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nTranslator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

nGu Xiqiao ignored the young man’s offer. His handheld computer was too small for her to operate it efficiently. She glanced at the TV fixed in the middle of the hall. For a moment, she contemplated before she synced up the visuals on the computer with the TV screen.

nSeeing the TV screen switch on by itself stunned the men who were standing behind Peng Zijie. These folks all had plenty of life experiences but this scene in particular felt almost magical to them.

nIt’s not like this is their first time seeing someone else deduce a password and subsequently infiltrate a security system undetected. What baffled them was the fact that it took her only a matter of minutes to do so. Even the most top-of-the-line experts who were hired by the Ministry of Defense took multiple days or even more time in order to do that.

nThis young girl broke down a security system set up by the Ministry of Defense and a cooperating team of IT technicians within mere minutes.

nNo wonder the big boss had so much trust in her. After witnessing her skill and talent, these men shamefully hid away the contemptuous look in their eyes.

nPitting them two together, the young man’s comrades couldn’t help but glance at him with pitiful eyes.

n“…”

nAs the sole person in his team in charge of IT-related matters, the young man went speechless.

nGu Xiqiao ignored their little interaction. Her slender fingers continued dancing about on the keyboard. Her pale white skin contrasted well with the dark keyboard. Her hair covered whatever facial expression she had as she continued typing away on the computer.

nThe surveillance footage on the screen glitched as her fingers moved, making them turn their heads over at the television screen.

nPeng Zijie lit himself a cigarette which he held between his fingers. Staring at the television screen, his face was partially shrouded behind a gray veil of smoke that blew out from his mouth.

nOnly the young man understood what was actually going on in front of their eyes. He finally acknowledged how terrifying Gu Xiqiao was. Infiltrating the Ministry of Defense’s server was no easy task, let alone hacking into every employee’s computer while staying under the radar.

nIf she wanted to, disrupting the order of society within a short span of time would not pose a challenge to her in the slightest.

nHer flexibility on the computer had far surpassed any of the men around him. Even he himself had no idea to which degree her mastery of the computer had reached.

nThe glitching of the footage finally stopped.

nGu Xiqiao put down the handheld computer and rested her feet on the coffee table. She then looked up at the young man who was standing next to her. “Doesn’t this scene look familiar to you?”

nOn the surveillance footage was a man, shot from the back of his head. There were also chains of digits running through the screen of his computer but because the left part of it was blocked by his body, the specifics of the code were unknown.

n“This is the security system of this very base!” The young man stared at the footage anxiously before turning back to face Gu Xiqiao. “Miss Gu…”

nGu Xiqiao raised her hand to stop him from speaking further. “This security system was jointly-built with the Ministry of Defense and it is also the source of this problem.” Gu Xiqiao then spat out a line of numbers. “This man’s skills are far beyond what you all can handle. That number, call him and he might be able to help you.”

nThe doctors upstairs should be wrapping up their examination right this moment. Both Zhu Yuan and Gu Xiqiao led the rest of the team up to the old commander’s ward.

nAs they climbed the stairs, Gu Xiqiao sent a text message to Yu Ning.

nFor A Millenium: “You should be expecting a call from someone later.”

nYu Ning: “… I can’t believe you did it again!”

nFor A Millenium: “^_^”

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nExperts in this field were extremely sensitive whenever it came to digits. Although Gu Xiqiao did not repeat the line of numbers, the young man already had it burned into his mind.

nHe kept repeating the number in his mind. As he looked up at Gu Xiqiao walking in front of him, he exhaled slowly. He couldn’t help but laugh at the situation; the gap between him and her was simply too large to bridge. To think that he was even offering a place for her in the Ministry of Defence. She could access their server at any given time as if she was going out for a walk at the park.

n“Big boss, are we looking for new recruits?” The men standing behind Peng Zijie regained their composure and finally spoke up. “Sir, she seems much more skilled than Liu Zi! If she joins our squad, she’d undoubtedly save lots of unnecessary hassle for us!”

nHis fellow squadmates nodded in agreement following that statement.

n“…”

nThe young man, who was about to be casted away from his own team was at a loss for words.

nPeng Zijie stubbed his cigarette. His eyes scanned across the faces of his men. “Do you all seriously think we’re worthy of having her as our squadmate?”

nHis men: ‘… Well it’s not a sin to imagine, right?’

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n“Big boss, what should we do about our base’s security system?” They returned to the age-old question. Goosebumps appeared down their backs when they realized that every single move they had ever made was being overlooked by some mysterious mole. Should he decide to mess with the switches, they’d all be caught like a deer in the headlights.

n“Didn’t she give Liu Zi that number?” After putting out his cigarette, Peng Zijie proceeded up the stairs without further delay.

nRecalling how skillful Gu Xiqiao was from before, these men stopped being so tense.

n***

nUpstairs, Gu Xiqiao was reading through the data displaying the new discoveries these doctors have made. After flipping through a couple of pages, she finally opened up. “He really is brain dead. However, we can use electrical stimulation pads on specific meridian points.”

n“Electrical stimulation?” Zhu Yuan peered down at the bed-bound old man. “You think it’ll work?”

nIt seems like they had no other choice but to wait for the patient to regain consciousness; every other treatment plan had to wait until then. This was also the reason why Zhu Yuan had it tough. If his patient had, say, a problem with his heart, he’d be able to patch him right up instantly.

n“It’ll work alright.” Gu Xiqiao reached out and felt the old commander’s pulse. The state of his body wasn’t too far off from what she had expected. “Zhu Yuan, you stay here with me.”

nThe other doctors instantly glared at Zhu Yuan enviously before storming outside.

nIn the room, purple sparks danced around Gu Xiqiao’s fingertips.

nZhu Yuan stared in disbelief at the lightning sparks. To be able to use special techniques of the ancient martial arts world, one must at the very least achieve the level of Fleet Foot. Not only that, it also involved one’s luck, hence why users of such power were few and far between. Personally, he knew only two individuals who possessed such an ability.

nShe can do it too? And judging from the way she’s handling it, she’s pretty well-experienced.

nHow scary could this little girl get?

nWasn’t she a dainty young lady when they first met? He was even worried that she’d get into trouble when the day came for her to step foot in the ancient martial arts world. Now, it seemed like Jiang Tong and her friends were the ones he should be worried about.

nShe did a terrific job hiding her skills! All Zhu Yuan thought about at the moment was how foolish he had been back then.

nThe sparks split into ultra-fine strands of current which flowed into the old commander’s skull.

n“Senior, someone from the ancient martial arts world is responsible for the old commander’s vegetative state.” Gu Xiqiao watched as dark balls of matter emerged from the old man’s cranium. Narrowing her eyes, she funneled this ‘thing’ into a bamboo container used specifically to store such items.

nThe dark matter floated easily into the container.

nZhu Yuan exhaled when he heard what Gu Xiqiao said. “It isn’t too far from what I expected.”

nAs soon as he said that, the flat line on the heart rate-monitor started pulsing again.

n“…”

n‘Just like that? And he’s saved?’

nThe doctors standing outside were shocked by the reading on the heart rate monitor. Since they were all madmen when it came to medicine, they all flocked around the old commander’s bed and started examining his body.

n“This is a miracle in the history of medicine,” said an old doctor upon completing his examination.

nAnother one of them removed his glasses with shaking fingers. “If news gets out about this, no doubt, the medical community would be swept off its feet once again.”

nZhu Yuan thought about the recent series of events and he couldn’t help but smile at it. “Didn’t the Americans copy us and built their own research lab? Perhaps, it’s time to remind them of the disparity between us?”

n“Speaking of that, where’s Miss Gu?”

n“… she left.”

n“…”

n***

nGu Xiqiao sent a text message to Baili Bin before waving a taxi down.

nThat night, after dinner, Hua Youlin sat comfortably on the sofa with a physics textbook in his hands. Gu Xiqiao sat right beside him, patiently dissecting the topics he was puzzled by with a pen.

nGu Xiqiao had been rather busy for the past few days. During this period, Hua Youlin had accumulated quite a lot of questions, which took her approximately two hours before every single question was answered.

n“Sister Gu, why haven’t I seen Xixi as of late?” asked Hua Youlin who picked Haha off the floor.

nSpinning the pen around her fingers, Gu Xiqiao replied, “Xixi has tons of stuff to do recently.”

n“…”

n‘Please tell me what ‘tons of stuff’ a mere bird could be possibly busy dealing with.’

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n“Do you have any other questions?” asked Gu Xiqiao with raised brows.

nHua Youlin shook his head.

n“… no, Sister Gu.”

nVery well.

nGu Xiqiao snapped her fingers and immediately went upstairs. Before she went up, she spoke loudly in the direction of the kitchen. “Mrs. Zhang, I’m heading upstairs to take a shower before I sleep!”

nMrs. Zhang emerged from the kitchen holding a glass of milk which she passed over to Hua Youlin. “Sweetie, what’s happened to your Sister Gu today?” At this hour, she’d typically be sitting next to the window, doing a sketch, or playing video games on her computer downstairs. Why is she hitting the sack so early today?”

nHua Youlin thought to himself, ‘… I’d like to know what’s going on with her too.’

n***

nUpstairs, Gu Xiqiao, who claimed that she was heading to bed vanished into thin air the moment she locked her room.

nIn the next moment, she re-appeared in the ancient martial arts world.

nThere was a crowd next to the Trial Tower. They seem to be chattering about something.

nLocated next to the Trial Tower was a pure black piece of granite, on it was displayed their individual rankings. It also contained the records of every person who has ever stepped foot in the Trial Tower.

nGu Xiqiao walked over to the granite and peered down at the names. To her amazement, she managed to find a couple of familiar names.

nYin Shaoyuan, Level 37.

nBaili Bin, Level 45.

nMurong Miaoxue, Level 49.

nThese were basically in the categories of Bone Refinement and Tendon Forging.

nGu Xiqiao looked at the top 3 names on the list.

nTang Qinghong, Level 57.

nJiang Tong, Level 61.

nJiang Shuxuan, Level 70.

nJiang Shuxuan’s ranking was from several years ago, when he had just cleared the level of Xiantian and was halfway through Houtian.

nGu Xiqiao looked away and was thinking about leaving when something changed on the screen. It was the digits that came after Jiang Tong’s name.

nJiang Tong, Level 62.

nThere was an uproar when that happened. “She did it! Jiang Tong has succeeded!”

n“To leap from Level 50 to 61 in a single month! She has far surpassed Young Master Tang! As expected! Miss Jiang Tong’s talent is revolutionary!”

n“What can I say? She’s the little demon girl after all. The way I see it, it’ll be a couple more days before her family can once again move back to the core territory and regain their former glory.

n“…”

nMurong Miaoxue was also standing nearby. She stopped by because she caught wind of Jiang Tong coming here to slug it out at the Trial Towers one more time.

nIn just one month, Jiang Tong, who initially was on the same level as her, lept from Tendon Forging straight to the level of Tong Mai. Even she couldn’t deny the shock she felt when she heard the news.

nA beautiful young girl emerged from the Trial Towers. Instantly, she was surrounded by the masses.

nNoticing Murong Miaoxue, who stood at the edge of the crowd, she flashed a smile at her. As of today, Murong Miaoxue was someone who was not worthy of her attention.

nThe look of astonishment on the face of the girl standing next Murong Miaoxue had yet to fade when she said, “Miss Murong, you can’t afford to underestimate Jiang Tong.”

n“And so it would seem.” Murong Miaoxue looked away emotionlessly. She was surprisingly quick to regain her composure after that shock. “However, my target isn’t her.”

nStanding in front of Jiang Tong at most would make her feel slightly pressured. Standing in front of Gu Xiqiao on the other hand would make her feel completely defenseless!

nOne would know right away the gap between these two characters.

nGu Xiqiao watched the crowd that had formed around Jiang Tong as she rubbed her chin. “To be able to achieve Tong Mai, not bad at all.”

nNot. Bad.

nShe slowly made her way towards the Trial Tower. With so many people around, it was surprising when no one recognized who she was. As if she was a phantom, she walked into the Trial Tower undetected.

nA state of nothingness was all that was in front of her as soon as she entered the structure.

n“Little system, throw me some of the Trial Tower’s stats.” Gu Xiqiao observed a black figure standing on the opposite end of the area. This was the first level and her opponent had just walked through the door.

nThe black figure was not too different from a real human being. It started attacking the moment it noticed Gu Xiqiao.

nGu Xiqiao grabbed the black figure’s wrists and upon exerting her strength effortlessly, the figure disintegrated. Raising her brows in surprise, she said to herself, “It’s a body of energy, huh?”

nTwo pathways appeared in the void behind the black figure that has already disintegrated. One of it led to the exit while the other, to the next level. Gu Xiqiao glanced at these two entrances before finally picking the latter.

nThe battle on level two played out exactly like the previous one. With just a swift move, the black figure broke down instantly.

nOn the 20th level, Gu Xiqiao destroyed the black figure just as she did in the levels leading up to this one.

nBefore proceeding any further, the system’s voice broke the silence. “Beauty Qiao, all the data has already been collected.”

n“Very well.” Gu Xiqiao peered at the pathway leading to level 21. Instead of pushing on, she left the place immediately.

n***

nAround the same time.

nThe elders of the ancient martial arts world were in a meeting. “Elder, the man in charge of the Trial Tower has an urgent matter to report.”

n“Trial Tower? Let him in.” said the elder with a white flowing beard.

nShortly after, a boy in a green shirt came in with a horrified expression. “Elder, we have recorded someone rising from the 1st level to the 20th within ten minutes!”

n“What?” The elder was wide-eyed. A jump from level 1 to level 20 within ten minutes? The only person who was able to pull this off was Jiang Shuxuan. For a moment, he was deep in thought before he asked, “Are you referring to Jiang Tong, from the Jiang family?”

nIt wasn’t impossible if it was her they were talking about. Seems like yet another prodigy was about to rise up within the ancient martial arts world.

n“No” The boy shook his head. “Miss Jiang Tong was already outside the Trial Tower when that happened, and…” He looked down at Jiang Tong’s battle records. It didn’t seem like she was capable of pulling off such a feat.

nIf it wasn’t Jiang Tong, who was it?!

nThe elders stayed up all night trying to locate the person who miraculously rose from the 1st level to the 20th in just ten minutes. They put in great effort in search of that individual but to no avail. This person seemed almost like a phantom, appearing and disappearing out of thin air. Even the records within the Trial Tower contained no traces of that champion.

nThey had no choice but to give up the wild goose chase after searching continuously for a few days.

n***

nSouthern China, at the top of a mountain.

n“Yi Tong, what are you smiling at?” Yi Tiao tucked away his compass and was packing things into his bag, preparing to leave when he noticed Yi Tong grinning at his phone.

nYi Tong looked up and chuckled mysteriously. He then shoved his phone in front of Jiang Shuxuan’s face. “Boss, look at the document the elder has just sent you.” Since they were outside, it was impossible to print the document out, so he just showed it directly to Jiang Shuxuan.

nJiang Shuxuan picked the phone up and began scanning through the lines. The more he read it a subtle smile broke across his chiseled face.

nWhen he reached the next document however, his fingers froze up.

nThree days ago, an unknown individual broke into the Trial Tower and managed to clear 20 levels within a span of 10 minutes. The elders suspect it is the work of Young Master Jiang. Could you please ask the man himself if he is responsible for this?

nJiang Shuxuan raised his brows before seriously typing out two simple words.

nI wasnt.

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nAfter that, he passed the phone back to Yi Tong. He then whipped out his own phone and sent a text message to Gu Xiqiao.

nWere you frolicking in the ancient martial arts world?

nYi Tong got his phone back and Yi Tiao started explaining. “Previously, Big Boss advised the elders not to check on the Peace Squad. Of course, they ignored his advice and sent a team of enlightened disciples over. Not only did these guys leave empty-handed, they even got beaten to a pulp by the Peace Squad. I really wonder just what the hell sort of people these peacekeepers are. They’ve got balls for certain! Stomping out the elders’ forces like they’re a bunch of cockroaches and all!”

nYi Tiao contemplated for a moment.

n“When we get back, I’d like to know more about these guys.”

nThe both of them agreed to go together. Then they started chattering unendingly.

n“Boss!” Yi Bing hastily ran over. “Miss Cecily would like to meet you!”

nJiang Shuxuan was waiting for Gu Xiqiao’s reply on the phone. His face did not change one bit when he heard what Yi Bing said. Bluntly, he turned around with pursed lips and said, “No.”

nThe air around Jiang Shuxuan warped after that and his figure disappeared into thin air.

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