Chapter 5: Chapter 5: The Mission is Complete Already?
That evening, Yang Shen worked at the milk tea shop until ten. By the time he finished closing up and got home, it was nearly eleven.
His aunt, Tao Ying, still wasn’t home. The factory’s workload was feast or famine, and it seemed they were in a busy period recently.
Yang Mo and Yang Man, on their elementary school schedule, were already asleep. A note was left on the table, the childish handwriting telling their older brother that they had saved some food for him.
Yang Shen took out the leftovers. Judging by the portions, the two girls hadn’t eaten much; they had saved almost all of it for him.
Turning on the dim yellow light, Yang Shen ate in silence. The microwave was broken and hadn’t been fixed, so he ate the food cold.
Every bite was delicious, yet each one also carried a hint of bitterness.
Afterward, Yang Shen spent an hour finishing his academic homework. From midnight until two in the morning, he practiced his fist techniques, going through the *Sixth Set of Initial Realm Body Refining Fist* over and over again. Although the Fist Technique had a generic name, it was considered the "best Body Refining Technique," having been continuously improved by countless masters in Yanhua. Even the younger generation of the hereditary Martial Arts Clans had to learn it.
Yang Shen knew this Fist Technique like the back of his hand, from the theoretical knowledge in his first year of high school to the practical courses in his second and the final push in his third.
Unfortunately, without Supplements, progress from just practicing the technique was incredibly slow. It was just like in ancient Yanhua, where a Martial Artist who trained from childhood would be lucky to reach the Innate Realm only after turning fifty.
But in modern society, with its advanced technology, a talented individual could shorten that timeline to around the time they graduated college, at about twenty-two. If they were wealthy, it could be even earlier.
Having taken Xu Bamboo’s Supplement, he felt a rare sensation of his "body being full" as he practiced his fist technique. It was as if his body was replenishing the power consumed by each punch at an accelerated rate.
It was like there was an engine inside him, pushing his physical body forward, bit by bit!
He trained like this for two full hours.
He didn’t stop until the medicinal effects of the "Initial Realm Passage Essence Drink" were completely absorbed, and his hair was soaked with sweat.
Yang Shen glanced at his Martial Arts Watch. His Qi and Blood Value read 69.4. ’This stuff is the real deal,’ he thought. ’The Source Content is very high.’
He was still a fair distance from the 100 Qi and Blood Value minimum required for the Bone Training realm.
Even if he kept receiving help from Xu Bamboo, he would only have a chance to barely scrape by the entrance requirements for a Martial Arts College right before the college entrance exams. After all, his part-time job drained a lot of his energy, and he couldn’t completely abandon his academic studies either.
’I started too late, and I’ve wasted too much time...’
’The system is my only hope!’
’But how can I make Xu Bamboo feel like she owes me instead?’
The clueless boy lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. He was worried about waking Yang Mo and Yang Man, who shared the room with him. The house only had two bedrooms, and they had all shared a room since they were young. Fortunately, the age gap between them was large enough that it hadn’t become awkward.
’Sigh... I’ll just start with small things. Maybe it’ll add up over time?’
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「The next morning, at the school gate.」
Xu Bamboo was back in her blue and white school uniform, but it did little to hide her outstanding figure. She was a celebrity at school, but she had few friends. Most of her time was dedicated to her Martial Arts training, so her social circle was only as large as her deskmate.
Many students thought Xu Bamboo was cold and aloof, and they weren’t wrong. She was curt with nearly everyone.
So, on the way to school, many people stole glances at her, but no one dared to approach and start a conversation.
Suddenly, a fist appeared at the edge of her vision, rapidly approaching her face.
As she was in the initial stage of Marrow Refining, Xu Bamboo’s reflexes were incredibly fast. With a quick parry and grab, her slender palm moved like a soaring dragon, instantly seizing the attacking arm.
Driven by her Martial Artist’s instincts, she was about to follow up with a palm strike to her opponent’s chest. But as soon as she saw who it was, she immediately pulled back 99 percent of her power.
In the end, the blow became a gentle pat on Yang Shen’s chest, smoothing out the wrinkles in his school uniform.
Yang Shen: "What was that for...?"
Xu Bamboo’s eyes widened. "What was *that* for?"
Yang Shen shook the plastic bag in his hand. "I brought you breakfast."
A look of astonishment crossed Xu Bamboo’s pretty face. She even took a flustered half-step back like a startled rabbit, a comical sight.
"Wait... You brought *me* breakfast?"
’A poor peasant bringing tribute to the landlord?’
Yang Shen nodded, saying firmly, "That’s right!"
’The main goal is to be nice to Xu Bamboo,’ he thought, ’but I can’t be meek and subservient. I have to act magnanimous!’
’No! I have to be domineering!’
’Maybe that’ll make the nutritious breakfast—which cost me the "fortune" of fifteen yuan—feel a little more valuable.’
’Like it’s worth twenty yuan?’
Xu Bamboo took the breakfast and opened it. Inside, besides basic items like milk and a tea egg, there was also a bottle of "Source Energy Forest."
It was a High Source soda with trace amounts of energy—very trace, indeed—but a bottle still cost ten yuan.
That wasn’t cheap for Yang Shen. It was the equivalent of over an hour of hard work at the milk tea shop... and that was without even considering his family’s financial situation.
Xu Bamboo instinctively felt it was inappropriate to accept. But then she remembered how, just the day before yesterday, she had told him he needed to "learn to accept the kindness of others," and the words of refusal died in her throat.
Taking a deep breath, she put on her usual smile. "Thanks! I’ll make sure to finish every last bite."
Yang Shen nodded seriously, his gaze as determined as if he were taking the college entrance exams.
He decided to bring Xu Bamboo something to eat every day from now on. ’Little by little, it will add up,’ he thought. ’Maybe by graduation, she’ll feel indebted to me.’
’As for the cost, I’ll just have to pinch my pennies even harder.’
Carrying the breakfast, Xu Bamboo gestured for him to follow. "Come on, morning self-study is about to start."
As the two walked together, many students around the school glanced in their direction. While it was no secret in their own class that Xu Bamboo and Yang Shen got along, it was a genuine surprise for students from other classes.
’Didn’t Academic Ace Xu just get first place in the grade on the last monthly exam? She’s the talk of the school right now.’
’And the guy with her...’
’...must be the one who ranked second in the grade!’
On the way, Yang Shen suddenly said, "You know me. I’m a pretty blunt person."
Xu Bamboo kicked a small pebble at her feet, controlling its direction and distance with precise kicks. "Of course, I know that."
"But I didn’t buy you breakfast because I want to repay you. Your help is a separate matter, and I’ll pay you back for it slowly over time."
Yang Shen spoke with great seriousness, and also... a domineering air! His words landed with resounding force!
"But as for the breakfast, I just bought it because I simply wanted to be nice to you."
He wanted to make his motive clear so that Xu Bamboo wouldn’t think it was because of the "Initial Realm Passage Essence Drink."
’I’m decent at math,’ he thought. ’I know how to separate like terms. If I can treat these as two separate debts, maybe it’ll speed up the mission progress.’
’After all, a single bottle of the Initial Realm Passage drink is worth enough to buy her breakfast for half a year.’
...*I just simply wanted to be nice to you*...
...*Simply wanted to be nice to you*...
...*Nice to you*...
CRUNCH. Her precisely controlled steps faltered, and Xu Bamboo crushed the pebble beneath her foot into powder.
However, Xu Bamboo seemed oblivious, continuing to walk with mechanical steps. After a long moment without a response, Yang Shen turned to look at her in confusion. ’Did I go too far?’ he wondered. ’Where did I get the nerve to talk about "separating like terms"... I’m the one who owes her so much more.’
Then he saw that Xu Bamboo was biting her lip...
’Is she going to hit me...?’
Fortunately, that didn’t happen. Xu Bamboo just hummed softly in agreement.
Yang Shen breathed a sigh of relief, but in the next moment, his jaw dropped.
"Congratulations, Host. You have completed the mission ’A Beauty’s Favor is the Hardest to Repay’."
"Mission Selection: Option 2"
"Reward: *Qi Cultivation Guiding Technique*. It has been delivered!"
"This Cultivation Technique is a family heirloom. Please be cautious about passing it on to outsiders."
Yang Shen: ???
’What just happened?’
’Xu Bamboo already feels indebted to me? Over a single breakfast?’
’What did she do behind my back?’
This had been far easier than he had imagined. Though he couldn’t figure out why, a new question popped into his mind.
’So... should I still buy her breakfast in the future, or not?’
...
The morning was dedicated to academic classes, but the atmosphere between the two deskmates was somewhat somber.
Xu Bamboo kept her eyes fixed on the blackboard. There was nothing wrong with that, of course, but it seemed a bit intentional.
She didn’t even turn her neck, as if afraid of Yang Shen entering her line of sight.
On a side note, her grades in academic classes weren’t bad either, about on par with Yang Shen’s. She hadn’t neglected this part of her studies, even though it carried little weight in the college entrance exams.
As for Yang Shen, he sat with his eyes closed, studying the *Qi Cultivation Guiding Technique* that had appeared in his mind.
The more he studied it, the more peculiar he found it.
The Cultivation Technique from the system had been directly infused into his mind. In an instant, it was as if Yang Shen had already practiced it thousands of times. Although his actual cultivation level was still starting from zero, it felt like playing a thousand bot matches in a video game—he knew all the rules and methods by heart.
But it wasn’t the Cultivation Technique itself that Yang Shen found strange—after all, he hadn’t actually started practicing it, so he couldn’t judge its effects. What struck him as odd were the bits of "Cultivation Information" that came along with the *Qi Cultivation Guiding Technique*.
It was like a "Low-Level Cultivator’s General Knowledge" primer. Although the information was sparse, it addressed one of Yang Shen’s most pressing concerns.
First, there was the division of realms. It didn’t use the familiar terms of Skin Refining, Bone Training, and Marrow Refining. Instead, it was all under the name "Qi Cultivation."
The *Qi Cultivation Guiding Technique* was suitable for the first to ninth levels of Qi Cultivation. However, the technique’s general introduction stated that this was an Attributeless Cultivation Method. Its strength was its universality—its principle of "teaching without discrimination"—rather than rapid advancement. It was especially recommended that after reaching the third level of Qi Cultivation, one should supplement it with other cultivation techniques tailored to their own Spiritual Root.
A special note added: "Most suitable for those with Four Spiritual Roots, who can practice it continuously. Those with Dual Spiritual Roots or a Single Spiritual Root are advised to seek alternative methods."
What Yang Shen couldn’t understand, however, was that Liu Yuankui, an Innate Realm Martial Artist, was only considered to be at the third level of Qi Cultivation by the system...
In other words, this Guiding Technique could take someone from the "Skin Refining realm" all the way to the "Innate Realm." No, it was more than enough; it covered up to the ninth level of Qi Cultivation.
’If the Innate Realm is only the third level of Qi Cultivation, then what is the ninth level? It can’t just jump straight to the True Gang Realm or the Martial Saint Realm, can it?’
Moreover, the Guiding Technique mentioned later stages like Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, and Nascent Soul... Each term was more baffling to Yang Shen than the last.
Another thing Yang Shen found utterly incredible was...
The *Qi Cultivation Guiding Technique* allowed one to directly absorb "Source"!
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