Chen Gequn

At the dining table, Chen Lie and Chen Xingyao were serving themselves more rice. Feng Yuelan added another bowl for herself as well, then slowly sat down and announced something.

"Chen Lie, Yaoyao, your father just called me. He said Uncle Lu wants to treat our family to dinner at the Starlight Hotel in the provincial capital tomorrow."

"Huh? Why does Uncle Lu want to treat us to dinner?" Chen Xingyao asked.

"It's Uncle Lu's daughter Qingchan's birthday, so he invited our family over for a small gathering. If you've bought any gifts, make sure you prepare them in advance."

As she spoke, Feng Yuelan gave her son Chen Lie a meaningful look.

It was no secret in their family that her son liked Lu Qingchan.

Although she felt there was a certain gap between her son and Lu Qingchan, Lu Qingchan's father supported him, so she supported her son pursuing Lu Qingchan as well. Young people should be bold enough to try. In her view, Chen Lie and Lu Qingchan might not be entirely without a chance.

Yet under Feng Yuelan's meaningful gaze, Chen Lie appeared rather calm.

That made Feng Yuelan somewhat puzzled.

At the mention of Lu Qingchan, Chen Lie's eating paused only slightly. A beautiful, aloof, and proud young girl slowly emerged in his mind.

In his previous life, during the latter half of his first year of high school, a cool yet sweet girl with exceptional talent transferred into the school—Lu Qingchan.

As soon as Lu Qingchan transferred in, she entered the school's Key Class. Before long, thanks to her outstanding martial talent, she entered the Elite Class as well.

From then on, Lu Qingchan's name rang throughout the entire school. Her reputation soared, and she was admired by countless people.

Originally, Chen Lie, whose talent was mediocre, should never have crossed paths with a genius like Lu Qingchan. But one day, Lu Qidong, his father's former comrade from the army, came to visit with his daughter Lu Qingchan.

When Chen Lie first met Lu Qingchan at close range, his heart immediately raced. He only felt that she was even more beautiful than the rumors claimed.

But even though Lu Qingchan was the daughter of his father's comrade, Chen Lie still did not dare entertain any improper thoughts, because he knew full well how great the gap between him and Lu Qingchan was.

Until one day, Lu Qingchan's father, Lu Qidong, solemnly proposed matching Chen Lie and Lu Qingchan together.

At the time, Chen Lie was so happy he felt ready to burst. He believed that since Father Lu intended to bring them together, the gap in talent was naturally not impossible to overcome.

What he did not know was that the true gap between him and Lu Qingchan had never been talent, but the difference in their social standing and Lu Qingchan's proud nature.

Lu Qingchan's family was the Chuandong Lu Family, a colossal force that loomed over all of Chuandong Province.

Lu Qidong had only moved to Changdong City after losing a family power struggle. The reason he suggested pairing Chen Lie with Lu Qingchan was also because he had become disheartened and wanted Lu Qingchan to escape the vortex of the Lu Family's internal conflicts.

Lu Qingchan neither agreed nor objected to her father's attempt to match her with Chen Lie. At the time, Chen Lie mistakenly believed that meant she had tacitly accepted it. Only later did he learn that Lu Qingchan simply had never taken him seriously.

If Chen Lie had not endured fifty years of wandering through the stars in his previous life, perhaps he would still have looked forward to something happening between himself and Lu Qingchan. But now, his heart held only calmness.

"Will Dad come pick us up tomorrow?" Chen Xingyao asked.

"Of course. You two trained all day today, so get some rest after dinner. Don't sleep in tomorrow," Feng Yuelan reminded them.

At the mention of his father, Chen Lie immediately raised his head.

His father, Chen Gequn, had enlisted in the army in his early years and fought on the front lines. Due to his outstanding Military Merit, he had risen to the rank of field officer at a young age, commanding several hundred men in a battalion. He should have had a bright future, but during an Exotic Beast attack, both his legs were injured, forcing him to retire. After changing careers, he became the head of security at a major corporation in a neighboring province.

In Chen Lie's memories, he and his father had always spent little time together. Father Chen was home for fewer than twenty days a year in total, yet he still struggled to cover the enormous expenses of putting both Chen Lie and Chen Xingyao through martial arts studies.

Chen Gequn had retired as an officer and was a Martial Artist Fourth Tier. His position as security chief at a major corporation paid an annual salary of over one million Star Dollars, which was enough to support Chen Lie and Chen Xingyao for now. But once their Blood Qi Values broke through 1, the Chen Family would begin spending more than they earned.

If Chen Lie wanted to catch up with the geniuses of the Central Galactic Empire during the Blood-Qi Stage, even draining his family dry would not be enough.

In his previous life, breaking through to the Martial Artist realm had nearly drained the family's wealth. Even someone like Chen Gequn, considered a high-income earner on Blue Star, had been driven deep into debt.

"It seems... in this life, I'll have to rely on myself."

Chen Lie murmured inwardly. But in this life, he feared nothing.

Early the next morning, Chen Lie woke up at dawn.

Because his sudden increase of 0.4 Ka in Blood Qi the day before had left his body nutritionally depleted, he felt a wave of hunger the moment he opened his eyes.

After washing up, Chen Lie went to the kitchen and found some highly nutritious crops to eat.

He possessed a marvelous Body Tempering Technique from the Central Galactic Empire. As long as he had enough nutrition, he did not need to worry about raising his Blood Qi Value.

Just as he reached the living room, Chen Lie heard two people talking.

"Yaoyao's and Chen Lie's Blood Qi Values are both about to break through 1. We need to order two bottles of Blood Essence Fluid in advance, and we also need to buy more training equipment."

"Mm, I know. I've already asked someone to order two bottles of Blood Essence Fluid. They're made by the Sunlight Group. They cost twenty thousand Star Dollars more than other brands, but the absorption rate is high. My colleagues' children all use this one too."

"Twenty thousand Star Dollars more? Doesn't that mean one bottle of Sunlight Brand Blood Essence Fluid costs a hundred thousand Star Dollars?"

"The Sunlight Group is a major brand. It costs more for a reason. As long as it benefits the children's future cultivation, forget twenty thousand Star Dollars—even two hundred thousand would be worth it."

Seeing the two figures talking on the sofa in the living room, Chen Lie stopped in his tracks.

Without question, the slightly tall figure was his father, Chen Gequn, whom he had not seen for seventy years. The one speaking with Chen Gequn was his mother, Feng Yuelan.

The two of them clearly had not noticed Chen Lie approaching and continued their conversation.

Chen Gequn suddenly asked, "By the way, Chen Lie's Blood Qi Value still hasn't broken through 1? I remember he was already at 0.9 Ka three months ago."

Feng Yuelan shook her head, her face full of worry. "No. He's hit a bottleneck. His Blood Qi Value has been stuck at 0.93 Ka for over a month without any breakthrough. I was wondering whether we could let Chen Lie eat some Exotic Beast Meat early."

But Chen Gequn shook his head. "Exotic Beast Meat is most effective when used after the Blood Qi Value breaks through 3, and the first time it's consumed has the best effect. If he uses it early, what will he do when his Blood Qi Value breaks through 3? Giving it to him now would be exhausting his potential ahead of time. These things have to be used at the right time and in the right amount."

"Then what should we do? The college entrance exam is getting close. If this keeps dragging on, it'll be hard for him to even get into an ordinary martial arts university." Feng Yuelan shook her head and sighed.

Chen Gequn said, "Don't panic yet. If Chen Lie's Blood Qi Value is still stuck at the bottleneck next month, I'll ask some friends whether there are any other supplements that can help him."

Feng Yuelan nodded. "That's all we can do."

Chen Gequn added, "Enough about Chen Lie. What about Yaoyao? How's her progress?"

"You don't need to worry about Yaoyao. She's progressing quickly. It's practically certain that she'll enter the Elite Class before her second year of high school. Her Blood Qi Value might even break through 1 before Chen Lie's does. So you should hurry and buy the training equipment she'll need after breaking through 1. She can't go to the Martial Arts Hall every time she wants to train."

"Mm, I'll take care of it later." Chen Gequn nodded.

At that moment, Chen Lie walked toward the living room sofa.

"Dad, Mom, there's no need to rush to buy the training equipment."

Hearing Chen Lie's voice, Chen Gequn and Feng Yuelan instinctively turned around.

"Chen Lie? You trained all day yesterday. Why aren't you sleeping a little longer today?" Feng Yuelan immediately asked upon seeing Chen Lie appear.

Chen Lie said, "I went to bed early yesterday. I've rested enough."

"You brat, you must be too excited to sleep because you're seeing Uncle Lu's daughter today, right?"

Chen Gequn stood from the sofa, walked over to Chen Lie, and lightly patted his shoulder and arm.

Chen Lie shook his head slightly. He did not care about seeing anyone, but seeing his father again after seventy years filled his heart with relief.