Xiang Ning didn’t decline Dong Xianyi’s arrangements. It was true that his body was currently frail, even weaker than before he had the system. If he went mining now, he would be exhausted and drenched in sweat after just a few swings of a pick. But after completing the assessment and receiving some treatment, his stats looked slightly better. Right now, at least he didn’t look like he could be blown over by the wind. 

Dong Qianyi sighed looking at the numbers on the screen; even Old Jin next to him did the same. All the researchers who knew Xiang Ning sighed, too. How recent was the last time they had seen him? And now he had returned looking like this. 

The entire research facility fell into silence. In a corner, Alia, whom Xiang Ning had saved from the wilderness, was squinting. She was in deep thought, staring at the figures in front of her for a very long time, but she didn’t look as sad as the rest of them. She looked at Xiang Ning, who was just getting off the bed, through the glass. Her brows furrowed for a moment, then relaxed. Indeed, there was some uncertainty in her mind…. 

After everything, Xiang Ning walked out of the analytical lab. 

“How are you? Feeling a little better?” Dong Qianyi asked with some concern. 

“Thank you, Master, much better. My strength is coming back,” Xiang Ning grinned. 

Dong Qianyi nodded. Based on his current condition, although it was suboptimal compared to a healthy person, the difference wasn’t much. The most important thing now was his mindset. Even up to now, he couldn’t comprehend Xiang Ning’s state of mind. “Good. Tell us immediately if anything feels wrong, got it?” 

Xiang Ning obediently nodded. 

“Alright, let’s go then. I’ll take you to your Devourer. It’s all because of it that you survived! Hopefully, there comes a day when you can control it again.” Dong Qianyi patted his shoulder. 

They walked to another wing and Xiang Ning’s chest tightened for a moment when he saw the Devourer. Although he already knew about it, when he saw that only fifty centimeters of the 1.7 meter blade remained, he still felt awful. Especially when he saw the gray goo, which was similar to a living muscle from the beast core. Something dripped from it, as if it was bleeding. 

He could feel that it was extremely weak. The entire weapon had shattered, and the core attachment even had severe cracks. 

He walked up and reached out to hold the hilt of the bioweapon. He could sense the life force in it, that it could still sustain itself with stability. Recovery shouldn’t be a problem. 

“Don’t worry, bioweapons are hardy. It seems to be waiting for something. Its condition can be stabilized by feeding it a bit of fresh beast blood, but we can’t return it to its original state.” Dong Qianyi shook his head. Based on the data and his observations, the Devourer seemed to be waiting for Xiang Ning to wield it once more. He wondered—if Xiang Ning held it, would he be able to feed off its life force and recover? But based on what had just happened, he was overthinking things. The bioweapon hadn’t reacted since Xiang Ning had entered the room. 

......

Time passed quickly through winter. Spring was here, and the invasion at Hang City never stopped. Fang Rou and the rest hadn’t returned, but he had heard many good things about their performance. They had received much recognition for their contributions to the war and made progress in their cultivation. They were all at least tier four martial artists now, becoming part of the main manpower in battle and making Marsh City very proud. 

During that time, Xiang Ning had learned a lot from Dong Qianyi. With Xiang Ning’s help, dimensional travel technology was progressing much quicker than before. One of the Twelve Great Prodigies, Chen Tianhua, had also come to the Chaos from Hang City. 

When his engine technology was merged with dimensional travel, sparks flew and Xiang Ning’s position was elevated once more. Every researcher knew that, with two Great Prodigies mentoring him, Xiang Ning had a bright future ahead. 

The new semester began with the arrival of spring, but Fang Rou and the rest weren’t able to make it. 

One day, at six-thirty in the morning, within a small house in the suburbs of Marsh City, two soft fingers gently pinched Xiang Ning’s nose. He slowly opened his eyes, saw his sister looking down at him, and smiled. “You’re up early again.” 

“Hehe, wash up and eat your breakfast. I learned to make a new dish today.” She let go of his nose, turned, and sat at the dining table. Propping her chin on her hands, feet swinging, she stared at him while he laughed. 

Xiang Ning scratched his head, stretched, yawned, rubbed his eyes, and left to wash up. He was slowly getting used to this lifestyle. Their positions in the household had swapped, and in the beginning, he’d been uncomfortable with it. He held his ground for a few days, but surrendered in the end. His current state didn’t allow him to wake up as early as before. Sleep was of utmost importance for recovery with the medicine his master prescribed him. 

“Ooh, not bad. It’d be better if the taste was stronger,” he smiled. 

“Don’t eat such strong-tasting foods in the morning.” Xiang Xiaoyu put away the utensils and went to prepare for school. 

He scratched his head and took out his Qiling Academy uniform, just like the time he had put one on for the first time. 

“Looks like it’s a bit small,” she smiled. 

Xiang Ning wasn’t the same malnourished child who had been shorter than all his peers. 

Both of them picked up their bags, took the same bus, got off at the same stop, and walked on the same path. 

“Is that… Senior Xiang Ning?” whispered one of the Qiling Academy students. 

“It looks like him. I think it’s him.”

“Hey, hey, hey! Where are you going?” 

“I want his autograph, and maybe his number or something.” 

“Come back! Let’s not disturb him, can’t you see he looks tired?” 

It was true. Xiang Ning’s footsteps weren’t very stable, as if he was still very sleepy. That was a side effect of the medicine. He didn’t pay attention to anyone but a crowd grew in his surroundings. 

A short boy stood outside the crowd, tugging at his father’s shirt. “Dad, who’re they looking at?” 

“You punk, you don’t even know who Xiang Ning is? Go watch the video I sent you ten times today!” 

The boy was speechless. He hadn’t been able to see the guy’s face! Also, how could he not know Xiang Ning” He had been learning via footage of him! Ten times? He had watched them thirty times! 

LMAO that boi getting schooled by his father. TeN tImEs?!