Su Fan was instantly enlightened, realizing that not everything in novels was pure fabrication; some things actually existed!
"You two, stop chatting and come eat!"
At this moment, Zhang Yuwei called out to the study.
Su Fan had no choice but to drop the subject. He still wanted to hear about the various factions in China.
"We'll talk another day. Let's eat first," Su Dongsheng said with a smile.
The group enjoyed a pleasant meal. Seeing the harmonious family of Su Yutong, Su Fan suddenly felt a pang of homesickness.
Now that he had money, should he bring his parents over?
That evening, back home, Su Fan called his parents.
"Hello, Mom."
"Son, what made you think of calling home?" Su Fan's mother, Liu Jie, said happily.
"Mom, are you guys doing well at home?"
"We're fine. Our clothing store has been doing well these past few days. Your dad just went to restock. Are you not doing well outside? Are you running out of money? Mom will send you some later." Liu Jie's first thought was whether her son was suffering outside.
"No, I'm doing very well. I'm earning money now. I've already bought a house in the new city. I was thinking of bringing you over to enjoy life," Su Fan said, his voice catching slightly. He suddenly realized he hadn't spent much time with his parents since growing up.
"You bought a house? Do you have enough money? Don't borrow recklessly if you don't have enough. If you want to buy a house, we still have some savings, enough for a small apartment. Taking out a loan means monthly mortgage payments, which is not only a lot of pressure but also not cost-effective," Liu Jie advised immediately upon hearing that Su Fan was buying a house.
"Okay, okay, I understand. Mom, I'll come back to see you in a couple of days." Su Fan planned to return to his hometown after he finished his current tasks. If his parents were willing to come, he would bring them; if they preferred to stay, he would leave them some money so they wouldn't have to work so hard.
"Alright, call me when you get home. I'll have your dad pick you up. Coincidentally, the daughter of the Liu family from the next village is also back. You two can meet," Liu Jie said with a smile.
"Okay, I got it."
Su Fan's face darkened. Every time he went home, his mother would try to set him up on a blind date, as if she were afraid he wouldn't get married.
After hanging up, Su Fan lay on his bed and slowly entered the game.
Upon entering the game, Su Fan headed towards the main quest location.
A new map, Wangyue Mountain.
The foremost sect of the Tianlong Dynasty, Baiyue Villa, was located on Wangyue Mountain, a hundred li north of Tianxin Sect.
A hundred li was just a cutscene in the game, but it would take at least a day by horse-drawn carriage.
However, Su Fan had the Bagua Token. As long as a map was unlocked, he could teleport directly to important locations like this.
Su Fan selected Wangyue Mountain and used the Bagua Token to teleport there.
Su Fan's vision flashed, and he found himself at the foot of Wangyue Mountain.
Due to Baiyue Villa, a bustling marketplace had formed at the foot of Wangyue Mountain, rivaling Tianxin City in prosperity.
Su Fan's sudden appearance on the street did not cause a stir, as if he had been there all along.
Wangyue Mountain, in addition to being as prosperous as Tianxin City, felt more down-to-earth, with hawkers calling out their wares everywhere.
"Tanghulu!"
"Flatbread!"
"Candied fruit!"
...
"A skewer of tanghulu, please."
Su Fan had never enjoyed food in the game before. The last time he treated Long Die to a meal, he only watched her eat; he hadn't eaten himself.
"Certainly, that'll be one copper coin," the boss said, taking down a skewer and handing it to Su Fan.
Su Fan paid the boss one copper coin.
Su Fan took a bite. It was sweet and sour, and quite delicious.
Su Fan walked up the mountain while eating his tanghulu. A queue had already formed halfway up Wangyue Mountain.
It was currently the recruitment period for Baiyue Villa, and many people had come with high hopes. This was a fleeting moment in the game, but now it required genuine queuing.
Su Fan stood idly at the back of the line, looked at the long queue ahead, and yawned.
Bored, Su Fan checked Xiao Bai's stats. After the bandit suppression mission, Xiao Bai's level had increased to 8, but its stats were still not impressive.
Iron-Eating Beast - Mutant (Xiao Bai)
Level: 8
HP: 169/169
Physical Damage: 20
Magic Damage: 5
Strength: 26
Speed: 12
Constitution: 26
Intelligence: 12
The attribute conversion ratio was affected by aptitude. With poor aptitude, Xiao Bai's damage couldn't increase much.
For example, strength influences physical damage. Currently, Xiao Bai only had 20 physical damage, so its strength aptitude was around 0.77.
Constitution was 6.5.
This highlighted the importance of aptitude. Once aptitude improved, even a small increase in stats would yield significant gains.
Coincidentally, Su Fan still had the equipment he had replaced earlier. He fed it all to Xiao Bai.
Xiao Bai's damage immediately increased to 23, and its HP to 182, a small improvement.
After more than half an hour, it was finally Su Fan's turn.
"Hello, this is my recommendation letter," Su Fan handed the recommendation letter to the recruiting officer.
The recruiting officer glanced at the cover and casually set it aside.
"Age."
Su Fan suddenly felt down. What was his age in the game? Was it the same as in reality? 24?
"Officer, what is the age limit?" Su Fan asked the officer.
"Before coming of age,"
The officer said, looking at Su Fan.
Coming of age was twenty, so before coming of age meant not exceeding twenty.
"Then 18."
Su Fan didn't care about anything else. He couldn't skip the quest.
"Falsifying age will result in the crippling of your cultivation."
"Name."
The officer said, then directly wrote it down for Su Fan. He didn't care if Su Fan had lied about his age; it could be detected anyway.
"Su Fan."
Su Fan didn't care. Would the main quest really be blocked by his age?
"Take this token and go up. Next!"
After recording the information, the officer handed Su Fan a wooden token and motioned for the next person to come forward.
Su Fan, holding the token in a daze, continued up the mountain.
Wangyue Mountain was very high, hence the name "Wangyue" (gazing at the moon), implying one could see the moon more clearly here. How could it not be high?
Others, like Su Fan, walked up the mountain in a daze. Only a few seemed familiar with the process and walked up leisurely.
"Brother, what's going on? Is it just by going up the mountain that we pass?" Su Fan asked a young man with a confident smile.
"Of course not. There are still tests and assessments on this mountain to check aptitude and basic skills," the young man replied.
"Tests? Assessments?"
These were not in the original game's plot.
"How are you so familiar with it?" Su Fan asked curiously.
Judging by the expressions, many people were as confused as Su Fan. How was this person so familiar with the procedure?
"Ah, I came here last year, but I just missed the passing mark. I'm here again this year, and I'm sure I'll get into Baiyue Villa!" the young man said confidently.
Su Fan suddenly understood. So that was it.
"Then congratulations, brother," Su Fan cupped his fists towards him.
"My name is Xiao Yan, what's yours?" Xiao Yan asked Su Fan kindly.
"Xiao Yan?" Su Fan was startled.
"Do you have the Fen Jue?"