Outside, people were buzzing about the freshman rankings. Everyone was surprised that the levels of the different contenders were very close to each other.
This was because there were several talents in Nanyong City that year. The city had even produced a lot of S-rank and A-rank combat classes, especially at Nanyong Seventh High, where it was rumored that three S-rank combat classes had been awakened.
A few moments later, Yan and Kexin joined the crowd to check out the rankings.
Although Yan was still number one, he knew others would probably catch up to him soon, because the three people behind him had awakened top-tier combat classes.
One of them was Li Yong, a top student in both academics and combat from Nanyong Third High. Li Yong had awakened as an S-rank Sword Saint, and he was unmatched in close combat. The other genius was Zhong Hong, who was number one in martial arts at Nanyong Ninth High. He had awakened as an A-rank Blazing Fistmaster with terrifying offensive power. The third was Lu Yuan, an S-rank Gale Assassin, an elemental, high-agility close combat class. He also specialized in ambush.
In Yan's last life, all of these peerless geniuses had gone on to dazzling careers. In this life, Yan wanted to surpass them and stand at the top of Nanyong City's top 100. To do that, these exceptional talents would be his rivals at some point, and Yan looked forward to the day he faced off with them for the top spot.
For now, though, he planned to go back home and focus on his sister, Jiang Yao.
In his last life, Yan had been taken away from home and used like a commodity for the powerful. His sister had had to grow up alone, and he never got to see her again. Now that he had been given a second chance at life, Yan swore to make up for the regrets of his last life.
A few moments later, he bid Kexin farewell, and she told him to include her in his next dungeon run.
Shortly after, Yan arrived at the place he used to call home.
After he was taken in his last life, he never came back here. He only heard news about his sister, Yao, from third parties. Even though they never saw each other again, his sister eventually awakened a powerful A-rank combat class.
But for now, Yao was still that introverted shut-in he used to know.
Upon entering the house, Yao greeted her brother and invited him to eat.
Yao was a fifteen-year-old, shy, ninth grader who had been withdrawn ever since their parents died in the demon cave. Three years ago, their parents were still alive, and Yao had not been like this. She was bright, and much happier than she was now. Their death in the demon cave had affected her a lot, and made her withdrawn.
While they were eating, Yao suddenly announced that she planned to drop out of school.
Yan was surprised to hear it, and asked her why. She was the top of her grade in academics, and he could not understand why she would want to drop out. He let her know that the high school entrance exams were close, and that with her grades she should not be thinking about dropping out at all.
Yao explained that it was because she could not achieve much like Yan could. She revealed that she had seen his top scores in the city rankings. She praised him for always working hard, and said she believed he would become someone great in the future. She also believed that her brother was destined to protect this world.
But because of her withdrawn nature, Yao had no confidence in her own abilities, even with her top grades in combat and academics. She told Yan that she planned to start working to help out with their living expenses.
Despite her explanation, Yan refused to believe her excuse for dropping out. He asked her to reveal the real reason behind her sudden decision.
Before Yao could respond, a man named Uncle Quan invited himself into their house. Sensing the tension in the room, he hesitated at the door.
Afterwards, Quan began lamenting about his loan company, and expressing his regret for pestering them. Quan was the owner of the A-Quan Emergency Microloan Company. Over the last two years, Yan and Yao had been borrowing money from Quan's company for their living expenses.
Looking at Yao's expression, Yan realized that Quan must have come to the house earlier. He figured that must be the real reason Yao suddenly wanted to drop out of school. He also noted that she must be doing this after seeing his ranking, and knowing that they were too broke to afford his college fund. Yao would rather abandon her bright future than burden Yan, who needed a lot of money for college.
Yan then asked Quan to calculate how much they owed him for the past two years.
Quan told him that they owed about forty-three thousand, without the interest. He felt bad for coming to them for money, he said, but his company was in trouble.
Yan then gave Quan the payment of fifty thousand that he had received from Kexin. He told Quan to take the extra money on it as interest for the loan.
Quan was surprised to hear this, while Yao wondered where her brother had gotten the money from. Yan wanted to explain it to her so she would not worry, but he did not want to talk about it in front of an outsider.
Sensing Yan's intentions, Quan immediately excused himself, and told them to call him if they ever needed help.
Once he left, Yao questioned whether Yan's money had come from a shady source. Yan patted her head, assuring her that his money was clean. He told her to stop worrying, and assured her that he was going to be number one on the city's top 100 list.
He also boasted that he was going to be the top scorer in Nanyong City's college entrance exam, and receive the three hundred thousand prize money. Then he told Yao not to give up on her future because of him.
Hearing this, Yao realized that her lame excuse earlier had not fooled her brother, and that he knew exactly why she had wanted to drop out.
Yan then handed her a bank card, assuring her that he had plenty of ways to make money, even though he had not started using them yet. He told Yao to study and train hard, because once he was at the top, everyone would turn their attention to her. The pressure on her would skyrocket once people started looking at her as the top dog's little sister, he explained, so she needed to step up and become the strongest in her year.
Hearing this, Yao began to tremble. She burst into tears and rushed into Yan's arms, and she swore never to shame their family.
Yan comforted her, and made up his mind to start grinding levels while making money at the same time. With unwavering determination, he swore to take the top scorer spot in Nanyong City.
To achieve his dreams, Yan decided to go outside the human-controlled zones in the demon cave. Those were the best places for leveling up, and one of them was the Poison Dragon Valley.
The place was filled with both danger and opportunity. Because it had a dense population of monsters, Yan believed it was the fastest spot for solo leveling. There was even a rumor that a rare dragon-type monster lay deep within the Poison Dragon Valley.
Yan wished he could find that monster and get one of its eggs. With an egg, he could finally use his Universal Grafting skill to cook up a powerful, loyal monster.
He was excited about the opportunities in the dragon valley, and he hoped to snag magic crystals to sell for some quick money. To achieve his dream of conquering the world, Yan decided to head to the demon cave's Poison Dragon Valley the following day.