Then he thought of what Wu Youqing had said, the importance of spirit to martial arts.
"Or choose an ability related to the spirit? For example, [Concentration]..."
"This choice should be able to enhance the artistic conception of the Heavenly Will Sword, and will also be beneficial to daily martial arts practice..."
“It’s so confusing.”
Xue Jing shook his head, closed the panel, and decided to put the choice of a new active effect on hold for the time being.
"We'll talk about it later."
He came to the street, hailed a taxi, and went to the restaurant where he had agreed to meet with his classmates.
Soon after, the car stopped in front of a restaurant called "Baolin Restaurant".
Xue Jing scanned the code to pay, said thank you to the driver, got out of the car and walked in.
They were all students with limited financial resources, so the restaurant they chose was not of high standard, but had a very good reputation. Xue Jing had also eaten here several times and the food was very delicious.
As soon as he entered the door, he walked towards the private room area inside, came to the private room that Li Ge sent him via WeChat, and pushed open the door.
There are already many students in place.
There are dozens of students in the elite class, so this private room is very large and has five large tables.
As soon as he saw Xue Jing coming in, Li Ge, who was sitting at one of the tables, immediately stood up and said loudly:
"Hey, hey, hey, okay, the protagonist is finally here, hurry up and serve the food. I didn't eat much for lunch, and now I'm starving!"
Other students also spoke up.
"Xue Jing is here, come and sit down!"
"I'll ask the waiter to serve the food."
"Come on, come on, sit at the middle table..."
Xue Jing walked up and sat down in the seat next to Li Ge, answering his classmates' questions with a smile.
"Alas, it feels like a lot of things have changed since more than a month ago."
Li Ge unscrewed the large bottle of Coke, poured a cup for himself and Xue Jing, picked up the cup and took a sip, and sighed.
"Ever since you started practicing martial arts, it's like you and I are from two different worlds."
"I never thought that you would be able to find your way through this path. Now even the news is reporting that you are a martial arts genius. The principal even held a commendation meeting to praise you, but you didn't come in person. It felt weird."
Xue Jing put his arm around his shoulders and said with a smile:
"Why, you look like a gloomy and resentful woman, is my brother's Land Rover going too fast and makes you feel lonely?"
Li Ge nodded and hummed.
"To some extent."
"However, compared to this little emotion, I hope you can really soar to the sky, even if it means you can fly to a point where I can no longer reach you."
Li Ge said sincerely.
"People always have to move forward. Since you have this talent and opportunity, don't stop because of any obstacles. Brother, I will only bless you."
Xue Jing rubbed Li Ge's dog head with his other hand and said with a smile:
"I would do the same without you telling me."
Hearing Li Ge's words, Xue Jing couldn't help but feel some complicated emotions.
When people gain something, they will lose something else. This is a very normal thing.
He didn't feel sad about it, but he still felt a little emotional.
"You kid, do you still remember the first time we met?"
Xue Jing raised his eyebrows.
Li Ge chuckled, "Of course I remember."
That was when they were in the first year of junior high school. The two had just entered school and were assigned to the same class and sat at the same table.
When Li Ge met his deskmate Xue Jing, he asked a strange question the first time he spoke.
"Do you eat ice cream by licking it or biting it?"
Xue Jing felt puzzled at the time, but still said, "The one who bit me."
Then Li Ge immediately shook hands with him, "Comrade!"
Xue Jing thought this person was very strange, but still interesting, so he asked back:
"Do you drink Coca-Cola or Pepsi?"
Li Ge said without hesitation, "I don't give a damn."
Xue Jing smiled and immediately shook hands with him.
"I don't give a fuck."
The two of them built a wonderful friendship with just two wonderful conversations.
"What a bad fate. Not only were we in the same class and desk in junior high school, but we also went to the same high school and were in the same class. Later, we were admitted to the elite class at the same time."
Li Ge clicked his tongue.
"Fuck, I always hang out with you. I don't know how many marriage opportunities I've missed. You've seduced all the girls."
"The most annoying thing is that you don't want it."
Li Ge looked at Xue Jing's increasingly exaggerated face and suddenly felt angry.
If he had a face like this, he would go out without wearing clothes.
What a waste.
"Hmm? How are you and your girlfriend doing lately?"
Xue Jing asked.
"It's been a while since we last met. I have to concentrate on preparing for the entrance exam to Xingda University, and I don't want to be left behind by you..."
Time passed slowly while we were chatting.
After the dishes were served, a group of students imitated the adults, holding drinks and pretending they were wine, and toasted each other.
It was a very enjoyable meal, and we all ended around half past ten.
Xue Jing finally left the restaurant with Li Ge. They walked on the street and talked for a long time, reminiscing about the past, and then went home.
After Xue Jing got home, he took a bath, practiced aiming at the dart board for a while, and then went to bed with the cat in his arms.
No words were spoken that night.
…
The next day at noon, in the back mountains of North City District.
Xue Jing brandished the Futu Sword, which was wrapped in shadow flames and dyed black, in his hand and practiced various basic sword moves.
From time to time, the black blade would suddenly fluctuate and a wisp of black flame would ignite.
"This method of transforming Shadow Flame into a 'coating' requires a very high level of precision in manipulation."
"If I maintain this for a long time, I can't guarantee that the membrane will be 100% intact. I need to train again."
Xue Jing's eyes moved, and he turned the burning black flame into a black film, thinking to himself.
After a while, the phone in my pocket vibrated and rang.
Xue Jing stopped practicing his swordsmanship, dispersed the black shadow flame, made a sword flower, and sheathed the Futu Sword.
He took out his cell phone and saw that the caller ID was "Xu Ren". Without hesitation, Xue Jing answered the call directly.
"Hello?"
"The stuff has arrived, where are you?"
From the receiver came Xu Ren's usual direct words.
Xue Jing cheered up.
The next step is coming!
"I'm in the back hills of North City. I'll send you the exact location."
…
In the south city, in the unfinished building area, in a temporary base.
Xu Ren stood on the helicopter pad with a big H written on it, hung up the phone, opened WeChat, and checked the location information sent by Xue Jing.
Next to her stood a young man who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old and was wearing a navy blue tactical uniform and a talisman-like paper pendant on his left ear.
"What a huge shelf! Do we have to deliver it to him?"
The young man sneered and spoke as if he found it very funny.
Xu Ren turned his head and looked at him. He did not answer the question, but asked in a calm tone:
"Why would you personally deliver the things here? Young Master Ning from Zhi Ge."
The young man frowned and said dissatisfiedly: "You people from Baiya really have no manners at all. Don't call me Young Master Ning. I can get to where I am today entirely by myself. It has nothing to do with my family!"
Then he changed the subject, "As for why..."
In his hand he held an ordinary-looking, fist-sized green bamboo joint.
"I'm using this thing... Don't get me wrong, this is the reward I received for my contribution in the previous campaign to suppress the 'troublemakers'. It has nothing to do with my family."
Xu Ren nodded, his expression did not change at all, and he just said: "So, why did you send it here?"
"Didn't I tell you, I was fucking using it, and suddenly someone cut in line and wanted to use it first."
Young Master Ning narrowed his eyes slightly.
"How can this young master tolerate such a thing? Naturally, I have to come and see what kind of talent is worthy of joining my team?"
After he finished speaking, he paused and added: "Don't get me wrong, although I call myself Young Master, it's just a habitual personal habit and has nothing to do with my family."
Xu Ren said softly, "Of course you can meet him, but please don't cause any trouble, Mr. Ning. The young man named Xue Jing has a powerful backer behind him."
When Young Master Ning heard this, he was immediately delighted.
"Backer? How big a backer is it? Can it be bigger than my family?"
Then he immediately added: "Of course, don't get me wrong, I'm just making a metaphor, I've never relied on my family."
Void Blade's expression did not change, he just replied:
"I'm afraid it's actually a little bigger than your house, Mr. Ning."
"Don't call me Young Master Ning. I've already told you that I rely on myself, on myself!" Young Master Ning responded with dissatisfaction at first.
"So, who is his backer?"
…
About half an hour later.
“Da da da da da—”
Xue Jing sat cross-legged on the grass with his eyes closed. When he heard the noise of a propeller stirring the air in the distance, he opened his eyes and looked.
A black helicopter was approaching his location from the horizon.
He stood up and waited.
Not long after, the helicopter came closer and slowly landed.
The grass was bent like waves by the airflow from the propeller. Xue Jing put his hand on his forehead to block the strong wind from attacking his eyes.
The cabin door opened, and Xu Ren, wearing a tight black tactical suit and revealing a muscular body like a female leopard, jumped out of the plane.
Following closely behind her was a young man who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old.
Xue Jing's gaze lingered on the green bamboo joint in his hand for a moment, and then he looked at Xu Ren who was walking over.
"Captain Void Blade, I haven't seen you for a few days."
Xue Jing smiled and nodded at her, then stretched out his hand and shook her hand.