"Thank you."
Looking at the shy girl in front of him, Jiang Ye didn't hesitate. He took the bottle of water from her.
The girl hurried off shyly, a hint of delight still on her face.
Jiang Ye, meanwhile, was thinking about what Chen Zilu had said at the end of class.
"I really will have to ask the teacher for guidance more often from now on."
According to the system, his comprehension only improved by 30% when Chen Zilu was teaching.
Whether in class or during one-on-one lessons, each would be an opportunity for him to improve.
As he planned for the future,
Jiang Ye finished his day of training and headed home beneath the setting sun.
Taoyang Residential Area.
Building 12, Apartment 606.
As soon as he got home, a rich aroma greeted him. Looking up, he saw a plate of appetizing braised beef and corn-and-rib soup on the dining table.
"You're back?"
His adoptive mother, Li Anping, spotted him from the kitchen and smiled. "Come sit down and eat."
Jiang Ye washed his hands, then went to the table.
"Big brother!"
A little girl around fourth or fifth grade came running over. With her delicate, doll-like features and a spark of clever mischief in her eyes, she threw her arms around Jiang Ye and clung to him.
"Big brother, do you have any candy?"
Li Anping scolded her. "Tingting, it's time to eat."
Jiang Ting, Jiang Ye's little sister, was an adorable girl who wasn't even twelve yet.
Jiang Ye took a lollipop from his pocket. "Eat it after dinner. Otherwise, I won't buy you any more."
"Mm-hmm, I know."
Jiang Ting took the lollipop, beaming.
The family of three sat down at the table, and Li Anping casually asked, "Xiao Ye, how did you do on your opening school assessment today?"
"Not bad. I came in twenty-fifth," Jiang Ye replied.
Li Anping was delighted. "Twenty-fifth? That's fifteen places higher than last semester! Your dad will be thrilled when he hears the news."
Jiang Ye smiled. "Why has Dad been coming home so late these past few days?"
"He's been working overtime at the factory."
Li Anping didn't say much more.
His adoptive father, Jiang Dahai, worked at the Ancheng Bionic Mechanical Factory, a place that specialized in manufacturing Bionic Prosthetics.
With the Shadow Calamity around, even cities could be full of danger.
Every time a Shadow Calamity struck, the injury and disability rate soared, driving the rapid rise of the bionics industry.
"Tonight's news: a Class Two Shadow Calamity occurred yesterday evening in Qingyang City, Xishan Province."
"Police, together with the Qingyang City Shadow Hunter Bureau, have successfully put down the calamity. Residents are advised to avoid going out at night. Those below the Martial Arts First Realm should not go out after dark."
The wall-mounted television in the living room was broadcasting the evening news.
"Qingyang City?"
Hearing the news, Jiang Ye paused.
Qingyang City was right next to Ancheng and ranked among the five largest cities in Xishan Province.
A Martial Arts University was stationed there, and its public security was much better than Ancheng's.
Even so, whenever a Shadow Calamity struck, casualties were unavoidable.
Jiang Ye knitted his brows.
"Only at the Martial Arts First Realm do you have even a sliver of ability to protect yourself from a Shadow Calamity."
Martial Arts Have Seven Realms.
Every breakthrough meant breaking through the shackles of one's Life Level and stepping toward an entirely new level of life.
Along the way, all kinds of incredible supernatural abilities would emerge.
The first humans to break through the Life Shackle were known as Starry Sky Martial Artists.
They were also called those who had achieved First Break.
Only at that level did a person have the confidence and strength to face a Shadow Calamity.
After dinner, Jiang Ye returned to his room and continued training.
The Star Martial Cultivation Method was the basic Cultivation Method established by the Blue Star Federation and the first step on the path of Starry Sky Martial Arts.
After cultivating it to perfection, one would be close to breaking through the First Life Lock.
But that alone wasn't enough to enter the Martial Arts First Realm. One still had to undergo Starry Sky Refinement several times to truly transform.
Of course, all that was still a long way off for Jiang Ye.
He glanced at his status panel.
--Low Martial Achievement System-- [Name: Jiang Ye] [Physique: Mortal Body (Class C)] [Cultivation Method] Star Martial Cultivation Method: Minor Accomplishment (1%) [Achievements] Martial Arts Grandmaster, Friend of the Ancestor --
Thinking of the benefits those two achievements had brought him,
Jiang Ye couldn't help exclaiming, "It feels great to have cheats."
He felt no shame about using cheats.
Across the multiverse, what powerful person didn't use cheats?
Using cheats didn't conflict with hard work. Working hard to use cheats was the true path to becoming powerful.
"If I want to grow stronger quickly, I'll have to unlock more achievements," Jiang Ye thought.
These achievements were like buffs, one after another.
Their effects could stack without limit.
The problem was figuring out how to unlock new achievements.
"The two achievements I unlocked seem to be because the system misjudged things." Jiang Ye's expression turned strange.
To put it plainly, the system couldn't accurately identify his surroundings.
It mistook a High Martial World for a Low Martial World.
It mistook an assessment for a spar.
The result was right, but the process was completely off the rails.
The question now was whether the system would keep going in this direction.
Would it correct itself later?
There was no way to know.
"For now, I'd better focus on training," Jiang Ye thought.
The safest option for him was to wait until he was stronger and unlock higher Martial Arts achievements.
Once he unlocked more achievements and found a pattern, he might get a clue.
"When the Cultivation Method reaches Great Accomplishment, my body will undergo a transformation."
"Maybe I'll unlock a new achievement then."
Jiang Ye gradually lost himself in his training.
Ten o'clock that night.
"Creak—"
The door opened, and a middle-aged man walked into the house.
"How did it go, dear? Did you find a new job?"
Li Anping went to meet him and asked in a low voice.
Jiang Dahai shook his head, looking tired. "It's hard. A lot of companies turn me down as soon as they hear I'm over forty."
Middle-aged and facing unemployment.
Jiang Dahai was one of many caught in this wave of layoffs.
"Tomorrow, I'm going to apply at the Shadow Hunter Bureau. I heard they have an opening for a night security guard." Jiang Dahai sat on the sofa and explained his plan.
Li Anping's expression changed. "The Shadow Hunter Bureau? Isn't that where they deal with Shadow Calamities? Isn't it too dangerous?"
"Don't worry. I'd just be a gatekeeper. It's not dangerous."
"But you'd be working at night."
Li Anping looked at her husband anxiously.
Even the news had warned people not to go out at night.
Shadow Calamities could happen during the day, but they were more common after dark.
Jiang Dahai had practiced Martial Arts, but he hadn't reached First Break. If he encountered danger, it would be hard for him to protect himself.
Though she understood all this, Li Anping didn't know how to talk him out of it.
Jiang Ting was at an age when she was growing fast, while Jiang Ye was at a crucial stage in his Martial Cultivation and needed plenty of nourishing food.
Both children needed money.
With the family's enormous expenses weighing on her, she didn't know what else to say.
"Come on, don't worry."
Jiang Dahai reassured her. "I'd just be watching the gate. Besides, it's the Shadow Hunter Bureau—the safest place in the whole city."
"What's more, I'm close to First Break myself. I'm not as weak as you think."
Li Anping nodded.
She didn't continue the subject. Instead, she said, "Xiao Ye came twenty-fifth in his opening school assessment."
"Really?"
At once, Jiang Dahai broke into a wide smile. "Hahaha! That kid—I knew he could do it. He made such a huge leap this time!"
He had seen Jiang Ye's diligence, too.
But after his excitement passed, Jiang Dahai let out a sigh.
"It's a shame the kid has Inferior Aptitude."
"With how hard he works, if only he could get into a better Martial Arts University, he wouldn't have to follow the same path we did."
Both he and Li Anping had Inferior Aptitude.
That made him all the more aware of the limits Inferior Aptitude placed on a person's Martial Arts.
Jiang Dahai slowly clenched his fist. "Whatever happens, Xiao Ye is working this hard. As his father, I can't hold him back."
Though Jiang Ye was a child they had found, after all these years they had long since come to regard him as their own son.
"Even if we have to sell everything we own, we'll get that child into a Martial Arts University," Jiang Dahai said gravely.
Before you continue