After hearing his beautiful master’s words, Yan Zhen couldn’t help but conjure up four characters along with a steamy Korean manhwa cover in his mind:
《Secret Teaching》.
He hurriedly shook his head to dispel the bizarre notion.
But why would his beautiful master say something like that? With her aloof personality, it didn’t seem like her at all. Was she deliberately saying it just to soothe his emotions?
That was very likely.
His beautiful master might be aloof with outsiders, but she was incredibly gentle with her own people—especially with him, her disciple.
With that realization, Yan Zhen felt even more guilty. He’d actually worried her to this extent. He was so immature.
“Master, I was wrong. I’ll focus on my training.”
“That’s more like it.”
Chen Xi nodded in satisfaction, a faint doting affection in her eyes alongside a sly glint.
In her previous life, she had clearly sensed a flicker of romantic longing from Yan Zhen toward her—like a young boy in the throes of his first crush, admiring the youthful and pretty girl next door.
But because Chen Xi had been too cold and intimidating, the sensible Yan Zhen had quickly quashed his little fancy and come to revere her as a parental figure with genuine sincerity.
The two of them had relied on each other for a time, depending on one another for survival.
Yet during their later interactions, Chen Xi herself had gradually developed feelings for Yan Zhen that she shouldn’t have—emotions mingled into the deep bond between master and disciple. With no prior experience in romance, she slowly lost herself in the confusion.
She had desperately tried to suppress that forbidden love but failed. On the day of his grand wedding, her love and regret had erupted forth, tormenting her body and soul.
Fortunately, she had been reborn.
Since heaven had granted her another chance, she wouldn’t miss it a second time.
She would become his master, nurture that budding admiration he had for her, draw him closer bit by bit, until he returned to her embrace like a swallow to its nest.
She couldn’t rush it. In a little while, she would propose 《Dual Cultivation Lessons》 to avoid startling him.
—Hee hee hee, Zhen’er, my Zhen’er. So adorably tiny, yet he’ll grow up to be so handsome. Master can’t help but fall for him~
Gazing at Yan Zhen’s fair and handsome face, Chen Xi struggled to contain the fluttering in her heart. She circulated her hidden force once more, pulling him into her arms and hugging him tightly. Her ample bosom enveloped his little face.
“Zhen’er, you’re distracted again (with a wicked grin)~”
“Wahhh, sorry (teary-eyed)!”
…
Half a month later, Yan Zhen finally grasped the subtle technique of 《Tai Chi Shock》 amid their daily bouts of agonizing yet pleasurable sparring.
But that didn’t count as fully mastering 《Tai Chi Shock》.
The technique’s strength lay in that single word: “shock.” Only after mastering the subtle technique and transforming it into shock vigor could he powerfully counter his opponent, rather than merely defending passively.
His cultivation had also successfully advanced to the Mystic Disciple seventh stage, with a noticeable increase in mystic power. Yet when sparring with his beautiful master, nothing really changed.
As for the “secret teaching” she had mentioned, it never materialized. It was probably just as he had guessed—an offhand remark.
Yan Zhen felt a twinge of regret but also relief.
His beautiful master teaching him 《Tai Chi Shock》 instead of 《Eight Extremes Explosion》 already deviated from the script. If she went ahead with “secret teaching,” this master-disciple training arc would veer wildly off course.
His beautiful master was an even more pivotal plot character than Huangfu Wenqing. If her character collapsed and the story derailed, Yan Zhen was done for.
No, everyone would be doomed together.
If he couldn’t follow the plot to reach the ending, this wish-fulfillment novel world would collapse.
For now, things were still on track. His beautiful master had said she would teach him 《Eight Extremes Explosion》 later, so it could probably circle back.
The third phase of sparring began, with the goal of mastering shock vigor.
Another half month passed, and Yan Zhen successfully converted subtle technique into shock vigor, able to return eighty percent of his opponent’s force. He had preliminarily mastered this general-rank Mystic technique, 《Tai Chi Shock》.
At the same time, his cultivation rose to the Mystic Disciple eighth stage— a full month ahead of the script’s schedule.
But he couldn’t control it! During this period, he’d been sparring nonstop with his beautiful master and hadn’t focused much on cultivating his mystic power, yet he’d still leveled up.
This left Yan Zhen utterly baffled.
“Zhen’er, you take a medicinal bath after every sparring session. Your body absorbs some of the energy from the medicinal brew, so that’s why you broke through.”
Hearing his beautiful master’s explanation, Yan Zhen scratched his head. So that worked?
Though there was no major bottleneck from seventh to eighth stage, this was too effortless. It didn’t fit the story’s theme of “grueling cultivation.”
【Ding! Congratulations, host. You’ve completed the key plot point ‘Cultivating a General Mystic Technique.’ You may claim your reward from the interface at any time.】
“Hm? System, are you sure? I didn’t cultivate 《Eight Extremes Explosion》. I practiced 《Tai Chi Shock》. I haven’t even started on 《Eight Extremes Explosion》 yet.”
【Reporting to host: The plot requires you to master the general Mystic technique taught by your master Chen Xi and use it to defeat your opponent at the Family Little Tournament. 《Tai Chi Shock》 qualifies as a general Mystic technique.】
“What about 《Eight Extremes Explosion》?”
【Signature skill relates to protagonist persona. Host must learn it.】
“Oh~”
Yan Zhen got it.
In other words, whatever his beautiful master taught him counted toward completing the cultivation plot.
But he still needed to learn the script’s mentioned signature skills to flesh out his persona.
Certain plot-critical skills were non-negotiable.
For instance, midway through the story, he would acquire a forbidden secret art from a certain faction, leading to pursuit by that faction.
Without learning the relevant skill, the associated plot wouldn’t trigger.
Overall, when it came to skills, more was better—he couldn’t skimp.
…
Another month passed, and as expected, Yan Zhen’s cultivation reached the Mystic Disciple ninth stage. Through a month of continuous sparring, his 《Tai Chi Shock》 grew even more proficient. He could now trade blows evenly with his beautiful master when she wasn’t using mystic power—though he still occasionally tumbled into her arms or under her skirt.
Each time he messed up, she would give him a pointed glance or flick his forehead, signaling him to cut it out.
Yan Zhen could only grin awkwardly, scratch his head, and play cute.
Even so, he could feel their master-disciple bond warming noticeably amid these inadvertent clashes. His beautiful master had shed her initial reserve toward him, growing ever more affectionate.
Just as the script described.
Yan Zhen had also adjusted his mindset. No longer swayed by her white hair or voluptuous figure, he devoted himself purely to revering his master, perfectly embodying the disciple role.
Since becoming the protagonist, this was the segment he’d role-played the best.
His beautiful master was great like that—not like Yan Meng’er with her ad-libbed scenes or Huangfu Wenqing recklessly breaking character…
Tomorrow was the Family Little Tournament. Yan Zhen turned in early to rest and build up his energy.
The next day, as the morning sun rose, Yan Zhen had already finished washing up.
He stepped out of his courtyard, took a deep breath of fresh air, and spotted Yan Meng’er approaching with a food box.
“Cousin, good morning~”
“Good morning, Meng’er.”
Over these two months, Yan Zhen had buried himself in training with little time to spend with Yan Meng’er. Yet the girl still came by every day to bring him food, which touched him deeply. His attitude toward her had softened considerably.
