As the first ray of morning sunlight broke through the clouds and fell upon the mortal realm, Duke was also shaken awake, alive and well, by the rocking motions.
"General, general, time to get up!"
As Su Qiluo picked him up and shook him awake, Duke blinked his sleepy eyes open. Taking in the golden sunlight streaming in through the window, he blinked again.
Had the night really passed by so quickly?
Of course, he had expended quite a bit of energy last night and slept like a log. Naturally he wouldn't have felt the passage of time.
"Time for breakfast. After breakfast is morning training," Su Qiluo urged.
Facing Su Qiluo's prompting, Duke lazily yawned. Without leaving a trace, he slipped out of the maid's hands and jumped down from the bed, making his way to the door.
After poking his head out, Yun Shan also entered Su Qiluo's room with her own maids to help Su Qiluo wash up and get dressed.
As for Duke, he naturally went to find Yue Yun for his bath.
Once everything was taken care of, Duke accompanied Su Qiluo for breakfast, then headed to the training hall to start the day's morning session.
After Su Qiluo consumed a Blood Qi Pill, her little face swiftly turned a healthy red. Stamping her feet vigorously against the floor with enough force to make it tremble, the little girl also began cultivating.
At the same time, Duke also swallowed a Blood Qi Pill of his own. Settling into a tiger-panther stance, he commenced that morning's training.
After a hour, a sweat-drenched Su Qiluo was brought away by Yun Shan for her bath. Duke did the same, except the one attending to him wasn't the great beauty Yun Shan but rather the plump Yue Yun.
With everything settled, the little girl went off to class while Duke returned to his quarters.
The moment Duke kicked the door shut after entering his room, Yue Yun–who had followed after him–crashed straight into it headfirst.
"Ow!"
Ignoring the lament coming from outside, Duke swiftly pinned down the charging little Fluffy Thirteen.
Thirteen struggled fruitlessly on the carpet, eyes fixed intently on Duke's tail as pleading whimpers slipped from his throat. Right now, all he wanted was to take a bite.
"Meow!"
Don't be so impatient!
Duke's mind stirred and a Moonlight Pill materialized out of the Black Cauldron's void space, landing on Duke's paw.
Duke eyed the pill then shot a glance at the dog.
The moment the Moonlight Pill appeared, it was like something triggered the dog. His eyes were no longer glued to Duke's tail but instead to the Moonlight Pill pinched between Duke's claws.
"Awoo!!"
Fluffy Thirteen's eyes brimmed with desire for the Moonlight Pill, drool spilling from the corners of his mouth as his struggles intensified.
What's the hurry? It's not like I won't give it to you.
Duke helplessly brought the Moonlight Pill near the dog's mouth while also loosening the paw holding the dog down.
Thirteen swallowed the entire Moonlight Pill in one go, even chomping down on Duke's paw that had been holding it.
"Stupid mutt!"
Duke rolled his eyes and shoved the dog aside, flicking his paw–now coated with dog slobber–while observing the dog's condition.
And observe he did for the entire morning.
Beyond ingesting the Moonlight Pill, the silly dog showed no abnormalities. If anything, he seemed livelier than before, his azure eyes clearer and more spirited.
In summary, it appeared the mutt had gained some intelligence.
"Looks like the Moonlight Pill's effects pose no threat to the consumer. Though exactly how effective it is remains to be seen without personal consumption."
A look of realization flickered through Duke's eyes. He slapped aside the dog circling around him with his tail.
With the experiment concluded, it was time for him to reap the rewards.
Leaping onto his cat tree in a few bounds, Duke arrived at his usual cultivation platform.
Glancing at the wood box that stored his pills, he flipped it open then slackened his jaw ever so slightly. Wisps of faint radiance seeped out through the gaps.
"Gulp!"
Swallowing down the Moonlight Pill in his mouth, Duke closed his eyes to sense its effects.
As the pill slid down, an indescribable sense of tranquility washed over his entire body.
Duke shivered involuntarily while also noticing his mind had become exceptionally clear. Moreover, every single cell across his body cheered and rejoiced.
In particular, his golden eyes grew even livelier than before.
"Damn, this pill feels amazing to consume!"
Duke exhaled a mouthful of stale air. The lingering effects of the Moonlight Pill still swirled within him when he quickly swallowed two Blood Qi Pills to commence his stance training.
As the stance took form and the fiery tides borne from the Blood Qi Pills rapidly circulated his body after opening his meridians, it felt as turbulent as tidewaters, scouring away all impurities.
Meanwhile, the lingering cool left by the Moonlight Pill also swiftly penetrated deeper through his tempering stance.
The coolness of the Moonlight Pill and fiery heat from the Blood Qi Pills intertwined, granting Duke the euphoric sensations of ice and fire heavens.
And the changes induced by the Moonlight Pill surely involved more than just this. But for the moment, he couldn't describe what else had transformed–he could only silently cycle his tempering stance to quickly process the residual effects of both pills.
As his vital energy and blood rapidly circulated, the tempering rapidly strengthened his skin and muscles. Duke deeply enjoyed this sensation of swiftly growing stronger.
In but a blink of an eye, a full hour passed and Duke leapt down from atop the cat tree.
Landing upon the floor without a sound, Duke immediately stretched leisurely as his bones crackled and popped. Letting out a low roar through his jaguar-like maw, Duke's current physique could now match full grown felines. And with persistent cultivation, his growth rate would only accelerate.
"Woof!"
The bark preceded the large dog biting down on his tail once more. Though the moment Duke looked back, Fluffy Thirteen blinked then slowly opened his maw to reluctantly release Duke's tail, even nudging it back toward Duke.
Duke flicked his tail-tip, flinging off the residual dog slobber before gently knocking the silly dog's forehead.
The mutt did seem far smarter than before. The efficacy of the Moonlight Pill on beasts was clearly formidable.
He wondered, what would be the effects of gathering and congealing sunlight into pills?
Duke eyed the blazing sun outside, smacking his lips but not rashly attempting anything.
All the various manuals he had cultivated from since the beginning contained records related to cultivation matters.
And those consistently emphasized only the first ray of dawn's light was suitable for use. The rest could not be casually harvested.
If Duke wanted to experiment, he would have to wait until the next day's first light.
"Meow!"
Duke yowled loudly but Yue Yun still didn't show up. Duke impatiently flicked his tail and caterwauled again.
This time, instead of Yue Yun, the one entering was Su Qiluo's personal maid, Qiu Shui.
"General, Yue Yun is occupied at the moment and cannot attend to you right now. Please wait a while longer."
"Meow?"
Duke tilted his head. Qiu Shui quickly explained, "His master came looking for him just now. I don't know what was said but Yue Yun is currently bawling his eyes out."
"Meow!"
Duke's eyelid twitched. What had brought the plump boy to tears after a meeting with his master?
Could there be hidden circumstances involved?
"Oh right, General!"
Qiu Shui suddenly recalled something. "The manor lord just sent people over saying they will be constructing a new pill workshop in Langya Palace."
"It might get somewhat noisy this afternoon. If it bothers you, feel free to head out as you wish, General."
A pill workshop?!
Duke's eyes lit up. While he was quite accustomed to consuming pills daily, he had yet to actually witness the process of their creation.
Since he now held the Black Cauldron, observing how the people of this world concocted their pills could prove insightful. Perhaps he may even draw inspiration for his own endeavors!
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.
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
lity and could only live as an ordinary mortal. He only wished to live a peaceful life. Yet he didn't know— The dog he adopted, because it ate his food, became a legendary demon king. The kitchen knife he casually forged became a peerless divine weapon, causing numerous experts to fight desperately for it. The young disciple he took in became an immortal lord that led an era, due to cultivating the techniques Ye Feng taught him. Even the skeletons he looked down on the most were ominous demon kings that suppressed countless worlds. Many years later, looking at the void shattered with a punch, Ye Feng murmured to himself: It turns out the peerless kings were myself all along...
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!
