After returning to his room, Yan Zhen still felt lightheaded, as if every bone in his body had turned to jelly.
It wasn’t just the pleasure—his cultivation had even advanced a little. Double the joy!
He held his Beautiful Master in the highest reverence, so he had held back the entire time, letting her take the lead. But if things continued like this, he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to resist taking charge and “overthrowing his master.” His protagonist persona would crumble, and everything would be ruined!
Yan Zhen slapped his cheeks hard, forcing himself to snap out of his daze.
He had to endure, even if it killed him.
His Beautiful Master had offered herself up to aid his cultivation, full of hopes for his future success. How could he let himself get lost in earthly pleasures?
No more earthly pleasures.
Yan Zhen pulled the blanket over himself, closed his eyes, and soon drifted off to sleep.
It was Yan Meng’er who woke him, pounding on the door in a panic and yanking him straight out of his dreams.
“Something terrible’s happened, Cousin Yan Zhen! Clan Leader Grandpa’s fallen ill!”
Yan Zhen jolted awake at the news. He didn’t even bother changing clothes before bolting toward Yan Lie’s room.
Just as the script dictated, right after the Dragon Night Platform tournament ended, Old Grandpa Yan Lie would succumb to his chronic injuries.
In the script, Huangfu Wenqing’s aggressive engagement cancellation had infuriated him, planting the seeds for his condition to flare up.
But in reality, the Huangfu family hadn’t called off the engagement, so Yan Lie had remained fine until now, when he suddenly collapsed.
Once Yan Lie went down, the three great families—emboldened after Yan Zhen had crushed their schemes—banded together again. They schemed to seize control of the market district managed by the City Lord’s Mansion, eyeing even greater profits.
Without Yan Lie, a Half-Step Mystic General, holding down the fort, the City Lord’s Mansion was only marginally stronger than any one family. It stood no chance against their alliance and could only yield ground while desperately summoning physicians from all corners to treat Yan Lie.
Yet Yan Lie’s ailment was a buildup of old injuries—an “elderly affliction” that had festered for years. It was incredibly stubborn; half a month passed with no improvement. In fact, his condition worsened by the day. Only a Tier 4 Pill Refiner crafting a specific Tier 4 Healing Pill stood any chance of curing him.
Tier 4 Pill Refiners were rarer than hen’s teeth across the entire Garo Kingdom. The City Lord’s Mansion couldn’t summon one no matter how hard they tried.
Meanwhile, the three great families grew bolder, aiming to carve up the entire market district and devour it whole. Their ambitions now threatened the very survival of the City Lord’s Mansion.
If things dragged on, the three great families would seize total control of Martial Tang City, reducing the City Lord’s Mansion to a hollow shell.
At this critical juncture, Yan Zhen finally stepped forward. He produced a Tier 4 Healing Pill and cured Yan Lie completely.
The grandson duo stormed into the council hall and gave the three clan leaders—who had come to bully the City Lord’s Mansion into surrendering the market district—the beating of their lives. They forced them to cough up every bit of profit they’d swallowed, principal and interest alike, and even shook them down for extra on top. Only then did the crisis come to a temporary close.
What happened next was out of Yan Zhen’s hands. Yan Lie would use his own methods to gradually suppress the three great families, perhaps even whittling them down to two.
But that was a story for another time.
【Ding! Congratulations, Host. You’ve completed the First Stage Plot…】
Hearing the system’s chime after nearly half a month of frantic activity, Yan Zhen felt a massive weight lift from his shoulders.
He knew how to treat Yan Lie and could have asked his Beautiful Master to refine the pill at any time. The problem was the ingredients.
The Tier 4 Healing Pill required a rare Tier 4 main herb, which only the Golden Jade Chamber of Commerce happened to acquire. He’d had to wait nearly half a month for it, fretting the whole time that some plot twist might derail everything.
Thankfully, it had all gone smoothly. During that time, he’d even secretly slipped Yan Meng’er a Condensing Mystic Pill, helping her break through to the Mystic Practitioner Realm.
Compared to the script’s version of Yan Zhen scrambling for cash everywhere, his role had been a breeze.
What puzzled him was the Golden Jade Chamber of Commerce refusing his money, even for a Tier 4 herb worth millions of crystal coins.
That was downright bizarre. Something fishy was going on!
Whether it was fishy or not didn’t matter—what mattered was that it didn’t derail the plot.
Claiming his stage plot rewards, Yan Zhen’s eyes lit up. Beyond the Special Trump Cards, there was even a Cultivation Gift Package (Pill Refiner Version)!
It made perfect sense. After this incident, he’d realized the importance of “Technique Refining.” He’d asked his Beautiful Master to teach him pill refining, and in the future, he’d learn artifact forging, puppet crafting, and more.
Eagerly, Yan Zhen opened it. To his delight, it contained starting capital of 100 Million Crystal Coins, a choice of Tier 1 Pill Formulas, a choice of Tier 1 Artifact Formulas, and a copy of the Mystic Soul Technique!
“100 Million Crystal Coins!?”
Yan Zhen sucked in a sharp breath, his heart pounding like a drum.
Technique Refining was notoriously money-hungry compared to regular cultivation, but he’d never dreamed of starting funds ten times higher than expected.
Clutching the system interface, Yan Zhen puckered up and planted a flurry of kisses on it.
“System-chan, mua~~~”
【The System has no need for the Host’s kisses. Simply play the protagonist well and advance the plot correctly.】
“Got it, got it. No problem—leave it to me!”
Yan Zhen thumped his chest in assurance.
With the crisis resolved, time had slipped into early February—the opening day for Silver Moon City’s Mystic Academy.
At the docks, Yan Zhen joined Yan Meng’er, Yan Ruyu, Yan Mo, Yan Xiaoxiao, and the other Yan family juniors in bidding farewell to the elders back at the mansion. They then boarded the City Lord’s private ferry bound for Silver Moon City.
“Finally leaving the novice village.”
Standing at the deck’s edge, Yan Zhen gazed out over the vast river surface of the canal and sighed.
The Mystic Heaven Continent spanned seven great continents. The region housing the Garo Kingdom was known as Jialan Continent, dotted with multiple nations and factions. At its pinnacle stood the Jialan Holy Land, a peerless, supreme existence.
Under the Jialan Holy Land was an institution for nurturing talents: the Holy Land Academy.
Mystic Academies were its branches scattered across various countries, designed to scout promising prodigies.
Garo Kingdom’s branch was located in Silver Moon City, ranked third among the kingdom’s top ten cities.
Every youth under twenty who had reached the Mystic Practitioner Realm would head there to enroll. They underwent three years of training, and those who advanced to the Mystic Master Realm before graduation earned a chance to study at the Holy Land Academy.
The petty squabbles in Martial Tang City were mere prologue. The real story of this no-female-lead refreshment tale began at the Mystic Academy.
Upon arriving in Silver Moon City, he should quickly encounter the Chief Manager of the Golden Jade Chamber of Commerce, a character with vast wealth who provided massive aid to Yan Zhen in the story’s early-to-mid stages. He’d even acknowledge her as an elder sister later on. She was second only to his Beautiful Master in importance.
He absolutely couldn’t botch his scenes with her.
“Cousin, what are you thinking about? You look so lost in thought.”
Yan Meng’er sidled up to him again, clinging like a little bird and ever eager to act cute.
Yan Zhen had grown accustomed to his cousin’s generous 36D figure and no longer felt awkward. He replied offhandedly, “Just wondering when we’ll get there.”
“Barring any surprises, it’ll take two days and two nights of sailing. Rain would stretch it out longer,” Yan Ruyu said coolly from his other side. “You should head back to the cabin and rest if you’re not busy. It’s not like being on land—you could catch a chill.”
“Yeah, Cousin, let’s go inside and play cards. Just the three of us.”
“Got it.”
“The loser has to strip off one piece of clothing, okay?”
“?!”
