Tang Fei only now discovered that Phoenix was seventeen years old, actually half a year older than himself.
An old cow eating tender grass...
Oh, but it hadn’t happened yet.
Thinking about it, Tang Fei felt even sadder.
"Will there be a lot of people then?" Tang Fei asked, "Should we wear something more formal?"
"There will be many people present," Phoenix worried Tang Fei didn’t like crowded places and explained, "Because the coming of age ceremony for each princess is organized by the Royal Family etiquette officers, they invite some children and officials’ children of similar ages to participate."
"I have requested the etiquette officer to keep my coming of age ceremony as simple and casual as possible. But, knowing their style of handling things... the ceremony will still probably have several hundred people."
"Even more than the number of people in our village," Tang Fei said.
It might be the most significant event recently, and which influential person wouldn’t want to witness the Empire Princess’s coming of age?
It wasn’t just an honor, but a symbol of status.
Imagine posting pictures with captions like: "Happy Birthday, Xiu Xue," "Happy Coming of Age, Empire Princess," "Little Princess can finally do what adults love to do"...
Countless people would likely come to give their likes and express their amazement.
Those ambitious for their careers would want to secure a spot for their children. If other children could attend and yours couldn’t, wouldn’t that reflect poorly on you?
If your competitor’s children could attend and your’s could not, others might think you don’t have as good connections as your competitor.
This event isn’t just a coming of age ceremony, it’s also a showcase of power.
So, as Phoenix said, even though she wanted a simple and casual event, it would still have hundreds of attendees.
This, despite strict controls on numbers by the Royal Family...
"As for the clothing, just come however you feel comfortable. If you’d like to dress more formally, that’s fine too, that suit you wore last time looked very handsome."
"Okay," Tang Fei nodded and said, "Would you like to take a look at my training room?"
Young boys like to show off their toys to young girls, and mature men to mature women.
"Changed it, have you?" Phoenix asked.
"Yes," Tang Fei replied, "I converted the basement wine cellar and AV room into a training room. I didn’t consult you yet... but I believe you would agree."
"Of course," Phoenix said decisively, "I told you, this courtyard is a gift for you to use freely, however you want to arrange it, just go by your preference."
She paused, then added, "By the way, you already have your identity confirmed in New Star, so I can transfer the courtyard’s ownership to your name. That would make you feel more at peace, wouldn’t it?"
"No need," Tang Fei said. "It doesn’t matter in whose name the property is, as long as Little Fatty and I have a place to live. Why make it complicated?"
"It’s not a hassle. I’ll just have someone handle it, and you’ll just need to cooperate with a Genetic Lock verification."
"Okay then," Tang Fei nodded.
He knew Phoenix meant well, transferring the house into his name for his peace of mind; it might also give her some peace.
Tang Fei brought Phoenix to the training room, where Phoenix picked up a long sword from the rack. With a few swift movements, the fierce Sword Energy left fresh cuts on the floor.
Phoenix walked over to the cuts and commented, "Though it’s not the top-tiered gold-infused material, it’s still first-grade... You’re now in the Upper Realm of Sword Energy Control; this training room is sufficient for you. When you advance further, you’ll need an even more robust and smarter training room."
"At what level would I need to change the training room?" Tang Fei asked.
Both excited and worried.
Excited that needing to upgrade the training room meant breaking through to a new level.
But worried because training facilities cost money, and currently, all his money was provided by Phoenix.
Twenty million star coins, which he thought would cover him and Little Fatty for life, were almost half gone after setting up the training room and buying some advanced weapons and tools.
No wonder they say martial arts cultivation is for the rich and powerful—how can ordinary families afford such expenses?
He heard that those genetic potions that help solidify foundations and instantly boost combat abilities are even more expensive, thankfully, he didn’t need them yet.
He didn’t know much about this area and would decide later whether to buy any.
"Wishlist? Grandmaster?"
"That still seems a long way off," Tang Fei said disheartened, "It sounds like it’s forever away."
"That might not be true," Phoenix said, squinting and smiling at Tang Fei, "I believe you can definitely make it. I have even more confidence in you than in myself."
She pointed to the dense network of sword and blade marks on the training room floor, saying, "These are the best proof."
Phoenix was amazed by the marks on the floor of the training room.
Because she knew better than anyone that there was no training room in the basement of this house before—it was something he had just recently installed.
But in this brief time, the floor of the Training Room had already been sliced into this state by the Sword Energy.
It shows how desperately and diligently Tang Fei had been working during this period.
"Did I put too much pressure on him?"
"Or has he been silently striving, wanting to stand closer to me?"
Thinking about how she had still been pushing Tang Fei away, Phoenix felt somewhat uncomfortable.
Tang Fei gave an embarrassed smile as if his feelings had been pierced by Phoenix, saying, "Strength is the foundation of survival. So, I’ve been a bit more diligent lately..."
"What can I do to help you?" Phoenix asked.
Tang Fei was trying hard, and Phoenix also wanted to do something to help Tang Fei in his efforts.
"No need," Tang Fei shook his head and said, "Ran Ran Teacher has been very kind to me and even custom-made a special training plan based on my actual situation. My recent promotion to higher Sword Energy is also closely related to her efforts."
"Ran Ran Teacher... really is a good teacher," Phoenix praised.
Although she knew well enough that Tang Fei and Ran Ran Teacher maintained a professional relationship, and there was nothing personal between them.
Behind every successful man there has to be an even more successful woman. Thinking that Tang Fei’s improvements were due to another woman’s help and not her own, Phoenix felt a tiny bit jealous...
Well, just a little bit.
"Indeed, Ran Ran Teacher is especially good. She supervises by my side every day, extremely responsible. Whenever I can’t hold on, she is there to cheer me on, and sometimes she trains alongside me," Tang Fei, the straightforward man, agreed.
Stepping out from the Training Room, Phoenix looked at Tang Fei and Little Fatty and asked, "Are you going to school? I can give you a ride."
Tang Fei declined, saying, "You go ahead; we’ll drive over after eating."
"Alright," Phoenix said.
She had wanted to keep some distance from Tang Fei intentionally, but when Tang Fei truly maintained that distance, she felt a certain indescribable sense of loss.
After Phoenix left, Little Fatty, noticing the card in Tang Fei’s hand, said, "Wow, this card looks classy... Brother, what is a coming-of-age ceremony?"
"A coming-of-age ceremony is a special birthday celebration," Tang Fei explained. "It’s a party to tell everyone that you’ve become an adult."
"Oh," Little Fatty nodded and then asked, "Why do you need to tell others when you’ve become an adult? Should we also hold a coming-of-age party when we’re adults?"
"We’re not suited for that," Tang Fei said.
Everyone can have a coming-of-age ceremony, but he and Little Fatty didn’t need one...
Phoenix’s coming-of-age ceremony sent shockwaves through the higher echelons of the Phoenix Empire.
If he and Little Fatty held a ceremony, probably the only guests would be each other... Maybe Ran Ran Teacher would come?
"That’s good..." Little Fatty visibly let out a sigh of relief, as if holding a coming-of-age ceremony was an extremely excruciating ordeal.
"Don’t worry, we won’t have that problem," Tang Fei consoled. "That’s something only the wealthy and influential would bother with."
"Right. Brother, do you want some pastries? The ones Sister Phoenix brought are really tasty," Little Fatty said.
Tang Fei shook his head, smiling, "I’m full, you eat them. They’re best eaten fresh; they won’t taste good if left for too long."
"Okay," Little Fatty agreed.
While stuffing buns into his mouth, Little Fatty blurted out, "Bro, did you and Sister Phoenix have a fight?"
"Not at all," Tang Fei replied. "Why do you think we had a fight?"
"I feel that both of you are acting a bit weird..." Little Fatty said. "Sister Phoenix is acting weird, and so are you. But I can’t pinpoint what’s wrong... I feel like you two aren’t as close as before. Not as close as when we were on Blue Star."
Tang Fei looked at Little Fatty in surprise, not expecting him to be so perceptive, and said, "How were we close back then? We just did business with her... She is my business partner."
"No," Little Fatty shook his head, "Back then, you cared a lot about Sister Phoenix, and she cared a lot about you. Now, both of you... are trying not to care about each other, but somehow you still do."
"Where did you see me caring?" Tang Fei said irritably.
"Sister Phoenix’s car drove off far away, and you were still standing at the door watching."
"Bro, it’s Sister Phoenix’s birthday, should we give her a gift?"
"Yes," Tang Fei replied.
"What should we give her?"
"What do you want to give?" Tang Fei asked curiously, looking at Little Fatty.
"I want to give her big brother."