### Chapter 4: I, Xu Xiaofeng, Am Not Cheating!
It didn’t take long—just an hour—before Xu Xiaofeng had gathered all 35 Purple Ghost Flowers in the vicinity.
With her floral bounty in hand, she returned to Edward’s little shop.
Edward stared at the pile of purple flowers before him, speechless.
“Kid, didn’t I say you could only pick three?”
“Huh? Did you? I didn’t hear that at all!” Xu Xiaofeng blinked her big, bright eyes, flapping her eyelashes like she was trying to take off.
“You… sigh, fine.” Edward sighed heavily. What kind of evil intentions could this little one have?
“I’ll buy the extra ones at market price.”
“Hey! Uncle, that’s a mistaken statement!”
Xu Xiaofeng shielded her precious flowers from Edward, striking a heroic pose. “Uncle, I’m doing a quest, not selling junk! Let’s do the math.”
“Okay, so there are 35 flowers, divided by three… not quite right. Round it up to 40, so that’s 13 tasks completed. The extra flower is a gift from me. Now, let’s settle the bill, Uncle Edward.”
“What?” Edward calculated based on this kid’s logic and realized it made sense. He even generously gifted her one flower. This little creature wasn’t so bad after all.
But…
“Who taught you math? I want to reward them!”
“Cheh~” Xu Xiaofeng pouted. “Let’s just say it counts as 12 tasks. Who knew Uncle Edward was so stingy despite owning such a big business?”
“You disrespectful little brat! I said you could only…”
Edward’s rant was interrupted when he caught the glint in Xu Xiaofeng’s eyes as she pointed meaningfully at the cabinet.
“Nah, I already took everything. That cabinet is empty!” Edward smirked.
Xu Xiaofeng grinned back. “Oh really? Then I’ll go find Auntie, she might know where the stuff is.”
“Don’t!” Edward caved in instantly. “The real problem is I only have three recommendation letters! How am I supposed to give you twelve?”
“Is that so…” Xu Xiaofeng displayed a slightly troubled expression.
Seeing this, Edward finally relaxed a little, secretly relieved.
Good thing she’s just a kid. People your age believe anything. If only she knew I actually had five!
After a long moment, Xu Xiaofeng finally broke free from her worries, wearing an expression like she was tearing off a limb: “How about this, Uncle, you give me 3 letters, and the remaining 9 can count as tuition. I hope you can teach me a skill called ‘Dragon Phoenix Power.’”
“How do you know about that skill!” Edward stood up abruptly, closing in on Xu Xiaofeng.
“I… I heard Old Grandpa mention it… and it just sounded super cool…”
“Old man? You dare use that to brag!”
In truth, Xu Xiaofeng had no idea who the old grandpa was or why Edward felt the need to insult him. She simply spotted Edward’s top-tier friendship task—a reward for becoming best buds. It read “Dragon Phoenix Power” in big, bold letters, though she couldn’t see the details. All she knew was it was a legendary skill at the Golden Legend level, with a quantity of 1.
Of course, she also noticed the Experience Book reward was 5, but if she could snag a legendary skill, she could easily give Uncle a nod with just 2 of those Experience Books.
Edward thought his little scheme was genius, but Xu Xiaofeng had already soared to another altitude!
Puh! I, Xu Xiaofeng, am definitely not cheating!
Meanwhile, Edward pondered for a while before shaking his head. “No, that can’t be taught just like that.”
“Aw, come on!”
“No amount of ‘aw’ is going to change my mind! No means no!” Edward interrupted her casting spell, his frustration palpable. “You can go tell your old ladies, I’m done here!”
Yikes! That didn’t go well!
Xu Xiaofeng’s heart sank, genuinely feeling troubled now. This skill was obviously powerful, and it was a real deal legendary skill—completely different from her self-proclaimed nuclear bomb slashing technique.
So, no matter what, she had to get it!
Since force didn’t work, time to go soft.
Xu Xiaofeng scooted closer, gently tugging at Edward’s wrist, her voice dripping with innocence: “Uncle, why can’t you teach it to me? I really want to learn. Look, I’m all alone and so weak! If I don’t learn something, I could be in danger.”
“There’s no way. This is important stuff. I can teach you something else.”
“But I really want that one,” Xu Xiaofeng whined, layering her voice with a touch of cuteness.
“But it’s not something you can just learn because you want to. It requires high qualifications.”
“Then Uncle, take a look at my qualifications.”
“Well, alright. But let’s set the rules: if you don’t have the qualifications, you can’t keep bugging me.”
“Deal! Pinky swear!”
“Pass!”
Edward half-squatted down, gently resting his left hand on the little loli’s right shoulder, transmitting a mysterious power into her.
Xu Xiaofeng felt a warm rush, as if she was filled with strength.
“Now punch my palm with all your might,” he instructed while still balancing his hand on her shoulder.
“Got it, hee-yah!”
Xu Xiaofeng threw a punch that felt like it could smash a wild boar outside the city, but when it connected with Edward’s palm, it was like a cow mooing into the sea—no ripples at all.
Oh no… what if I really don’t have it…
Xu Xiaofeng’s confidence plummeted. She started plotting how to snag the skill if she was deemed unqualified. After all, qualifications in the game world were incredibly obscure. A player might start with ordinary capabilities only to shift the odds later on. If all else fails, she could just sell it.
Hey, it’s not my fault Uncle didn’t want to make a pinky swear!
Meanwhile, Edward was less tranquil. He stared at the faint red mark in his palm, lost in thought.
Normally, a kid like her couldn’t possibly break through his defenses. This meant that her punch genuinely carried the essence of the ‘Dragon Phoenix Power’ he’d just transmitted.
If Xu Xiaofeng had a bird’s-eye view from 1.9m, she’d see a floating “-1” above Edward’s head. Sadly, she was just a petite little loli at under 1.4m.
In “Otherworld,” if the level gap was over 10 levels, damage would be capped at 1. If it exceeded 30 levels, it simply wouldn’t breach defenses at all.
“What on earth is this little girl…?” Edward pondered silently, his eyes fixed on Xu Xiaofeng like a hawk.
“Uncle, what’s wrong? You’re scaring me,” Xu Xiaofeng quickly geared herself up, ready for the full drama: crying, throwing a fit, and possibly kneeling to become his disciple.
“You’ve got potential.”
“Waaaah, I knew it! After all, I’ve been so lonely… Wait, Uncle, what did you just say?”
“Stinky girl!” Edward gave her a playful slap on the forehead. “I said you have potential. But even so, I can’t teach you the skill just like that; we have to follow the quest process.”
Xu Xiaofeng rubbed her head but her eyes squinted into slits, her mouth curving into a crescent shape: “Auntie, where could she be…? Is she around here?”
She began rummaging through everything.
Here I am, a little loli, unable to beat you and now stuck under your thumb?
