I Won

By the time Jiang Yuan arrived at nearby Apricot Blossom Park,

it was already 9:10 p.m.

The park was empty at night, with hardly anyone around.

Creak, creak—the sound of a swing swaying came from the children's play area.

Jiang Yuan followed the sound and looked over.

A slender, petite figure was sitting on it.

Hearing footsteps behind her,

the girl with a bun hairstyle twitched her ears and turned around. She saw Jiang Yuan walking toward her in casual pants and a baseball cap.

"You're late."

"I lost track of time while training."

When Jiang Yuan drew closer, Guan Xiaoxiao froze slightly.

Compared to before, Jiang Yuan's vitality and bearing had undergone an earth-shaking change.

Though his 1.7-meter frame was still lean, he radiated surging vitality. Even from a distance, one could sense that astonishing life force. Beneath the brim of his cap, his pale golden eyes gleamed like lightning in the cold night, giving off an intense pressure.

Guan Xiaoxiao felt dazed.

Was this really the quiet boy from her memories who only knew how to train?

Only a day or two had passed. How had he changed so much?!

"Did you get plastic surgery?" Guan Xiaoxiao could not help asking.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

"Your face doesn't seem to have changed... but why do I feel like you've become a completely different person?"

Although the two had barely spoken during their three years of high school, there was not the slightest awkwardness or distance between them now.

"Didn't you ask me here for a duel? Are we fighting or not?"

"What are you rushing for? Don't tell me you think that just because you beat Huang Yi with martial arts, you can beat me too? Let me tell you, even without using my talent or class skills, my vitality has already broken through 4. It's far above yours."

Looking at the 1.55-meter-tall girl before him, arms crossed and chin raised, her delicate little face filled with pride,

Jiang Yuan could not help smiling. "You got that from taking supplements, didn't you?"

"W-What's it to you?!"

"I knew it. You just can't endure the hardship of training."

"Hmph, enough nonsense. Watch me beat you in one move!"

The girl gave a sharp cry, pushed off the ground, and rushed before Jiang Yuan, smashing an elbow toward his chest.

The move was fierce and effective. It looked like some kind of practical combat martial art.

A rainbow glint flashed through Jiang Yuan's eyes, and he instantly analyzed the martial art's strengths, weaknesses, and more than a dozen ways to counter it.

But in the end, he did nothing, merely raising a palm to block the strike.

Bang!

Dust rose beneath Jiang Yuan's feet, but his body did not move an inch.

Guan Xiaoxiao was stunned.

"?"

A tiny head filled with enormous confusion.

"You blocked it? That shouldn't be possible. How did you get so strong?!"

"Maybe you're just too weak." Jiang Yuan smiled and let go.

"Bullshit!"

Guan Xiaoxiao refused to accept it. "Watch this, Rocket Punch!"

Another straight punch came flying, vitality coiling around it as gusts of wind accompanied the blow. It appeared to be some beginner one-star martial skill.

Ah, what a shame. Too many openings, and she's using it terribly.

Jiang Yuan sighed inwardly.

This girl truly had far too little combat experience...

Without any surprise, Guan Xiaoxiao's punch was once again blocked by Jiang Yuan's palm, and he seized her fist in return.

Her fist was small, smooth, and tender, with a very pleasant feel.

"Impossible!" Guan Xiaoxiao could not believe it.

She had used her full strength this time, yet he had blocked it again.

She could have understood if Jiang Yuan had used Assassin skills to evade it or some martial technique to redirect the force, but he had taken her attack head-on.

Guan Xiaoxiao struggled with all her might, but her fist could not break free from Jiang Yuan's large hand.

"What's your vitality at now? How are you so strong?"

"I don't know. Probably somewhere between 3 and 4."

"What did you say?!" Guan Xiaoxiao cried out, forgetting to struggle as she stared blankly at Jiang Yuan.

"How is that possible?!"

"Wasn't it only 2.3 when you were last tested?"

"It hasn't even been two days. How did it increase so much?"

Her little mouth hung slightly open as she stared at Jiang Yuan with wide, crystalline eyes. She looked adorable.

Jiang Yuan released her hand and smiled. "You don't need to be so shocked... Maybe I've been eating more beast meat recently and took some supplements, so my vitality increased faster."

"Bullshit! My mom's an apothecary, do you think I wouldn't know? Supplements work through gradual accumulation. There's no way you could digest all their effects in such a short time!" Guan Xiaoxiao shouted.

"Then maybe changing classes increased my strength."

"Is that how it works? But doesn't the Assassin class increase speed? Why would it also increase strength and cultivation speed?" Guan Xiaoxiao was thoroughly confused.

"I know! You must have undergone a Second Awakening!"

A second talent awakening was extremely rare, but not unheard of. There were quite a few geniuses in the world who possessed two talents after changing classes.

Jiang Yuan did not deny it, while Guan Xiaoxiao became excited.

"I guessed it, didn't I? You definitely underwent a Second Awakening, and it's even a talent that boosts cultivation speed!"

"No wonder you've changed so much lately!"

Seeing how excited she was at having guessed his secret, Jiang Yuan said, "If you still don't use your skills, you're going to lose."

"Heh, don't think you've got this in the bag. I haven't used my full strength yet." Guan Xiaoxiao spoke with fighting spirit as she unleashed her ability.

"Come out, Shadow!"

A black shadow rose from hers beneath the streetlamp. It stood two meters tall, its arms hanging at its sides as it respectfully took position behind Guan Xiaoxiao.

A-rank sequence talent, Shadow Summoning: Summons a Shadow Servant immune to physical attacks, possessing 100% of the user's strength and fearing light-based abilities.

"Take this!"

The Shadow Servant sank into the darkness. The next second, it appeared beside Jiang Yuan, spreading its arms to embrace him.

Jiang Yuan threw a punch and blasted it apart, but it quickly reformed.

At the same time, Guan Xiaoxiao reached out toward Jiang Yuan and clenched her hand, activating a skill.

"Shadow Bind!"

Several black lines rapidly spread from the shadow at her feet toward Jiang Yuan's shadow.

Jiang Yuan immediately flashed away, vanishing in an instant.

"S-So fast!" Guan Xiaoxiao exclaimed, turning to look around. "Where did he go?"

Jiang Yuan appeared behind her and reached for the back of her neck. "I win."

Without turning around, Guan Xiaoxiao's lips curled up. "You're the one who got caught."

"Shadow Clone."

Her body turned into a shadow, while the shadow in the distance became her. The two switched places.

Jiang Yuan was taken aback and was caught in the shadow's embrace. The pitch-black shadow bound him tightly like a bodysuit.

Guan Xiaoxiao, standing some distance away, smiled smugly. "Didn't expect that, did you?"

Jiang Yuan nodded. "It was a little unexpected."

"I didn't expect you to use your brain, either."

Her talent combined with her class skills was indeed quite strange. One careless move, and anyone could fall for it. But unfortunately...

"I w—" Guan Xiaoxiao had not finished speaking.

Jiang Yuan's body trembled, and scarlet vitality ripples shattered the shadowy restraints. He pushed off the ground, rushed before Guan Xiaoxiao, and grabbed her in one motion.

The boy smiled. "I won."