Suddenly, she missed Su Qi a little...

Su Qi didn’t know much about Yun Huang—just two brief conversations.

Yet, from those fragments, he could piece together a picture.

A mother with an overwhelming need for control, practically monitoring her daughter 24/7.

And a girl, drained of all worth, slowly growing weary of life.

He understood why Yun Huang referred to her mother as "the woman who gave birth to her."

But he couldn’t fathom why "that woman" would force her daughter to train for twenty hours a day.

This insane level of cultivation defied all logic.

Take Little Yuan, for example.

She once told Su Qi that gathering Source Essence took her two to three hours daily. Converting it, if things went smoothly, took just half an hour—an hour at most if she struggled to focus.

So, Little Yuan’s daily cultivation time ranged from two and a half to three and a half hours.

Yun Huang, though? Her daily progress nearly matched a week’s effort from Little Yuan.

Not that Little Yuan was lazy.

Source Essence gathering wasn’t limitless.

The body had a saturation point.

Too much water leads to overflow; a full moon begins to wane.

Even drinking too much water too quickly can cause poisoning.

Likewise, absorbing too much Source Essence in a short time could inflict irreversible damage.

Official research suggested 2–3 hours of daily gathering was optimal.

The tipping point was easy to recognize—the feeling of being "full."

Like eating, once "full," the body instinctively rejected more Source Essence, needing time to digest.

Forcing cultivation beyond that point risked nausea or worse—like Su Qi’s past state, with a fractured Soul Sea requiring massive energy to repair. A net loss.

So, dealing with "that woman" was simple.

Target the root.

The surveillance was likely to prevent Yun Huang from "wasting time"—say, on romance.

The solution? Easy.

To that woman, Yun Huang was a commodity with a price tag.

Offer something worth more than an hour of Yun Huang’s cultivation, and you’d buy her an hour of "freedom."

Most people could only stare helplessly at this method.

Items that boosted cultivation speed were always overpriced.

Who wouldn’t want them?

It was like "cram school"—no matter the cost, parents would scrape together the money.

Of course, no one thought Su Qi planned to give this card to Yun Huang, right?

Never mind how hard it was to obtain Shining and Joy—was 100,000 coins nothing?

He’d sell it to "that woman."

It’d be like paying him to take her daughter to a movie.

...

"Not like I’d sabotage myself."

Suddenly, Guardian Jiang’s voice sharpened. "Oh? You broke through to the sixth rank?"

"What a shame..."

Well, personal info these days...

Whatever. The point stood—if even officials could check his records, Guardian Jiang, as the overseer of Jiangxia, naturally could too.

Su Qi replied calmly, "Just luck. Took long enough."

A pause. Then, tentative: "Do you... still resent what happened?"

"If not for that accident, you might’ve reached the seventh rank by now..."

Guardian Jiang sighed. "Back then, I was powerless, just trying to survive. The school wanted to protect its reputation—misjudging a Source Realm’s tier would’ve tanked next year’s enrollment..."

Su Qi cut him off. "I get it. I took the hush money. That’s on me."

Guardian Jiang seemed about to say more, but Su Qi interrupted again. "I didn’t call to discuss this."

Another brief silence.

"Fine. Deliver the item yourself. I’ll inform them you’re my nominal disciple. But I’ll only vouch for the delivery—nothing else."

"My earlier promise still stands. Using it for something this trivial would cheapen my word."

"Deal?"

Only a fool would refuse.

Deal?

This offer reeked of guilt.

Honestly, with Guardian Jiang’s nominal disciple status, Su Qi might not have free rein in Jiangxia, but few would dare disrespect him.

...

With Guardian Jiang’s backing, Su Qi had little left to worry about.

Another day wasted.

One minute to midnight.

Someone was grinning at their phone again.

[Little Yuan: Goodnight, big bro~]

Su Qi noticed something odd.

Hadn’t Little Yuan been staying up late lately?

Midnight every night... What if it stunted her growth?

Hmm...

On second thought, wasn’t that fine?

Petite and soft.

No, no—Su Qi, rein in those weird thoughts. Health first.

[Sleepyhead: Why so late lately?]

[Little Yuan: Cultivation stuff... Not too late, though. Off to bed now.]

[Sleepyhead: Sleep well, Little Yuan.]

...

Meanwhile, Liu Yuan was frustrated.

What could she do?

Stupid daily quests refreshed at midnight.

If they reset at 5 AM, she’d ignore them and sleep.

But why were the recent targets all Su Qi?

Liu Yuan lay on her bed, kicking her feet.

Please, just pick someone else. She didn’t want to interact with him anymore.

Sneaking into his room at night—what if he lost control?

But bundling up would insult him, like doubting his character...

As if hearing her plea, the card refreshed at midnight.

[Daily Adventure: Saturday’s perfect for relaxation—say, watching a full movie?]

[Reward: Temporary use of Special Passive ①, +1 Equipment Strength.]

Nice!

This was too easy!

Basically free!

Best of all, no need to deal with Su...

Wait.

She rarely went to movies, but didn’t theaters open around 10 or 11 AM?

Meaning...

Not only did she lose sleep tonight, but she’d also forfeit eleven hours of cultivation?

Suddenly, she missed Su Qi.

Maybe having him as the target wasn’t so bad?

At least she’d get rewards by midnight.