Xie Sisi spent almost every birthday by herself. Her parents worked in manufacturing, relying almost entirely on overti to make ends et, so they hardly ever passed up any opportunity to work extra hours.
Her brother was a chef and never had any ti off either. Although she received blessings and gifts every year, Xie Sisi had hardly any truly morable birthday monts in her mories.
Since Xie Sisi got to know Wang Lan, her life had begun to take a turn. Before the New Year, her father had been promoted to a managent position by his superiors. During the winter vacation, she herself had successfully broken through to the Star Shine Stage in the trial field, even reaching the mid-stage of the Star Shine Stage in one fell swoop.
In the New Year, Xie Sisi accompanied her parents to her fourth maternal uncle’s house in the distant Xu City, a visit that truly allowed her to hold her head high. Her cousin, who had broken through to the Star Shine Stage a year prior, was still only in its early phase. Xie Sisi, on the other hand, had rely been at the Starlight Stage back then.
Now, not only had she surpassed him in rank, but her strength also overwhelmingly outstripped his. During her visit, her uncle personally tested Xie Sisi’s strength, and the results shocked everyone.
Even without using Star Martial Skills, Xie Sisi could actually fight to a draw with her uncle, who was at the Star Cloud Stage. It wasn’t the kind of draw where the opponent held back—it was a genuine stalemate.
Recalling her aunt’s displeased expression brought joy to Xie Sisi. Previously, her aunt always assud that Xie Sisi would eventually try to take advantage of her uncle. But now, it wasn’t so certain who would be relying on whom for support. For the first ti, when her uncle generously handed Xie Sisi a large red envelope, her aunt didn’t utter a single word of protest.
Xie Sisi understood that deep down, her uncle cared for her. He just couldn’t show it because of her aunt.
Xie Sisi cherished the help Wang Lan and the others had given her, which was why she was determined to treat them to a al.
But without a good reason, they definitely wouldn’t agree. Even if they did, they would undoubtedly fight over who paid the bill.
She just hadn’t expected them to find out about her birthday today; she certainly hadn’t managed to keep it a secret.
"Sisi, don’t just stand there looking touched. Aren’t you going to open them?"
"Can I?"
"Of course."
Xie Sisi first opened Xu Xiangwen’s gift box. Inside was a pair of tal gloves. They were quite different from the fist-type gloves Xu Xiangwen had previously worn; these were more intricate and far cooler.
Xu Xiangwen’s previous punch gloves had only a single loop for the fingers, while this pair featured five individual finger stalls, each leaving only the top joint of the finger exposed. The gloves extended all the way to the elbows, gleaming like silver or platinum.
Simple yet elegant, understated yet exquisite.
"This... this must be very valuable, right?" Xie Sisi asked hesitantly.
"Valuable? What’s that got to do with anything? Sisi, you should know us by now. The word ’valuable’ shouldn’t even be in our vocabulary when it cos to friends. These are gloves made of Star Pattern Mus steel. You understand how much they can help you."
Star Pattern Mus steel was a tal alloy accidentally synthesized a hundred years ago by the tallurgical master Mus. This tal was known for its high strength, excellent tensile properties, and most importantly, it was the fastest known material for conducting Star Power.
Items made from this material, whether weapons or protective gear, were highly sought after and beloved by Star Martial Warriors. The only drawback was its extre expense.
"Xiangwen, this is too valuable... I..."
"Are we friends or not? If we are, then don’t refuse. Since I dared to give them to you, it ans I believe our friendship is far more precious than these gloves. If you consider a friend, accept them."
Touched, Xie Sisi accepted the gloves. She then opened Gong Feiyu’s gift, which was a pendant.
"Sisi, I’m not very good at choosing gifts. Lingling picked this out."
"Thank you, I really like it," Xie Sisi replied with a smile, accepting it. Since she had already accepted Xu Xiangwen’s incredibly valuable gift, she naturally wouldn’t refuse this pendant.
Then, Xie Sisi excitedly opened Wang Lan’s gift. When she saw the Soul Bead lying quietly inside, her expression changed abruptly.
"Is this... a Star Martial Skill?"
"Yes, this is the Water Substitute Star Martial Skill. I thought it would suit you, so I bought it."
"Thank you!" Xie Sisi’s cheeks flushed. She didn’t even ask the price. After all, Star Martial Skills were never cheap. A single Soul Bead started at eighty thousand; how inexpensive could this possibly be?
"That’s very tily. Since Wang Lan gave you a Water Attribute evasion-type Star Martial Skill, I’ll give you a Water Attribute defense-type Star Martial Skill. Don’t refuse it; this skill wasn’t purchased by . It was imprinted from my mind by a Star Martial Skill engraving master. A Grade-B Star Martial Skill, Extre Wall of Water."
"What? Imprinted from your mind? Could that affect you?" Xie Sisi asked nervously.
"What are you worried about? Many profound aspects of Star Martial Skills can only be understood intuitively and cannot be conveyed through words. That’s why the inheritance of Star Martial Skills is mostly done through Spiritual Engraving. Imprinting it into soone’s mind is the sa as imprinting it onto a Soul Bead."
The gifts from Wang Lan and the others caught Xie Sisi completely off guard. She truly hadn’t expected them to know it was her birthday, much less that they would give her such incredibly valuable presents.
Just the two Star Martial Skills were priceless, not to ntion Xu Xiangwen’s Star Pattern Mus Steel Gloves. The combined worth of these items was probably several million.
If it were rely a matter of value, Xie Sisi would have insisted on refusing. But these items weren’t just precious; their significance was far deeper. If she refused, Wang Lan and the others would genuinely be upset. In the end, not only did she avoid any expense, but she had also profited imnsely.
The dishes arrived quickly. For six Star Martial Warriors, it was ti to demonstrate their true eating capacity.
An entire table of food was devoured in less than twenty minutes. When everyone was having such a good ti, who worried about the cost? They ate with abandon, ordering dishes to their hearts’ content.
Two hours later, all that remained was a table piled high with plates like a small mountain, and two waiters panting from exhaustion.
The final bill ca to over four thousand.
"Sisi, get in the car, I’ll drive you ho," Jiang Xinyu said, wrapping her arm around Xie Sisi.
"No need, I can get a taxi myself. It’s still early..."
"Sisi, let Xinyu take you ho. Xinyu, if you encounter foreigners trying to flag you down, don’t stop. If soone tries to forcibly stop you, just ram through them. I’ll take responsibility for anything that happens."
Upon hearing this, Xie Sisi’s expression froze. Jiang Xinyu silently nodded and asked, "Is it table seventy-six?"
"Yes!"
At table seventy-six, three tables away from theirs, sat four foreigners. From the mont Xie Sisi had started opening her gifts, these four had repeatedly glanced in her direction.
Although it’s said one shouldn’t flaunt wealth, in the Jade Country, under broad daylight, there was generally no need to be overly cautious. Ordinary people wouldn’t recognize the value of items like Star Martial Skills or Star Pattern Mus Steel Gloves. Even if other Star Martial Warriors were present, the chance of them acting with malicious intent was incredibly small.
But these particular foreigners seed to have a robber’s instinct. The mont Xie Sisi opened the first box, their greedy gazes shot over, completely undisguised. With Wang Lan’s alertness, how could he have failed to notice?
The four cars started and drove off. In truth, not many people would dare to commit robbery in broad daylight in Suzhou City. Even if those blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigners harbored greedy thoughts, it was unlikely they would actually dare to make a move.
Half an hour later, Wang Lan received a call from Xie Sisi, notifying him of her safe arrival ho. Soon after, Xu Xiangwen and the others also phoned in, having reached their destinations safely.
Wang Lan arrived ho around nine in the evening. School was starting again the next day. After taking a bath, he went to bed early.
Just as he was drifting off to sleep, he was jolted awake by his ringing phone.
Who could it be?
Wang Lan irritably picked up his phone. A single glance at the screen instantly banished all sleepiness.
It was an ergency alert from the Tianjian Bureau.
Every official mber of the Tianjian Bureau was equipped with a special mobile phone that had an ergency alert function. In urgent situations, pressing the alert would summon all Tianjian Bureau mbers in the jurisdiction, who were to rush to the target location.
The source of the alert wasn’t far from Wang Lan’s location. It originated from a villa district one and a half kiloters southeast of the Eastern Heaven Gate comrcial district.
Without hesitation, Wang Lan sprang out of bed. He threw on his clothes while heading downstairs. Two minutes later, his electric scooter, its speed limiter disengaged, roared out of the underground garage.
In this mode, the scooter’s top speed could reach one hundred and twenty kiloters per hour. Zipping through the city, it was faster than any car, especially now, around eleven or twelve at night, when the roads were still quite busy.
In less than ten minutes, Wang Lan arrived at the targeted residential complex. The area had already been disturbed by a series of explosions, causing many residents to rush out of their hos in shock. However, the site of the explosions was so distance away, and they lacked the courage to investigate.
Upon entering the complex, Wang Lan leaped into the air, bounding across the tops of streetlights as he sped towards the target location.
From a distance, he saw three figures engaged in a chaotic battle in the yard of a villa. Wang Lan didn’t need a closer look to know who to help: two blond, blue-eyed foreigners were attacking soone who appeared to be from the Jade Country.
Wang Lan leaped high, instantly linking his Crescent Arrow and Fla Sword techniques.
A Purple Fla Arrow shot out within a second. SIZZLE—
"RUN!" a shout escaped one of the foreigners as his body was flung backward. The other foreigner had just stabbed his sword into the chest of the Tianjian Bureau agent. He barely had ti to retreat before the Purple Fla Arrow reached his face.
There’s no ti to dodge!
The blond foreigner clenched his teeth, crossing his arms before his chest. Instantly, a golden gleam flickered around him, and monts later, he was encased in a layer of silvery-white tal. Transford into a statue, he intended to withstand Wang Lan’s arrow head-on.
Among the seven attributes, the Gold Attribute possessed the highest defensive power. Just as the Thunder Attribute was fad for its claim, "There is no absolute defense I cannot pierce," the Gold Attribute, in turn, boasted, "There is no attack I cannot block."
BOOM—
This arrow had been shot from a hundred ters away. Normally, the greater the distance, the weaker the attack. Moreover, Wang Lan’s attack had been launched in haste and clearly wasn’t at full power. This thought had barely ford in the blond foreigner’s mind when, in the next instant, his expression changed drastically.
Wang Lan’s arrow pierced deeply into the silver statue, half its length sinking into the chest.
But that wasn’t the end. Before the blond foreigner could recover from the severe impact, the terrifying power within the Purple Fla Arrow erupted. In that instant, all the foreigner had ti to feel was overwhelming terror.
BOOM—
He was blown to pieces.
The Tianjian Bureau agent on the receiving end of the foreigner’s attack stared wide-eyed, his face a mask of disbelief. He clutched his chest and slowly collapsed.
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