Chapter 31: Collectibles and Shifting Attitudes

Jiangnan Base City.
The Xu family estate.

In an era where the average family of four lives in a space of less than fifty square meters, the Xu family estate, covering hundreds of thousands of square meters, stands out as an anomaly. Even more notably, it is located in the most expensive district of the Jiangnan Base City. To put it in perspective, the small two-hundred-square-meter villa that Luo Feng purchased in Yangzhou City—one of the eight satellite cities of Jiangnan Base City—cost him a staggering sixteen million Chinese Yuan!

Inside the garden, Xu Xin and Xu Gang stood before two people: a stern-faced middle-aged man and an elegant, wealthy-looking woman. The woman smiled warmly and beckoned to Xu Xin.

"Xin'er, it's been a long time. Come, let Mommy get a good look at you."

Xu Xin obediently sat down beside her mother, and the two chatted about daily life. Suddenly, her mother changed the subject. "Xin'er, I heard from your brother that you’ve started dating?"

Xu Xin looked at Xu Gang, who was standing to the side with an awkward smile, and rolled her eyes at him. However, faced with her parents' inquisitive gazes, she did not deny it. Instead, she nodded with a generous and bright smile.

"Yes, his name is Luo Feng. We’ve been together for half a month. I was planning to let you meet him once he returned from his trip..."

More than half a month ago, when Xu Xin realized her brother had discovered her relationship with Luo Feng, she had gone straight to him and confessed everything. She had also been honest about Luo Feng's strength. But after listening to his sister’s account, Xu Gang hadn't felt excitement; instead, he had frowned.

An eighteen-year-old God of War level powerhouse? And a rare Spirit Reader among martial artists? Was she joking? If it hadn't been his own sister telling him this, Xu Gang would have suspected the person was out of their mind. After some detailed questioning and his sister's repeated assurances, Xu Gang begrudgingly believed half of it. He believed Luo Feng was a Spirit Reader, but he remained deeply skeptical—extremely skeptical—about whether he possessed God of War level strength. After all, his sister had only seen Luo Feng manipulate throwing knives; there was no other display of power. Without proof, that only confirmed his identity as a Spirit Reader.

Still, if he truly was a Spirit Reader, it was enough to be worthy of his sister's status, provided his talent wasn't abysmal. Since it was his sister's choice, Xu Gang didn't say anything to upset her. He simply had someone investigate Luo Feng's background.

The results were disheartening. He learned that Luo Feng had only become a prospective martial artist on July 1st, and on August 1st—the very day he suspected his sister was "up to something"—the boy had just passed his martial arts assessment. His performance had been unremarkable, lacking any highlights, and he had certainly shown no signs of being a Spirit Reader!

"Damn liar!" That was the first thing that popped into Xu Gang's mind. Perhaps the "manipulation of throwing knives" was just some high-tech magnetic levitation trick used to deceive his sister! The thought infuriated him. If he hadn't discovered that Luo Feng had already left the base city for the wilderness, Xu Gang would have confronted him personally, taught him a lesson, and forced him to stop pestering his sister.

For the next half month, as Luo Feng remained in the wilderness, Xu Gang took no action, instead proactively blocking harassment from the likes of Wang Xingping and Guo Hai on his sister's behalf. That changed when he caught his sister on a video call with the "little liar," seeing her deep in the sweetness of love. He was so angry he nearly ground his teeth to dust, dying to dash over and expose the fraud.

But Xu Gang was mature enough to restrain himself. He knew that if he acted rashly, he would only alienate his sister. Still, he couldn't let it continue. He called his parents and told them everything. Upon hearing the news, they immediately left their business banquet and flew back to Jiangnan Base City from the Kyoto Base City.

That led to today's scene.

Watching their daughter’s sweet smile, her parents exchanged a look, their annoyance with the man who had deceived her growing. If their son hadn't discovered it in time, the consequences could have been irreversible. It had to end now.

An hour later, a frustrated and upset Xu Xin left the garden. Watching his daughter’s retreating figure, her father frowned and said to Xu Gang, "Keep an eye on your sister. Make sure she stays home and cools off for a few days."

Xu Gang nodded, sighing helplessly. "Sister, brother is doing this for your own good..."

"And as for that brat named Luo Feng, make arrangements as soon as he returns from the wilderness..." A cold light flashed in her father's eyes.

In her villa within the Xu estate, Xu Xin took a deep breath and sent a message to Luo Feng. She tossed her phone aside and punched her stuffed toy in frustration. "Why won't anyone believe me? A-Feng is clearly a Spirit Reader! How could I have been deceived?" she lamented. She had expected her family to be overjoyed upon learning that Luo Feng was a God of War level Spirit Reader. Instead, it had spiraled into this.

...

In City #003, with a flash of his blade, Luo Feng carved a long, deep, bloody wound across the back of a giant silver wolf. Before the beast could react, he struck its skull with his shield, the terrifying force slamming its head into the concrete and knocking it unconscious.

"Phew, done." Luo Feng looked at the unconscious wolf with a relaxed expression. He looked up.

A white cat jumped elegantly from the building onto the wolf, which was larger than a single-story house. Spiritual energy surged from its body as it attempted to establish a soul connection with the beast. Luo Feng watched, keeping an eye on the surroundings to ensure no other monsters interfered. He communicated with Bai Chen in his mind, "Bai, is there something special about this Silver-Moon Fierce Wolf that warranted a specific mission?"

"This fellow is indeed special," Bai Chen replied leisurely.

"Oh? Does it have a powerful bloodline?" Luo Feng’s eyes lit up. Anything Bai found special had to be at least at the King-level monster tier, right?

"Exactly. The Silver-Moon Fierce Wolf is royalty among wolf-type monsters, known as the 'Hunter.' Even the weakest adult is a mid-level Beast General. They are usually grey, but during battle, their fur turns silver-white, and the tuft of hair on their forehead turns blood-red!" Bai Chen, currently lounging in his internal space reading the *Swallowed Star* novel, recited the description with dramatic flair. "Most importantly, this guy is worth a fortune! This high-level Beast General wolf is worth more than ten ordinary ones!"

Luo Feng realized this was just Bai Chen’s eccentric humor. He had killed over ten Overlord-level monsters recently; the number of Beast General monsters was uncountable. "Enough," Luo Feng interrupted, "Energy-chan has established the soul connection. Store it in the space; I need to keep hunting."

Bai Chen rolled his eyes, tossed the book aside, and with a wave of his hand, the wolf vanished. "Such a handsome beast... it’d make a great pet. Killing it would be a shame." He started to contemplate a "collection list," thinking of Earth's Thunder Dragon Emperor and other rare creatures. Setting these as missions for Luo Feng would not only train him but also allow Bai Chen to siphon energy. Perfect!

"By the way, there's an Armored Dragon in City #003 that would make a fine addition," Bai Chen mused, immediately issuing two new tasks: [Defeat the high-level Overlord-class Armored Dragon (currently pregnant or weakened from birth)] and [Obtain the Armored Dragon egg].

Back in the outside world, Luo Feng received the new notifications. Just as he was about to locate the dragon's lair, his tactical watch vibrated. It was a message from Xu Xin.

Luo Feng frowned slightly. Xu Xin rarely contacted him while he was in the wilderness to avoid distracting him. He opened the message, read the contents, and replied that he would return in two days. Xu Xin replied: [Okay, I'll be waiting.]

"I've been out for twenty days. After I finish these tasks, it's time to go back," Luo Feng thought. The fact that his girlfriend was being confined because of him put him in a foul mood. But he understood it was a misunderstanding; his recent progress was so insane that it defied belief.

"It seems I'll have to be a bit more high-profile when I return," a cold glint flashed in his eyes. He needed to resolve everything with the Xu family once and for all. He would show them that he wasn't "marrying up"—it was the Xu family's honor!

[Name]: Luo Feng
[Martial Artist Level]: Low-level God of War (Peak) (Strength: 117,650kg, Speed: 449.6m/s)
[Spirit Reader Level]: High-level God of War (Peak) (Can control four throwing knives simultaneously at extreme power)
[Techniques]: Ming Sha Blade (2nd Level mastered, 4x force multiplier), Giant Elephant Technique (One complete particle condensed, progress for second: 51,002/100,000kg)
[Realm]: Blade Technique (Perfect), Movement (Micro-level Mastery)
[Equipment]: SS-grade Blood Shadow Battle Blade, 12 SS-grade throwing knives, full SS-grade combat suit, SS-grade shield, Gravity Belt
[Current Points]: 46,256 points!