Special Training

The Kuangsha Sect was cutting through enemies like chopping melons and vegetables—

...

"Thank you for your assistance, Senior. This great kindness..."

Outside the Chen Merchant Guild, Chen Muling looked at Ye Chuan. "Are you really not planning to stay for a few nights so I can properly host you?"

After seeing Ye Chuan, the members of the Kuangsha Sect volunteered to deal with the remaining enemies, while the guards who had betrayed Chen Muling were dismissed on the spot.

Chen Muling knew they had only acted out of coercion, as their families had been threatened. Sparing their lives was already the extent of her mercy.

"No need. I never planned to stay in this city for long," Ye Chuan said. After all, his goal this time was simply to head to the royal capital and collect his payment from Ademi.

Since he had nothing else to do for the time being, and traveling to the Donghua Divine Continent would take time, there was no reason to linger.

"I see..." Chen Muling seemed somewhat disappointed, but she quickly added, "These are treasures from our guild. Please take them all. They may be mere mortal possessions, unworthy of your attention, but they represent our gratitude..."

"..." Ye Chuan accepted the treasures she handed over, finding them to be expensive gemstone jewelry—useless to him, but perhaps Luo Xi and Qian Shuang might appreciate them.

"Hmm?" However, his attention was caught by a peculiar round gemstone. Even his divine sense couldn't discern its origin.

[Item: Spirit Pearl Gold

A key to a certain secret realm.]

"This was fished up by a fisherman from the Great Qian Dynasty," Chen Muling explained. Though not particularly beautiful, it was kept simply because of its large size.

"Got it." Ye Chuan pocketed it without changing his expression. "Then I’ll be on my way."

"Very well." Chen Muling smiled and thanked him once more.

"Immortal, may I know your true name?"

"Qin Tianya... no, Ye Aotian."

"Understood, Senior Ye." Chen Muling seemed delighted, committing the name firmly to memory.

A gust of wind brushed past her, and when she looked up again, Ye Chuan had already vanished.

"Gone."

...

...

Tianxuan Continent—logged out.

"Mmm." Ye Chuan lay on his bed.

With the matter resolved and his daily tasks completed, he had simply logged out.

"..." He glanced out the window, where night had already fallen. Closing his eyes, he prepared to rest.

Before the night was over, slightly later than usual, Ye Chuan noticed his door creaking open.

"Hm?"

He looked up to see a familiar figure standing by his bedside, clutching a pillow.

"Qian Shuang?" Under the pale moonlight, Bai Qianshuang gazed at him. Her loose sleepwear did little to conceal her graceful figure, and her black hair cascaded like a waterfall.

"I can’t seem to calm my mind. May I sleep here?" she asked.

"Uh... Qian Shuang, you know..."

"I don’t mean for dual cultivation," she murmured, lowering her eyes.

"Alright." Ye Chuan had no reason to refuse.

Bai Qianshuang climbed onto the bed, placed her pillow beside his, and lay down, closing her eyes.

Ye Chuan lay back as well, intending to check her heartbeat, only to find she had already fallen asleep.

"Instant sleep?"

He blinked in surprise. Confirming she was truly just sleeping, he withdrew his hand.

"..." Resting his head on his arm, he listened to her soft breathing. At some point, Bai Qianshuang had shifted closer, her fingers gripping the hem of his clothes.

It was an unconscious sleeping habit, but Ye Chuan understood—Bai Qianshuang lacked a sense of security and someone to rely on.

Silently, he studied her sleeping face, his gaze drifting lower to the curves barely hidden beneath her clothes and the faint outline of rosy peaks.

"..."

"I’ll train harder, so you can’t drain my spiritual energy." Bai Qianshuang’s sudden murmur froze Ye Chuan’s wandering hand mid-motion.

"Hah..."

But it was clear she was merely talking in her sleep.

"Can’t drain?" Ye Chuan finally grasped her meaning—she believed dual cultivation would deplete her energy, so she aimed to strengthen herself beyond his capacity to absorb it.

He couldn’t help but chuckle, a warmth blooming in his chest.

Wrapping an arm around her waist, he closed his eyes and drifted off.

The night passed without incident.

...

Several uneventful days followed. Ye Chuan diligently collected daily rewards, accumulating enough check-ins to bring Bai Qianshuang back to the Tianxuan Continent.

However, if they were to return to the Qingyun Sect for revenge, their strength still needed improvement.

Bai Qianshuang’s cultivation progress, however, was terrifyingly rapid. In just a few days, she had broken through to the Soul Transformation stage, leaving Ye Chuan in awe of her "bug-like" talent.

"Is it my Spirit Gathering Array being too strong, or is Bai Qianshuang’s physique just that exceptional?"

The Spirit Gathering Array had a small chance of triggering a critical boost—a sudden leap in cultivation—but Bai Qianshuang seemed to hit those criticals far too often.

"No, it’s not the array’s effect." Ye Chuan thought of Lan Xiaoke, whose strength hadn’t changed much. If the array were truly responsible, she would’ve skyrocketed in cultivation by now.

"Just treat me like a pet, meow~" Lan Xiaoke had fully embraced laziness, preferring to meow rather than cultivate.

Unlike Bai Qianshuang, who trained daily, Lan Xiaoke merely leeched off the Spirit Gathering Array’s passive benefits—her progress was slow, but she had still gained a few minor breakthroughs.

Lan Xiaoke spent her days gaming and playing cards with Ye Chuan at night, thoroughly enjoying her carefree lifestyle.

"No, you have to cultivate."

Finally, after the ghost-type reward shop kept offering useless junk, Ye Chuan decided Lan Xiaoke needed a forced power-up.

How long had it been since they last obtained a Ghost Key?

Reward drops were tied to affection and cultivation level. Bai Qianshuang’s rewards were fine, but Lan Xiaoke’s progress had completely stalled.

"Cultivate?" Lan Xiaoke’s face twisted in misery as Ye Chuan brandished a training whip.

"I’ll let you enter a few more times, okay? No training, pwease~"

"No." Ye Chuan remained stern. She had charmed her way out of it before, but this time, he wouldn’t relent.

Pointing at the white-haired girl, he declared, "Small goal—Golden Core stage. Training starts today."

"Me?!" Lan Xiaoke’s neck stiffened in disbelief.

She was still two major realms away from Golden Core!

"No way!"