As soon as Fu pushed open the door, he saw a small girl, about one hundred and forty-nine centimeters tall, with a strikingly beautiful face and fair, delicate skin, fiercely hitting his older brother Chen Xin on the head with a ruler.
While she struck, her voice was hoarse from yelling:
"I raised both of you with blood, sweat, and tears, and this is how you repay me? Chen Xin! You ungrateful child, you ungrateful!"
As she spoke, the little girl swung the ruler.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!
Chen Xin knelt on the ground, pinching his earlobes with both hands, obediently enduring the punishment, gritting his teeth and not daring to speak.
Chen Xiang shrank his neck back, silently taking a step towards the door.
"I gave you the box to hand over, why take the risk?!" The little girl's eyes were red from anger.
Chen Xin lowered his head and forced a smile:
"Sis, it's a gamble; we might turn a bike into a motorcycle..."
*Bang! Bang! Bang!
Chen Xiang inched closer to the door again.
"Transform your head into a big ghost!" The little girl yelled, "Hand over the box right now!"
"No!" Chen Xin raised his head: "Sis, it's too late to hand it over now; the chance has passed."
"How can you say that?" The little girl was so angry her liver ached, raising her ruler high.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!
Chen Xiang had managed to step outside when the little girl seemed to sense something and turned her fierce gaze toward him. He immediately tried to run.
"Stand there!"
Chen Xiang obediently stopped.
"Where's the box?" The little girl approached him aggressively, ruler in hand.
"It's buried in the mud of the alley," Chen Xiang answered honestly.
"Bring it to me; I'll hand it over to the Giant Academy…"
"No way!" Chen Xin, still kneeling, turned his head and spoke softly: "Sis, it really is too late..."
After a pause, he continued,
"And even if the Giant Academy doesn't pursue it, offering a few hundred thousand to a million... can we really keep it safe? You should know this better than anyone."
The little girl fell silent, standing still for a long time before letting out a soft sigh.
"Why take such risks?"
"Sis, you're struggling on the streets where danger lurks; I'm just passing time at the police station, seeing the end is all too clear... I don't want to live like this anymore!"
Chen Xin's voice was firm:
"After twenty, it's harder to enter the extraordinary realm. We're done for, but little brother hasn't turned twenty yet; he still has a chance! This box might be the opportunity to change our future..."
Before he could finish,
*Bang! Bang! Bang!
The little girl continued to strike, tears streaming from her eyes out of anger.
Chen Xiang quietly observed from the side, sighing inwardly as he began to understand the situation.
His sister had seen too much life and death while struggling on the streets; she feared danger the most and only sought stability.
His older brother, having grown comfortable at the police station, had seen many important figures, leading his ambitions to grow.
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So after his sister found the wooden box, she wanted Chen Xin to hand it in for the reward, seeking safety in return.
Yet after obtaining the box, Chen Xin wanted to hide it, hoping to leverage this chance to propel their family to greatness.
Chen Xiang reached out and rubbed his sister's head:
"Sis, it's already done."
The little girl nodded silently, but soon became fierce again, raising her ruler high.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Such disrespect!"
Chen Xiang covered his head and fled.
...
...
After the chaos subsided,
"It's just like little brother said; it's already done." The little girl spoke solemnly: "Little brother just mentioned that the box can't be opened at all, but blood seems to work..."
Pausing, she continued:
"Here's the plan: tonight we'll try to open the box. If we manage to open it, great; if not, we'll set up a situation to ‘accidentally' find the box and then hand it over!"
Chen Xiang and Chen Xin exchanged glances, both nodding in agreement.
Chen Xin suddenly remembered something and said:
"By the way, Sis, Lin Yulang from the Giant Academy canceled little brother's admission and replaced it with a teaching assistant position..."
"That doesn't matter," Chen Shaoyan said calmly. "Assistant or not, as long as he's in [Ancient Mysticism], he can access the legendary path to the extraordinary!"
Chen Xiang pondered for a moment before nodding:
"By the way, Sis, how did you get that admission qualification?"
Here's the translation for the next section:
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"Yesterday, when that floating car crashed, I was nearby and picked up the box. I also saved a teacher from the Giant Academy who was responsible for the escort. To repay me, I asked for an admission slot," Chen Shaoyan stated succinctly.
"That teacher's surname is Wang, his name is Wang Longxiang... Alright, Second, you take Little Brother to school this afternoon. I have to handle some matters on the street."
The three siblings discussed for a moment, their expressions heavy; a misstep in dealing with the box incident could lead to catastrophe.
But...
Fortune favors the bold.
Chen Xiang felt a flicker of anticipation rise within him. Could the method suggested by the silly girl truly open the box?
If it worked... what could be inside?
He buried his expectations deep in his heart. After bidding farewell to his sister, he took a short nap, but it was anything but peaceful; the murmured prayers from his dreams were interspersed with words like "sacrifice" and "offering."
...
There were many higher learning institutions in Great City, but only four offered [Ancient Mysticism], three of which were in the Fourth Ring, leaving the Giant Academy as the sole one in the Eighth Ring.
Thus, the Giant Academy held a terrifyingly high status in the Eighth Ring and even the entire Outer Third Ring, sprawling across a vast expanse.
Covering a full thirty thousand mu, or twenty square kilometers, it was nearly equivalent to a city in ancient times.
So, when Chen Xiang laid eyes on the Giant Academy's entrance, his eyes widened in shock.
"It's so big!"
He gazed at the enormous gate, thirty meters wide and nearly fifty meters tall, marveling at its sheer scale.
The gate was a pure bronze color, imposing and solemn, and looking up at it brought an unparalleled sense of awe.
After parting ways with his brother, Chen Xiang nervously adjusted his shirt, took a deep breath, and stepped through the gate.
After wandering for a good half hour, he finally located the area occupied by the [Ancient Mysticism] department and was once again left speechless.
Was this really a school?
Chen Xiang couldn't help but smack his lips in disbelief.
Before him lay a landscape reminiscent of a medieval castle, both majestic and slightly eerie...
He shook his head to clear his thoughts and walked briskly toward the cluster of castles.
Once he found the academic office and filled out the necessary information, he was left bewildered.
"Instructor Lin teaches [Spirit Navigation and Soul Travel] and [Basic Mystic Arts]. Mr. Chen, which course are you assisting with?"
The stern girl with black-rimmed glasses and a high ponytail asked.
Chen Xiang blinked in confusion, but then a thrill ran through him at the mention of spirit navigation, soul travel, and basic mystic arts...
For the first time, he felt the extraordinary was within reach.
After contemplating for a moment, Chen Xiang replied:
"Instructor Lin didn't specify..."
"Then that means you're defaulted to assist with both subjects?" The girl pushed up her glasses, scribbling furiously on the paper before finally declaring,
"Alright, I've noted that down. Here's your assistant ID badge... Instructor Lin is on leave today, so you should familiarize yourself with the classroom. Here's the schedule."
As she spoke, she casually handed him several sheets of paper and added,
"Go find a freshman class for either Spirit Navigation or Mystic Arts to sit in on and familiarize yourself with the process; you can consult with Instructor Lin later. By the way, the textbooks for Mystic Arts are over there; you can grab them yourself."
Chen Xiang thanked her, taking the papers and examining them in awe.
From [Protection and Exorcism Arts], [Philosophy and Application of the Four Elements], [Divine Systems Lecture], to [Supernatural Biological Ecology],
and then [Spirit Navigation and Soul Travel] and [Basic Mystic Arts],
followed by [Astrology and Fate Weaving], [Studies on Mystical Societies and Secret Cults]...
These were all freshman courses.
This was ancient mysticism?
He didn't hesitate long before packing the Mystic Arts textbooks into his bag and following the signs to the nearest classroom for a [Basic Mystic Arts] lecture that had just begun.
Before he even entered, he could hear the teacher's booming voice inside.
"The wonders of the human body are boundless; it is the vessel for the spirit and the foundation of the path to the extraordinary."
"And Mystic Arts are methods of physical training, the basis for entering the extraordinary, or rather..."
"Preceding!"
Chen Xiang's heart raced. The Extraordinary... Preceding?
He felt dazed; the extraordinary he had long sought seemed... so close at hand?
Taking a deep breath, Chen Xiang pushed open the door.