"What?"

Lin Fang and the others were stunned, and his little sister even cried out in surprise.

"Keep it down, it's late." Old Ma hurriedly scolded Ma Lele softly.

The soundproofing in the Shore District apartments was terrible, or rather, in every low-cost housing complex, the soundproofing was bad.

The floors were too thin, and the buildings were so close together you could easily jump from Lin Feng's balcony to the one across—standing long jump, no need for a running start.

Whenever the neighbors across the way turned their TV volume up, Lin Feng's family could hear every word; now, with it nearly eleven o'clock and the whole complex silent, any loud noise could disturb the neighbors.

Especially the ones in the building next door.

"Is this for real? How much did you sell it for?" His eldest sister asked in surprise and disbelief.

No matter how you looked at it, this was unbelievable!

The post on the Martial Artist forum had brought Lin Feng enormous attention. Tonight at seven sharp, Jiang City News aired a segment on Lin Feng's ring match, pushing him straight into the spotlight.

In just one day, everyone in Jiang City knew of a boy named Lin Feng, only sixteen, whose Eighth Rank Body Cultivator strength allowed him to beat a First Grade Martial Artist.

On Awakening Day, Ye Qiu refined the Thorny Demon Dragon ranked 46th on the Earth Chart, which rocked the city and earned him tens of millions of fans.

And today, Lin Feng, against all odds, used a stunning performance to showcase his Combat Talent, crushing a First Grade Martial Artist—shocking the city as well. Although the fan counts between the two were worlds apart, in terms of fame, Lin Feng wasn't far behind Ye Qiu.

The name 'South Yeqiu, North Linfeng' was now so common she'd heard it mentioned at her garment factory job.

But online, ninety-nine out of a hundred people doubted him. Many ridiculed and cursed, using truly vicious words; it escalated to online bullying, with some even posting their home address on the forum.

The family had discussed it for ages, worried something might happen to Lin Feng. Just as they were about to persuade him to quit, Lin Feng announced he'd sold it.

Someone actually bought that ad space doodled on his white T-shirt?

"Tell me, how much did it sell for?" Lin Fang asked anxiously when Lin Feng hesitated.

"Eighteen million!"

After Lin Feng spoke, the room went silent.

Everyone stared at each other, gasped for breath—in the dim candlelight, their faces would've been a sight to behold.

"You're not lying to me?"

"Bro, that's so much money, we hit the jackpot!"

"Xiaofeng, you sure you weren't scammed? Did you sign a contract?"

Lin Feng explained for ages, but his family still didn't believe it—or rather, they didn't dare to.

An eighteen million endorsement?

Lin Feng was just a senior in high school; they'd never heard of a high schooler signing an ad endorsement.

Even Martial Arts prodigies who refined a Ninth Grade Demon Spirit only got noticed by sponsors after shining during college Glory Battles in their junior or senior years.

Even Ya Ge, who was outstandingly attractive, had refined an Eighth Grade Enchanting Butterfly, and was signed to Ju Xing Club, still had to join the Blue Sea Team and prove herself in matches, acquire a certain record before getting a real endorsement.

There were plenty of geniuses who refined Ninth Grade or even Earth Chart-ranked Demon Spirits, but without good performance in Glory Battles, they'd never become megastars. Ad companies wanted celebrities with fan followings, not just prodigies.

And Lin Feng's talent still wasn't definite, nor had he performed in Glory Battles yet; he'd even been refused signing by the Three Heroic Academies. Even with his current heat, Lin Fang figured if a sponsor wanted him at all, it'd be maybe ten, or at most a few dozen thousand—who would've thought it could be eighteen million?

Eighteen million!

The entire family of five made less than ten thousand a month.

Lin Feng and Ma Lele were still in school. After paying tuition and daily expenses, there was hardly a thousand yuan left each month—saving ten thousand a year was considered good. If anyone got sick or needed to give gifts, they couldn't save a thing.

"The money's in hand, of course it's real!"

Not until Lin Feng pulled out the folded contract from his pocket and showed them the bank balance text message on his phone did the family finally begin to believe.

When he saw their faces believing, Lin Feng finally said, "I'm keeping ten million to buy Pills, hoping to pass the Three Heroic Academies entrance in three months. The rest I'll use to buy two apartments in the Inner City."

Naturally, his family had no objections to Lin Feng using ten million on Pills.

What could be more important right now than the college entrance exams?

The Three Heroic Academies!

No one from Shore District had made it in for decades.

Lin Fang was overwhelmed, this was already far beyond her expectations for her son. But hearing him mention buying two apartments, she was puzzled: "Why two? You moving out?"

"I'm going to buy one for Gao Hai too. He funded the ring match." Lin Feng explained.

"But that's too much, isn't it?" Lin Fang couldn't help but respond.

Lin Feng's account had eighteen million, one hundred twelve thousand yuan—it was obvious the extra twelve thousand was his gambling winnings. Though Lin Feng earned it himself, Lin Fang, knowing how tough life was, still tried to talk him down.

She knew Lin Feng and Gao Hai had grown up together and were very close, but giving someone an apartment outright was a bit much.

Old Ma frowned, clearly thinking the same.

He'd always felt a bit inferior to Lin Feng; now that Lin Feng was basically a genius, he had no right to challenge him. Afraid of offending Lin Feng, he kept quiet.

"That's right, Xiaofeng, think carefully." Lin Kerou advised.

She agreed it was going too far; one apartment cost millions, you couldn't just give that away.

Facing his family's concerns, Lin Feng smiled slightly. "If I can make eighteen million as a high schooler, after I graduate and join Glory Club, I'll be making at least hundreds of millions a year. This money is nothing."

Lin Feng used the same argument he used to persuade Gao Hai, now for his family.

His family didn't know that, in his previous life, Gao Hai had been paralyzed for life saving him, so there was no way for them to grasp their brotherhood—this reaction was normal.

Since Lin Feng said so, his family couldn't keep persuading; after all, it was his own money. If Lin Feng's claims were right, a few million for an apartment really wasn't much.

"Alright, as long as you think it through." Lin Fang nodded.

"Mom, you and Sis should quit your jobs too. Factory work is exhausting and pays so little."

His mother's health was poor. He'd wanted her to rest for a while now. And his eldest sister—only twenty-four, still in her prime—working in a factory every day wasn't right either.

"Quit tomorrow? No way. Factory rules say you have to give half a month's notice before quitting, or they'll dock all your wages."

Lin Fang shook her head repeatedly. Even with Lin Feng making eighteen million, she couldn't bear to lose a month's pay.

Three thousand was the family's monthly food budget.

Seeing his mother disagree, Lin Feng discreetly gave his sister a look.

Your turn!

The siblings were in sync; Lin Kerou caught the signal, smiled faintly, and turned to her mother: "Mom, Xiaofeng's doing ads now, he'll be a celebrity soon. You working at the factory would look bad for his image—people will say he's not filial."

She and their mother both worked at the same garment factory, doing packaging. It wasn't physically demanding, but the rote work was mind-numbing, and she'd wanted to quit long ago.

If it weren't for their little brother and sister still being in school, she'd have quit already.

And this job was one reason why Chen Hao's parents looked down on her.

"Alright then."

Hearing that it would hurt her son's image, Lin Fang finally agreed.

"Bro, are you going to check out apartments tomorrow?" Ma Lele asked excitedly.

Tomorrow was Saturday, no school, so of course she wanted to help pick a place.

"Yeah, let's all go tomorrow!"

...

In the dark bathroom, after a quick shower, Lin Feng soon returned to his room.

He switched on his battery-powered desk lamp. In the dim yellow light, Lin Feng stripped off his shirt and stood silently before the mirror.

On his chest, a pitch-black, bottomless shadow appeared. Around its edges, strands of blood-red silk wavered like spiderwebs, wrapping and winding around it.

There was more of the blood silk than yesterday, the assimilation had deepened.

"Awwww—"

Just as Lin Feng gazed quietly at the Nightmare, as if sensing his thoughts, a series of desperate, frenzied screams echoed in his mind, violent and mad.

"Coming out already at eleven tonight?" Lin Feng muttered in surprise.

Tonight, the Nightmare was acting strange.

For the past two nights, the Nightmare had only appeared around one or two in the morning, disturbing his sleep. Coming out so early was a definite change.

And clearly, the Nightmare was getting more and more irritable.

The evil, bloodthirsty emotions began infecting even his steely mind, a flash of murderous violence passing through his eyes.

Lin Feng slowly shut his eyes; after a long time, when he opened them again, his gaze had returned to calm. He stared at the darkness in the mirror, his eyes icy cold.

"I'll let you run wild one more day."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.