I will eventually become a god through sheer hard work.

He wasn't saddened by it, but he still felt a bit emotional.

"Hey kid, do you remember the first time we met?"

Xue Jing raised an eyebrow.

Li Ge chuckled, "Of course I remember."

That was in the first year of junior high school. The two of them had just entered school and were assigned to the same class, and even became deskmates.

When Li Ge first met Xue Jing, his deskmate, he asked a strange question.

"Do you lick your ice cream or bite it?"

Xue Jing was puzzled at the time, but still said, "The one that bit."

Then Li Ge immediately shook hands with him, "Comrade!"

Xue Jing found this person strange, but also interesting, so he asked in return:

"Do you prefer Coca-Cola or Pepsi?"

Li Ge replied without hesitation, "I fucking don't care."

Xue Jing smiled and immediately shook hands with him.

"I fucking don't care."

The two forged a wonderful friendship with just two peculiar conversations.

"What a tragic fate! We were classmates and deskmates in junior high, then we went to the same high school, were in the same class again, and later even entered the elite class at the same time."

Li Ge clicked his tongue.

"Damn it, I'm always hanging out with you, I don't know how many girls I've missed out on. You've snatched all the girls away."

"What's most infuriating is that you still don't want it."

Looking at Xue Jing's increasingly exaggerated face, Li Ge suddenly felt angry.

If that face were on his body, he wouldn't wear clothes when he went out.

What a waste.

"Hmm? How are things going with you and your girlfriend lately?"

Xue Jing asked.

"It's been a long time since we last met. I need to focus on preparing for the Xingda University entrance exam, and I don't want to fall too far behind you..."

Time passed slowly as we chatted.

After all the dishes were served, a group of students imitated the adults, holding up their drinks and pretending they were alcohol, toasting each other.

The meal was quite enjoyable, and people gradually dispersed around 10:30 pm.

Xue Jing and Li Ge left the restaurant and walked on the street for a long time, reminiscing about the past, before going home separately.

After arriving home, Xue Jing took a shower, practiced aiming at the dartboard for a while, and then went to bed to sleep with his cat.

Silent all night.

……

The next day at noon, in the back hills of the northern district.

Xue Jing brandished the Futu Blade, which was wreathed in shadow flames and dyed pitch black, practicing various basic sword techniques.

Every now and then, the black blade would suddenly ripple and ignite with a wisp of black flame.

"This method of using the shadow flame as a 'coating' requires a very high degree of precision in manipulation."

"It's not possible to guarantee that the membrane will maintain its shape 100% for a long time; we need to train it a bit more."

Xue Jing's eyes flickered, and he transformed the wisp of burning black flame back into a black membrane, thinking to himself.

After a while, the phone in my pocket started vibrating.

Xue Jing stopped practicing his swordsmanship, dispelled the black membrane of shadow flames, twirled his sword, and sheathed the Futu Blade.

He took out his phone and saw that the caller ID showed "Xu Ren". Without hesitation, Xue Jing answered the call.

"Hey?"

"The goods have arrived, where are you?"

The receiver carried Xu Ren's usual direct words.

Xue Jing's spirits lifted.

We've reached a new level!

"I'm in the back hill of the North District. I'll send you my location."

……

In the southern part of the city, in an area with unfinished buildings, at a makeshift base.

Xu Ren stood on the helicopter landing pad marked with a large "H", hung up the phone, opened WeChat, and checked the location information sent by Xue Jing.

Beside her stood a young man who looked about seventeen or eighteen years old, wearing a navy blue tactical uniform and a paper pendant that looked like a talisman in his left ear.

"What a big shot! We have to deliver it to him?"

The young man scoffed, as if he found it very funny.

Xu Ren turned to look at him, but instead of answering the question, he calmly asked in return:

"Why would you personally deliver this? Young Master Ning of Zhige."

The young man frowned and said with dissatisfaction, "You people from Baiya have absolutely no manners. Don't call me Young Master Ning. I got to where I am today entirely on my own merits, and it has absolutely nothing to do with my family!"

Then, changing the subject, "As for why..."

He held in his hand a seemingly ordinary, fist-sized green bamboo section.

“I’m using this right now… Don’t get me wrong, this is a reward I received for my great contribution in the operation to wipe out the ‘troublemakers,’ and it has nothing to do with my family.”

Xu Ren nodded, his expression unchanged, and simply said, "So, why did you deliver it?"

"Didn't I say that I was using it right away when someone suddenly cut in line and wanted to use it first?"

Young Master Ning narrowed his eyes slightly.

"How could I tolerate such a thing? I must come and see what kind of talent dares to cut in line for me!"

After saying that, he paused and added, "Don't misunderstand, although I call myself 'this young master,' it's just a habitual personal quirk and has nothing to do with my family."

Xu Ren said softly, "It is certainly possible to meet him, but I must ask Young Master Ning not to cause any trouble. That young man named Xue Jing has an extraordinary backer."

Young Master Ning was delighted upon hearing this.

"A powerful backer? How powerful is he? Can he be more powerful than my family?"

He then immediately added, "Of course, don't misunderstand, I'm just using an analogy. I've never relied on my family."

Xu Ren's expression remained unchanged; he simply replied:

"It's probably actually a bit bigger than yours, Young Master Ning."

"Don't call me Young Master Ning. I've already said I rely on myself, on my own!" Young Master Ning retorted with dissatisfaction.

"So, who is his backer?"

……

About half an hour later.

"Da da da da da da-"

Xue Jing sat cross-legged on the grass, closed his eyes and concentrated. He heard a noise from a distance, like a propeller stirring the air, and then opened his eyes to look.

A black helicopter was gradually approaching his location from the horizon.

He stood up and waited where he was.

Before long, the helicopter arrived and slowly landed.

The grass swayed like waves as the propeller churned the air, and Xue Jing raised his hand to shield his eyes from the fierce wind.

The cabin door opened, and Xu Ren, dressed in a tight-fitting black tactical suit that revealed a muscular physique like that of a female leopard, jumped out of the plane.

Closely following behind her was a young man who looked to be seventeen or eighteen years old.

Xue Jing's gaze lingered for a moment on the green bamboo joint he was holding, then looked at the approaching Xu Ren.

"Captain Xuren, it's been a few days since we last met."

Xue Jing smiled and nodded at her, then reached out and shook her hand.

Xu Ren nodded, speaking calmly:

"Your acceptance of this commission has been a great help to me."

Then she turned to the young man beside her and said:

"Who is this……"

Before she could finish speaking, the man interrupted her:

"My name is Ning Yuantai."

Xue Jing was a little confused, but he still nodded at him.

"Hello, my name is Xue Jing."

Ning Yuantai waved his hand.

"Enough with the small talk, I've come here specifically to give you 'the best you can do'."

"This is the thing I was using, but suddenly you were assigned to cut in line. Do you understand how annoyed I am?"

Upon hearing this, Xue Jing turned to look at Xu Ren, only to receive a helpless shrug in response.

He thought for a moment and said, "I don't quite understand... so what do you want to do?"

Ning Yuantai twisted his neck, stared directly at Xue Jing, and glared at him, saying, "I know you have a powerful backer, but you have to understand that a person must rely on themselves, just like me. I didn't rely on my family's connections; I made great contributions on my own and received the 'top achievement' reward!"