It was lunchtime when Xiang Ning and Xiaoyu arrived home. She sat by the stairs in deep thought, her expression sour and mixed with a hint of helplessness and shock. 

Xiang Ning’s heart ached but smiled as he walked over, lovingly ruffling her hair. “We might be poor but we must keep our heads up. Look at your brother, I was named Stellar Student today, I’m doing better than them.” 

“But… I understand, big brother.” She looked up, her intelligent eyes fixed on his. Xiang Ning broke into a grin and patted her head again. 

“Alright, rest at home. Since it’s still early, I’ll go try my luck.” 

“Mm, be careful out there.” Xiang Xiaoyu wanted him to keep her company, but chose to remain silent when she thought about the two thousand dollars. 

Just like yesterday, he picked up his tools and leftover buns, then headed out. After a five or six-minute jog, he arrived at the cave he always mined at. Right as he was about to enter, he met three familiar faces—the three men who robbed him before. 

Everything fell silent for a moment, but when they saw him, they only took one look and continued digging. Since they didn’t do anything, and there were other people present, Xiang Ning slowly walked past them and ventured deeper. 

When he left, the three of them stopped. One of them produced a cigarette and passed it to the bald man in front of him, whispering, “It’s that kid again, Yang.” 

“Leave him, let him dig. We’ll check when he leaves.” The guy named Yang was the leader of the trio. 

“Hah, that’s smart,” the other man respectfully remarked. 

After venturing as deep as he could, Xiang Ning took in the view, his lips curling upward. Many strings of texts appeared, labeling the ores.… Although this was his second time seeing them, the numbers were clearer than ever. He chuckled and started digging in spots with larger numbers. In a few minutes, an irregular piece of green rock about the size of a bird’s egg appeared before him. Although it wasn’t complete, the spirit stone could be sold for sixty or seventy dollars. 

He grinned. In the past, all he had found were crumbs and tiny pieces of spirit stone, and he would earn twenty to thirty dollars on a good day. Now, he could earn sixty or seventy dollars in just a few moments, enough to put food on the table for the next two days. 

Over the next hour, he was lucky enough to find two whole spirit stones as well as a few more pieces. Based on his rough estimate, he had enough for more than two weeks, having earned at least seven or eight hundred dollars here. That used to be a sum he could only dream of! 

In the past, he could mine for two entire weeks and never hit such a figure, plus he had to be lucky, too. But now he could earn seven or eight hundred within an hour. If he wanted to repay Wang Zhe’s two thousand dollars, all he had to do was to dig around a few more times, right?

Since Xiang Ning had never fathomed being able to find this many stones, today’s harvest had already filled his bag to the brim. He decided to go home since he couldn’t carry anymore stones. After he sold these, he would buy something delicious for his little sister. 

With those thoughts running through his mind, Xiang Ning arrived at the mouth of the cave. The three men were leaning against the walls, smoking and chatting. Their eyes instinctively fell on Xiang Ning’s bag and widened at its size. 

The bald man’s Adam’s apple trembled, his face twisting into a sneer. “Your bag looks heavy, kid. Why don’t you let me help hold it?” Despite his words, he picked up a steel rod, smirking as he approached with the two other men. Xiang Ning wanted to run, but they were closing in from the direction of the exit. After recalling what had happened the day before, he decided not to run. 

He was now a stage eight practitioner, and by the usual convention, that was plenty to defeat a grown man. With the system on his side, he steeled himself and put aside his bag and tools. 

Thinking Xiang Ning was scared of them, the bald man laughed, “You’re a smart kid!” 

When they were three meters away from Xiang Ning, his body exploded. A fist flew at the bald man’s face, and due to the close distance, he was hit before he could dodge. 

He stumbled back as the two men stood, shocked, then Yang roared, “Fuck! Kill him!” 

His lackeys charged forward, relying on their strategy of knocking their target down, then striking when they were on the ground. Xiang Ning was familiar with that tactic, so did his best to dodge them so he wouldn’t be knocked over. 

There was a saying that two fists will struggle in the face of four hands, but now there were six! In a few moments, they caught Xiang Ning and slammed him to the ground. The bald man violently pummeled Xiang Ning’s thigh with a steel rod. 

He was instantly drenched in cold sweat, his face pale. It felt like his bone had been broken. He drew a sharp breath. 

+304

Level: Physical Tempering Stage 9 (Awaiting further advancement) 

System Upgrade. Activating objectives interface. Collect 1000 Fury Points.

A voice echoed in Xiang Ning’s mind while he listened in a daze. 

“Weren’t you feeling brave today, kid? Huh? Get up!” The bald man was obviously holding back, because if he had truly wanted to kill Xiang Ning, he could have struck his head instead. He didn’t want to face the consequences as a murderer. What he had already done was enough to cause a severe injury. 

Fury Points +55

Fury Points +33

Fury Points +33

…

Xiang Ning curled into a ball. When he leveled up, most of the intense pain in his thigh subsided. He now felt like he was strong enough to defeat all three men. Basking in the warmth of his newfound energy, he grabbed a leg that was about to kick him and tugged, using the momentum to pull himself up and slam into another man. He stuck out a leg and tripped the man over. 

The bald man raised his steel rod, but Xiang Ning grabbed it, then kicked the man so hard he flew back. 

Fury Points +66

“Fucking hell!” The bald man was furious; Xiang Ning wasn’t holding back. The other two lackeys still thought he was the boy they met before and charged once more. 

However, there was a huge difference between a stage eight and stage nine practitioner. A stage eight practitioner was enough to knock down a grown man, but stage nine was enough to instantly kill one. 

His physical body had attained peak strength, just inches away from surpassing a regular human being and becoming a true cultivator. 

In a flash of the steel rod, one of the lackeys collapsed, clutching his thigh and shrieking bloody murder. 

Fury Points +55 

Fury Points +55 

The bald man’s blood boiled while the other lackey hesitated, afraid to approach. 

“Get the hell away from me!” Xiang Ning’s features twisted in anger and he hurled the steel rod so hard the wall cracked, distorting the rod. 

The bald man was shocked. “You… you’re a cultivator?!” 

Xiang Ning didn’t answer, but the bald man understood and privately cursed. This brat hadn’t been this strong before! After some thought, he recalled Xiang Ning protecting a girl. Perhaps he was afraid of them hurting the girl.…

In an instant, the bald man’s expression darkened and he spat, “I’ll give you this one, kid. Take him, let’s go!” He instructed the other man to help their fallen brother up, then the three quickly left. 

Xiang Ning collapsed on the ground, panting heavily. Sweat soaked through his clothing. After calming himself, he gulped and checked the information in his mind. 

Level: Physical Tempering Stage 9 (Awaiting further advancement) 

Objective: Collect 1000 Fury Points (318/1000)

It was simple enough. Xiang Ning understood what it meant, but was still puzzled. Practicing breathing techniques used spiritual qi to nourish and strengthen the physical body, and getting hit was a form of training, thus explaining the experience points. 

But what were these Fury Points? He couldn’t believe they could help him level up.