"Then take a look at this Basalt Grey one. It's in very good condition, though it's used, and the previous owner took great care of it.
He wouldn't have let it go if he hadn't advanced to High-Rank Battle General.
Weihua's Series 3 all-terrain Combat Watch can withstand attacks from Beast Generals and receive signals from base stations throughout the Dimension Realm."
"This one's ugly too!" Xiao Dan shook her head, her eyes shining, and squeezed Xu Feng's hand.
Xu Feng immediately caught her meaning. "Just tell me how much. This color... I don't think it looks good either."
"Uh, this one's fifty-six thousand. That's really the lowest I can go. Any cheaper, and you'd think it was fake.
It originally cost 250,000. It has a communicator, maps, GPS, global satellite-free geomagnetic positioning, and all kinds of other functions.
Anyway, for fifty-six thousand, you won't be getting ripped off."
Xu Feng could tell the shopkeeper was giving it his all to make the sale.
It was a good watch, but it was undeniably expensive.
And it was secondhand, not new.
Xu Feng took a deep breath. "Forty thousand. It's clearly only in decent condition. If you'll take forty thousand, I'll think about it.
The color's nothing special, but the others are even uglier.
I'm buying it as a gift. At that price, I'd be better off getting it refurbished and saving myself the loss."
"Forty thousand? Why not look at something else?" The shopkeeper immediately turned cold.
"We go way back," Xu Feng said shamelessly.
The shopkeeper glared at him. "We don't go back at all. You're making an outrageous offer. What do you expect me to say? Forty thousand? Why not offer twenty?"
"Then counteroffer! That's how buying things works. You have to haggle a little." Xu Feng grinned.
"Fifty-two thousand."
"Forty-five."
"I really can't go any lower!"
"Forty-eight thousand. If it's more than that, forget it."
"Fifty thousand. That's my lowest."
Xu Feng was always serious when it came to bargaining.
After a few rounds of haggling,
he finally got the used Combat Watch, still in excellent condition, for 49,000.
He also got two different-colored watch straps thrown in for free.
He'd seen Lu Fei's wrist. She wore nothing but an ordinary Series 6 communicator.
The secret to buying gifts was not to buy the most expensive thing, but the right thing.
Expensive luxuries were certainly prestigious, but impractical things soon ended up gathering dust.
A Combat Watch, however, was essential equipment for every high-ranking martial artist.
They used it every day.
So, as a gift, it meant that every time the wearer checked the time, she would think of Xu Feng's thoughtfulness.
Evening came.
When Lu Fei saw the watch, surprise flashed across her face.
But the expression vanished almost at once.
She frowned at Xu Feng, looking disdainful. "Do you think you're rich or something?
You're two million in debt, and you still have money to buy a luxury item like this?"
"I don't think it's worth the price at all. But if it's a gift for you, then it is."
Xu Feng smiled.
After saying that,
he stood there smugly, silently showing off.
That line must've hit her right in the heart. My twenty-plus years of studying the art of romance while single haven't been for nothing.
But Xiao Dan's next words immediately shattered his confidence.
"Dad, you said it was too expensive just now. You regretted buying it as soon as you paid."
Lu Fei let out a scoff. She glanced at Xiao Dan and pinched her cheek before turning to Xu Feng. "Trying to look richer than you are."
Despite what she said, she slipped the watch onto her wrist.
"Wow! It looks so good! Teacher Lu, you look so elegant!"
Xiao Dan clasped Lu Fei's hand, stars in her eyes.
Lu Fei rubbed her head without changing her expression. "You sure know how to flatter people."
Then
she looked at Xu Feng. "Still, thank you. But don't spend so much next time. We're friends, so you don't have to be so formal."
Xu Feng nodded earnestly, but didn't take her words to heart.
Next time, for sure.
"I have to go on a mission soon. I'll probably be gone for a few days," Lu Fei said, hesitating, her mind elsewhere.
"Try to stay out of trouble while I'm gone. There won't be anyone to protect you."
"Then I hope you have a safe trip," Xu Feng said with a smile.
"I'm off."
Lu Fei waved, kissed Xiao Dan, and turned to leave.
Once outside,
she lowered her gaze to her wrist, a faint smile curling at the corner of her mouth.
Inside,
Xiao Dan looked at Xu Feng with concern. "I don't think Teacher Lu likes it!"
"Heh," Xu Feng said confidently. "Don't worry. She's already in the palm of my hand. Hehehe!"
Xiao Dan said, "...Dad, maybe you should make an appointment with a psychiatrist?"
"Are you asking for a spanking?" Xu Feng immediately wiped the smile from his face and glared at her.
"Ah! I'm sorry!" Xiao Dan dashed to the table, picked up her homework, and pretended to start writing.
Xu Feng couldn't help laughing.
That girl just couldn't keep her mouth shut lately. She really was asking for it.
Over the next three days,
Xu Feng settled down and focused on his training.
He returned to his cultivation routine.
Every day, aside from work, he devoted himself entirely to mastering Wind Blade Triple Strike and learning the Shadow Sweep footwork.
Both techniques were incredibly difficult to learn.
But even a little progress brought such a dramatic improvement that Xu Feng was pleasantly surprised.
Out in the wild,
in the forest,
"Bang!"
Wood chips flew everywhere.
"Crack, crack—"
The trunk of a tree so thick that two people could barely wrap their arms around it exploded apart.
Then the tree slowly snapped and fell to the ground.
Xu Feng slowly lowered his blade, his arm numb from the impact.
"Too bad. I still can't cut through a tree trunk with a single slash.
It's not that I lack strength. My arm can't withstand that much force.
Of course, my technique is part of the problem too.
If I can make even a little more progress with Wind Blade, the vibrations from Wind Force should let me cut through this tree with ease."
He focused his thoughts, and the panel appeared.
Wind Blade Triple Strike [First Four Layers] · Beginner (49/50)
He glanced at the panel and took a deep breath.
Sure enough, he was just one step away.
After taking a moment to rest, Xu Feng resumed his blade training.
Thirty minutes passed in the blink of an eye.
Then, at one particular moment, the Battle Blade in Xu Feng's hand seemed to fall silent.
Hiss!
He slashed, but there was no sharp whistle as the blade cut through the air.
Only a faint, strange sound, like a snake's hiss.
It was so quiet that it was almost impossible to hear.
Xu Feng's face brightened. He looked at the panel.
Wind Blade Triple Strike [First Four Layers] · Proficient (1/400)
Then his eyes narrowed, and he turned to look at another tree in the forest, even thicker than the last.
Whoosh!
Xu Feng flashed forward, raised his hand, and slashed at the trunk!
Hiss!
A flash of cold light.
"Bang!"
The blade swept through the trunk, meeting a little resistance before punching straight through!
Crack—
The remaining hand-thick layer of bark snapped apart.
Then the entire tree slowly toppled to the ground.
Crash—
As dust billowed through the forest, Xu Feng blurred and retreated twenty meters in the blink of an eye.
Xu Feng smiled with satisfaction. "Now that's more like it. That's what a C-rank technique should be worth."
Ever since he began practicing Wind Blade, his strength hadn't improved much.
But his coordination and technique for channeling force had made great strides.
And learning Shadow Sweep had made him even more agile.
Looking back now at Lurence's abilities,
Xu Feng could guess that his opponent's C-rank combat technique was probably at about the same level as his own current one.
"This is only the first layer of Wind Blade Triple Strike, and the easiest one. I've only just started to grasp the basics of Wind Force.
I'll have to fully reach the second layer before I can master the first-strike force described in the manual.
Only then can I completely eliminate the sound of the blade cutting through the air and channel Wind Force into every slash.
I'm still a long way from that level. I mustn't get cocky."
Xu Feng muttered to himself, then turned with his blade and headed back.
Before you continue