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Tianyu feigned surprise when he heard about Fu Meng's recent trouble. "Oh," he remarked casually, "I wonder what trouble he got into this time."

Qin Li Mei nodded in agreement, showing her distaste for Fu Meng's behavior. "That young man has been nothing but a nuisance for a while now, always pushing others around."

After breakfast, Tianyu headed to the courtyard, sticking to his daily training regimen. Over the past five days, he has made remarkable progress in both his Cloud Chasing Technique and the Venomous Needle Technique. However, he felt that his needle technique was starting to stagnate. He had an idea to further improve it.

"Sophia," he called out, "can I manipulate the shape of the needles?"

Sophia responded, [As the needles are a product of the system, this should pose no issues, host, within reason.]

"Excellent," Tianyu replied with a determined expression.

He decided to test his new idea. After informing his mother that he was heading out, he left for the lake. Upon arriving, he had a clear image in his mind while pulling out a needle. He examined the needle and found that his mental image had worked: the once-solid silver needle now had a hole on one end and a small barb on the other. He then pulled out his wire thread and tied it through the newly created hole.

Tianyu was preparing to train his technique on moving targets—by going fishing.

After confirming that the needles he was using hadn't been poisoned, he began throwing the modified needle into the water. Due to the refraction of the water, this proved to be an extremely challenging task. Hours passed, and he still hadn't succeeded. But he wasn't about to give up now; he could feel himself getting closer.

During this time, he received plenty of strange looks from passersby, but none of that bothered Tianyu.

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After about four hours, he finally managed to hit his target. He reeled the fish in, quickly finished it off, and tried again. He had figured out that he needed to aim quite a way below where he could see the fish. After some practice, he caught two more fish, feeling pleased with his progress. He decided to call it a day and headed home.

Back at home, he presented his catch to his mother, who was pleased for him and began preparing dinner for both of them. While having dinner, Tianyu decided to redeem his avatar ticket.

"Sophia, I want to redeem my avatar ticket," he stated. "I would like a Technique Training Avatar."

[Processing...]

[Confirmed! Congratulations, host! You have acquired a Technique Training Avatar!] she announced.

Tianyu smiled, pleased to have a new avatar even though he wished he could have more to maximize his exp gains. He decided to check how many exp points he had accumulated over the past five days.

"Sophia, how many exp points have I gained in these 5 days?" he asked.

[Host, you have gained 310 exp from training, 23 exp from your spirit pet beast, and 160 exp from your avatars, making a total of 493 exp gained,] she reported.

"493 exp gained, plus the 100 I had already..." Tianyu thought for a moment and then came to a decision.

But first, there's something I need to do.

As night fell, he heard his mother go to bed. He quickly changed into a dark outfit, quietly opened his window, and left the house. Thanks to his recent training, he moved silently and swiftly. Without making a noise, he left the courtyard and began to prowl through the streets.

Passing through the streets he could see a few lamps on in people's houses, but the vast majority of the town was slumbering.

The night was dark, with no street lamps to illuminate his path. The moon was his only guide. He made sure to remain as quiet as possible, navigating through the quiet town streets until he reached his destination.

Upon arriving at a medium-sized compound, he had to be cautious. He had been here many times before as a child, playing with his friends. He moved stealthily to the back of the compound, summoned his halberd from his system space, and used the crescent blade as a hook to climb over the wall. After hoisting himself over, he dismissed the weapon and took in his surroundings, relieved to find no one nearby.

Creeping through the compound, avoiding the night guard who patrolled the area, he headed toward a specific building. He had a clear goal in mind. He had been here before, and he knew exactly where he needed to go. Sliding open a window, he spotted a figure lying on a bed.

Tianyu knew that for the sake of his and his mother's safety, he had to tie up loose ends. He threw a poisoned needle, and it hit its mark.

[You have killed 1x normal human. Gained exp points x 20.]

With the task completed, he retraced his steps, quietly left the compound, and returned home without being detected.

Once back home, he climbed back in through his window and made a vow to himself that he wouldn't be so naive and careless again. Leaving loose ends only hurt him in the long run. With determination, he vowed not to make the same mistakes again.

It was with this new determination that he finally made a decision: "Sophia, I want to spend 500 exp points and enter the Foundation realm."

[Processing...]