Jiang Keke Was Stunned!

Outside Eighth Martial High!

Jiang Keke was humming as she got ready to head home after school.

She was in a great mood today. Her Stance Training progress in the Virtual Immersion System had improved a little more.

Just then,

her Personal Terminal started vibrating.

It wasn't a private message. It was a flood of 99+ mentions in the "Eighth Martial High Key Class Gossip Group."

"Hm?"

Jiang Keke curiously opened the group chat.

The next second,

she froze on the spot!

"@Everyone! Explosive news! Absolutely explosive news!"

"Extra! Extra! Our school's number-one Iceberg Goddess, the Sun-level Prodigy Su Qingning, approached a new Key Class student this afternoon!"

"Holy crap, there's a video! Su Qingning went up to that new kid Jiang Hao and talked to him!"

"That's not all! I even heard Su Qingning invite him to come to her anytime if he had questions about cultivation!"

"Oh my god, has the world gone mad?!"

"Who's Jiang Hao? Is he that monster who got B-Class Treatment today?"

"@Jiang Keke, isn't that your brother? Get in here! Your brother's got our Campus Belle wrapped around his finger?"

"Boohoo, my goddess! How could she fall for some guy from the Ordinary Class!"

"She's definitely fallen in love! There's no other explanation!"

As Jiang Keke watched the messages flood the screen, her little head exploded with a buzz.

"Huh?"

"Are you kidding me?!"

Jiang Keke stood there, stunned.

"My brother?"

"Jiang Hao?"

"Su Qingning?"

"Fallen in love?"

"Have these people gone crazy? Are they sleep-talking?!"

Her first thought was that they had the wrong person!

"My brother's not exactly the kind of guy..."

"Uh..."

Jiang Keke was about to make her usual snarky remark, but the words caught in her throat.

Wait.

Without meaning to, Jiang Keke's mind began replaying Jiang Hao's terrifying transformation over the past month.

A month ago, his Qi and Blood was 8.1.

A month later, it was 9.5!

His Stance Training had soared from Fifth Revolution to Seventh Revolution!

He'd gone from knowing nothing about Spear Arts to Perfected Spearmanship!

And he'd even mastered a profound Martial Skill that she couldn't understand!

Jiang Keke's breath caught slightly.

She suddenly realized—

her "plain and unremarkable" big brother

might really have turned into a freak she had to look up to, if only a little.

"Could Su Qingning really have fallen for my brother?"

"No!"

Jiang Keke shook her head hard. She'd just thought of someone important!

"Su Anan!"

"Isn't my best friend, the one who gossips with me every day, Su Qingning's own sister?!"

"Did that Su Anan pull some kind of stunt behind the scenes?!"

The more Jiang Keke thought about it, the more likely it seemed. She immediately called Su Anan.

"Beep—"

The call connected quickly.

Su Anan's pretty, playful face appeared on the screen.

"Keke, I was just about to call you..."

"Su Anan!"

Jiang Keke practically roared, cutting her off!

"Did you tell your sister... no, the Campus Belle, something about my brother?!"

"Huh?"

Su Anan's lively expression instantly stiffened, and her eyes began darting around.

"N-no!"

"What would I say? Hehe..."

"You dare lie to me!"

Jiang Keke gritted her teeth.

"The whole school's going crazy with the rumors!"

"They're saying your sister's fallen for my brother!"

"I only just heard about this myself!"

Su Anan hadn't expected things to go this far. Seeing that she couldn't hide it, she could only stick out her tongue helplessly and come clean.

"Come on, Keke, don't get worked up."

"It's not what you think..."

Su Anan told her the truth.

"My sister hasn't fallen in love!"

"Aren't you taking the Martial Arts Exam soon, too?"

"You should know that once you get into a Martial Arts University, you don't just shut yourself away and cultivate like you do now."

"You have to form a team, take on missions together, and head down to the otherworld battlefields together!"

"Teamwork is really important!"

Jiang Keke froze. She did know that.

Su Anan continued explaining.

"My sister... you know what she's like. Cool and aloof, with hardly any friends."

"She may be talented, but one person's strength is limited."

"So I wanted to scout out a few promising future teammates for her in advance!"

"And then..."

Su Anan's voice grew quieter.

"And lately, you've been bragging to me every day... I mean, telling me every day how ridiculously amazing your brother is."

"Like how his Qi and Blood went up by 1.4 in a month..."

"Like his Perfected Spear Arts..."

"Like his mysterious Martial Skill..."

"I thought your brother sounded amazing, too."

"So I mentioned him to my sister."

"I just told her that Keke's brother seemed like a super promising prospect, and that she could go observe him sometime if she was free, maybe recruit him early or something!"

"How was I supposed to know my sister would actually go!"

"And she went straight up to him in front of the entire Key Class!"

"I never expected that once this got out, it would turn into this!"

After hearing the whole explanation,

Jiang Keke stood where she was and slapped a hand to her forehead.

"Oh my god..."

"Su Anan, you're all thumbs when it comes to getting things done, but a genius at messing them up!"

"You've gotten my brother in trouble!"

"Huh? Is it really that bad?"

Su Anan was startled, too.

"Of course!"

Jiang Keke was speechless.

"My brother already has a grudge against Lin Qiu!"

"Now your sister's drawn attention to him in front of everyone!"

"That arrogant Lin Fan, not to mention all those countless admirers of the Campus Belle, are bound to see my brother as a thorn in their side!"

"Forget it, I'm hanging up. I'll go see how my brother's doing!"

With that, Jiang Keke hurried home!

The Jiang Family.

Jiang Keke ran straight through the front door.

At a glance, she spotted Jiang Hao cultivating Stance Training in the courtyard, his mind calm and his breathing steady.

Jiang Keke went pattering over to the terrace.

Seeing her big brother looking so carefree, as though nothing had happened, she was overwhelmed with guilt.

"Big brother..."

Jiang Hao slowly finished his set, exhaled a mouthful of Turbid Qi, and opened his eyes.

He saw his little sister looking on the verge of tears, and a flicker of confusion crossed his face.

"What's wrong?"

"Why are you apologizing out of nowhere?"

"Mm..."

Jiang Keke spoke timidly.

"Big brother... I'm sorry!"

"Those rumors at school today were actually my fault!"

"Hm?"

Jiang Hao raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"

Jiang Keke immediately recounted everything she'd just discussed with Su Anan.

From "forming teams at Martial Arts University" to "Su Anan mentioning him" to "Su Qingning going to scout him out."

Jiang Keke lowered her head as she spoke, her voice growing quieter and quieter. She was embarrassed and terribly apologetic.

"Big brother, I really didn't know things would turn out like this!"

"I've gotten you into so much trouble!"

Yet

the scolding she expected never came.

After Jiang Hao heard the whole story,

he first paused in surprise.

Then the confusion on his face gave way to understanding.

"Heh."

Jiang Hao couldn't help chuckling.

"So that's what happened."

"I thought it was something serious."

He reached out and ruffled Jiang Keke's hair.

"Big brother? You're not mad?"

Jiang Keke looked up at Jiang Hao in surprise.

"Mad?"

Jiang Hao remained perfectly calm.

"What's there to be mad about?"

"It's not your fault, and it's not Su Anan's fault either."

"Besides, my B-Class Treatment already drew plenty of attention in the Key Class."

"Lin Fan's already got his eye on me."

"When you've got fleas, one more doesn't make you itch; when you've got mosquitoes, one more doesn't matter."

"What difference does a little attention from the Campus Belle make?"

"Whatever comes, I'll deal with it. Whatever floods in, I'll build a dam."

Jiang Hao's carefree attitude made most of Jiang Keke's worry melt away.

But the very next second, Jiang Keke suddenly seized on the key phrase she'd overlooked!

"Wait!"

Jiang Keke's eyes widened in shock.

"Brother! What did you just say?"

"B-Class Treatment?"

"You're getting B-Class Treatment?"

"Yeah."

Jiang Hao looked at her with a strange expression, as if to say, "You're only finding out now?"

"B-Class Treatment!"

"Five bottles of Medium-grade Nutrient Solution every month."

"Mentor Song announced it to the whole class this morning."

"..."

Jiang Keke's little mouth formed an "O."

She was dumbfounded!

Completely and utterly dumbfounded!

"B-Class?"

"You get B-Class Treatment as soon as you move up to the Key Class?"

Jiang Keke was screaming inside!

"This..."

"Is my big brother really about to rise to prominence?"