The two walked toward Xiang Ning, as the boys who were following them didn’t know what to do. From his fight in the martial arena, they already knew how ruthless he could be, as well as how much he loved his sister. If they hadn’t known she was his sister, they would have thought the two were a couple.

“Good day, senior Xiang Ning. I’m Xiaoyu’s friend, Chen Zixin,” she said as she extended her hand.

Xiang Ning smiled. “Hello, Zixin. Thanks for taking care of my sister.”

“Ah, it was nothing, really!” Chen Zixin waved her hands in denial.

“Big brother!” Xiang Xiaoyu shouted with a pout. She immediately jumped beside Xiang Ning and softly punched his shoulder. He lightly held her hands to stop her. Chen Zixin watched their interaction and felt slightly jealous; why was it that every time she saw someone else’s brother they were always so warm and sweet, while her brother was such a weirdo?

Xiang Ning accompanied Xiaoyu home. On the way back, she suddenly asked, “Xiang Ning, Zixin seems to like you a lot. Do you want to be her boyfriend?”

Xiang Ning was stunned. “Are you feverish right now?”

Xiaoyu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, so she settled on saying nothing.

“Why’re you suddenly saying something like that?” he asked with a gentle squeeze of her hands.

“She saw you fight in the martial arena, and her heart skipped a beat when she saw you today. That was what she told me,” Xiang Xiaoyu muttered.

“Oh? Are you trying to sell your brother off?” Xiang Ning laughed.

“No!” she loudly proclaimed. When she saw that Xiang Ning was laughing, she blushed.

“Relax, I’ll only find someone to marry when you find someone you like.” Xiang Ning laughed.

Xiang Xiaoyu stared at him and stopped walking. He was slightly taken aback by her reaction. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” She shook her head as she continued walking hand-in-hand with him.

The two happily chatted as they walked back. Everyone was looking at them, slightly envious of their youth.

When they reached home, Xiang Ning made noodles for Xiaoyu and told her about how he would be traveling to the wilderness in three days.

“To the wilderness? Won’t it be dangerous?” Xiang Xiaoyu was worried.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be heading out with the special class. The instructors are following, too, so there won’t be much danger. Plus, I’ll be moving with a squad instead of going solo. I’m also very strong, so hunting tier one beasts will be easy for me,” he said as he slurped his noodles.

Xiang Xiaoyu suddenly lost her appetite after hearing about the test. The wilderness had become a forbidden zone of the human race after the Great Disaster. Numerous fearsome beasts resided there, and only martial artists and spiritual cultivators would be able to venture into the depths to hunt. And even the strongest cultivator would have to run away if a stampede were to occur. If they didn’t run quick enough, they could face millions of fearsome beasts chasing them. It would be difficult to escape even if they were a tier seven martial artist.

Xiang Ning scratched his head and thought about how to calm her down. After a few moments, he stood up and brought her to the mines where he usually worked. While the cave had collapsed, there were still many large rocks around. Xiang Xiaoyu looked around, confused as to why he had brought her there.

He walked to a large boulder, one that was so big that not even five adults would be able to carry it. “Look at this boulder, does it look solid to you?”

“Yeah.” Xiang Xiaoyu nodded.

Boom!

He punched the boulder and it exploded. While only part of the boulder had been blasted away, it was at least a sizable chunk of it. His little sister was impressed, and her eyes grew large at the scene.

“I’m already a tier one, nine-star martial artist. If I want to advance into tier two, I need to venture into the wilderness. Only then can I protect you,” he firmly said.

Xiang Xiaoyu’s eyes teared up as she planted herself in his embrace. She had been moved by his words. The night wind softly blew, rustling the leaves around the siblings. From the darkness, a pair of eyes was secretly observing them.

A soft sigh joined the breeze. “He’s all grown up now. My good brother Xiang, it seems like your son is following your footsteps, but I’ll make sure he doesn’t end up like you.”

When they arrived home, Xiang Ning bade goodbye to Xiaoyu and headed back out. She wanted him to stay with her that night, as he would be venturing into the wilderness in three days, but if she asked for that she would make him worry. How could she make her big brother lose his chance to venture into the wilderness? She couldn’t be that selfish. Everything that he did, he did for the two of them.

When Xiang Ning walked out of their house, he stopped to look at the moon and sighed, then started jogging. His destination was the Thunder Dojo. It was seven o’clock, and there were a lot of people in the dojo. To prepare for his trip into the wilderness, he first had to prepare some money for Xiang Xiaoyu.

……

Second floor of the Thunder Dojo.

“Fang Rou.” Xiang Ning found her on a treadmill.

“You’ve come.” She turned off the machine and wiped her sweat with a towel. “Let’s go, they’re ready.”

Xiang Ning nodded; everything had already been agreed upon beforehand. A thousand dollars for every time he acted as a sparring partner.

“Take this protective gear and wait in room P21.”

He nodded; he trusted her completely.

Soon, he arrived at room P21. It was a large room, complete with a resting area, a washroom, and a training ring. He quietly sat in the middle of the ring.

The door opened with a creak and a girl wearing white training robes walked in, tying her hair up into a ponytail. She was none other than Fang Rou.

“You?” Xiang Ning’s brows raised. He hadn’t expected to see her.

“Why? Can’t I spar with you? You’ve already… I mean, you’re a suitable sparring partner for me. Plus, I need to test you out before I can recommend you to our other customers,” Fang Rou said.

Hadn’t she said that she wouldn’t seek revenge for him groping her chest?!

“No, I mean… I don’t think it’s appropriate for a guy and a girl to spend time alone in a room.”

Fang Rou was struck speechless by his shamelessness.

Fury Points +1

“Hehe, let me explain the rules. You can block, parry, and dodge. You can only attack if it’s requested beforehand.”

Xiang Ning was stunned—didn’t that mean that he would be nothing more than a punching bag?