This Xu Mu, I'm going to love him dearly.

Xu Mu was driving, on his way to find Dai Xingluo, when he suddenly received a call from Dai Xuan.

As soon as the call connected, Xu Mu spoke first. "Patriarch Dai, I was just about to call you. My second senior brother has been waiting for a few days now, and you still haven't made a move. My senior brother is already planning to head back."

"Hehe, Brother Xu Mu, I wanted to discuss this very matter with you."

On the other end, Dai Xuan was feeling extremely helpless.

They had wanted to take a two-pronged approach, but unfortunately, there was no way to proceed.

Now they were trying to figure out how to sow discord between Fang Chu and Xu Mu so that the two of them would fight each other.

But they were at a loss on how to deal with Xu Mu's senior brother.

If they were to invite Ye Chen out now and have Xu Mu's senior brother kill him, the cooperation between the Dai family and Ye Chen could not continue.

Ye Chen had finally offered them a way out; if they hired someone to kill him again, it would be a fight to the bitter end.

Not to mention, Ye Chen was incredibly powerful. The Dai family unanimously believed that even Xu Mu's second senior brother wouldn't be able to kill him.

"Discuss what?"

Xu Mu asked indifferently.

"It's not easy to invite Ye Chen out right now. How about you ask your senior brother to wait a few more days? Or, we can void our previous agreement; you return the two companies to us, and we'll cover the handover fees."

Dai Xuan chuckled on the other end.

Over the past few days, the Dai family had been transferring assets abroad in massive quantities. When the time came, they would genuinely hand the companies over to Ye Chen.

With this money, the Dai family would at least never have to worry about their livelihood in the future.

Xu Mu sneered at the excuse that Ye Chen was hard to invite out.

They hadn't even tried. They were just terrified of Ye Chen and were treating him, Xu Mu, like a pushover.

"Senior brother, what's wrong? Alright, you tell him."

Xu Mu suddenly spoke into the phone, and then shifted his voice to a much deeper tone.

He had used this exact voice to speak with Dai Xuan previously.

"People of the Dai family! Are you walking me like a dog? I turned down a ruin exploration mission to come and help you, and now you want to take back the companies and make my trip here for nothing?"

Xu Mu's tone was brimming with threat. "I don't think your Dai family has any reason to exist anymore."

Hearing this, Dai Xuan was scared out of his wits.

Originally, he had wanted to haggle, hoping to just get back their most profitable company.

Upon hearing those words, he didn't dare utter another peep.

"Mr. Hu, please don't be angry. I was just joking. Those two companies are still yours. I just ask that you delay for a few more days."

Dai Xuan apologized with an obsequious smile.

"You only have today. If you don't bring Ye Chen out by this afternoon, I'm heading straight back."

After saying that, Xu Mu hung up the phone.

He broke into a smile. He had snagged two companies for free without even having to fight.

He was confident that the Dai family wouldn't make a move against Ye Chen today.

...

Xu Mu called Dai Xingluo and learned that she was currently sparring with Meng Wanyue.

So, he drove over to their usual sparring spot.

Upon arriving, he found Dai Xingluo and Meng Wanyue waiting below the highway.

"Brother, did you miss me?"

Dai Xingluo asked with a smile as she watched Xu Mu jump down from the road.

"I've refined some more pills and came specifically to give them to you."

Xu Mu checked Dai Xingluo's Filial Piety Score and widened his eyes in disbelief.

He had originally thought that a vicious female supporting character like Dai Xingluo would have a Filial Piety Score towards him equal to Xu Ningbing's at best.

He didn't expect hers to be a 9, one point higher than Xu Ningbing's.

According to the system's description, 8 points belonged to the filial child tier, characterized by firmly defending the father.

9 points belonged to the great filial child tier; while defending the father, they were willing to sacrifice themselves to satisfy the father's needs.

Xu Mu was genuinely surprised. He had really misjudged her.

Thinking about it carefully, in the original plot, the reason Dai Xingluo became a vicious female supporting character was purely to win Ye Chen.

In order to claim her own love, she grew jealous of other women getting too close to Ye Chen.

She would rather secretly murder those women just to be with the protagonist.

Although her methods were a bit yandere, her Filial Piety Score had never diminished.

At this thought, Xu Mu suddenly wanted to check the Filial Piety Score between Meng Wanyue and Dai Xingluo.

The strongest ability of the halo Meng Wanyue granted him was exactly this.

After observing, Xu Mu found that Meng Wanyue's Filial Piety Score towards Dai Xingluo was a 7.

According to the system, this level generally belonged to a lower-middle-tier filial daughter, someone who could tolerate the father's negative traits.

For example, even if the father made a mistake, she would rationalize the wrongdoing, feeling that occasional mistakes were perfectly normal.

It wouldn't affect her overall sense of trust, and she would even actively help make excuses for him.

As for Dai Xingluo's Filial Piety Score towards Meng Wanyue, it was a 6.

This value belonged to a lower-tier filial daughter. She would emotionally identify with the father, feel that the father deserved a good life, and deep down, still harbor affection for him.

Seeing this information, Xu Mu couldn't help but chuckle.

These two women bickered whenever they were together, but surprisingly, their mutual affection was quite high.

Meng Wanyue, for instance, could actually tolerate Dai Xingluo's negative traits.

He had to admit, Meng Wanyue was a good girl who wore her heart on her sleeve for just about anyone.

Xu Mu took out the refined Hongyuan Pills from his pocket. "Three pills each. Same old rule: one pill every three days."

"Thank you, brother."

Dai Xingluo linked her arm through Xu Mu's. "I feel like I should be able to break through to the mid-stage of the Divine Power Realm in the next few days."

[Favorability +10]

"Brother Mu, me too. I feel like I'm on the verge of a breakthrough."

Meng Wanyue chimed in.

"Really? That's wonderful. You two certainly didn't disappoint me."

Xu Mu was a little surprised. It seemed his pills hadn't gone to waste after all.

Both of them had only recently stepped into the early stage of the Divine Power Realm, and now they were already advancing to the mid-stage.

If it were normal cultivation, it would take a year at the very least, or even decades at the most.

Just then, Xu Mu received a phone call.

He took it out and glanced at the screen, seeing that it was Tantai Quan calling.

Xu Mu frowned slightly. Did she want him to refine pills for her again?

"Sister Quan, what's up?"

"Little brother, can you make a trip to Mount Lumang? Your big sister wants to give you a present."

Tantai Quan's charming and seductive voice came through the receiver.

Hearing this, Xu Mu gave a slight nod. "Alright, I'll head over right away."

Bidding farewell to Dai Xingluo and Meng Wanyue, Xu Mu immediately drove towards Mount Lumang.

Looking at the navigation route that would take a few hours, he took out his phone and called Xu Ningbing.

"What's the matter?"

Xu Ningbing asked after answering the call.

"Sister, I've earned so much money for the family; my commission should be quite a lot by now, right? Buy me a helicopter, and get me a pilot's license while you're at it."

Xu Mu possessed a Master Driver's Certificate; whether it was flying in the sky or sailing in the water, as long as it involved piloting or driving, he was an expert.

...

Mount Lumang.

Tantai Quan was currently smoking from a jade pipe, listening to the report of the sunglasses-wearing man in front of her.

"To think that a dozen or so people actually broke through their realms."

Tantai Quan's eyes curved into crescents. "This Xu Mu... I'm really going to have to love him properly."