Chapter Thirty-Five: I Can No Longer Defeat Him

"I'm home."
Before Xiao Nan even got out of the car at the door, he saw a small figure appear.
It was Xiao Bei.
The little girl was wearing a plastic apron, a small mask over her mouth, and wiped her brow with the back of her hand before sighing deeply and dumping a bag of things into the trash can not far from the door.
She mumbled under her breath, "Already an adult, but still so messy, can't even throw away his own trash. Really gives me so much to worry about. When I go to a top university in the imperial capital, who will take care of him?"
Xiao Nan flushed with embarrassment. He recognized those two bags—it really was the junk from his own room...
They were the rocks and wooden stakes he'd picked up from outside to test his strength. After repeated blows, they'd shattered into pieces and piled up in the corner.
These past two days, he'd been exploring the Divine Will Body Refinement method, testing his strength and sorting through memories, and hadn’t had time to clean up the room.
Thankfully, Xiong Bing didn’t know that the "messy one" she was talking about was him.
"Xiao Bei, didn't you go to school today? Why are you at home?" Xiao Nan hurriedly asked as he got out of the car.
He always found his little sister quite remarkable...
She could do everything.
Laundry, cooking, cleaning, and lately she’d even started helping out with preparing medicinal herbs.
According to their mother, the little girl was so efficient at the shop that she outperformed the hired help.
With her clever tongue, customers would unknowingly part with their money.
"Today was labor practice. The teacher told us to go plant vegetables on the outskirts of town. But I said Mom was too busy at home, so I had to come back and help..."
Xiao Bei answered casually, then suddenly frowned and asked suspiciously, "You didn’t skip class, did you? Xiao Nan, I’ve told you before, you’re not like me—you’ve got the college entrance exams coming soon. You can’t slack off."
"Alright, I didn’t skip class," Xiao Nan quickly interrupted her. The little girl’s mouth could rival Xiong Bing’s—once she got started, she wouldn’t stop.
And there was company present.
"Pfft..."
Beside them, Xiong Bing couldn’t hold back a laugh. "Your sister is quite something."
He got out of the car too, joining in the fun: "Xiao Nan passed the mental discipline assessment and has been preliminarily selected for the martial arts class. None of us have afternoon classes today, so we’re home early."
"Is he your classmate? He’s huge! How much does he have to eat to keep up that size?" Xiao Bei’s thoughts were on a completely different track. She stared at Xiong Bing, who stood nearly two meters tall, her mouth agape in astonishment.
"Uh..."
Xiong Bing scratched his head awkwardly.

"What are you talking about?" Xiao Nan laughed, ruffling the little girl’s yellow hair. "He’s tall and strong, full of vitality. That’s a good thing—don’t be so jumpy."
"You eat a lot too, but you’re still not growing. So skinny—how could I ever introduce any of my girlfriends to you?"
"Hahaha..."
Xiong Bing finally burst into hearty laughter.
"Is Mom home? I have good news to tell her so she won’t worry," Xiao Nan quickly changed the subject.
If he guessed right, Tan Qiuyi always kept a close eye on his grades. She usually didn’t ask—not wanting to add pressure.
"You passed the mental induction assessment? Really?" Only now did Xiao Bei realize what Xiong Bing had said, her tone incredulous.
"Of course! Here, the school even rewarded me with a Vitality Pill." Xiao Nan took out a small porcelain vial, opened it, and waved it before her eyes. "I came home early today to refine the pill, adjust to the increased vitality, and tomorrow I’ll have to compete in swordsmanship."
"Right, there’s still the martial skills assessment..." Xiao Bei sniffed the medicine, a hint of envy flickering in her eyes.
She grinned, a bit silly, "If you’re using the sword in tomorrow’s assessment, you’ll be just fine. Honestly, I was most worried about your mental discipline class, you know? Now that you’ve passed, Mom will be over the moon."
She patted her little chest, finally looking relieved.
"You have that much faith in Xiao Nan?" Xiong Bing asked in amazement, teasing.
"Of course! His swordsmanship has improved so much—I couldn’t beat him the other day... In terms of swordplay, I doubt anyone in your class can match him." The little girl nodded vigorously, full of confidence.
"..."
Xiong Bing’s face twitched as he beat a hasty retreat.
Beating a thirteen-year-old girl doesn’t mean his swordsmanship is top tier, does it?
"Hey, why are you standing outside? Xiao Nan, invite your classmate in! And help carry the gifts inside—don’t you have any sense...?"
Xiao Nan was both amused and exasperated. There weren’t any gifts—he was just giving me a ride. What are you thinking?
Xiong Bing was mortified, chuckling awkwardly. "Little Bei, I’ll visit next time! Today, you know, I’ve got to rush home and refine this Vitality Pill. No time, really, no time."
With that, he got in the car, started it up, and waved goodbye.
"That big guy," Xiao Bei muttered, shaking her head, as if lamenting his lack of social graces... Birds of a feather, really, just like Xiao Nan.
"Enough head-shaking."
Xiao Nan led her inside—she acted so grown-up, yet she was only thirteen.
...
Tan Qiuyi came running out to greet them, her face radiant yet tinged with anxiety, her voice trembling.

"You really passed the mental assessment?"
"As true as gold," Xiao Nan replied with a smile. "Mom, you can call Teacher Yang to double-check."
"Good, good..."
Tan Qiuyi was only asking for form’s sake; she hadn’t really doubted it.
Ever since she’d seen her son’s progress in swordsmanship, she had begun to hope—so this news was easy to accept. "If you get into a martial arts university, your father..."
At this, her expression darkened, and she quickly shook her head. "Aren’t you competing in swordsmanship tomorrow? Go and refine that Vitality Pill—it’ll give you more confidence.
If only I’d thought to get a few more of those pills—if your vitality were up to standard, you could even try for a top university."
Now that hope was within reach, Tan Qiuyi started regretting she hadn’t sold the house sooner.
She hadn’t held much hope for her son’s martial studies, so like most ordinary families, she’d never resolved to risk everything to support him.
"Don’t worry, Mom. I’m confident about my vitality—I won’t need to sell the house."
...
Yuanjiang First High School, Vanilla Pavilion.
It was close to noon. The weather was fine, and the breeze carried a hint of humidity and heat.
A woman, curvaceous and clad in a tailored black suit, stood quietly at the rail, gazing into the distance.
The wind ruffled her short hair, whipping it across half her face and lending her a mysterious allure.
Her eyes seemed perpetually half-closed, as if she were always smiling, or perhaps still drowsy from a late night.
At first glance, she seemed delicate and fragile, stirring pity in the beholder.
But Qin Shuang knew that this Teacher Tang Zhixuan could hardly be described as weak...
She was the martial arts instructor, teaching combat techniques to Classes Five and Six of the senior year. Her style was fierce and unyielding—nothing like a delicate woman.
Rumor had it that Teacher Tang’s skills actually surpassed even Principal Sun’s. Compared to the other two martial arts teachers, she was far stronger...
Though she never admitted it, Qin Shuang knew it was the truth.