Bai Qianshuang watched the entire process and noticed that Ye Chuan's alchemy technique was highly unusual. The medicinal herbs were tossed into the small alchemy cauldron, and with the churning black spiritual flames, they quickly condensed into pills.
To think that other alchemists might take months or even half a year to refine a single pill—yet here was Ye Chuan, effortlessly releasing that faint black energy to refine the herbs, the same energy that had once drained her own spiritual power.
"Hmm?" Ye Chuan set down his phone but caught Bai Qianshuang giving him a strange look. "What's wrong? Why are you staring at me like that?"
"The pill you just refined..."
"Huh?" Hearing Bai Qianshuang's hesitant response, Ye Chuan froze for a moment, his mind racing.
What was going on?
Could Bai Qianshuang see what was happening on his phone?
He was certain that no one else could see the app interface on his phone—he used it often enough to know. Yet Bai Qianshuang had apparently witnessed him refining a pill for Lan Xiaoke?
"You... saw me refining pills just now?" Ye Chuan asked.
Bai Qianshuang, noticing his confusion, only grew more puzzled herself. "Wasn’t that what you were doing? You summoned a small alchemy cauldron and used spiritual flames to refine those immortal herbs."
Me? Summon a cauldron?
Wasn’t that just the image on my phone?
There was nothing like that in reality.
Ye Chuan pondered—could it be that they were seeing different things?
"But why..." Though he found it strange, since his "system" hadn’t actually been exposed, he relaxed a little.
"Yeah, I just refined a pill for Xiaoke," Ye Chuan said to Bai Qianshuang.
Though she found his reaction odd—jumpy, even—Bai Qianshuang didn’t suspect anything. Or rather, she hadn’t been suspicious in the first place; she was just surprised by how fast his alchemy was.
"Xiaoke absorbs spiritual energy incredibly quickly," Bai Qianshuang remarked, shifting her focus to Lan Xiaoke. The girl had been silent the whole time, but Bai Qianshuang could sense the rapid rate at which she was drawing in energy.
Not only that—the faint glow around her body indicated that she wasn’t just absorbing it quickly, but refining it just as fast.
She really was talented.
Just... incredibly lazy.
After about two hours of absorbing energy, Lan Xiaoke opened her eyes and realized she had already broken through to the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage.
"Whew~"
Stretching lazily, she flopped onto the sofa. "So tired..."
Glancing up, she noticed Ye Chuan sitting nearby, arms crossed, legs propped up, watching her with an unreadable expression.
"I did cultivate!" Lan Xiaoke blurted, as if expecting him to scold her.
"Here, refine this Crystal Pill," Ye Chuan said, tossing her a small jade vial. "Once you absorb it, you’ll break through to the Crystal Core stage."
"Huh?" Lan Xiaoke stared at the pill in her hand. "I’m not hungry."
"Is this about hunger?" Ye Chuan deadpanned.
Lan Xiaoke crawled over like a kitten, resting her chubby, baby-faced cheeks on his thigh.
"Ye Chuan, let me rest a bit~ Wanna go play games? Cards? I’ll do all the work~?"
"Break through to Crystal Core first, then you can rest." Ye Chuan patted her cheek, and she let out a soft, whining sound.
Just then, his phone rang.
He picked it up—Luo Xi was calling.
"Hey, my beautiful wife?" Ye Chuan answered.
"Ugh, why’d you call me that all of a sudden?" Luo Xi’s voice carried a hint of surprise, but she quickly continued, "Chuan, my mom made some slow-cooked soup. Can you go pick it up for everyone? I’m still out and won’t be back for a while."
"What are you up to?"
"Volunteering at the orphanage today. You know, after that monster attack last time, there are so many more kids there now... It’s heartbreaking."
"Send me a selfie."
"A selfie?" Luo Xi sounded confused but complied.
Image.jpg
"What’s this for?"
"Nothing. Just wanted to see you," Ye Chuan said. "Alright, I’ll go get it soon."
"Okay~ Bye, Chuan... husband~"
Before he could respond, she hung up with a shy giggle.
Ye Chuan glanced at his phone, then turned to find the white-haired girl pressed right up against him.
"What’s up?"
"Are you going out? Can I come?" Lan Xiaoke asked.
"Let me guess—anything to avoid cultivating, right?"
"It’s exhausting. Worse than all those positions you make me do," Lan Xiaoke nodded vigorously before clinging to his arm. "Please, Ye Chuan? Let me take a break. I’ll do anything!"
Ye Chuan flicked her forehead.
"Fine, let’s go for a walk." He still needed her to break through to Crystal Core tonight so he could check the refreshed items in the points store.
"Yay!" Lan Xiaoke bounced up and scampered off to change.
Bai Qianshuang was busy cultivating, so Ye Chuan didn’t disturb her, simply leading Lan Xiaoke out the door.
He rarely took her out alone. As they walked toward Luo Xi’s place, the white-haired girl seemed in high spirits, swaying playfully with each step.
"Luo Xi’s mom is amazing. She’s always making such delicious soups," Lan Xiaoke mused. Since her revival, she’d been enjoying every meal.
"She used to have health issues," Ye Chuan said casually. "What about you? How’s your family doing?"
"Ah..." Lan Xiaoke rarely—if ever—brought up her family, as if it were some kind of secret. At his question, she turned away before looking up again.
"Ahaha, the weather’s nice today, huh?"
Ye Chuan glanced at the overcast sky but didn’t press. "You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. That includes the thing with your heterochromatic eyes."
Lan Xiaoke’s long bangs usually covered one eye, but whenever she moved energetically, Ye Chuan would catch glimpses of it.
White hair, mismatched eyes.
And under his spiritual sense, nothing about her could stay hidden.
"Mmm, it’s not that I’m hiding it on purpose," Lan Xiaoke mumbled, tugging at his sleeve. "It’s just... kind of embarrassing."
"My family isn’t something worth talking about."
Her expression dimmed, as if recalling something unpleasant.
Just as she hesitated over whether to explain, she felt a hand gently pat her head.
"You don’t have to say anything. Everyone’s got a rough past."
She looked up, meeting Ye Chuan’s faintly amused gaze.
"Right?"
"Mm!"
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
agon king storylines. At the start, I obtained the "Ultimate Lackey System" - the more I act as a lackey, the stronger I become. What else could I do? I chose to become the personal henchman of the ultimate villain, Su Muwan. I provoke all sorts of chosen ones, snatch away their opportunities, and commit every evil deed imaginable. You ask who's behind me? Hmph! You're not worthy of knowing my lady's name! ...... ....... I am Su Muwan, the eldest daughter of the Su family. Since childhood, I've possessed extraordinary talent in martial arts, which led to my arrogant and domineering personality in my past life. I was even foolish enough to repeatedly challenge those favored by heaven, ultimately resulting in a tragic death. In this life, I must behave and absolutely cannot walk the same path again!! However... SLAP!! "So you're the Dragon King, huh?!" When I saw my little lackey swagger over and viciously slap the Dragon King who was hiding his identity, I felt my heart sink. Su Muwan's suspended heart finally died as she watched Qin Luo, her utterly loyal lackey, standing before her. She fainted on the spot from shock. Heaven is determined to destroy me!! (Pure love 1v1, light-hearted, no angst, single female lead, villain, reincarnation, lackey)
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
