Being stared at with a peculiar expression by Ma Ran, Su Qiangwei awkwardly shifted the topic: "In any case, this is good news. I bet uncle and auntie will boast about it again on their social media."

???

The smile on Ma Ran's face gradually faded.

When did she add his parents on WeChat?

No wonder last time during a video call with home, his parents specifically reminded him to get along well with "colleagues" and not to bully others, especially certain smart, cute, and understanding young ladies.

At that time, Ma Ran vaguely felt that something was off but didn't think much of it.

Now it seems, was the "young lady" they were referring to Su Qiangwei?

The so-called smart, cute, and understanding seems to be the complete opposite of her. Who knows how much this drama queen has twisted the facts, managing to charm his parents so thoroughly.

Su Qiangwei, the goddess of tattletales.

Ma Ran let out a cold snort, everything unspoken was understood.

Fine then.

This incident will be recorded.

Ignoring Su Qiangwei, who was quietly recalling parts of "Burning Martial" and trying to quickly ascend to the Eleventh Rank of Inner Qi, Ma Ran began to sort out his gains for the day.

As for "Burning Martial Inner Qi Cultivation Method (Popularization Edition)", there's no need to say much more.

Even without starting the performance, just a few words earned the trust of many in the audience, and the [play] ability provided direct feedback.

The chosen audience had a stronger sense of immersion and imagination than Ma Ran anticipated.

This trust can also be considered one of the gains since reincarnation.

Besides, the recent performance about Inner Qi advancement was actually cheating using the defense power of Enclosure Text and the [Sword Master] badge.

However...

After the feedback, the part Ma Ran performed turned the fake into reality.

Double defense!

Life-saving ability, elevated once again!

This means the content in Ma Ran's third script, which was previously a bit reckless, can now be considered stable with a twist—he can now let loose and dance freely.

Previously, Ma Ran also felt that the attribute value brought by the [Sword Master] badge caused his defense and attack to be too high, with other basic attributes not keeping up, and wanted to quickly make up for the shortcomings, advancing in all areas equally.

Now, he believes...

Being strong is the priority.

Why bother with so much unnecessary embellishment?

The Eleventh Rank of Inner Qi doesn't mean there's no path ahead.

As long as Earth doesn't explode, reaching the hundredth rank of Inner Qi is not impossible!

Power, speed, spiritual power, physical energy, agility—excelling in any aspect means one thing: strength!

It seems a bit inflated...

But the principle is indeed correct.

A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.

As long as ensuring that his strength and means continue to grow and diversify to handle more dangerous situations, that's enough.

"The content of the 'Burning Martial Inner Qi Cultivation Method (Popularization Edition)' now already has both text and audio versions."

Old Huang looked at Ma Ran with satisfaction: "Once it's proofread and simply tested, it'll be publicly available to everyone."

"These days have been hard on you!"

"Take a good rest!"

Ma Ran nodded slightly.

Not having to sit with Dong Huaiming and repeat each word was the best-case scenario.

This could save a lot of time!

The online meeting ended here, and everyone had their own tasks to attend to, so they each left.

Left in the VIP room, apart from Zhang Kuang, was only Wu Di.

Under normal circumstances, Old Huang wouldn't allow this Iron Head and the alien friend from Cangming Star to be alone together.

Wu Di is not inherently bad; he simply wanted friendship.

But his parents are quite peculiar, probably instilling some strange values in him from a young age, making him offend others every time he tries to make friends.

The harder the effort aimed in the wrong direction, the further he becomes from his goal—Wu Di is that kind of person.

But today, President Huang Weiguo went through so much—first the descent of the demon child, then the appearances of Light Saber White Mane and Giant White Mane, and finally Ma Ran presenting something like the "Burning Martial Inner Qi Cultivation Method (Popularization Edition)"—his mind was swayed and he completely overlooked the fact that Wu Di hadn't left and chose to remain in the guest room.

"Kid, why aren't you leaving?"

Zhang Kuang sat unceremoniously on the sofa, legs apart, left hand propping his chin, right hand holding a bottle of wine, looking quite content: "Ma Ran and Su Qiangwei have both left."

Saying this, his eyes opened and closed, showing a flash of bloody light: "They have already started cultivating now."

"If you keep this up, the gap between you and the prodigies will only grow."

Wu Di hesitated for a while before finally gritting his teeth, making up his mind, and speaking: "I have a very important question, and I want to seek your advice."

Zhang Kuang took a swig from his bottle, baring his white teeth as he grinned like a ravenous wolf: "The essence of grain, rich and flavorful..."

"Earth's wine is quite good."

"While I'm in a good mood..."

"Ask whatever you want!"

Wu Di's eyes lit up: "That's great!"

Indeed!

The demon child and the aloof Sword Master have fundamentally different personalities!

Zhang Kuang doesn't seem like a good person, but at least he's willing to communicate with him!

"Someone of your stature must have a lot of friends, right?"

Wu Di asked gravely and sincerely: "I want to learn the art of making friends from you!"

Originally, Wu Di had this question suppressed in his heart for a long time, always wanting to ask Ma Ran.

But...

Ma Ran is busy every day, hardly having any time to rest.

Even Wu Di, who isn't great at reading people, didn't want to waste Ma Ran's energy on his own issues.

In Wu Di's view—an outstanding person is bound to have many true friends.

This point can easily be proved by using Ma Ran as an example to counter any opposing arguments.

Su Qiangwei, Song Chu, Wan Haihao, Dong Huaiming...

Members from various academic societies who have interacted with Ma Ran almost all regard him as a friend.

Even "God" from abroad, despite different stances, repeatedly referred to Ma Ran as "my dear friend" before leaving.

Wu Di is not the least bit jealous.

He believes Ma Ran is outstanding, more so than anyone else, deserving of so many friends.

So the question arises.

Though Wu Di may not be as exceptional as Ma Ran, in many ways he isn't lacking, so why besides his "Brother Ran" and "Sister Qiangwei", hasn't he made any close friends?

After all, Zhang Kuang is the second man to unify Cangming Star after Sword Master; saying he's not exceptional would be absurd even to the heavens.

Thus, Wu Di thinks the demon child must know the answer to this question!

"..."

Zhang Kuang was silent for a long time, moving the bottle from his lips: "Kid, you've asked the wrong person."

"I have only one friend whom I can trust with my life."

Hearing this, Wu Di felt a bit disappointed.

He sat on the floor, head lowered, pondering deeply for a while, then suddenly slapped his forehead, showing a look of delight: "I got it!"

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