Mu Qingying thought she must be seeing things. Ye Tong staying silent was understandable since Ye Yu was just joking around. But her nodding along? That felt off.
"Ye Yu! Asking for a beating, are you? How dare you tease your teacher like that?"
Xu Mu could clearly hear the sarcasm dripping from Ye Yu's words.
He then turned to Mu Qingying and said, "If anything really happens to the Xu Family in the future, I’ll come to you. But for now, let’s not worry over nothing."
Mu Qingying wiped her eyes with her sleeve and gave a small nod.
"If there’s nothing else, I should head back now," she said, standing up.
"Teacher Mu, it’s getting late. Why not stay for dinner?" Ye Tong invited with a smile.
"No need, I don’t want to impose."
"Stay. It’s the perfect chance to try my cooking," Xu Mu said, getting up.
Mu Qingying was stunned. "Xu Mu, you can cook?"
"Of course! If it weren’t for Teacher Mu visiting, we wouldn’t get to enjoy brother-in-law’s delicious dishes," Ye Yu chimed in, shooting Xu Mu a playful glare.
Xu Mu sighed at Ye Yu’s antics.
Is she feeling uncomfortable seeing me and Mu Qingying like this?
"Don’t listen to her nonsense," Xu Mu said before heading to the kitchen to get started.
The rhythmic sound of chopping from the kitchen made Mu Qingying’s heart flutter. Just from the precision of the knife work, she could tell this wasn’t amateur cooking.
Before long, Xu Mu had Ye Yu bring out the dishes.
Mu Qingying’s eyes widened at the feast before her—each dish looked mouthwatering.
Honey-glazed char siu, sweet and sour carp, braised prawns, stir-fried shiitake greens, and a bowl of West Lake beef soup.
"Just some home-style dishes. Don’t hold back," Xu Mu said casually as he joined them at the table.
The four sat down, and the moment Mu Qingying took a bite of the char siu, an explosion of flavor filled her mouth.
"This is amazing! So delicious!"
She’d dined at plenty of high-end restaurants, but none compared to this.
[Affection Points +20]
She had assumed Xu Mu could only whip up simple dishes, but now it was clear—he was better than professional chefs.
"If the Xu Family ever goes under, we can just make brother-in-law a chef to support us," Ye Yu teased with a grin.
Mu Qingying silently agreed as she sampled the other dishes, each one just as exquisite.
……
After dinner, the family saw Mu Qingying off at the door before returning inside.
Ye Tong went to clean up in the kitchen while Ye Yu and Xu Mu lounged on the sofa.
"Brother-in-law, I’m doing you a favor, right? Helping you find another wife," Ye Yu said, nudging Xu Mu’s stomach with her elbow.
"Pushing your luck, huh? Keep mocking me like that."
Xu Mu wrapped an arm around her neck and used his free hand to tickle her sides.
"Ahahaha! Stop! I surrender!"
Ye Yu squirmed uncontrollably, but she was no match for Xu Mu.
Her struggles only made things worse until she collapsed against him, wriggling helplessly.
Then—sudden silence.
Ye Yu was now perched on Xu Mu’s lap, their position a little too intimate.
Flush!
Her cute face turned bright red, and she bolted upstairs. "I’m going to bed!"
Xu Mu was equally flustered. He’d only meant to teach her a lesson, not end up like this.
"What happened? Why did Xiaoyu run off?" Ye Tong asked, stepping out of the kitchen.
"She’s scared of me now," Xu Mu said, taking Ye Tong’s hand. "Let’s get some rest."
Ye Tong lowered her head shyly. At times like this, she couldn’t help but wish for someone else to share the burden.
That night…
Xu Mu and Ye Tong engaged in a deep yet accessible discussion on current global affairs.
They seemed particularly passionate about the topic, losing themselves in conversation until neither could pull away.
……
Xu Mu checked his Justice Points and saw he had enough for two consecutive 10-draws.
He tapped the roulette to start spinning—no point in sleeping now anyway.
As the wheel turned, rewards began appearing.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. You’ve obtained 20 Cultivation Points.]
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. You’ve obtained the title: Novice Alchemist.]
No way!
Xu Mu sat bolt upright. An alchemy skill?
This ability was something even the Dragon King in the story only unlocked much later.
For Xu Mu, this was huge.
Thanks to his Medicine Mastery, he could analyze pills—but without the technique, he couldn’t actually make them.
In short, his brain and eyes knew what to do, but his hands couldn’t execute it.
Until now, his "pills" were just boiled-down remedies, losing most of their potency.
But with alchemy? He could maximize the effects of rare herbs and materials.
Though this was only Novice-level. There had to be higher tiers later.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. You’ve obtained a Grade-4 rare herb: Black Vine.]
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. You’ve obtained a Grade-3 rare herb gift box.]
"What’s this?"
Xu Mu frowned. A Grade-4 herb was given solo, but Grade-3 came in a box?
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. You’ve obtained another Grade-3 rare herb gift box.]
Another one?
If he remembered right, this was the first time he’d drawn identical items back-to-back.
At least with cultivation manuals and techniques, there were differences.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. You’ve obtained 20 Attribute Points.]
……
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. You’ve obtained a Grade-2 rare herb gift box.]
……
Once the 10-draw ended, Xu Mu couldn’t help but marvel. Maybe because of the alchemy skill, he’d gotten tons of rare herbs.
Out of eleven rewards, the guaranteed Cultivation Points totaled only 70, and Attribute Points just 50.
He then focused on the Novice Alchemist title, feeling a flood of knowledge enter his mind.
Basic pill recipes and methods were now second nature to him.
Opening his storage space, he found several gift boxes the size of washbasins.
Inside were various rare herbs.
After inspecting the Grade-2 and Grade-3 boxes, he noticed most could replenish his energy.
A smile crept onto his face as two pill names surfaced in his mind:
Body Tempering Pill and Qi Gathering Pill.
Now, he didn’t need to rely on Heaven’s Mandate energy to elevate those around him to martial artist levels.
Xu Mu stored everything away and initiated the second 10-draw.
The wheel spun again, revealing more rewards.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. You’ve obtained 30 Cultivation Points.]
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. You’ve obtained 10 Attribute Points.]
……
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. You’ve obtained a Grade-3 rare herb gift box.]
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. You’ve obtained a Grade-2 rare herb gift box.]
"Seriously? Again?"
Xu Mu felt like rare herbs were haunting him today.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. You’ve obtained 20 Cultivation Points.]
……
After the draws concluded, Xu Mu shook his head. With so many herbs, he couldn’t just use them on his inner circle.
It’d be a waste not to expand.
And he already had someone in mind.
Combined, the two 10-draws gave him 180 Cultivation Points and 120 Attribute Points, all of which he allocated immediately.
Finally, he checked his updated stats:
Name: Xu Mu
Identity: Villainous Saint Body, HR Manager of Xu Corporation
Realm: Late-stage Gang Qi
Physique: 570
Spirit: 570
Cultivation Points: 360/400
Destiny Power: 177
Xu Mu nodded to himself. He decided to get a good night's sleep—tomorrow would be a busy day. He had plans to elevate those around him.
【Prologue: The Beginning of It All – Use holy water to heal the saintess tainted by demonic energy, then converse with her.】 Shen Nian stared at his older sister sipping yogurt, lost in thought. So you’re telling me my sister is the saintess, and yogurt is the holy water? 【Main Quest 1: Brave Youth, Become an Adventurer! Reward: Rookie Adventurer Title.】 【Side Quest 1: Find the Adorable Kitty! Reward: 1000 Gold Coins.】 Shen Nian: "Wait, I’m a high school senior here—did some guy who got isekai’d accidentally bind his system to me?" Hold on, completing quests gives gold rewards? Titles even boost stats? Is this for real? (A lighthearted, absurd campus comedy—not a revenge power fantasy.)
esick Sect? Well, at least it's considered a respectable orthodox sect. Wait a minute— What kind of vibe are you all giving off? Shouldn’t this be a love-struck, romance-obsessed sect? Why does everyone here sound more like demonic cultivators? "Master, today he’s getting married. This disciple wishes to descend the mountain and crash the wedding, then toy with him to death right in front of his wife..." "Elder, I only got into your sect through connections, so why won’t you teach me anything?" "Because I also became an elder through connections." Thankfully, Su Ji was just an outer sect labor disciple. Surely, nothing too crazy would— "Junior Brother, you’ve broken through to Qi Refining. Once you sever your useless spiritual root, you can officially become an outer sect disciple." "The Great Dao is merciless. Don’t let a worthless spiritual root waste your essence and spirit, hindering your cultivation." Is this really the Lovesick Sect? ... Three years later, Su Ji sat in the seat of the Lovesick Sect’s sect master, sighing with emotion. His rise to this position all started when his junior sister adamantly insisted on preserving his "spiritual root." "Mmm... Senior Brother, what’s our relationship now?" "Stop talking. Keep going." "By the way, that newly promoted top-tier sect—didn’t they come to buy our Love Beans?" "One top-grade spirit stone per Love Bean—is that really so expensive?" "I suspect they’ve eaten too many Love Beans." "Now they’re lovesick." Well, this really is the Lovesick Sect after all.
saw a female celebrity tied up and stuffed in the trunk! Little did he know, countless cameras were aimed at him at this moment - this was a new type of reality show. The first randomly selected passerby was caught in less than an hour. But when Xu Moru was selected, things started to take an unexpected turn. "Damn, this isn't how the script goes. This Xu Moru is too bold, he's not following the rules at all." "Crap, is this guy taking it seriously?" "The female celebrity has been scared to tears!"
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
