Watching Zhao Mu's retreating back, Shen Moran lifted a hand as though she wanted to say something, but in the end she stayed silent.
She drew a deep breath and murmured, "I can't abandon my chance to climb higher for one person. Consider it a debt I owe you."
Zhao Mu strode toward home, not forgetting to activate demon clown on the way to raise the proficiency of his [Walking] skill.
Head high, humming a tune, he looked completely relaxed.
"Hey, Brother Xiao Mu!"
As he crossed the street, the optician's chubby son from next door waved at him.
Zhao Mu smiled faintly. "Morning, Little Fatty."
Little Fatty glanced around, leaned in mysteriously, and whispered, "Brother Xiao Mu, I'll tell you something—swear you won't say I said it. Last night I saw Sister Shen Moran come back in a Luxury Car."
Zhao Mu rolled his eyes. "Got it. No big deal."
He turned to leave, thinking: Seriously, this cliché?
Still, it was understandable—a B-Rank Awakener was a treasure in all of Lujiang City.
Behind him, Little Fatty shook his head with worldly sighs.
"Ah, graduation season is break-up season; the ancients didn't lie."
Zhao Mu strolled home to find Bu Yanhuan reclining in a rattan chair under the eaves, giving him a sideways glance.
"Yo."
"Yo."
Zhao Mu returned the greeting flatly.
"So you broke up."
His hands froze halfway through taking off his shoes. After a few seconds he looked up with a wry smile.
"Who told you?"
"Your face is screaming it."
Bu Yanhuan said idly, turning her attention back to the novel in her hand.
"You're always like this—when something happens you neither cry nor fuss, yet you pretend you don't care. Trouble is, you overact."
Zhao Mu fell silent, then lay helplessly on the floor beneath the eaves.
"Maybe it's for the best. In every novel the hero gets his engagement annulled at the start and then rises to become a super powerhouse. Maybe my lucky break is coming."
"Idiot."
Bu Yanhuan waggled a foot, her toes swaying above Zhao Mu's head.
"After the Spirit Awakening Ceremony, ninety-nine percent of school couples break up."
Once talents appear, the gap shows. No one wants a partner who'll hold them back."
You're not the worst off. The unluckiest are the soldiers sent straight to the front after proving to have no spirit energy. No break-up needed—their girlfriends instantly demand marriage."
Once enlisted, women are mostly assigned safe rear posts like Logistics."
With a 45% fatality rate, those women aim to collect future pensions. If the guy survives he's usually crippled, and a simple divorce finishes it."
Zhao Mu suddenly sat up. "If I'd told her about my ability, would she still have left me?"
Bu Yanhuan stared into his eyes for a second, then asked point-blank, "What do you think?"
Zhao Mu chuckled. "Forget it."
He wasn't stupid enough to gamble with a secret that big.
Shen Moran had dumped him for her future—she could just as easily leak his secret for the same reason.
Parting early from the wrong person isn't necessarily bad.
He gazed at the distant sky. Even when a relationship ends, there's no need to look heart-broken.
People always move forward.
"It's all in the past. From now on, I focus on one thing—getting stronger!"
Bu Yanhuan whistled. "Aren't you supposed to spend some time healing your broken heart?"
"What's to heal? In the adult world you ditch unhappiness fast."
Zhao Mu scratched his head; the matter would pass like a puff of wind.
Bu Yanhuan nodded approvingly, leg still jiggling. "Lesson learned: the prettier the woman, the better she lies."
"Because when an ugly woman lies, you don't even bother listening."
Zhao Mu rubbed his nose and grinned at Bu Yanhuan. "Aunt Bu, do you like lying to people?"
Bu Yanhuan started to answer, then realized he was digging a trap.
She had to choose between being a pretty liar or an honest ugly woman.
"Brat, making fun of me again! Go Cultivate! Fail Qingfeng Camp's entrance test in a few days and I'll break your legs!"
Bu Yanhuan's foot kicked him; Zhao Mu rolled nimbly to his feet.
He tossed the sadness aside in seconds.
"Train—train like hell!"
Gritting his teeth, he resumed drilling both [Spiritual Energy Introduction] and [Seven Kills Battle Method].
Spiritual Energy Introduction: proficiency 12. One Meditation cycle now took 16 minutes; with Bu Yanhuan's help it dropped to 10.
All morning, channeling grief into drive, he trained harder than ever.
When tired, he used [Turtle Breathing Technique] to recover.
By noon his proficiency had soared to 25—more than double yesterday's pace.
"Great—higher proficiency means faster Meditation; faster Meditation means even quicker gains!"
"Keep this positive loop going and I'll skyrocket!"
Bu Yanhuan eyed him oddly. "Strange. By rights twelve Meditations in one morning is way beyond Battle Rank 1."
Zhao Mu blinked; demon clown's panel still showed his personal Battle Rank stuck at 1.
Bu Yanhuan found it strange, because the jump from 1 to 2 should be the fastest—spirit energy growth starts quick and slows later.
Thirteen Meditations in four hours was definitely not Battle Rank 1 territory.
"Zhao Mu, try releasing your spirit energy—let me see."
Bu Yanhuan stared at him seriously.
At her words Zhao Mu followed the Spiritual Energy Introduction guide and began to activate his spirit energy.
Mind guided intent; soon a current of spirit power rushed from the Spirit Sea in his head through all 365 spirit power meridians and vented out through the Acupoints.
A faint blue glow cloaked his body, clear even in daylight.
"So this… is spirit power!"
Zhao Mu felt the change; with spirit energy released his body felt different—stronger, lighter, bursting with inexhaustible vigor.
Bu Yanhuan frowned.
"Wrong. Your Battle Rank can't be 1—it has to be at least 2!"