Qi Jiuming’s giddy outburst was quickly suppressed by his assistant. If other people weren’t also stunned by Xiang Ning, his outburst would have been recorded and his stoic reputation would be gone. 

Third School’s headmaster looked at Xiang Ning, lamenting, “Sigh, Third School didn’t lose for nothing.” Ever since the time Xiang Ning had solo challenged and defeated Third School, their entire school had improved so much that the other schools were envious. And it wasn’t just the students, even their headmaster fervently started cultivating to clean the mark on their record. 

But now, they felt helpless. Third School’s headmaster regretted bringing his students here. He looked at them with a cocked eyebrow. They didn’t look as disappointed as he thought they would. Instead, they looked… encouraged? 

Every headmaster present had their own thoughts, but they knew the future of Marsh City was bright. What if it really was like what Qi Jiuming said? 

“Old Qi, I think we can talk about that thing again.” 

“Yeah, it might actually work.” 

“Hehe, old boys, let me try, too. Let’s catch up with the rest of the world.” 

During the next three classes, Xiang Ning didn’t do anything to shock everyone like the first time, because he noticed that something was off and was very uncomfortable with the strange looks he received. What was that feeling? It felt like he was being watched by a wolf that hadn’t eaten in ten days. Even he, at his current level, couldn’t stand it. 

“Alright, dear students, that’s it for today. Class dismissed.” He waved and quickly slipped away. 

Many people laughed, seeing him leave so hurriedly. 

Back in the lounge, Xiang Ning started getting a headache when he thought about how there would be four more classes, but smirked when he saw the trending topics on the Battle Network. 

“Miracles at the War Against Hang City’s Beast Invasion, Five More People on the Hunter’s Board!” 

The Hunter’s Board was a ranking that had been published after Xiang Ning’s incident at Hang City. Anyone who generated a certain high value from killing beasts would enter the list; it was a symbol of pride. There were a hundred people on the board, and compared to the tens of thousands of fighters there, anyone on the board was the best of the best. 

This time, the ninety-sixth to hundredth ranks were taken up by Fang Rou, Lu Shiyu, Li Zimo, Wu Rui, and Liu Ruoxue respectively. They were the youngest people there, too. 

Before that, who were the names on the Hunter’s Board? Every single one of them were famously successful masters whose information could be found on the Battle Network. Number One was so powerful that he killed a Beast King alone, decreasing the two-digit number of Beast Kings by one. 

“Just a month more. I’ll be back soon.” 

…...

A month passed and Xiang Ning had left something behind that was enough to change an entire city during his stint there. Its effects hadn’t shown yet, but that was something people would say in the future. 

At that moment, he had already boarded the train heading toward Hang City. He had packed light, bringing only one backpack. 

“Big brother, I’ll work hard on my cultivation, don’t worry!” Xiang Xiaoyu waved after he passed security. 

“Mm, I believe in you! I’ll wait.” 

“Grandpa Director, you can go home now. I’m leaving soon.” 

“Sigh, be careful out there. The kids and I will be waiting for your return.” Grandpa Director held Xiang Xiaoyu’s hand as he waved at Xiang Ning. 

Very few people knew of his departure, or the station would have been packed with people. 

There were no direct trains to Hang City, so Xiang Ning first took the train to Heavenly Star City, then changed trains to another one headed for Hang City. 

......

Heavenly Star City was indeed a beautiful place. 

“Be a good girl and you’ll be able to see Dad soon, are you excited?” 

“I am, I am! Dad’s a hero!” 

“Yes, yes, your Dad is a hero!” 

Xiang Ning was on the train to Hang City, and when he listened to the little girl next to him giggle as she shook her small feet on her seat, he thought about his sister. Because he was staring at the girl, the sensitive child turned around, curious. When he noticed her looking at him, he waved. 

The girl’s reaction was unexpected. “Hehe, nice to meet you, big brother. You must be a martial artist too, right?” She grinned, blinking her large eyes. 

Her mother tugged at the girl's hand, then looked at him with an apologetic smile. 

He shook his head, implying that it was alright. “How did you know?” 

“Because… because we’re going to Hang City, which has monsters. It’s very dangerous there, so anyone going must be a martial artist like my dad.” She innocently smiled. 

“Oh, you’re so smart, you guessed right.” 

“Hehe, then you must be a hero too!” She smiled, showing her little canines. She was just adorable. 

Xiang Ning fished out the sweets many girls had given him and gave some to the girl. He had brought them along because he knew the food at the fortress wouldn’t be very good and he wanted to bring Fang Rou and the others some snacks. 

“Thank you, Big Brother!” She took them, delighted. 

Another girl sat in front of him. She was very pretty, but he only knew this because.… 

“Hey, you’re a martial artist? You’re going to the fortress? Not the city?” 

“Long Xiaoqi, how could you be so rude?” A fist knocked on the girl’s head. Sitting next to her was a man whose muscles were larger than Lei Zhongyuan’s. Xiang Ning estimated he was more than two meters tall. 

“Sorry about that, brother.” 

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Are you guys going to the fortress of Hang City?” Xiang Ning asked curiously. 

“Yeah, to train ourselves. You? Are you going alone?” 

“Yeah, I’m going alone. I’m also going to meet my friends and train, I guess.” 

Both of them chatted away and got along well, too, much to the frustration of the teenage girl, Long Xiaoqi. She puffed up her cheeks and irritably hummed. 

The buff man scratched his head and chuckled, “Brother, I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Chu Long, and this is Long Xiaoqi.”

“I’m Xiang Ning.” 

“You look very young, are you still in school?”

“Yeah, upper-first.” 

“What? Upper-first? Are you sure?” 

Xiang Ning gave a small smile. 

“You’re too young!” Long Xiaoqi looked at him, mouth agape as she couldn’t imagine why a high school student would want to go to such a dangerous place. School was still in session! This kid wasn’t there to skip school, was he? He looked like a good kid and she couldn’t believe he would do such a thing! Long Xiaoqi’s thoughts strayed further and further from the truth. 

Chu Long was more forgiving. “Long Xiaoqi and I are from Heavenly Star City, we’re students of Glory Martial University.” 

Well that little arc ended quickly. Off to a new adventure!