Jiang Qifeng said all this for everyone else to hear, and for himself as well.
Yes, this was as far as Jiang Fan would ever go. How could he compare to Jiang Youtian?
Besides, even if Jiang Fan agreed to return, it would probably leave a thorn lodged in Jiang Youtian's heart.
He couldn't let Jiang Youtian's heart grow cold for the sake of Jiang Fan, a mere early-stage martial apprentice.
With that thought, Jiang Qifeng no longer felt so stifled. He also resolved never to mention bringing Jiang Fan back again, lest it upset Jiang Youtian.
Jiang Fan knew nothing of what had happened in the Jiang Family. After the Tang Family finished celebrating for him, he went to Crazy Old Man's home as usual and farmed 3,000 points right on schedule.
He opened the system.
Points: 3003 Blood vitality: 81N (+) Psychic power: 2162P
Jiang Fan noticed that the (+) after psychic power was gone. It seemed his blood vitality could no longer support an increase in psychic power.
But he had worked hard to strengthen his body over the past two days, so he should be able to add a little more blood vitality.
"System, exchange my points for the amount of blood vitality most suitable for me."
[Yes, Master.]
As the system's voice faded, the values on the panel changed.
Points: 2983 Blood vitality: 83N (+) Psychic power: 2162P (+)
Only 2N?
Jiang Fan noticed that the (+) had reappeared after psychic power, so he exchanged points for some more psychic power, but the increase was limited.
And the (+) after psychic power disappeared again.
Now there was definitely nowhere to spend the remaining 2,983 points on increases.
Could he only follow the routine and run every day?
Jiang Fan thought this not because he was unwilling to keep his feet firmly on the ground, but because he was simply too weak right now.
At his current level, he was nowhere near capable of protecting his family.
And most importantly, there was the beast tide a year from now.
In his previous life, while he was attending university in the neighboring Xijiao City, the Fortress No. 31 they lived in had suffered a beast tide attack.
Although that attack had not been particularly large, it had been an unprecedented catastrophe for Fortress No. 31, with its weak defenses.
During the beast tide attack, the protective barrier above the towering walls had been breached. As the walls toppled, he, an ordinary person, had been utterly bedraggled in the panicked flight.
Who could have known that although he had temporarily escaped the demonic beasts' claws, he would fail to escape Jiang Youtian's schemes?
To shake off the pursuing demonic beasts, Jiang Youtian had actually broken both his legs, leaving him unable to flee and turning him into food for the beasts, buying Jiang Youtian a little more time to escape.
Donglang City and Xijiao City both belonged to Fortress No. 31, one in the east and the other in the west, the distance between them spanning the entire fortress. If even he had met such an end, Tang Fugui, who was also an ordinary person, and little Guoguo probably hadn't fared much better.
A year seemed like a long time, but the danger was already pressing close.
He had to increase his strength as quickly as possible!
He had to protect the Tang Family. He absolutely had to!
"Hey! Hey, you brat, what are you standing there gawking by yourself for? I've been calling you forever, and you haven't reacted at all. Gone stupid?" Crazy Old Man stared at Jiang Fan in bewilderment.
Jiang Fan pulled himself out of his thoughts and came back to his senses. "I've finished everything. I should head home."
"Wait!" Crazy Old Man called him back.
Jiang Fan assumed Crazy Old Man wanted to put him to work again, so he ignored him and kept walking.
But he had barely taken a step when Crazy Old Man said, "You've been diligently looking after me here all this time. I don't care whether you admit you were sent by Yan Tianyang, and whether you were or not makes no difference to me. I don't like accepting favors for nothing, so I have something for you."
Jiang Fan turned around and saw Crazy Old Man leaning over the edge of the bed, rummaging underneath it.
"Not this." Crazy Old Man fished an empty bottle of erguotou out from under the bed and tossed it aside.
"Not this either." A stinking sock with a hole in it went flying too.
"What's this thing?" Crazy Old Man tossed out something moldy, blackened, and sticky as well.
If Jiang Fan hadn't dodged quickly, it would have hit him in the face.
Watching that sticky lump land on the floor with a splat, Jiang Fan nearly threw up his dinner in disgust.
Then he looked at the floor littered with the trash Crazy Old Man had thrown out, and the corner of his mouth twitched. To think he had actually looked forward to seeing what Crazy Old Man would give him.
He now wanted to make it clear that he didn't want anything at all.
"Uh, well, I don't ask for rewards for doing good deeds. You should keep these treasures for yourself. I'll be going now."
"Found it!" Crazy Old Man pulled a wooden box as long as the table out from beneath the bed and set it on the table.
"Open it and look for yourself."
"There's really no need." Jiang Fan refused with every fiber of his being.
Crazy Old Man grew impatient. "When I give someone something, no one has ever dared deny me face. Today, you're taking it whether you want it or not. Otherwise, don't ever come here again! I don't need anyone looking after me."
When Jiang Fan heard that he wouldn't be able to come here to farm points anymore, he couldn't possibly accept that.
With that thought, his gaze landed on the long wooden box.
Remembering all those disgusting things on the floor, Jiang Fan knitted his brows for once, knotting them tightly.
"Um, there isn't garbage in here, is there?"
As he spoke, he took a step back.
Crazy Old Man nodded. "To me, this stuff is no different from garbage."
Jiang Fan took another step back.
Crazy Old Man's impatient gaze fell on Jiang Fan. "Stop dawdling like a woman. Are you a man or not? If you're a man, open it. Otherwise, hurry up and leave, and don't come back."
For the sake of points, Jiang Fan decided to endure it.
So he stepped forward and opened the box. The next second, his dark eyes suddenly lit up.
"This is..."
Inside the box was an entire row of alloy items.
From left to right, they were F-grade alloy, E-grade alloy, D-grade alloy, C-grade alloy, B-grade alloy, and A-grade alloy.
Heavens! These were all expensive alloys! Every last one was glittering money!
Even the lowest-ranked F-grade alloy was something he simply couldn't afford.
Never mind him-even a wealthy household like the Jiang Family couldn't yet bear to get one for Jiang Youtian.
Jiang Fan's gaze suddenly leaped from the F-grade alloy to the A-grade alloy. He reached out with a slightly trembling hand and was just about to pick it up when Crazy Old Man abruptly stopped him.
"Brat, why don't you weigh yourself and see how much you amount to? With your strength, you actually want to pick up A-grade alloy?"
Hearing that, Jiang Fan immediately withdrew his hand.
He had been so excited that he had forgotten A-grade alloy weighed as much as an armored vehicle.
If he had tried to pick it up-hiss, he didn't dare imagine the consequences.
Wait!
Jiang Fan suddenly thought of something very important: just now, Crazy Old Man had easily lifted the wooden box with only one hand, then casually set it on the table.