She took a deep breath in front of the mirror and tried to calm down. Although she has no problem talking to the men, she has never brought a man into her house.

And, without permission, nobody can actually come into her house. After all, she is from the Great Xue Family of Royal Capital. There are only a few people who have the status same as her.

And, with her strength, they dare even less to come to her house. Basically, she has very few friends, especially after the death of her best friend, she never really made any friends.

She didn’t talk to the friends she had before either. She became more and more isolated for an entire year. Only after she taught the disciples of Outer-Door and came in contact with a lot of people, she started feeling better.

But, she never got close to even one of them. In the eleventh month of her punishment, she found a task. It was quite confusing at first. The task was written by the disciple to teach him for a week.

And, that disciple was the only disciple who didn’t awaken the Martial Spirit for an entire week. Although she hasn’t looked for him, she still knows him through his infamous reputation.

But, this also sparked a curiosity in her mind. A disciple was using one hundred contribution points to hire a tutor for the week and nobody volunteered for this task.

Because they didn’t want to associate with a person who can’t even awaken the Martial Spirit. She got very curious because this disciple bet everything on something that he knew he would lose.

So, she decided to help him. She took the task which surprised many elders. After she decided to teach him, she found something even more interesting. Although Fu Chen had no talent for cultivation or comprehension, he had solidified his body to a level that no one has ever done, especially not someone she knows.

Of course, this won’t help him cultivate. He still needed to awaken martial spirit but if he did, then it would be revolutionary. Cultivation takes time but when you unlock your body potential to whole new levels, your cultivation will just keep boosting up.

That’s why she wasn’t surprised that he reached the Middle-Tier in just one day. That was completely possible with all the hard work he had put in. This inspired her to train him even more.

But, something happened on her second day of training. Fu Chen not only awakened a special talent but also a martial spirit. The thing that has been holding him back for so long happened on the second day of her training.

It made her excited. She got so excited that she couldn’t sleep and ended up training the Storm Steps for the entire night. Although it wasn’t her doing, everyone still thinks that she is the reason why he awakened the martial spirit all of a sudden.

She doesn’t like taking the credit but she was happy that she could change someone’s life.

But, she still didn’t get the reason why she invited him for lunch. She just spoke about it, he rejected it, she got angry, and things happened.

Now, he was sitting on her couch, waiting for her and she was screaming in front of the mirror. After she calmed down, she finally left her room but when she came out, she froze.

In front of her, there were two people sitting in front of each other. And, she knew both of them. The one specifically surprised her. She was a mature lady wearing a beautiful blue Qipao.

She had pale and soft skin. Her eyes were bright like blue sky and her hair inherited the same feeling. Her nose and ears were just like Fu Chen, not too big but still bigger than Xue Le.

“Master!”

When that word escaped her mouth, Xue Le completely lost her soul. It was coming out of her mouth. It was supposed to be a small lunch. She didn’t understand why was it so coincidental.

‘Master!’ Fu Chen froze as well when he heard that word. For a moment, he was talking to her as if she was Xue Le’s relative. Although he was respectful and polite, he was nowhere near showing the respect that her status deserved.

His brain instantly fired up as he stood. He bowed ninety degrees to her and shouted.

“Respected Elder, I apologize for my rude behavior and ignorance. Please forgive me for not recognizing you!”

“It’s okay, Disciple Fu Chen. You have never been to Treasury and I never walk around the sect so it wouldn’t be a surprise that you don’t know me. Now that she has come out, let’s go and eat.” The Treasury Elder shook her head with a smile and stood up.

Fu Chen slowly raised his head when he saw her leaving towards the dining room. He slowly turned his head at Xue Le and stared into her eyes. His eyes were speaking for himself.

‘Why didn’t you tell me that your master was coming?’

‘How the heck am I supposed to know? She is my master. She can come here at any time she wants.’ Xue Le didn’t know why she did that but she still replied with her gaze alone.

‘So, what should I do now? Should I return? I don’t think my heart can bear all of this. Eating together with one of the strongest elders of the sect. This isn’t even the privilege of having the talent. It’s just a blessing. And, I don’t think I have the guts to take such blessing.’ Fu Chen’s expression was slowly breaking as he was almost on the verge of breaking into tears.

It’s been just two days and so many funky things happened that he doesn’t know whether that happened because he awakened the powerful talent or someone was pulling the strings.

‘Don’t you dare run away? If you go now, she will hate you. You don’t want to get on the bad side of one of the strongest people in the sect, right?’ Xue Le warned him with her eyes.

‘Oh god! Please save me.’ Fu Chen lowered his head and begged for help from the god. He had no choice but to go with her and dine.

The first lunch with Xue Le became the most awkward lunch he ever had. On another hand, he ate food that he never even knew existed. The food was not only delicious, but it also contained resources.

Not only did it increase his Qi reserve but also made his mind relax. While eating, he could sneak a peek at Xue Le from time to time. He realized that it wasn’t just talent that helps you.

Background, hard work, and motivation! If you had all of these three with talent, your cultivation speed can indeed become unstoppable. He finally understood how she was able to reach the peak of the True Essence Realm in just four years.

While it takes months to cross one stage, only people with consistence practice can do it. He sighed at his fate. Born in a common family, he never got the background.

Born in a common family, he never got talent. But, being born into a common family, he always worked hard. He was also persistent. That’s why even though he envies her, he doesn’t hate his birth or parents.

He feels lucky to be born. And now, he has a goal.

To surpass Xue Le!

A late-born genius/cheater surpassing the true genius.

It is his goal. He knew it would be hard especially when the gap between them is too large. But, he has two advantages. First, the hard work that he has put in all his life is slowly paying off.

Second, he has the Strongest Offline System.

The lunch didn’t take long. After lunch, Fu Chen and Xue Le bid farewell to the Treasury Elder and left the mansion.

Inside the mansion,

“What do you think of this, Miao?” Treasury Elder asked while sitting on the couch.

The maid next to her was the closest maid of Xue Le. She stood there with a silent and cold expression.

“No background, low strength, late awakener, even if he is given years, he can’t catch up to Miss. She is just wasting her time on him. Though I am surprised she brought him here. Still, I don’t think she loves him.” Miao explained her cold.

“Yes, and before she starts falling in love with him, go and tell him to back off. My husband will be furious after hearing his sister’s love for a commoner.” Treasury Elder’s face turned cold like ice as she commanded.

“Yes, Mistress!” Miao bowed and left.

Treasury Elder stared at the door and murmured “Le, you are the only hope to find the true treasure of the ancestor. We can’t let you hook off with a commoner and destroy your future.”

“You are the only hope of the Xue Family to ascend back to the Immortal Lands.”

……

On the edge of the forest,

“Honey, look there is something there!” A middle-aged woman pointed her finger somewhere far and shouted. She was wearing brown clothes that looked years old. Although she was beautiful, her clothes were hiding her beauty.

“What is it? I am already on the verge of crying.” The middle-aged man sighed while looking at the big land covered with destroyed vegetables and burnt fruits. The middle-aged man was nearly six feet tall and had a slender body.

He had black hair and black eyes with a slightly bigger nose and ears.

“Come on! Don’t be sad. We already decided on this. We can’t live there if we keep supporting our children. This is the only way. And, we already know the danger of living here. We promised each other to support our little Chen until we live and if we die someday, he has to do everything by himself.” The middle-aged man pulled his head on her embrace and calmed him down.

The middle-aged man sighed and asked.

“By the way, what did you see there?”

“Oh yeah! It looked like a dead monster beast. Let’s go and see!” The middle-aged woman pulled him towards the monster beast even though she was just a normal lady.

“Oh my god! Was she the one who got struck by lightning? It seems she died a pitiful death.” The middle-aged man gasped in shock after seeing her condition.

The middle-aged man and woman crouched down and held the fox’s hand.

“Her fur is so smooth and it’s white. She must be a beautiful fox.”

“Well, we can’t see that beauty now. And, how come you sound like you lost a beautiful daughter-in-law? She is a monster beast, remember?” The middle-aged man rolled his eyes and spoke.

But, the middle-aged woman didn’t reply. She was holding her leg and she felt something. Her eyes widened as she turned around and said.

“She is alive.”

“What?”