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

“Incredible stuff,” Wu Hongxiao praised, examining the thin mask in her hands. “With this on, even the Divine Sense of a Golden Core Grand Perfection cultivator wouldn’t be able to detect us.”

Zhou Kai took his own mask. It was woven from a unique jade filament, cool to the touch. He pressed it to his face, feeling a subtle energy envelop him, isolating his aura from the outside world.

“We’ll rest here,” he said, nodding. “We wait for Fairy Du’s signal.”

Wu Hongxiao grunted an acknowledgement, found a clean flat rock, and sat cross-legged to regulate her breathing.

Zhou Kai, however, didn’t enter meditation immediately. His gaze drifted to Wu Hongxiao, his eyes flickering as his mind began to turn gears.

Previously, he hadn’t thought much of Wu Hongxiao beyond seeing her as a solid ally and a friend worth keeping.

But after their recent time together, he found himself genuinely admiring her. She was straightforward and blunt, unlike the scheming women he usually dealt with. Being around her was relaxing; he didn’t have to keep his guard up.

More importantly, she was the only “outsider” who knew the deadly secret of his affair with Du Chuyao.

Leaving such a massive potential risk wandering free wasn’t his style. Rather than trusting in her silence, it would be safer to solidify their bond. He needed to turn her from an “informed witness” into “one of us.” That was the only foolproof plan.

Plus, when he had draped his arm around her shoulders earlier, she hadn’t flinched or looked uncomfortable. Zhou Kai felt there was a solid opening here.

Let’s test the waters.

Zhou Kai cleared his throat, walked over, and sat down beside her. “Junior Sister Wu, we didn’t finish our conversation earlier.”

Wu Hongxiao opened one eye, looking at him with confusion. “What conversation?”

“You know,” Zhou Kai chuckled, throwing her a conspiratorial wink. “About our little ‘group.’ I was thinking… shouldn’t we take steps to consolidate our relationship?”

“Consolidate?” Wu Hongxiao raised a sharp eyebrow. Her instincts were screaming that something was off.

She wasn’t stupid. Zhou Kai’s tone, that roguish glint in his eye—it clearly implied something far more intimate than mere cooperation.

“Senior Brother Zhou, speak plainly.” Wu Hongxiao straightened her back, her expression turning serious.

Zhou Kai kept his smile, but his voice dropped an octave, feigning deep sincerity.

“Junior Sister Wu, we met by chance, yet we’ve faced life and death together. Now, we share a heavy secret. This is fate knocking on our door.

“Think about it. Between me and Fairy Du, there will always be a barrier of status and transaction. But between you and me? We can be completely open and honest.”

He paused, gauging her reaction, then went for the kill.

“I think we should take a step further. How about becoming Dao Companions? What does Junior Sister think?”

Wu Hongxiao froze. She stared at him, blinking.

Then, she burst out laughing.

It wasn’t a shy giggle. It was a loud, boisterous guffaw, as if she had just heard the world’s most ridiculous joke. She leaped to her feet, slamming the butt of her spear into the ground with a heavy thud.

“Senior Brother Zhou!” She glared at him, looking half-annoyed and half-amused. “I treat you as a sworn brother of life and death, and you want to sleep with me?!”

“Cough! What ‘sleep with’? That’s so vulgar!” Zhou Kai defended himself with a straight face. “I am seriously considering the strategic value of our alliance.”

“Strategic my ass!” Wu Hongxiao rolled her eyes. “Dao Companions? Just the two of us? My Qionghua Palace is a hundred and eight thousand miles away from your Calamity Abyss Valley.

“What’s the plan? We become ‘Battlefield Dao Companions’ for a few years, and once the war is over, we high-five and go back to our respective homes?”

Zhou Kai watched her bristle like an agitated cat and found it surprisingly funny. He waved his hand, retreating gracefully. “Since Junior Sister Wu has no intention, then pretend I never said it.”

Seeing her expression relax, he executed a smooth pivot.

“Actually, I have a Dao Companion named Fish Baibai back home. She’s also a Body Cultivator. Her personality is quite similar to yours—straightforward, bold, a bit of a muscle-brain. Like me, she wields a sledgehammer taller than herself. Her power is terrifying.

“If there’s a chance in the future, I have to introduce you two. If you get bored guarding the rear, you could have a good spar. I bet you’d hit it off.”

Hearing the description, Wu Hongxiao’s eyes lit up. “Oh? A female Body Cultivator who uses a sledgehammer? Now that sounds interesting. I’d like to meet her.”

Zhou Kai saw how quickly she moved past the awkward proposition and mentally gave her a thumbs up.

“Definitely. I’ll make the introduction,” Zhou Kai laughed heartily. “You two might end up becoming sworn sisters.”

With the joke cracked and the tension diffused, the awkwardness vanished completely.

For the next half-month, the two laid low in the dense mountain forests on the outskirts of Golden Copper Dock.

Zhou Kai didn’t bring up the “Dao Companion” proposal again. Instead, they spent their days sparring—spear against flying sword, fists clashing with palms. They fought with gusto, sweating and laughing.

He praised her spear technique for its tyrannical power. She marveled at his endless bag of tricks as a Law Cultivator.

Through the exchange of blows, their trust and tacit understanding deepened far more than any romantic confession could have achieved. He had failed to gain a wife, but he had successfully acquired a “Bro.”

Aside from sparring, Zhou Kai spent his time polishing his Divine Sense.

The remaining Beast Feeding Pills are enough to sustain the Split Back Katydids and Jade Arm Mantises for four months, he calculated.

It’s been two months now. The Earth Crystal Stone vein must have erupted with pure Spirit Rhyme at least once by now. Those little monsters, having been washed by the Spirit Rhyme and fed a mountain of pills, must have advanced. They’ll be a massive trump card for me soon.

One day, while Zhou Kai was comprehending the Delusional Dao Cicada Scripture, Wu Hongxiao’s voice suddenly cut through his meditation.

“Senior Brother Zhou! Senior Sister sent a message. Tomorrow, the Orthodox Coalition will launch an all-out assault on Golden Copper Dock!”

Zhou Kai’s eyes snapped open, a sharp glint of light flashing within them.

“Finally.”

He stood up, cracking his neck and stretching his limbs. “We move now. We should be able to reach the perimeter within ten days.”

“Good!”

The two didn’t delay. Their figures blurred, vanishing into the dense canopy of the forest.

By the time Zhou Kai and Wu Hongxiao arrived at the outskirts, the horizon was already burning.

Earth-shaking roars and violent Mana fluctuations rippled from the direction of Golden Copper Dock.

Clearly, the Orthodox Coalition had just shattered the outer defensive Formation.

Golden Copper Dock wasn’t a single fortress; it was a sprawling military complex built into the mountain range. It was a maze of bunkers, hidden tunnels, and kill zones—a nightmare to attack and a paradise to defend. Even with the outer shell broken, the internal resistance would be ferocious.

Battle cries shook the heavens. Countless streaks of light wove a chaotic tapestry in the sky above the dock. The glow of Dharma Treasures rose and fell like fireworks, painting half the sky in a riot of lethal colors.

Demonic Cultivators surged out from the shattered bunkers, clashing with the invading Orthodox forces. Blood rained down, mixed with severed limbs and shattered artifacts. The scene was a meat grinder.

“Just in time. Fairy Du calculated the timing perfectly,” Zhou Kai noted.

Wu Hongxiao stared at the chaos, her expression solemn. “Senior Sister must be in the thick of it.”

“Don’t worry. Fairy Du is a lucky person; heaven watches over its own,” Zhou Kai comforted her. “Let’s go! While they’re too busy killing each other to pay attention to us, we sneak in.”

Although the masks Du Chuyao gave them blocked Divine Sense, they didn’t make them invisible.

Zhou Kai could have slipped in alone using his Cicada Cloak, but he had to bring Wu Hongxiao along. Their only option was to follow the charging Orthodox disciples and “fish in troubled waters.”

“Junior Sister Wu, stick to me like glue!”

“Got it!”

The two moved with practiced synergy. Wu Hongxiao took point, her spear sweeping in wide, tyrannical arcs to smash aside obstacles. Zhou Kai flitted like a ghost in her wake, his Flowing Light Sword striking with tricky, ruthless precision to finish off anyone she stunned.

They merged with the chaotic tide of battle, advancing steadily toward the inner sanctum of Golden Copper Dock.

Just as they prepared to break away from the main force and duck into a secluded side path, five Demonic Cultivators burst out from the shadows ahead!

The leader was a burly man with a Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivation base. He wielded a massive Ghost-Headed Broadsword, his body reeking of bloodlust and evil sha-qi.

“Two masked rats sneaking around? Die!”

The Demonic leader let out a savage laugh and cleaved downward. His Mana erupted, transforming into a blade aura several zhang long that howled toward them like a executioner’s decree!

“Quick kill!” Zhou Kai barked, dropping all pretense of stealth.

Wu Hongxiao didn’t need to be told twice. She let out a clear, piercing war cry. Instead of retreating, she lunged forward!

Her spear exploded with brilliant light, slamming directly into the oncoming blade aura.

BOOM!

The shockwave detonated, forcing Wu Hongxiao back half a step. But she had done her job—she had tanked the heavy hit.

In that split second of collision, Zhou Kai vanished.

His Flowing Light Sword transformed into a streak of meteor light, silently curving through the air to appear behind the Demonic leader.

Pfft!

A soft sound, barely audible over the din of battle.

The Demonic leader’s savage grin froze on his face. A thin red line appeared on his throat.

He collapsed, dead before he hit the ground.

The remaining four Demonic Cultivators turned pale with terror. Before they could even process their leader’s death, Wu Hongxiao’s spear swept out in a horizontal arc, crushing their chests and ending their lives.

From encounter to total annihilation, it had taken less than three breaths.

“Go!”

Zhou Kai grabbed Wu Hongxiao’s arm. Their figures blurred, diving into the depths of the shadowed path and vanishing behind the ruins of a shattered fortress.