"Take a good look. This is your dad!"
Chapter 6: Brother Xiaoduo, Don't Go...
Between his worry for Zuo Xiaonian, his confusion over being unable to read his parents' faces, and his excitement at the Star Soul Power continuously flowing into his body, Zuo Xiaoduo hadn't slept well all night.
He also discovered that no matter how he circulated his power or focused his thoughts, that cool sensation was gone.
Looks like discovering this ability came with a tiny bonus of Fortune Points. I used them all up reading Xiao Nian's.
Zuo Xiaoduo calculated inwardly.
But there were still things he didn't understand.
When he looked at his parents' faces, he had clearly felt that cool sensation appear, though only briefly. Yet he hadn't seen anything.
What was going on?
Still, being able to cultivate was a good thing.
It wasn't just Xiao Nian anymore. I, Zuo Xiaoduo, could do something for the family too!
Zuo Xiaoduo was very excited.
And... I had to cultivate like mad, then think of a way to resolve Xiao Nian's crisis, no matter what! He turned it over and over in his mind, coming up with seventeen or eighteen plans overnight. Then he reasoned through them one by one...
The next morning, Zuo Xiaoduo crawled out of his room with dark circles under both eyes and headed to school.
Though standing among a crowd of little boys and girls really did make him a crane among chickens, it was admittedly rather embarrassing.
Even though he was still the class monitor...
The problem was... I was seventeen, a full six foot one, standing among classmates whose average height was under four feet...
I had my pride too.
But since having pride wouldn't get me promoted... I might as well throw it away.
But today was different!
I was moving up!
Starting today, no more kindergarten for me! I was going to elementary school!
Because last night... I'd broken through the Martial Disciple stage!
The night before, as he felt the Star Soul Power flowing into his body and steadily increasing, Zuo Xiaoduo had felt so good that he accidentally let out a fart-and actually felt his bottleneck to becoming a Martial Warrior burst wide open!
"Years of bitter training bore no fruit; one fart blasted open the Martial Warrior gate. Once a crane among chickens and ducks, today I soar into a flock of phoenixes!"
Zuo Xiaoduo couldn't help reciting a poem, immediately feeling that his literary talent was soaring.
After breaking through, he hadn't stayed idle either. He mobilized the Star Soul Power throughout his body and began tempering his bones; by dawn, he had actually tempered half his right leg!
At the rate he had managed that night, he was almost catching up to Zuo Xiaonian!
"I've transformed! I'm a genius now!"
"I'm a Martial Warrior!"
Zuo Xiaoduo kept getting excited as he brushed his teeth. Even when he went to the bathroom, he couldn't help clasping both hands behind his back, fully displaying the bearing of an expert.
For the first time, Zuo Xiaoduo went to school in such soaring spirits!
He sped the whole way!
He charged straight into the teachers' office for Second High School's Martial Disciple classes.
"Teacher Hu, I broke through! I became a Martial Warrior!" Zuo Xiaoduo was brimming with satisfaction.
"You broke through?" The delicate-featured Teacher Hu's eyes widened in delighted surprise.
Zuo Xiaoduo had already repeated her class for five years!
This had seriously affected Teacher Hu's performance pay, leaving even her delicate face looking somewhat haggard...
Five years in a row without a single advancement bonus.
The school administration had seriously questioned Teacher Hu's teaching ability: a student might have somewhat poor aptitude, but repeating the class for five years without breaking through the Martial Disciple stage? You're far too incompetent as a teacher! Since you're incompetent, he can stay in your class as punishment!
Teacher Hu had already despaired. She had only been thinking of waiting until Zuo Xiaoduo turned eighteen and automatically withdrew from school, then working hard to earn money to support her family.
Who could have imagined that joy would suddenly fall from the heavens!
Zuo Xiaoduo had broken through!
At that moment, Teacher Hu was utterly thrilled.
She was excited both because she could finally send Zuo Xiaoduo on his way and because she was sincerely happy that he had finally broken through, with sweetness coming after all his bitterness.
This child had struggled here for five years and could finally move on; Teacher Hu was happy for him too. Over those five years, Teacher Hu knew perfectly well just how hard Zuo Xiaoduo had worked.
With an adult's build, attending school among little children-how could that be merely a crane among chickens?
An ordinary person would long since have found the strange looks around him unbearable, yet Zuo Xiaoduo had persisted, never missing a single lesson.
He had forced himself to endure it, working harder than every other child. At school, he cultivated until he could pass out, but after going home, washing his hair, and tossing it back, he would once again look utterly carefree and shameless.
He endured everything, shouldering it himself so his family wouldn't worry. He had lived like that for six whole years.
He had seen off five groups of students!
Yet he himself had borne all the criticism and strange looks, holding firm for six years without slacking off!
Many people called him thick-skinned, but Teacher Hu had never thought so. Though Zuo Xiaoduo had cost her five years of performance bonuses, she had never said anything about it; instead, her heart had always ached for him.
"If Xiaoduo can break through this hurdle, his future achievements will surely know no bounds!"
Those were words Hu Ruoyun had spoken.
"Last night, on a sudden impulse... I just broke through."
With a hint of smugness amid his honest, simple manner, Zuo Xiaoduo chuckled. "So here I am first thing in the morning to tell you, Teacher."
Hu Ruoyun smiled with relief. "Wonderful... Xiaoduo, you must keep working hard. Before you turn twenty, strive to break through the Martial Master Realm and enter the Innate stage, no matter what."
Her smile came from the bottom of her heart.
From Zuo Xiaoduo's carefree smile, she could feel how unburdened he was at that moment. And that free-spirited sense of letting everything in the past drift away on the wind.
She was completely reassured.
Five years of wind and rain had left no shadows in this child's heart. Instead, they had made his character even more resilient!
"I'll take you to report to the Martial Warrior class this afternoon!"
Hu Ruoyun said joyfully, "Your foundation is already solid, and you've already completed even the advanced academic theory coursework. A third of the term has passed now, so entering the Martial Warrior class directly may be exhausting, but you'll be fine once you push through. After all, if you waited another three months for the regular term, you'd be wasting your time."