"Sparring commission?"
Xue Jing's eyes revealed confusion.
Zhu Shanying nodded, her bright and lively eyes sparkling as if they were constantly emitting little stars.
"The client is also a martial artist, who became curious about you after watching the news reports, and wants to have a bout with you."
"The reward is five hundred thousand, you know."
The girl chuckled.
After some thought, Xue Jing nodded and said, "Okay then."
Since it was this kind of easy job, he naturally wouldn't refuse.
Although it was a little strange to pay five hundred thousand just for a sparring session—it seemed too much—the spending habits of the wealthy are different from ordinary people. Perhaps for the client, this expense was quite normal.
Zhu Shanying hummed with a smile, "The client requests the time to be tomorrow noon, and as for the location, they'll call you when it's time."
Xue Jing nodded to show he understood.
After discussing the formalities, Xue Jing, seeing that Zhu Shanying had no intention of leaving, thought for a moment and asked:
"Sister Zhu, how come you seem to have so much free time every day?"
Zhu Shanying raised her embroidered eyebrows, walked up to Xue Jing, stood on her tiptoes, stretched out both of her jade hands, and pinched his cheeks on both sides:
"Little junior brother, are you implying that sister has too much leisure time? Are you fed up with sister bothering you?"
Xue Jing helplessly said, "That's not what I meant."
He moved away Zhu Shanying's hands, which were pinching his cheeks, "All the other senior brothers and sisters are so busy completing commissions that they're on their feet all day... I was just curious."
Zhu Shanying withdrew her hands, folded them behind her back, and with a tilt of her head, she huffed lightly, "Sister has a superpower, actually."
Hmm?
Xue Jing glanced at her, curious, "What superpower?"
"Super rich!"
Zhu Shanying said playfully.
Xue Jing: "..."
"What do you think, are you tempted? I'm a super-rich lady, way beyond your imagination rich. If you could win me over, you wouldn't need to worry about money for the rest of your life."
The girl said with a smile, as if joking.
She had thought that her little junior brother would be somewhat moved, and then she could tease him a bit, taking a small revenge for the two times he had thrown her over his shoulder.
However, contrary to the girl's expectations, Xue Jing shook his head with an unchanged expression.
He stretched out his right hand and clenched it into a fist.
"Money, power, fame... These external things, which can be lost at any time, are ultimately just inferior substitutes for strength."
"For a strong person who possesses great power, they are nothing more than stones that can be found everywhere, so easily grasped that they are discarded without a care."
"If I were to be with sister for the sake of money, then the day I become someone who regards money as mere stones, sister will also become just a stone to me—something I can discard without a second thought."
Xue Jing spoke in his usual tone.
He really didn't care too much about money at the moment.
Of course, the main reason was that he had just made twenty million. He was in sage mode, not desperately in need of money anymore, which naturally made him indifferent and allowed him to say such pretentious words.
"..." Zhu Shanying seemed spellbound, staring blankly at Xue Jing.
After a long while, she finally sighed softly, with a complex expression on her pretty face, she murmured quietly, "I was just joking."
[Someone has developed a lot of favorability towards you, Charm Art Experience Points +231]
[Charm Art has been upgraded to Lv6 (125/3000)]
Xue Jing saw the message that popped up on the panel but remained composed.
Zhu Shanying didn't realize her complex emotions were exposed by the panel; she looked at Xue Jing's face with some puzzlement.
Somehow, junior brother... seemed even more handsome.
Keeping her thoughts to herself, the girl resumed her usual expression and walked to the center of the training room, beckoning to Xue Jing.
"Little junior brother, it's been a while since we've sparred. Let's have a couple of rounds."
Xue Jing limbered up and walked forward, laughing while he did, "Thanks for the honor, fifty thousand."
Zhu Shanying's eyes widened slightly, "Didn't you say that money is just a stone that can be casually thrown away?"
"That's for the future... I'm worth a lot right now. The client spent five hundred thousand to book me. As a self-proclaimed super-rich lady, surely you can't offer less than others, right?"
Xue Jing's eyes were full of teasing mirth.
Zhu Shanying glared at him, "I don't care, I'm your senior sister, and I get freebies!"
After saying that, she immediately moved in close and threw a punch at Xue Jing.
Two minutes later.
"Bang—"
Zhu Shanying, who had once again been thrown over the shoulder and smashed onto the ground, cupped her face with both hands, curling into a ball.
She went into a self-imposed isolation.
...
Qingcheng University, Library, Seventh Floor.
In the quaint and old attic filled with a sense of historical depth, under the dim glow of a large lamp, the girl sitting in the wooden chair was flipping through a book, reading quietly.
Her posture was straight, her attire simple, her face without makeup but still charming, it formed an elegant picture amidst the old attic.
At that moment, a breeze that seemed out of place in the closed attic stirred, causing the girl's ponytail to sway gently.
A woman with short hair dressed in a black form-fitting tactical suit appeared abruptly in the attic.
She appeared to be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight, of average looks with a blade-like scar at the corner of her eye. On her tactical suit—at the elbow, wrist, knee, ankle, waist... all the easily accessible places—were all sorts of sharp blades of different shapes.
And on the chest of her tactical suit was an emblem: a pair of fully spread white wings with a few feathers falling around it, looking quite exquisite.
Wu Youqing didn't seem surprised by the visitor; she calmly closed her book and from a hidden compartment next to her, she took out various tea utensils and a "GOD-1567·Sweet Water Jug."
Without a word, she silently brewed tea with the GOD-1567 and pushed one of the cups towards the seat opposite her.
The short-haired woman approached, sat down on the wooden chair, picked up the cup of tea, took a sip, and frowned slightly:
"What an odd flavor."
As Wu Youqing stirred her teacup with a spoon, she spoke, "Speak, what brings you here?"
The short-haired woman seemingly pulled an obsidian-like card out of nowhere, showed it to Wu Youqing, and began:
"Miss Wu, I am the captain of the 838 squad of the White Crow Task Force, which belongs to the Special Duty Department under the Emergency Management Special Agency for Abnormal Disasters, codename 'Void Blade.'
Wu Youqing sighed, "You don't have to list all that, I can't remember it, just get to the point."
Void Blade's expression didn't change as she said, "The procedure requires it."
"Miss Wu, Xue Jing from the C-level Custodians at your Divine Relic Custodian Company is related to a case we are currently investigating. We are going to make contact, and I'm here to inform you of this."
Wu Youqing furrowed her brows, thinking of the news she'd seen that morning, she spoke up:
"Is it because of the incident reported in the news?"
Void Blade stood up and shook her head, "I can't answer that, but you have been notified, so now I will—"
"Stop." Wu Youqing's tone was cold as she spoke.
Her light purple eyes seemed to be faintly glowing, their color deepening slightly.
"Go ahead and make contact, investigate by all means, as it's all procedural. If he agrees to cooperate in whatever you need, I won't intervene."
But remember, don't let any of those corrupt practices of the White Crow influence him."
"If I find out something has happened to him, and it's due to your actions—"
"Trust me, even if you have a member of the Institution Management Committee backing you up, they can't withstand the fury of the Wu Family."
"..." Void Blade's expression remained unchanged, as if she didn't register Wu Youqing's threat.
The involuntary cold sweat on her forehead, however, betrayed her inner turmoil.
"Do you understand?" Wu Youqing spoke softly.
"...I understand." Void Blade nodded.
The breeze blew by, and the short-haired woman in the black tactical suit disappeared within the attic.
Wu Youqing pondered for a moment, chin in hand, then took out her phone, opened the interface, and went to her contacts.
She scrolled through, finding the number labeled 'Xue Jing,' hovered over the 'call' button.
The girl seemed to think of something, and ultimately chose not to make the call.
She exited the contacts, scrolled through her screen, and opened a video.
It was a low-resolution surveillance video, on a decrepit old street you could vaguely make out two figures fighting.
The last frame showed one of the figures enshrouded in dark flames, grasping the other person's head and pouring the flames into their mouth.
"Strange ability," the girl muttered to herself.
"He has many mysteries... Letting the White Crow come into contact with him may not be a bad thing after all."
...
The next day at noon, Xue Jing was quietly practicing Coiling Dragon Art in the training room.
Armor Shaking Skill and Coiling Dragon Art, one dynamic, one static, one training Dragon Force, the other cultivating Dragon Qi, were complementary and needed to be practiced concurrently to progress evenly.
His physical condition had improved leaps and bounds from before, and the burden of practicing Coiling Dragon Art was easily bearable for him now. He could even consider maintaining the posture of Coiling Dragon Art for twenty-four hours straight as a challenge.
However, with martial arts practice, there is such a thing as too much; a balance between work and rest was necessary. Practicing Coiling Dragon Art for an hour or two each day was sufficient—any longer and emotional fluctuations would become erratic, greatly reducing the efficiency of the practice.
"You have completed a session of Coiling Dragon Art Posture Skills practice. Fitness Experience Points +228"
"...Hidden Dragon Energy Experience Points +217"
"...Meditative Visualization Experience Points +116"
Shortly after he had finished practicing Coiling Dragon Art, his phone on the solid wood floor began to vibrate and ring.
Xue Jing picked up the phone and answered the call.
"Yes, it's me."
"..."
"No problem, I'm available now."
"..."
"Alright, I'll be right there."
It was the caller who wanted him to be a sparring partner.
After hanging up, Xue Jing first went to the bathroom to take a shower and change clothes. Then he left the Hidden Dragon Dojo and hailed a taxi.
"Driver, please take me to Mufeng Street in the North City District..."
After getting into the car, Xue Jing gave the driver the address provided by the client.
"Alright, sit tight," the driver replied cheerfully, spinning the wheel in a sharp turn.
The car sped off toward the North City District.
...
(Seeking monthly votes...)