A Bright Future

"An award? You didn't accept it?" Lu Fei turned and asked in surprise.

Xu Feng flicked at the hem of his shirt. "Well, even though I don't really deserve it, it was their gesture, so I accepted."

Lu Fei rolled her eyes at him and laughed. "If you're going to show off, just show off. Why pretend to be humble? Look how pleased with yourself you are."

With that, she turned and walked away in her high heels.

After she closed the door, Xu Feng finally broke into a cheeky grin.

"Dad, you're being really creepy."

Xiao Dan poked her head up from behind the table and teased Xu Feng.

Xu Feng imitated Lu Fei and rolled his eyes. "Creepy, my foot. I'm showing off how great your dad is. Do you know?"

Xiao Dan shook her head in disdain, not bothering to reply.

She picked up her pen and wrote in her diary:

[Dad's injuries are clearly much better. Today, he was showing off in front of Teacher Lu again.

Looks like the day I get a stepmother is one step closer. Keep it up, Dad!

What a pity, Liu Yu, my future mom. It seems you don't stand a chance of being chosen as the best stepmother. Good luck.

Lastly, Dad's "illness" still doesn't seem to have gone away, but I think he's not so bad like this.

Am I just awful?]

"Miss Liu, don't wait any longer. You should head home.

Old Xu hasn't been around these past few days. He even took Xiao Dan with him.

I don't know if something urgent came up or if there was an accident. Wang Long and I have looked around several times, but no one knows where he is." Outside Room 102 in Shanty Town, Huang Sen sighed as he watched Liu Yu pace back and forth with a bag of fruit in her hands.

"Big Brother Huang, did Old Xu say anything before he left?" Liu Yu asked worriedly.

"He didn't. Ah, well, I don't think he said anything." A flicker of surprise crossed Huang Sen's face, but he quickly shook his head.

"Okay, then. I'll come by again tomorrow. Sigh, he's not answering his communicator either."

Watching Liu Yu leave in disappointment, Huang Sen turned and went back inside. "No way, no way. Old Xu said that day I should've taken those two million.

Those people really have gone quiet since that night, as if they've vanished. Could Old Xu know something on the inside?"

Just as Huang Sen was muttering to himself, Wang Long's voice rang out from outside. "Old Huang! I've got news!"

Huang Sen hurried out and opened the door.

Wang Long was there, panting heavily with sweat pouring down his face. In the increasingly hot early summer, his slightly plump build made him look like he was wearing a padded coat.

"What news?" Huang Sen asked with concern.

"I heard from someone in the Maintenance Department that Old Xu filed a medical leave request with the base. He took a whole week off!" Fatty said excitedly.

"Medical leave? So Old Xu was hospitalized? Then he should be fine.

Wait, I saw him spit blood that night.

Ah, if only I'd asked him about it!" Huang Sen smacked his left fist into his right palm, annoyed with himself.

"Asked him what?"

Just then, a familiar voice suddenly rang out from the alley.

Huang Sen and Wang Long turned around.

Xu Feng stood in the street with Xiao Dan, holding bags full of things and looking at them curiously.

"Holy crap! Old Xu, you're like Hei Wa's dad bungee-jumping—you scared the hell out of me!" Huang Sen rushed over in delight.

He tried to give Xu Feng a cheesy hug, but Xu Feng held him back. "Get lost."

Though Xu Feng had refused the hug, he felt warmed inside.

He'd heard the two of them worrying about him from a distance.

He hadn't been wrong to get close to these two neighbors.

"Uncle Huang! Uncle Fatty! Long time no see!"

"Wow, Xiao Dan, you've grown taller in just a few days! And prettier, too!"

"Hehe, thank you, Uncle!"

"Come on in and sit down. I've got plenty of fruit here."

Xu Feng warmly invited them inside, then made up an excuse to explain away his "week in the hospital."

He also learned from the two men that, during that week, many small organizations and groups in Shanty Town had been broken up.

A lot of people had been arrested. They were reportedly colluding with foreign forces and trying to steal information about the base.

Meanwhile, the base wasn't pursuing those who had "stood firm." Instead, it had even rewarded them.

"I thought it over and went to the Patrol Squad the next day," Huang Sen said with a sigh. "Luckily, I went in time. The base not only let me keep my five hundred thousand, but also gave me a fifty-thousand reward!"

Xu Feng and Fatty raised their glasses together. "Congratulations."

"Hey, congratulations to you too! I got five hundred and fifty thousand for free!" Huang Sen laughed and raised his glass as well.

Xiao Dan was too busy eating to say anything.

"Dad, Uncle Huang's cooking is still the best. It tastes way better than restaurant food!"

She proved Huang Sen's cooking skills with her actions.

After dinner, the three chatted for a while before Huang Sen and Wang Long stood up to leave.

"We're off. Now that we know you're all right, we can relax.

By the way, Liu Yu came by to look for you a few times over the past couple of days. She seemed really worried. Get back to her when you have time," Huang Sen said after a moment's thought.

"Sure. I've got a new communicator now; I lost the old one. Let's exchange numbers. When I have time, I'll go to the service center and get my old number back." Xu Feng raised his hand hurriedly.

"Sure!"

After seeing the two men off, Xu Feng finally had time to tidy up the house.

That week had gone by so fast.

He'd only just gotten used to life at the base. Coming back here, Xu Feng felt as if everything was just right.

"It's still nicest at home!" Xiao Dan cried, flinging herself onto her little bed.

Then she quickly frowned and got up. "Oh no, I forgot to change the sheets and duvet cover. Dad, hurry up and do a spring-clean!"

Xu Feng laughed and helped Xiao Dan clean the entire house.

Only after Xiao Dan was exhausted and asleep did he finally have time to train.

But as soon as he stepped outside,

the loudspeakers throughout Shanty Town blared a broadcast.

"Broadcast announcement, broadcast announcement!"

"Recently, a foreign force attempted to invade and cause trouble while our Martial University Base was undergoing preparations. Our comrades in the Security Department discovered and eliminated the threat in time.

During the operation, Mr. Xu, a resident of Shanty Town, disregarded his own safety and risked his life to help our base's warriors successfully carry out reconnaissance and eliminate the enemy.

Therefore, following discussion by the relevant departments, he is hereby awarded the 'Award for Outstanding Contribution' and a bonus of 200,000 as encouragement!

We urge all residents and employees to stay vigilant and actively monitor and report anyone attempting to undermine the stability of the base."

Listening to the broadcast outside, Xu Feng shook his head and smiled.

"Mr. Xu"? Why did that make him sound like a criminal?

"It's all in the past. There's no need to get cocky over it. It's just an empty title. Nothing beats improving my strength."

Xu Feng muttered to himself, his gaze sharpening as he raised his hand and slashed forward with his blade!

"Whoosh—"

The Battle Blade sliced rapidly through the air, letting out a strange, muffled howl of wind.

"No, still not right."

After a brief moment of reflection, Xu Feng immersed himself in training once more.

After practicing his blade techniques, he worked on his movement skills. When he got tired, he practiced the Nine Star Body Refining Art.

As his body gradually recovered, Xu Feng began increasing the intensity of his daily training.

Although he hadn't made much progress in any of his three areas of training during that week of recuperation,

the progress was clearly reflected on his status panel.

[Name: Xu Feng]

[Qi and Blood: 270c]

[Age: 40]

[Skills:

Nine Star Body Refining Art [Official Version] · Proficient (1/300)

Communicator Repair · Master (13/500)

Secret Blade Art · Grandmaster (1203/10000)

Wind Blade Triple Strike [First Four Levels] · Novice (20/50)

Shadow Sweep · Novice (5/200)

Mind Movement · Expert (175/500)

Pit Digging · Expert (3045/5000)

Butchery · Proficient (3/10)]

Since he already had a foundation in the free version of the Nine Star Body Refining Art, he got through the novice stage of the official version especially quickly.

But once he reached the proficient stage, his training progress slowed again.

The good news was that, after the official version of the Body Refining Art reached the proficient stage,

each time he practiced it, his qi and blood increased by a steady point!

Given Xu Feng's current physical condition, he could practice it at most three times a day, for a steady gain of three points.

By this calculation, Xu Feng only needed to train seriously for another two and a half months.

Then he'd reach the qi-and-blood standard for an Intermediate Warrior without a doubt!

Anyone who heard about that rate of progress would probably call him a cheater.

Now, a bright future truly lay ahead!