"Yeah, it happened the night before last. The place we were staying was wrecked by Mutated Creatures. Lao Bai was dragged away by the beasts while protecting Yuanyuan."
Liu Mengyao sighed.
Yuanyuan was their daughter, and a very adorable child.
Hearing Liu Mengyao's words, Xu Feng's heart ached. He sighed. "I'm sorry for your loss. For Yuanyuan's sake, you have to stay strong."
After a pause, Xu Feng said softly, "If you need anything, you can come find me in Room 102 on the east side of the Shanty Town. I'll do everything I can to help."
"Thanks."
Liu Mengyao clearly wasn't in the mood to talk. She soon said goodbye and left.
Watching her walk away, Xu Feng sat behind his stall, lost in thought.
He had never experienced the death of a coworker before.
It was a strange feeling.
He looked up at the deep blue sky without a sun and stared blankly for a long time.
Before long, Xu Feng took a deep breath, packed up, and started walking home.
There was one fewer good person he knew.
The joy of making money that morning had faded away.
Back home, Xu Feng first told Xiao Dan to do her homework. Then he sat cross-legged on the bed and began meditating with his eyes closed.
Everything else was unreal. Only strength was real.
Lao Bai's death had sobered Xu Feng up a little more.
He was nothing. All he could do was work hard!
Ten minutes later, when he felt refreshed and full of energy,
Xu Feng closed his eyes again and began cultivating the Mind Movement Secret Art.
He kept at it until after five in the afternoon, when he opened the panel and took a look.
[Mind Movement · Beginner (48/50)]
"Two more repetitions."
He didn't rush to continue.
An afternoon of cultivation had left his mind aching and his energy sluggish.
Xu Feng got up and made dinner first. After eating, he stood up and practiced the Nine Star Body Refining Art twice more.
Xiao Dan had also noticed that Xu Feng seemed out of sorts, so she behaved herself and didn't disturb him.
After warming up, Xu Feng sat back down on the bed and closed his eyes.
"Thoughts stir, spirit flows, focus in the heart, soul moves in the heavens..."
Xu Feng didn't know how long he had cultivated or how many times he had repeated it.
But at a certain moment,
he suddenly felt something strange.
Even with his eyes closed, he could suddenly sense his surroundings.
The slightly dry shack.
The walls and roof, made of alloy and special plastic composites.
The "scritch-scritch" of Xiao Dan's pen.
The insects chirping, the grass shifting, and the wind blowing outside.
Suddenly, the sensation vanished.
Xu Feng opened his eyes. He felt full of energy, and his thoughts had become clearer.
[Mind Movement · Proficient (1/200)]
Just as he'd thought.
The Secret Art had advanced.
Xu Feng savored the sensation he had just experienced.
Was that mental power?
No, he wasn't at that level yet.
It was merely the burst of sensation that came with a breakthrough in his spirit.
For just an instant, he had glimpsed the abilities of a higher realm.
According to the manual,
as long as he completed the introductory cultivation of the Secret Art, even an ordinary person would gain enhanced spiritual perception.
The extent of the enhancement varied from person to person.
This spiritual perception was commonly called the "sixth sense," "inspiration," or "spiritual awareness."
Or, to put it simply, Xu Feng's senses had become sharper.
Aside from that, he hadn't gained any of the powerful supernatural abilities he'd imagined.
But was that all?
Unwilling to accept that, Xu Feng got up and went outside.
After trying several times, Xu Feng was delighted to discover that his "stamina" had improved.
Not the kind of "stamina" you might be thinking of.
He meant stamina for cultivation.
For example, before, he could practice his saber technique at most ten times before becoming exhausted and unable to focus.
But tonight, even after practicing twenty times, he felt that only his body was tired; his mind wasn't.
Then he practiced the Nine Star Body Refining Art a few more times.
He found that his body seemed to have become "ravenous."
Before, six sessions had been his limit, but even that no longer satisfied his body.
Every cell in his body was still craving energy.
So Xu Feng practiced a seventh time, then an eighth...
It wasn't until the tenth repetition that his body felt somewhat "full."
This was an enormous surprise for Xu Feng.
It meant he could cultivate more times each day.
As a result, his progress would accelerate!
"What a powerful Psychic Secret Art! No wonder it was created by the most mysterious Mind Masters!"
Xu Feng suddenly took a deep breath. He felt so good that all the gloom from the afternoon had vanished.
At dusk, as the sky began to darken,
Liu Yu arrived with a bowl of pork ribs.
"I'm returning the favor for the meal I had at your place last time."
As soon as she walked in, Liu Yu said with a smile.
Then, before Xu Feng could say anything, she went to play with Xiao Dan.
Xu Feng was glad that Xiao Dan had company. After chatting briefly, he went back to his cultivation.
Watching Xu Feng's figure outside the window, Liu Yu couldn't help asking Xiao Dan, "Has your dad been working this hard lately? Does he practice every night?"
"Mm-hmm! Dad's been working really hard lately. Sister Yu, do you like Dad?"
Xiao Dan tilted her head and asked curiously, her big eyes wide.
"Huh?" Liu Yu's pretty face immediately flushed. She stared at Xiao Dan in astonishment, then hurriedly waved her hands. "What would a little girl like you know? Don't make things up!"
Xiao Dan covered her mouth and giggled. "I think Dad's gotten more handsome lately."
"I think so too." Liu Yu nodded without thinking.
Then she realized what she'd said and turned to Xiao Dan, hastily trying to cover it up. "Don't go imagining things! Your dad's a decent guy, but he's not my type."
Xiao Dan grinned and hunched her shoulders. "Then why have you been coming over so often lately?"
"I'm only here to see you!" Liu Yu said, blushing.
"But why do I feel like you're always looking at Dad? He's forty! You two don't have a chance!"
Xiao Dan puffed out her cheeks.
Liu Yu immediately pressed a hand to her forehead. "What would a little girl like you know..."
"Hehe, actually, I've already picked out a great stepmom for myself. You've met her."
Xiao Dan spoke softly.
"Who?" Liu Yu immediately perked up.
"Teacher Lu!" Xiao Dan said excitedly.
"Her?" Liu Yu's brow furrowed. Then she looked down at herself and puffed out her chest. "How am I any worse than her?"
Xiao Dan stared at her. "She's a Warrior! And a graduate student at Sky Moon Martial University!"
Liu Yu was at a loss for words. After a long pause, she finally said, "Can she cook delicious food?"
Xiao Dan immediately shook her head. "That she can't. Teacher Lu is hopeless at daily life."
Liu Yu smugly patted her chest. "Cooking is my specialty. How can a woman who runs a household not know how to cook?"
Xiao Dan studied her for a while, then nodded. "Mm, you're right. I'll think about it."
"Think about what? Who'd be interested in your old man!" Liu Yu said, exasperated.
She'd actually let herself be led along by a little girl.
The next day, Xu Feng received a call from the manager in charge, telling him to come to work.
He would even get paid more.
They were short-staffed.
The beast attack a few days ago had cost the team a quarter of its workers. New shipments had kept arriving over the past two days, and they urgently needed more hands.
Xu Feng naturally didn't refuse. He changed his clothes and headed straight for the base's Airport.
As for Xiao Dan, he sent her back to school again and left her with Lu Fei.
Whoosh!
At the Airport, the workers watched as Xu Feng hefted two boxes weighing nearly five hundred kilograms all by himself.
The other porters froze for a moment, then stared at Xu Feng in shock. "Old Xu, have you gotten your youth back?"
"That's nearly a ton of strength, isn't it? Old Xu, did you break through? Quasi-Warrior? Or a Warrior?"
A crowd of coworkers gathered around him and asked curiously.
Xu Feng waved a hand, modestly replying, "I've just been training more diligently lately. Plus, the crisis that night pushed me under pressure to make a small breakthrough."
"Then hurry and register for Quasi-Warrior certification at the base. You can get an extra hundred a day!"
A coworker patted Xu Feng on the shoulder and urged him.
"There's something like that? I'll ask the manager. Thanks!"
Xu Feng had wanted to keep a low profile, but today's work was paid by the piece, so he'd gradually shown some of his strength to earn more.
He hadn't expected the base to offer this benefit too.
He couldn't afford to miss out.
With his coworkers looking at him enviously, Xu Feng walked over to the manager, who was checking the inventory list in the distance.
"Quasi-Warrior certification?" The manager looked slightly doubtful and surprised when he heard what Xu Feng wanted.
Seeing how serious Xu Feng was, the manager, Zhou Xu, immediately broke into a smile. "Well, that's great news! Impressive!
"You're one of the few people I've met who can still break through in blood and energy at your age. That's amazing!
"I'll submit your application right away. You can take the assessment this afternoon. After that, you'll get an extra 150 in Quasi-Warrior allowance every day."
*** (This chapter is complete)
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