It was less than half an hour before the entrance door to his aunt's house opened. Windblown and dusty, his aunt, Wang Qi, walked in, her eyes frantically searching the living room. Her face relaxed only after she saw that both children were there.
"Mom—" Song Jia hurriedly dropped the remote control and opened her arms to hug Wang Qi.
"Mom, I missed you so much! Mom, let me tell you, today you almost lost your precious baby! If it weren't for Wang Lan, everyone on our bus would have died. Wang Lan was the Knight who saved this princess, so I didn't argue with him today."
Wang Lan, sitting on the sofa, felt the corners of his mouth twitch slightly. During the bus ride, being called 'brother' felt so satisfying, yet not even two hours after getting home, she's back to calling me Wang Lan directly. This girl... I really shouldn't have been nice to her.
"Let Mom have a look, are you hurt anywhere? I was scared out of my wits when I got the call in Han City. I got off the plane, called to find out you were at the military hospital, and rushed over, only to learn that both of you had already gone home... It's good that you're fine. It's good that you're fine."
Wang Qi, who always appeared so strong, was indeed thoroughly frightened. These two children were her only relatives in the world. If something had truly happened to them, she wouldn't have known what to do.
"You watch TV for a bit; I want to talk to your brother." Wang Qi hugged Song Jia tightly and kissed her twice before standing up and waving towards Wang Lan. "Lan, come here for a second."
Wang Lan obediently walked over, following Wang Qi to the balcony. "Auntie!"
"When did you awaken?" Wang Qi stared intently into Wang Lan's eyes. "Awakening is such a big deal, how could you not tell me?"
"I just awakened yesterday."
"Yesterday? How did it happen? Tell me the details." Wang Qi's eyes suddenly brightened. Apart from being Song Jia's mother and Wang Lan's aunt, she was also the CEO of Jiayi Biotechnology Company and a top genetic biologist in Jade Country.
"It was yesterday when the final exam results were handed out. I scored four hundred sixty points, again the top scorer in the city. I got so happy, so excited, that I awakened."
If word of this got out, countless parents might whip their children to death. Listen to this—do well on an exam, get excited, and awaken a Star Martial Warrior's talent? Sleep? Play games? Dream on! Get up and study all night, you hear me!
Then, countless hardworking students would crowdfund to sacrifice the 'Study God' to the heavens. A creature like that shouldn't be allowed to live!
"TSK TSK TSK..." His aunt gave Wang Lan an appraising look from head to toe. "The Soul Resonance couldn't trigger your Star Martial Warrior talent, but a single exam gets you excited enough to awaken? Now I'm wondering if there's a flaw in the Soul Resonance Technology, or if there's something special about you."
His aunt's gaze was frightening. Especially when she licked the corner of her mouth with her tongue... it makes me want to turn and run. She's a total Orochimaru!
"Auntie... I think I should be normal..."
"It's not about what you think; it's about what I think. My research into biological gene coding just encountered some problems..."
"Auntie, I suddenly remembered I have something to do at home. I'll take my leave now, goodbye!"
"Stop right there! You're staying here tonight!" his aunt commanded in an undeniable tone.
"Oh."
"Then I'll go play with Jiajia," Wang Lan smiled and turned to leave.
Wang Qi folded her arms, muttering to herself regardless of whether Wang Lan heard, "Do well on an exam, get excited, and awaken? Who's he trying to fool? From the first grade, when has he not done well? Every time it's either a perfect score or top of the class. Is he still excited by that? He'd probably only get excited if he flunked!"
Mrs. Feng had gone back to her hometown, and Wang Qi couldn't cook. Fortunately, there was something in this world called takeout. Wang Qi ordered more than a dozen dishes from a local restaurant to be delivered, knowing the appetite of a newly awakened Star Martial Warrior.
When she was a child, her sister Wang Ling had performed a feat in front of Wang Qi: devouring a pig in three bites. Wang Qi had been so frightened that she didn't dare sleep in the same bed as Wang Ling for half a month, fearing she would wake up in the middle of the night to see a pair of glowing green eyes, and then be eaten in three bites herself.
Thinking of her sister Wang Ling, Wang Qi's eyes darkened slightly. What had seemed like ordinary life back then could now only be relived in memories.
After dinner and a bath, Wang Lan returned to his room to look up the process for applying for a Star Martial Badge online. Each Star Martial Warrior had to independently apply for a Star Martial Warrior ID, and their previous ID would be canceled and voided.
"Lan, come here a moment," Wang Qi, dressed in a cool silk nightgown, knocked on Wang Lan's door.
"Okay."
Wang Lan stood up, opened the door, and followed Wang Qi. His aunt had also just showered; her hair was still damp. Nearing forty, Wang Qi bore no traces of age.
She was beautiful, mature, and charming. With memories and a soul from two lifetimes, Wang Lan naturally knew how to appreciate her beauty. But appreciation was just that. His only curiosity was why his aunt hadn't found another boyfriend over the years.
The two of them went out to the balcony, leaning on the railing and looking at the distant city lights, both silent. Wang Qi in this pose was particularly alluring, and Wang Lan had to avert his gaze to the distance.
"How long has Sister been gone?" Wang Qi suddenly asked softly.
"Seven years and eight months," Wang Lan replied without a second's hesitation.
"Nearly eight years, huh... Back then, you were only this tall..." His aunt gestured to a height and smiled. "You children are more thoughtful than adults sometimes. Such a big thing happened, and you didn't even make a fuss. If I hadn't heard you crying those nights, I would have thought you were heartless."
"I wanted to cry too, but Mom said crying is a sign of weakness, and she didn't want to raise a good-for-nothing."
"Sister might still be alive," Wang Qi suddenly said, turning to look at Wang Lan.
What surprised her, however, was the lack of any change in Wang Lan's expression. There was only a faint smile at the corner of his lips, from which Wang Qi read a clear meaning—Just as I thought!
"You knew all along?" Wang Qi asked in a low voice.
"Auntie, I am, after all, the guy known as the 'Study God' by a hundred thousand elementary school students. Please, don't doubt my intelligence, okay? If Mom really died on a mission, why did you insist on telling me about her fate only after I graduated from junior high?
"Before junior high graduation, there's a Soul Resonance ceremony. Therefore, the answer you'd give me had two possibilities. Which one you told me depended on whether I could awaken the Star Martial Warrior talent.
"Since you told me Mom died on a mission, then the other answer must be that she's still alive, right?"
"What a smart child," Wang Qi sighed softly. "However, I'm also not sure if your mother is still alive. She's just missing—has been for nearly eight years. Everything about your mother is highly classified. Even I can't inquire or ask about it. So... her whereabouts are up to you to investigate.
"Once you become a Star Martial Warrior, you'll have the chance to access these secrets. All I know is that your mother had an incredibly important mission back then, and then she never returned."
"Okay, I will," Wang Lan nodded.
"Do you understand your mother well?" Wang Qi suddenly smiled and asked.
"What do you mean? She's my mom. How could I not understand her?"
"You know she's a Star Martial Warrior, but do you know what level of Star Martial Warrior she was?"
"That..." Wang Lan shook his head; he honestly didn't know. His mother was very strict with her belongings and never allowed Wang Lan to go through them. Moreover, she never brought anything work-related home, including her Star Martial Badge, work identification, or even her uniform and combat suit.
Every time Wang Ling came home, she was dressed like a professional woman from the city. She spent at least two hundred days a year away on missions. The only thing he knew was that his mom was very stern and had a very dominant personality.
"Among the Star Martial Warriors of Jade Country, the most elite ones all have titles. And among these titled Star Martial Warriors, the Five Elders and Five Emperors are the most famous, and they are the pillars of Jade Country's international standing.
"You should know about the Five Elders. They are five Elders who hold immense prestige among Star Martial Warriors, and their influence can change the entire Star Martial Art landscape of Jade Country.
"The Five Emperors are the five individuals with the highest combat capabilities in Jade Country: the Eastern Azure Emperor, the Southern Flame Emperor, the Western White Emperor, the Northern Nether Emperor, and the Central Mysterious Emperor. Your mother, my sister Wang Ling, held the title of Southern Flame Emperor."
Wang Lan's eyes contracted violently. On his usually calm face, an expression of utter astonishment finally appeared.
The person with the absolute top fighting power in Jade Country... the very, very top... person...
This was something Wang Lan couldn't bring himself to believe, no matter what. Wang Ling had only been thirty when she disappeared. Although the peak age for Star Martial Warriors was indeed between thirty and forty, Wang Lan still found it incredible that his mother was among the strongest Star Martial Warriors in Jade Country.
A woman, an ordinary woman.
Without family backing, resources, connections, or an Inborn Talent of the Bloodline, how did she achieve such heights at that age?
It's simply impossible! Wang Lan thought.
Two lifetimes of experience told him this wasn't an era just after a war, where many empty spaces allowed people to rise arbitrarily. The social structure was now tightly knit, wealth and resources highly concentrated. High-ranking families don't have impoverished scholars among them, and low-ranking families don't produce nobles.
A commoner genius could rise, could climb high—Wang Lan believed that. But for a commoner genius to climb to the very pinnacle in a short time through sheer effort alone was nearly impossible.
You're a genius, but aren't others? You work hard, but don't those from Star Martial Warrior families also work hard? The difference in talent among top geniuses is limited, and so is the difference in effort. What truly widens the gap is resources—wealth. Unless you're such a genius that you can disregard resources and wealth entirely... Was Mom truly a genius to that extent?
"Hard to believe, isn't it?" Wang Qi asked with a smile.
"Not exactly, just a bit unexpected. If Mom was the Southern Flame Emperor, then her disappearance must have been a huge deal for Jade Country, right? Why wasn't there any news about it back then?"
"How could the country possibly report such a thing? I can even tell you that in the eyes of foreign countries, the Flame Emperor is merely on a certain mission, or perhaps she's a high-ranking official in our country, maybe even working at the Ministry of Defense. In the entire world, probably no more than a hundred people know about your mother's disappearance."
"'True,' Wang Lan mused. 'But still, Mom was so incredible, yet she left me practically nothing... Not a single Star Martial Skill at home, not even a Soul Bead. Didn't she know how to save for the family?'"
"Didn't she leave you three office buildings in the CBD? Plus a commercial plaza in Modu City, and two in the Imperial Capital."
"'Money is an external possession. What's the use of having more? I mean Star Martial Skills, secret techniques...'"
"Hmph! If your mother had really left you such things, do you think you'd still be alive? You'd have been sliced into eighteen pieces long ago!"
So that's how it is... Wang Lan instantly understood, but still felt it was a pity. With such an incredible mom, it's a shame she didn't leave any real inheritance for her son.
Wang Lan sighed softly.
"However, your mother did leave you something," Wang Qi said, turning to point at a box on the balcony coffee table. "Your mom entrusted this to me before she left. She said she didn't know when she'd be back, and if she hadn't returned after a few years, and you had awakened your Star Martial Warrior talent, then I was to give it to you."