A Year and a Half Later (Combined Chapter)

In the simulator, many plot developments were extrapolated by the simulator and skipped straight over, passing in a flash. Only when the main storyline was involved did it hand control over to him. More than twenty years had passed within the simulator, but to Lu Cheng's perception, it had only been a few months; thus, the tangible reality of this world, something he could truly see and touch, still excited him for a while.

With his increased Soul Power and the effects of last night's Mystic Water Pill, chopping firewood and carrying water were quite easy for Lu Cheng.

After he returned home.

At the entrance to the Jiang family's courtyard, he ran into the steward surnamed Chen who had clung to the top of the wall to peek last night. The man was saying something to Mother Jiang with a beaming smile. Mother Jiang's face was expressionless, and only when she saw Lu Cheng return did a smile bloom at the corners of her eyes. Her tone was warm. "You're back. Hurry and put that in the courtyard, then wash your hands and eat..."

"Mm." Lu Cheng nodded, ignored the steward, and headed into the courtyard with his head down.

The steward's brows furrowed. In his eyes, Lu Cheng and the Jiang family were all common rabble. Which of them would not respectfully address him as Steward Chen upon seeing him? He could let Mother Jiang's lukewarm attitude slide-she was, after all, the future second young madam's mother-but what did this little bastard amount to?

His eyes shifted, and he put on a kindly smile.

"This young fellow must be Lu Cheng?"

"You're young and look quite fit. Why not find yourself a position with our Xu Clan? As it happens, I'm the Xu Clan's steward. Once you join us, I can certainly send more people to take care of you. If you're lucky, you might even become the third young master's study attendant..."

"..."

Lu Cheng gave him a surprised glance, paid him little heed, and turned to enter the house.

"You..." Chen Nian looked stunned as he pointed at Lu Cheng's retreating back.

"Sorry, my child is tired. If you have no other business, please leave." Mother Jiang's gaze was indifferent. Without waiting for any more nonsense from Chen Nian, she shut the door decisively.

Chen Nian: "..."

He glared coldly inside. "Damned little bastard. Just you wait..."

A year and a half passed in a flash.

Inside the Jiang family's courtyard.

Lu Cheng held his breath and focused, his eyes tightly shut. His spiritual power spread outward at an astonishing speed and over an astonishing range, bringing every movement within the courtyard, of the pedestrians passing along the nearby blue-tiled streets, and of the swallows and sparrows flying through the sky into view.

He did not know whether this counted as an innate talent of his Martial Soul. His Blood Pupils Martial Soul had not had a single Soul Ring attached, nor had it undergone a second evolution, yet it seemed to possess an innate "detection" ability. It could even dynamically track the movements of all living creatures as though he had activated a god's-eye-view cheat.

Thus, with the enhancement of his Blood Pupils, he had barely practiced aiming his Sun-Shooting Bow at all. His accuracy was like a cheat.

"Come and eat..."

Mother Jiang looked Lu Cheng over affectionately, a gentle smile shining in her eyes as she called softly.

However, a sickly pallor had surfaced on her face.

"Coming."

Lu Cheng slowly opened his eyes, his blood-red pupils looking particularly uncanny. Over these nearly two years, the boy had also turned ten. With ample nourishment, he had grown to around one meter sixty-seven. His physique was not bulky, but his muscles were well defined.

His Soul Power, meanwhile, had soared to rank twenty-three.

In fact, at the rate his Soul Power increased, he had already reached rank fifteen before Shrek Academy's admissions period last summer. Unfortunately, Jiang Nannan had happened to reach Soul Elder then and had used a place provided by Shrek Academy to join a group of students heading to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt for Soul Rings, so she had been unable to come.

Lu Cheng had therefore considered it. Entering at barely rank fifteen back then would probably have earned him little attention, and recommending him would have put pressure on Jiang Nannan as well. After all, the girl was only a relatively outstanding Outer Court student, without any backing or connections.

After thinking it over, he decided to build his foundation for another year first.

And so he had waited until today.

With Jiang Nannan returning home for summer vacation, he could take the opportunity to ask this older sister to put in an internal recommendation for him at Shrek Academy.

Rank twenty-three at ten years old-even without mentioning that Lu Cheng had achieved this through only two years of cultivation, it was enough to earn some attention from the Shrek Outer Court.

Besides...

He could not wait any longer either.

The Xu Clan... was already growing impatient.

Mother Jiang's illness had repeatedly flared up over the past two years. When they sought out an apothecary, he only kept shaking his head. Her condition grew increasingly severe, until on one occasion, the apothecary mysteriously told him that her illness had become so serious that only some Black Tortoise Divine Pill from the Black Tortoise Sect could cure it.

Lu Cheng had then fully understood the deeper meaning in the man's eyes.

It seemed Xu Sanshi was nearing the age for his awakening.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Mother Jiang lightly covered her mouth with a handkerchief, straightened her back, and began coughing again.

Her face was pale. When she lifted the handkerchief, a streak of bright red blood was clearly visible on it.

"It's gotten worse..."

Lu Cheng took a deep breath. If there truly was no other way, he would use his own talent to tie himself to Shrek Academy and have one of its powerful healing specialists intervene, or forcibly break through the Black Tortoise Sect's underhanded schemes.

"Mom!"

A girl's lovely voice rang out like silver bells.

The gate was pushed open.

When Lu Cheng looked over again, a beautiful girl stood in the doorway. Her figure was slender and well proportioned, her long golden hair fell behind her in great waves, her skin surpassed snow, and her eyes were like pools of clear water. A smile appeared on her pretty face, making everything around her seem to dim.

"Sis?"

Lu Cheng smiled, his gaze gentle.

"You've grown taller!"

Jiang Nannan strode briskly over on her long, lovely legs. Her dewy pink eyes looked Lu Cheng over as she reached out with a snowy-white hand, squeezed his shoulder, then compared their heights.

"Mm, not bad..."

Jiang Nannan chuckled. "You're almost up to my eyes."

The corner of Lu Cheng's mouth twitched.

After a year and a half, Jiang Nannan had actually reached one meter seventy, half a head taller than him. She certainly lived up to being an Agility Attack System Battle Spirit Master with the classic Soft Bone Charm Rabbit. Her legs were especially long, even rivaling those of Wei Ling'er, that leg goddess from the simulator.

Jiang Nannan wore the classic dark-green Shrek Academy uniform. After greeting Lu Cheng, she turned her attention to Mother Jiang.

Her eyes were a little worried. "Did the doctor say anything?"

"..."

Mother Jiang's gaze was hesitant. She did not want to add to the children's burdens.

Lu Cheng, however, spoke directly. "He said she needs a Black Tortoise Divine Pill."

"A Black Tortoise Divine Pill?!!"

The girl looked stunned, her lips moving before she stopped herself.

Over the past year and more at Shrek Academy, she had scrimped and saved, working while studying, and had only painstakingly managed to put aside a few hundred Gold Soul Coins. But the Black Tortoise Divine Pill was a secret pill of the Black Tortoise Sect, a priceless treasure. Her little bit of money probably would not even fill the gaps between their teeth.

"How could this be..."

Black Tortoise Divine Pills were generally only useful to high-ranking Soul Masters. They were said to be capable of bringing the dead back to life.

It was like clearly having a cold, only for the doctor to tell you to go into intensive care for observation.

However, Jiang Nannan clearly did not suspect the doctor.

After all, Mother Jiang had visited every clinic in Black Tortoise City, and practically all of them had waved their hands repeatedly, unable to treat her.

"Don't think too much about it." Mother Jiang gently stroked Jiang Nannan's hair as she comforted her. "I'm already content to watch you grow up and become outstanding Soul Masters. Whether I live a few more years doesn't matter."

"..."

Jiang Nannan lightly bit her red lip, her eyes reddening.

"You'll be all right..."

After dinner.

Jiang Nannan helped Mother Jiang settle down to sleep, then came into the courtyard.

Seeing her younger brother sitting in the courtyard gazing at the moonlight, her beautiful eyes softened again. She walked over quietly. "What are you thinking about?"

"Sis, I'd like you to recommend me for admission to Shrek Academy," Lu Cheng said softly, not surprised in the least.

"Shrek Academy?" Jiang Nannan's expression stiffened, and she hesitated.

This silly little brother still hasn't given up that unrealistic idea.

"Shrek Academy's admission requirements are to be under twelve and above rank fifteen. Those are firm requirements. No one can change them. I'll help you..." Jiang Nannan said carefully.

"Then what if I've met them?"

A smile curled at the corners of Lu Cheng's mouth.

"What?"

Jiang Nannan froze.

"What if I've met them?"

Lu Cheng's gaze gradually turned solemn. A crimson curved bow slowly appeared in his palm. The surrounding temperature rose with the appearance of the fiery bow, and a fire cloud was reflected in Jiang Nannan's eyes, along with a flash of shock.

At the same time, two Soul Rings rose from beneath his feet.

"Sis, rank twenty-three at ten years old. Am I qualified?" Lu Cheng showed his white teeth, his smile particularly brilliant beneath the pitch-black night sky.

"You're qualified."

The corner of Jiang Nannan's eye twitched. Then she hurried over, clenched her fair little hand into a fist, and knocked Lu Cheng hard on the head.

Her gaze was dangerous. "So... why did you hide this from Mom and me for so long? I kept worrying about hurting your pride and didn't even dare show much of my strength in front of you."

"Hiss..."

Lu Cheng clutched his head, baring his teeth. "Because I was afraid you wouldn't believe what I said."

"What's there not to believe?" Jiang Nannan widened her beautiful eyes and glared fiercely at Lu Cheng.

"I mean the Black Tortoise Sect..." Lu Cheng rubbed his head and continued, "The Black Tortoise Sect has its eye on you. They want you to help their second young master, Xu Sanshi, awaken his Martial Soul, and have you become their second young madam, or a maid or concubine. That's why they set this trap for Mom."

"..."

The atmosphere abruptly fell silent.

A flash of astonishment and anger crossed Jiang Nannan's eyes. "Xiao Cheng, something this serious... isn't something you can say carelessly."

"I secretly heard it myself, from that steward surnamed Chen," Lu Cheng said helplessly.

"If you don't believe me, try taking Mom out of Black Tortoise City."

"..."

At this point, Jiang Nannan's gaze had already turned somewhat cold.

Because the Xu Clan's matriarch had indeed summoned her before, saying she wanted her to become Xu Sanshi's bedchamber maid. And half a year ago, she had written Lu Cheng a letter asking him to bring Mother Jiang to Shrek City, but the several letters she sent had all come to nothing.

It was probably just as Lu Cheng had said. Mother Jiang was the vulnerable point the Xu Clan was targeting to get at her.

"Xu Sanshi..."

Jiang Nannan clenched her delicate fists, anger surging in her eyes.

She had seen that fellow at Shrek Academy, but the two had had little contact.

She had never imagined...

"Then what do we do?"

Jiang Nannan clenched her teeth and looked toward Lu Cheng somewhat helplessly.

If they were ordinary nobles, she might have been able to intimidate them with her status as a Shrek Academy Outer Court student. But the other side was the Black Tortoise Sect, a true colossus.

Probably only the dean of the Martial Soul Department would have the standing to break this deadlock.

But with the girl's status and position, that would probably be very difficult...