Vacation

With the academy on break, quite a few parents had come to pick up their children. Because of the crowd, Notting Academy did not allow the parents inside. Instead, they had set up a passage at the main gate, with parents waiting on both sides for their children to come out.

"Xiao Quan! Over here..."

The moment Shi Quan walked out of Notting Academy, he spotted Li Meili in the crowd, excitedly waving her arms at him.

"I'm coming, Mom!" Shi Quan hurried over to Li Meili in a few quick strides.

"Come, let me carry that for you." Li Meili looked at the bundle in Shi Quan's hands and took it from him before he could refuse.

"Let's go this way. There are too many people here, so the carriage couldn't stop nearby. Your father parked it on the other side." Beaming, Li Meili led Shi Quan toward one side of the academy.

After turning a corner, Shi Quan saw Shi Jian standing quietly beside the carriage in the distance, his gaze fixed in their direction.

"Dad!" Shi Quan waved to Shi Jian from afar.

Shi Jian smiled, nodded, and waved back at Shi Quan.

"How have these past two months been?"

That was a question that came up almost every time they met.

Shi Quan waved a hand and said with a smile, "Same as always. I can finally go home. It's been so long since I had Mom's cooking. I've missed it."

As he spoke, Shi Quan looked at Li Meili with a spoiled grin. Li Meili's eyes narrowed into slits from smiling as she said, "When we get back, Mom will make you a feast!"

Without stopping in the city, the three of them immediately set off for Stone Family Village.

"Xiao Quan, how has your cultivation gone this year?"

"Don't worry, Dad. I've remembered every word you said."

Shi Quan naturally understood what Shi Jian was asking. They had already left the city, and he had nothing to hide from his parents.

As he spoke, Shi Quan raised his right hand. A faint blue glow emerged, and a stalk of Blue Silver Grass, noticeably thicker than ordinary Blue Silver Grass, appeared in his hand.

With a slight movement of his fingers, the leaves and branches of the Blue Silver Grass extended from his hand, stretching along the carriage to its reins before nimbly tying themselves into a knot.

"Not bad!" Shi Jian nodded in satisfaction.

At the beginning, Shi Quan had not even been able to control a single leaf on its own. Now, he could control the leaves to extend outward and tie knots nimbly. Such improvement was already astonishing.

Shi Quan said mysteriously, "By the way, Dad, Mom, there's something else I need to tell you. Don't be too shocked when you hear it."

Li Meili said with a playful pout, "What is it? Why are you being so mysterious?"

"My Soul Power Level is already Level Seven."

"What? Level Seven?" Li Meili cried out. The next second, she realized her voice was too loud and quickly covered her mouth. After carefully looking around the carriage, she lowered her voice and asked, "Xiao Quan, did you say Level Seven?"

Shi Quan declared with certainty, "You heard right. It should be Level Seven, perhaps even higher."

After sweeping his gaze around, Shi Jian said sternly, "Walls have ears, and we're out in the open, no less. We'll discuss this after we get home."

Li Meili likewise made a gesture for silence. After looking around, Shi Quan nodded. "Understood."

"Xiao Quan is back..."

As the carriage returning home passed through the village, warm greetings filled the surroundings.

After being away from home for nearly a year, there had not been any major changes at home.

After returning home, the door shut with a bang.

Shi Jian finally voiced his question. "Xiao Quan, why has your Soul Power Level risen so quickly?"

Li Meili also watched Shi Quan curiously from the side.

Shi Quan spoke in a low voice, "Dad, Mom, my Soul Power has risen quickly because my Blue Silver Grass Spirit Soul is a mutated Spirit Soul. I'll explain the rest to you later."

"The rest?" Looking worried, Li Meili stepped forward. "Xiao Quan, do you have secrets that even we can't know?"

"Meili!" Shi Jian stepped forward, took Li Meili's hand, and gently patted it in reassurance. "It's good that Xiao Quan has his own thoughts. We should trust him."

Only then did Shi Jian turn his gaze to Shi Quan and say seriously, "Xiao Quan, I learned about your situation from a Spirit Master before. With Innate Level One Spirit Power, only through diligent cultivation would you have a chance to become a true Spirit Master before graduation. Yet in a single semester, you went from Level One to Level Seven. Have you thought through the implications of this?"

Shi Quan said firmly, "Don't worry, Dad. I've already thought it through. I can handle this."

Shi Jian stared straight into Shi Quan's eyes. After a moment of silence, he nodded and continued, "All right. Tell us what we need to do."

Outside Holy Soul Village.

"How much farther is it?" Xiao Wu asked casually as she skipped about and looked around.

"We're almost there. See that mountain over there? Holy Soul Village is at its foot." With home so close, Tang San could not help feeling excited.

With nowhere else to go, Xiao Wu had still chosen to return to Holy Soul Village with Tang San. Because of Shi Quan, their relationship was even better than it had been in the original story.

"Dad, I'm back!"

Tang San's excited voice rang out, but it was not Tang Hao who greeted him. It was Village Chief Old Jack.

After reading the letter Tang Hao had left behind with Old Jack, the joy filling Tang San's heart instantly turned into helpless disappointment.

After dejectedly tidying up the house, the sun set. Looking at Xiao Wu, who had remained by his side the whole time, Tang San's moist eyes held a trace of dazed uncertainty. As though he had made some decision, he took Xiao Wu's hand and led her to the Small Hill where he usually cultivated.

Then he earnestly asked, "Would you be willing to be my little sister?"

Xiao Wu had originally been somewhat conflicted, but when she heard Tang San say, "I will always protect my little sister and never let her suffer even the slightest harm," her eyes gradually reddened as well.

Finally, upon hearing, "If anyone wants to kill you, they will have to step over my corpse first," Xiao Wu's defenses completely crumbled. Looking at Tang San's equally moist yet resolute eyes, she called out, "Brother."

Upon hearing that word, Tang San burst into tears as well.

"Now you're my brother, so shouldn't you help me teach that bastard Shi Quan a good lesson?" At the mention of Shi Quan, Xiao Wu put on an indignant expression. Combined with her red-rimmed eyes, she looked as though she had suffered some enormous grievance.

"Of course! He dared to hit my little sister. I definitely won't let him off!"

A fierce light appeared in Tang San's eyes. Back at the academy, Xiao Wu had merely been his classmate and friend, and he had always judged the conflict between her and Shi Quan from an outsider's perspective.

But now Xiao Wu was his little sister. That was entirely different. His heart had completely sided with Xiao Wu.

"Thank you, Brother!" A faint blush appeared on Xiao Wu's face. "But Brother, can I call you that only when we're alone? After all, I'm the Leader of All Notting Students. If I suddenly have an older brother, what will they think of me?"

Tang San agreed with a smile, then removed the Sleeve Arrow from his left wrist.

Xiao Wu was full of curiosity as she looked at the Sleeve Arrow in Tang San's hand. After hearing his introduction and watching the demonstration of the Hidden Weapon, her eyes lit up, and she immediately became deeply interested.

If she learned those things, would she still have to worry about catching Shi Quan? She could just shoot him with a Hidden Weapon when the time came.

Tang San understood Xiao Wu's temperament. He explained that training in Hidden Weapons was not something that could be done overnight, which was a tactful refusal. Yet he did not refuse completely, because he still taught Xiao Wu how to use the Sleeve Arrow as well as some simple throwing techniques.

"Hmph, with this trump card, just watch me teach that bastard a proper lesson!" Xiao Wu lovingly played with the Sleeve Arrow in her hands, excitedly testing it again and again against the large tree before her.

Tang San watched her from the side with an indulgent expression.

Stone Family Village, Continuous Cloud Mountain Range.

The Continuous Cloud Mountain Range lay behind Stone Family Village, only two or three hundred meters away. Its peaks towered high, its terrain stretched endlessly, and it disappeared beyond sight as though connected to the clouds, hence its name.

A road from Stone Family Village led directly to the Continuous Cloud Mountain Range. The mountains were thick with forests, and most of the Stone used for the village's stone carvings was mined there by the villagers. As a mountain range, the one thing it lacked least was naturally Stone.

Atop a Hill on the outskirts of the mountain range, rustling sounds rang out. Shi Quan sat cross-legged in the Five Hearts Facing Heaven posture at the summit. A pale green halo flowed around him, while Blue Silver Vines moved ceaselessly through the area like spiritual snakes. As time passed, the grass and trees centered around Shi Quan began to emit a faint blue light.

The already Emerald Green and lush grassland radiated vigorous vitality. Nourished by this life force, the surrounding flowers, grass, and trees gradually began to grow.

It was apparent that all vegetation within ten meters of Shi Quan was several times more vigorous than the plants farther away.

Blue light drifted through the air and slowly gathered, eventually flowing into the moving Blue Silver Grass vines. When the final trace of blue light merged into the Blue Silver Grass Spirit Soul, the Blue Silver Grass slowly receded, becoming a stalk of faintly glowing Blue Silver Grass before Shi Quan's chest. Its crystal-clear leaves resembled gemstones before gradually returning to the appearance of ordinary Blue Silver Grass.

Only after sitting quietly for a while did Shi Quan open his eyes and rise to his feet.

"There's a possibility of transformation, but this is nowhere near as efficient as cultivating on my own."

After casually grumbling a few words, Shi Quan did not linger. He sprang up and ran down the mountain. His agile figure was like a spirit of the mountains, each stride covering more than ten feet. The uneven mountain terrain was as flat ground to him.

"The setup here should be about done."

Shi Quan looked back toward the Hill. The vegetation atop it was several times more luxuriant than that around it. Taking Blue Silver Grass as an example, the grass at the summit was more than three times the length of the Blue Silver Grass in the surrounding area.

After checking the time, Shi Quan did not remain in the mountain range any longer and hurried home.

"Xiao Quan, you're back from the Continuous Cloud Mountain Range again?"

The moment he entered the village, the villagers warmly greeted Shi Quan.

As the only genius in the village with Soul Power, Shi Quan naturally drew the villagers' favor. They all wanted to build a good relationship with him, especially those with daughters. If Shi Quan took a fancy to their daughters in the future, the children they had might also have a greater chance of possessing Soul Power.

"Mm." Shi Quan answered with a smile.

Shi Quan had not deliberately concealed the fact that he went to the Continuous Cloud Mountain Range. At first, the villagers had not paid much attention, but as he went every day, everyone in the village gradually learned that Shi Quan visited the mountain range daily. Although Shi Quan never said what he went there to do, the villagers all knew he was probably cultivating in the mountains.

"Dad, Mom, I'm back!" Shi Quan's voice carried over from afar before he had even entered the house.

"You're back? Come quickly, the timing is perfect." Wearing an apron, Li Meili came out of the kitchen and happily waved Shi Quan over.

Before long, three fragrant dishes and a soup had been placed on the table.

As Li Meili served Shi Quan rice, she asked, "Xiao Quan, there are only three days left until it's time to register at the academy. Are you still going to the Continuous Cloud Mountain Range these next few days?"

Shi Quan thought for a moment before answering, "I'll go one more day tomorrow."

Starting from the second day after he returned home, he had gone to the Continuous Cloud Mountain Range every day to cultivate. He returned at noon for lunch, rested for around half an hour afterward, then went back to the mountain range until dinner, spending his evenings at home.

This had continued for nearly two months. Over those two months, Shi Quan's Soul Power had broken through to Level Eight.

Other than nourishing the plants atop the Hill, he spent most of his time practicing Martial Arts.

Diligence could make up for inadequacy. Shi Quan understood that principle very well. Compared with Tang San, he was behind by at least twenty full years in martial cultivation.

Aside from practicing Martial Arts from childhood in this life, Tang San had also trained in Martial Arts for at least twenty years in his previous life. Although Tang San had lost the cultivation of his previous life, his experience was still real.

Although the Martial Arts within the True Scripture were profound, bridging that gap would still take time. Moreover, his innate conditions were somewhat inferior to Tang San's from the outset. He had to work as hard as possible now and erase those gaps in the shortest possible time. Only then could he conveniently carry out his later plans.

As for the system, he truly did not think much of it. Although every reward it gave was indeed top-tier, its triggering mechanism was simply impossible to grasp. Unlike systems with clear objectives, this system had far too much uncertainty.

He did not dare place all his bets on the system. To him, the system was one of the pillars supporting his rise, but if he truly wanted to rise, he still had to rely on himself. He himself was his greatest support and pillar.

Perhaps because he had been too ordinary in his previous life, Shi Quan was no longer willing to remain ordinary in this one. Thus, even after the system appeared, he had continued maintaining his habit of diligent cultivation.

He did so to strengthen himself as much as possible, to protect the people he wanted to protect, and to live the life he wanted.