Modifying Talent, Shocking Revelation

"Deal?"

Su Qingxue almost thought she had misheard.

She looked at the face before her that had suddenly broken out into a brilliant, roguish grin. The gaze, which openly displayed amusement and aggression as it swept over her, caused her already somewhat calmed heart to pound uncontrollably again.

A wave of immense humiliation, like a cold tide, washed over her once more.

She felt like a commodity placed on a shelf, waiting to be sold, and Lin Xiao was that picky, dangerous buyer.

"You... you agreed?"

Her voice trembled almost imperceptibly. She dug her fingertips deeply into her palm, using the pain to force herself to maintain her last shred of composure.

"Of course."

Lin Xiao's smile grew even brighter, carrying a hint of sunshine, but the calculating glint in the depths of his eyes remained undiminished. "Miss Su, the campus beauty herself, comes to my door for a 'transaction.' Such great honor, how could I not oblige?"

He deliberately emphasized the word "transaction," like a needle pricking Su Qingxue's sensitive pride, causing her fair neck to flush red again.

"But..."

Lin Xiao's tone shifted. The smile on his face lessened slightly, becoming more serious, but beneath that seriousness lay a deeper scrutiny. "I need to see the 'goods' first."

"See... see the goods?"

Su Qingxue didn't react immediately. Her clear, cold eyes were filled with confusion and a hint of indignant shame at being offended.

"Your 'Martial Dao talent bottleneck'."

Lin Xiao casually spread his left hand, the movement pulling at the injury on his right arm, causing his lips to twitch in pain. But his smile remained. "I have to inspect the merchandise first, see if it's worth my effort? What if your talent is irredeemably bad? Wouldn't I be losing out big time?"

"You!"

Su Qingxue's chest heaved violently with anger, a fiery rage rushing to her head.

She, Su Qingxue, one of the most talented among the younger generation of the Su family's collateral branches, was being described by a scoundrel with the flippant word "inspect"?

This was blatant humiliation!

But when she thought of the pressure from the impending family internal assessment, the faces waiting to mock her, the despair of hitting a bottleneck day after day with no success...

All her anger and unwillingness ultimately turned into a suppressed, humiliated snort.

She abruptly closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and when she opened them again, only cold determination remained in her gaze.

She no longer looked at Lin Xiao's smile that disturbed her so much. Instead, stiffly, as if following an order, she took a step forward, stopping less than a meter away from Lin Xiao.

"Can we begin?" Her voice was as cold as ice.

The smile on Lin Xiao's face vanished completely, his eyes becoming focused and sharp. He stopped wasting words, enduring the intense pain in his right arm, and concentrated all his mental energy!

Buzz!

Deep within his mind, that icy blue light screen instantly materialized!

[Target Locked: Su Qingxue]
[Scanning modifiable items... Deep analysis initiated...]

In the center of the light screen, a three-dimensional human silhouette formed from countless extremely fine, faintly blue glowing energy lines rapidly took shape!

The silhouette's form and proportions were identical to Su Qingxue before him!

This "energy Su Qingxue" image was far clearer and more complex than the previous scans of Lin Xiao himself or that punching bag!

Countless light paths, like flowing streams, representing the circulation of true qi, flowed ceaselessly within her, radiating vigorous life force and energy fluctuations.

However, in the core area of these light paths—near the Dantian's sea of qi, and along several main meridians connecting to the limbs and torso—a layer of dim, hazy grayness seemed to have settled!

Especially one extremely obscure, thin, and almost transparent light path (Foreshadowing 1: Jade Balance Hidden Meridian) extending from the Dantian to the "Jade Pillow Acupoint" on the back of her heart was completely blocked by a viscous, ink-like deep gray substance!

That deep gray substance wriggled slightly like a living thing, emitting an extremely uncomfortable, cold, and stagnant aura!

[Scan Complete.]
[Target Status: Martial Disciple peak (Bottleneck).]
[Primary Issues:]
[1. Multiple energy stagnation points (hazy gray areas) exist in basic meridians, hindering true qi circulation efficiency (Estimated impact: 15%).]
[2. Core hidden meridian 'Jade Balance Meridian' (suspected congenital or bloodline related) is contaminated/congenitally blocked by unknown energy (deep gray obstruction), preventing energy from flowing through the Heaven and Earth Bridge, resonating with the Spiritual Tide, and locking the cultivation realm.]
[Solutions:]
[1. Clear energy stagnation points (minor optimization, limited effect).]
[2. Forcefully unblock the 'Jade Balance Meridian' obstruction (high risk, requires precise operation, immense consumption, but can eradicate the bottleneck).]
[Source Energy Points required to unblock 'Jade Balance Meridian': 2.5]

2.5 points?

Lin Xiao's heart gave a violent lurch!

His current Source Energy Points: 1.1!

Was this a damn robbery?

It only cost 3.0 points to fix my bone fracture!

And it takes 2.5 points to clear a single blocked meridian?

A sharp, agonizing pain surged through him.

These Source Energy Points were earned with his life!

Every point used was a point gone forever!

Was it worth it?

Lin Xiao's gaze swept over the phrase "satisfy any one of your conditions" on the screen, then landed on Su Qingxue's face before him – her cold, peerless beauty marred by humiliation and stubbornness.

A shield! Resources! Information! And… those "conditions"!

Damn it! You can't catch a tiger without entering its den!

He was going for it!

"Just bear with it, it might sting a bit."

Lin Xiao's voice deepened, carrying an unprecedented solemnity.

Su Qingxue didn't quite grasp his meaning before Lin Xiao closed his eyes, his brow furrowed as if enduring immense pain. Fine beads of sweat even appeared on his temples.

The next moment!

An indescribable, cold, and vast will, like an invisible tide, instantly enveloped Su Qingxue!

She felt as if her very soul was being seen through completely!

The subtlest energy flows within her body, even the blockages and chilliness deep within her bloodline that she herself hadn't clearly perceived, were precisely captured and locked onto by a power originating from a higher dimension!

"Urk…" Su Qingxue let out a muffled groan, her body involuntarily tensing. Her clear, cold eyes were filled with horror!

What was this feeling?

It was more terrifying than any probe from a Grandmaster-level elder in her family!

More bone-deep!

Just as she was about to be overwhelmed by terror.

Lin Xiao's eyes snapped open!

Within his clear black and white irises, two points of extremely deep, cosmic vortex-like azure light were reflected!

He endured the weakness from the instant drain of Source Energy Points and the searing pain in his right arm. His will was like the most precise laser scalpel, fiercely and accurately "stabbing" into the "Jade Balance Hidden Meridian" on the screen, which was completely blocked by a viscous, dark gray substance!

"Open!"

[Command received! Source Energy Points deducted: 2.5!]

[Target: Su Qingxue - Jade Balance Hidden Meridian obstruction… Forced clearing program initiated! Parameters modifying… 1%…]

Boom!

It was as if an invisible blade, forged from pure rules, had fiercely pierced into the most hidden and core depths of Su Qingxue's body!

"Ah—!"

An irrepressible scream, a mixture of extreme pain and a strange sense of release, erupted from Su Qingxue's throat!

She felt as if a red-hot iron poker had been violently thrust into the center of her back!

The cold blockage, hidden deep within the meridian like a persistent gangrene, let out a silent wail upon contact with the blade of rules, melting and disintegrating wildly like snow meeting the scorching sun!

The intense pain caused her body to convulse, her vision to blacken, and her body to collapse forward uncontrollably!

However, just as she was about to fall—

Buzz!

An indescribable, utterly pure torrent of energy, carrying a bone-chilling coldness, like glacial meltwater suppressed for eons, violently broke through the last remaining obstruction.

From the deepest part of her Dantian Sea of Qi, it surged along the completely unblocked "Jade Balance Hidden Meridian," erupting with a roar and charging straight towards her Baihui acupoint at the top of her head!

Boom!

Inside the changing room, thunderclap from clear skies!

Centered on Su Qingxue, a visible, almost tangible wave of ice-blue energy exploded outwards!

Wherever the energy wave passed, the thick layer of dust on the ground was instantly blown away, revealing the mottled cement floor beneath!

Her pristine white martial arts uniform fluttered as if alive, rustling loudly!

Her jet-black hair danced upwards as if imbued with life!

A powerful, cold, and pure aura, like a slumbering ice goddess, erupted from her body without reservation, climbing steadily!

The bottleneck of Martial Disciple peak crumbled instantly before this unstoppable torrent, like something made of paper!

Boom!

An aura far more potent and condensed than Zhao Hu's, sharp and icy, shot towards the sky!

It enveloped the entire changing room on the second floor of the abandoned gymnasium in a bone-chilling cold!

A martial artist! A One-Star Martial Artist!

Moreover, their aura was condensed and robust, clearly not a beginner! They even seemed to be on the verge of breaking through to Two-Star!

The light gradually receded.

Ice crystals slowly drifted down and dissipated.

Su Qingxue remained standing in place, but her entire demeanor had undergone a seismic shift!

The previous coldness was now infused with an awe-inspiring, inviolable majesty and power!

A faint ice-blue halo still seemed to linger around her, her skin was even more lustrous than jade, and as her eyes opened and closed, it was as if ice shards flashed within them, sharp enough to pierce!

She slowly lowered her head, looking at her hands in disbelief.

On her fair palm, a wisp of pure, pale blue True Qi, carrying a bone-chilling cold, coiled and leaped at her will like a docile spirit snake!

She had really broken through!

The bottleneck that had plagued her for an entire year had been shattered just like that?

A surge of immense, indescribable ecstasy instantly washed away all the humiliation and pain!

She abruptly raised her head, her gaze like two ice picks, instantly shooting towards Lin Xiao, who was leaning against the metal cabinet, his face pale from Source Energy Points depletion and intense pain!

That look was incredibly complex!

There was the ultimate shock of breaking through!

There was bewilderment and reverence for the terrifying power she had just experienced!

There was a deep fear of her body being completely "seen through" and "modified"!

And there was an irrepressible, strong reliance, like a drowning person grabbing onto a life raft!

He had done it!

In a way she couldn't understand at all, a way that subverted the common sense of Martial Dao!

This guy, covered in blood, full of swagger, with eyes as dangerous as a wild wolf, who exactly was he?

Lin Xiao was also looking at Su Qingxue.

He looked at the ice-blue halo that hadn't completely faded from her body, felt the surging, powerful aura within her that far surpassed that of an ordinary One-Star Martial Artist, and a tired but satisfied, roguish smile spread across his pale face.

"The effect was decent?"

His voice was a little hoarse, carrying the weakness of exhaustion, but the teasing in his tone was undiminished. "Big School Beauty Su, oh no, should I call you Big Martial Artist Su now? How does it feel?"

Su Qingxue didn't speak.

She just stared intently at Lin Xiao, her chest heaving violently, her clear, cold eyes churning with emotions like an ocean in a storm.

Shock, fear, bewilderment, ecstasy, reliance... various emotions collided, leaving her momentarily speechless.

Just then...

The smile on Lin Xiao's face suddenly froze!

An extremely faint, almost imperceptible, cold and malicious sense of being watched, like the flick of a viper's tongue, instantly swept across his perception!

It wasn't from Su Qingxue in front of him!

It was from outside the window!

He abruptly turned his head, his sharp, hawk-like gaze instantly piercing the broken window of the locker room!

Outside the window was the deep night beyond the stadium and the distant city lights.

There was nothing.

A hallucination? Or...

Lin Xiao's heart suddenly sank!

Had the massive energy surge when he modified Su Qingxue's talent attracted attention?

Opposite the abandoned stadium, in the shadows of the top floor of a derelict, unfinished building.

A figure, clad in black tight leather, as lean and lithe as a leopard, slowly lowered a high-magnification military-grade telescope.

The lens of the telescope still retained the afterimage of the brief but dazzling ice-blue light that had flashed from the second-floor window of the stadium.

The black figure's face was covered by a cold metal mask, revealing only a pair of narrow, sinister eyes that gleamed with greed and shock.

"Ice-attribute True Qi, so pure, such a powerful breakthrough fluctuation, appearing on a student?"

He licked his slightly chapped lips, his voice hoarse and low, like a venomous snake scraping the ground. "A side branch of the Su family girl? No, she was clearly stuck at Martial Disciple peak before, there's something strange!"

His gaze, like tangible poison needles, pierced the night, locking onto the broken window on the second floor of the abandoned stadium.

"And that kid, Lin Xiao? A bottom-tier trash, yet he could cripple someone like Zhao Hu, even stranger!"

The greedy light in the black figure's eyes intensified. "It seems I need to investigate properly. This 'unexpected gain' might be worth a lot, or perhaps, I can offer it to the higher-ups?"

A cold, cruel curve formed on his lips, and his body, like flowing water merging into the shadows, silently disappeared from the rooftop of the unfinished building.

Inside the locker room.

The cold, probing sensation flashed and vanished, so quickly that Lin Xiao thought it was a hallucination.

But the vigilance in his heart instantly surged to its peak!

He forcefully suppressed his unease and refocused his gaze on Su Qingxue, who was still in a state of immense shock.

"Seems like it worked well."

Lin Xiao put on his usual roguish smile again, breaking the silence. "So, Great Martial Artist Su, as agreed..."

He deliberately drew out his words, his eyes carrying undisguised aggression as they swept across Su Qingxue's face, which was even more radiant and alluring after her breakthrough, and her heaving chest.

Su Qingxue felt incredibly uncomfortable under his gaze. The joy of her recent breakthrough was instantly replaced by immense tension and shame.

She subconsciously took half a step back, her hands instinctively covering her chest. Her clear, cold eyes were filled with wariness and a hint of imperceptible panic.

He was about to state his terms!

That "any terms"!

What would he ask for? Could it really be...

A wave of immense humiliation washed over her again, making her face pale and her fingertips icy cold.

Lin Xiao looked at her, resembling a startled deer facing a formidable enemy, and the smirk on his lips grew more pronounced.

Slowly, with a tone of playful control, he stated his "condition":

"My first condition..."

He paused deliberately, appreciating how Su Qingxue's body tensed instantly and the shame and anger that almost overflowed in her eyes.

"Is very simple."

Lin Xiao's smile was incredibly bright. "From today onwards, at school, you are my friend, Lin Xiao!"

"Friend?" Su Qingxue was completely stunned.

She had imagined countless possibilities, even preparing for the worst-case scenario, but she never expected Lin Xiao to ask for something so seemingly simple.

"Yes, friend."

Lin Xiao nodded, his smile unchanged, but his eyes deepened with a hint of imperceptible calculation. "Nominal friends. We'll greet each other when we meet, occasionally eat together, chat, and let everyone know that you, Su Qingxue, are looking out for me, Lin Xiao."

He leaned forward slightly, closing in on Su Qingxue's slightly parted lips, which were parted in surprise. His voice dropped lower, carrying a captivating magnetism, yet also an undeniable assertiveness.

"Especially when some blind fools, like Zhao Hu, try to cause trouble for me, Great Martial Artist Su, you'll have to step forward and speak up for your 'friend'."

Su Qingxue instantly understood!

A shield!

He needed a shield with noble status and powerful strength!

To deter potential trouble by using her status and her newly achieved martial artist strength!

A surge of anger at being used and shame at being underestimated instantly flooded her heart!

She, Su Qingxue, was reduced to being a hoodlum's shield?

However, looking at Lin Xiao's face, so close, with that playful smile, feeling the undeniable dominance in his words, and recalling the earth-shattering breakthrough just moments ago...

All her anger and unwillingness ultimately transformed into a deep sense of powerlessness and a subtle relief that she herself hadn't even noticed.

At least it wasn't the worst possible condition.

"Th-that's it?" Her voice was dry, tinged with disbelief.

"That's it."

Lin Xiao straightened up, his smile returning to its lazy demeanor. "Of course, this is just the first condition. Remember, it's 'any' condition. If I think of anything else later, I'll come to you to settle it."

He deliberately emphasized the word "any," his eyes sweeping over Su Qingxue again with a suggestive look.

Su Qingxue's cheeks instantly flushed red again, a mix of shame and anger, but she dared not retort.

She bit her lip, looking at the person before her who smiled like a fox but was as dangerous as a wolf. Finally, she could only force out a single word from her throat:

"Okay!"

The deal was struck.

An extremely subtle atmosphere, a mixture of exploitation, wariness, shock, reliance, and a faint hint of ambiguity, permeated the dilapidated changing room.

Lin Xiao looked at Su Qingxue's complex gaze and nodded with satisfaction. He felt as though the sharp pain in his right arm had lessened due to his mental excitement.

He glanced at the light screen in his mind:

[Current Source Energy Points: 1.1 - 2.5 = -1.4 (Overdrawn)]
[Warning: Source Energy Points severely overdrawn! Please replenish as soon as possible! Otherwise, it will affect core function operation!] (Overdrawn portion is temporarily covered by potential or mental energy, but must be replenished soon)

Negative?

The smile on Lin Xiao's face froze instantly, and a sense of immense crisis washed over him like ice water!

Source Energy Points! He had to find a way to obtain Source Energy Points immediately!

Otherwise...

His gaze involuntarily fell upon the small, exquisite storage pouch made of some kind of warm, white jade hanging from Su Qingxue's waist.

Could there be energy stones there?