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Zhou Guan slouched lazily, hands cradling the back of his head, as he followed behind Sun Zhong. He wasn't particularly interested in this job and kept muttering all the way.
After reaching the third floor, Sun Zhong patrolled down the line of rooms.
[You have patrolled the N-level Talent Review Department, patrol points +2]
[You have patrolled the N-level Talent Dispatch Department, patrol points +2]
…
Sun Zhong took extra time to circle twice in this empty room and pressed a button on the wall to confirm the alarm was working correctly before he left the room.
[You have patrolled the Main Archive Room entrance, patrol points +5]
Just then, Zheng Xing thought of something and quickly took out his phone to video call his son, then he asked, "Son, you said you've seen Xiang Beifei before, take a look. Is this person Xiang Beifei?"
Although the students from the elite schools weren't present at the freshman competition back then, it was broadcast live, and anyone with eyes could recognize him.
Zheng Xing's son, though from Jizhou University, had seen Xiang Beifei before. The moment he saw Xiang Beifei, he exclaimed excitedly, "It's him! It's really him! The genius who stepped on that SSR from Qingzhou University! Dad, you actually met him? My gosh!"
That was the legendary genius!
"So you really are that Xiang Beifei!" Zheng Xing was also stunned.
His son had mentioned the freshman competition to him before the holiday, and at that time, he was highly impressed by Xiang Beifei. Little did he think that today he would coincidentally meet such a grand talent!
A moment later, he quickly regained his composure, excitedly saying, "It's definitely Xiang Beifei; my son is from Jizhou University, and he has seen him before!"
Xiang Beifei put the matter aside for the time being and asked, "By the way, Uncle Kong, are there any houses for rent nearby? We're thinking of moving over there to live."
"House? Sure, you should've moved over here long ago. The old man has always been talking about saving money for you to take on tasks and whatnot. Why the sudden change of mind?" Kong Daming asked.
"Xiaofei is growing up. If the house is shabby, he won't be able to find a wife," Xiang Qingde said seriously.
"Hahaha, that's true," Kong Daming nodded in agreement.
But Lu Hong disagreed, "How could that be! If she really likes him, she wouldn't care about the house."
"Still, it's better to live in a nice place. The old house is too dark," Kong Daming said. "Leave it to me, I remember a family on my floor just moved out, just two door numbers away from my place, directly across the diagonal, so moving over here would be better, easier to look after each other."
"So when is Uncle Kong's restaurant opening?" Xiang Beifei asked again.
How the desolate beast One-Armed Crab appeared remained unclear, and the person Xiang Beifei currently suspected had not yet been found.
Xiao Sheng!
The fake SR-level staff member, who before the desolate beast appeared, ran off somewhere unknown. He wanted to see if Xiao Sheng would come back to work.
"The day after tomorrow! The staff has been asking about it too. Speaking of which, I need to contact those employees since we've been closed for so long," Kong Daming said.
"Then tomorrow, I'll go to the wholesale market. We've had no supplies for a while; I need to negotiate with them again," Xiang Qingde added.
Kong Daming quickly said, "No need, Uncle Xiang, you rest. I can handle it."
"We've been idle for so long; it's good to get moving. I'm familiar with that place anyway, and there's a lot to do for reopening the restaurant; many customers have made reservations and are waiting to support the reopening. You'll be busy, so I'll handle it tomorrow," Xiang Qingde insisted, waving his hand.
Unable to persuade him, Kong Daming could only agree.
When Xiang Beifei got home, he made a point of talking to his grandfather in front of the living room camera, explaining why he wanted to move, plainly saying that he now knew how to make money and didn't want to live here anymore.
For a martial artist at the Meridian Opening stage, earning a living was extremely easy. Those surveilling their home, as long as they weren't foolish, would ascertain Xiang Beifei's current Cultivation Realm after a simple inquiry at the school; nobody would doubt such an excuse.
That way, whoever was watching would likely relocate to the new home. Xiang Beifei was curious to see who would try to install surveillance under his watch.
After discussing this, Xiaohei proceeded to block the camera again.
The grandfather-grandson duo spent the evening packing up; it turned out they had quite a lot of belongings.
"We'll have to call for a vehicle, since there's no elevator, and we'll carry everything down together," Xiang Qingde pondered over the most convenient way to move.
"I can handle the stuff myself, Grandpa doesn't need to worry, just rest," Xiang Beifei suggested.
"How could that be? How could you move so many things alone! I'm still capable of working and can help you carry them," Xiang Qingde said, worried his grandson would overexert himself—as moving was backbreaking work.
Amused, Xiang Beifei replied, "Grandpa, why do I always feel like you've forgotten again that I'm a martial artist?"
"What's wrong with martial artists? Many martial artists have to hire people when they move, don't they?" Xiang Qingde said.
Xiang Beifei stomped his foot again, and all the packed boxes began to float, hovering in mid-air.
Lighter than a feather.
He made the objects weightless and then used his Spiritual Power to lift them all up.
Xiang Qingde watched in amazement, "I didn't even know you had this ability!"
Xiang Beifei realized he had rarely mentioned his own abilities to his grandfather. He smiled, set the objects down, then glanced at the camera on the ceiling and said, "Don't worry, from now on I'll handle everything. Grandpa, just take it easy."
Xiang Qingde was stunned for a moment, gazing at Xiang Beifei in a daze.
Once upon a time, he had been so careful to protect his grandson, to protect his self-esteem, telling him to be positive and hopeful, wishing he wouldn't give up on himself.
But since the Awakening System, his grandson had become a different person, diligent, cheerful, and now a martial artist in the Meridian Opening phase with the ability to protect himself.
It took a while for Xiang Qingde to come back to his senses, and he smiled, "The Awakening System really is a good thing."
Only then did he suddenly feel old, in need of protection from his grandson.
That was fine, too. He was happy to see his grandchild so sensible.
Moving wasn't difficult; for ordinary Awakeners of level N moving without a suitable space-related system, they had to hire moving companies, rent a vehicle, and spend a sum of money.
Xiang Beifei didn't need to, just have Xiaohei blow bubbles to do it.
"Xiaofei is now a big star, in the future, we'll all rely on you!" Kong Daming joked.
"Isn't being a star very tiring? I've heard they have to go and shoot all sorts of films every day," Lu Zhiwei said curiously.
"That won't do! Xiaofei has to cultivate," Lu Hong said seriously. Without realizing it, he had changed from calling Beifei 'Xiao Xiang' to 'Xiaofei,' in his mind, Xiang Beifei was still a martial artist and should prioritize cultivation.
Chen Xiuqin walked in from outside and laughed, "I won't lie to you, these past few days I've received so many calls from talent agencies. They know I know Xiaofei and keep asking about related commercial activities, offering lots of money for Xiaofei to sign with their companies."
"What did you say?" Kong Daming asked.
"Of course, I said we would consider it. How could I decide on such a thing? We still need to ask Xiaofei's opinion," Chen Xiuqin said with a laugh. She didn't agree outright but also didn't reject the offers completely, leaving a choice for Xiang Beifei.
Xiang Beifei pondered for a moment and said, "I do need to cultivate and don't have time for movies and commercials. But if I have time, I could start a column specifically to teach everyone how to kill desolate beasts, so that people wouldn't panic when facing such situations."
He needed to use this identity to properly guide everyone.
Lu Hong's eyes lit up and he nodded, "Right, many civilians who live in the inland cities have a shallow concept of desolate beasts, most lack a sense of crisis. Your idea is good."
Strong desolate beasts were common for martial artists, but for civilians, encounters were still rare. Xiang Beifei, being a martial artist, naturally should engage in promotional activities as one.
"That's great, then I'll help you promote. As a celebrity, you need to have a specialty, and as a martial artist, you should promote yourself in the way of a martial artist," Chen Xiuqin said, who worked partially in the entertainment industry and was familiar with a lot of stars. She knew exactly how to do marketing. As Xiang Beifei's number one mom fan, she was more than willing to help him.
That was settled, then. Xiang Beifei didn't have to do anything. When the next semester started, and he went on missions to the outer realms, he could simply shoot a few videos, an easy task.
But on second thought—
"Does she really think she can do as she pleases with my fame like this?
The ones who tried to profit off Xiang Beifei's fame last time had already been dealt with by him.
This time, they thought of using him as a figurehead without consulting him, clearly intent on pushing him into the spotlight.
The alliance's reason for wanting such a prodigy to be exposed was quite clear.
The main reason was that Xiang Beifei was brought up by Elder Luo!
Elder Luo was not on good terms with the alliance; the people from the alliance even feared him, because they couldn't suppress such an SR-level Awakener who would not obey their commands, worried that Elder Luo would cultivate his own power in Liangzhou University.
With the emergence of a prodigy like Xiang Beifei, it brought a great threat to them!
So, they had to act against Xiang Beifei!
Normally, once someone is exposed, it's hard for them to go back to being low-profile—wherever they go, they attract attention.
By exposing Xiang Beifei like this, they were forcing him to stand by the alliance's side, making him subject to surveillance by everyone in Jiuzhou. In this way, Xiang Beifei would hardly be able to oppose the alliance in secret; his every move would be under their watch.
Later, whatever the alliance planned, Xiang Beifei would have to cooperate.
To the alliance, Xiang Beifei would become a piece that could contain Elder Luo, in a special way to isolate him, monitor him, and weaken his influence.
