In his past time, Xuan used to fight in the underground boxing ring. Sure, he didn't frequent it as much in his later years, but when he was younger, he visited nearly every other day.
And to this day, his record remained unbeaten.
523 wins, 0 losses.
His experience didn't only extend to indoor fights, as he had fought in several gang wars. He even got shot twice and stabbed over 10 times.
He used to come home with his black hair covered in blood and his dark green eyes out of focus. But since he was sneaky about it, no one ever found out about his little secret.
And Yuelan doesn't have to know that either. He whistled to himself and approached the lizardman.
It spotted him within moments, and to Xuan's surprise, it suddenly dashed toward him.
Its speed was fast, but not fast enough.
It thrust its spear at his head, but Xuan sidestepped, dodging it.
He sent a swift kick to the lizardman's abdomen, making it back off with a groan, but not without following up with a quick backheel kick to the side of its head.
Xuan took a few steps back, evaluating his opponent.
It's fine? I thought I hit it pretty hard.
There was a slight scratch on its green cheek, but aside from that? Nothing.
Before he could ponder further, the lizardman approached again, its stone spear ready.
It thrust, then pulled it back, trying to fake out Xuan.
But he only looked at the lizard as if it was an idiot.
He stayed low, picked up a rock from the ground, then tossed it straight at the lizardman's head.
It hit right on, making it lean back a little.
And while its attention wasn't on Xuan, he sped up and went behind the lizard. Then, he wrapped his arm around its neck and began choking it out.
This all happened so fast, yet no matter how much he choked, the lizardman seemed too durable.
So Xuan opted for another option. He kicked away the spear and dashed toward it.
The staggered lizardman regained its composure, but it was already too late.
Xuan took a deep breath, then threw the spear like a javelin. It flew through the air, then straight through the lizardman's head.
For a second, he thought it would stand back up again, but it didn't. Instead, it fell to the ground, finally dead.
He heaved a relieved sigh and dusted himself off.
As he prepared to head in to find his sister, a bout of pop-ups appeared, making him stop.
<+1 Void Qi | 1 / 5,000>
Void Qi?
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Another skill? This one seems good. But 5,000 Void Qi? I only have 1... Xuan sighed and put that aside for the time being.
He ran into the apartment complex and up to his room. Without hesitation, he kicked the door in.
His brows furrowed.
The furniture was thrown all around the place, and the bathroom door was open.
He ran to the bathroom, his heart beating uncontrollably.
And yet, when he gazed inside the bathroom, his eyes widened.
"Yuelan...? What did you do?"
There was a lizardman lying on the ground, similar to the one he had killed.
The only difference? It was cut perfectly vertical.
And yet here she was, Yuelan with her natural straight, dark blue hair and beautiful blue eyes. But what surprised him the most was that she sat in a lotus position, cultivating.
He stepped closer and tapped her head, trying to snap her out of it.
That was when another bout of pop-ups appeared. Just this time, they weren't exactly what he was expecting to see.
"Huh...?" Yuelan's eyes opened slowly, her gaze darting to Xuan. "Big brother...? Are you okay?"
"For someone who told me to jump off the balcony earlier, you sure sound concerned," Xuan replied, feigning hurt.
Yuelan rolled her eyes. "You know I was only joking, big brother. But what's this? Basic Void Fist? Void Qi?"
"Yeah, I gave it to you when I touched your head," he explained. "It says a connection was formed."
"I can see that too..." Yuelan replied, her brows furrowing. "You know, I wanted to surprise you by being stronger than you, that's why I cultivated in the bathroom. But after that message..."
"The one where it said billions of people died? Yeah, I know." Xuan sighed. "I'm worried too. But we can rely on each other and grow stronger together, just as we've done so far."
A faint smile appeared on Yuelan's face. "You're right, big brother..."
She stood up, then placed her hand on his head.
Immediately, the same thing as earlier happened. Just this time...
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"Why are your skills so overpowered...?" Xuan muttered in awe.
Yuelan puffed her chest. "Well... as your little sister, I have to provide sometimes too, don't I?"
A wide smile appeared on his face as he approached and hugged her tightly.
"I'm glad you're okay, Yuelan... I wouldn't know what to do without you."
She giggled. "Me too, brother... I panicked when you left and tried to call you, but you didn't answer."
"I didn't hear a call?" Xuan tilted his head and took out his phone.
He tried to turn it on, but he was met with a black screen.
"Is my battery dead?"
"No... mine is too," Yuelan murmured, showing her phone with a black screen. "I think... I don't think we can use phones anymore."
As the two began thinking of ways to communicate across long distances, a pop-up appeared in front of them.
Yuelan's eyes beamed, and he let out a chuckle.
"I guess that solves that issue."