One month later—
"Tang San, haven't we caught all the rabbits in the back mountain by now?" Suifeng asked helplessly.
"Rabbits reproduce very quickly," Tang San replied, eyes scanning the surroundings. "They can birth a whole litter at a time. The two of us won't wipe them out."
Suifeng stared wordlessly at the sky. It's been a whole month. A full month of daily training, and on top of that, helping Tang San catch rabbits… No wonder he got so close with Xiao Wu later—he's been bonded to rabbits since childhood!
The two continued searching deeper into the back mountain.
Suifeng tilted his head, listening. The wind had already whispered to him the surrounding movements.
He turned to Tang San. "Straight ahead, behind that big tree—there's a rabbit."
Tang San immediately activated Ghost Shadow Perplexing Step, and his eyes flashed violet—it was clear he had engaged Purple Demon Eye.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
Three pebbles flew out in a triangle formation, zeroing in on the hapless rabbit. There was nowhere to run.
The stones struck. The rabbit's plump body slammed into the tree and then slowly collapsed to the ground.
If that rabbit could speak, it would've cursed: I may not be human, but you're the real bastard. You used your sect's secret techniques on a rabbit!
"Clap, clap, clap."
Suifeng applauded from the side. "You've gotten good at catching rabbits."
Tang San flushed slightly with embarrassment. It didn't feel like something to be proud of. If the Tang Sect's elders found out I used three of our secret techniques to hunt rabbits, would they disown me?
"Ahem… it's nothing."
"You're just going to keep getting better and better at catching rabbits," Suifeng teased with a smirk.
Tang San thought he was just talking about catching more rabbits for his father, so he didn't dwell on it. Looking up at the sky, he said, "It's getting late. Let's head back."
"Yeah, let's go," Suifeng replied casually.
They walked side by side, and the setting sun stretched their shadows long across the ground.
"Thanks, Xiaofeng, for helping me catch rabbits all this time," Tang San said sincerely.
"Shut up. I was just training my Wind Whisper Technique—don't flatter yourself."
"You jerk, I was starting to get touched."
"Gross. Getting emotional over that?"
Their playful voices echoed into the distance.
Back home, Tang San skillfully completed the household chores. As a proper domestic little master, he soon had dinner ready—braised rabbit again.
"Dad, dinner's ready!" he called.
"Mm." Tang Hao responded weakly.
Sitting down at the table, Tang Hao looked at the food and forced a smile.
Rabbit again?
It's been a full month of eating rabbit!!
He silently cursed in his heart.
"Dad, why aren't you eating? Come on, try it!" Tang San said cheerfully. Seeing his father hadn't picked up his chopsticks, he sweetly placed a piece of rabbit meat in his bowl.
"Mm." Tang Hao forced himself to take a bite, then quickly downed a bowl of porridge. "You eat. I'm full."
He stood up abruptly and headed back into the room, his steps a bit hurried.
Tang San looked confused… then had a realization.
So… Father's trying to save the food for me? But he's too proud to say it out loud, so he pretends he's not hungry.
He stared at Tang Hao's strong, retreating, eyes filled with emotion.
Meanwhile, in Tang Hao's heart was only one sentence:
"Damn it all, I hate rabbit meat!!!"
No matter how good it is, eating the same thing for a whole month—anyone would be sick of it. And it's not like the recipe even changes!
Elsewhere, Suifeng had once again bathed, changed clothes, washed his hands, and burned incense. Yes, it was that time again—the monthly system lottery draw.
"System, start the draw."
[Acknowledged.]
The roulette wheel in his mind began to spin rapidly. This time, Suifeng kept his focus on it, not letting his mind wander.
"Skill, skill, equipment would be good too! Pet—oh yes, give me something random like a blue dragon or white tiger!" Suifeng looked like a gambler, eyes glued to the spinning wheel.
Finally, the pointer stopped—on 'Random'.
Suifeng frowned. "System, what exactly does 'Random' mean?"
[Random means anything is possible.]
"Wow, what a slogan. You quoting ad copy at me now?"
[The literal meaning: it could be a person, or it could be a hair. Get it now?]
"...Yeah, I get it. But that example was… pretty crude."
[Blame your low IQ. Anyway, the item has been delivered to your system inventory. Please check.]
Suifeng couldn't be bothered to argue with the knockoff system. He opened the inventory.
Hm?
It was a card labeled "Inventory Expansion Slot."
"System, what does this card do?"
[┑(￣Д￣)┍ Literally what it says. Just click it. Seriously, I don't want to answer these kinds of questions anymore.]
"How are you allowed to use emojis but I'm not?"
[<(￣︶￣)↗[Scram!]]
"..."
Ignoring the broken system, Suifeng clicked the card.
Suddenly, his inventory expanded from 10 slots to 20.
He summed up this draw: not great, but not terrible either.
Ten slots had been enough for now, but in the future, who knows? It was a lucky pull for a guy with notoriously bad luck.
Besides, there might be space-type soul tools later on, but those were external items—they could be lost or damaged.
The system inventory, on the other hand, was bound and permanent. Superior.
The next month passed in monotonous training. The system didn't issue any new tasks.
Each morning began with weighted runs to build physical endurance.
His mastery of Drifting Steps had improved drastically—Suifeng even sensed he might break through to the next level in one or two more months.
As for his martial soul, Wind, even though he hadn't received his first soul ring yet, who said soul rings were necessary for learning skills?
After the Wind Blade, Suifeng developed another technique: Wind Whisper.
As the name suggests, this technique lets him eavesdrop on his surroundings using the wind—or transmit messages via air currents.
At present, both range and clarity are limited to around 30 meters.
Yes, extremely underwhelming. But it was just the beginning.
Right now, its biggest use was helping Tang San locate rabbits, while Tang San's proud Tang Sect skills were being used to catch them.
Somehow… their talents were strangely compatible.
Unfortunately, Suifeng's other martial soul, Radiant Divine Eye, despite daily training and even eye massage exercises, hadn't shown any signs of skill awakening yet.
But he wasn't surprised—he still lacked a soul ring.
Despite hitting a training plateau, his proficiency had increased.
And Suifeng wasn't worried at all—his body could now handle a 550-year soul ring.
According to the system's rules, before receiving a soul ring, he must complete a task. Upon completion, the system would grant a soul ring of maximum tolerable age and optimal compatibility.
Even now, if he completed a task, he could get a 550-year first ring—almost 100 years stronger than Tang San's Mandala Snake ring.
But Suifeng wasn't satisfied.
He felt he hadn't reached his limit. He wanted to push further—see just how far he could go.
Time isn't about how much you have—it's how you use it.
While some people waste a month partying, Suifeng and Tang San spent theirs in relentless training and strengthening, striving to become stronger.
In the next few chapters… it's time to start school.