"Teacher, promise me you'll be careful, okay?"
Li Mucheng buried her face into Ye Feng's chest, her voice filled with concern for him.
"Alright, don't worry, Mucheng."
The girl's hair cascaded like a waterfall, and seeing Li Mucheng's vulnerable expression, Ye Feng couldn't help but pull her into his embrace.
"Everything will be fine."
"Mmm..."
After a brief hug, Li Mucheng reluctantly pulled away from Ye Feng's arms. Under his puzzled gaze, she spoke up.
"Teacher, I have something urgent to take care of. Would it be alright if I stepped away for a while?"
"Of course, that’s no problem at all. Mucheng, your personal freedom is yours—you don’t need to ask me for permission."
"Of course I do!"
Li Mucheng took Ye Feng's hand and gently pressed it against her cheek. With lips slightly pursed, she gave him a sweet smile, her eyes brimming with longing for happiness.
"As the person you love, it’s only natural to share where we’re going. That way, we can always find each other~"
"Ahem... I-I understand. Mucheng, you should go ahead."
Ye Feng tried to mask his embarrassment with a cough, but no matter how hard he tried to suppress it, Li Mucheng’s sharp eyes caught on. Still, she chose not to tease him. After planting a soft kiss on his palm, she turned and left the hall. Compared to staying with Ye Feng, she had something far more important to attend to.
"Phew..."
Only when Li Mucheng’s figure disappeared from sight did Ye Feng finally let out a sigh of relief. For some reason, he felt like Li Mucheng had been breaking down his composure more and more lately. Under her advances, he had no way to resist—perhaps because he had already opened his heart to her.
"Right! Back when I was with Mucheng earlier, I thought I heard the system’s voice... I’ve been recovering these past few days and haven’t checked in with it. Maybe I should go back to my room and see if it was just my imagination."
With some time to himself, Ye Feng didn’t linger in the living room any longer and headed straight for his room. The system hadn’t assigned him any special tasks lately—the only rewards he received now were from interacting with the girls. That meant his remaining lifespan had become even more precious. But Xie Yuyan remained an obstacle on his path. If he didn’t deal with her properly, things could take a disastrous turn.
Once back in his room, Ye Feng immediately pulled up the system panel. Sure enough, upon closer inspection, he noticed something unusual.
First, Li Mucheng’s affection progress was still at 100%, but the bar below it had somehow dropped to 0%. That meant she no longer harbored an intense possessiveness toward him—at least for now. This was ultimately a good thing. After spending these past few days with Li Mucheng, Ye Feng could clearly feel her care and deep affection. But still...
"Sigh."
Ye Feng sighed and shifted his gaze to an unlocked entry in the system’s gallery. Originally, there had only been two entries—"Shadowed One" and "Bloody Rose." But now, a new one had appeared: "Black Morning Glory."
"Black Morning Glory? Black... morning glory..."
Muttering the name under his breath, Ye Feng’s mind flashed to Li Mucheng. Without thinking, he instinctively spoke her name aloud.
"Li Mucheng."
[Ding. Black Morning Glory gallery entry unlocked. Current gallery unlock progress: 2/4. Gallery completion progress: 1/4.]
Huh?
Ye Feng frowned at the system’s message. The first part made sense, but the terms "unlock progress" and "completion progress" left him puzzled.
What exactly did these terms mean? "Unlock progress" probably referred to gathering information about the girls through interactions. So far, he knew "Black Morning Glory" represented Li Mucheng, and "Bloody Rose" stood for Xie Yuyan. But who was this "Shadowed One"...?
"Ah!"
An idea suddenly struck him. Since he’d already unlocked gallery entries for two of the girls he’d interacted with, that left only Shen Mengli and Su Yuxin. If he said both their names out loud, one of them had to match the remaining entry, right?
With that in mind, Ye Feng first called out Shen Mengli’s name—but the system gave no response.
No? Then if "Shadowed One" wasn’t Shen Mengli, it had to be Su Yuxin!
"......"
Yet again, silence. His plan clearly didn’t work.
It seemed the only way to identify the "Shadowed One" was through further interactions with the remaining two girls.
But what did "completion progress" actually mean...?
As Ye Feng skimmed through the gallery section, he suddenly noticed a small line of text beneath the completion progress. Focusing on it, he read: (Upon full completion of the gallery, the lifespan timer will be disabled.)
"!!!!"
Just moments ago, he’d been relaxed, thinking about how to deepen his bond with Su Yuxin tomorrow. But now, after reading that line, he sat bolt upright.
What?! Disable the lifespan timer? Does that mean... I’ll finally be free from the system’s control?
Ye Feng gasped aloud, his excitement impossible to contain. The only reason he’d been completing the system’s tasks was to survive. Now that the system had revealed a way to rid himself of this cursed lifespan countdown, how could he not be thrilled? He was practically itching to fulfill the conditions immediately—after all, this meant true freedom...
But then, Ye Feng caught himself. He was getting too carried away. Rushing into things with this mindset would only lead to mistakes. Forcing himself to calm down, he carefully considered how to advance the gallery’s completion progress. So far, he’d only achieved a quarter of it.
......
"Well? Is everything prepared?"
Li Mucheng took a sip of coffee from the table, her expression serious as she looked at Ah Fu standing before her.
"Yes, Miss. Everything is in place. Aside from the Su family’s security detail, we’ve stationed additional sentries around the amusement park. At the slightest sign of trouble, we’ll intervene immediately."
"Good... That’s good. No matter what, we must ensure Teacher’s safety."
"Understood!"
Once her conversation with Ah Fu concluded, Li Mucheng tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, her stern demeanor softening into something gentler.
"Now... it’s time to return to Teacher’s side."
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
th】 【No prior gaming knowledge required】【The First Cultivation + Game Design Novel on the Platform】 In a world where the righteous path dominates and crushes the demonic sects, Lu Ze unlocks the "Son of the Demon Path" system. Killing righteous cultivators now grants him power-ups. Wait—deaths in illusions count too? As a former game designer, Lu Ze decides to give the cultivators of this world a little—no, a massive—shock... Sect Elders: "What is this 'Escape from the Demon Sect' game? Why have all our disciples abandoned cultivation to play it??" Elite Disciples: "You're saying... mastering 'Demon Slayer' can help us counter demonic schemes?" Reclusive Masters: "Why did I leave seclusion? Ask that backstabbing rat who ambushed me in 'Eternal Strife' yesterday!" Rogue Cultivators & Civilians: "'Immortal Abyss Action' is addictive! You can even earn spirit stones by loot-running..." Sect Prodigy: "My Dao heart is unshakable... except for that cursed black hammer." Royal Scions: "Can skins have stat boosts? I’ll pay 10,000 spirit stones for one!!" Sect Leader: "WHO IS CORRUPTING MY DISCIPLES?!!!"
end. Thus one must continue to cultivate, and become a saint or great emperor, in order to prolong one's life. Chen Xia, however, completely reversed this. Since his transmigration, he has gained immortality, and also a system that awards him with attribute points for every year he lives. Thus between the myriad worlds, the legend of an unparalleled senior appeared. "A gentleman takes revenge; it is never too late even after ten thousand years." "When you were at your peak I yielded, now in your old age I shall trample on you." - Chen Xia
ey change clothes. Li Chuan contributed all his possessions, only to find that things were not as they seemed. Almost a year after joining, he hadn’t managed to get a single Daoist consort. Thinking he had been deceived, he was approached by a stunning senior fellow disciple who asked if he would like to form a spiritual bond. For those who don’t practice cultivation, they might not know what “forming a spiritual bond” is. Let me put it this way: A long-term relationship is called a “Daoist consort,” while a short-term relationship is known as “forming a spiritual bond.” From then on, Li Chuan discovered the true way to interact with the Yin-Yang Sect’s Daoist consorts. As long as he had enough spirit stones, he could form a spiritual bond with anyone, Whether it’s Senior Sisters, aunts, Daoist consorts of aunts, female elders, Daoist consorts of elders, or even the Daoist consort of the sect leader, anyone can form a spiritual bond as long as there are enough spirit stones.” I've already joined the Yin-Yang Sect, and you're telling me to focus on cultivation? Do you even know what the Yin-Yang Sect is all about?
