【The system isn’t human. The system is just System-chan.】
—I really want to turn you into sauce!
【Reminding the host to maintain the protagonist persona is the system’s duty.】
—Fine.
This time, it really was his mistake. He hadn’t been able to resist Mentor Yu Xuan’s charms and had nearly lost himself in her devoted service.
However, when he’d dual cultivated with his Beautiful Female Master before, he’d been just as immersed—especially when smothered by that pair of peerless Pearl Peaks that could only be described as the summits of the world. He’d barely been able to think straight, his mind consumed by nothing but the childish urge of “Baby, hungry, food.”
Yet the system hadn’t warned him about deviating from his persona then.
Was it because dual cultivation fell within the bounds of normal training and didn’t count as indulging in lust?
Hmm… He could test it out next time he dual cultivated with his Beautiful Female Master. If it was allowed under the persona rules, then why should he keep holding back, lying there stiff like a corpse and making her guide everything? It was such a waste of her sincere affection.
To help him grow stronger, his Beautiful Female Master had even given herself to him—far more doting than the script called for, by hundreds or thousands of times.
Yan Zhen couldn’t keep passively accepting her devotion. He wanted to do something for her in return.
“Alright, Yan Zhen. That’s enough for today.”
Mentor Yu Xuan released his head, and the soft, bouncy sensation of her cheeks pressing against him faded away, leaving a hollow ache in his chest.
But her tender white hands lingered, gently combing through his hair from above. Her soft gaze looked down at him warmly as her cherry lips parted.
“Your talent is exceptional, Yan Zhen. Your future is limitless, so don’t get lost in matters of men and women. Focus your mind on cultivation. If you need anything, come to me—I’ll do my best to help. But only if you’re obedient. No more bullying Ruyu and the others. If… if you really like it from behind that much, next time… I’ll teach you with the back… Wherever you like it, I’ll give it to you, okay?”
Her gentle voice and heartfelt words shattered Yan Zhen’s defenses.
—What kind of mercy-dispensing Goddess of Mercy was this!
Mentor Yu Xuan was almost too radiant to look at right now, her soul practically glowing with holy light!
“I-I know I was wrong, Mentor.”
Without realizing it, Yan Zhen bowed his head in sincere remorse.
“Knowing your mistake and correcting it makes you a good boy.”
Mentor Yu Xuan smiled with relief, her beautiful face shining with a pure luminescence, like the visage of a holy mother.
She leaned down, her fresh red lips pressing a doting kiss to Yan Zhen’s forehead.
He felt deeply comforted, yet utterly overwhelmed at the same time—a storm of conflicting emotions.
It was over for him. At this rate, Mentor Yu Xuan might have unwittingly fallen for him. Otherwise, no matter how much she cared for her students, she wouldn’t kiss him with such tender affection.
But Yan Zhen couldn’t recall doing anything special to make a proud daughter of heaven like her—blessed with status, beauty, and power—fall for him.
In the script, even after he saved her from a demon’s pursuit at Holy Land Academy, she hadn’t simply swooned from the heroic rescue. She’d just grown a bit friendlier, that was all.
Yan Zhen couldn’t make sense of this development… Was some unseen force at work, refusing to let him stick to the no-women protagonist route? Blocking his path to the peak?
—Sniff~ I smell a conspiracy brewing.
He’d have to be even more cautious with his role-playing tasks from now on.
Ahem. Mentor Yu Xuan composed herself, resuming her professional tone as an instructor.
“Yan Zhen, what Mystic Techniques did you select from the Scripture Pavilion?”
Yan Zhen shifted from his lazy sprawl into a proper seated posture.
“I chose the Qi Meridian Finger and the Qi Vortex Technique.”
Mentor Yu Xuan thought to herself that it was just like his previous life. He’d known Lan Ke’s abilities in advance and issued the challenge deliberately, picking two techniques perfectly suited to counter him.
In her previous life, however, she’d thought differently. Even with preparation, she figured three days wasn’t enough for him to learn two Mystic Techniques, so she’d been deeply worried about his chances.
Only later did she realize how wrong she’d been. The boy’s talent for learning Mystic Techniques outshone even his cultivation aptitude. He’d mastered the Qi Meridian Finger after just one read-through, while the Master Mystic Technique Qi Vortex Technique had taken him two days.
“Then you should know that the Qi Meridian Finger lacks power and can only disrupt opponents, while the Qi Vortex Technique is purely auxiliary. Do you have a trump card to defeat Lan Ke?”
Just to be safe, Mentor Yu Xuan asked anyway. She remembered that in her previous life, he’d used a self-damaging move.
Yan Zhen nodded.
“I do.”
He’d seize the moment to unleash a burst of Spiritual Power for a mental shock, stunning Lan Ke. Then he’d use the Qi Vortex Technique to yank him in close, finishing with the Eight Extremes Burst · Triple Force—a single punch that would shatter even Lan Ke’s protective ice armor, nearly spilling his guts.
The Triple Force was something that could only be safely used at the Mystic Scholar Realm. Forcing it out as a mere Six-Star Mystic Practitioner had wrecked Yan Zhen’s arm: massive muscle tears, severe ligament strains, and cracked finger bones.
Even after taking the pills his Beautiful Female Master refined for him, it had taken days to heal fully. During that time, he’d been limited to one hand, so the girls had all come to nurse him.
Just reading the description made Yan Zhen wince in pain.
—Damn that Lan Ke. This young master wants to burn him to ashes and be done with it!
But he knew that killing Lan Ke would bring the City Lord’s Mansion down on him, even if Mystic Academy let it slide.
Of course, they would come after him anyway once he graduated.
Better to stick to the script and avoid any more twists.
“Since you have a plan, hurry up and start cultivating.”
With Mentor Yu Xuan’s help, Yan Zhen secured exclusive use of a Martial Dao Arena. He told the others he’d be there for three days straight and not to wait for him at meals. Then he pulled out the two technique scrolls and began studying them intently.
The Qi Meridian Finger was a breeze—he mastered it on the first try. The Qi Vortex Technique was a bit trickier.
But it was no issue for him. This plot segment featured him cultivating alone, which met the system’s skip conditions.
【Ding! Warm system reminder: The cultivation process for Qi Meridian Finger can be skipped. Skip?】
—Skip!
【Ding! Warm system reminder: The cultivation process for Qi Vortex Technique can be skipped. Skip?】
—Skip!
His vision blurred, a wave of intense fatigue crashing over him. Then his strength returned, only for exhaustion to hit again, before finally snapping back to full alertness.
The key principles of the Qi Meridian Finger and Qi Vortex Technique crystallized in his mind. Strangely, he’d fully mastered the Qi Meridian Finger, but the Qi Vortex Technique still felt shaky.
And only one day had passed.
The Qi Vortex Technique required two full days to master properly.
—System, did you glitch?
【The system is working perfectly. Thank you for your concern, host.】
—Then…
“Big Cousin~”
“Holy crap!”
Yan Meng’er’s call rang suddenly in his ears. Yan Zhen nearly jumped out of his skin and whipped around to find both Yan Meng’er and Yan Ruyu standing there.
“You two… how did you get here?”
“Didn’t we say earlier? Meng’er and I are here to be your sparring partners~”
“Huh?”
—No need! You silly cousin who’s always ad-libbing—go home!
