Su Muhan looked at the boy in front of her without a word. There were no other teachers in the office, so she merely looked him over for a full minute. She had called him to the office because of the attitude the other students had towards him, and she didn’t want him to isolate himself.

There was a long silence, and Xiang Ning was a little embarrassed. He blurted, “Miss Su, you were looking for me?” 

Su Muhan’s cheeks slightly flushed. She coughed, then said, “Xiang Ning, I somewhat understand what the situation is in class, it’s something that happens every year.…” She paused to gather her thoughts, then stared into his eyes and continued, “Here, as long as you’re strong enough and excellent enough, good things will come knocking on your door.” 

“I understand, Teacher.” Xiang Ning was moved. Yeah, such was reality. Memories of people looking down on him flashed. If he had been good enough, would those things have happened? 

Just when Teacher Su was about to continue giving advice, an unfriendly voice sounded. “Muhan, you’re still here? Eh? Is this a part-time student? Sigh, I don’t know what the school is thinking. The part-time students are getting worse every year. This one’s only in Physical Tempering stage four.” 

Su Muhan’s face darkened. Xiang Ning straightened his back to look at them, only to see a person clad in a brown teacher’s uniform wearing gold-rimmed glasses. She looked good, and exuded an aura of a successful person, but it was unfortunate that her words were so vile. 

“Alright Xiang Ning, off you go now. Focus on your cultivation,” reminded Su Muhan. 

He nodded. Although he was displeased by the newcomer, he left. He walked out of the teacher’s building and looked at his hands. With a sigh, he softly pinched them. Physical Tempering stage four. Although that was above average in lower secondary school, he finally realized how naive he was now that he was in a place filled with prodigies. 

Take Zhang Cheng, for example. Physical Tempering stage eight, and he’d already attained Assimilation in a martial skill. Xiang Ning was only in stage four without any martial skills. They weren’t something just anyone could have. 

The Physical Tempering phase consisted of nine stages before a cultivator could advance and become a martial artist. A mortal must break through from Physical Tempering stage nine before they could become a martial artist and gain significant life force. 

To become a martial artist… was what Xiang Ning used to only dream of, but now it was a goal. He would become a martial artist—no, he would become a powerful martial artist like Su Muhan! Although being a tier one martial artist was the minimum requirement to qualify for military school and becoming a technician, who could stop him from having a dream?

Xiang Ning jogged to a window in the eastern block. Perhaps due to his slight delay, there weren’t many people there. Holding his student card, he recorded his palm print in the system and soon received two sets of uniforms. He stood there, looking at the young lady in the window in anticipation. 

The lady paused, then asked, “Is there anything else I can help with?”

“Uh… my teacher mentioned there’ll be a book, Advanced Breathing Techniques?” he asked, embarrassed. 

The girl was stunned for a moment, then snickered. “When you scanned your palm print, the information was already transferred into your brain.” 

He immediately blushed while many people sympathetically looked at him. He gave them an awkward look, then bowed in apology and ran off with his new uniforms. 

“Qianqian, you seem to be enjoying yourself, talking to this beggar kid?” Next to the young lady sat another girl, who leaned over with a grin. Qianqian’s full name was Zhao Qianqian, she was a second-year upper secondary student. 

“No way, he’s just a little innocent and I thought I’d have some fun. But didn’t you hear how polite he was? Whatever, there isn’t anyone left. Let’s go, we’ve got class.” Zhao Qianqian stretched her graceful figure and left. 

Xiang Ning was still grinning as he stepped out of the school gates and onto the main road. A passerby regarded him as a madman but he didn’t care. Lines of information appeared in his brain, all of it on advanced breathing techniques—the senior hadn’t lied. 

It was about an hour’s walk between his house and school because he lived in the suburbs out of the city. Although he could take the levitating bus back, Xiang Ning always insisted on saving every penny he could. Thus, he jogged until he arrived at his house, which was a house of barely more than ten square meters. From afar, he yelled, “Xiaoyu, I’m home!”

The door was pushed open and an adorable figure appeared. She had a beaming smile and sparkling eyes, and her blushing cheeks were so cute anyone would want to pinch them. With a grin, she announced, “Welcome home, Xiang Ning!’ 

“Mm, look at this! New uniform from the school, and I’ve got two sets.” As he spoke, he impatiently ripped open the packaging and put them on. 

Xiang Xiaoyu’s eyes sparkled. “You look so handsome.” 

“Hehe.” Xiang Ning smiled and peeled them off. “It’s late, I’ll go mine for spirit stones now. Remember to eat, alright?” As he spoke, he picked up his tools and the plastic bag next to them that was filled with his supper: two mantou buns. 

She obediently nodded, but her heart ached as she watched him leave. She wasn’t his biological younger sister; instead, he had brought her out of the orphanage with him.[1] Three years younger than him, she was about to enter her first year of lower secondary school. 

At the time, the orphanage’s principal had had a long talk with Xiang Ning. Xiang Xiaoyu had been next to him and she could clearly remember what he said: Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of Xiang Xiaoyu, I swear on my life!

“Xiang Ning… he really is the best brother in the world!” Although Xiang Ning was living a hard life, he insisted on buying her new clothes and a new school bag so she didn’t look much different from her classmates at school. Like daughters were their parents’ princesses, Xiang Xiaoyu was Ning’s very own little princess! 

…

Xiang Ning worked hard so his little sister could have a better life. Instead of taking a part-time job, he mined for spirit stones at an abandoned mine almost every day. 

Since it was still early at ten o’clock in the morning, he could mine until evening. Despite that, he still didn’t know if he could find a complete spirit stone. If he could, that would be enough for two or three days worth of food. 

His house was near a vein of the mine, only fifteen minutes away. Despite being abandoned, there were still unmined stones. Many people from the area would come to earn some side income. 

Soon, he arrived at the mines and began mining without further delay. He swung his pickaxe and a crisp sound rang out. Xiang Ning was stunned for a moment, then burst with joy. Based on his two years of mining experience, the sound was undeniably made by a spirit stone. “Hehe, a lucky day.” 

But when he took it out, it was just a black stone about the size of his pinky finger without any spiritual qi. Disappointed, he tossed it behind him. 

He never would have expected the rock to take a sharp turn and rushed straight toward his head. Xiang Ning felt the world spin and fainted. Right before he blacked out, he heard a faint voice in his head say, “Digital Cultivation Mode Activated… ten percent assimilated.…” 

1. Ed: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ☜