"Drip, drip!"
In the small dark room, Chen Zhian stood in the corner with clenched fists, sweat dripping from his chin to the ground.
After an unknown amount of time, he slowly raised his fist and struck into the darkness, as slow as a snail.
As his fist descended, the abundant energy within a foot of him instantly exploded, followed by a soundless burst...
"Snap!"
His fist retracted like lightning, then slowed again as it struck out once more.
After repeating this process thousands of times, his body was steaming with heat, and he collapsed onto the bed, seemingly lifeless...
"Dog system, if you don't let me out soon, I'll starve to death!"
Listening to the growling of his stomach, Chen Zhian looked towards the corner where a clean sand pot sat, sighing in disappointment.
He remembered the last time he ate, which seemed like ages ago...
He didn't know how long it had been since he had eaten. Even the last fish bone had been chewed up and swallowed during his last meal.
If it weren't for the abundant energy here, continuously replenishing his body and transforming into blood and qi, he suspected he would have been the first host to starve to death in the system's small dark room.
A deathly silence.
Just when Chen Zhian thought the system wouldn't respond as usual, the entire small dark room suddenly lit up brightly.
Then, a dazzling red light shone down.
Chen Zhian looked around in confusion, seeing the surroundings changing and hearing footsteps fading away outside the door...
"Ding, the host's purchased time has expired. Would you like to renew?"
"Renew... renew my ass!"
Staring at the still pitch-black sky and then at the empty sand pot at his feet, Chen Zhian jumped up in anger: "I'm not buying anymore! Get lost!"
The system fell silent.
About a minute later, a mechanical voice sounded: "The host refuses to renew. The transaction is complete. Have a nice life!
Also... the creation space can be customized. It is recommended for the host to browse the instructions in advance. The small dark room is in hell mode, not recommended for beginners!"
"Heh!"
Chen Zhian was furious. This grandson was definitely doing it on purpose.
Because there were no instructions in the system's showcase!
With no energy to argue with the system, Chen Zhian sneaked into the lake and caught nine big fish before knocking on Li Lanqing's door.
Hearing the knocking, Li Lanqing, who had been melancholy in her room, immediately rushed out and looked eagerly at her boss who seemed to have changed his mind.
Then.
She, who had nothing left to live for, carried the nine big fish and disappeared into the kitchen.
With knife in hand, she began to slaughter the fish with a heart as cold as the blade...
"Men, huh!"
Chen Zhian squatted nearby, supervising.
It had to be said.
Some geniuses were just geniuses in everything they did.
Like Li Lanqing, she was a genius as a courtesan, and she wasn't bad at killing fish either. In just three months, her skills had surpassed even those of the seasoned fishmongers who had been killing fish for years.
With a dazzling flurry of knife strokes.
One big fish had already been sliced into thin slices like cicada wings.
Skillfully, she started the fire.
In just over ten minutes.
A pot of steaming hot fish slices was placed on the copper stove.
Taking advantage of the moment when she bent over to lift the pot, Li Lanqing twisted her waist, which was barely a handful, and swayed it in front of Chen Zhian's eyes.
Chen Zhian, who was starving and dizzy, had no time to look.
He just urged her to continue cutting fish slices.
Half an hour later.
After eating nine big fish and two sheep legs, Chen Zhian lay back comfortably on the rocking chair and sighed.
This was the life!
After sending away Li Lanqing, who was still resentful, Chen Zhian began to feel the changes in his body.
Ten thousand taels of silver.
Twenty days.
Although he didn't actively cultivate, the abundant energy in the small dark room still caused the visible qi and bloodstream in his body to expand.
Seeing no one around, he clenched his fist slightly.
A faint sound of chichi emanated from between his fingers.
This was a sign of the separation of qi and blood from the body, evolving back into energy.
Late-stage Innate Realm!
After lying in the small dark room for twenty days, he finally reached the late stage of the Innate Realm, just one step away from reaching the pinnacle of the Innate Realm.
And it wasn't just any ordinary Innate Realm.
The Martial Dao Remnant Scroll was inherently domineering, directly crushing the conversion of energy into qi and blood. Although it was only the Innate Realm, the amount of energy required for advancement was no less than that of ordinary cultivation methods, perhaps even more.
This advancement speed was monstrous!
It's worth noting that although twenty days had passed in the small dark room, in the real world, it was only a moment.
"If I could do it again..."
Chen Zhian muttered to himself, then thought of the terrifying small dark room, shivering involuntarily!
It's impossible. He would never enter the small dark room again in this lifetime.
He dispersed the energy between his fingers and returned to being an ordinary first-grade warrior...
The Martial Dao Remnant Scroll merged with his soul. If he didn't actively release the energy, anyone who looked into his sea of qi would find it empty, just an ordinary warrior.
...
In the blink of an eye, another month passed.
During this month, Chen Zhian was completely laid back.
Every day, he woke up and went to the top of the Golden Pavillion to fish, lying on the rocking chair and watching his own high-rise building being constructed.
Even the bait was set by Li Lanqing.
He would only move his bones when the fish took the bait.
Li Lanqing, a famous courtesan, had completely become his personal secretary. Her fish-killing skills improved rapidly, and her heart gradually grew as cold as the blade.
By calculation, she hadn't mentioned returning to the brothel for twelve days.
She didn't even pay attention when Chen Zheng, the underling, worriedly mentioned a popular courtesan who had recently emerged.
"Boss, the fish has taken the bait!"
Li Lanqing numbly woke up Chen Zhian, then opened the sheath on her waist, pulling out a shiny fish-killing knife...
Chen Zhian lazily pulled the fishing rod, and soon a silvery fish was pulled up to the rooftop.
"Huh, it's actually a Silver Swordfish?"
Chen Zhian exclaimed softly.
The Silver Swordfish was a specialty of Yueya Lake, six feet in length, covered in silver scales, and rarely surfaced from the water. Its meat was delicious.
It wasn't an ordinary fish but a fish with cultivation.
An adult Silver Swordfish had combat power roughly equivalent to that of a third-grade warrior.
Eating it could nourish qi and blood.
Chen Zhian had discovered this treasure only when he had dived into the lake before.
Unexpectedly, luck was on his side today, and he had actually caught one.
"Xiao Qing'er, we're in luck today!"
Dumping the Silver Swordfish into a large basin, Chen Zhian rolled up his sleeves. "Get my knife. This young master will do it himself!"
Li Lanqing glanced at the Silver Swordfish, a hint of coldness flashing in her eyes.
A flash of knife light passed.
The ferocious Silver Swordfish was instantly decapitated.
"Not bad!"
Chen Zhian looked at Li Lanqing in amazement. She had slaughtered a Silver Swordfish, which was comparable to a third-grade warrior, with just one slash?
"Hehe, a trivial skill, not worth mentioning!"
After three days apart, during this month of Chen Zhian's fishing trips, she hadn't been idle.
She practiced her fish-killing knife technique diligently every day, and now she had finally grasped the essence.
Now, she could barely be considered a third-grade warrior.
Taking off her knife sheath, Li Lanqing's delicate hand brushed over a row of cold, glittering fish knives, and she asked coldly, "Boss, how would you like it cooked?"