Lu Zhiwei hummed and hawed as she escorted Xiang Beifei to his family's doorstep.
"You're back? So late."
Xiang Qingde had been waiting for him to come home and only relaxed when he saw Xiang Beifei at the door.
"Hello, Grandpa Xiang!" Lu Zhiwei greeted him cheerfully.
"Eh? Xiao Wei, what brings you here?" Xiang Qingde asked in surprise.
"My dad sent me to make sure Beifei got home safely. You don't need to worry."
"Then come in and sit down for a bit," Xiang Qingde hurriedly said.
"No, I have to get home myself. I have to catch the early bus tomorrow to go back to school," Lu Zhiwei said.
"It's so late, and it's not safe for a girl to go home alone. I'll take you back," he insisted.
Xiang Qingde hurried to grab a flashlight and a coat, ready to escort Lu Zhiwei home.
"Look at that, now that's what I call an elder!"
Lu Zhiwei complained about her father again, then waved her hand with a carefree smile, "No need, Grandpa Xiang. I can manage on my own."
"How can that be alright? It's so late, and a pretty girl like you walking alone at night is not safe. It would be terrible if anything happened..." Xiang Qingde said.
Being complimented on her looks moved Lu Zhiwei deeply: "Ah, Grandpa Xiang, your insight is as sharp as ever."
She happily rubbed her face, feeling very pleased.
"Don't worry, Grandpa Xiang. I'm not that easy to mess with. If I can't beat them, I'll just use the Teleportation Talisman my mom gave me to escape—it's a simple matter," she assured him.
The Teleportation Talisman was a wonderful thing, an item exchanged through the system, a life-saving Divine Artifact given by her mother to her daughter.
Within a certain distance, if she faced danger, the Teleportation Talisman could instantly pull Lu Zhiwei to her mother's side. That was why Lu Hong was at ease letting Lu Zhiwei head home alone.
"Then you still don't understand what it means to be safe when walking at night?"
Xiang Beifei pursed his lips.
Lu Zhiwei stuck out her tongue in a mocking face.
"Be careful on the way," Xiang Beifei said.
"Got it, goodnight."
Lu Zhiwei soon disappeared into the night.
Xiang Qingde closed the door and then asked Xiang Beifei, "Are you following Lu Hong to learn fighting skills, aiming for the martial path in the future?"
"Yes."
He didn't hide it.
For Xiang Beifei, the essence of this world was still about the supremacy of the martial path.
He picked up the toilet brush and made some gestures with it, wondering whose system reward this could be from and why they would redeem a toilet brush of all things? Was it to enhance the cleanliness of the toilet while scrubbing?
He then looked at a slipper. Why was this brand new slipper only one? Could they not afford the other?
"Send these things back, life is tough for everyone. Rewards involving people who bear us no grudges, we shouldn't take," he said.
Xiang Beifei waved his hand dismissively.
Most of these rewards came from lower-level people's N-grade systems. The rewards of an N-grade system were often frustrating, with all sorts of bizarre quests, some of which were simply not feasible for a normal person.
Those N-grade Awakeners had low strength, and it might take them several years to step into the Qi-Controlling realm. They relied on completing quests to make ends meet. If they lost their rewards, it was adding insult to injury.
Since those rewards were of no use to himself and could not help him light up his stars, there was no need to disrupt others' lives.
Xiaohei had been gnawing on a ball, but upon hearing Xiang Beifei's words, his tail wagged twice, and he mailed all the items back.
——
The end of high school life was approaching fast, and students who had just awakened their systems were putting aside their quests to focus on preparing for college entrance exams.
No matter how urgent the system quests were, they couldn't compare to the importance of the exams.
Getting into a good university was crucial. Different levels of universities offered different conditions for completing quests. The better the university, the more comprehensive the facilities, and the more advantageous for completing system quests.
All the students were busy except for Xiang Beifei.
With his Learn by Analogy skill, he only needed to understand one type of problem, and then he could easily solve the same type next time he encountered it.
He had essentially mastered all the types of exam questions, giving him more time to train himself.
During breaks, he would go to a deserted place and continue practicing Rapid Flame.
Following Lu Hong's instructions, Xiang Beifei covered his fists with Spiritual Power and swung them punch after punch.
With each punch, he paid attention to the range of his Spiritual Power, and gradually, he got the hang of it.
When he had thrown over ten thousand punches, his fists finally produced a burst of explosive sound, with tiny sparks shooting out.
"I did it!"
Xiang Beifei revealed a smile.
Although it was just a few sparks, and not a burst of flames like Lu Hong could produce, the mere fact he created sparks with Spiritual Power proved he had entered the threshold.
Xiang Beifei approached a tree and fiercely swung a punch towards it—
Bang!
A dull sound rang out!
The bark was indented with his fist print, and around the edges of the imprint, there were signs of slight charring.
"It's not enough, Uncle Lu can pierce through a sandbag with just one finger."
Xiang Beifei was not satisfied with this result. To create an imprint, he had to make contact with the bark with his fist. If it was Lu Hong, he could just blast the tree to smithereens from a distance.