Swallowing the Stars: Starting with the Steel of the Heart

Kyoto base city

Thunder Martial Arts Hall, rooftop helipad

Inspector Qi Cunyuan, supervisor Shan Yucheng, and other high-ranking members of the Thunder Martial Arts School stood in the cold wind, waiting.

Everyone wore solemn expressions, and even though they had been standing in the cold wind for quite some time, not a single person dared to complain.

Just then, a black streak of light streaked across the distant horizon and appeared above the Thunder Martial Arts Hall in the blink of an eye.

Then, the streak of light fell precisely and landed on the helipad of the Thunder Martial Arts Hall.

Only now did everyone truly see that the black streak that had just fallen was actually a streamlined fighter jet.

As the hatch opened and Xiang Bei's figure emerged from the fighter jet, everyone at the Thunder Martial Arts Academy lowered their heads again.

However, everyone was filled with shock.

In fact, they had already received the news before Xiang Bei returned from Thunder Base City.

The person who returned this time was the very boy they had sent away back then.

That excessively young yet exceptionally talented boy.

In just a few months, this genius young man has undergone tremendous changes in both his strength and status!

Not only did his strength leap from a high-level warrior to an invincible war god.

Now he has become the inspector of their Thunder Martial Arts School, and his status is even higher than that of Qiao Cunyuan, the inspector.

Furthermore, there are rumors that this person may have already been taken in as a disciple by the master of the Thunder God Pavilion!

That's right. Not long ago, Xiang Bei went to challenge the Trial Tower again. With his halberd technique at the Intent level and 5.5 times the physical strength, Xiang Bei finally passed the fourth floor of the Trial Tower and successfully entered the fifth floor. He even passed the A-level trial of the fifth floor in one leap, and finally reached the Trial Tower level of 5.3.

The combat power amplitude reached a terrifying 29.15.

According to the rules of the Thunder Martial Arts Academy, once the Trial Tower reaches level 5.0, you can directly obtain the position of Inspector.

Although Xiang Bei is not a formal member of the Thunder Martial Arts School, he has a personal promise from the Thunder God.

Therefore, he continued to hold the position of inspector at the Thunder Martial Arts School.

His status is second only to Thor, the Grand Master, and equal to the other three Inspectors.

Any of these identities would be enough to make the people at Thunder Martial Arts School take things seriously.

"Greetings, Inspector Xiang!" Qiao Cunyuan, Shan Yucheng, and the others bowed and said.

"Uncle Qiao, Uncle Shan, we're family, no need for formalities. Just call me Xiao Bei." Stepping off the fighter jet, Xiang Bei quickly raised his hand in a gesture of respect and said with a smile.

Hearing Xiang Bei say this, Qiao Cunyuan and Shan Yucheng breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

He was worried that Xiang Bei was young and impetuous, and that he would become arrogant and forget himself after gaining power.

Fortunately, Xiang Bei, the young man he had always admired, was of decent character and remained unchanged towards them.

Otherwise, even if Xiang Bei was only temporarily assigned to the Thunder Martial Arts School, they would still feel uncomfortable having an inspector above them.

After exchanging pleasantries, Xiang Bei and Qiao Cunyuan entered the Thunder Martial Arts Hall together.

Qiao Cunyuan and others then invited Xiang Bei to a welcome banquet.

They were quite accommodating to this request and did not refuse.

As for the fighter jet that brought Xiang Bei back, it returned to Thunder Base City via the same route.

There's no way around it; fighter jets are just too expensive. Even if Xiang Bei sold the Sharktooth Dragon and the aggressive monsters he had recently hunted to the Thunder Martial Arts School, it still wouldn't be enough to buy a fighter jet. Xiang Bei simply couldn't afford it.

Of course, for Xiang Bei, buying a few bottles of jade marrow or dragon blood would be better than buying an ordinary fighter jet.

His eldest and second uncles were only at the level of generals.

Things that can enhance strength are still more cost-effective.

After the banquet, Xiang Bei left early, citing that he couldn't hold his liquor.

He had given them the courtesy of a welcoming banquet, but Xiang Bei had no interest in all that other stuff, and certainly no interest in getting involved with these guys' daughters and nieces.

Having a few drinks and saying a few polite words is enough to save face.

After leaving the Thunder Martial Arts School, a private car took Xiang Bei back to the Xiang Family Villa.

At this moment, the Xiang family members were also waiting for Xiang Bei to return, especially Xiang Bei's mother, who had been eagerly anticipating his return to Kyoto Base City since learning that he was going back.

When Xiang Bei's car returned to the Xiang family villa, Xiang's mother went straight to greet him.

"Mom, Xiao Bei is back."

After getting out of the car, Xiang Bei quickly went to his mother's side.

At this moment, tears welled up in Xiang's mother's eyes.

This was the first time Xiang Bei had been away from home for so long since he was born. As a mother, she was naturally very worried. Fortunately, Xiang Bei finally came back.

"mom."

Xiang Bei smiled and hugged his mother. He knew very well that after embarking on the path of martial arts, he would eventually have less and less time to spend with his family and mother.

This is just the beginning; once he enters space, his absence will only take longer.

It's been a few months now, but once he enters the universe, it could be years, hundreds of years, or even tens of thousands of years.

So all he can do now is spend more time with his mother while he's still at home.

After chatting with his mother for a while, his mother, though wanting to talk to Xiang Bei more, refrained from doing so.

Xiang's mother also knew that Xiang Bei had just returned from the Thunder Martial Arts School and still had a lot to do. The old man at home was also waiting for Xiang Bei, so she couldn't delay him for too long.

Bei simply smiled at his mother and prepared to spend more time with her when he returned home later.

"Grandpa, eldest uncle, second uncle, dad."

In the hall, Xiang Bei greeted everyone with a smile.

It's rare to see the old man and the second generation of the Xiang family all gathered together today.

Even his father, Xiang Hu, who had been so busy he was rarely seen, came back.

"Good lad, you're finally back!" Old Master Xiang Shan laughed heartily, his eyes filled with pride. "Hahaha, you didn't let your grandpa down!"

"That's right! You don't even know who taught me!" Xiang Bei said without any modesty.

"You brat!" the old man chuckled and scolded, then beckoned to Xiang Bei, signaling him to come closer.

Xiang Bei immediately took two steps forward. He had been close to his grandfather since childhood and quickly came to the old man's side.

"You have been diligent and talented since you were a child. I thought you would achieve great things in the future, but I never expected this day to come so soon."

The old man spoke with a smile, then glanced at his three sons.

"Much better than your father and his two brothers."

His tone carried a hint of exasperation at their lack of ambition.

In contrast, Xiang Bei's uncles, father, and other relatives could only manage a bitter smile.

It's not that they don't work hard, it's just that their talent is what it is. Besides, they are only in their forties, which is not too old. The old man himself became a war god in his forties, and now he looks down on them.

Seeing this, Xiang Bei stepped forward and quickly came to his father's rescue, saying, "Grandpa, I prepared a gift for you this time. I guarantee you'll like it!"