High Martial Arts: Slay enemies to become stronger, forge invincibility from billions of corpses.

Four dishes and a soup were laid out on the table.

Braised pork belly, sweet and sour pork ribs, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, a steamed sea bass, and a bowl of seaweed and egg drop soup.

The cafeteria chefs brought out all their best skills: the braised pork was caramelized to a glossy sheen, and the sea bass was cooked to perfection, the fish meat falling apart into garlic cloves at the slightest touch of chopsticks.

Song Chen ate very seriously; she was genuinely hungry.

He picked up a piece of braised pork with his chopsticks, put it in his mouth, chewed it, swallowed it, and then picked up another piece.

Lin Qingxue sat opposite him, chopsticks in her hand, watching him pick up pieces of braised pork one by one.

She pushed the plate of sweet and sour pork ribs toward him.

You've lost weight.

"Um."

"Didn't like the food at Tianhai University?"

"I haven't spent much time in school."

Song Chen did not elaborate on her experience.

Lin Qingxue did not press the matter further.

She picked up a piece of stir-fried vegetables with her chopsticks and slowly chewed it in her mouth.

The stir-fried vegetables in the cafeteria had minced garlic in them, and the cooking time was just right; the vegetable leaves were still crisp.

She chewed for a long time, as if the food needed to be tasted repeatedly before she could swallow it.

"I'm doing well at Nanjiang University. I go to class, train, and go back to my dorm every day."

"My water-based ability teacher said I have good control precision, but my Qi and blood levels are too low. I practice very diligently, every day."

She spoke, her voice very soft.

"And you, how much Qi and blood do you have now?"

Song Chen put down his chopsticks: "Five thousand isn't much."

Lin Qingxue's chopsticks stopped in mid-air, and then she put them down.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, illuminating her profile and revealing a thin vein throbbing gently at the corner of her eye.

"Back in high school, you sat in the row behind me, and your blood energy level was 0.6."

"Back then, I felt that we were about the same. You worked harder than me, so you did better on the exam. You went to Tianhai, and I came to Nanjiang."

"I'm thinking that I'll train hard here, and you train hard in Tianhai. When we have a break, you go back to Anning City, and I'll go back to Anning City too..."

She lowered her head and looked at the rice in the bowl.

"Then I saw on the news that you became a first-class combat hero, and then in Qinghu Base City, you single-handedly fought your way through a level 3 beast tide."

Everyone says you are the number one genius in the Great Xia Dynasty.

"I watched that video over a hundred times, and every time I wondered, is this the Song Chen I know?"

Lin Qingxue raised her head and looked at Song Chen intently.

"It really does seem to be you, but you're getting further and further away from me."

She didn't ask Song Chen how he did it, because the video from Qinghu Base City had already given her the answer.

The cafeteria window was slightly ajar, and a breeze slipped in through the crack, carrying the unique damp warmth of Nanjiang and the fragrance of osmanthus blossoms.

Song Chen didn't know how to answer, so she could only keep eating the meat.

Lin Qingxue was still saying, "I'm starting to miss Anning City."

Song Chen finished the last bite of his fourth bowl of rice, put down his chopsticks, and said, "If you miss home, then go back and visit."

"Yeah, I'll go back during winter break."

"Song Chen".

"Um."

Sometimes I feel that you're moving way too fast.

"So fast that I can barely see your back anymore."

Song Chen did not respond.

"You will go much further in the future, to the fifth rank, the sixth rank, the garrison commander will salute you, and the entire Great Xia will be calling your name."

"And here I am, attending classes and training every day, my Qi and blood levels are slowly increasing. After some time, will you still remember me?"

She finished speaking without crying, and her eyes weren't red.

It was said very quietly, as if it were something that had been thought about for a long time and could finally be faced calmly.

Song Chen looked at her for about three seconds.

Then he picked up the teapot on the table, poured a cup of tea into the cup in front of her, and pushed the cup to her side.

"Lin Qingxue".

He rarely called her by her full name, and she looked up.

"I will remember."

Lin Qingxue's fingers tightened.

Song Chen put the teapot down.

I don't know where I'll end up, but I'll never forget you.

The wind outside blew a sycamore leaf in through the window, and it landed on the table.

Lin Qingxue lowered her head, picked up the leaf, and placed it in her palm. The edges of the leaf were a little yellow, but the veins were very clear.

"You never used to talk like that."

"Um."

"I know how now."

"Practice."

She smiled slightly, very gently, her eyes finally reddening, but she didn't let the tears fall.

She tucked the sycamore leaf into her phone case and fastened it.

Another silence fell.

Song Chen looked up at her and said, "I'm leaving after this meal."

"So soon? Can't we stay a little longer?"

"It seems...impossible."

"All right."

After finishing their meal, they walked out of the cafeteria.

The sunlight was a bit more slanted than before, and the shadows of the sycamore trees were longer than at noon.

Students on campus saw them from afar and stopped, but were stopped by the honor guards outside the square.

The two walked side by side under the sycamore trees, their pace slow, just as it had been in Anning City.

As we approached the school gate, the spaceship was parked on the temporary landing pad, its silver hull reflecting a soft light in the sunlight.

Han Duo stood at the hatchway and, seeing them approach, immediately turned around to check the hydraulic lever of the hatchway, which he had already checked three times.

Song Chen stopped and turned around.

Lin Qingxue stood in front of him, half a head shorter than him. She looked up at his face for a few seconds, as if trying to memorize it.

Then she stood on tiptoe and kissed him on his left cheek.

It was very light; the lips touched the skin and stayed for less than a second.

He landed back on the ground, took a step back, and the tips of his ears turned bright red.

"Go."

Song Chen looked at her, reached out, and tucked a strand of her hair, which had been ruffled by the wind, behind her ear.

He turned and walked toward the spaceship; the hatch closed.

The hum of the psionic engine changed from a low pitch to a high pitch, and the silver-gray hull slowly rose into the air.

Lin Qingxue stood at the school gate, the cuffs of her white training uniform fluttering in the wind, her long hair being blown backward by the airflow stirred up by the spaceship.

She didn't wave; she just stood there, watching the spaceship rise higher and higher, grow smaller and smaller, and finally disappear into the northern horizon.

Inside the spaceship.

Song Chen took out his phone, found Lin Qingxue's account, and then transferred the money.

Not much, three hundred million, but enough for her, who is only at the first level, to cultivate for a long time.

For martial artists, money is really important, and he knows this all too well.

After transferring the money, he walked to the panoramic porthole of the command cabin.

Outside the window lies the northern part of the Great Xia, with the outline of the Yinshan Mountains faintly visible on the horizon, and further away, the vast wilderness of the Mongolian Plateau.

He wants to advance to the fifth rank there.

He lowered his head and looked at his right palm, as if the touch of her fingertips still lingered.

Clench your fist.

"Han Duo, full speed ahead."

"yes!"

The spaceship cut through the clouds and headed north.

ground.

The vibration of her phone brought Lin Qingxue back to reality.

She subconsciously took out her phone and looked at it.

After reading the contents, she froze on the spot.