Lu Qingchan

"Tell me, why aren't you in a hurry to buy exercise equipment?"

Seeing Chen Lie shake his head without speaking, Chen Gequn pressed the question.

"The equipment in the Practice Room will be more than enough even after Yaoyao and I break past a Blood Qi Value of 1.

Besides, we usually go to the Martial Arts Hall for full-day training. We rarely train at home.

And the Practice Room is only so big. It's already packed with training equipment. If we buy more, there won't be enough space, and it'll affect our training."

Besides, with the Central Galactic Empire's profound Body Tempering Technique, as long as his nutrition kept up, raising his Blood Qi Value would be effortless. Why would he follow Blue Star's clumsy Body Tempering Techniques, work himself to exhaustion, and possibly see no increase in Blood Qi Value at all? Wouldn't that mean something was wrong with his head?

As for his younger sister Chen Xingyao, Chen Lie would certainly teach her this Body Tempering Technique. But when he had tried to teach her last time, she had not taken it seriously, so he would not bring it up again.

He would wait until he reached heights his sister could scarcely hope to attain, until she came to him belatedly and asked for guidance herself.

"Fine, then we'll talk about it when you two siblings need it. They're just training machines, after all. We can buy them whenever we want; there's no need to order them in advance." Chen Gequn nodded.

After Feng Yuelan exchanged a few words with Chen Gequn, she went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

Not long afterward, Chen Xingyao got up and came out of her room as well.

The moment she saw Chen Gequn, Chen Xingyao immediately pounced on him.

"Dad, you're back?"

"Mm." Chen Gequn smiled and nodded, gently stroking Chen Xingyao's head. "Yaoyao, your grades have improved quickly lately. Tell me, is there any gift you want? Dad will buy it for you."

Upon hearing that, Chen Xingyao immediately said, "I want a set of Combat Technique Crystal Cards. Mom signed me up for ten days of the Combat Arts Guidance Class. Not only do I have to attend class every day, but I also have to train every few days. I need to study Combat Arts on my breaks too. I just can't fit it all into my schedule.

"If I use Combat Technique Crystal Cards, I won't have to attend the Combat Arts Guidance Class anymore.

"One of my classmates only used three sets of Combat Technique Crystal Cards before becoming proficient in Combat Arts."

Chen Gequn nodded and agreed. "Combat Technique Crystal Cards? Sure, Dad will buy you three sets too!"

"That's great!"

Chen Xingyao immediately jumped up in delight.

Chen Lie had used plenty of Combat Technique Crystal Cards in his previous life. They were collectively known as Psionic Crystal Cards.

Each set of crystal cards was infused with a great deal of mental power, with a martial art inscribed upon them through mental power. If one placed a Martial Arts Crystal Card against the center of the forehead and closed their eyes to sense it, the mental power within the card would automatically enter their mind.

The user could learn the martial art from a first-person perspective, as if they had personally practiced it skillfully once, allowing them to quickly grasp its use.

The mental power infused into a single Psionic Crystal Card allowed it to be used three to five times. Its teaching effect was no worse than the hands-on guidance of a renowned master, perhaps even better.

Therefore, a set of Psionic Crystal Cards inscribed with a martial art was extremely valuable, usually costing tens of thousands of Star Dollars. Even a set of Combat Technique Crystal Cards that did not even qualify as a D-Rank Martial Art sold for more than five thousand Star Dollars.

Before long, Feng Yuelan had breakfast ready and called Chen Lie and the other three over to eat.

After breakfast, Chen Lie's family of four left the house and boarded a miniature Airship.

Miniature Airships were Blue Star's primary means of transportation. Chen Lie remembered that this Airship had been bought when he was ten years old, at a final price of three million Star Dollars. In his previous life, because of his martial arts training, the family savings had become impossible to sustain, forcing them to sell it.

The Airship's top speed was one thousand kilometers per hour, so Chen Lie's family arrived at the Starlight Hotel in the provincial capital in less than half an hour.

The Starlight Hotel was the largest hotel in Chuandong Province, and its prices were exorbitant. Even an ordinary family banquet there started at twenty thousand Star Dollars. Chen Lie had only come here a handful of times in his previous life.

After getting off the Airship, the family entered through the hotel's dazzling front doors.

"Dad, it's so bright here. What floor are we going to? Have Sister Lu and the others arrived yet?"

Chen Xingyao walked at the front. After passing through the dazzling doors, she turned and asked Chen Gequn.

"Your Uncle Lu booked the Spring Scenery Hall on the second floor. He said we could head straight there. They should already be waiting inside."

As Chen Gequn spoke, he took the lead into the hotel lobby.

"Hello, welcome. Do you have a reservation?"

The moment Chen Lie's family entered the hotel, a staff member came forward to greet them.

Chen Gequn nodded. "Second floor, Spring Scenery Hall."

"Certainly. Please follow me."

Led by the staff member, Chen Lie and the others arrived at their meeting place.

Upon reaching the entrance to the Spring Scenery Hall, the staff member stopped and said to Chen Gequn, "Sir, the Spring Scenery Hall is just ahead. Your friends have already arrived. If you don't need anything else, I'll return downstairs to assist other guests."

"All right!" Chen Gequn nodded, then said to Chen Lie and the others behind him, "Chen Lie, Yaoyao, let's go over."

Feng Yuelan gently guided Chen Lie and Chen Xingyao forward with both hands.

As they entered the Spring Scenery Hall, Feng Yuelan suddenly stopped, pointed ahead, and said, "Look, Chen Lie. Qingchan is standing at the door to welcome us!"

Chen Lie looked up and saw a stunning, radiant young girl waiting expectantly before the private room's entrance.

Her dark hair flowed like a waterfall, her glossy black locks draped behind her shoulders. With bright eyes and delicate features, she stood there with graceful poise.

Chen Lie merely glanced at her before withdrawing his gaze.

So this was Lu Qingchan? More than seventy years had passed—so long that he had nearly forgotten what Lu Qingchan looked like.

Chen Gequn stepped forward and asked, "Qingchan, where's your father?"

Chen Gequn's sudden appearance seemed to leave Lu Qingchan dazed.

Only after coming back to herself did Lu Qingchan say, "Uncle Chen, Auntie Feng, hello. My dad is inside. Please go in."

Chen Gequn and Feng Yuelan both nodded.

Chen Xingyao, who was behind them, stepped forward at this moment. "Hello, Sister Lu."

Lu Qingchan smiled. "Hello. We haven't seen each other in a few months, and Yaoyao has grown quite a bit taller. What's your Blood Qi Value now?"

Chen Xingyao pursed her lips. "Only 0.91 Ka. I'm still far behind what you had at fifteen, Sister Lu."

"That's already very good. Keep it up. I'll be waiting for you in the Elite Class!"

"The Elite Class? Then I guess it'll have to wait until next semester." Chen Xingyao thought for a moment before replying.

With a blank expression, Chen Lie walked toward the private room's entrance. As he passed Lu Qingchan, he turned his head slightly and said, "Happy birthday."

Lu Qingchan was slightly stunned. Then she smiled and softly replied, "Thank you."

Chen Lie nodded and walked straight into the private room.

Feng Yuelan, standing behind him, could not help finding it strange.

What was wrong with her son today? Whenever he faced Lu Qingchan before, he had always been full of eagerness to show off, and he never stopped talking. Why was he so calm and detached today?

After Chen Gequn and Feng Yuelan entered the private room as well, Chen Xingyao could not help asking, "Sister Lu, aren't you coming in?"

"No, I'll stand outside for a while. You and Uncle Chen and Auntie Feng can go in first," Lu Qingchan said.

"All right, then."

Although Chen Xingyao found it a little strange, she did not press the matter.

After entering the private room, Feng Yuelan could not help asking Chen Lie, "Son, where's the gift you prepared for Qingchan?"

Given her son's usual personality, if he had prepared a birthday gift for Lu Qingchan, he would definitely have taken it out the moment they met. The fact that he could stay so composed this time was truly not easy in Feng Yuelan's eyes.

"I saw that Yaoyao came empty-handed too. Why, do we have to prepare a gift?" Chen Lie asked.

"Well... not necessarily." Feng Yuelan was momentarily at a loss for words.

"Then why did you resell the Nutrient Solution and Nutrient Bread at home? Hmph! Hand over the Star Dollars you embezzled!" Chen Xingyao glared at him.

Chen Lie glanced at his sister and said nothing.