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

All the smooth, heroic lines Zhou Kai had prepared—classics like “Fair One, save your thanks,” “It was merely a lift of the hand,” or “Perhaps our meeting was written in the stars”—died instantly in his throat.

What the hell?

Kill three people? Stab me three times?

What kind of twisted barter system is this?!

Zhou Kai felt his brain short-circuit, the corner of his mouth twitching violently.

Who asked you to kill anyone? Who wants to stab you? And even if there was going to be any stabbing involved, it certainly wouldn’t be with a sword!

The woman sitting before him wasn’t just some aloof Sword Fairy; she was a literal commitment machine running on an alien operating system. You saved me? Acknowledged. Transaction logic: I kill three enemies for you, or you pierce my body three times. Exchange complete.

It was a transparent, brutally fair trade. And it was giving Zhou Kai a headache.

Why had he put in all this effort? The acting, the dirty tricks, the physical labor of carrying her, the desperate escape, and even sacrificing his precious reserve pills? It was for Shen Hanyi herself! It was for those sweet, tantalizing Omni-Points in the system!

It was for future cultivation breakthroughs! Spirit Root optimization! The golden path to immortality!

A surge of frustration rushed to Zhou Kai’s head, but he forcefully suppressed it, plastering a pained expression onto his face.

“Fair One…” He felt like weeping. Looking into Shen Hanyi’s terrifyingly serious eyes, he couldn’t help but blurt out, “Fair One Shen… these days, the trend isn’t blood for blood. It’s… it’s about mutual support, overcoming difficulties together, mutual willingness, the harmony of Yin and Yang… Bah!”

He realized his tongue had slipped.

“I mean, what matters now is affection! It’s… it’s about a deeper, more profound interaction!”

Seeing Shen Hanyi’s expression shift from cold indifference to slight confusion—and then a flicker of wariness—he knew he was drifting dangerously close to ‘lecherous villain’ territory. He slammed on the mental brakes.

“What I mean is!” Zhou Kai took a deep breath, forcing his features into a mask of righteous concern. “Fair One, whether it’s killing people or stabbing… stabbing yourself, those are matters for the future. Right now, the most urgent reality is that you are severely injured. Your Sword Embryo is damaged, and the Heavenly Spring Sect dogs could catch our scent at any moment. We need to treat you, recover, and live to fight another day!”

He flipped his hand, producing two more Rejuvenation Pills.

“These are only Qi Condensation early-stage pills, but they will stabilize your meridians. Once you’ve regained some vitality, you can take the True Condensation Pill.”

His eyes were wide and sincere, the picture of a noble rogue cultivator fretting over a fallen beauty.

But inside, the abacus beads of his mind were clacking furiously: First, stabilize the injury. Second, secure the bag. Third, talk feelings! No—first stabilize, then farm Interaction Points!

A ripple of perplexity disturbed the surface of Shen Hanyi’s cool gaze. She seemed unable to reconcile Zhou Kai’s shifting demeanor—one moment looking at her with a hunger that made her skin prickle, the next acting like a devoted guardian.

But she didn’t press him. Seeing the pills, she hesitated no more. She slightly parted her pale, bloodless lips.

Knowing she was drained of all strength, Zhou Kai leaned in. He pressed the pill past her lips, his fingers brushing against the softness of her mouth—a fleeting contact that sent a jolt of tactile information to his brain: Soft. Cold. But the breath is warm.

He helped her sit up.

She arranged herself cross-legged with a solemn dignity that bordered on absurd. Dignity? She looked like a porcelain doll held together by glue, ready to shatter at a stiff breeze.

Forget it, Zhou Kai thought, resigning himself to his role as nursemaid. Who told her to be so damnable beautiful?

The priority was keeping her alive. Dead women provide no Deep Interaction.

Outside the cave, the night deepened, and the mountain winds began to howl like grieving ghosts.

Zhou Kai rummaged through his Storage Bag. Pills were good for Qi, but the body needed sustenance to repair flesh and blood.

He pulled out several chunks of raw meat.

These were the prime cuts from the Horned Swine he had slaughtered earlier—muscle rich in texture and containing faint traces of Spirit Qi. For a Qi Condensation cultivator, this was top-tier nourishment.

He skillfully arranged a small pyramid of dry wood. Pointing his Flame Heart Gourd at the pile, he willed a gentle stream of crimson fire to shoot out, instantly igniting the campfire with controlled precision.

Tsk. Professional. Chef God Zhou Kai, at your service.

The meat sizzled as it hit the heat. Globules of fat rendered out, dripping onto the flames and sending plumes of savory, charred aroma wafting through the damp cave.

The smell was aggressive. Overpowering.

Even Zhou Kai swallowed hard, his stomach rumbling in protest. He reached into his belt and sprinkled a pinch of his secret seasoning blend over the meat. The scent exploded, filling the small space with a mouth-watering fragrance that could tempt a vegetarian monk.

He refused to believe this wouldn’t shake her Dao heart! Beauties aren’t immune to worldly pleasures; they just usually eat bland spirit grains.

Sure enough, Shen Hanyi’s long eyelashes fluttered. Once, twice. Then, she slowly opened her eyes.

Her gaze was still cool, like a frozen lake, but there was a ripple—a tiny, imperceptible hunger. Her complexion, aided by the Rejuvenation Pill, had regained a faint, rosy hue.

“Fair One, eat something. You need the strength.” Zhou Kai spoke nonchalantly, offering her a perfectly roasted skewer of Horned Swine meat on a clean broadleaf.

Shen Hanyi didn’t speak. She took the leaf and began to eat.

Her movements were small, quiet bites. Even while eating greasy barbecue in a dirty cave, she maintained that unique efficiency of a sword cultivator. No wasted movement. An odd sort of elegance.

Well, Zhou Kai mused, when you look this good, even murder looks elegant.

“Ahem.” Zhou Kai cleared his throat, deciding it was time to gather intel. “Miss Shen, forgive my bluntness, but may I ask…”

“You are a distinguished disciple of Lone Goose Palace, correct? The leading sword sect of the Eastern Region. Your disciples are dragons among men. How did you end up alone, deep in the Crouching Tiger Mountain Range, being hunted like a rabbit by the Heavenly Spring Sect?”

Shen Hanyi swallowed a piece of meat before answering.

“I was pursuing a demonic cultivator.”

“That cultivator had committed atrocities, with hundreds of mortal lives on his hands. I was ordered by the sect to hunt him down. I chased him all the way here.” Her tone was flat, discussing a life-and-death hunt as if it were a grocery run. “Deep within the Crouching Tiger Mountain Range, I slew him.”

“After slaying him near his lair, I accidentally discovered an area with abnormal energy fluctuations. It is likely an Ancient Ruin.”

An Ancient Ruin?!

Zhou Kai’s eyes narrowed. In the cultivation world, what did everyone crave? Opportunity! And Ancient Ruins were the lottery tickets of the Immortal Path. Lost techniques, magic treasures, ancient pills, rare materials… finding one unplundered ruin could allow a cultivator to soar to the heavens overnight.

“I intended to investigate, but I discovered Heavenly Spring Sect disciples had already occupied the perimeter.”

Shen Hanyi’s tone dropped a few degrees, carrying a frosty edge. “They noticed my approach and spoke with false courtesy. They said, ‘A Fair One coming from afar is a guest. Why not accompany us back to our sect for a few days, so we may fulfill our duties as hosts?'”

Zhou Kai curled his lip. Nice words. Translated, that meant: We’re going to put you under house arrest so we can monopolize the loot.

Shen Hanyi confirmed his suspicion. “Observing their micro-expressions, I understood their intent. Opportunities in ruins should be contested by capability. I rejected their ‘kind offer’ and stated clearly that the exploration could wait until Elders from both sects arrived to negotiate a joint venture.”

“And then?” Zhou Kai leaned forward.

“The negotiation failed. Relying on superior numbers, they attacked.”

Shen Hanyi wiped her mouth, her eyes flashing with disdain. “The Heavenly Spring Sect acts with overbearing tyranny. Bullying with numbers, ambushing, scheming… they are devoid of martial virtue.”

Zhou Kai nodded slowly, piecing the story together.

This Sword Fairy stumbled upon a goldmine. She, being a straight-laced prodigy, didn’t play politics. She essentially told them, “I see the loot. You can’t hoard it. Let’s call our parents (Elders) to split it fairly.”

The Heavenly Spring Sect, greedy bastards that they were, decided it was better to silence her or capture her than split the pot.

But Shen Hanyi was too rigid. Right is right. Wrong is wrong. You want to monopolize? No. You want to fight? Fine.

And because she couldn’t win against a mob, she got chased halfway to hell.

However, the fact that they didn’t kill her outright, and that she proposed a “Joint Elder Exploration,” suggested this ruin was big. Big enough that the Heavenly Spring Sect knew they couldn’t keep it a secret forever, but they wanted the first bite.

Should I try to compete for it?

Zhou Kai weighed the options. Ancient Ruins were death traps. The Heavenly Spring Sect was already there in force. With his meager cultivation, getting involved was a fast track to becoming fertilizer.

On the other hand, he had the [Beauty Bonding System].

Cultivating via Deep Interaction with beauties was safe, steady, and frankly, much more enjoyable. Why risk his neck in a dungeon when he could risk his hips in a bed?

Focus on winning over Shen Hanyi. Farm the Interaction Points. That is the true Dao.

Zhou Kai reached into his bag and produced the two jade vials containing the True Condensation Pills. He offered them to her with a solemn expression.

“Take these. You need them more than I do.”

This time, Shen Hanyi’s gaze lingered on the vials. A complex emotion flickered through her icy facade—gratitude? Confusion? Curiosity? She didn’t reach for them immediately.

Instead, she looked up, locking eyes with him.

In a voice as cool and crisp as a mountain stream, devoid of any fluctuation, she asked a question that nearly made Zhou Kai vomit up his entire meal.

“You mentioned the harmony of Yin and Yang earlier?”

“…Huh?”

The charming, roguish smile on Zhou Kai’s face froze solid. His brain stalled.

How does she still remember that?!

Can your focus be normal for just one second, please?!