In the kitchen where the sisters usually slept, Lin Zhiwei’s training uniform was half-off, her snow-white skin partially exposed to the air. She was staring intently at what was in her junior sister’s hand.
“He just gave you this much? There were… no conditions?” she asked after a long pause, her voice dull.
In the face of her junior sister’s Spiritual Stones, she felt like a clown.
She had fought demonic beasts outside and nearly lost her life, only to bring back five Spiritual Stones. Yet her junior sister didn’t have to do anything; she could get this much just by sitting at home.
The key was that she had even shown off in front of others, acting like a complete clown.
“No, Master just told me to go buy some things for the New Year,” Lu Zhiyi said. She walked over to her senior sister, picked up a white gauze nightgown, and gently draped it over her.
She stroked several faint scars on Lin Zhiwei’s body, her eyes full of memories and heartache.
Those were left behind from when they were chased and beaten for stealing food because they were starving as children.
Back then, even though her senior sister was clearly in agony and her wounds were dripping with blood, she always put on a front of total indifference.
“Senior Sister, someone is protecting us now. You don’t have to go out and take risks anymore, so why…”
Lu Zhiyi helped her senior sister pin up her hair and change into the white gauze dress, her face full of confusion.
She didn’t understand Sword Arts or spirit swords. She subconsciously thought that if the things Master gave her were good, the things he gave her senior sister wouldn’t be too bad either.
Therefore, she didn’t understand why Master had protected them more than once, and even given them Cultivation Methods and cultivation opportunities, yet her senior sister still wouldn’t show any gratitude.
Sighing, she continued to persuade her based on what she thought was the reason.
“Senior Sister, I know you want to cultivate properly, but adventuring isn’t the only way. Look at me — I’ve been progressing very quickly by following Master’s teachings.”
Lu Zhiyi spoke cautiously while making the bed.
To increase her credibility, she used a tiny bit of Spiritual Power to display her cultivation level. After the treatment and Medicinal Bath from Master last night, she was already close to Qi Refining Level 3.
She knew her senior sister’s pride and thought she simply didn’t want to be like her — a well-behaved disciple who relied on others for everything.
“Then you go ahead and be his good little disciple. I don’t need it!”
Lin Zhiwei spoke coldly. She took the sheets and bedding from her, tidied them up herself, and lay down with her back turned.
Even though they were fellow disciples, she could only get the most common Cultivation Methods and weapons, while Master was incredibly attentive to her junior sister.
Not only did she have to help with the chores, but Master gave her junior sister the best methods, prepared a Medicinal Bath for her, and even took her to the Marketplace…
If the Spiritual Stones from earlier only made her feel a little embarrassed, her junior sister’s progress and the misunderstanding made Lin Zhiwei feel a wave of grievance.
“Senior Sister, I’m doing this for your own good. If there’s anything you want, I’ll go ask Master for help. It’s too dangerous for you to go out like this!” Lu Zhiyi pushed her, her voice urgent.
“It’s none of your business! Stop bothering me, I want to sleep!”
Lin Zhiwei curled her body up, her tone cold.
Hearing her junior sister mention Master over and over made her feel a surge of irritation. Her nose felt slightly stingy as she suppressed her grievances, not noticing how unkind her tone had become.
“You…”
Lu Zhiyi looked at her senior sister in shock, her eyes gradually reddening.
In all these years, her senior sister had never spoken to her with such distance.
She was clearly worried about her safety, but in return, she got a cold “It’s none of your business”?
“Senior Sister…”
Suppressing her hurt, she tried to touch Lin Zhiwei again tentatively.
Her senior sister’s body shuddered, and she moved further away, showing no sign of changing her mind.
Seeing that her heart was set, Lu Zhiyi sniffed and lay down on her side, her heart filled with grievance.
The kitchen was pitch black. Neither of the sisters spoke again, as if an invisible rift had split them apart.
***
Su Xuan didn’t notice the friction between the sisters.
**[Time Remaining: 6 days and 4 hours]**
After returning to his room, he looked at the countdown — which felt like a death warrant — and rubbed his exhausted eyes. He forced himself to stay awake and began to inventory the items he had brought back from his Storage Bag one by one.
There were several large pieces of bone-in leopard meat emitting a thick Spiritual Qi and a musky scent, weighing roughly dozens of pounds.
The meat of a demonic beast at the Foundation Building Stage was naturally expensive. Given the original owner’s previous situation, let alone eating it, even smelling it would have been a luxury.
Logically, keeping it for himself would be most beneficial, but Lin Zhiwei had encountered it. If she recognized it, he might be exposed.
Moreover, considering Lu Zhiyi’s constitution, which allowed her to increase her cultivation just by eating, he didn’t dare keep it.
‘I’ll find time to sell it tomorrow. It’s safer to exchange cold flesh for warm Spiritual Stones.’
Su Xuan made up his mind, rolling up the Leopard Demon meat and skin and putting them back into the Storage Bag.
Next came the most important harvest.
He carefully took out the Leopard Demon’s Inner Core and examined it closely.
It was the size of a fist and emitted a shimmering green light. Although it had been forcibly removed, it wasn’t stained with a single drop of blood; only thick Spiritual Qi constantly radiated from within.
The Inner Core of a Foundation Building demonic beast!
To be honest, whether in the game or in the original owner’s experience, he had never seen such high-grade goods. For a moment, he didn’t know how to handle it.
**[Consume the Inner Core to purify aptitude and increase cultivation…]**
Su Xuan stared at it for a long time and carefully checked the system prompts before roughly concluding that this thing was meant to be eaten.
Looking at the fist-sized Inner Core, his mouth moved subconsciously, and he swallowed hard.
‘Won’t this choke me to death?’
He held it in his hand and hesitated for a long time. Finally, he tilted his head back, steeled his heart, stuffed it into his mouth, and swallowed it in one gulp.
“Cough, cough…”
After forcing it down, he quickly gulped several mouthfuls of water. He felt the Inner Core travel from his throat down to his stomach and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
‘It’s down. I wonder what the effect will be?’
He sat cross-legged on the bed, closed his eyes, and began to probe the changes in his internal Spiritual Power.
Suddenly, the Inner Core in his stomach seemed to be triggered, and a burst of wild, savage Spiritual Power erupted from within.
“Roar!”
Caught off guard, Su Xuan couldn’t help but let out a beast-like roar.
Immediately, the arrogant Spiritual Power occupied all the Meridians in his body, surging in and violently expanding his small Dantian, continuously boosting his cultivation.
Cold sweat broke out instantly. His limbs felt as if they were being repeatedly hammered by a forge, and intense pain shot straight to the top of his head.
‘Damn it, I’m going for it!’
If he let the Spiritual Qi run rampant, his fragile Meridians would likely be shredded in no time.
Setting his jaw, Su Xuan began to circulate the Evergreen Art. Following the instructions within, he began to directly charge toward the next realm.
Level 3…
Level 4…
Level 5…
The Spiritual Power was like a surging river. As long as he opened the dam, it would fill the riverbed in an instant and continue to rush forward.
It wasn’t until Level 5, when his Dantian was filled to the brim, that his momentum began to falter and gradually calmed down.
Su Xuan panted heavily, his jaw aching from gritting his teeth. His clothes were soaked through with cold sweat, leaving him in a pathetic state.
“What a pity…” he whispered a moment later, feeling that he was just a hair’s breadth away from breaking through to Level 6.
Although the Inner Core came from a Foundation Building demonic beast, a lot of Spiritual Qi had dissipated after it died. After being consumed and absorbed by a human, not even ten percent remained.
Furthermore, given his aptitude, a large portion of Spiritual Qi remained in his Meridians, which he couldn’t absorb for the time being.
Moreover, his Meridians had already been ravaged once. He had to rest for a few days before daring to attempt another breakthrough; otherwise, he risked his Meridians shattering, ending his progress forever.
Regardless, compared to Level 3, there was now hope for his cultivation. Once he finished resting, he could try to break through!
‘But why is there no mention of the aptitude improvement?’
Su Xuan was a little suspicious. He still had five Spiritual Roots — there was no difference. Where was the improvement?
He was a bit puzzled. Supporting his body, he changed into dry clothes and finally lay on the bed, exhausted.
Now that his cultivation had a clear path, the next step was alchemy.
‘I’ll go find Su Yunjin tomorrow and see if there’s any progress.’
Having made up his mind, fatigue washed over him. As the horizon began to turn slightly white, Su Xuan could no longer hold on and drifted off to sleep.
In his deep slumber, he didn’t notice that as his breathing became even, a thick pressure radiated from his body, condensing into a phantom face that looked somewhat like a leopard.
It seemed to be some kind of ancient exotic beast, incredibly fierce.
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