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

Chapter 198: Another Day Surrounded by Wives

Zhou Kai raised a sword-like brow and rolled his eyes at her. “Then why don’t you just send them back to the Outer Sect? Call them over. Now.”

Wang Qiaoqiao giggled, extending a slender finger to draw lazy circles on his chest.

“Husband, you’re wronging me. Back in Wohu City, you refused them so decisively. I was just afraid they’d be an eyesore to you. Besides, these are people I bought with real Spirit Stones. How could I just let them go back? That would be a huge loss.”

She paused, then added slyly, “Moreover, the big ship from the Sect to Shangqing City only comes once every three years. The last one just left. The next won’t arrive for another two full years. They couldn’t come even if they wanted to.”

“You…” Zhou Kai grabbed her mischievous hand, chuckling helplessly. “You always have a ready set of excuses for your twisted logic. Now that the Heavenly Craft Tower is booming, and you’ve moved out of the spirit mountain to live here… how are you going to compensate your husband for his loneliness?”

A sudden flush of red colored Wang Qiaoqiao’s cheeks. With a casual wave of her hand, she dismissed Wang Daishan and Wang Xu’er. The two former clan sisters, bound by the unforgiving Death Contract, were standing respectfully to the side, not even daring to breathe too loudly. They immediately bowed and withdrew.

As the heavy wooden door clicked shut, the atmosphere in the private room instantly thickened with an amorous heat.

Wang Qiaoqiao leaned in close, her breath as fragrant as orchids against Zhou Kai’s ear. Her voice dripped with a coquettish sweetness.

“Husband… I haven’t prepared anything else. I’ve only prepared myself…”

Another two months passed in the blink of an eye.

East of the spirit mountain, outside Fish Baibai’s cave abode, the grass was a vibrant green and the mountain breeze was soothingly gentle.

Zhou Kai leaned comfortably against a large bluestone. A few feet away, Chen Ziqing was squatting in the grass, playfully teasing three Jade Arm Mantises with her finger.

Under the guidance of the True Explanation of Spirit Controlling, the three little creatures had become increasingly beautiful—and increasingly lethal. Their evolutionary paths had branched distinctively.

The first mantis had developed thick, broad blade-arms that glinted with a sharp, metallic golden light. It was clearly a vanguard built for frontal assault.

The second was much smaller. Its aura was completely restrained, and its wings were nearly transparent, allowing it to blend seamlessly into the shadows. A natural-born assassin.

The third surprised Zhou Kai the most. Faint, cyan-colored Gang Wind swirled around its blades. With just a gentle swipe, it could unleash invisible blades of slicing wind.

“Big Brother Zhou, look!” Chen Ziqing held up a small wooden box and presented it to Zhou Kai like a grand treasure.

Inside the box lay two round, perfectly smooth Pills the size of longan fruits, radiating a rich, inner glow.

They were two genuine High Grade Foundation Establishment Pills.

“This is the first major task Big Brother Zhou entrusted to me,” Chen Ziqing said, puffing out her chest proudly. “Ziqing had to do it perfectly!”

Zhou Kai smiled warmly. “You keep them for yourself.”

“No!” Chen Ziqing shook her head vigorously like a rattle drum. “I don’t want them! This… this is a sister-in-law’s filial offering to her brother-in-law!”

Blushing furiously, she didn’t wait for Zhou Kai to accept. She simply shoved the wooden box into his chest and backed away.

Watching from the side, Li Lanyin’s eyes flickered with a hint of melancholy. She spoke softly, “Husband, my entire Cultivation base relies on your Creation Qi. But… when I try to cultivate on my own now, every step is a struggle…”

Before she could finish, Zhou Kai reached out and pulled her into his embrace, his gaze softening.

“Silly girl. What nonsense are you thinking? You are my Dao Companion, and that is enough. Cultivate in peace. It won’t be long before you can practice like an ordinary person. In fact, you’ll be even stronger.”

His mind stirred as he glanced at his own System Panel.

[Constitution Exchange Points: 625]

He was still over 4,000 points short of fully awakening Li Lanyin’s constitution. But to him, it was merely a matter of time.

Soon.

“Big Brother Zhou, what exactly are we waiting for here?” Chen Ziqing asked, her curiosity bubbling over.

Zhou Kai’s gaze shifted toward the tightly sealed stone doors of the cave abode. “That little maniac Fish Baibai has been inside hammering away at artifacts for seven months. A few days ago, the spiritual energy fluctuations inside began to calm down. I think she’s finally about to exit Secluded Cultivation.”

BOOM!

The instant the words left his mouth, the heavy stone doors exploded outward, sending a shower of rubble flying across the clearing!

A petite figure charged out of the smoke, accompanied by a furious, high-pitched battle cry:

“Junior Brother! Get your butt out here right now!”

Fish Baibai emerged, wielding her pitch-black Hundred Change Little Rabbit Hammer that was taller than she was. Her face was twisted in absolute “fury.” Behind her lumbered a massive Demon Beast.

It was a Shattering Gang Scorpion, now a full size larger than before and standing half a head taller than Fish Baibai herself. Its originally yellowish-brown carapace now gleamed with a metallic, indestructible black luster. Its aura was ferocious.

“Big Yellow! Charge!” Fish Baibai roared, raising her massive hammer as she charged forward with terrifying momentum.

“You good-for-nothing Zhou Kai! As soon as we got to Shangqing City, you locked me up in Secluded Cultivation to forge artifacts for over half a year! Everyone, step aside! Watch me beat him until he’s picking his teeth off the ground!”

Chen Ziqing and Li Lanyin gasped in fright and quickly retreated.

Zhou Kai, however, remained as calm and unshaken as a mountain. His eyes narrowed slightly.

BOOM!

An invisible, terrifying Aura Pressure instantly crashed down upon the clearing!

The giant Shattering Gang Scorpion, “Big Yellow,” slammed on the brakes. Its massive body froze in place, its eight legs trembling violently. Its terrifying pincers drooped weakly to the ground as it let out a pathetic whimper, not daring to move a single muscle.

Fish Baibai was already airborne. Her Hundred Change Little Rabbit Hammer was raised high, ready to smash Zhou Kai’s skull. But mid-air, the weapon flashed with light and vanished into her Storage Bag.

In the next second, the “furious” dwarf threw herself directly into Zhou Kai’s chest.

“Junior Brother! I missed you so much!”

The previously terrifying Master Fish was now clinging to him like a helpless kitten, rubbing her face vigorously against his shirt.

Zhou Kai threw his head back and laughed heartily. He easily scooped her up and settled her onto his broad shoulder.

“Come on,” he smiled at the stunned women. “Let’s take Master Fish into the city for a feast to help her vent her anger. I heard the new Asking Star Restaurant is quite good…”

Two months after the grand feast at the Asking Star Restaurant. Spirit Mountain, Western Meeting Hall.

Zhou Kai, Mo Qianyuan, and Gao Feiyang sat in the grand hall.

In the master’s seat sat Li Yunmian, dressed in elegant palace attire. A rare trace of joy was visible on her usually stoic face as she toyed with a radiant, multicolored Talisman.

She had spent the last two months in Secluded Cultivation, attempting to refine a Rank 4 Talisman.

Zhou Kai had been certain she would fail.

The progress bar on her System Panel for [Cultivation Arts: Talisman Making (Rank 4 Initial Stage: 1,023 / ???)] was downright despair-inducing.

Of those 1,023 points, Zhou Kai had contributed 1,000 of them. Without his assistance, her success rate should have been zero.

Yet, looking at her rare smile, she had actually succeeded. Her luck defied the heavens.

Mo Qianyuan began her report on the city’s affairs.

“Senior Sister, Junior Brother Gao,” Zhou Kai interrupted lazily. “Skip the trivial matters. Just give me the important points.”

Mo Qianyuan nodded, her expression stoic. “The Zhao Family. One month ago, someone newly advanced to Foundation Establishment Grand Perfection.”

“Zhao Wuji?” Zhou Kai sneered. “No matter. The jump from Late Foundation Establishment to Grand Perfection doesn’t have a true Bottleneck. It’s just a matter of grinding away at it and enduring the time. He is long past the optimal age for forming a Golden Core. He has zero hope of advancing further in this lifetime. He is not a threat.”

“Senior Brother Zhou is absolutely right,” Gao Feiyang agreed, snapping his folding fan shut. “But the trouble is, it’s not just Zhao Wuji. It’s his son, Zhao Hao.”

Gao Feiyang’s expression turned serious. “Zhao Hao also reached Foundation Establishment Grand Perfection half a month ago. Most importantly… he is only 50 years old this year.”

Mo Qianyuan looked toward Li Yunmian. “The father and son are now both at the peak of Foundation Establishment. They have become a legitimate force. The son achieving this at only 50 shows great potential, and the Zhao family’s ambitions are not small. On the day of his breakthrough, they threw a grand banquet and invited every major and minor faction in the city.”

She bowed slightly. “We need to decide our response. Do we show goodwill and pull them to our side? Do we issue a warning and suppress them? Or do we watch quietly? Master, please decide.”

Fifty years old?

Zhou Kai’s eyelids twitched violently.

Damn it. I was only at Qi Condensation Level 4 when I was 50! He cursed inwardly. Wait, no! I have so many women now, they might all form Golden Cores before they even hit 50! Damn system! Is this cheat for me, or for them?!

Despite his internal griping, his face remained an unreadable mask. “This Zhao family, how did they…”

Before he could finish his sentence, the atmosphere in the hall shifted violently.

Li Yunmian’s smile vanished. A grave intensity flooded her beautiful eyes as she whipped her head toward the distant northern sky.

A split second later, Zhou Kai’s powerful Divine Sense—far superior to anyone in his realm—felt it too. He stared in the exact same direction.

“Not good!”

Zhou Kai violently shoved his chair back and stood up, his voice booming with authority. Mo Qianyuan and Gao Feiyang froze, confused.

“Senior Sister Mo! Junior Brother Gao!” Zhou Kai roared. “Move! Activate the city’s protective grand formation! NOW!”