair could be exchanged for a Qi-Controlling Pill. And Kong Xiuwen had already stepped into the Qi-Controlling realm. S-ss systems are indeed powerful! So far, all the S-ss System Awakeners Xiang Beifei had encountered had be cultivators in the Qi-Controlling realm within a day. Including Liu Qianrou, Xiao Sa, and Kong Xiuwen. As for the ss president, Zhuo Jing¡ª Xiang Beifei nced around the ssroom and spotted Zhuo Jing sitting in the front row. Yesterday, this guy had tried to fish for appreciation by showing off in a phony disy, and Xiang Beifei, unable to watch any longer, happily epted his system rewards. But he was suddenly surprised to find that Zhuo Jing had also stepped into the Qi-Controlling realm! Without his Qi-Controlling Pills, how could he have reached the Qi-Controlling realm? Xiang Beifei couldn''t help but look at the task Zhuo Jing''s system had posted: "[Record a wild video and upload it, achieving 500 likes on socialworking sites]" By now, Zhuo Jing''s appreciation value had reached 619. "What kind of video could have gotten him 619 likes overnight?" Xiang Beifei was very curious. Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Attitude He clicked on the video that the other party had uploaded to the system panel and nced at it, then froze for a moment. In the video, Zhuo Jing was dressed in ck women''s clothing, with a thickyer of foundation, puckering his lips alluringly in front of the camera, blinking his long eyshes, and using a voice changer to sing in a sweet, girlish tone, "Flying to Someone Else''s Bed"... Ah! This... was wild enough! Xiang Beifei didn''t continue watching; he needed to wash his eyes. Normally, this guy had the image of a tall and strong guy, but now he had made this kind of video! Beifei felt that he could never look at this guy the same way again. Moreover, judging by Zhuo Jing''s demeanor, he didn''t seem to feel ashamed; on the contrary, he seemed to enjoy it? People''s hearts are unpredictable! Zhuo Jing had awakened the S-level Appreciation System, which couldn''t be manipted with fake likes; it had to be calcted based on real people. This bizarre video, once posted, amassed over 600 likes overnight. And Zhuo Jing''s appreciation value was also a type of currency; he used 500 likes to exchange for a Qi-Controlling Pill in his system''s store. Thus, Zhuo Jing failed his first mission, but still stepped into the Qi-Controlling realm with his second mission. For those with S-level systems,pleting initial tasks was much simpler than for ordinary people. This was also why those Awakeners with higher talents had greater achievements in the future. Xiang Beifei shifted his gaze back; he was tempted to give Zhuo Jing''s video another like, as that would mean the next reward would probably be shipped his way again. But Beifei restrained himself. Because if Xiang Beifei liked the video, Zhuo Jing''s system would receive a notification. If a reward disappeared once, it could be said that there was a system error, and Zhuo Jing wouldn''t associate it with Xiang Beifei. But if it happened often, Zhuo Jing would definitely notice that each disappearance involved Xiang Beifei, and he would surely be suspicious. You don''t always have to fleece the same sheep. Give other sheep some chances. Or¡ª Wait for another season to fleece. Xiang Beifei shifted his focus back; he wasmunicating with Xiaohei, while on the side, Kong Xiuwen had already started snoring on the desk, his snoring loud due tock of sleep from staying upte the previous night. The ss bell rang, and the homeroom teacher, Yang Hua, walked into the ssroom, which quickly quieted down. With this silence, Kong Xiuwen''s snoring became quite jarring. Yang Hua frowned, a sh of anger in his eyes; someone dared to sleep during his ss! This was a perfect opportunity for criticism! However, when his gazended on Kong Xiuwen, a strange expression flickered across his eyes. At this moment, everyone in the ss was looking at Kong Xiuwen, some gloating to see how the homeroom teacher would criticize him. Xiang Beifei nudged Kong Xiuwen with his elbow, quietly reminding him that ss had started. Kong Xiuwen groggily opened his eyes, saw the homeroom teacher, startled, and quickly straightened up. But what Yang Hua said next surprised everyone¡ª "Kong Xiuwen, you must be very tired fromst night? It''s fine, if you feel tired, you can sleep a bit more during ss, no big deal." Yang Hua said to Kong Xiuwen with care. Kong Xiuwen''s mouth fell open, his eyes almost popping out, thinking he had heard wrong. The homeroom teacher, actually allowing him to sleep in his own ss? The other students also looked envious and jealous. Actually, they probably also understood why the homeroom teacher''s attitude changed so quickly. Kong Xiuwen''s grades were poor, but he was an S-rank System Awakener! Kong Xiuwen and Xiang Beifei had always been at the bottom of their ss, with extremely poor academic performance. Yang Hua often criticized them to increase his own system''s value. Just Xiang Beifei and Kong Xiuwen alone had added who knows how many prestige points to Yang Hua. But today, Yang Hua found Kong Xiuwen utterly pleasing to the eye. The reason was nothing else but that yesterday Kong Xiuwen had awakened an S-rank system, which had increased his prestige value by 500 points! An increase of 500 points at once was much faster than gaining one point at a time through criticism! The ''R-rank Master Dao System'' allowed teachers to increase their prestige value not just through criticizing students but also when students felt grateful or admired him. However, Yang Hua found that relying on gratitude and admiration to increase prestige value was too slow, so he preferred to establish his authority through criticism. But now facing S-rank system awakener Kong Xiuwen, he couldn''t criticize him anymore. An S-rank System Awakener was bound to achieve great things in the future. Yang Hua himself was merely an R-rank System Awakener. It was only a matter of time before Kong Xiuwen surpassed him. Therefore, Yang Hua needed to change his tactics; he nned to make Kong Xiuwen feel grateful to him. Yang Hua continued to speak to Kong Xiuwen, "Kong Xiuwen, you are now an S-rank System Awakener, you should listen to the lessons carefully. I will rearrange a seat for you. How about you sit next to Zhuo Jing?" Yang Hua was very approachable as he took care of Kong Xiuwen. Kong Xiuwen was stunned. His homeroom teacher, who criticized him daily, was suddenly so concerned about him, making him feel very uneasy. "No... no need," Kong Xiuwen hurriedly said. He had always disliked Zhuo Jing''s style. This guy often mocked him and Xiang Beifei; they simply didn''t get along. "How can that be? Sitting together with Xiang Beifei will severely hold you back. You should sit with Zhuo Jing; that way, you can push each other to improve. Both of you have S-rank talents and can share your insights." Yang Hua said thoughtfully, "You have a boundless future ahead, and you must not be influenced by Xiang Beifei. I need to take responsibility for you guys! He''s hopeless, not at all in your league." Just thinking of Xiang Beifei made Yang Hua angry! His own system had malfunctioned yesterday, but aside from that, he had thought Xiang Beifei was a hidden talent about to awaken the incredibly rare UR System. He had even prepared to increase his prestige value by hundreds of thousands of points. But it had all turned out to be a false hope. This made him very dissatisfied! If Xiang Beifei had awakened the UR System, he definitely would have weed him with open arms, and he wouldn''t have said a word even if Xiang Beifei skipped sses. But Xiang Beifei was just an N-rank! Noticing something off about Xiang Beifei''s hair, Yang Hua eximed, "Xiang Beifei, I told you to get a haircut yesterday. Why haven''t you done it yet?" [You have criticized Xiang Beifei, Teacher Prestige Value +1] Xiang Beifei touched his hair. Everyone had just awakened their systems yesterday; how could he remember that? Xiang Beifei listened indifferently to Yang Hua''s words, said nothing, and just quietly stared at Yang Hua''s system interface¡ª [Mission Target: Reach 15000 teacher prestige value, exchangeable for one Qi and Blood Pill] [Remark: Qi and Blood Pill, temporarily enhances one''s strength tobat individuals one minor stage higher] "Now that''s a nice item, free shipping too," Xiang Beifei muttered to himself. Chapter 18: Chapter 18: Literary Dao and Martial Dao Yang Hua was still waiting for Kong Xiuwen''s response when Kong Xiuwen, surprised by Yang Hua''s sudden change of attitude toward him, had yet to recover. After a moment, Kong Xiuwen shook his head, "No need, teacher, I''m used to sitting at the back, and it''s quite nice sitting with Xiang Beifei." Yang Hua nced at Xiang Beifei and continued, "You and he are not on the same level. Sitting together won''t do you any good." Kong Xiuwen shook his head again, "No need, thank you for your kindness, teacher, but really, it''s not necessary." After saying that, he sat down and gave Xiang Beifei a thumbs-up gesture. Seeing that Kong Xiuwen had declined, Yang Hua felt slightly displeased but did not show it further and said, "Xiang Beifei, you should feel lucky that someone with an S-ss talent is willing to sit with you. But you should be aware of not influencing him negatively, I will keep an eye on you." Xiang Beifei didn''t mind and just quietly looked at his book. As usual, before starting the ss, Yang Hua liked to point out others'' faults to increase his prestige value. He would overlook students with R-ss systems and specifically target those with N-ss for criticism. "Don''t worry about him, I''ve got your back from now on," Kong Xiuwen said quietly. Xiang Beifei smiled. Kong Xiuwen had grown up with him since childhood. Although Kong Xiuwen had awakened an S-ss system and had shot straight to the top, he did not disdain him, an "N-ss" Awakener. Instead, he was quite righteous¡ªyesterday, he had even nned to give Xiang Beifei the awakening elixir he got. Such a person was indeed worthy of true friendship. "You just keep pushing," Xiang Beifei said. "Let''s push together! I''m not the same as before; I''ll let you in on a little secret, I''ve reached the Qi-Controlling state, and I''m now a formal cultivator. If anyone bullies you, juste to me, and when I make it big, I''ll take you along for the ride!" Kong Xiuwen dered boldly. "Okay." Xiang Beifei nodded. He didn''t tell Kong Xiuwen that he, too, an N-ss system user, was a Qi-Controlling cultivator. After Yang Hua had gained a wave of prestige value, he finally started the lesson. "Now that everyone has awakened their systems, and having had a half-day holiday yesterday, you all must have gained some understanding of your respective systems. How youplete the system tasks from now on is your choice. However, I want to emphasize one thing¡ª" Yang Hua cleared his throat and continued, "Our alliance''s college entrance exam is in July, and now it''s May. With the exam two months away, you need to decide whether you want to apply to a liberal arts university or a martial arts university, which is very important!" Those transformed by systems, in order to survive in this boundless destend, can cultivate with the help of their systems. Anyone who enters the Qi-Controlling state is called a cultivator. Cultivators are further divided into warriors and schrs. Since the types of systems vary, some systems lean toward martial prowess while others toward strategy. Therefore, after the college entrance exams, examinees can choose a martial arts or liberal arts university based on the characteristics of their systems. Martial arts universities emphasize practicalbat. After graduating, one can pursue careers like pioneers and city defenders. Liberal arts universities, on the other hand, are more oriented toward various sectors of life, including business, medicine, or the service industry, including entertainment. In this world, the most revered are the warriors. Arge part of this is because deste beasts from outside the domain often attack human cities, and without warriors to respond, it would be hard for human society to remain secure. Thus, warriors hold a considerably high status. Of course, this doesn''t mean that schrs aren''t powerful. Many schrs'' systems are also very strong, and theirbat power is not less than that of warriors. Bing a warrior or a schr isn''t a clear-cut distinction, it''s just that when choosing a university, it''s better to base your choice on your system. Because martial arts and liberal arts universities offer different training conditions. Rtive to others, martial arts universities focus more on actualbat, providing more stringent teaching conditions, including training in the outer destends. Whereas liberal arts universities offer fewer opportunities forbat, focusing more on the trivialities of daily life, thus their teaching conditions are more diversified. Only by choosing a university that matches the characteristics of your own system can you attend a truly good university. "You have just awakened your systems; over the next few days, you should carefully consider which area your system tends more toward. You must determine what general type your system is, and don''t just impulsively decide it belongs to something like the nt industry and then go apply to a martial arts university, as it will only hinder your future!" Yang Hua said sternly. Xiang Beifei was reminded of his past world. This was somewhat simr to choosing a major during the college entrance exams back then. In the former world, there were no systems, and when choosing a major, many relied on their parents'' suggestions. Some parents wished their children to pursue respectable professions like doctors, so they forced their children into medical studies. As a result, the children, having no interest in medicine, struggled through college and could only end up selling medications or changing careers after graduation. Also, some students couldn''t get into the major they wanted and were adjusted to other majors. Facing a major they disliked and unable to meet the conditions to switch majors, they gave up on themselves, essentially equating graduation with unemployment. But in this system world, such problems would be much lessmon. Because everyone chooses their university based on the characteristics of their system, which creates a very purposeful approach, and parents would not force their children to apply for a major they dislike.As long as the students themselves aren''t stubborn, they would normally be able to get into a suitable university. "Teacher, what if one can''t discern whether their system is more suited to the liberal arts or the martial arts, then what?" Kong Xiuwen raised his hand and asked. Kong Xiuwen''s "Bald System" was S-rank, but his system did not readily indicate which path to take¡ªit seemed viable for both the literary Dao and the martial Dao. Seeing that it was Kong Xiuwen who asked, Yang Hua exined patiently, "This is what I am going to talk about next. Each person must undergo a ''System School Selection Consultation''. Starting today, the school will arrange experienced system counselors to help you understand your own systems on a one-on-one basis. You don''t need to tell the counselors what your system is; you just need to ask them any questions you don''t understand." "Counselors will protect your privacy and won''t leak any information about your consultation. You can rest assured about that. All participating counselors are discreet and will not delve into matters they are not supposed to ask about. However, you too must learn to weigh your questions carefully." Yang Hua''s words prompted the entire ss to start whispering among themselves. Everyone had only awakened their systems the day before, and many didn''t fully understand what their systems were exactly. The System School Selection Consultation was undoubtedly a great help for these novices. Chapter 19: Chapter 19: 9 Universities In fact, many peoples'' systems could directly determine the university they should choose. For instance, Wang Dan from their ss, the owner of the Flower Cultivation System, she clearly knew that she must choose a liberal arts university, specifically one rted to nt disciplines. And Wang Pangzi, with his Dance King System, had to opt for the College of Dance Arts within a liberal arts university. However, systems like Zhuo Jing''s Appreciation System, Kong Xiuwen''s Bald System, Liu Qianrou''s Backup System, and Xiao Sa''s Bootlicker System did not have a strict boundary. Whether walking the path of literary Dao or martial arts, they could each be used toplete missions. Thus, System School Selection Consultation primarily targets these undecided Awakeners, helping them answer some questions and ascertain their future direction. "Xiang Beifei, is your system inclined more toward literary Dao or martial arts?" Kong Xiuwen turned and asked. "It''s hard to say." Xiang Beifei pondered. Having no system tied to him, choosing between literary Dao and martial arts made no difference to him. But since his parents were both pioneers, which means martial artists, if he had to choose, he could try a martial arts university. "I''m also not sure," Kong Xiuwen said with great agony, clutching at his own hair, then said, "Why don''t youe with me? That way, we can look out for each other. We''d better apply for martial arts university because the martial arts university''s required entrance score is lower than that of the liberal arts university. I feel it''d be hard for us to attend a good liberal arts university with our grades." "Your S-grade system gives you an added 50 points; have some confidence in yourself." "With my performance in cultural sses, even an added 50 points won''t help!" Kong Xiuwenmented. "That''s not necessarily true," their homeroom teacher, Yang Hua, said, having arrived at some point and heard their conversation. "Individuals with S-grade systems, no matter how poor their grades, needn''t worry about not having a university to attend. You can participate in autonomous recruitment of ordinary universities. As long as you pass, the grades from your cultural sses won''t matter much." "Really?" Kong Xiuwen was very surprised. "Yes, after all, those with S-grade are one in a hundred; the alliance wouldn''t let such talent go to waste. But for specific admission rules, you''ll need to consult your counselor and can also contact the admissions office, sometimes even opting for an interview." Yang Hua was very patient with Kong Xiuwen, then nced at Xiang Beifei. In his view, Xiang Beifei, an N-grade, failing his subjects, was beyond help. ¡ª¡ª All morning, Xiang Beifei reacquainted himself with everyone in his ss and their systems. Some systems were quite concrete, like You Wei from their ss who awakened the R-grade Director System, his ultimate task being to be a top director. He was currently wandering about with a smartphone, preparing to start filming small clips for QuickShake videos. Then there was a girl Xiang Beifei hardly spoke to, named Qian Xiaolu, who awakened the R-grade Dong Shi Effects System, capable of briefly imitating other people''s abilities. In the ss, the one nicknamed "silly big guy," Huang Han, had awakened an N-grade Ghost Capturing System, a rather peculiar one, as it required him to venture into various horror films to capture ghosts, which he could then summon for his use. Yet, everyone knew this guy was quite timid. The horror movie scenes the system transported him into felt very real to him. He had undertaken his first mission the previous night and seemed to have been terrified. However, these systems were still better than some like the Dishwashing System or the Flower Cultivation System. System School Selection Consultation was arranged ording to seat numbers, and every five students were sent in a batch, while others needed to solidly revise their cultural sses in the ssroom. Xiang Beifei was also studying. Before traversing to this time, the person named Xiang Beifei had poor grades in cultural sses, but the current Xiang Beifei was different. "Learn by Analogy" was an extremely powerful learning ability; anything, simply with a nce, could beputed in mind. In his previous life, he was quite devoted to his studies, and although the academic content here was notpletely identical to that of his previous world, it was not very difficult to master. For him, using his cultural ss grades to enter a good university gave him self-assurance. But which university should he choose? Xiang Beifei looked at the freshly distributed university enrollment manual. The Jiuzhou Alliance, divided into nine provinces: Jizhou, Yanzhou, Qingzhou, Xuzhou, Yangzhou, Jingzhou, Yuzhou, Liangzhou, Yongzhou. The nine provinces each possessed a top institution named after the province. Since Xiang Beifei''s Luhe High School fell under the jurisdiction of Liangzhou, the most prestigious university there was naturally Liangzhou University. It was aprehensive university which further categorized into Liangzhou Martial Arts College and Liangzhou Literary Arts College. The situation in other provincial universities was the same, such as Jizhou University, Yanzhou University, Qingzhou University, etc. The nine universities were Ivy League schools of the alliance, each year setting extremely high admission scores! Apart from these nine universities, there were other ones of smaller scale; these were less prestigious and had lower score thresholds. "Almost all Awakeners in the nine elite universities are S-grade or above, truly a gathering of elites," Xiang Beifei mused on his future prospects. With only two months until the college entrance examination, he needed to determine his future direction. Having no system, if he needed to obtain someone else''s system rewards, it seemed better to attend a university filled with S-grade elites. The rewards from S-grade systems were significantly substantial. With his current situation, theoretically, scores were not the issue. Yet, the tuition fees of these nine universities were frighteningly expensive. A school year costing a hundred thousand in the currency of Jiuzhou Alliance! The educational conditions in the elite universities were top-notch, but correspondingly, to meet graduation requirements, many expenses were unavoidable. Xiang Beifei''s family, living on the ie from his grandfather selling vegetables, made merely two to three thousand a month. "Even with a pension, these expenses are still too great." Xiang Beifei frowned slightly at the thought of the hundred thousand tuition fee. If he got into an elite university, his grandfather would certainly be ecstatic, even going as far as to sell everything to pay for his education. But he didn''t want to burden his grandfather so greatly. It wasn''t easy for the old man. Xiang Beifei needed to figure out how to earn money. Well, he thought, let''s just cross the bridge when wee to it. After attending two more sses in the afternoon, it was Xiang Beifei''s turn for System School Selection Consultation. Xiang Beifei and Kong Xiuwen made their way to the office together; he needed to inquire about things like student loans, as a hundred thousand was a significant expense. The location for System School Selection Consultation was the academic building, where quite a few students gathered, all exchanging thoughts with one another, most appearing very nervous. These were all novice Awakeners. Even with systems, they couldn''t guarantee fullprehension of their system''s attributes; they still required help from others. Chapter 20: Chapter 20: What Day is it Tomorrow? The counselor responsible for "System School Selection Consultation" was one of twenty people, all of whom were teachers at Luhe High School, and each was assigned a separate small room. All system consultations werepletely confidential; besides the teachers, other students would not know. "I haven''t even figured out what questions to ask, can you give me some advice?" Kong Xiuwen said, tugging at his own hair. "Since you''re an S-level Awakener, you can ask the counselor which direction your system should take. If you want to attend one of those nine elite universities, how big are the chances?" Xiang Beifei suggested. Kong Xiuwen shook his head, "I won''t even consider those nine elite universities. I''ve heard that only S-levels can get in, and even then, I''d be at the bottom. I''d rather try for other ordinary universities¡ªpreferably the same one as you." Universities were quite pragmatic, with the nine elite universities feasting on S-level students first and leaving the rest for other universities to sip at the leftovers. Hence, apart from the nine elite universities, S-level Awakeners were rare in other ordinary universities. Kong Xiuwen had also thought about how his abilities would surely be trounced within elite universities. Then, attending an ordinary university, where being an S-level would definitely secure a higher status than in elite universities. "ssmate Kong, don''t be discouraged. We''ve just awakened our systems. How can we belittle ourselves?" A familiar voice rang out behind them. Xiang Beifei turned around to look. Huh, isn''t that the person from this morning''s delivery? "Liu Qianrou?" Kong Xiuwen recognized Liu Qianrou. Many people knew Liu Qianrou, not only because she was the first girl to awaken an S-level system, but also because she was the ss Belle of senior year three, with many boys secretly in love with her. However, if Liu Qianrou wanted to cultivate backups, she had to make contact with these talents. "Sorry, I just happened to overhear your conversation. But I think, ssmate Kong, you should have confidence in yourself. If you haven''t even tried, how can you give up?" Liu Qianrou''s voice was full of goodwill, and she even winked meaningfully at Kong Xiuwen. "That''s... true." Kong Xiuwen''s face turned slightly red. His grades were poor; previously Liu Qianrou and he were as distant as heaven and earth, and he could not aspire to reach her level. But unexpectedly, today Liu Qianrou had taken the initiative to talk to him. He knew this was most likely because he had awakened an S-level system. Xiang Beifei raised an eyebrow. He obviously knew what Liu Qianrou meant; she must have already inquired about the list of all twenty-one S-level System Awakeners in the school, and Kong Xiuwen was certainly on her target list. As an S-level backup, Liu Qianrou could gain much more attributes from than from R- or N-levels, snatching away 20 at a time. Liu Qianrou naturally wouldn''t let go of someone like Kong Xiuwen. Upon seeing Xiang Beifei, Liu Qianrou also revealed a happy smile, "Hello, Xiang Beifei, we meet again." "Hello." Xiang Beifei nodded politely. No sooner had he finished speaking than Liu Qianrou''s system panel began to flicker¡ª [You greeted an N-level potential backup, and you have plundered the backup''s social skills. Your social skills +1] That''s just unreasonable. Xiang Beifei nced at Liu Qianrou''s system panel, which now showed her backup value had reached 28. Seeing Liu Qianrou, Kong Xiuwen appeared somewhat dazed, and he stammered, "Qianrou, are you... did you alsoe to... attend this consultation?" "Yes, I''m not very confident about my system and feel at a loss. ssmate Kong, could you give me some advice?" Liu Qianrou looked at Kong Xiuwen bashfully. Kong Xiuwen felt as if he was floating on air. This was the goddess of the grade! She was actually asking him, a student so poor in his studies it was a mess, for advice. Kong Xiuwen felt invigorated as though his spirits had multiplied a hundredfold. Just as he was about to respond, Xiang Beifei interjected. "It would be better to ask the counselor about that question, we can''t answer it," Xiang Beifei said. [N-level potential backup answered your question, your social skills +1] Liu Qianrou''s system panel vibrated again. Damn it! Xiang Beifei couldn''t help but mutter to himself. Just by answering a question, she could steal away someone''s social skills. If a backup inted her with chatter all day long, she could probably suck them dry. Even though as soon as Liu Qianrou umtes 30 backups Xiang Beifei would receive an email, he couldn''t let Kong Xiuwen be one of Liu Qianrou''s backups. He might not care about others, but he still needed to help Kong Xiuwen out. Just as Kong Xiuwen was about to say something, Xiang Beifei pushed him toward the other queue, urging, "Hurry, it''s your turn now. Consult the counselor well, I''ll wait for you outside." A shadow crossed Liu Qianrou''s face. She had already inquired; normally, Kong Xiuwen had poor grades, was carefree, didn''t have a particrly sharp wits, and was an S-level Awakener. People like him could easily be turned into backups with just a few words from her, but she didn''t expect Xiang Beifei to interfere. ¡ª¡ªNever mind, I have plenty of chances. Liu Qianrou snorted coldly in her heart and looked at Xiang Beifei again. Daring to mess up my ns, I''ll plunder something from you first! She ran her fingers through her hair, her long strands fluttering in mid-air and the tips brushing against Xiang Beifei''s cheek, leaving behind a faint fragrance. "What a lovely day." Liu Qianrou said with a smile. Xiang Beifei hummed nomittally. This time, the system didn''t disy anything. Liu Qianrou''s eyebrows knit together as she gently said, "Tomorrow is May 20th, you know! Only two months left until the college entrance exam." The college entrance exam in the Jiuzhou Federation takes ce in July. It''s only May now. Seeing that Xiang Beifei wasn''t responding, Liu Qianrou softly continued, "I just heard from ssmates that May 20th is a very special day, but they talked so much and I really didn''t get it. Xiang Beifei, do you know what 520 means?" "I know," Xiang Beifei replied. ying with her fingernails, Liu Qianrou asked in an innocent voice, "Can you exin it to me then? I really want to know the meaning of 520!" She looked like an innocent girl, her face full of curiosity. Xiang Beifei nodded seriously and said, "Hmm, no problem. Let me think! 520... 5 stands for five affirmatives: affirming economic structural adjustments, affirming the duty of environmental governance, affirming the construction of ecological civilization, affirming precision poverty alleviation by the alliance, affirming Jiuzhou''s security guarantee. 2 stands for two ''must-haves'': we must have both wealth symbolized by our ''mountains of gold and silver'' and ecological beauty symbolized by ''clear waters and green mountains''. 0 stands for zero tolerance towards illegal and criminal behavior." Championing uprightness is everyone''s responsibility! The voice in which Xiang Beifei spoke waspelling and spirited! Liu Qianrou: "..." She waspletely flustered. What kind of answer was that! She had thought that this N-level backup would spout a bunch of affectionate nonsense, but she didn''t expect him toe out with something like this, and it had totally baffled her. By the time she collected her thoughts, Xiang Beifei had already coolly and breezily turned and walked away. Chapter 21: Chapter 21: Special Favors Xiang Beifei couldn''t be bothered to care about Liu Qianrou''s reaction. Originally, he hadn''t nned to have any interaction with Liu Qianrou; it was Liu Qianrou who had intended to seek him out as a backup n, running into the line of fire herself. He simply went along with it casually, to grab some system rewards or something. Xiang Beifei walked to a queue with fewer people, where only two people were waiting in line ahead of him. Both of them were engrossed in their system interfaces, paying no attention to Xiang Beifei. He nced at their systems. Xiang Beifei then looked at another person''s system, that slightly curly-haired fat girl from ss four. He didn''t know her name, but because of her weight, people often made fun of her behind her back, so he remembered her vaguely. Her system had awakened to be an [N-Level Calorie Burning System] [You walked two kilometers, burning 110 calories of your own, +110 calories] [You walked twops around the track field with Liu Ping, helping her burn 44 calories, +44 calories] ... Her system involved collecting calories that could be exchanged for corresponding rewards. The girl was very heavy, at least two hundred pounds, but with this system, as long as she worked hard for the system, it would be hard not to lose weight. Although she was terribly heavy now, she obviously had potential! Burning calories and helping others lose weight could also make her stronger; not opening a gym would be a missed opportunity. The boy in front of him had awakened to an [R-Level Escort Across the World System], which looked very impressive! "Escort Across the World, like an escort mission?" Xiang Beifei pondered what this system entailed. He had seen martial arts movies after all. To know that ancient couriers had quite the swagger! They performed escort missions, retrieved and fought over lost valuables, and sparred with bandits using wits and bravery¡ªabsolutely thrilling and blood-pumping! He nced at the mission interface; the other party had alreadypleted a mission. [Delivered homework from the ssroom to the teacher''s office, escort value +1] Huh? Moving homework was referred to as "escort," all dressed up like that? Wait a second. Suddenly, he thought, wouldn''t this escort system make a fortune in delivery services? Well, hey! This would be the future tycoon of the courier industry! As Xiang Beifei reflected, he continued to scan the systems of other students. Most R-Level and N-Level systems were pretty quirky, but he knew that the truly powerful systems were definitely S-Level. Like the guy who just arrived not far away, named Qi Bin from ss three. He had awakened to an [S-Level Summoning Monster System] Qi Bin''s mission involved defeating deste beasts, subjugating them, and then summoning them for his own battles. This person''s system was clearly much stronger than others, a realbat-oriented system. Without thinking, one could tell that Qi Bin was headed down the martial path, set to be a pioneer, battling in the outer destends. However, Qi Bin was currently chatting merrily with Liu Qianrou. He had inadvertently be another potential backup for Liu Qianrou. "Tsk tsk, be cautious in your dealings," Xiang Beifei shook his head. The achievements of those with S-Level systems were limitless in the future, but Liu Qianrou was close to having all the school''s S-Level guys in her pocket, which was terrifying. There were only twenty-one S-Level System Awakeners in the school, and Xiang Beifei had already gotten a brief grasp on them. But to witness more S-Level systems, one would have to go to one of the nine elite universities. At that moment, a refined old man walked through the crowd, and many stopped in their tracks, looking at the elder with respect. "Good day, Principal!" The students hurried to greet him. Principal Li Nanxing is highly respected; he is approachable, treats students with kindness and patience, and is dearly loved by them. Xiang Beifei looked towards Principal Li Nanxing and then felt a bit surprised. [Host: Li Nanxing] [S-ss, Confucian Saint System] [Realm: Late Stage of Meridian Opening] [Current Prestige Value: 15818544] ¡­ Yesterday, Xiang Beifei was unable to see Li Nanxing''s realm and system tasks, but today he could actually see them. Xiang Beifei seemed to understand. Yesterday, he was just an ordinary person, but today he was already a Qi-Controlling cultivator. In other words, the people he could see were, at most, one major realm stronger than him. "Good morning, Principal!" Liu Qianrou and Qi Bin, who were talking, also hurriedly greeted Li Nanxing. Even though they were S-ss Awakeners, they did not dare to act big in front of the principal, as the principal was also an S-ss with much greater strength than them! "Ah, hello there. Don''t be formal, I''m just passing by. Keep up the good work, reflect on your problems, and feel free to ask questions to your counselors. As teachers, we''re here to help clear up any confusion," Li Nanxing said with a smile, nodding to Qi Bin and Liu Qianrou, both of whom were S-ss Awakeners he recognized. With proper nurture, they were bound to be pirs of the Alliance in the future. "Understood." Qi Bin and Liu Qianrou nodded obediently. Even Liu Qianrou did not dare to misbehave; her Backup System could not take anything from those stronger than herself, and of course, she would not dare to target the principal. "I''ll say it again: the talent from awakening is secondary. What truly determines the future is your attitude. Whether it''s an N-ss system or an S-ss, as long as you work hard, it''s hard to say who will surpass whom in the future," Li Nanxing encouraged those students with lesser talents, telling them that as long as they were earnest, anyone could make a breakthrough. Many students were greatly inspired, especially those with N-ss systems. After being addressed by the principal in such a manner, they all perked up, their faces filled with gratitude. After awakening to N-ss systems yesterday, these students were disappointed, not just themselves, but even some parents were disappointed in them. But at least the principal hadn''t given up on them. Just as Li Nanxing was about to leave, his gaze swept across the room and suddenlynded on Xiang Beifei standing in a corner. He saw Xiang Beifei frowning deeply and thought of something, sighing softly in his heart. ¡ªIs this child losing hope for the future? Well, anyone would probably find it hard to handle such a situation. His gaze flickered for a moment before he walked towards Xiang Beifei, smiling and patting him on the shoulder before asking, "Student, can youe with me for a moment?" Xiang Beifei looked up at Li Nanxing somewhat unexpectedly. "Are you calling for me, Principal?" "Yes,e to my office." Li Nanxing walked ahead with his hands sped behind him. Xiang Beifei hesitated, and although he did not understand why Li Nanxing was summoning him, he still followed. As they left, the other students immediately started discussing. "I recognize him, isn''t that Xiang Beifei, who almost became UR-ss yesterday?" "The principal actually called him to the office? Is he getting special treatment?" "What special treatment? If anyone''s to get special attention, shouldn''t it be the S-ss geniuses? Look, Liu Qianrou and Qi Bin are right here!" "That''s true; it must be psychological counseling. Are they afraid he mightmit suicide from despair? Hahaha!" "Yeah, such a drastic fall is tragic. He''s also pitiable; probably it''s the shock! Imagine if hemitted suicideter because of a mental breakdown, the school would have to take responsibility. The principal is probably trying to prevent such a bad omen from happening." Many looked upon Xiang Beifei with sympathy. Liu Qianrou and Qi Bin also frowned slightly, feeling a bit envious. Having a one-on-one talk with the principal was a very rare opportunity. But what the others said made sense; if the principal wanted to give special treatment, he would''ve looked for those S-ss individuals. They assumed it was indeed for psychological counseling. Chapter 22: Chapter 22: N Rarity is Even Rarer Than SR Rarity! The principal''s office was stark, with a neat pile of documents on a white wooden desk and a silver ornament beside them, featuring a majestic lion standing on a cliff, the emblem of Luhe High School. The tea cup on the desk was still slightly steaming. Many pennants hung on the wall behind, along with some photographs. The people in the photos all looked extraordinary, seemingly elites from various professions. Beifei recognized a few who were shaking hands with the principal, but he couldn''t recall who they were at the moment. Everything in the office was well organized andforting to look at. It was Xiang Beifei''s first visit to the principal''s office. He didn''t have much of an impression of Principal Li Nanxing; he just discreetly observed the principal''s system, checking past system tasks the principal had undertaken. "Please sit, don''t be tense," Li Nanxing said with a smile. Xiang Biefei sat down, feeling puzzled. He had thought Principal Li Nanxing summoned him for some system task that would start with him. But there was nothing on the principal''s system task list that involved him. So, what did he want from him? "Are you doing alright?" Li Nanxing asked from his chair, looking at him gently. "I''m fine," Beifei replied. Li Nanxing smiled, saying, "I called you here today for nothing serious. Don''t be nervous, just to offer you a System School Selection Consultation." "System consultation?" Xiang Beifei was confused. S-ranked Liu Qianrou and Qi Bin hadn''t been directly approached by the principal, so why single him out? Li Nanxing looked at Xiang Beifei and said, "I happen to have some time to give you some guidance. Do you have any questions about your awakened system?" Xiang Beifei pondered for a moment, sizing up Li Nanxing''s system again to confirm there were no tasks concerning him, then said, "Principal, I want to know if there are any restrictions for entering one of the nine elite universities? Is it just scoring well enough, or does one need to awaken a certain level of system?" "Nine elite universities?" Li Nanxing was slightly startled. He hadn''t expected Beifei to ask about the entry requirements for elite universities instead of something about the system. He had already reviewed Beifei''s academic scores, which were dismal. It was doubtful he could even make it to university, let alone his status as an N-level System Awakener, where talent itself is a threshold. Li Nanxing thought for a moment and asked, "Your first system task isn''t requiring you to get into an elite university, is it?" An N-level system can be troublesome; sometimes setting up tasks that don''t follow any conventional logic, giving the host a task to get admitted into an elite university isn''t unheard of. Xiang Beifei was surprised that the principal would ask this, but it was a convenient excuse. He went with the flow and said, "Yes, my system task is troublesome indeed, so I really want to know how to get into an elite university." "This..." Li Nanxing felt overwhelmed. It was just a casual question he hadn''t expected Beifei''s initial system task to be so difficult! He hesitated for a moment and slowly said, "Getting into an elite university isn''t easy! Most elite universities set a threshold for talent, with a minimum requirement being R-level Awakeners. S-level is quitemon, N-level System Awakeners... hardly any..." "Even if the academic scores are sufficient?" Beifei asked. Li Nanxing looked troubled and said with a bitter smile, "Each university has its own admissions policy. Training students, well, elite university courses are rather difficult, R-level Awakeners already find it tough, let alone N-level." "So, there''s no hope at all? Not even a slight possibility?" Xiang Beifei asked. "That''s not necessarily true." Li Nanxing slowly said, "Elite universities all have talent thresholds, that''s true, but there is one elite university that does not, and that is Liangzhou University." "Does Liangzhou University allow N-level Awakeners to enroll?" "Yes, you should have heard of our governor of Liangzhou, Shang Tianxiong?" Li Nanxing spoke of Shang Tianxiong with quite some emotion, "He is an N-level System Awakener and a legend of his generation because he graduated from Liangzhou Martial Arts College with sheer perseverance. Liangzhou University does not set a talent threshold; as long as your scores are sufficient, N-level students can also enroll, but N-level students need to pass their entrance test." "How many N-level students have enrolled at Liangzhou University over the years?" Xiang Beifei asked. "Not many." Li Nanxing slightly shook his head, "We can say¡ªit is even rarer than SR System Awakeners." System Awakeners from the SR system are one in tens of thousands! This year, their school had no SR System Awakeners at all. Yet in this world, N-levels are everywhere. However, in reality, within elite universities, the number of N-level Awakeners is even lower than SR Awakeners! This clearly shows that even for a university like Liangzhou University, which does not limit entry thresholds, it is nearly impossible for the lowest N-level Awakeners to get into an elite university, as challenging as reaching the heavens! In ces filled with elites, if your talent is not up to par, you don''t even qualify to be counted. Xiang Beifei, however, isn''t concerned about these matters; since Liangzhou University is the only elite university without a talent threshold, he needs to set his sights on Liangzhou University. "Principal, after getting into Liangzhou University, are there any schrships or loans avable? I heard the tuition is very expensive, if possible, I need to find a part-time job at school," Xiang Beifei said. Li Nanxing was taken aback again upon hearing Xiang Beifei''s words. From the tone of this child, it seemed he had already assumed he would be epted into Liangzhou University? He even nned how to make a living after entering the school? Was this child not understanding his point, or was he too arrogant? Suddenly, Li Nanxing realized that Xiang Beifei might not be as hopeless as he seemed yesterday when he awakened, nor was he about to give up on life. On the contrary, this child was filled with confidence for the future! Could it be because of the system? But that''s impossible! As an educator, he knew all too well how bad the N-level system was¡ªit''s not that everyone can have great perseverance and be a legend like Shang Tianxiong. Xiang Beifei''s grades had always been at the bottom, and now with only two months left, to reverse his fortunes to the scoreline required by elite universities in such a short time was a mere fantasy! Even with the help of the system¡ªif an N-level system could so easily help someone be elite within two months, it wouldn''t be called an N-level system! "You seem very confident about getting into Liangzhou University?" Li Nanxing''s perception of Xiang Beifei gradually changed. "Isn''t it what you said? No one should give up hope, with efforts, even an N-level system can break through the heavens. Having dropped from UR-level to N-level, I''ve already experienced a disaster, what more do I have to lose? If I don''t take my chances now, when should I wait?" Xiang Beifei began to ramble, but he was serious. Li Nanxing''s eyes lit up! "What a resolve to take a chance!" Xiang Beifei''s words seemed to reignite the long-dormant passion in his heart; there was a time when he too was full of ambition, striving to be a Confucian Sage. Although he has only be a high school principal now, he has never cked off and continues to strive for improvement. In Xiang Beifei, Li Nanxing seemed to see his own past. Chapter 23: Chapter 23: Big Moves "Excellent! Very well! This child can be taught!" Li Nanxingughed heartily and said, "If your scores reach the admission threshold of Liangzhou University, then I will be your guarantor! Don''t worry about student loans or jobs. I too graduated from Liangzhou University and still know some people there." "The principal just said that Liangzhou University requires N-level Awakeners to undergo a test when they enroll. What exactly is this test?" Xiang Beifei asked. "It''s hard to say, but the test will definitely be rted to the university courses to ensure that N-level Awakeners can keep up. I''ll inquire about it next time I visit," Li Nanxing said. "Thank you, Principal. I don''t have any more questions for now; I''ll be going back." Xiang Beifei stood up, ready to leave. "Hold on." Li Nanxing got up and looked at his system panel. In his "Confucian Saint System," there was also a shop where prestige value could be exchanged for corresponding rewards. His gaze searched the shop for a moment, then with a grand gesture, he already had two small jade bottles in his hand. "Here, take these." Li Nanxing handed the small jade bottles to Xiang Beifei. Xiang Beifei looked at the two small jade bottles with surprise. He saw the prompt from the "Confucian Saint System": [Qi Condensing Pill x10, 2000 prestige value] [Forgetting Dust Pill x50, 3000 prestige value] "These are..." Xiang Beifei said, puzzled. "I''m not sure what method of cultivation your system provides, so I can''t arbitrarily help you, but these two items are aids for cultivation and learning, and anyone can use them," Li Nanxing exined. "The Qi Condensing Pill can be used to gather the surrounding Spiritual Energy, allowing you to attract the nearby Spiritual Energy to yourself while cultivating, doubling the efficacy. This is the Forgetting Dust Pill. If you want to study or cultivate seriously, you can light a Forgetting Dust Pill to create an ideal learning environment." Items from the system can be traded or given away, but because each person''s system attributes are unique and awakened to fit the individual, they are not interchangeable with others. Most of the items provided by a system can only be used by oneself; others can not use them. Only a part can be shared with others, such as these pills that aggregate surrounding Spiritual Energy or shield against environmental disturbances. They are not for transforming oneself but for creating an environment. "But... why?" Xiang Beifei asked, puzzled. He and the principal had never had personal contact before; they wereplete strangers, and he couldn''t understand why Li Nanxing would give him such items. "Actually, after what happened yesterday, I specifically looked up your family background in the records and found out that your parents were pioneers who died on a mission," Li Nanxing said reflectively. "Pioneers are the most noble profession in this world, and every one who sacrifices deserves respect." His gazeplicated, he continued, "Then I discovered that I actually knew your father." "My father?" Xiang Beifei was very surprised. "Yes." Li Nanxing pointed to a photograph on the wall and exined, "Your father also studied at this school, and he awakened an SR-level talent! Look here." He pointed to an old photograph, slightly yellowed, taken on the school''s yground. About a dozen people were in the photo, Li Nanxing in the centre, with Xiang Beifei''s father in the second row. Xiang Beifei hadn''t looked closely earlier and had overlooked it. "Luhe High School 100th Anniversary Alumni Meeting." Li Nanxing sighed and added, "The people in this photo are all SR system Awakeners from different years; the anniversary celebration manged to gather all twelve SR Awakeners from various years." SR Awakeners are extremely rare, one in a thousand, typically appearing every two or three years. This year, Luhe High School has not seen a single SR appear. Gathering all twelve SR Awakeners at once could only have been achieved during such an event as the anniversary celebration. Xiang Beifei stared at his young father in the photo, who looked to be about twenty years old. He knew that his father was named Xiang Tianxing, but that was all he really knew. His memories weren''t particrly plentiful; he had been raised by his grandfather, his parents being too busy and seldom home. Even when they were home, it was just a fleeting glimpse, barely speaking before they left again. Until a mission four years ago, after which his parents never returned home again. Ultimately, he was influenced by the memories of his former life, and some emotions were still there. "At the time of the centennial school celebration, you had not been born yet. Afterwards, because of your father''s job, I never contacted him again, and I had no idea his son had grown so much." Li Nanxing sighed, "No matter what, I am giving you these two things; you must work hard, just as you said, ''go for it with all you''ve got.'' Xiang Beifei looked at Li Nanxing''s system interface. [Prestige Value: 15713544] 5000 points were deducted. Li Nanxing''s realm was in thete Meridian Opening stage, just a step away from the God Refining Realm. He needed to use the God Refining Pill to help himself break through to the God Refining Realm. Purchasing one God Refining Pill required 16 million prestige points. He was still short by nearly 290,000! The higher the strength, the more arduous the system tasks, the harder it was to elevate one''s realm. Every prestige point was extremely precious to Li Nanxing, who usually umted them very cautiously. It had taken him ten years to save up these 15 million prestige points. He had reached thete Meridian Opening stage ten years ago and had not been able to advance a single step further since then. Unexpectedly, for Xiang Beifei''s sake, he was actually willing to spend 5000 prestige points. This was indeed a generous gesture. Understand this, even though Xiang Beifei had awakened the system yesterday, adding only 10 prestige points to Li Nanxing, and an S-grade Awakener is only worth 1000 points. ¡ª Xiang Beifei valued these two items very much because they were much more powerful than the system rewards given to Liu Qianrou and the others, enough to illuminate the constetions. "Thank you, Principal." Xiang Beifei said. "No need for thanks, go back now, and do not mention this matter to anyone else, or they will use me of favoritism." Li Nanxing waved his hand. "Understood." Xiang Beifei pondered for a moment, didn''t say much, and turned to leave the office. Li Nanxing watched Xiang Beifei''s retreating figure. This young man gave him a very special feeling. Even after experiencing such significant ups and downs yesterday, he faced them calmly; he seemed unconcerned with the fact his system was N-grade. It''s rare to find someone with such a mentality! "I know it''s impossible for you to get into an elite university this year, but with your positive attitude, perhaps if you retake the exam for three or four more years, a miracle might happen." Li Nanxing admired Xiang Beifei''s ambition, but he was not optimistic about his performance this year. Even Shang Tianxiong, the governor of Liangzhou, had to retake the exams for four years to get into Liangzhou University! Thick and thin hair! Only then did he pass the N-grade Awakener test set by Liangzhou University. No one had the perseverance like Shang Tianxiong. Li Nanxing was willing to spend five thousand prestige points to help Xiang Beifeiplete the first system task for a reason. Back when Xiang Beifei''s father awakened the SR system, he had only recently be principal. An SR Awakener appearing in his school brought him a huge increase in prestige points, which allowed him to break through at a crucial moment. Moreover, Xiang Tianxing had an excellent reputation in the alliance, and, all told, had brought him many prestige points, far more than just these five thousand. In a sense, Xiang Beifei''s father had also done him a favor. If Xiang Beifei failed, then consider these five thousand prestige points a way tomemorate Xiang Tianxing. Chapter 24: Chapter 24: Competing for Favor and Jealousy ``` Xiang Beifei learned for the first time that his father had been an SR-level Awakener. He also understood that Li Nanxing had given him these two items likely because of the prestige value his father had gained when awakening his SR system, and now it was a form of repayment to him. But to be honest, Li Nanxing didn''t owe Xiang Beifei anything; his "Confucian Saint System" wasn''t obtained through plundering. Li Nanxing''s "Confucian Saint System", like Yang Hua''s "Master Dao System", had the marvelous quality of instructing and solving doubts for others. The difference was that Li Nanxing chose to strengthen himself by properly educating his students, truly considering their needs, cultivating them into talents, and gaining system prestige through their achievementster on. Yang Hua, on the other hand, chose to criticize his students to increase his teacher''s prestige value, always pointing out their faults. Thus, the breadth of their spirits differed. One could say that Principal Li Nanxing was truly a paragon of teachers. "If an N-level system student were admitted to an elite university, I wonder how much prestige value that would bring?" Xiang Beifei pondered. ¡ª¡ª Qi Condensing Pills and Forgetting Dust Pills. Xiang Beifei indeed needed these two items right now. Not to create a learning environment, but to activate his astrological points. As for improving his cultural studies grades, that was not difficult for him. Xiang Beifei left the principal''s office and headed to the ssroom. The hallway was still bustling with students, many senior year students queuing up, waiting for System School Selection Consultation. Soon, he spotted Kong Xiuwen amidst the crowd. Kong Xiuwen had juste out from a consultation room, excitedly talking to Liu Qianrou. Xiang Beifei felt that something was amiss and nced at Liu Qianrou''s system interface, furrowing his brows slightly. [You have gained an S-level potential backup, backup value at 30] Had Kong Xiuwen unwittingly fallen into a trap? Liu Qianrou had now gathered 30 backup values, enough to exchange for a secret manual on training body techniques, yet she hadn''t rushed to exchange it, instead conversing with Kong Xiuwen like a sweet, dependent bird, continuously plundering from Kong Xiuwen. "You''re still here, hurry up, I have something to talk to you about,e this way." Xiang Beifei grabbed Kong Xiuwen and started walking back, to prevent him from beingpletely drained by Liu Qianrou. "Then... then let''s talk after school, bye." Kong Xiuwen didn''t forget to turn back and wave goodbye to Liu Qianrou while being pulled away by Xiang Beifei. "Alright, Xiuwen, I''ll wait for you after school." Liu Qianrou spoke softly. Kong Xiuwen, being an S-level Awakener, had certainly gained a lot just now. After walking a distance, Xiang Beifei finally said to Kong Xiuwen, "Listen to my advice, don''t interact too much with Liu Qianrou." Kong Xiuwen found it odd and said, "I always feel like something''s off with you, just now when Liu Qianrou greeted me, you deliberately interrupted, and now you''re telling me not to interact with her... Ah! I get it, you wouldn''t happen to like her, do you?" Xiang Beifei: "???" "Are you worried that I''ll steal the girl you like?" Kong Xiuwen eyed Xiang Beifei with a strange look. Xiang Beifei''s mouth twitched. How would his brain have to be wired for him to like an Awakener like Liu Qianrou? ¡ª¡ª Liu Qianrou had been watching her system interface all along, and at this moment, a new message appeared: [Two potential backups are fighting over you out of jealousy] [You have plundered the personal charm of an S-level potential backup, your personal charm +20] ``` [You''ve plundered the charm of an N-level potential backup, your charm value +1] ... "Heh, what a couple of fools! They turn against each other after just a few words." Liu Qianrou looked at her system panel and chuckled with pride. This system is just too easy to use; even jealousy over a backup can boost her own value. She would love nothing more than for Xiang Beifei and Kong Xiuwen toe to blows! At that moment, she suddenly saw Qi Bin walking towards her. "What if three backups were jealous over me? Wouldn''t that increase the system values even more?" Liu Qianrou plotted in her heart as she walked towards Qi Bin. ¡ª¡ª "Don''t think too much, I don''t have any feelings for her." Xiang Beifei said. "Come on, Liu Qianrou is at least the belle of the year, what''s so embarrassing about admitting you like her?" Kong Xiuwen''s eyes rolled as he continued, "But she is indeed beautiful, no wonder you''re tempted." A twitch appeared at the corner of Xiang Beifei''s mouth. Am I tempted by her as a person? But Kong Xiuwen pped Xiang Beifei''s shoulder in a carefree manner, saying, "Don''t worry about it; we''re like brothers. Since you admire Liu Qianrou, as your brother, I can''t possibly steal her from you. Alright, then I won''tpete with you for her." Xiang Beifei pressed his hand to his forehead, feeling quite vexed. Kong Xiuwen had been his ymate since childhood, and with his tall and strong build, he used to stand up for Xiang Beifei whenever someone bullied him in school. They were very close. When he said that, it couldn''t be false. "Anyway, it''s best if you refrain from chatting with Liu Qianrou in the future." Xiang Beifei didn''t go into details. "Understood, we''re about to go to college soon, the outside world is full of beauty and splendor, no need to dwell on the high school belle. I''ll cut off this thought right now, alright? Though, I think you should be psychologically prepared, after all, she is..." Kong Xiuwen hadn''t finished his words when suddenly an angry voice came from behind. "You two are also worthy of liking someone as noble as Qianrou? Can''t you even take a good look at yourselves in the mirror?" Xiang Beifei and Kong Xiuwen both turned their heads. It was Qi Bin! This guy had awoken the [S-level Summoning Monster System], a very domineering and powerful system. Although he hadn''t defeated a deste beast yet, he was already an Awakener in the Qi-Controlling realm, given the S-level system''s easy entry tasks. Just now, Liu Qianrou had told him that two clueless guys were getting handsy with her, and with his vtile temper, hearing that made him instantly furious! Liu Qianrou had even given him the card for the Green Light Hotel room for tonight! And now two guys dared to cause trouble? How could he tolerate that? Qi Bin sneered as he stared at Xiang Beifei: "I remember you, you''re the one who went from a genius to a waste yesterday. Liu Qianrou is an S-level Awakener, do you really think you stand a chance at winning her favor? With your N-level system?" "Who we like is none of your damn business!" Kong Xiuwen stepped forward, instinctively shielding Xiang Beifei behind him. He knew the other was an Awakener in the Qi-Controlling realm, and since Xiang Beifei was just an ordinary person, he couldn''t let Qi Bin harm him. But Qi Bin showed no intention of getting physical, as cameras were everywhere in the school, and any conflicts couldn''t be settled there. "I''m just warning some people not to be delusional about aiming too high, better weigh themselves first." Qi Bin loomed threateningly over Xiang Beifei. Xiang Beifei realized something and inadvertently turned his head, sure enough, there was Liu Qianrou not far away, enjoying the spectacle. Chapter 25: Chapter 25: Elimination Method [Three backups are feeling jealous and fighting for you] [You''ve snatched a level S backup''s charm, and your charm +20] ... "A fools'' troupe, really kills me! I''ve sold them out, and they''re still counting money for me! This intelligence, really needs a recharge." Liu Qianrou was feeling incredibly smug inside. Others feeling jealous and vying for her indicated that she was charming and able to manipte these backups at will. "You all go on and argue! The more noise, the better! I''ll just collect my rewards." Liu Qianrou''s backup value had reached 30, and she could receive a secret manual for body method cultivation. Once she sessfully cultivated it, she could plunder more from these backups the next time they argued or when she spoke to them. [Your backup value is 30, would you like to im your reward for this stage?] "Of course, it wasn''t easy to fool a bunch of idiots." Liu Qianrou said impatiently. [Reward has been distributed, please check!] Liu Qianrou excitedly stared at her hands. One minuteter. Empty-handed! Her smile suddenly froze. "System, where''s my body method secret manual?" Liu Qianrou asked. [Reward has been distributed, please begin cultivation as soon as possible to be stronger] The system advised warmly. Liu Qianrou searched every corner around her, but could not find her reward! No, something didn''t add up. The first system reward yesterday was delivered directly into her hands, so why did today''s reward disappear? "System, where have you distributed my reward?" Liu Qianrou asked hurriedly. [Reward has been distributed to the host''s hands, please begin cultivation] Liu Qianrou was furious! Distributed? Distribute to your great-uncle! Liu Qianrou almost jumped on the spot! But no matter how she exined, the system kept giving the same warm reminder, baffling herpletely! Just moments ago, she was mocking those three for counting money for her after she had sold them out, but now, where was her money? Where had it been counted to? At this moment, her system interface disyed another line: [You''ve lost an S-level potential backup, backup value -1] [You''ve lost an N-level potential backup, backup value -1] Liu Qianrou''s gaze immediately turned stormy upon seeing her system interface! The two potential backups she lost undoubtedly had to be Kong Xiuwen and Xiang Beifei! These two actually no longer admired her and had left the backup category! "Wait! Why are such strange things happening today? First, the system reward wasn''t properly distributed, and now I''ve lost two backups?" Liu Qianrou was a shrewd girl. She quickly calmed down and pondered over the situation. She was aware that she wasn''t the only one with a system in this world; others had them too! What the systems of others were capable of, she didn''t know. Everyone had been taught since childhood to keep their systems a secret, making it difficult to pry secrets out of someone. But the capabilities of systems are always surprising. If someone used a system to steal her system reward, it wasn''t impossible! Then the prime suspect would most likely be one of those three! Liu Qianrou began to analyze the situation from the beginning to the end. Having been smart since she was young, more mature in thinking than her peers, adept at reading people''s expressions andnguages, she always considered everything when thinking through a problem, able to spot any clue to unravel bizarre urrences. Any experienced mystery-solving expert should learn to use the process of elimination skillfully when addressing a problem. So¡ª Xiang Beifei, the first to be ruled out! An N-level System Awakener, she wouldn''t believe for a second that he could im a reward from her S-level system! System levels have a hierarchy, and it''s aw that an S-level cannot be plundered by an N-level. Kong Xiuwen might be suspicious since he''s also S-level. But both Kong Xiuwen and Xiang Beifei had left her backup range, meaning they no longer held admiration for her in their hearts. So Kong Xiuwen could be ruled out too. An answer closest to the truth was on the verge of bursting forth in Liu Qianrou''s mind¡ª "Qi Bin!" Liu Qianrou glowered at the figure of Qi Bin! She didn''t know what Qi Bin''s system was but his being an S-level System Awakener wasmon knowledge! To stealthily steal her S-level system reward, only another S-level System Awakener could manage such a feat! The course of events must have been as follows¡ª Qi Bin, spurred by her, went to find Kong Xiuwen and Xiang Beifei, but turned the tables instead. In order to gain her trust, he acted swiftly, revealing his methods and, with his powerful aura, he managed to intimidate both Kong Xiuwen and Xiang Beifei! Kong Xiuwen and Xiang Beifei, knowing their limits, no longer dared to harbor improper thoughts about her. Thus, she lost two potential backups! Qi Bin had agreed so readily just now, seemingly recklessly seeking out Kong Xiuwen and Xiang Beifei, but in reality, it was very likely a mission assigned by Qi Bin''s own system! If she could plunder others'' abilities, then others could plunder hers as well! Perhaps it was a "Switching the Beams with Pirs" system? Maybe a "Deceiving Heaven and Crossing the Sea" system? Liu Qianrou couldn''t be certain, but what she could affirm was¡ª Qi Bin was definitely undertaking a mission involving her! Liu Qianrou reviewed the situation once more. Such meticulous logical analysis, without any ws! It must be Qi Bin! "Damn it, I always thought Qi Bin was simple-minded; I never expected him to be so cunning!" Liu Qianrou clenched her fists. She had been too careless! Originally, she just wanted to make the three backups argue among themselves, and harvest a wave of personal charm, but she had inadvertently fallen into a trap! What to do now? I have already given him the hotel room card for tonight! But having been yed by this scheming man, can I still go tonight? Liu Qianrou was extremely annoyed in her heart. Her system could plunder the backup''s abilities even with a minor contact like a "handshake"! Let alone other methods of more extensive contact. Originally, she had nned to go to the hotel tonight, first with Qi Bin... then with Qi Bin... and finally with Qi Bin... But she had not expected this Qi Bin to be such a tough nut to crack! Was he possibly waiting to deal with her tonight? This was bad. Liu Qianrou''s mind was in chaos for a moment! ¡ª "My eyes will always be on you two!" Qi Bin looked down at Xiang Beifei and Kong Xiuwen with supreme arrogance. "Oh? Is that so?" Kong Xiuwen was not one to back down, ready to throw back some harsh words, but Xiang Beifei shook his head, pulling him away. "What are you afraid of! He''s clearly bullying you! I''m also S-level; am I supposed to be afraid of him too? I''ve said it, I have your back. Why are you being so timid?" Kong Xiuwen, while being pulled away, was visibly resentful. "The college entrance exam is nearing, avoiding trouble is better than seeking it." Xiang Beifei discreetly pocketed the secret book on body technique cultivation. "You can''t go on like this, being fearful of everything. If we end up at different universities, who will stand up for you then?" Kong Xiuwen shook his head with resignation, "I''m already worried about you. Without me to cover for you, I don''t know how much you''ll be bullied in university!" Will I be bullied? Xiang Beifei shrugged. "I''m just an N-level Awakener, being cautious is not a bad thing." Xiang Beifei walked to the railing of the second-floor staircase and looked down. From this angle, he could see Liu Qianrou very well. He squinted at Liu Qianrou''s system panel and, noting that Kong Xiuwen was no longer her backup, he felt somewhat relieved. When Xiang Beifei saw Qi Bining over, he had felt something was off, so he quickly disengaged from being a backup, just going with the flow. Luckily, he knew about other people''s systems and could choose whether or not to participate in their system tasks. Kong Xiuwen, for the sake of his childhood friend, had indeed cut off his thoughts of Liu Qianrou, which was crucial. Otherwise, who knows what trouble this guy might end up in one day. As for the personal charm that Kong Xiuwen lost, he was going to be bald in the future anyway, and as he would lose hair, his charm would keep dropping, so he might as well give it to Liu Qianrou. Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Set a Small Goal First "Bute to think of it, the secret manual for cultivating body techniques that he got from Liu Qianrou was of little use to him, as the Spiritual Qi Crystal contained within wasn''t powerful enough to light up the constetions." However¡ª Xiang Beifei suddenly thought of the tuition for elite universities. A hundred thousand a year for tuition fees alone, not to mention all kinds of living expenses. If he wanted to attend an elite university, he would have to start saving money now. Liu Qianrou''s reward wasn''t of much use to him, but could he sell it? He needed money. System rewards, if not needed by oneself, could be sold to others. Some people couldn''tplete system tasks on their own, but with someone else''s system reward, they could bypass that stage and meet the requirements. So, many system rewards could be sold for a good price. Thinking back to how Kong Xiuwen''s father had spent a great deal of money to obtain two so-called "Awakening Elixirs," it was clear that there was a target market. Even though those elixirs were utterly useless, it couldn''t be denied that there were targeted customers. But to whom should he sell this cultivation manual? Who would be a good candidate? That was the problem. ¡ª On the edge of the Luhe High School cafeteria. This was a biological geography garden. Many high schools had such a small garden, featuring various educational facilities, including globes, wind vanes, and various kinds of statues. Schools with better conditions would also keep some small animals or nt some vegetables and flowers in the biological geography garden. Hidden by a dense forest, the ce was usually deserted during ss time. In the bushes, a figure cautiously surveyed the surroundings, appearing sneaky. Seeing no one around, he took out his phone and dialed a number. "Today, during the System School Selection Consultation, the principal personally called him to the office." A deep voice came through the phone, "Did you investigate what exactly he did?" "No, I didn''t dare eavesdrop on the principal''s conversation. After all, he''s a strong practitioner in the Meridian Openingte stage!" The line went silent for a moment before the voice responded, "What''s your spection about his talent?" "It''s hard to say. I specifically came to the school yesterday to watch Xiang Beifei''s awakening ceremony and saw the whole process. Although Li Nanxing concluded that the Electric Shock Thunderstone was broken, Xiang Beifei is Xiang Tianxing''s son after all. Xiang Tianxing is an SR-rated genius, so it''s hard for me to believe his son is just an N-rated waste." The voice on the phone continued, "So, you''re suspecting that Li Nanxing deliberately tampered with the Electric Shock Thunderstone to cover up Xiang Beifei''s UR-rated talent?" "It''s possible, especially since Li Nanxing took Xiang Beifei to the office alone today for the System School Selection Consultation, which makes me suspicious," the figure in the bushes spoke in a hushed tone. "Then go investigate thoroughly," came the reply from the phone. "If Xiang Beifei is truly a UR-rated genius, what do you n to do?" "We''ll proceed ording to the rules. If he''s just an N-rated Awakener, then let it be. But if he''s UR, we can''t just ignore it," the voice on the phone stated. "Understood." The figure in the bushes hung up the phone and with a swift motion, disappeared into the biological geography garden. ¡ª "Isn''t this a bit too hard?" Kong Xiuwen scratched his head, looking quite frustrated. Xiang Beifei was curiously examining Kong Xiuwen''s system. Kong Xiuwen''s system had just issued a task for him toplete aprehensive exam paper, with the option to refer to books. The system''s reward was to lose another hair. For Kong Xiuwen, who was terrible at studying, this was a massive challenge. His foundation was not solid, sopleting this task might be a bit difficult. "Pioneers are a noble profession. In the wilderness, how many people make up a pioneer team? What types of systems do these team members generally awaken? Please provide examples." Kong Xiuwen read the question while twirling his pen. His pen-twirling skill was shy; he could twirl the pen around each finger but he just couldn''t untangle the answer to the question. After a while, Kong Xiuwen turned his head and quietly asked Xiang Beifei, "Right, you should know more about pioneers than I do. Help me look at this question." Kong Xiuwen knew that Xiang Beifei''s parents were pioneers, and he should be quite familiar with these kinds of questions. Xiang Beifei nced at the question and then said, "Every pioneer team isposed of five people, and generally speaking, the system types they awaken are all different. One needs to have detection abilities, mostly serving as the team leader, tomand the overall situation. One needs to have a healing system, responsible for treating teammates'' injuries. One needs to be a System Awakener with powerful offensive capabilities to open the way. One needs to have a defensive ability, to protect the entire team and avoid damage. Thest one would be a System Awakener with special action capabilities, responsible for advancing or retreating." Healing systems are generally sought from the Liberal Arts College''s medical specialty, while the rest mostlye from the Martial Arts College. Having special action capabilities generally refers to practitioners who have awakened systems such as the Flight System or the Earth Escape System. In the wilderness, faced with all sorts of dangers, it''s necessary to have a team member with retreat capabilities to lead the team in avoiding insurmountable perilous situations at critical moments. Kong Xiuwen hurriedly wrote down Xiang Beifei''s answer. "Right, do you n to be a pioneer in the future, like your parents?" Kong Xiuwen asked. "Maybe." Xiang Beifei answered offhandedly. That was not his heartfelt answer; for him, it was enough just to survive well in this world overrun with systems. Whether or not to be a pioneer wasn''t that important to him. Unless he needed to help othersplete tasks for rewards or something. Yeah, just like that. "So, is your system one of these five types?" Kong Xiuwen asked. "Sort of. What about you?" "My system allows for a wide range of specialization choices, but I think I''ll go down the path of strength. I''m not good at studying, but I can fight." Kong Xiuwen chuckled and habitually touched his hair. Then he couldn''t smile anymore. The less hair one had, the stronger one was. Yet, his hair was still like seaweed, lush and thriving. "Right, have you decided on your university after consulting with the System School Selection Consultant?" Xiang Beifei asked. "Not yet, but I n to go to the same university as you. I''ll go to whichever university you can get into," Kong Xiuwen said. He was an S-rank Awakener and had policy privileges. Except for the nine elite universities, he could easily get into any of the ordinarymon universities. "Then we should set a small goal first!" Xiang Beifei paused, then said, "Like getting into Liangzhou University." "Goodness! Is that a small goal?" Kong Xiuwen gasped and stared at Xiang Beifei. Liangzhou University was one of the nine elite universities! Even as an S-rank System Awakener, he never dared to set his sights on one of the nine elite universities! Chapter 27: Chapter 27: Fractions "You actually want to try for Liangzhou University, have you lost your mind?" Kong Xiuwen asked softly. "I''ve checked for you; Liangzhou University''s score line is the lowest among the nine elite universities. You need to aim for the Martial Arts College of Liangzhou University. The score requirement for the cultural courses in the Martial Arts College is lower, and with the added points you have, you will just need to score 500." Xiang Beifei said. "What''s the use of you checking for me? It''s mainly about you! I''ve heard that different Awakeners have different score lines," Kong Xiuwen said. "As an N-level System Awakener, you need to score 670," Xiang Beifei stated calmly. The total score for the Gaokao is 750 points. Each of the nine elite universities has two types of colleges. The Liberal Arts College has its admission standards, focusing on all walks of life. As for the Martial Arts College, they do not demand high scores for cultural courses, so they lower the eptance score. I don''t need to mention SR or SSR System Awakeners; they are all guaranteed admission. For S-level Awakeners, the admission line for the Martial Arts College is 550 points. For R-level Awakeners, the admission line for the Martial Arts College is 600 points. The other eight elite universities do not admit N-level System Awakeners. Only Liangzhou University gives N-level System Awakeners a chance. Even so, for N-level Awakeners, the admission line for Liangzhou University is as high as 670 points, the highest threshold for both the liberal and martial dao. Furthermore, you have to pass the university''s entrance examination. If you fail the assessment, they will still reject you. In the past, there were several N-level Awakeners with excellent scores in cultural courses who managed to score 670, but still failed at the entrance examination. Because Liangzhou University has strict requirements for N-level students, not only do they need to meet cultural course standards, but they must also pass the assessment. Liangzhou University hasn''t enrolled N-level System students for ten consecutive years. "670 points! Without any bonus points, that''s an astronomical figure, can you do it?" This score was something Kong Xiuwen never dared to dream of. Adding up his scores in all subjects, managing to get 400 points would already mean his ancestors were blessing him. S-levels get an addition of 50 points, R-levels get 10 points. These Awakeners at least have special lenient policies. But for N-level Awakeners in the Gaokao, there are no extra points; admission to elite universities relies solely on actual scores, in addition to passing a strict assessment, which is extremely difficult. "My system task is to get me into Liangzhou University. I must work toward this goal," Xiang Beifei said. "What a crappy system you have!" Kong Xiuwen finally understood what Xiang Beifei meant¡ªit wasn''t that he wanted to go to Liangzhou University, but the system wanted him to. If he didn''tplete the system task, it would be difficult to progress; he would remain mediocre for life. "You only need to score 500 points, and you can get into Liangzhou University, so you need to improve your grades within two months. It''s better to go to an elite university than a regr one," Xiang Beifei said. "What about you? Can you improve from 400 to 670 points in two months?" Kong Xiuwen asked. "I don''t have a choice. Even if it''s impossible, I still have to do it, understand?" Xiang Beifei said. He actually had great confidence, "Learn by Analogy" made studying for cultural courses incredibly simple. "Your system is even more of a scam than mine." Kong Xiuwen pulled at his hair, looking at Xiang Beifei with a face full of sympathy. Losing hair at least makes you stronger, but Xiang Beifei''s first task was almost as hard as ascending to heaven. "Quit the nonsense. Are you setting this small goal or not?" "Since you have such a grand task, I must keep up! It''s just improving by a hundred points in a short time, right? I''m all in!" At worst, he would just lose a few more strands of hair! Kong Xiuwen had some auxiliary potions in his S-level system''s store that could invigorate his mind, making his thinking more agile. He hadn''t wanted to use these; he preferred to buy things that increased strength. But now, he had to change his training focus and, with the help of the system, get admitted to Liangzhou University first. ¡ª¡ª After school, he didn''t go home with Kong Xiuwen; instead, he headed for the vegetable market. His grandfather made a living selling vegetables at the market, and Xiang Beifei wanted to help out. When Xiang Beifei arrived at the bustling vegetable market, it was evening, and there were a lot of people buying vegetables. The market was teeming and noisy. He found his grandfather in the middle of haggling with a vegetable vendor. "No, listen here, youngdy, a bundle of green onions is just ny cents, and you''re still bargaining?" Xiang Qingde shook his head at the stout woman in front of him. She had a basket slung over her arm, wore a ne around her neck, and her makeup was thick, her lipstick especially obvious. "The quality of these onions isn''t great, see? The tips are turning yellow. They''re not fresh. Even ny cents a bunch is too much. I''ll take two for a dor fifty and how about you throw in two pieces of ginger?" the woman hollered in a loud voice. "Who does business like that? These onions were picked straight from the field today. Go on, find someone selling fresher ones!" Xiang Qingde was about to reason with the woman, but when he caught sight of Xiang Beifei approaching, he was very surprised, "Beifei, what brings you to a ce like this?" "I just came to see if you needed any help," Xiang Beifei said. "I can manage by myself; why would I need your help? Aren''t you in your third year of high school? Shouldn''t you be reviewing your coursework?" Xiang Qingde asked. "You never likeding here before, and now sudden... You haven''t run into some trouble, have you?" Xiang Qingde was somewhat anxious. Meanwhile, the plump woman was getting impatient, "I''m asking you, old brother, are you selling or not?" "Alright, alright, take them for a dor fifty!" Xiang Qingde, more concerned about Xiang Beifei, quickly settled the haggling over the onions. The woman left, pleased as punch after paying. Xiang Beifei nced at the woman''s system, which had awakened a "Level N Bargaining System." "[You''ve just haggled the price of a bunch of green onions below market value, your system points +0.01]" ... Bargaining System? Too bad this aunty doesn''t know about Pinduoduo. Otherwise, it''s all about chipping in with your bros! You could definitely haggle your way to a prosperous path. "Grandpa, you sold at a loss," Xiang Beifei pointed out. "It''s alright, are you okay?" Xiang Qingde pulled him over and gave him a once-over while asking, "Did someone bully you at school again?" Why does everyone think I get bullied? Do I look too naive or something? "I just wanted to clear my head; studying non-stop can get pretty boring," Xiang Beifei said. "Are you sure you''re okay?" "Really," Xiang Beifei assured. "Alright then, take a seat for now. We did good business today, made 60 bucks. It''s time to close up, and there are usually more customers around this time. Once it''s over, I''ll take you out to eat. They''re supposed to celebrate your system awakening yesterday, and I still haven''t taken you out." "Okay." Xiang Beifei watched his grandfather efficiently serve the customers, lending a hand where he could, grabbing bags and helping bag up the vegetables. But internally, he was weighing his current predicament. Grandpa earns just 60 bucks after a whole day selling vegetables? Suddenly, he felt a pang of sympathy for his grandfather. That earning 60 bucks could make him so happy. Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Swallowing Anger and Humiliation Liangzhou University, a tuition fee of 100,000. Grandpa''s ie simply couldn''t afford it. Xiang Beifei still dared not tell his grandpa his goal. At least, he had to wait until after the college entrance examination. Xiang Qingde was bustling about, while Xiang Beifei was observing the people around him. At a nce, all the systems he saw were [N-level Vegetable and Fruit Merchant System][N-level Seafood King System][N-level Butcher System]... He asionally saw an R-level system, but they were mostly used by people who stopped by to buy groceries after work. N-level Awakeners in this world could only live at the very bottom; the tasks released by their systems were very unreasonable, and it was very difficult for them to get ahead. The vegetable merchants and customers haggled vigorously and then asionally checked their systems to see if they hadpleted a system task, gaining a glimmer of hope to continue living. As Xiang Beifei was thinking, azy voice emerged from the stall in front of him. "Old man, you know the rules, hurry up! Swap the taro for potatoes today." Xiang Beifei looked up and saw a man with a haughty expression. This man had a red armband on his arm that read "Market Civilization Supervisor." When Xiang Qingde saw the man, his face showed an odd expression, but he still squeezed out a smile and said, "Right away." He took out a stic bag, picked some vegetables from the stall, quickly filled arge bag, and then handed it to the man. "The lettuce is good today." The man rudely picked a few more sticks of lettuce, stuffed them into the bag, weighed the bag, and then, satisfied, turned to leave. Xiang Beifei furrowed his brow and spoke out, "You forgot to pay." Xiang Qingde, hearing Xiang Beifei''s words, quickly gave him a look and subtly shook his head, asking Xiang Beifei not to speak. "Pay?" The man stopped, turned around, and looked at Xiang Beifei meaningfully, then tugged on his armband, "What did you just say?" "Nothing, Captain Ma, it''s just the child talking nonsense, don''t take it to heart," Xiang Qingde hurriedly said. Xiang Beifei looked at the man''s system interface: [Host: Ma Dongqiang] [N-level, Endure Silently System] [Realm: Mid-stage Qi-Controlling] [Your choice to endure the oppressive behavior of the old vegetable vendor silently has increased your endurance value by +1] Xiang Beifei thoughtfully looked at Ma Dongqiang''s system. In the system''s description, he saw a line: [Endure Silently System, when you choose to silently endure something or someone else chooses to silently endure your behavior, you can gain endurance value] Ma Dongqiang, as a Market Civilization Supervisor, managed this entire area of the market. The small vegetable vendors who wanted to sell their goods here had to listen to him. Thus, if he wanted to take someone''s goods, he would just take them, and the vendors dare not object, but could only choose to endure silently. This way, he could gain endurance value. Ma Dongqiang looked at Xiang Beifei with a half-smiling expression. This kid was obviously new and didn''t understand the rules here; in this ce, he was the market''s tyrant, and no one had ever dared to ask him to pay. "Kid, as the Market Civilization Supervisor, I need to inspect the quality of the vegetables in the entire market. These vegetables are for me to test for pesticide residues. Do you have any objections?" Ma Dongqiang narrowed his eyes at Xiang Beifei, a smug look appearing at the corner of his mouth. Of course, he was going to take the vegetables home to eat. Sometimes he would also take them to give to his superiors. How could he possibly test them for pesticide residues? But with this excuse, he could keep these peoplepletely under control. "No objections, no objections, it''s right to follow the rules," Xiang Qingde quickly said. He was certainly aware of Ma Dongqiang''s domineering nature, but if he wanted to sell vegetables here, he was forced to bow his head and pick out a portion of vegetables to give to Ma Dongqiang every afternoon as protection money. "I was asking him, not you, why are you mouthing off?" Ma Dongqiang red at Xiang Qingde, then walked over to Xiang Beifei, his stature half a head shorter than Xiang Beifei''s, so he haughtily looked up at him. But he found this posture to be a bit odd,cking a bit of dominance. "Do you, a little brat, have anyints about my work?" Ma Dongqiang tried to stand on his tiptoes, making himself a bit taller, which he thought made his words more intimidating. Xiang Qingde was a bit nervous and pulled at Xiang Beifei''s sleeve from the side. He was worried that Xiang Beifei, being young and impetuous, might say something rash and cause trouble. Xiang Beifei looked down at Ma Dongqiang, who was unsteady on his tiptoes and slightly trembling, assessing the other''s system interface. [Current endurance value is 20967. When the endurance value reaches 21000, you can exchange for items: 1. 2000 yuan of Alliance currency. 2. Primordial Strengthening Pill] Xiang Beifei thought for a moment, then very amiably said to Ma Dongqiang, "Noints." [The vegetable vendor''s grandson swallowed your threat without a word, your endurance value +1] When Ma Dongqiang saw this line appear on his system interface, he was instantly filled with pride. This kid just gave in like that? Just as I thought! In the vegetable market, there''s no one who dares to challenge me, Ma Dongqiang! "Smartd! I''m in a good mood today so I won''t bother arguing with you. Here''s a piece of advice, kid. It''s good for you to suffer losses." Ma Dongqiang looked at Xiang Beifei contentedly. Just a student-looking youngster, could he not handle him? "You''re right." Xiang Beifei nodded sincerely. He couldn''t agree more. ording to Ma Dongqiang''s way of unting his power, he only needed 43 more points toplete his system rewards, which he should collect by tomorrow. It could even be shipped for free. Ma Dongqiang thought he had bluffed another naive young man and was in high spirits! He chuckled, grabbed a handful of fava beans, and then walked confidently to the next store to inspect it. Xiang Qingde finally spoke up after Ma Dongqiang had left, "It''s fortunate you didn''t cause trouble, or it would have been a hassle." "Grandpa, does hee here every day to take our vegetables?" Xiang Beifei asked. "Yes, hees exactly once a day to pige. We''ve gotten used to it." Xiang Qingde sorted the unsold vegetables, shaking his head slightly. After a while, he smiled at Xiang Beifei and said, "Don''t take it to heart; life is like this. We''re always going to meet all sorts of people who add trouble to our lives; it can''t always go smoothly. But we must learn to choose our battles, and sometimes, it''s okay to take a loss and not dwell on it." Dwell on it? How could I! I sure know how to take a loss. Xiang Beifei nodded, "I understand, Grandpa." "Good, as long as you understand. No matter what happens, never lose hope for the future. We must always believe in one principle: as long as life doesn''t defeat us, it means we are in control of our lives!" Xiang Qingde patiently advised his grandson. He was giving Xiang Beifei these life lessons because yesterday Xiang Beifei had just awakened his system, which unfortunately turned out to be the lowest and least promising N-level system. But people should not give up on themselves. He hoped his grandson would face life with an optimistic attitude. However, Xiang Qingde would never understand just how good Xiang Beifei''s mentality was. Incredibly good. Xiang Qingde continued to attend to the customers buying vegetables, while Xiang Beifei watched his somewhat stooped grandfather and smiled softly. This was his only rtive in this system world. And the one he must protect. Chapter 29: Chapter 29: Grandparent and Grandchild "Ah! I absolutely can''t endure this, who''s responsible! Bastard!" Ma Dongqiang''s system reward arrived a bit earlier than Xiang Beifei had anticipated. He bossed the vendors around every day, scavenging all sorts of things in the market, so the collection was quicklyplete. Therefore, when the vendors were closing up shop and Ma Dongqiang''s angry howls rose from the other side, Xiang Qingde still found it strange. "What''s wrong with him?" Xiang Qingde looked at Ma Dongqiang puzzled as he hopped up and down in agitation. "Don''t know, maybe he''s constipated." With two thousand yuan in his pocket, Xiang Beifei watched Ma Dongqiang like an onlooker eating melon seeds. "Is that so!" Xiang Qingde suddenly understood, then whispered after a moment, "You see, what goes aroundes around. That''s why it''s better to be kind." He seemed rather satisfied. But Ma Dongqiang was on the verge of going mad with anger! Originally he was happy to have saved enough endurance value, and with much excitement, he went to im his reward that he had umted over several months, only to find that the system had glitched! Ma Dongqiang''s face turned green on the spot! [Please learn to hold back and remain silent. Avoid getting agitated, or endurance points will be deducted.] "All my things are gone, how can I possibly hold back?" Ma Dongqiang roared. [The host failed to hold back, endurance value -1, current endurance value is 2] "I''m so done with this!" [The host failed to hold back, endurance value -1, current endurance value is 1] Ma Dongqiang took a sharp breath and hurriedly shut his mouth, his face turning white. His [Endure and Swallow Your Voice] system had two ways of acquiring points. If others chose to endure and swallow their voices against his actions, he could umte endurance value. If he himself endured and swallowed his voice in response to others'' actions, he could also umte endurance value. Enduring and swallowing one''s voice was a two-way street. Thus if his task reward was lost, he had to endure it too! If he couldn''t endure, then it would be disastrous! He had finally rued 21,003 points by exploiting these vendors, and after exchanging them for his task reward, now both the Primordial Strengthening Pill and two thousand yuan were gone. He had been domineering for so long, lost his cool for a moment, threw a fit, and as a result, had his endurance value docked too! Ma Dongqiang saw the customers and vendors around him all pointing and whispering, and he felt like his lungs would explode with rage! But he dared notsh out. Even if these vendors mocked him or threw a rotten egg at him, he had to endure and swallow his voice. Most importantly, he couldn''t take retaliatory measures against these vendors, otherwise, that too would count as failing to endure, and endurance points would be deducted! "I... I will endure!" [You chose to endure and swallow your voice regarding the matter that befell you, your endurance value +1, your current endurance value is 2] "Ah..." Ma Dongqiang hated this so much internally! Even if he had to bite off his teeth, he still had to swallow them. ---- Xiang Beifei saw all of Ma Dongqiang''s system notifications and knew that Ma Dongqiang probably wouldn''t exploit the vendors for a while, as it would all be counted by the system as failing to endure. "Grandpa, actually you could just ask him to pay up, not let him scavenge. I think he wouldn''t dare to say anything," Xiang Beifei said. Ma Dongqiang''s need to endure and swallow his voice meant that when others refused his demands, he couldn''t make a fuss. However, all these vendors needed to make a living in the market, and Ma Dongqiang decided whether the vendors could sell vegetables there or not, so whatever Ma Dongqiang said, those vendors had no choice but to follow. "It''s no trouble." Xiang Qingde shook his head, his grandson had just awakened to his system and would need to attend school in the future, he needed this job¡ªbetter to avoid any additional trouble. Xiang Beifei didn''t continue exining. ``` However, Ma Dongqiang might continue to exploit these bottom-tier vegetable vendors who make a living by selling their goods. But that''s okay, since grandfather is here, Xiang Beifei doesn''t mind making a few more trips to this ce. He tossed the Primordial Strengthening Pill to Xiaohei. Ma Dongqiang was at the mid-stage of Qi-Controlling, a small realm higher than Xiang Beifei, which also meant he could be used to illuminate a constetion. So far, with the two types of medicinal pills given by Principal Li Nanxing, plus the Primordial Strengthening Pill, he had three in total. He still needed one more to be ready to illuminate the Arrogant Dragon Constetion. It was just a pity that the body technique manual from Liu Qianrou wasn''t very powerful, only suitable for the early stage of Qi-Controlling. He could only think of a way to sell it. "Let''s go, I said I would take you out to eat today." Xiang Qingde said cheerfully. Xiang Beifei did not refuse and followed his grandfather to a small stir-fry restaurant. "Order whatever you like, don''t be shy. This is to celebrate your acquiring your own system." Xiang Qingde pushed the menu to Xiang Beifei with a beaming smile, disying great generosity. He was still willing to spend money on his only grandson. Xiang Beifei ordered three dishes, spending twenty-one yuan. He knew his grandfather always saved money, so he ordered three of the cheapest dishes, just to make a gesture. "You must have been studying your system in your room yesterday afternoon; I didn''t disturb you. This morning, when I got up, you were still sleeping, so I didn''t ask you about it. Speaking of which, how well do you understand your system now?" Xiang Qingde asked. "I have basically figured it out. I''m thinking about how toplete tasks." "Is the first system task difficult? Can I help in any way?" Xiang Qingde asked. Xiang Beifei shook his head: "I need toplete it independently." "Complete it independently?" Xiang Qingde understood. If the system required tasks to bepleted independently, then others couldn''t intervene, otherwise, it would be considered a failure. "In any case, you need to take your system seriously. Ask more if you don''t understand, and be sure to speak up if you have needs. Don''t hold back. Grandpa is here! I will definitely help you," Xiang Qingde instructed. "Understood." Xiang Beifei nodded and then nced at his grandfather''s system again. That snowke panel always made him feel puzzled. What had happened to make his grandfather''s system turn out like this? But he did not feel it was appropriate to inquire, so he had to suppress this curiosity for the time being. ¡ª¡ª The dishes were served quickly. Xiang Qingde kept putting food onto Xiang Beifei''s te while he himself ate rice. He hardly touched the three dishes, only asionally using his chopsticks to dip into the sauce to touch up his rice with a bit of taste. "Aren''t you eating, Grandpa?" "I am eating, I am. You hurry up and eat more. It''s time for you to grow," Xiang Qingde said with a smile. Xiang Beifei didn''t say much, ate half, then put down his chopsticks and said, "I''m full." "Full already? Eat some more, you''re growing." "This meal doesn''t suit my taste. I don''t want to eat out next time¡ªit''s not tasty," Xiang Beifei said. "Not tasty? Oh, I knew we shouldn''t havee here, and there''s still so much left..." Xiang Qingde looked somewhat distressed at the three tes of food that Xiang Beifei had barely touched. Xiang Beifei said, "If we can''t finish it, let''s just leave it. Toss it out." "How can we do that? We can''t waste food like that, how can we just throw it away? You better eat some more," Xiang Qingde hurriedly shook his head, urging Xiang Beifei to continue eating. But Xiang Beifei looked disgusted, and Xiang Qingde had no choice but to eat some of the dishes himself. Eventually, he had the leftover dishes packed up. Actually, the food at the restaurant was cooked better than at home, and Xiang Beifei was aware of this fact. But when eating out, his grandfather always imed not to like the food, then left the tasty things for him to eat, barely eating much himself. However, Xiang Beifei knew how to get the thrifty and frugal old man to pick up his chopsticks and join him in eating. Just say it should be thrown away. A simple matter. ``` Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Desolate Beast The grandson and grandfather walked home along the street under the moonlight. It was already past nine in the evening, and people who had been busy all day trudged by, too weary to give anyone else more than a passing nce. When they reached the corner of the street, Xiang Qingde told Xiang Beifei to head back home first as he needed to stop by the grocery store to talk about some matters with the owner. Xiang Beifei turned the corner alone, not far from home, with just an alley to cross. The alley was unusually quiet today, seemingly untouched by passersby. To add to the silence, the streetlight was broken, leaving a long stretch of road shrouded in darkness. Just then, Xiaohei on his shoulder suddenly tensed, tugging at Xiang Beifei''s ear and barking twice in warning. "Is there something there?" Xiang Beifei also felt something was amiss and looked toward the dark void ahead; a foreboding presence seemed to stir in the shadows. Lacking any realbat skills, he felt no curiosity towards this unknown danger and immediately turned to run towards the light. However, before he could take two steps, a low growl cut through the darkness; it was as if a gust of wind swept by, and a shadow lunged toward him. Xiang Beifei instinctively dodged to the side, avoiding the strike, while the shadow missed and quickly steadied itself before turning to fix its gaze on him. As he ran towards this side, the faint light from a nearby residential building cast out, dispersing some of the darkness. Taking advantage of this dim light, he could make out the rough appearance of the shadow. It was an animal about one meter tall, resembling arge yellow dog, except the dog had two-inch-long fangs and hair that stood on end like barbs. Its limbs had protrusions that looked like bone des. "Is this a deste beast?" Xiang Beifei was quite surprised. He was aware that this world harbored various powerful deste beasts, with terrifyingbat strength constantly encroaching upon human territories. But normally, these deste beasts shouldn''t appear in residential areas; they were kept beyond the wastnds outside of Jiuzhou. Jiuzhou itself was guarded by pioneers and defenders who would y any beasts that slipped through. The area where Xiang Beifei resided was considered a safe zone. Under normal circumstances, there shouldn''t be any deste beasts, and if there were, they would be eliminated by thew enforcement. So what was the story with this strange canine? Suddenly, Xiaohei sniffed something and turned its head towards a roadside tree in the darkness, barking twice more. Xiang Beifei looked in that direction but saw no one. However, he did see a system interface hiding amongst the tree branches quite clearly. Even in the darkness, that system interface shone brightly to Xiang Beifei. Like a lighthouse amidst the murk, unmistakably conspicuous. Xiang Beifei could see anyone''s system, even if he couldn''t make out what the person looked like. "Who is this person?" Xiang Beifei frowned, focusing on the system interface, attempting to discern the information disyed on it. But, unfortunately, since the interface was obstructed by branches and at a distance, he couldn''t make out the system''s details. At this moment, the strange canine was not allowing Xiang Beifei any time to ponder; it was fixating on him and charged again. Whoosh! Xiang Beifei once again dodged the beast-dog''s attack by swiftly sidestepping. The moonlight glinted off the beast''s bone de as it swung at Xiang Beifei, who narrowly evaded; the razor-sharp bone de tore through his clothes! His strength had only just reached the early stages of Qi-Controlling, and this beast-dog was ferocious, its power and speed far surpassed his. He was also fortunate to have the "Learn by Analogy" ability. After continuously evading the mutant dog''s attacks twice just now, he had fully understood the information about this mutant dog: ¡ª¡ªOriginally a stray dog, two years and three months old, mutated into a mutant dog, its strength and speed are ten times that of before, relying mainly on the bone des on its legs for attacks, with its killing power ranked among the lowest of deste beasts. The mutant dog''s weakness lies in the cartge beneath the bone de; hitting it will paralyze its entire body and render it unable to fight for five minutes. "The weakness is the cartge beneath the bone de?" Xiang Beifei quickly focused on the mutant dog''s bone de, which was six inches long, about twenty centimeters, and extremely vicious when used. If it weren''t for his ability "Learn by Analogy," which allowed him to quickly grasp the mutant dog''s mode of attack and dodge at the critical moment, he would have been knocked down long ago. But even knowing the opponent''s attack pattern, trying to dodge was still strenuous, as the opponent''s speed was still faster to some extent. Xiang Beifei didn''t have any suitable weapons on hand, all he could think of was using rocks. "Roar!" The mutant dog raised its bone de and viciously kicked towards Xiang Beifei, who plunged to the side and crashed into the wall. In his desperation, he happened to grab a brick. But just as he was about to use the brick to smash the mutant dog''s bone de, he suddenly remembered the mysterious person hiding in the tree and watching. The presence of the mutant dog here must be rted to that mysterious person. That meant the other party was stronger than he was. If they were to take advantage of Xiang Beifei being busy dodging the mutant dog tounch a sneak attack, Xiang Beifei wouldn''t have any means of resisting. But that person stood there without initiating an attack, did he have some concerns? Was it because it wasn''t convenient for him to make a move? Or some other reason? "Could it be that he''s here to test my strength?" Xiang Beifei''s mind raced with many possibilities in an instant! ¡ª¡ª "The geniuses with UR rank systems from the legends don''t have to do any tasks right after awakening and possesste-stage Qi-Controlling strength. Come on, let''s see if you can deal with this mid-stage Qi-Controlling mutant dog." The shadow atop the tree watched Xiang Beifei confronting the mutant dog and muttered to itself. He was ordered to investigate the system talent rank of Xiang Tianxing''s son. Principal Li Nanxing was stronger than him; naturally, he couldn''t get any information from Principal Li Nanxing, so he started from Xiang Beifei himself. If Xiang Beifei was an Awakener of a UR system, then he should be in thete stages of Qi-Controlling by now, and it should be more than enough for him to kill off this mutant dog. Once the mutant dog was killed, Xiang Beifei''s talent could be confirmed, and he could go back to report. "Why is he evading so strenuously?" The shadow had some doubts in its heart. There were no people here, if Xiang Beifei wanted to hide his talent, there was no need. Could it be that he awakened not a martial Dao system, but a literary Dao system? But that shouldn''t be the case either; even a literary Dao system of UR rank talent reaching thete stages of Qi-Controlling should still be able to fend off this mid-stage Qi-Controlling mutant dog with its own Spiritual Power, even if not adept at fighting. But why did this kid seem so flustered when dodging, not at all like someone with Spiritual Power? Could it be a mistake? Is he really just an N-rank loser? While the shadow was pondering, Xiang Beifei suddenly turned around and quickly ran towards the tree he was on; at the same time, the mutant dog also leaped high, pouncing in this direction. Chapter 31: Chapter 31: The Strange Dog The shadow believed it had concealed itself perfectly well. Considering it was at the very least a Meridian Opening stage cultivator, it knew Xiang Beifei definitely couldn''t see him, so he watched the unfolding scene with ease. However, what he hadn''t expected was for Xiang Beifei to suddenly turn tail and run this way, seemingly nning to find an obstacle to hide from the mutant hound, with the great tree serving as an ideal target. Yet he wasn''t in a hurry; his disguise was not something this kid could see through. The mutant hound charged fiercely, pouncing towards Xiang Beifei, its sharp bone de drawing a vicious arc in the air, shing towards Xiang Beifei''s back. Xiang Beifei cried out in rm, ducking awkwardly to the side and covering his head, appearing as if he were terrified, with no intention of fighting back. But the hound''s massive body found nothing but air. The bone de''s chilling gleam missed by barely brushing Xiang Beifei''s hair, and the beast couldn''t dodge in time, crashing into the crisscrossed branches before letting out a miserable yelp. A tree branch had just stabbed into the soft cartge beneath the mutant hound''s bone de! Howl! The mutant hound''s body went numb, and it fell to the base of the tree, its limbs twitching faintly, deprived of itsbat strength. "My God! What monster! Terrifying!" Xiang Beifei eximed, hastily pulling out his phone and dialing Jiuzhou Alliance''s emergency hotline 999 in a panic. "Hello, is this 999? There''s... there''s a deste beast here! Someonee quick!" Xiang Beifei shouted into the phone. "This guy really got lucky!" The shadow was surprised to see the mutant hound hit in its vulnerable spot by a tree branch. He had nned to probe further, but after seeing Xiang Beifei calling for help, he pondered briefly, then shed out from one side, leaving the big tree behind. Jiuzhou''s Law Enforcers were capable of tracing the location of an emergency call, and some powerful officers would likely arrive within a few minutes. By now, he was almost certain that Xiang Beifei was nothing but an N-level scrub, so there was no point in loitering around. Only after the shadow had gone did Xiang Beifei stand up, the panicked expression on his face long gone, reced by puzzled eyes intently following the direction where the shadow had disappeared. He didn''t pursue, for he couldn''t catch up. The anguished words from just now were uttered on the spur of the moment. The deste beast at the Qi-Controlling mid-stage posed no threat to him; he could have dispatched the mutant hound with a rock, but he had deliberately run this way to better understand the system of this individual. The mutant hound''s collision with the tree and the subsequent puncture of its soft cartge was not luck, but part of Xiang Beifei''s calcted n. Fortunately, Beifei''s disguise was not in vain. In the rush of the moment, he rified the system information of the other party: [Host: Xu Yang] [S-level, Mutation System] [Realm: Meridian Opening initial stage] [Mutation System: Can cause any living creature to undergo a brief mutation] "Who is this Xu Yang? Possessing an S-level system, and still at the Meridian Opening initial stage?" Xiang Beifei was quite puzzled. A cultivator at the initial stage of Meridian Opening, as per his system, should still be a martial artist, and it would be easy for such a person to take action against him. But he had actually left, without even considering capturing him and throwing him into a confinement cell. Was the other party truly just probing him? "Could it be because of yesterday''s anomaly with the thunderstone when I activated the Awakening System?" The only possibility Xiang Beifei could think of was this. The mutant hound on the ground twitched twice, seemingly about to regain its ability to move. It hadn''t died earlier; it was merely incapacitated for a short time after being impaled in the soft cartge. "Lie down and wait for the police toe." Xiang Beifei broke off a branch from the tree, gestured with it, and poked the mutant hound''s soft cartge to ensure it would rest a little longer. ¡ª¡ª A shadow flickered through the night. It wasn''t until he was two streets away from the alley that the shadow finally came to a stop. The person known as "Xu Yang" walked to a secluded spot, looked around to ensure no one was there, then took out his phone and dialed a number. Soon, a voice came through from the other end of the call, "Is it confirmed?" "Confirmed." "Is it a UR talent?" "Definitely not. He couldn''t even defeat a mid-stage Qi-Controlling mutant hound, got scared yelling for help. If such a guy is a UR talent, that would be an insult to UR itself." "He was defeated by a mutant hound?" The voice on the other end of the phone seemed a bit surprised, "Is he that weak?" "Yes, he didn''t inherit his father''s talents at all. His father was at least SR-level, and he''s just an N-level." "Xiang Tianxing''s son is only N-level? Hard to believe..." The person on the other end of the phone fell silent, seemingly in thought. Xu Yang continued, "Maybe I really got it wrong, he doesn''t have the potential." "He didn''t discover you, did he?" "How could he possibly notice me? With his strength, I could stand behind him, and he wouldn''t even see me," said Xu Yang. "It''s best he didn''t notice. Given that, don''t bother with him anymore. Your mission is over; you cane back." "Okay." Xu Yang hung up the phone and took another look at his system interface: [Your mutant hound attacked Xiang Beifei, mutant hound proficiency +2, the strength of the next mutated hound +1, mutation value +1] "Eh? Not a total loss, the proficiency of the mutant hound actually increased tonight? Jackpot!" Xu Yang''s mood brightened, "Though Xiang Beifeicks talent, he inadvertently helped my mutant hound level up; that''s rare." Usually, when mutant hounds attack others, the chances of proficiency increasing are very slim. Today is my lucky day! ---- Xiang Beifei waited on the spot for five minutes, noticing that the police still hadn''t arrived. The main reason he had called the police just now was for his own safety, and as a way to frighten the other party away. Actually, that person had already left; there was no need to involve the police. However, since he had called the police, he still needed to handle it, otherwise they might trace him using his cell number, find his home, and then he would have to exin it to his grandfather, causing the old man to worry. The mutant hound lying on the ground seemed to gradually regain its ability to move; this was already the third time it recovered, with the previous two times being knocked down by Xiang Beifei. The mutant hound slowly crawled up and, baring its teeth at Xiang Beifei, prepared to continue its attack. Just when Xiang Beifei was about to jab it for the third time, suddenly, a crispmanding voice came from behind, "Demon! You shall not harm people!" A shadow shed by Xiang Beifei''s side, with a leg sweeping over and kicking the mutant hound in front of him. "Oof!" The mutant hound, just standing up, was sent flying by a long leg. She was a short-haired girl, with a delicate appearance, tall figure, wearing jeans and a white shirt. After kicking, her leg still maintained the lifted posture; it was very stylish. She slowly lowered her leg, turned her head to look at Xiang Beifei, and asked, "Did you call the police?" Xiang Beifei looked at the girl''s system: [Host: Lu Zhiwei] [S-level, Super Police System] [Realm: Advanced Qi-Controlling] "Lu Zhiwei?" Xiang Beifei knew this girl. "Eh? Beifei!" Lu Zhiwei seemed to only then recognize Xiang Beifei''s face. Xiang Beifei''s father was a pioneer, while Lu Zhiwei''s father was a city guardian; the two had work-rted interactions in the past, so Xiang Beifei and Lu Zhiwei also knew each other from before. Lu Zhiwei was a year older than Xiang Beifei. She awakened her systemst year and started her freshman year of university this year at Liangzhou University. "I''m the one who called the cops, but why did you show up? You''re not a cityw enforcer," Xiang Beifei asked. Lu Zhiwei put her hands on her hips and replied, "I attend sses during the day and intern at my dad''s office in the evening, is that a problem?" After a pause, she added, "I''m here, and you''re being picky. If I hadn''t responded to the call, you might have been carried away by this deste beast by now. You should thank me for arriving in time to deal with this beast." Deal with? That deste beast was lying down obediently just ten minutes ago! "Then I really should thank you. Lucky you came on time, or a momentter..." Xiang Beifei dusted off his clothes, picked up his backpack nonchntly, and said, "My wounds would have healed." Lu Zhiwei: "..." Chapter 32: Chapter 32: Deductive Reasoning Lu Zhiwei pretended not to hear Xiang Beifei''s words and shone her shlight on the otherworldly dog that had been kicked to the brink of death, her expression growing slightly more serious, "Why would there be a deste beast here?" "Just now..." Xiang Beifei was about to exin, but Lu Zhiwei held up a hand to stop him from continuing, "Don''t spoil it for me, I''m a Law Enforcer. Let me reason it out!" What is there to reason out? However, Lu Zhiwei''s "Super Police System" seemed to have issued a task: [Task: Investigate the scene, deduce the events that urred] [Correct deduction reward: +1 Recognition Ability] "Alright then!" Xiang Beifei shrugged his shoulders and made a weing gesture. Lu Zhiwei walked around the alley seriously, circling a tree twice, squatting down to poke the otherworldly dog, then wandering through the alley as if looking for some clues. A minuteter, she lifted her head and said, "You must have had poor grades and were kept in detention by the teacher, which is why you''re only just getting home now. You encountered this deste beast, but you still had time to call the police, indicating that the beast''s target wasn''t you but instead another person, whom you saw being attacked, hence you called the police. But when I arrived, the deste beast was about to attack you, and there was no second person at the scene¡ªAh! Could that person have been eaten by the deste beast?" Xiang Beifei: "???" "Am I right in my deducing?" Lu Zhiwei asked eagerly. Xiang Beifei spread his hands. A line of text shed across her system interface: [Deduction failed, current uracy rate: 11%, target uracy rate: 20%] "How is that possible? I deduced it by referencing the logic of detective cartoons. I''ve seen over 600 episodes of detective cartoons, learned so many insights, mastered all sorts of perfect crimes, alibis, locked-room murder techniques... and still my deduction uracy rate is this low!" Lu Zhiwei muttered to herself indignantly, hands on her hips. Xiang Beifei said, "The detective cartoon you''ve been watching, wouldn''t the protagonist happen to be Detective Kogoro Mori?" Lu Zhiwei red at Xiang Beifei. Xiang Beifei casually nced over Lu Zhiwei''s stats again. [Speed: 79] [Strength: 80] [Identification Ability: 19] [Deduction Ability: 18] ... These skewed stats are a bit severe. Could it be that she leveled up her skill tree incorrectly, putting all the points into speed and strength? Is she nning to be a violent detective? "Xiao Wei, you went on a mission alone again without telling me!" At that moment, a man hurried into the alley from behind. Wearing a blue guard uniform, he strode quickly over, scanning the alley with a serious look, then frowned slightly at the sight of the otherworldly dog lying on the ground. Xiang Beifei looked at the man''s system interface: [Host: Lu Hong] [Grade S, Investigation System] [Realm: Early Stage of Meridian Opening] When Lu Zhiwei saw Lu Hong, she shrank her head and said sheepishly, "Dad, I was just reducing your workload! A deste beast showed up in our area, which is a big deal. You were eating just now, so I took it upon myself to step in." ``` "Nonsense! You''re not aw enforcer yet, and my agreeing to let you intern here every evening wasn''t permission for you to stir up trouble. Couldn''t you have called me when I wasn''t around?" Lu Hong''s voice was very serious. Lu Zhiwei smiled sheepishly and dared not talk back. "Beifei, what happened? Did you report an attack?" Lu Hong also knew Xiang Beifei. "Yes, just now I was attacked by a deste beast." Xiang Beifei pointed at the mutant dog on the ground. Lu Hong stared at the mutant dog for a long while before speaking, "This isn''t a true deste beast, but a dog that has been mutated by someone. It''s a low-level mutant dog which won''t revert back until its strength has dissipated. Earlier, it must have been¡ª" Lu Hong paused here, looking at Xiang Beifei with some astonishment, then asked, "It was targeting you; it chased you from over there to this tree and then ran into the tree, seemingly losing its ability to fight. You''re really lucky." Such impressive deductive skills. Much better than the 11% uracy of Lu Zhiwei. Indeed, experience does count. However, it wasn''t luck that the mutant dog lost its ability to fight; everything was just within Xiang Beifei''s calctions. Lu Zhiwei said softly, "Dad, it was I who knocked down this mutant dog just now." "Where did you knock it down? You were just gilding the lily. Look here, the dog''s vulnerability was clearly prodded several times by this branch, at least three times. By the way, Beifei, how did you know how to deal with this mutant dog?" Lu Hong looked at Xiang Beifei with astonishment. In his impression, Xiang Beifei was not very serious about his studies, unlike his father. "Oh right, I''ve read some books about mutant dogs and know their weaknesses. When it ran into the tree just now, I kept scratching its vulnerable spot to prevent it from getting up, waiting for you toe." Xiang Beifei nodded, making no attempt to conceal it. After all, Lu Hong was aw enforcer, and one equipped with the Investigation System at that, so there was no need to hide anything from him. "Ah, so that''s how it was!" Lu Zhiwei remembered her own dreadful reasoning and rolled her eyes, "Damn, I thought it had eaten a person!" Lu Hong ignored his daughter and continued to question Xiang Beifei, "Who have you angered? Why would someone use a mutant dog to attack a student like you?" "I don''t know, I was just taking this road on my way home, when a deste beast suddenly pounced on me, and then I started running while calling the police." Xiang Beifei thought for a moment, then added: "Right, just now I saw someone hiding in this tree. It seemed like he was making a phone call. I vaguely heard someone on the phone calling him Xu Yang. Maybe he thought I was eavesdropping, so he attacked me. When he heard me calling the police, he ran away. Uncle Lu, can you find out anything?" "Xu Yang?" Lu Hong frowned slightly, then noted the name. He carefully climbed up the tree to check and after a while said: "Indeed, someone has been here. They stood in this spot for about ten minutes. Judging by the wear on the bark, the person weighs around 70 kilograms." He asked Xiang Beifei for more details, and Xiang Beifei, apart from his own abilities, disclosed everything else; there was nothing worth hiding. If they were to investigate a stranger, clearly, it would be more convenient for Lu Hong to do the investigation. They had the help of the system, which would make the process more efficient. Unfortunately, no matter how extensive Lu Hong''s investigative experience was, his system couldn''t directly provide more information about the suspect. "I''ll take this mutant dog back for investigation. Anyone who can make an ordinary dog into a mutant dog certainly has a mutation-based system, and their strength is at least in thete stages of Qi-Controlling, if not stronger. But since he didn''t harm you, he must have been wary of something, perhaps not wanting to leave too many clues. So he might have just sent the mutant dog to distract your attention, not nning to do anything to you. It seems like you won''t be in danger for the time being, I''ll take you home first, and once I have some leads, I''ll inform you." Lu Hong exined the situation to Xiang Beifei. "Alright, Uncle Lu." Xiang Beifei nodded politely. ``` Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Divine Mud This person named Xu Yang, Xiang Beifei was still unclear about who exactly he was. But he should noty hands on himself, that was the only thing Xiang Beifei could be certain of. He did not tell Lu Hong what Xu Yang''s system was or what his cultivation level was. Being just a high school student who had just awakened his system, if he knew these things, Lu Hong would start to suspect him. He would let Lu Hong investigate next, as he was part of the city''s guard squad, he could check all the poption records for anyone named Xu Yang and see if he could filter them out one by one. Xiang Beifei needed to focus on two things at the moment. One was earning money, and the other was cultivating. Earning money was essential. Although due to his father''s cause, the Alliance provided a monthly pension, Xiang Beifei could not rely on the pension for life. If he wanted to forge his own path, he needed to be self-reliant. Besides, if he really went to a ce like Liangzhou University, this pension wouldn''t be enough. And cultivation was of utmost importance. Unlike others, while others could do system tasks to improve their cultivation, he had to rely on his own personal cultivation. He sat cross-legged on the bed, circted the Chaos Yin-Yang Form once, absorbed the spiritual energy around him, introduced it into his body, tempering his own meridians. The night battle with the alien canine made him realize his many shorings, and he felt he needed a suitable weapon. Otherwise, facing a deste beast like that always gave him a sense of disadvantage. "Xiaohei, do you have any weapons you could give me to use?" Xiang Beifei poked Xiaohei, who was rolling around bored next to him. Xiaohei barked excitedly and said, "Divine Mud." "What Divine Mud?" "A very hard and strong material that can transform into any tool you want." Xiang Beifei''s eyes lit up. "That sounds powerful. Where can I get it?" "Illuminate the Arrogant Dragon Constetion, and then use your spiritual power to nurture the divine mud, refining it into the shape you want," Xiaohei said. Illuminate the Arrogant Dragon Constetion? The Arrogant Dragon Constetion had four stars, and he had already collected three items that could illuminate the stars. He was still missing one. "Who should I ask for this one?" Xiang Beifei held his chin, pondering. Should he ask the principal for help again? But it would be embarrassing to ask directly, he could not just burst into the principal''s office and say, "Principal, send me another two thousand prestige points, just for a gesture?" Although Xiang Beifei felt he had thick skin, it wasn''t to that extent. But there was no rush now, even if he illuminated the Arrogant Dragon Constetion, he needed to increase his strength first. Xiang Beifei continued cultivating the Chaos Yin-Yang Form. His spiritual power had not yet fully formed. ording to this pace, he should be able to reach the mid-stage of Qi-Controlling by the end of the month. ¡ª Xiang Beifei asked Lu Hong not to tell his grandfather about the attack; he did not want the old man to worry too much. Lu Hong was a very responsiblew enforcer. An alien canine had appeared and attacked his old friend''s son within his managed area, yet he had not caught the suspect, feeling somewhat derelict in his duties. Therefore, he called every day to inquire about Xiang Beifei''s condition and ensure his safety. Apart from attending sses in school, Xiang Beifei practiced cultivation at home every day without any ck. On the third day after the attack, as Xiang Beifei was returning home from school, he ran into Lu Hong, who seemed to have been waiting for him outside the school gates. "Uncle Lu." Xiang Beifei greeted. Lu Hong took Xiang Beifei aside with a serious expression. After checking that no one else was around, he asked, "Beifei, you haven''t encountered Xu Yang recently, have you?" "No, what''s the matter?" Xiang Beifei asked. "I just wanted to make sure. Could you once again go over the details of what happened that day?" Lu Hong said. "Didn''t I exin it that day?" "I need to be sure again. I''m currently investigating a case, and I suspect it might be rted to your incident. That''s why I have to check again." Lu Hong looked somewhat tired, with bloodshot eyes, as if he hadn''t slept for several days. Xiang Beifei could only repeat what he had said at that time. After listening, Lu Hong''s brows were tightly knitted. "Is this case very tricky?" Xiang Beifei asked. "Yes¡ªit is, but don''t worry. You must be careful these days. Try not to walk alone, and make sure there are people around you." Lu Hong fell silent for a moment before flipping his hand and pulling out an extremely thin vest. He ced the vest on Xiang Beifei, and it transformed into a blue light and attached itself to Xiang Beifei''s clothes. "This Azure Light Armor will protect you from two mid-stage Qi-Controlling attacks, and the protectionsts for a month. If the person who attacked you that day and the person I''m currently looking for are the same, then you must be cautious. If you encounter Xu Yang who attacked you, just pound your chest to activate the bulletproof vest, and I will rush over within a minute!" Lu Hong said solemnly. Xiang Beifei was somewhat surprised. This Azure Light Armor, purchased by Lu Hong using his system values from the system store, was a type of system reward. The Azure Light Armor, capable of withstanding mid-stage Qi-Controlling attacks, meant he had inadvertently collected all the spiritual power crystals needed to activate the Arrogant Dragon Constetion? Xiang Beifei hadn''t expected that the fourth spiritual power crystal woulde this way. "Regardless, I must capture that criminal myself and not let him harm anyone else." Lu Hong seemed to recall some past events and clenched his fist. He gave Xiang Beifei this bulletproof vest mainly because he associated the current criminal with Xu Yang, so protecting Xiang Beifei was necessary if Xu Yang was the criminal he was chasing. "Alright, thank you, Uncle Lu." Xiang Beifei nodded. The protection offered by the bulletproof vest was only for a month, but this was not important to Xiang Beifei. He didn''t need the protection of the Azure Light Armor, as it could only withstand mid-stage Qi-Controlling attacks, and he was confident in confronting such powers. Xiang Beifei nned to fuse it into a spiritual power crystal. After returning home, he didn''t hesitate, taking out the Azure Light Armor along with the Primordial Strengthening Pill, Qi Condensing Pill, and Forgetting Dust Pill. With the help of Xiaohei, he sessfully activated the Arrogant Dragon Constetion in the Spirit Gathering Book. [Arrogant Dragon Constetion: Divine Mud Breath Soil] [From the ssic of Mountains and Seas: Gun Stole the Emperor''s breath soil to stop the deluge] [Ability: Soil that can grow indefinitely, it needs one''s Spiritual Energy to nourish and grow] Xiang Beifei looked at the thumb-sized piece of yellow mud in his hand, which was the Breath Soil. ording to Xiaohei, once the Breath Soil reached a certain quantity, it could transform into various special shapes, and it also possessed incredible hardness! However, currently, the Breath Soil was still just a speck, and making it grow was a long and arduous task. Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Bounty Tempering breath soil is a very exhausting task, because it requires an enormous amount of Spiritual Power. Xiang Beifei needed to expend most of his Spiritual Power just to make the soil barely grow a bit. He called this activity: "Soil Straining." Xiang Beifei tempered the breath soil for an entire day before he could get it to grow to one meter in length. This was already the limit he could reach with his current cultivation level. To make it grow further would require even more Spiritual Power, a higher realm was needed. However, after the breath soil grew to the limit of his current realm, he was already very satisfied. Since breath soil could change shape, he could turn it into a sword, a rope, or even arge hammer. It could transform into whatever was most handy. On Sunday noon, when Xiang Beifei was preparing to cook himself a meal, he heard a knock at the door. Opening the door, he found Lu Zhiwei outside. "Ha, I''m on holiday now!" Lu Zhiwei snapped her fingers. "Oh." Xiang Beifei shrugged his shoulders. "I thought you would be more enthusiastic!" Lu Zhiwei pouted her lips. "Is there something you need?" Xiang Beifei inquired. "Don''t you want to know who Xu Yang is?" Lu Zhiwei revealed a mysteriously cheeky smile. When she smiled, a sharp canine tooth showed. It was quite cute. "Did you guys find out?" Xiang Beifei inquired. "Not really, there are over ten thousand people named Xu Yang in the Jiuzhou Alliance. The information you provided was too general; it''s simply impossible to check one by one." Lu Zhiwei shook her head. That was true. Apart from providing a name, Xiang Beifei hadn''t given any other details. Of course, even if he had, it wouldn''t have been much use. No one would reveal their own system, and it was unlikely they could be found based on their profile alone. Most importantly, the person''s real name was Xu Yang, but what if the name he was registered under was something else entirely? "Didn''t Uncle Lu bring the strange dog back that day to find someone awakened with a simr ''Tracking System'' ability?" Xiang Beifei asked. "That''s the issue here. That guy is very cunning. He knows how to hide his tracks, and we even have a detective with a super sensitive nose who can''t do anything about him." Lu Zhiwei rarely showed such seriousness. "So why did youe to me? If he can''t find him, I''m even less likely to be able to." Xiang Beifei said, perplexed. With a face full of anticipation, Lu Zhiwei asked, "Did you see that person''s face that day?" Xiang Beife said after a moment of thought, "It was too dark at the time, and I couldn''t see clearly, but I should be able to recognize him if I saw him again." He truly did not know what the person looked like, but he knew the other''s system. A person can disguise themselves with various abilities, change their name and appearance, but the one thing they can''t change is their system. For Xiang Beifei, it was about taking an extra nce in a sea of people. "That''s good then, could youe with me? Perhaps the thief we are currently tracking is the same person who attacked you that day!" Lu Zhiwei said excitedly. Xiang Beifei looked at Lu Zhiwei with a puzzled expression, "A thief?" "He''s the one ranked sixty-seventh on the Liangzhou wanted list. This person is too elusive; he''s the only one on the list whose true face we don''t know. He''s even moved to our jurisdiction recently. Thest time our department was chasing him, I deduced his route and found out that he passed right by the ce where you were attacked that day. Then it hit me, maybe the person who attacked you that day is him!" Xiang Beifei thought for a moment and asked, "You deduced this?" "Yes! With my meticulous analysis, exquisite discernment skills, and exceptional data integration ability, through a series of clever applications of logic, I have connected all these fragmented pieces of information together." Lu Zhiwei went on and on excitedly. "Is that so?" Xiang Beifei nodded thoughtfully and then said, "Then I won''t go." Lu Zhiwei was somewhat taken aback, "Why?" "Because the likelihood is that whatever you deduce is wrong, I thought you knew that." Xiang Beifei earnestly looked at this girl who had be an apprentice to Detective Kogoro Mori. Lu Zhiwei: "..." "You really have a way of speaking that doesn''t endear you to others, talking like that is how you end up not finding a girlfriend." Lu Zhiwei rolled her eyes. Xiang Beifei didn''t care, his own ability to control Qi was only at an early stage, and though perhaps it was stronger than that of his peers, there was no need for him to jump into the fray and track down wanted criminals. Lu Zhiwei sighed and said, "Forget it, if you won''t go, I can''t force you. Actually, this matter is quite risky. I originally told my dad that I wanted your help, but he didn''t agree, saying you don''t have any self-protection capabilities. Every suspect on the Liangzhou wanted list is dangerous, otherwise, the reward wouldn''t be so high. They have all sorts of weird abilities and oftenpletely outmaneuver us..." "Wait, did you just say reward?" "Yes, but the reward is not the point! What matters are the criminals themselves, we still don''t know about them..." "Okay, let''s set off then." Xiang Beifei quickly grabbed the keys, walked out the door, and swiftly locked it. The whole process was done in one fluid motion. Lu Zhiwei: "..." Isn''t that change of heart a bit too fast? "Why did you change your mind?" Lu Zhiwei stared at Xiang Beifei. "Eliminating violence, promoting justice, is the duty of us as citizens of Jiuzhou," Xiang Beifei said seriously. "Since when is your sense of justice so strong?" Lu Zhiwei looked at Xiang Beifei suspiciously. "My sense of justice has always been strong," Xiang Beifei said. As long as there was money for his tuition fee, he''d carry justice through to the end! Even if the reward was a mere five hundred, it was still money to him, and he wasn''t picky. Lu Zhiwei found it strange, but she was quite happy that Xiang Beifei had agreed to help. The two of them went downstairs together, with Lu Zhiwei even humming a tune, seeming in a good mood. Halfway there, Xiang Beifei asked, "How much is the reward for the sixty-seventh name on the Liangzhou wanted list?" "If you provide clues, the reward is between two thousand and five thousand depending on the situation, with assistance in the capture, the reward is twenty thousand. If someone captures them alone, the reward is a hundred and fifty thousand!" Xiang Beifei''s eyes lit up. "If I help you catch him, can I have half?" Xiang Beifei asked. "I am a city guardian, catching wanted criminals is part of my duty, the reward amount isn''t important. If you really help me catch them, the reward is all yours," Lu Zhiwei said generously. Decisive. Xiang Beifei recalled the matter from the day before yesterday when Lu Hong came to see him; Lu Hong was preupied with worry, linking Xu Yang and a suspect he was trying to capture, and also equipped him with the Azure Light Armor for protection. He asked, "Does Uncle Lu think the thief is that Xu Yang who attacked me that day?" "Yes, my dad has been working tirelessly to catch this thief for the past few days," Lu Zhiwei nodded. Xiang Beifei had brightened a constetion using the Azure Light Armor from Lu Hong yesterday. If possible, he wanted to help Lu Hong identify the criminal, as a way to repay the favor. After all, he was capable of seeing other people''s systems. "Tell me the details about the wanted criminal you''re trying to catch, so I have an idea of what we''re dealing with." Xiang Beifei said, then added, "It''s better if the informationes from what others have gathered, I don''t want any of your own imaginative deductions. Remember! None of your¡ªown¡ªdeductions!" Chapter 35: Chapter 35: The System of Prophecy "You really don''t trust my deductive skills?" Lu Zhiwei said, hands on her hips. "I''ve already experienced themst time," Xiang Beifei replied. An 11% uracy rate, truly touching. Lu Zhiwei rolled her eyes at Xiang Beifei, and then pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to Xiang Beifei, saying, "This guy, nicknamed ''Lai Wuying,'' likes to break into houses and steal. He hasmitted over three hundred crimes here in Liangzhou and is very arrogant." The paper was an internal document from thew enforcement team, evidently sneaked out and copied by Lu Zhiwei. The wanted notice didn''t have a photo, not even a real name, height, weight, or any distinguishing features. The only characteristic was his habit of leaving the words "Lai Wuying" at the crime scene, seemingly to provoke thew enforcement officers on purpose. "There are no clues here, how can you be sure he came to our jurisdiction?" Xiang Beifei asked. "That''s an internal secret of our guardians, well, it''s not exactly a secret. We have a system Awakener in our team who specializes in finding fugitives. The past few days, he has predicted that ''Lai Wuying'' is approaching our area. ording to his prophecy, this Awakener will be at Qianda za this afternoon," Lu Zhiwei exined. "A prophetic system Awakener?" Xiang Beifei learned about prophetic system Awakeners in the subject of Synthesis. These Awakeners with the ability to prophesy were extremely rare, but every single prophetic Awakener was in high demand and never short of work. Usually, they were pre-booked by the official Jiuzhou alliance, secure jobs indeed, since these people could predict the general direction of events. Having them around before undertaking dangerous operations provided an extrayer of reassurance. Xiang Beifei asked, "Since he can prophesy, can''t he see what Lai Wuying looks like?" "I don''t understand the specifics, but my father mentioned the enigmatic nature of this ability. Prophets can only foresee within a certain range; beyond that, they can''t prophesy anymore. Lai Wuying just happened to enter our jurisdiction and got detected by him. And this ability... how should I put it? It has many limitations." "What kind of limitations?" "I''m not clear on the details, but all he provided was an oracle, saying that it would happen this afternoon at Qianda za. He didn''t specify the exact time or where at Qianda za," Lu Zhiwei admitted, only having a partial understanding of such things. This system seemed quite novel; Xiang Beifei was very intrigued to see it in action. He then asked, "Uncle Lu seems to take this fugitive very seriously? He looked a bit off that day." Lu Zhiwei hesitated for a moment before responding, "This matter involves one of my dad''s dear friends, Chen Gang, who was the captain of the Eastern Liangzhou City Guard. A while back, when ''Lai Wuying'' hit his jurisdiction, he went after the thief and ended up getting killed. My dad can''t let go of this and wants to catch Lai Wuying to bring him to justice, so his old friend can rest in peace." Xiang Beifei nodded thoughtfully. Lai Wuying really had guts, daring to targetw enforcement officers. The two took a bus to Qianda za. Today was Saturday, and Qianda za was crowded with people out shopping and rxing after a busy week. "Alright, now you need to keep your eyes peeled and observe the people around here, help me spot Xu Yang''s face. Just give me a signal, and I''ll rush over and tackle him!" Lu Zhiwei cracked her knuckles and went up on her tiptoes, giving her long legs a quick stretch to warm up. Xiang Beifei wasn''t here for Xu Yang; to be honest, given Lu Zhiwei''smentable deductive skills, if she linked "Lai Wuying" with Xu Yang, it almost guaranteed the two had nothing to do with each other. "Xiao Wei, why did you bring him here?" Before they could find a good spot to keep watch, Lu Hong suddenly emerged from the crowd and dragged them to a corner. "Dad, aren''t I here to help you?" Lu Zhiwei said with a giggly smile. Lu Hong knocked on Lu Zhiwei''s head, his voice low as he scolded, "Do you realize how serious this is? We''re here on an undercover operation to make an arrest, not for you to fool around!" "Uncle Lu, hello!" Xiang Beifei nodded politely in greeting. Lu Hong''s face was stern, "Beifei, it''s dangerous here, go home." Then he knocked on Lu Zhiwei''s head again. Lu Zhiwei touched her head in pain, her eyes teary as she said, "Dad, don''t you think this is all too coincidental? Look, the time Xue Mo made his prediction and the day Beifei was attacked were the same. I''ve analyzed that there must be a connection between them, which is why I brought him along! Besides, Dad, don''t you also want to catch Lai Wuying to avenge your old friend? If Lai Wuying is Xu Yang, who attacked Beifei, then surely Beifei would recognize him¡ªyou''ve got to trust my deductive skills for once!" Xiang Beifei pretended not to hear Lu Zhiwei''s words and instead said to Lu Hong, "I can give it a try, I won''t cause trouble, there are so many people here, he probably won''t do anything to me." No one knows who Lai Wuying is or what he looks like, which makes the capture all the more difficult. But Xiang Beifei could see other people''s systems, and if the prediction was urate, he could scan the systems of everyone in the za and analyze those that were off. Lu Hong was silent for a long time. His old friend''s death still weighed heavily on him; he wouldn''t pass up any chance, however slight, to catch the murderer. "If that''s the case, then fine. But Beifei, you don''t know anything, so don''t wander off. Stay close by me with Xiao Wei. If you do see that person, don''t yell out, just tell me quietly," Lu Hong stated. "Okay." Xiang Beifei nodded. "Dad, why do you think hees to Qianda za? Is there anything here worth stealing for him?" Lu Zhiwei checked her system interface in a secluded corner of the za. She recorded all the clues rted to ''Lai Wuying'' in the memo of her system interface so that she could search for information with just a thought. But after looking through it, the conclusions she could draw were limited. There was too little information left by Lai Wuying. "We don''t know yet. Maybe he''s just passing through, or perhaps he''s here for a heist. He''s been provoking us, the guardians, over and over again, and he''s really brazen. This time we must bring him to justice!" Lu Hong clenched his fist. Xiang Beifei inquired, "The book says that to predict something, you must have something rted to the event. So what do you rely on to predict his moves?" Lu Hong replied, "We rely on the words he leaves behind. After every crime, he carves words into the crime scene, deep into the wood." Lai Wuying has not left any effective physical description to date. With over three hundred crimesmitted, even the gender is unknown. Each time only a line of words was left before leaving arrogantly. "So, what do you think Lai Wuying''s system might be?" Xiang Beifei asked further. "People from different jurisdictions have been chasing him for a long time. Initially, it''s believed that he might have awakened a system like the ''Invisibility System'' or the ''Master Thief'', potentially possessing wall-prating and invisibility abilities," Lu Zhiwei rified from the side. These were just spections; it was hard to say for sure since they couldn''t see Lai Wuying''s system. Chapter 36: Chapter 36: The Cat Lives! "Alright, Beifei, don''t ask too many questions. You''re just a high school senior. You must have activated your Awakening System a few days ago, right? There''s so much for you to learn, but now just stay to the side. This matter is very important to me." Lu Hong adjusted his sses and walked to the fencing on one side. "Here''s a pair of sses for you too. If you see that Xu Yang who attacked you that night, you must report it immediately. Simply sliding your fingers along the big, long legs of the sses can adjust the screen." Lu Zhiwei stuffed a pair of police sses into Xiang Beifei''s hands. The lenses flickered with an imperceptible light and while they looked like ordinary prescription sses to the casual observer, they were actually advanced equipment, simr to cutting-edge AR devices, capable of freely adjusting focus and searching targets automatically. Xiang Beifei put on the sses and then directed his gaze into the mall. With just a touch of his fingers to the legs of the sses, the screen switched to the mall''s surveince, which was very advanced. Each screen was quite clear and reflected the outlines of every person distinctly. Even through the surveince, Xiang Beifei could see everyone''s systems. For the capture of Lai Wuying this time, more than twenty undercover Law Enforcers had been deployed. These well-trained enforcers each disguised themselves as ordinary shoppers, virtually undetectable to themon person. But Xiang Beifei could spot them at a nce. Mainly because their systems were too recognizable. The old man wearing a duckbill cap sitting in front of the elevator on the second floor, ying with a child, was not actually an old man at all, but a young Law Enforcer disguised as one. [Host: Ma Feiguang] [R-grade, Undercover System] [Realm: Late Qi-Controlling] ording to the system information, Ma Feiguang was only twenty-one years old. He used his Undercover System to change his identity, with both the beard and wrinkles being effects of the system. And the waitress standing at the entrance of a restaurant on the other side, holding a menu and greeting customers, was also a Law Enforcer¡ª [Host: Cheng Li] [R-grade, Combat System] [Realm: Late Qi-Controlling] Her task list showed a long line ofpleted missions, including winning the Spring Combat Championship in the Law Enforcement Team and twice achieving runner-up in Liangzhou Police Qi-Controlling Freestyle Fighting. The other Law Enforcement officers were easily identifiable, with various [R-grade Criminal Investigation Systems], [R-grade Detective Systems], [R-grade Unyielding Justice Systems]. Beifei quickly identified all the Law Enforcers in the crowd, giving him a sense of reassurance. However, in his opinion, capturing "Lai Wuying" was an act akin to finding a needle in a haystack. Given the vast crowd with no less than a thousand customers, and with Lai Wuying never leaving behind any valid photographs, there was simply no way to determine who he actually was. But at that moment, a staid and urgent voice suddenly came from the sses: "The cat is alive." "The cat is alive?" Xiang Beifei was somewhat puzzled. "The cat is alive!" However, Lu Hong and Lu Zhiwei looked at each other as though they were facing a great enemy. Lu Hong asked in a low voice, "Where?" "The third floor." The voice came from the sses. "All units, pay attention, the cat is alive! Team one, secure the entrances and exits, teams two and four head to the elevator entrance, team three, be on alert!" As the Commander of this operation, Lu Hong rapidly issued orders. "Received." "You two, don''t run around, just stay here and don''t make things worse." Lu Hong had just finished speaking to Lu Zhiwei and Xiang Beifei when he quickly made his way up the emergency staircase. "Is ''The Cat Lives'' your operation code name?" asked Xiang Beifei. Lu Zhiwei shook her head, "It''s not exactly an operation code name. It''s Xiao Xue''s ability¡ªhe constantly mumbles about whether his cat is alive or dead." "Xiao Xue?" "That''s the prophet I told you about. Xiao Xue actually keeps a cat, although he''s male¡ªbut to get back to the point, his cat is pretty mysterious." Lu Zhiwei gently rubbed the stem of her sses and shifted the view on her sses to the third-floor surveince, then quickly searched for people on the third floor. After a moment, she froze the picture outside a clothing store on the third floor. Lu Hong was standing there, pretending to look at the clothes on a stic dummy outside the clothing store. Beside him stood a pale-faced young man holding a shoe box. He asionally opened the shoe box to take a peek inside, as if he were looking at a new pair of shoes he had just bought. "He''s our prophet who foretold Lai Wuying would be at this mall." Lu Zhiwei swiftly adjusted the surveince screen and said to Xiang Beifei, "What are you waiting for? Xiao Xue on the third floor said ''The Cat Lives,'' which means Lai Wuying might appear on the third floor. Hurry up and see if you can find the person you sawst night." Xiang Beifei was more curious about this young man now; he really wanted to know what sort of system a person with the ability to prophesy had awakened. But before he could get a good look, the young man had already turned and entered the staircase, and a distant sigh came from the sses: "The cat is dead." "Everyone, pay attention! Xiao Xue''s cat is dead!" Lu Hong quickly steadied the stem of his sses and repeated the statement gravely. The Cat Lives? The Cat Is Dead? Xiang Beifei suddenly seemed to understand what this young man''s system was. As the young man walked towards the second floor, Xiang Beifei could clearly see the man''s system through his sses, and he couldn''t help but marvel. [Host: Xue Mo] [S Grade, Schrodinger''s Cat System] [Realm: Early Stage of Meridian Opening] Schrodinger''s Cat is a very famous experiment in quantum theory. A cat is ced in a box with a toxic substance, controlled by radioactive decay. Since it''s unknown when the radioactive substance will decay, it''s also uncertain whether the cat will be poisoned to death. Whether the cat is dead or alive remains undetermined until the box is opened. In short, if you don''t do something, you will never know the specific result, but if you do it, you will find out what the result is. In other words, there''s an uncertainty in anything that could happen. But your participation will directly intervene in the oue. Xue Mo''s system relies on checking whether the cat is dead or alive to find the most probable oue of a particr situation. This is the principle his system uses to make predictions. At that moment, Xue Mo''s system interface was densely packed with various quantum theory forms, which were rapidly changing, performingplex calctions with Xue Mo''s intervention. His forms required two constants, namely 0 and 1. Each time he arrived at a general area, he would lift the lid of the shoe box to check whether his cat was dead or alive. If the cat in the shoe box was dead, he would insert 0 into the form, and if the cat was still alive, he would insert 1. He would then use those strange forms inbination with the location coordinates and the current time to simte the most likely event to happen nearby through the system. "No wonder those old witches who could prophesy in fairy tales always liked keeping a cat¡ªit''s because of this reason." Xiang Beifei couldn''t help but mutter. Fairy tales do not deceive me. Chapter 37: Chapter 37: The Cat That Died and Came Back to Life Xue Mo walked back from the third floor to the second floor and approached Beifei. After a pause, he stopped, looked around, then lowered his head, lifted a corner of the shoebox, and a trace of puzzlement appeared on his face. Lu Hong, who had been following beside him, looked very anxious. He urgently asked, "Brother Xue, is the cat here dead or alive? Where exactly is Lai Wuying?" Xue Mo nced into the shoebox again, his puzzlement deepening. After a moment, he asked softly, "Where is my cat?" Lu Hong was stunned and asked, "What do you mean ''your cat''? Isn''t your cat inside the shoebox?" "It''s gone," Xue Mo shook his head. "Is it dead?" "No¡­ it''s not dead." Xue Mo looked around and couldn''t find his cat anywhere. "My cat, where is it?" Xue Mo repeated, appearing somewhat slow. "Ah? How can you say it''s gone just like that? But¡­ but I didn''t see your cat run out of the shoebox either!" Lu Hong was even more anxious than Xue Mo. Whether they could catch Lai Wuying this time depended entirely on the life and death of Xue Mo''s cat. "Brother Xue, can your cat still run away from home?" Lu Zhiwei asked curiously. Xue Mo shook his head in confusion. He himself didn''t understand; such a thing had never happened before. "Everyone, hurry up and help look for Xue Mo''s cat." Lu Hong adjusted his sses and spoke urgently. The inclothesw enforcers looked baffled at thismand. They were supposed toe and arrest Lai Wuying, but all of a sudden, they were preparing to search for a cat. While Beifei found it strange, he suddenly realized something, turned his head, and then couldn''t help but cry andugh. Xiaohei was on his shoulder, viciously beating up a little calico cat, furiously attacking. "Xiaohei, what are you doing?" "Woof Woof Woof!" Xiaohei proudly pinned the little calico cat under its foot. "You''re saying it was spying on us?" Beifei understood that probably while trying to predict using the cat, Xue Mo must have inadvertently predicted his own, and Xiaohei just took the opportunity to catch Xue Mo''s cat. After all, Xue Mo''s cat was generated by the System. "Hmm... We look so good, it''s no me for wanting to watch." Beifei told Xiaohei, "Just warn it and let it go; we still need it to find people, dead or alive." The other cat''s life was already tough, every day hovering on the edge of life and death. It was quite pitiful. "Woof!" Xiaohei warned it to mind its gaze in the future and then threw the pitiful little calico cat out, which shed in mid-air and disappeared. "Ah, the cat is here!" Xue Mo found his little cat in the tissue box outside a milk tea shop, the kitty trembling and meowing helplessly as ity in the tissue box. "The cat is alive!" Lu Hong was thrilled, even more excited than Xue Mo. Xue Mo quicklyforted his little calico cat, and then ced it back in the shoebox. "But why?" Lu Zhiwei, stroking her chin beside him, was seriously pondering something. "What''s wrong?" Xiang Beifei asked. "I''m wondering why Xiao Xue''s cat disappeared just now." With growing excitement, Lu Zhiwei spected for a moment and then said, "I''ve got it, this must have something to do with Lai Wuying. He might have sensed that someone was predicting his moves, so he kidnapped Xiao Xue''s cat! I''m sure my deduction is right this time!" This girl will probably never reach a 20% uracy rate in her deductions. But on the other side, Lu Hong and Xue Mo both turned around, seriously considering Lu Zhiwei''s words. "Right, that''s very possible!" Lu Hong nodded. He then urged impatiently, "Unit two, pay attention. Xiao Xue''s cat was lost on the second floor just now. Lai Wuying must have passed through the second floor. Everyone, stay alert." This was awkward; he had misled them all. Xiang Beifei was thinking about how to rectify the situation. He looked towards Xue Mo. Xue Mo, who had not been part of the discussion for a long while, nced again at the cat inside the shoebox and sadly said, "The cat is dead." "All units, be advised! The cat is dead!" Lu Hong pped his thigh in deep sorrow. But soon, Xue Mo''s expression brightened again: "The cat is alive!" "All units, be advised! The cat is alive!" Lu Hong got excited again. Xiang Beifei: "..." For some reason, he always felt this group seemed a bit foolish. Xiang Beifei shook his head slightly, thinking that relying on them to catch Lai Wuying was too difficult. Lai Wuying had been running amok in various jurisdictions of Liangzhou,mitting crimes everywhere. Law enforcers in each jurisdiction were eager to apprehend him, but without exception, all had failed. This time, he popped into their jurisdiction, and Xue Mo predicted his crime location. Without much preparation, Lu Hong and the others came to execute the capture operation, relying only on Xue Mo''s abilities. At Lu Hong''s side, Xue Mo''s capabilities determined the sess or failure of the mission. Xue Mo''s system was still not perfect; to enhance the precision of his predictions, he needed to undertake more missions and enhance his level. Perhaps in the future, if his skills improve, he might be a great prophet, but certainly not now. Currently, he could only predict that Lai Wuying woulde here, but he could not predict the exact location of his appearance, nor could he predict what Lai Wuying looked like or why he came here. This brought too much uncertainty to the capture operation. Lu Zhiwei, standing on the shopping mall railing, sighed and nudged Xiang Beifei with her elbow, asking, "Beifei, any clues?" "No, I feel like your operation is doomed to be futile if it continues this way," Xiang Beifei said. Lu Zhiwei turned her head to look at the anxious Lu Hong and said, "Actually, I kind of knew this, but capturing ''Lai Wuying'' is very important to my dad. I think he''ll be really down for a long time if this operation fails, and he probably won''t give up." This isn''t to say thew enforcers are ipetent; if it were just an ordinary petty thief, someone like Lu Hong with an ''S-level Investigation System'' would have already caught him. If one had to exin, it should be said that Lai Wuying had a somewhat superior ability to deal withw enforcers. After all, a criminal worthy of being on Liangzhou''s most-wanted list is no ordinary person. Lai Wuying has been so brazen, making all thew enforcers run around in circles, surely because he has obtained some information on how to counter thesew enforcers, and most likely, his system abilities are very tricky. And this system might be one that countersw enforcers, probably also S-level. But the problem is, until now, thew enforcers haven''t collected any effective information about him; they don''t even know what he looks like. If they don''t figure out what this system is, even if they find Lai Wuying, he will still escape, relying on the cat''s death and revival. Chapter 38: Chapter 38: Suspicious Person Xue Mo and Lu Hong, like a "living cat" and a "dead cat," walked an entire circle around the shopping mall. Not only did they fail to identify any suspicious individuals, but they also exhausted themselves in the process. "No gains at all. Have any of you found any clues?" Lu Hong asked anxiously. However, several negative responses came through themunicator in session. A Law Enforcer hesitated before saying, "Captain, we''re practically doing futile work here, I think we should head back and n thoroughly." "No! We must catch Lai Wuying! If we miss this chance, it might be very hard to catch him next time. We cannot give up!" Lu Hong clenched his fists. "Captain, I know you want to avenge Captain Chen, but¡ª" "This is not just about personal enmity. Capturing a fugitive is our duty as city Law Enforcers!" Lu Hongmanded gravely. The other Law Enforcers dared not say more. Catching "Lai Wuying" wasn''t on Lu Hong''s system task list; his actions were not for the sake of a system task, but purely because he couldn''t swallow the insult. Xiang Beifei was constantly changing his visual perspective in the mall, yet he saw nothing. He took off his sses, wearing them made him ufortable. But at that moment, a very peculiar person caught Xiang Beifei''s eyes. It was a woman in high heels, carrying an exquisite leather bag, with a curvy figure and wavy hair, very beautiful, appearing as if she was there to shop. Xiang Beifei found this woman peculiar because he saw her system interface. [Host: Chen Gang] [S-level, Thousand Faces Refined System] [Realm: Meridian Opening - Early Phase] [Thousand Faces Refined System Introduction: Able to learn others'' ways of handling affairs, can disguise as anyone] "Why does this woman seem so strange?" Xiang Beifei wondered. A woman who looked stunning, yet carried the name of a male? Could she be the target? Xiang Beifei couldn''t be sure, as during this age, a man dressing as a woman wasn''t illegal, and it wasn''t enough to suspect someone for that reason alone. "But why does this name feel so familiar?" A sh of light crossed Xiang Beifei''s mind. He remembered that Lu Zhiwei had just mentioned a simr name. "Hey, Lu Zhiwei." Xiang Beifei pulled Lu Zhiwei aside. "What''s up?" "You just mentioned the captain of the Law Enforcement team who was killed by Lai Wuying, Uncle Lu''s friend, the captain of the guard team in the east district. What was his name?" Xiang Beifei asked. "Chen Gang, why do you ask?" Lu Zhiwei asked, puzzled. Xiang Beifei''s heart skipped a beat. Was it a coincidence of identical names? "He was an S-level Awakener, right?" "Yes, one of the best among S-levels, very powerful. He used to be my role model!" Lu Zhiwei said with respect. "What type of system did his abilities rte to?" Xiang Beifei asked. Lu Zhiwei touched her chin, thought for a moment, and said, "Hard to say, his abilities were strong in tracking, identification, among other areas¡ªcriminals hardly had any chance to escape from him. Honestly, I have a hard time believing that Lai Wuying could have defeated him." Xiang Beifei pondered for a moment, then asked, "How good was his ability to disguise?" "Disguise ability?" "Has he ever done any undercover work or the like?" Xiang Beifei asked. "Undercover? Oh, I can''t tell you that¡ªit''s a secret of the Law Enforcement team." Lu Zhiwei said earnestly. That settled it. Xiang Beifei took two steps towards the woman, looked at her system interface, which also disyed her current task. [Task: Be the captain of the city guard again] [Options toplete the task: 1. Strive on your own, starting as a junior detective; 2. Assassinate the captain of the guard and impersonate him] [Your current choice toplete the task: Assassinate Lu Hong and impersonate him] [Task reminder: Lu Hong is an S-ss Awakener with strong recognition abilities. You must sessfully impersonate everyone around him once, gather information about Lu Hong from them, and integrate it into your Thousand Faces sh Moon] [Note: Any person''s information integrated into Thousand Faces sh Moon, it will be a lethal move specifically against that person!] [Reward for sessful impersonation: Thousand Faces sh Moon (targeted at Lu Hong) ¡ª The more information about Lu Hong you collect, the higher the sess rate] [Reward for sessful taskpletion: Receive an advanced pill, capable of stepping into the mid stage of Meridian Opening] "This..." Xiang Beifei was shocked! ¡ª¡ª Lu Hong sat gloomily on a mall bench, looking dejected. He held a photo in his hand, which showed two men, one of them was him, the other man was bulky, with bronze skin, even stronger than Lu Hong. At that time, they seemed quite young, perhaps having justpleted a capture-the-criminal task, their faces still bearing wounds, yet they looked exhrated. "Uncle Lu." Xiang Beifei walked over, looked at the photo, and said, "This person is¡­" Lu Hong looked at the photo, a bitter smile emerged: "His name is Chen Gang, the captain of the Law Enforcement team in the East District. A very upright person, just like his name, very righteous, always rushing at the forefront when capturing criminals, and many times he helped me out of danger." "We had been through many capture missions together, supporting each other, came all the way together. The day I heard he died while capturing Lai Wuying, I really found it hard to ept. He always seemed to have a way out." Lu Hong''s eyes showed a trace of mncholy. Xiang Beifei stared at the man in the photo, then turned towards the woman in the red dress. Is this woman really Chen Gang? Why would his system task be to kill Lu Hong? "Uncle Lu, are you sure he''s dead?" Xiang Beifei asked. Lu Hong looked up at Xiang Beifei. "What I mean is¡ªhe''s so capable, and it normally would be very difficult for Lai Wuying to kill him, so how exactly did Lai Wuying manage to kill him? Captain Chen''s body must have sustained fatal wounds, Uncle Lu, with your strong identification skills, can''t you deduce Lai Wuying''s method of killing from those wounds?" Lu Hong sighed. "Lai Wuying is extremely cruel, using bizarre methods, right before my eyes, he blew Chen Gang¡ª" Lu Hong''s fingers clutching the photo trembled slightly, almost hissing out two words: "to smithereens!" ¡ª¡ªThat is to say, Chen Gang left no intact body after his death! Xiang Beifei faintly sensed something amiss about this matter. "Lai Wuying, all these years, has never left any trace of his appearance, no matter how hard the Law Enforcers try to catch him, they can''t find the slightest clue, which is unreasonable, because the Law Enforcement team is full of experts, unless¡ª" Unless he knew every move of all Law Enforcers like the back of his hand! The City Guards, a department full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers, where most of the Law Enforcers are elites, their systems nearly all designed for capturing criminals. Yet in such a ce, teeming with countless elites, there''s still a criminal who left behind no trace of his appearance! Given that, even the top fugitive on the wanted list at least had his silhouette captured. Thus, the most likely possibility is only one! Chapter 39: Chapter 39: The Invisible Man A series of guesses gradually connected together in Xiang Beifei''s mind. But for now, these were just guesses, with no way to confirm them. Xiang Beifei needed to consider one thing¡ªif his conjecture was correct. How should he ry this matter to Lu Hong? It would be impossible for Xiang Beifei to directly say the person was Chen Gang; Lu Hong wouldn''t believe him, and neither would others trust the words of an unfounded high school student. After all, in this world, only he could see other people''s systems. Lu Hong and the others couldn''t see them; revealing it directly might expose his own ability, which would be too reckless. Then just report this "Chen Gang" as "Xu Yang" to them. Xiang Beifei stared at the woman who had already stepped onto the esctor. He nudged Lu Zhiwei with his elbow and whispered, "I see a suspicious person." "Is it Xu Yang? Where?" Lu Zhiwei immediately perked up. "That one, wearing a red dress and high heels, she is heading towards the esctor to the third floor," Xiang Beifei pointed towards the second floor where Chen Gang was and said. Lu Zhiwei asked quizzically, "The woman in the red dress and high heels... Xu Yang is a man, isn''t he?" "He''s disguised himself, but I can vaguely make out his silhouette," Xiang Beifei said. Upon hearing this, Lu Zhiwei caught on. "Where?" "Over by the stairs." Lu Zhiwei looked for a long time without moving and asked doubtfully, "Where is the woman in red high heels?" "Right there! In front of her is an olddy, and behind her is a boy wearing headphones, she''s standing between these two people," Xiang Beifei said. "There''s no one between them!" Lu Zhiwei said, "What are you looking at?" "There''s clearly someone there... wait, you can''t see her?" Xiang Beifei found it strange and ran over to Lu Hong, asking, "Uncle Lu, can you see the woman wearing the red dress and high heels?" "Where?" Lu Hong searched for a while but also couldn''t see the person Xiang Beifei mentioned. "How can they not see her?" A multitude of thoughts shed through Xiang Beifei''s mind. What went wrong? At that moment, a little girl with ice cream walked by. Xiang Beifei stopped the little girl and asked, "That woman in the red dress, can you see her?" "Of course, I can see her, big brother, do you like her?" the little girl naively asked. "I don''t," Xiang Beifei replied. "If you don''t like her, why are you asking me? I thought you wanted to give me candy in exchange for me to help you get her phone number." The little girl looked at Xiang Beifei with confusion, then turned her gaze to the woman climbing the stairs. Xiang Beifei: "..." Are little girls nowadays so direct? Xiang Beifei shifted his focus back to that person. Why can''t Law Enforcers see this woman, but other people can? Xiang Beifei looked at Lu Zhiwei and Lu Hong, and then at the sses in his hand. He suddenly had an idea. He had been unustomed to wearing sses, so he had taken them off, while the other Law Enforcers all shared a distinct feature¡ªthey were all still wearing sses! Xiang Beifei quickly put on his sses as well. The moment he put on the sses, that woman, in Xiang Beifei''s eyes, had only a system interface left, and her entire being was gone, as if she had turned invisible. He searched again for the introduction to the Thousand Faces Refined System, and under the system interface, he found another line of text: [Ability: Can block any tracking device, making people unable to see (the user can choose whether it affects electronic devices or not)]. "No wonder." Xiang Beifei furrowed his brows. If this was indeed "Lai Wuying," that would exin it. The reason he could brazenly pass by thew enforcers was because he had a way to make their high-tech sses ineffective. "Is this Chen Gang really Lai Wuying?" Xiang Beifei grew increasingly astonished at the thought! After all, Lu Hong had an S-ss Investigation System, with extremely sharp observation skills, yet during this operation, he seemed to be led by the nose, having detected nothing andpletely reliant on Xue Mo. Initially, Xiang Beifei pondered the reason for this, but now he was starting to understand. If "Lai Wuying" truly was an old friend of Lu Hong''s, then he would definitely know how to evade Lu Hong''s Investigation System! Chen Gang had Lu Hong figured out, keenly aware of his investigative capabilities, which is why he deliberately chose the weekend at the mall as the ce. Because there were many people in the mall, even if Chen Gang left some traces, the ongoing stream of customers walking by could easily destroy the clues on the ground, resulting in Lu Hong''s Investigation System being unable to track urately. If the oue was as Xiang Beifei suspected, then this "Lai Wuying" must have an intimate grasp of the various investigative techniques used by thew enforcement team. Because he was one of thew enforcers! ¡ª¡ª Xiang Beifei immediately tugged at Lu Zhiwei and said, "Take off the sses." "Take off the sses for what? How can we find Xu Yang without wearing the sses?" Lu Zhiwei asked. "There''s no time to exin now, just take them off¡ª" Xiang Beifei turned his head to look at the second floor''s esctor again, but his heart skipped a beat. In the blink of an eye, the woman in the red dress had vanished! "Where did she go?" Xiang Beifei rapidly searched his surroundings. This time, he couldn''t even see the system interface and hadn''t noticed where the other party had hidden. However, at that moment, an urgent voice suddenly came through themunicator: "Captain Lu, I''ve spotted a suspicious person on the fourth floor, he attacked one of our guys!" "The fourth floor!" Lu Hong, who had been sitting, stood up abruptly and rushed toward the fourth floor without a word. "Wait, he''s not on the fourth floor!" Xiang Beifei yelled after him. "Xiao Wei, you and Beifei stay here and don''t move! All units take note, meet up with Squad Four and myself, the other teams guard all entrances to the mall!" Lu Hong was desperate to catch the suspect and did not listen to Xiang Beifei, dashing quickly to the fourth floor. Lu Zhiwei too wanted to follow, but Xiang Beifei grabbed her just in time. "Stop messing around, I''m going to catch the criminal." Lu Zhiwei was rubbing her fists with a fierce expression, ready to deliver a fatal blow to the criminal. "He''s not on the fourth floor," Xiang Beifei said. Lu Zhiwei asked, "What do you mean he''s not on the fourth floor? Our people there were attacked." Xiang Beifei shouted lowly, "He''s creating a diversion. Just protect me for now, I saw the criminal on the second floor." Lu Zhiwei was confused, her straightforward mind unable toprehend Xiang Beifei''s words. He quickly realized that being just a student and rashly intervening in such an operation, the others would not believe what he said. Xiang Beifei took off his sses and searched for a while, and at this time, he saw a man in a suit emerge from around the corner. This man in the suit was someone Xiang Beifei remembered as a member of thew enforcement team, named Wang He, with an R-ss Detective System. However, the system interface of the man in the suit read something entirely different: [Host: Chen Gang] [S-ss, Thousand Faces Refined System] ¡­ "This guy, he''s disguised as Wang He!" Xiang Beifei''s gaze became slightly more focused. Chapter 40: Chapter 40: Master of Disguise Chen Gang''s target was to kill Lu Hong, but he had to first gather knowledge about Lu Hong from the people around him to increase his chances of a deadly strike against Lu Hong. In that case, he would strike the otherw enforcers first. At this moment, Chen Gang had already approached Ma Feiguang on the second floor, who was disguised as an old man. "Xiao Ma!" Chen Gang could choose whether to block the tracking devices, and to learn from Ma Feiguang, he did not use this ability, so Ma Feiguang could see him even though he was wearing sses. "Wang He, how did you get here? Weren''t you guarding the west staircase?" Ma Feiguang did not realize that the Wang He in front of him was Chen Gang in disguise. A line of text appeared on Chen Gang''s system interface: [You have learned Ma Feiguang''s ent, Voice Material Library +1] "There''s Luo Shan at the west staircase, Xiao Ma you need to head to the north stairway, I just discovered there''s actually another intersection there we all missed, and it''s unguarded," Chen Gang said. "What? That shouldn''t be, we''ve checked all the entrances to the mall, I remember there''s none at the north," Ma Feiguang said. "No intersection? Can''t we create an entrance? Have you forgotten who we are dealing with? Why do you think he appeared silently on the fourth floor?" Chen Gang said. Ma Feiguang realized and said, "Are you saying that the entrance on the north side was created by Lai Wuying?" Everyone had their own system, and they had suspected that Lai Wuying had the ability to create entrances and exits, which was the only exnation for how Lai Wuying always managed to vanish when cornered. "Then I''ll head there now!" Ma Feiguang turned and ran towards the north side. "I''lle with you." Chen Gang followed Ma Feiguang, and another line of text appeared on his system interface: [You have learned Ma Feiguang''s movement habits, Body Language Library +1] Chen Gang''s running movements gradually matched Ma Feiguang''s, making their strides and movements identical. But when Ma Feiguang turned a corner and ran to the north side of the mall, he found only a wall in front of him. "There''s no entrance, did it disappear?" Just as Ma Feiguang was about to turn around, Chen Gang''s palm struck the back of Ma Feiguang''s head, causing him to lose consciousness immediately. Originally disguised as Wang He, Chen Gang slowly crouched down and reached out to touch Ma Feiguang. [You have learned Ma Feiguang''s appearance, your Appearance Material Library +1] [You have essed Ma Feiguang''s knowledge about Lu Hong, Thousand Faces sh Moon (targeting Lu Hong) kill rate is 7%] Chen Gang sneered, and his suit seemed to melt, lighting up with trails of blue light, and in a blink of an eye, he had transformed into Ma Feiguang! ¡ª¡ª By the time Xiang Beifei arrived, Chen Gang had already disappeared; he found Ma Feiguang amongst a pile of cardboard boxes, fortunately, he was just unconscious and still had vital signs. "This guy is so fast!" Xiang Beifei tried to wake Ma Feiguang, but was not sessful. Chen Gang''s goal was only to kill Lu Hong and then disguise himself as Lu Hong. Naturally, he couldn''t kill Lu Hong''s followers if he was to rece him. Meanwhile, Lu Zhiwei also hurried over, "Hey, Xiang Beifei, don''t run off...huh? Isn''t this¡ª" Lu Zhiwei was startled when she saw Ma Feiguang lying on the ground. "How could Xiao Ma end up like this?" "He''s been attacked!" Xiang Beifei stood up. "Attacked? Are you talking about¡ªLai Wuying?" When Lu Zhiwei heard this, she didn''t panic, and although her reasoning skills were terrible, her training as a Law Enforcer was still evident. She quickly shouted into themunicator: "Captain, this is Lu Zhiwei, something unusual on the second floor, Xiao Ma has been attacked!" "Xiao Ma was attacked on the second floor? When did Lai Wuying get to the second floor? Wait there, I''ll be right over!" Lu Hong replied in a deep voice. However, no sooner had he spoken than another voice rang out from the earpiece: "Captain, I''m on the third floor and I just saw him take down Zhao Li!" Did he attack someone on the second floor and then immediately run up to the third? "I''ll be right there!" Lu Hong had almost run back to the second floor, but upon hearing this, he immediately turned and ran toward the third floor. "Beifei, go to Xue Mo and stay with him, don''t run around, I''m going to help," Lu Zhiwei said. Xiang Beifei didn''t move. He was wearing sses, quickly scanning the entire mall. Soon, he spotted Chen Gang at the men''s clothing store on the first floor¡ªnot that he actually saw Chen Gang himself, he only saw Chen Gang''s system panel. "You disguised yourself as Luo Shan, sessfully deceived the Law Enforcers, disguise ability +20" "You essed Luo Shan''s perception of Lu Hong, Thousand Faces sh Moon (specifically against Lu Hong) has a lethal chance of 18%" In just a couple of minutes, Chen Gang had already disguised himself as several Law Enforcers. The Thousand Faces Refined System was truly powerful! Xiang Beifei didn''t chase after him. Even if he did, he couldn''t possibly capture Chen Gang, who was a practitioner of Meridian Opening and not someone he could contend with. He had to think of another n. Chen Gang''s system mission was clear, needing first to learn about Lu Hong from those familiar with him, and then use the targeted lethal technique to kill Lu Hong and take his ce. He had Lu Hong running around just toplete other tasks first, while incidentally draining Lu Hong''s energy. "If he ultimately ns to kill Uncle Lu, then all I need to do is stay with Uncle Lu, but¡ªhow do I tell him about this?" Xiang Beifei knew that Lu Hong would not listen to him at this time. Lu Hong was very agitated at the moment, wanting to catch "Lai Wuying" to avenge his old friend "Chen Gang." Even if Xiang Beifei told Lu Hong that "Lai Wuying" was actually Chen Gang, Lu Hong would definitely not believe it. Apart from himself being able to identify the disguised Chen Gang, no one else could distinguish him. His im would seem too imusible, and Chen Gang could disguise himself as any Law Enforcer. He had also essed others'' perceptions, making it difficult to find ws. He certainly couldn''t say he was able to see what Chen Gang''s system was. It was clear that Xue Mo''s cat prophecy wasn''t very urate and couldn''t provide much help to Xiang Beifei. At the moment, Xiang Beifei was the only one who could pinpoint who Chen Gang was disguised as. "How can I break his disguise?" Xiang Beifei nned to first figure out the weaknesses of the Thousand Faces Refined System. Chen Gang was continuing to move forward, about to walk into a blind spot of the mall''s surveince, but Xiang Beifei promptly found some precautions on the Thousand Faces Refined System panel: "The Thousand Faces Refined can learn and disguise as anyone, but following are ws of this system, please be aware¡­" "I see, so that''s it!" Looking at the ws reminder of the Thousand Faces Refined System, Xiang Beifei was somewhat surprised. A n gradually formed in his mind. Chapter 41: Chapter 41: Dueling Performances [You have sessfully disguised yourself as Ke Hu, and deceived the Law Enforcers, disguise ability +20] [You have essed Ke Hu''s perception of Lu Hong, Thousand Faces sh Moon (targeted at Lu Hong) assassination probability is 63%] "After all, I''ve also been in the Enforcement Team, and you people trying to catch me with this kind of action is justughable." Once the captain of the East District Enforcement Team, Chen Gang knew the city''s enforcement personnel''s tactics like the back of his hand and could make all the Law Enforcers run around in circles. With his abilities, those Law Enforcers couldn''t touch him. Chen Gang casually weaved through the crowd in the mall, going unnoticed by anyone. He had once again assumed a new identity, currently going by the name of Ke Hu. He had now essed the perceptions of twenty-one enforcement officers regarding Lu Hong, and the system had helped him integrate the information into "Thousand Faces sh Moon"; the assassination probability for the "Thousand Faces sh Moon" designed to kill Lu Hong had increased to 63%. This assassination probability was actually quite high, but Chen Gang was still not at ease because he hadn''t been in contact with Lu Hong for a long time. Lu Hong''s current strength might have greatly improved, so he needed to increase the assassination probability even further. If he wanted to further increase the assassination chances, then the next target was clear. Lu Hong''s daughter, Lu Zhiwei! Lu Zhiwei knew her father Lu Hong better than anyone else. As long as he essed Lu Zhiwei''s perception of Lu Hong, this operation was almost guaranteed sess. Chen Gang turned his gaze towards Lu Zhiwei, who was peering over the third-floor railing, and chuckled lightly as he walked towards her. But at that moment, a restless teenager ran over and identally bumped into Chen Gang. "Sorry, sorry, it wasn''t intentional, I''m in a hurry." The teenager quickly apologized. Chen Gang frowned and nced at the teenager, feeling that he looked somewhat familiar. "Right, this kid is the one Lu Zhiwei and the others kept calling Beifei." Chen Gang reflected inwardly. He didn''t know Xiang Beifei''s name but had eavesdropped on the conversations between Lu Hong and others through his sses. "If this kid cane here, he must know Lu Hong; maybe like Lu Zhiwei, he''s an intern in the Enforcement Team." To boost his sess rate further, Chen Gang couldn''t let go of anyone who knew Lu Hong. "No worries, I know you, you came with Captain Lu, right?" Chen Gang, currently disguised as Ke Hu, pretended to be concerned. "Yes... oh, you are also..." Xiang Beifei realized with a start and then hurriedly lowered his voice, whispering, "Sorry, I didn''t know you were an enforcement officer too." [You have learned Beifei''s ent, ent material library +1] Chen Gang grabbed Xiang Beifei, pulling him to the side and said urgently, "It''s okay, now''s not the time for apologies, be careful, any discoveries?" Chen Gang''s impersonation of Ke Hu was serious in demeanor, a perfect copy of the real Ke Hu, even mimicking Ke Hu''s speech impediment urately. When ites to acting, Chen Gang is professional! Xiang Beifei spoke anxiously, "Nothing, that Lai Wuying is too cunning. I''m really worried about Uncle Lu; Lai Wuying is too powerful. I always feel like we''re no match for him." Xiang Beifei looked anxious and even a bit worried and fearful. As he spoke, his gaze darted around, resembling a rookie who was unsettled. A contest in acting? Beifei was no less capable. Chen Gang patted Xiang Beifei''s shoulder concernedly, saying, "You seem very nervous? Don''t worry, Captain Lu is so powerful, he will surely bring Lai Wuying to justice. We have to believe in Captain Lu!" [You have learned Beifei''s bodynguage habits, bodynguage library +1] "I just think Lai Wuying is too formidable, making us chase our tails. But we don''t even know where he is." Xiang Beifei took a deep breath, trying to calm his agitated emotions. Chen Gang patted Xiang Beifei on the shoulder again, saying, "Justice has long arms; Captain Lu will definitely catch Lai Wuying and bring him in. Come on, cheer up." "Yeah, thank you, I feel more confident after your pep talk. By the way, I don''t know your name?" "Ke Hu." "Can I call you Brother Hu?" "Sure." "Brother Hu! Thank you, Brother Hu! Myst name is Xiang." "I know, Lu Zhiwei brought you here." "Brother Hu, I want to be a cityw enforcer in the future. You must take good care of me, your little brother!" "Don''t worry, I''ve got you covered!" The two actorspeted in their performance with genuine emotion and sincerity. It was as if a senior was looking after a junior. [You have read Beifei''s perception of Lu Hong, Thousand Faces sh Moon (targeting Lu Hong) assassination rate is 63.2%] At this moment, Xiang Beifei remembered something and said, "Right, I need to check out the third floor, can''t dy any longer!" Without waiting for Chen Gang to say anything, Xiang Beifei ran off. Chen Gang looked at Xiang Beifei''s retreating back, his eyebrows slightly furrowed. He had intended to take Xiang Beifei to a blind spot in the mall to fully learn Xiang Beifei''s perception of Lu Hong and impersonate Xiang Beifei, but Xiang Beifei did not give him the chance. Several customers strolled by; he couldn''ty hands on Xiang Beifei forcefully. However, he did not pursue because he had just tried to read Xiang Beifei''s perception of Lu Hong and found that he had only acquired 0.2%! "Forget it, this kid must be new here and hasn''t gotten to know Lu Hong much. That''s why I only got an increase of 0.2%, which is as good as nothing." Chen Gang believed there was no need to waste effort on a greenhorn, so he searched for Lu Zhiwei''s location again and headed towards her. ---- Chen Gang casually stopped beside Lu Zhiwei. "Ke Hu, how are things on your end?" Lu Zhiwei was peering around from the railing on the third floor when she saw the disguised Chen Gang approach and asked. "I didn''t see ''Lai Wuying''," said Chen Gang. [You have learned Lu Zhiwei''s ent, ent material library +1] He now had a 63.2% assassination rate; his ultimate target for impersonation must be Lu Zhiwei! Lu Hong was not an easy kill. He was significantly stronger than Chen Gang and possessed a powerful Investigation System, which could sense changes in the air around him. Even if one tried to approach while invisible, it was not guaranteed to seed. In short, Chen Gang alone would have great difficulty in killing Lu Hong. But it would be different if he impersonated Lu Zhiwei. Fathers, in general, are not guarded against their daughters. So he needed to use Lu Zhiwei to get close to Lu Hong. Chen Gang used the sses he had gotten from Ke Hu to search the mall and saw Lu Hong searching in a clothing store on the fourth floor, smirking to himself. "Zhiwei, I feel like something is not quite right, why is there no movement from the others?" said Chen Gang. Lu Zhiwei stood with her hands on her hips and nodded seriously, "I feel the same. I just saw Sister Lili and Luo Shan knocked out by Lai Wuying and they won''t wake up no matter what." [You have learned Lu Zhiwei''s bodynguage habits, your bodynguage library +1] "Then we can''t split up any longer, we must find Captain Lu and regroup," said Chen Gang. "Let''s go to the fourth floor to find him!" Lu Zhiwei nodded and turned to head towards the fourth floor. Chen Gang followed Lu Zhiwei. As he walked, his posture gradually began to synchronize with Lu Zhiwei. But just at that moment, Xue Mo, carrying a shoebox, came around the corner. Xue Mo, with an urgent look on his face, called out to Lu Zhiwei, "The cat''s alive!" "I know the cat''s alive, but where is he?" Lu Zhiwei asked. Xue Mo kept staring at Chen Gang, who was disguised as Ke Hu, and stuttered, "That... That''s not Ke..." But before Xue Mo could finish his sentence, he suddenly paused because Chen Gang had disappeared right before his eyes. For a moment, all he felt was a clouding of his consciousness, and then he fell over. As his consciousness faded, he vaguely seemed to see two Lu Zhiweis. Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Parking Lot "Xiao Xue, is the cat alive?" Lu Hong pressed his fingertip against his sses and hissed softly. "The cat is alive." A stiff voice came from themunicator. "Where did ite alive?" "At..." Xue Mo hadn''t finished speaking when Xiang Beifei''s voice rang out through themunicator. "Uncle Lu,e quick! Something''s not right here! I saw him!" "Beifei!" Lu Hong was shocked and called out urgently, "Beifei, where are you?" "Parking lot! Parking lot!" "Hit the Azure Light Armor, give me your position!" "The Azure Light Armor is shattered!" "What? He attacked you? I''m on my way." Lu Hong turned and dashed toward the stairs; as he descended, he nearly took two floors at once, his speed reaching the limit. ¡ª¡ª "In the parking lot?" Chen Gang, who had disguised himself as Lu Zhiwei, flickered slightly as his gaze shifted. He had just used Xue Mo''s voice to try to send Lu Hong to the cinema to find him, but unexpectedly, Beifei had suddenly run off to the parking lot. What was Beifei doing in the parking lot? But he didn''t think too much of it, as in his eyes, Beifei was just a bumbling youngster who didn''t know anything. Now that he was Lu Zhiwei and knew Lu Hong was heading to the parking lot, all he had to do was go there and kill him. The parking lot had few people, making it more convenient to destroy the body and erase any traces. He nced at his system panel¡ª [You have essed Lu Zhiwei''s cognition of Lu Hong, and the kill rate of Thousand Faces sh Moon (targeting Lu Hong) is 75.2%] Even Lu Zhiwei didn''t fully understand her father''s true strength. Nevertheless, 75.2% was almost enough for Chen Gang. "Thousand Faces sh Moon" was his most potent ability, which he would adapt and learn from various aspects when dealing with any target. By reading the perceptions people close to the target had of them and then integrating that information into "Thousand Faces sh Moon." This information is best when it''s freshly collected because a person''s strength can change at any moment. If information was gathered a few months or days ago, it might be obsolete if the person has a breakthrough the next day. This would render the collected data useless. So all this had been designed by Chen Gang. It would be more urate to say that Chen Gang deliberately leaked the information to make Xue Mo foresee his presence at the mall, rather than say he was prophesized by Xue Mo to be there. As the captain of thew enforcement team in the Eastern District, he was very aware of the workings of the enforcement department and knew exactly how to deal with these people. On his system panel, there was a blue orb of light, within which flickered a cold, piercing gleam, incessantly intertwining. This orb was all the information about Lu Hong. He hadn''t yet merged this reward into the mix; he wanted to use the orb at just the right moment! As long as he could unleash it unexpectedly, this move would certainly kill Lu Hong! ¡ª¡ª The parking lot was dim; the lights hadn''t been fully turned on, with only a few sporadically lit. Lu Hong frantically searched the lot, all the while softly calling for Xiang Beifei through his ssesmunicator, trying to pinpoint Beifei''s location. Beifei had said he was at parking space number 33, but now that Lu Hong was standing there, he saw no one, and there wasn''t even a car parked. "Beifei, answer me, where are you? Are you alright?" Lu Hong searched the surroundings with caution. He had a powerful Investigation System which could deduce traces of events that had urred based on the scene. Just now in the mall, because it was the weekend and there were too many customersing and going, the scene was disrupted, and his Investigation System was held back, unable to determine where Lai Wuying was. But the parking lot was rtively less crowded, and he began to search for traces following the footprints near parking space number 33. "This trace, it was left by Beifei." Lu Hong squatted on the ground, carefully distinguishing for a while. A gleam of Spiritual Power lit up in his hand, transforming into a stream of faint light that seeped into the ground. He then looked up at the fire sprinkler head above, frowning slightly, somewhat puzzled. After a moment, he turned to look at another fire hydrant nearby. The scent remaining on Xiang Beifei''s body had extended there. "What exactly is this kid Beifei up to? He''d better not be in any trouble..." Lu Hong was very anxious. Just as he was preparing to head towards the direction of the fire hydrant, a hurried running sound came from another direction. Turning his head, he saw that it was his daughter, Lu Zhiwei, and he let out a sigh of relief. "Shh, keep it down." Lu Hong made a silencing gesture. "Dad, I heard Beifei''s cry for help. He said he was in the parking lot. Where is he?" Lu Zhiwei came to a stop beside Lu Hong, looking around anxiously. "I don''t know. I''m searching for him." Lu Hong didn''t take a closer look at Lu Zhiwei. "It''s all my fault. I told him to stay with Xue Mo, but he disappeared when I came back. What if something has happened to Beifei?" Lu Zhiwei said with a great sense of guilt. "Now is not the time for self-reproach. Lai Wuying is likely nearby. Be careful,e here, stay close to me." Lu Hong gestured. "Okay." Lu Zhiwei quickly walked towards Lu Hong. A hint of cold light passed through her eyes, and she formed a scarcely noticeable cold smile on her lips, while her hand behind her back clutched tightly at a dagger. Lu Hong, who had been running around the shopping mall, was somewhat exhausted and didn''t take a good look at Lu Zhiwei. In fact, even if he had looked at her closely, it wouldn''t have mattered. Chen Gang knew Lu Hong''s Investigation System too well. He knew exactly how to position himself so as not to be discovered by Lu Hong. "Lu Hong oh Lu Hong, don''t me me for being ruthless, me yourself for meddling in the past." Chen Gang watched Lu Hong''s back, slowly closing the distance between them. If not for the lethal ability of Thousand Faces sh Moon, even if he approached Lu Hong normally, it would be hard to assassinate him because of Lu Hong''s Investigation System, which provided quick investigative abilities and extremely high Agility. But this time he was fully prepared. As long as he was within the lethal distance, Thousand Faces sh Moon would be able to ce him in certain death! Five steps! Four steps! ... However, just then, a voice came from behind them: "Hey! Lai Wuying!" Lu Hong quickly turned around upon hearing the voice. Chen Gang was startled, and the dagger in his hand instantly disappeared. That was close! He nearly got discovered. Chen Gang was secretly annoyed. "Beifei!" Seeing Xiang Beifei unharmed, Lu Hong immediately breathed easier. However, he quickly became alert and asked, "Beifei, what did you just say? Where is Lai Wuying?" The opportunity to assassinate had passed in an instant. Rage flickered in Chen Gang''s eyes, but he forcefully suppressed it, asking in Lu Zhiwei''s concerned tone, "Beifei, are you okay? You had us so worried. We thought you got captured by Lai Wuying." "Lai Wuying wouldn''te to capture me. I''m not his target." Xiang Beifei stood next to the car, calmly looking at Chen Gang: "I''m right, am I not? Lu Zhiwei, or should I call you¡ªLai Wuying?" Chen Gang, disguised as Lu Zhiwei, stiffened, saying, "Beifei, what nonsense are you talking about? I''m Xiao Wei, what Lai Wuying?" Lu Hong looked at his daughter and then back at Xiang Beifei, asking, "Beifei, what are you talking about?" "Uncle Lu, be careful; she''s not Xiao Wei, but Lai Wuying!" Xiang Beifei stated. Lu Zhiweiughed: "Beifei, are you confused? How could I be Lai Wuying?" "I not only know you''re Lai Wuying, but I also know your name¡ªyou''re Chen Gang!" "What? Chen Gang?" A shock ran through Lu Hong''s mind! Even Chen Gang almost let his disguise slip in rm. How does this kid know? Chapter 43: Chapter 43: The System is Not Waterproof Lu Hong asked urgently, "Beifei, what about Chen Gang? Exin clearly." "It will be clear," Xiang Beifei said. At that moment, there seemed to drift a scent of something burning in the air; smoke began to spread, and the temperature started to rise. "Where''s the fire?" Lu Hong looked up behind him, but just then, with a "whoosh," the fire sprinkler overhead in the parking garage burst open, and misty water sprayed out. Lu Hong and Chen Gang were standing right underneath the fire sprinkler. "Damn it!" Lu Zhiwei was shocked, moving quickly to the side, but it was still a step toote; the mist drenched him, and his clothes began to form holes as if they had been sshed with magma. Within these holes, a faint blue glow flickered in and out of sight. [Thousand Faces Refined Reminder: When disguising as someone else, avoid contact with water, as it will wash away all disguises.] This was the vulnerability Xiang Beifei discovered in Chen Gang''s Thousand Faces Refined. This superbly powerful disguise system was actually not waterproof! Xiang Beifei was well aware that he could not make Lu Hong trust him on his own, even if he pointed out Chen Gang''s disguise, the next moment Chen Gang would escape. So all he could do was let Chen Gang attack the others, then lure Lu Hong to the parking lot, simply start a fire in a trash can, and trigger the fire sprinklers above, exposing Chen Gang in front of Lu Hong! Lu Hong also noticed the anomaly on Lu Zhiwei''s body, and realizing the truth, he eximed, "You are not my daughter, you are¡ª" "Bastard!" Chen Gang red at Xiang Beifei, then his figure vanished in front of Lu Hong! His system could block electronic tracking devices, and Lu Hong was wearing tracking sses at that moment. To him, Chen Gang was invisible. Whoosh! Chen Gang suddenly lunged, kicked off the wall, and leaped high towards Lu Hong. But Lu Hong had already sensed the attack; his Perception was incredibly potent. Even without sight of Chen Gang, the moment Chen Gang struck, he detected the disturbance in the air and sidestepped, narrowly dodging Chen Gang''s dagger. Bang! Lu Hong spun around and kicked, the potent force moving through his body. Relying on his sharp Perception, he aimed for the wrist where Chen Gang held the dagger. Chen Gang was kicked away, crashing into a car window at a distance, shattering it into a hole! "So strong!" Xiang Beifei couldn''t help but admire. Lu Hong possessed the Investigation System; his reaction time was nearly top-notch, andbined with his own strength, he held his own against an invisible Chen Gang. However, the blow did not bring Chen Gang down; with a push of his hands, he leaped out, putting some distance between himself and Lu Hong. "Uncle Lu, the sses! Take them off and you''ll see him!" Xiang Beifei shouted. "The sses?" Lu Hong didn''t quite understand why Xiang Beifei wanted him to do that, but remembering that Xiang Beifei had identified something off about Lu Zhiwei earlier, he subconsciously chose to follow his advice without hesitation, tearing off the sses. But when his gazended on the person not far away, he was utterly stunned! "Chen... Chen Gang?" Lu Hong looked incredulously at the familiar figure before him, his mind going nk for a moment. The person in front of him, whose disguise was washed away by the firefighting spray, was none other than the cherished friend he had once lost! Chen Gang red at Lu Hong with a gloomy expression, then turned his gaze toward Xiang Beifei, who was joining in on themotion at the side, his heart filled with unending fury! He simply couldn''t understand how he had been exposed! In order to kill Lu Hong, he had strained his brain to lure Lu Hong to the mall, using the system''s disguise and relying on his understanding ofw enforcement officers to y them for fools. Even Xue Mo, someone with a predictive-type system, had no way of determining who he had disguised himself as. But in the end, this kid had pierced through his disguise! Looking at the kid''s age, he should still be in school, perhaps he had only recently awakened his system. How could he, an S-tier system owner, be seen through by the other party? "Chen Gang... you... you''re still alive?" Lu Hong looked at the other party in astonishment, "I thought you were killed by Lai Wuying..." "He is Lai Wuying," Xiang Beifei said. Lu Hong was taken aback! "You''re Lai Wuying? How could this be..." Lu Hong seemed unable to ept this fact. Half a year ago, when the news came that Chen Gang had been harmed by Lai Wuying and had died in the line of duty, Lu Hong had been depressed for a long time. He secretly swore to apprehend Lai Wuying and avenge his friend. But he never, ever expected that when he saw Chen Gang again today, he would suddenly be told that the very person he had been chasing was the supposedly in old friend! He remembered the times in the eastern jurisdiction when he had pursued Lai Wuying with Chen Gang. Many doubts started to clear up with Chen Gang''s "resurrection from the dead." "What exactly is going on here?" Lu Hong clenched his fists, his voice shifting in tone. "If you hadn''t discovered the connection between me and Lai Wuying six months ago, I wouldn''t have needed toe after you!" Chen Gang spat out bitterly. With things havinge to this point and Thousand Faces sh Moon in hand, he couldn''t be bothered to keep up the disguise any longer. Six months prior, when Lu Hong went to find Chen Gang, due to a moment of carelessness on Chen Gang''s part, Lu Hong stumbled upon significant traces left by Lai Wuying, leading to a joint investigation with two other powerful experts. At that time, Lu Hong had not realized that Lai Wuying was Chen Gang. Chen Gang knew that if the investigation continued, it would eventually lead back to him, yet he wasn''t strong enough to kill Lu Hong at the time. His only option was to fake his own death to destroy the evidence. When Lu Hong followed the trail to Chen Gang, he found that Lai Wuying had "murdered" Chen Gang viciously. The scene was extremely bloody, and Chen Gang didn''t leave a whole corpse behind. Knowing Lu Hong''s investigative skills, he disguised the scene himself, making it chaotic to ensure that even Lu Hong with his powerful Investigation System couldn''t identify it. Having the cover of being the captain of the eastern jurisdiction''sw enforcement team, Chen Gang was free tomit crimes under the identity of "Lai Wuying," which made him grow stronger. But all of it was ruined by Lu Hong! Chen Gang couldn''t ept it, he grew to hate Lu Hong, vowing to take back everything he owned! Once the storm had passed, he plotted this entire operation. The opposing district had a prophet, which he already knew about, so he deliberately made the prophet foresee that he woulde to this mall. He then used his system to disguise himself, preparing to kill Lu Hong with a fatal blow from Thousand Faces sh Moon, and then impersonate Lu Hong to be thew enforcement team captain of the western jurisdiction. That way, he could continue to cover up the actions of "Lai Wuying" with the identity of aw enforcement team captain. The entire n had been proceeding orderly, and even just moments ago, he had the perfect opportunity to strike a deadly blow. But he hadn''t expected the carefullyid trap to bepletely destroyed by this kid who came out of nowhere! Chen Gang was filled with bone-deep hatred for Xiang Beifei! Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Waiting for the Opportunity "You... it''s actually you!" Lu Hong clenched his fists, staring nkly at Chen Gang. Initially, when he investigated "Lai Wuying", he found that Lai Wuying was connected to Chen Gang and started suspecting him then. But as he pursued further, he discovered that Chen Gang had been harmed and thought he had misunderstood his old friend, even ming himself for half a year! Over this half year, he had always felt guilty about the death of Chen Gang. But now, he realized that all this was merely orchestrated by Chen Gang! His intuition had been right all along. "Why? You were already the captain of the enforcement team in the East District, why would you engage in shameful dealings like those of Lai Wuying? Your duty should have been to protect your city, not tomit crimes!" Lu Hong spoke in a deep voice. "Protect the city?" Chen Gang''s expression suddenly twisted. The [Thousand Faces Refined] system required learning to disguise oneself as different people, inherently ensuring he could not just be aw-abiding citizen. There was a time he wanted to use this system to engage in espionage, fight criminals, and restore peace and order. However, he gradually found that being a spy fighting against crime gave limited boosts in the system, and having a moral baseline often tied his hands during missions. It was better to be a criminal, not bound by ethics orws, doing whatever it took to grow stronger, which allowed for much faster improvement. Thus, he took a different path, leveraging the system to be the elusive "Lai Wuying". From then on, the system made him stronger and his desires grew uncontroble. "We all have our choices. The moment we awaken our systems, our futures are bound. You have no right to judge others'' rights and wrongs. What kind of system one has dictates what kind of person one bes." Chen Gang responded coldly. In his view, awakening the [Thousand Faces Refined] system meant he was destined to be a criminal. "Nonsense!" Lu Hong red at Chen Gang, growling, "We may not be able to choose our Awakening Systems, but we can choose our paths! Don''t you dare me your misdeeds on your system." Boom! Lu Hong burst forth, his arms glowing with red fire, as if mes of rage were burning. The mes wrapped around his fists, distorting the air around them. "What kind of person to be is a choice we make, not one made by a system!" Lu Hong threw a punch at Chen Gang. The fiery punch''s wind was fierce and powerful, evaporating the mist above and sending two cars next to it flying. He punched Chen Gang, showing no mercy, feeling only fierce anger, unable to forgive Chen Gang for knowingly breaking thew! Chen Gang''s body also emitted a blue glow, numerous lights interweaving on him, instantly transforming myriad times. His dagger radiated a cold moon glow, as he too met the explosive fiery punch head-on¡ª Boom! The chilling moon de collided with the fiery st, white and red lights exploded fiercely, and the powerful shockwaves sent nearby cars hurdling into scrap metal! The sh of two Meridian Opening experts wrought extreme destruction! Bang! Chen Gang was thrown backward, crashing into a wall and creating arge dent in it. St! Chen Gang spat out a mouthful of blood, his face turning deathly pale as his energy weakened. Meanwhile, Lu Hong, like a gust of wind,unched another fearsome punch at Chen Gang. This punch was something Chen Gang couldn''t defend against at all, and could only watch helplessly as the punch approached in an instant. However, Lu Hong''s fist stopped three inches from Chen Gang''s face. "Half a year has passed, and you''ve be stronger than before." Chen Gang let out a wryugh, then spit out another mouthful of blood. "I became stronger because of you!" Lu Hong roared, "Over this half year, your death has constantly haunted me. I thought it was my fault that led to your death. To avenge you, I trained relentlessly, enhancing my own strength, all to capture Lai Wuying and avenge you. This punch was originally meant for ''Lai Wuying''!" His voice was full of anger, like a lion that has been suppressed for a long time and is about to erupt. But his voice was also tinged with a trace of regret. Over these six months, he forced himself to grow stronger, cultivating his zing fist. Avenging Chen Gang became his conviction. His strength was now many times greater than it had been half a year ago! Yet, he never imagined that this punch, meant not only for Lai Wuying, was also for the old friend he had always wanted to avenge! This caused him great pain. ¡ª¡ª Lu Hong''s punch was terrifyingly oppressive, rendering Chen Gang immobile. His chest heaved continuously. But gradually, the mes on his fist dissipated. He withdrew his fist. "Why didn''t you kill me?" Chen Gang inquired. "I am a city defender, not a murderer." Lu Hong red angrily at the incapacitated Chen Gang, a pair of handcuffs appearing in his hand, ready to restrain him. However, a fierce gleam shed in Chen Gang''s eyes! He looked at his system interface. The Thousand Faces sh Moon, gathered through impersonating Lu Zhiwei and others, had not yet been utilized! Aimed at Lu Hong, this critical strike had only one chance, but such a strike was not 100%, he had to surprise him. Chen Gang knew that he had no chance of winning in a direct confrontation with Lu Hong; if he used the Thousand Faces sh Moon head-on, Lu Hong would likely dodge it. So he waited. He knew Lu Hong too well, understanding his abilities and character thoroughly. This man was stubborn; even after defeating him, he would not deliver a fatal blow, opting instead to capture him. Chen Gang possessed strong deceptive abilities; he used "Thousand Faces Refined" to feign aplete defeat, waiting for Lu Hong to lower his guard and try to handcuff him. That would be the perfect moment to unleash the deadly strike of Thousand Faces sh Moon! "You are not a murderer, but I am!" Chen Gang''s face twisted into a sinister smile, his hand lighting up again with brilliant moonlight, this time stronger than before, ready to integrate the data collected on Lu Hong into Thousand Faces sh Moon. This strike, imbued with others'' perception of Lu Hong and at such a close distance, would seal all of Lu Hong''s potential escape routes¡ªLu Hong was doomed! "You¡ª" Lu Hong''splexion drastically changed! He thought Chen Gang had lost his fighting capacity, but unexpectedly, he had been deceived by Chen Gang once again. Chen Gang sneered; he showed no mercy¡ª However, his sneer suddenly froze! For some unknown reason, the Thousand Faces sh Moon, which contained information on Lu Hong, suddenly disappeared! This Thousand Faces sh Moon, specifically against Lu Hong, needed to fully integrate to wlessly block any of Lu Hong''s defenses. Once it disappeared, this attack became just a normal strike in front of Lu Hong, even filled with ws! Lu Hong''s perception was top-notch; even though caught off guard, he managed to react in time. With no room for mercy in such urgent circumstances, he punched Chen Gang in the chest. Bang! Chen Gang''s chest caved in. "How could this..." Chen Gang''s eyes bulged in disbelief. This punch was fatal to him! Until his death, he couldn''t understand where his collected fatal strike had gone? It was the system''s ability; he had never missed before when killing others, but he couldn''t understand why the system would malfunction now! As his life force ebbed away, for some reason, Chen Gang inexplicably thought of a person. That young man who had quietly stood by andpletely unraveled his disguise. In thest flicker of his consciousness, his gaze turned to Xiang Beifei. The young man watched him calmly, undisturbed. And in his hand, he astonishingly held the Thousand Faces sh Moon aimed at Lu Hong. Then he even waved at Chen Gang. ¡ªWas he waving at him? Chen Gang red resentfully at Xiang Beifei. Why... why was it in his hand? Chen Gang couldn''t fathom it. He really couldn''t fathom it! But he no longer had a chance to think about it. Darkness swiftly engulfed him. Chapter 45: Chapter 45: The Path is Chosen by Oneself Lu Hong broke out in a cold sweat as he looked down at his chest, where a patch of mud was attached to his body like a piece of armor. Even though his reaction was fast, he still couldn''tpletely dodge Chen Gang''s strike due to the close distance. However, at the critical moment, seemingly out of nowhere, a puddle of mud appeared in front of his chest, blocking Chen Gang''s attack. Had it not been for this mud, his chest would likely have been torn open by Chen Gang, creating a terrible wound with unimaginable consequences! But, even with the mud blocking, he still felt a violent shock, his chest tightened, his blood roiled, and his throat was tinged with streaks of blood. Fortunately, he quickly steadied himself. But where did this thinge from? And how did it block Chen Gang''s attack? Swish! The patch of mud fell off and fluttered in the air, flying back into Xiang Beifei''s hands. "Beifei, you..." Lu Hong watched Xiang Beifei in disbelief. He never would have thought that the thing that saved his life came from Xiang Beifei, who had just awakened his system not long ago! "Dad left it to protect me." Xiang Beifei flicked the breath soil, twisting it into a whip before it vanished from sight. "Xiang Tianxing?" Lu Hong came to a realization. So that was it! He knew that Xiang Beifei''s father was a pioneer, an SR grade Awakener with extremely rare talents. It made sense for such a powerful martial artist to leave his son something for self-protection. "But how could you¡ª" Lu Hong still didn''t understand. Even if Xiang Tianxing had given Xiang Beifei something for self-protection, in order to use it to protect others, Beifei would need to have foreseen such an event and also possess extremely agile reflexes. How did this kid manage that? "I didn''t trust him, so I kept a precaution," Xiang Beifei said. "You didn''t trust him..." Lu Hong was taken aback. After all, he was a martial artist at the Meridian Opening stage, yet his vignce in this matter was inferior to that of a youth who had only awakened his system recently. "I was too naive," Lu Hong sighed. He had been deceived by Chen Gangst time. This time, he was almost fooled again. He suddenly felt somewhat pitiful. "You just didn''t want to believe that he would kill you," Xiang Beifei said. Lu Hong gave a bitter smile once again. This youth saw things even more clearly than he did. Even at the moment when he defeated Chen Gang, he still hoped Chen Gang would turn back. But Chen Gang had already shredded the trust between them to pieces. ¡ª¡ª The aftermath work was being handled by others. Lu Zhiwei and the others were unharmed; they were merely knocked unconscious by Chen Gang and would probably wake up soon. Lu Hong didn''t involve himself in these trivial matters; he just sat at the corner of the mall stairs, incessantly smoking away, staring nkly at the photo in his hands. Xiang Beifei sat beside him, called over by Lu Hong personally. He looked toward Lu Hong''s system interface. [Host: Lu Hong] [S Rank, Investigation System] [Realm: Early Meridian Opening] [A detection has been made of a special N grade talent, would you like to investigate?] ... Lu Hong''s Investigation System issued a task. Xiang Beifei knew Lu Hong must have many questions in his mind, but luckily, he had already thought of how to handle Lu Hong''s inquiries. Put everything on his dad, simply saying his dad taught him some recognition skills, and that''s how he saw through Chen Gang''s disguise. After finishing an entire cigarette, Lu Hong finally spoke faintly, "Beifei, I heard you''re just an N grade Awakener?" "Yes," Xiang Beifei nodded. Lu Hong looked up at Xiang Beifei, a strange light flickering in his eyes. "I understand." After a pause, he said slowly, "Don''t bother exining; just keep your secrets well." Lu Hong looked at the task just issued by his system and chose [No]. "Hm?" Xiang Beifei was slightly surprised. He could see Lu Hong''s system tasks, too, and he hadn''t expected Lu Hong to select [No]. He had thought up a plethora of exnations, but they proved unnecessary. This was unexpected. "I once had the privilege of knowing your father. A man as formidable as your father is beyond my reach forever; such a powerful figure''s son would naturally be no ordinary person. I should have thought of this earlier," Lu Hong said with a smile. Xiang Beifei had intended to attribute everything to his so-called SR father, but he hadn''t needed to¡ªLu Hong had figured it out on his own. This was fine, too. "I won''t pry too much. As for today''s events, if you wish to keep a low profile, I will keep your secret," Lu Hong offered. Everyone had secrets; if Beifei had secrets he preferred not to reveal, Lu Hong would naturally respect them without probing further. "Thank you, Uncle Lu." Interacting with intelligent people was simple. Had it been anyone else, Xiang Beifei might not have intervened, but he trusted Lu Hong. "Beifei, promise me one thing." "What is it?" "Your father was a tremendous person engaged in the most noble of endeavors, someone I could only ever look up to. I know I''m not your father, and I''m not qualified to teach you anything, but you have just awakened to your system, and you''ll have your own path to follow and confusions to face. However, no matter what system you''ve awakened to, I hope you understand one thing." Lu Hong stared at the photo of Chen Gang, his eyes brimming with endless destion. "What kind of person you be is your choice, not the system''s!" A me appeared at his fingertips, igniting the photograph and turning the man within to a pile of ck ash. It was as if he had burned away his past with that person. He had spent so long seeking strength and chasing after Lai Wuying in his quest for revenge for Chen Gang, only to discover that Chen Gang was Lai Wuying. This truth was hard for him to ept. He would have preferred Chen Gang to have died at the hands of "Lai Wuying," at least that would have meant a death with dignity. The ck ash drifted in the air, slowly dissolving. Xiang Beifei watched the ashes, contemtive. He had understood this principle long ago. Just as Principal Li Nanxing''s "Confucian Saint System" and headteacher Yang Hua''s "Master Dao System" were both education and nurturing systems, the paths each chose werepletely different. Performing tasks rted to the system. But one''s character had nothing to do with the system. "I will remember your words, Uncle Lu, but I hope you will also heed a word of advice from me," Xiang Beifei said. "What is it?" "Next time you encounter a criminal like Chen Gang who intends to be utterly vile, don''t show mercy. If you must kill, kill. At the very least, leave him half-dead, break his limbs, and ensure he cannot move. Otherwise, the one who suffers is yourself," said Xiang Beifei. Lu Hong was slightly stunned. He looked at Xiang Beifei. His expression showed profound surprise. The young man handled such matters with even more calmness and decisiveness than he did. Was this really just a high school student who had just awakened to his system? But on second thought, the young man''s words were not wrong. Mercy should be based on the premise that one can protect oneself. If it hadn''t been for Xiang Beifei seeing through Chen Gang, the one to die tonight would have been himself. "I''ll remember. You''re right. I won''t always be so lucky to have you save my life, like you did today," Lu Hong said, nodding. Then, he sighed deeply, his eyes filled with a trace of bewilderment. Xiang Beifei thought for a moment, then added, "I hope Uncle Lu won''t be disheartened. There are many more Lai Wuyings in the Western District that need Uncle Lu''s attention. Chen Gang is definitely not thest criminal you need to deal with." Lu Hong was taken aback. In the past six months, his strength had surged as he pushed himself to the limit to avenge Chen Gang. When he discovered today that Chen Gang was Lai Wuying, there was a moment when his half-year''s conviction suddenly copsed, leaving him questioning the purpose of gaining strength. But Xiang Beifei''s words were like an enlightening rush to his head, reviving his spirits. As an elder, he should have been the oneforting the younger, yet the roles had reversed tonight. This young man truly puzzled him. "Thank you," Lu Hong said gratefully. The copse of one belief could lead to the birth of another. Lai Wuying had be a thing of the past. But the future could be carried on by the next generation. "If you have any requests in the future, just let me know. I''ll do everything in my power to help you." Even if just for this child''s sake, he must pull himself together. "Of course, thank you, Uncle Lu," Beifei politely responded. To protect Xiang Beifei, Lu Hong had given him the Azure Light Armor, inadvertently helping Xiang Beifei to illuminate a star. Xiang Beifei was simply repaying the favor. Chapter 46: Chapter 46: Learning Plan The incident at the shopping center didn''t attract much attention, and everything was handled through standard procedures. Xiang Beifei didn''t concern himself with these matters, as they had nothing to do with him. However, he was in a good mood. Because Lu Hong said that once the procedures werepleted, he would help him apply for the bounty. As the captain of thew enforcement team, Lu Hong was almost certain to handle it smoothly. By the time he returned, it was already evening. Walking on the road, the noisy crowd gave Xiang Beifei a feeling as if he were in a different world. He had been in this world for less than a month, feeling both familiar and alien to everything. In his previous world, he was just an orphan whose parents had died early, relying on rtives to get through school. That world was not friendly to him. Coming to this world hadn''t improved his situation much either. But at least he had found a rtive here. Everyone here carried their own system panel, bustling about for their system tasks. Their goals were clear, whether they were for money or fame, or for strength or family, they all took their system tasks seriously. The system had be the driving force of their lives. Sometimes, Xiang Beifei would ponder. In his previous world, where nobody had systems, what exactly was the difference from this one? Back in that world, weren''t the adults driven by car loans, mortgages, family, and the need to support parents and children, all reasons for everyone to rise early, sleepte, and squeeze onto buses to go to work and earn a living? These burdens carried by adults were the tasks they had to aplish in their lives. In this system world, these life tasks had been systematized into system tasks. Whether it was the previous world or this system world, everyone had to advance towards their goals. Essentially, there was no difference between the two worlds. Of course, the people here possessed much stronger abilities. Murder, destruction, battles... all were almost foreseeable. The incident between Lu Hong and Chen Gang had given Xiang Beifei a deeper impression of this world. Xiang Beifei was gradually adapting to the rhythm of this world. Those at the bottom struggled toplete system tasks for their livelihood. The powerful strove toward their own goals. He too needed to find his own way to survive. If he wanted to go further in the world of the system, he had to keep pace with this world. ¡ª¡ª When he got home, it was already dark. Xiang Beifei prepared dinner, but Xiang Qingde hadn''te home yet. He kept the food warm, then returned to his room. He had received another system reward, which was the Thousand Faces sh Moon finishing move collected by Chen Gang. Although this finishing move was only aimed at Lu Hong, it possessed a Spiritual Power level equal to the early stage of Meridian Opening! Each star constetion actually included one ability. The reason for lighting them up one by one was because the Spiritual Power required to use the abilities contained within each star constetion varied, so Xiang Beifei had to master them step by step, and couldn''t bite off more than he could chew. For example, one at the Qi-Controlling stage could only master abilities that could be executed at the Qi-Controlling stage. As he progressed, the abilities brought by lighting up star constetions became more powerful, and the required realms to master them also became higher. "Woof woof woof!" Xiaohei gave a suggestion. While at the Qi-Controlling stage, Xiang Beifei could light up four star constetions. So far, he had lit up two and acquired two abilities. He had two more abilities to acquire, which would only be essible at the middle andter stages of the Qi-Controlling level. However, Chen Gang''s "Thousand Faces sh Moon" was a Spiritual Power crystal from the early stage of Meridian Opening, which could be saved forter use to light up a star constetion at the Meridian Opening stage, thus not wasting it. "Okay, let''s tentatively set it like this for now! But if we can''t find a suitable recement, we''ll just have to use it." Xiang Beifei agreed. The sh between Lu Hong and Chen Gang tonight enlightened him greatly. Only those in the Meridian Opening phase are truly powerful martial artists! Normally, those in the Qi-Controlling phase could even be considered ordinary people, theirbat abilities are clearly insufficient. The Jiuzhou Alliance nevercks people in the Qi-Controlling phase; they can practically be found everywhere on the streets. Even high school teachers are just in thete stages of Qi-Controlling. Without stepping into the Meridian Opening phase, one simply cannot ess true martial arts. In tonight''s battle, Xiang Beifei couldn''t intervene. At a critical moment, he relied on breath soil to save Lu Hong''s life, but that was all he could do. Luckily, the breath soil possessed an indestructible defensive capability, able to block Chen Gang''s attacks. But if Chen Gang''s attacks had targeted Xiang Beifei, even with breath soil, he would have had a hard time avoiding them, and might not have even survived. Breath soil can only be said to be indestructible, but that doesn''t mean it can dissipate that powerful force. Chen Gang''s attack hitting the breath soil, the reverberations would still transmit through it to the body. Lu Hong''s physical condition could withstand those reverberations because he was a master of the Meridian Opening phase, but Xiang Beifei definitely could not. This made him realize the necessity of improving hisbat abilities and physical condition. Reflecting on the zing fist Lu Hong disyed tonight, its explosive force left a deep impression on him. Every punch Lu Hong threw almost seemed to spin the air current, as if igniting the air itself. "The fire can burn on the fists; this must be a cultivation technique given by Uncle Lu''s system, Xiaohei, can I learn such a thing?" Xiang Beifei inquired. "Woof woof woof!" Xiaohei rolled over plumply on the bed. "Oh, I see!" Xiang Beifei nodded thoughtfully. Any cultivation technique gifted by the system actually relies on one''s own spiritual power to manifest. Xiaohei can turn system rewards obtained from others into spiritual power crystals because fundamentally, all systems aim to transform spiritual power into something absorbable by the body. And spiritual power is present in all cultivators'' bodies; it is their source of power. What Xiaohei meant was, as long as the method is right, he could also use his own spiritual power to execute those abilities. This ability could be learned through "Learn by Analogy," but the premise is that he first needs to grasp one thing, then he can quickly master other variations of it. That means, if he could learn Lu Hong''s me fist, next time he would be able to learn any technique involving the use of fire, not just limited to the me fist. He could learn me palm, me foot, me leg, sparking all around, fire three feet high, fire at one''s heels, fire under one''s butt. Just thinking about it is exhrating! Xiang Beifei tried throwing a punch into the air. Aside from the whooshing sound of the air, no fire was generated. "I need to ask Uncle Lu for guidance; I wonder if he would be willing to teach me." Xiang Beifei pondered. The next day, he eagerly called Lu Hong to express his intentions. "You want to learn martial arts from me?" Lu Hong seemed very surprised. "Yes, I just awakened my system and want to learn techniques rted tobat," said Xiang Beifei. "Sure, if you want to learn, I naturally won''t be stingy, but be prepared mentally; learning martial arts requires great determination and the spirit to endure hardships. It''s definitely not something you can master overnight." Lu Hong agreed readily. There was no way he could refuse the son of Xiang Tianxing wanting to learn martial arts from him. "I understand," Xiang Beifei was aware of these things. "Thene find me after ss. I work night shifts, and if I''m not out on a call, I can teach you," Lu Hong said. Chapter 47: Chapter 47: Reclamation System Xiang Beifei was currently only in the early stages of Qi-Controlling, and his power was not yet impressive. However, given the speed of his cultivation, he would definitely reach the mid-stage of Qi-Controlling within two weeks! The speed of advancement through the realms is rted to one''s talent. For R-ranked awakened individuals like the ss teacher Yang Hua, even after seven or eight years of awakening, he was still only in thete stage of Qi-Controlling. Whereas S-ranked Lu Zhiwei, having awakened for only a year, was already in thete stage of Qi-Controlling. Xiang Beifei had been awakened for less than a month and was not in a hurry. Time at school passed quickly, and after school, once Xiang Beifei had exined the situation to his grandfather, he went to thew enforcement bureau. The ce they were located in was the western jurisdiction of Jiuzhou, where the City Guard Bureau was a conspicuous department. It was a ce many ill-intended people steered clear of, with various powerful defenses. Xiang Beifei entered the City Guard Bureau and asked a small police officer with an "R-ranked Firearms System" at the front desk, who directed him to the office of Lu Hong. However, he didn''t find anyone there. The affairs department of the guardians was noisy, with manyw enforcement officersing and going, some escorting suspects, others loudly making phone calls, and some carryingrge stacks of documents. Xiang Beifei wondered if he should wait inside, but then he caught sight of another interrogation room on the other side and discovered that Lu Hong was inside, seemingly questioning a criminal. Through the ss window, Xiang Beifei could see the situation inside. The criminal appeared calm in the face of Lu Hong''s questioning, not opening his mouth at all, and there was a disdainful expression in his eyes, showing no regard for thesew enforcement officers. [Host: Wan Qiu] [R-ranked, Remation System] [Realm: Mid-stage Qi-Controlling] It was unclear what crimes Wan Qiu hadmitted, but the expression on Lu Hong''s face looked somewhat gloomy. Lu Hong questioned for a long time but seemed unable to get anything out of him. He let an officer with an "R-ranked Interrogation System" continue the questioning, then left the interrogation room. "Uncle Lu," Xiang Beifei greeted. "You''ve arrived." Lu Hong saw Xiang Beifei and showed a gentle smile, saying, "I''ve been busy this afternoon, was dealing with some matters just now, it''s kind of headache-inducing." "Did Ie at a bad time?" Xiang Beifei asked. "No, you cracked a big case yesterday, How could I not make time for you?" Lu Hongughed, but he still looked a bit tired; the matter of Lai Wuying, which involved Chen Gang, hadn''t allowed him to recover quickly. But he had not been knocked down, and was still working today. "What about that person just now?" Xiang Beifei asked. "A robbery case," Lu Hong replied, "The bank vault was robbed, he must have been the one to get inside, but we don''t know how he did it. We''ve caught him, but he''s not willing to give up the whereabouts of his aplices yet, it''s a bit of a headache." A robbery case? The bank vault? This guy has the Remation System, without thinking too much it''s clear he must have dug his way in from underground. "You couldn''t get it out of him? Don''t you have specialized interrogators?" Xiang Beifei nced again at the police officer who had taken over Lu Hong''s interrogation work. That officer possessed the interrogation system, and by all ounts, he should be an expert at extracting information. "He''s a mute, we asked him to write down where his aplices are hiding, but unfortunately, he won''t write," Lu Hong said, rubbing his forehead. A mute? Xiang Beifei suddenly understood; even the most skillful interrogator is helpless against a mute. He moved forward a couple of steps, closer to the ss window, and scrutinized the other person''s system tasks. Thepleted task list for Wan Qiu was all rted to remation. Most of them were¡ª¡ª [You have reimed one square meter of wastnd, remation value +1.] [You have reimed one square meter of mountain forest, remation value +1.] These tasks seemed regr and nothing out of the ordinary, but among the recent list of tasks, there were some that were quite special. [Spent 500 remation value points to upgrade remation tools. The current spade can now reim three-dimensional space in reinforced concrete.] [You have reimed fifty cubic meters of space within the pier of Qianhe Bridge, remation value +10.] This system task waspleted three days ago. The Qianhe Bridge was a heavyweight bridge with incredibly thick and massive piers, and it was unexpected that someone actually had the ability to carve out a space inside one. Carving out a space there would indeed be a perfect hiding spot. This guy''s ability was quite impressive. ording to his system description, this method of remation could disregard the volume of the remation target and determine the volume difference between the reimed space and the remation target proportionally. If he had enough system points, he could even carve out a ten cubic meter space in a single ring. The legendary "storage ring" was said to be based on this kind of remation system, a type of ck technology from the world of Xianxia stories. "Uncle Lu, based on the clothing and the traces of dust on him, he must have been to Qianhe Bridge recently. You might try searching the piers of Qianhe Bridge; his aplices could be hiding inside. I don''t know if you have any echo-locating devices to check which pier might be hollow," Xiang Beifei said. Lu Hong looked at Xiang Beifei in astonishment, "Is this true? Are you sure?" "I think there''s no mistake," said Xiang Beifei. Lu Hong then turned to look at Wan Qiu. He himself had a powerful Investigation System, but when he looked at the dust on Wan Qiu''s clothes, he could only tell that the dust came from beneath the bank. He wanted to ask Xiang Beifei how he figured it out, but remembering what happened the day before, Lu Hong held back the question. "Wait a moment." With a wave of his hand, a delicately crafted ck raven appeared in Lu Hong''s hand. He patted the raven''s head and said, "Search the piers of Qianhe Bridge." The raven darted into the sky, streaking a sh of light before vanishing. "This is my reconnaissance tool. It''s very effective," Lu Hong exined. This tool came from his system; in fact, he had used it yesterday, but Chen Gang understood his investigative capabilities too well and knew how to counteract them. Lu Hong watched his system interface. As the ck raven flew out to investigate, he could see everything happening outside through the raven''s eyes at any time on his system interface. The ck raven was incredibly fast, and since Qianhe Bridge was not far away, it almost instantly arrived and began scanning each pier built into the river. Soon, Lu Hong''s expression became more and more astonished! The raven''s eyes had echo-locating ability, and the scanning results showed that the inside of the piers were indeed hollow! Not only that, but the raven''s echo-location also detected seven people lurking within one of the piers! "They really are hidden here!" Lu Hong was truly shocked and couldn''t help but look towards Xiang Beifei, full of amazement! If it weren''t for Xiang Beifei''s suggestion, they might never have thought to look for people hiding inside the solid piers! "Move out! Move out! Raven Squad, prepare to deploy to Qianhe Bridge!" Lu Hong swiftly summoned his subordinates. At hismand, they were on the move immediately! Xiang Beifei stood still, watching Uncle Lu''s retreating figure. The event from yesterday had dealt Uncle Lu a heavy blow. If he could help Uncle Lu take care of some things, he was willing to do so. But then he thought about it. Something didn''t seem quite right. What had hee here to do again? Chapter 48: Chapter 48: Intuition Xiang Beifei sat in Lu Hong''s office, observing the city''s guardiansing and going outside. He liked to observe other people''s systems. Those who were able to work in thew enforcement team were required to have at leastte-stage Qi-Controlling abilities, and they had to undergo multiple assessments. The talent of every Awakener started at R grade, with many being S grade. Most of the Awakeners here had systems rted to crime, such as the [R grade Sniper System], the [R grade Negotiation System], the incredibly fast [S grade Godspeed Guardian System], and there was even an old cop whose system was the [S grade Turn Back to the Shore System] as he sat drinking tea. "I heard your son will experience the Awakening System next year. What''s the most important thing in this world? Of course, it''s family. Which father wouldn''t be by their child''s side on the day they awaken their system? If your son reached SSR next year, and you weren''t there at his brightest moment, how sad he would be..." The old cop was chatting with a handcuffed criminal. His tone was down-to-earth and heartfelt. Initially, the man was defiant, but somehow as they talked, his eyes reddened, and then he began to wipe away tears. "Uncle, you are right, thank you. I never intended tomit fraud. I just... I just..." "I understand, I understand. No one''s perfect; who can be without fault?" "Uncle, then I confess, can I get out this time next year?" "Even if you can''t get out, I must apply for a leave for you next year. How could you not be present when your own child experiences the Awakening System?" "Okay, I confess, I confess." The old cop patted the criminal gently, smiling amicably. The man signed the confession with a guilty expression. "Uncle Chang, thank you for your help." Aw enforcement officer said to the old cop. "It''s nothing. I should be off now." The old cop stood up, crossed his hands behind his back, and leisurely walked away. [You have persuaded a criminal to turn over a new leaf, Virtue Points +20] This old cop''s system belonged to the preaching and negotiating type, where he shared life philosophies and the dry contents of Tao Te Ching with criminals. However, many mentally unstable individuals couldn''t resist his persuasion. The old cop, named Chang Shan, was a very amiable old man. It seemed his position wasn''t very high, yet he managed to connect well with many people. However, he possessedte-stage Meridian Opening capabilities! A hidden master! So far, Xiang Beifei had met two of the most powerful cultivators. One was Principal Li Nanxing, and the other was this old cop. Xiang Beifei mused: if this old cop hadn''t been working in thew enforcement team, he might have be a monk dedicating his life to universal salvation. Or perhaps, he was a cop just to offer that salvation? "Hey, Beifei, what are you doing here?" Lu Zhiwei entered the office and immediately saw Xiang Beifei, who was looking around from the window. "I came to see Uncle Lu." Xiang Beifei had forgotten that Lu Zhiwei came here for her internship every day after school. "What do you need my dad for?" Lu Zhiwei casually threw her bag aside, then went to the water cooler, poured two cups of water, and handed one to Xiang Beifei. "Something came up. He just left on a call, so I''m waiting for him here." Xiang Beifei took the cup of water. Lu Zhiwei pulled over a swivel chair, spun around twice, then stopped and gazed at Xiang Beifei as if pondering something. "Is there something on my face?" Xiang Beifei asked hesitantly. "What happened at the parking lot yesterday? I can''t remember anything. I asked my dad, but he didn''t provide details, only mentioning that with your help, they caught Lai Wuying. How did you manage that?" Lu Zhiwei inquired. "I saw the suspect, told Uncle Lu, and Uncle Lu caught him." Xiang Beifei simply described the process. Whoosh! Lu Zhiwei pulled her office chair forward, stopping right in front of Xiang Beifei, leaning forward so close their noses nearly touched, her eyes narrowed suspiciously as she scrutinized Xiang Beifei. "You''re lying." Lu Zhiwei dered. This was the first time Xiang Beifei had been so close to a girl, he could almost smell the faint fragrance from Lu Zhiwei''s hair. Huh, it smells like Seabreeze shampoo. The same brand as mine. "How did you know I was lying?" He leaned back a bit. "Intuition." However, Lu Zhiwei was relentless and leaned forward again, her long eyshes almost flicking Xiang Beifei''s hair. That''s weird. "Don''te too close, we aren''t familiar." Xiang Beifei extended a finger and pressed it against Lu Zhiwei''s nose, pushing her back. "Oh, you''re getting shy now." Lu Zhiwei rolled her eyes and swatted Xiang Beifei''s hand away. Xiang Beifei smirked. "Intuition tells me you''re definitely hiding something from me." Lu Zhiwei scratched her nose and said. "You trust your intuition more than your logical reasoning skills?" Xiang Beifei nced at her system interface. An 11% reasoning uracy still shining brightly! Lu Zhiwei spun around in her chair and said, "Yesterday when I got home, my dad looked strange, I remember him saying Lai Wuying was Chen Gang, but that doesn''t make sense because Uncle Chen was clearly killed by Lai Wuying." "Couldn''t he have faked his death?" Xiang Beifei asked. "Faked his death?" Lu Zhiwei, touching her chin and pondering, said, "Then how did you know Chen Gang was Lai Wuying? Lai Wuying knocked us all down, he appears and disappears like a ghost, even Xue Mo''s cat is MIA, how did you spot him?" "Lucky guess." "Bullshit!" Lu Zhiwei said, "I don''t believe your luck is that good! Did you awaken some kind of good fortune system?" Xiang Beifei shrugged nonchntly. "Be honest, what are you doing here today? To recordst night''s case?" Lu Zhiwei asked. Xiang Beifei figured he couldn''t keep it a secret any longer and said, "I came here to learn somebat skills from Uncle Lu." "Learning to fight? Were you motivated after seeing my dad destroy the parking lot fighting someone yesterday?" "Whatever you say." "I can teach you." Lu Zhiwei stood up, interlocked her fingers, and pressed down, her joints cracking loudly. Xiang Beifei looked at Lu Zhiwei with disdain. "Hey, what''s with that look? My dad taught me my fighting skills," Lu Zhiwei said, hands on her hips. "Then you''re really good." Xiang Beifei nodded perfunctorily. He was not here solely to learnbat skills, he mainly wanted to find out how Lu Hong managed to produce mes with his punches. Lu Zhiwei was bing frustrated. This jerk, still as troublesome as ever. "Caught them, good! They were indeed hiding under the bridge pier!" Just then, a loud voice came from outside; Lu Hong had returned. His team efficiently surrounded the culprits at Qiaohe Bridge pier, capturing the bank robbers all in one go, and the entire process took less than half an hour. He was finally back. Xiang Beifei stood up. Chapter 49: Chapter 49: Fist Wind "Captain Lu is amazing!" "I thought this case would be really tricky, but Captain Lu solved it just like that." "Captain Lu, how did you figure out they were hiding under the bridge pier?" A wave of awe filled the air as Lu Hong directly raided the criminals'' hideout, thrilling the entire enforcement team¡ªit was a significant achievement. Lu Hong, while being praised, felt somewhat embarrassed; he knew that the credit didn''t lie with him, but with Xiang Beifei. "Sorry for the dy. You guys proceed with the necessary, interrogate those who need interrogation, and keep busy." Lu Hong then remembered he had promised to teach Xiang Beifei somebat skills, but upon encountering the criminals, he had heatedly forgotten about it and hurried to his office. "I''m back, sorry, I forgot," Lu Hong said with a smile. "Dad, you''re so cool! You solved the robbery case so quickly? How did you figure it out?" Lu Zhiwei excitedly looked at her father. "With the help of a noble person, without him, I really might not have spotted the loophole," Lu Hong said with a smile. "Was it Xue Mo? I thought he took a leave." "Not Xue Mo, it was Beifei!" Lu Hong looked at Xiang Beifei, thoroughly impressed by him now. This kid truly was extraordinary; he didn''t even need to face the suspect for an interrogation or visit the scene, just a quick nce from afar was all it had taken. He had actually managed to catch one of Wan Qiu''s aplices! This level of investigative ability was even more potent than his own system! "Beifei?" Lu Zhiwei turned her head in confusion and looked at Xiang Beifei, "Did he spot the criminal suspect again?" "He figured it out with reasoning!" Lu Hong exined, "Beifei has a very keen sense for reasoning. He just took one look and analyzed where that guy''s aplice was hiding! Xiao Wei, you really ought to learn this reasoning ability from Beifei." Lu Zhiwei turned her head and sized up Xiang Beifei again: "How is that possible? Didn''t he just awaken his system? Is he that impressive?" Lu Hong knocked on Lu Zhiwei''s head. "How many times have I told you, you should never underestimate anyone. Beifei has a gift for this, he''s much better than you at it." "Dad, I''m not underestimating him, I just think... nevermind, forget I said anything." Lu Zhiwei muttered a bit but didn''t finish her sentence, feeling that if she continued, she might just get another knock on the head from her dad, so she wisely kept quiet. However, she was bing more and more curious about Xiang Beifei. Yesterday, their team''s prophecy expert Xue Mo had failed to locate Lai Wuying, who nearly took down the entire enforcement team; yet, it was only Xiang Beifei who had noticed Lai Wuying''s traces and had helped her dad capture him. Today, Xiang Beifei had just arrived at the enforcement team, and before even warming his seat, he had helped her dad solve another case? Was this guy''s ability to solve cases really that strong? "Beifei, have you ever considered being a city guardian here? With your personality and reasoning skills, you''d be perfectly suited for the job." Lu Hong looked at Xiang Beifei with hopeful eyes. "I was just lucky." "There you go being modest again," Lu Hong said. "Uncle Lu, I want to learn somebat skills," Xiang Beifei said. "Right, right, look at my memory, almost forgot! Come on, I''ll take you to the training room." Lu Hong, hearing Xiang Beifei express such an interest, was also pleased. If Xiang Beifei could really end up working here, their jurisdiction''s case-solving rate would probably skyrocket. Beifei fell silent for a moment, then turned to look at Wan Qiu, who possessed the Remation System, and reminded, "Uncle Lu, even if you catch them, you must be careful, this person is not so simple." "Don''t worry, they are watching. We have special means of care here, and won''t give him a chance to escape," Lu Hong said. Beifei thought for a while and then said nothing more. ¡ª¡ª The city guard squad had a dedicated training room forbat, specifically for the use of the guards. Lu Hong brought Beifei to a bright room with nothing around¡ªit was a pure fighting arena. Lu Hong took Beifei to change clothes, and Lu Zhiwei, having nothing else to do, followed them in. "Combat skills are very important. You can learn this without having to cultivate the spiritual power. In my eyes, the essence of fighting is all about speed," Lu Hong said as he clenched and then opened his fist, with a faint flow of air swirling around his fingertips. "Beifei, you''ve just awakened your system less than a month ago, so you probably haven''t cultivated any spiritual power yet, have you?" Lu Hong didn''t yet know Beifei''s specific situation, as Beifei had not taken any action that day. "Dad, how could he have cultivated spiritual power so quickly? He''s not an S-rank," Lu Zhiwei muttered. S-rank Awakeners find it simple to break through to the Qi-Controlling phase, but she knew that Beifei was an N-rank Awakener, and for N-rank Awakeners, it would take at least half a year to a year to possibly step into the Qi-Controlling phase. Beifei said, "Regarding that, well¡ªI barely¡ª" He stretched out his finger and lightly clenched it twice, a white light pulsing at his fingertips. "What? You''ve cultivated spiritual power already?" Lu Zhiwei was very surprised! "That''s not right! You just awakened as an N-rank, how could it be so fast?" Lu Zhiwei found it incredible! Lu Hong was also surprised; after thinking for a moment, he realized that Beifei was far from being as simple as an N-level, and he became more certain about Beifei hiding his own talent. Although he was very curious about this young man, considering the identity of Tianxing''s son, he didn''t ask further but simply said, "That makes it much more convenient." Meanwhile, Lu Zhiwei curiously asked, "How did you break through to the Qi-Controlling phase?" After finishing, upon seeing her father ready to scold her, she quickly added, "Just to be clear, I mean no disrespect. The textbooks clearly state what type of system has what kind of learning progress, and you are clearly an N-rank Awakener!" "Zhiwei, don''t be rude! Looks can be deceiving. To be strong, both talent and diligence are important. Have you forgotten our senior officer from Liangzhou, Shang Tianxiong? He''s an N-rank System Awakener, just look at his aplishments," Lu Hong interjected. "But he didn''t reach the Qi-Controlling phase in just one month either!" Lu Zhiwei muttered. "Alright, no more questions. We are here to train today, focus!" Lu Hong did not allow his daughter to continue. He continued, "I have my own set of unique boxing techniques, which I generally don''t teach others, mainly because everyone''s system attributes differ, and what works for me might not work for others. I''ve only taught Zhiwei, whether it suits you, you''ll have to see for yourself." Lu Hong snapped his fingers, and suddenly, a punching bag appeared in the middle of the room. This was a technologically simted punching bag, but it was in no way different from a real one. "When sparring with someone, you must be alert in all directions, mindful of attacksing from any direction at any time, while ensuring that the strength in your arms matches the speed of your eyes. Your focus must always be on your own fists," Lu Hong said as he threw a punch forward. His fist wind howled, igniting mes in the air in the instant it was thrown. Bang! Lu Hong''s fist had not even touched the punching bag, yet the bag was directly sted into pieces! Beifei''s eyes brightened. That punch was very powerful. Chapter 50: Chapter 50: Rapid Flame "This me is not an attribute enhanced by the system, but one that I have ignited through burning my Spiritual Power. I''ve named it ''Rapid me.'' Distribute your Spiritual Power over your fist, and as long as the speed of your punch is fast enough, the air will friction violently with the Spiritual Power and directly ignite it." "This kind of attack is quite overbearing but not easy to master. Firstly, you need to control your Spiritual Power well, not allowing it to diffuse too much or too little. Otherwise, the air will carry away your Spiritual Power, and nobustion will ur." "After you''ve managed to ignite your Spiritual Power, you must learn to control the mes andpress the mes within a certain area. If you can''tpress the mes, then their effect will merely be for show, burning for a bit and then disappearing,pletely meaningless." "To make the mes lethal, you must use your own Spiritual Power to lead the burning mes, thenpress them on your fist, creating a high-temperature point near your fist. When you hit your opponent, instantly detonate the mes. The high temperature will generate a fierce tearing force, causing fatal damage to your opponent!" Lu Hong detailed the key points of the Rapid me Technique to Xiang Beifei and demonstrated it a few times as well. Every time Lu Hong threw a punch, the air around seemed to twist. "At first, you''ll be unfamiliar with controlling Spiritual Power and will need to swing your fist over a certain distance to ignite the Spiritual Power. Once you''ve mastered the use of Spiritual Power, you won''t even need to swing your fist, just a slight movement will ignite your Spiritual Power, like this¡ª" Lu Hong extended his index finger and gently pressed down. The movement was minuscule, but mes danced at the tip of his finger and burst forth with a tremendously powerful jet of me, piercing through the sandbag in front of him. Releasing Spiritual Power requires only one finger, with the force generatedparable to a gun! "Don''t think that it just looks like my finger bent a bit. In reality, my finger is vibrating at extreme speeds, something you are probably unable to see with your current realm," Lu Hong exined. "So that''s how it is." Xiang Beifei covered his fist with his own Spiritual Power and began to attempt to ignite it. The process was indeed not so easy to grasp, mainly because his punching speed wasn''t fast enough to ignite the Spiritual Power. But Xiang Beifei didn''t lose heart; he started to swing his fists at the sandbag. With every punch, he adjusted the speed of his punch, striving to deliver sufficient explosive force. Lu Hong stood by patiently, continuously helping Xiang Beifei correct his punching posture. ---- Two hours had passed, and Xiang Beifei was still tirelessly practicing his punches. His muscles ached, but fortunately, Lu Hong used his own system to exchange for a muscle soreness recovery ointment to help Xiang Beifei recover from the muscle damage. "Dad, you''re really generous with him. That stuff must have cost you quite a few system points, right?" Lu Zhiwei muttered. Lu Hong, looking at Xiang Beifei not far away, said, "It doesn''t matter how much it consumes. If it weren''t for Beifei yesterday, I probably would have lost my life." Lu Zhiwei was taken aback, "What? Why haven''t you told me about this? What exactly happened yesterday? How did Beifei save you?" Lu Hong shook his head slightly, "You don''t need to ask about that. Just remember, Beifei is not an ordinary person. In the future, don''t always criticize his N-rank system. Even if he is an N-rank talent, in my view, his future achievements will definitely not be inferior to an S-rank¡ª" Or perhaps, he is inherently an SR-rank talent! "Dad, do you really think so highly of him?" Lu Zhiwei was quite astonished at her father''s evaluation of Xiang Beifei. She nced over at Xiang Beifei, who was focused on practicing his punches, and found it incredible. Because Lu Hong had never given such a high appraisal to any System Awakener with an N-rank system before. Lu Hong nodded slightly, "He has that potential in him, I believe in him. By the way, in the future, if he needs help, give him a hand. Don''t go looking for trouble with him without a good reason." "I haven''t been troubling him." Lu Zhiwei pursed her lips, but the look in her eyes at Xiang Beifei turned even more puzzled. Her eyes rolled around, seemingly deep in thought. "It''s best not to trouble him; otherwise, the trouble mighte hunting you." Lu Hong shook his head slightly, knowing his daughter''s temperament well. Having awakened an S-level talent and been epted into Liangzhou University, she was extremely proud andpetitive. If she knew someone was that outstanding, she''d definitely be discontent. The reason Lu Hong thought highly of Xiang Beifei was because of what happened at the mall yesterday. After returning home yesterday, he had carefully reviewed the events, growing increasingly horrified the more he thought about them. Chen Gang had shown him no mercy, striking with extreme speed, and Lu had nearly been seriously injured due to his carelessness. Yet, the patch of mud had arrived just in time, and even he hadn''t noticed when it had covered him. If that mud had not been there to protect him, but to kill him instead, he wouldn''t have stood a chance of blocking it! Most importantly, Chen Gang''s expression before he died was clearly one of shock, as if something had happened that he hadn''t anticipated. His "Investigation System" could analyze various details; Lu Hong spected that Chen Gang''s final strike had been prepared with the certainty that it would kill him. But that strike had been as if the rug had been pulled out from under it, losing the power it should have had, otherwise Chen Gang wouldn''t have looked so surprised before his death. This made him wonder whether Xiang Beifei really was just a kid who had recently awakened his system. After all, just a few days ago, when Xiang Beifei was attacked by a demon dog, he emerged unscathed! This was simply not something a child who had just awakened his system could have managed. However, this morning Xiang Beifei had called, saying he wanted to learnbat skills from him, which made Lu think he might be overthinking things. He had also seen for himself just now, Xiang Beifei was indeed only at the early stages of Qi-Controlling. Lu Hong''s current understanding was that Xiang Beifei was definitely not as simple as an N-level system; perhaps like his father, Xiang Tianxing, he owned an SR system but chose not to reveal it. If it was an SR system, then everything would make sense. To know how to deal with demon dogs, to discern Lai Wuying, whom even the S-level prophet Xue Mo hadn''t identified, to deduce that Lai Wuying was in fact Chen Gang, let alone just now when he casually glimpsed and identified Wan Qiu''s aplice. It wasn''t unusual for an SR Awakener to do these things. But what piqued his curiosity was, if Beifei had an SR system, supposedly endowed with powerful cultivation methods, why would hee to him to learn? "Could it be that he awakened a literary Dao system but wanted to follow the martial path like his father?" Lu Hong pondered to himself. Xiang Tianxing was a pioneer; could it be that the kid intended to emte his father and grow up to be a pioneer too, but sadly awakened a literary Dao system, which meant his system couldn''t provide him with the means to cultivate, so that''s why he hade to him? Yes, that was the only exnation! Having figured this out, Lu Hong felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "Regardless, since you''ve chosen to trust me, I can''t let you down," Lu Hong thought to himself. He did not know Xiang Tianxing well; Tianxing was a pioneer who often dealt with matters even more dangerous than Lu Hong''s cases. Tianxing had once done him a great favor, and they got along well, so whenever Tianxing came back, they would sometimes get together with their kids. He had a great respect for pioneers like Xiang Tianxing. Though Tianxing was now gone due to an ident, if Tianxing''s son wanted to pursue the martial path, Lu felt it was his duty to help. Chapter 51: Chapter 51: Youre Relatively Safe Xiang Beifei didn''t know what Lu Hong was thinking, he was still tirelessly swinging his fists. Until now, he had thrown at least over six thousand punches. He was very grateful that Lu Hong used the system rewards to help eliminate the wear on his muscles, otherwise, he''d probably have copsed from exhaustion long ago. Though "Learn by Analogy" endowed him with a strong learning ability, for it to take effect, the prerequisite was to master an ability, then he could learn other abilities in the same category. Therefore, he had to master "Rapid me" on his own. Xiang Beifei practiced until midnight, had grandpa not called, he might have forgotten about the time altogether. "Xiao Wei, it''s sote, you send him home," Lu Hong said. "Dad, I''m a girl, you know! Since when does a girl send a boy home?" Lu Zhiwei stared at her own father with wide eyes. "You''re always in such a hurry, where''s the resemnce to a girl?" Lu Hong waved his hand dismissively; in his eyes, his daughter, who liked to fight, was no different from any boy. Now that she''d reached thete stages of Qi-Controlling, as long as she didn''t encounter a Meridian Opening practitioner like Chen Gang, basically no one could harm her. It wasn''t easy to encounter a Meridian Opening practitioner in this area anyway. "Aren''t you afraid that I, a young girl, might run into bad people while walking at night?" Lu Zhiwei batted herrge eyes, looking pitiful. Lu Hong looked her over and said, "Ordinary bad people should be more afraid of running into you." Lu Zhiwei: "..." Lu Hong patted his head and said, "I almost forgot, Beifei, your Azure Light Armor was damaged yesterday. I''ll give you another piece, protect yourself well." He redeemed another piece of Azure Light Armor with 500 Investigation Value and pressed it onto Xiang Beifei''s body. "Uncle Lu, this..." Xiang Beifei hadn''t expected Lu Hong to give him another piece of Azure Light Armor. Xiang Beifei was still at the beginning stages of Qi-Controlling; the Azure Light Armor was a system item for the intermediate stages of Qi-Controlling, and it could still be used to light up the next star position. "This is a Qi-replenishing pill, it can speed up the recovery of Spiritual Power. You train too hard, which is a big burden on the body. Although it''s good to practice diligently, you can''t be too hasty. Take it slow." Lu Hong spent another 500 system points to exchange for a pill. "Uncle Lu, this is too extravagant," Xiang Beifei said. "Don''t mention it. Yesterday you helped me catch Lai Wuying, andst night you helped me solve a case. Some things can''t bepared to these little items," Lu Hong said generously with a wave of his hand. Xiang Beifei looked at Lu Hong''s system interface. Catching Lai Wuying yesterday wasn''t mainly credited to Lu Hong, so even though it was a big case, it only added 800 Investigation Value to Lu Hong. Catching the bank robbery aplice at night only added 100 Investigation Value. He exchanged two system items for Xiang Beifei, plus the Azure Light Armor that Xiang Beifei melted, and the muscle-regenerating paste redeemed just now for 100 points, which meant Lu Hong was down 700 system points. But Lu Hong wasn''t a person to fuss over every little thing. The matter with Lai Wuying meant far more to him than a mere 700 system points. "Thank you." Xiang Beifei didn''t make a fuss; he was still only in the Qi-Controlling stage, strictly speaking not even a proper Daoist practitioner yet,cking in strength. He knew he needed these. ept them and then remember the favor. "Dad, you''re really generous." Lu Zhiwei shrugged her shoulders. "There''s nothing to be generous about. Xiao Wei, since you don''t have any work here and it''s sote, you should go home to sleep. It just so happens you''re going the same way as Beifei. Don''t worry, you will be very safe walking at night." Lu Hong was still in a hurry to go back and write the case report. After saying that, he left. "Wait, what do you mean I''ll be very safe walking at night ..." Lu Zhiwei huffed and puffed behind him, Inquiring Dao. Xiang Beifei wiped off his sweat, strapped on his backpack, and said, "You don''t need to walk me home, I know the way." "Toote!" Lu Zhiwei made a scary face, grabbed Xiang Beifei''s backpack, and began dragging him outside: "My dad asked me to be a ''guardian of the grass'', I have to protect this little de of grass from being trampled." ---- The two walked on the road, it was alreadyte at night, with few pedestrians around, and the asionalte worker hurried past without giving them a second nce. "Damn it, they actually say I''m safer walking at night. Do I really look that safe?" Lu Zhiwei grumbled all the way, growing more discontented by the minute, throwing a few punches at the air with a "biu-biu-biu". "I don''t think Uncle Lu meant it that way..." Xiang Beifei turned his head to look at the crow flying above them, which had been following them all along. Lu Hong certainly wouldn''t let his daughter walk alone at night, so he deployed his investigative crow. If anything happened, the crow would notify him immediately and Lu Hong could be there in less than a minute. When he spoke of safety, he meant the crow. But Lu Zhiwei wasn''t paying attention to the crow. "Then what does it mean! I''m his own daughter after all, and he says I''m safer walking at night?" Lu Zhiwei kept touching her own face and then turned to re at Xiang Beifei: "Hey, Beifei, how do I look?" "Not bad." "Out of ten, how much would you give?" "???" Xiang Beifei was encountering a girl asking him to rate her for the first time. Isn''t this a topic that should be discussed among guys? "Then let''s go with ten." He gave a honest perfect score to avoid listening toints all the way. "Then why do they say I''m safer walking at night? Forget it, you definitely won''t tell the truth." Lu Zhiwei stood there, hands on hips, clearly upset. Just then, a young man with a briefcase came walking towards them. Lu Zhiwei grabbed the man, shoved him against a wall, and punched the brick beside his ear with a forceful "wall-bang", asking brashly, "Hey, I want to ask you something. Do you think I look safe?" The young man was walking along just fine when suddenly he was pressed against the wall with the brick beside his ear cracking from the impact, causing him to start screaming, "Help! Help! I''m being robbed!" "What are you shouting for? I''m a city guardian!" Lu Zhiwei gave the man a stern look. "You''re a city guardian? But I... I haven''t done anything, I''m just a programmer,w-abiding, working a nine-to-nine-six schedule, thepany squeezes me dry, I''ve been working overtime till now, haven''t had time to misbehave..." The young man, thinking he was in big trouble, quickly exined with a mournful face. He was only mid-stage in Qi-Controlling, with the Awakening of the "N-Level Coder System," specializing in typing rather than fighting. "Cut the crap, a guardian is on a case. Answer my question, cooperate with the investigation." "What... what question?" "If you were a bad guy, would you try anything with me?" "..." The young man was so confused by the question that he couldn''t even respond. Such an idiot! Xiang Beifei held his forehead, feeling a bit overwhelmed. "With your personality, anyone would feel safe..." Xiang Beifei quickly dragged Lu Zhiwei away, to prevent her from making more foolish mistakes. Chapter 52: Chapter 52: Introduction Lu Zhiwei hummed and hawed as she escorted Xiang Beifei to his family''s doorstep. "You''re back? Sote." Xiang Qingde had been waiting for him toe home and only rxed when he saw Xiang Beifei at the door. "Hello, Grandpa Xiang!" Lu Zhiwei greeted him cheerfully. "Eh? Xiao Wei, what brings you here?" Xiang Qingde asked in surprise. "My dad sent me to make sure Beifei got home safely. You don''t need to worry." "Thene in and sit down for a bit," Xiang Qingde hurriedly said. "No, I have to get home myself. I have to catch the early bus tomorrow to go back to school," Lu Zhiwei said. "It''s sote, and it''s not safe for a girl to go home alone. I''ll take you back," he insisted. Xiang Qingde hurried to grab a shlight and a coat, ready to escort Lu Zhiwei home. "Look at that, now that''s what I call an elder!" Lu Zhiweiined about her father again, then waved her hand with a carefree smile, "No need, Grandpa Xiang. I can manage on my own." "How can that be alright? It''s sote, and a pretty girl like you walking alone at night is not safe. It would be terrible if anything happened¡­" Xiang Qingde said. Beingplimented on her looks moved Lu Zhiwei deeply: "Ah, Grandpa Xiang, your insight is as sharp as ever." She happily rubbed her face, feeling very pleased. "Don''t worry, Grandpa Xiang. I''m not that easy to mess with. If I can''t beat them, I''ll just use the Teleportation Talisman my mom gave me to escape¡ªit''s a simple matter," she assured him. The Teleportation Talisman was a wonderful thing, an item exchanged through the system, a life-saving Divine Artifact given by her mother to her daughter. Within a certain distance, if she faced danger, the Teleportation Talisman could instantly pull Lu Zhiwei to her mother''s side. That was why Lu Hong was at ease letting Lu Zhiwei head home alone. "Then you still don''t understand what it means to be safe when walking at night?" Xiang Beifei pursed his lips. Lu Zhiwei stuck out her tongue in a mocking face. "Be careful on the way," Xiang Beifei said. "Got it, goodnight." Lu Zhiwei soon disappeared into the night. Xiang Qingde closed the door and then asked Xiang Beifei, "Are you following Lu Hong to learn fighting skills, aiming for the martial path in the future?" "Yes." He didn''t hide it. For Xiang Beifei, the essence of this world was still about the supremacy of the martial path. The outside world was full of deste beasts that wouldunch attacks on human settlements from time to time. Martial artists held a higher statuspared to literary Daoists. Xiang Qingde sighed. "What''s the matter, Grandpa?" Xiang Beifei wondered. Xiang Qingde patted Xiang Beifei''s shoulder and shook his head, "Nothing. If this is the path you''ve chosen, I naturally have to support you, but¡­" He trailed off, hesitating. "Is it because of my dad?" Xiang Beifei asked. Xiang Qingde sighed. His own son had chosen the martial path, became a pioneer, and never returned. As a father, how could he not be worried? "Grandpa, rest assured, I know my limits," Xiang Beifei said with a smile. "I''ll look after myself, and I will also take good care of you in the future. I won''t be reckless." "Not being reckless is good. Go to bed," Xiang Qingde said. Xiang Beifei washed his face and then went back to his bedroom. Xiang Qingde picked up the photo frame on the table and looked at the family portrait. He wiped the dust from the frame and murmured, "Now Xiaofei is choosing the martial path. If he encounters that same incident in the future, what will I do?" He nced at his own system. On the system interface, there was nothing but snowkes, no data at all. ¡ª¡ª Xiang Beifei returned to his room and fell asleep immediately, having just stepped into the realm of Qi-Controlling. His body didn''t have much Spiritual Power, and after a whole night of training, he was greatly drained of energy. But after sleeping through the night, he quickly became as lively as a dragon again. After eating, Xiang Beifei called for Xiaohei, ready to go to school. But he was surprised to discover that Xiaohei was holding a bunch of odd and curious items, including a map, a hammer, a book, a tree sapling, and even a toilet brush. "Where did all this stuffe from?" Xiang Beifei asked in astonishment. "Woof woof woof!" Xiaohei jumped around excitedly. Xiang Beifei suddenly understood, given his constitution, he could''ve been unwittingly drawn into other people''s quests just by walking on the road. For example, the bus driver''s "Old Driver System", after giving Xiang Beifei a ride, his system prompted: "You gave Xiang Beifei a ride, driving proficiency +1" Then, afterpleting his quest, the rewards would go to himself. And usually, Xiang Beifei wasn''t even aware of this. He picked up the toilet brush and made some gestures with it, wondering whose system reward this could be from and why they would redeem a toilet brush of all things? Was it to enhance the cleanliness of the toilet while scrubbing? He then looked at a slipper. Why was this brand new slipper only one? Could they not afford the other? "Send these things back, life is tough for everyone. Rewards involving people who bear us no grudges, we shouldn''t take," he said. Xiang Beifei waved his hand dismissively. Most of these rewards came from lower-level people''s N-grade systems. The rewards of an N-grade system were often frustrating, with all sorts of bizarre quests, some of which were simply not feasible for a normal person. Those N-grade Awakeners had low strength, and it might take them several years to step into the Qi-Controlling realm. They relied onpleting quests to make ends meet. If they lost their rewards, it was adding insult to injury. Since those rewards were of no use to himself and could not help him light up his stars, there was no need to disrupt others'' lives. Xiaohei had been gnawing on a ball, but upon hearing Xiang Beifei''s words, his tail wagged twice, and he mailed all the items back. ¡ª¡ª The end of high school life was approaching fast, and students who had just awakened their systems were putting aside their quests to focus on preparing for college entrance exams. No matter how urgent the system quests were, they couldn''tpare to the importance of the exams. Getting into a good university was crucial. Different levels of universities offered different conditions forpleting quests. The better the university, the moreprehensive the facilities, and the more advantageous forpleting system quests. All the students were busy except for Xiang Beifei. With his Learn by Analogy skill, he only needed to understand one type of problem, and then he could easily solve the same type next time he encountered it. He had essentially mastered all the types of exam questions, giving him more time to train himself. During breaks, he would go to a deserted ce and continue practicing Rapid me. Following Lu Hong''s instructions, Xiang Beifei covered his fists with Spiritual Power and swung them punch after punch. With each punch, he paid attention to the range of his Spiritual Power, and gradually, he got the hang of it. When he had thrown over ten thousand punches, his fists finally produced a burst of explosive sound, with tiny sparks shooting out. "I did it!" Xiang Beifei revealed a smile. Although it was just a few sparks, and not a burst of mes like Lu Hong could produce, the mere fact he created sparks with Spiritual Power proved he had entered the threshold. Xiang Beifei approached a tree and fiercely swung a punch towards it¡ª Bang! A dull sound rang out! The bark was indented with his fist print, and around the edges of the imprint, there were signs of slight charring. "It''s not enough, Uncle Lu can pierce through a sandbag with just one finger." Xiang Beifei was not satisfied with this result. To create an imprint, he had to make contact with the bark with his fist. If it was Lu Hong, he could just st the tree to smithereens from a distance. Chapter 53: Chapter 53: Lock-Free Isnt Possible After school that afternoon, he ran off to the Law Enforcement Team as usual. The training room of the Law Enforcement Team was quite special, equipped with various simted training devices that could help one concentrate and greatly increase training efficiency. He also needed to consult Lu Hong about some details. Creating sparks and producing mes were not the same concept. Lu Hong was not in the office, and without his pass, Xiang Beifei was unable to ess the training room, which was exclusively for the guardians. Xiang Beifei, being an outsider, could not enter or exit at will. He was waiting for Lu Hong to return. But he didn''t have to wait long before Lu Zhiwei leisurely came over. "How''s your arm?" Lu Zhiwei asked. "Not bad, with Uncle Lu''s help, it''s recovering well," Xiang Beifei said. Lu Zhiwei sat in her father''s office chair, propped her chin up with her hand and looked at Xiang Beifei, asking, "My dad praised your deductive abilities again today, told me to learn more from you. Are your deduction skills really that good?" "Just lucky," Xiang Beifei said. "Nobody''s that lucky," Lu Zhiwei said. "Don''t be so modest. Let me test you. What did that bald man do to get caught?" Lu Zhiwei pointed to a bald man sitting outside on a bench waiting for interrogation. She knew about this bald man since she had just gotten the information when she arrived and saw aw enforcement officer bringing him in. Thew enforcement officer had not yet documented it, so Xiang Beifei definitely didn''t know these details. It was a good opportunity to test him. "I don''t know," Xiang Beifei said. "You didn''t even look!" Lu Zhiwei snorted and quickly smirked, "I know what you''re waiting for my dad to do, you want to go to the training room but don''t have a pass, right? My dad just went out on a call, no telling when he''ll be back. He called me, told me to take you in. Here''s the deal, if you get the deduction right, I''ll take you to the training room. How about that?" "That''s boring." "Right, I am just bored, looking for something to do." Lu Zhiwei held a door card, tapping on the desk, looking smugly at Xiang Beifei. With leverage in her hand, she felt more confident. Xiang Beifei turned his head and looked at the bald man. The bald man seemed very honest in appearance. He was just slightly over forty years old. Xiang Beifei noted that his little finger nail was sharp and long. Xiang Beifei nced at the bald man''s system interface: [Host: Lv He] [R grade, Lock-Free System] [Realm: Mid-Qi-Controlling] In the system''stest task list, a line ofpleted tasks was disyed: [You have unlocked Zhu Lai''s phone facial recognition lock, lock value +10] [You have unlocked Zhao Ming''s phone password lock, lock value +10] [You have unlocked Liu Jia''s bank password lock, lock value +10] [You have unlocked Mr. Liu''s front door lock, lock value +1] [You have unlocked Miss Wang''s bathroom lock, lock value +1] ... Xiang Beifei grew more amazed as he read. This guy''s abilities were remarkable! His system could even crack facial payment security? Being caught here with a Lock-Free System, he certainly used his system''s capabilities for illegal activities. This man''s tasks mostly involved unlocking people''s doors, he likely lived as a locksmith normally. Besides the door lock, he had also unlocked at least a hundred cellphones, and Xiang Beifei even saw that he had managed to open thepany''s ss B safe as well. "Do you want to go over and interrogate him a bit? Can you tell anything just by looking like this?" Seeing Xiang Beifei just staring at the man from a distance, Lu Zhiwei suggested. "True deduction can be made from analyzing a person''s dressing habits to infer their capabilities." Xiang Beifei replied casually, "As for this person, I was wondering if he was recently involved in some illegal profit-making rted to cellphones? Like cracking people''s passwords and then transferring money,mitting fraud and stuff?" Lu Zhiwei''s eyes widened. "My gosh! How did you figure that out?" She looked at Lv He, then back at Xiang Beifei. She hadn''t dropped any hints just now and Xiang Beifei hadn''t even approached to ask anything, just sized the man up for a minute, and he figured it out! Lu Zhiwei couldn''t be more astonished! "Luck," Xiang Beifei turned his head back and said. "Don''t think I can be fooled that easily!" Lu Zhiwei suddenly stood up and rolled her chair towards Xiang Beifei with a rumble, stopping deftly in front of him. "If it wasn''t for that bald guy being too dumb to know that transfers are done under real names, we wouldn''t have caught him. Tell me, how did you confirm it just by one look?" "Give me the door card," Xiang Beifei said. "Wait, considering I was the messengerst night, teach me how to discern these things." Lu Zhiwei''s face was full of eagerness. The 11% deduction uracy rate had troubled her for a year. "This requires intuition," Xiang Beifei casually remarked. "I have great intuition!" Lu Zhiwei pointed at her forehead. Xiang Beifei looked at Lu Zhiwei expressionlessly. She chuckled awkwardly, then said, "My dad says, deductive skills need to be learned from details, but I tend to overlook them easily. Just tell me how to observe the details. In exchange, I''ll stand up for you if anyone bullies you in the future?" Lu Zhiwei rubbed her fists together, which made crunching noises. "Alright then!" Xiang Beifei considered for a moment, then made something up: "See his pinky nail? That''s a sign of the legendary Lu Ban Axe Gate, adept with various mechanisms. That nail connects to the system, ordinary locks open with just a touch." Lu Zhiwei immediately pulled out a notebook, and began jotting down notes. "What are you doing?" Xiang Beifei asked in confusion. "Taking notes!" Lu Zhiwei said earnestly, "I need to record all knowledge rted to deduction in my life to improve my reasoning skills!" "Oh." Pretty diligent. But why so diligent when the deductive abilities are still so poor? "What else? What else? Tell me, tell me!" Lu Zhiwei urged. "You see his fingers are incredibly slender, each one excessively long. Only someone who regrly performs precise operations would have such hands. I think his fingerprints must also not be fixed, but capable of freely adjusting to mimic others'' fingerprints. Also, his ears are unusuallyrge,rger than ordinary people, like a hearing aid and sometimes they even move. This type of ear shape helps to block out external sounds, focusing on listening to the sounds of mechanisms within safes. If you look closer, you would notice that his facial features and skin are not fixed but move slightly within a small range. He adjusts his facial contours and irises based on the principles of facial recognition and iris recognition..." Xiang Beifei rambled on. Lu Zhiwei earnestly wrote down every word he said. One dared to bluff. The other dared to believe. Chapter 54: Chapter 54: Qin Yi Lu Zhiwei was taking notes and then asked, "So, you''re basing your judgment that hemitted this crime just on these facts?" "With these unlocking abilities and the fact that he was brought to thew enforcement squad, what other reason could there be for his actions besides doing something simr to what''s been described?" Xiang Beifei countered. "Oh, deducing the cause from the result, I''ve studied that." Lu Zhiwei suddenly realized and quickly bent down to take more notes. "You do have a strong desire to learn." Xiang Beifei observed the diligent Lu Zhiwei. Although this guy was careless and sometimes silly, he still had a strong desire to improve himself. "I want to be a city guardian, so I need to learn all these skills." Lu Zhiwei said earnestly, then stood up, grabbed her notebook, and ran towards the bald man, "Wait, I didn''t ask clearly just now, I need to check if what you said is correct." Five minutester, Lu Zhiwei ran back, looking at Xiang Beifei with a face full of amazement, "I believe you!" Her eyes were sparkling as she looked at Xiang Beifei as if viewing a rare treasure. Xiang Beifei just shrugged nomittally. He had indeed exaggerated a bit, but in fact, he had scraped this information from the "Lock-Free" system interface. Just by seeing which aspects of abilities the bald man used his system value to enhance, one could roughly specte his specialties. For example, "spent 300 lock points to enhance his hearing, initially acquiring echolocation abilities," this was his enhanced hearing capability. Another example, "spent 500 lock points to enhance his fingerprint bioelectricity, able to connect directly with electronic devices, searching the fingerprint database speed +1," it shows his fingerprints could vary based on the fingerprints in the database search. Lu Zhiwei didn''t know these, but because Xiang Beifei described them nearly urately, it left herpletely stunned. "Xiao Wei, so you were here!" At this moment, a suave young man walked in through the door. This man appeared to be about the same age as Lu Zhiwei, dressed in a neat casual outfit, his hair parted in the middle and gelled, gleaming. "Qin Yi, what are you doing here?" Lu Zhiwei turned her head and seemed a bit surprised to see this young man here. "I was just doing some work nearby and knew you were interning here, so I came to find you." The young man walked in and nced at Xiang Beifei sitting in his school uniform, then said, "You''ve caught another high school delinquent? What did he do, steal or fight? Do you need my help to interrogate him?" "He''s not a delinquent, he''s my dad''s apprentice, his name is Xiang Beifei." Lu Zhiwei exined and then introduced to Xiang Beifei, "This is my college ssmate, Qin Yi." "Uncle Lu started taking students?" Qin Yi''s gaze shed with surprise, then he continued, "Didn''t Uncle Lu say he was too busy with work to take on apprentices? Howe he changed his mind all of a sudden?" "It''s not the same, my dad saw his strong deductive abilities, suitable for being a city guardian, so he took him as an apprentice, nning to groom him properly." By now, Lu Zhiwei hadpletely believed in her father''s appraisal of Xiang Beifei, "He really is amazing. He only needed one look to describe the criminal''s situation in detail. I am currently learning deductive skills from him." Qin Yi felt a bit uneasy upon hearing these words. He had specifically intended to ask Lu Hong to teach himst time, to get closer to Lu Zhiwei, but Lu Hong had tactfully refused him. Yet, to his surprise, he found out today that thew enforcement captain of the Western District had taken an apprentice. What was so special about this young man? Why had Lu Hong taken him as an apprentice? "Now I''m curious, he''s still just a high school student, right?" Qin Yi carefully sized up Xiang Beifei, his expression slightly grave, "I remember the Awakened ceremony from high school just passed not long ago, is he an S-ss? Or an SR-ss genius?" If he were an S-ss or the even stronger SR-ss, it was no wonder Lu Hong favored him, and he needed to pay attention; such people were good to establish rtionships with for easier interactions in the future. Lu Zhiwei said, "He''s an N-ss Awakener, but..." "Only N-ss?" Qin Yi was stunned for a moment, then frowned. Himself, a distinguished S-ss Awakener from Liangzhou University, had been rejected by Lu Hong as a disciple, yet Lu Hong had epted an N-ss as a disciple? Qin Yi felt aggrieved. To them, the S-ss Awakeners, N-ssers were basically trash on the streets, barely noteworthy, so why would Lu Hong choose an N-ss? It wasn''t that Qin Yi truly desired to be Lu Hong''s disciple; he just wanted to strengthen his ties with Lu Zhiwei. Even if Lu Hong had taken an S-ss disciple, he would have epted it. But why an N-ss? Qin Yi''s gaze towards Xiang Beifei was quite displeased. This kid, besides being more handsome and taller than him... How could hepare with him? He had prestigious family background and was an S-ss freshman at Liangzhou University. Why did Lu Hong choose this kid and not him? However, Qin Yi suddenly thought of something and chuckled lightly, "I get it, Uncle Lu couldn''t be moved by pity for his pathetic N-ss Awakener talent and made an exception to give him a chance, could he?" That was the only exnation. Otherwise, why would any sane person take an N-ss Awakener over an S-ss genius? Thinking this, he felt more at ease. "Don''t talk nonsense; he''s my dad''s friend''s son," Lu Zhiwei said. "Oh, he got in through the back door!" Qin Yi became even more disdainful, his voice dripping with sarcasm towards Xiang Beifei. He, as an S-ss prodigy from Liangzhou University, would never regard an N-ss Awakener seriously. "Hey, watch how you speak! He didn''t get in through the back door; he''s genuinely skilled! Stop looking down on others, okay?" Lu Zhiwei, hands on hips, was clearly unhappy with Qin Yi''s snide remarks. "Alright, alright. You say he''s skilled, then he must be!" Qin Yi chuckled again, ncing at Xiang Beifei. He wouldn''t bother arguing with an N-ss Awakener. With only N-ss talent, even if he excelled in some areas, how far could he really go? His lifetime''s achievement would merely reach theter stages of Qi-Controlling at best. Whereas he, as an S-ss genius, advancing to the Meridian Opening phase was only a matter of time. Amon chicken and a phoenix were simply iparable. In this ruthlessly realistic world, the higher the system talent of the Awakener, the easier it was to carve out aplishments in any field. Especially graduates from the nine major universities, each was a member of the elite in society, possessing far more resources than ordinary people, whether in connections or status. Qin Yi, as an S-ss from Liang Da, just by stepping out, could make a great sess in business or leadership, a true paragon among people. In his eyes, the likes of Xiang Beifei, an N-ss Awakener, would end up working under someone like him, an S-ss prodigy, in the future. Chapter 55: Chapter 55: A Gathering of Talents "I don''t feel like exining anymore. Don''t bother me, I want to learn reasoning skills from him." Lu Zhiwei ignored Qin Yi and looked eagerly at Xiang Beifei. Though she was also an S-level student at Liangzhou University, she wasn''t as arrogant as Qin Yi. On the contrary, she had been well-educated, thanks to her upright father. Lu Hong had done a good job educating her from a young age, frequently reminding her that there''s always someone better out there. Therefore, Lu Zhiwei never missed an opportunity to improve herself. Even if Xiang Beifei was just an N-level Awakener. "Give me the ess card, I''m going to train." Xiang Beifei paid no attention to Qin Yi. Rather than wasting words with others, he preferred to focus on improving himself first. "No way, teach me a bit more, analyze one more criminal for me and walk me through your reasoning process." Lu Zhiwei waved her notebook, "Consider it the fee for escorting you home tonight¡ªum, I''ll escort you home for the night, and in return, you teach me one reasoning technique, how about that?" Qin Yi''s gaze darkened when he saw Lu Zhiwei ignoring his presence, an S-level, and actually seeking to learn from an N-level. After all, he was an S-level. Being disregarded so casually, wasn''t that an affront to him? He said, "Xiao Wei, if you want to learn reasoning skills, wouldn''t it be better to learn from me? Why must you learn from an N-level person?" "You can reason?" Lu Zhiwei looked dubiously at Qin Yi, "I don''t recall you having that ability." "Heh, I usually just keep a low profile, you know, not showing off. I remember Uncle Lu once said, ''A capable person doesn''t need to say how capable they are. Those without abilities are the ones who feel the need to show off what they can do.'' Don''t get tricked by these N-level neers, alright!" Qin Yi straightened his cor, puffing out his chest. His words were very straightforward. Xiang Beifei belonged to those whock abilities but pretend to have them in front of Lu Zhiwei, attempting to gain a sense of presence in front of her. "Oh, you remember what I said, huh!" At that moment, Lu Hong also walked in. "Uncle Lu, long time no see, I''ve always looked up to you every time we meet," Qin Yi hastily ttered him. Lu Hong nced at Qin Yi and then at Xiang Beifei, who was quietly sitting in the chair waiting, and smiled, "Indeed, those who are capable don''t usually boast about their abilities." Beifei had never imed to have any reasoning abilities; he always attributed everything to luck. Meanwhile, Qin Yi couldn''t wait to show off his reasoning abilities to Lu Zhiwei, eager to let her know he was a genius with reasoning skills. Who Lu Hong was referring to was clear as day. Qin Yi didn''t catch the subtext of Lu Hong''s words. Seeing Lu Hong return, he naturally needed to perform well, showing Lu Hong that refusing to ept an S-level as a disciple in favor of an N-level was a grave mistake! He looked at his system interface: [Host: Qin Yi] [S-level, Talent Aggregation System] [Realm: Advanced Qi-Controlling] ¡­ The Talent Aggregation System was incredible, because it could provide not just one, but a variety of talents. This system worked by extracting the talents of others, temporarily bestowing someone else''s particr talent onto oneself, which greatly enhances that ability for a limited time! Right now, Qin Yi nned to show off in front of Lu Hong and Lu Zhiwei. His mind raced. [You have spent 500 talent value, please select the talent you wish to extract¡ª] Various talent options appeared on Qin Yi''s system interface, including [Writing Talent][Public Speaking Talent][Music Talent][Martial Arts Talent][Reasoning Talent]¡­ A long list of options covered all aspects of a person''s abilities. [You have chosen: Reasoning Talent] [For safety, automatically ignoring targets stronger than you] [Talent effective time: 3 hours (beyond this time, the extracted talent will automatically return)] [Starting extraction¡­] [You have extracted Lu Zhiwei''s Reasoning Talent, your reasoning ability +1] [You have extracted Xiang Beifei''s Reasoning Talent, your reasoning ability +10] [You have extracted Cheng Li''s Reasoning Talent, your reasoning ability +5] ¡­ Qin Yi''s system began scanning everyone in thew enforcement office. It was only six o''clock, and with many criminal events in the system world, thew enforcement office was often working overtime. There were still many people around, including offenders andw enforcement personnel. Qin Yi extracted the reasoning talents of those whose cultivation level was simr to or lower than his. But for someone with higher cultivation like Lu Hong, Qin Yi didn''t dare to touch. Low-level individuals targeting high-level individuals could easily be detected, and even suffer bacsh. Everyone actually possesses reasoning ability. As long as one is not an idiot, one has it to some degree. For example, if a pen stops writing, one could deduce that the refill is broken or there''s no ink left. That is the simplest reasoning ability. But everyone''s reasoning ability varies, so the value of the extracted talent differs from person to person. Even the criminals in the interrogation rooms have reasoning skills. He extracted reasoning abilities from a total of seventeen people. A feww enforcement officers had a more potent presence than him, so he didn''t dare touch theirs. In just a short span of ten seconds or so, Qin Yi''s reasoning ability value soared to 121. The average person would be pretty good to have a score of 60. In his system''s estimation, even Lu Hong, the captain of thew enforcement team for the Western District, would only have a reasoning ability between 80 and 90. Although this reasoning skill was quite outstanding, it still couldn''tpare to Qin Yi''s. This meant that for the next three hours, Qin Yi''s reasoning ability would be the very best in the entire office! [You have chosen to spend 500 talent value to extract another''s reasoning talent. Task requirement: Solve ten cases] [Taskpletion reward: An Amulet] Every time Qin Yi extracted someone''s talent, he had to think three times before acting because extracting someone else''s talent meant he had to undertake a rted talent task from the system. If he couldn''tplete the task, it meant wasting talent value for nothing. But if hepleted the task, he would not only get the talent value back but also receive an extra reward. The talent value could be exchanged for various goods, which he needed to umte by doing tasks, making it very important to him. This was thew enforcement squad, and if he concentrated the best of others'' reasoning talents onto himself, he would be the top reasoning expert here. Solving ten cases wasn''t difficult under normal circumstances. "Watch closely, you N-level dimwit! Today, I''ll show you what an S-level reasoning genius looks like!" Qin Yi gave Xiang Beifei a nce. Chapter 56: Chapter 56: Under the Stairs ``` Qin Yi thought he had stealthily extracted everyone''s talents without anyone noticing, unaware that Xiang Beifei was watching his actions with great interest. With a congregation of S-level talents, when Qin Yi extracted a certain talent from others, in three hours, that talent was forcefully taken away by Qin Yi. Thus, Qin Yi was a crane among chickens, having extracted others'' talents, he thenunched a dimension-reducing strike on others, making them iparable to him in that area. With this system, wherever Qin Yi went, he would almost certainly be an undeniable genius. For example, in a singingpetition, he would simply take away the musical talents of the other contestants, making himself the one with the most formidable talent. As long as he didn''t touch those with higher cultivation than his, victory was almost a sure thing. By leveraging this system, within his first year at Liangzhou University, Qin Yi had won "New Student Singing Competition" champion, "Best Eloquence Award of Liangzhou University Debate Contest," "First ce in Long Jump for Freshmen Category"... A total of twenty-one various awards. He simply needed to extract others'' talents to himself, lowering the other contestants'' talents, and winning was all too easy. Of course, his task list included failures as well, such as when he only got second ce in the high jumppetition¡ªprobably because he ran into a tough nut to crack, someone with an even stronger system. After all, Liangzhou University was a hiding ce for crouching tigers and hidden dragons, filled mainly with S-level geniuses, and notcking even SR-level geniuses. Thest time he was defeated by an SR-level individual; it wasn''t all that unjust. But still, being second was dazzling since adding up all areas, he had won the most awards among the freshmen. With a multitude of awards to his name, he was certainly the center of attention! ¡ª¡ª After extracting everyone''s talents, Qin Yi''s confidence in deduction greatly increased. He provocatively nced at Xiang Beifei and said to him, "Xiao Wei said you have strong reasoning abilities, which aroused the hidden deduction passion within me. Friend, how about wepare our deduction skills? We can discuss deduction approaches and even help the enforcement brigade solve some cases, meanwhile contributing to the security of the Western District. What do you say?" Qin Yi''s words were watertight, as he deliberately wanted to show off his skills in front of Lu Hong and Lu Zhiwei. By solving ten cases, not only would he receive system rewards, but he would also make Lu Zhiwei understand who the real deduction genius is! She would surelye to learn reasoning skills from him once she realized this. Two birds with one stone! As for the possibility of losing to Xiang Beifei, Qin Yi wasn''t worried in the slightest. ¡ª¡ªI am the star freshman of Liangzhou University''s Liberal Arts College this year; you think you can unt your reasoning talent in front of me? In his eyes, his S-level talent was enough to grind N-level Xiang Beifei into the dust! "You two want topare reasoning abilities?" Lu Zhiwei''s eyes lit up. She was eager for others to demonstrate how to deduce cases in front of her so she could take notes and improve her reasoning skills. She had already witnessed Xiang Beifei''s reasoning abilities, but Qin Yi had not yet showcased his, though judging by Qin Yi''s performance at school, as long as it involved apetition, he never lost. Speaking with such confidence, he surely believed in himself. If the two men were to spar in deductive skill, she would certainly benefit immensely! Excited, Lu Zhiwei asked, "Beifei, are you interested?" Lu Hong''s gaze flickered slightly. With his skill at reading people, he naturally understood what Qin Yi was plotting: a mere show to satisfy his own vanity. He didn''t like people like Qin Yi. In his opinion, Xiang Beifei''s deductive abilities were exceedingly rare, and he would certainly not lose to Qin Yi. But he didn''t speak out; epting the challenge was Xiang Beifei''s decision to make. ``` All three of them looked at Xiang Beifei, waiting for his response. But Xiang Beifei spread his hands, uninterested in such matters, "Uncle Lu, I''m here for training. I don''t like analyzing case details. Can you take me to the training room? I have some questions I''d like to ask you." He didn''t want to waste time. Now that Lu Hong had returned, he needed to quickly discuss his doubts about Rapid me with him. Lu Zhiwei asked with a hint of regret, "Beifei, aren''t you really going to give it a try?" Xiang Beifei still shook his head, "I just want to train." Seeing Xiang Beifei''s resolute attitude, Lu Hong couldn''t help but sigh. The kid clearly had the ability but was unwilling to show it off. His indifference to fame and fortune was truly rare. "Alright, I''ll take you to train." Lu Hong always appreciated those who could keep theirposure. The kid was diligent, polite, and full of potential. He was bound to have a limitless future. Compared to Qin Yi, he had more faith in Xiang Beifei and wanted to cultivate his talents. Xiang Beifei followed Lu Hong towards the door. As he passed by Qin Yi, he thought for a moment, then turned to say, "Work hard on the case! Make good use of your reasoning capabilities, and try to contribute to the security of the Western District!" His tone was sincere, filled with righteousness. Qin Yi narrowed his eyes and sneeredzily, "You sure know your ce. But as an N-level Awakener, don''t you want to learn how to analyze cases from me? It''s a rare opportunity!" Xiang Beifei shrugged his shoulders and said nothing more, choosing to leave with Lu Hong instead. "He just left like that!" Lu Zhiwei was somewhat disappointed. She really wanted to see Beifei show more of his reasoning ability, but Xiang Beifei had no interest in epting the challenge. Qin Yi said, "Haha, Xiao Wei, isn''t it normal for him to leave? An N-level Awakener like him must have wet his pants the moment he heard that I and youe from Liangzhou University. We''re S-level, he''s N-level; he''s nothing in front of us. He knew that if he epted the challenge, he would expose his true level, so slinking away is the best choice. He''s giving himself an out!" Qin Yi was quite pleased with himself. "Actually, he has some skill in reasoning." Lu Zhiwei still spoke up for Xiang Beifei. She had been quite impressed by his deduction of the bald man earlier. Qin Yi said, "Xiao Wei, you are too naive. Don''t let him deceive you with just a few words. Come on, let me show you what a real reasoning talent is!" He walked outside. Lu Zhiwei followed, half-believing and half-doubting. Outside, aw enforcement officer was dealing with a case involving a house robbery. Various pieces of evidence were packaged in stic bags and spread across a table along with several crime scene photos, creating a messy disy on the surface. "Weird, we just found some clues, but now suddenly I can''t make heads or tails of it!" Thew enforcement officer frowned; just five minutes ago, he had almost solved the case, but for some reason, his mind seemed to have slowed down, and he couldn''t understand things he had just figured out. He had even called the person who reported the crime, ready to close the case, and the robbed woman was sitting across from him, waiting for him to say something. Now, he didn''t know how to exin. Thisw enforcement officer was equipped with an "R-level electronic Tracking System" and had recently graduated from a regr university. Everyone called him Xiao Cao. His cultivation was just at the mid-stage of Qi-Controlling, not even on par with Qin Yi, an S-level freshman from Liangzhou University. He was unaware that the sudden confusion in resolving the case was because Qin Yi had extracted his reasoning capabilities, messing up his logic. At that moment, Qin Yi approached Xiao Cao with big strides, boldly proiming, "What''s so difficult about this case? Let me help you!" The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 57: Chapter 57: Offering Buddha Borrowed Flowers Qin Yi casually flipped through the photos and evidence, and after ncing at the unpredictably moody intiff, he slowly said: "This case is not difficult at all. You think this is a burry case, but actually, there are too many suspicious points in this case. The timing of these so-called pieces of evidence is too coincidental to be valid. I can tell you with certainty that this is not a case of burry but a staged case. Normally, it would be a case you concocted tomit insurance fraud, wouldn''t it?" The woman sitting opposite Xiao Cao changed her facial expression slightly, clenched her handbag tightly, and said nervously, "You... don''t joke, someone did break in. I called the police, just look at the surveince." "The surveince shows the burr was your aplice. You think you did a perfect job, but you still missed one thing¡ªwe captured another photo," Qin Yi effortlessly pulled a photo from the evidence, "The silhouette captured here shows you talking to a man after the incident. Although this man has disguised himself, you greatly underestimated our technology. The slight disguise could never fool us; you two coborated tomit insurance fraud!" Qin Yiid out one piece of evidence after another on the table until the woman was red-faced and speechless! "Exactly! How did I not think of that!" Xiao Cao appeared to have an epiphany, smacking his own head, somewhat annoyed but at the same time admiringly looking at Qin Yi: "Impressive! You solved what I was unclear about so quickly." "I really underestimated you!" Lu Zhiwei eximed as well. "Haha, it''s nothing! Just a piece of cake." Qin Yi was very pleased with himself. In fact, this case was not something Xiao Cao hadn''t thought of; Xiao Cao had thought of it and was ready to close the case, but Qin Yi had snatched away his Reasoning Talent, which confused him. Qin Yi was merely presenting others'' flowers as his tribute. He could not only take away others'' talents but also acquire their original reasoning thoughts. As long as he integrated the reasoning process of this case from Xiao Cao into his own mind, relying on the amassed reasoning abilities, solving the case was a matter of a moment. If it had been apletely unfamiliar case, he wouldn''t have been able to solve it so quickly. But neither Xiao Cao nor Lu Zhiwei were aware of Qin Yi''s system, and they attributed the solving of the case to Qin Yi himself; thus, they were extremely impressed with him for a while. "So, Xiao Wei, if you want to learn reasoning abilities, you should seek me out. If it had been that high school student, he''d probably still be pondering the meaning of the photo now!" Qin Yi boasted proudly. ¡ª¡ª Xiang Beifei and Lu Hong walked toward the training room. He didn''t know what Qin Yi was talking about, but solving a case wasn''t too difficult for him either because many crime processes were written into the suspect''s system tasks. It was in to see. On the way, Lu Hong couldn''t help but ask, "You clearly have such impressive reasoning abilities, are you content to be mocked by Qin Yi?" "Using reasoning abilities to solve cases is good enough; there''s no need to prove who is stronger," Xiang Beifei said. He had just had 10 points of Reasoning Talent extracted by Qin Yi, but it had no effect on him; Xiaohei would use a spiritual power crystal to disguise any system points he lost. Xiang Beifei liked to quietly prosper; he even hoped Qin Yi wouldplete his system tasks quickly! Then, he could get free shipping again. "You! With such a temperament, you''re easily bullied and likely to suffer in the future," Lu Hong shook his head. "Sometimes, suffering losses isn''t a bad thing; misfortune leans on fortune," Xiang Beifei was best at suffering losses. Qin Yi was insistent on performing tasks on him, and he couldn''t do anything about it. Qin Yi might think he had made a huge gain. But Xiang Beifei never suffered a loss. "You, child." Lu Hong smiled, not knowing what else to say. He increasingly found favor with Xiang Beifei. He himself was an S-level Awakener, also within the Investigation System, with an especially keen eye, except for when dealing with S-level Disguise Awakeners like Chen Gang; he rarely misjudged people. Qin Yi was interested in his daughter and had persistently asked him to mentor him, but he found Qin Yi too impulsive and too skilled at ttery¡ªmentorship was not the goal, which displeased him, so he had refused. But Xiang Beifei was different¡ªpossessing outstanding talent, a good personality, doing things quietly without unting, and avoiding needlesspetition. He truly appreciated such a person. Although he refrained from inquiring into Xiang Beifei''s secrets, he wouldn''t really believe that Xiang Beifei was an N-level Awakener. "I just wonder if this kid has any feelings for Xiao Wei. They are only a year apart. If they could see eye to eye..." Lu Hong had some weird thoughts shing through his mind. Entering the training room, Xiang Beifei changed his clothes andmenced warm-up exercises before training. "Uncle Lu, if I manage to create sparks, how should I gather them together?" Xiang Beifei asked. Seeing how dedicated Xiang Beifei was to his training, Lu Hong, fearing that he was rushing, said: "Beifei, practicing Rapid me needs to be done step by step. When I first trained in this technique, it took me a full two weeks just to produce sparks, and Xiao Wei, being naturally restless and highly talented in this area, took two months to learn it because it wasn''t her system ability. If you can''t produce sparks, it''s not a big deal, because my Rapid me techniquees from my own system, and it might not match your system attributes. So, you need to keep a level head, not set too high expectations, and not be too demanding. It''spletely normal to spend a month or two." "Does it take that long?" Xiang Beifei was a bit puzzled, shook his hands, and then swung a punch forward in a rather ordinary manner¡ª Zzzt! The punch, carrying a few sparks, sted a sandbag away. "What!" Lu Hong stared at Xiang Beifei''s punch, then gasped in shock! He was utterly stunned. He¡­ he actually managed it? How could it be so quick! Lu Hong found it incredibly hard to believe his own eyes. To think that "Rapid me" was a technique derived from his own system, which surely would be most suited for him to train in, and others should have some setbacks. But why did it take him two weeks to master it, while this¡­ this kid managed it in just one day! He hadn''t been training in Rapid me for even twenty-four hours yet, had he? Whose system''s Cultivation Technique was Rapid me, after all? Lu Hong almost thought he was the outsider when it came to practicing Rapid me. "You¡­ you''ve grasped the basics already?" Lu Hong asked in astonishment. Xiang Beifei threw another punch, sparks flickering, carrying a roaring sound, and slightly nodded, saying, "I thought it wouldn''t be difficult; I''ve been practicing it during breaks today!" "¡­" Lu Hong''s chest heaved repeatedly, finding it hard to calm his breath. He was choked up by Xiang Beifei''s words. Xiang Beifei hadn''t even been training for a whole day, just during ss breaks! The fastest to train in a technique from his own system wasn''t himself but someone else! For a moment, he thought the Awakened system belonged to Beifei. Chapter 58: Chapter 58: Mandatory Mission Lu Hong was at a loss for a long while, watching Xiang Beifei, unsure what to say. He thought he had been keeping a close eye on Xiang Beifei, but he never expected that it was still not enough. Sometimes when youpare yourself to others, it can truly choke you. "Uncle Lu, how does one gather Mars to form a me?" Xiang Beifei had no idea what Lu Hong was thinking because this wasn''t his system''s cultivation technique, so he had no concept of how long it should take to practice these techniques or how to practice them. He could now produce a gust of wind with his punch, but the power of this gust was not yet sufficient; he aimed to reach the powerful levels that Lu Hong had when he dealt with Chen Gang. Finally, having regted his emotions, Lu Hong collected his thoughts and said, "Reaching this step means you''ve begun to glimpse the path. To advance further, you need to change the direction of the spiritual power in your hands. Next, you need to convert the spiritual power to your palm, letting your palm control the spiritual power of the fist..." Although this was a technique from his own system, Lu Hong was not stingy and meticulously taught Xiang Beifei each and every point. Xiang Beifei studied seriously ording to the method taught by Lu Hong. Having such a good teacher meant he could avoid many detours. Lu Hong stood to the side, watching Xiang Beifei who was fully focused on his punches, and nodded slightly. At that moment, a line of text appeared on his system interface: [Investigation system has detected a special N-level Awakener who has mastered the "Rapid me" more aptly than the host. The system has forcefully initiated investigation mode.] [Investigation target: Xiang Beifei] [Investigation direction: Martial Arts Talent] Lu Hong was quite surprised to see the task that suddenly appeared in his system. Normally his Investigation System would issue various investigation tasks which he could choose freely, like when working on cases, he mighte across a murder weapon at the crime scene, and the system would issue tasks like [Please investigate the origin of this weapon], rewarding him uponpletion. But with previous tasks from the system, Lu Hong could choose whether or not to take them on; however, this time the system had forcibly initiated investigation mode. Lu Hong mentally responded, "I don''t want to investigate him, I''ve already said as muchst time." Following the incident with Lai Wuying, the system had issued the task [Would you like to investigate Xiang Beifei?]. After much deliberation, Lu Hong had decided to choose [No] Beifei had saved his life; he was very grateful and felt it was unkind to pry into someone else''s secrets. However, another line of text appeared in his system: [This task is mandatory and cannot be refused. "Rapid me" is a cultivation technique generated by the system tailored for the host, yet someone fits it even better than the host. The system needs to reassess the power of "Rapid me" and, if necessary, will collect Xiang Beifei''s cultivation progress and details to refine the "Rapid me" technique.] Impossible to refuse? Lu Hong stared nkly. He pondered deeply, but another line of text appeared on the interface¡ª [The system requires the host to teach Xiang Beifei all of the "Rapid me" techniques, to master his every step of the cultivation n, to aid him in fully mastering "Rapid me", facilitating system assessment, and to improve the host''s way of cultivating "Rapid me", enhancing the power of the "Rapid me" technique.] Teaching "Rapid me" to Xiang Beifei was already Lu Hong''s intention. But something felt off, such tasks from the system seemed illogical. He continued to inquire, "What if Beifei fully masters Rapid me?" [The host may choose: Erase him, seize allprehension about "Rapid me" from him, and integrate it into oneself.] "Nonsense!" Lu Hong spoke sternly, "I am a city guardian, not a murderer! I won''t undertake such a task!" [The host may also choose to: cultivate him, and after Xiang Beifei has fully mastered it, ask Xiang Beifei to help the host improve the cultivation method] [Note: This cultivation technique is the host''s basic reliance, and the host''s understanding of Rapid me is not on par with Xiang Beifei. To be more powerful, feedback from Xiang Beifei is essential] Lu Hong stared at the words on the system interface, falling into deep thought. As long as it doesn''t involve killing, this option is eptable to him. But, once Beifei has fully grasped Rapid me, would he be willing to share his insights with him? Lu Hong didn''t have the confidence; the system''s message was very clear¡ªonce Xiang Beifei mastered the power of Rapid me, he would certainly be stronger than himself in the future. People are selfish, and once they be powerful, they guard their newfound strength as a core secret, barely keeping up with their own protection, let alone sharing it with others. "Forget it, if Beifei can grasp a deeper level of Rapid me, it''s still a good thing. If he can give me feedback, great, but if not, I''ll just let it be!" Though Lu Hong was very curious about what a more powerful Rapid me might be like, he was fundamentally an honest man, living with openness. If Beifei wanted to help him, he''d ept the help; if not, he wouldn''t insist. [As a reward, each time Xiang Beifei progresses a level in Rapid me, the host will receive a corresponding reward] [Current progress: Xiang Beifei has thrown 13,000 punches, creating sparks with his punches, equivalent to the host throwing 164,000 punches. Beifei''s punching details have been recorded in preparation for rewriting the Rapid me database] [Mission Reward: Investigation ability value +2000] "2000 points?" Lu Hong was taken aback! He knew that when he normally investigated a criminal, he might only get rewarded with 100 points. The system simply recorded Xiang Beifei''s punching details and gave him 2000 points just like that? Lu Hong watched the way Xiang Beifei earnestly threw his punches and was truly amazed. He also faintly sensed something special about each of Beifei''s punches; the method of execution was evidently no different from his own, yet somehow it felt distinct. Was this Beifei''s understanding of Rapid me? Originally, he had taught Xiang Beifei Rapid me only to thank Beifei for helping him investigate Lai Wuying, but he had not expected that Beifei would inadvertently bring him these benefits after mastering it. [If Xiang Beifei is willing to provide feedback, you may receive an Advanced Pill] An Advanced Pill! Lu Hong''s heartbeat elerated instantly! He was currently at the initial perfected stage of Meridian Opening. To step into the middle stage of Meridian Opening, there were two methods: one was relying on his own understanding; the other was buying an Advanced Pill. Relying on his own understanding was truly a challenge for him; it wasn''t that his perception was poor, but at the Meridian Opening stage, every step forward required an epiphany, and such epiphanies do not just happen on demand. Some people may have an epiphany upon seeing a withering grass, while others may struggle for several years without any enlightenment. Lu Hong belonged to thetter; he was naturally very talented, but because of an injury he sustained while on duty, his progress became slow, trapping him in the initial stage of Meridian Opening for nearly fifteen years! It was difficult to advance on his own understanding, so he needed to exchange for an Advanced Pill, striving to step into the middle stage of Meridian Opening. Yet, even now, he still needed to umte tens of thousands of investigation points to purchase an Advanced Pill. He hadn''t expected that this time, the system would raise the reward to a significantly higher level in order to improve his Rapid me! Lu Hong''s heart was aze with excitement! The allure of the Advanced Pill was simply too great for him. Chapter 59: Chapter 59: Flame Gale Xiang Beifei was still forcefully throwing punches. The speed of his punches grew faster, and the spark on his fists flickered. Following the method of spiritual power cirction taught by Lu Hong, he tried to fully unleash Rapid me but still did not seed. "The method of circting spiritual power taught by Uncle Lu is indeed difficult," he said. Xiang Beifei stopped and looked at his palm. Concentrating spiritual power in the palm, with each punch, spiritual power flowed from between the fingers to the fist, relying on speed to unleash the power of Rapid me. For some reason, Xiang Beifei always felt this method was somewhat cumbersome. "Given Uncle Lu''s character, he wouldn''t teach me the wrong way to use Rapid me, but why does the training method itself seem like this?" Xiang Beifei found it strange. He applied the regenerative ointment given by Lu Hong on his arms to alleviate the soreness, ran the Chaos Yin-Yang Form again, and his condition slightly recovered. Sitting in the chair, he contemted how spiritual power should be circted more effectively. The "Learn by Analogy" ability could enhance Xiang Beifei''sprehension, which was also why he could quickly learn the techniques taught by Lu Hong. However, in his perception, the way to execute "Rapid me" seemed to have limitations. Xiang Beifei could not be sure of this, as he didn''t have a system to consult when he had doubts during cultivation. Although Xiaohei rolled around on his shoulder all day, it treated the methods regarding system rewards very roughly, simply assimting them without studying them in-depth. Since "Rapid me" was taught by Lu Hong, it knew even less about it. Xiang Beifei could only rely on himself to figure it out. "Since the ultimate oue is to ignite the burning spiritual power and create a huge impact, could there be another way for the spiritual powers to converge?" Xiang Beifei began to ponder this matter. ¡ª¡ª Lu Hong had been apanying Xiang Beifei at the training ground, wanting to see if Xiang Beifei could advance further in mastering Rapid me. The fact that Xiang Beifei had entered the door of Rapid me within a single day was truly shocking to him, and his system had issued a mandatory task with an advancement pill as the reward, which made him take it seriously. Seeing Xiang Beifei sit down to think, he wanted to go over and inquire, but he ultimately restrained himself. "He has his own ideas, and I shouldn''t disturb him," he thought. Lu Hong felt very anxious in his heart; he hoped Xiang Beifei could improve "Rapid me," yet he was conflicted about whether Xiang Beifei would share back the method with him. If it were something else, he might not take it too seriously. But the system''s reward was an advancement pill! That was a pill that could help him progress to the middle stage of Meridian Opening. If he could get an advancement pill, he was willing to give Xiang Beifei any system reward he could currently exchange. "I mustn''t overthink it, let nature take its course," he thought. Lu Hong forced himself to calm down. If Xiang Beifei was willing to share feedback, that would be best. If not, he must keep himself clear-headed! No matter how tempting, he wouldn''t allow himself to choose another incorrect method offered by the system. ¡ª¡ª Xiang Beifei channeled the Spiritual Power generated by the Chaos Yin-Yang Form into his fingertips. Suddenly, he thought if he punched out and divided his Spiritual Power into two parts, letting them sh and explode, wouldn''t it create a greater force than relying on air friction alone? He couldn''t be sure, so he decided to give it a try. This method wasn''t easy to master; he failed the first time, but he didn''t get discouraged and continued to swing his fists, adjusting the two streams of Spiritual Power. After trying no less than a thousand times, he finally discovered the optimal bnce of the two Spiritual Power streams. When he punched out, sparks exploded, turning into a fiery red violent gust! Boom! The violent gust was only two inches away from his body, but it had a peculiar resilience and could even be used as a defensive tactic! "This is indeed rare." Even Xiang Beifei himself was surprised after discovering this ability of Rapid me. Because during Lu Hong''s teaching, Rapid me was an exceptionally powerful and aggressive attack technique with no defensive capabilities, relying solely on brute force to pummel the opponent. If the opponent also countered with brute force, one would have to physically withstand the opponent''s attack. However, ording to Xiang Beifei''s experiments, he could actually transform an offensive move into a defensive tactic! He tried again and found out that if he controlled the me gale well, it could morph and disperse at an angle he desired or even explode at a critical moment, providing more options duringbat. However, since Xiang Beifei''s current realm was only at the early stages of Qi-Controlling, his Spiritual Power was not abundant enough to fully harness the power of Rapid me''s violent gust. Given his current state, not to mention Lu Hong, even Qin Yi who had the literary Dao system could easily break his violent gust. "It seems I need to advance my realm first." The strength of the early stage of Qi-Controlling was indeed insufficient. Xiang Beifei sat down cross-legged and continued practicing. ¡ª¡ª Qin Yi, utilizing his "Reasoning Talent," thrived in the enforcement unit during the evenings! He had extracted the "Reasoning Talent" from everyone in the enforcement team, diminishing their reasoning abilities and enhancing his own. Basically, everyone in the department seemed like a novice in reasoning in front of him. Those with lower cultivation and system levels than Qin Yi seemed dim-witted when solving cases, and at that moment, with just a couple of casual hints from Qin Yi, their problems were effortlessly resolved, making him the subject of everyone''s praise. "No wonder he''s an S-ss student from Liangzhou University! He''s amazing!" "Yeah, Brother Qin, you''re practically divine. No one can match your case-solving abilities!" "Qin Yi, when you graduate, are you interested in working here? We could rely on you to crack cases." Many officers were endlessly praising Qin Yi,pletely impressed by his strong case-solving skills. "Oh, not at all! I just love reasoning and even participate in various reasoning societies at school. I came here looking for Xiao Wei and got intrigued by the cases; sorry to show off my little trick." Qin Yiughed out loud. Being praised by so many, he felt somewhat ted. With his "Talent Aggregation System" in y, he could be the center of attention wherever he went, as long as he used it well. "It''s rare to see such modesty in young people these days!" Most of these officers'' talents were notparable to Qin Yi''s, and they had no idea that the reasoning prowess Qin Yi disyed was actually siphoned from them. They thought it was all Qin Yi''s own doing, and they kept praising the young man vigorously. "It''s a pity that that N-grade high school student is not here. If he saw my unparalleled reasoning talent, he would definitely be ashamed. Hehe." Qin Yi relished beinguded, yet thinking of Xiang Beifei, he felt somewhat displeased. Chapter 60: Chapter 60: Judging People Today, the system was initiated to extract the talents of others, and the n was to give that N-level Awakener a good thrashing, so he would understand what the words "genius" really mean, and more importantly, to show him the gap between N-level and S-level. "It''s just a pity that the kid actually refused to fight and ran away." Qin Yi looked at Lu Zhiwei, who had been following him and taking notes seriously, feeling quite proud. He knew that Lu Zhiwei wanted to learn reasoning abilities, and with his own performance today at the enforcement squad, he should have impressed her, right? "Xiao Wei, what do you think? Has my reasoning ability inspired you?" Qin Yi walked over to Lu Zhiwei, asked with a proud smile. But he quickly realized that Lu Zhiwei did not seem to admire him as he had imagined; instead, she was pondering something. "What''s the matter? Xiao Wei, you seem preupied?" Qin Yi asked. "No, I''m just thinking about something." Lu Zhiwei was biting her pen, and although Qin Yi had shown off his skills tonight and convinced many people, she felt that many of Qin Yi''s deductions weren''t that difficult, as they all came from existing evidence. They didn''t leave as deep an impression as Xiang Beifei had. "What are you thinking about?" "I''m thinking about Beifei," Lu Zhiwei said. "Thinking about him?" Qin Yi''s expression darkened for a moment before he squeezed out a smile, "Xiao Wei, you don''t still think that high school student named Xiang Beifei has any reasoning ability, do you? He ran away the moment he heard he was going topete with me in reasoning. I''ve said it before, an N-level nobody, pretending to be something he''s not. The moment I take action, he''s exposed. How can hepare to us at S-level?" Lu Zhiwei furrowed her brows, thought for a moment, and pointing at the bald man in the interrogation room, said, "Then can you tell me, what did that bald man do wrong?" "The bald man?" Qin Yi looked towards the man named Lv He, thought for a while, and began walking towards him. "Where are you going?" Lu Zhiwei called from behind. "To inquire, of course! Without asking, how can the case be solved?" Qin Yi replied. However, Lu Zhiwei said, "Aren''t you able to find clues from various traces? Then just look at him from a distance and tell me what characteristics this bald man has, and what crime he is most likely to havemitted." "That''s a bit difficult," Qin Yi said. "Just now, when Beifei looked at him, he identified this bald man''s upation and crime almost perfectly with a single nce," Lu Zhiwei said. Hearing this, Qin Yi knew he had to prove himself. If an N-level nobody could identify the traits of this bald man, could he, an S-level genius who had gathered so many peoples'' Reasoning Talents, possibly fail? Qin Yi stood outside the interrogation room, staring at the bald man, observing him for quite some time. Hmm, his fingernails were very long, looking as if they hadn''t been trimmed for a while. What are long nails good for? Fighting? Considering his slender fingers, suitable for mutating into various types of ws, and also being bald, perhaps it was due to mutation-caused hair loss. The skin on his face was ck, but his eyes were still lively,bining the abnormal fingers and nails, these characteristics seemed to be the lingering effects left behind to fit the physical mutation of anthropomorphism. That is to say, this guy might have awakened some sort of Mutation System that could mutate his body into a beast? Without the ability to inquire and not allowed to approach, Qin Yi couldn''t learn more details, and could only make a rough analysis based solely on the appearance, clothing, and physical features of the other party. This spection should be pretty urate! He coughed and said, "Xiao Wei, if I''m not wrong, this person has the ability to transform into a beast, and he must have been brought in for fighting and disturbing public order, right?" Qin Yi waited somewhat smugly for Lu Zhiwei''s affirmative response. He expected Lu Zhiwei to ask in amazement how he figured it out, after which he could grandly analyze everything, certainly more thoroughly than that N-level high school student! Wouldn''t it then be clear who was superior and who was inferior? However, Lu Zhiwei looked at Qin Yi with a strange expression and shook her head, "No." "How could it not be?" Qin Yi was slightly taken aback. "His ability has nothing to do with transformation into a beast," said Lu Zhiwei. Qin Yi''s face struggled to maintainposure. His system worked by drawing on the collective wisdom, meaning he had absorbed the reasoning talents of the seventeen people present; it was as if those seventeen people hade to a conclusion together, and he had then imed their conclusion as his own work. But if none of those seventeen people could figure it out, then he definitely couldn''t either! And this bald man before him obviously fell into the category where if one didn''t know the opponent''s system, it was easy to be misled. "Then what''s the deal?" Qin Yi asked. "Beifei has already figured it out," Lu Zhiwei didn''t immediately answer, but instead looked doubtfully at Qin Yi, "How could you get it wrong?" Qin Yi''s face twitched. "Real deduction is not about watching from a distance, but through conversation, picking out the ws in the other person''s words, so this doesn''t prove anything," Qin Yi quickly said. "But in many cases, you don''t have the opportunity to talk to the criminal, at most you have surveince footage, and if you can''t identify the criminal''s features from the footage, then how can you solve the cases?" Lu Zhiwei, having awakened the Super Police System, understood various types of case analyses and generalizations, even if her deductive abilities were quite poor. Qin Yi was left speechless for a moment, internally cursing before defending himself, "I admit that my people-reading skills aren''t very urate, because my specialty is reasoning through various types of cases, not observing people from afar." After a while, he added defensively, "Moreover, you said he figured out what kind of person this bald man is, maybe that guy was just bluffing you? Perhaps he already knew this bald man, knew what he did in the past, so of course, he came up with an answer when you asked him." Though Lu Zhiwei hadn''t considered this point and thought it was unlikely, she couldn''t be certain, so she didn''t argue. Qin Yi nced at his own system. After he chose the [Reasoning Talent], the system set a task for him to solve ten cases. He had already solved eight, and now needed to solve two more toplete the task. He had to crack two simple cases himself. "Let''s go, I''ll show you a thing or two more, and then you''ll see how good I am," Qin Yi said. What the two didn''t notice was that, after they left, the bald man who had been keeping his head down in the interrogation room suddenly let out a coldugh. "Think these handcuffs can hold me? How naive." The bald man looked at his handcuffs. These were specially made by thew enforcement team and possessed very strong binding power. Generally, even cultivators at the early stages of Meridian Opening would find it difficult to break free. But these people didn''t know one thing. He was an Awakener with the [R-level Lock-Free System]! Chapter 61: Chapter 61: Jailbreak ``` Qin Yi, once again relying on his reasoning ability, perfectly solved a case in front of Lu Zhiwei, which allowed him to take pride once more. "Pretty impressive," said Lu Zhiwei. "Of course! I''ve got the real deal," said Qin Yi. Next, he just needed to solve one more case to perfectlyplete the mission and receive the system''s reward! An amulet. He was very pleased with this reward! Given his current situation, this amulet could at least protect him once from ate-stage Qi-Controlling attack. It was already past eight in the evening, and his Talent Aggregation System could only maintain effectiveness for three hours, and additionally, the same talent could only be used once per day. Once the time was up, the Reasoning Talent extracted from others would disappear, and if the mission were notpleted by then, today''s talent value would be wasted! There were probably less than half an hour left. Thest task, he would pick an easy one and make it quick and decisive. Lu Hong returned from the training room, ready to finish today''s work after putting aside the matter of "Rapid me." But when he passed by the interrogation room and found it empty, he asked Xiao Cao, "Where''s the person from the interrogation room? Have you closed the case?" "Not yet, we haven''t handed over the case of electronic fraud," said Xiao Cao, looking up. "Then where''s the suspect?" "Not there?" Xiao Cao ran over, looked into the interrogation room, and his face changed dramatically! "How is this possible? He was here just ten minutes ago," Xiao Cao muttered in disbelief. Not only that, they discovered that the door to the interrogation room had been left open. Lu Hong had a bad feeling and rushed into the interrogation room, searching every inch of it, only to find a pair of unlocked handcuffs, which made his face grow extremely grave. He shouted to Ma Feiguang, who was closest to the door, "Xiao Ma, did you see anyone pass by the door just now?" "I wasn''t paying attention," Ma Feiguang shook his head. "Check the surveince!" "Right away." Ma Feiguang quickly tapped away at the keyboard, pulling up the entire office''s surveince, including footage from the entrance and all other directions. In thest half hour, no suspicious individual left through the entrance; there was only aw enforcement officer who had finished his shift leaving, but they were visible in the surveince the whole time, confirming it wasn''t a disguise. Ma Feiguang then turned the surveince to the interrogation room and quickly noticed how the bald man, somehow, managed to unlock his handcuffs and, while others weren''t paying attention, effortlessly opened the door of the interrogation room and then slipped towards the nearby staircase. "Two minutes ago, he ran towards the holding cell area!" "There''s no exit there." Lu Hong furrowed his brows. In their facility, prisoners had to be gathered in the interrogation room first, and once their crimes were confirmed, ording to the process, they were taken to the temporary cells at the back, where they would wait to be transported to the prison to be locked up together at a designated time. Next to the interrogation room was the staircase leading to the holding cells. However, at that moment, rms from the holding cells started ring! "Someone''s forcibly opening the doors of the holding cells!" Lu Hong''s expression changed dramatically! The doors to the holding cells were rmed, so if they were opened without aw enforcement officer''s pass, it would immediately trigger an alert! They hurried towards the holding cells and did a check. The prisoner from cell five was gone! "Quick, initiate emergency procedures, lock down the entirew enforcement station!"manded Lu Hong sternly. ``` Bald-headed Lv He had escaped from the interrogation room two minutes earlier, heading towards the detention area and kidnapping the prisoner from cell five. It had not been long, and it was very likely that these two individuals had not yet managed to escape. "Yes!" Ma Feiguang hurriedly activated the emergency measures of the enforcement office. Hum! The grounds of the enforcement office lit up with a transparent light shield, like a protective bubble,pletely sealing off the entire office and simultaneously cutting off all external contacts, blocking every possible means of departure. The enforcement office''s security measures were extremely effective. The Awakeners of this world possessed a variety of systems, including the "Transcend Movie Worlds System," the "Transcend All Worlds System," or those capable of creating spatial corridors or teleporting on the spot. However, as long as they were within the grounds of the enforcement office, any system that could force an escape would be blocked. This ensured that the imprisoned criminals could not flee. Lu Hong''s mechanical raven lit up, scanning every inch of cell five, searching every corner of the cell. However, there was nothing out of the ordinary in the entire cell. The rm had just gone off, and the only thing he could be certain of was that the two prisoners were still within the grounds of the enforcement office. The question was, how did they disappear? ¡ª¡ª "What happened?" Lu Zhiwei and Qin Yi both rushed over. "You two don''te in, there''s a prison break and we need to conduct an investigation," Lu Hong stopped the two of them. "Prison break?" Lu Zhiwei blinked in slight astonishment. At this moment, Xiao Cao spoke up, "Captain Lu, you might want to ask Qin Yi. Last night he showed us what a reasoning genius is all about." "Yeah! He''s truly an S-grade elite student from Liangzhou University. He just helped us crack several cases with ease." "Right, right, right, we should have young Qin take a look. He will definitely be able to figure out this case." The officers who had closed cases with Qin Yi''s help were praising him non-stop, all rmending him to handle the situation. Praised by everyone, Qin Yi felt quite proud, puffing out his chest, he said, "Uncle Lu, please let me take a look. I cannot shirk my responsibility when ites to such matters. Talents should be used in the right ce, shouldn''t they?" Lu Hong frowned slightly, as he really didn''t like Qin Yi. He had already searched the area with his own "Investigation System" and came up empty, the adversary had not left any strange traces, it was as though they had vanished into thin air. Lu Hong was not a stubborn man; if he couldn''t find any leads himself, he was willing to let someone capable help. "Fine, if you can really handle it," Lu Hong gave a nod, allowing Qin Yi to enter. However, for some unknown reason, the person who came to mind was Xiang Beifei who was still in the training room. Because the one in cell five was none other than Wan Qiu, the mute bank robber that Xiang Beifei had mentioned yesterday! At that time, Xiang Beifei had only nced at Wan Qiu before reminding him to check out the situation at Qianhe Bridge. Doubting yet curious, Lu Hong sent out the mechanical raven to search, and indeed they found Wan Qiu''s aplice in the piers of Qianhe Bridge! The case was not yetpleted, thus Wan Qiu was temporarily held here. Lu Hong still vividly remembered what Xiang Beifei said to him before heading to the training room yesterday: ¡ª¡ªBe careful, this person is not so simple. At that time, Lu Hong didn''t take it to heart, knowing the power of the enforcement office; it was nearly impossible for criminals to escape through their systems. So, he didn''t dwell on it. Yet today, an incident urred! "Should we ask Beifei toe here?" Lu Hong did not trust the boastful Qin Yi to find the criminals. He had more faith in Xiang Beifei. Xiang Beifei had a very special ability and also possessed a remarkable recognition talent, evident from the "Lai Wuying" incident. Chapter 62: Chapter 62: The Prison Built by SR Lu Hong didn''t immediately go to find Xiang Beifei because Qin Yi was also there. He needed to know what Qin Yi''s reasoning was before deciding whether to seek out Xiang Beifei. Allw enforcement officers were in the hallway of the detention room, watching Qin Yi. Qin Yi walked into Room 5 with his head held high, looking around the detention room. The room wasn''t very big, about ten square meters, with only a bed and not even a table. He scanned the ceiling light and the bedsheets. There was nowhere to hide. After a thorough check, Qin Yi found nothing amiss. At this moment, a prompt appeared on Qin Yi''s system¡ª [Host, please note: The extracted talent has only 30 minutes left. Please rify how the two prisoners escaped within thest 30 minutes.] A sense of dread washed over Qin Yi. Extracting someone else''s talent was time-limited, and he had toplete the task provided by the system within the set time. Otherwise, it would be considered a task failure, and the extracted talent would return to the original person. "This is bad!" he eximed. Qin Yi had already solved nine cases, with only one case left. He had nned to choose an easy one for thest case but did not expect to stumble upon this incident. Just now, carried away by thew enforcement officers'' high spirits and their praises, he walked in, and the system automatically assumed he took this case as his tenth one. However, he was nowpletely clueless! "Qin Yi, have you found anything?" Ma Feiguang asked from behind. "Don''t rush him. Qin Yi is an S-level Reasoning Talent. He''ll definitely find a way," said Xiao Cao, who was very optimistic about this Liangzhou University genius, especially since Qin Yi had just helped him solve a case. "Right, we''re lucky he''s here tonight," other officers echoed, looking expectantly at Qin Yi. Lucky my ass! Qin Yi felt like cursing. The nine cases he''d solved were basically ready to be cracked, and he had merely stolen other people''s efforts to showcase them as his own. The problem was, this case was sudden andcked any leads. He was in a difficult position now. It was already toote to refuse. The system had started the countdown. "Isn''t there surveince in the detention room?" Qin Yi inquired. "There is, but this guy came prepared. We haven''t finished searching him yet," Ma Feiguang replied, holding a mobile device, projecting the images from the detention room into midair. The surveince had two feeds, one from the hallway outside the detention room and one from inside Room 5. The footage showed Lv He with a bald head sneaking from the interrogation room to the hallway, searching until he found Room 5. He then spat out something strange from his mouth, and a thick smoke obscured the surveince from both the detention room and the hallway, making it impossible to see anything. By the time the smoke cleared, the person was gone. The surveince provided no insight into how the two vanished. Qin Yi silently wiped off sweat, walked to the wall, and tapped it. "From the current situation, these two criminals have probably already left this detention room. They likely have the ability to pass through walls¡ª" However, Lu Hong interjected coldly, "They couldn''t possibly pass through walls. Do you think the detention room walls in the enforcer''s building can be breached just like that?" "They can''t pass through walls?" Qin Yi was taken aback. Lu Zhiwei exined, "The walls of the detention room were designed by an SR-level architect from the Liangzhou Alliance, someone with extremely strong building abilities, a God Refining stage expert. Unless one''s cultivation is higher than his, it''s impossible to leave the range of the walls¡ªno matter what method is used. There is only one exit, which is precisely the way we came in." The prison constructed by an SR-level practitioner was incredibly formidable, instantly nullifying abilities like teleportation and other system powers! The system had level suppression, and powers wielded by awakeners of lower-level systems would hardly be effective against those from higher-level systems. The prisoner locked up here was named Wan Qiu, and he had only awakened an R-level system. "So it''s like that..." Qin Yi began to feel uneasy. He had nned to bluff his way through by phasing through walls or teleporting, but that path had beenpletely blocked by the SR-level constructor. He nced at his system again, seven minutes left. At this moment, his Reasoning Talent score had already started to drop. It fell from 121 to 93. Damn, his Reasoning Talent was about to be ineffective! Qin Yi felt flustered, but with so many eyes on him, he couldn''t possibly do anything else. He feignedposure and then said with certainty, "Then the most likely exnation is that they left through invisibility!" That was the only exnation possible. However, at this time, the otherw enforcement officers looked at him with strange expressions. "What''s wrong? Did I say something incorrect?" Qin Yi asked, feeling guilty. Lu Hong pointed toward the corridor of the containment cell and said, "See the door at the end of the corridor? That door is the masterpiece of that SR constructor, and any disguise, no matter who uses it or how, will be stripped away when passing through that door." What kind of SR constructor is this! More like an SB constructor! What was the point in building such a sophisticated prison, just to make a fool of me! Qin Yi internally cursed the constructor''s ancestors over and over. He was the one everyone had ced their high hopes on. If not for this SB constructor, he could have made up something on the spot and muddled through since thew enforcement officers didn''t know how the criminal had escaped. That way, whatever nonsense he spouted would have seemed credible. But this SB constructor had to block him in every way! Lu Hong looked at Qin Yi coldly and said, "Don''t you have strong reasoning abilities? Can''t you deduce the details from all these aspects?" "I..." Qin Yi''s face turned red. He had only extracted someone else''s reasoning skills, not their memories! Besides, he was not a professionalw enforcement officer; how could he understand so much? By now, his talent value had dropped to 59. "Qin Yi, don''t get nervous! Just show the same confidence you did when you helped us solve the case earlier. It will be all right," Xiao Cao said from the side. ¡ªI''ve already returned the Reasoning Talent to you guys, how could it still be all right? Qin Yi cursed internally. "You haven''t got a clue, have you?" Lu Hong pressed, staring at Qin Yi. Qin Yi bit his lip, still not giving up: "Give me a moment to think." "Then think, Xiao Wei, go get Beifei over here. He might have an idea about this," Lu Hong said. Beifei? Thew enforcement officers here remembered Xiang Beifei and knew he was just an N-level Awakener. Xiao Cao spoke from the side, "Captain, Beifei is just an N-level Awakener. Will it be useful to bring him here?" "Yeah, if even our detective genius Qin Yi tonight can''t figure this out, what good would a high school student do?" Ma Feiguang also chimed in. "Right, if even an S-level like Qin Yi can''t deduce it, then he probably has no chance either," the otherw enforcement officers nodded in agreement. Chapter 63: Chapter 63: Unexpected Place Qin Yi, though he couldn''t reason it out himself, seeing someone else''s support, felt more confident and said, "Uncle Lu, even an S-ss like me and you are at a loss with this case, what can he possibly do? Can an N-ss really be better than the two of us?" Lu Hong was also an S-ss Awakener; Qin Yi intended to align himself with Lu Hong. However, Lu Hong paid no attention to this fellow but repeated to Lu Zhiwei, "Xiao Wei, go call him over." "Okay, Dad." Lu Zhiwei put away her notebook and ran outside. About two minutester, Xiang Beifei was dragged here by Lu Zhiwei, who had pulled and tugged him along. "What''s the meaning of this! I need to cultivate!" Xiang Beifei was training well in the training room when Lu Zhiwei came over, and without saying anything else, she dragged him here. The problem was, he was no match for Lu Zhiwei now and had no chance to resist. "There''s a case here; since your reasoning ability is top-notch,e and take a look for us." Lu Zhiwei had wanted to see who between Xiang Beifei and Qin Yi had better reasoning ability, but Xiang Beifei didn''t want to get involved. Now she had a good excuse, and she suddenly got excited. Seeing Xiang Beifei, Qin Yi''s eyes darkened, and he said with a cold sneer, "What can an N-ss like him figure out? Xiao Wei, you still hold hope for him, but he''s probably just talking nonsense." "You were mostly wrong in your reasoning just now, too!" Lu Zhiwei kindly reminded him. "I..." Qin Yi''s face turned various shades of red and pale but he then said, "You should think of it this way, both Uncle Lu and I are S-ss, and if we can''t figure it out, then he has even less of a chance!" "Who knows." Lu Zhiwei thought of Lai Wuying''s matter. Qin Yi snorted lightly. Then let''s go. Let me see what you''re capable of! I bet the moment you open your mouth, it''ll be about passing through walls, invisibility, right? Qin Yi inwardly hoped Xiang Beifei would make simr ims, so his previous reasoning wouldn''t seem too foolish. Xiang Beifei, unaware of what had happened, asked in confusion, "Could someone exin to me what exactly happened here?" "Haha, do you think we are all gathered here for a party?" Qin Yi said in a sarcastic tone. Lu Hong ignored Qin Yi, but watched Xiang Beifei with great expectation and exined, "The convict Wan Qiu we captured yesterday has escaped from prison." "Escaped from prison?" Xiang Beifei walked to the entrance of Detention Cell No.5, poked his head inside for a look but retracted it just two secondster. Seeing that he didn''t even enter the cell, Qin Yi sneered to himself. This guy doesn''t understand anything. Does he really think he can infer anything by doing this? Daydreaming! Xiang Beifei scanned the corridor with a nce and then said, "Uncle Lu, you didn''t check beneath your feet." Upon hearing this, Qin Yi immediately seized the opportunity to mock, "Is this your reasoning ability? Checking beneath your feet? Are you suggesting looking at the floor tiles? Don''t you know that no convict can pass through walls to leave? Checking the floor tiles, that''s hrious." Hepletely forgot that he had just spected Wan Qiu had escaped through the walls. Lu Hong said, "I have checked already, whether inside the cells or the corridor, I have checked all the floor tiles, even scanned them." "I''m not talking about floor tiles." Xiang Beifei walked a few steps along the corridor, "The floor tiles of the corridor, Uncle Lu has checked, that I''m certain of. But¡ª" He nced among the crowd and thenid eyes on Qin Yi, casually pointing at Qin Yi and saying, "You didn''t check his shoe soles." With Xiang Beifei pointing like that, Qin Yi instantly grew angry, "What do you mean? Are you saying I''m their aplice? I came here to solve the case; do you dare to doubt me?" "The convict is under your shoe sole." Xiang Beifei looked at Qin Yi. Lu Hong realized something and was slightly taken aback! "Fei Ya, scan his shoes!" Lu Hongmanded sternly. Swish! Fei Ya''s eyes shone with a red light. Immediately after, Lu Hong was shocked! "He''s actually hiding here!" Lu Hong red at Qin Yi coldly! Qin Yi, suddenly targeted by Lu Hong, was also startled and asked without understanding, "Uncle Lu, what do you mean?" "Take the chewing gum off your shoe sole!" Lu Hong said unequivocally. "Chewing gum on my shoe sole? There''s no chewing gum under my shoes!" Qin Yi, puzzled by the question, instinctively lifted his foot and looked at the sole, only to be shocked a momentter. Somehow, a piece of chewing gum had really stuck to the bottom of his shoe! Lu Hong waved his hand, and a swipe of Spiritual Power passed over, lifting the chewing gum into midair. Then, with a horizontal chop, the sharp edge of the me sliced the chewing gum in half! Crack! The chewing gum burst open, and two figures tumbled out from it, looking very embarrassed. "What?" Qin Yi''s eyes almost popped out! "How could they be hiding in there?" Xiao Cao and the otherw enforcement officers also eximed in shock, utterly astonished! How could people be hidden inside chewing gum? What kind of system''s ability was this? Moreover¡ªhow did Xiang Beifei know? To be clear, just a moment ago, Qin Yi, S-ss genius of Liangzhou University, had gone through a series of reasoning, yet he had not found any trace of the two prisoners attempting to escape! And among them, eachw enforcement officer possessed unique skills tailored to dealing with criminals, especially the most experienced S-ss Awakener, Lu Hong, who was present. Yet, even with thebination of three S-ss Awakeners and a bunch of R-ssw enforcement officers, they had no clue about the jailbreak and were at their wits'' end. But then this N-grade Beifei just arrived, took less than two minutes, and casually found the prisoners! It was simply too incredible! How on earth had Beifei reasoned it out? How had he deduced that the two suspects were hiding under Qin Yi''s shoe? And how had he noticed that there was a piece of chewing gum on the bottom of the shoe? ... All faces were filled with disbelief! Even the S-ss prodigy, Qin Yi, was stunned! A series of question marks flew around in their minds. But no matter how much they thought about it, they couldn''t understand the logic. They quickly realized that only Xiang Beifei could answer this question. However, by the time they thought to ask Xiang Beifei, they discovered he had already disappeared. "Where''s the person? Where''s Beifei?" "There!" Everyone looked closely, and Xiang Beifei was walking back the way he came. "Hey, wait, where are you going?" Lu Zhiwei called out anxiously from behind. "Cultivating, do not disturb." With his hands in his pockets, Xiang Beifei walked along the corridor, his departing footsteps calm and serene. Like a leaf fluttering with the wind, leisurely and carefree, his slender and skinny silhouette was elongated by the corridor lights, exuding an indescribable stylishness and elegance. He disappeared at the end of the corridor without turning his head. Leaving behind a group of people, shocked and staring at one another. This young man''s silhouette... Could it really be that handsome! To casually crack a case and leave without a trace? But then again, after solving the case, at least exin a bit! At the very least, tell us how you knew they were hiding there, hey! Is solving such an important case really such a waste of your time? Thew enforcement officers looked at each other without a word, silent. The doubts in their minds were still not resolved, making them especially ufortable. How exactly did Beifei know that the criminals were hiding under Qin Yi''s feet!!! They needed Xiang Beifei''s answer! But it seemed that Xiang Beifei had no intention of staying longer at all, from being reluctantly dragged there by Lu Zhiwei to leaving after cracking the case, not even staying for two minutes! It was as if he were just a passerby happening upon this ce, solving a case that no one else could resolve, yet offering no further exnation. Having done the deed, he shook off his sleeves and left, his merits and fame deeply concealed. Is this what they call a true master? Chapter 64: Chapter 64: Tie me up! "This kid." Lu Hong couldn''t help butugh and cry. Is cultivation really that urgent? Qin Yi was mocking you to your face, at least throw back a couple of sarcastic remarks! What a perfect opportunity, and you don''t retort? "Forget it, this kid''s personality doesn''t seem to be one that strives to win at all costs." Lu Hong looked over at Qin Yi. Qin Yi''s face was extremely ugly, probably because Xiang Beifei''s sudden arrival had stolen his thunder. Hisplexion was now like the liver of a pig. Looking at Qin Yi, Lu Hong suddenly realized¡ª Beifei not mocking Qin Yi was actually the biggest mockery of him! After all, Qin Yi is an S-rank elite student at Liangzhou University, a future star of hope, just a moment ago hailed by thew enforcement officials as a super detective with godlike case-solving skills, they haduded him to the skies. But this favored son of heaven, when faced with this case, spouted a lot of nonsense, and ended up making a fool of himself without getting anything right. Then Beifei was reluctantly dragged over by Lu Zhiwei. With a casual nce, he identified two prisoners trying to escape and directly solved the case. After that, he left without bothering to exin a word. He didn''t even bother topete with someone like Qin Yi. That was already the greatest mockery for an S-rank genius like Qin Yi! Although Lu Hong himself hadn''t solved the case either, he hadn''t shown off his reasoning skills. With Beifei shining so brightly, he was more than happy; there was no room for envy, let alone feeling mocked. But it was different for Qin Yi. "I knew it, Beifei really is hiding his light under a bushel!" Lu Zhiwei''s eyes were gleaming, and she gripped her notebook even tighter. Reasoning Talent top-notch, I must learn from him! ¡ª At this moment, Qin Yi was almost grinding his teeth to dust! This bastard! Isn''t he an N-rank Awakener? How the hell did he deduce that? It''s uneptable! It''s too much to bear! The genius image he had so hardly constructed at thew enforcement brigade in the evening was copsing like andslide. Compared with Beifei, what was he, Qin Yi, but an egg? He came to solve the case with much fanfare, only to end up with a whimper instead of a bang, while someone reluctantly got dragged over, nced twice, and closed the case. How could hepare! What''s most despicable is¡ª Why, when that guy was leaving, his damn silhouette looked so cool! He often shone as the favored son of heaven among the freshmen at Liangzhou University, constantly radiating brilliance across the campus, going on stage to receive awards on various asions until his hands were full of trophies, but¡ªwhy the heck can''t he look as cool as that bastard! Qin Yi was filled with jealousy! Jealous to a splintering degree! No! That cool silhouette must be learned and remembered for the next time! However, at this moment, Xiao Cao came to his senses and pointed at Qin Yi, loudly eximing, "Qin Yi, I thought so highly of you, and you turn out to be a co-conspirator with these two men!" As soon as Ma Feiguang heard this, he immediately snapped back to his senses and shouted, "I get it now. You went to so much trouble to help us with the case tonight just to gain our trust, so we''d regard you as a super detective. Then, after they escaped, you knew we''d definitely look to you to solve the case. Following that, you''d have the opportunity to get those two out!" "So that''s it, you''re so crafty! And to think I believed you had a Reasoning Talent, I was really blind!" "Exactly, I was wondering why you were so eager to help us with the investigation, turns out you''re nothing but a jackal!" ... Thew enforcement officers, who had lost their Reasoning Talent, had been unable to connect logic, but now as their Reasoning Talent gradually returned, they cobbled together a tale of a cunning criminal conspiracy, openly repairing roads while covertly channeling through the Wei, a grand drama of a joint prison break. And Qin Yi was the key mastermind! "Tie him up!" Xiao Cao and Ma Feiguang didn''t say another word and pinned Qin Yi down. Qin Yi was still gritting his teeth at Xiang Beifei when he was suddenly pressed to the ground,pletely dumbfounded. "Hold on, this isn''t what you think, listen to me exin, I really had no idea!" Heaven and earth as his witnesses, he only wanted to put on a show in front of Lu Zhiwei and Xiang Beifei; he truly had no clue what was going on! However, Xiao Cao and Ma Feiguang didn''t care about the details and captured him first to sort things outter. "Uncle Lu! Uncle Lu! Your wise eyes see the truth. You must know I''m not involved! Uncle Lu! You must discern the truth!" Although Qin Yi was an S-rank, he was a student of the Liberal Arts College and not skilled inbat, incapable of resisting, now desperately calling out to Lu Hong in panic. Lu Hong knew that this was very likely unrted to Qin Yi; this fellow simply liked to show off and, inadvertently, had been used by others. But he kept a stern face, adopting an all-business demeanor, "Whether you''re an aplice or not isn''t for you to decide! Lock him up! Interrogate him thoroughly first!" ¡ª¡ª Qin Yi had to prove his innocence, but Lu Hong knew Qin Yi wasn''t involved and didn''t want to waste time interrogating him. He intended to interrogate Lv He and Wan Qiu first, so he ignored Qin Yi. As a result, Qin Yi was thrown directly into the detention room by Xiao Cao. No matter how much he tried to exin, there was nothing he could do; he was going to spend the night here. At this time, he was still seething with anger. Today, at the enforcement office, an N-level high school student had pped his face thoroughly. He, a prestigious Liangzhou University student, an S-rank talent, had lost all his dignity! Not to mention, this was his first time ever being thrown in jail. Humiliation, indeed! Even though he knew he was innocent, he still felt the disgrace! Being a gifted Reasoning Talent and yet being treated as a suspect! Tomorrow, his family and the university must be notified. Imagine, a prominent new figure among Liangzhou University''s freshmen, not having identified the criminal, yet being treated as the suspect. This was a stain on his life. But when he checked his system interface, he was surprised to discover a hint. [You''ve rified how the two suspects escaped from prison, sessfully solved the tenth case, and thuspleted the task wlessly.] "Eh? The system task ispleted!" Qin Yi was overjoyed! He clearly wasn''t the one solving the tenth case tonight, so how did the system still consider itpleted by him? After some thought, Qin Yi came to a conclusion. In the system''s instructions, it hadn''t specified that he had to solve the case by himself! Solving a case inherently involved gathering clues from various sources. There is no detective who solves cases entirely on their own, they must get help from others. Be it witnesses, or evidence provided byw enforcement officers, all these are within the scope of assistance from others. Even interrogating suspects counts as solving a case with the help of suspects. For this task, the system only required solving the case, not who did the solving. This means as long as a case is resolved, the task is consideredplete. And just now, Xiang Beifei had swiftly unraveled the case right before the task''s deadline! That''s the same as helping himplete the task! "Who would''ve thought, who would''ve thought! A blessing in disguise, wahahaha!" Qin Yi couldn''t help but burst intoughter. He waspletely agitated, his excitement merging with his agitation. [Host haspleted the task, one amulet awarded. Would you like to im your reward?] "Xiang Beifei, oh Xiang Beifei! You''ve earned fame, but I didn''t lose out either!" Qin Yi smugly selected [Yes] Then¡ª Qin Yi''s face turned grim. Qin Yi''s forehead darkened. "Damn it! System, you''re ying me! If the task failed, just say it failed, why im Ipleted it! Damn it, do you find this amusing!" Qin Yipletely lost it and started cursing out loud! He had no idea where his reward had gone, nor did he take the time to think it through, assuming it was just a system error and that he had misunderstood the task rules, instantly bing utterly enraged. Chapter 65: Chapter 65: Him? Xiang Beifei was seriously swinging his fists in the training room, pondering the violent gust he had just grasped. "Woof woof woof!" Xiaohei barked cheerfully. He turned around and saw that Xiaohei was holding an amulet. "Oh, this thing!" Xiang Beifei nodded slightly. It was ate-stage Qi-Controlling item, which could be used to light up the stars. He still needed to find a few more system rewards to gain his third ability. But he wasn''t in a hurry for now; he first needed to reach the mid-stage of Qi-Controlling, and then he could light up the third star. Xiang Beifei resumed practicing for a while until Xiaohei reminded him that it was already eleven o''clock. Having returned home sote yesterday, Grandfather was worried and had stayed up waiting for him, probably waiting again today, he decided to go home early. He got up, took a shower in the changing room, and then left the training room. "Aha!" He had only taken a few steps when Lu Zhiwei appeared in front of him, lively as ever. "I didn''t interrupt your practice," she quickly said. "Hmm." Xiang Beifei responded. "Then, could you quietly tell me about your reasoning process earlier?" Lu Zhiwei lowered her voice and waved the notebook in her hand. Her face full of a thirst for knowledge, she wanted to know how Xiang Beifei had deduced that those two people were hiding in the tiles, but when Xiang Beifei had left earlier, he had asked her not to disturb him. Desperate to learn deductive skills from Xiang Beifei, she had no choice but to respectfully wait outside, almost dying of anticipation. Xiang Beifei was somewhat exasperated. How could he teach this! Yesterday, when he saw Wan Qiu''s Remation System, he had already warned Lu Hong to be cautious of this man. But at that time it was just a caution, he couldn''t tell Lu Hong what the man''s system was, and he still couldn''t say now. However, Lu Zhiwei kept staring at him intently, making him somewhat ufortable. "I''m your guardian envoy, just teach me a little, just a little bit!" Lu Zhiwei was earnest in her plea. Xiang Beifei sighed. "Alright, it depends on your insight. I''ll roughly analyze it for you; how much you can learn depends on your fate," he said. "Tell me, tell me, I''m taking notes!" Lu Zhiwei nodded vigorously. "Wait, let me listen to your analytical process too." Lu Hong approached from somewhere, smiling as he looked at Xiang Beifei. Xiang Beifei''s performance was all observed by him. "Uncle Lu, did they confess?" Xiang Beifei asked. "They confessed, but I still want to know how you deduced it." Lu Hong himself possessed an S-grade Investigation System, but this type of system relied on clues to track, and the coordination between Wan Qiu and Lv He was so seamless that they left no traces. Although he had interrogated them about the incident, he still had not grasped Xiang Beifei''s thought process in solving the case. He needed to know what Xiang Beifei''s reasoning process was. "Alright, it''s actually not that difficult." Xiang Beifei prepared his phrasing in his mind, then said: "First, this case had to be reasoned from Wan Qiu''s system. Initially, I also did not know Wan Qiu''s system, so I could only conjecture¡ªif he was digging under the bank for the vault, then he might possess a system rted to digging. Combining that with him hiding his aplice under the bridge pier, I thought he might concoct the same method again." Lu Zhiwei quickly wrote down everything Xiang Beifei said. "Then why were you so sure they weren''t hiding in the detention room? Why didn''t you search the detention room?" Lu Zhiwei never quite figured this out because just after Xiang Beifei had found out what had happened here, he stuck his head into the detention room, pulled it back out after just two seconds, and didn''t even bother to go inside. Xiang Beifei exined,"That''s because I trust Uncle Lu''s investigative abilities! Uncle Lu''s raven is really incredible. In such a small detention room, if they were hiding there, how could they possibly deceive Uncle Lu? After all, he''s an S-rank powerhouse! Killing those petty thieves in an instant, with various scanning methods activated, where could those two possibly have escaped to?" Lu Zhiwei suddenly realized and then turned to her father excitedly,"Dad, is what Beifei said right?" "It should... it probably is?" Lu Hong suddenly felt embarrassed by the praise. "Although Uncle Lu didn''t immediately think about how Wan Qiu and Lv He mysteriously disappeared, actually, if Uncle Lu just had some time, he would definitely have searched them, and then he would have figured it out." Xiang Beifei gave Lu Hong another way out. "Dad, is that so?" Lu Zhiwei looked at Lu Hong expectantly. "Uh... roughly... it probably is." Lu Hongughed awkwardly and could only take the hint, else he would appear too undignified in front of his daughter. Actually, Qin Yi hadn''t gone to the detention room at all that evening; he was with Lu Zhiwei the whole time and had an alibi. After the incident, Lu Hong was the first one on the scene, by which time, the two were already gone. Normally, Lu Hong wouldn''t have suspected Qin Yi. If it weren''t for Beifei mentioning it, he might have really overlooked it. "Keep going," Lu Hong said. "First, I guessed their system. Since they could dig under the ground to rob a bank, couldn''t they also dig through tiles? The walls of the enforcement office are very sturdy, but the tiles are just ordinary tiles. There''s only one way out, so they must rely on someone else''s power, meaning they can only rely on outsiders to escape from prison." Xiang Beifei exined it all logically. Lu Zhiwei grew even more impressed and asked again, "Then why did you think of Qin Yi''s shoe soles first?" "If it were me, I would also choose Qin Yi because he isn''t aw enforcement officer. If they chose someone like Uncle Lu, who is an S-rank person, that would be like walking into a trap. Choosing otherw enforcement officers wouldn''t be safe either, asw enforcement officers'' systems definitely rte to abilities like handling cases and investigating. Without being sure of their abilities, risks could easily arise, and thus outsiders are the only option." "I knew Qin Yi should have been helping you solve the casest night, but those two, detained from the start, definitely didn''t know about Qin Yi''s deductive abilities and thus regarded him as just an ordinary Awakener, making him the best choice." Xiang Beifei''s exnation was rational and well-founded. However, Lu Hong grasped the essential point and asked, "It seems you had already ruled out Qin Yi as their aplice early on?" Xiang Beifei said incredulously, "Him?" Lu Hong paused. Him. These two words, in and simple. Yet, they carried a profound meaning. So, to this S-rank genius from Liangzhou University, a freshman no less, Qin Yi didn''t even qualify to be an aplice for Wan Qiu and Lv He in Beifei''s eyes. This boy wasn''t upetitive, he simply disdained to lower his status to argue with someone like Qin Yi! They simply weren''t on the same level. Lu Hong was deeply moved. It turned out that Qin Yi had never really been looked at properly by Xiang Beifei from the beginning to the end. ¡ª¡ª For Xiang Beifei, no matter how these people tried to hide, their system interface would always shine brightly. He looked around and then noticed two system interfaces on the soles of Qin Yi''s shoes! There was no need for reasoning. And the act of creating a space in chewing gum, that was all written on Wan Qiu''s "Remation System." The system was costly when creating a space in small objects, but the chewing gum was something Wan Qiu had created long ago, serving as hisst resort escape tool. The legendary Xianxia ck technology¡ª"storage ring" could create a vast space. So, a "storage chewing gum"¡ª What''s so surprising about that? Chapter 66: Chapter 66: Four Kinds of Rewards "Dad, is what Beifei said the same as what you interrogated?" Lu Zhiwei asked urgently. Just now, to be safe, Lu Hong did not let any irrelevant peoplee into contact with Wan Qiu and Lv He, including his daughter, so Lu Zhiwei still did not know the true facts of the matter. Lu Hong nodded slightly, "Wan Qiu is a mute, but Lv He was stubborn at first, but after I asked Uncle Chang to talk to him, Lv He confessed everything." Chang Shan, that''s the veteran officer with the "S-rank, Turn Back and You''re Ashore" system, and he had the cultivation of thete Meridian Opening phase. For ordinary petty thieves, if others couldn''t get anything out of them during interrogation, they would hand them over to him. Usually, after exchanging a few words with him, they''d be touched and confess everything easily. Lu Hong continued, "Lv He and Wan Qiu, who was arrested yesterday, are friends. After Wan Qiu was arrested, he was nning to rescue him before Wan Qiu was transferred from thew enforcement office to prison, because once in the prison, there would be no chance at all, so he nned tonight''s jailbreak." Any criminal who entered the Alliance Prison had virtually zero chance of escape. But getting into thew enforcement squad was not that easy, especially the custody room. "Then did Lv He reveal what his system is?" Xiang Beifei asked. Lu Hong shook his head, "No, the test results for Lv He''s system came out as R-grade, and it would require a system two grades higher to interrogate him." An R-grade system was already considered powerful, with the system itself having self-protection capabilities; even if some interrogation techniques were used, it would be very difficult to make Lv He confess everything. Of course, with an SR-grade interrogation system, there would be ways to forcibly break through the confidentiality defense of an R-grade system. However, SR-grade Awakeners were too rare, and this smallw enforcement office didn''t have one. Lu Hong said, "Lv He didn''t reveal his system, but he said he had the confidence to unlock any lock¡ªso I guess his awakening is rted to a lock-breaking system. He was deliberately arrested today for cellphone fraud, and then he confessed very directly to his fraud, so we didn''t take it seriously, preparing to follow the procedures. But then, when others weren''t paying attention, he unlocked his handcuffs and slipped towards the custody room." Lu Hong''s guess was actually very close to the truth. Lv He''s awakening was indeed the Lock-Free System, which was indeed powerful. Unfortunately, Lv He overestimated his abilities. Although he managed to unlock the door keeping Wan Qiu, it triggered an rm. Luckily, he knew Wan Qiu''s capabilities. Wan Qiu could carve out a space anywhere, and at the instant the rm was triggered, they used Wan Qiu''s Remation System to burrow into the corridor''s floor tiles. Wan Qiu''s Remation System could not break through the walls built by an SR-grade builder, so they had to start with the floor tiles. The floor tiles were just decorative, utterly ordinary with no protective capabilities¡ªthe protectiveyer was the cement underneath that they couldn''t dig through. Thew enforcement personnel quickly arrived. They rushed towards the custody room first, overlooking the tiles in the corridor. At this time, they saw Qin Yi. Qin Yi was the only person in the corridor who wasn''t from the enforcement office, so while Lu Hong was scanning the custody room, they used the dug-out tiles to get under Qin Yi''s feet. Then, they threw a piece of chewing gum from under the tiles, sticking it to the bottom of Qin Yi''s shoe. Wan Qiu''s Remation System had already carved out a space inside the gum. So, they leaped from under the tiles into the space in the gum, simultaneously filling in the space left in the tiles. When Lu Hong began scanning the corridor tiles again, the two of them had already avoided detection. Lu Hong did not immediately think to scan the people there. After all, Qin Yi and the others had arrivedter; it didn''t make sense, both emotionally and rationally, that they would hide there. The n concocted by Wan Qiu and Lv He was nearly wless. As long as Qin Yi left thew enforcement office that night, they could be smuggled out, equating to a sessful jailbreak! But what they didn''t expect was for Beifei to unexpectedly intervene! Xiang Beifei was dragged here by Lu Zhiwei, and he reluctantly checked the scene, spotting them right away! Their jailbreak n was crushed on the spot. ¡ª¡ª "Dad, I really want to know, could they pass through the corridor''s security gate with the chewing gum disguise?" Lu Zhiwei asked. "Yes." Lu Hong nodded seriously, "Tonight''s incident just made me realize this loophole. Although the corridor''s gate is built to SR standards, which can remove all kinds of disguises, but it cannot detect people hidden in small spaces! Regarding this, I need to report to my superiors and have this loophole sealed! Beifei, you''ve made a great contribution tonight." Xiang Beifei tilted his head, somewhat surprised. "Beifei, your talent would be wasted if you didn''t be a city guardian." Lu Zhiwei became the very picture of a die-hard fan of Xiang Beifei. Although her system level and cultivation were higher than Xiang Beifei''s, his deductive reasoning was truly first-rate. "What are you talking about! Beifei''s talent should be used in higher ces. If there''s a chance in the future, he should work at the Jiuzhou Alliance," Lu Hong saw great potential in Xiang Beifei''s future. "It''s very difficult to get into the Jiuzhou Alliance!" Lu Zhiwei muttered. "We''ll talk about it in the future." Xiang Beifei did not care about working for the Jiuzhou Alliance, as he wanted to focus on cultivating and then take the college entrance exam to get into Liangzhou University and, by the way, earn some money. "Being neither arrogant nor impetuous is a good thing. Right, here''s the reward you earned for assisting in the capture of Lai Wuying. I''ve applied for it for you¡ªtwenty thousand yuan. Don''t lose it." Lu Hong handed a cheque from the Alliance to Xiang Beifei. Twenty thousand yuan! Xiang Beifei''s eyes lit up. "Thank you, Uncle Lu," Xiang Beifei said, taking the cheque. "It should be me thanking you," Lu Hong said with a smile. He then looked at his own system. [If Xiang Beifei is willing to make a feedback, you can get one Advanced Pill.] Lu Hong felt quite anxious inside. Beifei, would he really make a feedback to him? After a long thought, he cautiously asked, "Beifei, how are you progressing with your cultivation of Rapid me?" "Still learning." Holding the cheque, Xiang Beifei nced unintentionally at Lu Hong''s system and was a little surprised. He discovered that Lu Hong''s system had issued a mission to assassinate him! Xiang Beifei frowned slightly. However, seeing that Lu Hong had rejected the assassination option, he felt a bit more at ease. "Lucky Uncle Lu is a good man." As an S-level Meridian Opening phase practitioner, if Lu Hong had chosen the [Assassination and Seizure] option, Xiang Beifei would have been in danger. Fortunately, Lu Hong had his own principles. But not taking that route, he must be quite eager at the moment. Lu Hong said, "You helped foil a jailbreakst night; I''ll apply for another reward for you. Also, I''ll give you some more items for protection, as a way of saying thanks forst night." "Uncle Lu, you already gave me the Azure Light Armor and a Qi-replenishing pill yesterday," Xiang Beifei pointed out. "No worries, having extra means of saving your life is always good. This is a Thunderfire Crystal; it contains the essence of my punch and has the power of a mid-stage Qi-Controlling. You can crush it for self-defense. And this me Dragon Escape, for running away¡ªcan carry you out in an instant over two hundred meters." Lu Hong handed the two items to Xiang Beifei. Both were system rewards he had carefully selected, which Xiang Beifei could use immediately. Since they were not items from Xiang Beifei''s own system, their potency would be significantly reduced, and since Xiang Beifei''s cultivation level wasn''t high, Lu Hong couldn''t give him anything more advanced, or else he wouldn''t be able to use it. Last time, someone named Xu Yang attacked Xiang Beifei, and now he worried that Xiang Beifei would run into trouble. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 67: Chapter 67: Mock Exam Xiang Beifei was quite surprised. He was still thinking about how to light up the constetion, but Lu Hong had unintentionally paved the way for him. With the Lei Fire Crystal and the me Dragon Escape, along with yesterday''s Azure Light Armor and Qi-replenishing pill, these four items could precisely serve as spiritual power crystals for the mid-stage of Qi-Controlling! That meant, as long as his realm reached the mid-stage of Qi-Controlling, he could immediately light up the next constetion in the Spirit Gathering Book! Although he had Chen Gang''s "Thousand Faces sh Moon," which was a spiritual power crystal for the initial stage of Meridian Opening, he nned to save it until he entered the Meridian Opening stage to use it. Qin Yi''s amulet was for theter stage of Qi-Controlling, and it should be saved to light up the constetion for thatter stage. Previously, he had been wondering where to get the mid-stage Qi-Controlling spiritual power crystal, and Uncle Lu had directly solved that for him. "Uncle Lu, this must have cost a lot of system points, right?" Xiang Beifei asked. "It''s alright, you''ve helped me a lot these days, I should really thank you. Oh, here, take this too, a Spiritual Perception Pill, it can enhance the perception of various aspects of the body, I often use it to chase criminals." In the past few days, Lu Hong had given Xiang Beifei a total of seven items in exchange, spending over 3000 Investigation Points. That evening, his system had forciblyunched a mission, whereby Xiang Beifei had obtained 2000 Investigation Points. Lu Hong not only returned all these system points to Xiang BeiFei but also paid extra from his own. "Uncle Lu, it was quite expensive." Xiang Beifei said. ¡ªUncle also has his own motives! Lu Hong couldn''t help but sigh in his heart. He really needed Xiang Beifei''s feedback on the Rapid me cultivation, as it determined whether he could advance to the next realm. As long as Xiang Beifei had requests that he could fulfill, he would do his best to amodate them. "Wow, dad, I''m jealous," Lu Zhiwei said enviously from the side. Lu Hong tapped Lu Zhiwei''s head and said irritably, "Jealous of what? Which of these items can you use now? BeiFei''s cultivation level is not enough, so he needs these. Besides, haven''t I given you plenty?" Lu Zhiwei shrank her head and snickered bashfully. She was at theter stage of Qi-Controlling, and when she first awakened her system, as her father, Lu Hong had given her many system items for self-defense, sparing no expense. "Thank you, Uncle Lu." Xiang Beifei was not pretentious, he truly needed these items. Lu Hong treated him well, and even if he had his own motives, in Xiang Beifei''s view, they were insignificant. Because even before Lu Hong''s system had issued the mandatory mission, he had given him many system items, simply out of concern for Xiang Beifei''s safety. Lu Hong could have chosen the "eradicate and seize" approach, simply killing Xiang Beifei once he grasped the Rapid me to take it easily. But he did not do that; instead, he chose another way¡ªletting Xiang Beifei provide feedback. Honestly, ording to the method Lu Hong chose toplete the mission, even if Xiang Beifei bbed any nonsense as feedback, Lu Hong could not tell if it was true or false, because even Lu Hong''s system did not know that Rapid me could be improved; it all depended on Xiang Beifei. Truth be told, Lu Hong could have taken control, but he chose to hand that control over to Xiang Beifei. Xiang Beifei would naturally not disappoint Lu Hong. In this system world, many people resorted to unscrupulous means toplete system tasks, creating a world full of trickery. People like Chen Gang and Liu Qianrou were numerous. But there were still some upright people who maintained the most basic ethical standards while working on system tasks. Xiang Beifei could see other people''s systems, and he could judge who was trustworthy. What he could do was to staunchly protect that trust. He had only been cultivating for a short time, and his realm was still low. Without sufficient strength, Xiang Beifei needed others'' help and protection to get through the novice period of the Qi-Controlling realm. "It''ste, you should head back, Xiao Wei, you apany him, and be careful on the way." Lu Hong still had work and could not abandon his post, so once again, he entrusted the task of escorting Xiang Beifei to his daughter. ¡ª¡ª Beifei returned home, and his grandfather was indeed waiting for him. "Grandfather, you don''t need to wait for me. I was doing system tasks, and these past few days, I''ve been homete," Beifei could only use this excuse to exin. "It''s alright, I couldn''t sleep. Are you hungry? Should I cook something for you?" Qingde smiled. "Not hungry, I''ve already eaten. Uncle Lu and the others ordered takeout." "That''s good, go to sleep soon. You need to wake up early tomorrow." Qingde then returned to his own room. After a brief wash, Beifei closed his door and began to ponder the matters at hand. He now possessed five system items: the Spiritual Perception Pill, the Azure Light Armor, the Qi-replenishing Pill, the me Dragon Escape, and the Thunder Fire Crystal. To light up the third n Constetion, he only needed four spiritual power crystals from the mid-stage of Qi-Controlling. However, he hadn''t decided whether to melt them away yet; it was more urgent to advance his cultivation to the mid-stage of Qi-Controlling. Beifei practiced the Chaos Yin-Yang Form again before resting. In the following days, Beifei didn''t visit the enforcement agency because he realized that if he wanted to improve Rapid me, with his current spiritual power, it was still very difficult to manage. The spiritual power of Rapid me needed to advance further. Therefore, going back to the training room at the enforcement agency was meaningless. Cultivating spiritual power could be performed anywhere. ¡ª¡ª The college entrance examination was drawing nearer, and virtually everyone had already decided whether to pursue the Martial or Literary Dao. The atmosphere in the school became increasingly tense. Especially for students choosing the Literary Dao, their academic subjects were extremely important. The admission threshold for universities was higher for them, hence everyone was seriously reviewing in thest month, barely epting any tasks issued by the system. In thest twenty days, the school held the final mock exam before the college entrance exam. Both teachers and students took this mock exam very seriously. Li Nanxing, as the headmaster, was no exception. Suddenly, he remembered Beifei. Looking back, it had been a month since the Awakening System; the scene of Beifei in his office dering his intention to apply for Liangzhou University still vividly lingered in his mind. "I wonder if this child has made any progress." When Beifei stated his intention to apply to Liangzhou University, Li Nanxing had specifically retrieved Beifei''s score from thest mock exam. Beifei''s score in the previous mock exam was 292. To stand a chance of getting into Liangzhou University, he needed to add at least another 400 points. "His system''s first task is to get into Liangzhou University; he should take this mock exam seriously. Surely he can improve by 50 points or so?" Li Nanxing walked towards Professor Yang''s office. "Professor Yang, excuse me," Li Nanxing knocked on the door. "Headmaster, what brings you here?" Yang Hua was typing on hisputer and, seeing the headmaster in person, quickly stood up, looking respectfully at Li Nanxing while feeling somewhat apprehensive about why the headmaster hade. "It''s nothing. I just wanted to ask about something. There''s a student in your ss named Beifei. What was his score in this mock exam?" Li Nanxing asked. Upon hearing that the headmaster was inquiring about Beifei, Yang Hua''s expression became uneasy. "What''s wrong?" Li Nanxing noticed Yang Hua''s unusual demeanor. "Beifei didn''te to the exam at all this time!" Yang Hua said gravely. Chapter 68: Chapter 68: I Understand Your Feelings "He didn''te for the exam?" Li Nanxing was slightly startled! "Yes, he took sick leave during the exam." Yang Hua couldn''t mention Xiang Beifei without getting angry. Li Nanxing frowned, "Wasn''t he supposed to take the Liangzhou University exam? How could he not show up for the exam?" "Principal, are you joking? With his grades, he still wants to get into Liangzhou University?" Because the principal was present, Yang Hua refrained from saying more unpleasant things about Xiang Beifei. Now that graduation was approaching, he was toozy to bother with Xiang Beifei. Since Xiang Beifei didn''t show up for the exam, there was no issue of him holding anyone back. "Did he attend ss today?" "He did. I just saw him. I was about to ask him some questions. Principal, are you looking for him for something?" Yang Hua was puzzled, not understanding why the principal would look for Xiang Beifei. "It''s nothing important, you''re busy, I won''t disturb you." Li Nanxing left the office and went to Xiang Beifei''s ssroom. Xiang Beifei sat at his desk, one hand propping up his chin, staring nkly out the window. The banyan tree outside the window shaded the summer breeze, apanied by the light chirping of cicadas, creating harmony. Li Nanfeng saw Xiang Beifei''s figure and heaved a slight sigh. This kid, does he look rather mncholic? Indeed, anyone whose first system task was to get into Liangzhou University would not have it easy. "Xiang Beifei,e out for a moment," Li Nanxing called out. "Principal?" Xiang Beifei came back to his senses, shifting his gaze from the banyan tree with some surprise. The other ssmates in the room fell silent upon seeing the principal''s sudden visit, but when they realized he was actually there for Xiang Beifei and remembered Xiang Beifei had skipped the exam, they felt a bit of schadenfreude. Being called out by the principal was never a good sign. "Come take a walk with me." Li Nanxing walked ahead with his hands sped behind his back, walking along the tree-lined path of the campus. Xiang Beifei followed obediently behind. Li Nanxing sat down on a bench under a tree, looking at Xiang Beifei with slightly furrowed brows. "You said you wanted to take the Liangzhou University exam, so why didn''t you take this mock exam seriously?" Xiang Beifei thought for a moment and said, "I had an emergency that day, so I took leave." "What emergency could be more important than an exam? You couldn''t possibly have gone to do a system task. I remember your system''s first task is to get into Liangzhou University!" Li Nanxing said. Xiang Beifei kept silent, just lowering his head and pondering. Li Nanxing thought Xiang Beifei avoided meeting his eyes out of guilt and heaved a sigh. "I know what you''re thinking," he said. Xiang Beifei looked up, his eyes filled with confusion as he gazed at Li Nanxing. Li Nanxing continued, looking at Xiang Beifei''s expression, "Do you feel that the first system task is too difficult, that you cannot possibly get in, so you''ve given up on yourself and didn''t dare to take part in the mock exam?" Given up on himself? Xiang Beifei was somewhat astonished. Li Nanxing spoke earnestly, "For an N-level Awakener to apply to Liangzhou University, there certainly is difficulty. Your grades weren''t good to begin with, and then your system issued you an outrageous task. It''s natural to feel hopeless, but that doesn''t mean you should give up on yourself!" "Principal, I¡ª" "You don''t have to exin anything. I know that you must be feeling disheartened, even desperate. I understand how you''re feeling right now," Li Nanxing said gently. Xiang Beifei: "..." "You must have been under a lot of pressure these days, haven''t you?" Xiang Beifei: "..." "It''s quite normal to feel great pressure. Anyone whose first system task was to get into Liangzhou University would definitely feel it. Over the past month, you''ve probably been so stressed you couldn''t eat or sleep, constantly doubting whether you could really get into Liangzhou University. That''s normal, many N-level Awakeners go through stages of self-doubt." Xiang Beifei: "..." "It''s okay that your foundation is weak, but improving grades doesn''t happen overnight. It''s only been a month since your system issued the task, and you haven''t persisted long before you''re beating a retreat. How can this be eptable?" Li Nanxing patiently advised. "You have to remember one thing, N-level Awakeners are not useless! When you feel like you can''t keep going, think of our Liangzhou''s Governor Shang Tianxiong. He''s an N-level Awakener, yet his achievements areparable to those of an SR-level Awakener! But do you think he got into Liangzhou University on his first college entrance exam?" Li Nanxing was serious and earnest, pping the armrest of the chair, his voice ringing strong: "No! He repeated a year four times!" Xiang Beifei: "..." He couldn''t get a word in edgewise. "You''ve only been preparing for a month and face a little setback, and you''re already disheartened and unwilling to even take the exam. With this attitude towards studying, how can you get into Liangzhou University? You''ve got to pull yourself together! Don''t be defeated by setbacks that easily." Li Nanxing raised his voice again: "Failure is not scary! What''s scary is giving up before you even try!" "If talent is insufficient, diligence willpensate!" "Where there''s a will, there''s a way!" "Without enduring the cold that prates your bones, how can you smell the fragrance of plum blossoms?" Li Nanxing earnestly instructed Xiang Beifei, exining with logic and stirring with emotion. Xiang Beifei: "..." Why does it always feel like something is not quite right? "Why don''t you defend yourself a bit?" Li Nanxing asked. Xiang Beifei: "..." All the words have been said by you, what can I add? Seeing Xiang Beifei silent, Li Nanxing continued, "I once read a novel called ''Fight to the Death in the Firmament'', an extremely stirring novel. I really like a line from it, ''Thirty years in the east, thirty years in the west, do not belittle the young for being poor!'' I give this line to you, hoping you will forge ahead and prove yourself to the world with an N-level talent!" Xiang Beifei''s eyes widened: "..." ''Fight to the Death in the Firmament''? Just listening to the name of this novel¡ª Bristles with power! Even the firmament meets its demise. Terrifying to such a degree! "The headmaster reads these kinds of novels?" Xiang Beifei asked. "I like to study various literatures, whether it''s ssical literature, online fiction, biographies, league chronicles, the contention of a hundred schools of thought... Every type of literature has its significance. What books you read isn''t important, what matters is learning some principles from them afterwards." Headmaster Li Nanxing, after all, had awakened the "S-level Confucian Saint System", had the temperament of a Confucian Schr, and studying various literatures was his favorite thing to do. Xiang Beifei nodded thoughtfully. It seemed to make a lot of sense. "The reason why I''m telling you so much is because you are Xiang Tianxing''s son. I believe the old saying, ''A tiger father does not have dog sons.'' If you can''t get into university this year, there''s always next year, the year after, and the year after that... If you want to measure up to an expert like Shang Tianxiong, you have to be prepared to strive for four years! You can''t miss any opportunity to test yourself. Only by taking simted exams can you know what areas you need to improve upon, understand?" Li Nanxing said. "I understand, headmaster, I''ll work hard," Xiang Beifei nodded. "Mm, good, go back to ss now," Li Nanxing said. Xiang Beifei bowed politely to Li Nanxing and then left. Watching Xiang Beifei''s retreating figure, Li Nanxing felt some emotion. "It seems impossible for him to get into university this year, but I hope I''ve managed to awaken him! Keep up the effort next year." As a headmaster, he felt it was his responsibility to guide this young man. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 69: Chapter 69: Abruptly Stop Xiang Beifei had always held a good impression of Li Nanxing. This was a true exemr of education, refined and gentle, a model for teachers, imparting knowledge without discrimination. He would patiently guide even an N-level student. One could say he was highly esteemed and respected. However, Li Nanxing didn''t quite understand Xiang Beifei, thinking that Beifei''s absence from the mock exam was due to despair over unimprovable grades. Xiang Beifei didn''t know how to exin himself. But what pleased him was that his recent hard work had not been in vain. These past few days coincided with the mock exams, and he was at a critical point in his cultivation, so he chose to skip the exam. That morning, he finally reached the mid-stage of Qi-Controlling! With the Awakening System for a month, he cultivated day and night and finally elevated his cultivation to the mid-stage of Qi-Controlling. This had surpassed all of his ssmates. Even the S-level Lu Zhiwei and Qin Yi, who were a year older than Beifei and took five months to reach the mid-stage of Qi-Controlling, were only at thete stage of Qi-Controlling by the end of their freshman year. Yet, Xiang Beifei had taken only a month to cultivate from an ordinary person to the mid-stage of Qi-Controlling. The most crucial point was that he used four spiritual power crystals to activate the third constetion, the Di Constetion. [Di Tu Mao: Abruptly Stop] [Source: "Wen Shi Tong Yi": Suddenly arriving, abruptly stopping] [Ability: Able to make moving objects suddenly stop] Xiang Beifei had tested this ability; he could stop anything Xiaohei threw towards him in its tracks, and even when Xiaohei lunged at him, he would be frozen in ce. However, this ability also had its limits, the duration it could hold depended on its power and was also rted to Xiang Beifei''s own strength. For those whose cultivation was weaker than his, he could easily stop them; however, for those with higher cultivation, it was difficult to make them abruptly stop, and for those of roughly equal cultivation, it would only briefly pause them. "Right now, I can stop a tree solid in ce; even a strong wind can''t move it, pretty good." Xiang Beifei returned to his seat and continued to look at the banyan tree outside the window. Principal Li Nanxing had thought he was giving up on himself, staring out the window in a daze, but actually, he was practicing the "Abruptly Stop" ability. He could now make the tree''s shaking abruptly stop; next, he nned to try stopping the blowing wind. That was challenging. Because the wind is intangible and blows over a wide area, when he blocked one side, the wind from the other side would always sneak past and move the tree. "The principal was looking for you just now, are you alright?" Kong Xiuwen prodded the daydreaming Xiang Beifei with his pen. "I''m fine," Xiang Beifei snapped back to reality. "Speaking of which, weren''t we agreed on taking the entrance exam for Liangzhou University together? Why did you suddenly give it up? I''ve been hitting the books hard these days!" Kong Xiuwen looked dejected; he had lost forty-nine strands of hair preparing for the martial arts department of Liangzhou University! He had spent more than twenty strands of hair to exchange for items from the system mall to enhance his focus and intelligence. "How much did you score?" Xiang Beifei asked. "491 points! Heavenly Dao rewards the diligent, tearfully moved!" Kong Xiuwen held his own test papers, deeply moved by himself. His hair loss had not been in vain! As an S-level, he enjoyed various policy advantages; as long as he reached 500 points, he could enter Liangzhou University, and he was not far from his goal. "That''s not bad," Xiang Beifei said. Kong Xiuwen lowered his voice and said, "Come on, you need to buckle down. My system can exchange items to boost concentration, but that intelligence boost isn''t really applicable to others; I can only give you the concentration pills, take them." He passed a small jade bottle from under the desk to Xiang Beifei. "No need, I have some, keep it for yourself," Xiang Beifei shook his head. "You have some?" Kong Xiuwen looked at him suspiciously, "Who gave them to you?" "My dad was a pioneer, did you forget?" "Oh right! That''s good, let''s work hard together, just don''t let me down at the crucial moment!" Kong Xiuwen said. "Don''t worry." Xiang Beifei turned his head and continued to work on the banyan tree outside the window. ¡ª¡ª Law Enforcement Squad. This ce was always busy. The crime rate in the system world was high, but the abilities of thew enforcement officers were also very strong. They specialized in dealing with these criminals. Ordinary criminals were easy to handle, but some criminals were different. Lu Hong sat in his office, he had ordered take-out and was working overtime. Recently, some cases had been giving him a lot of headaches; the criminal suspects were too cunning, knew how to counter-surveince, and he had no clue whatsoever. Lu Hong stared at a green pea in the meal box, and for some reason, he was reminded of that young man again. "If he helped, the problem should be easily solved, right?" Xiang Beifei hadn''te to him for training in over ten days. Now, he didn''t know how Xiang Beifei''s training on "Rapid me" was progressing. Lu Hong really wanted to call and ask, but every time he picked up the phone, he resisted. He knew Xiang Beifei was still a high school student, with college entrance exams approaching, and needed to revise, so it wasn''t appropriate to call and disturb him. But if he didn''t ask, he was constantly worried about Xiang Beifei''s improvements on Rapid me. This matter was extremely important to him. It was the first time Lu Hong felt so conflicted. He really wished Xiang Beifei woulde by; he wanted Xiang Beifei''s help with the case and also wanted to inquire about Rapid me. Just five days ago, he was handling a fight near the school, and he took the opportunity to look for Xiang Beifei and asked him briefly. However, at that time, Xiang Beifei exined that he had been very busytely and hadn''t made much progress in training Rapid me but woulde to seek advice in a couple of days. But that "couple of days" turned into five, and Xiang Beifei still hadn''te! It left him unable to concentrate on his tea or his meals. Lu Hong held his chopsticks, unable to eat, only fiddling with the green peas in the meal box, listlessly counting: "He wille today, he won''te today. He wille today, he won''te today¡­" "Dad, what are you muttering to yourself?" Lu Zhiwei peered in, looking puzzled at her dad. Lu Hong''s face turned red, and he quickly coughed and said, "Nothing, I''m thinking about a case. You''re here." "Why do you seem odd?" Lu Zhiwei threw her schoolbag aside, went to pour a ss of water, and while drinking, she skeptically scrutinized her dad. "I''m eating, just finished handling a case." Lu Hong picked up a pea, threw it into his mouth, chewed twice, and then, while his daughter was not looking, he quickly used his chopsticks to finish counting the rest of the peas. "He won''te today! Sigh!" Lu Hong discarded his chopsticks, looking quite depressed. After a long pause, he asked, "Xiao Wei, how many days until Beifei''s college entrance exam?" "Neen days and twelve hours!" Lu Zhiwei said without hesitation. "Hm?" Lu Hong looked puzzled at his daughter: "You remember so clearly?" "He hasn''t been here in many days; he promised to teach me reasoning skills!" Lu Zhiwei huffed. "Then don''t disturb him. Beifei needs to prepare for the college entrance exams. He must be studying hard these few days, you know?" Lu Hong instructed. "I haven''t disturbed him for four days already; he clearly told me he''de in a couple of days." Lu Zhiwei muttered, depressed. "Alright, don''t mind it too much. Help me clean up the meal box, I still need to go interrogate some criminals." Lu Hong had no appetite and got up to leave. "He said he''de in a couple of days, it''s been four days already, not keeping his word..." Lu Zhiwei walked over to the meal box, about to clean it up, but then she noticed the green peas her dad had left. Thinking of Xiang Beifei, she sighed wistfully, then picked up the chopsticks and started fiddling with the green peas, muttering, "He wille today, he won''te today, he wille today, he won''te today..." Chapter 70: Chapter 70: Accompanying Test Xiang Beifei''s realm had reached the mid-stage of Qi-Controlling, and his Spiritual Power was sufficient to support him in continuing to practice and improve Rapid me. He hadn''t gone to thew enforcement team these days because he needed to elevate his realm; the Spiritual Power of the early stage of Qi-Controlling was too weak to help him improve Rapid me. But after stepping into the mid-stage of Qi-Controlling, his control over Spiritual Power became more proficient, and he was able to try different methods for Rapid me. By using Learn by Analogy, he could identify the shorings of Rapid me and perfect this ability. However, with the college entrance exam approaching, Xiang Beifei had temporarily suspended his cultivation and was mainly focusing on his studies. Both cultivation and study required his serious attention. As it concerned Xiang Beifei''s future, Xiang Qingde was even more nervous than Xiang Beifei these days. He had specially prepared a variety of recipes, cooking different meals for Xiang Beifei every day to supplement his nutrition. Xiang Beifei did not eat much, but Xiaohei was fed until he was round and plump. "Grandpa, there''s no need to go to such expense, simple meals are fine," Xiang Beifei said. "That won''t do, we save when we need to save, and spend when we should spend." Xiang Qingde brought over a rib soup, and today''s menu included rib soup, steamed carp, with potatoes and green vegetables for a bnced diet. In the past, they always had in meals, but Xiang Qingde worried that a sudden switch to rich meals could cause more harm than good. Therefore, he had gradually been improving their diet ever since Xiang Beifei''s Awakening System activated, which had been going on for more than a month. This was partly to ensure that Xiang Beifei could have a strong body toplete system tasks and partly to ensure that when Xiang Beifei was studying, his nutrition could keep up. "The college entrance exam is tomorrow, just do your best and don''t be too nervous. By the way, do you want me toe along to support you?" Xiang Qingde asked. After he spoke, he hurriedly added, "If mying makes you feel pressured, then I won''t go. I''ll wait for you at home." After all, the college entrance exam is a significant hurdle in life, and in this world, many parents would take leave to apany their children at the testing site. Apanying someone to an exam is useless; it''s purely for peace of mind. Xiang Beifei thought for a moment and said, "Grandpa, if youe, I''ll have more confidence." He knew his grandfather too well. Even if he said there was no need toe, his grandfather would certainly not be able to sit still at home. He would secretly go to the exam venue and anxiously await there. Only after seeing Xiang Beifei leave the examination hall would he rush back home and pretend he didn''t go, so as not to pressure Xiang Beifei. Instead of refusing, it was better to proactively suggest that his grandfather apany him, saying that it would give him confidence, and also make the old man feel more at ease. "Ah, alright, then I must go," said Xiang Qingde. Upon hearing what Xiang Beifei said, Xiang Qingde immediately became happy, the wrinkles on his face smoothing out. He had felt guilty for not being present when his grandson activated the Awakening System, so this time he was determined to apany his grandson for the college entrance exam no matter what. "I''ll help you pack your bag and check the tools and documents needed for tomorrow''s exam; you eat," Xiang Qingde said as he got up and went to Xiang Beifei''s room, and Xiang Beifei did not stop him. Xiang Qingde took his grandson''s college entrance exam very seriously. He counted the pens, prepared five of them, tested each to make sure they all worked, and then ced the exam ticket into the same pen case. But at that moment, he suddenly noticed an Introduction to Defense of Jiuzhou mock exam paper in the corner of the desk. Curious about Xiang Beifei''s performance and having never asked, he took it out and nced at it. 43 points! Xiang Qingde saw the score and was shocked: "Only 43 points?" The college entrance exam consisted of four subjects. Chinese, Mathematics, System Integrated, Introduction to Defense of Jiuzhou. System Integrated was the most critical subject because it incorporated many branches. It analyzed and summarized the system types that each individual awakened from different perspectives including physics, chemistry, geography, and Deste Beast Studies. It also introduced methods to identify and counter various systems, as well as how toplete system tasks more cleverly. The full score for System Integrated was 300 points! Yet Xiang Beifei had only scored 43 points? Xiang Qingde''s face turned pale in an instant! It''s over! It''s all over! Xiaofei''s grades were so poor? To earn a living, Xiang Qingde left the house before dawn every day and often didn''te back until 7 or 8 p.m. Whenever he asked how school was going, Xiang Beifei always said it was fine. But Xiang Qingde had never understood what this "fair" really meant; he only knew that his grandson was generally reliable and wouldn''t be too far off the mark. It wasn''t until today that he found out "fair" meant 43 points! He flipped through the other exam papers, and each one''s score was too dismal to look at¡ª89 points, 55 points... he even found a mock exam with a zero! He couldn''t find a single paper that scored over 100 points! Xiang Qingde panicked for a moment! "Xiaofei originally awakened only an N-level system, and now his grades are this bad..." Xiang Qingde started to get anxious; he felt he had failed miserably as a grandfather. He didn''t dare to hope that his grandson would get into elite universities like Liangzhou University or Qingzhou University, he just hoped for a spot in the mostmon university, even the lowest-ranked college would do. But with these grades, how could he possibly get into any college? ¡ª¡ª Xiang Qingde was so worried that he couldn''t sleep well all night. The 43-point paper haunted him, and he got up early the next day to make breakfast, feeling almost in despair. However, fearing the effect on Xiang Beifei''s college entrance exam today, he didn''t dare to ask directly. Outside the examination venue, the crowd was huge; many parents were taking this exam very seriously. Xiang Beifei took his grandfather to a shady spot outside the school to avoid the sun. Xiang Qingde was out of sorts, his mind preupied with the 43-point paper. With that score going into the exam, he was practically just making up the numbers. Xiang Beifei didn''t know that his grandfather had identally discovered the first exam paper he had taken upon arriving in this world. Thinking his granddad was just as concerned about the college entrance exam as all the other parents, he said: "Grandpa, keep a level head, and remember to not panic during the exam. Drink more water, as today''s weather is a bit hot, and don''t let the sun get to you. Grandpa doesn''t need to worry too much, stay in a good mood, and stay spirited." Xiang Beifei wasforting his grandfather. Seeing him so nervous that his shoces were untied, he squatted down to tie them He wasn''t flustered at all. But his grandpa was more flustered than him. Looking around anxiously, with sweat pouring down his back. The other parents looked at the grandfather and grandson with curiosity. Isn''t it odd, what the child is saying? Who is the one actually taking the college entrance exam? Why is it the childforting the parent to not get flustered? All around, every examinee was on edge, and parents were desperately cheering their kids on, reminding them of things to pay attention to for the exam, helping to organize stationery, clothing, and all sorts of things. But at Xiang Beifei''s, it was the other way around; he was instructing his elderly granddad. There was something off about this grandfather and grandson. "I''m not flustered, I''m not flustered, I''m very calm," Xiang Qingde wiped his sweat, took a few deep breaths trying to purge the image of that paper from his mind but failed. His palms were sweating nervously as he continually fiddled with his clothes. Xiang Beifei asked doubtfully, "Grandpa, were you this flustered when my dad took his college entrance exam?" Xiang Qingde, still upied with the thought of the 43 points, absentmindedly replied, "Oh, he was rmended." Xiang Beifei: "..." That hit home. Chapter 71: Chapter 71: Little Abacus Xiang Beifei had forgotten about it. His old man''s System Talent was incredibly strong. As an SR Awakener, whether he took the college entrance exam or not didn''t matter; all the universities vied for him. Xiang Qingde never needed to worry about his son''s affairs, but his grandson was different. "Sorry, sorry, I shouldn''t have talked about this with you," Xiang Qingde hurriedly said. "It''s okay, I can handle it; it''s my fault for speaking too much." Xiang Beifei said calmly. "Ha! There you are!" Lu Zhiwei suddenly stopped in front of Xiang Beifei, riding a cool motorbike with a whoosh. She wore a helmet and was dressed in a City Guardian uniform, with a boy sitting behind her on the motorbike. "Good day, Grandpa Xiang!" Lu Zhiwei greeted Xiang Qingde cheerfully. "Howe you''re here?" Xiang Beifei asked, puzzled. "The exam site needs City Guardians to maintain order, I just happened to be off sses today, so I came over. I also have to run errands for those dumbasses who forgot their admission tickets." As Lu Zhiwei spoke, she turned her head and said to the boy behind her, "No offense meant." "Thank you, big sister." The boy hurriedly got off the motorbike. "Big sister my foot! I''m only a year older than you! How much bigger could I be?" Lu Zhiwei huffily took off her helmet, flipped her hair, and then red at the boy. The boy''s face turned red, and he quickly ran away. "Every year there are candidates like this, forgetting their admission tickets, then seeking help from us Guardians. We Guardians have to dash through red lights and deliver them within ten minutes, otherwise it looks bad in the news. Then the parents hold our hands, crying with gratitude, and we have to gesture dismissively, saying on camera with a smile that it''s our duty... The same news every year during the college entrance exams." Lu Zhiwei spread her hands, tossed her helmet, and looked around, then said, "Eh? Why aren''t there any parents thanking me? Where are the reporters? Don''t I deserve their gratitude?" "I''ll thank you on their behalf then. Our city needs people like you," said Xiang Qingde, giving her a thumbs up from the side. "Thank you, Grandpa Xiang." Lu Zhiwei said happily, and then turned to Xiang Beifei, "Did you bring your admission ticket? Do you need me to y the hero and save the damsel in distress?" "I brought it." "Oh, what a pity." Xiang Beifei: "???" How badly do you wish I had forgotten my admission ticket? "Okay, good luck! Hurry to the exam room," Lu Zhiwei said with a cheerful smile. Xiang Beifei waved and walked towards the exam room. All the exam rooms had very powerful shielding measures. They were interference fields created by SR rank Awakeners, blocking all the examinees'' System abilities. Higher-ranked Systems could suppress lower-ranked ones. Since SRs are guaranteed admission and don''t participate in the college entrance exam, the highest System level at each exam site was only S rank. With SR suppression, these newly Awakened examinees could not rely on their own Systems to cheat and would obediently follow the rules. Beyond System suppression, the proctors in each exam room also kept a watchful eye on them. The proctor in the exam room where Xiang Beifei was, had an "S-rank Acute Observation System," capable of capturing any subtle movements. Xiang Beifei wasn''t concerned about these measures; he knew he had mastered the material well and needed to score high. ¡ª¡ª Outside the exam room, Xiang Qingde pulled Lu Zhiwei aside and quietly asked, "Xiao Wei, can I ask you something? What was Xiaofei studying with you guys a while back?" Lu Zhiwei replied, "He was learningbat skills with my dad, but he hasn''te by for a long time, that guy..." She huffed in dissatisfaction. "Xiao Wei, you''re an outstanding student from Liangzhou University, did you tutor him recently?" Xiang Qingde was still concerned about that paper. Tutor homework? Lu Zhiwei scratched her forehead awkwardly; these days, she had been wanting Xiang Beifei to teach her reasoning skills. In the past few days, she had reasoned through many cases, and the more she reasoned, the more confused she became. Her case-solving uracy rate had already dropped to 10%! "No," muttered Lu Zhiwei. "Then do you know if his recent grades have improved?" Xiang Qingde asked anxiously. Lu Zhiwei frowned and shook her head, "I don''t know about that; he was always careless, butst time he showed me his strong Reasoning Talent, I forgot to ask about his grades." Xiang Qingde was very worried and said, "This morning, when I was packing his school bag, I inadvertently saw hisprehensive subject mock exam paper from two months ago, he only scored 43 points, and I remember this subject is out of 300 points." Lu Zhiwei was stunned and said, "Ah? Did he score that poorly?" "Yes, I''m getting more and more uneasy; if the boy doesn''t even get into an ordinary college, what will we do?" Xiang Qingde wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked anxious. ¡ª¡ªDamn it! I forgot to use this to threaten him! The first thing that came to Lu Zhiwei''s mind was to use tutoring as a bargaining chip to exchange learning reasoning skills with Xiang Beifei. But she stillforted him, saying, "Don''t worry, Grandpa Xiang, it''s alright. He has a talent for solving cases, and even if he doesn''t get into university, um... he can still go guard the doors at thew enforcement team!" Lu Zhiwei felt relieved just thinking about Xiang Beifei being sent to guard doors, as payback for him standing her up all these days. But Xiang Qingde wasn''t going to be reassured. Of course, he hoped his grandson could achieve higher sess and not live at the bottom like he did. "Sigh, I just hope Xiaofei can perform exceptionally well and at least score 400 points!" Xiang Qingde fretted. "Grandpa Xiang, it''s useless to think too much now. If he doesn''t get into university, let him retake the year. I''ll tutor him next year," Lu Zhiwei schemed to herself. If Xiang Beifei screwed up his exams in the next few days, she could take the chance toe into y! First, she''d exaggerate Grandpa Xiang''s worries, making Xiang Beifei feel guilty to the point of being unable to face his grandfather; then, she would propose the deal. I''ll tutor your subjects, you teach me reasoning. Then we''ll see if you still stand me up! What a perfect n! She stood with hands on hips. ¡ª¡ª The college entrance examsted two days, covering four subjects. Chinese and Mathematics were the basics. Theprehensive subject was key; studying it well could lead to a better understanding of the system world. Introduction to Defense of Jiuzhou mainly covered the primal topography of Jiuzhou and its developmental history, including knowledge about the wilderness and other topics. Xiang Qingde worried about Xiang Beifei for two days, and Lu Zhiwei was busy with her own little schemes as well. Xiang Beifei had no idea what these two were thinking. after each exam, he felt their gazes were odd, especially Lu Zhiwei with her I''ve-got-you-eating-out-of-my-hand look; he didn''t know what was on her mind. He didn''t pay attention to them and just took the exams seriously. After thest exam in theprehensive subject ended, students rushed out of the exam room, some joyful, some upset. He blended into the noisy crowd and casually walked out of the school gate. "Next, it''s time to start earning tuition fees," Xiang Beifei stretchedzily. "Next, it''s time to prepare to knock him down a peg," Lu Zhiwei rubbed her hands together gleefully. "Next, it''s time to look into retaking the year," Xiang Qingde sighed with concern. Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Tutorial Class The end of the national university entrance exam meant that Xiang Beifei no longer had to go to school, which was a liberation for him. In high school, he only had to learn cultural lessons, which were not difficult and he had mastered them, yet he still had to go to school every day, truly a waste of time. His mastery of Rapid me had made significant progress, and when he threw a punch, it was no longer limited to sparks, but he could actually produce mes. Although the power of the mes was far from as strong as those disyed by Lu Hong, Xiang Beifei was able to create a violent gust out of the mes with special finesse, making it both offensive and defensive. On the same level, he would definitely not be at a disadvantage. Combined with the abilities "Abruptly Stop" and "breath soil," he would not be outmatched even against those in theter stages of Qi-Controlling. Lu Zhiwei called and wanted toe to see him, but he dismissed her, telling her there was plenty of time during the summer vacation and they could talk after the results were out. For some reason, Lu Zhiwei unprecedentedly agreed and didn''t bother him. Xiang Beifei felt that her tone over the phone was a bit strange, as if she was somewhat pleased with herself, though he had no idea what she was pleased about, but Xiang Beifei didn''t take it to heart. In this world with system abilities to assist, marking the national university entrance exam was very quick, and results could be released in about three days. So he cultivated diligently at home for three days. However, during these three days, Xiang Qingde was extremely worried. Because Xiang Beifei had locked himself in his room, he only came out to eat all day long! "This child, he must be upset about not doing well on the exam and has locked himself in his room. Ai! I really am not apetent grandfather!" Xiang Qingde was very self-critical. He had never paid attention to Xiang Beifei''s grades in the past and only realized before the exam that Xiang Beifei''s grades were as bad as a garbage truck''s, with no hope for university. But every time Xiang Beifei came out to eat, he acted as if nothing had happened and could still chat andugh with him, which made Xiang Qingde feel even worse! This child, he must be pretending to be like this so that I won''t worry. He''s too considerate! I''m so ipetent! Xiang Qingde med himself for three days. He wanted tofort his grandson, but he feared that saying too much would make him feel worse. After much thought, he decided to wait until the results were released to talk. These few days, Xiang Beifei hadn''t mentioned anything about the national university entrance exam, so he didn''t bring it up either. But the results wereing out this afternoon. He couldn''t pretend anymore. Xiang Qingde didn''t go to sell vegetables today. He was worried that once the results were out, Xiang Beifei''s mood might worsen, and it would be bad if he did something impulsive. No matter what, even if it was an anticipated bad oue, he wanted to face it with his grandson and help him get through this difficult time! Then he''d need to find an opportunity to inquire about repeating a year. At mealtime, Xiang Beifei noticed that his grandfather seemed out of sorts and asked in surprise, "Grandpa, is something wrong?" Xiang Qingde, afraid of being too direct and hurting his grandson''s feelings, carefully chose his words and asked tentatively, "Xiaofei, do you have any ns for the summer vacation?" After thinking, Xiang Beifei, who hadn''t figured out the tuition of one hundred thousand for Liangzhou University, said, "I''ll work to earn money." Xiang Qingde was shocked! What? Was this the decision his grandson made after locking himself in his room for three days? Did he acknowledge that there was no hope for university and wasn''t even considering repeating the year but instead nning to find a job and just get by? How could he quit school right after high school graduation? Xiang Qingde quickly said, "The results aren''t out yet, no need to rush. By the way, Xiao Wei mentioned it to me the other day, have you thought about private tutoring sses? You two are pretty familiar with each other, you could discuss private sses and make up lessons during the holidays." "Private tutoring sses?" Why suddenly bring this up? Xiang Beifei didn''t quite understand why Lu Zhiwei would discuss this matter with his grandfather. He was about to go to university, so the lessons certainly weren''t for him, which meant they must be for her to catch up? That girl''s deductive abilities indeed needed some work. Xiang Qingde said, "Xiaofei, Lu Yatou is a talented student at the Martial Arts College of Liangzhou University. I asked around,st year she scored 621 points without any bonus to enter the Martial Arts College, her academic performance is quite good." Xiang Qingde nned to hint indirectly, to let Xiang Beifei understand that Lu Yatou was capable of tutoring his coursework. "621 points?" Xiang Beifei was somewhat surprised by the results. I didn''t see that the girl scored so high on the college entrance exam! Xiang Beifei always felt that this girl was carefree, ready to throw a punch at any moment, but he hadn''t expected her academic scores to be so impressive. The admission score for S-level candidates at Martial Arts College of Liangzhou University is 550 points, with an additional 50 points for S-level, so the minimum requirement for S-level Awakeners is just 500 points. But she scored 621 points, which is 671 points with the extra credit. Then why is her reasoning ability so terrible? "She has good scores, then what?" Xiang Beifei asked. Xiang Qingde continued to persuade, "Xiao Wei usually does part-time jobs to save money. Last summer, after the college entrance exam, she started a private tutoring ss, helping four kids from rtives and friend''s families with their studies, and their grades improved significantly. She told me that she''s nning to start another tutoring ss this year." Xiang Beifei pondered. She''s going to start a tutoring ss? Is she nning to expand or what? That means she needs teachers, right? Does this girl think I''m good at reasoning, quick-witted, and realizing that my academic performance must be good, so she wants to rope me in to help those high school juniors improve their scores, while also making some extra money on the side? But that can''t be right, doesn''t Lu Zhiwei like to catch criminals? Or maybe¡ª She''s nning to set up a "Reasoning Skills Improvement ss" at thew enforcement squad, and she wants me to be the teacher? And when I agree, I''ll find a bunch ofw enforcement officers sitting in the ss? It''s like putting up a sheep''s head and selling dog meat. Haha, she''s quite scheming. Xiang Beifei said, "Grandpa, I''m not interested in tutoring sses." "You''re not interested in tutoring sses?" Xiang Qingde became anxious! Is Xiaofei determined not to retake the exam? No way! No way! He had finally negotiated with Lu Zhiwei, and she had agreed to help Xiaofei with his studies! He needed to persuade the child! Xiang Qingde said eagerly, "Actually, Xiao Wei has good intentions. She''s going to work at thew enforcement squad in the future, and I would feel more at ease if you work with her. Grandpa and she have discussed it, and she is quite understanding. Would you reconsider it?" Xiang Beifei saw the anxious look on his grandpa''s face and vaguely understood. Lu Zhiwei probably said something to grandpa, perhaps making some promises, like ensuring his job security in the future? This girl knew he would probably refuse, but since he usually took care of grandpa''s feelings, she knew how to start from that angle! She''s even deployed grandpa to persuade him. What a sly move! Xiang Beifei indeed didn''t want to refuse grandpa directly. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Alright, I''ll discuss it with her! If possible, the tutoring ss won''t be a big issue." Tutoring sses are quite profitable nowadays! There are a bunch of tutoring organizations out there, and the teachers'' awakening systems are amazing, like the "R-level Home Tutoring System" that helps others improve their grades while earning system points, and the "R-level Love Studying System" which makes a child love learning and allows you to earn a substantial amount of system ie. The industry is booming. Tutoring Lu Zhiwei and making some money wouldn''t be too bad. "Alright, you discuss it with Xiao Wei, and I''ll help you solve the other issues," Xiang Qingde said, his heart finally easing as he heard Xiang Beifei agree to let Lu Zhiwei tutor him. It seems Xiaofei is thinking about retaking the exam. At least he managed to keep Xiaofei from thinking about getting a job and earning money for now. As long as Lu Yatou can persuade Xiaofei to retake the year, with her tutoring, Xiaofei should be able to improve his grades next year and not just score 43 points. Now he just had to wait for the results in the afternoon before bringing up the issue of retaking the exam. Chapter 73: Chapter 73: Friendship Price ``` "Where can I check the results?" Xiang Qingde asked, pretending to be casual. "At the school," Xiang Beifei replied. In the world of the system, results are not private. Everyone has a system, and the ranking of results is sometimes rted to many people''s system tasks, so schools publish everyone''s ranking. Part of the reason is to consider the teachers; after all, their teaching isrgely dependent on their students'' results to gain system points¡ªadmission rates, the number of high-scoring students... these all determine many teachers'' system tasks. Another part is to consider the students, such as who has surpassed whom in results toplete a system task. Many learning-rted systems issue such tasks. Due to level suppression within the system, if the results are not made public, there are many restrictions¡ªlike N-level and R-level systems unable to judge if they have exceeded an S-level host''s results, making it impossible to confirm taskpletion. Therefore, to amodate the Awakeners with N-level and R-level systems, it''s necessary to publish the rankings for confirmation. "Then this afternoon, shall I apany you to the school?" Xiang Qingde asked. "Okay." Xiang Beifei had no objections. After eating, they headed to the school. In the middle of the day, the school was still filled with anxious parents and students, many of whom hade early to wait for the results to be announced. There was a honor roll at the school gate, with results directly transmitted from the Alliance Education Bureau to the honor rolls at each school. The ranking within the school, within each respective Liangzhou, as well as the overall Jiuzhou ranking, were all clearly disyed on the honor roll. The results had not yet been released, and the grandfather-grandson pair waited under the shade of a tree. As for his own results, Xiang Beifei had a good idea, but it was different for Xiang Qingde. As a grandparent, he was restless, worried about poor results affecting Xiang Beifei, and he was already thinking about how tofort his grandson. "Xiaofei, no matter how well or poorly you did, Grandpa will always be with you, so don''t be nervous," Xiang Qingde reassured him. Nervous? Xiang Beifei smiled wryly to himself. Just like on the day of the college entrance exams, the nervous one was not him. "I understand," Xiang Beifei said. Xiang Qingde looked around among the crowd and noticed both the teachers and the school leaders waiting; he immediately spotted Principal Li Nanxing. Decades ago, when his own son awakened to an SR-level talent, causing a sensation throughout the school, he had met Principal Li Nanxing once and recognized him. Thinking about how he, as a grandparent busy making a living, had never interacted with his grandson''s teachers, he felt a wave of guilt. He wondered if the principal still remembered him. "Never mind that, Xiaofei''s grades are so poor, and he just agreed to attend tutoring sses. Even if the principal doesn''t remember me, I must still go and entreat them," he resolved. Xiang Qingde was willing to set aside any concerns about face for the sake of his grandson''s future. This matter could not be dyed. Currently, everyone was waiting for the results and no parent was approaching the principal about retaking a year. Once the results came out, whether it was the teachers or the principal, they would likely be too busy, and finding a spot in repeat sses would be much harder. He stood up, wiped off his sweat, and said to Xiang Beifei, "Xiaofei, Grandpa needs to step away for a moment, wait here for me." Xiang Beifei nodded; he did not know what his grandfather was actually up to. Taking advantage of the lull, he continued practicing his control of "Abruptly Stop" under the tree. But at this moment, Lu Zhiwei appeared out of nowhere. "I''ve kept my promise and didn''t bother you these past few days, but I''m here for the results announcement!" she dered. Lu Zhiwei walked towards him with her hands behind her back, looking quite smug. "Don''t you have sses to attend?" Xiang Beifei asked, seeing the ever-surprising Lu Zhiwei. "University life is more rxed; we don''t have sses every day. Jealous, aren''t you?" Lu Zhiwei teased. That day, after learning about Xiang Beifei''s poor academic performance from Grandpa Xiang, with only 43 points inprehensive subjects, she was overjoyed! ``` I scored a whopping 621 pointsst year and got into Liangzhou University without any extra help, making me a top student. It''s clear that Xiang Beifei is a poor student, so now I have the confidence to discuss studying and reasoning with him. In order to deal with this tutoring ss, she forced herself to refrain from looking for Xiang Beifei for another three days. "Are you in a bad mood right now?" Lu Zhiwei inquired. Xiang Beifei replied, "I''m okay." Forcing a smile! Pretending to be fat when pped in the face! Let''s see how long you can keep this act up! Lu Zhiwei triumphantly said, "Alright, Grandpa Xiang told me everything. I never expected this, never expected that even you have a weakness, huh." Weakness? Knowing that I usually wouldn''t refuse Grandpa''s requests, so you''re using Grandpa to pressure me? Xiang Beifei couldn''t be bothered to say much more. "Did Grandpa Xiang tell you everything?" Lu Zhiwei sat down beside Xiang Beifei, making herself at home and feeling very pleased. "What if he did?" Xiang Beifei asked. "Okay! Let''s cut to the chase. Grandpa Xiang cares about you, otherwise, why would hee to me to discuss this? The old man values nothing more than his grandson''s future, right?" Lu Zhiwei said. "What are you trying to say?" Xiang Beifei asked. "I know you are a filial child who definitely doesn''t want to disappoint your grandfather. How are you considering the private tutoring ss issue?" Lu Zhiwei said with a grin. Xiang Beifei thought it over; now truly, running a tutoring ss could be quite profitable, but he didn''t know how to set a fair tuition fee. How much should he charge per student? Being so poor he could hear the wind whistling through his pockets, he wouldn''t do anything that didn''t bring in money. He asked, "Since you''ve put it this way, what do you think would be an appropriate price for the tuition?" ¡ª¡ªHa! It looks like he agrees to let me tutor him! Even asking me how much to charge for one lesson! Read today on m,v,l,e,mpyr Lu Zhiwei, who grew up with a golden key in her mouth, didn''tck money; she couldpletely afford to tutor Xiang Beifei for free as long as he agreed. However, after thinking for a bit, she tentatively said, "One hundred per hour?" She knew Xiang Beifei''s family wasn''t well off, so it wasn''t really necessary to charge him, but she still had to go through the motions. At least, it would make Xiang Beifei value the lessons if they pinched his wallet a bit, and he''d be serious about studying. As for the tuition fees, she could just take the money from Xiang Beifei and then quietly give it back to Grandpa Xiang. After tutoring him a few times, she would have the justification to ask him to teach her reasoning skills! At that time, with Xiang Beifei owing her a favor, he wouldn''t be able to refuse! A perfect n. "One hundred per hour?" Xiang Beifei pondered. So stingy! Nowadays, standard rates at tutoring institutions are three to four hundred per hour! To tutor her for one hour and only charge one hundred? Forget it, for the sake of Uncle Lu, I''ll ept one hundred as a token amount, a friendship price. But with such a fee, when would it be possible to gather the one hundred thousand tuition fee? Should I find a chance to raise the price next time? Definitely, otherwise, it''s a huge loss! Chapter 74: Chapter 74: The Matter of Repeating Classes As the principal of Luhe High School, Principal Li was naturally expected to observe the moment when the high school examination results were announced. If the students from his own school scored well, his prestige value would also increase, which was very important to him. Principal Li was talking with others; today, not only school teachers but also various parents hade, some of whom were well-known in society. He had to be polite in chatting with them. Xiang Qingde was somewhat anxious, as there were many people talking to Principal Li, most of whom were social elites; he couldn''t make his way through. Those who could speak with the principal were elites from various industries, both in status and realm far surpassing Xiang Qingde; no one noticed him, a inly dressed old man. However, Principal Li did notice Xiang Qingde; he found the man somewhat familiar and soon remembered ¡ª he was Xiang Tianxing''s father, Xiang Beifei''s grandfather! Thinking of Xiang Beifei, Principal Li pondered for a moment, then took the initiative to walk over to him, making way through the crowd, "Don''t crowd, there''s an old gentleman behind; don''t bump into him." "Principal Li!" Xiang Qingde finally sighed in relief and squeezed his way to Principal Li''s side. "I recognize you, you are Xiang Beifei''s grandfather?" Principal Li said with a smile. "Yes, yes," Xiang Qingde hurriedly replied, "Principal Li, I have something to discuss with you." Thinking of Xiang Beifei, Principal Li said, "Alright,e with me." He greeted the other parents before moving to a quiet spot with Xiang Qingde. "Mr. Xiang, long time no see!" Principal Li said with a smile. Xiang Qingde wiped his sweat, saying helplessly, "I didn''t expect Principal Li to still remember me." "Of course, your son is a genius, one of the few SRs in our school, how could I forget him?" Principal Li eximed. An SR student, who had be sessful, brought him many system values. Hearing Principal Li mention his son, Xiang Qingde''s expression dimmed slightly. Realizing this, Principal Li said apologetically, "My condolences." Xiang Qingde gave a bitter smile and said, "It''s all right. I came to see you today for my grandson." "Xiang Beifei, right? I haven''t asked him yet, how did he perform this time?" Principal Li inquired. Xiang Qingde sighed, "After the college entrance examination, he locked himself in his room for three days, didn''t go out to interact with ssmates. Ah, I have a rough idea of how he performed." Principal Li immediately understood. The kid must have flunked the exam! And not just slightly! How desperate must the kid have been to lock himself in his room for three days? Principal Li could almost feel Xiang Beifei''s overwhelming distress in the room. Enjoy stories on m_v lemp-yr Being an N-level Awakener with usually poor academic performance, and his first system task being to get into Liangzhou University, was akin to climbing to heaven! Any person would likely be devastated by such a blow. He wondered why fate had to y such a cruel joke on this kid! Principal Li couldn''t help but sigh. "You really need to give him good guidance! Young people are impulsive, and if the pressure bes too much, it''d be terrible if he does something drastic," Principal Li said earnestly. Xiang Qingde also expressed his concerns, saying, "Yes, but he tends to keep things to himself. At every meal, to avoid worrying me, he pretends as if everything is normal, and it truly distresses me to see him like that." He would prefer Xiang Beifei to cry his heart out in front of him. Let the tears flow out with all his might! At least that way, he could vent his emotions. But Xiang Beifei is too sensible! He just doesn''t want to worry me, preferring to cry alone in his room, swallowing his tears. "Sometimes, being sensible can be heartbreaking!" Xiang Qingde''s guilt deepened a bit more. "The results aren''t out yet, so you don''t need to be anxious. Learning isn''t achieved overnight. First, let''s see if he has improved this time, how far he is from the average university admission score, and then help him strengthen where he''s weak. I talked to him a while ago; he wasn''t in a good state. His chances of getting into a university this year are indeed slim, but as long as he''s willing to try hard, there''s still a chance next year,"forted Li Nanxing. Xiang Qingde responded, "Right, right, that makes sense. However, I''ve already found him a tutor and am nning to have him retake the year. That''s why I came to see you, Principal Li. Could you please help look after him in the repeat ss?" Li Nanxing nodded, "The matter of repeating a year isn''t a big issue. However, I suggest that you talk to his homeroom teacher, Professor Yang. Professor Yang leads a repeat ss, and since Xiang Beifei is his student, it would be better to consult him." Li Nanxing looked around in the crowd and pointed out to Xiang Qingde which one was Yang Hua. "Thank you, Principal Li, I will go and ask him now." After expressing his gratitude, Xiang Qingde quickly went to find Yang Hua. Li Nanxing watched Xiang Qingde''s receding figure and sighed softly, "It''s quite normal for this kid to not get into university this year, but I hope he can get back on his feet!" ¡ª¡ª Yang Hua had been anxiously waiting for the results toe out, as they would determine whether his teaching prestige value could surge once more. The ss leader, Zhuo Jing, stood by his side, looking smug. "Teacher, don''t worry. With my capability, getting into one of the top nine elite universities is easy," boasted Zhuo Jing, puffing out his chest. Yang Hua smiled and said, "Of course I believe you. You''re so outstanding that as long as you perform normally, getting into Liangzhou University is no big deal." His greatest hope at the moment was pinned on Zhuo Jing, an S-ss Awakener! Just then, Xiang Qingde approached and hastily said, "Professor Yang, I''m Xiang Beifei''s grandfather, and I''d like to discuss something with you." Xiang Beifei? The one at the bottom of the ss? Yang Hua appeared slightly displeased and frowned, asking, "What is it?" Xiang Qingde earnestly said, "Well... Xiang Beifei didn''t perform very well this time. Although the results aren''t out yet, I know he might need to repeat the year. I heard you usually lead a repeat ss, and I was wondering, since you''re Xiang Beifei''s teacher, if he wants to repeat the year¡ª" As soon as Yang Hua heard that Xiang Qingde was here to discuss Xiang Beifei''s retaking the year, his expression darkened, saying, "Mr. Xiang, although I do teach a repeat ss every year, I''ll be frank with you. A student like Xiang Beifei cannot keep up with the pace of my ss, and I won''t ept him." Xiang Qingde was startled and quickly said, "Professor Yang, I haven''t managed him well before and I apologize for the trouble it caused. But he will realize his mistakes. I''m nning to hire a home tutor to help him catch up, and he has agreed. Could you give him another chance, please?" Xiang Qingde, desperate to find a ce for his grandson to retake the year, could only bow slightly, his attitude very humble. Lu Zhiwei had already agreed to tutor Xiang Beifei, and this time, he must ensure Xiang Beifei studies hard to strive for admission to an average university next year. As a grandfather, he must find a repeat ss for his grandson, even if it means having to beg humbly to secure a spot. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 75: Chapter 75: Results However, Yang Hua snorted coldly, his attitude very indifferent. Truthfully, Xiang Beifei usually followed the rules in ss, except for the time he had taken leave for a mock exam, he was quite normal at other times. But the problem was that Xiang Beifei''s grades were really bad! Yang Hua normally taught two sses, a repeat ss and a graduating ss, which were separate because the repeat ss students had awakened systems and needed to do system tasks besides studying. Yang Hua''s repeat ss only enrolled students with potential, such as those who wanted to get into a good university but were just a few points short and had an R-level system status. If such students repeated a year and then entered a good university, they could definitely bring him a huge wave of teacher''s prestige value! But what use was there in repeating the year for a student like Xiang Beifei? What could he bring to him? Other than being an eyesore and earning a few insignificant points of teacher''s prestige value by nagging two or three sentences a day, what good was it? Those system valuesbined were nothingpared to what one student from his repeat ss could bring by getting into a university! Yang Hua coldly raised his head, looking sidelong at Xiang Qingde, and said, "Mr. Xiang, as the ss teacher, I can kindly remind you that Xiang Beifei is not cut out for studying! Hiring a tutor for him is just wasting money. To put it harshly, his system talents are poor, his academic performance is poor, and his chances of getting into a university are almost zero! It would be best to find him a job early on." Xiang Qingde felt very ufortable with Yang Hua''s words. His own grandson, how could he be that bad! The child was very sensible and nice to others, so what if his studies were a bit behind? Doesn''t he deserve a chance to start over? Did he have to be so harsh? Xiang Qingde clenched his fists, feeling very ufortable. Just now, when he went to see Principal Li Nanxing, the principal had a very good attitude. Howe it turned to such an evaluation when it came to Yang Hua? But he still pleaded, "Professor Yang, actually my grandson Xiang Beifei is a very aspiring child. Please give him a chance!" Find your next read at m-vl-em-pyr Yang Hua said impatiently, "My ss isn''t for just anyone." He pulled over the S-ss Awakener Zhuo Jing, who was next to him, and pointed at Zhuo Jing, saying, "This is S-ss Awakener Zhuo Jing. You ask him, what kind of students does my repeat ss usually recruit?" Zhuo Jing stood proudly and looked at Xiang Qingde, sneering disdainfully, "Professor Yang''s students are bound for greatness, but a student like Xiang Beifei only tarnishes our teacher''s reputation. Honestly, Professor Yang is embarrassed to tell others that he is Xiang Beifei''s teacher. As Xiang Beifei''s guardian, you know better than anyone else the weight of your own child. Why bother embarrassing yourself?" Xiang Qingde''s face turned a mixture of blue, red, and white. "Oh, is that so?" Xiang Beifei''s voice sounded from behind them. "Xiaofei." Xiang Qingde turned around and saw his grandson, then nced at S-ss Zhuo Jing and Yang Hua, worried they had said something that deeply hurt his grandson''s self-esteem, and quickly grabbed Xiang Beifei''s arm, saying, "Let''s go over there." But Xiang Beifei didn''t move, just frowned as he stared at Zhuo Jing. Kong Xiuwen also stood beside him, having just passed by and seen the situation, he quickly went to get Xiang Beifei. Zhuo Jing also looked back at him defiantly. "Since you''ve heard it, I won''t keep it any longer. Your grandfather wanted you to repeat the year in Professor Yang''s ss, but with your grades like that, Professor Yang wouldn''t ept you. If you had any self-awareness, you would understand this," said Zhuo Jing. "Repeat the year?" Xiang Beifei looked puzzled at his grandfather. "Grandpa, the results aren''t out yet. Why should I repeat the year?" Xiang Qingde sighed, feeling uneasy, "It''s not... I just... just..." He didn''t know how to exin to Xiaofei without saying he didn''t trust his grades, which would make Xiaofei feel even worse. Xiang Qingde stammered, thinking of a good excuse. Zhuo Jing spoke sarcastically, "Oh, you''re still waiting for the results? What, do you expect your grades to soar? Everybody here knows what you can score." Xiuwen angrily spoke, "Can you stop looking down on others, please!" Zhuo Jing didn''t n to sh with Kong Xiuwen. After all, Xiuwen was also an S-rank, his system level just as high, and there was a possibility that his scores could improve rapidly. He could only target N-rank Beifei instead. "I would like to respect him, but I don''t even know if he''s capable," Zhuo Jing said. Beifei nodded thoughtfully. Then, he looked at Zhuo Jing''s S-rank Appreciation System interface: [Current Task: Harvest any 5000 appreciations] [Task Progress: 3629/5000] [Task Reward: Attack Technique¡ªPiercing Strike (can be leveled up)] [Optional Side Task: Score 550 in the college entrance exam, harvest 2000 appreciations] [Task Reward: Double Appreciation Card (can double current appreciation value, only usable during early Qi-Controlling stage)] [Rmended Exchange: Gathering Qi Form (Intermediate)] ¡­ Beifei shrugged his shoulders. He then nced at Yang Hua''s system interface: [Task Objective: Reach 15000 prestige value as a teacher to exchange for a Qi and Blood Pill] [Current Progress: 13499/40000] [Note: Qi and Blood Pill, can temporarily enhance one''s strength tobat someone surpassing one''s own minor realm] ¡­ Professor Yang, you haven''t gotten that Qi and Blood Pill yet? Beifei pondered, maybe he wouldplete the task today. Beifei didn''t retort, but Zhuo Jing''s words had angered Lu Zhiwei, who was beside him. "How can you talk like that? How can youpletelyck manners? So what if you''re S-rank? Does it give you the right to be so arrogant?" Lu Zhiwei also clenched her fist and red fiercely at Zhuo Jing. She was an S-rank Awakener as well but had never looked down on anyone like this. Zhuo Jing shrank back slightly under her re. "Let''s go, we''ll ask the principalter." Xiang Qingde didn''t want to cause trouble, his grandson still needed to repeat a year at this school, and he couldn''t afford to make impulsive decisions that could result in retaliationter. "Alright!" Beifei remained very calm. Just then, someone eximed, "The results are out!" Whoosh! The crowd immediately boiled with excitement as everyone turned their attention to the honor board. This was determining the future of the college entrance examination candidates present! Whether it was parents, teachers, students, school leaders, or media journalists from various fields who hade to report, everyone was waiting for this year''s college entrance examination results from Luhe High School. The results didn''te out all at once but emerged ording to the examination numbers one by one. Everyone''s examination number was scrambled; sometimes the next number belonged to a different school, thus causing a dy. Chapter 76: Chapter 76: Takeoff "The first person''s results are out!" Everyone looked towards the honor roll, and those who couldn''t see it turned to therge screen temporarily set up by the school. [Wu Qi, Level N, Chinese 110, Math 124, Comprehensive 209, Introduction to Defense of Jiuzhou 108, Total 551] For a Level N student, this score, even if not good enough for one of the nine elite universities, was still good enough for a reputable standard university ¨C quite amendable achievement. The student named Wu Qi was also very excited. Although he was at Level N, his score was not bad, and he could pick and choose from universities other than the nine elite ones. [Liu Ke, Level R, Chinese 90, Math 104, Comprehensive 201, Introduction to Defense of Jiuzhou 111, Total 506] Even as a Level R, his scores weren''t better than the Level N Wu Qi''s. ... Soon, a string of names popped up one after another, and everyone craned their necks eagerly, watching for their own results with hope. At this moment, Zhuo Jing''s results also came out! [Zhuo Jing, Level S, Chinese 112, Math 113, Comprehensive 241, Introduction to Defense of Jiuzhou 115, Total 581] Zhuo Jing was ecstatic! As a Level S Awakener, adding 50 points to this score made it 631 points! Getting into any one of the nine elite universities was now a sure thing! "Great! I knew I wasn''t wrong about you, Zhuo Jing!" Yang Hua was even more excited than Zhuo Jing! [Your student Zhuo''s college entrance exam score is 631 points, your teacher prestige value +631] [Current teacher prestige value: 14130/40000] This was what Yang Hua wanted! Why did he value college entrance exam scores so much? Because his system was crystal clear about it during the annual release of exam results! For each student''s score, that was how many teacher prestige points he would gain! This was much more substantial than scolding students on a normal day! There were fifty-two students in his ss, and if every student averaged 500 points, that would add 26,000 points to his total! So he wished they would score as many points as possible! And then there were students like Xiang Beifei, who scored a mere two or three hundred ¨C it was simply intolerable. If they were to repeat the year, the system points for the next year would be halved, scoring 200 meant adding only 100, and there were limited spots for repeat students, so he would rather reserve these spots for those who could score high, rather than for someone like Xiang Beifei! "The ss leader is too impressive!" "Oh my God! The ss leader''s raw score is 581! I''ve hit the jackpot! What an auspicious number!" "Jackpot! Hooray, take off!" "Take off! Take off! Congrattions to our ss leader!" Countless praises chorused, ringing endlessly in his ears. Zhuo Jing was filled with pride! He looked at his system interface, where the numbers were rapidly increasing¡ª [You have received praise from Yang Hua, appreciation value +2] [You have received praise from Liu Honghong, appreciation value +2] [You have received praise from Xiang Beifei, appreciation value +2] [You have received praise from Wu Qi, appreciation value +2] ... "Take off! Take off! Fly me beyond the highest heavens!" Zhuo Jing wasughing heartily inside. Completing the system task was just too easy! With so many people around today, and his name and scores being publicly announced, everyone would surely recognize Zhuo Jing. He was bound to gain a few thousand appreciation points at the very least! This was why scores had to be publicly revealed. Many students'' systems likely required them to use their scores toplete tasks, and Zhuo Jing was undoubtedly one of them. At this moment, Zhuo Jing stood tall and proud, contentedly epting everyone''s praises. There were just too many people praising and envying him. The numbers on the system were jumping rapidly, which was dizzying to watch. He hadn''t even noticed that among the rising numbers on his system was a familiar name. Xiang Beifei silently gave him a thumbs up. "Now you know where the gap between us lies, right?" Zhuo Jing nced at Xiang Beifei with a very smug expression, then turned to Xiang Qingde and said, "Students taught by Teacher Yang Hua all need to be like me; you should weigh yourselves ordingly." Kong Xiuwen couldn''t stand it but was unable to refute, grumbling, "Damn, his score is so high." He then nced at Xiang Beifei and asked quietly, "How about it? Are you confident or not?" Xiang Beifei just smiled and didn''t say much. Meanwhile, Xiang Qingde was also extremely surprised to see Zhuo Jing''s score. 581 points! This kid''s academic performance is actually so high? In the system world, scoring above 550 points is quite an aplishment because it''s the minimum admission threshold for the nine elite universities, let alone the fact that 581 points were the raw score, which amounted to 631 with bonuses! He couldn''t help but take a nce at his grandson and sighed internally. The gap is too wide! s! I wonder if he will be affected. "Xiaofei, let''s not get discouraged." Xiang Qingde patted Xiang Beifei''s shoulder andforted him. "Grandpa, my score hasn''te out yet," Xiang Beifei said. "Then let''s go over there and wait." Xiang Qingde was worried that waiting here, with Zhuo Jing''s score setting such a starkparison, might let his grandson feel wronged, so he quickly pulled Xiang Beifei to the side. "Okay." Xiang Beifei didn''t say much more. However, Lu Zhiwei was unhappy, humming and grumbling, "Aren''t you going to say something?" "He did pretty well on the test," Xiang Beifei said. Lu Zhiwei rolled her eyes, "I''m not talking about that! It''s his arrogant demeanor that''s really annoying!" After a pause, she put her hands on her hips and said, "You need to reflect on yourself. Grandpa Xiang is getting on in years, and he still has to work hard for you. I can''t stand to watch this!" Xiang Beifei shrugged his shoulders. "He''ll work hard, Xiao Wei, don''t pressure him," Xiang Qingde quickly gave Lu Zhiwei a look, signaling her to say less. "I just can''t stand it! He''s always like this, appearing glum and neverpeting with others. It''s too easy for him to be at a disadvantage!" Lu Zhiwei thought back to the previous encounter with Qin Yi at thew enforcement team, where Xiang Beifei hadn''t bothered topete with Qin Yi. Xiang Beifei could endure, but she could not. ¡ª¡ª "Yes, this is a student I taught! Zhuo Jing, our ss rep, S-grade! Highly talented and very hardworking! He''s my masterpiece!" Yang Hua was speaking to all parents. His teacher''s prestige value could also be obtained from the parents, and now he had to seize this opportunity to market his image as a teacher who had done well in coaching. He also nced over at Xiang Qingde''s direction, purposefully letting Xiang Qingde know that he only valued students with good grades. "Sigh." Xiang Qingde sighed and sat on the edge of the flower bed. How could he not perceive the implied meaning in Yang Hua''s words? Other parents were eagerly looking forward to their children''s good performance, yet he was afraid to see his own grandson''s results. If the score was too bad and it struck his grandson down, what should he do! Xiang Qingde''s mind buzzed with consoling words to prepare, in case the results were too dismal, he would have to face them with his grandson! At that moment, there was a sudden exmation from the crowd! "Is this Xiang Beifei''s score?" Xiang Qingde heard someone in the crowd calling his grandson''s name, and his heart clenched tight! What was inevitable still had arrived. Chapter 77: Chapter 77: Focus Xiang Qingde was extremely nervous. The scores of Xiang Beifei must be terribly bad, or else they wouldn''t have provoked so much discussion among the people. He held onto Xiang Beifei''s hand tightly. At this moment, what his grandson needed the most must be a pair of encouraging andforting hands! He wanted to let Xiaofei know that, even if his grades were poor, he would still be by his side. Xiang Qingde lowered his head, not even daring to look at the scores disyed on the screen. However, the venue suddenly fell silent, everyone staring at the big screen in disbelief at the score disyed. Zhuo Jing, who was originally smug and ready to mock Xiang Beifei, froze the moment he saw the score. Even Yang Hua stood rooted to the spot, frozen like ice, as his mouth hung open in shock! [Xiang Beifei, Level N, Chinese 142, Mathematics 149, System Integrative 300, Introduction to Defense of Jiuzhou 141, Total Score 732] 732! The mostplicated "System Integrative subject" turned out to be a perfect score of 300! Everyone had looks of shock on their faces! They had almost never heard of anyone achieving a perfect score in "System Integrative"! "This is impossible!" muttered Zhuo Jing to himself. Just moments ago, he had been unting his score of 631 in front of Xiang Beifei, wanting to show the difference between an S-level genius like himself and someone at the N-level! However, he now realized that his raw score was more than a hundred points lower than Xiang Beifei''s! Even with his S-level talent adding 50 points, he had only 631! That''s 101 points less than Xiang Beifei who had no added points! Completely left in the dust, not even close! Zhuo Jing found it hard to ept this reality! His own score of 581 seemed to be mocking him! ¡ª "This Xiang Beifei, wasn''t he preparing to repeat a year of school? How could he have this score?" Waves of astonishment crashed within Yang Hua''s heart! Just a few minutes earlier, before the scores were released, Xiang Qingde had talked to him about repeating a year, which he had impatiently rejected and even scorned. In his impression, Xiang Beifei would probably just score around three hundred, not even fit for a vocational college, let alone consider his repeat ss. Yang Hua had righteously told Xiang Qingde that Xiang Beifei had no chance of sess, and that it was better to find a job sooner rather thanter. However, the reality had caught himpletely off guard! Xiang Beifei actually scored 732 points! As the homeroom teacher for the graduating ss, he knew too well what such a score meant! Did these scores call for repetition? Only a fool would repeat with such scores! Yang Hua was deeply shocked, his mind upied with only one question: How exactly did he achieve such a score? ¡ª "Didn''t Grandpa Xiang agree to let me tutor his coursework? How am I supposed to tutor with such scores?" Lu Zhiwei opened her mouth wide enough to fit a fist! Last year, without any added points, she had scored 621 on her college entrance exam and with added points, it was 671. Normally, her learning abilities were quite strong; she was a school tyrant, with only her reasoning ability being poor. Ordinarily, tutoring an average high school student would be more than manageable for her. But¡ª She couldn''t possibly tutor with Xiang Beifei''s results! He scored higher than her even without any added points ¨C who was supposed to tutor who now? All done for, her little ns shattered by Xiang Beifei, now she had no leverage! ¡ª "This kid, didn''t he give up and neglect the mock exams? And yet... these scores... oh my goodness!" Principal Li Nanxing from a distance was also stunned! Originally, he thought that given Xiang Beifei''s usual performance, getting into college would be quite a struggle, but he saw potential in the boy, so he specially went to encourage him that day. Thinking that Shang Tianxiong, an N-level Awakener, had to repeat four years, it seemed only right that Xiang Beifei would need to repeat a few years as well. But today, to everyone''s surprise, this kid made a name for himself! Could it be that my words "Don''t underestimate the youth in poverty" really awakened him? ¡ª¡ª Xiang Qingde was still looking down, holding Xiang Beifei''s hand. But he suddenly felt the atmosphere was a bit too quiet. What''s going on? Were the results so bad that they shocked everyone to silence? It makes sense, after all, anyone who scored something like 43 on theprehensive exam would definitely be shocked. No, no, I must take good care of my grandson''s feelings, and we will weather this together! "Grandpa, why are you closing your eyes?" Xiang Beifei asked. Xiang Qingde hurriedly opened his eyes and consoled, "Xiaofei, you... don''t be discouraged... No matter how bad the results are, Grandpa is here for you." Continue reading on m v l e mpyr Xiang Beifei couldn''t help but to feel a mix of amusement and frustration. Had Grandpa always thought he would perform so poorly? However, the old him did have truly disastrous grades, typically those of someone who needed to repeat a year. Xiang Beifei reassured, "Grandpa, don''t be nervous, you can look at my results first." Xiang Qingde looked up at the big screen anxiously. With presbyopia, he squinted to find the results and finally managed to see Xiang Beifei''s scores clearly. The next moment, he was also stunned! "This..." Xiang Qingde felt his breathing quicken in disbelief! 732! This score was beyond belief! "That is you, isn''t it?" Xiang Qingde looked at the score, doubtful, still wondering if there could be someone with the same name. "The candidate number is written right there," Xiang Beifei said. Xiang Qingde rushed forward to take a closer look at the candidate number and, after triple-checking, his shock turned into excitement! He thought that after the exam, Xiang Beifei had locked himself in his room for three days because he had done so poorly, grieving alone, and that had him worried sick; today, he even nned to find a ce for Xiang Beifei to repeat the year. But against all expectations, the results turned out like this! "It''s your score! It really is your score, haha, my grandson has made something of himself!" Xiang Qingde ran back, tears of joy streaming down his face, hugging Xiang Beifei tightly. It wasn''t easy! It really wasn''t easy! His worry had started the day before the college entrance examination, and it hadsted for almost a week. Just now, he had even preparedforting words. But Xiang Beifei gave him a wonderful surprise! This grade had dispelled all the gloom that had umted in his heart over these days; his grandson really had it in him! ¡ª¡ª "Amazing! An N-level Awakener scored so high!" "What you''re saying isn''t right; educational achievements and system talents aren''t corrted." "But a good system can make one''s thinking more agile, and it can even improve intelligence. An N-level Awakener must not be relying on the system but on himself." "That''s true, it''s really impressive! This score is surely the top one, right?" "Definitely, who could have imagined that this year''s Luhe High School''s top schr in the college entrance exam would be an N-level Awakener?" The surrounding people also looked enviously at Xiang Beifei, as parents asked after the high-scoring student''s identity, and for a time, Xiang Beifei became the focus of the crowd! ¡ª¡ª (I''ve had a cold these past few days, and my head''s been all fuzzy, so I wasn''t in the right state of mind writing these chapters... Can''t take a break during the initialunch period of a new book...) Chapter 78: Chapter 78: Primordially Ranked First ``` "He cheated, right?" Zhuo Jing said resentfully. Xiang Beifei''s grades were always atrociously bad, so how did he suddenly score so high? Now everyone''s attention was on Xiang Beifei, overshadowing his own spotlight, leaving no one to admire him. "Nonsense!" Principal Li Nanxing rebuked, "No one can cheat in the college entrance examination. Watch your words!" The people around, hearing the principal''s words, also thought Zhuo Jing sounded like a fool. In the System world''s college entrance examination, the students participating, with the highest talents at most S-ss, were monitored with anti-cheating measures set by SR-ss individuals! The SR-ss anti-cheating measures were more than enough topletely suppress these students'' systems. Let alone an N-ss System Awakener! Zhuo Jing''s face turned red with the principal''s rebuke, and he didn''t dare to speak again, forcing down his frustration. The scene was witnessed by thousands of onlookers. There were more parents than students present since many hade with their children. Yet, no one suspected Xiang Beifei of cheating. Instead, they saw him as the shining beacon of reversal among N-ss Awakeners! Read more adventures at m-vl-em-pyr "Xiang Beifei! 732! Are you a god?" Kong Xiuwen was first shocked, then shouted excitedly, seemingly more thrilled than Xiang Beifei himself. He used to be at the bottom of the ss with Xiang Beifei, but at least he had awakened an S-ss system and could trade his hair to boost his Intelligence at thest moment. But Xiang Beifei was N-ss! In his eyes, that was utterly amazing! At this moment, Kong Xiuwen''s score also came out! [Kong Xiuwen, S-ss, Language 111, Mathematics 103, Comprehensive 191, Introduction to Defense of Jiuzhou 118, Total Score 523] Kong Xiuwen was over the moon! "Ah, I scored over 500!" He yanked at his hair desperately. These past days, in order to score over 500, he had given his all, exchanging all the fallen hair he collected for system rewards that would increase his Intelligence, finally getting some payoff. 523 plus the 50 points, for a total of 573, securing a spot at an elite university was no issue at all! "Congrattions!" Seeing Kong Xiuwen score over 500, Xiang Beifei also breathed a sigh of relief. "Congrattions for what! I should be congratting you!" Kong Xiuwenughed heartily, "Now our university is set." "My son, you did it!" A chubby middle-aged man squeezed through the crowd. His sturdy frame effortlessly pushed through the throng, embracing Kong Xiuwen with such enthusiasm that his rotund belly almost sent Kong Xiuwen flying. This was Kong Xiuwen''s father, Kong Daming. [Host: Kong Daming] [S-ss, Gluttonous Feast System] [Realm: Early Meridian Opening] Kong Daming was in the catering business, with culinary skills so divine that he could make a simple cabbage dish drool-worthy. Xiang Beifei had known of Kong Daming from his past memories, but since his arrival, he had not seen Kong Daming and only now realized that Kong Daming was also an S-ss System Awakener! "Dad,pose yourself, there''s someone even more impressive than me here." ``` Kong Xiuwen clutched his aching belly from the collision, but he couldn''t quite hide his excitement, letting his dad''s chubby hand rub and roll on his head. "Yes, yes, yes! I almost forgot! Xiaofei, good kid! You did it! Hahaha! You left my Xiuwen behind by three streets!" Kong Daming also heartily patted Xiang Beifei on the shoulder,ughing joyfully. Kong Xiuwen and Xiang Beifei were childhood buddies, and Kong Daming had watched Xiang Beifei grow up, always treated him kindly. "You tter me, Uncle Kong," said Xiang Beifei. Kong Damingughed again and said to Xiang Qingde, "Old man, Xiaofei is promising, as remarkable as Tianxing." "Haha, Xiuwen is not bad either." Xiang Qingde was so happy his wrinkles seemed to lighten, naturally proud when others praised his grandson. The rest of the scores were still popping up one by one, all the exam candidates had found their grades, but so far, no one had surpassed Xiang Beifei''s score. The score of 732 was unique. This score was even the highest raw score among all the candidates at Luhe High School for the past ten years! When thest student''s score was released, the overall situation for this year''s college entrance examination at Luhe High School had be very clear. The second ce was taken by Shen Yu from ss One, who had awakened the "S-ss Academic God System"; with a raw score of 679, and even after adding 50 points, it was still only 729, not surpassing Xiang Beifei. After the scores were announced, the honor roll was updated with other rankings. This ranking included school ranking, Liangzhou ranking, and Jiuzhou ranking. Xiang Beifei, with a raw score, ranked 1st in Luhe High School, 1st in Liangzhou, and 1st in Jiuzhou. In total score ranking, he ranked 1st in Luhe High School, 18th in Liangzhou, and 75th in Jiuzhou. Total score ranking included various bonus points. In the whole Jiuzhou with over five million candidates, no one had a higher raw score than Xiang Beifei. But the thing is, many people had bonus points! Moreover, most of the high-scoring candidates were almost all S-level, not only benefited from powerful systems but also received favorable additions to their total scores¡ªa full 50 points! News had already spread online that this year''s college entrance exam champion of the Jiuzhou Alliance was from Qingzhou, with a raw score of 711 plus 50 bonus points, bringing the total to 761! College entrance exam rankings were based on total scores, and although Xiang Beifei was originally first, many overtook him purely through bonus points. That is to say, 74 people with an added 50 points had surpassed Xiang Beifei. So, in a strict sense, Xiang Beifei only imed the title of valedictorian for Luhe High School, not for Liangzhou or Jiuzhou. But this was still something to be envied. Because at Luhe High School, not a single S-ss System Awakener who had added points surpassed Xiang Beifei. ¡ª¡ª Xiang Beifei was pondering his scores. He had expected to score full marks in the Comprehensive subject. Having arrived in this world for the first time and being able to see everyone''s systems clearly, he had studied the knowledge rted to the systems very thoroughly. In mathematics, perhaps a careless misstep had cost him one point; after all, he was not perfect and could still be negligent. However, his scores in Chinese and Introduction to Defense of Jiuzhou were not as high, scoring 141 on one and 140 on the other. Exams like Chinese and Introduction to Defense of Jiuzhou included subjective questions, where many required the student to express their own views on a matter or a sentence. Such divergent, subjective questions purportedly sought to "explore the student''s perspective," when in reality, they assessed not "the student''s perspective" but "the perspective of the grader and the answer key." Your view is not important; what is important is whether it aligns with the grader''s view. Xiang Beifei guessed that the points he lost were likely in these areas. Chapter 79 Regret "Hey, what are you thinking about?" Lu Zhiwei saw Xiang Beifei deep in thought and couldn''t help but ask. She still couldn''tpletely calm down. Xiang Beifei''s scores had shocked her too much! She had once thought she was barely an academic overachiever, butpared to Xiang Beifei, she suddenly felt utterly eclipsed. "I was thinking about where I might have been careless to get points deducted." Thank you for reading on m v le_mpyr Xiang Beifei said casually. Careless? Scoring so high and still thinking about where you might have lost points due to carelessness? Lu Zhiwei put her hands on her hips, ring at Xiang Beifei, "Are you asking for a beating by saying that?" "What''s the matter?" Xiang Beifei asked, puzzled. Lu Zhiwei was so annoyed she could grind her teeth, "Didn''t we agree that I was going to tutor you in your studies? How am I supposed to tutor you like this?" "Huh?" Xiang Beifei felt it odd and asked, "Why did you think about tutoring me?" "Wasn''t it agreed, a hundred per lesson?" Lu Zhiwei said through clenched teeth. "I thought it was a hundred per lesson for you to give me money so I could tutor you." Lu Zhiwei: "..." Xiang Qingde also realized what had happened, and couldn''t help butugh and say, "So the agreement this morning about you epting to tutor, you thought I was asking you to tutor Xiao Wei?" Xiang Beifei nodded. It turned out they had been onpletely different pages all along. Really odd. Xiang Qingde pped his own forehead, "Oh, my muddled head, my fault, my fault." He had spoken carefully in the morning to spare Xiang Beifei''s feelings, so he didn''t dare to be too explicit, only to realizeter that he had unintentionally caused a misunderstanding. But this misunderstanding was no big deal. Xiang Qingde was still very happy. "No worries, no worries, now that your scores are out and you scored so high, Grandpa is no longer worried about you having no universities to attend." Xiang Qingde felt he could now raise his head and puff out his chest, liberating himself from the frustration he felt when he humbly asked Yang Hua for tutoring sses. His grandson scored so high, although not the top scorer in Liangzhou or Jiuzhou, with such scores, why worry about having no university to attend? He nced at Zhuo Jing and Yang Hua in the distance, feeling extremely at ease! Having a promising child, he could also stand tall, feeling as if his bent stature had stretched quite a bit. At that moment, Principal Li Nanxing also came over with a pleasant smile, expressing quite amazed, "Appearances can be deceiving, Xiang Beifei, our school''s top scorer. I didn''t expect it, didn''t expect it at all, it seems I was mistaken! Ha ha, sorry, sorry!" Li Nanxing admitted this openly and did not deny it, straightforward and generous. He initially didn''t believe Xiang Beifei could achieve good results this year, so he genuinely got a shock when he saw the results. Being the principal, he naturally needed to personally congratte their school''s top scorer. Xiang Beifei stood up from the edge of the flowerbed and said politely, "Thank you for the cultivation, principal." "Ha ha, hardly any cultivation, hardly any at all! This matter doesn''t have much to do with me. You scoring so high ultimatelyes down to your own efforts, which is quite rare indeed." There were many parents around, which was a good opportunity for self-promotion, but Li Nanxing wasn''t greedy for credit. His school''s student getting the highest raw score was honor enough, no need to im undue credit. He was really too curious and wanted to know how Xiang Beifei had managed to score so high. You should know, just two months ago, Beifei''sposite score was only 43, with college seeming far out of reach! However, when the results came out, he was in a league of his own, and everyone else could only watch his back. Cheating was definitely impossible, as the surveince measures in the entrance exams were extremely strict. It seemed now that he had always underestimated this young man. Thinking back to every encounter with Xiang Beifei, the youth was always polite yet confident, not very talkative, and spent more time listening and then pondering. Li Nanxing now realized that this boy, seemingly not good with words, was indeed hiding his brilliance behind simplicity! Other school leaders also gathered to congratte Xiang Beifei, who did not relish such asions but responded politely nevertheless. Many people also asked Xiang Qingde how he had managed to raise such a gifted grandson, asking him to share some educational insights that could serve as a reference for their own children''s upbringing. Xiang Qingdeughed heartily, his mustache quivering with excitement. He happily pped Xiang Beifei on the shoulder and shared his approach: "I just let him be!" The crowd was stunned! Xiang Beifei could not help butugh. He knew his grandfather had misunderstood him these days, probably worrying terribly. Just now, he had thought he would need to repeat the year and had gone to see Yang Hua, which turned out to be quite frustrating. Now that an opportunity hade to vent, he naturally seized it and spoke freely. Xiang Beifei did not want to dampen the old man''s spirits, whatever the old man said was fine as long as he was happy. However, Zhuo Jing''s expression looked quite unpleasant. Now that Xiang Beifei had be the center of attention, his favorable score of 581 no longer attracted others'' admiration. He had to actively seek praise. "So what if you scored high? It''s like you think you can get into an elite university!" Zhuo Jing spat in envy inside. Among the nine elite universities, only Liangzhou University admitted Awakeners with N ssification. But even for Liangzhou University, faced with N-ss students, there were thresholds set up that were not easily surpassed. But Zhuo Jing, with his scores, would have ample margin at an elite university! Zhuo Jing nced at his system panel, where his appreciation value had reached 5129, enough to exchange for the "Piercing Strike" cultivation technique. Another task requiring a score of 550 and 2000 praises for an Appreciation Card had also beenpleted. But he was not eager to exchange it just yet; now was not the time to exchange techniques. Since the crowd was all gathered here, he wanted to seize the opportunity to earn more appreciation values. Soon, he thought of another way to draw attention. "That''s right, with my scores, entering one of the nine elite universities is more than doable. After all, I am S-ss, not N-ss. It''s simply too easy for me to enter an elite university, but elite universities do not admit N-ss." Zhuo Jing said this loudly to a friend beside him, not concealing the pride in his voice. Initially, the crowd was watching Xiang Beifei, but upon hearing Zhuo Jing''s words, they pondered for a moment, thenprehended the issue. Right! Even if Xiang Beifei was the top schr in the school, he was merely N-ss, something the elite universities normally didn''t admit. Even Liangzhou University, the only exception, had not admitted any N-ss students for thest ten years. The bar set for N-ss students at elite universities was incredibly high! Many, influenced by Zhuo Jing''s words, looked at Xiang Beifei with changed eyes, their admiration tinged with pity. This was just too regrettable! Even someone with 500 points and S-ss could easily get in, but a high school entrance score of 732 was kept out of elite universities. Everyone sighed. Chapter 80 Feeding the Dog The awakening system talent determined the threshold for university entry. The world was indeed this realistic. But everyone also understood that the reason for this situation was that the N-level system was simply too outrageous, issuing system tasks that defied logic, and the potential was simply not enough. In this world, the most profound truth was: studying needed to serve practical ends! A good system would enable you to apply the knowledge you''ve grasped more skillfully; if you had an outrageous system like the N-level, even if you learned much from books, the system tasks would be hard toplete, failing to achieve the goal of applied learning. In other words, cultural course grades determined a person''s basic lower limit, while the system talent level determined a person''s future upper limit. In the system world, high scores in cultural courses only meant that you had a deeper understanding of the world than the average person, but it didn''t mean your future achievements would be higher than others. If people werepared to trees, then the awakened system would be like the fertilizer that helps nurture and grow the tree. An N-level system''s fertilizer could at best only allow the tree to grow to one meter, while an R-level could make it reach ten meters, and an S-level could enable it to grow to a hundred meters! As for SR and SSR levels, there''s no need to say ¨C they were enough to cultivate a person into a towering giant of a tree! And the nine elite universities, as the name suggested, cultivated students with high future potential. "What a pity for such a promising seedling, even an R-level system would have been good," someone couldn''t help butment. "Yes, it''s such a waste." The others echoed in unison with sympathy, regret, and schadenfreude... all kinds of gazes were present, even though they knew there was still a slim hope for N-level candidates at Liangzhou University, that hope was very faint. Because that assessment, ording to legend, was an insurmountable chasm for N-levels. Who would have thought the school''s top scorer with 732 points would face such an awkward situation? At the same time, people''s outlook on Zhuo Jing became even more optimistic. Although his score was only 581, one hundred points less than Xiang Beifei, the thing was, he was an S-level! Such a score wouldfortably grant him entry into one of the nine elite universities, and he could choose a good major. "The ss president is really impressive! Which of the nine elite universities is our ss president nning to choose?" someone asked enviously. "Do you even have to ask? His additional points make up a total of 631 points; he can pick any of the nine elite universities." "Yeah, 631 points at S-level is far stronger than 732 points at N-level." [You have received praise from Kangkang, appreciation value +2] [You have received praise from Liu Lan, appreciation value +2] ¡­ Zhuo Jing took the opportunity to harvest another wave of appreciation value, feeling invigorated. He pretended to be humble and said, "Oh, you tter me too much. I''ve already set my target. As a member of Liangzhou, I n to stay in Liangzhou and apply to Liangzhou University!" In fact, his decision to apply to Liangzhou University was spur of the moment; Xiang Beifei''s usual scores were far from his, yet the examination results had exceeded his, which irked him. He knew that the only chance Xiang Beifei had to apply for an elite university was Liangzhou University. Then he would choose Liangzhou University! During the entrance examination, Xiang Beifei was bound to be eliminated by Liangzhou University. But whichever elite university he chose to attend right now, he was a prospective university student! 581 points got him into Liangzhou University, while 732 points were turned away at its gates. The contrast was stark! And he, as an S-level talent, appeared even more dazzling! Many nodded subtly, showing their admiration for Zhuo Jing''s words. Zhuo Jing arrogantly nced at Xiang Beifei with a sidelong look. What if you are the school''s top scorer? What if you are the first in raw scores? My 581 points will still crush your future! They will still steal your limelight! I can still divert everyone''s attention from you to me! Jealous? "Haha! Not only did Iplete the system task, but I also overshadowed the school''s top schr, and I''ve harvested a bunch of appreciation values, awesome!" Zhuo Jing hummed a tune in his heart. Now, it was time to im the system reward! He happily looked at the system interface, saw the "Double Appreciation Card" and the Cultivation Technique "Piercing Strike," then he clicked on "im Reward." One minuteter. "Where''s my system reward?" Zhuo Jing suddenly turned to stone on the spot! "You damn system, you actually swallowed my reward again!" Zhuo Jing felt darkness before his eyes and almost passed out. ---- Although Zhuo Jing was an S-level Awakener, he had only awakened his system two months ago and his cultivation was still only at the early stage of Qi-Controlling. Therefore, both "Piercing Strike" and the "Double Appreciation Card" were also rewards for the early stage of Qi-Controlling. Xiang Beifei didn''t even view such rewards with regard, but he still epted them graciously. The reason was simple, happiness. Towards those who had no grudges against him and whose rewards Xiaohei had mistakenly taken, he would return the rewards. For those who were kind to him, he would respect them and try his best to help them. But for those who sought trouble with him, who came bullying up to his face, there was no need for courtesy! If he had no use for them, he could give them to feed a dog! Xiaohei, being a small milk dog with snow-white fur, happily swallowed the two items, turning them into a Spiritual Qi Crystal and collecting them. "You damn system! You damn system!" Experience the magic at m-vl-em-pyr Zhuo Jing nearly went mad, still not understanding what had happened, as he still thought the system had glitched likest time. If there hadn''t been so many people around, he would have cursed out his system already. He probably didn''t even realize that his rewards had truly fallen into the paws of a small milk dog. ---- Because of Zhuo Jing''s words, many people stopped envying Xiang Beifei, the school''s top schr, and gradually shifted their attention to other S-level students, which actually relieved Xiang Beifei. He didn''t enjoy being surrounded by people. The crowd quickly dispersed, and other school leaders went to congratte other students, only Principal Li Nanxing stayed, his expectations for Xiang Beifei never diminishing. "Mr. Xiang, may I have a word alone with your grandson?" Li Nanxing said to Xiang Qingde. Xiang Qingde was still being surrounded by others, asking about the affairs of being the parent of an original separated family. Li Nanxing''s question snapped him back to reality, and he said, "You talk, you talk, don''t mind me." "Xiang Beifei, could youe to my office?" Li Nanxing said. "Okay." Xiang Beifei followed the principal through the crowded throng and returned to the clean and tidy office once more. Li Nanxing gestured for Xiang Beifei to sit down, then poured him a ss of water. "Your reported target hasn''t changed, has it?" Li Nanxing sat in his own chair, looking at Xiang Beifei, his eyes shining brightly and twinkling with wisdom. He wasn''t like others who, just because of Zhuo Jing''s words, dismissed Xiang Beifei''s future. On the contrary, he still believed in this quiet young man. Back when he consulted the system, the boy had inquired about Liangzhou University''s entrance assessment for N-level students. Li Nanxing had made a point of inquiring further and already had some leads. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 81 Rumors of the Entrance Examination If a month ago, after Zhuo Jing had said those words, Li Nanxing might still have worried about Xiang Beifei''s state of mind copsing andforted him. But once Xiang Beifei''s results came out, he understood that he had underestimated the resilience of this young man. If Xiang Beifei had been so easily defeated by Zhuo Jing''s words, how could he possibly have improved so much in just two months? Xiang Beifei replied, "Yes, it''s still Liangzhou University." "That''s good! There''s no need to let some people''s words disrupt your own pace. It''s right to boldly forge ahead. Your father was also sent to Liangzhou University on a schrship," said Li Nanxing with a smile. He looked at his system interface. [N-level Awakener Xiang Beifei, initially ranked first in the Western District, your prestige +5000, ranked first in Liangzhou, your prestige +10000, ranked first in Jiuzhou, your prestige +90000] [Current prestige value: 16005547] Li Nanxing''s awakening was to the [S-level Confucian Saint System], and Xiang Beifei''s initial scores, ranking first among over five million test takers in Jiuzhou, surprisingly brought him a prestige value of 100,000! This truly surprised him! Because even the second-ce S-level Shen Yu, who scored 679 points, only brought him 3000 prestige points. And the third ce added only 1000, as for the rest, like Yang Hua, the prestige value was the same as their exam scores. Clearly, an N-level student, with initial scores surpassing all candidates in Jiuzhou, almost 20 points more than the top schr of Jiuzhou, attracted immense attention! Many people who pay attention to the overall ranking also care about where the person with the highest initial scoreses from. If it''s an S-level student, having the highest initial scores seems normal, and some people might not even check which school the student is from. It''s enough just to know the student''s name and feel envious. But it''s different for an N-level! This year, the student with the highest initial scores is not S-level but an N-level Awakener with the mostmon talent! This is major news! S-level is expected! N-level is an underdog''s rise! More people are interested in thetter! With something as significant as college entrance exams, many naturally investigate where the student is from, starting from Jiuzhou, to Liangzhou, then to the Western District, and all the way to Luhe High School! Luhe High School became famous instantly! And being the principal of Luhe High School, Li Nanxing also gets mentioned, and the level of attention he receives increases invisibly. Even many Luhe High School alumni who are already working, when discussing this matter, mention to others that they too were students of Luhe High School. Thus, Li Nanxing''s prestige value has frighteningly soared. It could be said that an N-level student ranking first attracts more attention than an S-level student achieving the same feat! Li Nanxing was also very excited! 100,000 prestige points! Just two months ago, he was nearly 300,000 prestige points away from 16 million! Even when this year''s college entrance examination results were released, he stillcked nearly 200,000! If it weren''t for Xiang Beifei helping him increase by 100,000 prestige value, he would probably have to wait until next year''s college entrance exam to umte 16 million! 16 million, enough to exchange for a God Refining Pill! His cultivation had been stuck in thete phase of Meridian Opening for ten years, and for this God Refining Pill, he had saved ten years of prestige value and dared not use it recklessly. Now, he had finally amassed enough! Keep the adventure going on m_vl-em|p-yr Xiang Beifei had given him an unprecedented increase of 105,000 in one go! Li Nanxing was filled with gratitude towards Xiang Beifei. However, he still suppressed his excitement and said, "Last time you mentioned that you wanted to apply for Liangzhou University, I specifically went to ask an old friend of mine at Liangzhou University, and he revealed some information about the assessment for elite universities at level N." Li Nanxing pondered for a moment and continued, "He didn''t specify what the assessment entails, but he mentioned that it''s not easy to pass." Xiang BeiFei listened intently. "You should understand," Li Nanxing said. "Elite universities have stringent controls for N-level Awakeners, and even Liangzhou University only has a tiny loophole. ording to my friend, this loophole is so small it''s practically negligible. After all, no N-level has entered Liangzhou University in nearly a decade. Shang Tianxiong''s case was said to be special, but still..." Knowing that Xiang Beifei had a strong capacity to handle the truth, Li Nanxing no longer beat around the bush and got straight to the point, "If you are prepared, I''ll speak bluntly. In short, they give you an opportunity on paper, but in reality, they won''t easily let you pass." The gates of elite universities were never open to N-level students. Xiang Beifei had anticipated this, but he hadn''t given up and said, "Then I need to try." Li Nanxing nodded slightly, "I knew you would. Regardless of the oue, I will help you make an attempt. That old friend mentioned that the assessment would be very difficult. Although he didn''t go into detail, he mentioned that the person responsible for the assessment had a personal vendetta against your father." Xiang Beifei furrowed his brows. Li Nanxing sighed, "Your father was an SR-level Awakener and a highly talented graduate of Liangzhou University, but any outstanding individual is bound to make enemies. I am not very clear about the specifics, but it''s said that the person handling the assessment is someone named Yuchi Shen. During his school days, he was chastised by your father. Later, Yuchi Shen became a faculty member at Liangzhou University, and now he has encountered you; you must understand the implications." An old enemy disappeared, but now the enemy''s son wasing to study at the school where he taught, and he was in charge of the entrance assessment¡ªwhat a perfect opportunity for revenge. If he couldn''t get even with your dad back then, would he let you off now? Anyone aware of the details would probably understand that the entrance assessment, tainted by personal grudges, was no longer fair. "Even missing, he didn''t forget to leave a trap for me!" Xiang Beifei mused. Where exactly Xiang Tianxing and his wife had gone, he had no recollection, and leaving him to be cared for by his grandfather was one thing, but now even attending school came with special attention; his father, whom he had never met, was indeed capable. "Yes, I think your father inadvertently left you a significant problem!" Li Nanxing sighed. He knew the difficulty of Xiang Beifei''s entrance examination had essentially increased. Yet¡ª Xiang Beifei, watching Xiaohei napping on his shoulder, still had a calm and steady gaze. Many people liked to cause him trouble. But in the system world, what he least feared was trouble! It was just unknown how many opponents Xiang Tianxing made in school. It would have been better to inherit an enemy directory, so he could seek them out one by one. Otherwise, it might be embarrassing to mistakenly take someone else''s system items. Those who had been bullied by Xiang Tianxing wanting to bully his son for revenge? No problem, he''d take a little notebook and jot down names; when the time came, Xiang Beifei could help them with their tasks. If he encountered someone who had bullied Xiang Tianxing and wanted to continue bullying his son? That was okay too. He''d also take a little notebook and jot that down, considering it revenge for his old man. Two birds with one stone! Chapter 82 God Refining Pill "Of course, this is just my guess; he wasn''t specific, and I don''t know if that''s really the case. The final assessment might be something else entirely; I''m just giving you a heads-up," Li Nanxing said. "I understand," Xiang Beifei nodded. Li Nanxing was checking his system interface. After a moment, he spent 5,000 system points to exchange for a tortoise shell and handed it to Xiang Beifei. "This is a Hetu tortoise shell. It possesses strong defensive capabilities, capable of withstanding attacks from thete stages of Qi-Controlling. If they raise the difficulty of the assessment, this Hetu tortoise shell can help you," he said. Xiang Beifei asked, "Is it permissible to rely on external forces during the assessment?" "This is an inherently unfair assessment. Protecting oneself is most important. Besides, you must understand that since everyone in this world can awaken a system, any help from the system is within the allowed range," Li Nanxing said. The greatest advantage of the system world is exactly this: no matter what system items you use, they are all within the rules. It alles down to whether you have the strength and can utilize these system items effectively. [Current Prestige Value: 16000547] Xiang Beifei''s cultivation wasn''t high; the external help Li Nanxing could offer was limited to thete stages of Qi-Controlling at most. This Hetu tortoise shell was the most suitable item he coulde up with. He had wanted to give Xiang Beifei more life-saving measures, but his system points were at an awkward level. He needed to spend 16 million to purchase a God Refining Pill. Spending more system points would prevent him from exchanging for the God Refining Pill. The God Refining Pill was too important to him; he had been stuck in thete stage of Meridian Opening for ten years and couldn''t wait any longer. ¡ª¡ªI''m sorry I can''t offer you more help. I must get that God Refining Pill. Once I step into the God Refining stage, if your assessment has not yet started, I will find a way topensate you with more items. Li Nanxing silently told Xiang Beifei in his heart. Xiang Beifei had contributed a whole 100,000 system points to him. He knew he should use system points to exchange for more items to help Xiang Beifei through this assessment, but the need for the God Refining Pill was too pressing, and he couldn''t afford to waste more system points. "Thank you." Xiang Beifei epted the Hetu tortoise shell. Ate-stage Qi-Controlling Spiritual Qi Crystal was still very important to him. After a while, Li Nanxing added, "Oh, our school offers a reward for the valedictorian, a schrship of 50,000 yuan. Specific matters will be notified to youter. There is an application process." Xiang Beifei''s eyes lit up! 50,000 yuan schrship! He had already gathered more than half of the 100,000 yuan tuition fee. "Thank you, Principal," Xiang Beifei said again. "Don''t mention it. You should hear the news by next Monday when you submit your preferences. Now, go celebrate. I believe your grandfather is already eagerly waiting," Li Nanxing said with a smile. "Okay, then, Principal, I''ll head back first." With the results out, Xiang Beifei had no need to stay at school. Others might spend time celebrating their scores, but he preferred to spend his time on cultivation. ¡ª¡ª After seeing Xiang Beifei off, Li Nanxing closed the door, his gaze returning to the system interface, a sense of excitement building within him. It''s been ten years! A full ten years to save up 16 million prestige points, which was indeed a difficult task. Though he had awakened an S-grade system and his cultivation was higher than many people''s, the system''s tasks became tougher toward the end. Stepping into the God Refining stage was a height many could not reach in their lifetimes. "Xiang Beifei, I owe you a favor. Once I step into the God Refining stage, if you need any help in the future, I will do my utmost to assist you," Li Nanxing promised silently. Li Nanxing trembled slightly as he looked at the God Refining Pill, his eyes filled with intense eagerness! [Would you like to spend 16 million prestige points to exchange for a God Refining Pill?] Suppressing his excitement, Li Nanxing responded almost tremblingly: "Yes." [16 million prestige points spent to exchange for a God Refining Pill. Exchange sessful. Current Prestige Value: 547. System reward is being issued¡­] [Reward issuanceplete] Li Nanxing reached out his hand, waiting for the God Refining Pill to appear in his palm. Ten seconds passed. His hand was still empty. "No rush, such a powerful pill." Li Nanxing reminded himself. But the reward was too important for him, and with every second that passed in waiting, it felt like an eternity. Continue the journey on m|vl-em,py-r A minute went by. There was still nothing in his hand! Li Nanxing wiped off some sweat, feeling uneasy, but still tried to calm himself down, "Don''t worry, don''t worry, just wait a little longer." And he waited for three minutes! Panic began to set in for Li Nanxing! "Where is my God Refining Pill?" he murmured to himself. [Reward distributed sessfully] How could this be? He was over sixty years old and had awakened this system nearly fifty years ago. He was very familiar with his system, as every time he wanted to exchange for something, it happened almost instantly. So why was today''s system God Refining Pill missing? [Reward distributed sessfully] The system prompted again. "No, this can''t be happening..." Li Nanxing started frantically searching his office. He turned the whole office upside down, but the God Refining Pill was nowhere to be found. During this time, everyone was on the training field, only Xiang Beifei and he were in the teaching building. Could it be that Xiang Beifei took it? But he didn''t have the ability to do that, after all, he was ate-stage Meridian Opening practitioner. If Xiang Beifei had taken it, how could he possibly not have noticed? Besides, knowing the boy''s character, it wasn''t possible for him to do such a thing. "Could it be that the system has malfunctioned again?" He had encountered such situations before when there would sometimes be a miscalction in the system''s database. Once, when he was in the outer realm wilderness, the system had a scanning anomaly, incorrectly estimating the strength of a deste beast, which had caused him a lot of trouble. The reason turned out to be that the deste beast had a bizarre ability that interfered with the system''s judgment. When he was young, there was also an incident where he had just exchanged for a pill, and just as itnded in his hand, it was suddenly swept away by a gust of wind and disappeared without a trace. But those were low-probability events. The system had told him that the chance of an S-rank system experiencing an anomaly was one in ten thousand. "You don''t mean... you don''t mean to tell me that today... on such an important day... the one in ten thousand anomaly has urred!" Li Nanxing slumped in his chair, hisplexion turning as pale as paper! How could this happen... Why does the one in ten thousand probability have to ur right now! Ten years! If this one in ten thousand probability had indeed swallowed up his system reward, would he then need to collect another 16 million prestige value, meaning another ten years? He was already sixty years old, how many decades did he have left? Li Nanxing felt as if all the strength had been drained from his body, listlessly sitting in his chair, panting heavily, and seeming to have aged ten years in an instant. Chapter 83 The Powerful God Refining Pill Xiang Beifei was walking down the stairs, unaware of what had happened in the principal''s office, when suddenly Xiaohei began to bark happily. He turned his head and was astonished to find Xiaohei holding a light blue medicinal pill, joyfully ying with it. The pill was entirely blue, with many profound patterns on it, and emitted a refreshing medicinal fragrance. Just a slight sniff made one feelpletely revitalized. A deep and terrifying aura seemed to swirl around the pill. "Where did thise from?" Xiang Beifei looked at the blue pill in amazement; it was the most potent pill he had ever seen! Soon, he suddenly remembered¡ªGod Refining Pill! It was actually a God Refining Pill! He had seen it in Principal Li Nanxing''s system interface! "Xiaohei, did you take the principal''s God Refining Pill?" Xiang Beifei said in surprise. "Woof woof woof!" Xiaohei, holding the pill, happily rubbed and cuddled it. "Are you saying that the Spiritual Qi Crystal contained in this pill can light up all the constetions from mid-Qi-Controlling to mid-Meridian Opening?" "Woof woof woof!" "With this pill, could I possibly step into the Meridian Opening period within half a year?" Xiang Beifei was truly shocked! This God Refining Pill actually had such a terrifying power? Within half a year, to step into the Meridian Opening period! And to light up six constetions, granting him six additional abilities! To be honest, even Xiang Beifei was greatly astonished after hearing this. It was impossible not to be moved; such a thing could save him from taking so many detours! As long as he could reach the Meridian Opening period, what would the assessments at Liangzhou University count for? Those so-called geniuses from elite universities would be nothingpared to him! Xiang Beifei felt his breathing be a bit rapid. But he remained silent, striving to suppress those emotions. After a long while, he spoke, "Xiaohei, return it." "Woof?" Xiaohei looked at Xiang Beifei, puzzled. Discover the mystery at m,vl_em|p_yr "The principal is a person of high virtue and respect; he deserves our respect. We don''t take his belongings," Xiang Beifei said. Even though he knew he had increased Principal Li Nanxing''s system value by 100,000 that day, and getting the pill was a bit of help from him, he still resisted the enormous temptation brought by the God Refining Pill. This pill, which took nearly ten years to save up, was vitally important to the principal. "Woof..." Xiaohei whined softly. "I know it''s a pity, but there are many ways to be stronger; this is not the only one," Xiang Beifei said, petting Xiaohei''s head. For those who liked to trouble him, Xiang Beifei would show no mercy, regardless of how much time they had spent; he would not even furrow his brow. For those willing to help him, Xiang Beifei would respect them and even help themplete system tasks for free. He was clear about his debts and grudges¡ªthis was his principle. "Woof." Xiaohei reluctantly licked the God Refining Pill, then with a flick of his tail, tossed it away. The God Refining Pill shed a blue light as it flew through the air, disappearing from sight. --- Li Nanxing was bewildered, feeling the world spinning around him, as if drained of all strength. He sat on the chair, hands on his forehead, his head in chaos. "How could it be gone... how could it be gone..." He felt a sense of despair, experiencing for the first time how life could be so devastating. A decade of hard work ruined in an instant, it was nearly the end of him. He didn''t even know what he had been working towards these past ten years. Thump! Thump! Some sound bounced twice on the table, emitting a dull thud. Li Nanxing looked up listlessly and nced at the table. Immediately after, he saw the blue pill. Ity there quietly, radiating a powerful and profound aura. Li Nanxing suddenly stood up from the chair! He looked incredulously at the God Refining Pill that had appeared out of nowhere, even doubting his own eyes, wondering if it was a hallucination born from desperation. "Is this an illusion?" Li Nanxing reached out his trembling, aged hand and touched the God Refining Pill on the table. It wasn''t an illusion! It was a real pill! Life returned to his dim eyes. He then grabbed the God Refining Pill! Dense and profound, smooth as jade. "It''s the God Refining Pill! The God Refining Pill!" Li Nanxing clung tightly to the pill that had been lost and now found, holding it so firmly as if afraid it would disappear again. He took a deep breath, ovee with emotion! Life''s dramatic fluctuations urred within such a fleeting moment. "Thank goodness it''s still here! Thank goodness it''s still here! Thank goodness it''s still here..." He didn''t even think about where the God Refining Pill had gone just now; just having it in hand was a stroke of immense good fortune for him! Without dy, he nned to find a ce to refine the pill immediately and ensure no further mishaps would ur! ¡ª¡ª Xiang Beifei stood around the corner, looking through the ss window at Li Nanxing''s ecstatic countenance. It turned out that even the usually refined and gentle principal could have such a moment of diposure. He felt somewhat apologetic as he hadn''tmunicated well with Xiaohei; the little creature thought the item would benefit him greatly, so it took the principal''s belongings, nearly causing the principal to copse. Regardless, it had ultimately been returned. He himself still needed to grow stronger step by step through cultivation. He didn''t feel like he had lost anything, but instead calmly turned and went downstairs. Xiang Qingde and Lu Zhiwei were waiting for him, while Kong Xiuwen and his son had already gone home to prepare for the evening''s celebratory banquet, leaving a message for them to join without fail. The school was still surrounded by arge crowd, and Xiang Beifei didn''t want to stay any longer, so he left with them. "Beifei, have you decided which university to apply for?" Lu Zhiwei asked. "Don''t worry, with such scores, even if I don''t get into an elite university, the other universities will still be vying for me," Xiang Qingde said happily. Xiang Beifei said, "I still want to try for Liangzhou University." Xiang Qingde was stunned for a moment. In the past few days, feeling guilty for being an ipetent parent, he had rushed to learn about the college entrance examination and asked around; he knew that eight of the nine elite universities did not admit N-level Awakeners. The words of Zhuo Jing had also made it very clear that Liangzhou University, although it did admit N-level students, had a very high threshold! Now that Xiang Beifei''s scores met the requirements, he still needed to pass the entrance assessment; only if the assesment was passed could he attend, and if he failed, he would still be eliminated. But Xiang Qingde earnestly said, "Great! Whatever you decide to do, Grandpa will support you!" Xiang Qingde, willing to humble himself before others for the sake of a retake, naturally would also unconditionally support his grandson''s choice, regardless of the cost; he was determined to help his grandson move forward. Meanwhile, Lu Zhiwei''s eyes lit up! In past years, N-level candidates rarely applied for Liangzhou University because the pass rate was so low that many high-scoring N-level candidates retreated understanding the difficulty. But Xiang Beifei was different! This guy, usually dopey and unconcerned withpeting with others, was one of those who never showed his hand unless it turned out to be astounding! Perhaps he really could create a miracle! "Then I''ll wait for you at Liangzhou University!" Lu Zhiwei couldn''t wait for Xiang Beifei to report to Liangzhou University in September; then she would be his senior. She looked forward to using various opportunities to rub shoulders with him and learn his reasoning abilities. Chapter 84 The Journalist Yang Hua was in high spirits! Although he had been shocked by Xiang Beifei''s score, had made a fool of himself by making some snide remarks, and then had his face pped hard by the reality, so what? If Xiang Beifei scored high, then so be it! He wasn''t at a loss at all! "You might think I would feel ashamed for what I just did, but you would be wrong." In this world, things like face aren''t important. System tasks are the real deal! Xiang Beifei scored 732 points, which meant 732 points were added to his teacher prestige value! Not only that, but because the top scorer of the school was from his ss, he was granted an additional 10,000 points¡ªfor a total of 10,732 points! He only had an R-level system, not as high as Li Nanxing''s S-level, and since many outsiders generally pay more attention to the name of the school rather than the ssroom, he didn''t earn as many system points as Li Nanxing did with his S-level system. But it was enough to make a fortune. All the students in his ss had contributed to his teacher prestige value, with Xiang Beifei adding the most. In total, the ss contributed 41,544 points! Delightful! "Hello, Professor Yang, we meet again. Do you remember me? I''m Yu Lei, a reporter from the Liangzhou Strait Metropolitan Daily. We met on the System Awakening day," said a person who looked like a reporter, who had approached him. This man wore sses, had a crew cut, and sported a jacket over his shirt; he thrust arge microphone in front of Yang Hua. "Oh, it''s you." Yang Hua remembered Yu Lei. Reporters usually showed up during the System Awakening and when high school exam results came out. [Host: Yu Lei] [R-level, I Want to Make Headlines System] [Realm: Mid Phase of Qi-Controlling] As a senior reporter from the small TV station in the western district, Yu Lei needed to dig up information that could make the headlines,pleting tasks by pushing news to the forefront. The reporters were also itching to break a major story; if a school reported the Awakening of an SR talent, that would be explosive news, and they would definitely want to secure the exclusive. Before the System Awakening ceremony, Yu Lei had been staking out early, interviewing all the ss homeroom teachers in advance to prepare, and Yang Hua was one of those he interviewed. Unfortunately, the news of that day wasn''t eye-catching; Luhe High School had no Awakeners with SR talent. The only thing of note was Xiang Beifei''s Thunder Stone¡ªjust when everyone thought they were about to witness a phoenix rise from the grass nest, it turned out to be a wild goose chase. This kind of news merely caused a small ripple in the pond, neither here nor there. Although it was reported, the heat didn''t pick up. Today, with the college entrance examination results released, Yu Lei, as a reporter with a news headline-type system who had undergone Awakening, naturally wanted to cover the conditions of the examinees. Initially, he staked out another high school in the western district, since he believed that school had traditionally performed better than Luhe High School, withst year''s top schr of Liangzhouing from that school. The odds of achieving high results were seen as greater there. Unfortunately, he set his sights on the wrong target this year, but he soon found out that a candidate from Luhe High School scored 732 this year, holding the top original score in the whole Jiuzhou! And such a high-scoring candidate was only an N-level Awakener! N-level! 732 points! The first in original score! Outranked by candidates who received bonus points! Unable to attend elite universities! All these were hot topics fit for making the headlines! Yu Lei immediately smelled the news value, and with his years of experience as a journalist and understanding of the market news, he brewed up in his mind the sort of press release that would create a sensation and attract society''s attention! "Shocking! A candidate with 732 points rejected by nine elite universities!" "Candidate with 732 points unable to attend elite universities, the reason is..." He thought through the way to write the article, nning to criticise from three levels, four perspectives, and five points of view the unreasonable practices of the nine elite universities in admitting Awakeners. He then aimed to introduce Xiang Beifei''s difficult journey in education, condemning the irrational phenomena in the assessment system, perfectly creating a media storm! If such an article were to be published, it would definitely spark intense discussions, securing a top spot on the hot search lists of major websites and making news headlines with no issues. This would assuredly earn him a hefty amount of system value! But sadly, by the time he arrived at Luhe High School, he couldn''t find Xiang Beifei, so Yu Lei immediately turned to Yang Hua, preparing to get some information about Xiang Beifei from him first. "Professor Yang, I heard that Xiang Beifei was brought up by you. Can you tell me what kind of student he usually is?" Yu Lei eagerly inquired. What kind of student was Xiang Beifei? A glint of cunning shed in Yang Hua''s eyes! Being Xiang Beifei''s homeroom teacher and seeing him score such unimaginable results wasn''t something he had expected. Normally, he always found various faults in Xiang Beifei, constantly berating him. Just moments ago, he spoke so rudely in front of Xiang Qingde. However, now that a reporter was interviewing him, how could he reveal those things? As Xiang Beifei''s homeroom teacher who had produced a top schr for the school, if this made the news, it would undoubtedly elevate his own status! Even if Xiang Beifei couldn''t enter the elite universities, so what? It was talent that blocked him from those universities, not something he could influence; after all, high school teaches academic knowledge, which is linked to the teaching ability of teachers! If other parents were to hear that he has taught a top schr, wouldn''t they break down doors to cram their children into his ss? He could then handpick those students with good academic performance. Every year during the college entrance exams, he would be able to collect a major wave of teacher prestige value! Yang Hua keenly seized the opportunity! He immediately put on a smile, looking radiant and said, "That''s right, Xiang Beifei, the student, I have always had high hopes for him! His past academic performance wasn''t very promising, but I constantly encouraged him, telling him not to be discouraged. I helped him plug the gaps in his knowledge, and his progress was rapid. You could say that his achievement of such high scores today is the result of our joint efforts." Facing the camera, Yang Hua spoke with confidence and sincerity, attributing Xiang Beifei''s high scores to his own efforts. He didn''t need to worry about what Xiang Beifei thought, regardless of whatever grievances they had; those were private matters. In front of the camera, he naturally had to say nice things. He was certain that if Xiang Beifei was interviewed and asked if he was thankful to his teacher, even if Xiang Beifei held considerable resentment, he would only be able to say thank you in front of the camera. Otherwise, such a top schr could easily be branded as ungrateful. Read today on m,v,l,e,mpyr From any angle, being extremely strict as a teacher, nitpicking every day, verbally scolding students, looking down on them, could all be framed as a form of motivation and packaged as the "strict teacher produces outstanding students" teaching method which no one could refute. Yang Hua had ced himself on the moral high ground! The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 85 Public Opinion The exam results had been announced; it was the end of July, leaving only one more month of vacation. During this month, he had many things to keep him busy. Earning money, the Liangzhou University assessment, and cultivating. For him, cultivation was still the most important endeavor. At the moment he was only in the mid-stage of Qi-Controlling, and his strength wasn''t very high. He needed to cultivate to theter stages of Qi-Controlling as soon as possible. Lu Zhiwei had originally wanted to cling to Xiang Beifei to learn reasoning skills, but Xiang Beifei told her, "Once I get into Liangzhou University, won''t you have more time to bother me?" "Right, that makes sense!" Lu Zhiwei happily left without bothering him further. Xiang Beifei locked himself back in his room, thinking he could focus on cultivation, but he soon realized he was wrong. Scoring such high marks was not something people would just overlook easily. After interviewing Yang Hua, Yu Lei came to his home and knocked on the door, ready to interview the N-level student. Xiang Qingde, who answered the door, looked at Yu Lei with a puzzled expression, and asked, "Who are you looking for?" "Hello, I am a reporter from the Liangzhou Strait Metropolitan Daily, my name is Yu Lei. You must be the grandfather of Xiang Beifei, this year''s top schr from Luhe High School, right? It''s a pleasure to meet you! May I interview you about your grandson''s achievements?" Yu Lei got straight to the point. "An interview?" Xiang Qingde furrowed his brows. His grandson was preparing for the Liangzhou University assessment, and interviews were a waste of time and meaningless. He shook his head and said, "It''s not necessary, my grandson doesn''t like these kinds of things." As he spoke, he was about to close the door. "Wait, wait," Yu Lei extended his hand to block the door, disying a professionally courteous smile, and said, "Old Master Xiang, you must be aware that with Xiang Beifei''s talents, even with such high scores, it is nearly impossible for him to get into an elite university. But as a reporter, if I can interview him, and properly report his predicament, it could cause those within the entire societal system to reflect. Under pressure from all sides, perhaps the elite universities might lower their thresholds." Yu Lei, as a news worker, often dealt with a variety of people and had a keen eye for reading them. He knew exactly what would persuade Xiang Qingde. Upon hearing Yu Lei''s words, Xiang Qingde hesitated. He knew that Xiang Beifei had decided to apply to Liangzhou University, but he was also aware of how difficult the assessments at Liangzhou University were. For ten consecutive years, no N-level students had been admitted, making the hope of entrance exceedingly slim. Yet, what Yu Lei said held a certain truth. Xiang Beifei wasn''t just another N-level Awakener scoring 680 points; he was first among all Jiuzhou candidates with an original score of 732. Although Xiang Qingde didn''t quite understand the inte, he was aware that news reports could inform more people about this matter. If more people paid attention to the fact that high-scoring students were unable to attend elite universities, it might cause a sensation. In that case, Xiang Beifei''s chances of getting into Liangzhou University could indeed be higher. Seeing Xiang Qingde''s hesitation, Yu Lei quickly continued, "Old Master, rest assured, I will report this matter from the most professional perspective. I also think that it''s a waste for your grandson with such results to attend an ordinary university, but I can help you. I just need a simple interview with your grandson, it won''t take long, at most one hour." Xiang Qingde hesitated for a moment but felt it was a good idea, so he said, "I''ll go ask, wait here." Xiang Qingde let Yu Lei into the house, poured him a ss of water, then walked to Xiang Beifei''s bedroom door, knocked, and said, "Xiaofei, may Ie in?" "Grandpa, is something the matter?" Xiang Beifei opened the door. Xiang Qingde nced at Yu Lei sitting outside and said, "A reporter wants to interview you, he said he wants to cover your story as the top scorer in the college entrance examination." Xiang Beifei looked up at Yu Lei, his gaze sweeping over the other''s system interface, and his brow slightly furrowed. The tasks on the other party''s system interface and their intentions were clear as day to Xiang Beifei. After pondering for a moment, he let his grandfather into the bedroom, then closed the door and said, "Grandpa, I don''t need to ept this person''s interview." "The reporter told me that you are the candidate with the highest original score, and if this is blown up, it might create some public opinion pressure and make Liangzhou University more inclined to admit you or something," Xiang Qingde said. "No." Xiang Beifei immediately shook his head. Not understanding, Xiang Qingde asked, "Why not? You want to go to Liangzhou University, and he''s trying to help you, isn''t he?" "Grandpa must understand something, the rule that elite universities don''t admit N-level students has existed for a long time, but it''s never changed. They won''t alter their rules just because of a reporter''s article." Xiang Beifei paused, then continued, "Being admitted through public opinion won''t convince everyone, and it will leave them with a bad impression. Who knows, they might raise the difficulty even further during the admission assessment to prevent me from passing. Then they''ll tell everyone that it''s not that they don''t admit N-level students, but that an N-level student like me doesn''t have the ability." Exclusive content from m,v lem|p,yr Principal Li Nanxing had already warned him that the admission examination was going to be overseen by Xiang Tianxing''s old adversary, which made it difficult enough. If public opinion got involved, and Liangzhou University sought to offset the pressure by raising the bar, then Xiang Beifei would face an even worse situation. Xiang Qingde thought for a moment and then said, "But it''s also possible that Liangzhou University might lower the examination difficulty due to public pressure, isn''t it? The rule that elite universities don''t admit N-level students should indeed be changed." "If we want to change the situation of elite universities not admitting N-level students, we should rely on N-level students to prove that they have the ability to enroll in elite universities, not on public pressure to get N-level students into elite universities." The type of school determines the intensity of the study required, and indeed, the academic rigors of an elite school aren''t something a normal N-level student can keep up with. "Once admitted through public pressure, they will also find excuses to expel meter, telling everyone it''s because I couldn''t keep up with the progress of study at an elite university, then they''ll take back the public narrative and prove that there''s a reason for the school not admitting N-level students." Xiang Beifei spoke earnestly, "They have their rules, and I will enter ording to their rules. That way, they will have nothing to say. Grandpa, I have confidence in passing Liangzhou University''s assessment with my own strength. There''s no need to resort to public opinion. Can you believe in me just this once?" What mattered most was that the reporter, ording to the tasks shown on his system interface, came to interview with a far from straightforward purpose. Xiang Qingde thought seriously about Xiang Beifei''s words before he realized they were right. If they relied on public pressure for admission, Xiang Beifei would easily be a target for discrimination, which would be unfriendly to his future. Especially since Xiang Beifei hadn''t even participated in the admission assessment yet, doing such a thing was indeed inappropriate. "What you say makes sense, we should rightfully pass the assessment and prove ourselves that N-level students also have the capability to attend elite universities. If you prove yourself, they will eventually change their views on N-level students, and this will be the best way to diminish discrimination against N-level students. This time I must believe in you! I''m going to refuse him right now." Xiang Qingde agreed with Xiang Beifei''s point of view. The college entrance examination results had made him realize that his grandson was truly intelligent; he had no reason to doubt his grandson''s judgment anymore. Chapter 86 Hype Task Xiang Qingde opened the door and stepped out, saying to Yu Lei, "Sorry, my child is unwilling to ept the interview. He hasn''t yet decided to choose Liangzhou University." Xiang Qingde knew very well how to refuse others tactfully, simply by saying that his child had not yet nned to choose Liangzhou University, making an interview with Yu Lei unnecessary. Yu Lei obviously paused, then said, "But with such high scores, is he content to miss out on an elite university?" "He has his own ns. Attending an elite universityes with risks, but with his scores, he can pick and choose among the remaining universities. We''re very satisfied with that; there''s no need to fret too much. Contentment brings happiness, doesn''t it?" Xiang Qingde exined cheerfully, quite adept at covering for his own child. Check for updates on m-vl-em-py-r "Mr. Xiang, if your child is unwilling to ept my interview, then I can interview you instead. As long as you cooperate with me, I can definitely create public opinion that will get your child into a better university. As a parent, don''t you want to see your child be ssmates with even more outstanding individuals in an elite university?" Yu Lei was not giving up easily. "No need, I have other matters to attend to and cannot entertain you any longer, please understand!" Xiang Qingde was very firm in his stance. Yu Lei spent a lot of effort trying to persuade him, but was ultimately unable to and had to leave Xiang Qingde''s home. Having descended the stairs, Yu Lei stood at the street corner, took a cigarette from his pocket, took a puff and then slowly exhaled the smoke. The swirling smoke framed his face, casting it in a somewhat gloomy light. "What a pair of fools, too proud for their own good!" Yu Lei spat on the ground with disgust. Beforeing here, he had been confident about this interview. His keen senses had detected hot topics in this event that could spark discussions across all circles. The raw score of 732, first in Jiuzhou, unable to enter an elite university due to an N-level Awakener talent, the irrationality of the recruitment system of the nine elite universities... all it needed was a little guiding, and these could be extensively sensationalized topics. He had thought that his reasons would be irresistible, that any other parent would wisely take advantage of the media to help their child, eager for the journalist''s assistance. But unexpectedly, this top-scoring student had no intention of going to Liangzhou University, and he had been bluntly turned away! Yu Lei felt extremely irritated. "Pah! Did you really think I wanted to help you get into Liangzhou University?" He tapped his cigarette against the wall corner, watching the broken ashes drift away with the wind, and snorted coldly. Truth be told, he had never intended to use media pressure to help Xiang Beifei get into university; in fact, he was hoping Xiang Beifei would fail to get into Liangzhou University! If an N-level student was admitted to Liangzhou University, the news would at most express amazement at the student and say his future was limitless, considering him a hidden talent, a second Shang Tianxiong. Such news stories could only sensationalize one aspect: the potential of this N-level student. But Jiuzhou was never short of talented individuals with potential, frequently featuring an SR-level genius here, a business prodigy there... Such reports were far toomon! However, if Xiang Beifei were to be eliminated during the Liangzhou University assessment process, that would be worth sensationalizing. He could exploit angles like [Liangzhou University deliberately making it hard for N-level high-scoring students, setting up barriers to prevent N-level talents from passing], or [Why the discrimination against N-level students, are elite universities worth reconsidering], or even [Does the system talent truly determine everything?]... All these perspectives were thought-provoking, could uncover the true value of the news, and would bring more traffic to him as the journalist responsible for the coverage, helping himplete more tasks of making the headlines. So Yu Lei was the person who least wanted Xiang Beifei to be admitted to Liangzhou University! He was a journalist and self-proimed "public intellectual", with abined following of over a million across various social media tforms. Reporting positively on someone''s excellence wasmonce, and such news bored everyone, but taking a negative nt could attract a cluster of inte users who, frustrated by the ups and downs of daily life, only vent on their keyboards against heaven, earth, and thin air, without giving any thought to their own issues. His followers liked to see reports from a negative perspective. For those in the media, the most important thing was to find one point of interest in trivial matters, then blow it out of proportion to catch the public''s eye, spark debate, push the discussions to go viral, be headline news, and gain massive marketing traffic. To achieve this, Yu Lei could exaggerate without any bottom line and twist facts. All he needed to consider was how to write the news to garner the most attention. The actual truth seemed much less important. So even though Yu Lei had everyone discussing the discrimination against N-level Awakeners, he certainly wasn''t truly on the side of those N-level Awakeners. He stood on the side of traffic! After all, he wasn''t the one being discriminated against; as an R-level Awakener, he usually looked down on N-level Awakeners himself. In the past, Yu Lei had secretly bribed the parties involved toplete his "Headline Tasks," disregarding the facts to fabricate news, engaging in countless such shady dealings. He had already figured out how to draft the article on the Xiang Beifei incident! However, this grandfather and grandson duo were clearly unappreciative of his offer and had actually rejected his cooperation! "If you think rejection will make me give up, then you''re seriously underestimating me." Yu Lei looked at his system interface: "You have selected the task: Hype up the N-level top scorer incident" "Direction for the hype: 1, help them get into Liangzhou University, positively promote the candidate; 2, prevent them from getting into Liangzhou University, negatively spin associated hot topics" "You have chosen: 2" "Current task: Hype up the Xiang Beifei incident, reach the top twenty in discussion heat on any media tform''s trending list, earn +1000 headline points (can be cumtive)" "Current headline points: 132783" "Note: Buying trend spots is invalid" "Reward forpleting a trending task: Choose any two from the following" "Stealth Talisman x1 (used for invisible tracking); Truth-Telling Talisman x1 (can extract truthful statements); Memory Talisman x1 (can alter someone''s memory); Control Talisman x1 (can control the will of others)" "What a pity that I''ve used up all my control talismans." Yu Lei frowned slightly, for the Control Talisman could be used to alter a person''s will, to change someone''s decisions, like if someone wanted to refuse something, the talisman could make them agree. These talismans were only effective on those whose realm was lower than his own. In the past, he used Control Talismans to make people ept his interviews and say what he wanted them to say in front of the camera. Of course, sometimes he would exchange them for Memory Talismans too, such as after engaging in dirty activities, he would use a Memory Talisman to make a person forget what had just happened, thus freeing himself from unnecessary trouble. To him, these system items were very practical, but they were also in high demand and short supply; currently, he only had two Memory Talismans and one Stealth Talisman. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 87 : 87: Photo "Why not simply spend 1,000 headline points to buy a control talisman?" Yu Lei pondered whether this choice would be cost-effective but decided it was not worth it after some consideration. He needed to save up 150,000 headline points to exchange for a Qi-Raising Talisman, which would help him advance to theter stages of Qi-Controlling. In his previous attempts to obtain news clues, he had spent many headline points to exchange for control talismans and memory talismans to manipte the news subjects. Unfortunately, once the news was reported, the response was lukewarm, like throwing a stone into the sea¡ªhardly making a ssh. Not making the news headlines meant the system points were wasted, which pained him for a long time. Hot searches are something that celebrities and marketingpanies can easily achieve with some money, but his system did not work that way; it required genuinelypleting tasks. Sometimes, his own miscalctions could also lead to failure. Now, he needed to conserve headline points, ensuring he collected 150,000 to progress to theter stage of Qi-Controlling. The higher his cultivation, the more he could achieve. "Forget it, it''s more important to create a topic first... If this topic hits the hot search, then dealing with those two isn''t toote." Yu Lei opened his personal camera to check the photos he had just taken. They were close-ups of Xiang Beifei''s living room, which he had secretly snapped a few photos of while Xiang Qingde was talking to his grandson. Yu Lei was not satisfied with these photos. Although Xiang Qingde''s home was somewhat impoverished, everything was tidy and clean, even the stovetop utensils shone brightly. This did not meet his expectations. He had wanted to create a "poor boy makes good" sensation, which required dpidated, dusty walls and messy, cramped furniture for contrast. However, despite only living with his grandson, their ce was well maintained, with not many furniture pieces, just enough for their needs, making their homefortable to live in without giving off an impoverished vibe. Clearly, although poor in material wealth, these two were not poor in spirit and took life very seriously. "Hmph, the photos can bepletely fabricated." Yu Lei nned toter find a graphic designer to edit the photos, making them look more disordered. He saw a garbage bin nearby and after a slight contemtion, seeing no one around, he kicked the bin, scattering trash everywhere, then frantically snapped photos of the garbage pile. "An academic prodigy emerging from a filthy, chaotic slum... Isn''t this material perfect? Hehe." Yu Lei casually threw a cigarette butt on the ground and then strode away. Unbeknownst to him, a gaze from above the window sill had been fixed on him the whole time. "All right, if you must do it this way." Xiang Beifei withdrew his gaze; he had seen the other party''s system interface and understood exactly what the guy was up to, hence his firm rejection. Yu Lei thought this time would be like the usual, easily crafting fake news, but he did not realize that Xiang Beifei had seen his chosen system task clearly. Xiang Beifei did not think further; instead, he turned back and continued to sit on the bed to cultivate the Chaos Yin-Yang Form. ¡ª In the evening, Kong Daming warmly invited Xiang Qingde and Xiang Beifei to his restaurant for dinner, as it was a celebration for Kong Xiuwen, and, therefore, Beifei did not refuse and went with Qingde. Kong Daming''s restaurant business was thriving. The ce wasrge, and he mboyantly disyed two banners, reading "Warmly Celebrating Kong Xiuwen Scoring Above Elite University Admission Line in the College Entrance Exam" and "Warmly Celebrating Xiang Beifei Attaining the Top Schr Position in Luhe High School." Xiang Beifei was somewhat surprised; he had not expected Kong Daming to also hang a banner for him. "Haha, I originally wanted to arrange something bigger, but time was tight, so let''s just have a small gathering tonight. After you also pass the assessment at Liangzhou University, I''ll throw a big celebration for you and Xiuwen!" Kong Daming cheerfully greeted Xiang Qingde and his grandson. Xiang Beifei and Kong Xiuwen were childhood friends, and Kong Daming had watched Xiang Beifei grow up, so he was always good to Xiang Beifei. "Come on, we''re all family here¡ªno need to be formal!" Kong Xiuwen''s mother, Chen Xiuqin, said with a smile, "It''s Xiaofei who''s really going ces, much more so than my Xiuwen. I''m worried when I look at his grades." "Auntie, he''s at least confirmed to be going to Liangzhou University," Xiang Beifei said. "That''s just good luck. Don''t worry, I have high hopes for you too, Xiaofei. You''ll definitely make it as well," Chen Xiuqin said, then turned to Xiang Qingde, "Don''t worry, old man, Xiaofei can do it." Xiang Qingde smiled, "Then I''ll count on your good words." Chen Xiuqin awakened the ["S-grade, Yi Jian Mei System"], and was a hairdresser. With the help of her system, her hairstyling skills were superb. She owned five salon branches, often traveling to style hair for celebrity teams. "Before we eat, let me give you both a haircut, symbolizing¡ª''umting thickness and weing renewal!''" With a flourish, Chen Xiuqin produced two shiny scissors. Xiang Beifei touched his own short hair, which had been cut very short due to the rules set by Yang Hua, and said, "My hair isn''t long enough." "I don''t just cut hair short," Chen Xiuqin said with a mysterious smile, clicking the ck scissors in her left hand, "I can make it grow longer too!" Now that was interesting. Xiang Beifei nced at Chen Xiuqin''s system and saw that the ck scissors in her left hand were a magical item from the system. Unlike other scissors that cut hair short, these scissors could make hair grow long. "She''s always liked these superstitious things. Originally, it was my thick hair that caught her eye, and she chased after me, wanting to practice her hairdressing skills on me every day. Having thick hair has its benefits," said Kong Daming as he proudly ran his hand through his dense hair, akin to seaweed. Chen Xiuqin kicked Kong Daming lightly: "Stop your nonsense¡ªwho chased whom, you know very well. If you hadn''t relentlessly pestered me with that thick skin of yours, would I have fallen for you?" Dive deeper into the story on m-vle-mpyr "Hehe." Kong Daming shook his hair and then smugly patted his round belly, winking surreptitiously at Xiang Beifei and Kong Xiuwen. Kong Xiuwen looked resigned. It was true he had inherited his Dad''s thick hair, but he had awakened the ["hair loss system"], where less hair meant stronger powers, and the lost hair would not grow back! Fortunately, the hair that had not shed could still grow longer. "Seize thest moments of handsomeness before the hair loss begins!" Kong Xiuwen touched his own hair, looking resigned to his fate. Xiang Beifei wondered if Chen Xiuqin cutting too many people''s hair caused Kong Xiuwen to awaken the ["hair loss system"], but regardless, Kong Xiuwen''s system was at least S-grade with great potential. "Quick, let''s get you new hairstyles. Having a crew cut is too rigid; you need something more stylish." Chen Xiuqin especially disliked crew cuts and if it weren''t for the school rule set by Yang Hua, prohibiting long hair, she would definitely change Kong Xiuwen''s hairstyle every day. Without further ado, Chen Xiuqin dragged both Kong Xiuwen and Xiang Beifei to the adjacent salon. Chapter 88 : 88: Chef and Barber Chen Xiuqin was about to cut Xiang Beifei''s hair, and Xiang Beifei didn''t refuse; he was quite curious about the capabilities of the "Yi Jian Mei System." After one snip, Xiang Beifei''s hair, originally only about one centimeter long, had grown to five or six centimeters! Then she began to trim his hair meticulously. With the scissors in her left hand, she cut the hair that was too short, and with the scissors in her right hand, she cut off the hair that was too long. Using ab that automatically styled hair, she hooked here and trimmed there, designing a sunny-looking hairstyle for Xiang Beifei. A good hairstylist can change a person''s aura and spirit. "With this lookbined with the hairstyle, it could charm a crowd of girls!" Chen Xiuqin looked at her masterpiece with satisfaction. [You designed a new hairstyle for Xiang Beifei, hairstyle rating: 96, proficiency +96] [Achieved a score of 90, a new tool will be randomly given] [You have drawn: Golden Jiao Scissors] Upon seeing the system prompt, Chen Xiuqin was initially stunned and then burst intoughter: "Ha, Xiaofei, you really are my lucky charm." Usually, it was difficult for haircut scores to reach above 90 points. For an average person to achieve a 60 was already quite good. It would probably take cutting a few hundred people''s hair to maybe see one 90-point score. She hadn''t expected to achieve it today and even drew a pair of Golden Jiao Scissors! Xiang Beifei carefully examined the introduction of the Golden Jiao Scissors and discovered that these scissors were an extremely powerful weapon inbat capable of cutting through anything one realm higher than itself. This was some good stuff. However, Xiang Beifei did not touch the Golden Jiao Scissors; he found that Chen Xiuqin was not just a hairdresser walking the literary Dao¡ªin herpleted system task list, she had even killed quite a few deste beasts! "Auntie, did you practice martial cultivation before?" Xiang Beifei asked. "Why suddenly ask this?" Chen Xiuqin had taken away the Golden Jiao Scissors and was examining them closely, asking casually. "I vaguely heard my parents mention you before." "Oh?" Chen Xiuqin looked at Xiang Beifei somewhat surprised, then pondered for a moment and nodded slightly: "Daming, your parents, and I were all university ssmates. We had initially nned on bing pioneers, butter on, Daming and I gave up and decided to be in ordinary people instead." "Uncle Kong and Auntie were pioneers too?" A system for cooking and a system for hairdressing, and they were pioneers? "Any system can choose to pursue the martial or literary Dao. It depends on what you choose. Don''t underestimate Uncle Kong. Although he''s chubby, he''s quite skilled at killing deste beasts. His favorite thing is to throw various deste beasts into hisrge cauldron and then think about how to cook them tastily. He thinks I fell for his hair, but actually¡ª" Chen Xiuqin smiled proudly and said softly: "I was conquered by his culinary skills." "Heh, women." Kong Xiuwen muttered from the side. Chen Xiuqin, annoyed, flicked the forehead of her son: "You have objections? Believe it or not, I''ll shave your head?" "Shave it! Just shave! Shave it to death!" Kong Xiuwen stretched his neck and said. In the future, he won''t need his mom to do it, he''ll be bald himself. Xiang Beifei continued to check the system interface. Chen Xiuqin''s system interface showed that she had several very powerful abilities, such as "Precarious". If her "Thousand-Jun Scissors" touched someone, each strand of their hair would be immensely heavy! Of course, this "thousand jun" was just a metaphor. The actual weight a strand of hair could change into was linked to one''s strength. However, it was undeniable that if the hair of a deste beast became heavy, its movements would be severely limited. Another ability, "Medusa", could turn her hair into snakes. Anyone bitten by the snakes would be petrified. Xiang Beifei realized he had underestimated Chen Xiuqin, the hairdresser. He asked, "Auntie, you used to be a pioneer, so do you also know about my parents'' situation? What exactly happened to them?" Chen Xiuqin paused, then frowned and after a long while, shook her head and said, "I don''t know." Xiang Beifei always felt that Chen Xiuqin was hiding something. He checked the system task list, but unfortunately, there was no rted hint in Chen Xiuqin''s system tasks. ¡ª¡ª During the celebration banquet, Kong Daming and Chen Xiuqin warmly weed Xiang Qingde and his grandson. Xiang Qingde, having been very worried about Xiang Beifei these past days, finally rxed, and without reservation, drank with Kong Daming. Xiang Qingde seldom drank alcohol because it was a substantial expense. He was used to economizing, and only drank a little when Kong Daming asionally brought him a few bottles, but he never drank to the point of affecting his work the next day. "Uncle! Xiaofei is also going to university now. How much money can you earn by selling vegetables every day? If he passes the assessment at Liangzhou University, the tuition and expenses will be a huge sum. You need to change your job. What if youe work at my shop? I''m short on staff anyway, and I''d like to hire you," Kong Daming said. Kong Daming had always intended to help the grandfather-grandson duo for free, but Xiang Qingde, ustomed to earning his own way, refused the charity. Not to hurt Xiang Qingde''s pride, Kong Daming had previously proposed hiring him. It was both a matter of fellowship and to help take care of the old man since he was getting on in years and could have an ident where he would need assistance. However, Xiang Qingde knew that working for Kong Daming would be no different from loafing around like the old men who wandered about, so he never agreed to it. But now Xiang Qingde had to seriously consider Kong Daming''s words. If his grandson were going to university, the money he saved from selling vegetables wouldn''t be enough. Of course, there was somepensation money at home that could temporarily cover some expenses, but money, if not earned, would eventually run out. "Right, Uncle Xiang, you wake up early and stay outte every day, earning so little while suffering so much. Coming here to help would be better; Daming''s business has been quite busytely. Xiaofei, you should also persuade your grandfather," Chen Xiuqin said. "Grandpa, I think it''s a good idea," Xiang Beifei, too, didn''t like to see his grandfather selling vegetables at the market every day, not only enduring hardships but also earning very little. He had been looking for stable ways to make money, trying to get his grandfather to retire early. If his grandfather could work here, with Uncle Kong looking after him, Xiang Beifei would feel more at ease. Xiang Qingde thought for a long time, then said seriously to Kong Daming, "Then you have to let me work." "Alright, alright, alright. As long as youe, you can pick any job in the shop," Kong Daming said with augh. Xiang Beifei was eating and simultaneously checking Kong Daming''s system. Kong Daming also had a very special ability. He owned a cauldron, named the "Gluttonous Cauldron", specifically used for devouring deste beasts. Another ability, called "Samadhi Fire", though not the legendary "Samadhi True Fire", possessed a powerful burning capability. When incinerating a deste beast, it could even roast the meat of the beast into three different vors out of thin air. Cumin vor, spicy hot vor, five-spice vor. Chapter 89 Five Domains Xiang Beifei remembered Kong Daming and Chen Xiuqin, but it was only today that he had actually met these two in this world and witnessed their systems. He had been browsing through Kong Daming''s system, and given enough time, Xiang Beifei could even flip back to the day when the system first awakened. In recent years, Kong Daming''s system tasks were almost all rted to ingredients. His system points were rted to feedback from diners; creating an excellent dish or killing a deste beast could also earn him system points. He continued flipping and then came across several task logs: [July 16, 3026, with the assistance of Xiang Tianxing, you killed the deste beast Dang Kang. You obtained Dang Kang meat, gluttony value +2369] [July 16, 3026, you abandoned the mission in the Northern District of the Essential Domain] ... [July 29, 3026, you spent 1600 gluttony points to purchase a Heaven-Sniffing Hound Beast Pill] [August 2, 3026, the Heaven-Sniffing Hound Beast Pill expired, Xiang Tianxing not found] ... [August 2, 3026, you spent 1600 gluttony points to purchase a Heaven-Sniffing Hound Beast Pill] [August 6, 3026, the Heaven-Sniffing Hound Beast Pill expired, Xiang Tianxing not found] ... Xiang Beifei was somewhat surprised. 3026, that was four years ago, and also the time when his parents disappeared. He continued to scroll through Kong Daming''s task logs, and for over a month, Kong Daming kept spending various gluttony values, totaling roughly 20,000, to purchase Heaven-Sniffing Hound Beast Pills, but always failing to find Xiang Tianxing. "Northern District of the Essential Domain?" Xiang Beifei pondered. In high school''sprehensive system subject, he had already basically learned about the structure of this world. If the domain outside the wilderness was likened to a vast and boundless ocean, the area where humans resided was like an isted ind in the ocean. To determine the danger level of the wilderness outside the domain, humans divided the wilderness into five areas, called "Five Domains." The circle nearest to the outer perimeter of human territory, where the deste beasts are rtively weaker, or to say the powerful deste beasts have already been hunted down and cannot cause much impact on human cities, is called the "Cultivated Domain." The next few circles outward are the "Marquis Domain," "Tranquil Domain," "Essential Domain," and "Wild Domain." The division of the "Five Domains" is actually simr to the concept of "Five Servitudes." As recorded in the "Han Shu": Yu the Great tamed the waters, and once thend was leveled, he reformed Jiuzhou, established the Five Servitudes, and assigned thends to pay tribute. The Five Servitudes are, namely, Cultivated Servitude, Marquis Servitude, Tranquil Servitude, Essential Servitude, and Wild Servitude. The meaning of the Five Servitudes is that, taking the area where the emperor resides as the center and moving outward, every five hundred li is one servitude, creating a circle that expands outward, marking five different circles, with different regions paying tribute to the emperor in varying amounts. In this world, however, the Jiuzhou Alliance had be the territory of humans, and the "Five Servitudes" had been redefined as the "Five Domains" outside the domain. The further one travels outward, the stronger the deste beasts in the wilderness be, and the higher the danger level. The "Cultivated Domain" is the first level, considered the least dangerous wilderness region, while the fifth level, the "Wild Domain," is the most dangerous ce, with almost no one daring to venture into that area. ording to Kong Daming''s records, Xiang Tianxing went to the "Essential Domain" and then there was no news of him, which is the fourth level danger zone, only less dangerous than the "Wild Domain." ¡ª¡ª ording to Kong Daming''s system records, on July 16, he had killed the deste beast Dang Kang together with Xiang Beifei''s father Xiang Tianxing, but on the same day, he also gave up the mission in the Northern Mountain District of the Essential Domain. This suggests that they were supposed to go to the Northern Mountain District of the Essential Domain together, but Kong Daming abandoned the mission, while Xiang Tianxing and the others proceeded. About ten dayster, Kong Daming began expending Heaven-Sniffing Hound Beast Pills to search for Xiang Tianxing, which means that Xiang Tianxing encountered trouble in the Northern Mountain District of the Essential Domain? Xiang Beifei found few clues in Kong Daming''s system, just bits and pieces of information. Both Kong Daming and Chen Xiuqin''s systems were clearly not to be underestimated; they definitely had the ability to be pioneers, with Meridian Opening phase strength, and the system abilities they acquired were well-suited for dealing with deste beasts. Yet they chose to abandon this path and pursue the literary Dao, living like ordinary people. Xiang Beifei was very curious about the reason for their decision to give up the mission. Was it because they were tired of the dangers pioneers had to face, or did they think about their son named Kong Xiuwen, not wanting him to be an orphan? If it was thetter, why didn''t Xiang Beifei''s parents learn from them? Xiang Beifei pursed his lips. He didn''t want toin about the parents he had in this world since, strictly speaking, the parents of this world weren''t much rted to him. People always have their choices; one cannot expect everyone to think the same. However, Xiang Beifei had many memories in his mind that didn''t belong to him. The scene of that teenager four years ago, locking himself in his room and weeping under the covers, was still vivid in his mind. After his parents'' disappearance, that fourteen-year-old boy stood by the bedroom window every day, watching the path home. Watching peoplee and go, watching parents hold their children''s hands, watching the smiles on their faces, watching the parents''ughter ying with their children... The teenager silently observed all of this, envying, resenting, being jealous, yearning... and then continued to watch the end of that path. How many times he thought he saw those familiar two people returning hand in hand, hope ring in his heart. But as many times hope was born, disappointment returned just as many times. The teenager''s parents often came home at night, so he slept during the day in ss, and then stood by the bedroom window every night to keep watch. Standing there, guarding the road of return, until midnight, until dawn. He kept watch for four years. Then one day, when taking theprehensive examination in the examination hall, the teenager saw questions about pioneers and the Wild Domain, read about the SR system, the emotions suppressed for four years suddenly made him break down, hey down and never woke up again¡ª The one who woke up was Xiang Beifei, who had transmigrated. "You really want to find them, don''t you?" Xiang Beifei silently asked himself. The teenager who had been watching might no longer be able to hear him speak¡ªor perhaps he had already be that watching teenager. Xiang Beifei didn''t know. All he knew was that he needed to do something. A strange feeling. Even though he had no real interaction, there were countless ties that bound them. If only Xiang Tianxing and his wife had made the right choice just once, remembered they had an underage child at home, remembered there was an elderly father waiting for them, chosen to return home, to retreat from their adventures like Kong Daming and his wife did, to go back and take care of their own child and the aging father... Just one right choice. Perhaps there would not be the current transmigrated Xiang Beifei. "If I have the ability in the future, I should investigate this matter," Xiang Beifei thought. Since he had be that watching teenager, he needed to fulfill some wishes. Chapter 90 Kept Secret After the banquet, Xiang Qingde insisted on cleaning up the bowls and dishes, saying that if he was to work here, then he should start now. Chen Xiuqin had no choice but to clean up with him. Xiang Beifei also lent a hand on the side, and, taking advantage of a moment when no one was around, he asked the slightly intoxicated Kong Daming. "Uncle Kong, I heard that you were once a pioneer as well. Can you tell me about my parents?" Xiang Beifei inquired. Kong Daming''s face was flushed with a rosy glow because his own son had achieved satisfactory results, and he was very happy. He didn''t think too much about it and replied, "Your parents, ah, they were two remarkable individuals! They were much stronger than Xiuqin and me, with strongprehensive abilities, top-notch in every aspect, they were the true elites among pioneers." "If they really were elites, they should have been able toe home to take care of their child whenever, just like Uncle Kong," Xiang Beifei said. Hearing Xiang Beifei''s words, Kong Daming stretched out his broad palm and patted Xiang Beifei''s shoulder, consoling him, "Being a pioneer is naturally apanied by constant danger. Those in this line of work all understand this; no one knows whether they will see the sun tomorrow, but everyone strives their best." "Then why don''t you continue being a pioneer, Uncle Kong?" Kong Daming said, "I was injured on a mission once, and it had a big impact on me, so I retired." "Was it rted to my dad?" Xiang Beifei asked. "Uh, that..." Kong Daming hesitated. "What ce is the Northern District of the Essential Domain?" Xiang Beifei then asked. Kong Daming was startled by the question, sobering up significantly. He looked at Xiang Beifei with a mix of rm and suspicion, asking, "Why are you suddenly asking about this?" "I''m of age now, and I''ll try to find some answers," Xiang Beifei said. Kong Daming asked in surprise, "Who have you been talking to about this?" "I''m their son; they left a lot of things behind, and there are always some clues around the house," Xiang Beifei said. Kong Daming murmured to himself, "You''ve actually managed to find out about this..." After a long pause, he continued uneasily, "I can''t disclose this matter." "Why? I''vee of age; I should be able to learn about the things I need to know," Xiang Beifei paused, then continued, "to understand my own parents." Kong Daming sighed, "It''s not that I don''t want to tell you, but I''m under confidentiality. Your academic studies are very good, so you should understand that the system has restraints. If I chose to retire, then my work must be kept secret." Xiang Beifei vaguely understood. Being a pioneer is a noble profession; thus, within this profession, there must be Awakeners with formidable abilities. Kong Daming was an S-level Awakener. If there were some SR-level individualspelling him to maintain secrecy, then he would have no choice but to keep silent. Xiang Beifei didn''t ask any further. He understood the system better than anyone else, and if Kong Daming couldn''t say it, there was no point in continuing to ask. "Thank you for the hospitality tonight, Uncle Kong. I''ll entrust Grandpa to Uncle Kong''s care from now on," Xiang Beifei said politely. "Of course... but you..." Kong Daming still had some worries about Xiang Beifei. "Don''t worry, Uncle Kong, I won''t recklessly go looking for them without the strength," Xiang Beifei said. Kong Daming was taken aback, and couldn''t help but size up Xiang Beifei. The boy seemed to have grown a lot, even to the point where he was iprehensible to him. Compared to the child from four years ago, he had undergone an earth-shattering transformation. Was he really Xiang Tianxing''s son? His character wasposed, unruffled. Could it be the result of awakening a System talent? Kong Daming could only attribute Xiang Beifei''s changes to this reason: many people be different after awakening their systems, perhaps aided by the system itself. Maybe this child was the same. Could he really have just awakened an N-tier system? Now, Kong Daming was not so sure. ¡ª¡ª The college application process was next week, and Xiang Beifei had already determined his target, so he did not need to worry about selecting a school. In the two days after the results came out, he continued to practice his cultivation. Xiang Qingde was persuaded by Kong Daming to work at the restaurant, finally not needing to wake up at four or five in the morning anymore. The restaurant work didn''t start that early, he could go after nine in the morning. Of course, Kong Daming would not let the old man do any heavybor; instead, he let the old man wander around the restaurant, ostensibly as a sitting manager, responsible for supervising the staff and handling some matters. But Xiang Qingde took any job seriously. Kong Daming paid him a good wage, and he believed he needed to earn this pay, not wanting to live on charity, so he would personally take on even minor tasks like mopping the floor. Even so, Xiang Qingde''s job at the restaurant was much easier than selling vegetables. He no longer had to endure the market supervisor Ma Dongqiang''s oppressive presence or put up with some people''s attitudes. Since Kong Daming, the owner and head chef, had given the word, none of the restaurant staff dared to disrespect the old man. They all treated him with the utmost reverence. With Grandpa having switched to an easier job, Xiang Beifei felt more at ease. When it was time for him to go to university and not be at home, with Kong Daming''s help to look after things, he wouldn''t have to worry too much. However, the calm days did notst long; Yu Lei still managed to push Xiang Beifei''s story to the top of the trending searches. It was Kong Xiuwen who first discovered it online, specially sending him a post to look at. "The tale behind a 732-point student from the slums who declined an elite university is unexpectedly heartbreaking" Yu Lei posted the article on his social media ount, which stated: ¡ª¡ª The college entrance exam results have been released, eliciting mixed feelings of joy and sorrow. ording to the Jiuzhou Education Alliance, out of over five million candidates this year, a total of 121 scored above 700 points. Among these individuals, one candidate''s score is notably unique. His name is Xiang Beifei, who scored 732 points. This score might seem insignificantpared to Jiuzhou''s top scorer Xia Hongtao''s 761 points. After all, there are 74 other candidates with scores higher than 732. But if we say that 732 points was Xiang Beifei''s raw score, it bes extraordinary. Even Jiuzhou''s top scorer Xia Hongtao only had a raw score of 711. His elevation to top rank came with an S-tier system bonus of 50 points. As for Xiang Beifei, he scored 732 points as an N-tier Awakener without any bonus points, making him first in raw score. It''s hard to imagine that this year''s highest raw scorer in academic subjects is an N-tier Awakener. When I went to interview Xiang Beifei, the sky was overcast, mirroring the heavy mood of that young man. Entering a dirty and narrow alley, I was faced with a stinking pile of garbage. This alleyway has not been cleaned all year, with trash haphazardly dumped, flies buzzing everywhere, and living conditions severe. (Apanied by a photo of the garbage heap) Opposite this garbage heap stood a residential building with peeling, slightly cracked walls and a jumble of electrical wires. A gray, oppressive sky loomed over the building, enveloping it with an indescribable sense of oppression. I was shocked to find that the candidate with the highest raw score lived in such filthy and chaotic conditions. Chapter 91 Starting with Two Maps I rang the doorbell, and it was Xiang Beifei who answered the door. His awkward eyes were filled with confusion, but after I exined my purpose, he hurriedly weed me into the house. The room was dimly lit, and I could smell a strong scent of medicine, apanied by the heavy coughing of an elderly man. Upon asking, I learned that Xiang Beifei was preparing medicine for his grandfather, who suffered from severe chronic asthma. His condition had red up in recent days, causing intense coughing fits. I asked him why he hadn''t gone to the hospital? He replied, "We don''t have the money." Upon hearing this, my heart felt heavy. In this day and age of rapidly advancing technology, asthma has long been conquered, and yet some people still suffer from it due to poverty. It turns out a speck of dust in the era of systems is a mountain on the shoulders of a level N Awakener. The room was very cramped, with several big, bulging sacks piled up in a corner. After entering, the room felt even more crowded, leaving hardly any space to move around. (Insert image of overcrowding) Xiang Beifei apologetically brought me a chair. I asked if I could interview him, and he was shy in front of the camera, stating he didn''t want his face to be shown. I respected his choice and didn''t post his photograph. During our conversation, I learned that his parents had died when he was very young, and he had been living with his grandfather ever since. His grandfather supported his schooling by collecting recybles. Only then did I realize that the sacks in the corner were filled with stic bottles. I asked him what his ns for the future were, given his high test scores? He said he nned to attend an ordinary university and then earn money to treat his grandfather''s illness. "What about Liangzhou University? It''s the only one of the nine elite universities that recruits level N students. Won''t you give it a try?" I asked further. He shook his head, saying he wouldn''t go. A vocational college had already contacted him. If he could attend, he would be exempt from tuition fees and also receive a subsidy. He wanted to use that money for his grandfather''s medical treatment. Attending Liangzhou University was almost an impossibility for a level N candidate, and even if admitted, the expenses would be enormous, which he couldn''t afford. I sighed inwardly. The child was very sensible. Reality was very cruel. I couldn''t help but wonder, what''s wrong with our Jiuzhou Alliance? Why has a high-scoring student fallen to such a state? Why don''t the nine elite universities recruit level N students, forcing a bright and high-scoring student to opt for a vocational college? A vocational student with 732 points must be the most ironic thing in this era of systems. When every one of us lives with the help of the system, everything seems to be taken for granted. But as the era of systems hastily marches forward, who really has the time to stop and consider these issues? If this had happened to me, I probably would have handled it worse than him. I also asked about his aspirations for the future, and he told me he wanted to be a doctor and cure his grandfather''s illness. His simple wish was inexplicably heart-wrenching. Before leaving, I told him I knew a specialist at a hospital and would rmend him for his grandfather''s treatment. He hesitated, so I made it clear that it was free, the specialist would help for free. Only then did a relieved smile spread across the child''s young face. That smile lit up the dim room and rekindled hope in the family. I distinctly saw the future in Xiang Beifei''s eyes, bright and dazzling. It was his tomorrow. When his grandfather heard about this, he made an effort to get up from the bed despite his illness to thank me profusely. I quickly waved my hands and said, "No need, no need, I''m just doing what I can." Seeing the excited grandfather and grandson, I felt terribly ufortable. All I could do was to help cover their medical costs. The grateful pair saw me to the door, and in the moment before it closed, I couldn''t hold back anymore and tears fell from my eyes. I am not a level N Awakener, but at that moment, I felt no different from one. May all the kind people in the world be treated with gentleness. ¡ª¡ª Xiang Beifei read the article with astonishment. Sincere and touching, it resonated deeply! The article was grounded, with every word striking a chord! If he weren''t the person involved, he might have believed it himself! Yu Lei was very skilled at writing such pieces, adept at using pitiful tales to garner sympathy, casting Xiang Beifei and his grandfather as if they were nearly too poor to eat. Not one of the incidents mentioned in the article was true¡ªthey were all fabrications by Yu Lei. To be clear, Xiang Qingde took life seriously, and though he lived in poverty, he kept the home tidy and clean, and was in good health. The garbage piles in the street outside simply didn''t exist; the street cleaners came to clean up on time every day. On the day Yu Lei came, Xiang Beifei didn''t even go out to meet him, not exchanging a single word with him. However, the article portrayed him as a youth with "eyes filled with hope." Start with two pictures, and the rest was pure fabrications. And the pictures were forged! The guy crafted them with finesse, depicting Xiang Beifei as a green youth struggling to survive in the cracks of life, Xiang Qingde as an elderly man confined to his bed, and himself, Yu Lei, as a conscience-driven media person with a sense of justice and responsibility who dared to expose unfairness! Once the article was published on various media tforms, it instantly caused a sensation. Many people kept sharing it, bombarding friends and family group chats, with parents using the story to lecture their underachieving children, expressing sentiments like "the other family''s child," followed by a smiling emoticon. Stay updated with m-v le-mpyr As more people saw it, the discussions grew, and in just half a day''s time, it unexpectedly shot into the top ten trending searches. By doing so, the task set by Yu Lei''s system was sure to bepleted. "I really underestimated this guy." Xiang Beifei hadn''t expected Yu Lei to spread rumors so tantly, to gain attention, increase traffic, andplete his system task. The most astonishing part was the peoplementing under Yu Lei''s article, all expressing pity for Xiang Beifei; then, there were those inquiring about his contact details through Yu Lei, saying they wanted to visit, donate money to Xiang Beifei, and offer a helping hand. Then, even more shameless¡ª Yu Lei left a donation ount number, iming he would pass on the contributions. There were probably heaps of donors. And that money was likely to end up entirely in Yu Lei''s own pockets. ¡ª¡ª "Xiang Beifei, whom did you give an interview to?" Kong Xiuwen made a special trip to Xiang Beifei''s house to ask. "I didn''t, this article, not even the punctuation can be trusted, nothing in it is true," said Xiang Beifei. Frowning, Kong Xiuwen said, "I knew it, it''splete nonsense! Look, he''s released another video, an interview about Teacher Yang Hua!" Kong Xiuwen yed the video on his phone, and on the screen, Yang Hua was enthusiastically saying: "Yes, Xiang Beifei, this student, I had high hopes for him from the start! His academic performance wasn''t great in the beginning, but I always encouraged him, told him not to get discouraged, helped him identify and fill in his gaps, and he improved rapidly. You could say, the high scores he achieved today are the result of our joint efforts..." This was shot a few days ago after the results came out, with Teacher Yang Hua elevating himself to a very high pedestal in front of the camera. "How can he have the face to say that!" Kong Xiuwen rolled his eyes. "Let him talk," Xiang Beifei said. He turned to look at Xiaohei, who was ying with a red pill. That was Yang Hua''s Qi and Blood Pill. Chapter 92 Yu Leis Plan There are many educators who truly consider the students'' interests, and Principal Li Nanxing is a prime example. He doesn''t take credit for others'' work, nor does he attribute Xiang Beifei''s achievements to himself. On the contrary, he generously admits his misjudgment and conducts himself with openness. His "Confucian Saint System" gains prestige through genuinely cultivating students, and Xiang Beifei greatly respects such a teacher and senior. He wishes for more educators like Principal Li Nanxing in the world, so that more students can benefit. If he could help Principal Li Nanxing gain more prestige, Xiang Beifei would be happy to do so. The teachers of Xiang Beifei''s other subjects are also eptable; they don''t intentionally trouble the students or belittle and mock them. However, in any profession, there will always be some rotten apples like Yang Hua. But this doesn''t matter, for the kind are always treated with kindness, and the deceivers are always abandoned. Xiang Beifei understands this principle. Kong Xiuwen on the side felt indignant for Xiang Beifei, saying irritably, "Those two guys, even my dad can''t hoodwink people better than them." "What did your dad hoodwink you with?" "Before thest Awakening Ceremony, my dad gave me two pills and said that eating one would give me a fifty percent chance of awakening an SR system, and two would guarantee it. I actually believed him! Only today, during his conversation with Grandpa Xiang, did I realize he was joking with me, just to keep my mind clear during the Awakening Ceremony." At the time, Kong Xiuwen had even thought about giving one of the pills to Xiang Beifei. "You''re just realizing this now?" Xiang Beifeiughed. He remembered this incident clearly. After all, Kong Daming was an S-rank pioneer and certainly knew better what the Awakening System was all about¡ªpills were useless. "Speaking of my grandfather," Xiang Beifei nced at the report and fell into thought. ---- Yang Hua was about to go insane! He had painstakingly saved up 150,000 teachers'' prestige value and exchanged it for a Qi and Blood Pill, only to have it vanish into thin air! Just like thest Soul Condensing Pill! "How could this happen?" Yang Hua thought about it for two days and still could not figure it out! He kept asking the system if there was a glitch, but the system''s response was consistent from start to end¡ª"System reward issued." Through his students'' college entrance examination scores, he had finally saved up enough teacher prestige value, only for such bizarre incidents to happen twice in a row! "No, it can''t be a problem with my system. It''s very likely that someone has tampered with it behind my back!" After calming down, Yang Hua began to recall the entire incident. He wasn''t like Zhuo Jing, someone who had just awakened their system and wasn''t familiar with it, someone who wouldn''t think too much if something went missing. He had been an awakened system user for over a decade! There weremon elements¡ªor rather,mon people¡ªinvolved in both cases where the system rewards disappeared without a trace. He yed with his phone in frustration, and at that moment, an article on the phone caught his attention¡ª "732-point Candidate from the Slums Forsakes Elite University, The Heartbreaking Truth Behind It" He casually clicked on the article and read about Xiang Beifei. A sh of insight crossed his mind! "So it was you!" Yang Hua suddenly understood who was most likely taking his rewards! "Yu Lei!" Yang Hua said through gritted teeth. He clearly remembered that it was the day the senior students were preparing for the Awakening Ceremony when he exchanged for the Soul Condensing Pill! That morning, he had been interviewed by Yu Lei, who was there to report on the news! Afterwards, the Soul Condensing Pills disappeared. Then, when the college entrance examination results were announced, he was ready to exchange for a Qi and Blood Pill, but that guy Yu Lei appeared again! He interviewed him once more! After the interview, he went to exchange for the Qi and Blood Pill, and it disappeared again! "You bastard! So the interviews were just a ruse to mess with me and steal my system rewards using some trick?" Anger shed in Yang Hua''s eyes! The more he thought about it, the more he believed he was correct. Apart from Yu Lei, nobody else had the capability! Because none of the other students in the ss, whom he often scolded, had ever encountered such incidents before. What''s more, when the Soul Condensing Pills went missing, none of the students had awakened their systems, so it couldn''t have been one of his own students. But it just so happened that Yu Lei was the one who interviewed him both times! Could there be something fishy about that interview microphone? Damn it! ---- In the elegant coffee shop, soft lighting bathed Yu Lei in a peaceful glow. Yu Lei was leisurely sitting back, sipping coffee and reading an article on hisputer. The interview article had firmly hit the hot search lists of three tforms, reaching the tenth position in poprity. Just reaching the top twenty in hot searches on one tform was enough toplete a system task and add 1000 points to his system value. The hyped article hitting the hot search listing on three tforms was equivalent topleting three system tasks. Since the tasks were cumtive, it meant an addition of 3000 points to his system value. "At this rate, reaching the number one spot on the hot search list ispletely attainable!" Yu Lei put down his coffee cup, increasingly excited. His system was named "I Want to Make Headlines," and if he could get to the top of the hot search list and be the leading story, it would be more than justpleting a task¡ªit would add at least ten thousand system points! "I knew it, many people love this type of news!" Yu Lei typed away proudly, then turned to look out the window. Across from the coffee shop was a restaurant named "Kong''s Mansion Banquet," where an elderly man could be seen bustling about, attending to customers. That was Xiang Qingde, the bedridden old man from his article. Yu Lei knew exactly what he had to do next. Now that the article was out, many people were aware of the story of the Xiang grandfather and grandson. Quite a few sympathized with them, leaving messages saying they wanted to visit. If those busybodies were toe, it would mean that the content of his article would be exposed. Yu Lei couldn''t let those people discover the truth. Having fabricated the news, he naturally had to make it seem even more usible! So, the next step was naturally to take action against Xiang Qingde and Xiang Beifei! He looked at his system interface; hitting the hot search list on three tforms was equivalent topleting three system tasks. Eachpletion granted him a choice of two system rewards. Stealth Talisman, Truth-Telling Talisman, Control Talisman, Memory Talisman¡ªchoose any two. "You grandfather and grandson had better cooperate obediently with my performance." Yu Lei chuckled to himself. He had already nned it out: first, use the Control Talisman to make Xiang Qingde and Xiang Beifei obey his everymand. Then he''d use the Memory Talisman to alter their memories, making them believe they were the two individuals from his article, living off picking through trash, with a chaotic home life, and having them refuse interviews from other media. Finally, he would arrange for Xiang Beifei to enroll in a vocational college that he had already contacted! Chapter 93 Hype Yu Lei had to force Xiang Beifei to apply for a specialized college¡ªonly then could he stir up a sensation again. He needed to control Xiang Qingde and his grandson to act in a way that conformed to his article, thereby strengthening its persuasive power and also to avoid being arrested byw enforcement for spreading rumors. As for whether elite universities would actually make an exception to admit Xiang Beifei because of his article, he wouldn''t be at a loss. If they made an exception, that would be best. If the nine elite universities changed their system because of his article toward Xiang Beifei, everyone would remember "Yu Lei," the media person "with responsibility, attitude, and justice." His reputation would be made, his influence would grow, and he could aggressively harvest marketing traffic! If the elite universities did not respond, then as the matter fermented further,izens would direct their anger toward the nine elite universities, flooding their official ounts with posts, and then they would demand Yu Lei to represent them. As long as he continued to defend Xiang Beifei daily on media tforms, vehemently criticizing the elite universities, he would surely garner immense support from countlessizens! Yu Lei was preparing for the second scenario. He knew thatizens loved to defend the underdog. If elite universities yielded, the heat would fade in a couple of days. But the longer the elite universities held out, the longer the hype wouldst, the more attention he would receive, and the more system tasks he couldplete. Being on the headlines would not only boost his fame but also attract massive traffic to his media ount; with his poprity at its peak, advertisers would be eager to ce ads on his ount. To achieve this, Yu Lei had to firmly control Xiang Beifei and his grandfather, puppeteering them at his will! Only he could decide where Xiang Beifei could go to school! In order to extract more benefits from Xiang Beifei, the top "N-grade novice" schr, even if elite universities were pressured by public opinion to ept him, he would force Xiang Beifei to refuse the invitation! Thus, he must subdue Xiang Qingde and his grandson today, turning them into his puppets with a control talisman. Yu Lei was adept at this kind of maniption, relying on the system''s help. He had fabricated countless pieces of news, and to headline andplete system tasks, he was prepared to be utterly unscrupulous. ---- Xiang Qingde was still working at the restaurant, so Yu Lei couldn''t act immediately. To avoid attracting attention, he had to wait for a moment when no one was around, so he began browsing online posts right away. The number of online posts had been increasing, evolving just as he had anticipated over the past few days. Yesterday, he posted a Weibo, tagging the nine elite universities, reaching six million views, garnering thirty thousand reposts, twenty thousandments, and sixty thousand likes. Such poprity was incredibly high! At this moment, Liangzhou University, the only one admitting "N-grade Awakeners," spoke out on their media tform: "We wee any student to apply to Liangzhou University, and the school treats all students equally. However, the reason why we have an additional assessment for N-grade students is to ensure that their system capabilities can keep up with the intense curriculum of the school. This is a mandatory rule." Yu Lei seized the opportunity and immediately posted a Weibo: "This so-called equality isughable! We all live in the Jiuzhou Union, so why discriminate against N-grade students? Just like anyone else, N-grade Awakeners can also contribute to the Union!" This post instantly resonated with countless N-grade Awakeners. N-grade Awakeners are the mostmon and most looked-down upon in this world. Finally, someone spoke up for them, and they saw a glimmer of hope. Countless N-grade Awakeners flocked to the official ount of Liangzhou University, beginning to flood it with "N-grade Awakeners can also contribute to the Union!" All kinds of insults and private messages overwhelmed Liangzhou University''s official ount, pushing it into the eye of the storm, forcing the institution to shut downments and private messaging. This further enraged theizens, so they turned to posting on Yu Lei''s ount instead. The readership of Yu Lei''s fabricated articles moved up a notch, and his headline value was skyrocketing! "That''s right, just follow my lead and charge." Yu Lei was feeling very proud, as he could easily lead everyone by the nose with just one fabricated article, while he browsed through his ownment section. "Yu Lei is a conscientious media person!" "Nowadays, there are few who speak out for us N-level Awakeners." "Support Yu Lei, eliminate discrimination against N-level Awakeners!" ... Countless N-level Awakeners gathered in Yu Lei''sment section, treating him as the vanguard for their rights. "Hehe, you bunch of N-level fools, really think I''m voicing for you?" Yu Lei smirked as he looked at his system interface. The news had sessfully reached fourth ce on the trending search list, reward: +5000 headline value. Everyone in the world acts with their own interests in mind. He wasn''t really speaking for the N-level Awakeners; he was doing it for his system tasks! "Ha! These N-level trash aren''tpletely useless after all!" Yu Lei''s eyes lit up! 5000 headline value, that was a big gain! Just then, ament from aizen caught his attention: "I think it would be more reliable to have Xiang Beifei, the top N-level scorer, speak out. Does he have a personal Weibo ount?" "Right! Nothing works better than the person involved speaking out!" Many echoed this sentiment, preparing to seek out Xiang Beifei''s Weibo ount and have him represent the N-level System Awakeners. Yu Lei frowned. He wasn''t sure if Xiang Beifei used Weibo, but as a marketing ount, he quickly saw a bigger opportunity for sensationalism in this situation! In his view, Xiang Beifei indeed needed an ount! And this ount had to be under his, Yu Lei''s, control. With just one status update to drive traffic, he could make "Xiang Beifei''s" personal ount''s followers skyrocket! Later, by hyping up both ounts and leading these N-level Awakeners, using them as pawns, wouldn''t his system tasks bepleted more effortlessly? "No time to dy, today I must get Xiang Beifei and his grandfather under control, then use Xiang Beifei to register an ount." Yu Lei couldn''t let the real Xiang Beifei have his say; given his attitude that day, it was clear he was unwilling to cooperate. If the real Xiang Beifei came forward to speak, denying the interview Yu Lei had fabricated, that would spell trouble. Fortunately, he knew Xiang Beifei was just a high school student. Even if he had an ount, it likely wouldn''t draw much attention. Even if Xiang Beifei issued a denial today, it wouldn''t get many reads, as no one would know if it were true or false. Just by controlling that kid today, how the situation would develop from there would still be up to him, wouldn''t it? Chapter 94 The Disappearing Control Talisman It was already past ten in the evening, and the restaurant was getting less crowded. Kong Daming had earlier urged Xiang Qingde to head home early, but Xiang Qingde disagreed, insisting on waiting until after work to leave. "Then I''ll take you home, it''s quitete," Kong Daming said. "No need, it''s only a ten-minute walk. How could I possibly get lost? You go ahead and close up, I''ve got a shlight." Xiang Qingde put on his coat, waved at Kong Daming to reassure him, and then left the restaurant. "Be careful." Kong Daming thought about the old man''s robust health; a ten-minute walk at night should pose no problem, so he didn''t think much more about it. Yu Lei, who had been sitting in the caf¨¦ all afternoon, noticed Xiang Qingde leaving the restaurant. He quickly packed up hisptop and followed him. In his view, among the grandson and grandfather, Xiang Qingde was the tougher one to deal with; after all, he had been an Awakener for decades, definitely more challenging than Xiang Beifei, who had only awakened two months ago. Xiang Beifei was merely an N-level Awakener, having just awakened for two months, not even at the Qi-Controlling stage. Wouldn''t it be effortless to subdue him once Xiang Qingde was under control? He nned to attack Xiang Qingde first in a dark corner, using a control talisman to subdue him, then follow him home to take control of Xiang Beifei and capture both grandfather and grandson. To fabricate the situation described in his article, he even prepared in advance the medicinal pot and the bag for collecting recybles, ready to mess up their home, making it look exactly as described in his story. "Then, I''ll register an ount overnight, take a photo with them, generate some traffic, then make the old man quit his job and keep him from contacting other media, making him obediently my puppet!" Yu Lei had thought through the subsequent steps; he intended to use the grandfather and grandson as tools for making money! By half-past ten, there weren''t many pedestrians on the street; Xiang Qingde was walking home with his shlight. He turned into a street without streetlights, pitch-dark, with the lights from residential buildings failing to reach this side. However, Xiang Qingde was used to it and turned on his shlight to light up the path ahead. But he didn''t notice at all that a figure was stealthily closing in on him from behind. Yu Lei was a practitioner of the literary Dao, but as an R-level System Awakener who had groped his way through the journalism industry for many years for the convenience of secretly taking photos, he had developed agile movements, with skills reaching the mid-stage of Qi-Controlling. He had scoped out the area during the day; this part of the street had no surveince. Xiang Qingde was just an ordinary N-level Awakener, not particrly high in skills; he had to make his move on this stretch. Yu Lei hadpleted three system tasks, with the reward being a choice of two out of four, meaning he could select six rewards in total. He had already chosen to exchange for three memory talismans and three control talismans, which,pared to the truth-telling talismans and stealth talismans, were more useful. "Old fool, just be my puppet!" Yu Lei gripped a control talisman, then stretched his hand toward Xiang Qingde''s back. However, just as his hand was about to touch Xiang Qingde, Yu Lei suddenly felt something was off. It was as if a sinister breeze had blown past, and his just-exchanged control talisman had disappeared! "How could this be?" Yu Lei''s face changed, and he quickly withdrew his hand and dodged to the side. This incident was unexpected; without the control talisman, directly touching Xiang Qingde would be practically the same as greeting him! "Where''s my control talisman?" Yu Lei stopped next to a tree, looking at his system interface in amazement. He had never encountered anything like this before! Not only that, but the three Memory Talismans and two control talismans he had already imed had also disappeared! In the dead of night, it was like seeing a ghost! Yu Lei searched for his system rewards. He had redeemed this reward ten minutes ago, and it was still there just now. Why did it disappear all of a sudden the moment he made his move? But by this time, Xiang Qingde had already walked far away. He hadn''t been disturbed by Yu Lei, so he continued walking forward, quickly turning around the street corner and disappearing. "Damn it!" Yu Lei gritted his teeth, his system was acting up for some unknown reason, mysteriously making his rewards disappear, but he knew now was not the time to fret about the system glitching, but to deal with Xiang Qingde. With the advancedwork technology, finding a person wasn''t too difficult. Maybe as soon as tomorrow, someone could find Luhe High School and ask the school''s teachers about Xiang Beifei''s address. If they were to find out that situation at Xiang Qingde''s home was different from what his article described, he would be in loads of trouble! "I can''t wait any longer!" Yu Lei decided to deal with Xiang Qingde first and then consider the issue of the missing system reward. He immediately spent 1000 headline points and redeemed another control talisman! Besides being a missionpletion reward, the control talisman could also be exchanged in the shop using system points. He had only refrained from exchanging itst time because he was worried that the news wouldn''t make it to the trending searches, wasting system points. But now, that article had garnered a massive readership, earning him far more than 1000 headline points! Yu Lei, holding the control talisman, continued to pursue Xiang Qingde. However, he hadn''t traveled far when suddenly a furious gust of punches erupted from the side! Bang! The fist wind created a spark in the air, the exploding mes roaring loudly, and with incredible swiftness, it smashed towards Yu Lei''s face. Yu Lei was startled by the abrupt fist wind and didn''t react in time. With a "thud," he was directly struck in the bridge of his nose, the tremendous impact sending him flying. "Ah!" He let out a scream, his body hitting the wall like a sandbag. Yu Lei was merely a practitioner of the literary Dao, not very adept at fighting. Caught unguarded, he took a solid punch to the nose, breaking it and immediately causing blood to flow. "Damn, who ambushed me!" But, being a mid-stage Qi-Controlling Awakener, he was used to dealing with stealthy situations and reacted very quickly. After his nose was broken, he quickly snapped back to his senses, a grey light shed over his body, and he transformed into ck smoke, disappearing from beneath the attacker''s fist. Stealth Talisman! He had plenty of such items on him, capable of melding himself with the darkness, transforming into ck smoke, escaping, and enabling him to remain invisible in various corners. This was an essential skill for paparazzi and also his most proficient ability. "Who are you!" Yu Lei, hidden in the darkness, red angrily at the person who had suddenly attacked him. The person was dressed in ck and also wore a hat, standing in the darkness just like him. It was impossible to see the attacker''s face clearly, but Yu Lei felt an immense pressure! The opponent''s fist wind was too domineering, something he couldn''t resist! Chapter 95 Not So Particular The one who made a move was Xiang Beifei. But he would not exin to Yu Lei. Yu Lei was, after all, in the middle stage of Qi-Controlling, the same realm as himself. Even if Yu Lei was not good at fighting, Xiang Beifei would not underestimate him. Without saying another word, he rushed at Yu Lei again. Although Yu Lei had a Stealth Talisman and had hidden his body, invisible in the dark, to Xiang Beifei it made no difference whether he was concealed or not; the system interface sparkled, serving as a guiding light. Boom! A fist wind smashed down toward the ce where Yu Lei was hiding, and Yu Lei was terrified! "How could you..." Yu Lei did not understand how his position had been exposed. Although not skilled inbat, he was very good at concealing himself, always able to follow others without being discovered. But somehow, the guy in the darkness had urately found him. However, the current scene did not allow Yu Lei to think too much. He surged forward again, and at the same time, a dagger for self-defense appeared in his hand and he stabbed at Xiang Beifei. Even though he was a practitioner of the literary Dao, in this system world, he still learned some abilities to protect himself with the help of the system. The dagger was very sharp, easily picking locks and getting past doors¡ªit was naturally more than enough for stabbing people. In the cover of darkness, the dagger silently moved towards Xiang Beifei''s chest. Xiang Beifei controlled the breath soil, which interweaved in his hands to form a small shield, blocking the dagger and knocking it out of the way. "Damn it!" Yu Lei took a step back angrily, then bitterly said, "You think knocking my dagger away is the end of it?" With a thought, the dagger that was knocked away traced an arc in the air, making a devious curve, and stabbed at Xiang Beifei''s back. "Die!" Yu Lei shouted furiously. However, as the dagger flew through the air, it suddenly seemed to have been forcibly pulled by something, halting so abruptly it could not advance another inch! Abruptly Stop! Using this ability, Xiang Beifei froze Yu Lei''s dagger in ce, then dashed forward,nding a punch on Yu Lei''s face. Yu Lei did not dodge this time and was smashed against the wall. But before he could get up, gigantic fists pummeled down on him like hail, striking him all over. Bang! Bang! Bang! In just an instant, Yu Lei was beaten to a bloody pulp, screaming miserably. Then his eyes rolled back, and he fainted. Both were in the middle stage of Qi-Controlling, yet Yu Lei stood no chance against Xiang Beifei! ---- Ever since Yu Lei''s article hit the trending searches, Xiang Beifei had anticipated that this guy would definitelye for them. He had previously seen his system task and knew that Yu Lei had a control talisman; since he seeded in getting the article trending, for the sake of damage control, Yu Lei would certainly try to control both the grandfather and the grandson. So from the afternoon, Xiang Beifei had been waiting not far from the restaurant, watching over Grandpa in the diner, and after Grandpa finished work, he followed behind. Sure enough, as expected, Yu Lei was prepared to control Xiang Qingde from behind. "Some people are not for you to touch!" Xiang Beifei looked indifferently at Yu Lei, who had been knocked unconscious. Bang! He smashed another punch down. This punch was struck for Grandpa. Daring to have designs on his Grandpa, Xiang Beifei would show no mercy; he was not in the mood to reason with the opponent. Beat him up first, then talk! ``` Bang! He raised his hand and punched Yu Lei in the face again. This punch was to knock him outpletely, ensuring that he wasn''t feigning unconsciousness. After Lai Wuying had pretended to be defeated and then suddenlyunched a vicious attack that nearly killed Lu Hong, Xiang Beifei realized that such matters required decisive action! "Using my name to set up a personal ount and coborating with you to sensationalize it? You''re quite the cunning one," he said. Xiang Beifei looked at Yu Lei''s system tasks, where the other''s ns wereid out on the system interface for all to see, including thepletion conditions and rewards for each step, all crystal clear. The more Xiang Beifei looked at these system tasks, the deeper his frown became. This guy was so shameless for the sake of making headlines, even nning on controlling his grandfather like a puppet, which was something Xiang Beifei absolutely couldn''t tolerate. Originally, when Xiang Beifei saw the fabricated article, he thought he could also create an ount to clear the air, exposing Yu Lei''s conspiracy and turningizens against him instead. But after some thought, Xiang Beifei realized he might not be able to outsmart Yu Lei with just a simple online rification. Yu Lei was a seasoned media professional with a deeper understanding of the inte than him. So Xiang Beifei decided to take a more straightforward approach. His time was precious, and he had no interest in a battle of wits with someone like Yu Lei; a direct confrontation would suffice. Xiang Beifei then took out the control talisman in his hand. Elixirs produced by other people''s systems that could directly advance one''s cultivation were ineffective on Xiang Beifei, but the effects of a control talisman could still be employed. However, this was a Qi-Controlling mid-stage system item, belonging to the things condensed by Yu Lei''s system. If Xiang Beifei used it directly, it would be difficult to control Yu Lei because Yu Lei''s "Headline System" would protect him. Xiaohei had told him that to make the control talisman effective on Yu Lei without being rejected by Yu Lei''s system, he must first knock Yu Lei out. When he was unconscious, that was when his will was at its weakest, and the control talisman could take effect. "Now it''s time for us to settle ounts," Xiang Beifei dered. Xiang Beifei affixed the control talisman to Yu Lei''s neck; following Xiaohei''s taught method, he infused his Spiritual Power into the talisman. A flicker of light shed across the control talisman before sinking into Yu Lei''s body and disappearing. Yu Lei soon opened his eyes, his gaze nk, seemingly unaware of where he was. Yu Lei probably never imagined that one day his system items would be used on himself by someone else. "Who are you?" Xiang Beifei inquired. "Yu Lei," he replied. "How many times have you fabricated fake news?" Xiang Beifei asked. "Over a hundred times, I guess; I never counted," Yu Lei responded honestly. "You know what the consequences are for creating fake news, right?" Xiang Beifei asked. "I know." "Have you ever caused anyone''s death with your fake news?" "Yes, I''ve caused the deaths of nine. Threemitted suicide after I fabricated stories that resulted in their job loss and they couldn''t bear the usations from those around them. And there was one person I killed to make up a story..." Yu Lei confessed to all the people he had indirectly or directly caused the death of in order to create fake news. "So, if you''d managed to control the grandfather and grandson pair of the Original Division''s top schrs, what was your endgame for them?" Xiang Beifei continued. "When the hype around the Original Division''s top schr was about to die down, I nned to control the old man tomit suicide. Then I''d fabricate an article titled ''Elder with Asthma Chooses Suicide to Avoid Burdening His Top-Schr Grandson'' to sensationalize onest wave of attention," Yu Lei answered inly. Bang! Xiang Beifei threw another punch. This punch wasn''t for anything in particr; when it''s time to hit, just hit. Nothing fancy. ``` Chapter 96 Confession If the top scorer''s grandfather reallymitted suicide due to "life''s pressure," the sensation it would cause would be incredible! All he would need to do is publish an obituary, describing in detail how he med himself, how he couldn''t better help the grandfather and grandson, then he would garner the sympathy of countless people! Yu Lei could even be a celebrity in the media industry because of this incident. And his system ie would probably skyrocket, to the point where Xiang Beifei wouldn''t be surprised if Yu Lei reached the Meridian Opening Realm within a year by harvesting headline values from the system! "For the sake of system tasks, he really is unscrupulous." If Xiang Beifei hadn''t been cautious from the start, he and his grandfather would have been in a very dire situation after being controlled. The world of the system isn''t the same as Xiang Beifei''s previous world; they possess powerful system abilities, and their methods are simple yet effective. Should greed take over, the things they''re capable of are truly terrifying! Xiang Beifei really wanted to kill this guy! However, after thinking it over, he gave up the idea. Currently, the article about the top scorer from the slums is spreading all over the inte, and Xiang Beifei hasn''t debunked it yet. If Yu Lei were killed, that guy would then be seen by his fans as having been murdered for speaking out of turn. Yu Lei might even be elevated to a higher status, like someone who died fighting for N-level Awakener rights, or someone who crossed paths with certain vested interests. They might even build monuments in his honor and regard him as a pioneer against N-level discrimination. That would be letting him off far too easily. Xiang Beifei needed to expose this guy''s true nature and ensure his utter disgrace! After pondering for a moment, he said, "Write aplete article about all the bad things you''ve done, the people you''ve killed, the rumors you''ve spread, how you fabricated news, your objectives, the methods you used, and any evidence you have¡ªeverything from start to finish." "Okay." Yu Lei turned to retrieve his backpack that had fallen to the ground, hisputer still inside, but theputer was broken. But as someone with a news system, he was never short of tools for news reporting¡ªXiang Beifei simply had him use system points to exchange for a newptop. Thisptop, provided by the system and linked to Yu Lei himself, could quicklypose an article reflecting Yu Lei''s thoughts, an essential tool for writing news stories. And so, Yu Lei sat by the roadside, beginning to write his confession letter. Xiang Beifei stood by, watching him list all the evidence that could be investigated. The process took about an hour, and people passed by now and then. Xiang Beifei had to use a Stealth Talisman from Yu Lei''s system to conceal them both in the shadows, preventing them from being seen. Xiang Beifei took out his phone to check the news and inadvertently discovered that the fabricated article by Yu Lei had unwittingly topped the trending search list! He turned his head towards Yu Lei''s system interface. [You have sessfully made the Xiang Beifei incident the top trending news on two media tforms, earning +20,000 headline values.] [For the first time your coverage of the Xiang Beifei incident has made the headlines on a media tform, extra rewards: Stealth Talisman x2; Truth-Telling Talisman x2; Memory Talisman x2; Control Talisman x2] [Current headline value: 156,988, exchangeable for one Qi-Raising Talisman.] Yu Lei was just a minor reporter, not a big shot, and climbing to the top of the hot search list on major media tforms was no easy feat, because in this world he wasn''t the only one with a system like "I Want to Make Headlines System." Many of his journalist peers who were Awakeners even had S-level rted systems, superior to his. One could say, this incident was a golden opportunity for Yu Lei to turn his fortunes around! Only he picked the wrong person to mess with. Xiang Beifei didn''t hold back; after all, Yu Lei came to kill his own grandfather, so taking these items was fair game¡ªthe rewards were all epted as listed. It was a bit regrettable that Yu Lei merely had mid-stage Qi-Controlling abilities, and the system items were also mid-stage Spiritual Qi Crystals, which couldn''t help Xiang Beifei light up any star positions. But that Qi-Raising Talisman was what Yu Lei nned to use to advance to theter stages of Qi-Controlling, an item from theter stage of the system worth 150,000 headline values, which he had exchanged for. "Go turn yourself in, tell thew enforcement officers all the bad things you''ve done, remember, you must find someone named Lu Hong! Hand over this confession to them and identify how you destroyed the evidence¡ªalso¡ª" Xiang Beifei pped another Memory Talisman onto Yu Lei''s back: "You did not see me tonight; you decided to confess of your own ord due to a guilty conscience and restless sleep." That was the only excuse he could find. "Okay." Yu Lei''s eyes became vacant, as his memory was altered ording to Xiang Beifei''s maniption. "Wait." Xiang Beifei thought for a moment, then spoke again. Yu Lei looked at him, puzzled. Bang! Xiang Beifei threw another punch. He hadn''t fully vented his anger yet. This guy wanted to kill his own grandfather; it was already generous not to have beaten him to death with a single punch! "Wipe off the nosebleed." Yu Lei immediately did as he was told. Xiang Beifei hid in the shadows, making Yu Lei reveal himself; he had to watch Yu Lei go to the Law Enforcement Brigade personally. As for how the Law Enforcement Brigade would deal with Yu Lei, who came to confess without reason, Xiang Beifei wasn''t too worried. Uncle Lu would cover for him. ¡ª¡ª Lu Hong wasn''t scheduled for the night shift tonight; he was resting at home. His wife had taken their daughter back to her mother''s house, and he finally had a night of freedom. At this moment, he opened his phone''s news app and saw an article being pushed out, titled "A 732-point student from the slums forsakes elite university, the heartbreaking truth behind it." Lu Hong clicked in to read it and instantly became alert. "Is it Beifei?" A couple of days ago, after the college entrance exam results were released, Lu Zhiwei told Lu Hong that Xiang Beifei had the top raw score. At the time, his reaction was quite calm; others might be surprised, but he knew that the kid Xiang Beifei was extraordinary, after all, he was Xiang Tianxing''s son, and he exhibited exceptional talent in all aspects. But the more he read the article, the more Lu Hong felt something was off. "Nonsense! Is this journalist spreading rumors?" Lu Hong had visited Xiang Beifei''s home, and Xiang Qingde was in good health, and Lu Zhiwei had even mentioned Xiang Beifei''s attempt to try for Liangzhou University, which didn''t match the report at all. "No, this could cause Beifei to sh with Liangzhou University, and that would be bad." Lu Hong immediately became serious! Beifei was about to prepare for the entrance assessment of Liangzhou University, and this news was detrimental to him! Lu Hong decided to talk to Yu Lei, the journalist, tomorrow, telling him that spreading rumors was illegal and to honestly delete his post. But just then, his phone suddenly rang; it was Ma Feiguang calling. "Captain Lu, a journalist named Yu Lei hase to confess. He insists on speaking honestly only to you," Ma Feiguang said urgently. "Yu Lei?" Lu Hong was extremely surprised! Wasn''t that the guy? How could this be such a coincidence? He had just nned to seek out Yu Lei tomorrow, but Yu Lei hade forward to confess? Suddenly, the image of the honest and simple Beifei emerged in his mind. His sharp detective''s intuition told him that anything rted to Beifei was never simple! At least so far, Lu Hong hadn''t treated Beifei as an ordinary high school student; the boy always managed to do things that impressed him. Lai Wuying was exposed by Beifei, Qin Yi lost face in front of Beifei, and now Yu Lei wrote an article attacking Beifei and then went to confess? "Could this guy have been dealt with by Beifei?" Lu Hong''s gaze turned somewhat strange. Chapter 97 Safety Net Lu Hong was, rtively speaking, one of the few people who knew Xiang Beifei well. Although in his eyes, Xiang Beifei was also a mysterious youth, he didn''t know what system Xiang Beifei had awakened, but he was aware that the boy''s abilities were extraordinary. No matter what Xiang Beifei did, he would not be too surprised. Lu Hong immediately rushed to thew enforcement brigade, sat in the interrogation room with a furrowed brow, surveyed Yu Lei, and then sent the otherw enforcement officers away. He was almost certain that Beifei was behind this. The reason was nothing else but the burn scars on Yu Lei''s body, which were caused by Rapid me, and Lu Hong, being a possessor of Rapid me, knew this all too well. "Beifei acted too rashly, a popr journalistes forth to confess right after publishing such an article, admitting that what he wrote about the top schr was false, isn''t he afraid that others would suspect his connection with this schr?" Lu Hong pondered. Yu Lei was admitting all his actions in great detail and even handed over the confession he wrote to Lu Hong. He even prepared a confession in writing? Lu Hong suddenly paused, thought of something, and chuckled bitterly, "Does this kid think I woulde up with a reason for Yu Lei''s confession?" Lu Hong helplesslyughed. He had just been thinking about how to help Beifei cover up the past. Beifei had some special abilities, and before he matured, but could help cover up, he would do as much as possible, keeping a low profile, which would be better for Beifei''s future. At that moment, Lu Hong''s phone vibrated, and a message popped up. He nced at it and saw that it was from Xiang Beifei, with a simple content: "Please, thank you, Uncle Lu." You still know how to thank me? Lu Hong rubbed his forehead, feeling quite a headache. But this rascal, can he even guess my thoughts? Lu Hong picked up his phone and replied irritably, "Remember to give a heads up next time!" "Okay." Xiang Beifei''s reply was simple, asmunication between intelligent people didn''t need to beplex. Lu Hong put away his phone, and his gaze towards Yu Lei suddenly became sharp, he mmed the table and barked, "Continue, confess all the bad things you''ve done!" ¡ª¡ª Yu Lei''s article spread widely, and if he targeted an ordinary household, they would have no recourse. Yu Lei would directly control the person involved, even if rtives called the police, it would be useless because the person had already been controlled and would act ording to Yu Lei''s wishes, thus turning the fabricated into reality. But he had hit a snag, he would never have imagined that he had messed with someone he shouldn''t have, especially someone who knew the Captain of thew enforcement in the Liangzhou West Administrative Region! Lu Hong now regarded Xiang Beifei as a treasure, and he would investigate seriously anything that dared to "hit porcin" with Xiang Beifei. He spent two days investigating all the cases involving Yu Lei''s confession, and when he confirmed Yu Lei''s crimes, Lu Hong was quite shocked! This was actually a viin of the highest order! Lu Hong, as captain of the Liangzhou West Administrative Regionw enforcement, quickly spread a rification online that the top schr grandfather and grandson were well, not as miserable as the article described. The reason for Yu Lei''s confession, as exined by Lu Hong, was that he knew the grandfather and grandson and was aware of their living situation. To investigate the matter, he specifically summoned Yu Lei, and this led to uncovering even more unknown truths. The persuasive power of the Captain of the Liangzhou West Administrative Regionw enforcement was significant, and although many people still had their doubts, Lu Hong directlyid out all the evidence ording to Yu Lei''s confession, effectively silencing those people. Your adventure continues at m v|l-e-NovelFire The matter was handled very smoothly. After Yu Lei surrendered, his crimes were publicized, all his social media ounts were canceled, and all the fabricated articles were deleted. Afterward, Yu Lei''s act of fabricating news to chase poprity caused an uproar on the inte, with the name "Yu Lei" firmly upying the top of every major media outlet''s trending lists. Everyone was cursing this guy for hisck of morals and extreme wickedness, exploiting people''s sympathies for profit. The focus shifted from the nine elite universities directly back to Yu Lei. Especially those in the N-level system, who had initially supported Yu Lei righteously, only to find out that they had been used as pawns by him, were indescribably angry! Yu Lei probably didn''t expect that, in his desperation to fabricate fake news to get others trending, he would end up trending himself! But now, he could only receive his system rewards in prison. ¡ª¡ª "Serves him right!" Upon seeing the news about Yu Lei''s arrest, Yang Hua finally breathed a sigh of relief! Yu Lei hadmitted numerous crimes and had been ruthless in his news creation, which solidified something for Yang Hua! His lost system rewards must have been stolen by Yu Lei! This cunning guy! Unfortunately, now that he was in prison, it seemed impossible to recover those two rewards; he had no choice but to ept his bad luck. "At the end of the day, I have to thank Beifei. It was because of his incident that Captain Lu was able to catch this guy!" Yang Hua felt a rare sense of gratitude towards Beifei. If it weren''t for Yu Lei reporting on Beifei, which coincidentally led Lu Hong, who knew Beifei, to investigate Yu Lei and finally capture him, he might not have had the chance to obtain justice! I need to be careful next time and not just ept interviews casually! ¡ª¡ª Beifei had alreadypleted his college application, choosing Liangzhou University. With his scores, Liangzhou University would surely be upgraded, then give him a chance for an entrance assessment. The exact date was not yet set, but it was going to be in theing days, so he was still diligently practicing Rapid me. He had gradually noticed the issues with Rapid me and had sessfully made some improvements. "I should be able to give feedback tomorrow." Beifei summarized the characteristics of the Rapid me martial art, nning to seek feedback from Lu Hong in the next few days to help Lu Hongplete the mandatory task issued by the Investigation System, aiming to obtain an advancement pill for him. It wasn''t that Beifei coveted the advancement pill; having Lu Hong reach the mid-level of Meridian Opening was also beneficial for Beifei. Lu Hong was very generous and genuinely kind to Beifei, much like Principal Li Nanxing. They both were willing to spend system values to aid him. If Beifei needed system rewards to activate a constetion, Lu Hong would certainly not be stingy. Thus, ensuring that Lu Hong reached the mid-level of Meridian Opening, at least, secured that Beifei could obtain enough system rewards from him for activating constetions at that level. Of course, higher-level system rewards cost more system values, and Beifei did not want Lu Hong to overspend. He would certainly try to obtain system items from others first; if all else failed, then he would turn to Lu Hong for emergency help. As for who these "others" were, Beifei already had a target in mind. Liangzhou wanted list! Obtaining system rewards from these wanted criminals would not only be justifiable but also earn a bounty, killing two birds with one stone. "Helping solve cases should also enable Uncle Lu to earn Investigation Value. It would be fair to him." Beifei pondered and continued to throw a punch into the air. Chapter 98 Counting Numbers Lu Hong had been organizing Yu Lei''s case files; the case had already concluded, and Yu Lei had been imprisoned in the Jiuzhou Alliance Prison due to his crimes. As an R-ranked Awakener, he was sentenced to life imprisonment and once incarcerated, he would never get out again. "I wonder what Beifei has been up to these past few days?" It was somewhatughable; he had been busy dealing with the issues concerning Xiang Beifei and Yu Lei over thest few days, yet he hadn''t seen the main person involved, the first original party, Xiang Beifei, even once. That made him feel both amused and frustrated. Thanks to his extensive experience in case handling, Lu Hong sessfully shifted the focus ofizens from Xiang Beifei to other fabricated news about Yu Lei. Consequently, people discussed Yu Lei more, and Xiang Beifei received less attention. Lu Hong nailed Yu Lei with other crimes because the victims involved in Yu Lei''s case were far too numerous. In his effort to thoroughly investigate, he spent every day probing, and as a result, his Investigation Value increased by over 2000! "I didn''t expect thatst time I exchanged all 2000 Investigation Points for system items for Beifei, he''d return them to me so soon." Lu Hong felt quite emotional. Last month, Beifei had his Investigation System initiate apulsory task and also gifted him 2000 Investigation Points, which Lu Hong used to help Beifei. But within just a month, Beifei had captured Yu Lei and helped Lu Hong replenish the lost Investigation Points. "That being said, ever since I met thisd, I seem to have never been at a loss." Lu Hong sat in his office, twirling a pen in his hand, lost in thought. With Beifei''s help, he had solved the case of Lai Wuying and earned arge amount of Investigation Points. Then, the day Beifei came to learn Rapid me, just by taking a nce, he caught Wan Qiu who was robbing a bank and earned anotherrge amount. Next, Beifei had his system initiate apulsory task, and he earned another batch, and now this one. Even though he had also spent a substantial amount of system points to protect him, in the end, Lu Hong''s Investigation Points ie had always been positive. "It''s just¡ª" Lu Hong stared at his system interface. [Note: Rapid me is the host''s fundamental reliance, and the host''sprehension of Rapid me is no less than Xiang Beifei''s. To be even stronger, feedback from Xiang Beifei is essential] [If Xiang Beifei is willing to provide feedback, you can receive an Advanced Pill] An Advanced Pill, huh! This could advance him from the early stage to the middle stage of Meridian Opening, which was incredibly important for him! "I wonder if he has made any improvements to Rapid me?" Experience new stories on m v|l e-NovelFire Most importantly, if Beifei had improved Rapid me, would hee and tell him? Lu Hong felt uneasy. Every time he was free from work and there were no criminals around, he would think about this question, and every time he pondered it, he felt so tormented he had to count. Everyone has a few quirks; his quirky habit was to count to pass the time when he had nothing else to do. He was no longer counting "Will Beifeie today?" but "Will Beifei provide feedback?" Since he was free today, Lu Hong started counting with his pen on a row of file folders on his desk, "He will provide feedback, he will not provide feedback, he will provide feedback, he will not provide feedback¡­" By the end, he realized the oue was "he will not provide feedback"! "Bad luck! Xiao Ma, bring a new file folder in here," Lu Hong shouted! The number of folders was even, he needed an odd number so that he could end up on "Beifei will provide feedback." "Boss, here." Ma Feiguang quickly brought in a file folder from outside and handed it to Lu Hong. Lu Hong saw that Ma Feiguang had actually brought two! "I asked for one!" Lu Hong said irately. "What''s the difference?" grumbled Ma Feiguang. "One is enough, two take up space." Without further discussion, Lu Hong threw one of the file folders back to Ma Feiguang and then shoved the new folder into the stack of old ones, feeling slightly better. He propped his chin on his hand and took up his pen again to count the number of pages in a document. Thinking of always starting from "Beifei will provide feedback," but the results always turned out to be frustrating. This time he decided to change it up, starting with "he will not provide feedback!" Then, after counting the number of pages in the document, he discovered the result was¡ª "He won''t give feedback!" Oh boy, damn it! Lu Hong was so frustrated! Until now, he had never counted on "Beifei giving feedback." Could it be that Beifei really wouldn''t give feedback? Lu Hong sighed deeply. At this moment, someone knocked on the office door twice. "Uncle Lu, are you free?" Lu Hong, bored and counting staples, responded without looking up, "No, I''m counting!" "Counting?" The person knocking sounded puzzled. Lu Hong suddenly startled, wait, was this voice familiar? There weren''t many people who called him Uncle Lu! "Beifei!" Lu Hong nearly leaped from his chair, his face breaking into a surprised smile. This rascal, he finally decided to show up! Lu Hong''s mood instantly became excited. "Uncle Lu, am I disturbing you? I heard you saying you were counting? What are you counting? Is it an unsolvable case? Do you need my help?" Xiang Beifei asked curiously. Lu Hong coughed awkwardly; he certainly couldn''t let Xiang Beifei help him with such mundane matters. He quickly tossed his pen aside and said, "No, just counting how many cases Yu Lei has been involved in." "Oh, I see." Xiang Beifei did not think much of it. "Sit." Lu Hong forced himself to calm down. He was, after all, a precinct captain, and though he sometimes engaged in mundane activities to pass the time when free, he couldn''t lose his dignity in front of his junior. "About Yu Lei, you are too reckless! The fist wounds on him, I knew at first nce were caused by Rapid me! Did you confront him?" The first time Lu Hong saw Yu Lei, he had noticed the injuries, which he could not overlook. "Yes, thank you, Uncle Lu," Xiang Beifei said. Lu Hong was stunned for a moment: "Thank me for what?" "For covering that up for me." "Are you so sure I would cover for you?" Lu Hong asked. Xiang Beifei smiled politely and did not respond. Lu Hong shook his head helplessly; he indeed had covered it up right away that day. "Speaking of which, Yu Lei has a mid-stage Qi-Controlling ability; how did you take him down?" Lu Hong remembered Xiang Beifei had only awakened two months ago and was busy with his college entrance exams. Logically, his abilities should only be at the initial stage of Qi-Controlling. Xiang Beifei thought for a moment and said, "As soon as I threw a punch, he went down." Lu Hong: "..." Xiang Beifei added, "Uncle Lu teaches well, Rapid me is very powerful, it was easy to hit him." "Don''t tter me!" Lu Hong rubbed his forehead but secretly enjoyed the praise. The kid was polite, had a good temperament, spoke pleasantly, and was strong; it seemed he had all the good traits. After a while, Lu Hong asked somewhat nervously, "By the way, I thought you were preparing for Liangzhou University''s assessment all this while, so I didn''t look for you. What brings you here today?" "For the Liangzhou University assessment," Xiang Beifei said. Lu Hong''s eyes showed a look of disappointment. Beifei came looking for him, not for Rapid me? The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 99 Exchange Skills Lu Hong sighed internally, possibly Beifei had not made any progress yet, so he would have to wait a bit longer. "Tell me, how can I help you? I graduated from the Martial Arts College of Liangzhou University myself. If I can help, I definitely will, but if you ask me what the examination is about, I really don''t know. I inquiredst time but got no news. However, if you want to enter the Martial Arts College, I think it most likely rtes to martial arts," Lu Hong still said patiently. "That''s exactly why I''m here. I also feel that the examination might be rted to martial arts. Uncle Lu, with your extensive experience, could you spar with me? It would help me identify my weaknesses," Xiang Beifei said. "Spar with you?" Lu Hong pondered; he had not expected Xiang Beifei to suggest this. "Yes, with guidance from Uncle Lu, I should be able to improve faster," Xiang Beifei said. Lu Hong had nothing else nned for the day, so he nodded, "Alright, let''s go to the training room." The two left the office, and outside, Ma Feiguang, seeing Xiang Beifei, his eyes lit up, "It''s the Shadow Detective!" "Captain Lu, what case is the Shadow Detective nning to crack now?" Xiao Cao also asked excitedly. "Get lost, it''s none of your business," Lu Hong waved them off, sending these people away. Xiang Beifei asked in confusion, "Shadow Detective?" "Wasn''t it from that day in the detention room where you identified the abilities of Wan Qiu and Lv He and shocked us all?" Lu Hong exined with a smile, "That day, you cracked the case with one nce and then turned around and left, only leaving a shadow behind. That shadow left such a deep impression on everyone, so they ended up giving you the nickname ''Shadow Detective!''" One night when Wan Qiu and Lv He escaped from jail, Xiang Beifei casually cracked the case, identified the suspects, and without bothering to exin, turned around and left, leaving behind a suave shadow in the corridor. That shadow continued to linger in the minds of thesew enforcers, and even though Lu Hong hadter exined Xiang Beifei''s reasoning process to them, they were still utterly shocked by Xiang Beifei. Mainly because the entire reasoning process was too precise, fast, and wless. "That''s really a strange name," Xiang Beifei said. The two arrived at the training room. Xiang Beifei put down his backpack, then clenched his fists, looking at Lu Hong and said, "Uncle Lu, don''t hold back. Just point out my deficiencies." Lu Hong stretched his arms and said, "Don''t worry, I''ll keep my level equal to yours. Just make your move." Xiang Beifei stomped his foot on the ground, abruptly springing forward, charging at Lu Hong! Whoosh! In an instant, Xiang Beifei was in front of Lu Hong. As his fist struck, Spiritual Power wrapped around his hands, sting out a me gale! This punch, carrying a bizarre strength, rocketed towards Lu Hong''s face at a tremendous speed! "Well done!" Lu Hong judged that Xiang Beifei''s cultivation might only be in the early stages of Qi-Controlling, so he tried to suppress his Spiritual Power to a simr level. However, since Lu Hong was a cultivator in the Meridian Opening stage, although Xiang Beifei''s fist wind was fast, it still seemed slow to him. He clenched his fist, and a burst of explosive mes rose from his hand, meeting Xiang Beifei''s fist! Boom! Two fist mes violently crossed in the air, giving rise to an explosive sound. Lu Hong''s face suddenly changed, a powerful force transmitted from his arm, he actually couldn''t catch Xiang Beifei''s punch, and in a critical moment, he had to nt his body aside, diverting most of the force from Xiang Beifei''s fist, but as a result, he couldn''t help but step backward several steps! "You ¡ª your strength?" Lu Hong stared at Xiang Beifei in astonishment. He thought Xiang Beifei only had the initial strength of Qi-Controlling, so he suppressed his own spiritual power to the initial stage of Qi-Controlling. It turned out to be a big disadvantage, and had it not been for his vast experience, that punch might have sent him flying. "Qi-Controlling mid-stage." Xiang Beifei clenched his fist, his figure did not slow down as he charged again, his ferocious fist wind hammering towards Lu Hong. Qi-Controlling mid-stage? Lu Hong was stunned! How could he have reached the mid-stage of Qi-Controlling in just two months since awakening? Even for them, the S-level Awakeners, stepping into the mid-stage of Qi-Controlling had taken nearly five to six months, yet Beifei had unknowingly advanced to this level? Lu Hong was genuinely shocked. He had previously spected that the awakening system of Beifei might not be as simple as an N-level; now, it seemed that his spection was almost correct. If an S-level could not reach the mid-stage of Qi-Controlling in two months, then N-level was even less likely. Considering this, his awakening talent must be higher, possibly even at the level of his father, Xiang Tianxing! Lu Hong finally understood what Beifei meant when he said earlier, "The moment I throw a punch, he goes down." Yu Lei was only a practitioner of the literary Dao, and his cultivation was also merely at the mid-stage of Qi-Controlling. In front of someone with such extraordinary talent as Beifei, he was hardly worth a few punches. "Nice work, kid! I underestimated you!" Lu Hongughed loudly, once again elevating his spiritual power to another level. Just now, a confrontation had put him at a disadvantage; if he underestimated his opponent again, he might not be able to save faceter. Boom! The sh between the two was without any ir, simply fist against fist, the spiritual power burning and forming fist mes exploding in the air. At first, Lu Hong was worried he might identally hurt Xiang Beifei, but soon he realized he was thinking too much; Xiang Beifei''s strength was even higher than he had estimated. "Uncle Lu, watch this punch!" At the same time, when Xiang Beifei''s fist met Lu Hong''s, the me on his fist suddenly changed its circting pattern, sweeping over to Lu Hong''s fist, colliding with the intense me Lu Hong had gathered. The way the me swept was very bizarre; when meeting Lu Hong''s me, the two mes should have collided fiercely, the stronger fist wind prevailing. But the already burning me of Xiang Beifei suddenly got suppressed back into spiritual power by him, and this spiritual power mixed into Lu Hong''s fist me. As Lu Hong''s fist me rampaged, it instantly ignited the spiritual power sent by Xiang Beifei. However, this was not Lu Hong''s fist me. The two mes burned simultaneously on Lu Hong''s arm, Xiang Beifei''s spiritual power essence instantly disrupted Lu Hong''s fist me, causing his me to lose control, even making the spiritual power on his arm instantly be extremely chaotic. Crackle! Lu Hong''s face dramatically changed; the me he had gathered with his spiritual power couldn''t be deployed. Although his fist still emitted mes, this me no longer belonged to him, but to Xiang Beifei! That is, Xiang Beifei''s me was burning on his arm! Your next chapter is on m v|l-e-NovelBin Most bizarrely, Xiang Beifei''s me quietly broke through the spiritual power protecting Lu Hong''s arm. Lu Hong had a foreboding feeling, if this continued, his arm would be burned by Xiang Beifei! Chapter 100 Feedback Lu Hong made a split-second decision, immediately retracting his hand while also cutting off his output of spiritual power. However, Xiang Beifei''s other fist had alreadye smashing from the other side, hitting his arm and removing the force from his limb. For a brief moment, he found he couldn''t muster any strength! In a situation where both parties were evenly matched, being a split second slower meant suffering a significant disadvantage! Thud! Thud! Thud! Lu Hong truly felt the brunt of Xiang Beifei''s punch as his body stumbled backward five steps! "You¡ª" Lu Hong looked at Xiang Beifei in shock. He wasn''t shocked because Xiang Beifei had pushed him back, but because of¡ªRapid me! This Rapid me seemed entirely different from the attacking style he understood; it wasn''t even urate to call it Rapid me! This Cultivation Technique stemming from Lu Hong''s system¡ª he understood the power of Rapid me better than anyone else. However, in his mind, Rapid me was never executed this way. It was beyond hisprehension! How on earth did Beifei do it? Lu Hong looked at Xiang Beifei with astonishment. But without pausing, Xiang Beifei continued, "Uncle Lu, watch my next punch!" Whoosh! Xiang Beifei didn''t give Lu Hong a chance to rest. Once again, he closed in for an attack, but this time his fist wasn''t enveloped in mes; it appeared to be an ordinary punch. Subconsciously, Lu Hong threw his fist forward to meet the blow head-on¡ªhis fist wrapped in me. When it collided with what seemed to be Xiang Beifei''s unremarkable punch, spiritual power on Beifei''s fist took a different direction once more! Hum! The spiritual power changed its course, turning into a clever force that spiraled around Lu Hong''s arm like a vortex, instantly suppressing the mes that Lu Hong had just conjured. Immediately after¡ª Boom! Another fist me, not his own, red up on Lu Hong''s arm. The scorching fire ignited his shirt. Lu Hong hadn''t expected this turn of events, and hastily used his spiritual power to disperse the mes. But as soon as he diverted his attention, Xiang Beifei charged at him again, aiming a punch at his face. Lu Hong inhaled sharply! The punch was too fast; if it hit, his nose would undoubtedly be broken. However, as Xiang Beifei''s fist neared Lu Hong''s face, it deviated to the side, missing his face. By now, Lu Hong had reacted, transforming his fist into a palm, and with a burst of Rapid me, he struck at Xiang Beifei. Xiang Beifei deftly sidestepped, and with his left hand now open, he pped out another palm wind. As their hands met with a thunderous impact, spiritual power on Beifei''s palm shifted eerily once again, wrapping around Lu Hong''s palm. Lu Hong felt as if the strange force from Beifei''s hand was like maggots on bones,pletely suppressing his style of Rapid me punching. He was utterly unable to exert force, as Beifei countered with another palm strike to his chest. Thud! Thud! Thud! Lu Hong was forced back several steps again. "I actually lost?" Lu Hong looked at Xiang Beifei incredulously. The first retreat could have been exined away by his only using the initial strength of Qi-Controlling, but this second pushback signified a genuine defeat. The skillful force Xiang Beifei used had drastically boosted the power of Rapid me. With Lu Hong''s realm only at the mid-stage of Qi-Controlling, he couldn''t suppress Xiang Beifei''s offensive. Within seven moves, he was defeated! This gave Lu Hong a truly shocking surprise! One must know, even if he had suppressed his own realm, hisbat experience and perception abilities were still at the Meridian Opening phase, and he even hadplete confidence that he could use his experience to firmly suppress an ordinary Qi-Controllingte-stage master with his mid-stage strength. But this experience waspletely useless against Xiang Beifei! Xiang Beifei was merely at the Qi-Controlling mid-stage level of strength, and using his mid-stage strength, he couldn''t suppress Beifei at all¡ªinstead, he lost miserably! "I losepletely convinced, both inwardly and outwardly," Lu Hong said with a bitter smile. He was someone who could ept a loss. Even though he knew that relying solely on his mid-stage Spiritual Power would result in a loss to Xiang Beifei, he still did not forcibly enhance his realm and did not break the rules out of concern that losing to a young kid would be embarrassing for a district team leader. For him, rules were rules; if it was said to use mid-stage Qi-Controlling, then mid-stage Qi-Controlling it was. "Actually, I knew that it would be very difficult for me to deal with a strong opponent like Uncle Lu using normal methods, so I used Rapid me and yed a little smart while deploying Spiritual Power," Xiang Beifei said. Lu Hong suddenly fell into deep thought. Losing to Xiang Beifei wasn''t the point, the point was he always felt something wasn''t quite right. When Xiang Beifei threw a punch, the way Spiritual Power was deployed appearedpletely different in his eyes; it was still Rapid me, but for some reason, Lu Hong''s Rapid me waspletely countered by Xiang Beifei''s. Lu Hong felt his Rapid me wasgging eighteen streets behind Xiang Beifei''s! "Wait, this isn''t ying smart, this is..." As Lu Hong pondered Xiang Beifei''s so-called ying smart, the way the Spiritual Power was deployed gave him a great revtion. He realized something, turned to his system interface, and then revealed a surprised expression! [Detection: Xiang Beifei has improved Rapid me. The opponent''s method of deploying Rapid me has been entered into the database. Current feedback progress is 5%.] "This is..." Lu Hong became excited! Feedback! The system actively judged that Beifei was in the process of giving feedback? Lu Hong found himself holding his breath. He carefully recalled Xiang Beifei''s punching technique, pondered it deeply, and the more he thought about it, the more excited he became. He felt like a huge rock that had been pressing on his chest for a month had finally been lifted, and he felt as if he was basking in the long-absent sunshine, making him feel refreshed! "Uncle Lu, is there anything about the way I deploy Rapid me that needs improvement?" Xiang Beifei asked. "It''s not that you need to improve, it''s that I need to improve! It''s me that needs to improve! Haha, Beifei, how did youe to think of deploying Rapid me like this?" Lu Hong asked excitedly. Xiang Beifei thought for a moment and said, "When I practiced Rapid me, I always felt that the method of deploying Spiritual Power was somewhat superfluous, I felt it too overbearing. Being overbearing is good, the stronger it is the better, but it consumes a lot of Spiritual Power, making it disadvantageous in a prolonged battle. So I considered changing the way these powers circte, and I found it seemed to be able to ovee the original Rapid me. Sorry, maybe this isn''t quite right¡ª" "No need to apologize! You did exactly the right thing! No cultivation technique is perfect! Every technique has its ws, and I never expected that you''d find the w of Rapid me; in this respect, you are simply a genius!" Lu Hong eximed excitedly. Xiang Beifei smiled, looking at Lu Hong''s system interface. Uncle Lu had never taken the initiative to ask him about giving feedback to Rapid me, and if Beifei brought up feedback on his own, Lu Hong might suspect how he knew about the enforced task of his system. Although Uncle Lu was trustworthy, some secrets, Xiang Beifei felt, were best kept to oneself. Therefore, he chose another way, and by sparring with Uncle Lu, he believed that with Uncle Lu''s judgement, he would certainly notice the uniqueness of it. As of now, the system had judged his actions as feedback, and that was enough. Chapter 101 Rapid Flame Improvement Xiang Beifei earnestly shared his understanding of the Rapid me technique with Lu Hong, who nodded thoughtfully. The improvement process might seem light and easy to talk about, but it wasn''t so simple to master. "Uncle Lu, let''s continue! I came today for Liangzhou University''s assessment, and I don''t know what obstacles they will set up, so you need to usete-stage Qi-Controlling strength! I need you to point out my weaknesses," Xiang Beifei said. In truth, he was half there to help Uncle Luplete the system''s mandatory task, and the other half to truly spar with Lu Hong. The assessment at Liangzhou University was in theing days, and it was impossible for him to step into theter stages of Qi-Controlling within this month; he had to know where he stood inparison to ate-stage Qi-Controlling expert. "It''s not so much about giving pointers, but about improving together!" Lu Hongughed loudly, and this time he wasn''t careless, elevating his Spiritual Power to thete-stage of Qi-Controlling! However, the previous exchange had made Lu Hong cautious. He knew that even if he usedte-stage Qi-Controlling strength, he might not necessarily get the better of Beifei, because both of them used the Rapid me technique, and his Rapid me was inferior to Beifei''s. He needed to learn from Beifei! Whoosh! Xiang Beifei''s punches once again exploded with powerful force, striking at Lu Hong! Lu Hong also charged forward, shing hard with Xiang Beifei again! Bang! Their punches collided, and this time they seemed evenly matched! "Goodd!" Lu Hong was genuinely surprised in his heart. He had already usedte-stage Qi-Controlling strength, yet he only managed to fight to a standstill with Xiang Beifei, who was in the mid-stage of Qi-Controlling! But at this moment, Xiang Beifei didn''t slow down, his left handshed out again towards Lu Hong''s chest. Lu Hong blocked the fist with his own hand, and at the same time kicked upward. Beifei immediately smashed his fist down, deflecting Lu Hong''s kick, and turned around with another punch¡ª Bang! Bang! Bang! The two exchanged more than a dozen moves in an instant, each throwing punches quickly and powerfully. The Rapid me technique was naturally domineering, every punch bringing with it an enormous roar, like the sound of a sonic boom. Yet, the more Lu Hong fought, the more shocked he became because Beifei, with only mid-stage Qi-Controlling power, not only showed no signs of weakening but also seemed to be gaining the upper hand! Bang! Xiang Beifei''s punchnded squarely on Lu Hong''s face! Lu Hong took a sharp breath; that punch was rather harsh. "Sorry, facingte-stage Qi-Controlling Uncle Lu, I have to give it my all," Xiang Beifei said earnestly. "No need to apologize, just hit! You hitting me is the only way I can understand how you execute Rapid me." Lu Hong touched his face, quickly regaining hisposure. Both were using the Rapid me technique, and only that. Therefore, it was normal for Lu Hong, despite being the stronger, to be punched several times by Xiang Beifei since his boxing technique wasn''t as good as Xiang Beifei''s. Lu Hong didn''t take it to heart. If he wanted to defeat Beifei, Lu Hong would have to elevate his level even more. Given the situation,te-stage Qi-Controlling wasn''t enough. But Lu Hong had no intention of doing so; he wasn''t there to win against Beifei. He was clear about what he needed. ¡ª¡ª The two sparred in the training room for an entire day. Lu Hong needed to ponder over Xiang Beifei''s Rapid me, and Xiang Beifei needed to discover his own shorings from Lu Hong. Therefore, neither held back, but it was evident that Lu Hong still suppressed Xiang Beifei with his experience. The reason was simple, Xiang Beifei''s Rapid me was stronger than Lu Hong''s at first, but when he shared his way of executing Rapid me with Lu Hong, Lu Hong gradually grasped the technique and elevated his Rapid me to a higher level. In the following exchanges, he slowly began to hold his own. That was precisely why Lu Hong had been worried that Beifei wouldn''t reciprocate. Everyone is selfish, after all. If one aspect of themselves is strengthened, that aspect bes their advantage. If they disclose their advantage to an opponent, the advantage vanishes. So, Lu Hong had always wondered, if Beifei were to improve the Rapid me martial art, would he teach it back to him in return? This question had troubled him for a month until he found his answer today. Xiang Beifei chose to share the method of the martial art he hadprehended, which made Lu Hong extremely grateful. For Xiang Beifei, going from having the upper hand to gradually being at a disadvantage was all because he revealed the improved Rapid me technique, which may seem foolish. But he was well aware that he didn''t actually lose anything. Discover hidden stories at m,v l''e-NovelBin The Rapid me martial art was originally taught to him by Uncle Lu, part of the Lu Hong system''s cultivation techniques. When Lu Hong passed it on to him, he did so without hesitation and quite readily. Currently, Uncle Lu is still suppressing his own cultivation level to spar with him. Under normal circumstances, Beifei is no match for the Meridian Opening stage Uncle Lu, so losing to Uncle Lu wasn''t a big deal at all. And he only ever lost to one person, Uncle Lu. As for others in theter stages of Qi-Controlling, he might not necessarily lose with the help of Rapid me. Besides, Lu Hong bing stronger would also benefit Beifei, since Lu Hong had never let him down. As the sun set, both men stopped, gasping for breath, and sat on the ground without moving. At that moment, the system interface for Lu Hong popped up with a line of text: [You have received feedback from Xiang Beifei''s improvement of Rapid me. The Rapid me martial art has been entered into the database. The power of Rapid me is enhanced by 20% over the original, and you havepleted the feedback task.] [Taskpleted, the host may im the reward: one Advanced Pill.] Taskpleted! Lu Hong excitedly clicked to im it, then looked at the Advanced Pill in his hand! There were two methods for him to enhance his cultivation: one was through his own training, and the other was with the help of the system. Because he had sustained injuries during his younger days while on duty which affected his fundamental strength, it was nearly impossible for him to advance through training alone, so he had to rely on the Advanced Pill provided by the system. He had been saving up Investigation Value for several years to purchase this Advanced Pill, but was still short by over a hundred thousand. He had thought it would take another seven to eight years to gather that amount. But to his surprise, with Beifei''s help, it only took one month! One month''s worth of his effort was equivalent to nearly ten years! With this Advanced Pill, he would soon be a mid-stage Meridian Opening cultivator, and his strength would rise to another level! "Beifei, I owe you one," Lu Hong gratefully said to Xiang Beifei, "You have no idea how much your teaching me the improved Rapid me has helped me today! It was also one of my system tasks!" Lu Hong did not hide this fact, thinking Beifei was unaware of his system tasks, so he shared the information with him. "I''m d I could help Uncle Lu," Xiang Beifei said. "You''re about to participate in the Liangzhou University assessment, and I need to give you a hand. Last time I thought you were just at the early stage of Qi-Controlling, so I only gave you the system items for the mid-stage of Qi-Controlling. But since you have the strength of the mid-stage, I need to give you someter stage Qi-Controlling system items to protect yourself." Lu Hong browsed through his system''s shop, contemting what could help Beifei. Since he didn''t need to use Investigation Value to buy the Advanced Pill, the Investigation Value could be spent. Chapter 102 Greater Potential of Rapid Flame Not all system items could be used to help others; after all, the system was specifically crafted for the host and not for someone else, so Lu Hong had to be selective. "Uncle Lu, there''s no need for now. If I need something, I''lle to you," Xiang Beifei said. He holds an amulet, a Qi and Blood Pill, a Qi-Raising Talisman, and a Hetu tortoise shell; these things were all rted to the advanced stages of Qi-Controlling. The next constetion ability still required four advanced-stage Qi-Controlling system items, which he had already umted. Now, he just needed to raise his cultivation to the advanced stages of Qi-Controlling. "No, I must insist! With your strength, those Azure Light Armors, me Dragon Escapes, and the like, are utterly useless to you, nothing but trash." Lu Hong was still contemting what could provide the greatest help to Xiang Beifei. "Those things are still very useful. I used your items to deal with Yu Lei that day," he replied. Last time Xiang Beifei lit up the constetion for the mid-phase of Qi-Controlling with Lu Hong''s system items, acquiring ''Abruptly Stop,'' and in some aspects, it indeed indirectly helped him to deal with Yu Lei. "Really?" Lu Hong was somewhat skeptical. "I thought beating him was just a matter of one punch for you." "I really don''t need it, Uncle Lu. You also know I can handle ordinary advanced-stage Qi-Controlling now. I don''t need those at the moment. If I need something else in the future, I will definitelye to you," Xiang Beifei assured. Xiang Beifei still decided to let Uncle Lu save his Investigation Value for emergencies. Seeing Xiang Beifei talk this way, Lu Hong pondered for a moment and seriously said, "Okay! Whatever you need, don''t be polite with me! I have at least 150,000 system values prepared for you! Perhaps even more, as long as you need it, I can give you more!" Lu Hong was a generous and genuine person; he remembered the favor very clearly, and it was far fromparable to a mere 150,000 system values. Meanwhile, Lu Hong''s Investigation System had suddenly issued a series of tasks: [Analysis of Rapid me feedback from the database isplete. The system has detected that Rapid me may possess even greater potential. Due to the substantial increase inbat power that Rapid me has brought to the host, the system will increase the feedback reward] [Should Xiang Beifei continue to improve and provide feedback, the host will receive even higher system rewards] [For every 10% increase in Rapid me''s power: +10,000 Investigation Value] [If Rapid me''s power is increased by 50%, the host will receive a Rapid me Fire Formation capable of trapping and killing enemies in the final phase of Meridian Opening] [If Rapid me''s power is increased by 100%, the host will receive an advanced pill for the final phase of Meridian Opening] [Current power increase: 2/10] ... "This task!" Lu Hong, seeing the new task released by his own system, was so astonished he was at a loss for words! An increase of 20% in power had already brought him tremendous benefits, but he had never expected that after analyzing Xiang Beifei''s feedback on the punches, his system identified that Rapid me held much greater potential! If he could increase it by 100%, he could step into the final phase of Meridian Opening with Xiang Beifei''s help in one fell swoop! Lu Hong found his breathing bing rapid! He had been stuck in the preliminary phase of Meridian Opening for more than a decade, and had only recently reached the middle-phase. He thought that was his limit, but his system now provided an estimate of even greater potential! Then, if... if Xiang Beifei could be stronger, wouldn''t he also be able to quickly advance to the final phase of Meridian Opening? "What is it?" Xiang Beifei asked. "You''ll never guess what happened to my system again," Lu Hong said with a wry smile, "I don''t know how to put it, but can you improve Rapid me any further?" Xiang Beifei saw the new task released by Lu Hong''s Investigation System and after pondering for a moment, he replied, "With my current level of spiritual power, this is as powerful as Rapid me can get. Maybe if I reach a higher realm, I''ll see if there is more room for improvement." "Then..." "If my cultivation level advances further in the future, and I''m able to improve Rapid me, I''ll inform Uncle Lu at the earliest," Xiang Beifei said. "Ah, thank you!" Lu Hong said gratefully. At this moment, Lu Zhiwei pushed open the door from outside the training room and after spotting the two, she put her hands on her hips and said, "Well, well! So you''ve been training in secret again without me!" "Haha, what are you jealous about, girl!" Lu Hongughed heartily. "Pfft, as if I''m jealous!" Lu Zhiwei rolled her eyes and holding her phone said, "There''s trouble, and you have no idea!" "What''s happened?" Xiang Beifei asked. "It''s all because of the mess caused by that article from Yu Lei." Lu Zhiwei came in, looking serious. Find exclusive stories on m_v l|e-NovelBin Standing up, Lu Hong grabbed two towels, threw one to Xiang Beifei, and asked, "What about the article? Wasn''t it deleted? Xiao Zhang is a cyber cop, and he''s thorough with his work." Thew enforcement team''s technical department had a guy named Zhang Youfa, who had awakened the "S-ss, Tracking System." After bing a cyber cop in the team, his technical skills were top-notch, and all kinds of mindless trolls and keyboard warriors had to walk around him carefully. There was an incident where someone who had awakened the "Zu''an Greeting System" confronted Xiao Zhang online, and Xiao Zhang simply traced the electronic trail back to the guy''s location, pulled him out of bed without letting him dress, and dragged him to thew enforcement team in just his underpants! "I''m not talking about that article, but about Liangzhou University. Dad, you graduated from Liangzhou University, so you should know there''s a ''Tree Hole'' section in the school forum, right?" Lu Zhiwei said. "I know about that, what''s wrong?" Lu Hong asked as he wiped off sweat. "Now Beifei has be the subject of discussion in that Tree Hole section, and many of thements are quite unfriendly," Lu Zhiwei said. "Tree Hole?" "It''s an anonymous forum on our Liangzhou University''s schoolwork. In that ce, every Liangzhou University student can anonymously air their grievances about the various trivialities of school life. When the academic pressure gets too high, they can vent out there and say whatever they want to relieve their stress," Lu Zhiwei exined. "So, what''s got to do with me?" Xiang Beifei asked. "Because of that article Yu Lei postedst time, manyizens got riled up and started attacking our Liangzhou University''s Weibo, hurling all sorts of insults. If a Liangzhou University student were to post a Weibo defending the school, they would be verbally attacked by uninformedizens to the point of breakdown. This has greatly impacted our Liangzhou University!" Lu Zhiwei said earnestly. Lu Hong frowned: "Didn''t I rify everything clearly online? Yu Lei started this, and he is the one who should be condemned." "But the problem is, it seems that many students from Liangzhou University now believe that this incident is a conspiracy between Beifei and Yu Lei, with Beifei nning to use Yu Lei to pressure Liangzhou University and gain admission through the back door. Now they are saying some pretty nasty things about Beifei," Lu Zhiwei said. "So what?" Xiang Beifei didn''t care. Lu Hong was browsing posts in the "Tree Hole" on his phone and suddenly spoke in a deep voice, "The problem does seem quite serious." Lu Zhiwei thrust her phone into Xiang Beifei''s hands and said, "Take a look for yourself!" Chapter 103 Liangzhou University Tree Hole "The ''Tree Hole'' was filled with various discussions about Xiang Beifei, the top scorer with an N-level Awakening. Many people were disdainful of Xiang Beifei." "N-level trash can enter our Liangzhou University? So what if his scores were good? Does his system talent match our school?"" "Exactly, letting this kind of person into our Liangzhou University is simply an insult to our Liangzhou University''s reputation." "Does he, an N-level, really think he can contribute to the Jiuzhou Union? Can''t he take a good look at himself in the urine, who gave him the courage?"" "If this Xiang Beifei is lucky enough to get into our Liangzhou University, I guarantee that every time I see him on campus, I will take good care of him! Does he really think our Liangzhou University is a ce where any Tom, Dick, or Harry can get in?"" "Right! Count me in! The audacity he has, thinking he could rely on public opinion to enter our school!" "Yes, if he gets into our Liangzhou University, I''ll be the first to pay extra attention to him! Maybe next semester I can apply to be a teaching assistant at Liangzhou University, give him a hard time!"" "Don''t rush; he hasn''t gotten in yet! I think the school should increase the difficulty of his entrance examination, let him understand just how big the gap is between an N-level and talents like us!"" "When is the entrance examination? Shall we go and take care of him?"" ¡­ The "Tree Hole" of Liangzhou University was rife with discrimination against Xiang Beifei, the top original score. It seemed that many were inquiring about the time of the assessment, preparing to watch the event and nning to show Xiang Beifei who''s boss. Forums like "Tree Hole" exist in many universities, where many students like to post anonymously,ining about why the Mediterranean professor insists on reading PPTs from his desk, mocking the water meter in the dorm showers that seems to measure the flow of the Huangguoshu Waterfall, wondering why the cafeteriady''s shaky hands haven''t gotten better yet. But these past two days, the "Tree Hole" of Liangzhou University was almost exclusively discussing Xiang Beifei, with countless people rejecting him, the top scorer of the original scores. Even though their own college entrance exam results weren''t as high as Xiang Beifei''s, every student at Liangzhou University is prouder of their superior talent than his. "Things have gotten troublesome now! You haven''t even started school yet, and you''re already ostracized by the students of Liangzhou University like this," said Lu Hong, frowning deeply. "Is that so?" Having read these anonymous posts, Xiang Beifei casually handed the cellphone back to Lu Zhiwei. "What''s with that reaction? You may not realize the seriousness of the issue. Even if you get into Liangzhou University like this, you''re sure to be a target," Lu Zhiwei said seriously. "So what?" Xiang Beifei ced the towel aside, unconcerned. "I graduated from Liangzhou University myself," Lu Hong said, "the waters are deep inside elite universities, and they are gathering ces for geniuses. Top scorers from all over the country are there, and SR-levels aremon. These people are smart, but in some ways¡ª" Discover more stories at m,v l''e-NovelBin He hesitated, "Some of the top talents strive for perfection. To be the best, they will stoop to any level. You could say they are exquisite egoists, with high IQs, worldly, savvy, good at using rules for their purposes, forming cliques, ostracizing others; all kinds of strange things can happen." "Let theme." Xiang Beifei showed no concern and simply turned to walk toward the door. "So-called elites, they only dare to say these things anonymously online; who knows what they''re really like in person." Anyway, things had escted to this point; there wasn''t much he could say. If they didn''t bother him, all would be well. If they dared toe looking for trouble¡ª Come one, settle one! Come two, settle a pair! Watching Xiang Beifei walk away, Lu Hong and his daughter, Lu Zhiwei, exchanged nces, at a loss for words. "Dad, he¡ª" Lu Zhiwei looked uncertainly at the already-departed Xiang Beifei, "you need to talk to him, he''s not listening at all." Lu Hong, thinking of Xiang Beifei''s terrifying talent, smiled wryly, "Perhaps we are worrying unnecessarily." Lu Zhiwei said urgently, "Dad, how is that worrying unnecessarily? Don''t you know how terrifying those real SR monsters at Liangzhou University can be? People like Qin Yi who are S-level are nothing; Beifei, being so honest and still not realizing the seriousness of the situation, will suffer a lot." "No need to panic; those SR monsters at Liangzhou University may be terrifying, but¡ª" Lu Hong picked up his coat, a slight smile on his lips, "They might encounter someone even more terrifying." "What do you mean?" "The person who should be worried is not Beifei." ¡ª¡ª Xiang Beifei returned home and took care of his own matters. Today, during his spar with Lu Hong, he found many areas for improvement; he felt he could do even better. In Lu Hong''s view, Xiang Beifei was being a bit too hard on himself. He had managed to hold his own, relying solely on his mid-phase Qi-Controlling cultivation, against Lu Hong whose cultivation was suppressed tote-phase Qi-Controlling. Initially, Lu Hong was entirely suppressed by him in the fight, and eventer on, he only managed to gain a slight upper hand by leveraging the strengths he learned from Rapid me. Lu Hong admitted to himself that he couldn''t usete-phase Qi-Controlling cultivation to defeat Xiang Beifei. If it were any otherte-phase Qi-Controlling cultivator facing Xiang Beifei''s storm-like Rapid me punches, they would probably copse directly! But Xiang Beifei''s true opponents were not people like Lu Hong. Even if he could hold his own against those atte-phase Qi-Controlling, he would not be satisfied with just that. In this world, no matter what others said, the only way for him to reign supreme was to constantly be stronger. The path of the strong was never smooth. After returning home, Xiang Beifei took a bath and then practiced the Chaos Yin-Yang Form before going to bed. The next morning, Xiang Qingde went to work while Xiang Beifei was still cultivating. But around ten in the morning, someone knocked on the door. Xiang Beifei got up to answer it, and upon opening the door, he was greeted by a schrly-looking middle-aged man. The man was dressed in a well-fitted suit, wore sses, had meticulouslybed hair, and his expression was gentle and refined. "Hello!" The man gave Xiang Beifei a warm smile, "I am a teacher from the admissions office of Liangzhou University, may I know if you are Xiang Beifei?" "I am." Xiang Beifei looked at the man before him, whose system read: [Host: Ye Changfeng] [SR-level, Supremacy of Ten Thousand Swords system] [Realm¡ª¡ª] ¡ª¡ª When Xiang Beifei saw the man''s system interface, he furrowed his brow. SR-level! This was his first time encountering an SR-level talent Awakener, and not only that, but the man''s system was also very decisive and domineering. This was a martial artist. Not only that, but the man''s cultivation level was not disyed, which meant that this person''s cultivation was above the Meridian Opening phase, at the very least in the God Refining phase! So strong! Xiang Beifei became vignt. An SR-level with immeasurable cultivation, a teacher from the admissions office of Liangzhou University, could he be that powerful? "My name is Ye Changfeng, you can call me Mr. Ye." Ye Changfeng smiled, extending his hand towards Xiang Beifei. Chapter 104 Ye Changfeng "Hello." Xiang Beifei looked at Ye Changfeng calmly and extended his hand to shake Ye''s without feeling inferior or arrogant. Ye Changfeng was slightly surprised when he saw how calm Xiang Beifei was speaking. He had met many students with exceptional talent, some of whom were top-notch SR-level students, but they would all be somewhat nervous and even hastily put on a smile to wee him when they heard he was a teacher from Liangzhou University''s admissions office. After all, Liangzhou University was a prestigious institution, and being a teacher there demanded respect from everyone. Even Awakeners who had not yete into their own would be utterly respectful when facing a university teacher. But Xiang Beifei''s attitude was veryposed, as if greeting just an ordinary person, showing no signs of excitement or tension. Discover stories with m,v l''e-NovelBin Very calm indeed. Ye Changfeng couldn''t help but take another look at Xiang Beifei. "Pleasee in." Xiang Beifei stepped aside to let Ye Changfeng enter. As Ye Changfeng stepped inside, he surveyed the clean and tidy room and then said with a smile, "No smell of medicine, no coughing, very clean, enough toy one''s foot down." Xiang Beifei knew what he was referring to; Yu Lei''s article had put Liangzhou University on the hot search, making itmon knowledge. The article depicted various fabricated miseries of Xiang Beifei''s home life, which Ye Changfeng was certainly aware of. "Seeing is believing, isn''t it?" Xiang Beifei said inly. Ye Changfeng''s eyes flickered slightly, and after a moment, he adjusted his sses, still maintaining a gentle smile, "You''re right." "Please have a seat, I''ll go pour you a ss of water." Xiang Beifei turned and walked into the kitchen, took a disposable paper cup from the cab, filled it with hot water, and handed it to Ye Changfeng. "Thank you." Ye Changfeng took the cup politely, his movements genteel and restrained, without any arrogance typical of an SR expert, appearing as an amiable, ordinary person. Xiang Beifei sat across from Ye Changfeng and said, "We don''t often have guests at home, so there isn''t much to offer. Please excuse me." "That''s alright; simplicity is good." Ye Changfeng didn''t mind, his gaze casually sweeping around the living room, he asked, "Is your grandfather not home?" "He''s not," Xiang Beifei replied, and after a pause, he added, "I wasn''t aware that Liangzhou University''s admissions would make a house call." "For an average S-level student, I indeed would not visit, but I do make personal visits to some special students, such as Awakeners who are coveted by the other eight elite universities or¡ª" Ye Changfeng paused here, sizing up Xiang Beifei again before continuing with a meaningful smile, "a top scorer in the college entrance exam, like you." "I am not the top scorer," Xiang Beifei responded. "In my eyes, first ce in raw scores is the top scorer. I don''t like the bonus points system." Ye Changfeng took a sip of water, then ced his cup on the table and said, "The S-level system is already more powerful than others, adding points on top of it seems excessive. What do you think?" He looked at Xiang Beifei, very interested in the young man''s opinion. "What I think isn''t important; the system won''t change because of me," Xiang Beifei responded. "If you think it''s excessive, you should try to bring about a change." Ye Changfeng was taken aback. Xiang Beifei spoke frankly; he was just a student for now, not powerful enough to break the rules set by others,cking the ability to change them. However, as an SR-level professor at Liangzhou University, Ye Changfeng had influence and authority. If anyone should attempt to change something, it ought to be someone influential like him. Ye Changfengughed, "You''re right, perhaps I should try to bring up my concerns with those people above." He paused before shaking his head, "But the chances are slim, they are quite stubborn." Xiang Beifei gazed at Ye Changfeng, lost in thought. He wasn''t pondering who the so-called "those people above" might be; he was considering what that sword by Ye Changfeng''s side was. From the moment Ye Changfeng had entered the room, a long sword appeared floating beside him. Three feet in length, the de shimmered with a cold light, thick with a strong presence¡ªas if a majestic azure dragon coiled around it, the sword was extremely imposing. It clearly came from the system, and normally, it should be invisible to others¡ªor perhaps Ye Changfeng thought his sword was invisible to Xiang Beifei. But Xiang Beifei could see the sword, and not just that; the sword continuously emitted a strange fluctuation as if a pair of eerie eyes were shooting out from the dragon''s shadow, falling upon him, as though trying to see right through him. Xiaohei was making faces on Xiang Beifei''s shoulder, and if it weren''t for his restraint, Xiaohei would probably have grabbed the sword to rough it up already. Seeing that Xiang Beifei hadn''t spoken, Ye Changfeng took it upon himself to speak again, "I came here today because you applied to Liangzhou University. Your scores are not a problem. But rules are rules; you need to go through our enrollment assessment. This is the notice for the assessment, with the time and location inside." He pulled a white envelope from his suit pocket and handed it to Xiang Beifei. Xiang Beifei looked at the envelope. It only had a few simple words on it: Xiang Beifei (Personal), then stamped with the postmark of Liangzhou University. "Thank you." Xiang Beifei took the letter and set it aside. "Aren''t you going to open it?" Ye Changfeng asked. "Do you want me to open it?" "That depends on you." "Then I''m not in a rush," Xiang Beifei replied. Ye Changfeng looked at Xiang Beifei with increasing astonishment and asked, "I thought you''d want to know the exact time." "If it''s not today, there''s no rush," Xiang Beifei replied. Ye Changfengughed, nodding slightly, "You really are extraordinary. I was thinking, the son of Xiang Tianxing wouldn''t be simple, no matter what." Xiang Beifei furrowed his brows. "You''re right, I knew your father, and when I found out you were Xiang Tianxing''s son, I specifically took on this task to see what kind of person you really are," Ye Changfeng said. Xiang Beifei nodded thoughtfully. Ye Changfeng seemed to be waiting for Xiang Beifei to ask something, but Xiang Beifei appeared to have no intention of asking much. After a long pause, it was Ye Changfeng who could not help himself and said, "Won''t you ask me about your father''s matters?" "Will you tell me what mission my father was on?" Ye Changfeng smiled and then shook his head. "Then why should I ask?" Xiang Beifei said. Ye Changfeng looked slightly taken aback and said, "I thought you would always be a bit curious." "I don''t like to ask pointless questions," Xiang Beifei replied. Ye Changfeng''s gaze on Xiang Beifei grew even more peculiar; he hadn''t expected such an answer from him. This is interesting. He then said, "What about the enrollment assessment? Don''t you have anything you want to ask me?" Xiang Beifei didn''t speak, just looked at Ye Changfeng strangely. Ye Changfeng realized something, shook his head slightly, and smiled, "In your eyes, that''s also a pointless question, right?" ¡ª¡ª (I''ve been furiously stockpiling chapters these past few days, getting ready to go live. If the subscriptions are decent, I will update with tens of thousands of words every day! Thank you, dear readers, for your daily rmendation tickets, subscriptions, and any tickets that all serve as motivation for writing!) Chapter 105 Three People Who Passed the Assessment What the assessment entailed was seldom revealed by Liangzhou University. It was usually decided on the spot, and for ten years no N-level student had gained admission to Liangzhou University. Given the high bar set by the university, it was impossible that they would disclose the content of the assessment to Xiang Beifei in advance. In other words, even if Xiang Beifei asked anything, Ye Changfeng wouldn''t say much. Find your next adventure on m_v l|e-NovelBin Xiang Beifei simply continued to look at Ye Changfeng. His words were always brief, avoiding any superfluous talk. Ye Changfeng noticed that the youth was guarded in front of him, remaining calm and collected, speaking in his own way without saying anything extra just because Ye was a teacher at Liangzhou University. This made things very difficult! He couldn''t help but nce at the long sword by his side. The sword light briefly shimmered. No progress at all? After pondering for a moment, Ye Changfeng spoke again, "Regardless, I still need to rify the situation at Liangzhou University for you, so you''ll be mentally prepared for the admission assessment." "Please do," Xiang Beifei said. Ye Changfeng paused, then continued, "In the history of Liangzhou University, only three N-level Awakeners have passed the admission assessment, and thest time we admitted an N-level student was ten years ago." "Three of them, not bad at all." "It''s not like that," Ye Changfeng shook his head, and added, "The highest official of Liangzhou, Shang Tianxiong, was the first one. But in fact, back then Liangzhou University did not admit N-level students, and for him, it was only an exception." "Is that so?" Xiang Beifei''s reply was short. Ye Changfeng watched Xiang Beifei impartially, trying to see what he might ask, but Xiang Beifei''s expression was calm and steady. The sword beside him remained still; it couldn''t discern anything about Xiang Beifei''s situation. After some thought, Ye Changfeng decided to say a bit more. The more he spoke, the more likely Xiang Beifei might react, allowing Ye to observe something. "When Shang Tianxiong was younger, he saved one of our university''s teachers. That year, a beast tide erupted, breaching the outer defenses of the Jiuzhou Alliance, and our university''s teachers were ordered to resist the deste beasts. However, one teacher was injured by a powerful deste beast. He managed to escape back but went unnoticed by everyone preupied with the deste beasts." "It was Shang Tianxiong who rescued him in time. After the beast tide was repelled and the alliance stabilized, the Liangzhou University teacher felt indebted to Shang Tianxiong. So, he lobbied the university''s high-level officials and secured him an opportunity to undergo the entrance assessment." "Yet, since Liangzhou University is an elite institution that normally only admits R-level Awakeners, letting him in through the back door would be unfair to other N-level Awakeners and could negatively impact the school. Consequently, a rule was amended, setting the minimum college entrance examination score for N-level students at 680 points. Anyone scoring 680 could apply for Liangzhou University and participate in the entrance assessment." Ye Changfeng stared at Xiang Beifei. After all, Xiang Beifei''s score this year was 732 points, far exceeding the 680 point threshold. Even among the many S-level Awakeners in Jiuzhou with the "Schr System," none had a higher score than him. In Ye Changfeng''s opinion, it was quite impressive. "This rule was modified for Shang Tianxiong, but he still had to follow it to get into Liangzhou University. He spent three full years repeating his studies to achieve the 680 points! And he didn''t pass the first assessment. After another year, he scored 689 points and with a year of guidance from that teacher, he finally passed the entrance assessment." Ye Changfeng detailed Shang Tianxiong''s situation to Xiang Beifei, also wanting to convey that even for someone like Shang Tianxiong, gaining admission to Liangzhou University took immense effort and assistance from influential figures. His fingers tapped gently on his thigh, waiting for Xiang Beifei to ask a question. Xiang Beifei remained in a thoughtful pose, like an attentive listener, showing no stance. ¡ª¡ªHe really knows how to keep his cool. Ye Changfeng thought to himself and continued speaking: "After Shang Tianxiong, an N-level student, got into Liangzhou University, his sess inspired many N-level Awakeners. Many N-level students took him as a model, working hard to improve their academics. Quite a few scored the required 680 points, but without exception, they all failed the entrance assessment, just like Shang Tianxiong in his first year." "Later, after Shang Tianxiong graduated, he stayed on as a university teacher. A few other N-level Awakeners then sought to attend Liangzhou University, and Shang Tianxiong was in charge of their entrance assessments. Meaning, the second and third N-level Awakeners who entered Liangzhou University did so because Shang Tianxiong turned a blind eye." "However, both of these individuals were shes in the pan. One of the N-level Awakeners couldn''t keep up with the pace of Liangzhou University''s curriculum and dropped out after two years of study. This incident had some repercussions at the time and served as a warning to those N-level candidates who wished to try for Liangzhou University." Ye Changfeng looked meaningfully at Xiang Beifei. "So, are you here to discourage me today?" Xiang Beifei asked. He finally reacted! It wasn''t easy to get you to talk more. Ye Changfeng smiled and said, "Not at all, I know your father, and therefore, I have expectations for you as well. I just want to inform you that Shang Tianxiong had the help of influential people, and the other two N-level Awakeners had the assistance of Shang Tianxiong. So in the school history of Liangzhou University, we''ve admitted three N-level Awakeners." "But ten years ago, Shang Tianxiong no longer served as a teacher at Liangzhou University and opted to work in the alliance instead. Since then, he hasn''t been in charge of Liangzhou University''s entrance assessments, and in the past ten years, not a single N-level Awakener has made it through." Xiang Beifei nodded thoughtfully. In the school history of Liangzhou University, the three N-level Awakeners could more or less be said to have entered the university through the assistance of influential figures. At least Shang Tianxiong had the capability; he took advantage of his opportunity and made tremendous achievements through his own efforts. But the next two N-level Awakeners faced entrance assessments overseen by Shang Tianxiong himself; being N-level as well, Shang Tianxiong certainly empathized with them and likely lowered the difficulty of the assessments. However, Xiang Beifei''s current situation was that he not onlycked help, but the person responsible for his assessment was also an old adversary of his father! The entrance assessments for the other three N-level Awakeners had reduced difficulty, but his was made more challenging! Ye Changfeng waited for Xiang Beifei to inquire, even thinking to himself that Xiang Beifei might try to ingratiate himself. After all, he knew Xiang Tianxing, and any person with such a connection would likely seize the opportunity to say a few kind words, hoping that he too could be their benefactor. But Xiang Beifei didn''t do so, rather, he continued watching Ye Changfeng politely, neither fawning nor resisting. Chapter 106 Assessment Notification The room fell silent for a long time, until finally, it was Ye Changfeng who lost his patience. "Aren''t you going to say something?" he asked. "What does Mr. Ye expect me to say?" Xiang Beifei asked, puzzled. Ye Changfeng was momentarily at a loss for words. ¡ª¡ªYou''re not even going to offer a couple of ttering remarks? He foundmunicating with Xiang Beifei extremely difficult! Never had an N-level student spoken to him like this before. The students at Liangzhou University all held him in awe, even tried to curry favor with him, the reason being simple: they all knew he was an SR Awakener! But do I have to tell you to your face that I''m an SR for you to fawn over me? At the very least, I''m still a teacher; you should have some reaction! "Is this how you normally talk to people?" Ye Changfeng couldn''t help but ask. "I talk more with people I''m familiar with," Xiang Beifei replied earnestly. Ye Changfeng didn''t know how to respond to that for a moment. The atmosphere fell silent once again. Ye Changfeng probably realized there was no need to stay any longer, so he stood up and said, "Alright, then I won''t disturb you any further. Everything you need to pay attention to is in the envelope; I should take my leave." Ye Changfeng walked towards the door, and Xiang Beifei followed him there. Just as he was stepping out the door, Ye Changfeng seemed to remember something and added, "Even though I know your father, the assessment isn''t up to me, and I don''t know what the specific assessment will entail, nor can I assist you. Everyone is watching you, and bending the rules is not an option. Remember that." Xiang Beifei looked at Ye Changfeng with a strange expression. Ye Changfeng, a dignified SR-level teacher at Liangzhou University, felt somewhat uneasy under the gaze of a teenager. After a long moment, as if he had understood, he said helplessly, "Oh right, you knew these things earlier; it was I who was vague." He looked meaningfully at Xiang Beifei once more before saying, "Farewell." "Take care, Mr. Ye," Xiang Beifei said. ¡ª¡ª Xiang Beifei sat on the sofa, looking at the envelope, deep in thought. He was not an SR Awakener that all nine elite universities were scrambling to recruit; he was just an N-level Awakener. The teacher from Liangzhou University came to see him merely to find out what kind of person he really was, not to recruit him to Liangzhou University. If he were an SR Awakener, perhaps they would have asked him a few more questions because he would have had the right to choose, coveted by the nine elite universities. But he wasn''t, he had no choice, and asking too many questions would only expose himself to the other party. It wasn''t wise to let the other party know everything about him before even starting at the university. He didn''t know this person, and even knowing his father proved nothing. Xiang Tianxing, as an SR-level Awakener, was known by many, but not everyone who knew Xiang Tianxing was his friend. Especially since he couldn''t see Ye Changfeng''s system tasks, he couldn''t judge from the system tasks what kind of person Ye Changfeng really was, so he couldn''t just trust him blindly. "Woof woof woof!" Xiaohei was at the table, waving its little paws, humming and gesturing. "I know you''re impressive, but snatching that sword isn''t necessarily a good thing," Xiang Beifei said. "Woof!" Xiaohei proudly raised its head. "There are plenty who want to observe us, one sword doesn''t make a difference." Xiang Beifei knew that the sword was observing him, or rather, scanning him, but he didn''t give it any chance, speaking only what needed to be said, and refraining from uttering anything superfluous. He picked up the envelope from the table, tore open the seal, and took out a red piece of letter paper. A circle of ripples hung around this paper, and as soon as the envelope was torn, the ripples swiftly settled on Xiang Beifei, seemingly confirming his identity. His identity was all recorded in the educational system, and Liangzhou University naturally knew how to identify him. After the confirmation of his identity, the restrictions on the letter paper disappeared, and then slowly, a line of words emerged on the paper: ¡ª¡ª Xiang Beifei, Student: You have applied and passed our university''s admission threshold, and we now invite you to participate in our entrance assessment. Assessment Date: August 5th at 9:00 AM Location: Liangzhou University Training Ground No. 1 Assessment Content: Confidential Cautions: No apaniment by rtives or friends is permitted; pleasee alone. Good luck! Liangzhou University Academic Affairs Office: Yuchi Shen ¡ª¡ª A simple letter, with hardly anything but the time and ce, no extra exnation, nothing special. "That''s the day after tomorrow." Xiang Beifei stored the letter away and considered whether to inform his grandfather. After a brief moment, he decided against it, reasoning that there was no need to worry his grandfather since he couldn''t apany him anyway. "Now, even if it''s a dragon''s den and a tiger''sir, I must venture forth!" Xiang Beifei said, patting Xiaohei on the head. ¡ª¡ª Ye Changfeng stood in the corridor, turning his head to look at his long sword. "Long Yuan, do you see anything?" he inquired. The Longyuan Sword next to him emitted strange fluctuations, and a dragon shadow slowly appeared on the de''s edge, coiling around the sword, lifting its proud head and replied in a muffled voice, "It''s peculiar, I seem to see right through him, yet at the same time, I cannot pierce his veil." "You can see through him, yet you can''t?" Ye Changfeng expressed his surprise. "If he would only speak more, or do something else, perhaps I would discern something. But he reveals nothing," the Longyuan Sword dered. Ye Changfeng shook his head with a smile: "He doesn''t seem like someone who enjoys talking." The Longyuan Sword, in contemtion, eventually said, "Or perhaps he does not wish to speak in front of you?" Ye Changfeng slightly startled, he faintly grasped something. "I think he doesn''t trust me." Ye Changfeng removed his sses, took out a cloth from his pocket, and began to clean them as he started tough: "It''s correct for him not to trust me. Blindly trusting a stranger is not the vignce a pioneer should possess. If he trusted me or tried to ingratiate himself with me like the other students, ttering and fawning, I would instead be disappointed in him." He put the cloth back into his pocket and donned his sses again, in his eyes twinkled an odd blue light. "I am quite eager to see how he will deal with those troublesome geniuses in the academy," he remarked. "You seem convinced that he will pass the assessment?" the Longyuan Sword asked. "He is the son of Xiang Tianxing." "But Yuchi Shen is in charge of the assessments. You know how much he detested Xiang Tianxing in the past! Do you think he would let the son of Xiang Tianxing pass easily?" scoffed the Longyuan Sword. Ye Changfeng adjusted his clothes, seemingly undisturbed by Long Yuan''s words. "He will pass," he dered. "You have that much confidence in him?" "I can tell." "You just said you couldn''t tell anything!" "It''s precisely because I couldn''t tell anything that I can tell." Ye Changfeng stepped forward, and beneath his feet, ripples appeared as if he was stepping on the air, creating waves. Then, space seemed to ripple slightly, and in the blink of an eye, he had vanished. Chapter 107 Liangzhou University A piece of news suddenly spread silently within Liangzhou University. August 5th, the day of the entrance examination for this year''s top original score candidate, Xiang Beifei! The gossip tree at Liangzhou University exploded once more. "He''sing, he''sing, he''s here!" "Let''s form a group to show him who''s boss. Who''s joining?" "I happen to be free that day, count me in." "Damn it, the school just started summer break, and I''ve gone home. I can''te back that day. Who can take over and show him who''s boss for me ©c(`§¥¡ä)?" "I''m actually on summer internship! I''ll be there to show him what ''elite'' really means!" "Right, I can''t wait to see how he makes a fool of himself! What an overconfident fool!" "Did you hear that this time Yuchi the old demon is in charge of his entrance assessment?" "Hahaha! He''s doomed. Yuchi the old demon hates three types of people: those whose talents are better than his, those whose talents are the same as his, and those whose talents are worse than his!" "Anyone who meets Yuchi the old demon is bound to get skinned, let alone a piece of N-level trash." "You guys are being a bit too harsh. The guy just awakened his system two months ago and hasn''t even reached the Qi-Controlling stage. Why so vindictive?" "Not harsh at all. He should have known the consequences when he conspired with journalists to suppress us with public opinion!" Because of the hype created by Yu Lei, Xiang Beifei had be notoriously well-known in Liangzhou University, and many students couldn''t wait to meet this top-originally-scored candidate. The posts in the gossip tree were hostile towards Xiang Beifei; even the asional rational voices defending him were quickly drowned out by other mocking posts. August 5th. Early in the morning, Xiang Beifei took a ride to Liangzhou University. He arrived at Liangzhou University by half-past seven. "I misjudged the time." He had never been to Liangzhou University before and was unsure about the travel time, so he left home just after six. Liangzhou University was not particrly far from where he lived: about an hour''s drive ¡ª possibly less if he drove himself, which was likely why Lu Zhiwei would rush to thew enforcement team every day after school. But being early was better than beingte. He stood at the school gate, looking at Liangzhou University in front of him. The grand and imposing school gate, made of marble, bore many special stone patterns that twinkled mysteriously under the sunlight. These stone patterns appeared to be the texture of waves at first nce. However, each wave was intricately ordered and reflected off each other, extending up to the grand ''Liangzhou University'' inscription. "Is this a formation?" Xiang Beifei stood at the gate, staring at the huge Liangzhou University sign, pondering. He could see the various system-made objects; system items were actually a form of spiritual power crystal, just manifested in different ways. That meant he could also see any form of energy condensed by spiritual power, including formation patterns and charm patterns. The stone patterns on this gate were protected by a special power, seemingly linked to every tree and every stone in the school, eventually converging on a statue not far away. The statue was of an elder, dressed in ancient attire, holding a walking stick, with kind and benevolent eyes and a pair of wise eyes looking towards the school gate. As Xiang Beifei was examining the statue, he realized that it seemed to be examining him as well. "The university is indeed not to be underestimated." Xiang Beifei knew who the statue represented; it was said to be the school''s founder from a thousand years ago, the venerable Mu Tianhe. He shifted his gaze from the statue of the school''s founder, but the feeling of being scrutinized by the statue did not go away. "Where has Lu Zhiwei gone? She promised to wait for me here." Xiang Beifei looked around, searching for Lu Zhiwei''s figure. When Lu Zhiwei had her internship with the enforcement team, she would stay at home, but if there were academic sses, she would stay at the university. She had called himst night, saying she would wait for him at the school entrance in the morning and take him to Training Site One. Xiang Beifei was not familiar with Liangzhou University and thought that this arrangement would save him from taking unnecessary detours, so he agreed. He made a call to Lu Zhiwei, and the phone was quickly picked up. "Ah, Beifei, this morning my mentor called me to handle some matters, I am now at theb. Why don''t youe here and then I can take you directly to Training Room One, sparing me the extra trip to the school gate," said Lu Zhiwei. "Where are you?" "Dashang Building, thirteenth floor, walk inside for about five minutes. The building''s name is disyed prominently on the outside," said Lu Zhiwei. Xiang Beifei hung up the phone, walked through the school gate and looked around, then slightly furrowed his brow. Thirteen floors? He looked around; none of the buildings in the school were more than six stories high. Where could there be a thirteen-story building? Xiang Beifei soon remembered that the architecture at Liangzhou University was quite unique. In a world rife with deste beasts, which sometimes attacked human settlements, buildings were built low to the ground, with additional structures underground. In such attacks, people could take refuge underground, and even if the upper levels were destroyed, the underground sections generally remained intact, facilitating rebuilding. The course Introduction to Defense of Jiuzhou had mentioned that in over three thousand years, humanity had suffered several hundred beast tides, each posing an almost catastrophic threat. Deste beasts from outside Jiuzhou could easily breach outer defenses and cause widespread destruction, hence many buildings were constructed underground. ces like Liangzhou University, being one of the nine elite universities, naturally needed to protect all cultural heritage and legacies and be safeguarded against destruction during beast tides. But Xiang Beifei still could not pinpoint the Dashang Building, afraid to waste time by going wrong, he spotted a security booth not far away and walked towards it. It was just past seven in the morning and summer break, there were some students who stayed on campus, but not many. Xiang Beifei entered the security booth where there was a lounge chair outside, and an old man dressed in a security uniform was sitting on it, leisurely cracking sunflower seeds. Xiang Beifei caught a glimpse of the man''s system interface and was slightly surprised¡ª [Host: Luo Yunxian] [SR grade, Leisure System] [Level: Late Stage of Meridian Opening] A gatekeeper old man, at the Late Stage of Meridian Opening? And an SR grade? Is Liangzhou University really such a hidden dragon and crouching tiger? To date, aside from Ye Changfeng, the two most powerful people he had met were President Li Nanxing and Chang Shan from the enforcement team, both in the Late Stage of Meridian Opening and greatly respected figures. Unexpectedly, Xiang Beifei found that even the security guard at Liangzhou University was at the Late Stage of Meridian Opening! When even Lu Hong, who was at the Early Stage of Meridian Opening, could be the captain of the enforcement team in the Western District, this old man with such high cultivation did security work¡ªwhy not choose a better profession? However, one thing was strange. Why, being of the same SR grade talent, was Ye Changfeng above the Meridian Opening, while this security guard was only in the Late Stage of Meridian Opening? Xiang Beifei was puzzled. He looked towards the old security guard''s system interface¡ª [Leisure System Introduction: Do some leisurely activities every day to make yourself stronger!] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª (Ah, I thought it would take another week for the book to be put on the shelf, but the notice changed abruptly. The editor said the new book is now off rmendations, meaning the new book period is over, asking me to put it on the shelf this Friday, which is tomorrow. It''s a bit rushed, but I have to bite the bullet. Tomorrow, Friday noon, it goes on sale, I hope you all can support. Writing novels is how I make a living with subscriptions, please, I ask for your support for the official release!!!) Chapter 108 The Leisurely Luo Laotou [Daily Task 1: Count three hundred students passing through the school gate, leisure value +50] [Daily Task 2: Eat three hundred sunflower seeds, leisure value +50] [Daily Task 3: Nap for an hour, leisure value +50] [Daily Task 4: Chat with someone for an hour, leisure value +50] [Other Optional Tasks (Elective): 1. Watch TV dramas for an hour; 2. Daydream for an hour; 3. Listen to opera for an hour; 4. y games for an hour; 5. Listen to birds chirping for an hour; 6. Go for a walk for an hour; 7. Dance in the square for an hour; 8. Watch news for an hour¡­] [Please ensure that the host maintains a happy body and mind, acts leisurely, and lives a joyful life! Do not be impatient, and don''t let yourself be too busy or too tired, as working yourself to exhaustion is not good for you. Remember! Engaging in more leisurely activities will make you stronger!] ¡­ The string of optional leisure tasks left Xiang Beifei dumbfounded. Elective tasks meant these tasks could be done or not, depending on his mood! He had seen various bizarre systems before¡ªthe Eating Dirt System, Hair Loss System, Bootlicker System, Backup Snatch System¡­ but these systems were just a speck of dust in front of this old man''s Leisure System! Just by cracking sunflower seeds and counting students walking by, he couldplete all his tasks, and even bing stronger by watching a TV show or taking a walk! The scariest part was that this old man raised his cultivation to thete stage of Meridian Opening just byzing around! "It shows how important it is to awaken a good system." Xiang Beifei couldn''t help but sigh. While others were tirelessly working on their system tasks, this old man justy in a lounge chair, squinted his eyes, napped like a salted fish. Then you look back, and he''s even stronger than you! Comparing yourself with others can be maddening! Honestly, Xiang Beifei really wanted this Leisure System for himself¡ªwho doesn''t like to rx? He finally understood why this old man, despite his high cultivation, was content with just guarding the school gate. Why strive for more when you have such a system? Didn''t you see what the system said? Engaging in more leisurely activities will make you stronger! "Seventy-five." Elder Luo casually spit out a sunflower seed husk and counted Xiang Beifei as he approached. "Hello," Xiang Beifei greeted politely. "Freshman?" Elder Luo cracked another sunflower seed as the system showed he had now eaten 95 seeds. "Is it that obvious?" Xiang Beifei asked. "No upperssman would greet me so politely." Elder Luo stretched his back, and Xiang Beifei noticed that Elder Luo had chosen the [Chat for an Hour] daily task, intending to casually include chatting with Xiang Beifei as part of this task. Xiang Beifei nodded, "Yes, I wanted to ask how to get to the Dashang Building?" Elder Luo scrutinized Xiang Beifei and, stroking his chin, said, "I seem to have an impression of you." "Really?" Xiang Beifei was puzzled. "Oh right, you are the top scorer of the initial assessment!" Elder Luo sat up from the lounge chair, his lean face lighting up with excitement! "How could you tell?" "Your photograph is in the Liangzhou University gossip forum; it''s there in your college entrance data!" Elder Luo seemed invigorated, wiped his greasy hands on the lounge chair, then took out an old modelrge-screen cell phone, made a few swipes, and pulled up the photograph of Xiang Beifei applying for universities, not just that, but also various photographs from Luhe High School activities. Graduation photos, athletic meets, student clubs, and other group photos¡ªsome didn''t even have Xiang Beifei as the main subject, he was just incidentally in the background; yet those backgrounds were meticulously cropped out. It was probably some of his ssmates who posted it on social media. In this era, there''s no such thing as online privacy. If you want to find something, it''s easy to get your hands on it. "Now the whole school knows you. You''re a celebrity!" Elder Luo said happily, like an old man who loves gossiping about others. Wrong, he was here to gossip about the top scorer exactly. Xiang Beifei saw that he had chosen the "Gather Gossip" daily task. "Fine then." Xiang Beifei was mentally prepared for this, and he could ept that everyone knew him. "Let''s go, I''ll take you to the assessment site!" Elder Luo stood up, having chosen the "Stroll Quest." He enthusiastically led Xiang Beifei to their destination, managing to do the "Casual Chat Quest," the "Gather Gossip Quest," and the "Stroll Quest" all at once¡ªa real bargain! Xiang Beifei didn''t refuse. Although the man was doing it for the tasks, he was also helping him find his way. As long as he could see the other''s system tasks, Xiang Beifei could roughly determine if the other had any malice. "By the way, I need to stop by Dashang Building first. I have a friend waiting for me there," Xiang Beifei added. "Sure thing, sure thing." Elder Luo, while munching on sunflower seeds, looked at Xiang Beifei and offered him some seeds, asking, "Want some?" "No thanks." "Do you realize the situation you''re in now? Many students at Liangzhou University have a bone to pick with you¡ªno, they''re openly hostile! You better be careful; everyone here is a genius, and no one yields to anyone. They will cause trouble for you!" Elder Luo chuckled. "Is that so?" Xiang Beifei nodded. "You don''t seem to care much?" Elder Luo watched Xiang Beifei with enthusiasm. "What else? Do you have any good suggestions?" Xiang Beifei asked. "Beat them up! What kind of question is that! If they don''tply, just beat them into submission, haha!" Elder Luo burst intoughter and said, "The Martial Arts College and the Liberal Arts College at a prestigious university are different. People in the Liberal Arts College reason things out, valuing both EQ and IQ, and don''t have much aggression. But with the geniuses from the Martial Arts College, the best method isn''t to reason with them but to talk with your fists!" In the Liberal Arts College, students usually don''t get involved in fights. Their awakened systems are used to enhance their IQ and EQ, along with various professional skills. People with high EQ and IQ, understanding the ways of the world, even if they dislike someone, won''t tantly say it. However, students of the Martial Arts College focus on cultivation andbat, their awakened systems are for enhancing their fighting ability! Power is everything in their eyes! Academic performance isn''t that important to them; at admission, they have lower score requirements than the Liberal Arts College¡ª500 points for an S grade is enough. In short, they are brutes; bruteness solves everything. Xiang Beifei asked doubtfully, "Aren''t you a security guard? Why are you encouraging students to fight?" "I enjoy a good brawl, watching geniuses fight is the most interesting. As long as they don''t kill anyone, small fights are allowed in the Martial Arts College." Elder Luo said cheerfully, tossing his sunflower seed shells into a trash can as they passed by, then asked, "But I''m curious, are you confident you can take them? Those guys are at the Qi-Controlling Stage. Have you reached the Qi-Controlling Stage yet?" Xiang Beifei just smiled and didn''t say much. But Elder Luo kept on imparting his insights non-stop, "Even if you''ve been admitted to Liangzhou University, you won''t be left in peace. People will keep troubling you. The best way to shut them up is to show them how hard your fists are!" He rambled all the way from the school gate to Dashang Building. Xiang Beifei let him ramble on without interrupting, and although the old man was verbose, much of what he said made sense. Xiang Beifei made a phone call to Lu Zhiwei, who replied, "Be right there!" The elevator doors opened, but it wasn''t Lu Zhiwei. Instead, two guys appeared, seemingly talking about something. "Hurry up, we need to go to Training Area One and show that freshman what we''re made of." "It''s all the instructor''s fault for making us do experiments early in the morning; we should still make it, right?" "It''s only eight now, if we''re lucky¡ª" The speaking guy casually looked up and nced at Xiang Beifei. He initially looked away, but after walking a few steps, something urred to him. He picked up his phone to check something, then stopped, turned around, and stared at Xiang Beifei. "Wait a minute, you''re that Xiang Beifei!" The guy suddenly furrowed his brows. Chapter 109 Dont Show Your Moves When Fighting "Oh, trouble has arrived." Elder Luo stepped aside, full of excitement, activating his "Thrive in Chaos Mission" and feeling extremely thrilled. One of the students in a shirt approached Xiang Beifei and after confirming his identity, a certain look appeared in his eyes, "You are the N-grade freshman who wants to get into our school through public opinion pressure?" Xiang Beifei calmly looked at the male student¡ª [Host: Wang Ze] [Rank R, Plunder from Martial Worlds System] [Realm: Mid-stage of Qi-Controlling] The Plunder from Martial Worlds System probably meant hopping into various martial arts dramas or novels to y out scenarios,pleting certain tasks in each story and receiving rewards if the conditions were met. Xiang Beifei noticed his most recentlypleted mission: [You killed Qiao Feng and became the leader of the Beggars'' Sect, plundering Qiao Feng''s Eighteen Palms of Descending Dragon.] Every time Wang Ze entered a story, he had to kill a character from the plot and then plunder their martial arts. The characters he killed at first were not too strong, such as the Southern Sea Crocodile God and Ye Erniang. The mission required him to duel the targets face to face and to kill them using brute force, so he couldn''t resort to other strategies and wasn''t even allowed to use basic Spiritual Power. Once he entered a story, he was no longer at the mid-stage of Qi-Controlling but a fighter normally practicing Inner Strength. To pass through the stories, one must rely on genuine martial arts, then convert the plundered skills to the system world, andbine them with Spiritual Power to exert greater power in the system world. In order to obtain the Eighteen Palms of Descending Dragon, he had to kill forty-two characters in "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils," plundering their martial arts, before he could barely kill Qiao Feng by leveraging the martial prowess of many others. It took him a year toplete this task! The Eighteen Palms of Descending Dragon had be his most relied upon ability. When he executed the Eighteen Palms of Descending Dragonbined with his own Spiritual Power, the power was extremely formidable; there were scarcely any opponents at the mid-stage of Qi-Controlling. Wang Ze''s next mission in the system seemed to be to go through "Swordsman" to kill Linghu Chong. His task list also included killing Yue Buqun and Invincible East. As to what he would plunder would depend on his fate. Xiang Beifei had a clear understanding of the opponent''s plundered abilities. Wang Ze had just obtained the Eighteen Palms of Descending Dragon and was considered one of the best among those ranked R. He was bing increasingly proficient in this palm technique and sought someone to test it on; his gaze settled on Xiang Beifei. "Why aren''t you speaking?" He looked at Xiang Beifei, stretching his hand to rub his fists. After a while, he smiled again, "I get it; you''re scareding to a ce where the elites gather?" The students of Martial Arts College really were blunt, straightforward, and typically spoke without thinking. Xiang Beifei could ept this situation. "Haha, this ce is full of Qi-Controlling elites. It''s normal for an N-grade Awakener like you to be scared. Relying on public opinion online is one thing, but here at the Martial Arts College, we rely on our fists! Did you think there would beizens here to speak up for you?" another male student said. [Host: Song Yuan] [Rank R, Divine Sniper System] [Realm: Mid-stage of Qi-Controlling] This individual had awakened a sniper system, which provided various types of firearms in its interface. To purchase many powerful sniper rifles, he needed to spend system points, which he had to earn by sniping targets, including but not limited to flies, mosquitoes, and so on. The system would create various training simtions for him and even let him go into the wilderness outside of the domain to sniper deste beasts, or immerse himself in a game, joining in a battle royale. Currently, his most relied upon sniper rifle was a Barrett. Song Yuan''s system was not suitable forbat but was better suited for sniping from cover; his close-quartersbat skills were not that formidable, but the lethality of his sniper rifle was also linked to his cultivation. Wang Ze and Song Yuan both possessed R-grade systems, and in a ce like Liangzhou University, where elites converged, strictly speaking, their system talents were at the bottom of the heap. It was difficult for them to have an opportunity to shine in front of those with S-grade and SR-grade systems. Now that an N-grade Awakener had arrived, whose talent was even worse than theirs, their own sense of superiority with R-grade systems was immediately evident. Inside the tree hollow, the two of them were among the ones who shouted the loudest. Xiang Beifei did not speak and shifted his gaze away from them, still waiting for Lu Zhiwei. Seeing themselves being ignored by Xiang Beifei, Wang Ze and Song Yuan narrowed their eyes. "Not speaking doesn''t mean everything will be fine." Wang Ze stared at Xiang Beifei. "Let me tell you, Liangzhou University isn''t the ce for any trash thates along. If you knew what was good for you, you''d turn around and go back where you came from, otherwise, you''re going to have a hard time at this elite university." "The Martial Arts College of this elite university isn''t all about high scores in cultural subjects. Everyone here is an elite. Think about it, what grade do you think you are? And you even dare to join forces with journalists to pressure our Liangzhou University in an attempt to get in? Your face is quite big, isn''t it!" Song Yuan remarked. Xiang Beifei still did not speak. Old Man Luo nearby kept cracking sunflower seeds, carrying out his "Join in the Fun Task". He didn''t bother to stop the fight; squabbles weremon at the elite university and it was fine for him to do something leisurely. Song Yuan suddenly thought of something and said, "Just now, I remember Lu Zhiwei seemed to say someone was waiting for her outside and was anxious toe out. It couldn''t be him she was looking for, could it?" Wang Ze feigned a look of realization before saying, "I was wondering why such an N-grade Awakener dared toe to Liangzhou University. Turned out he found an S-grade girl to lean on, hiding behind a woman and bing a kept man. Do you expect to hide behind a girl for all your years at university? Should she protect you at all times?" "This is interesting! An N-grade trash overestimating his ability at the elite university, muddling through three years on the coattails of a woman¡ªhow very interesting!" Song Yuan sneered. Xiang Beifei pondered for a moment, then turned his head and inquired with Elder Luo, "Are we allowed to fight?" Since he was new here, it was better to rify the rules¡ªit would be more polite. Elder Luo, munching on sunflower seeds, was happy to hear Xiang Beifei finally speak up. He nodded eagerly: "Liangzhou University''s rules state that sparring is allowed as long as there is a faculty member or elder present. I''m faculty and I can testify! I can testify! I love testifying for geniuses!" He was so excited that he sprayed sunflower seed shells everywhere with his mouth. Attending the Martial Arts College meant that these students would be trained to resist deste beasts from the outer domains in the future. If they couldn''t fight, what was the point of being here? Hearing Xiang Beifei''s words, Wang Zeughed, "You want to fight with me?" "You must not know our strength, huh? Do you think once you get to university, you''ll get by with just acing exams? Wang Ze, let me handle this! We don''t need you for someone like him; I''m enough." Song Yuan rubbed his palms together and stretchedzily, "Come on, I''ll let you make three moves first, and then I''ll teach you," N-grade Awakener, "what it truly means to be an elite¡ª" Whoosh! Before Song Yuan could finish his sentence, he only felt a blur in front of his eyes as a shadow shed rapidly past him, bringing a burst of explosive punch wind that mmed into his face. Bang! Song Yuan screamed, his body flying backward and crashing into the wall with a muffled sound, copsing limply to the ground. "When fighting, don''t hold back." Xiang Beifei stood there, saying earnestly. Chapter 110 The Sublimated Version of Eighteen Palms of Descending Dragon Song Yuan was utterly dumbfounded by Xiang Beifei. Although he was a sniper, not adept at closebat, he still possessed mid-stage Qi-Controlling strength. As a sniper, he was extremely sensitive to changes in his surroundings, and his reaction capabilities were definitely top-notch. In his view, N-level Xiang Beifei, who had awakened his system two months ago, hadn''t even reached the Qi-Controlling stage. He himself, being in the mid-stage of Qi-Controlling, didn''t need to rely on sniping to deal with such a person with just one punch. In fact, it was indeed a matter of one punch. But the one knocked down by that punch wasn''t Xiang Beifei, but himself! Wang Ze was also shocked! Even he didn''t know what had happened. He only saw a shadow sh by, and then Song Yuan fell down. He didn''t even have the chance to fight back! How on earth did this guy do it? Wang Ze immediately became alert, slowly waving his hands forward, readying his palms, and fixating on Xiang Beifei. "You''re just an N-level guy, you couldn''t possibly knock down Song Yuan. Whose system item did you use? Lu Zhiwei''s?" Wang Ze had not seen clearly how fast Xiang Beifei moved. In his mind, it was impossible for an N-level Awakener to achieve this, nor could an S-level genius who had just awakened two months ago possess mid-stage Qi-Controlling cultivation! Then the only exnation was that the opponent had used someone else''s system for help! Xiang Beifei just seriously stared at Wang Ze, contemting and offering no exnation. This made Wang Ze feel insulted. He coldly shouted, "You''ve only awakened two months ago. Even with someone else''s system''s help, you can only reach mid-stage Qi-Controlling at best. Do you think knocking down Song Yuan proves anything? He''s not a closebat martial artist, but I am!" His palm conjured up a phantom, with Spiritual Power flowing to his fingertips, faintly showing dragons shing by. Elevated version of the Eighteen Palms of Descending Dragon! "Today I''ll teach you a lesson. Items bestowed by others'' systems are nothing. Real strength is the absolute truth!" Wang Ze was very confident in his Eighteen Palms of Descending Dragon. It was the Supreme palm technique he had obtained after spending a year defeating Qiao Feng! In the martial world, the Eighteen Palms of Descending Dragon might just be another martial art, but with the assistance of the system, when brought to the real world, it had be an elevated Culivation Technique, its power notparable to that of a martial world''s top expert! Roar! The dragon''s roar resounded like thunder! Wang Ze waved his palms, and the Spiritual Power transformed into dragon shadows swirling around him, his aura extremely intense. These dragon shadows could attack and defend, able to unleash formidable destructive power with his palms and also timely block various attacks. It can be said that the elevated version of the Eighteen Palms of Descending Dragon was wless! So far, he had never been at a disadvantage against anyone in the mid-stage of Qi-Controlling. Xiang Beifei wasn''t even a practitioner. The power of the system item he borrowed was limited and was nothing before his own Eighteen Palms of Descending Dragon. Even with someone else''s system item''s help, he couldn''t possibly be his match. The dragon shadow of Wang Ze''s Eighteen Palms of Descending Dragon grew increasingly powerful. Then, his body vibrated, transforming into a golden phantom, creating a cracking sound as it rushed towards Xiang Beifei! Boom! Wang Ze''s dragon-shadow palm created a thunderous roar stirring the air, forming an intense and violent aura. This palm, mixed with the fierce dragon''s roar, was imposing like thunder, shaking the very air and seeming to devour and destroy everything in sight, reducing it to ashes! His palm technique was true to its name. One palm affected the whole body, and with each strike, he could change it into eighteen styles. Delivering one palm strike was like delivering eighteen, each containing flexible transformations and roaring dragon shadows. Within the eighteen changing palm winds, only one was real. The rest were feints, but he could instantly transfer the real palm to any of the feints. So each palm was a feint, yet each was also real. Real and unreal, true and false indistinguishable. The dragon-shadow palm winds turned into myriad forms, all within a single thought from him. This was the elevated version of the Eighteen Palms of Descending Dragon, terrifyingly powerful! Xiang Beifei lifted his eyelids, watching the overwhelming Eighteen Palms of Descending Dragon¡ª Then he threw a punch. Bang! A muffled thud! "Ah¡ª¡ª" Wang Ze screamed in agony, his body flew backward like a battered sandbag, crashing into a pir behind him, and fell to the ground like a puddle of mud. His nose was bloody, the blood spraying on his clothes, creating a shockingly gruesome sight. "All sh and no substance." Xiang Beifei muttered. "You... you..." Wang Ze looked at Xiang Beifei in disbelief! He had actually lost! How was this possible! Wang Ze was stunned,pletely unable to ept the fact! If it had been Song Yuan who was knocked down by a punch from Xiang Beifei, it would have been understandable, since Song Yuan was a sniper, not a closebat expert. But he, Wang Ze, was a proper martial artist! He had a powerful system enhancing him, had plundered the Supreme cultivation technique, and after receiving the boost from the Eighteen Palms of Descending Dragon, he should have been spirited and prominent. But he had lost! After spending an entire year to kill Qiao Feng and plunder his Eighteen Palms of Descending Dragon, when he performed it, his momentum was like a raging torrent, unstoppable, invincible, and extremely domineering. But he still lost! He could perform the Eighteen Palms of Descending Dragon so brilliantly, seamlessly blending illusion and reality, true and false, each strike made his opponents dread, almost no one in the same realm could decipher it, the palms were terrifying and domineering, able to crush rocks into powder with a single hit. But he still lost! He lost to an N-level Awakener! The opponent had merely thrown a punch! His intricate and unfathomable palming technique was, in the eyes of his opponent, merely dismissed as "all sh and no substance"! "..." Wang Ze looked at Xiang Beifei with a mix of shock and anger, he couldn''t stand it! But Xiang Beifei''s punch had left him so disoriented that he couldn''t even muster thenguage for a moment, not even able to make a sound, like he had be mute, just trembling lips staring at Xiang Beifei. Xiang Beifei''s punch had left him without even the strength to speak. Elder Luo also stood frozen in ce, staring nkly at Xiang Beifei, even forgetting to crack his sunflower seeds. Wang Ze might think that Xiang Beifei had won by borrowing someone else''s cultivation technique, but as an SR-levelte-stage Meridian Opening cultivator, his insight was sharp and clear! Xiang Beifei was not relying on someone else''s system, but on his own overwhelming boxing technique! A punch down, and Wang Ze flew. There was no room for negotiation. "Elder was right." Xiang Beifei turned politely to Elder Luo and said. "I... what did I say?" Elder Luo, who hadn''t snapped out of it yet, asked nkly. "The best way to shut them up is with a fist," Xiang Beifei looked at Wang Ze and said, "See, now he can''t talk at all." "..." Chapter 111 The Mysterious Leisure System Elder Luo was stunned for quite a while, but finally came back to his senses, and blinked his eyes before bursting into loudughter, "Hahaha! I knew it! I just knew it! How could you possibly be that weak! Come on, I must share some sunflower seeds with you! Let''s crack sunflower seeds together! Let''s do it!" Excited, Elder Luo took out a handful of shiny ck sunflower seeds from his pocket and stuffed them into Xiang Beifei''s hand without any exnation. "Huh?" The moment he touched the seeds, Xiang Beifei noticed that these weren''t ordinary sunflower seeds, but a peculiar system item. He looked questioningly at Xiaohei, who shook his head, indicating there was nothing abnormal about the seeds. On the contrary, they were quite special; they could replenish energy, stimte the mind, and seemed to even restore some lost Spiritual Power¡ªmaking them a recovery item. "Thank you, senior." Xiang Beifei didn''t refuse, epting the sunflower seeds and earnestly started cracking them. Crunchy and fragrant, the seeds transformed into streams of Spiritual Power and merged into his body. "Why call me a senior? I''m just an idle doorman, not impressive at all." Elder Luo waved his hand dismissively. "Anyone with more life experience than me is a senior," Xiang Beifei said casually, cracking the seeds. An idle person, yet capable of reaching such ate stage in Meridian Opening; he wasn''t about to take him lightly. Both being staff at Liangzhou University, Xiang Beifei couldn''t see Ye Changfeng''s system missions, so he didn''t trust Ye Changfeng. However, he could see Elder Luo''s Leisure System and thus could gauge what kind of person he was. Elder Luo was briefly taken aback and then burst intoughter like an old rascal, "Hahaha! Kid, I like your frankness. Let''s go, let''s go, since we''re free right now, let''s go find someone to fight." Xiang Beifei: "..." How idle are you! To actually enjoy watching others fight? "I have to wait for someone," Xiang Beifei said. But speaking of which, he was still very curious about Elder Luo''s [SR-Level Leisure System]. This person owned an SR-level system; his cultivation was only as good as the S-level Li Nanxing and Chang Shan, which baffled him. He was examining the [Leisure System] description, Elder Luo''s daily system missions were filled with all sorts of excruciatingly boring things. Even tasks like "watching ants move house" or "chickens pecking at grains" could earn him system values. At this moment, his leisure value totaled [56,233,689] "56 million?" Xiang Beifei remembered that S-Level Principal Li Nanxing only needed 16 million to buy his God Refining Pills. Although the systems were different and the methods of calcting system values were different, logically, an SR-level system should cultivate faster and even require fewer system values. He checked the other''s system market, the [Leisure System] didn''t have many system items, not even as diverse as others'', but its calction methods were rather peculiar, seemingly using a mind-washing method to strengthen oneself. In the system''s character profile, there was aprehensive chart: [Strength: 1111] [Speed: 2222] [Defense: 3333] [Intelligence: 4444] [Agility: 5555] [Social: 6666] [Music: 7777] ¡­ This way of allocating points left Xiang Beifei utterly baffled. A person possessed countless innate abilities, which varied in levels of proficiency; this was evident from Qin Yi''s "S-rank Talent Aggregation System" he encounteredst time. Elder Luo''s system talents probably disyed tens of thousands of abilities, even including "paper folding ability" and "dancing ability" within its coverage, but the most absurd part of this "SR-rank Leisure System" was that it could freely allocate points to any ability. Put another way, he had a total of over 56 million leisure points, which could be freely allocated to any aspect without any upper limit, as long as the sum total of the abilities slots equaled the leisure points he had collected. He could allocate all his leisure points to "strength" or he could allocate them all to "speed"! Despite currently being idle and randomly adding points to each of his talents in a prank-like order of 111, 222, if he wanted, he could even zero out other abilities and make the "strength" category show "Strength: 56233689". When Xiang Beifei discovered this characteristic of the "Leisure System," he was quite astonished! An SR-rank system was indeed outrageous! He suddenly understood what was behind Elder Luo''s cultivation level; his system settings did not include a "cultivation" allocation, and his cultivation level was likely a manifestation of thebined real power of several aspects of his abilities. Even following his nonchnt, pranking way of adding points, his cultivation level had surprisingly reached "Late Meridian Opening"! Elder Luo''s system showed "Late Meridian Opening" because he randomly allocated points, but if he got serious, reset the points, and redistributed his over 56 million ability points, his real cultivation level would definitely be far beyond thete Meridian Opening! That way, Xiang Beifei definitely wouldn''t be able to see the other party''s system interface, as by then, it would only disy three lines of content, just like the SR-rank Ye Changfeng''s system. What exactly was Elder Luo''s cultivation level? Xiang Beifei was overwhelmingly curious! He suddenly wondered, what if all these system points were added to intelligence? Reaching the pinnacle of human IQ, bing a sage among men? But Xiang Beifei soon noticed a line of advice [Point Allocation Note: Please host pay attention to bncing abilities appropriately, do not exceed your capacity to handle them.] He sort of understood that putting all points into one category was impractical. Elder Luo could indeed allocate all 56 million leisure points to "strength", but ordingly, other physical aspects, such as "speed", would diminish if reduced to zero, practically immobilizing him during a fight, making great strength useless without speed! If "intelligence" were increased to 50 million, the brain''s nerves might not keep up with the speed of thought, potentially frying his brain! So even though he could adjust these "leisure points" at will, bnce was necessary, as each point should be set ording to the current physical condition to determine the upper and lower limits. But this was already a minor drawback, as Elder Luo surely knew how to distribute these leisure points, maximizing his strongest attributes while considering other aspects. Seeing so, this SR Elder surely couldn''t be viewed as a normal person! As Xiang Beifei pondered staring at Elder Luo''s system interface, he noticed that Elder Luo also seemed to be contemting something while watching him. Then, Xiang Beifei inadvertently noticed Elder Luo''s system points were rapidly fluctuating; it looked like he was resetting points! Readtest chapters at m_v-l''e|-NovelBin Immediately, the line for "Mind Reading" jumped rapidly from "233" to "9999", "Perception" shot up from "250" to "8888", while other aspects like "Square Dancing" and "Shuttlecock Kicking" abilities dramatically dropped from 9999 to 123, and then¡ª Whoosh! Elder Luo''s system interface in Xiang Beifei''s eyes turned into: [Host: Luo Yunxian] [SR, Leisure System] [State¡ª¡ª] Chapter 112 Eating Sunflower Seeds "He''s upgrading his realm, preparing to read my mind?" Xiang Beifei became instantly alert at thest moment when he saw Elder Luo''s system interface disappear! Because he saw Elder Luo''s [Mind Reading Ability] upgrading, it was obvious that Elder Luo had be curious after witnessing Xiang Beifei send Wang Ze and Song Yuan flying with a punch, and he decided to try and elevate his own cultivation, to see if he could uncover Xiang Beifei''s secrets! Xiang Beifei could no longer see Elder Luo''s Cultivation Realm, nor any introduction to the [Leisure System], indicating that the other party''s cultivation had at least ascended to the God Refining stage, or even higher! For such a high-level master, not being able to ascertain what he''s doing can be a bit troublesome. "Woof woof woof!" Xiaohei held its head high with an air of confidence, signaling to Xiang Beifei not to worry. After a while, a hint of confusion appeared in Elder Luo''s eyes as he continuously adjusted his ability points, trying various means such as [Scanning], [Mind Reading], and [Perception] to probe into Xiang Beifei, but it seemed he failed! "Eh? This little guy is quite interesting!" Elder Luo had initially been simply curious about Xiang Beifei, but after thetter knocked down Wang Ze and Song Yuan with a punch, he thought Xiang Beifei might not be as simple as a Level N Awakener, so he wanted to see Xiang Beifei''s true talent. But he found that no matter what he tried, he couldn''t prate Xiang Beifei''s thoughts or discover any of his secrets. Xiang Beifei was like a sealed bottle, very well protected. This was the first time he had encountered this. That made things even more interesting. "It seems that if I want to know this little guy''s secrets, I''ll have to wait for him to be willing to show them," Elder Luo mused. After a while, Elder Luo spat out a melon seed, and then the system interface changed back to¡ª [Host: Luo Yunxian] [SR, Leisure System] [Realm: Early Stage of Meridian Opening] Xiang Beifei let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Xiaohei was there. Xiaohei was able to use the spiritual power crystals it collected to thwart anyone''s prying, something Ye Changfeng''s sword couldn''t do, and Elder Luo couldn''t manage it either. Indeed, an SR-level strength couldn''t be underestimated! But then again, this old man really is idle to death, now he has randomly assigned his [leisure value] to useless abilities, and his cultivation immediately dropped to the early stage of Meridian Opening. Fortunately, Xiang Beifei could now again see Elder Luo''s system introduction, indicating the old man was likely just curious about him, without much malice; Xiang Beifei didn''t feel very repelled by him. Readtest stories on m_v-l''e|-NovelBin There were plenty of people who wanted to pry into his secrets wherever he went, his curiosity piqued. As the son of the SR talent Awakener Xiang Tianxing yet only an N-level himself, there were certainly many who would want to test him. Xiang Beifei had been mentally prepared for this ever since he came to Liangzhou University for the assessment. As long as he could see the other party''s system interface, he could judge whether a person was trustworthy, and for the moment, Elder Luo fell within that range. Xiang Beifei became more curious about Elder Luo. If Elder Luo acted a bit more normally and assigned those [leisure values] to where they should be, what realm would his true strength reveal? At that moment, the elevator doors opened, and Lu Zhiwei came rushing out, seeing Xiang Beifei she quickly said, "Sorry, sorry, the mentor insisted we dissect the newly transported deste beast carcass; I made an excuse to slip away. Come on, I''ll take you to training area number one." She walked a few steps and suddenly realized something was off, there were bloodstains on the ground. Turning her head, she saw Wang Ze and Song Yuan lying on the ground, groaning weakly in a pitiful state. Lu Zhiwei looked at Wang Ze and Song Yuan on the ground with perplexity, then turned to Xiang Beifei and Luo Laotou and asked the two unharmed men, "What are you doing?" "We''re cracking sunflower seeds." Xiang Beifei seriously gestured with the seeds in his hand, looking like he was an outsider to the whole situation. "What happened to them?" Lu Zhiwei asked. "They wanted to fight each other, and then this happened." Xiang Beifei pointed at Luo Laotou, "He can testify." "Yes! I can! I''m a security guard." Luo Laotou said leisurely, spitting out sunflower seed shells. "Oh, really?" Lu Zhiwei looked dubiously at Wang Ze and Song Yuan, "I thought you two got along quite well. Howe there''s sudden infighting, and you both ended up injured?" Wang Ze: "???" Song Yuan: "???" Are we really fighting each other? We were beaten up! Are you blind? Can''t you see the person who beat us is right there cracking seeds? But they were too beaten up to even gather the strength to argue. Even if they could speak, they''d be too embarrassed to mention it; surely they couldn''t tell Lu Zhiwei that they were intending to chastise an N-level Awakener and identally got smashed instead? Xiang Beifei couldn''t be bothered to exin; he found Luo Laotou''s seeds quite tasty. Luo Laotou was even less inclined to exin, as watching others fight was his favorite pastime ¡ª it was not only a pleasure for the mind and body but also made him stronger. "You should hurry to the medical office." Lu Zhiwei nced at Wang Ze and Song Yuan, saw that they were still conscious, and had no time to deal with them. Fighting and sparring in the campus were toomon. This was Martial Arts College, after all. If you couldn''t spar, how could you improve? And how would you fight against deste beastster on? However, the school rules stated that settling personal disputes should be done in the presence of faculty to avoid fatalities. Luo Laotou was a security guard, an official member of the faculty at that. "Come on, I need to take you there; we can''t bete. Elder Yuchi, who''s responsible for the assessment, has quite a temper; we better take it easy." Without another thought, Lu Zhiwei quickly headed outside. Xiang Beifei followed behind, cracking seeds. Luo Laotou picked up his walkie-talkie, and called out, "Hello, hello, hello, is anyone in the medical office? Who needs to finish a healing task? Send someone to Dashang Building quickly; there are two people here who need help." Medical students, although they belonged to the literary Dao, typically had their studies situated within Martial Arts College. For these students of medicine who pursue the literary Dao, their systems are rted to healing and treating illnesses; many of them had to rely on treating others toplete their system tasks. Elite universities were full of geniuses, none of whom epted defeat from anyone. From time to time, there would be fighting within Martial Arts College. Once cultivators fought, injuries were inevitable. As long as a member of the faculty was present, and nobody was killed or crippled, it was fine. Therefore, medical students, who should have been with the literary Dao, were stationed in Martial Arts College. Besides attending sses, their usual routine was waiting to treat those who got injured in fights toplete their system tasks. After informing the medical office, Luo Laotou casually strode after Xiang Beifei. He didn''t need to bother with Wang Ze and Song Yuan; the medical office would send medical students quickly to rescue people. He still had his own leisure tasks to attend to today. Chapter 113 Only Open to Elites The number one training ground was already surrounded by countless elite students. Among these people, some, like Elder Luo, were just there to join the fun, curious to see what was so special about the top N-grade student from the preliminary selection, while others nned to gang up and intimidate Xiang Beifei, motivated by the public outrage sparked by Yu Lei''s article¡ªthey wanted to show Xiang Beifei a lesson. Now was the summer vacation period, and most elite students either went home, traveled, or participated in summer internships, so there were naturally fewer students on campus than usual, but today, quite a number had made special trips back to the school. Discover more stories at m,v l''e-NovelBin The number one training ground was a ce simr to a gymnasium; it was well known to the students of the Martial Arts College, as they often conducted various simtion trainings here. It featured a variety of sophisticated setups, a high-tech venue perfect for simting any specific scenario needed for their missions. For instance, if one wanted to kill a deste beast, it would simte a battlefield against a deste beast; if one wanted to practice sniping, it could simte various extreme conditions; if one wanted to solve crimes, it could recreate various murder scenes. The teaching facilities at the elite university were top-notch, and nearly every student could find scenarios that fit their system abilities to practice in the training ground. "Is Yuchi the old demon only nning to use simtion scenarios to test this N-grade student? That''s letting him off too easy, isn''t it?" "Don''t be foolish, do you think the simtions set up by Yuchi the old demon are that easy to pass? Too naive!" Many people were waiting at the number one training ground, talking and specting, waiting for that spotlighted person to appear. "Here hees!" At that moment, someone shouted. Whoosh! Countless gazes swept over! Xiang Beifei had never realized he would attract such attention. Despite it being summer vacation and just past eight in the morning, there were still more than two hundred students from Liangzhou University, who had arrived early waiting for him. As soon as he stepped into the training ground from around the corner, all eyes suddenly fell on him. Curious, schadenfreude, indignant, predatory, fierce, and malicious... All sorts of gazes, like so many curved knives, whooshed chaotically over Xiang Beifei. The scene suddenly became very quiet, so quiet that even the sound of a leaf stirred by the wind, rustling on the ground, could be heard. Lu Zhiwei briefly scanned her surroundings and whispered, "Why are there so many people? It seems like every student club has sent a representative here; the stir you''ve caused is rather big." The elite university had countless student departments, nicely termed as student clubs, but frankly speaking, they were just small gangs. Each student clubpeted against each other, and sometimes to prove their club''s superiority, they often organized group fights. Group fights were still tacitly approved by the Martial Arts College because when dealing with deste beasts, it''s rarely a solo fight; almost always, it involved mutual cooperation, with several students teaming up to fight a single deste beast, which was considered the best approach. Group fights helped cultivate a tacit understanding of cooperation among students. Of course, the rule remained the same: fights could happen, but at school, the number of participants had to be equal on both sides, and there must be a teacher present. After the matter with Xiang Beifei came out, the various student clubs seemed to have reached a tacit agreement. Today, many clubs had sent at least one representative, and it seemed that taking the first shot at intimidating this new N-grade student had turned into a matter of pride for the school. As Xiang Beifei approached the training ground, his path was blocked by a group of students. "N-grade Awakeners are forbidden from passing this way." The leader was a tall boy with his hairbed into a side part, his eyes fiercely fixed on Xiang Beifei. [Host: Tao Jin] [S-grade,Eagle Eye System] [Realm: Advanced Qi-Controlling] Tao Jin was a tracking-type System Awakener. His eyes could spot anomalies under various extreme conditions and identify his opponent''s weaknesses, belonging to the investigative ss of martial artists. He blocked Xiang Beifei''s path, his gaze darkly appraising Xiang Beifei as he used his system to size him up. [You scanned Xiang Beifei, and no spiritual power fluctuations were found.] Just someone without any cultivation? That should be easy then. Tao Jin sneered internally. What did it matter if this N-grade Awakener had high scores in academic subjects? Without any cultivation, he dared toe to Liangzhou University? The other students also stood by Tao Jin''s side, lining up to block the way forwardpletely. Lu Zhiwei stepped forward, stood in front of Xiang Beifei, and challenged, "Tao Jin, what do you mean by this? Dare to block my way?" Tao Jin nced at Lu Zhiwei, slightly wary, then chuckled lightly, "Lu Zhiwei, if you want to pass, of course, I won''t stop you, but this path is not open to any N-grade individuals." "Since when was this decided? Who needs your authorization to pass through?" Lu Zhiwei demanded. "This was the result of our collective decision." Tao Jin pointed at the people beside him. "That''s right, N-grade trash doesn''t deserve to walk this path!" "If you know what''s good for you, get out of Liangzhou University." Some people beside them chimed in as well. Lu Zhiwei retorted coldly, "So you mean to say that even if Elder Shang Tianxiong of Liangzhou came here, he wouldn''t be allowed to walk this path either?" Tao Jin''s face shifted slightly! That usation was something he couldn''t bear! Everyone knew that the governor of Liangzhou, Shang Tianxiong, was an N-grade Awakener, but his achievements were heights that many present might never reach in their lifetimes. Nobody dared to belittle him lightly. Truthfully, although Shang Tianxiong was an N-grade Awakener, in reality, his achievements were so great that many people even overlooked the fact that his talent was quite ordinary; they never treated him as just a simple N-grade Awakener. But strictly speaking, if Tao Jin did not want the N-grade Xiang Beifei to pass through, it meant that he was also not permitting N-grade Shang Tianxiong to pass. As a merete-stage Qi-controlling practitioner, where would he get the audacity to link these two matters together? "The roads of an elite campus are only open to the elite." A woman dressed in light clothes stepped forward and timely extricated Tao Jin from his predicament. She twisted her slim waist, smiling charmingly, and said in a crisp, captivating voice, "Elder Shang Tianxiong is a top-notch elite, of course, he can pass through." [Host: Yu Xiaoyao] [S-grade, Charm Allure System] [Realm: Late-Stage Qi-Controlling] Yu Xiaoyao paused, then using her eyes coated with pink eyeshadow, she looked at Xiang Beifei, "Does this man really deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as an elder like Shang Tianxiong?" Lu Zhiwei narrowed her eyes and stared at Yu Xiaoyao, her voice firm, "The assessments haven''t even started for him yet, how can you determine he isn''t an elite?" "He''s an elite? Hah!" Tao Jin scoffed, then turned to look at the people around him, asking in a tiresome, oily voice, "Here stand all the elite students of Liangzhou University; please raise your hand if anyone needed to be assessed to enter this institution." Chapter 114 Xiong Meng Everyone looked at Xiang Beifei with mocking eyes, and many even snorted in disdain. Tao Jin returned his gaze to Xiang Beifei and continued, "No one raised their hand, do you know why?" He said condescendingly, dragging out his words, "Because true elites do not need to rely on the entrance assessment of Liangzhou University to get in!" After he finished speaking, many peopleughed. At Liangzhou University, the lowest system talent is R grade; R grade students are asmon as des of grass, and S grade students are everywhere. Yet, currently, there isn''t a single student who needed to rely on the entrance assessment to get in. Theughter was ear-piercing. They were all mocking Xiang Beifei''s overestimation of himself. Xiang Beifei just stood there calmly, scanning the system interfaces of the students present and assessing their cultivation levels. Explore more stories with m,v l''e-NovelBin It seemed that the talented students in the Meridian Opening stage hadn''te; those present were mostly in the Qi-Controlling stage, and most of them had only started attending the university a year earlier than Xiang Beifei. But thinking about it, even for S grades, it is quite difficult to advance to the Meridian Opening stage, not to mention for R grades. Many R-gradew enforcement members of the enforcement team are in thete Qi-Controlling stage and might not reach the Meridian Opening stage even by graduation. As for S grades, the early stages of cultivation are rtively quick, and maybe the Awakening System could reach thete Qi-Controlling stage within a year, but to go further is a bottleneck. To step into the Meridian Opening stage, it would take at least several years! Two to three years would be considered quick, and four to five years would be quite normal. And once reaching the Meridian Opening stage, the subsequent advancement bes even more challenging. Even Lu Hong, who had probably graduated from Liangzhou University some twenty years ago, was still at the initial stage of Meridian Opening, and only recently, with the help of Xiang Beifei, did he begin to advance to the middle stage of cultivation. Of course, Lu Hong''s cultivation hadn''t progressed further due to a past injury he sustained, and because advancing during the Meridian Opening stage is difficult, and it takes more time. But even so, real Meridian Opening stage cultivators only make up a very small part of the university''s students. Liangzhou University has graduation requirements for its students. Besides needing to earn enough credits for certain courses, there are also strict stiptions for strength! R grades, to graduate, need to be at least in thete Qi-Controlling stage. S grades, to graduate, must at least be in the initial Meridian Opening stage. Those genius students who have already reached the Meridian Opening stage have either left the school or might have stayed to continue further study. Elite students who stay to delve deeper are busy with their own courses and wouldn''t waste timeing to such a ce to trouble an N grade student. Since there were no students in the Meridian Opening stage present, that would make things easier. ¡ª¡ª Seeing Tao Jin and the others still aggressively blocking the way, Lu Zhiwei warned, "If you block him, when Mr. Yuchi arrivester, you are going to suffer the consequences!" Tao Jin and Yu Xiaoyao both frowned upon hearing Lu Zhiwei''s words. They knew too well how terrifying Yuchi Shen was, called Old Devil by the students because he trained them ruthlessly. Nobody wanted to provoke the bad luck of offending Yuchi Shen, especially since today''s entrance assessment for Xiang Beifei was under his charge. If they caught his attention, they could expect to be skinned during the next training session! Yuchi Shen hadn''t arrived yet, so they dared to block the way here. But if Yuchi Shen were to arriveter, they''d be too busy trying to escape. Tao Jin and Yu Xiaoyao exchanged nces and then gave a few suggestive looks to the others around them. "Fine, if you want to pass this way," Tao Jin said, with a smile that wasn''t quite a smile, as he looked at Xiang Beifei. Thud! Thud! Thud! At this moment, a dense series of footsteps approached, the steps sounding extremely heavy as if the person was wearing thousand-pound shoes, seemingly stomping on everyone''s heart with each step. Tao Jin and Yu Xiaoyao, among others, tacitly stepped back, clearing the way. Soon, a person entered Xiang Beifei''s line of sight from behind. It was an extremely fat male student, as wide as three normal people put together, his fleshyered uponyer, bulging in an exaggerated manner. But what was piled upon him wasn''t excess fat, it was solid muscle! Each section of muscle undted as he moved, faintly brimming with terrifying power. [Host: Xiong Meng] [S-rank, Flesh Striking System] [Realm: Late-Stage Qi-Controlling] Xiong Meng was a very greedy person; as long as someone gave him a little benefit and told him what to do, he wouldn''t hesitate and wouldn''t consider the consequences. Tao Jin and Yu Xiaoyao didn''t want to provoke the bad luck associated with Yuchi Shen, so they found Xiong Meng to take the lead, as he was thick-skinned and wouldn''t be much affected by Yuchi Shen''s grinding. "It''s actually this guy!" Lu Zhiwei''s face changed slightly, obviously recognizing Xiong Meng. Xiong Meng was massive, a martial artist who specifically cultivated physical prowess. He had a big reputation in their cohort because every section of his muscles contained great strength. The speed of physical cultivation was incredibly slow; other S-rank systems had reached thete-stage of Qi-Controlling months ago, but he had only stepped into itst week. Back when he was only at the mid-stage of Qi-Controlling, Xiong Meng was able to confront ordinaryte-stage Qi-Controlling warriors just with his muscr body. Now, although he had only been at thete stage of Qi-Controlling for a few days, even Lu Zhiwei could not afford to underestimate him! Lu Zhiwei, worried that Xiang Beifei might suffer a loss, still stood in front of Xiang Beifei and shouted at Xiong Meng, "Xiong Meng, don''t look for trouble where there isn''t any!" A red light shone on her arm, ready to deal with Xiong Meng at any moment. However, Yu Xiaoyao''s gaze suddenly lit up with a red gleam, as she smiled at Lu Zhiwei, "Lu Zhiwei, listen, what''s that sound?" A series of tinklingughter reached Lu Zhiwei''s ears. "I''ve been careless!" Lu Zhiwei inwardly cried out, realizing her mistake. She had focused all her attention on Xiong Meng and had neglected Yu Xiaoyao. Whoosh! An eerie pink light red up, and Lu Zhiwei and Yu Xiaoyao vanished from the spot. Yu Xiaoyao''s ability was known as [Charm Allure], where ''degree'' refers to a dimensional space. A one-degree space is a one-dimensional space, and currently, she had unlocked up to seven degrees, meaning she could create a Seven-Degree Space! She could lure anyone into her created system space through charm and use the special properties of the dimensional space to suppress her opponent. Yu Xiaoyao knew that Lu Zhiwei was not easy to handle. Lu Zhiwei also had a considerable reputation in their cohort, possessing top-notch qualities in all aspects, and she was straightforward by nature, not caring how others viewed her. If Lu Zhiwei intervened in matters concerning Xiang Beifei, others who wanted to trouble Xiang Beifei might have second thoughts, so Yu Xiaoyao directly pulled Lu Zhiwei into the Seven-Degree Space, denying her the chance to protect Xiang Beifei. Yu Xiaoyao and Lu Zhiwei were both in thete stage of Qi-Controlling, so even if she dragged her in, she wouldn''t gain much of an advantage, but it could buy some time, leaving Xiang Beifei alone at the scene! (Please subscribe, please subscribe, will still update five chapters.) Chapter 115 This Way You Wont See Me Anymore (Please Subscribe) Many people saw Lu Zhiwei, who wanted to protect Xiang Beifei, being led away by Yu Xiaoyao, and their mocking nces toward Xiang Beifei intensified. They knew that this overconfident N-level Awakener was about to face serious trouble. Xiong Meng''s quivering muscles were truly formidable. Each time they pulsated, the muscles trembled, resonating slightly with the air, and through the friction of his own Spiritual Power, they could unleash an incredibly powerful impact; a single punch from him could smash a ten-meter-deep crater into the ground. In thest batch of freshmen at Liangzhou University, he was known as the "S-level Human Bulldozer," a nickname that was well earned. During practicalbat sses, he would usually take hits with his body, endure his opponents'' attacks, and then charge at them like a bulldozer. Many people disliked fighting against him because they couldn''t break through his defense; des and spears couldn''t pierce him, and even regr bullets were blocked. If one was not careful, they could be smashed into a pulp by him. There were few at the same level who could withstand a punch from him. Both his defensive and offensive powers were incredibly formidable. It could be said that in the previous batch of freshmen, only he could withstand the torture administered by Yuchi Shen. Even when Xiong Meng was in the middle phase of Qi-Controlling, nobody dared to trouble him, and these past few days, as he had just stepped into theter stage of Qi-Controlling, his power had escted even further. No one had truly sparred with him yet, so no one knew just how powerful the current Xiong Meng actually was. But he was undoubtedly more terrifying than ever! Many people, seeing Xiong Meng ready to intimidate the N-level neer, gave Xiang Beifei sympathetic looks. If even those at S-level couldn''t withstand his strike, what could the weakest N-level Awakener do? But amidst their sympathy, they also reveled in Schadenfreude, for today everyone hade to put Xiang Beifei in his ce, and Xiong Meng was the chosen enforcer! "This kid''s probably going to have a headache now," someone said. Even Elder Luo, who was always stirring up excitement in the back, slowed his pace of eating sunflower seeds, nced at Xiong Meng, then at Xiang Beifei, pondering the situation at hand. Although he was usually idle, he was still quite familiar with the new generation. He was well aware of Xiong Meng''s overall situation; this big guy focused on cultivating his physique, was a bit slow-witted, but was a formidable stock of potential. Xiong Meng was a grade higher than Xiang Beifei and had practiced for an additional year. His physique was so strong; he couldn''t bepared to the likes of Wang Ze and Song Yuan from just a moment ago. It''s just unclear how this kid ns to deal with this Xiong Meng. - Xiong Meng took heavy steps, walking toward Xiang Beifei step by step, then stopped, his small eyes flickering with ferocity as he rubbed his fists and said in a low voice, "You''re in my way!" Xiang Beifei pondered for a moment, then stepped aside. Many people who saw Xiang Beifei''s actionughed again: "This guy is scared, so obediently stepping aside, haha!" "If you''re so scared, why don''t you just roll out of Liangzhou University?" "Xiong Meng, why not give him a push!" Many were egging on, eager to see how Xiong Meng would deal with this N-level neer. Seeing Xiang Beifei make way, Xiong Meng shed a row of sinister, brick-like teeth, staring at Xiang Beifei, and said again: "What I mean is, you''re blocking my view!" Xiang Beifei looked puzzledly at Xiong Meng. "Don''t you get it? This is Liangzhou University, you should roll out of my sight!" Xiong Meng extended his arm, muscles rippling on his arms, trembling. The powerful Spiritual Power echoed through the muscles, unleashing terrifying and immense strength. Xiang Beifei then realized, and immediately asked, "You mean, you don''t want to see me?" Xiong Meng shed a mocking smile, "Exactly! I don''t want to see you!" Many continued to shout, "If you know what''s good for you, just roll out of Liangzhou University!" "Liangzhou University is not a ce for N-level trash like you!" "Hurry up and roll to a ce where Xiong Meng can''t see you, or you''ll suffer." Xiong Meng''s energy was overwhelming, and in their view, hepletely overpowered the frail N-level Awakener. Due to the article about Xiang Beifei by Yu Lei, Liangzhou University had recently been besieged byizens from all over Jiuzhou, and now the article''s main character was being treated unfairly here, adding to their excitement. Xiang Beifei nodded thoughtfully. "Fine!" he said, "If you don''t want to see me¡ª" Whoosh! This time, his fist burst into intense mes. A fleeting gleam shed through Xiang Beifei''s eyes. He couldn''t be bothered with idle talk and struck out swiftly, hitting the limits of speed! Whiz! It was still a in and simple punch! "This kid actually dares to throw a punch at Xiong Meng?" "Is he overestimating himself? He probably doesn''t know how freakish Xiong Meng''s defensive power is?" "Xiong Meng could just stand there and let him hit him for three days and three nights without a scratch." Find adventures at m_v l|e-NovelBin Many people, upon seeing Xiang Beifei make his move, scoffed. Even Xiong Meng wore a look of disdain. His typical strategy in a fight was to take hits first, waiting for his opponent to tire, then he would strike. "I said, I don''t want to see you again!" Unmoved by Xiang Beifei''s punch, Xiong Meng''s muscles quivered as he fortified his protection. In his eyes, Xiang Beifei''s slender fist was just like tapping him lightly, barely tickling him. Xiang Beifei''s fist was already covered in mes, and amidst theughter of the crowd, it pounded into Xiong Meng''s belly! Boom! A bizarre force transferred from his fist to Xiong Meng''s body. Spiritual power swirled and prated into Xiong Meng''s trembling muscles. Xiong Meng''s explosively powerful muscles paused momentarily, then suddenly shrank, as if they had been drained of power. The originally smug grin on Xiong Meng''s face froze; he felt a tightness in his chest followed by a terrifying force impacting his body, instantly reducing his defensive capabilities. His body couldn''t withstand the punch! Boom! Xiong Meng flew out like a meatball, his bulky body tumbling twice in the air and plunging headfirst into a flowerbed. tter! His legs were still stuck in the air, pointing at the sky, twitching slightly. Silence! Dead silence! Everyone present constricted their pupils, and even their heartbeats skipped a beat! What just happened? Everyone''s minds were nk. The so-called "Human Bulldozer," an S-level Awakener Xiong Meng, had just been sent flying by a punch from an N-level Awakener? They had thought Xiang Beifei was going to have a rough time with Xiong Meng today. If Xiang Beifei stubbornly refused to leave, it was likely that Xiong Meng might have grabbed him and thrown him out. But unexpectedly, it wasn''t Xiang Beifei who was thrown out, but Xiong Meng, who had both immense defensive and offensive powers! "This way, you shouldn''t be able to see me anymore." Xiang Beifei retracted his fist, the mes on his fist slowly calming down, and as he looked at Xiong Meng, who had been nted upside down in the flower bed, he seriously said. Chapter 116 Silence is Good (Please Subscribe) The entire crowd of over two hundred taunting students suddenly fell silent! Many people even found it hard to believe what had just happened! Although Xiong Meng had only stepped into thete stage of Qi-Controlling a few days ago, he was, after all, an S-rank with an incredibly strong physique. His muscles were terrifying, and typically, he was the one sending others flying. How did he end up being the one smashed away today? Xiang Beifei''s punch was too bizarre! Even Tao Jin, who had the "Eagle Eye System," hadn''t seen it clearly! He was even startled into ducking his head by Xiang Beifei''s fist! Tao Jin was well aware that if he were to be hit by Xiang Beifei''s punch, he would likely be sent flying even further than Xiong Meng! Is this really an N-level Awakener? Did he rely on his own strength? Or did he rely on someone else''s system for help? Many people looked at Xiang Beifei in shock. Originally, everyone hade today to trouble this N-level Awakener, nning to intimidate an N-level Awakener. However, they had underestimated the N-level Awakener too much! In the end, who was intimidating whom? With Xiong Meng, thest tournament''s strongest defender, sent flying, who else possessed the strength to intimidate Xiang Beifei? "This¡­" Lu Zhiwei and Yu Xiaoyao also appeared on the scene. Although Yu Xiaoyao had dragged Lu Zhiwei into her Seven-Degree Space, Lu Zhiwei was not someone to be trifled with. She shattered the space with a punch and came out just in time to see Xiang Beifei''s punch! The two of them were also startled. Xiong Meng weighed at least two to three hundred pounds, and just like that, he was sent flying by Xiang Beifei with a punch? ---- Elder Luo, nibbling on sunflower seeds in the crowd, brightened up! "This me¡ªthis method of circting Spiritual Power? What Cultivation Technique has he practiced?" Readtest chapters at m_v-l''e|-NovelBin The students might not notice, but he had been observing Xiang Beifei''s punching technique from the very start. Wang Ze and Song Yuan were far less powerful than Xiong Meng. They were directly overpowered by Xiang Beifei''s tyrannical punch, and at that time, Xiang Beifei hadn''t even used his full strength. But the punch Xiang Beifeinded on Xiong Meng''s body not only burst into mes, it also contained a very special clever force. It was exactly this clever force that rendered the very muscr Xiong Mengpletely unable to cope! Xiong Meng was known as the "S-rank Human Bulldozer," withyers uponyers of muscles that trembled slightly whether he was moving or standing still. His defense relied on thebination of muscle and Spiritual Power, with explosive destructive and defensive power emanating in the tremors of his muscles. However, the Spiritual Power on Xiang Beifei''s fist was very strange. When he struck Xiong Meng''s muscles, the Spiritual Power acting between Xiong Meng''s muscles was twisted and pulled by his mes, then ignited! The most bizarre thing was that Xiong Meng''s constantly throbbing muscles seemed to have been forcefully stilled in an instant. All his muscles couldn''t move, cutting off the flow of Spiritual Power abruptly! At present, Xiong Meng was only in the Qi-Controlling stage, and his physique was only rtively unsolvablepared to his peers but not incredibly powerful. Once Xiong Meng''s muscles couldn''t gather Spiritual Power, his body lost its strong defensive and offensive power, making him no different from a fat ordinary man with a bit more weight¡ªnothing special! He only cultivated his physique, focusing on defense and strength, but his speed was very slow. Faced with Xiang Beifei''s fist, he couldn''t possibly react in time! "With such talent, does he still need an admission test? Wahahaha!" Elder Luo became more and more excited, finding more and more pleasure in his thoughts and liking Xiang Beifei more and more every time he looked at him, knocking the sunflower seeds with even greater enthusiasm. ---- In an inconspicuous corner of the training ground stands. Ye Changfeng was sitting there alone, quietly watching everything. The Longyuan Sword floated beside him, humming softly. "He actually haste-stage Qi-Controlling cultivation? So, is he an SR-rank Awakener now?" asked the Longyuan Sword, astonished. "The spiritual power contained in that fist technique was not from thete stage of Qi-Controlling, but the middle stage of Qi-Controlling," Ye Changfeng said with a slight smile, before adding, "However, I think his talent is definitely not as simple as an N-grade." "Middle stage of Qi-Controlling? He took down ate-stage Qi-Controlling cultivator with a single punch using middle-stage strength?" The Longyuan Sword was increasingly astonished, "We didn''t even notice his cultivation level that day!" Ye Changfeng raised his hand to adjust his sses and said helplessly, "I should have thought of that earlier." "Thought of what? You couldn''t tell either that day!" "It''s precisely because I couldn''t tell..." "Stop with that! Just admit you didn''t know," the Long Yuan scolded angrily. Ye Changfeng was choked by hispanion, the Longyuan Sword, but he justughed and said nothing. After a while, he turned to Luo Laotou, who was cracking sunflower seeds in the crowd, and said, "I think he''s going to snatch someone away again." The Longyuan Sword also looked toward the security-uniformed Luo Laotou, seeming to harbor considerable wariness toward this man whose cultivation was only at thete stage of Meridian Opening, "It''s normal; Xiang Tianxing''s son is here. He wouldn''t let him go no matter what. Maybe you couldpete with him for it." "I don''t dare provoke him." Ye Changfeng smiled. He was clearly above the Meridian Opening stage in cultivation, but he did not dare to provoke the old man who was only at the Meridian Opening stage. Because the old man was bored enough to work as a school security guard. That old man would do anything out of boredom, and when he got bored, he was extremely terrifying. ---- Xiang Beifei remained calm and unflustered despite all the watching eyes. Luo Laotou was right. In the elite university, as long as you have a powerful fist, others will shut up. Liangzhou University reportedly has over thirty thousand students on campus, and only around two hundred showed up; the truly bright and elite students were always busy and preferred to spend their time on cultivation rather than troubling him. There wasn''t even a single student at the Meridian Opening stage present. Only those without strength, unable topare with the capable ones, would go about moring on forums, and particrly seek to assert their presence on someone they perceive as lower-ranked than themselves, an N-grade Awakener. Xiang Beifi knew clearly that this group of people could not represent the students of the elite university and couldn''t be expected to protect the future of the Human Race. Now, it was good; a single punch made them quiet down. Xiong Meng''s defensive power might be formidable, causing headaches for many, but in Xiang Beifei''s eyes, the ws were too obvious. The muscles required rapid trembling to muster defensive power, so all he needed was an "Abruptly Stop" to cease his muscle movement and then one punch to resolve it. Brutally simple! Xiang Beifei walked casually forward, pausing beside Tao Jin, he stopped and looked at him. "You don''t want to see me either, do you?" Xiang Beifei asked earnestly. "I..." Tao Jin was startled by Xiang Beifei''s gaze, taking two steps back in shock! Then he snapped back to his senses, realizing he had been frightened off by an N-grade Awakener, his face flushed with embarrassment! It was a huge disgrace for him! But¡ª Was it really a disgrace? Tao Jin wasn''t sure, because if he hadn''t stepped back willingly, perhaps he''d soon be flying backward unwillingly! Chapter 117 Yuchi Shen Tao Jin still didn''t believe that an N-rank Awakener could have repelled Xiong Meng, and he still thought that Xiang Beifei defeated Xiong Meng by relying on system artifacts given to him by others. The issue was that this was a world where everyone could cheat with systems! As long as someone was willing to help you, as long as you had the cultivation level to wield someone else''s power, it was okay to use any person''s system artifacts. If you were the one who deployed the power of the system artifact, no one would use you of an undeserved victory! In this world, using cheats was only reasonable. Especially here at the Martial Arts College, a ce where fighting was permitted! To cultivate martial artists for Jiuzhou, who wouldbat deste beasts, nobody cared whose system artifact you used. They only cared whether you could kill the deste beast or survive a siege by deste beasts! But then again, thinking about it, something seemed off. Because to use someone else''s system artifact, there were limitations on one''s cultivation level. It wasn''t that anyone could just hand you something, and you would be as strong as them. Deploying system artifacts required one''s own spiritual power as a medium, thus spiritual power limited the power of the system artifacts. If Xiang Beifei didn''t have the necessary cultivation level, how could he have utilized someone else''s system artifacts and possibly sted thete-stage Qi-Controlling Xiong Meng with a single punch? Could it be that this N-rank Awakener also possessed ate-stage Qi-Controlling cultivation level? Impossible! His awakening system was only two months old, right? Tao Jin couldn''t figure it out but he also dared not contradict Xiang Beifei any longer, instead he was left red-faced by Xiang Beifei''s questioning. At that moment, a stir suddenly emerged from the crowd. "Quite lively, huh." Azy, dull voice rose around Xiang Beifei. It was a middle-aged man. With a hawk-like nose, triangr eyes, thin lips, high cheekbones, his features were extremely discordant. It was as though at birth, he randomly chose the most mismatched nose and eyes to stick on his face, then mixed them carelessly before letting him be born¡ªan exceedingly bizarre face. He had shoulder-length, messy, wavy hair, looking as if it hadn''t been washed in centuries. The appearance of this man seemed to drop the surrounding temperature by several degrees. Xiang Beifei turned his head, looking at the man before him. [Host: Yuchi Shen] [SR level, Purgatory System] [Realm¡ª¡ª] Yuchi Shen! Known to the students of Liangzhou University as Elder Yuchi "Old Devil," the professor who signed the assessment notice, and famously terrifying martial artist who was once the arch-rival of Xiang Tianxing during their student days! Xiang Beifei looked at the other''s system, thinking deeply. SR level; he wasn''t surprised. To be honest, up to now, he had already encountered three SR Awakeners. Apart from Elder Luo idly messing with talents, he couldn''t see the system tasks or introductions of Ye Changfeng and Yuchi Shen. But the word "Purgatory" was definitely not a fun system. Yuchi Shen stared coldly at Xiang Beifei and spoke, "You have quite the nerve, fighting is prohibited on campus, and yet before even enrolling, you want to break the rules?" Many people, upon seeing Yuchi Shen reprimand Xiang Beifei, snapped out of their previous shock. Yuchi Shen''s tone was unfriendly! This tone, anyone familiar with the Old Devil knew all too well! Although Xiang Beifei had just knocked down Xiong Meng, it was Yuchi Shen who truly terrified everyone! No one around dared to speak, they all held their breath, watching Xiang Beifei. Xiang Beifei calmly looked at Yuchi Shen and said, "There are faculty members present, isn''t fighting allowed then?" "I wasn''t at the scene, where are the faculty members from?" Yuchi Shen retorted coldly. Continue reading at m|v-l''e -NovelBin Pfft! Haha¡ª¡ªCopse! Someone broke the silence. The sound was very abrupt, as if spitting something out, apanied by the sound of chewing. Everyone was wondering who was so bold to speak up at this moment, wasn''t this provoking Yuchi Shen''s wrath? Turning their heads, they realized it was Elder Luo casually spitting out melon seed shells. "I''m watching!" Elder Luo leisurely cracked seeds. Many had seen Elder Luo, the security guard who often dozed off in a chair at the school gate, appearing very unprofessional, yet he was genuinely a faculty member capable of testifying in students'' fights. When Yuchi Shen saw Elder Luo, his gaze became even colder. He didn''t retort at Elder Luo but instead turned to re at Xiang Beifei, continuing harshly, "You haven''t even passed the assessment, just an outsider, is the school rule set for you?" "Since the rule isn''t set for me, then beating them seems quite appropriate," Xiang Beifei said calmly. Yuchi Shen narrowed his eyes, his tone bing even colder, as if about to devour someone, his thin lips emitting a deathly threatening sound, "You know this is Liangzhou University, right? You dare toe to my school and beat up my students? You think our school has no teachers?" The surrounding temperature dropped several degrees. Many had realized that Yuchi Shen was also nning to make things difficult for this freshman! Turns out Elder Yuchi, the Old Devil, despised a Grade N freshman more than all the students present. Had they known this, they wouldn''t have needed to act at all, just waiting for Elder Yuchi to make a move would have sufficed. Many were excited again, wanting to see how Elder Yuchi would punish this arrogant Grade N student. Xiang Beifei remained unhurried and calm. "A college student from Liangzhou University wants to trouble a high school student who came for the entrance assessment. The well-trained elite university student couldn''t beat this high school student, so a mighty Liangzhou University teacher has to personally deal with this high school student who just awakened his system two months ago? I think the teachers of Liangzhou University have higher morals than this, they wouldn''t do such a disgraceful thing." At these words, everyone was momentarily stunned, then their expressions became very strange. Xiang Beifei''s words sounded extremely harsh to them. Because Liangzhou University was known as an elite university, where every student was imed to be elite! But elites were knocked down by a just-graduated high school student with a single punch, which was already smacking these so-called elite students in the face. Xiang Beifei''s punch had almost broken the elite university''s sign. If Yuchi Shen condescended toy hands on him now, it would be akin to telling outsiders that their school''s elite students couldn''t beat an outsider Grade N high school student and needed a teacher''s assistance to discipline them. If this got out, then Yuchi Shen would be stepping all over the already smashed university sign. The most pressing matter was whether Liangzhou University now wanted to ept this Grade N high school student. Not ept? Because you think this Grade N student doesn''t meet Liangzhou University''s admission qualifications? But your proud elite students were swung away by this Grade N high school student, couldn''t beat a not-yet-enrolled Grade N student, and then im that the student does not qualify to attend Liangzhou University? What are those elite students that Liangzhou University usually enrolls supposed to be? Chapter 118 Punching Out Qualifications If news of this incident reached the ears of the other eight elite universities, or spread throughout Jiuzhou, then Liangzhou University would truly be theughingstock of the entire alliance! The only way to cleanse this disgrace was to acknowledge that Xiang Beifei was a prospective student at Liangzhou University! Then it could be said that it was just schoolmates sparring among themselves, losing to one''s own people was nothing shameful, nor would it tarnish the school''s reputation. But once Yuchi Shen regarded Xiang Beifei as part of Liangzhou University, and since faculty members had been present, Xiang Beifei''s act of hitting someone was in ordance with the rules, and he as a teacher couldn''t intervene, otherwise, he would be the one breaking the rules! No matter from which angle, Xiang Beifei''s logic was sound. Yuchi Shen''s face looked almost like it was about to wring out water. He had not expected Xiang Beifei to dare to block him with such words. "Are you trying to coerce me with that approach of using public pressure again?" asked Yuchi Shen coldly. "If that''s what you think, then you''ve threatened the wrong person! Public pressure doesn''t work on me." "Public pressure?" Xiang Beifei turned his head to look at Xiong Meng, who was still struggling to rise from the flower bed, the Human Bulldozer he had knocked senseless with a punch, and slowly said, "Do I need it?" Hiss! Many people gasped. This guy''s tone was so arrogant! He actually dared to say that! Especially to someone known as the "Old Devil," Yuchi Shen! But the over two hundred elite students present, oddly enough, couldn''t find an excuse to refute him. Because Xiang Beifei really didn''t need it! That punch had already made it very clear. "Hahaha, this kid is really sharp, I gave him a few pointers, and he learned them right away," said Luo Laotou, spitting seeds everywhere! Continue your adventure with m|v-l''e -NovelBin He knew that just with that punch, Xiang Beifei had already earned his admission! With him present, Yuchi Shen could no longer find any reason to deny Xiang Beifei. In the Martial Arts College of Liangzhou University, fists are the ultimate truth, and Xiang Beifei''s punch was not aided by someone else''s system ability but his own cultivated strength! If it was academic performance, Xiang Beifei was ranked first in the national college entrance examination. If it was martial prowess, Xiang Beifei had sent the S-level Xiong Meng flying. Last time, maybe everyone thought Xiang Beifei was relying on public pressure, but this time, Xiang Beifei was relying on his fists. ¡ª¡ª Yuchi Shen narrowed his eyes, staring at Xiang Beifei, like the gaze of the Grim Reaper. In fact, he had arrived earlier, but had deliberately not shown himself, allowing those elite students to trouble Xiang Beifei. The one he hated the most back then was Xiang Tianxing! Seeing Xiang Tianxing''s son being troubled by the "Human Bulldozer" Xiong Meng, he naturally wanted to stand aside and enjoy the show. He had just been sneering, "Xiang Tianxing, oh Xiang Tianxing, who would have thought your N-level useless son would have days like this!" However, this thought had just emerged, and in the next moment, Xiong Meng was sent flying! Yuchi Shen''s face turned as sour as if he was constipated. He was an SR-level, just like Elder Luo, and he was very clear about what Xiang Beifei''s punch meant! Even if he hated Xiang Tianxing deeply, he had to acknowledge the talent in that punch! Although he was in charge of this admissions test, it didn''t mean he was the only one paying attention to Xiang Beifei. Especially since this N-level student is no ordinary person, having secured the top original score and dominated all the examinees in Jiuzhou, he is also the son of Xiang Tianxing, the famous SR genius student from Liangzhou University over two decades ago! During today''s enrollment assessments, numerous teachers and senior leaders of the school were secretly observing everything. The number of teachers he could perceive, including Ye Changfeng, was about seven; as for those he couldn''t perceive, who knew how many there were! Not to mention, that old man who appeared the most lively and carefree as he nonchntly cracked sunflower seeds was too much for him to handle! Students might not know who this boring old man was, but Yuchi Shen was well aware of his status within the school. Although Yuchi Shen was in charge of handling the enrollment assessment matters, the decision on whether Xiang Beifei was qualified for admission was not up to him, but those people, including this sunflower seed-cracking old man. From what he could see, Xiang Beifei had indeed punched his way to qualifying for admission as a Liangzhou University student. However, Yuchi Shen sneered shortly afterwards. Admission then, admit! I even look forward to you enrolling, attending my sster, and then we can have a good talk about life. But today''s enrollment assessment still had to proceed as usual, following all procedures, and eventually, he would certainly need to teach you a lesson! Yuchi Shen nced at his system interface, pondered for a moment, and the corner of his mouth showed a sinister curl. "Since there was a staff ID just now, I won''t pursue it. Then next, whether you can pass the enrollment assessment is up to your luck," Yuchi Shen said to Xiang Beifei with a smirk. ¡ª Assessment! Many students perked up! The assessments set by Old Devil Yuchi were absolutely serious business. Usually, if they identally got scheduled for a martial arts simtion training ss with Old Devil Yuchi, they would be harshly schooled! The simtions he set up were abnormally difficult, and passing them without being stripped down ayer was nearly impossible. Worst of all, Old Devil Yuchi had the highest failure rate among all the teachers at Liangzhou University! The students who had failed under him could nearly form a line around Liangzhou University. Given that Xiang Beifei had been utterly upromising in his words to Yuchi Shen just before, wouldn''t Yuchi Shen want to knock him down a few pegs? Xiang Beifei watched Yuchi Shen''s smile; his expression remained undisturbed. Principal Li Nanxing had long told him that Yuchi Shen was his father''s arch-nemesis, so it was perfectly normal for him to be harassed. Because of Xiang Tianxing, Xiang Beifei was bound to receive extra attention from this man. This meant that whether he spoke politely to Yuchi Shen or directly confronted him, it would make no difference. Since that was the case, he had nothing to retreat from; he faced it calmly, ready to retort whenever necessary, and couldn''t afford to tarnish his father''s reputation. All he wondered was the method this man would use to assess him today. "Purgatory System, what exactly is it?" Xiang Beifei pondered slightly. Yuchi Shen was of SR level, and his cultivation was above Meridian Opening; he couldn''t see the other''s system introduction or the rted task difficulties, so he could not make effective responses. But since it was called the "Purgatory System," it very likely meant extremely challenging tasks. Lu Zhiwei had said that Yuchi Shen normally liked using various harsh trainings to torment people; could it be that he relied on throwing students into a purgatory he created and then assess their performance to enhance his own strength? With Xiang Beifei''s understanding of systems, he deemed this possibility highly probable! His father had apparently severely thwarted Yuchi Shen in the past; if Yuchi Shen couldn''t surpass the senior, he would trouble the junior. Now seeking to extract some interest from him, the uing assessment was likely going to be tough. But no matter, if you make things difficult for me, I won''t make it easy for you either! I never go easy on certain types of people. Chapter 119 Assessment Xiang Beifei wasn''t worried about being suspected for taking Yuchi Shen''s system reward, although he didn''t know what the other''s system task was. The higher the level of the system reward, the longer it definitely took toplete. He had onlypleted one system task, which might not be enough for Yuchi Shen to receive a reward immediately. It probably would umte over some time, possibly taking several days, or even several months to receive. During this period, many changes could ur, and many people would be involved in his task, making it less likely for Yuchi Shen to suspect him. Even if some small rewards could be obtained immediately, Xiang Beifei also needed to alert Xiaohei, reminding it to pick the timing and disguise itself when retrieving the parcel. The instructors at elite universities weren''t like Yang Hua, whose cultivation was only in thete stage of Qi-Controlling; they were more vignt, and Xiang Beifei had to be even more cautious when exploiting the system. ¡ª¡ª Training Ground One was like a stadium, veryrge, only instead of grass, the ground was covered with glittering transparent ck tes. These tes were quite peculiar. When you walked on them, you could see your own reflection, but the reflection on the floor wasn''t foot to foot like in a mirror, flipped over in your current posture, it seemed more like there was another self standing right below you. It was hard to say if it was really a reflection; perhaps calling it a projection was more apt. The other elite students all sat in the spectator seats. Training Ground One allowed others to watch someone''s simtion training, where spectators could immersively see the scenarios encountered by the people in the field. This facilitated mutual learning among everyone, to glean various experiences and identify individual shorings, as was customary in regr simtion training. Yuchi Shen stood at the center of Training Ground One, waiting for Xiang Beifei. Xiang Beifei also slowly walked towards him. "I don''t care whom you punched away, but in front of me, an assessment is an assessment, and if you don''t pass, then you have no ce in Liangzhou University," Yuchi Shen said slowly. Even though he knew that Xiang Beifei was essentially guaranteed admission, he couldn''t truly tell Xiang Beifei that, or Xiang Beifei wouldn''t take this assessment seriously. "Alright then." Xiang Beifei didn''t show any reaction. Yuchi Shen thought he was unclear, but he actually understood it better than anyone. At today''s training ground, besides the more than two hundred elite students in the Qi-Controlling stage, there were also thirteen powerful presences in various inconspicuous corners. Xiang Beifei couldn''t see what these people looked like. They used various methods to hide their figures and stood in the unremarkable corners of the spectator seats, not easily noticed by ordinary people. But Xiang Beifei could vaguely see these people''s system panels. Although a few were too far away, making the system panel information unclear, he could still vaguely discern that these people''s system panels contained only three simple lines of information. Apart from the SR-level Ye Changfeng and Elder Luo, there were six other SR-level individuals and another five S-level experts. Of these thirteen, twelve showed that their system stages were above the Meridian Opening! Even those five S-level individuals, their system interfaces were unclear to Xiang Beifei. Clearly, these five were among the top in the S-level, having broken through the Meridian Opening stage, likely reaching the God Refining stage. The remaining SR who was somewhat unremarkable was Elder Luo, at the [Meridian Opening Initial Stage]. However, with Elder Luo''s system characteristics, Xiang Beifei wouldn''t underestimate him. The powerful instructors of Liangzhou University were definitely not limited to these thirteen; probably only these thirteen hade, while others might be watching from elsewhere using other methods. These people were here to observe him. After his punch earlier, countless prying eyes chaosly nced at him, wanting to understand what he was really about. Xiaohei was huffy, constantly being red at by others to the point of nearly losing its temper. Xiang Beifei had a good idea whether or not he could be admitted; he knew he was almost certainly secure. Yuchi Shen wanting to assess him was merely a pretext to intimidate him personally. However, he did not shrink back; he still needed toplete this assessment, rightfully and justly. "I''ll just assume you''re ready." Yuchi Shen chuckled softly, then flicked his hand, and a metal ball came smashing towards Xiang Beifei. Xiang Beifei furrowed his brows; he did not know the purpose of this metal ball, but he still reached out to catch it. The iron ball was only the size of an egg and felt ice cold to the touch. The moment he grasped the iron ball, it suddenly burst out a grey glow, enveloping his hand. "To pass my admission test, you need to kill a Three Souls Deste Snake. But if youe back empty-handed, it means your admission test has failed, and you will have nothing to do with Liangzhou University!" Yuchi Shen sneered at Xiang Beifei. Xiang Beifei felt something was amiss, for at that moment, he saw Ye Changfeng transform into a streak of light, rushing from afar and shouting towards him, "Yuchi Shen, you''ve gone too far!" Even Elder Luo stopped eating sunflower seeds and stood up with a solemn expression. "What does this mean?" Xiang Beifei did not understand what had happened; he felt a light emanating from the iron ball in his hand, forming a peculiar pattern under his feet. Suddenly, he was enveloped by darkness, as if something had grabbed him and pulled him into a vortex. ¡ª Ye Changfeng was just a moment toote to grab Xiang Beifei; by the time he arrived, Xiang Beifei had already vanished from the training ground. "Yuchi Shen!" A wrathful look appeared on Ye Changfeng''s usually elegant face, and his aura instantly became fiercely sharp, like a drawn sword pointing directly at Yuchi Shen. "What''s wrong? Ye Changfeng, do you have time to chat with me today?" Yuchi Shen waved to shield their conversation, preventing the other students from listening in. "This is an admission test! Just a test! How dare you send him to that kind of ce! You have a personal grudge with Xiang Tianxing, using such disgraceful means under the guise of duty!" Ye Changfeng roared. "The school has assigned me to handle the N-level candidates'' admission tests, so how I conduct the test is none of your business!" Yuchi Shen repliednguidly. At this time, Elder Luo had also rushed over, frowning as he looked at Yuchi Shen. "Elder Luo, Xiang Beifei¡ªhe¡ª" Ye Changfeng said urgently. "I saw it." Elder Luo''s gaze was piercing as he stared at Yuchi Shen. Yuchi Shen felt ufortable under Elder Luo''s stare, but he still said, "This is the assessment I am in charge of." After a moment, he sneered again, "Aren''t you very confident in him? Do you think he can''t handle this situation?" "He has no experience with the external deste realms! He hasn''t even systematically studied deste beasts, and you send him there on his first test; how is that different from sending him to his death!" Ye Changfeng shouted, "Did you have the guts to try the external deste realms right upon admission? I remember, on your first visit to the external deste realms, you nearly died under a Mad w Beast! And you were an SR-level then! Not to mention, you had studied deste beasts at school for six months and reached thete stages of Qi-Controlling before you went!" Yuchi Shen''s face darkened, "What are you implying?" "You know exactly what I mean! You couldn''t even pass an assessment after half a year of studying; how dare you expect a high school student who hasn''t received formal training to undertake such a task?" Ye Changfeng''s tone became increasingly aggressive. Chapter 120 Wild Wasteland Beyond the Domain The other elite students saw Xiang Beifei disappear and were first stunned, then became somewhat incredulous. "Did I see that wrong? This doesn''t seem like a simtion training," Tao Jin asked uncertainly. Surprise also showed on Yu Xiaoyao''s face, "Definitely not, that was¡ª" Lu Zhiwei''splexion changed drastically, "Yuchi Shen surely didn''t really teleport Beifei to the outer domain''s deste wilderness, did he?" In everyone''s understanding, today''s assessment should have been Yuchi Shen using the training field to simte a scenario for Xiang Beifei toplete in a simted environment. No matter what the scene was or how difficult it was, those who participated in the simtion training, even if unable to pass, would at most be beaten to within an inch of their lives, covered in wounds, and lying unconscious for three days and nights, but there would definitely be no danger to their life. However, Yuchi Shen changed the content of the assessment on the fly, using the teleportation sphere to send Xiang Beifei into the wilderness outside the domain! The deste wilderness outside the domain is different from simtion training. During simtion training, those deste beasts are all virtual, and although very realistic, they won''t kill the students. But the deste beasts in the wilderness outside the domain will! Normally, elite students at Liangzhou University need to study the relevant deste beast knowledge courses first, learning about the various danger levels in the wilderness outside the domain, coping with various wilderness scenarios in the simted training grounds, and only when they have earned enough credits and passed various simtion trainings with satisfactory scores, and their cultivation has reached thete stage of Qi-Controlling, are students permitted to go to the real wilderness outside the domain for practical training! This practical training also needs to be led by the school''s teachers to minimize the danger! Even for their batch of first-year students like Lu Zhiwei, who had studied for a year at the school, the number of those who truly passed and were qualified to go to the wilderness outside the domain for practical training was fewer than twenty! Because most of the freshmen had almost all failed the simted training in the wilderness outside the domain, being killed by the deste beasts in the simted scenarios without any power to fight back, so they were not qualified to have practical training in the wilderness outside the domain! And Xiang Beifei had just awakened his system less than two months ago; what he studied in high school was the most basic Jiuzhou cultural courses, and some knowledge about the wilderness outside the domain was only roughly introduced in textbooks, far from the actual cruel and dangerous conditions of the real wilderness outside the domain! High school students couldn''t even recognize many basic deste beasts, not knowing that deste beasts need to be ssified, what the different weaknesses of each type are, how to kill them... High school students have not learned these things! These are all content to be studied at university! And yet, today, Yuchi Shen didn''t discuss with anyone and directly teleported Xiang Beifei to the real wilderness outside the domain! In everyone''s eyes, this was no different than throwing an infant directly into a group of lions! ---- The Longyuan Sword beside Ye Changfeng started to tremble, with Sword Qi swirling around him. He was usually a very peaceful person, his sharpness hidden, and was known among the students as someone easy to talk to, but today, he seemed on the verge of losing control. Clearly, what Yuchi Shen did had touched Ye Changfeng''s bottom line. Yuchi Shen responded coldly, "If he feels he can''t stay, he can simply crush the iron ball toe back." "You didn''t exin this to him in detail! You didn''t even tell him how toe back!" Ye Changfeng said angrily. "Would Xiang Tianxing''s son be that stupid?" Yuchi Shen sneered. Ye Changfeng stared at Yuchi Shen intently. Elder Luo, who had been silent, asked, "Where?" "Cultivated Domain, South Mountain Second District," Yuchi Shen responded coldly. "Are there any more teleportation spheres?" Ye Changfeng demanded. "No, I made only one." Yuchi Shen knew that Ye Changfeng would interfere, so he did not give Ye Changfeng a chance to help Xiang Beifei. "You''re going too far!" Beneath Ye Changfeng''s feet, a ripple had already appeared, and he turned to leave towards the Cultivated Domain. Yuchi Shen snorted coldly, "Maybe he couldn''tst ten minutes before he ran back here. You might not even get there in time. If I were you, I might just sit down and watch how he performs out there." Yuchi Shen tapped his foot on the ground twice. The ground of the training field already showed Xiang Beifei''s figure. With that iron ball, Yuchi Shen could project everything Xiang Beifei did in the alien wilderness onto the training ground, so that everyone could observe. Ye Changfeng looked at Xiang Beifei below, his face changing from clear to cloudy, and said, "You better tell me you have a contingency n!" "Guo Han and Sun Rui will protect him in secret. That''s the mission I gave them on the fly. They''ve been training there during the summer break." Yuchi Shen dropped this piece of information, took a step, and the next moment he had already settled himself in the seats for spectators, then chuckled coldly again. He left two people to protect Beifei, but the orders he gave them were not to intervene until thest moment. "How many minutes can youst, Beifei? Five or ten?" Yuchi Shen didn''t like how bright Xiang Tianxing''s son shined, much like Xiang Tianxing himself when he first started school, always outshining him, which filled him with loathing. In Beifei''s punch, he saw the shadow of Tianxing, and that irritated him. He needed to teach Beifei a good lesson and curb the young man''s sharpness. Xiang Beifei did not have any survival experience in the alien wilderness. He would definitely panic, unlike the arrogance he disyed when he punched Xiong Meng away. Soon, everyone would see this youngster trembling with fear. No one couldplete a mission in the alien wilderness on their first try. Yuchi Shen wanted to take great pleasure in watching Xiang Beifei scared witless by a deste beast. He knew that Xiang Beifei would surely give him that satisfaction. "Elder Luo, aren''t you going to say anything?" Ye Changfeng turned his head to ask. Luo Laotou looked down at the ground, lost in thought for a long while. "It''s a low-risk area. With Sun Rui and the others there, as long as he doesn''t leave the effective range of the Teleportation Array, he will be fine. I just asked him to eat some sunflower seeds." Elder Luo left the training grounds, went back to the spectator seats, found afortable position, and looked at Xiang Beifei in the field. Ye Changfeng was slightly startled, then pondered for a moment before disappearing from the training grounds. ¡ª When Xiang Beifei was caught by the iron ball, he realized this was no simtion training. Hended in a forest. The air was bone-chillingly cold, carrying a thick moisture. A faint mist hung all around, limiting visibility to roughly ten meters. He stood next to a swamp, where the ck marsh bubbled, thick vines stretched across it, and several sinister skulls hung from the vines, looking like deste beasts strangled to death. He looked up at the sky. The sky was overcast, with a sun that was missing a piece. "Is this actually the alien wilderness?" Xiang Beifei was quite surprised. This Yuchi Shen, has he really sent me to the alien wilderness? High school textbooks only introduced a rough idea of the alien wilderness. If the weather was good there, one could see the sun but only with a piece missing, as if it had been bitten by a celestial dog. No one knew why the sun in the alien wilderness was like that, but it was the most obvious sign of the alien wilderness. Chapter 121 The Swamp This was his first time venturing into the wilderness beyond the domain. Outside the human territories of the Jiuzhou Alliance, the wilderness stretched, dotted with various powerful deste beasts. The knowledge Xiang Beifei had gained in high school about this wilderness was very general, just a rough outline, because some people''s awakened systems were based on the literary Dao. They only acted in all aspects of life and rarely dealt with the wilderness, so to amodate the majority, high school instruction wasn''t in-depth. For high school students, having a concept was considered sufficient. But those who pursued the path of martial cultivation had to truly learn about the wilderness in university and treat it with the utmost priority! Xiang Beifei thought that he would need some simted training in university before actually going to the wilderness, but to his surprise, Yuchi Shen, that shameless fellow, had sent him directly to the wilderness without any preparation! "Is your hatred for my father really that intense?" He had only met Yuchi Shen for the first time, hardly exchanging a few words before he was thrown here. Yuchi Shen was so eager to get revenge that he couldn''t wait. Xiang Beifei looked down and saw his wrist, where the iron ball that had been crushed a moment ago had turned into a strange liquid that wrapped around his wrist, solidifying into a metal ring. Above him, a small iron ball was flying around him, seemingly assessing him. He knew that everyone must be watching his every move through this flying ball, wanting to see how he would perform in the wilderness. Yuchi Shen was undoubtedly one of them. He reconsidered his current situation carefully, within this strange environment, he had to think about all possible urrences and how to ensure his own safety. Yuchi Shen hadn''t told him how to return, only mentioning that he needed to kill a Three Souls Deste Snake, and thating back empty-handed would mean failure¡ªimplying that even if he couldn''t kill the Three Souls Deste Snake, he should still return. Was there a time limit, like he would be automatically sent back to Liangzhou University after a certain period? Or could he choose when to return on his own? Xiang Beifei thought it should be thetter, meaning he could make the choice. Even if Yuchi Shen was desperate for revenge, he definitely wouldn''t dare let something happen to him in front of so many people; the way back he left must surely be for preserving life. Given that, the means of return should be this thing on his wrist. Xiang Beifei waspletely unfamiliar with the item on his wrist, and even with the ability to "Learn by Analogy," the premise was that he had to have studied it first. He hadn''t attended a single university course yet, and this thing looked like a tool from the wilderness, a newly developed product; he was clueless about how to use it. What was more important was¡ªwhat did the Three Souls Deste Snake look like? In the wilderness beyond the domain, there were countless strong and terrifying deste beasts, too many to count. High school textbooks only listed a fraction of deste beasts with images, but those were just a drop in the oceanpared to all types of deste beasts. For the past two months, he had been focused on cultivating and dealing with the university entrance exam, neglecting to learn about deste beasts. The Three Souls Deste Snake was just an academic name, but what it looked like, Xiang Beifei had no idea. "This is insane! I''m given a task, but not told how to return, nor what my target looks like, its habits, or where to find it?" Xiang Beifei couldn''t help but grumble. Lu Zhiwei once said that neers must solidify their foundational knowledge before venturing into the wilderness, and if one were to hunt a certain deste beast, they must fully understand it before acting. But when Xiang Beifei arrived here for the assessment, he never anticipated that Yuchi Shen would actually send him to the wilderness, and he certainly hadn''t coincidentally studied the Three Souls Deste Snake. Yuchi Shen didn''t offer him an exnation and just forcibly proceeded with the n. This opening was like a headless, disoriented pattern. Actually, Yuchi Shen had originally intended to make Xiang Beifei give up, knowing how difficult it was, because even when he himself was an SR-level genius, during his first mission in the external wilderness, he had spent six months learning, gaining aplete understanding of the target, before teaming up with others to go there. But even so, he had nearly lost his life! The real external wilderness was different from simted training in school. The situation in the wilderness could change in the blink of an eye, and you couldn''t expect to encounter only the deste beast you wanted to kill in that area. There could also be other deste beasts passing by, facing attacks from different beasts simultaneously. Yuchi Shen couldn''t even manage that himself; he had sent Xiang Beifei here solely to watch his former rival''s son embarrass himself in front of everyone, and then tell everyone that Xiang Tianxing''s son was no big deal! Xiang Beifei could probably guess Yuchi Shen''s purpose, but he couldn''t just go back directly. He took another look around. It was eerily quiet, with a rotten smell wafting through the air, extremely pungent, the sound of the swamp bubbling was particrly jarring, leaves rustling as if something was crawling. "Xiaohei, do you know what a Three Souls Deste Snake looks like?" Xiang Beifei asked. Xiaohei shook its head, it was only the system''s nemesis but not a deste beast''s nemesis. It hadn''t prepared for Deste Beast Studies beforeing here. This was troublesome. Crack! As Xiang Beifei pondered, suddenly a sound of a snapping twig came from the woods. He became alert immediately, leaping beside the tree trunk, concealing his figure behind it. Hiss! Hiss! It sounded like something was swallowing. Could this sound be the Three Souls Deste Snake? Thinking of Yuchi Shen sending him to catch a Three Souls Deste Snake, perhaps he was directly transported to itsir; maybe this swamp was hiding the Three Souls Deste Snake. That would make things easier, no need to go through a lot of trouble to find it. Xiang Beifei peered through the cracks of the tree branches towards the source of the noise, trying to track the Three Souls Deste Snake. Ssh! It seemed like something had broken through the water in the swamp and was crawling on the ground, but from this position, he couldn''t see the swamp clearly due to the obstructed view. He carefully moved his body, stepping over the damp moss underfoot, while applying his Spiritual Power to the soles of his feet, firmly gripping the ground to avoid identally stepping on stones or brittle branches, making noise that would rm the other party¡ªthat would really be mindless. However, just as he was about to peek his head out from behind the branches, a sharp eagle''s cry suddenly came from the sky. Then something huge seemed to be pping its wings, rustling as it whooshed over the treetops above. "Roar!" A fierce roar suddenly sounded at the edge of the swamp. Whatever had just crawled out from the swamp seemed to be enraged by therge bird flying overhead, and with a swift motion, it dashed out. By the time Xiang Beifei stuck his head out, the swamp was quiet again, and he saw nothing. Chapter 122 Tail "Huh?" Xiang Beifei had no idea what had just emerged from the swamp. It seemed like arge bird had flown by in the sky, angering something in the marsnd. That thing appeared to be chasing after the bird, moving so fast it was soon out of sight. The Three Souls Deste Snake, judging by the name, must undoubtedly be a snake. However, the creature that had crawled out of the swamp made such a ghastly sound, it didn''t sound anything like a snake. Still, he decided to follow and check it out; he had to at least determine what the target looked like. He wriggled out from behind the tree branches and leaped towards the edge of the forest on the left of the swamp; the noise had just passed by there, and he wondered if it had gone far. The ground was overgrown with weeds, squishy underfoot, but the area looked as though it had been ttened by something recently, seemingly by some kind of reptile. He became even more certain it should be the Three Souls Deste Snake. Walking cautiously, Xiang Beifei followed the trail ahead, but he hadn''t gone far when he suddenly sensed something wrong. A sharp whooshing sound attacked from the side, fierce and rapid. He sharply caught the noise and dodged in an instant. Bang! A ck tentacle mmed right where Xiang Beifei had just been, against the tree, snapping branches as thick as a wrist! Xiang Beifei focused his eyes and saw the creature vanish into the woods in a blur of motion, too fast for him to get a clear look. At that moment, the branches rustled noisily; taking advantage of the cover, the creature moved rapidly, instantly circling to Beifei''s rear and once againunching a tentacle at him. Xiang Beifei clutched the breath soil in his hand, turning it into a giant hammer, and without a second thought, swung it behind him! Bang! His reaction was quick. The hammer struck the tentacle mid-air. The tentacle was quite long, about two meters, and after being hit, it whipped around the branches and then quickly retracted. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Six consecutive times the opponent struck from different angles, its movement swift, the shadowy strikes darting back and forth, dazzling to the eye. Fortunately, Xiang Beifei''s strength was also considerable, and his reactions were quick enough to evade such attacks. However, he soon realized that this creature was aiming to change positions and engage in hit-and-run tactics! Forests are the dominion of deste beasts; if it turned into a guerri fight, he would be at a disadvantage ¨C he had to end the battle quickly. His mind, relying on the "Learn by Analogy" learning ability, quickly analyzed the enemy''s six striking positions. Deste beasts all have fixed habits; their timing and direction of attacks can be discerned, and a pattern can usually be found. Once you grasp that pattern, it''s easy to find their weaknesses. Soon he deduced where the next attack woulde from! "Still thinking of ambushing me?" Xiang Beifei turned the breath soil in his hand into arge cleaver, and before the creature could strike, he chopped towards the top. Halfway through his swing, the tentacle reached down from above, meeting Xiang Beifei''s cleaver head-on. Splurt! Xiang Beifei''s breath soil sliced right through the tentacle. As the tentacle fell from above, Xiang Beifei finally saw that it somewhat resembled a monkey''s paw. "Awoo!" A painful howl echoed through the forest. The severed tentacle tried to retract, but with a tap of his toe on the trunk, Xiang Beifei released a ripple of Spiritual Power, propelling himself high into the air. At the same time, the "Abruptly Stop" aura swept over, striking the shadowy figure and instantly taking effect on his opponent! The fleeing figure paused mid-air, then fell down, but after dropping half a meter, it broke free from the binding of Abruptly Stop. Xiang Beifei''s "Abruptly Stop" required hitting the target first in order to bind their movements, but if the opponent was strong enough, they could break the bondage. However, even if the bindsted only two seconds, Xiang Beifei had seen the opponent''s appearance. It was an extremely vicious-looking ck monkey with sharp fangs protruding from its mouth, each at least three inches long, drool dripping down the fangs. Its body was covered in luxuriant fur, but most importantly, it had two tails. The tails were so long, about two meters, and while they had no fur, each end had a w. One of those ws had been chopped off by Xiang Beifei, and the stump was still bleeding. This ck monkey had a total of six ws, including the two on its tails, which were particrly nimble. But now, one of them had been severed by Xiang Beifei, and the creature looked exceedingly furious as it leaped onto a tree branch, roaring at Beifei. Based on Xiang Beifei''s estimation, this Twin-Tailed Beasthand Monkey had a strength roughly at the mid-stage of Qi-Controlling; it was very fast and somewhat difficult to handle. However, fortunately, he had cut off one of its tentacles and had figured out its attack pattern so he should be able to deal with it. But this was clearly not the Three Souls Deste Snake, so likely not his target. "Don''t provoke me, or you''re going to regret it." Xiang Beifei didn''t want to waste energy on this strange ck monkey, but the monkey''s shape flickered and vanished again amongst the trees, apparently trying to attack him again using the cover of leaves. Rustle! Rustle! Rustle! The branches around him trembled rapidly, as the ck monkey shifted its position just as quickly. It moved so fast that shadows appeared on branches in every direction, as if many were encircling Beifei. "Told you not to provoke me!" A gleam of light shed in Xiang Beifei''s eyes. As the ck monkey dashed from behind him, he threw a punch towards a tree branch ahead! Boom! Stay connected through m-v l|e''-NovelBin His fist urately struck the ck monkey''s forehead, eliciting a miserable shriek from the animal as it fell to the forest floor, struggling a few times, clearly not going to survive. Dealing with one peculiar ck monkey was simple enough. He was about to deliver a finishing blow when suddenly, countless roaring sounds emerged from the woods, followed by one... two... three... More and more ck monkeys were racing towards them from the distance, and in the blink of an eye, seven or eight were charging his way. "Stirred up a ho''s nest." Xiang Beifei didn''t hesitate to turn and run, without a moment''s doubt. He could handle a Twin-Tailed Tendril Monkey at the mid-stage of Qi-Controlling by himself, and even eight or nine of them¡ªby his reckoning¡ªit would be touch-and-go. But once their numbers exceeded ten, he definitely couldn''t beat them since they would take cover among the branches, flickering around, dealing low blows now and then. Each ck monkey had two absurdly long bizarre tails with ws on them¡ªif ten attacked at once, that would mean twenty wed tails. In the forest, he couldn''t possibly fend off twenty tails with his bare hands! He must lure them into an open area. Without the camouge of the branches, the monkeys'' agility was sure to fall a notch, giving Xiang Beifei a chance to fight this horde of monkeys. Chapter 123 The Cave The elite students spectating at Liangzhou University Training Ground No. 1 couldn''t help but exim in shock when they saw Xiang Beifei suddenly being attacked by so many ck monkeys! Ye Changfeng''s expression changed slightly! "A troop of mid-stage Qi-Controlling w-tailed Monkeys! Yuchi Shen, what are you up to!" Ye Changfeng stared at Yuchi Shen, seated not far from him, and shouted. w-tailed Monkeys of this strength, even in groups, would be nothing but a one-sword kill in his eyes, but the problem was that Xiang Beifei was only a mid-stage Qi-Controlling practitioner. The fact that he had managed to kill a w-tailed Monkey so quickly earlier had already surprised him. However, w-tailed Monkeys are social animals. If one is killed, the others be enraged and seek revenge on the target. Yuchi Shen''s face also darkened slightly. He had chosen the training ground carefully; the swamp was their of the Three Souls Deste Snake. But he hadn''t told Xiang Beifei any of this, providing no information to him and letting him find his own way. It just so happened that the Three Souls Deste Snake had left its nest, and Xiang Beifei had followed, only to run into a troop of passing w-tailed Monkeys! Anything could happen out there in the wilderness outside the domain. Even he couldn''t guarantee that the swamp was the exclusive territory of the Three Souls Deste Snake; sometimes other deste beasts would pass through another''s domain. Deste beasts are fierce, and they naturally harbor hostility towards humans. As soon as they see a human, they will definitely attack. "If he can''t hold on, he''ll naturallye back," Yuchi Shen said coldly. However, his heart was a bit unsettled. Because Xiang Beifei had been chased by the horde of monkeys and had strayed from the Three Souls Deste Snake''sir, entering other areas of the wilderness outside the domain! Though he wanted to see Xiang Beifei tormented, he absolutely couldn''t watch him die. Otherwise, not even Ye Changfeng, but the school''s leadership wouldn''t let him off the hook. If the news that an N-level student was thrown into the wilderness outside the domain during the entrance examination of Liangzhou University and lost their life got out, it would cause a much bigger stir than the article written by Yu Lei! When Yu Lei wrote the article, public opinion in Jiuzhou was against the nine elite universities, with the other eight universities being attacked even more. Liangzhou University at least gave N-level students a chance and was less criticized. But if an N-level student died during the entrance examination trial in the wilderness outside the domain, Liangzhou University would likely be drowned in criticism. "This fool, couldn''t he just beat it and hurry back?" Yuchi Shen looked at Xiang Beifei in the training ground and cursed inwardly. --- Xiang Beifei was running as fast as he could, but this was a jungle, and the monkeys were even faster. Soon, the w-tailed Monkeys jumped ahead of him through the trees, screeching by his side, and long tails like tentacles reached out to grab him from all around. Seizing the right moment, the fist me in his hand surged violently and mmed into the nearest w-tailed Monkey. The violent gust generated by his punch was extremely fierce, and it smashed into the monkey''s head! Bang! Xiang Beifei blew the w-tailed Monkey''s head apart, scattering its brains. He had trained Rapid me to an extremely tyrannical level. Facing a mid-stage Qi-Controlling w-tailed Monkey head-on was not a challenge for him, but after he had killed another w-tailed Monkey, he further enraged the others. The monkeys howled in furious rage and charged at him from all directions. At this moment, he burst out of the jungle and suddenly thendscape opened up before him. There was a small hill in front covered with jagged rocks and various weeds. In the midst of the rocky hillside, there was a cave that seemed justrge enough to allow a person to crawl inside. He hesitated for a moment, then immediately ran toward the cave. With the protection of tree branches, these w-tailed Monkeys were incredibly agile, ustomed to guerri tactics, retreating after a missed attack. Perhaps by taking advantage of the cave, he could hold his ground at the entrance, allowing for a frontal confrontation. Without the tree branches for cover, the monkeys''bat abilities would be reduced by a notch, and he could resolve each monkey with a single punch. However, as he approached the cave, he suddenly realized that this was the wilderness, filled with deste beasts, and it was highly unlikely that the cave was a safe ce ¨C it could very well be a deste beast''sir! No sooner had this thought urred to him than his keen instincts made him abruptly stop and dart to the side. Almost in the instant, he dodged, a sharp hissing noise came from the cave followed by a tongue as thick as a water bucketshing out violently, extending about ten meters long and instantly wrapping around one of the ck monkeys that had been chasing Xiang Beifei. Then, with a "slurp" sound, the monkey was dragged back into the cave! Aoow¡ª The cave echoed with the screams of the w-tailed Monkey and the crunching sounds of bones being chewed, cracking noise resounding. "What the heck is that!" Xiang Beifei was inwardly shocked, the sound was full of crunching, but he definitely did not want to provoke it. However, at that moment, another hissing noise came from the cave, and this time, the massive tongue rolled out again, even faster, targeting him! This time, Xiang Beifei couldn''t dodge quickly enough, and he was immediately caught by the sticky tongue which sent him flying back toward the cave! Darkness enveloped him in an instant, the wind howled around him, apanied by a strong scent of blood and the stench of decay, exceptionally pungent. He struggled with all his might, his hands shining with mes as Rapid me roared, striking the tongue! Hum! The powerful me of Rapid me, swirling with a burst of violent gusts, charred the ghastly thing''s tongue. It seemed to have not anticipated Xiang Beifei''s punch, and the tongue loosened slightly, as if it feared the mes. Chapter 124: Chapter 123: Cave_2 Seizing the opportunity, Xiang Beifei grasped a protruding rock on the cave wall and broke free from the slippery tongue,nding on the ground. The outside of the cave was quiterge, but the inside was very low, barely over a meter high, forcing Xiang Beifei to bend his waist and preventing him from standing upright. The depths of the cave were once again filled with the sound of whooshing. It seemed the tongue was curling towards him again, but this time, he didn''t give it a chance to ensnare him. Facing the depths of the cave, he sted out a ferocious me. The fire turned into a powerful me gale, guarding in front of him, and at that moment, the tongue also struck violently. Buzz! Xiang Beifei''s punch, infused with spiritual power, stirred up high temperatures within the me gale. As it blocked the advance of the tongue, the me also clung to it, instantly igniting the huge tongue with Rapid me! The tongue immediately recoiled, but it was already aze, lighting up the cave and revealing glimpses of its depths about ten meters in. The glow of the mes allowed Xiang Beifei to vaguely see whaty inside. At the far end of the cave, there was a bloated soft-bodied creature, piled up like a mass about three meters wide, unspeakably disgusting ¨C like a soft-bodied snail magnified hundreds of times. It had its mouth wide open, revealing rows upon rows of sharp teeth of uncountable number, likely in the thousands, and incredibly sharp. If one were to be bitten, surely their bones would grind to dust. The w-tailed Monkey from before probably met its demise under those teeth. This Soft-bodied Monster seemed to dwell in the cave, waiting for any deste beast to pass by outside the cave, then extending its tongue to lick and consume them, much like a gecko. The w-tailed Monkey it had just eaten didn''t even leave a trace. The fire conjured by Xiang Beifei''s spiritual power clung to the monster''s tongue, setting it ame. It twisted in pain but made no sound. It seemed like the creature was mute. Steam began to rise from its body, and soon the mes were extinguished. And from the darkness, the sound of heavy breathing came again; it seemed to have been enraged and was preparing to coil around Xiang Beifei once more. Xiang Beifei had some understanding of how to deal with thisrge soft-bodied creature and thought about rushing forward tond a punch directly on it. Its body seemed to have no defensive power, and a frontal attack with the mes should be effective. But after some thought, he decided to give up. "Forget it, time to retreat! Better safe than sorry," he muttered. Because the deeper into the cave he went, the lower it became, and it was inconvenient to fight in such conditions. Moreover, it was the beast''sir, giving it the home ground advantage. Besides, he had to hurry to find the Three Souls Deste Snake, and there was no need to waste too much time here. Still, to leave the cave, he''d have to confront those ck monkeys again. He decided to escape using the me Dragon Escape. Xiang Beifei was carrying quite a lot of items. Lu Hong had given him many system itemsst time, and he had used four to ignite his constetions but kept one me Dragon Escape for emergencies. The items given by Lu Hong were all selected based on an estimation of Xiang Beifei''s strength, ensuring they would be usable by him, and now they wereing in handy. Xiang Beifei crushed the Spirit Talisman of the me Dragon Escape, a ferocious Fire Dragon roared as it coiled around him, and with a loud "boom," mes exploded, and Xiang Beifei''s figure was no longer in the cave. ¡ª¡ª Everyone in the training area was unsettled! Their line of sight had lost track of Xiang Beifei! The reason they could see what was happening to Xiang Beifei was that a small iron ball was buzzing around like a tracker, recording the entire event. When Xiang Beifei was pulled into the cave by the huge tongue, the small iron ball followed him, resulting inplete darkness on screen, obscuring the view. When it flew back out of the cave, it hovered like a headless fly, waiting for Xiang Beifei. Everyone thought that after being taken by the tongue, Xiang Beifei would crush a Teleportation Sphere to return, but after waiting for a long time, there was no sign of him! He hadn''t teleported back! By now, the w-tailed Monkeys that had been pursuing Xiang Beifei had already left, clearly not daring to provoke the creature in the cave. "That tongue, it belongs to a Ghost Giant Snail! Yuchi Shen, where are the two people you sent to protect him?" Ye Changfeng asked furiously. Yuchi Shen also stood up with a grim expression. Although he wanted to make things difficult for Xiang Beifei, he had never intended for Xiang Beifei to die. At this moment, on therge screen at the training ground, two boys dressed in camouged green outfits appeared ¨C they were Guo Han and Sun Rui, sent by Yuchi Shen. They only showed up now and appeared at the entrance of the Ghost Giant Snail''s den. The small iron ball floated above them, circling around them leisurely. "Are these the two you sent? They only take action after everyone is gone?" Ye Changfeng red at Yuchi Shen with uncontainable fury, "Aren''t you going to use the teleportation sphere to forcibly bring Xiang Beifei back right now!" Yuchi Shen fell silent for a moment before saying, "The teleportation array I inscribed on the iron ball can only be used near that marsh. He can only be teleported back once he returns to the vicinity of the array." "You¡ª" Ye Changfeng looked extremely angry. Teleportation spheres were not omnipotent. The outer wilderness beyond the boundaries was very dangerous, with various strange forces rampant. These forces would suppress human systematic abilities, hence humans faced great restrictions when moving around in the outer wilderness. Additionally, with the vast expanse of the outer wilderness, the distance of teleportation was greatly limited. A rough positioning area was needed. Once deviated from this area, the teleportation sphere would be useless. When Xiang Beifei was being chased by the w-tailed Monkey in the marsh, Yuchi Shen originally contemted forcibly pulling him back. However, considering that Guo Han and Sun Rui were nearby, he refrained. As a result, Xiang Beifei ran out of the teleportation range. And Yuchi Shen did not inform Xiang Beifei about the characteristics of the teleportation sphere nor did he warn Xiang Beifei not to stray away from the marsh. When sending Xiang Beifei over, he exined nothing, leading Xiang Beifei to be unaware of these details! "Elder Luo¡ª" Ye Changfeng turned to look for Luo Laotou, but apart from a pile of sunflower seed shells, there was no sign of Luo Laotou. Luo Laotou had left without anyone noticing when. Ye Changfeng had a pretty good idea of where he had gone. "Yuchi Shen, if anything happens to this kid, I will never let you off the hook!" Ye Changfeng left these harsh words behind, took a step, and without further hesitation, vanished on the spot, determined to head into the outer wilderness by himself. "Enter and check on that Ghost Giant Snail, be careful," Yuchi Shen ordered Guo Han and Sun Rui through Xiaofei Ball''smunicator. Xiaofei Ball was a monitoring device but also served the purpose of transmitting signals. Since the area where Xiang Beifei was located, the South Mountain Second District of the Cultivated Domain, was still rtively close to human habitation, the interference from the wilderness forces was not too strong, so the signal transmission was still functioning. Guo Han and Sun Rui exchanged a nce. They were quite familiar with the Ghost Giant Snail, knowing how to kill it. The creature was fragile with low defensive power, which is why it hid in the cave, relying on its protection. However, its tongue was very troublesome; even they had to be cautious about it. At that moment, the huffing sound echoed once more from inside the den. The Ghost Giant Snail obviously smelled the two people at its entrance, and its tongueshed out violently. "Now''s our chance!" Sun Rui shouted. In Guo Han''s hand appeared a ss sphere. As the Ghost Giant Snail''s tongue swept toward him, he had already thrown the ss sphere at it, and at the same time, he swiftly retreated more than ten meters. The tongue did not catch him, but the ss spherended on the long tongue and was retracted back into the cave. Bang! A puff of blue smoke emanated from the cave. "We can go in now!" Guo Han shouted. The ss sphere was designed specifically forbating the Ghost Giant Snail. They had been allowed to enter the outer wilderness because they were well-trained. They had prepared for what kinds of deste beasts might be in this area and what tools to use against specific species. Guo Han and Sun Rui had studied the Ghost Giant Snail and thus had prepared many tools, including this ss sphere, which were invented by students specializing in deste beasts. The school had majors dedicated to researching the weaknesses of deste beasts, and students in that field would study deste beasts'' vulnerabilities, creating various items tobat specific types of deste beasts. These items could be requested from the school''sbs, and any student venturing into the outer wilderness must carry these specific protective tools, just in case. However, Xiang Beifei had none of these tools; Yuchi Shen did not prepare any for him, and simply had hime over with a teleportation sphere. Xiang Beifei did not even know what to call this long-tongued deste beast, and this asymmetry of information put him at a substantial disadvantage. Chapter 125: Chapter 124: The Serpent! Guo Han and Sun Rui had already entered the cave, carrying lighting tools that illuminated the Ghost Giant Snail''s lurking den, with Xiaofei trailing behind them. This time, Yuchi Shen and the others could see clearly inside. The Ghost Giant Snail was extremely afraid of corrosive substances. Once the ss orbs were crushed, they would burst into a cloud of corrosive smoke, which would cover the body of the Ghost Giant Snail and corrode it into a puddle of liquid. The cave was damp, with water gushing out. The massive body of the Ghost Giant Snail had been corroded to nothing but a sack of skin. It was a soft-bodied creature, its body turned into water, leaving only its long, thick tongue, about ten meters in length. Guo Han, pinching his nose, fiddled within that skin sack twice, pulling out a bunch of broken bones, his face drastically changed as he said, "These bones, they couldn''t be that kid''s, could they?" Sun Rui also squatted down, looking at the pile of broken bones. The Ghost Giant Snail had incredibly strong digestive abilities; anything it consumed would be digested almost in the blink of an eye, except the bones, which would take a bit longer to digest. "These bones look a lot like human bones, this is bad." Sun Rui''s brows were deeply furrowed. "Those are not his bones, they''re from a w-tailed Monkey. Are youplete idiots? He surely found a chance to escape. Go around and look for him, quick!" Yuchi Shen shouted. ¡ª¡ª Not everyone was permitted to venture into the wilderness beyond the domain. Beyond human territories, there was ayer of defense intended to ward off deste beast invasions, and aside from specific individuals, ordinary people were not allowed to leave the Jiuzhou territory. If students from the elite schools wanted to go into the wilderness, they too had to be transported to the boundary before entering the wilderness, or like Yuchi Shen, set up a specific portal point. All nine universities were located at the very outer edge of human territories, closest to the wilderness to facilitate training students in the wilderness. "Son of a bitch, if my pre-designated student goes missing, I''ll tear you to pieces!" Elder Luo cursed as he ran towards his established portal point. Originally, when Xiang Beifei was transported there, he thought there wouldn''t be any major issues since, with the transport orb, Xiang Beifei could return even if he encountered danger. However, once Xiang Beifei deviated from the range of the portal point, he became anxious, ignoring any impulse to me Yuchi Shen, and immediately rushed into the external wilderness. Just like Yuchi Shen, he normally set up several portal points in the low-risk areas around the external wilderness. Though his portal points were far from Yuchi Shen''s location, the wilderness outside the domain was vast. Even a rtively safer area like the Cultivated Domain was immensely vast. He found the nearest portal point, but getting there still took an hour. "Elder Luo, what should we do?" Ye Changfeng also had his own set of portal points for training students, not far from Elder Luo''s, so when he hurried over, he sensed Elder Luo''s furious presence and quickly followed. "What else can we do? Go find him and bring him back! He''s just a novice, knows nothing! He didn''t even bring any tools to deal with deste beasts, and now he''s strayed from the portal point... Son of a bitch! Son of a bitch! Son of a bitch! When we get back, I''m definitely going to hang that Yuchi Son of a bitch up and beat him!" Elder Luo cursed angrily, yet his speed did not decrease. The wilderness outside the domain was fraught with danger, potentially encountering various dangerous deste beasts at any moment. If tangled up and unable to teleport back, Xiang Beifei,cking the experience of Guo Han and Sun Rui, was in great danger. Elder Luo had already ced all his Leisure Points into his speed, rapidly leaving Ye Changfeng far behind. Ye Changfeng moved by sword flight; although not as fast as Elder Luo, he was still incredibly quick, leaving only a shadow in the air. ¡ª¡ª Xiang Beifei sat behind a rock, lost in thought. He had already checked the area, even the ants the size of fists crawling under his feet were stomped to death by him. The me Dragon Escape had brought him out, but he was unclear on the direction he was taken to, as it was random, potentially in any direction, although ording to the distance of the escape, it should be about two hundred meters away from that cave. However, to be safe, he ran further away, just in case he was caught up by that group of monkeys again. He tapped the iron ring on his wrist, which seemed unresponsive. Yuchi Shen hadn''t provided him with any information about this assessment or how to return, but he noticed something unusual about the iron ring. At the swampy area, the ring clearly flickered with fluctuations, but once he left the swamp, the ring''s aura quieted down, bing still. This likely meant that the wrist iron ring needed to be in the swampy area to function, and then it could take him back. "Forget it, first return to the swampy area to look for the Three Souls Deste Snake." Xiang Beifei decided to head back to the swampy area he had just left to see if the iron ring showed any sign of activity again. He climbed a tree and looked around. The group of monkeys had chased him out of the swamp, and then the me Dragon Escape had carried him over two hundred meters away in a direction, leaving him clueless about his whereabouts. Unfamiliar with the region, he needed to reorient himself to the swamp''s direction. "I remember there was a small hill just now, the Soft-bodied Monster was under that cave, meaning I came from that direction, and the me Dragon Escape took me to the back of the mountain." Chapter 126: Chapter 124: The Great Serpent!_2 If he wanted to return to the marsh, Xiang Beifei would have had to cross a small hill less than fifty meters high. However, for safety, he decided against climbing over it. Instead, he nned to go around the hill, so he wouldn''t run into that Soft-bodied Monster again. The hill wasn''t big, and taking the detour would only add about ten more minutes to his journey. Using the hill as a center point, Xiang Beifei moved around its base, keeping his body as low as possible and hiding in the thick grass. It hadn''t been ten minutes since he arrived in the wilderness beyond the domain, and he had already encountered numerous dangers, so he had to be cautious. The topography of the wilderness beyond the domain was extremely poor, littered with chaotic rocks. Because no one lived nearby, there weren''t any proper paths. The grass grew wildly, as tall or short as it liked, with some even taller than Xiang Beifei himself. He trekked through the tall grass, pushing aside the prickly stems. But at that moment, a hissing sound suddenly came from the brush, followed by a sharp snake tail sweeping towards him! Whoosh! Xiang Beifei leaped backward two steps and dodged the unexpected snake tail. He grasped the breath soil again, reshaping it into a machete which felt more manageable in this environment. This ce was truly dangerous, with a deste beast lurking every few steps. If he wasn''t careful, he might lose his life without even knowing how. "Hiss!" A massive snake head emerged from the grass, its body as thick as a bucket and approximately ten meters long. Its body was pitch ck and densely covered in scales that shimmered with an iron-ck luster, making them look extremely tough. What caught Xiang Beifei''s attention the most were the three long horns on its head! Three horns! "Could this be the Three Souls Deste Snake?" Xiang Beifei turned and asked Xiaohei. "Woof, woof, woof!" Xiaohei also seemed puzzled as he scrutinized the giant snake, unsure of what it was. Neither of them knew what the Three Souls Deste Snake looked like. The previous snake had run off from the marsnd, so they still weren''t clear about their target. But this snake had threerge horns, fitting the character "three." Since it was already targeting him, running would only lead to being chased, so he decided to deal with it first. Xiang Beifei focused on the triangr-headed snake, feeling a great deal of pressure from it¡ªits aura was approximately at thete stage of Qi-Controlling but as long as it wasn''t ying dirty tricks like that giant mucus monster, he should be able to handle it. Whoosh! His fists surged with powerful mes, and in a sh, he charged at the giant snake! The triangr snake, seeing Xiang Beifei charging towards it, twisted its body in anger. Its blue snake eyes emitted a lightning bolt, shooting directly at Xiang Beifei! Xiang Beifei was swift but hadn''t expected the snake''s eyes to emit lightning. The lightning, apanied by a bursting sound, nearly struck him, but fortunately, he reacted quickly and dodged sideways. The lightning struck the grass instead, cutting through it like awnmower and sending up puffs of ck smoke. Such powerful lightning! Xiang Beifei steadied himself, dodging another blue lightning bolt. He swiftly moved closer and leaped behind the snake, swinging his breath soil machete down at its vital seven inches. ng! It sounded like a sh of metal. The ck snake''s scale armor was incredibly tough, numbing his right hand from the impact, and he couldn''t cut through the scales. At that moment, the ck snake''s tail curled back, attempting to trap Xiang Beifei. He stepped on the snake''s body, using it as leverage to leap into the air before swinging a fist down onto the snake''s head! Bang! The snake''s head was extremely hard. Xiang Beifei instead was sent flying, but his spiritual power sparked mes that wildly enveloped the ck snake''s body. The mes spread along the texture of the scales, igniting its entire body! The ck snake thrashed in terror and pain on the ground, trying to shake off the bizarre mes. Meanwhile, blue lightning shot wildly around, slicing the surrounding grass into disarray. Xiang Beifei had already gotten back on his feet. "Its weak spot isn''t the seven inches; this creature''s weak spot is the eyes." During his brief engagement with the ck snake, he quickly, using "Learn by Analogy," analyzed the opponent''s method of attack thoroughly. Although the ck snake seemed to fear the mes, the fire didn''t inflict a fatal wound. Instead, it continually protected its eyes. Blinding it should practically seal its fate! Whoosh! Xiang Beifei, taking advantage of the snake trying to extinguish the mes, shed over again, his breath soil now shaped like a dagger. The ck snake had obviously noticed Xiang Beifei''s intention. After its lightning attack was dodged by Xiang Beifei, it opened its foul-smelling mouth wide and lunged at him. However, Xiang Beifei had already figured out the snake''s attack pattern. The creature''s attempt to bite him was anticipated. He clenched his left fist and punched the snake''s lower jaw, forcing the snake''s head upward, and then he thrust the dagger in his right hand downward into the snake''s left eye! Crash! Blinded in one eye, the ck snake erupted with blue blood spraying from its eye, contorting in pain. It swung its tail, knocking Xiang Beifei away while its other eye shot out lightning, striking Xiang Beifei''s shoulder. Xiang Beifei felt a numbness in his shoulder. His left arm was paralyzed and he couldn''t lift it, but as he was flung away, he seized the moment in mid-air to throw the Breath Soil again. The dagger formed from the Breath Soil traced a brown arc of light through the air, striking the ck snake''s other eye precisely! Bang! The massive body of the ck snake copsed, scattering weeds all over the ground. Massaging his shoulder, Xiang Beifei climbed up from the ground and sat on the messy grass, looking at the dead snake and heaving a sigh of relief. This snake was powerful, its strength and defenseparable tote-stage Qi-Controlling creatures¡ªimpervious to swords and spears and definitely unbeatable in a head-on fight. Xiang Beifei would have probably suffered badly. Fortunately, he was able to spot its weakness and analyze its attack pattern to deliver a fatal blow, or else he would have been in big trouble. Still, he had suffered a serious injury: the snake''s lightning had seared a ck wound onto his shoulder, which was very painful. He massaged it, circting his Spiritual Power to drive away the numbness, "Woof, woof, woof!" Xiaohei bounded out excitedly,nding on the snake''s body and fumbling around. Then, with a swipe of its paw, it slit the snake''s skin open effortlessly. Xiang Beifei watched Xiaohei in surprise, "I had no idea your ws were so sharp!" He had been fighting the snake for a while and hadn''t managed to cut through the snake''s skin, but Xiaohei did it with a single swipe of its paw. "Woof, woof, woof!" Xiaohei rummaged through the snake''s body and pulled out a fist-sized blue crystal stone. "A spiritual power crystal?" Xiang Beifei was taken aback. Everyone''s system items were actually transformed from spiritual power crystals, but Xiaohei''s action implied that every deste beast also had a spiritual power crystal inside it. However, ording to textbooks, this kind of thing was known as a beast pill in deste beasts, likely present in every deste beast, encapsting the essence of a beast''s life, though their power varied. Many beast pills could be used to make powerful tools and energy sources, which were crucial for humans in desperate need of energy and could fetch a good price on the market. Experience exclusive tales on m v|l e''-NovelBin "Woof, woof, woof!" "Can the beast pill also light up a constetion?" Xiang Beifei''s eyes lit up. This great snake was just the right strength forte-stage Qi-Controlling! However, he had already collected manyte-stage Qi-Controlling spiritual power crystals. The headmaster had given him some, and he got others as well. He didn''t really need this particr beast pill. "Collect it, maybe I can sell it next time." Xiang Beifei looked at the corpse of the ck snake, but soon encountered a problem. "How can I take such a big snake back?" Without a system, Xiang Beifei couldn''t use any kind of spatial storage technique created by the system to carry such arge thing, which would also be inconvenient for moving around. "Puff!" Xiaohei puffed up its cheeks and spat out a little bubble from its mouth. The bubblended on therge snake and immediately covered it, swiftly shrinking the ten-meter-long snake''s massive body until it was the size of a thumb-sized ss bead. "You have this ability too?" Xiang Beifei was delighted. Normally Xiaohei would just roll around on his shoulder, asionallye down to eat, burp contentedly, and then sleep. He had almost never counted on it during a fight. Now he realized Xiaohei had more capabilities than he knew. Using its tail, Xiaohei nudged the little bubble containing the snake, nudging and nudging, then tilted its head and said, "Woof, woof, woof!" "I don''t know if this is a Three Souls Deste Snake, doesn''t it have three horns?" "Woof, woof, woof!" Xiaohei sniffed the ground with its nose, then pointed forward with its little paw. Chapter 127: Chapter 125: Kill a Few More Xiaohei meant that there was also the presence of snakes ahead, and it seemed there were many snake-type deste beasts nearby, and they could go look for more. After pondering for a moment, Xiang Beifei said, "Okay, let''s go check it out!" He felt his energy was still quite robust. For some reason, although he had fought with a giant ck snake, he wasn''t tired at all. His spiritual power even quickly replenished itself. Turning to look at his shoulder, where he had been burned in the exchange with the ck snake, he noticed that a surge of spiritual power not his own had emerged and rapidly healed his wound. "This spiritual power?" Xiang Beifei was somewhat puzzled, then suddenly remembered that he had eaten some of Luo Laotou''s sunflower seeds today. Could those seeds not only replenish spiritual power but also heal injuries? Luo Laotou had been so polite in offering him to eat those seeds, and it turned out there were benefits after all. He got up and ran in the direction Xiaohei had indicated, carefully avoiding other deste beasts along the way. He even identally stepped on and killed a centipede the size of a chopstick. The blood of the centipede sshed onto his pants, corroding a hole in the fabric. Luckily, this centipede wasn''t strong, but with so many deste beasts around, he had to be cautious. About ten minutes of runningter, following Xiaohei''s guidance, he pushed through a thicket of thorny bushes and quickly saw arge snake as long as a carrying pole lying in a ditch. The snake waspletely white, but uniquely, there were three red ring-like patterns encircling its neck. Three rings! It matched the "three" in "Three Souls." Xiang Beifei looked at the giant ck snake with three horns in the small bubble and then at the white snake with three red rings around its neck and fell into contemtion. "Could this also be the Three Souls Deste Snake?" "Learn by Analogy" couldn''t help him confirm what the Three Souls Deste Snake was precisely; without an illustrated handbook, he didn''t know if the one he killed was the right one. The three horns might be the Three Souls Deste Snake, and so could the three rings. Chin in hand, Xiang Beifei thought for a moment and said, "Why not kill both? Since we don''t recognize it, just kill a few more and take them back for them to choose. One of them must be what they want." Yuchi Shen had always been looking for a reason to find fault with him. If he didn''t bring back the Three Souls Deste Snake, who knew how his strange face would twist with smugness. "Woof woof woof!" Xiaohei leaped onto Xiang Beifei''s shoulder, seemingly in full agreement. Killing deste beasts and obtaining Beast Pills sounded good. Hiss, hiss, hiss! The Three Souls Deste Snake had been napping in the water after just swallowing a ferocious man-eating mud loach and was digesting it when it suddenly raised its head to see a massive fist, aze with mes, smashing down towards it. ¡ª¡ª The elite students at the training ground were all looking around. Today was supposed to be about observing the performance of the N-level neers during their entrance examination, but the training ground''s big screen was instead showing Guo Han and Sun Rui! It was hard to say whether it was these two being assessed at the moment or if it was the N-level neer. Guo Han and Sun Rui had no idea which direction Xiang Beifei had gone off to since everyone had a system, and anything could happen. But considering that Xiang Beifei was only an N-level Awakener, even with some system trick, he probably couldn''t have gone too far. However, the wilderness beyond the domain was vast, and Xiang Beifei could have gone in any direction. Searching so aimlessly was undoubtedly like finding a needle in a haystack. But with the little iron ball following them, they were both very aware that this amounted to a live broadcast of the "Searching for Xiang Beifei Operation," watched by many teachers and ssmates. They couldn''tin and had to press on with the search. Most importantly, they could not shout. Because if they called out Xiang Beifei''s name, what might emerge was not necessarily Xiang Beifei but possibly various weird and vicious deste beasts! "How are we supposed to find that freshman?" Guo Han quietly asked. Sun Rui nced up at the iron ball above and whispered, "We have to find him, whether or not we can! We failed to protect the new egg earlier, and we''re definitely going to get scolded by Elder Yuchi. If we don''t find him, do you dare to go back?" "It was he who said not to intervene until thest moment." Guo Han kicked a stone on the ground in frustration and muttered. After a moment, he added, "The wilderness outside the domain is so dangerous, and this area is particrly infested with snake-type deste beasts. These deste snakes are ''terrors even to ghosts'' and have eaten who knows how many people. Having left our protection, the newbie might have already be snake food by now." "Stopining; even if he''s been eaten, we still have to find his bones or hair, or even a piece of his clothing would suffice to report back." Although the two were quietlyining, neither dared to speak too loudly. They climbed the small hill where the Ghost Giant Snail had lurked, looked around, and then walked down. But at that moment, there was a sudden outbreak of angry roars around them, and from the nearby woods, countless tentacles surged out. "Damn it, it''s that group of w-tailed Monkeys from before!" Guo Han''splexion changed slightly, and he eximed in a low voice. Eager to move because of the Ghost Giant Snail''s presence, the monkey group had lingered nearby. But when they quickly realized the snail had been eliminated, and Guo Han and Sun Rui reappeared here, they set their sights on the two men. "Don''t panic; the venom from the Iron Flying Hawk will make them lose their fighting strength." Sun Rui was rtively calm; they were well-prepared after all, with all sorts of high-tech gear for dealing with deste beasts in their backpacks. This was a low-risk area of the wilderness beyond the domain, and those high-tech devices were very effective. Chapter 128: Chapter 125: Kill a Few More_2 Although Guo Han liked toin, he was alsopetent. A shadow of ck flicker passed before him, and a gorgeous crossbow was ready in his hands. [Host: Guo Han] [S-grade, Divine Crossbow System] [Realm: Late Qi Mastery] The Divine Crossbow System that Guo Han had awakened possessed an extremely high uracy rate. He was qualified toe to the deste wilderness beyond the domain because his archery was unbeatable. He once faced the frontal barrage of twenty machine guns simultaneously with just a bow and arrow in simted training. His crossbow arrows would split, a single shot splitting into countless smaller arrows. These arrows could automatically seek out targets, intercepting every bullet sprayed from the twenty machine guns. Not only that, his arrows could also unleash various strong elemental powers; water arrows, fire arrows, and lightning arrows were nothing difficult. As long as his cultivation was high enough, the power of these arrows was extremely terrifying! At that moment, the w-tailed Monkeys angrily charged at them, their long tails swaying with sharp ws, seemingly eager to capture and devour the two men. Guo Han had already drawn his bow and loaded an arrow before shouting to Sun Rui, "Come on!" Whoosh! Sun Rui, standing by, threw a red ss ball at the approaching group of w-tailed Monkeys. Simultaneously, Guo Han fired his arrow. The crossbow arrow transformed into a streak of gray light, whistling through the air and instantly striking the ss ball! The ss ball exploded instantly, erupting a cloud of red mist, and then countless splitting arrows shot out from the mist. These arrows, imbued with the venom of the Iron Flying Hawk, surged toward the group of monkeys. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The originally ferocious group of monkeys became dazed and slow when they smelled the venom of the Iron Flying Hawk. Guo Han''s arrows zipped through the air, unerringly striking the suddenly clumsy w-tailed Monkeys. Bang! Bang! Bang! Numerous cries of pain from the monkeys filled the air as Guo Han''s arrows, which had great prating power, targeted critical areas like the eyes and hearts. The monkeys'' reactions were only a beat slow, yet they were quickly ensnared by the arrows. In the blink of an eye, the group of w-tailed Monkeys was entirely annihted by his divine crossbow! w-tailed Monkeys were extremely agile, much more so than machine gun bullets under normal circumstances. Even Guo Han''s archery might not have hit them all. However, the venom of the Iron Flying Hawk slowed them down, making it easy. "Nice archery," praised Sun Rui. "With the venom of the Iron Flying Hawk, it''s simple. Yuchi the old demon didn''t provide that newbie with the venom. I''m starting to worry about him now," said Guo Han as he put away his bow, resting it on his back. As an elite from Liangzhou University and a high scorer in simted training sses, coupled with his knowledge of the weaknesses of w-tailed Monkeys and having tools specifically designed to counteract them, exterminating these monkeys was more than sufficient. However, Beifei had not been so lucky just now; he had been embarrassingly chased by the monkey group and had eventually lost them. The other students watching all of this praised Guo Han''s archery skills endlessly. Guo Han''s superior archery was his reliance on being allowed to train in the lower-risk zones of the wilderness beyond the domain. As long as he coordinated well, he could safely deal with these not very powerful deste beasts. "Let''s go, the smell of blood here will attract other deste beasts soon." After exterminating the group of w-tailed Monkeys, the pair didn''t linger and continued forward. However, they hadn''t walked far when Sun Rui suddenly stopped, crouched down, and looked at the overgrown grass, saying, "Wait, it seems like a fight took ce here recently!" Find exclusive stories on m_v l|e-NovelBin The tall grass in the area, which was several meters high, was now chaotically shed, and there were faint traces of lightning strikes. Upon examining the marks on the ground and seeing the traces of grass struck by lightning, Sun Rui eximed, "This is lightning from a Triangr Thunder Krait!" "Triangr Thunder Krait!" Guo Han was taken aback and asked, "This creature is considered a dominant snake in this area. Looking at these battle traces, it must have been intense. Did it fight with something?" "It might be another type of snake, we need to be careful, this thing is too difficult to deal with, it might have encountered a Fire Snake, there are still traces of scorched mes, probably left by the Fire Snake''s mes!" Sun Rui said gravely. "Fire Snake!" Guo Han tensed up, "Fire Snakes are even harder to handle than Triangr Thunder Kraits! They are natural enemies of each other! Did you bring the ice pouch of the Water Bomb Turtle?" "I did, but the ice pouch isn''t very effective against Fire Snakes, and Triangr Thunder Kraits are even more troublesome. We need to get out of here fast. Triangr Thunder Kraits are impervious to weapons, and without the strength of the Meridian Opening stage, you can''t cut through their scale armor!" Sun Rui said sternly. Just as their words ended, a loud roar suddenly burst forth from the bushes, and immediately a massive bolt of lightning shot toward them! "Damn, the Triangr Thunder Krait is back, it looks like it has defeated the Fire Snake!" Sun Rui eximed, grabbing Guo Han and running backward, dodging the lightning strike with a swift move. Roar! The sound made by the Triangr Thunder Krait was no longer a hiss but was now as deep and thunderous as a boom. Anyone who had studied the habits of the Triangr Thunder Krait knew that when its cries turned so thunderous, it indicated it was in extreme anger, even madness! This Triangr Thunder Krait was over ten meters long, a male, and they usually appeared in pairs. Today, Xiong Leikui went out hunting and returned to find his mate gone and stumbled upon these two humans, sparking his rage instantly! Crack! Crack! Crack! Countless bolts of lightning shot at Guo Han and Sun Rui, utterly aggressive and unreasonable, wreaking havoc and scaring them greatly. This Triangr Thunder Krait was at the Realm: Late Qi Mastery, the same as both Guo Han and Sun Rui, but much stronger! Because its scale armor was entirely imprable, the only weak spot was its eyes! This knowledge they had learned in their specialty sses. If you encounter a Triangr Thunder Krait in the wild, you either run or figure out a way to blind it. "Shoot its eyes, quick!" Sun Rui shouted. Guo Han had already fitted his bow with an arrow, lighting up with a gray glow, Spiritual Power cycling through the crossbow, and with a loud st, the arrow transformed into a rapid stream of light, speeding towards the Triangr Thunder Krait''s eyes! But the Triangr Thunder Krait simply shot out two bolts of lightning and directly turned Guo Han''s arrow into ashes. It turned its head, saw Guo Han who had shot the arrow, roared, and sent several bolts of lightning shing towards Guo Han! "No good, its lightning is too strong!" Guo Han rolled to the side, ducking his head to dodge another bolt of lightning. The lightning struck the grass beside him, luckily the grass wasn''t set aze, only sheared away. "I''ll divert its attention, you shoot it!" Sun Rui stepped on a rock, his body agilely lunged forward, then he pounced towards the Triangr Thunder Krait! The Triangr Thunder Krait, seeing Sun Rui lunging at it, roared fiercely, sweeping its tail at him, but Sun Rui twisted his body, dodged swiftly, andid a hand on the Triangr Thunder Krait''s tail! His palm held no force, unable to shake the Triangr Thunder Krait, but the moment his hand touched the Triangr Thunder Krait, the skin on his hand began to change and consolidate, turning into scales that looked exactly like those of the Triangr Thunder Krait! [Host: Sun Rui] [S-ss, Beast Transformation System] [Realm: Late Qi Mastery] Sun Rui''s ability allowed him to beast-transform his body. As long as he had been in contact with a deste beast within thest five minutes, he could mimic a powerful characteristic of that beast. The Triangr Thunder Krait possessed powerful thunder eyes and hard scale armor as well as a snake''s unique flexibility. Sun Rui, weighing his options, knew he couldn''t mimic the thunder eyes. It would be pointless to trade shots with the Triangr Thunder Krait; his own lightning wouldn''t break through its defenses, nor would it have enough uracy to hit its eyes. Hence, he could only mimic the Triangr Thunder Krait''s hard scale armor. Now Sun Rui''s entire body was enveloped in ck scale armor, resembling a snake-skin man. Facing the Triangr Thunder Krait, he fearlessly lunged at it, ready to engage the Triangr Thunder Krait inbat and create a chance for Guo Han to shoot the Triangr Thunder Krait. Chapter 129: Chapter 126: The Invincible Triangular Thunder Krait The Triangr Thunder Krait saw Sun Rui approach it voluntarily, its eyes turning incredibly cold. It unleashed powerful lightning again, striking Sun Rui. Sun Rui did not dodge; his scale armor was the same as the opponent''s, offering equal defense. The lightning that struck him was instantly repelled. "Quick, now is the chance!" Sun Rui deftly maneuvered around the Triangr Thunder Krait. Being a strength-type cultivator, he could withstand the deste beast to the end as long as his defense was strong enough. Sun Rui entangled himself with the Triangr Thunder Krait. His attacks were already powerful, but regrettably, the Triangr Thunder Krait''s defense was even more monstrous. His strength wasn''t enough to break through the opponent''s scale armor, and the knife in his hand that aimed for the Triangr Thunder Krait''s eyes was directly flung away. Taking advantage of Sun Rui engaging the Triangr Thunder Krait, Guo Han aimed his arrows again at the beast''s eyes. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Numerous arrow shadows crossed the sky, yet the Triangr Thunder Krait, extremely agile, dealt with both men with ease. It noticed that Sun Rui''s defense was the same as its own andpletely ignored him, concentrating fully on dealing with Guo Han, who was shooting arrows from a distance. Crack! Crack! Crack! Its lightning targeted Guo Han, causing his face to pale dramatically. He could only escape awkwardly to the side, his arrows beingpletely countered, finding no suitable opportunity. Meanwhile, the Triangr Thunder Krait swept its tail, striking Sun Rui. The powerful force immediately flung Sun Rui away. Bang! Sun Rui crashed to the ground. Although he had the defensive capabilities of a Triangr Thunder Krait, his strength was not nearly enough to counteract the beast. The tail whip hit his chest, and though it did not break his skin, it stifled his breath. At that moment, the tail of the Triangr Thunder Krait wrapped around Sun Rui, firmly grasping him, and then pressed his body backwards! Snakes love to coil around their prey and then crush their bones, causing them to suffocate to death. Sun Rui''s face turned drastically pale! No matter how strong his external defense, he was still human, with bones. If his body were crushed, he would surely die! In a desperate moment, he quickly gave up mimicking the defense of the Triangr Thunder Krait and instead mimicked its flexibility, narrowly and dangerously freeing himself from the body of the Triangr Thunder Krait. But it struck him again. This time he couldn''t transform his defense in time, and endured a blow directly, screaming miserably as he spat out a mouthful of blood, his left hand twisted at an odd angle, clearly broken. "We''re done for!" Guo Han hurried over, grabbed Sun Rui, and then turned and fled into the distance! ¡ª¡ª The elite students watching were all incredibly frightened by this; this was not a simtion, but the actual deste wilderness where death was a possibility! The situation had gone beyond their expectations! The strength of the Triangr Thunder Krait was monstrously abnormal! None of the elite students present dared say they had the ability to face the Triangr Thunder Krait alone; most of them had been ''killed'' in simtion sses, let alone gaining an advantage in this kind of realbat. Guo Han and Sun Rui, who had practiced during the simtions, were already among the top students of this group and had extensivebat experience in the deste wilderness. Among the students present, practically no one was stronger than them. The awakening systems of the two were rtively formidable, but unexpectedly, they were left with no chance to retaliate when facing the Triangr Thunder Krait, merely meeting the beast had left Sun Rui severely disabled. While Guo Han''s skills were more suited to long-range attacks, his closebat ability was very poor. Now that Sun Rui was disabled, their situation was dire! "This is bad! They''re so unlucky to encounter such a creature as the Triangr Thunder Krait!" "Yeah! Last time during a simtion ss, it was mentioned that the Triangr Thunder Krait in the South Mountain Second District of the Cultivated Domain is almost invincible among deste beasts!" "The worst part is there''s only one Triangr Thunder Krait here! They usually appear in pairs; the other must have gone hunting and didn''te, or both of them would have been dead!" "Now that Sun Rui is disabled, is there any difference from them being dead?" Many students were sweating for the two men. Today was supposed to be the entrance assessment for N-level freshmen, but unexpectedly, a freshman named Xiang Beifei got lost in the deste wilderness, life or death unknown. Then, the two men sent to protect Xiang Beifei encountered the ferocious Triangr Thunder Krait during their search, and one of them was severely injured! Currently, the Triangr Thunder Krait had locked onto the scent of Guo Han and Sun Rui, relentlessly pursuing them. The speed of the Triangr Thunder Krait was also very fast, not weaker than Guo Han''s, and their death seemed almost certain! Your next read awaits at m,v -NovelBin Everyone turned their gazes toward Yuchi Shen; the direction of the situation had deviated significantly from its initial intention, and it was Yuchi Shen who, in an attempt toplicate Xiang Beifei''s entrance assessment, had caused this situation! Yuchi Shen''s face appeared very somber. Even now he could not remain calm. Guo Han and Sun Rui were selected students from his infernal training, rarely meeting the qualifications, and he had not expected them to be crippled by the Triangr Thunder Krait! If something had happened to them on another deste wilderness mission, it could only be attributed to theirck of skills, but this time it was his assigned protection mission, specifically set to trouble Xiang Beifei with an abnormal assessment! If these three were to die in the deste wilderness, he would definitely be held ountable by his superiors! Chapter 130: Chapter 126: The Invincible Triangular Thunder Krait_2 ¡ª¡ª Boom! A massive skeletal snake crashed to the ground! "One, two, three, four, five... Hmm, there are fiverge vertebral bones, doesn''t look like it''s the Three Souls Deste Snake." Xiang Beifei counted the vertebrae of the skeletal snake, a look of regret in his eyes. Xiaohei, with its ability to distinguish snake auras, had led him to many snake-type deste beasts in this area, and he had pummeled many snakes with his fists. Xiang Beifei was killing snakes based on the number "three", taking down all sorts of snakes with "three". Besides the ck snake with three corners that could release lightning and the white snake with three red rings he had encountered at the beginning, he also found ones with three legs, three heads, three eyes, three forked tongues, three tails, three fangs, and even one with three... eggs. In any case, since he could not determine which one was the Three Souls Deste Snake, he collected them all, just in case one of them met the criteria. It must be said that the variety of deste beasts in the wilderness beyond the domain is truly vast, with snakes alone numbering in the hundreds of different kinds, especially in this region, which seems to have the most snakes¡ªwinged ones, ones covered in fur, ones with five feet... He couldn''t be bothered to deal with some that didn''t meet the "three" requirement. Your next chapter is on m v|l-e''-NovelBin These snakes varied in strength; the weak ones he dispatched with a single punch, but the strong snakes required Xiang Beifei to spar with them a bit. The species of deste beasts were quiteplex, and each snake''s weak point was not exactly the same¡ªsome were the eyes, some were the belly, some were the forked tongue, but fortunately, "Learn by Analogy" possessed a great analytical and learning ability. After a few exchanges, he would usually figure out the weak point of the snake before him and know how to counter it. This area was considered a low-risk zone, with basically all the deste beasts being in the Qi-Controlling stage. As long as it wasn''t a snake with the strength of the Meridian Opening Realm, with the help of breath soil and "Abruptly Stop", targeting their weak points made them fairly easy for Xiang Beifei to deal with. The ten-meter-long skeletal snake before him was also a type of snake deste beast, but its name was unknown. When Xiang Beifei encountered it, it was all bones, yet its bones were emitting strong mes, aggressive and intimidating. This bone snake had a formidable scorching ability, and its weakness needed to be countered with some special water. But Xiang Beifei, who had learned Rapid me, knew all about the types and operation of mes. Thus, for this fiery bone snake, defeating it was just too easy. With one punch, the wind from his fist suppressed the snake''s mes. Without its mes, the snake''s strength dropped significantly, and then puncturing its Beast Pill located in its lower jaw settled the matter. Lacking skin for protection, its mes had been its strongest defense. But once Xiang Beifei disrupted the mes, its Beast Pill was left as easy prey. Xiang Beifei initially saw threerge vertebral bones amidst the mes and thought it matched the "three" in Three Souls Deste Snake, so he attacked it. Unfortunately, upon closer inspection after defeating it, he found two morerge vertebral bones, making a total of five. It didn''t seem to be the Three Souls Deste Snake. "Xiaohei, how many have we collected?" Xiang Beifei inquired. "Woof, woof, woof!" Xiaohei wasfortably lying on Xiang Beifei''s shoulder, squinting its eyes with numerous little bubbles floating around. It was leisurely batting these little bubbles around with its tail, like bouncing a ball. Inside each bubble was a snake that had been ughtered. Roughly counted, there were nearly thirty little bubbles! "I wonder if the Three Souls Deste Snake is among these." Xiang Beifei and Xiaohei were not very sure. He had just hurried back to the swamp, but still had not seen the Three Souls Deste Snake, so he left the swamp again. After wandering around the swamp, they had almost caught all the snakes with "three" characteristics in this area. As they made their way, they seized any snake-type deste beast that felt like the Three Souls Deste Snake. With the experience of catching snakes, he became more and more adept at it. After half a day fighting with various snakes, Xiang Beifei was still bursting with vigor. Speaking of which, Luo Laotou''s sunflower seeds were really good. He needed to thank him properly next time; otherwise, he might not have had the energy to kill so many snakes. Xiaohei collected the skeletal snake too. Xiang Beifei figured he should go back to the swamp to take a look. He had made a big loop looking for snakes and was nowing full circle, close to the swamp¡ªprobably a five-minute walk away. But just then, a series of thunderous roars suddenly erupted in the distance, apanied by crackling lightning, ttering noisily. Xiang Beifei looked up, puzzled, and peered into the distance, only to see a figure racing towards them like lightning, with a familiar huge snake monster close behind in relentless pursuit! "Why is there another triangr snake!" Xiang Beifei furrowed his brows, then turned his attention to the two people in front who were desperately fleeing. He hadn''t seen these two back in the swamp, and Guo Han and Sun Rui, fairly well-trained, had concealed themselves far away, out of Xiang Beifei''s sight. Although Xiang Beifei could see others'' system interfaces, if they were too far away or obscured by tree trunks, he wouldn''t be able to make them out. Plus, he had barely taken a few steps after appearing before he was chased by the troop of monkeys, oblivious to anyone else being nearby. However, he realized that the little flying ball that had been monitoring him was now following these two. It seemed that since the little flying ball hadn''t found him, it had followed them instead. "Could it be that these two were sent by Yuchi Shen?" Xiang Beifei spected about the identities of the two in front of him. ¡ª¡ª Guo Han was close to despair! In his efforts to escape, he had exhausted every possible method, using up all the tools he had brought for evasion, but he just couldn''t shake the Triangr Thunder Krait off his trail. He now saw himself as an arrow, stepping on a bow and using its spring to shoot both Sun Rui and himself out at great speed. However, this method took a heavy toll on the crossbow. Guo Han''s crossbow came from the system, and losing one meant having to buy another, which he was now nearly out of. His only hope was to rush back to the swamp and use the teleportation ball to get out. But his physical strength was nearly sapped and thest of his crossbows had been spent, while the Triangr Thunder Krait showed no signs of weariness and was closing in even more. Crack! The Triangr Thunder Krait once again discharged a bolt of lightning that struck right in front of Guo Han, who, in an attempt to dodge the strike, had to twist his body, resulting in a collision against arge tree, and both men fell clumsily to the ground with a thud! "It''s over!" They were only one kilometer away from the swamp; just one more kilometer of perseverance and they could make it back to the marsnds to teleport away. But they had run out of tools for escape, and were now caught in a desperate situation. Guo Han and Sun Rui both showed expressions of sheer desperation! The students at the training ground were also extremely anxious. Everyone knew the dangers of the wilderness beyond the realm, and they were aware that many pioneers lost their lives trying to explore and chart its terrains. Yet seeing two ssmates, who had been with them day and night, perishing right in front of their eyes, while being helplessly unable to assist, filled everyone''s hearts with chilling destion. They even wondered, if they had been the ones Yuchi the demon sent for this mission, would their fate be any worse? The answer was yes! Because at least Guo Han and Sun Rui had learned survival knowledge for the outer wilderness for a year, and even scored high in various simted trainings. They were among the best of this group. Yet, even such individuals, in the face of the Triangr Thunder Krait, had tried everything futilely and were left without any power to fight back¡ªlet alone these students who could not even pass the simted training. "s, who made them encounter the ''terrors even to ghosts''-like Triangr Thunder Krait?" "This Triangr Thunder Krait is simply too invincible; how could an ordinary Qi-Controllingte-stage cultivator ever stand a chance against it?" "Exactly! Do you think that freshman is done for too?" "Nonsense, if Guo Han and Sun Rui ended up like this, what good would it do for that Level-N freshman to defeat Xiong Meng? He doesn''t know a thing about survival knowledge in the outer wilderness. He''s probably been eaten by now!" Many sighed, watching as the Triangr Thunder Krait slowly closed in on Guo Han and Sun Rui, some even averting their eyes, unwilling to witness the scene of their killing. Chapter 131: Chapter 127: Instant Kill! The Triangr Thunder Krait was closing in! Guo Han and Sun Rui seemed to have epted their fate, as Yuchi Shen had made things difficult for new students and left no way out, not even rushing to help. Thinking of this, Guo Han and Sun Rui harbored great resentment towards Mr. Yuchi. This task was originally unnecessary, but it was Yuchi Shen who assigned them to it, and after Xiang Beifei disappeared, it was also Yuchi Shen who forced them to search! Guo Han and Sun Rui felt extremely frustrated! But their frustration was useless, as they had no strength left to dodge. The eyes of the Triangr Thunder Krait emitted shes of light, and two bolts of lightning struck down thunderously¡ª Whoosh! Just at the critical moment, Guo Han and Sun Rui felt something grab their feet, and then a strong force pulled them away from their original spot! Boom! The lightning from the Triangr Thunder Krait shot into empty space! Guo Han and Sun Rui were stunned for a moment, then they saw a figure darting out from beside them, charging towards the Triangr Thunder Krait! It was that N-level freshman! Guo Han and Sun Rui immediately recognized Xiang Beifei! Not just them, but even the elite students at the training ground spotted Xiang Beifei! How did this guy appear here? But¡ªwas this freshman seeking death? He actually charged towards the Triangr Thunder Krait? That was the Triangr Thunder Krait! One of the strongest deste beasts in the area, nearly invincible among those at the Qi-Controlling stage! Was the N-level freshman nning to use himself to draw the Triangr Thunder Krait away, creating a chance for Guo Han and Sun Rui to escape? Seeing another reckless human charging at it, the Triangr Thunder Krait became furiously agitated as if it smelled something and went into a rage! Xiang Beifei seemed to carry the scent of its kin! The Triangr Thunder Krait, enraged beyond measure, didn''t hesitate. Its eyes shed, and it fired two deadly bolts of lightning at Xiang Beifie, who had leaped into the air! The lightning was terrifying, even more powerful than the previous attack, carrying suppressed rage and a fierce intent to kill as it struck fiercely. The lightning made many students feel anxious¡ª But Xiang Beifei seemed to have anticipated all this. He seemed to know exactly from what angle the lightning woulde, his body slightly tilted in mid-air, and the lightning barely missed his forehead! Though it was very close, it didn''t hit him, and suddenly, a strange dagger appeared in his hand, which quickly transformed into a fork, the prongs of which matched exactly the distance between the eyes of the Triangr Thunder Krait! Thrust! Xiang Beifei flipped over, precisely stabbing the fork into the eyes of the Triangr Thunder Krait! Whoosh! He somersaulted in the air, smoothly crossing over the head of the Triangr Thunder Krait, drawing an arc in the air, bending at the waist tond on the ground, one hand touching the grass to cushion the force, then he slowly stood up straight. The Triangr Thunder Krait, right behind Xiang Beifei, stood motionless for a moment, then¡ª Boom! The massive serpentine body crashed down, striking the ground with a huge noise, even shaking the ground slightly! Instant kill! The air once again fell silent. Everyone was stunned, looking at the figure of Xiang Beifei, his silhouette graceful and striking, leaving everyone in awe! This N-level freshman had actually... actually killed a Triangr Thunder Krait? The entire process was smooth and decisive, without any hesitation, a fatal blow! The Triangr Thunder Krait, which had once chased the elite students Guo Han and Sun Rui to despair, managed only to fire a single lightning bolt in the face of Xiang Beifei, which neatly missed and then it was blinded! Is this really an N-level freshman? All students were shocked as they watched Xiang Beifei! Even Guo Han and Sun Rui took a long time to recover. They thought they were surely doomed, only to have walked back from death''s door, pulled back by the same freshman they were supposed to protect! This... this... did they still need their protection? Yuchi Shen was also taken aback! Even he hadn''t expected such a turn of events! Originally, he intended to give Xiang Beifei a lesson by throwing him directly into the external wilderness, to scare him and discipline him properly. But he hadn''t anticipated that Xiang Beifei would not be frightened at all; instead, he killed one of the most difficult Triangr Thunder Kraits right in front of him! The training field was quiet, only the rustling of leaves stirred by the wind could be heard. ¡ª Xiang Beifei was unaware of the reactions of others at the training ground; he could only see Guo Han and Sun Rui. Having killed a Triangr Snake once before, he had gained significant understanding. How the Triangr Thunder Krait would attack, which position it would attack from, when it would release lightning, from which angle it woulde¡ªhe knew it all by heart, so killing it again was not difficult. Casually ordering Xiaohei to collect the Triangr Snake, he then walked towards Guo Han and Sun Rui. "You two were sent by Yuchi Shen?" Xiang Beifei looked at them puzzled. Guo Han nodded subconsciously, "We were sent by Mr. Yuchi to protect you¡ª" As he finished speaking, his face suddenly turned red. Your next chapter awaits on mvl Who was protecting whom, after all? They had been chased in a disheveled retreat by a Triangr Thunder Krait, nearly losing their lives, only for their supposed protege to suddenly appear and kill the Triangr Thunder Krait with a single strike! How could they still im they were here to protect others? Chapter 132: Chapter 127: Instant Kill!_2 Sun Rui was also visibly shaken; he simply couldn''t understand why Xiang Beifei could kill a Triangr Thunder Krait so easily, knowing that he himself had been badly injured by it in less than five minutes of confrontation. But it took Xiang Beifei just one encounter to kill the beast instantly! The disparity in strength was just too vast! And they were supposed to be well-trained students! "Oh, I see," Xiang Beifei nodded thoughtfully, considering that these two hadn''t caused him any trouble, then added, "Okay! I don''t know how to heal wounds, so I''d better take you back." They were only a mere kilometer away from the swamp, so it was close. Guo Han and Sun Rui quickly came to their senses and struggled to get up, which was exhausting since they had almost depleted their strength. Supporting each other, Guo Han said with gratitude, "Thank you for saving our lives." "It''s nothing," Xiang Beifei led them casually towards the swamp. Guo Han and Sun Rui could not help but steal nces at Xiang Beifei, puzzled as to how someone so powerful had been unable to defeat a group of w-tailed Monkeys earlier. They soon remembered that if it hadn''t been for the venom of the Iron Flying Hawk they brought along, they probably would not have been able to ovee the w-tailed Monkeys. Xiang Beifei was a high school student who had been thrown into this ce at thest minute by Elder Yuchi; he was unprepared with nothing but his own system! But during his escape from the w-tailed Monkeys, he also killed several with a single punch! This freshman could very likely have suffered due to ack of understanding of the situation. If there hadn''t been so many, he perhaps wouldn''t have needed to flee at all! After all, the Triangr Thunder Krait is much more terrifying than a group of w-tailed Monkeys! Experience exclusive tales on mvl At that moment, a loud roar suddenly came from a distance ¡ª "Xiang Beifei! Xiang Beifei! Where are you!" The voice of Luo Laotou was earth-shattering, his terrifying sonic waves rolled in like tides, causing a painful ringing in the ears! "Elder Luo, doing this will attract all the deste beasts!" Ye Changfeng caught up with Luo Laotou. "Nonsense! If I don''t attract all the deste beasts in this area to me, they''ll go after that kid!" Luo Laotou continued to shout urgently, bellowing out like a megaphone, his voice carrying for miles as he called out Xiang Beifei''s name. Soon, Luo Laotou''s figure appeared in the distance, rushing toward the swamp, and then he saw Xiang Beifei! "Ah! You''re still alive!" Luo Laotou eximed with joy, running over andnding beside Xiang Beifei, quickly checking him over and asking, "You alright? No harm done? Arms all there? I''m so sorry! It took me over an hour to get here..." "Oh, I''m fine, but they''re not," Xiang Beifei pointed at Guo Han and Sun Rui. "Let''s go, forget about that for now. The deste beasts might have been attracted by my shouting. Let''s get back; we can''t let anything else happen to you." "Right, what does a Three Souls Deste Snake look like..." "Never mind it, if we can''t catch it, we can''t catch it, let''s go back!" Luo Laotou signaled to Ye Changfeng, who lifted up the two of them and then entered the swamp. At this time, the transport spheres were functional, and Ye Changfeng crushed a transport sphere, creating a vortex that swept all five of them up and sent them back to the training ground! ¡ª When Xiang Beifei and the others appeared back at the training ground, all the elite students were buzzing with excitement. They had witnessed with their own eyes Xiang Beifei killing the Triangr Thunder Krait in one strike, a move which gained the full respect of these elite students. Students of the elite school only believe in strength. As long as one has the strength thatpels their respect, they will revere that person, regardless of whether or not they are an N-level fighter. What mattered was the scene of the new student killing the Triangr Thunder Krait with a single strike, leaving a profound impression on everyone! Among those present, apart from the teachers, not one dared im they had the ability to kill such a fearsome Triangr Thunder Krait! Medical students soon came over to carry Guo Han and Sun Rui aside for treatment, as they were nearly exhausted and seriously injured. "Yuchi Shen, you almost got the new student killed! Come, let''s have a chat about life!" Luo Laotou had been in a rush to save Xiang Beifei and hadn''t even had time to scold Yuchi Shen; now, remembering, he was filled with anger. Just as Luo Laotou was about to rebuke the bastard, Ye Changfeng seemed to find something, pulling him aside and saying in surprise, "Elder Luo, take a look at this." A three-dimensional hologram shot out from his wristwatch, clearly showing the scene of Xiang Beifei''s recent killing of the Triangr Thunder Krait! "This..." Luo Laotou nced at it and was also shocked! Even the scolding of Yuchi Shen was forgotten! The exquisite strike by Xiang Beifei had truly dazzled him! Dodging a lightning bolt before it was fired, flipping, and backhand thrusting. The Triangr Thunder Krait, dead! His move was wless! Only someone who understood the Triangr Thunder Krait''s movements incredibly well could pull off such a perfect kill. He was just an eighteen-year-old high school student! How could he possess such prodigious judgment and reflexes? The speed and agility of that Triangr Thunder Krait were on par with Xiang Beifei''s, but in their sh, it ended up exposed with countless ws, its attacks all anticipated by Xiang Beifei! That was truly terrifying! Knocking down Xiong Meng with a single punch hadn''t surprised Luo Laotou this much because Xiong Meng, at best, was just stepping into thete stage of Qi-Controlling as an S-level freshman. He hadn''t passed the extramural deste realm simtion test and wouldn''t have been able to fight a deste beast. Chapter 133: Chapter 127: Instant Kill!_3 But to have killed a Triangr Thunder Krait in thete Qi-Controlling stage with one strike, that''s enough to make it into the Liangzhou University freshmen records! Yuchi Shen watched Xiang Beifei with a cold gaze. Xiang Beifei seemed to be fine, as if he had let out a sigh of relief, but that perfect strike of Xiang Beifei''s had twisted Yuchi Shen''s face with envy. Because it reminded him of someone he once knew very well, a genius among geniuses who always surpassed him. Xiang Tianxing! Back then, that guy''s talent was almost perfect too, making him, who was also an SR-level talent, seem dull inparison. He had originally thought that with Xiang Tianxing''s soning to Liangzhou University, he would properly teach him a lesson, making Xiang Beifei embarrass himself in front of everyone. But he never expected it to backfirepletely. The way Xiang Beifei killed the Triangr Thunder Krait was something even he couldn''t pick a w in! Too perfect! Even Yuchi Shen, who was in thete stage of Qi-Controlling, would not have been able to execute such a wless kill! With this thought, Yuchi Shen''s mood darkened even further. ¡ª¡ª Everyone was in awe. They knew the assessment was basically over now, and Xiang Beifei''s admission was inevitable. He not only proved himself with his fists but also aplished a feat that none of the new students could. Xiang Beifei looked around puzzled. From being mocked by everyone just a moment ago to now being looked at with admiration, he couldn''t quite grasp what was happening. All he did was kill a big three-horned snake in front of them; was that really so surprising? To him, it seemed as though they had never seen the world before. He thought he was the one who had never seen the world, considering he still didn''t know the name of the big snake. Ye Changfeng turned to stare at Yuchi Shen and said, "Yuchi Shen, Xiang Beifei has already passed the assessment. Aren''t you going to announce the results?" Yuchi Shen looked at Xiang Beifei, and then a thin smirk formed on his lips. "Failed!" He said with a sneer. Yuchi Shen''s voice wasn''t loud, but it clearly reached everyone''s ears. All those present quieted down and looked at Yuchi Shen in confusion. The Old Devil Yuchi actually dered Xiang Beifei''s entrance examination a failure! What was this Old Devil doing? Today''s assessment, throwing freshmen into the wilderness beyond the domain, was already unreasonable and nearly cost the lives of Guo Han and Sun Rui. All the trouble was caused by him alone, and just when Xiang Beifei had managed to kill a Triangr Thunder Krait in front of everyone and save Guo Han and Sun Rui, the Old Devil Yuchi is now dering Xiang Beifei a failure! Ye Changfeng shouted, "Yuchi Shen, don''t go too far!" "Damn it! Yuchi Shen, want me to give you another teacher qualification exam? Do you dare to lie with your eyes open?" Luo Laotou said furiously, rolling up his sleeves. Though Yuchi Shen inwardly feared Elder Luo, he still said word by word, "This is the assessment I''m responsible for! My task was to have him kill a Three Souls Deste Snake!" "Did you get kicked by a donkey? How can a weak species like the Three Souls Deste Snakepare to the Triangr Thunder Krait? He just killed a Triangr Thunder Krait!" Elder Luo was not one to care about saving face, and he spoke his mind without courtesy. Even those elite students who had never been to the wilderness beyond the domain knew that a Triangr Thunder Krait possessedte-stage Qi-Controlling strength, while a Three Souls Deste Snake was only at the mid-stage of Qi-Controlling; the two simply could not bepared. Killing a Triangr Thunder Krait was far more difficult than killing a Three Souls Deste Snake! Xiang Beifei had already exceeded the task in front of everyone; yet Yuchi Shen was still so shameless to nitpick! Was he that desperate to make things difficult for this N-level neer? "It doesn''t matter what he killed; all I know is the requirements of my assessment tasks, which stated he had to kill a Three Souls Deste Snake!" Yuchi Shen said aggressively: "On a mission in the wilderness beyond the domain, the first rule is to understand exactly what the task is! I told him to kill a Three Souls Deste Snake, and he has to kill a Three Souls Deste Snake to pass the assessment! Killing anything else doesn''t count aspleting the task!" Chapter 134: Chapter 128: Help Me Look for It Yuchi Shen swept his gaze over the elite students who wanted to speak out for Xiang Beifei and coldly shouted, "You are all martial arts students, and in the future, you''ll be carrying out tasks. Remember this! If in the future you are tasked with rescuing a specific person in the outer destends, and you dare to just pick any random child off the big road and try to pass that off aspleting the task,e and see what''s going to happen!" Many people felt that Yuchi Shen was being extremely unreasonable, as the two situations weren''tparable at all. The entire assessment had been unfair to Xiang Beifei from the start¡ªhe was thrown into the outer destends without any tools to deal with deste beasts, wasn''t told how to return, and nearly got Guo Han and Sun Rui killed. Yuchi Shen wouldn''t even acknowledge his mistake, and now, he was actually giving Xiang Beifei a hard time! They had seen shameless people before, but never someone this utterly shameless! But when they wanted to refute Yuchi Shen, they found they didn''t have any excuses to do so. Because the assessment was managed by Yuchi Shen. It was a real task, and whether it waspleted was for Yuchi Shen to decide. In some sense, Xiang Beifei indeed hadn''t killed the weaker Three Souls Deste Snake, so he hadn''tpleted the task set by Yuchi Shen. Yuchi Shen smirked at Xiang Beifei, knowing that Xiang Beifei would definitely be admitted, but he still felt very satisfied because he held a ''moral ground.'' He could still tell everyone that Xiang Beifei had failed in his task; Xiang Beifei''s admission was due to someone else''s favor. "Today, I''m going to teach you a lesson about life! If you''re given a task, do it properly, and don''t mess with any unnecessary things! I''m here to see how youplete the task, not to watch you show off! What does it matter if your talent is exceptional? Withoutpleting the task I assigned, you''re not fit to attend Liangzhou University in my eyes!" Yuchi Shen''s voice was filled with mockery. Many people looked at Yuchi Shen angrily. If Yuchi Shen''s reputation hadn''t been so fearsome, many would probably have cursed him out loud. "Alright,e here, and I''ll teach you how toplete a task." Elder Luo had already rolled up his sleeves, ready to strike. Xiang Beifei seemed thoughtful as he looked at Yuchi Shen, then nodded, "You''re right." Everyone was startled; they hadn''t expected Xiang Beifei to submit to Yuchi Shen at this moment. The feats he aplished were far more impressive than the task Yuchi Shen had assigned! Xiang Beifei continued, "This was my first time in the outer destends. I didn''t study a bestiary of deste beasts in high school, so indeed, I don''t know what a Three Souls Deste Snake looks like." Instead of mocking him, everyone felt it was only natural. Because it was true. Xiang Beifei was just a high school student and hadn''t taken a single college-level ss. It was understandable that he didn''t know about deste beasts; when every elite student present entered Liangzhou University, they also knew almost nothing about deste beasts. Yuchi Shen sneered, "Since you didn''t pass my assessment¡ª" But Xiang Beifei interrupted him, saying, "Indeed, I don''t know what the Three Souls Deste Snake looks like, so I killed a whole bunch of snakes that seemed to have something to do with the word ''three, '' better safe than sorry¡ª" He snapped his fingers, and Xiaohei flicked its tail at a little bubble, which immediately floated up, and then¡ª Pop! The bubble burst open. A Triangr Thunder Krait snake fell out of the bubble and suddenly grew in size! This was the Triangr Thunder Krait he had just killed! A few whispers of admiration drifted through the crowd. Pop! Another Triangr Thunder Krait fell out. "Two Triangr Thunder Kraits? He killed two Triangr Thunder Kraits?" Thispletely unsettled everyone! They were shocked enough that he had killed one Triangr Thunder Krait, but now they learned that Xiang Beifei had somehow killed another! "Triangr Thunder Kraits usually appear in pairs, so he killed them all?" This neer had actually killed two of the most ferocious Triangr Thunder Kraits! Pop! Another skeleton of a snake fell out from the bubble! This snake''s skeleton was enormous, roughly the same size as the Triangr Thunder Krait. "That''s a Fire Snake from theter stage of Qi-Controlling! Oh my goodness, the archenemy of the Triangr Thunder Krait, the Fire Snake! Did he kill it too?" Everyone was stunned once again! The Fire Snake and the Triangr Thunder Krait were the two most powerful snake-type deste beasts in that region, and they were both butchered by Xiang Beifei! What kind of monster was he? Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Several more bubbles burst open, and a multitude of snakes fell out. The mid-stage Qi-Controlling Three Souls Deste Snake, the mid-stage Qi-Controlling Strange-footed Earth Snake, theter stage Qi-Controlling Moruo Multi-tail Snake, theter stage Qi-Controlling Three-eyed Python Kirin, the mid-stage Qi-Controlling wild flower-marked pit viper... The training ground suddenly was covered in the corpses of snake-type deste beasts, and counting them up, there were nearly thirty! Everyone stared dumbfounded at the snake corpses scattered on the ground, too shocked by Xiang Beifei''s disy to speak for a long while! This guy must be the bane of snake monsters, right? Wasn''t the snake region supposedly ''terrors even to ghosts''? How did Xiang Beifei manage to kill so many all by himself? He''s the one who should be known as ''Snake Worries'' in that region! Even Elder Luo and Ye Changfeng were shocked! Elder Luo''s mouth was wide open, genuinely startled. Even with their high cultivation levels, they hadn''t expected all of this to happen! This kid, not knowing what the Three Souls Deste Snake was, simply went and killed a bunch of snake-type deste beasts toplete the task? They had never heard of anyonepleting a task like this! Yuchi Shen''s grim face had also frozen. Chapter 135: Chapter 128: Help Me Look For_2 He had only intended to deliberately make things difficult for Xiang Beifei, but Xiang Beifei''s actions hadpletely exceeded his expectations! Xiang Beifei counted the snakes on the ground with earnest, and then asked sincerely, "Can someone help me confirm what the Three Souls Deste Snake looks like? I killed those with ''three'' characteristics, but I don''t know if I killed the Three Souls Deste Snake. If not, I''ll go look for it again." His tone was sincere, and he was eagerly seeking knowledge! Everyone was stunned once again! Luo Laotou was the first to regain hisposure. He seemed even more excited than Xiang Beifei, scanning through the snakes before picking out arge one with three heads, all of which had been smashed. Heughed uproariously, "Hahaha! This is the Three Souls Deste Snake, the one with three heads, hahaha! Yuchi, you little bastard, here''s your Three Souls Deste Snake, delivered to you!" Luo Laotou eagerly hurled the Three Souls Deste Snake toward Yuchi Shen. Yuchi Shen caught the Three Souls Deste Snake subconsciously, staring at it. As its name suggests, the Three Souls Deste Snake had three heads. Chopping off one wouldn''t do much harm as the remaining two could still fight fiercely. Only beheading all three could kill it for good, hence its name "Three Souls Deste Snake." But the one in front of them had each of its heads smashed by a single punch from Xiang Beifei. It hadn''t suffered much before death and had died peacefully. ¡ª¡ª ¡ª¡ª He actuallypleted the task? He actuallypleted the task! Yuchi Shen''s face turned ashen, as if he could wring water from it! He had made things as difficult as possible for the guy, not giving him any preparation and sending him to face a mid-stage Qi-Controlling Three Souls Deste Snake. Even though Xiang Beifei had killed the more powerful Triangr Thunder Krait, he had hoped to use the excuse of not killing the Three Souls Deste Snake to fail Xiang Beifei! But no matter how hard he racked his brains, he had not expected that Xiang Beifei had actually killed a Three Souls Deste Snake unintentionally. He simply didn''t know the academic name of the snake! He had tried every trick in the book, and yet his victim hadpleted the task almost perfectly, making his face crack audibly with the p! "Oh, this one! I thought it looked about right when I encountered it. I had to kill it three times because it was kind of weak," Xiang Beifei muttered. "..." Everyone was so shocked by his words that they were rendered speechless! He actually thought the Three Souls Deste Snake was too weak? Well, the Three Souls Deste Snake only had the strength of a mid-stage Qi-Controlling creature, but Xiang Beifei had killed a Triangr Thunder Krait in one blow! And not just one, but two! No matter how many tricks you y, I handle them with ease. What does it mean to be a genius? This is what it means to be a genius! "I should have passed the assessment, right?" Xiang Beifei asked Yuchi Shen earnestly. Yuchi Shen stared fiercely at Xiang Beifei, as if he couldn''t wait to grab him and take a few bites. How he hated this! How could he respond? By saying "yes," wouldn''t he just be diminishing the assertive tone he had maintained just before? But if he didn''t respond, what would his previous statement be? A joke? "Since you''re not speaking, I''ll take that as you conceding that I''ve passed," Xiang Beifei dered. Xiang Beifei had Xiaohei rewrap all the remaining snakes in tiny bubbles. Nobody could see Xiaohei; all they saw was all the snakes being wrapped in bubbles, shrinking, and then vanishing. But nobody thought too much about it, because everyone had systems, and storage items within systems weremon. They just assumed that it was Xiang Beifei''s system that had taken the snakes away. "Let''s go, let''s go! Wahahaha, I''m so happy today! To think I found such a treasure, hahaha!" Luo Laotou hummed a tune, seemingly more excited than Xiang Beifei, "Enrolled, enrolled, what''s there to ask? I''ll take you to handle the admission procedures and get you a retroactive admission notice!" He then turned his head and red at Yuchi Shen, "Your unapproved setting of the Wilderness Realm assessment almost killed three students, and you''re suspected of abusing authority for personal vendettas. Write me a self-criticism of one hundred thousand words first. As for other punishments, we will discuss themter. Thankfully no one was harmed. You should be thanking him." Today, Yuchi Shen''s actions had crossed the line. If Guo Han, Sun Rui, or Xiang Beifei had died, Yuchi Shen would certainly have been held ountable and even dismissed by the university! It was noughing matter, as every student at the elite school was the future of the Jiuzhou Alliance, and their lives were not to be trifled with. "No need to thank me; here, you can have this back," Xiang Beifei said as he tossed the iron hoop to Yuchi Shen. The iron hoop returned to being a sphere as soon as it left his hand, hovering in mid-air. After a moment''s thought, he added to Yuchi Shen, "Oh, right, the next time you want to put me through another dangerous assessment, it would be best to send a couple of people who are a bit more capable to protect me. Otherwise, I have to take care of the guards you send, which is also quite troublesome." Audacious! Incredibly audacious! All the students held their breath, staring at Xiang Beifei in amazement. It was clear what Xiang Beifei was implying ¨C he was telling Yuchi Shen in no uncertain terms: the people you''ve trained are too weak! You send them to protect others, yet they end up needing protection themselves! What exactly do you do with your students in training? It was a direct challenge to Yuchi Shen''s notorious training methods! All the elite students greatly admired Xiang Beifei''s courage! He was like a young calf not afraid of tigers, daring to speak to Yuchi, the Old Devil, in such a way! Knowing that Xiang Beifei was now a part of Liangzhou University, he would inevitably have to attend training sses by Elder Yuchi. The Old Devil had a myriad of terrifying methods to train students, many of whom were left with scars. And now with what Xiang Beifei had said, he would likely have a worse time than others in the future! Chapter 136: Chapter 128: Help Me Find_3 But Xiang Beifei seemed not to care at all. Although his strength had already be freakish, everyone still sweated for him, who knew whether Yuchi Shen would intensify his schemes against him in the future? However, thinking of the recent entrance assessment, others realized that Xiang Beifei, before even enrolling, was already much more formidable than anyone present, perhaps Yuchi Shen''s abnormal training would only make him stronger! Yuchi Shen''s methods might be abnormal, but one had to admit, the graduates from Liangzhou University were exceedinglypetent in every aspect. If one could withstand even the devilish training of Yuchi Shen, then encountering students from other schools wouldn''t put them at a disadvantage. True powerhouses aren''t afraid of any abnormal training! The feud between the two was definitely set in stone. "Wow hahaha, perfect! Just perfect! I love that attitude, let''s go! Off to eat sunflower seeds!" Luo Laotou walked ahead with his hands behind his back, striding valiantly and triumphantly, clearly delighted. Yuchi Shen''s face was grave, the entrance assessment had encountered some unexpected events, and he knew he''d be facing severe punishment, but he was still extremely resentful. Xiang Beifei had dared to confront him so boldly, it just infuriated him. And yet, he had noeback to Xiang''s defiance! Ye Changfeng nced at Yuchi Shen and smiled. It was the first time he''d seen Yuchi Shen so deted! Yuchi Shen was an SR-level expert, powerful and formidable, a devil in the students'' eyes, known for cultivating elites with iron-fisted methods and his gloomy personality, it was rare to find him at a loss. The most frequent instances Yuchi Shen had been put to shame were during his own student days. Back then, there was a genius even more formidable than him, one he detested bitterly. This genius was named Xiang Tianxing. It was unexpected that Yuchi Shen, now a teacher, had again been choked into silence today. And the person who choked him was also a genius. This genius was named Xiang Beifei. Like father, like son indeed! Ye Changfeng was quite happy to see Yuchi Shen looking so abashed. Although his usual expression was sour, the two circumstances were absolutely not the same. Stay connected through mvl Just now, Ye Changfeng was worried sick about the boy Xiang Beifei, but now, he found the situation incredibly satisfying, and even felt a bit likeughing. "Senior, thank you, your sunflower seeds are very effective," Xiang Beifei said earnestly. He was still full of energy, those sunflower seeds had greatly replenished his strength, feeling like he could go ughter a deste beast all over again. "Just a small gesture," Elder Luoughed, waved his hand, and then handed Xiang Beifei a handful of ck sunflower seeds, adding, "You actually noticed, impressive." "I just feel like I have endless energy, and everything I ate today was ordinary food, except for the sunflower seeds you gave me," Xiang Beifei exined. "Not many people get the chance to eat sunflower seeds with Elder Luo, and not everyone can handle his seeds," Ye Changfeng remarked on the side. "Oh, is that so?" Xiang Beifei pondered, he really didn''t know there was something special about the sunflower seeds, for in Elder Luo''s "Leisure System", they were just in sunflower seeds, albeit a bit pricey at 200 leisure value per pack, but beyond that, there were no other descriptions. "Speaking of which, as satisfying as it was to confront Yuchi Shen today, your future days won''t be easy. From a long-term perspective, I think you should still be polite to him," Ye Changfeng advised. Xiang Beifei earnestly asked, "If I''m polite to him, then he''ll treat me better in the future?" Ye Changfeng paused, "Well, that won''t happen¡ª" "Then why should I be polite to him?" Xiang Beifei countered. Yuchi Shen was definitely going to make life difficult for him, whether he was polite or not, the other party would torment him to the death, so might as well just go head-to-head! The SR System''s rewards glinted enticingly! Let''s see who ends up worse off in the end! (Both chapters are nearly nine thousand words, don''t say they''re short again, please subscribe!) Chapter 137: Chapter 129: Probability Ye Changfeng was also momentarily left speechless by Xiang Beifei''s retort. "You really know how to talk back, don''t you!" Ye Changfeng, caught betweenughter and tears, had been retorted several times himself, and now sighed somewhat helplessly, "It seems you still don''t trust me, do you?" Xiang Beifei turned his head, sizing up Ye Changfeng, and after a moment, said, "Not necessarily." "Oh?" Ye Changfeng was somewhat surprised. Xiang Beifei shrugged his shoulders and said, "At least Mr. Ye went to that ce to find me." Normally, he would interact politely with a senior who treated him well, treating himself as a junior with a modest attitude. But if someone looked for trouble, he was less amodating. Ye Changfeng paused, thenughed and said, "You and he are very alike." Xiang Beifei just spread his hands. Ye Changfeng pondered for a moment and then asked, "I find it hard to believe, are you really an N-level Awakener?" Xiang Beifei stroked his chin, but Elder Luo, on the side, red at Ye Changfeng and said irritably, "Enough already, what are you probing for! Trying to steal him from me?" Ye Changfeng smiled and shook his head, "I wouldn''t dare." "Then get moving and bring him his enrollment letter! What are you following us for! Also, handle the content of today''s entrance assessment so it doesn''t get leaked!" Elder Luo demanded. Ye Changfeng, not daring to provoke the old man, could only respond, "Alright, I know what to do." He nced once more at Xiang Beifei before turning to leave. "Don''t tell him, just let him be in suspense!" Elder Luo snickered as he cracked sunflower seeds. Find your next read on mvl Xiang Beifei watched Elder Luo with a mix of amusement and exasperation. He thought Elder Luo would turn to ask him about the matter himself, but he seemed to have no intention of doing so. Elder Luo took Xiang Beifei to an artificialke inside Liangzhou University, sat in a pavilion by theke, and then, looking at the sparkling surface, leisurely counted several ck ducks in theke. [You counted nine ck ducks, leisure value +9] This SR Leisure System is really bizarre, even counting ducks makes you stronger! Xiang Beifei couldn''t help muttering. "I had Chang Feng save today''s assessment video in your personal file. It won''t be leaked, trying to keep you as low-key as possible. But after today, surely many will suspect whether you truly are an N-level, as your disyed abilities don''t seem typical of N-levels. Understand this," Elder Luo said. The entrance assessment allowed students to observe live to learn, but recording videos wasn''t allowed as this was confidential to the school. Each student''s ability file had to be protected from being leaked, otherwise, when facing students from other elite schools, they would be at a disadvantage. There''spetition between elite schools as well. They also weren''t worried about students ndestinely filming. The system''s world had various powerful methods to plug leaks, with UR-level anti-leak capabilities effectively suppressing any attempts by S-level and R-level students present. Thus, only those students who were present would see Xiang Beifei''s performance today; others who weren''t there wouldn''t, their only source being second-hand information from those who were present. But student gossip was trivial, after all. "Aren''t you curious?" "Curious, but not necessarily eager to know. Actually, you shouldn''t worry too much about people knowing your talent level. Thest thing Liangzhou Universitycks is geniuses, especially this year!" Elder Luo thought for a moment, then mysteriously said, "This year, Liangzhou University recruited five thousand new students from high schools across Jiuzhou, among them, fourteen are schrship students at SR level. Once school starts, the attention they attract will certainly be greater than yours." Fourteen SR freshmen! There were roughly over five million high school seniors across the Jiuzhou Union taking the entrance exams, with SR-level students being exceptionally rare and directly admitted without exams; Xiang Beifei''s own school, Luhe High School, didn''t have a single one. Liangzhou University recruited fourteen SR-level freshmen from across Jiuzhou, these teachers personally visiting the homes of these SR-level freshmen,peting with eight other elite universities for these candidates. Nine elite universities each managed to recruit a simr number of SR-level students this year, with roughly a hundred or so SR-level Awakeners discovered among over five million high school seniors across the Jiuzhou Union. An average of fifty thousand Awakeners produced one SR-level talent! As an elite school, Liangzhou University had the most R-level Awakeners, S-level Awakeners were verymon, and nearly five out of every ten students encountered were of S-level. But SR-level, they were truly the shining new stars! These were the real elite of the elites! From their admission to their graduation, they were the most noticed individuals in Liangzhou University, with many either envious or admiring as they sought to learn more about them, their presence surely overshadowing that of an N-level candidate like Xiang Beifei. This indeed made things easier, as Xiang Beifei had already proven his eligibility with his abilities, no need for others to block his way anymore. Xiang Beifei then asked, "So how many SSR-level individuals awakened in the Jiuzhou Union this year?" Elder Luo pondered for a moment and said, "ording to the Education Bureau of the Jiuzhou Union, there were a total of eleven SSR-level Awakeners across the entire Jiuzhou Union this year!" Eleven SSR-level Awakeners! That was a one in fifty thousand awakening probability. SSR was an even more terrifying level! Their systems were exceptionally favored, making every task they undertook incredibly simple. Possibly even simpler than the [SR Leisure System], but their potential was even greater! Chapter 138: Chapter 129: Probability_2 ``` "And what about UR?" Xiang Beifei inquired further. UR is already the ultimate level of the System Talents! It''s said that those who awaken at this level, upon awakening, are already in theter stages of Qi-Controlling!" "Two, in other states," Luo Laotou said. In the entire Jiuzhou Alliance, of the over five million Awakeners this year, only two reached the UR level! One in two and a half million, the odds are so low as to be infuriating! As for the potential of a UR, there''s no need to introduce it; in the future, they are the true elites among humans, saying that they are the true pinnacle and perfection of human genes is not an exaggeration. "So how many SSR and UR level students did Liangzhou University manage to snatch?" Xiang Beifei asked. Such Awakeners are certainly coveted by the nine elite universities, and the president of Liangzhou University might personally step in to negotiate, offering a variety of tempting schrships and other favorable educational policies to get them to attend their school. Having an outstanding alumnus can bring great benefits to a school, something Xiang Beifei is all too clear about, just look at Luhe High School''s principal, Li Nanxing. "Forget about UR, one is in Qingzhou, the other in Yanzhou; with the advantage of proximity, they were snatched up by Qingzhou University and Yanzhou University as soon as they awakened. Those two schools are sly, too quick! We can onlypete for those eleven SSRs; let''s see how many we can get. The negotiations are still ongoing, and we should hear some news in a few days," Luo Laotou exined. After he finished speaking, he turned his head, his deep blue eyes shimmering with a strange light as he sized up Xiang Beifei. "Why are you looking at me?" Xiang Beifei absentmindedly cracked sunflower seeds and asked. With a chuckle, Luo Laotou said, "The other eight universities don''t recruit N level, but they didn''t expect you to be so powerful. Missing out on you, they''ve lost big! We''ve hit the jackpot!" He appeared quite proud, like a keen horse scout having found a thoroughbred. Enjoy exclusive chapters from mvl "I''m not an SSR Awakener, so what''s there for them to lose?" Xiang Beifei said indifferently. He wasn''t too concerned about others'' System levels. What mattered to him were the rewards from others'' Systems. SR, SSR, or even UR, they were all the same in his eyes; they could all bring him rewards, and he wasn''t picky. He''d ept allers, regardless of their capabilities, as long as they dared to provoke him. "I think your potential might be on par with SR, or even more impressive. Managing to get someone like you is very valuable in my opinion! After all, ''Like father, like son,'' haha, your father, Xiang Tianxing, even though he was only SR, he cut down SSR Awakeners when he got serious!" Luo Laotou said excitedly. "It seems you know my father quite well?" Xiang Beifei asked. "He was my student! How could I not know his capabilities?" Luo Laotou said with a pleased air. "Huh?" Xiang Beifei looked at Luo Laotou, somewhat surprised, "You were also my father''s teacher?" "Haha! You get it now! That''s why, before the other teachers at the school could make a move, I snatched you first, to avoid their meddling, hahaha!" Luo Laotouughed triumphantly. Confused, Xiang Beifei asked, "Make a move on me? What does that mean?" "Taking one''s own students under one''s wing! Although each teacher will lecture to all students, and educational opportunities are fair, a mentor will also take some exceptional students under their wing, teach them exclusively, to undertake some research, or help themplete system tasks, running errands for us mentors and such," exined Luo Laotou cheerfully. "So what system tasks do you need me to help you with?" Xiang Beifei scrutinized Luo Laotou''s Leisure System, thinking that the tasks rted to him could only be a few. [You havepleted the task of probing into Xiang Beifei''s gossip, leisure value +50] [You havepleted today''s chat task, leisure value +50] [You havepleted today''s stroll task, leisure value +50] [You have made a fruitless trip to the Cultivated Domain, but you don''t mind, leisure value +50] [You are in a very good mood today, leisure value +100] [You have snatched a precious student, leisure value +200] ``` This system task is soid-back, even a wasted trip to the wilderness beyond the domain can make you stronger, feeling like it makes no difference whether you have it or not. Today''s good mood is probably because of Xiang Beifei''s performance, but besides that, the daily tasks that Elder Luo sets are such that anyone couldplete them for him. "Hahaha, I''vepleted a lot of tasks thanks to you today, do you want to know what they are?" Before Xiang Beifei could even speak, Elder Luo proudly said, "I won''t tell you, just to torture you!" Xiang Beifei: "..." Fine then. I''ll just pretend I didn''t see anything. Above, white clouds drifted leisurely, and on theke surface, the light shimmered. It''s still summer vacation, so there aren''t many people passing through the campus. Elder Luo took out a piece of bread from who knows where, leaning on the pavilion''s railing, he was scattering bread crumbs into the water. Manyrge carp were gathered below, scrambling for them. [You have fed the fish today, leisure value +10] Xiang Beifei pondered for a moment and asked, "Do you know about my father''s situation, elder?" "Don''t call me elder, it sounds strange, you can call me Elder Luo, or Professor Luo." After saying this, Elder Luo pondered for a moment before speaking, "Xiang Tianxing didn''t stay at the university after he graduated. He went to work for the Pioneering Department of the Jiuzhou Alliance, but what specific tasks he was carrying out, I''m not very clear. The Pioneers are a profession of the Jiuzhou Alliance. They say your father had an ident, but I don''t think so." "Oh?" Xiang Beifei looked at Elder Luo with surprise, "Why?" "Intuition." Elder Luo''s eyes flickered with some strange luminescence, and suddenly, the aura around him turned deep and powerful, much like the unfathomable sea, stirring an indescribable trepidation in people. Xiang Beifei saw that the data points on his system interface had suddenly begun to jump again. The [Intuition] column went from 123 all the way up to 12345, and then the system interface in Xiang Beifei''s eyes changed to: [Host: Luo Yunxian] [SR, Leisure System] [Realm¡ª¡ª] About ten secondster, Elder Luo''s aura calmed down again, and the realm column on the system interface changed to [Realm: Mid Meridian Opening]. He stared at Xiang Beifei, then the value for [Intuition] dropped to 732. That was Xiang Beifei''s college entrance exam score. "So, is Elder Luo''s intuition usually urate?" Xiang Beifei asked. Intuition is an immediate perception thates without logical analysis and reasoning, which means it can''t always be one hundred percent right. In other words, even if Elder Luo feels that Xiang Tianxing is still alive, he doesn''t have concrete evidence. "Well, it depends on the situation." Elder Luo threw the rest of the bread crumbs into theke, thenughed and said, "The first time I saw you, I felt that you couldn''t be a normal N-level student, but you turned out to be more surprising than I expected. My first intuition about you wasn''t simple, and indeed, facts have proven that you really are extraordinary, aren''t You?" Xiang Beifei smiled, his mind still pondering over his father''s matter. Seeing that Xiang Beifei didn''t respond, Elder Luo continued, "I tried to find him once, but after a lot of effort, I couldn''t seed. He went to a very dangerous area outside the domain to carry out a certain task. I won''t tell You where it is, lest you rush over there on a whim. That ce,pared to where you went today, is a different concept altogether." However, Xiang Beifei had already figured it out from Kong Daming''s system logs. "Don''t worry, Elder Luo, I have a n in mind, and I won''t act recklessly," Xiang Beifei said. He would definitely not go wandering into that kind of ce before he had the strength. "That''s good, living your life with ease is the way to go; don''t overthink things. What''s meant to happen will happen naturally." Elder Luo stretchedzily and looked at Xiang Beifei, then said, "Your martial arts talent is tremendous, with strength and reflexes, as well as control over spiritual power, that are one in ten thousand. But yourbat style is too straightforward; relying on brute force is simple and brutal, but sometimes it puts you at a disadvantage. Today, You were just taking an assessment in the Cultivated Domain, a rtively low-risk area. The capabilities of the deste beasts here are weak¡ªof course, for those at the Qi-Controlling stage, this ce is already quite dangerous. But the further out You go, the stronger the deste beasts are, and the abilities they possess aren''t just simple and rough strength and defense but also various bizarre powers." "Like what?" Xiang Beifei hadn''t learned much about deste beasts. "For instance, there''s a deste beast called the Mirror Ape. If you cut off its right hand, your left hand will break. If you blind its left eye, your right eye will go blind. It''s like fighting with yourself in the mirror. However, You injure it, the corresponding part of your body will get injured. If You smash its head with a punch, your own head will explode ordingly." Elder Luo said, his tone heavy with implication. Chapter 139: Chapter 130: Spiritual Power Xiang Beifei was astonished and widened his eyes. Such a bizarre deste beast? "There is also a deste beast called Meng Huai. It is formless and traceless; you can''t see it. When you''re awake, it won''t do anything to you, but as soon as you close your eyes for more than a minute in the outside domain''s deste wilderness, it will drag you into sleep. In the dream, no matter how violent or powerful your body''s means of attack are, they are useless in the dream. Your fists won''t work on it, and once it kills you in the dream, you won''t ever wake up!" Luo Laotou added. Many times when venturing deep into the outside domain''s deste wilderness, tasks require several days, and you will inevitably need to rest. Then the probability of encountering Meng Huai is very high! "There''s a deste beast called Hun Ye. It is visible but only visible. You can''t touch it. It''s like a ghost, immune to any physical or energy attack! Yet, it can still hurt you!" "There is another deste beast called Rui. It moves with sound waves and screams chaotically inbat. As long as you are within the area covered by its sound, it can appear at any position at will. By the time you hear its sound, it may already have suddenly appeared at your ear, cutting off your neck, leaving youpletely unguarded." "There''s also a deste beast..." Luo Laotou then listed a whole bunch of deste beasts that couldn''t be killed by brute force alone, which aroused more and more curiosity in Xiang Beifei. He had only arrived in this world not long ago. In the two months since awakening, he had been solely focused on his cultivation. Other than the cultural sses in high school, he hadn''t learned about deste beasts and had no idea that they had so many strange and bizarre abilities. "Powerful deste beasts rely not just on brute force but also intelligence. Their abilities are not inferior to those of human System Awakeners. A big reason we''ve been unable to expand our territory is that it''s not so easy to eradicate the deste beasts in many of the outer border regions. These creatures don''t go down without a fight," Luo Laotou exined. Xiang Beifei nodded thoughtfully. He had learned this basic knowledge: Pioneers are a group of System Awakeners with various miraculous abilities, many of them powerful SR and SSR. If the deste beasts in the outside domain wilderness were indeed that easy to vanquish, humans wouldn''t be limited to the territories they currently possess. "Then what other abilities should I improve?" Xiang Beifei asked sincerely. "Spiritual power!" Luo Laotou replied. Xiang Beifei stroked his chin in contemtion. "Meng Huai, Hun Ye, and Rui can only be dealt with by spiritual power. Thus, it is best for a pioneer team to include someone with strong spiritual power attacks," Luo Laotou continued. "I see," Xiang Beifei nodded slightly. Luo Laotou sized up Xiang Beifei and said with confusion, "Of course, I don''t know what your system is, but I''ve noticed your spiritual defense is rather strong. I just tried various means of spiritual detection to probe you, but it seems none were sessful. Do you possess various spiritual power abilities?" "No, I only have spiritual defense." Xiang Beifei shook his head honestly. There was no point in hiding this since so many people had tried to probe him, only to be blocked. Almost everyone could guess he possessed this ability. Any experienced person would deduce it. Stay connected through mvl He had Xiaohei, and Xiaohei''s abilities were very effective against the systems of human Awakeners, designed specifically for shy system defenses, but he didn''t know if they would work against deste beasts like Meng Huai and Hun Ye that attacked with spiritual power. "Then you must learn this!" Luo Laotou asserted. "Okay, I''ll learn!" Xiang Beifei nodded earnestly. Without the help of a system, he couldn''t have the various special abilities granted by systems at any time, such as healing, defense, escape skills, etc. Everything he achieved relied on his own cultivation. He was willing to learn anything that could make him stronger andplement his shorings. Luo Laotou smiled and said, "Okay, I''m not too busytely, and you''re on summer break. Come see me in a couple of days. I''ll teach you some basic spiritual power attacks." He got up, stretchedzily and said, "I need to deal with some important matters now, so I won''t apany you any longer. Don''t worry, in a couple of days, you''ll receive your admission notice." Xiang Beifei noticed that Luo Laotou chose the [Nap Task]. So, the important matters turned out to be this! It was now noon, and after a whole morning of assessments, Xiang Beifei had cracked some melon seeds and wasn''t hungry yet. But he didn''t want to disturb the old man''s sleep and said, "Then I''ll head back first, I''lle over in a couple of days." Luo Laotou pulled out his phone to add contact details for him, then said, "Oh right, almost forgot. I promised to give Yuchi Shen a piece of my mind. Go back home, and I''ll take care of this for you. I''ll train him a bit; if I don''t peel him ayer, he won''t learn. Does he really think I don''t exist?" He didn''t immediately proceed with the [Nap Task] but chose the [Scolding Task] and [Practice Task] instead, then left contentedly, ready to deal with Yuchi Shen on Xiang Beifei''s behalf. Xiang Beifei couldn''t help but smile. An SR Leisure System must be excellent, as it seemed everything it did led to bing stronger. ¡ª "Wow! I didn''t know you were that strong!" Lu Zhiwei thought Xiang Beifei had left with Ye Changfeng to handle school admission procedures, so she didn''t follow him and had been waiting for him. "I thought you had gone back to ss," Xiang Beifei remarked. "sses are over! I thought those ssmates might bully you, so I decided to skip ss to protect you. Who would have thought that you were actually so strong!" Lu Zhiwei huffed, "You made my actions look foolish!" Chapter 140: Chapter 130: Spiritual Power_2 Xiang Beifei smiled and said, "Still, I have to thank you." That Lu Zhiwei stood up for him in the face of an assault by so many S-tier elite students was a kindness he would remember. "How did you suddenly be so powerful?" Lu Zhiwei asked, puzzled. She clearly remembered that two months ago, when Xiang Beifei encountered a strange dog enhanced with a system ability, he even had to call the police for help. "Uncle Lu taught me well," Xiang Beifei said. "Really?" Lu Zhiwei looked at Xiang Beifei with suspicion, "I also learned from my dad, so why didn''t he make me as powerful as you?" "You didn''t study seriously," Xiang Beifei said. Lu Zhiwei rolled her eyes and said, "You must be more than just an N-level, damn it, my dad already knew about this! He even warned me not to inquire about your affairs; I don''t know how much more you''re still hiding." Find your next read at mvl Today, in front of these elite students, Xiang Beifei didn''t show too much, just punching the S-tier Human Bulldozer Xiong Meng flying and then killing a few w-tailed Monkeys at the intermediate stage of Qi-Controlling, as well as killing a Triangr Thunder Krait in front of everyone with a single blow. As for how the other snakes were killed, no one saw, but it was enough to leave a huge space for imagination for these elite students. Lu Zhiwei''s eyes rolled gleefully and said, "Forget it, it''s alright if I don''t know. Anyway, you''re already a member of Liangzhou University, just don''t forget what you promised me!" "Fine, when I have time, I''ll teach you reasoning skills," Xiang Beifei said. "Let''s go, it''s just about noon. I''ll take you to the university cafeteria for a meal! Get familiar with the Liangzhou University campus in advance, and then I''ll take you around Liangzhou University in the afternoon." Lu Zhiwei enthusiastically pulled Xiang Beifei towards the cafeteria of Liangzhou University. ¡ª¡ª Liangzhou University has several cafeterias, but because it''s summer vacation, only one is open. Therefore, the elite students who just watched the entrance assessment could only dine in this cafeteria, so when Xiang Beifei arrived at the cafeteria, he was once again surrounded by a crowd of onlookers! However, this time the looks these elite students gave Xiang Beifei were no longer ones of contempt and disdain from the beginning; instead, they were full of various amazement and awe. At the Martial Arts College of Liangzhou University, everyone is an elite. The only thing that can make an elite respect you is being more powerful than them. Xiang Beifei''s performance was enough to conquer these elite students! It would be impossible for anyone toe out unscathed under the harsh difficulties of Elder Luo, the Old Devil. Some of the people here might not even survive if they were thrown into the outer wilderness, even in a low-risk area. When someone achieves what everyone else finds impossible, they gain everyone''s respect. "It''s my treat, eat whatever you like," Lu Zhiwei said generously as she ordered a big pile of dishes, many of which Xiang Beifei had never seen before. Most of them were meat dishes, as martial artists'' need for meat was greater than that of an average person. "Thanks." Xiang Beifei, holding his te, found a spot to sit with Lu Zhiwei. Although he had the strength from cracking sunflower seeds, these dishes were also very appetizing and increased his appetite. Yu Xiaoyao, who was sitting not far away, saw the two of them and, wiggling her waist, came over to Xiang Beifei with her te in hand. "Looking for another fight?" Lu Zhiwei red at Yu Xiaoyao. She had just been dragged by Yu Xiaoyao into the Seven-Degree Space and had a fight. Lu Zhiwei was stronger than Yu Xiaoyao, broke the space, and came out, not afraid of Yu Xiaoyao. "I wouldn''t dare. I came to apologize," Yu Xiaoyao said. "That''s wise," Lu Zhiwei snorted. Yu Xiaoyao looked at Xiang Beifei and said, "I''m sorry about earlier; we didn''t know you would be so strong. You deserve our respect." "Hmm." Xiang Beifei nonchntly continued to eat his meal. Elder Luo had already told him some simple rules of the elite college: strength spoke the loudest. With one punch, he had convinced those two hundred elite students present. "My name is Yu Xiaoyao, an S-level student. I apologize for the offense earlier, and if you need anything in the future, feel free toe to me. By the way, when you enter university, many people will join student clubs. I''m a member of the Red Night Club. Would you consider our club?" Yu Xiaoyao inquired. "Hey, Yu Xiaoyao, your Red Night Club is all girls, and he''s a guy. What''s all this excitement about?" Tao Jin also came over at this time. Yu Xiaoyao replied with allure, "Our club can make exceptions for the strong!" "Heh." Although Tao Jin and Yu Xiaoyao had just been making things difficult for Xiang Beifei, they were not from the same club; in fact, they werepeting rivals. He ignored Yu Xiaoyao and said to Xiang Beifei with all seriousness, "Sorry, my name is Tao Jin, from the ck Hawk Club. My behavior just now was very rude, and I hope you won''t take it to heart. You''re very strong! Really strong!" "Not bad," Xiang Beifei said. Lu Zhiwei spoke up, "Can you guys not? School hasn''t even started yet! Are you so eager to recruit people now? Can''t you wait until school starts?" "Isn''t it because we''re worried that once school starts, we won''t be able to snatch up such a powerful new student?" Tao Jin said with a smirk. "Scram, he''s with me," Lu Zhiwei said fiercely. Yu Xiaoyao and Tao Jin exchanged nces, looking quite regretful. They knew thatpeting with Lu Zhiwei over this matter seemed hopeless, especially since they were the ones causing trouble earlier while Lu Zhiwei was the one who had helped. "Regardless, please do consider it. Our ck Hawk Club has two SR-ranked members and ranks among the top in all clubs, standing at thirteenth ce, while Yu Xiaoyao''s only ranks twenty-first," Tao Jin said. Tao Jin threw an olive branch to Xiang Beifei, not forgetting to emphasize the SR level of his club. Liangzhou University currently has around thirty thousand students, divided between the Martial Arts College and the Liberal Arts College in fairly equal numbers. Each year, about a dozen SR-level new student Awakeners enrol; in the whole of Liangzhou University, not counting the teachers, there are nearly seventy SR-level Awakeners across all grades and advanced students who stay on campus! Of course, these SR-level students are from both the Liberal Arts College and the Martial Arts College, but the student clubs aremon to all. Having SR-level Awakeners in a club invariably adds to the club''s strength! Even if the SR-level is from the Liberal Arts College, it''s no exception, as their systemic advantages are clear: their cultivation advances faster than ordinary people. Even if Liberal Arts students aren''t good at fighting, their cultivation alone can deter others. "What? You''re not afraid that recruiting an N-level Awakener will disgrace your club, with SR-level elites at the helm?" Lu Zhiwei retorted from the side. Tao Jin, slightly embarrassed, said, "How could that be? His strength is even stronger than that of an S-level." "Hmph!" Lu Zhiwei clearly did not like someone like Tao Jin. "I''ll consider it," Xiang Beifei spoke up. Yu Xiaoyao and Tao Jin both looked pleased and left. "Consider what! You''re still considering," Lu Zhiwei said. "Well, I''ve got to y along," Xiang Beifei thought for a moment and then asked, "Are you also part of a club?" "You don''t need to join my club," Lu Zhiwei said with her head down, eating, "I''m going to quit next semester." "Why?" "Waste of time! My club, Mountains and Rivers, is some! The members in the group do very little real work, and when ites to fighting, the performance is pathetic. They just put on airs, talk big, suck up to others, and speak with such an affected tone. Oh, and Qin Yi is from our club," Lu Zhiweiined. Xiang Beifei had already met Qin Yi, who had the ''[S-level talent gathered]'' during his experience with the enforcement squad at the university, a student from the Liberal Arts College. "Then how many SRs does your club have?" Xiang Beifei asked with a smile. "One, that guy has some abilities, but never mind him," Lu Zhiwei said as she fiercely poked the fish on her te with her chopsticks and continued, "You might consider joining other clubs. Student clubs have a point ranking system, and the clubspete with each other in fights and variouspetitions to gain honor and rise in the rankings. A tally is done at the end of every semester, and our club ranks eighty-first this term. Every time there''s a fight, I''m the only one charging ahead, while the others act like idiots, it''s impossible to sustain alone." After a while, she added, "You''re so impressive, a lot of people already know about you, and those clubs will be fighting over you. You don''t have to worry." "Okay." Xiang Beifei didn''t take the matter too seriously but suddenly wondered if his dad had joined any clubs when he was in school. Chapter 141: Chapter 131: Curriculum After lunch, Lu Zhiwei took Xiang Beifei for a tour around Liangzhou University, but since she had skipped her morning ss, she had to make up a deste beast dissection lesson in the afternoon, so Xiang Beifei went back home alone. Meanwhile, a piece of news had spread silently throughout the Liangzhou University student forum, and the Tree Hole had exploded once again. "Who helped me intimidate that N-grade freshman today?" "Right, have you guys targeted that N-grade freshman yet?" "Target him? The Human Bulldozer was sent flying with his punch!" "Really? I know Xiong Meng! Last time he was in our training ss, he knocked me into a state where I couldn''t even recognize my own family!" "It''s true! And it''s not just him, even Old Devil Yuchi couldn''t get a word in against him! You don''t know how scary the entrance assessment was, Yuchi Shen intentionally made things difficult for him and sent him to the outer realm''s deste wilderness!" "The outer realm''s deste wilderness? ¦²(¤Ã¡ã§¥¡ã;)¤Ã" "Yes! He came back alive! And in front of us, he killed a Triangr Thunder Krait!" "Old Devil Yuchi asked him to kill a Three Souls Deste Snake, but he didn''t know what a Three Souls Deste Snake was, so he just killed a bunch of serpentine deste beasts to muddle through! It''s the first time I''ve ever seen someoneplete a task like that!" "Old Devil Yuchi wanted to trouble him on purpose but didn''t seed, and he even got talked back to! Hahaha! I don''t know why, but this is the first time I''ve felt so satisfied. Old Devil Yuchi always made us miserable, and finally, someone stood up for us!" ... The tone in the Tree Hole regarding the N-grade freshman, Xiang Beifei, had uniformly changed. Liangzhou University had nearly thirty thousand students, but since it was summer break, only a couple hundred were present, and there was no video coverage¡ªeverything relied on oral ounts from these people. However, descriptions in words alone were less impactful than witnessing in person, and many people didn''t understand the true nature of that so-called "perfect strike." Most who were not present were skeptical, finding it hard to believe that an N-grade freshman could achieve such a feat. Some arrogant S-grade prodigies were dissatisfied and mored to test this N-grade freshman at the start of the school term¡ªthey couldn''t believe an N-grade freshman could be such a miracle. "I don''t believe he''s that strong; he must have used someone else''s system for help." "So what if he used someone else''s system for help? It''s within the rules. Besides, if he doesn''t have the corresponding cultivation level, other people''s system items wouldn''t be of any help to him!" "Heh! Baseless talk¡ªI hardly believe it!" No matter what everyone thought about the entrance assessment in the Tree Hole, one undeniable fact was that N-grade freshman Xiang Beifei had already received the eptance letter from Liangzhou University. Him bing a part of Liangzhou University was a foregone conclusion! Xiang Beifei had no idea about these things. He still didn''t know how to ess the Liangzhou University forum, but anyway, this matter didn''t matter much to him. His goal of getting into Liangzhou University had been achieved¡ªthat was enough. What he didn''t expect was that he had made the hot search once again! An N-grade Awakener passing the Liangzhou University entrance assessment was major news! Everyone was aware that elite universities do not admit N-grade students. Among the nine elite universities, only Liangzhou University set a very strict threshold for N-grade students, and it had been ten years since any N-grade Awakeners dared to apply for Liangzhou University, let alone pass the entrance assessment. Shang Tianxiong was the first, and his achievements today proved his strength. But the second and third N-grade Awakeners applied during the time when Shang Tianxiong was still teaching at Liangzhou University. Back then, the person responsible for the entrance assessment of N-grade students was Shang Tianxiong! After Shang Tianxiong left Liangzhou University, Xiang Beifei was the first N-grade student to be admitted to Liangzhou University in ten years! Many people were guessing how he managed to get admitted¡ªquestioning if he had bribed the examiners and such. However, once they heard that the person responsible for the assessment was Yuchi Shen, no one dared to suspect bribery anymore. Yuchi Shen was the most fearsome teacher at Liangzhou University, with a notorious reputation. Various online media outlets reported the news, making Xiang Beifei famous once again. If he were to awaken a system like "Fame System", he would undoubtedly soar. ¡ª¡ª "You actually passed the entrance assessment so quietly; you should have told me in advance!" Xiang Qingde was very excited when he heard the news. Continue reading stories on §Þ?? Xiang Beifei smiled but didn''t say much. It hadn''t been many days since the college entrance exam, and on the day of the exam, his grandfather was even more nervous than he was. "Good kid, we''re having a celebration dinner tonight!" Kong Daming was also very pleased and immediately decided to hold another celebration dinner for Xiang Beifei and Kong Xiuwen. After all, running a restaurant made organizing a celebration dinner quite simple. Xiang Beifei didn''t refuse. For two consecutive days, he had to deal with others'' celebrations and dodge media interviews¡ªLu Zhiwei wasn''t the only one interested in him. Two dayster, he received the admission letter from Liangzhou University. The admission letter was very exquisite and looked quite impressive, but what caught Xiang Beifei''s attention was a phrase on the admission letter: ¡ª¡ªOur Martial Arts College offers various courses rted to martial artists. Please consider the courses you will select based on your system''s features during the summer. Course selection is due one week after the start of term. If uncertain, you can consult the relevant tutor after the start of term. (A course list is attached) The admission letter also came with introductions to various courses, as everyone''s awakened system is different, and elective courses should be chosen based on the features of one''s own system. Chapter 142: Chapter 131: Course_2 Students of the Liberal Arts College need to choose a specialty due to their orientation toward various professions in life, such as doctors, teachers, technology, etc. This decision is made by the system they awaken. However, the Martial Arts College does not differentiate between specialties. People choose the Martial Arts College because their system abilities rte to martial cultivation, which requires fighting, and asionally capturing a couple of deste beasts for practice. Xiang Beifei briefly looked over the mandatory courses of the Martial Arts College, which included: "Deste Beast Cognition and Anatomy," "Outer Domain Deste Land Simtion," "Jiuzhou Alliance Defense Introduction," "System Ability Analysis and Processing." The Jiuzhou Alliance requires martial artists to guard its territory. Learning tobat deste beasts is a necessity for every martial artist, so the mandatory courses involve a lot of knowledge about these creatures. There is a vast array of elective courses, including "Magic Knowledge Specialization," "Physical Attack Specialization," "Defense Ability Specialization," "Criminal Investigation," "Criminal Psychology," "Firearms Study," "Deste Beast ck Tech Tools Study," "All Heavens Knowledge Theory Studies," "Film Appreciation," "Combat Training," "Novel Appreciation," "Mechanical Manufacturing," "Formation Knowledge Introduction," "Rune Knowledge Introduction," "How to Better Complete System Tasks," "Amazing System Items Appreciation," "Deste Beast Venom Analysis," "Basic Treatment (for non-medical systems)," "How to Be a Game Master," and so on... Beyond the four mandatory courses, there are a whopping one hundred and twenty elective courses offered! These electives were an eye-opener for Xiang Beifei, such as the "Film Appreciation" course, which seems to cater to those who have awakened the [All Heavens System]. Take Wang Ze, whom he encounteredst time, who needs to traverse into system-created movies toplete tasks. The "Novel Appreciation" course is simr; some tasks involve traversing into xianxia novels, while others entail prating sci-fi and various other genres of novels. These courses can help participants analyze how to aplish the book and film tasks set by their systems. Most of these books and films are written by people from the Liberal Arts College, which houses professional novelists and filmmakers who write novels or shoot films and animations to earn a living. Once their works are released and sometimes be ssics, they are chosen by these [Transcend All Worlds Systems], which then let their hosts traverse into these movies and novels toplete tasks and acquire powerful abilities. Systems like [Transcend All Worlds], which seem very impressive, merely involve traversing through fictional spaces created by systems, be it novels or films. These are just types of virtual spaces set up by the systems and are not real. The abilities hosts acquire in these movie and novel spaces are still tied to their own cultivation levels. In the system worlds, many people oftenin about authors online, questioning why they set up their plots in such troubling ways; it''s usually because when they traverse into novels toplete system tasks, they get stuck due to the storyline and can''t finish their tasks, leading them to vent their frustrations on the authors. Yes, that''s probably the reason! Courses like gaming are targeted at students who need to y games toplete their system tasks, where they st through games to acquire equipment which they can then bring back into reality with the help of their systems. Teachers will instruct them on how to better conquer these games and familiarize them with each game''s characteristics, such as treasure box locations and drop rates, withprehensive guidance provided. And those who develop these games are still those guys from the Liberal Arts College. ... With such a dazzling array of elective courses, martial artists'' elective options are not all rted to martial arts; a wide range of special courses are avable as well. Xiang Beifei was also contemting which courses he needed to choose. The "Magic Attack Course" sounded interesting; he could convert Spiritual Power into mes, which was a form of magic. He wondered if it was possible to transform Spiritual Power into other elements, like ice, or lightning? He was also very interested in "Formation Knowledge." Liangzhou University was clearly protected by a powerful formation, and it was said that Jiuzhou''s border defenses incorporated formations. Not to mention the teleportation spheres from the entrance examination; they were a type of Formation sealed within. He was definitely going to choose the "Amazing System Items Appreciation" course. It felt as if it were tailor-made for him. He wanted to see what other system rewards looked like and from which systems they came, so when the time came to take someone else''s reward, he would have an idea of what to expect. "Basic Treatment" was a course aimed at those outside the medical system. In other words, if his system didn''t provide healing items, it would be best to take this course, which taught how to administer first aid in the wild, such as using herbs or parts of deste beasts'' blood and tissues, or how to use Spiritual Power to heal others. Without a system of his own, Xiang Beifei had to choose this course. ... From his point of view, it seemed like he could take any of the courses. Being able to participate in others'' system tasks meant that learning from these courses could be very useful. College was a four-year program, and there were specific requirements for graduation in terms of credits and realm. In addition to passing the mandatory courses, one had to take at least thirty elective courses! Since the four mandatory courses had to be taken each semester, choosing four additional electives per semester was quite good. Although every student had a system, their energy was still finite. "Seems like it''s not realistic to study everything." Though Xiang Beifei possessed the ability of "Learn by Analogy," it was predicated on having to learn something firsthand before he could draw analogies from it. Many electives required the teacher''s lecturing and experiential teaching, which couldn''t be learned simply by studying a book. Therefore, if he wanted to truly master a course, he had to attend ss earnestly. "I still need to ask Elder Luo for advice and see what he thinks," Xiang Beifei remembered that Elder Luo had agreed to teach him about spiritual power cultivation, which he truly needed at the moment, so he gave Elder Luo a call. On the other end of the phone, Elder Luo agreed quite readily, "Sure,e over tomorrow, and I''ll give you some pointers. It''s a good time to teach you how to cultivate spiritual power." "All right, I''lle over first thing in the morning." As Xiang Beifei hung up the phone, he seemed to faintly hear the sound of running water in the background, clueless about what boring activity Elder Luo was engaged in now. But he had no interest in knowing, since whatever the old man was doing, he was getting stronger. Being around such an idle fish during his university days must be the right choice. ¡ª¡ª Early the next day, Xiang Beifei went to Liangzhou University. Luo Laotou was still lying at the university gates cracking sunflower seeds. Xiang Beifei greeted him politely, "Hello, Elder Luo." "Wait a second, I''m in the middle of something important." Luo Laotou gestured for Xiang Beifei not to disturb him and continued to stare at the woods in the distance. Rustle! Three birds leaped into the sky from the trees. Luo Laotou, seeing the birds take flight, finally turned his gaze away contentedly. His system interface disyed: [You have counted fifty birds, leisure value +50] He really was idling! Xiang Beifei couldn''t help but think. "Let''s go, I''ll take you out for some fun." Luo Laotou stood up from his lounge chair and offered Xiang Beifei another handful of sunflower seeds. "Thank you." Xiang Beifei quite liked the taste of the seeds. While cracking them open, he said, "I just received my eptance letter and am considering which electives to take. Do you have any suggestions, sir?" "Ah, university electives! That really brings back memories!" Luo Laotou stretched luxuriously and said, "Back in my day, I used to be a student too, going to ss whenever I felt like it, university life is the best, isn''t it!" He stroked his short white beard and turned his head to look at Xiang Beifei, "How about this, I''ll go to ss with you? Whatever course you choose, I''ll choose the same one." Discover more content at §Þ?? Xiang Beifei was taken aback. Are you that bored! Following me to ss? Would those professors dare to teach then? "You''re not joking, are you?" Xiang Beifei asked. "Not necessarily, who says old people can''t attend sses?" Elder Luo walked leisurely with his hands behind his back, and after a long pause, he casually said, "But to get back to the point, these past two days I''ve been carefully watching the video of your fight with the Triangr Thunder Krait. I reviewed it in slow motion, analyzing your every move from all angles, a full 360 degrees." A video that didn''t even show five seconds of action and it needs such detailed analysis? "And then?" Xiang Beifei asked nonchntly. Chapter 143: Chapter 132: Mental Attack The video didn''t spread, but the school''s upper echelons could certainly see it, and it was bound to be analyzed, which wasn''t surprising to Xiang Beifei. After all, the world itself was quite special¡ªany ability that seemed unusualpared to ordinary people could be exined with a "system," so he didn''t need to worry about how special his abilities were. "I saw signs of lightning strikes on the shoulder of your clothes, which, from my observation, should be the scorch marks from Triangr Thunder Krait''s lightning. That is to say, you were injured the first time you killed a Triangr Thunder Krait, and it wasn''t very smooth. That Triangr Thunder Krait must have given you some trouble." "But when you killed the second Triangr Thunder Krait, your movements and timing were nearly impable. You could determine the timing of the Triangr Thunder Krait''s attack and started dodging before its eyes even emitted lightning. You must have learned from your experience with the first Triangr Thunder Krait. Such strong analytical and learning abilities are truly rare; I even suspect that you might have awakened a system that allows you to ''Learn by Analogy,'' drawing inferences about other cases from one instance," Elder Luo remarked with a sigh. How impressive! Xiang Beifei was quite astonished! This old man who was always idling about had such keen insight! When he killed the first Triangr Thunder Krait, no one saw it; others had only seen him kill the second one, which was captured on camera for just a few seconds. Yet, Elder Luo managed to analyze Xiang Beifei''s encounter in the Outer Wilderness from that short video, inferring his injury from the first Krait and the swift killing of the second. He got most of it right. Your journey continues with §Þ?? He even managed to guess some of Xiang Beifei''s abilities, just short of saying the words "Learn by Analogy"! "Rest assured, I''ve kept the video secret for you. Students can''t see it, which prevents others from fully analyzing you, and that''s to your advantage. Ordinary teachers don''t have my powerful analytical skills. They can''t see much and would at most think you''re a Body Cultivator with judgment beyond that of ordinary people," Elder Luo said with a chuckle. Xiang Beifei noticed Elder Luo''s system interface had an [Observation] value of only 123, but he suspected that when Elder Luo was analyzing the video, this value might have soared to tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions! Elder Luo''s Leisure System could reallocate points at will, directly boosting one aspect of his abilities, which was genuinely not to be underestimated. "Thank you, Elder Luo." Xiang Beifei was truly grateful in his heart. As an elder, Elder Luo was helping him cover up, all for his sake. "No need, you''re following me around, so of course, I have to understand you to mentor you appropriately. If you''re strong at learning, it doesn''t really matter what courses you choose. But I suggest you start with your weaker areas. You have strength and speed, but your defensive power isn''t very good. You need to learn physical defense. Does your system provide any defensive Cultivation Techniques for training?" Elder Luo asked further. Xiang Beifei shook his head, "No, I only excel at offense." To be precise, he didn''t even have offensive Cultivation Techniques. The only one he was practicing was the Chaos Yin-Yang Form, which was a way of circting Spiritual Power and belonged to internal practice. The sole means of attack, "Rapid me," was learned from Uncle Lu; without a system, he would be a nk te. "So you''re saying I should take the ''Defense Ability Specialization'' course?" Xiang Beifei inquired. "The ''Defense Ability Specialization'' course is designed for Awakeners whose systems do not provide defensive capabilities. The teacher will offer several of the most basic R-ranked and S-ranked Cultivation Methods for students to select for training. Still, those are generic Techniques with limited achievements, barely better than none for students. I have higher expectations for you; I''ll figure something out for you next time, no rush," Elder Luo replied. Elder Luo''s defense was rather basic, covering his body with Spiritual Power and then simply adding points until it was maxed out¡ªprimitive yet extremely powerful. However, this method did not suit Xiang Beifei, so he didn''t n to teach him defense himself. "Alright," Xiang Beifei nodded. The elder was experienced and had unique insight; he decided to follow Elder Luo''s lead in everything. "Also, when you fight, it seems you''re ustomed to using your fists and rarely use your feet. Have you never practiced kicks or other foot-based techniques?" Elder Luo continued. "Feet?" Xiang Beifei pondered and spotted a small stone nearby. He walked over and stomped on the ground, instantly igniting his foot with mes, and kicked the stone. Boom! The palm-sized stone shattered into dust from his kick! "This?" Xiang Beifei asked. Elder Luo was startled: "Your footwork is also this powerful? Then why haven''t I seen you use your feet?" Whether it was dealing with Wang Ze, Xiong Meng, or the Triangr Thunder Krait, Xiang Beifei always resolved the fight with a punch; Elder Luo had never seen him use his feet before. "No need!" The mes on Xiang Beifei''s foot gradually faded, and he began munching on sunflower seeds, replying, "Why use feet when a fist can handle it?" With "Learn by Analogy," once he could ignite his fists with fire, it meant every motion of his body could channel Spiritual Power and unleash powerful mes. He didn''t like using his feet because he was wearing shoes, and if he wasn''t careful with controlling the Spiritual Power, the mes would burn them¡ªwhat a waste of a good pair of shoes. Chapter 144: Chapter 132: Psychic Attack_2 They walked along the school''s path and then to thekeside where they had casually chatted the other day. "Many system abilities rely on spiritual power, such as the major categories of systems rted to ''Mind Reading System'' and ''Charming System.'' You have spiritual power defense, but youck the means for spiritual attack. I don''t know if you can cultivate it, but I''ll guide you, and how much you can learn depends on you," Elder Luo leaned against the pavilion''s railing, gazing at the tranquilke surface. Seemingly without any movement, an invisible ripple suddenly spread out from him, merging with theke water. Humm! Suddenly, theke water roiled with bubbles emerging, followed by several "plop plop" sounds, as countless carp floated to the surface, belly up, appearing to be stunned. "Incredible!" Xiang Beifei''s eyes lit up! He could see Elder Luo''s system, and this type of spiritual power attack was not given by any of Elder Luo''s system abilities, but purely through his own spiritual fluctuations, forcibly stunning the fish. "This kind of remote spiritual attack is very effective against crucial people or deste beasts, such as Meng Huai, who can only appear in dreams. Of course, your spiritual defense is strong, so they might not drag you into a dream, but if you encounter a team member in the wilderness entangled by Meng Huai, you must actively go into the dream to save them, and at that time, it would be difficult to manage without brute force in the dream," Elder Luo exined. "I understand, so how should I cultivate?" Xiang Beifei really didn''t know how Elder Luo had managed this, which was also his shoring. Others had system assistance, possessing various cultivation techniques, but he needed to learn on his own, trying to make up for any potential weaknesses. "Actually, spiritual power is also a type of spiritual power; it just transforms spiritual power in your brain into another form. Therefore, you need to guide this spiritual power through meditation, using your own thoughts," pointed out Elder Luo, pointing at Xiang Beifei''s head, "You can try to imagine." "Imagine?" "Imagine that you can make it move out of thin air. Originally, I just stared at a piece of paper, thinking in my mind, move... move... move... and then it started moving." Elder Luo chuckled. How does it sound like self-hypnosis? Xiang Beifei stared at Elder Luo''s system interface, [Spiritual Power: 732], and grinned wryly, thinking, ''Are you sure it''s not just system enhancements?'' But on second thought, Elder Luo''s system enhancements only increase the intensity of one ability, not create it. Meaning, Elder Luo adjusted his spiritual intensity to 732, which just means the intensity of his spiritual attack is 732. But if his spiritual power is not trained to the point of external projection, even if the spiritual attack intensity is adjusted to 56 million, it won''t be able to be exerted. It''s like loading an ammunition that can cause 56 million points of destruction into a tank, but without learning the operating procedures of the tank, not knowing how to fire it, that powerful ammunition would just rot in the chamber as a dud. Thus, Elder Luo also needs to initially learn a skill before he can use the system to enhance the power of that skill. "You don''t need to deal with the carp in theke; just try to float these melon seed shells in mid-air. Concentrate fully on the melon seed shells, gathering your spiritual power in your brain, try to dpose it into something intangible and ethereal, let it dissipate around, and then gather it back, finally directing the spiritual power towards one direction," Elder Luo turned his gaze back to the carp in theke, another wave emanating from his body. Humm! The carp, belly up on theke surface, were reawakened, righting themselves and sinking back into the water. "When you first learn spiritual power, I suggest you try by enhancing your senses. Do you have any system items that enhance senses?" Elder Luo asked. Xiang Beifei shook his head. Last time, Uncle Lu did give him a Spiritual Perception Pill, but he had integrated it to light up a constetion. "Then you crack this melon seed, and I''ll guide you first. Next time, you must learn to try on your own. You have to understand something, even without the appropriate sensory items, you can enhance your senses with spiritual power," Elder Luo put a red melon seed into Xiang Beifei''s hand. This red melon seed was quite special, acquired by Elder Luo from his own shop using 50 leisure value. "Can I also enhance my senses?" Xiang Beifei had never considered this question before. He cracked open the red seed and then ate it. "Of course, for instance, the Smelling Pill. This pill, after you take it, transforms into a special spiritual power that hovers above your nose, making your perception more acute. However, if you wish to learn, you can enhance your smelling ability through your own spiritual power, though the result won''t be as effective as the system''s items," Elder Luo exined. System items are, after all, a convenient method, highly targeted, and easy to use, much easier than figuring it out on your own. It''s like climbing a hundred-story building: you''d have to take the stairs, but the system instantly provides an elevator or a helicopter. There are some aspects in which system items can achieve what people can through cultivation, but it''s much harder for people. Enjoy new adventures at §Þ?? "Understood." Shortly after Xiang Beifei cracked the seed, he quickly felt a surge of spiritual power not belonging to him within his body. Elder Luo extended a finger and wiggled it. The spiritual power inside Xiang Beifei was drawn to his eyes. At that moment, Xiang Beifei''s vision underwent a remarkable change; it felt as if his eyes had be microscopes. In his view, every texture of the seed shell became clearly visible! The strangest thing was that his visionprised only the seed shell; he couldn''t see any other scenery. "This is a method to enhance vision. I''ve adjusted your perception to focus on the seed shell. Remember the spiritual power I guided inside your body. In the future, you can also try to guide it using your own spiritual power. Of course, you can learn to block out your other senses, such as¡ª" Elder Luo flicked his finger again, and the foreign spiritual power moved into Xiang Beifei''s ears in a very subtle manner. In an instant, the world became silent, devoid of any sound. Xiang Beifei marveled at Elder Luo''s control of spiritual power, which seemed effortlessly capable of blocking his perceptions. "I should be able to learn this method of circting spiritual power." Xiang Beifei pondered, nning to try mastering this technique next time. However, for now, as Elder Luo had blocked his hearing, he still needed to focus his spiritual power, step by step. With the world bing quiet, nothing could distract him; in fact, it was nearly impossible to be distracted since his vision contained nothing else but the seed shell, which Elder Luo allowed him to see. "It''s okay, take it slow. When I mastered this initially, it also took me almost a month. Don''t rush it too much," After conveying his voice to Xiang Beifei, Elder Luo went offline. "Let my spiritual power emanate from my mind, focusing on the seed shell..." Xiang Beifei, contemting Elder Luo''s words, stared at the seed shell in his hand and began practicing the spiritual power technique Elder Luo had taught him. He tried for a long time without sess, but Elder Luo patiently guided him. While Xiang Beifei was cultivating, Elder Luo was counting how many white clouds drifted over in the sky, how many leaves fell from a tree in a minute, and doing other mundane tasks required by the system. Elder Luo was getting stronger nearly every moment, and in Xiang Beifei''s view, this "Leisure System" was truly formidable. ¡ª For three consecutive days, Xiang Beifei came to Liangzhou University to study with Elder Luo. He also practiced at home, but without Elder Luo''s guidance, he couldn''t achieveplete concentration. Gradually, he felt as if something extra existed in his mind, the strands of spiritual power slowly swirling within. He vaguely managed to disy the spiritual power in his mind in a special way. However, a problem arose; although the spiritual power was deployed, it drifted around aimlessly without any aggressiveness. He needed to reconcentrate the spiritual power. On the fourth day, Xiang Beifei finally got the trick. He seeded in levitating the seed shell using his own spiritual power! Moreover, he inadvertently discovered that he had gained a deeper understanding of this ability. Chapter 145: Chapter 133: Disdain and Classmates of Grade N On the fifth day of studying spiritual power, Xiang Beifei routinely took a car to Liangzhou University, ready to share his insights with Elder Luo. However, when he found Elder Luo, he noticed that the elder seemed to be in a bad mood, sitting in a chair and cracking sunflower seeds. Spit! Spit! Spit! The shells he spit out flew like bullets, leaving the nearby trash can riddled with holes! That trash can had seen better days and was now definitely on itsst legs. [You vented your anger on the trash can, leisure value +1] "What''s wrong, Elder Luo? You seem really upset?" "Don''t even start, it''s bad luck!" Elder Luo snapped angrily. "What happened? Could someone actually make you so angry?" Xiang Beifei pulled up a chair and honestly sat next to the distressed elder. Elder Luo passed a small handful of sunflower seeds to Xiang Beifei, huffing angrily, "You have huge potential, but those people at the school really have no vision. I have to cultivate you properly, and in the future, you must help me take my revenge! Hang up those SSR talents and beat them hard! See if they dare to spout nonsense! Dare to be arrogant in front of me!" "SSR? Were you bullied by SSR?" Xiang Beifei asked, puzzled. "Didn''t I tell you a few days ago, this year there are eleven SSR new students in the entire Jiuzhou alliance? Originally, the school had already negotiated with two SSR Awakeners, offering them huge benefits toe to our Liangzhou University. But these two guys turned their backs at thest minute! They took the benefits, then refused toe to our university!" Elder Luo was livid. "They did what?" Xiang Beifei eximed in surprise, "What made them change their minds?" Among the nine elite universities, Liangzhou University''s overall strength was not the very top, but it was still passable. The university was teeming with powerful Awakeners, making it a great choice for studying here. Elder Luo stopped, saying helplessly, "It''s because of you." "Me?" Xiang Beifei grew even more confused, "I don''t think I''ve even met them." "Because a few days ago, our Liangzhou University admitted you, an N-level new student! Then, the recruiters from other universities seized the chance to undermine us, basically saying that the quality of education at Liangzhou University had declined, sinking to the point of epting an N-level student, and then they persuaded the SSRs. Basically, at that time, they implied that the reputation of Liangzhou University was lowered by an N-level student like you! They disdaineding to our Liangzhou University and went to Qingzhou University and Yanzhou University instead." "Is that even possible?" Xiang Beifei found it bizarre that just because Liangzhou University admitted him, an N-level student, two SSR students didn''t want toe anymore. They disdained to be in the same school with him, an N-level student? "Last night when you weren''t here, many of our school''s leaders went to retain those two SSRs, but they ended up being openly ridiculed by the admissions staff from Qingzhou University and Yanzhou University. At that moment, I nearly grabbed those bastards and gave them a beating!" Elder Luo was so angry he was blowing his beard and ring, and then spat out another sunflower seed shell, making another hole in the trash can. He was straightforward and lived a straightforward life, never beating around the bush when it came to speaking his mind. "I wanted to use your potential as a counterargument, but, unfortunately, empty ims only made matters worse. You have no idea how furious I am, knowing your potential but unable to prove it to them! It drives me mad!" Elder Luo tugged at his own beard, extremely aggravated. "It''s the first time I''ve heard of refusing the invitation from Liangzhou University because of an N-level student. Don''t you guys sign some kind of agreement that makes it impossible to back out?" Xiang Beifei said. "It was still under negotiation! We were about to sign, but just before we did, they were persuaded by the people from Qingzhou University and Yanzhou University." Elder Luo exined. After a long pause, he added, "These people are really shortsighted! They actually look down on you!" Elder Luo cursed loudly, "They simply don''t understand your potential. What does being N-level matter? Could an N-level who has killed so many deste beasts be that simple? What''s so great about SSR-level? It''s just... it''s just..." Elder Luo intended to say something harsh, but after saying "it''s just" for a while, he struggled to find a suitable word to describe it. Because SSR¡ª Was truly remarkable! Having mid-stage Qi-Controlling strength right after awakening, and two monthster, now possessingte-stage Qi-Controlling strength! A whole minor realm higher than Xiang Beifei''s current cultivation! With such talent, given time, they might reach Meridian Opening stage within half a year, and possibly God Refining stage by the time they graduate from college in four years! "Bastards, just because they have an extra S! As if they''re so great, daring to act all haughty in front of me; I could p them dead with one strike!" Elder Luo grew angrier the more he thought about it. It wasn''t that he was angry SSRs weren''ting, but because he was ridiculed by other schools'' recruiting officers, and he had no way to refute them. [You fiercely cursed the SSR freshmen, leisure value +2] "I see!" Xiang Beifei continued calmly cracking sunflower seeds, and then asked, "Since they''re noting to Liangzhou University anymore, can you ask them to return the benefits they took?" "You make it sound so easy! It''s just that those people at our school can''t lower their faces, saying that after all, they are SSRs, and their future achievements are boundless; this little benefit is like making friends with them. I justugh! Make friends my ass! They look down on our Liangzhou University and still want to make friends? Trying to stick a hot face to their cold butts?" Elder Luo was very displeased with the way those leaders at Liangzhou University handled the situation, and then patted Xiang Beifei on the shoulder, "Wouldn''t it be better to give those things to you instead!" Xiang Beifei stroked his chin. Hmm, that''s not a bad idea. Chapter 146: Chapter 133: Disdain to Attend School with N Level_2 "The most important thing is, after I came backst night, some disagreements emerged within our school''s leadership. Some people think that Liangzhou University''s decision to admit you that day was a mistake. They say we admitted a N-level student and lost two SSRs, picking up sesame seeds and losing watermelons! I was so furious back then!" Elder Luo rubbed his fist, squinting and humming twice. Xiang Beifei couldn''t help butugh silently because he saw in Elder Luo''s task bar yesterday a message¡ª [You flipped a table in front of the school leaders, leisure value +1] [You had an unpleasant confrontation with the school leaders over Xiang Beifei''s issue, leisure value +1] Elder Luo''s Leisure System makes him stronger no matter what he does¡ªeven getting angry when idle counts as leisure, but actively getting angry doesn''t give much leisure value. His system advocates for a joyful life, enjoying life. Like when he cussed out Yuchi Shen, it relieved him, giving him 50 leisure points, but if cussing someone out doesn''t smooth things over for him, he only gets 1 leisure point. Basically, if you do something and feel good after, you get more points, if not, you get fewer. "Don''t dwell on it too much, Elder Luo. Noting to Liangzhou University is their loss!" Xiang Beifei said. "Exactly! You have a good eye!" Elder Luo looked at Xiang Beifei with satisfaction and then said, "Of course, I know you had no other choice but toe here¡ª" "Even if I had a choice, I would still pick this ce. You forgot my old man used to be here, didn''t you?" Xiang Beifei said. "Haha! Right, look at my memory." It was then that Elder Luo remembered and said, "Now, because of the SSR issue, those leaders at Liangzhou University think admitting you was a mistake, but I''m going to train you well just to spite them!" He pondered for a moment, then asked, "By the way, how''s your spiritual power training going? Have you gotten the sunflower seed to move yet? Even a little movement will do, I''m not asking for much." "I''ve made a little progress." "Show me. You''ve only been training for a few days, being able to move the sunflower seed shell even slightly would be a huge improvement," Elder Luo said. "Alright." Xiang Beifei cracked a sunflower seed, and then he spat the shell forward¡ª Whoosh! The sunflower seed shell suddenly floated in mid-air! Xiang Beifei stared at the sunflower seed shell, focusing all his attention on it, and then controlled it to drift up, down, left, and right. Not far away, the trash can that Elder Luo had shot several holes in with sunflower seed shells was now being maneuvered by Xiang Beifei''s own shell like a roller coaster, leisurely threading in and out of the small holes in the trash can. "What?" Elder Luo eximed, forgetting to crack the sunflower seed in his hand, "You mastered it this quickly?" This was no small progress at all! This was only his fifth day of training! "Yes, and I also discovered that as long as I control my spiritual power properly¡ª" Xiang Beifei concentrated intently on the sunflower seed shell, focusing all his attention on the floating shell, and then "whoosh!" The sunflower seed shell suddenly burst into mes, then zipped around like a fiery missile! After darting around for a while, the sunflower seed shell turned to ash, falling to the ground. Plop! The sunflower seed fell from Elder Luo''s hand, his eyes filled with astonishment! "You applied your spiritual power operating method to your spiritual power?" "Yes, you mentioned that spiritual power is also a special form of spiritual power, so I tried it," Xiang Beifei said. Xiang Beifei then turned his gaze to a fallen leaf on the ground. He stared at the leaf, and his spiritual power formed an invisible wave, concentrating on the leaf. The leaf swiftly lifted up and "whoosh," it ignited again! This time, Xiang Beifei didn''t even touch the leaf; he simply ignited the leaf from a distance! "My goodness! You learned this... you learned this too fast!" Elder Luo suddenly stood up and began sizing up Xiang Beifei once again. "Fortunately, I can control their speed and it''s not very fast. Using this attack on opponents isn''t really practical at the moment, and it''s quite strenuous and thankless." Although this ability seemed impressive, Xiang Beifei needed to be extremely focused to use it, and there was a process involved. His spiritual power had to cover the opponent. Once the opponent moved, if his spiritual power didn''t hit, he basically couldn''t catch up. During a fight, why would an opponent just stand there and wait to be ignited by him? However, this method was good for sneak attacks, like focusing on someone from a distance and then giving them a me bath without their knowledge¡ªdelightful! "You''re still not satisfied? I only asked for a slight movement, yet you went ahead and made the melon seeds fly and even ignited them!" The more Elder Luo watched Xiang Beifei, the more he felt like he was looking at a little monster. If it weren''t for Xiang Beifei''s current mastery being only in the middle stage of Qi Mastery, he would even suspect that this kid''s awakened system talent could possibly be at the UR level! Every time Xiang Beifei seemed to bring him many unexpected surprises, and quickly he remembered something and suddenly burst outughing proudly, "Haha! I knew it! I knew it! My judgment can''t be wrong! You definitely won''t be inferior to those two SSRs! Beat them up in the future!" Xiang Beifei liked Elder Luo''s straightforward nature. He thought for a moment and then asked, "What are the names of those two SSR Awakeners? Which elite universities did they go to now?" "One is called Hou Chengwu; he went to Qingzhou University. The other is called Chen Baiwen; he went to Yanzhou University. They unexpectedly defected and were recruited by those universities'' admission teachers because the only two URs in the entire alliance this year also went to these two universities, so they chose these schools," Elder Luo said. "Hou Chengwu, Chen Baiwen... Okay, I''ve got it. Are these names spelled like this?" Xiang Beifei''s fingertips emitted mes, and with the mes, he wrote these two names in the air. "Yes, those are the names." Elder Luo watched Xiang Beifei in amazement, as he wrote with spiritual power in the air¡ªa level of proficiency with spiritual power that almost no neer could achieve. Well, noted down in the little notebook, SSR Awakeners are rare, as long as the names are right, then definitely there won''t be a mistake in finding the right person. Next time there''s a chance, having a chat about life with them and helping Elder Luo seek revenge sounds good. Xiang Beifei erased the mes from the air, but just then, a piercing voice suddenly came from the school gate. "Haha! Professor Luo, has Liangzhou University fallen so low that they let someone like you guard the gate?" The speaker was a bald old man with a tuft of goatee beard and a ck mole on his cheek, which was particrly prominent because of a single hair growing out of it. Upon hearing this voice, Elder Luo nearly exploded; he immediately stood up and red at the neer angrily, "What are you doing here?" "Isn''t it just to escort Hou Chengwu back to our Qingzhou University, specially came to bid you farewell? After all, you''ve taken such good care of him these past few days, it''s only proper for him to show some manners, isn''t it?" the goatee-bearded old man said with a smug yet insincere grin. [Host: Ren Jianghai] [SR level, Threshold System] [Realm¡ª¡ª] The description of this system wasn''t very clear; the opponent''s strength was obviously above Meridian Opening, and Xiang Beifei couldn''t see it nor could he infer anything from the name of the system. Next to this man named Ren Jianghai was a young man about Xiang Beifei''s age, who looked arrogant and somewhat ck in his demeanor. Xiang Beifei was slightly surprised because he saw the system interface of this person: [Host: Hou Chengwu] [SSR level, Shadow Saint System] [Realm: Late Qi Mastery] Huh? This guy, is he the SSR that Elder Luo mentioned? The genius Awakener who took a huge favor from Liangzhou University and then didn''t switch sides to Liangzhou University? This was Xiang Beifei''s first encounter with an SSR-level Awakener; up till now, he had only seen people with SR systems. Except for Elder Luo''s system, which was rather special and visible to him, the cultivation of other SR-level Awakeners was too high, beyond his sight. Let alone an SSR! However, it was clear that this SSR person appeared to be a freshman, and his cultivation was still within a range that he could see! "This fellow student looks familiar!" Ren Jianghai sized up Xiang Beifei and soon recalled something, revealing a smile that seemed mocking, "Got it, the freshman N-level student newly recruited by Liangzhou University this year, the one who was the top scorer originally, right?" Xiang Beifei''s photo was still circting quite a bit. After he finished speaking, the SSR young man slightly frowned, turned his face to look at Xiang Beifei, and soon his eyes showed a trace of disdain. An N-level, what is he in front of an SSR? Chapter 147: Chapter 134: Shadow Saint "Mind your own damn business!" Elder Luo replied. "Of course it''s none of my business, but to think that Liangzhou University actually recruited an N-level student... Haha! What a fall from grace! Hou Chengwu, now you should realize how right your choice was." Ren Jianghai ncedzily at Hou Chengwu. Hou Chengwu didn''t respond directly. Although he was an SSR, he hadn''t yet fully grown and couldn''t talk big to someone like Professor Luo. However, he snorted disdainfully through his nose. Xiang Beifei didn''t say anything, just curiously observing Hou Chengwu''s system. This was his first encounter with an SSR system. The opponent was only in thetter stages of Qi-Controlling, so Xiang Beifei could see exactly what the system was all about. [Shadow Saint System Overview: Anyone whose shadow you step on will silently be bound to you. For every advancement they make in their cultivation, you can plunder their cultivation for your own use, with the amount depending on the opponent''s status (this includes various attributes like strength, speed, etc.)] [Current shadows bound by your shadow: 1000/1000 (Qi-Controlling stage)] [Note: Try to bind and plunder people with high talent and rapid progression as your shadow servants. Do not attempt to bind someone whose cultivation level is a whole realm higher than yours.] ... After reading this system introduction, Xiang Beifei was quite amazed. The system that allowed S-level Liu Qianrou to plunder backups had already seemed very strange to Xiang Beifei, but this Shadow Saint system was even more terrifying! Hou Chengwu''s [SSR Shadow Saint System] actually plunders other people''s cultivation? That meant he didn''t need to cultivate at all; he just needed to bind those with good innate talent. People whose shadows he stepped on were essentially bound to him, turning into his shadow servants. As long as his shadow servants'' cultivation levels increased, so did his! Now, Hou Chengwu had already bound 1000 people, which was the maximum number of people he could bind at the Qi-Controlling stage. If he steps into the Meridian Opening stage, he would be able to bind 5000 people! If his cultivation reached the Meridian Opening stage, just by stepping on the shadows of 5000 people, these 5000 would essentially be helping him cultivate, and his future entry into the God Refining realm would almost entirely rely on plundering the cultivation of these 5000 people! "This ability is too overbearing," Xiang Beifei couldn''t help but think. Aside from not being able to plunder cultivation from someone a whole realm higher than himself, there were no ws; it was purely about strengthening himself by plundering the cultivation of others! The most bizarre part was, as an SSR system, those bound as his shadow servants, with system levels inevitably lower than his, faced absolute suppression. Not even SR systems could resist, and they wouldn''t even realize they were bound! An SSR system, indeed excessively powerful! No wonder the higher the system''s level, the quicker the upgrade. Xiang Beifei thought Elder Luo''s [SR Leisure System] was already powerful, but the [SSR Shadow Saint System] was even more perverse! At present, a thousand people secretly bound by him were responsible for cultivating, while he just needed to plunder their cultivation and strengthen himself. While Xiang Beifei was looking, a line of data shed in Hou Chengwu''s system¡ª [Liu Sa''s strength has just improved by 10 points, you''ve plundered 1 point of his strength] [Wang Minggui''s speed has just improved by 15 points, you''ve plundered 2 points of his speed] [Zhao Lina''s cultivation has just advanced from early Qi-Controlling to mid Qi-Controlling, you''ve plundered 42 points of her cultivation] ... The current strength diagram of Hou Chengwu is: [Cultivation: 2098/6000 te Qi-Controlling stage)] [Strength: 899] [Speed: 658] [Intelligence: 127] ... This SSR system quantified every capability improvement of his shadow servants, including cultivation which could also be measured by data. He could also use these system points he plundered to enter lotteries or buy items in the store. In the world of systems, nearly everyone is doing system tasks every day, then strengthening themselves through these system tasks. However, those shadow servants whose system talents aren''t like Hou Chengwu''s, definitely wouldn''t expect that while they are getting stronger, their strength is quietly being stolen by the SSR! The amount of cultivation Hou Chengwu could plunder from a person wasn''t fixed, but as long as the data reached 6000 points, he could step into the Meridian Opening stage! It had only been two months, but Hou Chengwu had already plundered 2000 cultivation points through this powerful SSR system. With this momentum, reaching the Meridian Opening stage in half a year wasn''t out of the question! Xiang Beifei was genuinely surprised by Hou Chengwu''s system. However, he had already figured out who these two people were. This Ren Jianghai must be the teacher from Qingzhou University''s admissions office. Last night, the leaders of Liangzhou University had an unpleasant dispute with people from Qingzhou University, but Ren Jianghai dared toe, iming it was a farewell visit, but in reality, he nned to provoke Elder Luo one more time with SSR Hou Chengwu before heading back. Elder Luo was likely so angry mainly because of this history with Ren Jianghai, and now being ridiculed, he had no way to refute it. Elder Luo''s face was grim, and he said sternly, "What students Liangzhou University recruits is none of your business! Just manage your own school''s students!" "Of course, our Qingzhou University doesn''t recruit N-level students! We only recruit absolute elites, like SSR Awakener Hou Chengwu." Chapter 148: Chapter 134: Shadow Saint_2 ``` Elder Luo red at Hou Chengwu with a malevolent gaze, greatly disapproving of this SSR Hou Chengwu! Having promised to study at Liangzhou University and having taken all the benefits, and then being snatched away by Qingzhou University, he still had the audacity to appear before himself! Xiang Beifei was indifferent to whether or not Hou Chengwu wanted to study at Liangzhou University; he was merely curious about the SSR system and was observing it. But at this moment, he suddenly noticed a line of text appearing on Hou Chengwu''s system interface¡ª [A candidate with extraordinary potential for shadow servant detected] [Xiang Beifei: N-level Awakener, mid-stage Qi-Controlling] [Analysis: The progress of this person''s cultivation seems a bit fast; current analysis is inconclusive. ording to rumors on the Liangzhou University forum, he has killed two deste beasts in thete stage of Qi-Controlling, with a potential rating of 8. The target is merely an N-level system; the host could try to bind him] Hou Chengwu had also noticed this, and a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes! Xiang Beifei''s feat of killing deste beasts had also been vaguely heard by people from other schools, but he never expected his SSR system would deem an N-level System Awakener to have enormous potential, moreover, a potential of 8 points? Is this a joke? He had stepped on the shadow of an S-level and only judged it to be 7 points, and yet an N-level was given 8 points? Hou Chengwu had been awakened to this SSR system for two months, and in these two months, whenever he encountered a person, his system would analyze their potential. The SSR system is a uniquely powerful system, and most people whose shadows he stepped on had a potential rating of over 5. The highest potential he had stepped on was from an SR system person, rated at 10 points. The higher the potential, the faster the cultivation progress, and the more one could contribute to his strength! "This N-level student has such strong potential?" Hou Chengwu wondered to himself. [Based on the descriptions of this student in the Liangzhou University tree hole, he can punch an S-levelte Qi-Controlling Awakener flying, indicating great potential! Although he is N-level, his potential can be referenced against Liangzhou''s top leader, Shang Tianxiong. The analysis will not be wrong.] The system resolved Hou Chengwu''s doubts. Hou Chengwu''s eyes brightened! The SSR system is extremely precise and powerful; everyone whose shadow he had stepped on obediently became his shadow servant, surrendering their cultivation to him. He had never failed in plundering the cultivation of his shadow servants! Could the system really beparing this N-level to someone as high as Shang Tianxiong? "Good!" Hou Chengwu''s gaze towards Xiang Beifei switched from disdain to something much more fervent! He trusted his system; if his SSR system thought Xiang Beifei might be the next Shang Tianxiong, then he must make his move on this person! "Too bad, maybe you could have be the second Shang Tianxiong, but you are only N-level. With me here, you won''t have the chance to be Shang Tianxiong. Hand over your cultivation obediently!" Hou Chengwu stared at Xiang Beifei and then sneered. Elder Luo and Ren Jianghai, who couldn''t see the system mission, didn''t know what Hou Chengwu was thinking; the two still stood in sharp opposition. "Liangzhou University has truly fallen to such lows, it''s regrettable. I have nothing more to say. Today, I came to bid farewell on behalf of our SSR Hou Chengwu. Hou Chengwu, shouldn''t you hurry and say goodbye to Professor Luo? After all, he took care of you once." Ren Jianghai said with a smile. "Professor Luo, until we meet again." Hou Chengwu said to Elder Luo. Elder Luo snorted coldly. "Hahaha!" Ren Jianghaiughed triumphantly and then headed towards the school gate. Hou Chengwu followed behind, but as he passed by Xiang Beifei, his foot inadvertently stepped on Xiang Beifei''s shadow. [Releasing the shadow servant with the lowest potential: Wang Li, potential 4] [You are preparing to forcibly bind a new shadow servant: Xiang Beifei, potential 8] [Binding sessful!] [You have a new shadow servant: Xiang Beifei] [Current number of shadow servants: 1000] [The newly bound shadow servant can have its strength forcibly plundered; current loot value under analysis¡ª¡ª] [Xiang Beifei has provided you with 30 points of strength, 23 points of speed, 1 point of cultivation] [Note: If the potential is below 5, unbinding can ur at any time; if potential exceeds 5, unbinding requires stepping on the target''s shadow again] ``` ``` ... "Eh?" Hou Chengwu didn''t bother to nce at Xiang Beifei; he even stepped on Xiang Beifei''s shadow without pausing, an action that urred in a mere instant and went unnoticed by everyone. But after passing by, he couldn''t help but turn back and take another look at Xiang Beifei, who appeared to be naively honest. Each time a new shadow servant is bound, he would steal a portion of their power, euphemistically calling it an "entrance fee." He would rece those with lower potential with those of higher potential. Typically, a new shadow servant would only add up to 15 points to his abilities, as he needed to ensure a steady progression. But to his surprise, as soon as he bound Xiang Beifei, he directly looted 30 points of strength and 23 points of speed! As for cultivation, it seemed to be only 1 point, which was a little less, but Hou Chengwu didn''t care. "I understand now! This one named Xiang Beifei must be a body cultivator! His cultivation hasn''t added much to me, but his strength and speed will bring me more benefits in the future!" Hou Chengwu saw that Xiang Beifei was still obliviously stroking his chin, deep in thought, and smiled with satisfaction in his heart: "Get stronger quickly! You naive N-level genius, the stronger you are, the more I gain, hehe!" ¡ª¡ª "Once you''ve bound me, you can''t unbind that easily!" Xiang Beifei watched Hou Chengwu, who was smugly self-satisfied, with contemtion. In thetter''s SSR system evaluation, his potential was an 8. To unbind, Hou Chengwu would have to find him and step on his shadow again. But how could Xiang Beifei possibly make it easy for him to step on his shadow again? Just now, the other party attempted to loot his speed, strength, and cultivation. Naturally, Xiang Beifei wouldn''t let himself be looted. Last time, after catching so many snakes, Xiaohei symbolically converted one of the early-stage Qi-Controlling Beast Pills into points for the other party''s system to loot, merely as a wee gift. As for the benefits¡ª Xiang Beifei clenched his fist, and a strange aura swirled between his palms! The other party had looted 1 point of his cultivation. Currently, his cultivation points stood at +1, totaling 2099. That meant this point of cultivation had be a type of system reward¡ªif Xiang Beifei wished, he couldpletely take all of this fellow''s cultivation! He could even control this guy''s cultivation; for example, he could take away 100 points and make it 1999, which would demote Hou Chengwu''s cultivation to the mid-stage of Qi-Controlling. Or he could loot all 2099 points, leaving the other with no cultivation at all! Not just cultivation but also strength, speed... "Tsk tsk, that''s quite a profit." Xiang Beifei could only convert the other''s cultivation into spiritual power crystals; he couldn''t use it to enhance his own cultivation. However, this was enough; spiritual power crystals were valuable, used to assist in absorbing and improving one''s cultivation. "If you want to steal someone else''s cultivation, be prepared to have yours stolen!" Xiang Beifei murmured to himself. Messing with him was a big mistake; the SSR system of this ultimate genius was practically wasted! A mage''s power always surpasses that of a demon''s. A looter has encountered the ultimate looter. He wasn''t worried about the other party discovering anything. After all, Hou Chengwu was from Qingzhou University and didn''t attend school here, so they wouldn''t normally cross paths. Xiaohei was rolling on Xiang Beifei''s shoulder, baring its teeth andughing loudly. It initially wanted to just take away the other person''s cultivation, but Xiang Beifei stopped it. Grabbing the other''s property right after being bound would raise suspicions. Keep a low profile! There''s no rush; after a while, once Hou Chengwu has nearly forgotten about him, Xiaohei can collect the delivery! Yes, just shear a little wool at a time. One mustn''t be too greedy, but aim for a steady supply. ¡ª¡ª "That bastard Ren Jianghai! He even made a point of showing off in front of me before he left!" Elder Luo was furious! If it hadn''t been for the fact that they were still at the school gate where a scuffle would look bad, he might have gone straight up and punched Ren Jianghai. "Elder Luo, do you want me to vent for you? I can settle that SSR with one punch," Xiang Beifei offered. Elder Luo had been so hospitable in offering him seeds to eat, so Xiang Beifei couldn''t just eat them for free! Elder Luo, thinking quickly, said, "No, no, I was just joking with you. They are now in thete stage of Qi-Controlling, SSR-level cultivators in thete stage of Qi-Controlling, not something that S-level cultivators like Xiong Meng and Guo Han in thete stage of Qi-Controlling canpare with. You can''t just pick a fight with them; if youe out worse, it would only serve to confirm the spections of those people." The gap in strength is significant even among those in thete stage of Qi-Controlling, especially between the S and SSR levels with a difference in talent of many degrees. It''s likely that Xiong Meng wouldn''t be able to defeat a new SSR-level student. Although Elder Luo verbally expressed a desire for Xiang Beifei to take action, he truly did not want Xiang Beifei to be at a disadvantage. ``` Chapter 149: Chapter 135: The more I think about it, the more I feel at a loss after stepping back ``` Can''t defeat him? Xiang Beifei seriously pondered this question. SSR is indeed a genius! But so what! In his eyes, it''s just for fleecing! Especially with an SSR-level talent like this,pleting system tasks is extremely simple, finishing one task after another effortlessly. Currently, this Hou Chengwu dares to bind with him without knowing what''sing; he will fleece so much from this SSR that it will start doubting its own existence! "You believe in my potential, right?" Xiang Beifei said. "But not like this! We aren''t strong enough right now. It''s okay to suffer some setbacks and be underestimated. We need to keep a low profile, umte strength quietly, endure humiliations, and then, with patience and time..." The more Luo Laotou spoke towards the end, the deeper his frown became. The more he thought about restraining himself temporarily, the angrier he got! The more he thought about stepping back, the greater the loss seemed! "Dammit, I can''t take it anymore! Do whatever you want to them! While there''s still a chance in the Qi-Controlling stage, if they advance too quickly in their cultivation, opportunities will grow slimmer!" Luo Laotou said angrily as he rolled up his sleeves. He was quite optimistic about Xiang Beifei''s strength. After analyzing how Xiang Beifei killed the Triangr Thunder Krait, he realized Xiang Beifei could likely defeat almost anyone in thete stages of Qi-Controlling, even though he was only in the mid-stages himself. And SSR Awakeners are only in thete stages of Qi-Controlling, who knows, they might step into the Meridian Opening stage soon, and by then, Xiang Beifei might not be able to beat them. So, revenge needed to be taken sooner rather thanter. "Alright then! I will definitely take revenge for you!" Xiang Beifei nodded. Elder Luo had already made trouble with some of the leaders at Liangzhou University for him; he couldn''t just stand by and do nothing. Hou Chengwu was almost dealt with, and if there was a chance, he would go after Chen Baiwen. Observing that there was no one around, Luo Laotou then quietly asked, "What''s your n for dealing with them? Are you going to hit them?" After a long pause, he added, "I''m not saying you can''t hit them, giving them a beating is fine, but you must run away fast after! Make sure they can''t recognize you, otherwise, there''ll be trouble. Us elders cannot intervene because of our status, and those two universities are now protecting them. They''re especially on guard against us!" It seemed Luo Laotou wasn''t exactlyw-abiding in his youth, even teaching how to fight while also reminding to protect oneself. "I won''t tell you the n. Students should handle student matters; you just pretend you don''t know anything," Xiang Beifei said. "Haha! Lad, that''s the spirit! The more I see of you, the more I like you, hahaha!" Elder Luo patted Xiang Beifei on the shoulder, acknowledging that the nine elite schools were still nominally brother schools, and it was inappropriate for teachers to resolve conflicts, but it was different for students. A little scuffle between students was nothing unusual ¨C if I beat you, it just proves our school''s students are stronger! After a moment, Elder Luo added, "Actually, you''re not in a rush. In half a year, our nine elite universities will hold an exchangepetition for new students. It''s ostensibly about exchange, but really, it''s to showcase theprehensive strength of each school''s new students. Then you''ll see if you get the chance toe across this Hou Chengwu on stage and give him a good thrashing!" "The new student exchangepetition in half a year?" Xiang Beifei thought about it. He could control Hou Chengwu''s cultivation level; if nothing went wrong, Hou Chengwu should be in the Meridian Opening stage by then. If he encounters him on stage, manipting his cultivation level... Hmm. Interesting. "That''s settled then! I will definitely train you to reach thete stages of Qi-Controlling in this half a year!" Luo Laotou said enthusiastically, rubbing his hands together, full of confidence! ---- Throughout the entire summer break, Xiang Beifei spent almost all his time with Luo Laotou, who even arranged his dormitory for him in advance, allowing him to move into the freshmen dormitory directly during the summer. This gave him even more time to cultivate, saving Xiang Beifei the two-hourmute back and forth every day. Though Luo Laotou spent his days doing exceedingly mundane things, it didn''t stop him from being a powerful cultivator. His control and insight into spiritual power were very unique, even providing Xiang Beifei with new understanding into Rapid me. Luo Laotou thought it might take Xiang Beifei up to half a year to reach thete stage of Qi-Controlling, but he still underestimated Xiang Beifei. Under Luo Laotou''s guidance, Xiang Beifei''s cultivation progressed at incredible speed, and by the end of August, as school was about to start, he finally broke through to thete stage of Qi-Controlling in his dormitory! This was an astounding achievement! Apart from SSR and UR Awakeners, no one else had managed to reachte-stage Qi-Controlling in such a short time! And even for S-rank Awakeners, reaching thete stage of Qi-Controlling had taken a full year! Xiang Beifei was also quite pleased, because this meant he could light up the fourth constetion. He had long prepared the spiritual power crystals required to light up the constetions for thete stage of Qi-Controlling. The Amulet from Qin Yi, the Qi and Blood Pill from Yang Hua, the Qi-Raising Talisman from Yu Lei, and the Hetu tortoise shell gifted by Principal Li Nanxing. In fact, he didn''t really need these items at the moment because he had also killed twote-stage Qi-Controlling Triangr Thunder Kraits and a Fire Snake; their Beast Pills were also suitable for lighting up the constetions. After some thought, he decided to keep Qin Yi''s Amulet and the Hetu tortoise shell given by Principal Li Nanxing for protection and used the Beast Pills from the Triangr Thunder Kraits instead. The constetions on the Spirit Gathering Book glittered, and he activated the fourth ability for the Qi-Controlling period¡ª [Fang Constetion: Light as a Feather, Heavy as Mount Tai] [Ability description: Control over weight, limited to application on external objects] ``` Chapter 150: Chapter 135: The more I think about it, the more I feel at a loss after stepping back_2 This ability made Xiang Beifei feel rather magical. Being lighter than a feather or heavier than Mount Tai could apply weight to anything. If one''s cultivation was strong enough, even a palm-sized pebble could be made as heavy as a mountain! Of course, the weight one could control was linked to one''s own cultivation level. Xiang Beifei tried out this ability and found that he could currently control a weight of around one hundred pounds! In other words, he could make a feather weigh a hundred pounds, or make something weighing a hundred pounds as light as a feather. With higher cultivation, the controble weight would be even greater. "Being able to control weight is a great thing!" Xiang Beifei didn''t disdain any ability; of course, all these abilities were just supplementary to him. If he wanted to be stronger, he still needed to rely on his own cultivation! There were only a few days left before school started, and Xiang Beifei was pondering that he should also start preparing for school. But at this moment, he received a call from Lu Zhiwei. "Hello, Beifei! Are you up for making twenty thousand?" "I am!" Xiang Beifei stretchedzily. Although with Elder Luo around, tuition fees and such were not a big problem, money was something no one would ever find excessive. "Quick to respond! I''m below your dorm building,e down!" Lu Zhiwei said on the phone. "Early." Xiang Beifei replied. Lu Zhiwei was dressed in a light yellow short-sleeved shirt today, paired with casual pants, and her hair was tied into a ponytail, clean and fresh. She was riding a red motorcycle, its body shining bright like mes, quite stylish indeed. "Let''s not dawdle, we have a person to catch," Lu Zhiwei said seriously. "Who are we catching?" Xiang Beifei asked, curious. "A crafty guy, ranging within our jurisdiction," Lu Zhiwei clenched her fist, then looked at Xiang Beifei, "You''re free today, right? I haven''te to bother you these past few days." "I''m free, what''s his strength?" Xiang Beifei needed to consider the gap between enemy and ally before deciding whether to take the risk. Making money was important, but the prerequisite was to stay alive. Otherwise, running into someone with the power of Lai Wuying and without Lu Hong as backup, just the two of them going in would be akin to seeking death. "They say he''s at thete stage of Qi-Controlling! He showed up in the southern jurisdictionst month, and though he got away, the Law Enforcers from there sent word that he''s at thete stage of Qi-Controlling," Lu Zhiwei informed. "Ate-stage Qi-Controlling managed to escape?" "The criminals on the wanted list are no simple matter; otherwise, why would they be on the list? They all have very tricky systems, and when facing Law Enforcers in the Meridian Opening phase, even if they can''t win, they can still run," she exined. Lu Zhiwei rubbed her hands together eagerly and looked at Xiang Beifei with anticipation, "But we have you!" Xiang Beifei felt quite the headache, they really took him for a master detective! After thinking a bit, he asked, "This one has a ten thousand reward, right?" "All you think about is money," she chided. "No money, no deal," Xiang Beifei dered. Lu Zhiwei pouted and said, "Of course, it''s there. Ordinary citizens who help capture criminals always get a reward. This criminal is ranked seventy-ninth on the wanted list, weaker than Lai Wuying, but still worth a bounty of twenty thousand." "Deal!" Xiang Beifei nodded slightly, then asked, "What are the specifics?" Lu Zhiwei took out some documents and handed them to Xiang Beifei, "Early this morning, someone reported a car ident on the highway, a cruise ship hit a sedan." "A cruise ship hit a sedan on the highway?" Xiang Beifei raised an eyebrow. That''s quite the thrill, isn''t it? "Yes, ording to eyewitnesses, they saw a cruise ship traveling along the road, and then it suddenly crashed into the lead car, sending it spinning in the air several times and turning into a heap of scrap metal," Lu Zhiwei borated. "And then?" "The people in the car vanished, and after the cruise ship hit the sedan, it disappeared too. My dad is still at the crime scene investigating. What we can preliminarily confirm is that this guy is the ''Highway Cruise Ship Killer'', a fugitive on the wanted list. But there''s no other progress beyond that, so I snuck off to find you." Lu Zhiwei handed Xiang Beifei a piece of information with an introduction to the "Highway Cruise Ship Killer". "That''s a really strange name." Xiang Beifei looked over the information about the Highway Cruise Ship Killer. This guy didn''t have a real face, but there were photos of the cruise ship. It was a white cruise ship, its white paint peeling off, looking like it had seen better days¡ªwith no identification on it, just an ordinary, old cruise ship. In the photo, the cruise ship was captured traveling on the highway, looking particrly eerie. "Here''s some surveince footage from past incidents, pretty simr to this one, but we just can''t capture who this person is." Lu Zhiwei passed her phone to Xiang Beifei and tapped on the video screen. Although it was night, the video was fairly clear because the surveince was created with high-tech systems, so it was still very clear and even had sound. In the video, several sedans drove along the highway, looking normal, but at this moment, the car in front suddenly honked loudly, even starting to slow down and hitting the brakes as if to make way for something. A cruise ship came into view at the end of the highway. The appearance of the cruise ship into the camera''s frame was sudden,pletely dark with no lights, speeding along the highway like a ghostly shadow. Next, the light in the video frame suddenly dimmed, as though something interfered with the filming. The light around the cruise ship seemed to be absorbed by it, then it quickly crashed into one of the red sedans, cutting the vehicle in half. The strangest part was that the red sedan wasn''t at the front¡ªit had other cars in front of it. However, the highway cruise ship moved like a ghost, nimbly dodging through a row of cars, like an experienced driver on the highway, avoiding the other vehicles before hitting that one sedan in the stream of cars. "It seems to have a specific target. Who was sitting in that sedan?" Xiang Beifei asked, pointing to the video. "Its targets are always couples!" Lu Zhiwei said. "Couples?" "Yes, we can''t find the people, so we can only deduce from missing persons cases, every time the sedan that was hit happened to have a couple in it." Lu Zhiwei said, "That''s why this guy is also called the Highway Couples Killer by us!" Xiang Beifei nodded thoughtfully, "Turns out being single has its benefits." Lu Zhiwei''s eyes widened, "Hey, is that the point!" Xiang Beifei calmly asked, "Have none of the victims been found?" Lu Zhiwei shook her head, "All the cases are very strange. Every time a cruise ship hits a car on the highway, there are no bloodstains left inside. It''s like the car was empty, as if the people inside vanished the moment they were hit." Could there really be such a bizarre thing? Xiang Beifei was deep in thought, considering which systems could achieve this. But so far, he hadn''t encountered many powerful systems. The ones that had left the deepest impression on him were probably Thousand Faces Refined and the Remation System; it was hard to determine without checking the crime scene. "Let''s go have a look." Xiang Beifei said. "Let''s go." Lu Zhiwei tossed a helmet to Xiang Beifei and donned one herself. With a confident flick of her hair, she motioned for Xiang Beifei to hop on. "I always feel like it''s never good news when I run into you." Xiang Beifei muttered, sitting behind Lu Zhiwei. "Hold onto me tight! We''re going to act like a sweet little couple! Maybe then that cruise ship wille hit us." Lu Zhiwei said nonchntly. Xiang Beifei: "..." Lu Zhiwei was very bold. As a talented student from Liangzhou University, an S-rank Awakener, and with the Super Police System, she was extremely skilled in every aspect except reasoning. But she knew Xiang Beifei was even more powerful. After all, he had once killed a Triangr Thunder Krait in a single strike, so she had great confidence in Xiang Beifei. Xiang Beifei didn''t say much. As he sat behind Lu Zhiwei, he hesitated and stretched out his hand, gesturing, pondering where to ce it respectfully. But Lu Zhiwei had already floored the elerator, speeding off! The huge inertia almost threw Xiang Beifei off, and he instinctively hugged Lu Zhiwei''s waist tight. Quite slender, indeed. Chapter 151: Chapter 136: Crime Scene "First time on a motorcycle? Why so tense?" Lu Zhiweiughed loudly. "Do you take people out every day?" Xiang Beifei asked. "Not really, but I did give a ride to a few dummies who forgot their admission tickets recently. They wanted to hug me, but I kicked them out. Did they think they could just hug me? It was good enough that I used my spiritual power to drag them along!" Lu Zhiwei hummed and hawed. Xiang Beifei: "..." He wondered if he was considered to be hugging her now. Lu Zhiwei didn''t seem to care how Xiang Beifei ced his hands. She rode very fast, her hair fluttering wildly in front of her eyes. Two months ago, she had short hair, but now she had suddenly grown it long, and it fluttered so much that Xiang Beifei''s helmet made a ttering sound. He tried using "Abruptly Stop," and the fluttering hair immediately fixed itself in midair. This ability was quite useful. Lu Zhiwei seemed unaware as she turned the motorcycle towards the highway outside the city. Soon, the urban area was far behind them, and they sped along the highway with fewer and fewer cars in sight. About half an hourter, they arrived at yesterday''s crime scene, where the road had already been cordoned off with police tape. Law enforcement officers were examining the scene. On the road, a sedan had been smashed into a heap of scrap metal, charred ck and slightly smoking, with pieces of its bumper scattered all around¡ªa gruesome sight. Drones flew back and forth above, and dense woods bordered the highway on both sides. The drones navigated through the trees, searching extensively across the area. "Brother Ma, any progress?" Lu Zhiwei parked the motorcycle on the side of the road, took off her helmet, and asked Ma Feiguang, who was nearby. "Xiao Wei, you''re here!" Ma Feiguang was maintaining the order of the passing vehicles. His gaze soon fell on Xiang Beifei, and his eyes brightened instantly: "Ah! The Silhouette Detective is also here!" "Silhouette Detective, how do you n to solve the case this time?" Xiao Cao also ran over from a distance, looking at Xiang Beifei with anticipation. "What a strange name." Xiang Beifei wasn''t quite used to this title yet and asked, "By the way, where''s Uncle Lu?" "He and some others are searching in the woods." Ma Feiguang pointed toward the woods on the left, then turned to Xiang Beifei, "It''s okay, you can start by looking at the ident scene." Normally, such a crime scene would not allow bystanders, but Ma Feiguang obviously didn''t consider Xiang Beifei an outsider. Having such a talented young man to assist in solving the case was extremely efficient. Xiang Beifei crossed the police line and approached the wrecked sedan. Otherw enforcement officers also quickly gathered around, ready to observe how the "Silhouette Detective" would showcase his skills. Last time, Xiang Beifei had merely nced a few times before closing the case, astonishing everyone and leaving them reminiscing to this day. Now, their expectations for Xiang Beifei were very high. Xiang Beifei didn''t pay attention to these officers; his gaze lingered on the sedan for a moment. Since advancing to theter stages of Qi-Controlling, his Perception had be much stronger. Lately, he had also been learning about spiritual power with Elder Luo, and he could sense any anomaly created by the System. The sedan in front of him had been split from the front, like a sharp incision had cut the car in half, simr to the scene disyed in the video. "Woof woof!" Xiaohei jumped onto the scrap metal from his shoulder, gesticting wildly with his paws. "Is there something unusual about the space around here?" Xiang Beifei stood up and looked around. He could faintly sense something rippling nearby, ovepping with the visible scene, very vague. It was a fluctuation formed by the System, apparently, someone had used the system to mask this area. "Have you not noticed some strange fluctuations around here?" Xiang Beifei asked. Ma Feiguang and Xiao Cao looked at each other and shook their heads slightly, but Xiao Cao said, "Captain Lu also mentioned a strange fluctuation earlier; he felt it!" Lu Hong was an S-level Investigation System, with very strong perception abilities. Lu Zhiwei was taking notes rapidly on the side, recording every move Xiang Beifei made. Then she looked up seriously, "I felt it too." Although Lu Zhiwei''s deductive abilities were somewhat poor, she was part of the Super Police System and also had strong perception abilities. Ma Feiguang and Xiao Cao''s systems weren''t investigative, so their perceptual abilities weren''t as strong as those of Xiang Beifei and Lu Zhiwei. "What are you all doing standing around here? Don''t you have your own work to do?" Lu Hong emerged from the woods, saw everyone gathered, and immediately shouted. "Captain Lu, we were just learning how the Silhouette Detective solves cases! Last time, he pinpointed the perpetrator with just one look," Xiao Cao exined sheepishly. "Last time wasst time. Do you think the guy who hit someone would still be around this time? Don''t crowd around here, go do your work," Lu Hong said sternly. Ma Feiguang and the others could only disperse grudgingly and attend to their own tasks. Although Lu Hong had a stern face, seeing his daughter bring Xiang Beifei here, he soon revealed a smile: "Beifei, I heard you were admitted to Liangzhou University. Xiao Wei mentioned it to me, and I haven''t had the chance to congratte you yet!" "Congrattions to Uncle Lu as well," Xiang Beifei said. "Haha, you noticed that?" Lu Hongughed and was quite grateful to Xiang Beifei. His feedback on thest case of Rapid me had earned him an advanced pill, and now his abilities had reached the middle stage of Meridian Opening! After a while, he sized up Xiang Beifei again: "Impressive, I feel like I can see through you even less these days." Lu Zhiwei said, "He''s been studying thesest few days with an old security guard from our school. That security guard seems very powerful. Last time, for Beifei''s sake, he even dared to scold Yuchi Shen. I had no idea before!" Chapter 152: Chapter 136: Crime Scene_2 Xiang Beifei indeed knew a bit; Elder Luo was once a professor at Liangzhou University. Later, when he lost interest in teaching, he just hung onto the title. In recent years, he became so idle he took on a job as a security guard, spending his days counting students at the school gate. Most students didn''t recognize the old man or take him seriously. "The old security guard? Who is that?" Lu Hong asked, looking at Xiang Beifei. "His surname is Luo, probably used to be a teacher," Xiang Beifei said. "Surname Luo? Luo Yunxian, Professor Luo?" Lu Hong eximed in surprise. Lu Zhiwei asked doubtfully, "Dad, do you know that security guard?" "More than ten years ago, when I was studying at Liangzhou University, he was still a professor. He was straightforward but extremely powerful! At that time, among the nine universities, he had a fierce reputation! Once, on a field practice in the deste wilderness, I saw him spit out a sunflower seed shell and obliterate a deste beast that was equivalent to the early stage of God Refining! To this day, it seems no one knows his true cultivation level!" Lu Hong said with an air of admiration. When Lu Hong spoke of Elder Luo, he was clearly amazed. Elder Luo''s cultivation level was definitely high, but how high it actually was, even Xiang Beifei didn''t know. Although he could see Elder Luo''s system value, Elder Luo''s system was quite special. Normally he would add skill points randomly out of boredom, and whenever he wanted to show his true power, he''d respec, and the system interface would be invisible. To this day, Xiang Beifei still had no way to estimate Elder Luo''s true cultivation level based on his system value. "Then why did he be a security guard?" Lu Zhiwei asked, puzzled. In her view, an SR-level Awakener should be the star wherever they go. If he went to serve in the Jiuzhou Alliance, countless people should be vying for him. "I think it''s probably because of that incident a few years ago?" Lu Hong said. After some thought, Lu Hong added, "I remember it was six years ago! There was arge-scale beast tide that broke out. Deste beasts attacked our alliance''s borders. I heard that the Jiuzhou Alliance asked him tomand the battle, but in the process, a very powerful SSR died!" "An SSR died?" Lu Zhiwei inhaled sharply, "What was his cultivation level? How could he be killed by a deste beast?" Six years ago, when the beast tide from the wilderness attacked the borders of Jiuzhou territory, they were too young. When the air-raid rm sounded, all martial artists went to battle, and those who were old, weak, or young were taken underground to take shelter just in case. "I don''t know the specifics, but I heard from a friend serving in the Jiuzhou Alliance that the SSR didn''t die at the hands of a deste beast but was executed by him ording to militaryw! Apparently, the SSR was very arrogant, did not obey his orders as an SR, was insubordinate, and acted unterally, leading to a breach in the borders. When the beast tide poured in, hundreds of defenders died, including SR and S-grade martial artists. In his wrath, he killed that SSR on the spot!" Lu Zhiwei''s eyes widened. SSRs are very rare Awakeners; the entire Jiuzhou typically wouldn''t see more than ten SSR awakenings in a year. Each SSR is extremely powerful, and just like that, he killed one? "Yes, I heard at the time that many high-ranking officials of the Jiuzhou Alliance tried to stop him, wanting to plead for the SSR. After all, he was a top talent with extraordinary potential, hoping he would show leniency. But Professor Luo showed no mercy and killed the SSR in one strike! However, it also stirred up a lot of trouble, as many in the Jiuzhou Alliance had grievances against him. But he couldn''t be med because stopping the beast tide was credited to him, so they couldn''t do much about him. But since then, it seemed he was ostracized by the Jiuzhou Alliance, and after that, I hadn''t heard any news about him, only to find out now that he had returned to the university to work as a security guard, sigh," Lu Hong expressed with a sigh. During the beast tide invasion on the alliance borders that year, he was also part of the defenders and participated in the defense. However, he was guarding another side of the battlefield and had not seen Elder Luo face-to-face. But he greatly admired someone like Elder Luo; on the battlefield, those who don''t follow the rules should be executed on the spot, no matter if they''re SR or SSR! Elder Luo always had a straightforward temper; Xiang Beifei wasn''t surprised he would execute an insubordinate SSR. Suddenly, Hou Chengwu and Chen Baiwen came to his mind. These two new SSRs of this year thought highly of their talents, were dishonest, epted the school''s schrship, agreed to attend Liangzhou University, then turned tail at thest minute. No wonder Elder Luo was so angry. It''s also fortunate that this was about schooling, not battlefield conduct. Elder Luo just got angry for a while and couldn''t be bothered with them. Otherwise, these two ignorant SSRs wouldn''t even know how they died. "Anyway, we don''t understand the world of the powerful ones! He must have chosen to retire afterward, contributing his remaining energy by helping to guard the school; I didn''t even know he became a security guard," Lu Hong said with another sigh, then turned to Xiang Beifei, "You should learn well from him! And Xiao Wei, when you encounter him in the future, you also need to be more polite, and never judge a book by its cover." "Oh, I understand," Lu Zhiwei nodded then looked seriously at Xiang Beifei. "What is it?" Xiang Beifei felt ufortable being stared at. "My dad said not to judge a book by its cover." "So?" "I already judged you by your cover in the past!" Lu Zhiwei said earnestly, "Now I''m thinking about how to really ''get'' you." Before Xiang Beifei had killed a Triangr Thunder Krait with a single dagger, she had no idea how strong Xiang Beifei was. Even now, she didn''t know how strong he really was. "Oh." Xiang Beifei found her words a bit odd, so he said, "Let''s focus on solving the case at hand first! Uncle Lu, have you found any clues after searching this area?" ``` "We still can''t be sure, this area is covered by something very strange, and I haven''t found the source yet," Lu Hong shook his head. "I used the ravens to search the entire area, and I even scanned it, but I didn''t see anything abnormal. I can''t even determine where exactly that cruise ship came from." "What about the information on the two missing people?" "Still looking. The car was hit so badly and it caught fire, everything got burned, including the license te which is hard to recognize now. Xiao Cao is using technical means to restore it. He''s good at this kind of thing and should have some results soon. Once he confirms it, we''ll be able to find out who the missing persons are," Lu Hong exined. Xiang Beifei nodded thoughtfully, but at this moment, Xiaohei barked twice, pointing in the direction of the woods, and then dashed into the thicket. "Let''s go have a look over there." Xiang Beifei stepped over the police line, chasing after Xiaohei. Lu Hong and Lu Zhiwei exchanged nces and hastily followed. The woods had no clear path; the ground was covered with thorny shrubs and weeds. The trees were tall and dense, intertwining with one another, greatly obstructing the view. Xiaohei swiftly darted through the forest. If it weren''t for Xiang Beifei''s connection with it, he would have likely lost track of it. Xiaohei didn''t run far, just for a short while, then it stopped on a rock by a white birch tree. At that moment, a rapid breathing sound suddenly came from ahead, as if someone was running at high speed. Whoosh! A figure darted out of the woods toward Xiang Beifei. "Someone''s here," Xiang Beifei whispered sharply. "Where?" Lu Hong and Lu Zhiwei instantly became alert, searching around for the figure. Xiang Beifei climbed up a small slope, and soon he saw what was happening ahead. What appeared before him was a woman in her twenties running through the woods, but what surprised him was that her figure was flickering in and out of visibility. Moreover, she seemed to ignore the trees, passing directly through the trunks as though¡ª she were a ghost. Xiang Beifei saw the woman''s system interface. [Host: He Yun] [N level, Fashion Design System] [Realm: Early Qi-Controlling] "Save me!" The woman named He Yun seemed to have also seen Xiang Beifei, she cried out frantically to him. Xiang Beifei frowned slightly, looking down at He Yun''s feet. Somehow, she was stepping on thin air, but clearly struggling to climb upwards, her hands tightly grasping at nothing as if she was clinging to an invisible rock. Upon seeing Xiang Beifei, she suddenly burst into tears of joy. "Save me! There''s a deste beast! It''s chasing me!" He Yun looked back in panic, scrambling a couple of steps upward, but seemed unable to get a firm grip. She screamed miserably and slid down. Hum! He Yun''s figure fell from the air to the ground and instantly disappeared. "Uncle Lu, that woman!" Xiang Beifei turned and spoke. But when he turned back, he found no one there! Xiang Beifei was slightly taken aback. Where were Lu Hong and his daughter? ``` Chapter 153: Chapter 137: Falling into the Dirt Haunted. Just a few seconds ago, Lu Hong and Lu Zhiwei were clearly right behind him. How could they have suddenly disappeared? Xiang Beifei frowned. Honestly, ever since he entered this forest, he had felt that the atmosphere around him was a bit eerie. The system fluctuations were very strong, as if something was enveloping the area, rendering the forest surreal. Xiaohei "swooshed" onto Xiang Beifei''s shoulder and clung tightly to his neck. "Xiaohei, what''s going on? Where are Uncle Lu and Lu Zhiwei?" Xiang Beifei inquired. Xiaohei shook his head, seemingly also confused. Xiang Beifei''s attention had been drawn away by a woman named He Yun just now, neglecting what was behind him, but Lu Hong and Lu Zhiwei were supposed to be just five steps behind him, so how could they just vanish? He turned around and looked at the slope behind him. He had been at the base of the slope because he''d heard a noise and climbed up. At that time, Uncle Lu and the others were still beside him, but when he got to the top, he saw the ghostly figure of the woman, who called out to him for help. He alerted Uncle Lu, and Uncle Lu had responded. In less than ten seconds from the woman appearing to her disappearing, how could they disappear in such a short span? Xiang Beifei leaped down the slope, watching his surroundings warily, then whispered, "Uncle Lu?" No one answered. "Lu Zhiwei?" Still no response. It was as if the two of them had vanished into thin air. The forest was eerily silent, only the rustling of leaves in the wind. But soon, amidst these rustling noises, Xiang Beifei thought he heard something strange. The sound... was like the waves crashing against the rocks! "Why would there be the sound of waves?" Xiang Beifei found it odd. This ce was a forest, with the nearest coastline being hundreds of kilometers away. There couldn''t possibly be waves nearby. "Xiaohei, what were you chasing to get here?" Xiang Beifei asked. "Woof woof." "And the scent?" "Woof woof!" "It disappeared?" After contemting for a moment, Xiang Beifei decided that something peculiar was going on in this area. He resolved to return to the road to see if he could find Xiao Cao and Ma Feiguang to help search together. He retraced the route they had originally taken, moving through the thorns to head back. However, after a few steps, he increasingly felt that something was amiss. For some reason, the light between the trees would asionally appear distorted, bing very strange. With no one around, it seemed like something was watching him from the dark. He seemed to understand something. "Xiang Beifei! Where are you?" At that moment, Xiang Beifei suddenly heard Lu Zhiwei''s voiceing from the trees to his right. He perked up immediately and turned toward the source of the sound, running. The ground in the forest was uneven. He ran forward for a while and soon saw Lu Zhiwei. "Where did you go just now?" Xiang Beifei approached Lu Zhiwei. "I should ask you the same; you suddenly disappeared." Lu Zhiwei was standing on a branch two meters high and then reached out a hand, saying, "Hurry,e up. What are you doing running down in the ditch?" What running in the ditch? Xiang Beifei felt puzzled; he looked around, and clearly, it was an open field. How could it be a ditch? "Youe down, standing on a tree and¡ª" Xiang Beifei hadn''t finished speaking when he suddenly realized something and looked at Lu Zhiwei''s feet in astonishment. Lu Zhiwei was not standing on the branch. Her feet were clearly a distance away from the branch. She was suspended in midair! "What are you dazed for? Is it fun being stuck in the mud?" Lu Zhiwei waved her hand, beckoning Xiang Beifei to hurry up. Xiang Beifei felt increasingly uneasy. He hesitated for a moment but still reached out to grab Lu Zhiwei''s hand. However, their hands passed through each other in midair. Xiang Beifei''s hand grasped nothing! It was as if Lu Zhiwei was just a shadow, impossible to hold! "This¡ª" Lu Zhiwei also paused, stunned. She tried to grab Xiang Beifei''s hand again, but their hands crossed paths again in the air. "What''s happening? What ability did you use?" Lu Zhiwei asked in astonishment. "It''s not me; there''s something strange here," Xiang Beifei said gravely. Lu Zhiwei squatted down, looking at Xiang Beifei puzzledly. She tried several times to grab his hand but failed, and her face gradually turned uneasy. "What''s wrong?" "Behind you! Watch out!" Lu Zhiwei yelled. Chapter Explore: Xiang Beifei swiftly turned around, breath soil had already transformed into a dagger in his hand, and a me arose on his arm. However, there was nothing behind him! Lu Zhiwei shouted from above, "Run! What are you dazed for? The deste beast ising at you!" "I can''t see any deste beast!" Xiang Beifei said sternly. This wasn''t the outer wilderness; normally, the chances of a deste beast appearing weren''t very high. Last time, a person named Xu Yang had attacked him with a mutated stray dog, but that was no deste beast. "It''s roaring at you; wait, I''ll jump down and join you," Lu Zhiwei said. Xiang Beifei thought of something and yelled, "Wait, don''t jump!" But it was already a step toote; Lu Zhiwei had jumped from the tree. Her figure hit the ground and then disappeared straight into the earth. Just like that woman named He Yun! "Lu Zhiwei?" Xiang Beifei ran forward a few steps and knocked on the ground where Lu Zhiwei had just disappeared. But the ground was only a muddy patch of grass, very moist. Lu Zhiwei hadnded there, but no footprints were left. Using the tree trunks as a slight leverage, he channeled Spiritual Power into his feet and flipped onto the branch where Lu Zhiwei had just been standing, then looked down. Chapter 154: Chapter 137: Falling into the Ground_2 But he saw nothing. Lu Zhiwei seemed to have fallen to the ground, and then disappeared. "What in the world is this thing." Xiang Beifei jumped back down to the ground. However, hended steadily on the ground, not sinking into the earth like Lu Zhiwei. Xiang Beifei crouched down and dug through the dirt with breath soil, creating a small hole, hoping to find something in the soil. But other than some dried leaves and grass roots, there were only some pebbles and dirt. Still, he saw nothing out of the ordinary. He calmed down and began to think about the current situation, analyzing all the clues he had gathered in detail. A ship suddenly appeared on the highway and collided with a sedan. Xiaohei sensed something strange here, and then they tracked it to this ce, where they saw a woman named He Yun being chased by a deste beast. But she was stepping on air, seemingly trying to climb upward, yet she didn''t get very high before falling down. And like before, she fell into the ground and disappeared! Soon after, Uncle Lu and Lu Zhiwei both vanished as if some ability had separated them. Then he heard the sound of waves. And then Lu Zhiwei''s voice calling for him. After finding Lu Zhiwei, the same situation urred again. Did Lu Zhiwei also jump into the ground and disappear? Xiang Beifei was certain that this area must have been affected by some kind of system ability! In other words, the person who attacked that carst night must still be lingering nearby, but even Uncle Lu''s raven couldn''t detect his presence¡ªwhat kind of system is that? Is it a kind of system that involves space ovep? Of all the space-rted systems he had encountered, the one that left the deepest impression on him was the Remation System, which could even reim a space from something as small as a piece of chewing gum. Clearly, this ce was also covered with ayer of special system space, but Uncle Lu''s raven failed to work and couldn''t detect any anomalies. To block the raven, the system level had to be at least the same as Uncle Lu''s, or perhaps an SR-level that could shield against Uncle Lu''s S-level. But he distinctly remembered Lu Zhiwei mentioning that another jurisdiction''sw enforcement officer said that this guy was only in theter stages of Qi-Controlling. How could a system awakened in theter stages of Qi-Controlling possibly elude the raven''s detection? "Specifically targeting couples, could it really have mistaken me and Lu Zhiwei for a couple?" Xiang Beifei stroked his chin, analyzing the current situation. If the criminal truly was just in theter stages of Qi-Controlling, then he should be manageable. However, even if he could win in a direct fight, he first had to find the person. But the other party was obviously very cunning. Being on the wanted list and not even caught by Meridian Opening levelw enforcement officers indicated that he usually relied on his system to create spaces for hiding himself. This meant that he wouldn''t show himself unless absolutely necessary. Xiang Beifei suddenly thought of something and turned to ask, "Xiaohei, did you just stop someone from applying their system ability on me?" "Woof woof!" Xiaohei nodded. "So that''s how it is!" Xiang Beifei understood. No wonder, when he saw Lu Zhiwei and that woman named He Yun, he always felt as if they were not in the same world as him. Xiaohei served as a powerful defense, blocking any system abilities that tried to target Xiang Beifei from the shadows. Just now, that person must have tried to quietly pull Xiang Beifei into a space created by his system, but Xiaohei blocked it, and Lu Zhiwei, who wasn''t protected, got pulled in. What about Uncle Lu? Xiang Beifei pondered. Could it be that this guy''s space could ovep multipleyers, separating all three of them? ``` "Xiaohei, do you have a way to take me into that space?" Xiang Beifei asked. Xiaohei nodded, barked twice, and then removed the defense around Xiang Beifei. Because that space had been pulling at Xiang Beifei, wanting to take him inside, but Xiaohei was blocking it. However, as soon as Xiaohei let go, Xiang Beifei immediately felt a sudden change in the scenery before him. Whoosh! The sky, which had been clear a moment ago, was now shrouded in dark clouds. He seemed to still be standing in a forest, but the arrangement and types of trees around him were different. The sound of waves crashing against rocks became clearer and clearer. He ran toward the sound of the waves and after about a hundred meters, he found himself on the edge of a cliff overlooking a vast and boundless sea. The sea surged with rolling waves, creatingyers uponyers that crashed against the stones at the base of the cliff, setting off a thunderous roar. "Is this the space that guy''s system created?" Xiang Beifei looked around. He felt as though he was on an ind, which specific ind he was unsure of, with nondmarks to guide him, but it seemed to be a deserted, uninhabited isle. This was his first time being dragged into someone else''s system space. There were many types of system spaces, such as those of novels and movies. For hosts who traveled into novels and movies toplete quests and receive rewards, those worlds were merely simtions by the system and did not truly exist. Afterpleting a task in the system space, the host would return to reality. So was this "Highway Killer" specifically bringing couples into his own system space to have themplete tasks for him? Xiang Beifei couldn''t be sure. If there was a task to bepleted, that would be fine, but he must first know exactly what the task was and how to help the other partyplete it. Then, afterpletion, he could harvest a wave of system rewards from the other party! Unfortunately, he had not yet seen the "Highway Killer''s" system interface, so he couldn''t confirm anything. It would be much more convenient if he could just see the other party. Xiang Beifei looked out at the turbulent sea. The sea seemed to have been cut off; it was certain that traversing the sea would be impossible, so he decided to turn back. He re-entered the forest and started exploring. He needed to find Lu Zhiwei or any person he could see. Of course, most importantly, he had to find out which system the host that created this space was using. The forest was very dim, and he was alone, with no clear paths on the ground. However, fortunately, he had acquired the ability to control his weight and could make his body lighter. Covering the soles of his feet with Spiritual Power, he leaped lightly, controlling the Spiritual Power tond on a tree branch. Then, with a slight bend of his knees, he sprang forward, moving swiftly through the trees. This way of moving was very agile, like executing Qinggong. As long as he controlled the Spiritual Power properly, he could move through the crisscrossing branches without obstacle. After about ten minutes of moving through the forest, Xiaohei suddenly tugged on his ear and pointed in a certain direction. Xiang Beifei tapped his toes on the trunk of a tree and quickly turned, sprinting in the direction Xiaohei had indicated. Soon, he saw a figure in the underbrush below, seemingly copsed on the ground. Chapter Find: Xiang Beifeinded cautiously on the ground, staring at the man lying there. Having recently learned to use spiritual power from Elder Luo, he attempted to probe the man with it. "He''s still alive." Xiang Beifei approached the man cautiously. The man was wearing a id shirt, was pale, had some scratches on his body that seemed to have been made by branches, and some of the wounds had turned white. He saw the man''s system interface. [Host: Liu Gui] [R-level, Marketing Genius System] [Realm: Mid-phase of Qi-Controlling] Xiang Beifei browsed through the man''s system tasks, but unfortunately, the man''s system log mostly consisted of market marketing matters. The man seemed to be the marketing director of a clothingpany. His task log contained no records about why he appeared in this forest, although there was a task: [With the help of He Yun, secure the agency rights of the "Eight Wolves" brand for the two stores on West Street, reward: 10,000 Yuan] "He Yun? Isn''t that the woman I just saw?" Xiang Beifei remembered the woman who had asked him for help when he first came to this forest. Her system interface disyed her name as He Yun. So it looked like the car that had been wrecked on the highway by the cruise ship early this morning belonged to the two of them? ``` Chapter 155: Chapter 138: Ice Tiger Xiang Beifei checked Liu Gui''s injuries. Liu Gui had a bruised forehead, and there were scratch marks on the tree beside him as if he had fallen from its branches and been knocked unconscious. Liu Gui''s system was not the Martial Arts System; his system tasks and rewards were all business-rted ¡ª he seemed clumsy, having been rendered aplete muggle after jumping from a height of five meters. Xiang Beifei had not learned any relevant healing techniques yet, but Elder Luo had taught him how to use spiritual power. Xiang Beifei''s spiritual power transformed into an invisible wave, absorbed into Liu Gui''s mind. Liu Gui''s body trembled as if electrified, and he woke up with a start, then sat up, looking at Xiang Beifei with a face full of terror. "Who are you?" Liu Gui asked cautiously. Xiang Beifei did not respond directly, but instead asked, "Were you hit by a cruise shipst night?" "Yes, yes! We were driving homest night when a cruise ship suddenly appeared on the highway and hit our car. We woke up, and we were here..." At this point, Liu Gui looked at Xiang Beifei with uncertain suspicion, "Were you also captured by him?" "Him?" Xiang Beifei frowned, "Who is he?" Liu Gui, rubbing his shoulder, shook his head, "I don''t know who he is. I''ve been looking for Xiao Yun since I woke up, and then I encountered a deste beast. I don''t know what this deste beast is called; it looks like a tiger. It kept chasing me, so I climbed up a tree. Then I heard a voice, a man''s voice in my mind, saying that I had to find Xiao Yun if I wanted to survive¡ª" Liu Gui paused here, hesitated, and did not finish. He lifted his head and asked urgently, "Have you seen Xiao Yun? A girl in a white short-sleeved shirt, about twenty-five or twenty-six years old." "I have seen her, but we got separated," Xiang Beifei said. "Did youe here alone?" "I''m with another girl... uh, she''s my girlfriend," Xiang Beifei remembered Lu Zhiwei mentioning pretending to be a couple and decided to go along with the act. Liu Gui seemed to realize something and whispered, "So your situation is the same as ours. Have you heard the voice of that man?" Xiang Beifei gazed at Liu Gui, pondering something, then said after a long while, "No." Liu Gui got up, his eyes panicked, and he said, "This ce doesn''t seem very safe. We must find them quickly. Do you have the ability to search for others?" "No, but she does. I hope she can find me," Xiang Beifei said. Lu Zhiwei''s awakened Super Police System and Lu Hong''s Investigation System were of the same type. Although she seldom used her system abilities, Xiang Beifei knew her system inside out. If he wasn''t wrong, Lu Zhiwei should be using her system abilities to search this forest right now. "Are you a martial artist?" Liu Gui inquired. "Yes." "I''m a literary Daoist, not good at wilderness survival. You look so young, are you still in university?" Chapter Find: "Yeah." "Is your girlfriend a martial artist as well?" "Let''s find the others first, then talk," Xiang Beifei said. "Oh... okay." Liu Gui faltered, his gaze anxiously drifting to the depths of the forest as if worried about something, then he nced at Xiang Beifei and dropped the conversation. But before they had taken two steps, a tiger''s roar suddenly erupted from the forest. The roar was so deep and powerful that it made the leaves rustle. The color drained from Liu Gui''s face as he said, "The Ice Tiger ising again!" As soon as he finished speaking, a shadow unexpectedly appeared above them, and sharp ws glistening with cold light lunged at them. Liu Gui let out a terrified yelp and dove to the side. Xiang Beifei''s gaze sharpened; without a look, he dodged to the side and, turning around, his fist lit up with mes as he threw a punch. Bang! His fist directly sent the ambushing deste beast flying! The ambusher, a deste beast, crashed against a distant tree, snapping one as thick as a bowl. It was an Ice Tiger covered in frost, sharp ice ridges all over its body. After being punched away by Xiang Beifei, it quickly stood up, staring fixedly at him. Xiang Beifei didn''t know the academic name of this Ice Tiger. Previously, during the entrance examination, he suffered from not recognizing the Three Souls Deste Snake and thought about cramming the names and types of deste beasts, but these past few days, he had been busy practicing with Elder Luo and had put it off. However, not knowing the academic name of a deste beast wasn''t important. He didn''t know the names of those snakes either, but still, he was able to analyze them thoroughly. The name isn''t important; what matters is how to kill them. This Ice Tiger had the strength of ater stage Qi-Controlling martial artist, and it wasn''t a deste beast created by the system but a real one, seemingly captured from the outer wilderness domain and tamed! Roar! The Ice Tiger, angry at being punched away in one encounter, vigorously roared. From its mouth, it expelled a chilling gust of wind which drifted in the air, transforming into a rapidly spinning tornado that swept through. Xiang Beifei did not hesitate and stretched out his fist to scatter the tornado once again. However, the dispersed tornado turned into ice shavings, which scattered in the air. Then, all of a sudden, the ice shavings abruptly swelled, transforming into numerous sharp ice des surrounding Xiang Beifei from all directions! Swish! Swish! Swish! The countless ice des charged fiercely at Xiang Beifei, cutting off all possible escape routes. Yet Xiang Beifei wasn''t panicked; spiritual power surged around him, instantly igniting into me gales that encircled him! Chapter 156: Chapter 138: Ice Tiger_2 ``` Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Sharp icicles pierced against his me gale, all of which he blocked and even melted into vapor. With a push of his body, he shot towards the Ice Tiger amidst a sky filled with icicles¡ª Boom! Xiang Beifei''s fist smashed into the Ice Tiger''s head. The beast hadn''t had time to react and was cracked all over by his Rapid me punch. Spiritual Power rushed through the cracks of the Ice Tiger and ignited. The whole creature burst into mes. With a "bang", the enormous Ice Tiger was blown apart by Xiang Beifei''s Rapid me, shattering into countless ice chunks that scattered throughout the forest. "Wow, so strong!" Liu Gui watched Xiang Beifei in shock, not having expected him to kill a fearsome deste beast with just two punches! However, Xiang Beifei turned back and stared at Liu Gui, asking, "Are you hiding anything else from me?" Liu Gui was stunned for a moment. A sh of panic crossed his eyes as he said, "I, I''m not hiding anything from you." "If you were being chased by this deste beast, it could have killed you in an instant, yet how are you still alive?" Xiang Beifei red at Liu Gui. This Ice Tiger had the strength of someone in thete stages of Qi-Controlling; just breathing could form various icicles in the air. Liu Gui was a devotee of the literary Dao, and his system had no ability to protect himself. He couldn''t possibly have escaped this Ice Tiger''s pursuit by simply climbing a tree. But he had just fallen from a tree and been knocked unconscious; the Ice Tiger hadn''t killed him. "That voice in your mind, what exactly did it tell you to do?" Xiang Beifei said gravely. Liu Gui, intimidated by Xiang Beifei''s presence, backed up to a tree, his face full of panic. He said, "What do you mean? You don''t think I brought this Ice Tiger here, do you?" Xiang Beifei studied Liu Gui''s system interface and said, "You don''t have the capability, so you''d best tell me what deal you made with who." All of a sudden, Liu Gui pulled out an ice knife, pointing it at Xiang Beifei, and shouted, "What''s with the act! You''re in the same situation as me. If you want to leave this ce, you have to do the same thing! That voice must have told you too!" Xiang Beifei frowned and asked, "Told me what?" "You really don''t know? He hasn''t told you?" Liu Gui looked at Xiang Beifei''s expression and realized he did not seem to be feigning ignorance. He put down the ice knife anxiously and shook his head, "Sorry for shouting at you. He''ll tell you soon. The only way out of here is that method. This ce only allows men to survive. I must kill Xiao Yun to make it! You probably have to do the same, to kill your girlfriend." "You want to kill your own girlfriend?" Xiang Beifei furrowed his brows. "I don''t want to! I like her, how could I possibly do it?" Liu Gui threw away the ice knife in his hand, looking revolted by it. "This ice knife, where did ite from, did you pick it up?" Xiang Beifei had just fought the Ice Tiger, which had used simr ice knives. Liu Gui shook his head and said, "I don''t know what happened. I was driven to the brink by that Ice Tiger, then that voice appeared in my head. It said this was a game rule. If I wanted to stay alive, I had to y its game, and then this ice knife mysteriously appeared in my pocket." But at that moment, suddenly there came amotion from behind, as if someone was running fast, apanied by panicked screams and many ferocious tiger roars. Swish! Swish! Swish! Two figures leaped out of the trees. On closer inspection, it was Lu Zhiwei and He Yun. "Lu Zhiwei!" When Xiang Beifei saw Lu Zhiwei, he called out. "Ah, Beifei, finally found you! Run, run! A whole pack of Extreme Ice Tigers are after us!" Lu Zhiwei screamed as she dragged He Yun, sprinting towards Xiang Beifei. Hot on their heels were two white Ice Tigers emanating frost, identical to the one Xiang Beifei had just killed, ferociously chasing after the two women. ``` Beifei darted past Lu Zhiwei and He Yun, his body erupting with domineering mes that roared as they thundered towards two Extreme Ice Tigers. The explosive force of his punch mmed into the head of one, sending it flying away. The other Extreme Ice Tiger dodged in time, let out a roar, and spewed a vortex of ice shards towards him. Beifei''s me gale shone brightly once more, blocking in front, incinerating the sudden barrage of icicles. However, more roars erupted from behind the trees. He nced over and saw no less than a dozen Extreme Ice Tigers encircling them. "Fifteen in total, maybe more. Don''t get entangled, these two''s cultivation levels are too low. We''re no match for them in a straight fight, we need to find higher ground!" Lu Zhiwei shouted. Beifei also knew that the situation wasn''t right; he could handle one Extreme Ice Tiger, but if he were to be surrounded by fifteen, it would be extraordinarily troublesome, not to mention that there were the literary Daoists, Liu Gui and He Yun. Without hesitation, he kicked away an approaching Extreme Ice Tiger and then retreated, catching up to Lu Zhiwei. "Xiao Yun! Are you okay?" Liu Gui eximed with surprise upon seeing He Yun. "Liu Gui, you''re here, that''s great!" He Yun, being dragged along by Lu Zhiwei, was also very excited to see Liu Gui. "Now''s not the time. Let''s go." Beifei grabbed Liu Gui, who wanted to go to He Yun, and turned his head to run back. "What exactly happened? How did you get surrounded by so many deste beasts?" "I don''t know, I just ran into He Yun, then they suddenly appeared!" Lu Zhiwei was pulling along a pale-looking He Yun, who seemed to have many cuts all over, her body covered with mud, looking very bedraggled. Beifei didn''t ask any further because it seemed like more Extreme Ice Tigers were joining the encirclement. Their path of escape was quickly cut off and the four of them were trapped under a huge pine tree. "Climb the tree! Climb the tree!" Beifei grabbed Liu Gui and threw him onto the branches above, while Lu Zhiwei brought He Yun up with her. The four of them stood on the tree branches, looking down at the Extreme Ice Tigers gradually closing in from below. Roar! Roar! A dense pack of Extreme Ice Tigers surrounded them tight, the situation extremely dire. "Xiao Yun, you''re not hurt, are you?" Liu Gui clutched the branches tightly, adjusted his stance, and nced down anxiously. "I''m fine; she saved me." He Yun also clung firmly to the tree trunk. "Good that you''re okay," Liu Gui said eagerly, "hold tight, don''t fall." "The two of you, don''t move around, stay put!" Lu Zhiwei shouted at them while at the same time, four square ss explosion-proof shields appeared in her hand. She waved the shields, enclosing Liu Gui and He Yun within them. It was her ability, the powerful st-resistant shields that could withstand attacks fromte-stage Qi-Controlling, but with so many Extreme Ice Tigers here, blocking one might still be possible, but they definitely couldn''t block so many. Thus, she could only first ensure the two weakest were protected. "Be careful, Beifei! This can protect you," Lu Zhiwei said as she flung her hand again, and a st shield appeared on Beifei, flickering in and out of sight, like wrapping him within a protectiveyer, while a shield also appeared around herself. Whoosh! The leading Extreme Ice Tiger leapt high from the ground, lunging ferociously at them. Lu Zhiwei''s body ignited with brilliant mes, the pattern of their flow resembling that of Lu Hong''s lineage. Her Rapid me was also incredibly strong! Bang! Her fist, cloaked in mes, struck the underside of the lurching Extreme Ice Tiger''s jaw, the colossal force repelling it mid-attack. Another was on the approach, but Beifei dashed forward, booting the iing Extreme Ice Tiger away. "Come on, let''s work together. Keep an eye out for me; I''m going to give them a taste of their own medicine!" Lu Zhiwei stood on the branch, her ''Super Police System'' interface revealing a long list of powerful firearms¡ªmethrowers, sniper rifles, rocketunchers, grenades, machine guns... every type of firearm imaginable. Rattle! Chapter Find: She swept her spiritual power across, instantly wrapping around five weapons from the system interface¡ªa machine gun, rocketuncher, submachine gun, shotgun, and even a rocket-propelled crossbow¡ªeach weapon floating in mid-air. Chapter 157: Chapter 139: Full Firepower Lu Zhiwei''s entire body lit up with light as the system fully armed her with a tight ckbat suit, adorned with variousbat weapons and magazines,pletely transforming her appearance into a formidable and efficient warrior. Five guns floated beside her, entirely controlled by her own Spiritual Power, while she held two machine guns in her hands. "Come on! Fire at will!" Lu Zhiwei shouted loudly! Thud! Thud! Thud! Boom! Boom! Bang! Bang! Bang! Machine guns, rocketunchers, and shotguns fired ruthlessly at the Extreme Ice Tigers below, the terrifying rockets falling and hitting an Extreme Ice Tiger, exploding on impact and sting it into fragments. The explosive shockwave spread, flinging another two Extreme Ice Tigers away. Roar! Roar! The Extreme Ice Tigers, enraged by her, charged persistently, but Lu Zhiwei''s machine guns were not for show, piercing the frontmost Extreme Ice Tiger into a wasp nest, while the other two attempting a nk attack were decapitated by her rocket crossbows with a single shot! Boom! Boom! Boom! The entire forest echoed with the intense sounds of explosions and rumblings as Lu Zhiwei, firing from atop a tree branch, obliterated arge swath of Extreme Ice Tigers! "Impressive." Beifei watched Lu Zhiwei in astonishment. Although he was aware of Lu Zhiwei''s system capabilities and knew her system included various firearms, Lu Zhiwei was not typically a girl who liked to show off her firearms. She had never unted them in front of him, nor had she ever threatened him with a gun on a whim. Instead, she would always carry a little notebook, eagerly following him to learn reasoning. Lu Hong had taught her well since childhood, telling her guns should only be used against deste beasts or bad people, and thus she never used guns in front of Beifei. Because of this, Beifei had momentarily even forgotten that Lu Zhiwei was a martial artist, an S-grade super detective capable of utilizing various firearms! When Lu Zhiwei got serious, she was utterly ruthless, wielding powerful weapons and bombarding relentlessly,pletely routing the frontmost Extreme Ice Tigers. However, she couldn''t cover the Extreme Ice Tigers behind her. Their ice des shot from the rear, but fortunately, Beifei was there to st away those trying to leap at them. "Hahaha! Did you really think I was scared of you? Behave yourselves!" The more Lu Zhiwei bombarded, the more thrilled she became. She had been chased by the Extreme Ice Tigers earlier because she was protecting He Yun, a novice literary Dao practitioner of Qi-Controlling, without anyone to back her up. Now, with Beifei watching the gaps, she could unleash her capability without restraint. Boom! Boom! Boom! Not only the Extreme Ice Tigers but also the tall trees suffered. The forest was filled with gun smoke, scattered with shattered remnants of Extreme Ice Tigersposed of ice blocks, presenting a grisly scene. "Haha, I have never had such a thrilling fight except in school simtion sses, Beifei, do you want to try a heavy machine gun? It''s exhrating!" Lu Zhiwei excitedly tossed a light machine gun to Beifei. Beifei realized he had indeed underestimated Lu Zhiwei, who although usually carefree and asionally brandishing her fists, excelled not in closebat but in long-range bombardment. "I''ll give it a try." Beifei had never handled firearms before, but given the numerous enemies, he found ranged attacks obviously more convenient than closebat. He attempted firing a few bursts, but the strong recoil was ufortable for him, and his shots wildly missed the mark. "You can''t shoot like that, there''s recoil in a machine gun. You need to do it like this..." As Lu Zhiwei controlled her firearms to fire automatically, she also quickly instructed Beifei on how to use the light machine gun. Beifei learned quickly; his "Learn by Analogy" ability soon mastered the heavy machine gun, and then he began wildly firing at the Extreme Ice Tigers! Thud! Thud! Thud! Back to back, the two were engulfed in gunfire and swirling smoke, shes of light echoing through the forest as they took down the charging Extreme Ice Tigers. Beifei also managed to throw a few grenades down, wiping them out entirely. In a brawl, Lu Zhiwei''s system capabilities were simply unbeatable. "Not bad! You''re a quick learner; together, we can be a formidable duo!" Lu Zhiweiughed heartily, her weapons ceaselessly softening up the once formidable Extreme Ice Tigers into a fleeing mess. "Not bad." Beifei didn''t continue using brute force; while he was also formidable in closebat, it was better to engage from a distance, particrly since they had the geographical advantage. Commanding the high ground, they bombed the Extreme Ice Tigers, who couldn''t mount an attack. The group of Extreme Ice Tigers retreated far away. They could only try to dodge behind trees, but the power of the rockets was not to be underestimated. The damage these weapons could cause was linked to Lu Zhiwei''s level of cultivation, and being in the advanced stages of Qi-Controlling, she posed a significant deterrence against the Extreme Ice Tigers. All around, the trees were sted askew by Lu Zhiwei''s formidable firepower, clearing arge area in the forest. But the Extreme Ice Tigers collectively retreated to a distance, no longer attempting an attack but instead spraying whirlwinds. These frostden cyclones whipped up strong winds in the forest, quickly sweeping up the fragmented remains of the Extreme Ice Tigers and transforming them into sharp ice des. Chapter 158: Chapter 139: Full Firepower_2 Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Countless ice knives densely shot from all directions off the ground, with Xiang Beifei and Lu Zhiwei firing at them, only to quickly realize that their target wasn''t them, but rather therge pine tree they were standing on! Crack! The ice knives of the Extreme Ice Tiger were powerful and sharp. A few sweeps of the des, and the pine tree on which Xiang Beifei and his group stood was severed in the middle! "Not good!" Lu Zhiwei was enjoying her shooting too much and forgot about this. As the pine tree fell, they fell too. Xiang Beifei and Lu Zhiwei could only stop shooting, quickly grabbed He Yun and Liu Gui, and jumped out,nding on the ground. But now, the four of them lost the high ground advantage. They swept again with the machine gun, but those Extreme Ice Tigers seemed to have learned and collectively conjured a wall of ice in front of them. Zhiwei, stop shooting, or those bullets will probably bounce back at us. By now, they werepletely surrounded by four ice walls, firmly bonded together, blocking all their paths of escape. The ice walls continuously moved, creating a cage to trap them. "It''s over, we can''t escape." Liu Gui muttered to himself. "What do we do? What do we do? We can''t stop these deste beasts." He Yun also spoke in a rushed tone. "It''s okay, it''s okay, they must have a way." Liu Guiforted He Yun. "Beifei, I am out of ideas." Lu Zhiwei tried to melt the ice walls with aser gun, but it was deflected back by the wall, almost hitting her. The ice walls created by countless Qi-Controllingte-stage Extreme Ice Tigers were now able to stop Lu Zhiwei''s firepower. Amongst this chaos, Xiaohei scratched Xiang Beifei''s ear and barked twice. Xiang Beifei was surprised and turned to ask Xiaohei on his shoulder, "Do you have a way to get them out of this space?" Xiaohei barked and nodded. Beifei had forgotten that this was a space created by the World Control System, which could render any system ability ineffective. Not to mention this virtual space, even if Lu Zhiwei fired a rocket at him from the system, Xiaohei would intercept it. Xiaohei was specifically designed to counter all kinds of fancy systems. "You should have said so earlier, then we wouldn''t have been in such a predicament. Let''s get out first." Xiang Beifei scanned the surroundings. This space was artificially created, but he still hadn''t seen where the person controlling it was hiding. Their enemy was using the Extreme Ice Tigers to push them to the brink, so there was no point in staying any longer. Xiang Beifei was about to send Liu Gui and He Yun out of this ce and back to reality, but at that moment, a scream suddenly came from behind! Liu Gui looked at He Yun in disbelief, with an ice knife embedded in his abdomen, clearly the de of an Extreme Ice Tiger. Blood soaked through Liu Gui''s clothes and dripped onto the ground. "Xiao Yun, how... how could you..." Liu Gui looked at He Yun in horror. Lu Zhiwei was shocked and eximed, "He Yun, what have you done!" He Yun''s hands shook as she said, "I''m sorry, I''m sorry, it''s the only way! He said it''s the game rule, only women can survive, I have to kill you, I''m sorry, I''m so sorry..." Liu Gui''s face went deathly pale, "He told you? He told me too, but he said only men could survive here. But I like you so much, I really can''t bring myself to do it, I thought you liked me too, why could you be so heartless..." He had no intention of attacking He Yun and had thrown away his ice knife long ago. "I want to live!" He Yun seemed on the verge of tears, "I''m sorry, I want to live, I have to survive, I still have a sister to take care of, and my parents to look after..." ``` "Is this your excuse for killing?" Xiang Beifei looked at He Yun coldly, "Why bother finding excuses? Just say you''re greedy for life and fear death." He Yun began to sob. Lu Zhiwei said, "He Yun, have you lost your mind! You believed what that person said? You took his nonsense seriously! After I just tried to save you too!" He Yun, looking frenzied as the ice walls closed in around them, shouted desperately at Lu Zhiwei, "He said it''s part of the game rules, the men have to die! If you want to escape, you have to kill your boyfriend too! You must kill him!" She seemed to be urgently hoping Lu Zhiwei would make the same choice as her, to strike at Xiang Beifei. Only then would she feel some relief, sparing herself from too much torment. "How does it matter if I heard it? Do you think everyone is as foolish as you are! Can you live with yourself after killing the person you care about just to escape?" Lu Zhiwei retorted angrily. "Don''t you dare me me! You were instructed too, if you don''t kill your boyfriend, you can''t leave either!" He Yun shrieked at Lu Zhiwei. Lu Zhiwei, hands on her hips and furious, dered, "I am aw enforcer, not a murderer! You idiot!" That man''s voice had also appeared in her mind, but she hadn''t taken his threats seriously, not even believing his words were true, always intending to catch this person and confront him. "I thought you liked me, you weren''t supposed to attack me..." Liu Gui''s face grew paler. "You promised to protect me at all costs, if only one of us could live, you''d certainly want me to survive, so I had no choice! You won''t me me, will you...?" He Yun looked like she was about to copse. She was truly scared, especially when the Extreme Ice Tiger pinned her down, and the chilling breath made her feel utterly hopeless. She wanted to live, even seeing the slightest chance. But then the Extreme Ice Tiger really let her go, leaving behind an ice knife. She was too scared, epting the rules of the killer on the highway cruise line in utter despair, she had to kill Liu Gui. She couldn''t reconcile it with her conscience, so she desperately searched for excuses, hoping that Lu Zhiwei would do the same to lessen her guilt. Liu Gui looked at He Yun with a bitter expression, "I did hope you would survive...live a good life...I''m sorry I couldn''t protect you..." He was heartbroken; the girl he had loved for so long could treat him like this. He thought he found the one to share his life with, had even thought about proposing to her in the future, but the knife felt so cold, piercingly cold. "Don''t me me...I''m sorry...it''s the game''s rules he set, I''m just an N-level Awakener, I can''t resist, I just want to live..." He Yun stood up and kept backing away, retreating to the corner of the ice wall, away from Xiang Beifei and the others. Liu Gui passed out, and Lu Zhiwei quickly used her police medical supplies to stop his bleeding. "You fool, if it''s the game rules, then why can''t you leave?" Lu Zhiwei said while treating Liu Gui. He Yun, in panic, started banging on the ice wall, yelling into the air, "I killed him, why won''t you let me leave!" "Because he''s not dead yet!" Azy voice came from the woods. Xiang Beifei heard it too this time, and he searched for the source of the voice, soon spotting a figure sitting on a tree branch, watching them with mockery. Through the thick ice wall, Xiang Beifei couldn''t see the person''s face clearly, only sensing the figure seemed to be wearing a mask, but he did make out the person''s system¡ª [Host: Zhu Xinjue] [SR-level, World Control System] [Realm: Early Meridian Opening] "This guy, indeed, is an SR-level Awakener!" Xiang Beifei watched warily. Uncle Lu''s crows couldn''t scan this person, simply because he wasn''t ordinary. Not only that, but thew enforcers seemed to have mistakenly estimated the "Highway Cruise Killer"''s strength. The person was not at the Late Qi-Controlling stage but at the Early Meridian Opening stage! "Or perhaps, this guy has just stepped into the Meridian Opening stage?" Xiang Beifei was pondering in his mind. An SR-level system actually had very strong innate talent too, increasing its holder''s strength very rapidly, only a fine line weaker than SSR, but reaching Early Meridian Opening in one year of awakening. That meant that this person could very likely still be a student! ``` Chapter 159: Chapter 140: Cruise to Lonely Island Having the SR System, definitely a talent from one of the nine elite universities, yet theymit crimes while wearing a mask! Xiang Beifei was browsing the other party''s system introduction: [SR-Level World Control System: You can choose from a variety of adventure worlds,plete tasks within to obtain rewards, and after clearing them, you can control the current world. You can drag anyone into your world, and within this world, they can only abide by the rules you set.] [Current Controlled World: Lonely Ind] [The rules you set: Couples brought to this lonely ind by the cruise must face a trial. If one decides to kill the other, the one who takes action will die, and the victim will survive. If both wish to kill their partner, then both will die. If neither wishes to kill the other, choosing to die together, then they will both live.] ... Zhu Xinjue''s system contained a variety of world options, including Zombie Apocalypse, Abandoned Building Survival, ne Crash Self-Rescue, and Dungeon Gueri... All these adventure worlds required Zhu Xinjue to clear them himself, and the rewards for each clearance were immense. Lonely Ind was just a simple world, but Zhu Xinjue found that in this world, he could also bring in real-world couples, and if he could induce them to kill each other, the rewards were quite substantial. [Special Reward: If one of the tested couples dies, you will obtain all of the deceased''s cultivation, with a survival value of +1000] It was a shortcut to bing stronger, so he disguised himself as the "Highway Cruise Killer", deliberately crashing couples into this world with a cruise, then tempting them to kill each other. ¡ª¡ª He Yun kept banging on the ice wall, shouting in fright and anger, "No, let me out, please, I don''t want to die here." Her desire to survive was incredibly strong; she had just been terrified by those ferocious Extreme Ice Tigers. Being only an N-level Awakener with no self-protection ability, she only thought about leaving, to the point she would even attack her own boyfriend with whom she''d spent her days and nights. However, Zhu Xinjue sneered and said, "If you want to leave, you can only do so by killing your boyfriend. As long as he''s alive, you can''t leave." Lu Zhiwei stood up, furious, "You bastard! Are you that twisted inside to take pleasure in this kind of thing?" "Take pleasure? Hahaha! Pleasure is just one part of it!" Zhu Xinjue mockingly watched Lu Zhiwei, having witnessed her unleashing her full firepower, he had to admit the girl was incredibly strong, sting those Ice Tigers without any chance to fight back. Only in the face of his own SR-level Meridian Opening initial stage, Lu Zhiwei was still nothing. He controlled the Ice Tigers, coordinating their actions, easily fending off Lu Zhiwei. "If you want to live, you have to kill your boyfriend." Zhu Xinjue said to Lu Zhiwei. "Dream on! I''m not as disgusting as you." Lu Zhiwei spat out. "You may think so, but maybe your boyfriend behind you is contemting how to kill you! Aren''t you going to be wary of him?" Zhu Xinjue mockingly looked at Xiang Beifei, saying, "You may know people''s faces but not their hearts. I''ve seen too many couples participate in my games. At critical moments, many so-called couples who swore never to part chose to kill their other half to survive. I''ve seen plenty of such cases." Heughed proudly, hisugh piercingly sharp, "Some naive people think their other half loves them, won''t make a move, but in the end, they find themselves stabbed by the person they trusted, mercilessly shattering the trust between them." Zhu Xinjueughed out loud, his gaze shifting between Xiang Beifei and Lu Zhiwei, "So, here''s a piece of advice for you two lovebirds, is there really such a thing as true love in this world? When ites to survival, so-called unbreakable bonds aren''t worth mentioning!" Lu Zhiwei shouted angrily, "You sick twist, were you betrayed by someone, and that''s why you can''t stand to see others happy?" Zhu Xinjue seemed to have been hit where it hurts by Lu Zhiwei''s words; he snorted coldly and dered, "The person who betrayed me has long been buried deep in the ocean of this world." "So I guessed right!" Lu Zhiwei said contemptuously. Zhu Xinjue''s eyes were frosty. Indeed, Lu Zhiwei was right. He had once loved someone, but was betrayed, so he resented any loving couple in this world, wanting to prove that between two people, affection means nothing in the face of true despair! "I''ve already told you the rules of the game. If you want to survive, let''s see whose knife is sharper among you two lovebirds!" Lu Zhiwei said, "You''re still too green to drive a wedge between us!" "Since you''re not ying the game my way, then you need to learn a lesson on what happens when you don''t follow the rules!" Zhu Xinjue said with a faint smile. Whoosh! He Yun, who had been pounding on the ice wall, suddenly found an ice dagger thrust out from the wall in front of her, piercing her heart! He Yun''s eyes widened in shock, staring at Zhu Xinjue, "You... you... why? I... I''ve already made a move on him!" "But you didn''t kill him, he was revived, so only you must die!" He Yun''s eyes bulged with fear as she strained to turn her head, looking at Liu Gui lying on the ground. Even in her dying moments, her eyes were still filled with a hint of unwillingness and confusion. "See, she never regretted her choice, not even before her death. She''s still wondering why her boyfriend hasn''t died yet. This world, huh? Where is there such a thing as weathering storms together or having an unbreakable bond?" Chapter 160: Chapter 140: Cruise to Lonely Island_2 Zhu Xinjue set a game rule for this world, and He Yun''s death adhered to this rule. If she chose to turn on her other half, then she herself would die! But he wouldn''t disclose this hidden rule to Lu Zhiwei, because even though this system world offered an option to survive, what he really wanted to see was not the survival of a couple, but rather that the two people ruthlessly killed each other to death. In fact, even if both parties were unwilling to kill each other, Zhu Xinjue would lend a hand and directly kill them both! Whether it was for entertainment or to gain the other''s spiritual power, he wouldn''t allow anyone to escape. Even if Liu Gui had chosen not to strike He Yun, Zhu Xinjue would still have killed Liu Gui! He loathed any loving couple! If he couldn''t have it, he didn''t want to see anyone else have it either. Up to now, not a single couple had escaped from his grasp! ¡ª¡ª "Damn it!" Lu Zhiwei was shocked to see He Yun actually pierced through the heart by an ice de, wanted to pull her back, but the ice wall had already dragged He Yun into it, merging her with the wall to form a statue of ice. He Yun still looked at the man who had fallen to the ground from within the iceyer. She wanted to live and make it out, wanted to abide by Zhu Xinjue''s game rules, but she didn''t expect that she would be the first to die. "So, how will you two choose? Who will kill whom?" Zhu Xinjue mockingly looked at Xiang Beifei and Lu Zhiwei. "Neither of us will kill the other!" Lu Zhiwei said angrily. "Then both of you will have to die." Zhu Xinjue let out a cruelugh. ¡ª¡ª Xiang Beifei furrowed his brows as he looked at the guy in front of him and said in a low voice, "Lu Zhiwei, you take Liu Gui and get out first." Lu Zhiwei paused, asking, "Get out? How do we get out? You don''t mean for me to kill you, do you? I won''t do it!" "Take Liu Gui and get out!" Xiaohei wrapped the system''s abilities around Lu Zhiwei and Liu Gui, ejecting them from the space created by the system, while he charged towards the ice wall! Whoosh! Xiaohei suddenly kicked Lu Zhiwei and Liu Gui out of "Lonely Ind," and because they were not Xiang Beifei, upon being kicked out of this system world by Xiaohei, the two reappeared in their original forest, unable to see Xiang Beifei anymore. "Beifei! Xiang Beifei! Where did you go?" Lu Zhiwei stood up hastily, calling out loudly. But the forest was silent, with no signs of struggle, as if it was totally different from just a moment ago, resembling a return to reality even more. "Don''t you do anything stupid!" Lu Zhiwei started to get anxious. ¡ª¡ª "What''s going on?" Zhu Xinjue sensed something was amiss from a distance, immediately got up, but found that both Lu Zhiwei and Liu Gui had suddenly vanished into the ice wall. Whereas Xiang Beifei, at some unspecified time, had already passed through the ice wall and stood on a clearing in the forest! "Such a pity, I could have saved you." Xiang Beifei turned his head to look at He Yun, who had already been dragged into the block of ice, feeling somewhat regretful. He had the means to lead everyone out, it was just that He Yun hadn''t waited for that moment toe. He Yun, thinking she was in a hopeless situation, had intended to kill Liu Gui in order to escape, but she did not expect that Zhu Xinjue didn''t n to let them live in the first ce, and instead, he killed her. Zhu Xinjue was a Qi-Controlling practitioner at the stage of Meridian Opening, and this world, being one he controlled after passing through the barrier, made killing almost a matter of thought, something Xiang Beifei, no matter how quick his response, couldn''t prevent. He didn''t look at He Yun again. She had made her choice and paid her price. But now, he needed to deal with this troublesome fellow. Xiang Beifei''s gaze refocused on Zhu Xinjue. A practitioner at the initial stage of Meridian Opening, very powerful! This space created by the system ovepped with the original world, and with Xiaohei''s help, he could move freely between the real world and the system space. Earlier on the outside, he had realized that he could see Lu Zhiwei, but not touch her. If he stood in the real world, he could see people in the system space, but neither could interact with the other. That also meant he could legitimately use this ability to deal with Zhu Xinjue! Xiang Beifei must try, or else if he left this ce, Zhu Xinjue would pursue him to the outside world, Uncle Lu was definitely taken to another world, unable to confront Zhu Xinjue head-on; then they would stand even less of a chance. ¡ª¡ª "Where did they go?" Zhu Xinjue actually failed to notice how Lu Zhiwei and Liu Gui had disappeared. Anyone who came into his system world must abide by the rules of his system, and without his permission, no one could leave, yet now two people had abruptly vanished right under his eyes, which infuriated him! There had never been a couple who escaped from his grasp before! "Could it be that you also possess space abilities? Did you take them into your space?" Zhu Xinjue red at Xiang Beifei with a sullen expression. But on closer thought, it seemed wrong. His was an SR-level system, already considered a high-level system, which had absolute suppression over lower-level systems, so space abilities lower than SR level were ineffective here! Unless, Xiang Beifei possessed a system like his, or one that was even more advanced? "Are you an SR? Or perhaps an SSR?" Zhu Xinjue looked at Xiang Beifei, his heart bing slightly wary. The person in front of him looked very young and seemed familiar from somewhere, but he couldn''t recall where at the moment. Xiang Beifei didn''t speak; instead, his figure shifted, and he charged toward Zhu Xinjue! Zhu Xinjue saw Xiang Beifei recklessly attempting to make a move and sneered, "You''re overestimating yourself. Even if your system''s level is high, what of it? You''re just a Qi-Controllingte-stage cultivator!" He had clearly observed Xiang Beifei''s confrontation with the Extreme Ice Tiger and knew Xiang Beifei''s true strength. The gap betweente-stage Qi-Controlling and Meridian Opening was like a chasm, not so easily crossed! Whoosh! Zhu Xinjue tensed his body as the blizzard around him swiftly whirled, circting around his entire body and quickly converging in his hand, forming a long ice de. The ice de was blue all over, three feet long, and its edge shone sharply. He slightly raised his eyelids, saying with a mocking look, "Especially here in my space, you stand no chance!" Hum! Zhu Xinjue''s blue ice de vibrated in the air, releasing a powerful surge of Spiritual Power. This surge was extremely fierce, causing the air to buzz. Swoosh! His ice de swiftly shed towards Xiang Beifei! The sh was incredibly fast! Like lightning, it arrived in an instant, striking toward Xiang Beifei! Zhu Xinjue, being an SR-level early-stage Meridian Opening practitioner, not only had a high system talent, but his cultivation was also advanced! The strength and speed of Meridian Opening practitioners'' strikes were utterly different fromte-stage Qi-Controlling practitioners, both swift and powerful! Xiang Beifei''s gaze sharpened, his eyes fixed on the ice de without any carelessness. Although Xiaohei could deal with fanciful system items, if the opponent relied on their own Spiritual Power to confront Xiang Beifei, Xiaohei wouldn''t be able to block those things! Zhu Xinjue''s sh, the ice de he formed, wasn''t a system ability, but an attack method cultivated, strong enough to hurt him! Moreover, as ate-stage Qi-Controlling cultivator, he couldn''t block a strike from a Meridian Opening practitioner! But Xiang Beifei didn''t panic because Xiaohei was tightly gripping his shoulder, intently watching the raging ice de. Zoom! Just as Zhu Xinjue''s ice de was about to sweep past him, Xiaohei had already shed Xiang Beifei out of the system space. The ice de passed directly through his body without causing any harm, and after it did, Xiang Beifei had once again entered the system space, closing in on Zhu Xinjue! Zhu Xinjue''s ''Lonely Ind Cruise Space'' was anchored to the real world, ovepping with it, so as Xiang Beifei switched his form between the reality and the system space, his reentry after leaving kept him in the same position. "How can this be?" Zhu Xinjue''s expression changed slightly, and he was astonished to see Xiang Beifei didn''t avoid his attack and seemingly let the de strike him, yet remained unharmed! Although Xiang Beifei disappeared and reappeared quickly, for some unknown reason, there was a moment when he suddenly couldn''t sense Xiang Beifei''s presence. It was as if the connection to this world had been severed, puzzling him, but he had no time to ponder this as Xiang Beifei''s disappearance was but a brief moment, quickly reconnecting, and he was already in close range. Swoosh! Explosive mes surged around Xiang Beifei, the fire converging on his fists as he threw a punch toward Zhu Xinjue''s chest! Chapter 161: Chapter 141: Frozen World Zhu Xinjue didn''t take this punch seriously, because the gap in strength meant Xiang Beifei''s speed seemed slow to him, even very slow, and this punch couldn''t hurt him at all. Layers of frost had already lit up on his body, gathering at the spot where Xiang Beifei''s punch was about to hit him. Boom! Xiang Beifei''s fist, glowing with Rapid me, struck Zhu Xinjue''s chest, but Zhu Xinjue''s chest was protected by ayer of hard ice armor, which blocked the Rapid me. Moreover, the ice armor quickly released a cold breath, which shot up along Xiang Beifei''s fist! The strong Spiritual Power immediately suppressed the mes on Xiang Beifei''s fist, but his Spiritual Power whirled and exploded instantly, shattering the cold air, and Xiaohei made a move again, whisking him away. However, Xiang Beifei''s fist roared past, piercing through Zhu Xinjue''s body at the critical moment without touching him at all. "You have quite the keen sense of smell!" Zhu Xinjue had nned to freeze Xiang Beifei''s fist with frost the instant it hit him, to firmly clutch it, but he found out that Xiang Beifei wouldn''t fall for it. Xiang Beifei had already moved behind Zhu Xinjue, his Spiritual Power circting, dispelling the severe chill from his fist. This guy was truly an SR-level Meridian Opening practitioner¡ªthe chill was strong enough to resist his Rapid me and almost gave him frostbite! In closebat, it seemed he couldn''t gain an advantage. Zhu Xinjue swung his ice de backward again, with his Spiritual Power trembling and releasing a powerful fluctuation, shing at Xiang Beifei. Whoosh! The ice de struck Xiang Beifei''s body again, but Xiang Beifei''s body seemed to be just a shadow,pletely untouchable! Xiang Beifei counterattacked with a kick aimed at Zhu Xinjue''s face, and this time Zhu Xinjue''s ice armor couldn''t keep up with Xiang Beifei''s speed and didn''t cover his face in time. Zhu Xinjue couldn''t afford to take the hit, so he dodged sideways. Crack! Xiang Beifei''s kicknded on the tree trunk beside Zhu Xinjue, splitting the tree instantly! "You''ve got some moves!" Zhu Xinjue widened the distance between them, staring at the tree trunk that Xiang Beifei had split, frowning. With a wave of his hand, all the Extreme Ice Tigers charged at Xiang Beifei again. But Xiang Beifei faced the Extreme Ice Tigers calmly and fearlessly, meeting them head-on. Having been unaware of Xiaohei''s ability to pass through system space, he struggled against the Extreme Ice Tigers'' siege, but now he had mastered this ability, constantly transitioning between reality and system space was enough to deal with the attacks of a group of Extreme Ice Tigers! Boom! Boom! Boom! Xiang Beifei could not ovee Zhu Xinjue, but dealing with the Extreme Ice Tigers was a piece of cake; he took them head-on, returning to the real world to dodge the Extreme Ice Tigers and then smashing their heads with a punch! In just a few moments, all the remaining Extreme Ice Tigers were directly killed by Xiang Beifei! "What kind of system ability is this?" Zhu Xinjue had been observing Xiang Beifei''s fight with the Extreme Ice Tigers, frowning deeply. He noticed that Xiang Beifei''s figure would disappear and reappear erratically, sometimespletely invisible, but then he would show up out of nowhere, yet still, he couldn''t make contact with his opponent. Xiang Beifei didn''t exin; he disliked wasting time talking to his opponent during a fight! However, from the brief exchange before, he had already deduced Zhu Xinjue''s attack patterns using "Learn by Analogy". The ice armor was like a constantly moving snake, shifting on Zhu Xinjue''s body, blocking wherever Xiang Beifei attacked. But there was a slight dy in protecting Zhu Xinjue''s face. Xiang Beifei had no intention of trying to confront this ice armor head-on; he knew that if he touched it, his fists would be frozen, so he had to seize the moment when the ice armor momentarily dyed while protecting Zhu Xinjue''s face and find a way to bypass its guard and strike Zhu Xinjue. Whoosh! He charged at Zhu Xinjue again, with his fists creating a whirlwind from different directions, all aiming at Zhu Xinjue. However, Zhu Xinjue''s cultivation was a whole major realm higher than his, so every time Xiang Beifei aimed to hit, the ice armor would appear in time. An SR-level Meridian Opening Awakener is not like those deste beasts such as the Triangr Thunder Krait; after being nearly caught off guard the first time, Zhu Xinjue had wised up, started changing his tactics, and left Xiang Beifei with no opportunity to capitalize on. "You can''t underestimate an SR-level Awakener!" Xiang Beifei couldn''t help but reflect inwardly, the difference between theter stages of Qi-Controlling and the early stages of Meridian Opening was simply too vast; even with Xiaohei''s help, it was very hard to cause any harm to Zhu Xinjue. He had just stepped into theter stages of Qi-Controlling, and the gap in strength between them was indeed significant. Zhu Xinjue, this fellow, could be said to be the most troublesome cultivator Xiang Beifei had ever faced thus far! "What''s the point in continuing this fight if you can''t harm me?" Zhu Xinjue was growing impatient, as Xiang Beifei was unable to get the better of him, yet he couldn''t deal with Xiang Beifei either. This made him very frustrated! Being a high-level practitioner in Meridian Opening and having difficulty dealing with a Qi-Controllingy practitioner was nothing short of a colossal shame for him! He soon scoffed and said, "If you think you can drag out a guerri war with me like this, then you''re mistaken!" Whoosh! Zhu Xinjue didn''t try anymore and swiftly leaped out,nding on an Extreme Ice Tiger. Standing on the tiger''s back, he then swung the ice de in his hand violently forward! Crash! The entire forest''s temperature plummeted abruptly, followed by the sudden onset of a fierce blizzard! The blizzard engulfed an area of several hundred meters around, with Xiang Beifei''s position at its center, howling and swirling, encircling Xiang Beifeipletely! "This is my system space; here in my space, you''ll y by my rules!" Zhu Xinjue shouted loudly! Under normal circumstances, his system space was maintained bypleting missions and receiving rewards, but an SR-level system space was much more than that. Unlike the many worlds created by lower-level systems, for every world that hepleted created by the system, he could control every aspect of it! That meant, right now, anything on this deste ind could be manipted ording to his will, whether it was the weather, nts, trees, or temperature. He could nearly change them with just a thought! He was the god of this deste ind''s world! This was the most overpowered aspect of the SR-level system. In the past, when Zhu Xinjue faced others, he would drag them into the space world he controlled. Even if they were SR-level Awakeners,cking the home-field advantage in his world, they would be defeated by him! Zhu Xinjue watched Xiang Beifei, who was surrounded by the blizzard, with a cold sneer and shouted, "Frozen World!"