Late at night, after the sudden crisis earlier, Qin Luo was no longer sleepy. He clutched his waist and couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath. He scrolled through his phone, seeing everyone in the group chat discussing what had just happened. After all, the commotion was just too big. Some said it was some kind of peerless evil creature appearing in the world, telling everyone to run; others said it was a natural gas explosion.
His social media feed was even more chaotic. Yang Cong had been frantically sending him messages, saying he was almost scared to death by the huge bang, that it left his ears ringing, and that he even heard the roar of a monster.
To all these messages, Qin Luo only gave a simple, one-word reply—
Painful.
Sister, on the other hand, strongly urged him to lie down and rest, though it would have been better if she had reminded him earlier.
After a while, the pain subsided slightly, and he voiced his confusion. “Sis, why did you say using my ability consumes essence?”
Su Xuyu pinched her younger brother’s cheek and answered, “Generally speaking, what we cultivate is similar to the internal energy in martial arts novels. Most ability users consume ‘qi,’ which is spiritual energy. Releasing an ability consumes that qi. But you, little pup, haven’t practiced cultivating qi, so you need an energy source. That ends up being your vital essence.”
Hearing this, Qin Luo complained directly, “Sis, why didn’t you teach me to cultivate qi?”
“You never said you wanted to cultivate qi, little pup.”
Su Xuyu blinked her eyes. Unfortunately, from Qin Luo’s current perspective, he couldn’t see her expression clearly at all.
“I…”
Qin Luo was speechless for a moment. You didn’t tell me, how was I supposed to know I needed to specifically cultivate qi!
As he kept scrolling, Qin Luo gradually grew drowsy. He struggled to get up, preparing to go back to his room to sleep.
But Sister followed him in, saying she was worried the spirit creature might attack again. Without another word, she simply picked him up and carried him back to bed.
What could Qin Luo do? Even when he was full of energy, he was no match for Sister. Now, weak and exhausted all over, he could only silently endure the intense feeling of pressure.
The physical sensation was extremely unpleasant.
According to what Sister said, as long as he didn’t master qi cultivation, the price for using his ability would be draining his own vital essence.
Thinking of this, how could he dare to casually summon flames again? What if he overused it and couldn’t even get out of bed? That would be even worse than now.
Sister said he just needed to rest quietly for a while to recover. He was a grown man, how did he end up like a patient? Sister was impressive, taking him to see a doctor.
At this vigorous age full of vitality, how could he be this weak? The doctor saw Qin Luo’s sunken eye sockets and pale face. After checking his pulse, it was indeed kidney deficiency, and not just a mild case.
“Not a big problem. Just nourish yourself more,” the doctor comforted him.
It was human nature. As a man, he understood. He just never expected to end up in such a state at such a young age. When the doctor saw the enchantingly beautiful older sister tenderly wiping the cold sweat from the young man’s forehead, he instantly understood something, revealing an “I see” expression.
“Nothing major, just a bit weak. But remember moderation, young man. Know when to stop,” the doctor said earnestly.
Hearing this, Qin Luo was furious. “Quack! I am not weak!”
The doctor said calmly, “I’m just telling the truth.”
“This is a cultivation problem!”
For the entire morning, aside from playing with his phone, Qin Luo just lay motionless on the sofa.
At the same time, he also noticed the mission prompt in the system. It had been there since he received the information last night, with a tight time limit, but he hadn’t paid it any attention.
“Ugh… Sis, what happens if I don’t complete this mission?” Qin Luo asked, lying on the sofa and looking at his sister who was playing on her phone beside him.
“No punishment. You’ll just lose the merit points, and the mission will be assigned to someone else,” Su Xuyu answered absentmindedly while typing.
“Oh, then let someone else have it.”
Qin Luo simply gave up on the mission. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to do it, but that he simply couldn’t right now. He even needed Sister’s help to go to the bathroom.
After a night had passed, although nothing special happened, he clearly felt even weaker, as if someone had been continuously draining his essence all night long.
As for what the spirit creature said—this world was far more brutal than it appeared on the surface. They talked about building a harmonious society together, but in reality, it was still the law of the jungle where the strong prey on the weak. It’s just that the animals could now speak and had learned to accuse humans of killing their own kind.
It was fine to have a kind heart, but if you took kindness as your code of conduct, you’d only end up suffering yourself.
Qin Luo rubbed his waist and said, “Sis, why do I feel even worse after coming home?”
At the hospital, he could still barely walk by himself. After coming home, his legs directly went weak.
In contrast, Sister not only had a rosy complexion but also radiated youthful vitality, as if she had returned to being an eighteen-year-old girl.
“Oh, that.” Su Xuyu said lightly, “Little pup, once you awaken your ability, even if you don’t actively use it, your essence will slowly drain. But the loss is minimal. Once you learn to cultivate qi, this bit of consumption will be negligible.”
She was currently reviewing the information on last night’s spirit creature. Her brother’s sudden question was likely because he had learned something from the spirit creature’s mouth.
Sure enough, she found some anomalies. According to the company’s intelligence, a spirit creature nest had been discovered a year ago, but there were signs of a fierce battle at the scene, leaving only the corpses—or more accurately, fragments—of a few elderly spirit creatures. Judging by the scale, there were more than just a few. The rest were probably taken away by poachers.
Moreover, traces of the Zhao family had now been discovered. When the company confronted the Zhao family, they naturally denied everything.
Hearing his sister’s words, Qin Luo’s eyes widened.
“Then I’m finished?”
He almost cried himself unconscious on the sofa, clutching his sister’s thigh and wailing, “Sister, I’m still just a kid! Isn’t there any way to stop the loss?”
Su Xuyu patted his head but could only sigh helplessly. “Sister wishes there was. But once you activated my ability, it’s like we established an invisible channel between us. Once opened, it can’t be closed.”
Thanks to the “nourishment” from her younger brother, her complexion was now extremely good, and even her skin had become more delicate and smooth.
“Sis, if I start cultivating qi now, how long until I can ignore this kind of loss?”
“Hmm… Fastest would be a month. Slowest, half a year.”
“H-Half a year?!”
Qin Luo even started to stammer a little.
Su Xuyu comforted him, “Don’t worry. With Sister here, I’ll help you master qi cultivation as quickly as possible.”
Qin Luo: “…”
No way! His beautiful dream life with a “harem of three palaces, six courtyards, and seventy-two consorts” was all going down the drain now.