On the screen, Aunt Li Juan was beaming, her smile stretching from ear to ear. She was directing workers as they carefully placed a speed tester in the corner.
Uncle Wang Ming was also full of joy. He patted a brand-new striking power tester next to him, and its thick rubber pad let out a dull THUD.
They both knew very well that they were benefiting from their nephew’s success.
Given their qualifications and contributions, forget about being assigned a villa worth millions—they would have had to wait ages just to get a standard subsidized apartment.
"Xiaofeng,"
Uncle Wang Ming walked up to the camera and said happily, "We’ve discussed it, and we’re saving this house for you. When you come back for vacation, or after you graduate, you’ll have a place to stay. We put the property deed directly in your name, too."
But his father, Qin Dahai, waved his hand from the side. He came to the camera and said to Qin Feng, "I told your uncle and aunt that I still prefer living in our old neighborhood. I’ve lived there for decades, I know all the neighbors, and it just feels comfortable. I’m used to it."
Qin Feng looked at his father’s earnest expression, then glanced at his excited uncle and aunt. He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Just the C-rank resource contract approved by the academy already provided him with various cultivation resources every month, which converted to as much as one million Imperial Coins.
He had also submitted an application for the even more valuable B-rank resource contract. He was just waiting for Teacher Lin Yue to return and sign off on it.
By then, the value of the resources he received each month could probably "devour" a villa like this one.
A few months ago, a villa like this—which his father and uncle’s family considered priceless—was like something from another world to him. It was a luxury he didn’t even dare to dream of.
And now, not only was he about to have a B-rank resource contract that could "devour" a villa every month, but his family had also been gifted one directly by the factory because of his achievements.
The change was so fast it felt a little unreal.
Of course, he also understood that whether it was the academy pouring resources into him or the factory giving his family preferential treatment, they were all investing in the potential he had shown.
But in the end, strength was the foundation of it all.
"Dad, you all can live wherever you like. It’s fine either way."
Qin Feng said with a smile, "As for this house, you can live in it if you want, or leave it empty if you don’t. You could even rent it out. It’s up to you."
"That won’t do. This was given to you, so you decide what to do with it," his uncle insisted.
"Then you guys live in it for now."
Qin Feng nodded helplessly.
He then asked about how things were at home and at the factory.
"Oh, right, son."
Qin Dahai suddenly asked, "When are you coming back for your break? We haven’t seen you in so long, and your cousin is always talking about you."
Hearing this question, Qin Feng fell silent for a moment.
"The academy only has one break a year,"
he said slowly. "I estimate I’ll be able to graduate around this time next year. I plan on coming home after I graduate. It might be two or three months later than the normal break."
"That’s fine, that’s fine."
His father, Qin Dahai, replied immediately. There wasn’t a hint of disappointment in his voice; instead, it was filled with understanding and support. "Your training is what’s important. Don’t worry about things at home. We’re all doing great."
"Okay, I understand, Dad."
After hanging up, Qin Feng continued to practice his Meditation technique. He only fell into a deep sleep after another half an hour of practice.
[Meditation Technique Proficiency +1]
Emperor Meditation (Beginner)
[Proficiency]: 36/100
-----------------
Qin Feng fell into a deep sleep on his dorm bed.
「Meanwhile, on the northern side of the Qiming First Martial Arts High School campus.」
The rooftop terrace of Beikai Tower was the highest point in the school.
A cold night wind howled, whipping past a silent, standing figure.
Lin Yue stood quietly at the edge of the terrace, dressed in a suit of black light power armor, overlooking the dotted lights of the campus below.
Her power armor was covered in vicious scars. A claw mark on the chest plate was so deep the bone beneath would have been visible, and its edges were still stained with dried, dark purple blood.
The pauldrons and vambraces were peppered with dense, charred black marks from Energy Weapon burns.
Her fair cheeks were smeared with several streaks of blood, but her expression was calm and unfazed.
She held her removed helmet tucked under her arm. Its faceplate also bore a clear crack.
A virtual light screen hovered in front of her.
[Mission ID: G-784-B]
[Mission Type: Annihilation]
[Mission Objective: Eliminate the "Blood Fang" Star Thief Gang entrenched in Asteroid Belt Sigma-9]
[Mission Status: Complete]
[Mission Assessment: Perfect]
[Mission Reward: Pending distribution...]
Lin Yue looked at the prompt on the screen, reached out, and lightly tapped the confirmation button below.
[Mission submitted. Reward has been credited to your Imperial account.]
The light screen vanished.
She stood up straight, letting the night wind blow through her tied-back hair.
She had been away on an Empire mission for nearly ten days, and the high-intensity combat had left her slightly fatigued.
As if remembering something, Lin Yue opened her wrist-mounted terminal again and pulled up the private network backend for Qiming First High’s second-year students.
Today was the end of the month, the day for the monthly private network point settlement.
She opened the point rankings, her eyes quickly scanning down the list of familiar and unfamiliar names.
Her finger stopped scrolling at a certain point.
[Rank: 6852]
[ID: Qin]
[Name: Qin Feng]
[Class: Year 2, Class (7)]
[Points: 1254]
[Record: 412 Wins / 420 Losses]
Lin Yue’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
She stared at the rank, a flash of surprise in her eyes.
"Hm?"
She let out a very soft, questioning hum.
6,852nd place.
This rank was far beyond her expectations.
Before the league started, when she made the bet with Wu Shangfeng, she had carefully analyzed Qin Feng’s strength data.
In the brutal second-year private network, she had predicted that after the adaptation period, Qin Feng’s rank would most likely stabilize somewhere between 11,000th and 12,000th place.
That in itself would have been an astonishing rate of improvement.
But now, he had shot straight into the top seven thousand.
This meant he had already surpassed nearly half of the second-year veteran students.
’What happened in these last ten-odd days?’
The question arose in Lin Yue’s mind.
She immediately switched screens and entered the campus forums for Qiming First High.
On the forums, posts about the current inter-school league had been pushed to the top of the hot topics. The one with the most discussion was, without a doubt, about the newly crowned "Rookie King," Qin Feng.
[Hot Post 1: Rookie King’s insane point grind at the end of the month, crushed me three times in one afternoon! Have a heart! What kind of monster is this?]
[Hot Post 2: The proof is in the video! This year’s Rookie King is terrifyingly strong. Three months after enrolling, he seems to already possess top-tier second-year Combat Power!]
Lin Yue directly opened the most-liked technical analysis post, which included a full recording of Qin Feng’s final match.
She didn’t skip anything, watching the entire duel between Qin Feng and Lei Yi from beginning to end with meticulous attention.
In the video, Qin Feng’s Body Technique was flawless and fluid. His spear skills integrated offense and defense seamlessly. His combat instincts and experience were so polished he didn’t seem like a new student who had only been enrolled for three months.
"Well, I’ll be..."