Zhong Yi was, without a doubt, a master of chess.
In a mere few dozen moves, he had completely sealed off his opponent's avenues of attack.
The old man’s face flushed red as he muttered curses.
He had spent the last three days bitterly studying his ancestral chess manual, determined to use his forefathers' techniques to defeat this rival, but he never expected to lose so quickly.
"It makes no sense... The Ancestor said this strategy would remain unsolvable for three hundred years. How could this happen..."
The old man rubbed his goatee in bewilderment.
Zhong Yi struggled to stifle a laugh.
To him, this chess manual was simply too antiquated.
"Fine, fine. I accept my loss... I have nothing of value to give you, but if you have any use for this ancestral pill recipe, take it."
Convinced of his defeat, the old man graciously fished a brocade pouch from his pocket and tossed it to Zhong Yi.
[Side Quest (Ancestral Chess Manual) Completed!]
[Reward Obtained: Lost Body-Tempering Pill Recipe (High Grade) x1]
Seeing the system prompt, Zhong Yi was overjoyed, practically jumping in place with delight.
"Hahahaha! Fellow Daoists, Su Di'er's path to immortality is secured!!"
...
...
Zhong Yi spent half a day gathering the herbs mentioned in the recipe from the immortal peaks outside the town.
He then spent a little more time visiting the market to commission someone to refine them.
Refining the pills was quick; as long as you paid, you got the goods.
Although it defied common logic, such things were commonplace in Lu Ze's illusions, and the cultivators were long accustomed to it.
Zhong Yi returned to the inn in high spirits, holding the pill recipe.
Then, he realized another very serious problem—
The method for using this Body-Tempering Pill required grinding it into powder for a medicated bath.
After listening to Zhong Yi's flushed explanation, a fleeting blush crossed Su Di'er's cheeks.
"Li Ang..."
Su Di'er pointed at the large wooden tub before her, eyeing Zhong Yi skeptically.
"You don't just want to see me..."
"Pff, pff, pff! I—I am absolutely not that kind of person!!!"
Zhong Yi’s face turned beet red. He waved his hands frantically, flustered as a young boy.
"This recipe is incredibly precious. It must be used in conjunction with a medicated bath to... to be effective..."
"A-And..."
"I'm only responsible for mixing the medicinal solution. I absolutely will not step half a foot into this room. You can rest assured!"
In his nervousness, Zhong Yi started rambling.
His frantic behavior was quite awkward.
But to his surprise, no Behavior Points were deducted.
Which meant...
The real Li Ang would likely have reacted in much the same way in this situation.
Seeing Zhong Yi's reaction, Su Di'er was instantly amused.
"Ahem..."
The young girl coughed lightly and teased, "Li Ang, you saved my life. Offering myself to you in return is only proper..."
"D-Don't talk nonsense! Let's just get started!!!"
Zhong Yi shouted, cutting her off as he rushed to fetch hot water.
Behind him, the girl's laughter rang out like silver bells.
...
The medicinal solution was soon mixed.
Amidst the girl's teasing laughter, Zhong Yi pushed Su Di'er into the bathhouse and then forcefully shut the door.
The bullet screen instantly erupted with laughter at the scene.
[Ol' Zhong, you talk a big game about cultivation, so why are you acting like a virgin little brother right now?]
[Honestly, it doesn't look like he's acting.]
[Su Di'er has total dominance in this regard~]
[I'm curious, what would happen if Ol' Zhong actually went in?]
[Streamer, if I gift you a 'Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Sect,' can you take us inside for a look?]
[You bunch of beasts! She's just a child!]
...
"W-What Ten Thousand Swords? We are people of the Orthodox Path; how could we harbor such depraved thoughts!!"
Zhong Yi shook his head firmly in response to the chat's teasing.
In reality, even if someone wanted to do that, they wouldn't be able to.
With the character behavior system in place, "Li Ang" would not allow the player to do anything that crossed the line.
At this moment, Zhong Yi was separated from Su Di'er in the wooden tub by only a door.
The girl scooped up the medicinal liquid with her hands, creating splashing sounds that drifted through the cracks of the door to Zhong Yi's ears.
Despite it being the sound of ordinary water, Zhong Yi felt restless, his face burning.
"This shouldn't be..."
Zhong Yi muttered to himself, and then realized something was wrong.
Under his character panel, there was a pink negative status effect: [Restless].
Clearly, the illusion had actively added this—it was Li Ang's current psychological state.
He must be a shy and introverted type...
Zhong Yi smiled helplessly and began silently reciting the Calming Mantra in his heart.
"Li Ang, what are you doing?"
From behind the door, the girl's crisp voice sounded slightly muffled. An image of Su Di'er speaking amidst thick steam involuntarily appeared in Zhong Yi's mind.
"I'm... I'm reciting a mental cultivation method. I'll teach it to you later."
Zhong Yi lied quickly, his old face blushing.
"Li Ang..."
"Hmm?"
"Have you really never thought about it?"
"Thought about what?"
"Letting me offer myself to you or something?"
The girl's voice ended on a laugh, clearly teasing him.
"..."
Zhong Yi fell silent.
It was his first time encountering such a situation, and he honestly didn't know how to respond...
"Am I not pretty?"
"No, you're very pretty."
"Then why do you have no interest in me?"
"Listen, Su Di'er, you're still young..."
"I'm not a child anymore!"
"Okay, okay... Su Di'er, just soak properly. Don't let anything below your neck surface from the water."
Zhong Yi scratched his head, quickly changing the subject.
"Li Ang, come in for a second."
"Until you have fully absorbed the medicinal power, dried yourself, and put on your clothes... that is absolutely impossible."
"Tch, boring Li Ang."
The girl's voice carried a hint of disdain, which confirmed to Zhong Yi that she was joking, allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief.
The air fell silent, leaving only the pattering sound of water.
"Ahhh!!!"
Suddenly, a scream came from the bathhouse.
"What's wrong!?"
Zhong Yi shot up.
"It hurts... It hurts so much! There's something wrong with the medicine!!!"
The girl shrieked in panic.
Zhong Yi didn't have time to think; he pushed the door open and rushed in.
"Are you alright!?"
Through the thick steam, Zhong Yi could only see a pair of slender, tender feet kicking at the edge of the wooden tub.
And the girl's face, faintly visible, wearing a mischievous grin.
"Hehe~"
Zhong Yi finally realized it was Su Di'er's prank.
Fortunately, the bathhouse was full of steam, and the medicinal liquid was an opaque dark green, so nothing could be seen.
"You..."
Zhong Yi was about to speak.
The girl scooped up a handful of water and splashed it at Zhong Yi...
...
[Congratulations! Su Di'er has successfully tempered her body. Level increased to 1.]
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.
and couldn't return to the real world. Finally, I gave up and decided to go with the flow, only to discover that writing a diary could make me stronger. Since no one could read it, Su Luo wrote freely, daring to pen anything and everything. Female Lead #1: "Not bad. This diary helped me steal all the protagonist's opportunities. I just want to get stronger." Female Lead #2: "I don’t care about reaching the peak of the cultivation world. Right now, I just want to enjoy the chaos." Female Lead #3: "What? Everyone around me is a spy? I’m the Joker Demon Lord?" ... It’s so strange. Why is the plot completely off track, yet the ending remains the same? Are you all just messing with me?!
ver to a world of cultivation and returned invincible. Modern medicine is child's play compared to elixirs; technological might crumbles before true cultivation. My name is Qin Ning, Earth's sole cultivator!
