Dual Cultivation System: My Cultivation Was Crippled, So I Rely on Intimacy to Level Up

Chapter 272: Is Your Brain Only Good for Stealing?

Connecting the Shu family’s ambiguous attitude to the scene before him, Zhou Kai instantly understood.

No wonder the entire Shu family has treated me, an Elder of Calamity Abyss Valley, with such respectful but distant coldness.

This grand display wasn’t for the Loose Cultivators of Meixi Slope; it was for a very specific audience.

The Shu family’s Ancestor and Long Yufeng were being so brazenly public, as if they were afraid someone wouldn’t know they were in league.

This was hardly a reception for an honored guest; it was a broadcast to the world—the Shu family was pledging its allegiance to the Heavenly Spring Sect!

So that’s it. To prove their loyalty, they’re scrambling to cut ties with me.

At this thought, Zhou Kai retracted his aura, his form seeming to shrink as he melted into the shadows of the street-side crowd.

He and Long Yufeng already had a score to settle. Without Li Qiwen to run interference this time, getting targeted by the Heavenly Spring Sect’s Holy Son would end badly.

Better to avoid trouble altogether. Time to disappear.

High in the sky, the Shu Ancestor dispersed his Aura Pressure. The wrinkles on his old face gathered into a tight smile as he cupped his hands toward Long Yufeng.

“Holy Son Long, your presence brings great honor to my humble Meixi Slope.”

“Ancestor Shu, you are too kind.” Long Yufeng’s lips curled, but his gaze didn’t even linger on the old man. It swept directly over the city below, as if he were inspecting his own domain.

The Shu Ancestor’s eye twitched. He knew this visit was not a friendly one, yet the smile on his face grew even warmer. “You have traveled far, Holy Son. This old man has prepared a humble vintage. Please, join me inside.”

“Very well.”

Their figures vanished into the depths of the courtyard complex, and only then did the invisible pressure hanging over Meixi Slope finally dissipate.

TheShu Ancestor dismissed all his servants before sitting down opposite Long Yufeng.

“Holy Son Long, for what purpose have you graced us with your visit? Does the Heavenly Spring Sect have instructions for us?”

“Ancestor Shu, let us not mince words. My master holds you in high regard and specifically sent this junior to convey his… concern.”

The Shu Ancestor’s smile didn’t waver, but his heart sank like a stone. “This old man is doing well. I am grateful for the Sect Leader’s thoughts.”

Long Yufeng chuckled, cutting straight to the heart of the matter. “This junior has heard that the Shu family recently came upon a significant Fated Chance. I wonder, is there any truth to this rumor?”

“Hehe, a minor talent for drawing Talismans, hardly worth mentioning. It was pure luck, nothing compared to the profound arts of your esteemed Sect.”

“Why be so modest, Senior? Providence is a form of strength in itself. In fact, this junior believes it is a waste for such great Providence to languish in a quiet corner like Meixi Slope.”

The Shu Ancestor lifted his teacup, taking a slow, deliberate sip. “Holy Son, if you have something to say, please be direct.”

“Excellent!” Long Yufeng clapped his hands with a laugh. “My master wishes to invite you, Ancestor, to join our Heavenly Spring Sect as an Elder.”

“Rest assured, it is a sinecure. You would not be burdened with mundane affairs, merely lend us your name. The monthly stipend, I assure you, will be more than satisfactory.”

The Shu Ancestor fell silent.

Meixi Slope was situated right on the edge of the Heavenly Spring Sect’s territory, akin to sleeping next to a tiger. For years, their spies had infested his lands; his every move was undoubtedly under their watch, with no hope of concealment.

As a great Nascent Soul cultivator, he lived his life treading on thin ice. The weight of his family forced him to avoid any close ties with other major powers, terrified that the slightest misstep would invite annihilation. He knew the only reason the Heavenly Spring Sect had tolerated his existence was because they deemed his lucky breakthrough into the Nascent Soul realm unworthy of a major campaign.

But then, the Shu family had obtained the remnant of the Primordial Star Body Script! A heaven-defying technique that could dramatically increase the odds of reaching the Nascent Soul realm!

With this technique, his would not be the last Nascent Soul in the Shu family’s future.

And once the Shu family had another Nascent Soul, they would no longer be an ant at the Heavenly Spring Sect’s feet. They would be a tiger.

A guest Elder in name, but a gilded cage in truth. They sought to remove the pillar of the Shu family and “care for” him within their own walls.

Once he was gone, the leaderless Shu family would be theirs to crush and mold as they pleased.

But if he refused…

For Long Yufeng to act so boldly today, there had to be other Nascent Soul experts from his sect hidden within Shu Family City.

For an early-stage Nascent Soul like himself to defy a behemoth like the Heavenly Spring Sect… it would be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

A thousand calculations flashed through the Shu Ancestor’s mind, but his face only showed a troubled smile. “Holy Son Long, this old man is deeply moved by your generous offer. Should your esteemed sect ever require our aid, you need only give the word, and the entire Shu family would walk through fire and water for you.

However, if I were to join the Heavenly Spring Sect, I would be far less useful than if I remained here, guarding your northern gateway. Would the Holy Son not agree?”

Long Yufeng stared at him for a long moment, a flicker of mockery in his eyes.

“You make a fair point, Senior.” He nodded, as if convinced. “There is no rush. You may take your time to consider. This junior will impose upon Meixi Slope for a few days while I await your answer.”

He raised his teacup and drained it in a single motion.

“The tea is good.”

With that, he rose and left, his movements sharp and decisive.

The Shu Ancestor stood to see him out. Only after Long Yufeng’s silhouette had vanished beyond the gate did the smile on his face finally collapse.

***

Zhou Kai brought Shu Xiaofu back to the inn, intending to get her a separate room.

The innkeeper, however, approached them, wringing his hands apologetically. “Esteemed guest, what a day! Several honored cultivators arrived just now and booked our very last superior room. I truly have nothing else to offer!”

Zhou Kai’s eyebrow twitched, though he wasn’t surprised. He had no choice but to lead Shu Xiaofu back to his own room.

The moment the door opened, Mo Qianyuan’s gaze shot past Zhou Kai to the young woman cowering behind him. Her expression instantly turned to ice.

“Husband, my plan did not include ‘bringing a woman of unknown origin back to our room’,” Mo Qianyuan stated, her displeasure palpable.

Shu Xiaofu stood frozen behind Zhou Kai, barely daring to breathe. When she saw the other woman’s face, her breath caught in her throat. Those eyes… her heart hammered against her ribs as an unbelievable thought surfaced.

Mustering her courage, she stepped forward and gave Mo Qianyuan a graceful bow. “Sister…” she asked tentatively, “might your surname be Mo?”

Hearing herself addressed as ‘sister’, Mo Qianyuan’s elegant brows furrowed slightly.

She ignored the question, her eyes fixed on Zhou Kai with a humorless smile. “Husband, was this your idea of ‘arranging’ things?”

Never let a bird in hand fly away, Zhou Kai thought.

Shu Xiaofu’s looks and disposition were a far cry from Mo Qianyuan’s, but she was still attractive. He had no intention of adding her to the System, but he could set her up in Brilliance City as an outer concubine, like Wang Daishan and Wang Xu’er. Or he could simply hand her over to Wang Qiaoqiao as a handmaiden.

“Qianyuan, you wanted her taken care of, didn’t you? I asked the Shu family for the title of Concubine, and they gifted her to me on the spot.”

Zhou Kai turned to Shu Xiaofu. “Go into the inner room and wait. Do not come out until you are called.”

Once the inner door was shut, Zhou Kai stepped forward and sat down beside Mo Qianyuan as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

He raised a Soundproof Barrier. “Qianyuan, while the Shu Ancestor and Long Yufeng were putting on their show in the sky, I used Cicada Chirp Steals Heaven to probe the city.”

“There are several auras hidden here, all of them unfathomably deep. Even I can’t discern their cultivation levels.”

Mo Qianyuan saw nothing unusual in this. “The Shu Ancestor is a Nascent Soul cultivator himself. It’s perfectly normal for him to have friends of the same realm visit for his birthday celebration.”

Zhou Kai’s expression grew grim. “My point is, this city is teeming with masters. Trying to seize the Primordial Star Body Script from under the noses of so many old monsters is far too risky.”

Hearing this, Mo Qianyuan gave him a strange look.

“Do you truly believe that just because this place is a den of lions, we must act like rats, scurrying about for a chance to steal what we want?”

“What else? We just charge in?” Zhou Kai retorted instinctively.

Mo Qianyuan shook her head, looking at him as if he were a hopeless fool.

“Who said anything about stealing?” Her jade-like hand flipped over, and a brand-new book materialized in her palm. Emblazoned on the cover were four large characters: Primordial Star Body Script. “This is a copy I transcribed myself. Why can’t we simply conduct an open and honest trade with the Shu family?”

Zhou Kai froze.

He stared dumbly at the book, then at her matter-of-fact expression, before slapping himself on the forehead.

Of course! A trade!

The oppressive presence of so many Nascent Soul experts had tunnel-visioned him into a mindset of risk and confrontation, making him completely forget the simplest, most stable solution.

That’s right. With the backing of Calamity Abyss Valley and the Li family, and with a legitimately acquired copy of the Primordial Star Body Script in his possession, what was stopping him from negotiating with the Shu family as an equal?