“I understand.” Xiang Ning nodded. If he had been afraid of danger, he wouldn’t have been there. He looked at Anran and said, “I won’t let anything happen to her.” Although it sounded naive, he felt like it wouldn’t be a problem to protect Annot. Powerful martial artists of tier six and above would be noticed, especially by Fang Zhenyuan, if they appeared in Marsh City. Fang Zhenyuan had already caught two tier six martial artists during the past few days, but they hadn’t been killed for complicated reasons. 

Xiang Ning wouldn’t have to worry about holding himself back. The order he received was to kill if their lives were in danger. He wasn’t arrogant, but he knew he could deal with a tier five martial artist. While he wasn’t sure he could win, holding one off for a few minutes should be no problem. 

Anran nodded. After chatting for a while, and since Annot hadn’t come out of her room, Xiang Ning got up and excused himself. It was late, and for some reason, his sister’s cultivation had been improving by leaps and bounds these days. He had to watch her carefully. 

He stood by the road for a few minutes waiting for his Windbreaker to arrive. When it did, he mounted it and left. 

......

At home, Xiang Xiaoyu was quietly sitting on the sofa, watching television. She came up to him with a smile, and to his astonishment, an apple drifted into his hand. 

One was nothing, but then many types of fruits appeared behind her. Xiang Ning was pleasantly surprised and exclaimed, “Twelve objects, that’s twelve units! Little sis, that’s awesome. Can you control any more?” 

“Uh… I don’t think so. And I can’t lift heavy objects, only light stuff,” she chuckled, but she was happy to hear his surprise and praise. Ever since he had entered his new school, he’d been extremely busy. Although she understood that he couldn’t always be by her side, she still wanted to be with him every second that she could. 

“Mm, that’s okay. You’re already doing so well.” He smiled. He was more excited to witness her growth than when he leveled up himself. His sister seemed to be a genius—she was only thirteen, but she could already control twelve units as a tier two spiritual cultivator! That was much more powerful than Xiang Ning was when he was her age. 

Right now, he was a tier four spiritual cultivator. If he didn’t have Telekinesis, his limit would be sixty units. But with his special skill, Telekinesis, his limit had been increased to three hundred. 

As one’s cultivation advanced, the gap between spiritual cultivators and martial artists closed. One of the reasons was their weapons. Without the support of a suit of armor, a spiritual cultivator could never carry large weapons around. But don’t underestimate the difficulty of beating a spiritual cultivator, even if their weapons are just knives. Xiang Ning’s Hunter Mk. 4 flying knives were three kilograms each. He had bought thirty knives when he was tier three, which made up a hundred kilograms. Therein lay the dilemma: spiritual cultivators’ physical bodies were weak, so should they physically carry their weapons, or mentally control them all the time?

Dilemma aside, they were still powerful in battle. Xiang Ning’s invention of the dimensional ring was the savior of all spiritual cultivators—that was why it was known as a trans-era piece of technology. It had completely eradicated the problem spiritual cultivators had, elevating their combat abilities to an entirely new level. 

Seeing his sister staring at him unblinkingly in anticipation, Xiang Ning smiled and stroked her hair. “You’re getting more powerful, but you must learn to control it. Your classmates won’t be able to withstand your full power.” He pinched her cheek and changed the topic. “Alright, I bought a lot of seafood and meat. It’s a cold day, just eat whatever you want. I’ve got a reward for you after dinner.” 

“Really?!” Xiang Xiaoyu’s eyes sparkled. It didn’t matter how mature she acted, she was still just a thirteen-year-old girl, and Xiang Ning was only sixteen. Though his net worth was now over a hundred million dollars, other than his Windbreaker, he hadn’t made any real luxurious purchases for the house.

The television had even been gifted to them by Grandpa Zhao, and their couch was seven or eight years old. Within Xiang Ning’s wardrobe, he had more sets of school uniforms than casual clothing. It didn’t matter what happened outside. What he did, the injuries he suffered, any humiliation he endured, or bullies he encountered, he never brought the negative emotions back home. This home and his sister were the precious lights of his life. 

“Ohohoho, big brother, is this called a lobster? Why’s it different from the ones I see on TV?” 

“The lobsters on TV are from before the Great Disaster, I think. They’re almost extinct. The ones we eat now are artificially cultured fearsome beasts. These lobsters are tier one beasts.” 

“Oh? Fearsome beasts? Aren’t they expensive? It doesn’t taste that good, you don’t have to buy it again,” said Xiaoyu in a small voice. 

Xiang Ning nodded. “Then I’ll buy tier three brackish-water shrimp next time.” He picked up a slice of tier two beef and placed it in her bowl, then stole her quail egg out of it. 

“Hey~” she pouted. 

He chuckled. If anyone were to ask about their past food situation, Xiang Ning knew that their past suffering was due to his limited ability. He’d had no choice and was willing to do anything for his sister, making sure she could fill her stomach every day. Why did he work so hard in school? Why did he work so hard in the mines? His earliest goal remained the same as his current goal: for his precious little sister to live a happy, worry-free life. 

He recalled the way she had walked out of the orphanage with him without hesitation and with complete trust in him. Since then, he knew that he would always owe her for the rest of his life. He was completely willing to shoulder this burden and give it his all! 

After dinner, she blissfully rubbed her slightly bloated belly. The siblings sat on the couch and she curled up in his arms like a happy cat. It was a cold day. The food had warmed them up and it was hard to stay awake, especially when she felt so safe. 

“Hey lazy cat, don’t fall asleep yet. Do you know what this is?” he asked breezily. Xiang Ning took out the three tickets he had received from Anran.

This is how Xiaoyu look like in MC's eyes

A bit of worldbuilding here. MC and his sister really had a rough life before ;-;