Ning Chen's retort died on his lips.
By the dim glow of eternal lamps, he studied the woman before him. Tall and lithe, her form sculpted by tight-fitting black robes, she stood rigid as a blade. Porcelain skin contrasted sharply with her ink-black hair, pinned austerely atop her head. Though her delicate features might have softened under warmth, her closed eyes and frosty demeanor erected walls no charm could breach.
Her status panel flickered into view:
[Nan Gongling]
[Identity: Green Lotus Sect's Core Disciple]
[Age: 32]
[Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Layer 8]
[Talent: Heartless Sword Heart (Purple-tier – Wields unmatched sword prowess when emotions are suppressed. Enables cross-layer combat.)]
[Physique: None]
[Divine Ability: Sun-Moon Divine Eyes (Gold-tier – Innate, dormant. Contains dual worlds of solar/lunar power. Awakening unleashes divine might.)]
[Beauty Score: 93]
Holy shit. Ning Chen nearly choked. A protagonist template walking on two legs!
Though inferior to his Supreme Yang Holy Body, her talents were staggering—and she'd volunteered for this? His anger evaporated faster than morning dew. Benefits trumped morals, and this junior sister outclassed Liu Ruyan in value.
"With your gifts," he pressed, "why resort to dual cultivation? Golden Core should be effortless."
"The Great Xia Tournament…" she murmured, explaining Liu Ruyan's desperation.
Ning Chen scoffed. "So the saintly sect leader sacrifices me again? How noble."
"Master acts for the sect's sake," Nan Gongling defended weakly.
"Then let her sleep with the entire continent!" He turned away. "Leave."
Reverse psychology: deployed.
"No!" Panic cracked her icy veneer. "You must comply!"
Before he could blink, she'd tackled him onto the bed—a swordsman's decisiveness in action.
Ning Chen gaped. No foreplay? Just… dive in?
But her fumbling hands betrayed inexperience. She clawed at his robes like a kitten batting yarn, buttons defiantly intact.
Amused, Ning Chen "reluctantly" guided her.
Two hours later.
Crimson bed curtains swayed as eternal lamps cast lewd shadows. Time, ever a conspirator, accelerated its flow.
Ning Chen leaned against the headboard, eyeing the disheveled swordswoman asleep beside him. Post-coital serenity eluded him—no cigarettes in this damned cultivation world.
But his system panel glowed with triumph:
[Host: Ning Chen]
[Cultivation: Sealed (Foundation Establishment Layer 1 – 11/1000)]
[Seclusion Accumulation: 100,100]
[Talents:
- Replication
- Indomitable Will (Blue – +100/day)
- Heartless Sword Heart (Purple – +1,000/day)
- Sun-Moon Divine Eyes (Gold – +10,000/day)
- Supreme Yang Holy Body (Red – +100,000/day)
]**
[Daily Experience: 111,100]
Jackpot.
Liu Ruyan's loss was his gain. Each stolen talent tightened the noose around her neck.