Life Isn't Easy (Seeking Follow-ups)

The next day at noon.

When Xu Feng crawled out of bed, his eyes sore, he was the only one left in the house.

Checking the time, Xiao Dan must have gone to school.

Even though there were only eight children in the entire camp.

Sky Moon Martial University still ran a small primary school, having martial arts students teach the children as a form of volunteer service.

As for where these eight children came from, or why anyone would bring children into such a dangerous Sky Pit Dimensional Realm.

Don't ask.

Xu Feng could only say that everyone has their own hardships in life.

Of course, one couldn't rule out the existence of idiotic parents.

"Get up, make food!"

Xu Feng walked into the "kitchen," which looked as simple and crude as a construction site, filled with energy.

Seeing the breakfast Xiao Dan had prepared on the table, his heart warmed slightly.

Even if this world was so screwed up and dangerous, at least he wasn't alone.

Although his daughter was adopted, she was at least a little comfort.

Xu Feng wolfed down the breakfast in two bites.

Then, he used the remaining rice and meat to make a claypot rice to celebrate.

Once the steam began to "hiss" from the pot.

Only then did Xu Feng have time to step outside for a walk and stretch his limbs.

The aroma of rice and meat overflowing from the house told him that he was truly alive.

None of this was a dream.

And the faint, pungent stench permeating the air outside told him that this was reality.

None of this was a dream!

"It'll take another half hour to be ready, let's practice some boxing."

Xu Feng remembered that he had learned a free version of the "Nine Star Body Refining Art."

He slowly assumed a stance, recalling the "instinctive" movements from his memories, and began to practice in the open space outside.

Nine Star Body Refining Art (Free Version).

This was the "five insurances and one classic" provided by Sky Moon Martial University to these martial servants.

The social insurance was the same as in his past life, nothing worth mentioning.

And this "one classic" was a genetic cultivation scripture.

Take this Nine Star Body Refining Art, for example.

It was a set of techniques combined with breathing and meditation chants to sense the power of the "nine stars" in the universe.

It was said that this technique allowed one to absorb the scattered energy to enhance human genetic potential, thereby increasing one's blood-qi value and physical fitness.

The college entrance exam in this world was divided into liberal arts and martial arts.

The blood-qi standard for the martial arts assessment was 160c; only by reaching this numerical standard could one pass the martial arts test.

And only by exceeding 180c could one apply to a martial arts university.

Back then, the original owner couldn't apply to a martial arts university because he hadn't met the standard.

That was how he ended up as a porter and maintenance worker.

And after all these years.

Although his blood-qi had declined somewhat with age.

Because of this free technique, his body had still maintained a blood-qi value of 172c.

It was clear that this so-called absorption of "star power" to enhance genetic potential wasn't just nonsense.

After finishing one round of the technique, Xu Feng was sweating slightly, and his stomach began to "rumble."

Xu Feng glanced at his panel.

He discovered that the proficiency of the Nine Star Body Refining Art had increased by 1 point, while his blood-qi value remained unchanged.

"In other words, if I practice it seventy more times, I can max out the proficiency level!"

Xu Feng wasn't discouraged; he cheered himself on, turned around, and went back inside to eat.

"Slurp, slurp--"

Xu Feng shoveled the food into his mouth with his bowl.

Although this world lacked videos to watch while eating.

No TikTok, no Bilibili.

But hunger was the best side dish.

After finishing his meal.

Xu Feng sat at the table, continuing to repair the last damaged communicator.

The crisis of survival made it impossible for him to completely relax and waste his life away.

And he knew very well that he was no genius.

Like the original owner, he was just an ordinary and mediocre person, nothing special about him.

The only difference was that before transmigrating, when Xu Feng was in college, he had already seen his true nature—ordinary.

Even if he could occasionally get a perfect score in elementary school, by middle school, he was still a "straight-A student" at the top of the campus.

At that time, he believed he was the protagonist of the world, a prominent figure on campus.

But once he truly reached a key high school, he realized there were too many people smarter and harder-working than him.

The subsequent college entrance exam made it even clearer that he was just one of the masses.

No extraordinary talent, no superior family background, no immense perseverance, and certainly no special luck.

An ordinary university was his ceiling, and a monthly salary of over ten thousand was his "value."

Then, find an ordinary person to marry, have children, and spend half his life under the pressure of mortgage and car loans.

If he was lucky, he would pass away peacefully without illness or pain.

If he was unlucky, he would exhaust the savings of most of his life in a hospital.

Society told him, you are just an ordinary person.

Therefore, he had long ago learned to accept all the setbacks and miseries in life, learned to make peace with himself, and continued to live diligently.

And now.

That life, which one could see the end of at a single glance, had a new turning point.

A magnificent and dangerous world.

A crude and heartbreaking little home.

Those simple yet reassuring panel texts.

With visible progress from hard work, what was he waiting for?

"Hoo—"

Xu Feng took a deep breath, calmed his mind, and opened the communicator's casing.

Just get it done!

Evening.

Sitting at the doorway to rest, Xu Feng looked up at the sky, which had no sun but could still distinguish between day and night, lost in thought.

According to the fragmented memories, he knew.

This Dimension 13 was a parallel world identical to Earth.

The so-called "identical" meant that the mountains and landscapes here were exact replicas of the same regions on Earth.

But the creatures here were completely different from those on Earth.

Their location was called "Level 1 Sky Pit Dimensional Realm, Wumeng Mountain Region, Zone D21."

The terrain here was exactly the same as the Wumeng Mountain range on Earth, but it was inhabited by no fewer than ten alien races and hundreds of types of mutated creatures.

These alien races were like creatures from myths and legends, powerful and ferocious.

And those mutated creatures were originally beasts that had mutated.

A hundred years ago, they had surged out from dozens of "Sky Pits" that appeared on Earth through sudden spatial rifts, ravaging the globe.

Humanity encountered the greatest crisis since its birth, but from that crisis, a new vitality burst forth.

A hundred years later, humanity successfully suppressed the Sky Pit turmoil.

They even began to counterattack, dispatching armies deep into the Sky Pit Dimensional Realms to explore and garrison them.

Thus, a vast and complex high-martial world was born amidst this turbulence.

"Dad, the miscellaneous school fees are due tomorrow."

Just as Xu Feng's thoughts were wandering.

The little girl suddenly poked her head out from the room, speaking to Xu Feng with some caution.

"Oh, how much?"

Xu Feng turned to look while calculating his balance in his mind.

However, Xiao Dan froze for a moment, frowning as she asked, "Why aren't you calling me a money-loser today? That's the cost of two of your foot washes."

Xu Feng was taken aback for a moment. "What on earth are you talking about? Why would paying tuition be considered losing money—"

He stopped abruptly as the words left his mouth.

Fine, so that bastard had actually told the child something like that?

He then said calmly, "I also heard someone say that if a person's mindset and perception cannot change, then their fate cannot change either. I won't lecture you anymore, and I won't go to the foot massage parlor again. Tell me, how much do you need to pay?"

Xiao Dan asked, half-doubting, "The teacher said it's just for the basic textbooks and meal fees, six hundred yuan in total."

Xu Feng nodded and, without a moment's hesitation, transferred the required amount to Xiao Dan's communication bracelet.

Upon receiving the transfer, Xiao Dan glanced at Xu Feng with surprise before turning around to head into the room to do her homework.

Xu Feng sighed.

So many habits needed to be changed.

What a damn animal.

Of course, compared to his internal complaints about the original owner, he was more concerned about his own balance.

Account Balance: 3055.89.

"I have to go to the trading district tomorrow. Aside from the fact that the rice, meat, and vegetables at home are running low, the electricity and water bills are already overdue. I also need to see how much those old communicators can sell for, and while I'm at it, I should scavenge for some more broken ones. Right, I need to look into new clothes for Xiao Dan soon, and there's that broken shower, too. There are so many things that need money."

Xu Feng sat by the doorway, counting his tasks for tomorrow on his fingers while grumbling to himself about why the protagonists in the novels he read, who transmigrated into high-martial arts worlds, always started out as high school students.

They only needed to study hard to step onto the path of the strong, without having to worry about making a living or just staying alive?

It was truly unfair.

However, he was unaware that inside the room, Xiao Dan was pressed against the wall, listening to Xu Feng's self-talk with a worried expression.

Soon, the little girl took a diary out from under the table and began to write furiously.

[May 24, 2125]

[Dad's illness is getting worse. Today, the teacher taught me how to write the character for "illness," and I'm a little scared. If one day Dad doesn't want me anymore, what should I do?]