Forbidden Zone of the Human Race

Xiang Ning was strong, but only Fang Rou knew the extent of his fighting prowess. Everyone else was skeptical.

Xiang Ning merely smiled in response. Everyone wanted to smack his goofy face.

“Actually, that’s what we’ve done for the past three days.” Fang Rou shrugged. Truth to be told, she was only capable of distracting one or two of the enemies by herself.

Xiang Ning was considerate and usually allowed one or two of the enemies to fight her. In just three days she had advanced from six-star to eight-star.

“What?! How could that be?” Liu Ruoxue and Li Zimo gasped in unison, but Lu Shiyu didn’t say anything. She was thinking about how they could defeat the other squads with just two people.

Fang Rou answered as if she knew what was on Lu Shiyu’s mind. “Yeah, Xiang Ning is both a nine-star martial artist and spiritual cultivator. His Mountain-Splitting Slash is also at the level of Peak Mastery. There’s literally no one here that can even withstand a single slash of his.” She proceeded to explain in detail about their fights. Everyone was captivated by her story.

Xiang Ning usually faced all five members of a squad by himself. Fang Rou’s stamina only allowed her to fight five times per day, but he was capable of fighting at least ten times per day.

“To think that you’d meet so many different squads. It must’ve been difficult.”

“It’s nothing much. They kept loitering around in the same region, all we did was find them and steal from them again.” Xiang Ning smiled.

......

The weather was gradually turning cold, as it was almost October and the Mid-Autumn Festival was just a few days away. While the Great Disaster had decimated almost all of humanity, the remaining survivors were able to quickly adapt, to the point that they could have festivals now.

“Xiaoyu, when is your brother coming back? I heard that he’s a very strong martial artist,” Chen Zixin asked as she walked back from school together with Xiang Ning’s sister.

“He should be coming back this Sunday.” She missed her brother too.

“I’m sure he’ll achieve the best grade there is,” Chen Zixin assured her. Since they had become friends, she finally understood Xiang Xiaoyu’s familial situation. In the absence of Xiang Ning, she needed to be her best friend and support.

“Chen Zixin, did you just say that Xiang Ning is very strong?”

“Yeah, you have a problem with that? He is much stronger than your own brother. Your elder brother is only a tier one, four-star martial artist, there’s no way he can win against Xiang Ning.” Chen Zixin declared as their path was blocked by Yan Mohai, a student from their class.

He was accompanied by his lackey.

“Hmph, so what? Even if my brother is weaker, at least he helps those in trouble. Your senior not only ignored them, but even stole someone else’s girlfriend! He’s the reason everyone targeted the squads from our Qiling Academy, causing all of them to drop out.”

“Bullshit! My brother isn’t someone like that.” Xiang Xiaoyu couldn’t believe that her brother would do that.

“Don’t believe me?”

“Hu Zi, didn’t you say that your sister had to drop out because of Xiang Ning?”

“Yeah, because of him my sister had to drop out from the training!”

The two girls weren’t mentally strong enough to stand such accusations, and Chen Zixin started tearing up.

“Enough, let’s go.” Xiang Xiaoyu held Chen Zixin's hands and tried to walk away.

“Haha! Your brother is so malicious! He’s just a garbage part-time student!”

Chen Zixin’s face paled. She tried to reassure and persuade Xiang Xiaoyu, who had stopped moving. “Let’s go, just ignore them.”

But it was no use.

Xiang Xiaoyu turned around, her eyes already red with anger. “I dare you to say that again!”

Yan Mohai was silenced by her cold stare, but his final pride as a boy made him realize that he shouldn’t be afraid, so he retaliated, “Hmph. Why can’t I criticize how useless and trashy the part-time student is?”

Xiang Xiaoyu hung her head as she bit her lips.

“Just ignore them. Let’s go home.” Chen Zixin pulled her away from everyone else. The boys continued talking behind their back, their words buzzing like mosquitoes.

“Enough!” Chen Zixin shouted, attracting the other students. Yan Mohai wasn’t expecting this many onlookers, so he quickly ran off with his lackeys.

Xiang Xiaoyu’s emotion finally settled down as she reached home.

“Little Xiaoyu, you’re home! Come now, I’ve made my best dish: beast meat stewed with potatoes.” Uncle Zhao walked out of the kitchen with a clay pot.

“Thank you.”

“Haha, let’s eat while it's hot.” Uncle Zhao treated her very well, since it was Xiang Ning that had requested his help. His own son was busy with work, so he took great pride and joy in being able to take care of Xiang Xiaoyu, whom he thought of as his own granddaughter.

“Uncle Zhao, are there any methods to quickly increase my cultivation?” Xiang Xiaoyu suddenly blurted out.

Uncle Zhao grinned. He took great care of both siblings, so he also knew a lot about the rumors regarding Xiang Ning.

“Sure I do! Xiaoyu, your Mental Power should be around eighty-nine, if I’m not mistaken. You’re one of the most talented individuals I’ve met.”

She nodded in agreement; that was what her teacher had said in school as well.

“How about this? Let me teach you some cultivation methods after we eat dinner. I might look frail, but I was very strong and famous when I was younger,” Uncle Zhao laughed as he reminisced about his younger days.

“Really?” Xiang Xiaoyu’s eyes brightened.

“Of course! I’m a master at using Telekinesis!” As he said that, he levitated two pairs of chopsticks in front of her.