"Xiaohui, let introduce you—oh, wait, he probably doesn’t need an introduction. You’ve likely seen his videos online. This is Li Xiang, our county’s biggest internet celebrity."
Lei Xiaohui said, "I have. You just seem more scholarly in person than in your videos."
Lei Jiaming said, "Of course he is. He’s a college graduate."
Li Xiang waved his hand humbly. "That’s just a piece of paper, it’s not important. Besides, didn’t I just co back to farm?"
Lei Xiaohui laughed. "What you’re doing isn’t farming. You’re an internet celebrity."
Lei Jiaming, taking the hint, imdiately stood up. "Oh, I just rembered I have sothing to take care of! Li Xiang, Xiaohui, you two chat for a bit."
And with that, he headed out.
Li Xiang called after him, "Rember to ask all your buddies if any of them are interested in learning traditional instrunts!"
"You got it! I’ll make sure to ask every last one of them." And with that, Lei Jiaming scurried off.
An awkward silence fell over the living room.
Outside, Lei Jiaming’s parents seed to have returned. But when they saw the two of them sitting across from each other inside, they decided not to co in. Instead, a neighbor’s voice drifted over from a distance. "Here for a blind date and all he brought was a bag of apples?"
The voice was quite loud, too.
Inside, Li Xiang felt a little awkward. "Xiaohui, please don’t get the wrong idea," he said. "I’m not here for a blind date. I just needed to talk to your brother about sothing."
"Oh." Lei Xiaohui’s heart sank. Pouting slightly, she asked, "What was it about?"
Li Xiang explained that he was organizing a village gala, then extended an invitation. "How about you perform sothing too, Xiaohui?"
"What would I perform?"
"Can you sing?"
"A little, but not well." Lei Xiaohui rembered that Li Xiang would surely be livestreaming the event, so she quickly waved her hands in dismissal. "No, I can’t sing. Definitely not. I’m not good enough for the stage."
"I’ll be singing then. How about you sing backup for ?"
"You can sing? What are you planning to sing?" Lei Xiaohui’s interest was piqued.
...
When Lei Jiaming returned, he was stunned. There in the courtyard, Li Xiang was instructing Lei Xiaohui on her spear work.
’Seriously, sis?’ he thought. ’I create this perfect chance for you to flirt, I even bragged about how you’ve mastered all the fine arts, and what do you do? You drag Li Xiang out to practice with a spear?’
In truth, it wasn’t Lei Xiaohui’s fault. Li Xiang had been so intent on recruiting perforrs for the stage that, after so discussion, Xiaohui decided that performing a spear routine would be more fitting for her than singing or dancing.
She had studied the Lei Family Spear since she was young and figured it was a unique skill that would definitely be an eye-catcher. So, Li Xiang had asked her to demonstrate it.
It was indeed quite impressive, but in the eyes of Li Xiang—a Tier Three Transcendent proficient in all sorts of Body Techniques—Lei Xiaohui’s stylish Spear Technique was purely for show. It was basically a set of good-looking moves with no real combat potential.
Sensing that Lei Xiaohui was a promising martial arts talent, he couldn’t help but offer her a few pointers.
"Xiaohui, your footwork is off. It should be like this... and this..." Li Xiang demonstrated personally. Sure enough, with his modifications, her execution of the Spear Technique beca much more fluid and sharp.
"Wait. This Burning Prairie Spear is good, but it’s lacking a certain ntal Realm." After a mont, Li Xiang stopped her again.
Lei Xiaohui blinked, asking curiously, "ntal Realm? What kind of ntal Realm?"
"Fists have Fist Intent, and spears naturally have Spear Intent. You may have inherited your family’s Martial Arts, but you probably haven’t spent much ti truly contemplating them. That’s why you’re just performing pretty routines. The truly impressive routines are the ones that embody their own ntal Realm!"
At this, Lei Jiaming, who was watching from the side, grew suspicious. He couldn’t help but mutter, "How co I never knew our Lei Family Spear had any ’ntal Realm’?"
Li Xiang smiled faintly, took the spear from Lei Xiaohui’s hand, and said, "You two step back. Watch perform it once."
Lei Jiaming asked in surprise, "You know the Lei Family Spear?"
"I picked up the basics just now from watching Xiaohui’s demonstration."
’Giving pointers after just picking up the basics?’ Lei Jiaming was unconvinced. After all, this was his Lei Clan’s Spear Technique. ’I’d defer to you on anything else, but the Lei Family Spear Technique? I’ve been practicing it for twenty or thirty years!’
When Li Xiang saw the two of them had backed away, he gave the spear a flick and launched into a masterful performance of the Lei Family Spear Technique, leaving the watching Lei siblings completely dumbfounded.
Lei Xiaohui’s eyes sparkled, filled with adoration. ’Incredible, Brother Xiang!’ she thought. ’He watched practice just a few tis, and he’s already better than I am. He’s a true genius among geniuses.’
Lei Jiaming was dumbstruck, his eyes wide with a disbelief he was forced to accept. A wave of sha washed over him. ’I’ve practiced for twenty or thirty years, and I’m not even as good as Li Xiang after his first try?’
He knew Li Xiang was formidable, but this was just ridiculous. How could he master their family’s ancestral Spear Technique in such a short ti? ’What a rip-off! A total rip-off!’
He glanced at his sister. ’Sis, you’ve got to step up your ga and seize this chance,’ he thought. ’You can’t let a perfect brother-in-law like him get away.’
"So, sis, what do you think?" As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Lei Jiaming couldn’t resist secretly tugging on his sister’s sleeve to ask.
"What do I think about what?" Lei Xiaohui asked in a low voice.
Lei Jiaming muttered, "About the boyfriend your big brother found for you?"
"Hey, don’t be ridiculous! Nothing’s even close to happening yet." Lei Xiaohui got flustered and shot her brother a glare. The truth was, she was more than willing. While they were chatting inside earlier, she had dropped several hints and had even "accidentally" brushed his hand when reaching for a pastry. But Li Xiang hadn’t shown the slightest hint of that kind of interest.
"Watch closely! Burning Prairie Spear!" Having reached the most powerful move of the Lei Family Spear, Li Xiang called out, reminding the whispering siblings to pay attention.
The brother and sister fixed their gazes on him, and their faces instantly drained of color in horror. They saw a cold glint of light flying straight toward them at terrifying speed!
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