Chapter Forty-Six: Kinship

As the final ten minutes of his allotted time in the Magic Tower approached, Mu Rongxun ceased his fighting.

During his stay in the tower, he had been either battling or crafting, and the exhaustion had started to weigh heavily on him. Now, with his imminent return to the real world, he could finally rest properly.

[Player’s time has expired; preparing to return to the real world.]

[Return protocols will now be issued. Please take note.]

[Protocol One: Players are strictly forbidden from revealing any information about Magic Tower Paradise in the real world. Violations will result in warnings, and repeated offenses will lead to immediate execution by enforcers!]

[Protocol Two: Players cannot use any skills, bloodlines, equipment, personal attributes, or passive abilities obtained from the Paradise in the real world, except for those innate to their person.]

[Protocol Three: If a player unintentionally reveals any information about the Paradise, all who hear it must be eliminated!]

[Finally, all player skills and equipment will now be sealed. These will be unsealed upon return to the Paradise. Wishing you a pleasant journey in the real world!]

[Teleportation commencing: Destination – Real World!]

After a chaotic teleportation sequence, Mu Rongxun found himself back in his home in reality.

First, he checked the doors and windows he had set up as traps. The little gadgets he had left behind were untouched, indicating no one had come by.

He now had a full week to rest and recuperate, a perfect opportunity to regain his strength.

Being someone with few attachments, he had little to worry about.

His only aunt lived far away in the countryside, and they rarely met. Their relationship was good but distant by necessity.

Since entering the Magic Tower Paradise, his situation had been even more precarious, making contact with them even more difficult.

Back in the real world, the night had already fallen. After such prolonged combat, Mu Rongxun felt drained. He lay down on his bed and soon drifted into a deep sleep.

Regardless, this was his home—far warmer and more human than the cold, solitary room he had in the tower.

“Ring! Ring!”

The next morning, Mu Rongxun was awakened by the ringing of his phone.

He sat up reflexively, then quickly realized he was no longer in the perilous Magic Tower world. Relieved, he glanced at the phone on his nightstand.

Usually, he kept his phone stored in his personal space, only retrieving it the previous night.

“Hello?”

“Hello? You brat! I’ve been trying to call you nonstop, and you never answer! What on earth are you up to?”

The moment he picked up, a fierce voice akin to a lion’s roar came through, accompanied by a light chuckle.

Mu Rongxun instinctively shrank his neck.

“Aunt!”

He quickly called out in a conciliatory tone.

He had always been both fond of and fearful of this aunt, a shadow looming over his childhood.

Perhaps this was why, when she wanted to take him away, he had refused.

“Hmph, so you still remember your aunt! I thought you’d forget me if I died!”

After a torrent of scolding, Mu Rongxun’s aunt, Mu Xiuzhu, finally explained her purpose.

She was concerned about him, asking about his grades and the like. She also mentioned that her daughter—Mu Rongxun’s cousin—was coming over, and it would be convenient if Mu Rongxun could look after her.

At this time, Mu Xiuzhu was unaware that Mu Rongxun had dropped out of school; otherwise, she might have shown up in person already.

Speaking of this cousin, though younger than Mu Rongxun, she was still called “older sister” as the daughter of his aunt.

“Why is my sister suddenly coming over to visit?” Mu Rongxun asked, worried about timing.

If he disappeared for three days, how would he explain it?

“Hmph! You wouldn’t be happy if she didn’t come visit, would you?” Mu Xiuzhu scolded him angrily.

“Don’t worry, she won’t stay long. Apparently, her class is organizing some kind of camp. I thought since you’re there, you could keep an eye on her. It’s only for a week.”

Mu Xiuzhu’s explanation made it clear: it was an exchange program organized by Li Wenna’s class, selecting a few top students to visit schools in the city for one week. She was leaving today, so the timing wouldn’t conflict.

By the time Mu Rongxun began his next task, Li Wenna had long since departed.

“Aunt, don’t worry. I’ll take good care of my sister!” Mu Rongxun hastened to assure her.

“I’m not asking you to do much, just to watch over your sister so she doesn’t get bullied. You’re in senior year now, preparing for the college entrance exam. Your parents passed early; now it’s just the two of us close family left…” On the other end of the call, Mu Xiuzhu rambled on.

Mu Rongxun listened quietly.

Indeed, his only close relative now was his aunt. Even with his cousin Li Wenna, the relationship was distant due to infrequent meetings.

“Mm, I understand.”

“All right, then!”

Faced with his family’s earnest concern, Mu Rongxun nodded and responded accordingly. Unbeknownst to him, tears welled up in his eyes.

After hanging up, he gathered his thoughts, grabbed something to eat, and headed to a nearby park to train with his wooden practice sword.

The loss of his parents had left him with a considerable inheritance and compensation funds.

Though his aunt Mu Xiuzhu was his legal guardian before he reached adulthood, all the money was under his own control. He refused to live with her, as she had her own family and children to care for, which kept her busy.

As he grew older, visits became less frequent. For one, Mu Xiuzhu was getting on in years, and traveling was a hardship for her, especially with her motion sickness. For another, Mu Rongxun no longer needed much care after years of independence. He would visit when he had the time.

Therefore, Mu Rongxun was free from worries and could focus entirely on himself.

Back from the Magic Tower, he no longer feared for basic necessities and could spend his time as he pleased.

In the early morning park, besides a few elderly folks doing their exercises, only small groups of young people were scattered about.

As for middle and high school students, they hurried past with heavy academic burdens, leaving no room for leisure.

Mu Rongxun’s arrival drew some attention — after all, he was good-looking, and carrying a wooden practice sword made him appear vigorous and spirited, which caught the eyes of passersby.

“Hey, that handsome guy is training again! Haven’t seen him for a few days!” two girls whispered nearby.

They were helping each other stretch, seemingly dance students.

“Really! He’s quite good-looking!” one said.

Mu Rongxun ignored their comments, calmly weaving through the crowd toward a quieter spot.

Unable to draw his Shadow of Slaughter sword, he had to make do with the wooden sword.

His swordplay was far from elegant, much to the disappointment of the two girls secretly watching.

“Why swordplay with a sword? Shouldn’t he be practicing with a saber?” one girl wondered.

Just then, an energetic elderly man approached. Though his hair was silver, he radiated vitality, dressed in pristine white training clothes that made him seem much younger.

“Grandpa, look! Someone’s practicing saber over there!” one girl pointed toward Mu Rongxun.

“Hm.”

The old man turned, his expression suddenly darkening as his brows furrowed.

“Wenna, stay away from him from now on. Don’t get too close.”

“Why, grandpa?” the girl asked in confusion.

“Just trust me on this,” the old man replied without explanation, though his heart was pounding.

That fierce killing intent was unmistakable—it was the aura of someone who had taken lives. How could such a dangerous person live in their neighborhood?

There was a fundamental difference between someone who had killed and someone who hadn’t, and the old man saw it clearly.

Though the youth’s movements appeared methodical, the concealed murderous intent in his strikes was undeniable.

Unable to explain this to others, the man remained silent.

“All right,” the two girls reluctantly nodded, casting lingering glances at Mu Rongxun’s back before following the elder away.

It wasn’t affection but mere curiosity; such scenes were rare in modern society.

Meanwhile, the old man pondered whether to move away—living near such a dangerous individual unsettled him. Not out of fear, but because it always meant trouble.

Mu Rongxun was unaware of these thoughts. He methodically practiced his slashes and chops, performing the fundamental techniques of saber fighting.

These moves were the most frequently used in battle, forming the core of his style.

His saber skills had already reached a respectable level, but since his progress was forced and accelerated, he was still in the process of fully integrating them.

In everyday life, he couldn’t afford to slack off.

Having chosen the path of saber mastery, his future advancement and class changes would inevitably follow this route, so he could not take his foundational skills lightly.

He had already planned the path ahead, reserving a substantial amount of Paradise Coins for use in that other world.

Before then, raising his saber skills further would be even more beneficial.

Slash, cut, lift, flick, strike...

Each movement was plain and unadorned in his hands.

To an uninformed observer, it would seem devoid of beauty, but to a connoisseur like the old man, the terrifying power behind each technique was clear.

In reality, such a level would qualify him as a saber master.

This was no exaggeration.

Both saber and swordsmanship demanded relentless training through the hottest summers and coldest winters, a grind requiring unwavering dedication.

Mu Rongxun had faced life and death countless times, and the accelerated learning afforded by the Magic Tower Paradise made achieving decades’ worth of skill in a short time hardly unbelievable.