Central Province, Tianyan Sect.
Zhuji Peak.
Xie Lingyu raised her hand to brew tea, then poured it into cups for Chu Xingchen and Bai Xuanling.
Bai Xuanling reached out toward her teacup.
I was in a hurry this time and didn't prepare a gift for your breakthrough.
You didn't give me one last time either, so it's fine if you don't give me one now, Xie Lingyu said calmly. It is enough for me that Master is safe and sound.
Bai Xuanling nodded with great satisfaction upon hearing this.
You are certainly much gentler than before. Now, our Lingyu is a great expert of the Soul Transformation Stage.
Xie Lingyu wasn't sure if this was her master teasing her. She looked up at Chu Xingchen across from her; he had a smile on his face.
Chu Xingchen, who used to love joking around, had become much quieter since he lost his hearing.
Seeing Xie Lingyu's expression, Bai Xuanling raised an eyebrow and laughed.
Hurry up and say what's in your heart while you have the chance. This kid can't hear you anyway.
What do you mean, what's in my heart?
Things like, You brat, you must have exhausted ten lifetimes of good fortune to be loved by Lady Lingyu, and you'll have to work like a slave for her for the next ten lifetimes to pay it back.
Master! Xie Lingyu stood up, her hands pressing against the table.
Seeing Xie Lingyu's sudden movement, Chu Xingchen looked at her with confusion and asked, What's wrong?
Bai Xuanling raised an eyebrow and moved her hand as if to write.
But as soon as she moved, Xie Lingyu reached out and pressed Bai Xuanling's hand down.
Xie Lingyu called out with extreme gravity, Master!
Seeing this, Bai Xuanling withdrew her hand, her tone becoming a bit playful.
If you like him, you like him. I don't even mind that this brat snatched you away, yet you're getting all serious with your master.
Would you only realize how good I am if I had tried to break you two up back then?
Xie Lingyu placed a new teacup in front of Bai Xuanling and filled it.
I know how to handle my own affairs.
Of course, Lingyu is a Soul Transformation expert now. The smile on Bai Xuanling's face did not fade. Since you don't like that, let me try a different approach. I'm just making a suggestion. Since this kid can't hear right now, if there's anything you're upset about from the past, it would be good to scold him to his face to vent your frustration.
Xie Lingyu did not argue further. From past experience, as long as she softened her stance, her master wouldn't keep pressing her.
She answered softly, I understand.
Bai Xuanling nodded with a smile, then reached into her spatial ring, took out a pill, and casually popped it into her mouth.
Seeing this, Chu Xingchen mentally calculated the time and spoke up.
You are taking those Heart-Clearing Pills too frequently. One every six hours. I don't know if you'll develop a tolerance to them. It would be better to take fewer.
Bai Xuanling let out a scoff and raised her hand to write: [Who would want to eat these lousy pills you refined if there were any other choice?]
Bai Bo's final move before his death had indeed targeted Bai Xuanling's ultimate weakness.
That inexplicable surge of rage had completely filled her Divine Sea, making everything before her eyes seem utterly loathsome.
Even though Bai Xuanling tried her best to suppress it, her own seals were being subconsciously broken.
Fortunately, Bai Xuanling remembered the Heart-Clearing Pills Chu Xingchen had refined. She had taken one back when they were in the West Bull Continent.
At the time, Chu Xingchen had intended to use those pills to suppress his own inner demons. However, given Chu Xingchen's notorious reputation for alchemy, even Bai Xuanling hadn't planned on trying them.
She had originally intended to use that pill as a secret weapon, perhaps letting the Sect Master try it one day.
She never expected that the Sect Master wouldn't use it, but she would end up taking it herself.
At the time, she was just treating a dead horse as if it were still alive, and she never expected it to actually work.
Regardless of the rage, she could maintain absolute rationality in her heart.
It was as if her body was going wild, but her heart remained as calm as a still pond.
Fortunately, it was the heart that controlled the body.
The pills Chu Xingchen refined were extremely effective; at the very least, they hadn't truly pushed Bai Xuanling to a dead end.
Otherwise, she would never have been able to return on her own that day.
Naturally, the side effects of this pill were also extreme.
Even someone like Bai Xuanling had to be fully prepared before she dared to take one. The sensation was roughly like this: the soul was very calm, but the soul had no intention of remaining within the body.
It was a very jarring kind of discomfort, a torturous feeling that made one feel it might be better to just die.
But at this moment, she had no room to be picky.
After all, the materials for the Heart-Clearing Pills Chu Xingchen refined were cheap and the process was simple. With his current Mahayana cultivation, if he seriously refined a batch, it would be enough for Bai Xuanling for a year.
Even with Chu Xingchen's current stock, it was enough for her to take for quite a while.
As long as one is alive, there is a way.
Sect Master Lu Xuan was also researching Bai Xuanling's problem, looking for methods other than Chu Xingchen's pills.
Therefore, the current Sect Master Lu was also extremely busy.
Bai Xuanling sighed softly.
Forget it, it's all fate. Being alive is enough.
Xie Lingyu pursed her lips slightly. She knew everything that had happened in the West Bull Continent, but it wasn't her style to constantly dwell on past dangers.
After giving her warnings once, Xie Lingyu rarely spoke of it again.
However, this incident had taught her to cherish the present.
Bai Xuanling waved her hand lightly. This kid's medicine is too potent. I'm going back to meditate and find a way to block the side effects.
She stood up and walked toward the door. Reaching it, she turned back to Xie Lingyu.
Remember what I said. Take this time to scold the kid properly. He's usually very petty; you won't get another chance like this.
Xie Lingyu nodded in response.
I know...
Bai Xuanling left, satisfied.
Chu Xingchen also withdrew his gaze and looked at Xie Lingyu.
Why did she leave? Did you two have a fight?
Xie Lingyu extended her divine sense. After confirming she couldn't detect her master's presence, she began to write while speaking aloud.
I hate you, you idiot. You almost lost your life.
[No, Master said she was tired and went to rest.]
Oh... Chu Xingchen nodded slightly, then smiled and praised her. Speaking of which, as expected of Lady Lingyu, you reached the Soul Transformation Stage so quickly.
Xie Lingyu gave a soft huff.
How can I compare to your speed? You cultivate so fast, I don't even know how you do it.
[I just put in a bit more effort.]
Now I can properly rely on Lady Lingyu, Chu Xingchen said with a smile. I trust Lady Lingyu completely. During this time, I'll have to count on you to translate what others say.
Otherwise, someone might curse me to my face and I wouldn't even know.
Xie Lingyu nodded gracefully, her tone full of dissatisfaction.
I'm the one cursing you, you big idiot. You always insist on being a hero. You used to discuss things with me, but now you don't even consult me. You just go and do whatever you want.
[Don't worry, I'm here. No one dares to insult you.]
Chu Xingchen nodded with a smile, looking quite happy.
That's good. I'm lucky to have Lady Lingyu.
Big idiot! Big idiot! Xie Lingyu murmured softly. If you're this stupid again, if you take risks like that again, Lady Lingyu won't care about you anymore.
[Just leave everything to Lady Lingyu.]
Outside the corridor wall.
The smile never left Bai Xuanling's face.
A mere little Soul Transformation cultivator actually thought she could detect her.
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
