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

Chapter 190: This Girl Knows Her Place Too Well!

Zhou Kai’s eyes narrowed slightly.

In a formal matchmaking session, it was absolutely unprecedented for a woman to cut straight to the chase, voluntarily position herself as a concubine, and then interrogate him about his choice for a principal wife!

If this were any ordinary female cultivator daring to be so utterly brazen and devoid of propriety, he wouldn’t even bother getting angry. He would just find her delusions laughable before casually crushing her, showing her the vast chasm between the heavens and the mud.

But the young woman sitting across from him was a direct-line daughter of the Li family.

Zhou Kai picked up his porcelain teacup and blew gently on the floating green leaves. He re-evaluated the girl before him, finding the situation both absurd and highly amusing.

“Patriarch Li is a man of great foresight,” Zhou Kai said, his voice a flat, unreadable calm. “The choice of my principal wife is naturally up to him, the Elder.”

“However, your question is interesting. Why don’t you just tell me directly: whose name are you hoping I say? Or rather, whose name would make you get up and leave immediately?”

He tossed the question right back at her.

Li Lanyin clearly hadn’t expected the counter. She was slightly taken aback, but her composure returned in the blink of an eye.

“It seems Senior has no interest in me, or rather, in this marriage arrangement.” Her back was ramrod straight. She didn’t look like a woman at a matchmaking session; she looked like a general at a negotiation table.

“No, you’re mistaken.” Zhou Kai set his teacup down, his index finger tapping a slow rhythm against the table. “My interest in you is only just beginning.”

“Even if you are from the Li family, what gives you the confidence to negotiate so bluntly?”

Li Lanyin met his gaze. She didn’t flinch or look away for even a second.

“Because I have a clear understanding of myself, and an equally clear understanding of you, Senior.”

Her answer was refreshingly candid. “My aptitude is inferior. Within the family, I am a dispensable, marginal figure.”

“Being able to marry into an alliance for the family, to add icing on the cake for a Heaven’s Pride like Senior, and to secure a favorable connection for the Li clan… that is my only remaining value.”

She paused. Her tone was self-deprecating, yet backed by a chilling pragmatism.

“Cousin Su Xuan sent me here to use my status to bring the Su family’s relationship with Senior one step closer. And on the Li family’s side, they are more than happy to see a pure-blooded, direct-line daughter marry Senior as a concubine.”

“If I marry you, Senior gains a concubine with the status of a Li family direct-line daughter, which will make your actions within the Li family far more stable and reliable.”

“For me, following Senior means I might actually have a chance to break through to Foundation Establishment in this lifetime, instead of wasting away at the Qi Condensation stage and dying in depression.”

Her words actually made Zhou Kai look at her with a newfound respect.

Someone like Li Lanyin, who stripped everything down to the bone, dissected the politics, and laid herself bare on the table as a bargaining chip, was a first.

This girl knows her place far too well!

“Well said.” Zhou Kai leaned back in his chair, a playful smirk touching his lips. “But any direct-line daughter of the Li family could give me all of that. What makes you special?”

“I have a Low Grade Wind Spirit Root,” Li Lanyin said immediately.

Hearing this, Zhou Kai’s smirk deepened, and his heart stirred.

So, they specifically picked someone with a variant Spirit Root…

“Was it Uncle-Master Su Xuan who sent you, or was it Young Master Li?” Zhou Kai asked.

“Senior Zhou, rest assured. Once I enter your door, I will have fulfilled the instructions of both the Li and Su families.” Li Lanyin didn’t answer directly, but the truth was self-evident.

Su Xuan was merely the middleman. The mastermind behind this arrangement was definitely Li Qiwen.

Was he giving away a direct-line daughter with a variant Spirit Root as a concubine? A massive Fated Chance on a silver platter?

And since Li Lanyin had asked about his principal wife first… did that mean the Li family was already preparing to arrange one for him? If he named someone, they would arrange her as the wife. If he named no one, they would arrange the concubine?

Zhou Kai looked at the girl. In her eyes, there was no girlish infatuation, no blushing shyness. There was only the dead calm of the dust settling.

“From now on, I am Senior’s person,” Li Lanyin continued. “And Senior is the Li family’s son-in-law.”

Zhou Kai nodded slowly. That was good enough for him.

He tapped the table again. “Your Wind Spirit Root has my interest. But there is one thing I don’t understand. Even if a variant Spirit Root is only Low Grade, its cultivation speed should still eclipse any ordinary Five Elements roots.”

“Why have you remained stagnant at the Second Layer of Qi Condensation until now? Why is your progress so abysmal?”

Li Lanyin’s eyes dimmed for a fleeting second before regaining their icy calm.

“The Elders have examined me. My Meridians seem to inherently repel Spirit Qi. Whenever I practice breathing exercises, ninety percent of the Spirit Qi that enters my body simply dissipates. It’s as if my body actively rejects the energy.”

Meridians repelling Spirit Qi? Zhou Kai almost laughed out loud.

To him, that was less than a non-issue.

As long as her Affection was high enough and he could confirm her loyalty, he could directly pump stats into her! He could ignore all Bottlenecks entirely!

Taking this woman in was a hundred benefits and absolutely zero downsides!

“Good,” Zhou Kai finally declared. “I accept this marriage.”

Li Lanyin stood up and offered a graceful, sweeping bow. “Li Lanyin pays her respects to her husband.”

Zhou Kai extended a hand, sending out a gentle wave of Qi to support her.

“No need for such courtesy.” He flicked his finger, and a jade token shot into her hand. “This is the Restriction token for the Chen family’s Spirit Beast Garden courtyard. Go there and settle in. Cultivate peacefully. I will take you once we reach Shangqing City.”

…

After seeing Li Lanyin off, Zhou Kai didn’t waste a single second. He went straight to find Li Qiwen.

Hearing Zhou Kai’s report, Li Qiwen smiled and nodded approvingly.

“Although Lanyin’s aptitude is lacking, her temperament is as steady as a rock, and her bloodline is pure. She is a fine match for you. Your Creation Spirit Yang Body might truly grant her some good fortune.”

Zhou Kai bowed deeply, his attitude the picture of sincerity. “Thank you for your immense favor, Young Master. My achievements today are entirely due to the Li family’s nurturing. However… I recently encountered a bottleneck in my cultivation and would like to ask the Young Master for some guidance.”

“Oh? Speak,” Li Qiwen said, clearly interested.

“My physique advances best through Dual Cultivation. But to maximize the effects, aside from standard dual cultivation techniques, I also require the assistance of Cultivation Vessels.”

Zhou Kai spouted this nonsense with utter sincerity. He cloaked his request in pious justification, making it clear that he wanted this power boost solely so he could “better serve the family.”

Li Qiwen looked at him in surprise. “You actually don’t know the method for refining Cultivation Vessels?”

Then, realization dawned on the Young Master. It was normal. Zhou Kai came from humble origins; of course, he was ignorant of higher-level arts.

Li Qiwen pondered for a moment before speaking in a patronizing tone.

“This method is quite sinister. It harms heaven’s harmony and is not of the orthodox path. With your Creation Spirit Yang Body, you shouldn’t need to tread such a dark path. However… your logic does hold some merit.”

He pulled out a Jade Slip and tossed it over. “The method is inside. Study it well. But remember: this method must not be abused, and you are forbidden from forcibly seizing innocent female cultivators!”

“Thank you, Young Master! This subordinate will etch your teachings into his heart!”

Zhou Kai accepted the Jade Slip with profound respect and turned to leave.

As he walked, his Divine Sense sank into the Jade Slip, absorbing the complex and malicious refining method.

He didn’t care about the refining method. He never had. What he wanted was the counter-method—the way to break the seal.

Returning to the Spirit Beast Garden courtyard, he immediately sealed himself in the secret chamber.

Three and a half years had passed. Among the 15 Cultivation Vessels he held, some had finally reached the Novice level in their various arts. They were showing results.

It was time to liberate them from their vessel status, harvest the communication points, and finally establish his personal resource-production empire.

Zhou Kai remained in Secluded Cultivation for over four months.

As the day to follow Elder Yun Mian’s transfer approached, he finally pulled himself away from his research to tie up his final loose ends in Wohu City.

Inside the small courtyard that housed his “caged birds,” the familiar scene of absolute decadence remained unchanged.

Luxurious silks and satins were strewn across the floor in a chaotic path from the doorway to the bed. Women’s silk bellybands and delicate undergarments were casually discarded everywhere.

The two sisters, Wang Daishan and Wang Xu’er, lay on the bed with vacant eyes, looking as if their very souls had been sucked out of their bodies.

It took a long time for the light to return to their eyes.

Zhou Kai was already fully dressed. He stood by the bed, adjusting his robes without even glancing at them. “I am leaving Wohu City.”

Hearing this, the two women didn’t show a hint of sadness. Instead, they jolted in sheer panic.

Their first thought wasn’t that Zhou Kai was actually leaving. They thought he was inventing some twisted new game to play with them.

Ignoring the deep ache in her bones, Wang Daishan crawled up and knelt submissively on the mattress.

“Senior, please don’t joke,” she pleaded. “Every inch of our bodies belongs to Senior. We will endure whatever it is you wish to do!”

Over the past few months, the younger sister, Wang Xu’er, had long since lost her initial shyness. Imitating her sister, she knelt prostrate on the bed, burying her head low. “What my sister says is right. This concubine… is at Senior’s mercy to be used as you please.”

As she spoke, she actually lowered her body even further, presenting herself completely.

“I leave the day after tomorrow,” Zhou Kai said, finishing his attire. “Do you want to come with me?”