“Xiao Pi is here, come on in.” Xia Yan parked the car, and as they walked out of the garage, they saw Aunt Zhou opening the door and greeting them warmly.

“What’s so great about this kid? I’ve never received such a warm welcome,” Xia Yan muttered, seemingly a little resentful, and finally ruffled Jiang Xiao’s hair fiercely.

Jiang Xiao struggled to escape Xia Yan's clutches and retorted, “I’ve only been here for seven days, and she already has such a good impression of me. You’ve been taken care of by her for two years, can’t you see the problem?”

“I’m perfect, no rebuttals allowed,” Xia Yan snorted.

Under Aunt Zhou’s enthusiastic reception, the group sat in the living room for a while, changed their clothes, and headed to the basement.

Xia Yan couldn’t wait to try out the power of the Gold-quality Qing Mang.

Jiang Xiao was happy to oblige.

However, at first, Xia Yan didn't choose to use her arm to block, but instead held a giant blade horizontally in front of her, adopting a defensive posture.

Jiang Xiao clenched his fist, not using too much force, wanting to test the knockback effect added by Qing Mang.

"Dong!"

With a soft sound, Jiang Xiao's fist gently collided with the blade of the steel giant blade.

Xia Yan bent her knees slightly, leaning forward as she slid backwards.

She slid for more than eight meters before steadily stopping.

Jiang Xiao was overjoyed. A light touch could knock someone back eight meters?

He imagined a scene where he flicked Xia Yan's forehead, sending her flying eight meters...

Of course, Jiang Xiao’s strength was strength, and Qing Mang’s knockback effect was purely the knockback effect.

The two had to be distinguished.

Strength might add to the force of knocking Xia Yan back,

But strength had absolutely no effect on Qing Mang's knockback effect.

The star technique’s added effects were fixed and were not affected by the user’s physical fitness.

“Come on, let me try the damage added by Qing Mang.” Xia Yan looked at the blade, found no damage, casually leaned the giant blade against the wall, and walked to Jiang Xiao.

Qing Mang, in addition to the added knockback effect, also had a "powerful strike" effect, which increased the damage to the area covered by Qing Mang.

This added effect was linked to the user's physical fitness.

“Should I put on gloves?” Jiang Xiao hesitated and said, “It’s protection for both of us.”

Fighting bare-handed without protective gear would be irresponsible to both parties.

“No need, come on.” Xia Yan said domineeringly, her star power flowing, covering her whole body, with more star power flowing between her arms, blocking her face.

Jiang Xiao used thirty percent of his strength, a light jab like lightning.

Xia Yan’s expression tightened slightly; the visual effect was more obvious than the damage she received.

Because of Qing Mang’s knockback attribute, Xia Yan was once again knocked back, sliding eight meters before barely stopping.

“Are you okay?” Jiang Xiao asked with concern.

“Don’t be so serious, I’m not used to it.” Xia Yan glared at Jiang Xiao, shook her arms, and said, “Add a little strength, does your sister abuse you at home every day? Doesn’t she feed you?”

What the hell...

Jiang Xiao adopted a standard fighting stance, his left hand delivering another dragonfly-skimming jab, swift but also fierce.

“Tsk tsk...” Xia Yan’s head was hidden behind her crossed arms, her body sliding uncontrollably backwards again, making soft tsking sounds.

“Are you satisfied or mocking me?” Jiang Xiao scratched his head, looking at Xia Yan who had stopped steadily, a little unsure of this husky.

“Not bad, not bad, with the addition of a blade, it will increase more damage.” Xia Yan shook her slightly trembling arms and said, "If you really plan to use a knife, you have to pay attention in the competition. Your Qing Mang’s added powerful strike effect is indeed a bit powerful.”

Jiang Xiao muttered, "I don't even know my own weight yet, and I'm already worried about my opponents."

Xia Yan seemed not to hear and continued to ask, “Have you upgraded Blessing yet?”

Jiang Xiao: “Not yet.”

Xia Yan: “You haven’t upgraded its quality after so long?”

Jiang Xiao: “It’s still early. I did absorb seven or eight White Ghost Witch Star Beads in the Holy Ruins, but the number is too small. If I could grab them by the handful like the White Ghosts, maybe the star technique could be upgraded faster.”

Xia Yan: “The school will organize more training, but the Jiannan Village Snowfield Base will probably be closed for a while. There’s another snowfield base over at Xindanxi, but it’s quite a distance away, a three- or four-hour drive.”

“Take the high-speed rail, it only takes an hour and a half,” Jiang Xiao scratched his head.

Xia Yan: “I still prefer to drive myself, I like the private space. Every time I pick you two up, I want to stuff you in the trunk so your sister and I can have some alone time.”

Jiang Xiao pointed at Xia Yan’s nose and said loudly, “Are you a demon!?”

Xia Yan’s hand slid down her shoulder, past her graceful waist, her fingers pointing to her long legs, and said, “You’re not old, but you have good taste.”

Han Jiangxue watched the two bickering, feeling amused and exasperated.

“Compared to the snowfield, I’d rather go to the volcano cluster,” Jiang Xiao suddenly changed the subject.

“Huh?” Han Jiangxue looked at Jiang Xiao in surprise.

Because the "Bell" star technique was produced by the Lava Ghost Witches in the volcano cluster.

Moreover, that "Bell" was still a Silver-quality star technique. Since there were no Bronze-quality Lava Ghost Witch Star Beads, upgrading "Bell" to Gold-quality only required 10 Silver-quality Lava Ghost Witch Star Beads.

From the perspective of quickly improving the team's combat power, choosing to upgrade "Bell" to Gold was undoubtedly the best option.

“Each skill has its own specialization, Bell is more suitable for healing injuries,” Jiang Xiao replied.

“Volcanoes are much more powerful than the other-dimensional creatures in the snowfield, they’re not even on the same level.” Han Jiangxue shook her head, “There are more types of other-dimensional creatures there, and they are stronger. There are also some special and mysterious creatures in the volcano."

“Do we need to buy tickets to go there?” Jiang Xiao asked.

“Yes, only low-level other-dimensional spaces like the snowfield are open to us for free. That volcano is no longer a paradise for low-level awakeners.” Han Jiangxue shook her head, “Only relatively strong teams will go there to train.”

“Oh.” Hearing that there was an admission fee, Jiang Xiao’s heart bled.

Poor scholars and rich warriors was not just a saying.

The profession of awakener was not something that the poor could afford to play, so some awakeners would choose to attach themselves to some social groups and rely on the team to survive.

Of course, this refers to some people.

There were also others who, as long as they didn't have such great ambitions, could live a very comfortable life.

For example, Jiang Xiao now, if he didn't have any goals, he could get a job in a hospital, or be a private doctor or health doctor for some rich families, and Jiang Xiao could definitely live well.

Buying a house and a car, such goals should be achieved quickly.

“What’s the market price of Lava Ghost Witch Star Beads?” Jiang Xiao asked.

“About 100,000 at market price,” Xia Yan replied.

"Ah? Why is it so cheap? Is a Silver-quality Bell not as good as a Bronze Blessing?” Jiang Xiao was slightly stunned.

“Because Blessing is a Bronze-quality star technique, its absorption success rate is much higher than the absorption success rate of Bell.” Han Jiangxue explained, "Bronze-quality White Ghost Witch Star Beads are the best star beads for enlightenment for medical awakeners, and they are always in short supply. You can't buy them even if you have money."

“It’s as if you can buy Lava Ghost Witch Star Beads if you have money,” Xia Yan muttered softly.

“Hmm?” Han Jiangxue turned to look at Xia Yan.

Xia Yan hurriedly stepped forward and took Han Jiangxue’s hand, saying, “Oh, I almost forgot, let’s go to the backyard and prepare. With the afterglow of the setting sun, we will surely break through the shackles of the Nebula mid-stage.”

Jiang Xiao said, "If you can't buy anything, what kind of business is that?"

Han Jiangxue shook her head and said, "You still know too little about this world. You will know in the future that the so-called business is essentially a recycling station for a certain type of people."

Jiang Xiao: “……”