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Not many parents came to pick up their children when Nuoding Academy was on holiday. Because of the crowd, Nuoding Academy did not allow these parents to enter the academy. Instead, they set up a pathway at the main gate, allowing parents to wait on both sides for their children to come out.
"Shi Quan! Over here…"
As soon as Shi Quan walked out of Nuoding Academy, he immediately saw Li Meili excitedly waving her arms at him from the crowd.
"Coming, Mom!" Shi Quan quickly walked towards Li Meili, taking large strides.
"Come, come, let me help you with that." Li Meili looked at the package in Shi Quan's hand and took it from him before he could refuse.
"Let's go this way. There are too many people here, and it's hard for the carriage to park. Your dad parked it on the other side." Li Meili, beaming with joy, led Shi Quan towards one side of the academy.
After turning a corner, Shi Quan saw Shi Jian standing quietly by the carriage not far away, his gaze fixed on them.
"Dad!" Shi Quan waved from afar, greeting Shi Jian.
Shi Jian smiled and nodded, waving back in Shi Quan's direction.
"How have the past two months been?"
This question was almost always asked every time they met.
Shi Quan waved his hand and said with a smile, "It's still the same as before. I can finally go home. It's been so long since I've had Mom's cooking; I've really missed it."
As he spoke, Shi Quan looked at Li Meili playfully. Li Meili's eyes narrowed into slits as she smiled and said, "When we get back, Mom will make you a big feast!"
Without any stops in the city, the three directly set off for Shi Family Village.
"Shi Quan, how has your Cultivation been this year?"
"Don't worry, Dad, I've kept your words firmly in mind."
Shi Quan naturally understood what Shi Jian was asking. They were already out of the city, and he had nothing to hide from his parents.
As he spoke, Shi Quan raised his right hand, and a faint blue light emerged. A Blue Silver Grass, a circle thicker than an ordinary Blue Silver Grass, appeared in Shi Quan's hand.
With a slight movement of his fingers, the branches and leaves of the Blue Silver Grass in Shi Quan's hand extended from his hand, stretching along the carriage to the carriage's reins, flexibly tying a knot.
"Good!" Shi Jian nodded in satisfaction upon seeing this.
One must know that at first, Shi Quan couldn't even control a single branch independently. Now he could control these branches to extend and tie knots flexibly. Such a rate of improvement was already astonishing.
Shi Quan said mysteriously, "By the way, Dad, Mom, I have something else to tell you. Don't be too surprised when you hear it."
Li Meili said playfully, "What is it? You're being so mysterious."
"My spirit power Rank is already seven."
"What? Rank seven?" Li Meili exclaimed, then immediately realized her voice was too loud. She quickly covered her mouth and cautiously looked around the carriage before quietly asking, "Shi Quan, are you saying Rank seven?"
Shi Quan swore, "I'm not mistaken, it should be Rank seven, and it's only higher, not lower."
Shi Jian looked around and said seriously, "Walls have ears, let alone us being outside. Let's talk when we get back."
Li Meili also made a shushing gesture. Shi Quan looked around, nodded, and responded, "Understood."
…
"Shi Quan is back…"
The carriage returning home passed through the village, surrounded by warm greetings.
After almost a year of being away, there weren't many big changes at home.
Upon returning home, with a clang, the door was closed.
Shi Jian finally asked his question, "Shi Quan, why has your spirit power Rank improved so quickly?"
Li Meili also looked at Shi Quan curiously from the side.
Shi Quan spoke in a deep voice, "Dad, Mom, my spirit power increased quickly because my Martial Spirit, Blue Silver Grass, is a mutated Martial Spirit. I will explain the rest to you later."
"The rest?" Li Meili took a step forward with a worried expression and said, "Shi Quan, do you have other secrets that even we can't know?"
"Meili!" Shi Jian stepped forward, took Li Meili's hand, and patted it gently, comforting her, "It's good that Shi Quan has his own ideas. We should trust Shi Quan."
As his words fell, Shi Jian's gaze finally landed on Shi Quan, and he said seriously, "Shi Quan, I learned about your situation from a Spirit Master before. With Innate spirit power Rank one, only through diligent Cultivation do you have a chance to become a true Spirit Master before graduation. Yet, in just one semester, you went from Rank one to Rank seven. Have you clearly considered the implications of this?"
Shi Quan said firmly, "Dad, don't worry, I've thought it through. I can handle this matter."
Shi Jian looked directly at Shi Quan, remained silent for a moment, then nodded and continued, "Okay, tell us what we need to do!"
…
Outside Holy Soul Village.
"How much further?" Xiao Wu skipped around, looking left and right, and asked casually.
"We're almost there. See that mountain over there? Our Holy Soul Village is at the foot of the mountain." Tang San couldn't help but feel a little excited as they were about to reach home.
Xiao Wu, having nowhere else to go, chose to return to Holy Soul Village with Tang San. Their relationship, due to Shi Quan, was even better than in the original story.
"Dad, I'm home."
Tang San's excited voice came, but instead of Tang Hao, it was Old Jack, the village chief, who greeted him.
After reading the letter Tang Hao left, Tang San's initial joy instantly turned into helpless disappointment.
After sadly tidying up the house, as the sun set, Tang San looked at Xiao Wu, who had been by his side, his eyes moist with a hint of dazedness, as if he had made a decision. He took Xiao Wu's hand and led her to the small hill where he usually Cultivated.
And seriously asked the question, "Will you be my sister?"
Xiao Wu was originally a bit conflicted, but when she heard Tang San say, 'I will always protect my sister and won't let her suffer any harm,' Xiao Wu's eyes gradually reddened.
Finally, upon hearing, 'If anyone wants to kill you, then let them step over my corpse first,' Xiao Wu was ultimately moved, and looking at Tang San's equally moist and determined eyes, she called out, 'Brother.'
Hearing this 'Brother,' Tang San also shed tears like rain.
"Now that you're my brother, shouldn't you help me teach that stinky Shi Quan a good lesson?" As soon as Shi Quan was mentioned, Xiao Wu showed an indignant expression, and coupled with her current red eyes, she looked as if she had suffered a great grievance.
"Of course! How dare he hit my sister? Of course, I won't let him off!"
Tang San's eyes showed a fierce glint. When they were at the academy, Xiao Wu was just his classmate and friend. He had always commented on the conflict between Xiao Wu and Shi Quan from a bystander's perspective.
But now Xiao Wu was his sister, which was a different concept. His heart had completely sided with Xiao Wu.
"Thank you, Brother!" A blush appeared on Xiao Wu's face. "But Brother, can I call you that privately? After all, I'm the boss of all the students at Nuoding. If I suddenly have a brother, what will they think of me?"
Tang San smiled and agreed, while also taking off the Sleeve Arrow on his left hand.
Xiao Wu looked at the Sleeve Arrow in Tang San's hand with curiosity. When she heard Tang San's introduction and the demonstration of the Hidden Weapons, Xiao Wu's eyes lit up, and she immediately became very interested.
If she learned these, would she still be afraid of not catching Shi Quan? At that time, she would just shoot him directly with Hidden Weapons.
Tang San, understanding Xiao Wu's temperament, explained that the Cultivation of Hidden Weapons was not something that could be achieved overnight, which was a gentle refusal, but not a complete one, as he still taught Xiao Wu how to use the Sleeve Arrow and some simple throwing methods.
"Hmph, with this trump card, I'll teach that stinky guy a good lesson!" Xiao Wu lovingly played with the Sleeve Arrow in her hand, excitedly trying it out on the big tree in front of her.
Tang San, watching Xiao Wu from the side, also had a doting expression.
…
Shi Family Village, Lianyun Mountains.
The Lianyun Mountains were just behind Shi Family Village, only two to three hundred meters away. The Lianyun Mountains were towering and vast, stretching as far as the eye could see, as if connected to the clouds, hence the name Lianyun Mountains.
Shi Family Village had a direct road leading to the Lianyun Mountains. The Lianyun Mountains were full of forests, and most of the stones used for stone carvings in Shi Family Village were quarried by the villagers from the Lianyun Mountains. As a mountain range, the least lacking thing was naturally stones.
On top of a hill on the outskirts of the mountain range, a rustling sound came. Shi Quan sat cross-legged on the hilltop, with his five hearts facing the sky, a faint green aura flowing around him. Blue Silver Grass vines, like spiritual snakes, constantly moved around. As time passed, the grass and trees centered around Shi Quan emitted a faint blue light.
The already lush green grass exuded vibrant vitality, and the surrounding flowers and trees, nourished by this vitality, began to grow gradually.
It could be observed that all the vegetation within a ten-meter radius centered around Shi Quan was several circles sturdier than the surrounding flowers and trees.
The blue light drifted, slowly converging, and finally merged into the moving Blue Silver Grass vines. As the last trace of blue light integrated into the Blue Silver Grass Martial Spirit, the Blue Silver Grass gradually faded, transforming into a Blue Silver Grass emitting a faint phosphorescence that appeared on Shi Quan's chest. Its crystal-clear leaves resembled gems, and then gradually returned to the appearance of ordinary Blue Silver Grass.
After sitting in meditation for a moment, Shi Quan finally opened his eyes and stood up.
"There's potential for transformation, but the efficiency isn't as fast as my own Cultivation."
After a couple of casual complaints, Shi Quan didn't linger much longer. He leaped up and ran down the mountain, his agile figure like a mountain Martial Spirit. Each step covered more than a zhang, and the uneven mountain terrain was like flat ground to him.
"The layout here should be almost complete."
Shi Quan looked back, gazing at the hill. He could see that the vegetation on top of the hill was several times lusher than the surrounding vegetation. Taking Blue Silver Grass as an example, the length of the Blue Silver Grass on the hilltop was more than three times that of the surrounding Blue Silver Grass.
Checking the time, Shi Quan did not continue to stay in the mountain range and hurried home.
"Shi Quan, you're back from the Lianyun Mountains again?"
As soon as he entered the village, the villagers enthusiastically greeted Shi Quan.
As the only Genius in the village with spirit power, it was said that those closest to the water get the moon first. The villagers naturally wanted to build good relationships with Shi Quan, especially those with daughters. They were even more proactive, hoping that if Shi Quan took a liking to their daughters in the future, the chances of their children having spirit power would also increase.
"Yes." Shi Quan responded with a smile.
Shi Quan did not intentionally hide his trips to the Lianyun Mountains. At first, the villagers didn't pay much attention, but as Shi Quan went every day, and the number of times increased, everyone in the village knew that Shi Quan went to the Lianyun Mountains daily. Although Shi Quan didn't say what he was doing, the villagers all knew that Shi Quan was probably going to the mountains to Cultivate.
"Dad, Mom, I'm home." Before he even entered the door, Shi Quan's voice had already come from afar.
"You're back! Come on in, it's perfect timing." Li Meili, wearing an apron, walked out of the kitchen and happily waved to Shi Quan.
In a short while, the dining table was set with three fragrant dishes and one soup.
Li Meili served Shi Quan rice while asking, "Shi Quan, there are only three days left until the academy's registration period. Are you still going to the Lianyun Mountains these next few days?"
Shi Quan thought for a moment and said, "I'll go one more day tomorrow."
Since the second day after he returned home, he had been going to the Lianyun Mountains to Cultivate every day. He would return around noon for lunch, rest for half an hour after eating, and then go back to the Lianyun Mountains until dinner. The evenings would be spent at home.
This routine had continued for almost two months. In these two months, Shi Quan's spirit power had already Broken Through to Rank eight.
Every day, besides nourishing the plants on the hilltop, he spent most of his remaining time Cultivating martial arts.
Diligence can compensate for clumsiness. Shi Quan understood this principle very well. Compared to Tang San, his martial arts Realm was at least twenty years behind.
Besides Cultivating martial arts since childhood in this life, Tang San had also practiced martial arts for at least twenty years in his previous life. Although Tang San no longer had his previous life's Realm, those experiences were real.
Although the martial arts in the True Scripture were profound, it would take time to bridge the gap. Moreover, his Innate conditions were already somewhat inferior to Tang San's. Now, he had to work as hard as possible to close these gaps in the shortest time, which would facilitate the progress of his subsequent plans.
As for the System, he truly couldn't compliment it. Although the rewards were indeed all top-tier, the trigger mechanism was simply baffling. Unlike Systems with clear objectives, the uncertainty of this System was too high.
He dared not place all his bets on the System. To him, the System was one of the pillars of his rise. To truly rise, he still had to rely on himself. He himself was his greatest reliance and pillar.
Perhaps because he was too mediocre in his previous life, Shi Quan in this life was no longer content with mediocrity. Therefore, even with the System's appearance, he had maintained the habit of diligent Cultivation until now.
His goal was to improve his strength as much as possible to protect those he wanted to protect and to live the life he desired.