"Classmate Bai?"
Fang Xing greeted politely, already knowing that this "Bai" girl was here for the two of them.
"I… I'm sorry, I hit too hard just now."
Bai Lianyi's eyes were warm and moist, her voice carrying a faint tremor, like a little girl admitting a mistake. Coupled with her natural grace, she gave off a strangely disarming air — even Liu Wei felt a twinge of pity and confusion.
Back at the grand Jiang Residence, had they actually seen her that day, or was it someone else?
"Not at all, not at all — in sparring matches, a few injuries are inevitable…"
Liu Wei hurried to say, "Why would I blame you for that?"
"That's good to hear."
Bai Lianyi pulled an old frog-shaped coin purse from her coat, fished out a campus card, and handed it over. "Please, let me cover the medical costs this time. Make sure you put it on my account…"
Warm sunlight filtered through the tree canopy, falling across her face, giving it a strange air of resolve and purity.
"You think… maybe we misunderstood her?"
Leaving the infirmary, Liu Wei's expression turned pensive. "I just snuck a glance — she doesn't have much in her account either…"
Kid, that's because your ranking's too low to even imagine… Fang Xing grumbled inwardly before answering seriously, "Whether we did or not, what's it got to do with us? It's not like we spread any rumors."
"Yeah… lucky for us."
Liu Wei carefully tucked the campus card away. "I need to return this to her as soon as possible…"
He was already picturing Bai Lianyi working part-time, barely scraping together enough for food.
Fang Xing watched silently, utterly speechless.
Ah, the scent of youth… Even when it's dumb, even when it's awkward… it's still youth.
Not that Liu Wei has any chance with her, so whatever…
He had a gut feeling Bai Lianyi's visit wasn't malicious — just a performance.
Back at the Happy Garden Community, a few more packages arrived.
"Hmm… not bad…"
Fang Xing looked at the selfie stick in his hand, and the drone sitting beside it, nodding with satisfaction.
With these ready, plus an air quality monitor and some weapons, he could almost cobble together a "monkey version" of otherworld exploration gear.
As for gravity detectors and other gadgets… the school's training rooms have them. If I can borrow some, I'll save a ton…
Since they were training future interstellar warriors — fighters expected to face hostile environments on alien worlds — Yucai High School naturally offered specialized alien combat courses.
Fang Xing figured that even in another world, following the textbook process should be mostly safe.
A few days later — Happy Garden Community, Training Room
Wearing casual clothes, Fang Xing assumed the Great Dragon Stance, sweat pouring down like rain.
"Fifty-nine minutes…"
"Sixty minutes!"
"Time's up!"
He dropped heavily to the floor, breathing hard. "So… an hour a day in Great Dragon Stance really is my limit? But… limits are meant to be broken."
Recently, he'd been pushing himself repeatedly — now, instead of two 30-minute sets, he could last a full 60 minutes in one go.
It wasn't that he couldn't go longer, but pushing further would clearly hurt his body, doing more harm than good.
"Teacher Xia Long was right. For most students, one hour of stance training a day is the limit…"
He could push harder, sure — but not at the cost of his health.
After catching his breath, he headed to the bathroom, washed up, changed into clean clothes, and slumped into a chair in the most comfortable position possible. Then he pulled up his status panel:
Name: Fang XingAge: 16Occupation: Martial ArtistFirst Realm: Skin & Flesh (Skin Refinement: 23/100)Military Fist, Twelve Forms: 60/100 (Beginner)Great Dragon Stance: 70/100 (Beginner)Gate of All Worlds: 9/100 (Locating…)
"It's been nine days since the crossing…"
"From my observations, without Teacher Xia Long's guidance or other help, I can raise my Great Dragon Stance skill by about one point every three days."
"As for the Military Fist forms, having guidance makes a clear difference — the progress is faster."
"The skin-refining process speeds up as my stance improves, but right now, my refinement level is too low to make a real difference…"
"At this pace, in three months, I might raise my stance and fistwork to the next tier — but still fail to break through to the next martial realm. I'd be stuck at basic Skin Refinement, without even reaching Flesh Refinement."
If it was only Skin Refinement, he wouldn't be much stronger than a normal person.
The thought left him irritated.
Damn it…
Why am I even working this hard?
I could just coast through three years of high school…
The other world's dangerous. Why risk it?
Messy thoughts swirled, and he took a moment to examine them.
Guess I'm still carrying some confusion, fear, and other negative emotions from just after I crossed over…
After the little self-analysis, he slipped on his holo-glasses.
When in doubt, play two rounds of games first.
"Bro, do you ever dodge?"
"What are you, like, ten?"
"This game's busted — might as well play something R-rated…"
After venting, he felt much better — until a text popped up:
Dear Mr. Fang Xing, your current account balance is 754.23 Starcoins.
"…Crap. I'm broke."
The purchases for a basic nano-protective suit, drone, and other gear had drained his already thin wallet.
"Guess I'll have to work. Again."
"Worked my butt off in my last life, now I have to work after crossing worlds? What's the point of reincarnating then?"
Just then, a comm request came in.
"Ah Xing, we've got a customer. On the clock!"
Liu Wei's hologram popped up.
"Got it. Be right there."
Fang Xing grabbed a piece of bread and hurried out the door.
Greenwater Manor
"I want one versus ten!"
A brat barely eleven or twelve shouted arrogantly.
"Mhm. Wenwen's the best."
His mother, plain in looks but warm in demeanor, smiled in encouragement.
Man, I envy that…
Liu Wei shot Fang Xing a look.
Dad's not around much, so the kid's not well-trained… this is our chance.
Fang Xing gave a quick hand signal in reply.
Moments later, they faced off against the brat.
"Watch my Lightwave Punch!"
The kid threw a punch — didn't even reach the Bright Force level.
Seeing that, Fang Xing and Liu Wei relaxed — they'd found an easy client.
At least it wasn't another scam like last time with Gu Yun.
"Ah!"
Fang Xing took the first hit, yelped dramatically, and went flying.
Liu Wei stepped in, trading blows evenly with the kid…
Two hours later, they walked out, arms over each other's shoulders, both smiling.
"That young master was a breeze to handle… last time really was a scam."
Liu Wei still shuddered at the memory of Gu Yun. If all clients were like her, he'd have quit already.
Then he rubbed his shoulder, frowning suspiciously. "Ah Xing… why do I feel like you had it easier than me?"
"Simple. I wore a protective suit. Kids can't tell the difference."
"You cheating— wait, you bought a protective suit? Are you made of money?"
Liu Wei glared, then warned seriously, "You're not thinking of going down some shady path, right? In city bounty hunting, anyone below Third Realm is basically asking to die…"
"Don't talk nonsense." Fang Xing wasn't interested in this topic, and quickly shifted gears. "What about you? You've been hanging around Bai Lianyi a lot lately. What's going on?"
"We're just normal classmates."
Liu Wei's gaze was steady, expression open.
"Really? That girl's not simple — don't forget what we saw before…" Fang Xing reminded him.
"I'm sure she's not. And besides, for us cyborgs, grabbing every opportunity to move up is instinct."
In the interstellar era, messy personal lives weren't considered much of a problem.
Fang Xing studied him for a moment. He didn't seem lovesick, which only made it stranger.
Something's off… If Bai Lianyi's not what she seems, then this could be bad. Liu Wei getting close to her might not end well.
I'll have to remind him later.
That said, given their friendship level, a few reminders were all he'd offer — investigating her was out of the question. He had enough on his plate.
Time to focus on training…
On an education planet like Eagle Hatchling Star, the place wasn't 100% safe, but crime was relatively rare.
Fang Xing's past as an ordinary high schooler meant his connections were simple.
Low-key by nature and not one to cause trouble, he rarely attracted it either.
And so, a month slipped quietly by.
Yucai High School
Fang Xing's right arm shot forward in a fierce punch.
Boom!
It was as if a cannon had gone off in the air — nearby classmates jumped in shock.
"That… that's… the 'Priceless Cannon Blast'?!"
A classmate gawked. "Fang Xing, you've reached Minor Achievement with the Bow Stance Cannon Fist?"
"Just stumbled into the state, that's all…"
Fang Xing closed his eyes, as if trying to hold onto the feeling.
In truth, he knew it was permanent — now that he'd achieved the true Cannon Fist once, he could do it again at will.
Closing his eyes was just an excuse to check his status panel.
The others, after their initial surprise, quickly found a way to rationalize it.
After all, they'd seen his daily progress, and the Bow Stance Cannon Fist was his primary focus.
Reaching Minor Achievement now… well, it kind of made sense.
(End of Chapter)