Late at night, while the rest of the mansion was fast asleep, Emily could be seen practicing the technique that Ian had just shown them that morning.
She stood alone in her dark bedroom. Her long, black hair, usually braided neatly at the front, was now sticking to her forehead with sweat. It looked like it had not been combed all day. Since the awkward training session with Ian, she had been practicing the horse stance furiously, refusing to take a break. Her legs were trembling, and her muscles burned, but to her surprise, she was actually starting to have fun with it.
All of a sudden, a wave of hot energy started flowing through her skin. It started from her chest and spread rapidly outward. The energy felt intensely warm as it flowed through every part of her body. Her skin tightened for a brief second, giving off a faint, almost invisible bronze sheen before returning to normal.
Emily slowly stood up from the horse stance, breathing heavily but feeling an incredible surge of power in her limbs.
"I guess I broke through just like brother said. It was so easy," Emily said, wiping the sweat from her chin while smirking.
I should continue training. I don’t want to be left in the dust by that brother of mine, Emily thought, clenching her small fists. I should get strong for Emma, too. She is too soft and innocent, and she is definitely not the type to like fighting. I will have to do the dirty work for her so she stays safe.
The next morning.
BANG! Knock, knock!
There was a heavy, loud knock on Ian’s bedroom door.
"WHAT!!" Ian scread, startled out of his deep sleep. He bolted upright in his bed, his heart pounding.
"It’s morning, Young Master. You said I should always wake you up early everyday because of training," Kevin, the guard, called out from the hallway.
Ian rubbed his tired eyes and groaned loudly. "Aaagghh, training with my little sisters again. Emily is such a pain to deal with. Why can’t she be more like Emma, sweet and trusting toward her brother?" Ian grumbled, waking up and rolling out of his warm bed to grab his clothes.
"What did you say, you jerk?!" Emily yelled from the other side of the door.
With a loud crash, Emily kicked Ian’s bedroom door wide open, marching in with a furiously angry expression on her face.
"Doesn’t the concept of knocking work in this family?" Ian asked in a panic, quickly pulling his t-shirt over his head.
But before he could even pull his head through the collar, Emily was already standing right in front of him. She looked up at him and said sothing that left him completely dumbstruck.
"Since your cultivation is in the higher stages, you should be much stronger than , right?" Emily asked with a terrifyingly innocent smile.
Before Ian could process her words, Emily dropped into a low punching stance. Ian’s eyes widened as he noticed her lower half. She was deliberately planting both of her feet firmly flat on the floor—the exact trick he had taught them yesterday to multiply their strength!
Ian wanted to raise his arms to block, but he was caught completely off guard.
BAM!
Emily punched him squarely in the stomach. With the triple bonus strength of the Adamantine Ox Hide Technique backing her small fist, the kinetic force was massive. Ian was lifted off his feet and sent flying two ters backward, crashing heavily onto the floor.
"Wow," Emily gasped, looking at her own knuckles, completely amazed by the sheer strength of her punch.
What the hell is happening in this household? Kevin thought, standing frozen at the doorway. First, it was the Young Master showing monstrous strength, and now it’s the Young Miss too? Are they feeding them raw monster at in the kitchen?! Kevin was completely dumbfounded by what he was seeing.
"Oowww! You could have just said that you broke through like a normal person would!" Ian groaned from the floor, rubbing the spot where Emily had punched him. Because of his own tough skin, he didn’t have a single scratch on him, but the dull, heavy pain of the impact was still lingering in his gut.
"I wanted to tell you about it this morning. I woke up early because I thought you would be happy about my progress and that I would make you proud," Emily said, her voice suddenly trembling. "But here you are, complaining to the guards and comparing to Sis... sniff... that really hurt , you know... sniff."
Tears welled up in Emily’s eyes, and she looked like she was about to burst out crying right there in the room.
Kevin’s jaw dropped in shock at what he had just heard. Earlier, when Ian was complaining inside the room about Emily not being like Emma, Emily had smiled creepily at the door, whispered "Gotcha" to Kevin, and then violently kicked the door open. This girl was acting!
"I’m sorry! I’m sorry about what I said earlier! I didn’t an it like that, I promise!" Ian said hurriedly in a panic, scrambling to his feet to comfort her.
"It’s okay, I forgive you," Emily said instantly, her tears magically vanishing. "Anyway, I should hurry to Emma. She is probably worried about where I am, because that’s what good siblings do."
She turned away on her heel. As soon as she was out of his room and out of sight, she quickly ran off down the hall, giggling to herself.
Did I just get beat up by my little sister and forced to apologize, only for her to run away laughing? Ian thought, sighing heavily as he dusted himself off. I should try to avoid making any conflicts with her from now on.
"Can you close the door, Kevin, and wait outside for ?" Ian instructed tiredly. Kevin only nodded silently and closed the ruined door.
After Kevin left, Ian called out for the system interface:
[Ian Thorne]
[Age:] 17
[Lifespan:] 73
[Martial Arts:] None
[Cultivation Arts:] Adamantine Ox Hide Technique
[Martial Stage:] Middle stage of Skin Cultivation
[Prosperity Points:] 20
[Prosperity Shop]
[Notifications]
Ian was thrilled. His points would actually increase if he just helped his family improve their cultivation! Too bad 20 Prosperity Points could only buy a common cultivation technique and nothing else of value.
I need to increase my points by encouraging my two little sisters to cultivate even faster, Ian thought.
He then noticed a new tag on the interface. He didn’t hesitate and pressed the [Notifications] tag on the system with his mind.
[Notifications]
Emily, broke through to the Early stage of Skin Cultivation and you are rewarded 20 Prosperity Points.
That’s it? Ian thought, his grin fading. I thought it would provide with intelligence about this world or sothing useful. This really is the worst system. I guess it just shows the ssages I missed.
Ian sighed and rubbed his bruised stomach. He looked toward the door with a determined expression on his face. If Emily gave 20 points, then Emma will give points too. I have to make sure Emma breaks through today, no matter what it takes.
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