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

Zhou Kai caught her delicate hand, lacing his fingers through hers and giving her palm a firm, grounding squeeze. “It matters more than you think, Ziyi.”

He let out a long, weary sigh. “After I managed to get into the Chen family as a Guest Elder, things stabilized, sure. But the monthly stipend for someone in my position? It was a joke. It barely covered the daily pills I needed just to keep my old injuries from flaring up and crippling my progress. I had to scrape by, secretly poaching spirit beast meat from your family’s stores to sell on the black market. Scrimping, saving, risking my neck… and after all that, I only managed to hoard five hundred Spirit Stones.”

“I originally thought if I kept my head down and saved for another decade, I might finally have enough to buy a single True Condensation Pill to fix my dantian.”

“A True Condensation Pill? Is it really that expensive?” Ziyi asked, her eyes wide.

“Expensive is an understatement,” Zhou Kai said with a bitter twist of his lips. “Basic first-grade trash, like low-grade Qi Gathering Pills, go for maybe four stones. Even second-grade Spirit Gathering Pills are only thirty to fifty. But the True Condensation Pill? That’s a lifeline. It repairs the very foundation of a cultivator’s path. It’s a nightmare to refine, and the market price starts at a thousand stones—if you can even find one.”

“And don’t even get me started on the Foundation Establishment Pill. That’s the holy grail for anyone at our level. Even a bottom-tier, low-grade version starts at six thousand Spirit Stones. It’s more expensive than most third-grade treasures.”

Six thousand stones… Ziyi looked dazed, the sheer scale of the cultivation world’s economy finally sinking in.

Seeing her stunned, Zhou Kai circled back to her earlier question. “So, back to why I don’t use flashy spells. It’s because I’m poor!” He spread his hands with a helpless shrug. “No stones, no connections. Where would I get the manuals? I could only afford the bottom-of-the-barrel basics. The Glimmer Spell for light, the Basic Artifact Control Technique—which is the clunky mess I use to fly my sword—and the Rain Casting Spell for watering crops.”

“The only offensive spell I actually know is the Little Water Ball Spell.”

“Little Water Ball Spell?” Ziyi tried to picture it—a sphere of water flying through the air. It sounded… underwhelming.

“Exactly what you’re thinking,” Zhou Kai noted, catching her expression. “Power-wise? It’s basically good for splashing someone in the face. In a real life-or-death struggle, I’m better off using my fists.”

He looked at her earnestly. “It’s not that I’m hiding some grand technique; I literally don’t know any. After I joined the Chen family, I started practicing the Azure Spirit Qi Gathering Art. Do you know what that’s actually for?”

Without waiting for her to guess, Zhou Kai pointed a finger at a wilted, yellowed blade of grass nearby. A faint, bluish-green wisp of light gathered at his fingertip before drifting down and coating the parched stem. Almost instantly, the grass perked up, turning a vibrant, healthy green.

“See?” Zhou Kai laughed dryly. “The real purpose of that technique is to make the fodder for the Chen family’s spirit beasts taste better and stay fresh. I spent my days as a glorified celestial ranch hand.”

Ziyi blinked, then let out a sudden, melodic “pfft” of laughter. But as she looked at him, a flicker of genuine heartache softened her gaze. She could see it now: her husband, a man with the pride of a cultivator, spending his days meticulously enchanting grass just so some beasts could have a tastier snack. It was absurd, yes, but it spoke of a decade of quiet, soul-crushing humiliation.

Zhou Kai continued, “Once I finally got some stones together, I wanted to take it slow, buy some proper manuals. But then everything went to hell. The Chen family sent me to Crouching Tiger Mountain twice, then Chen Xingze jumped me the moment I moved… I haven’t had a spare second to find a decent offensive spell.”

“Husband, there’s still one thing I don’t get.”

“Go on.”

Ziyi hesitated. “That Miss Qiaoqiao from the Wang family… you’ve dealt with her quite a bit. Why didn’t you buy spells from her? When I was at Baolu Pavilion, I saw jade slips for things like Golden Light Astral Qi and Green Wood Spike. And… she certainly seemed eager to please you.”

Zhou Kai tapped her nose playfully. “Ahem. Ziyi, you’re missing the big picture.” He sat up straighter, his voice taking on a tone of arrogant confidence. “To Wang Qiaoqiao, I am a ‘Second-Grade Alchemist’ with a ‘mysterious background’ and ‘unfathomable connections.’ I have a reputation for mastery to uphold!”

“Think about it. If I start asking her for basic combat spells, I look like a fraud. If she realizes I don’t have a single decent way to defend myself, the ‘unfathomable’ aura vanishes. She’d start poking and prodding into my business, trying to see exactly how much this ‘mysterious master’ actually weighs.”

He leaned in, his voice a conspiratorial whisper. “Besides, Wang Qiaoqiao is a predator. She’s barely older than you, but she’s as shrewd as they come. She doesn’t breathe without a profit motive. If I ask her for help first, I lose the initiative. I’d be giving her leverage over me.”

Ziyi nodded, beginning to grasp the layered deceptions of the cultivation world. But then she pouted, her eyes narrowing playfully. “Hmph! I think you just like having Miss Wang look at you like that. You’ve got it all worked out so logically, but I bet you just enjoy being admired by her!”

She wrapped her slender, toned arms around Zhou Kai’s neck, her warm breath tickling his ear. “You haven’t even ‘subdued’ your own wife yet today, and you’re already worried about your reputation with Miss Wang?”

“You little minx,” Zhou Kai growled, his blood heating up instantly. “Looking for trouble?”

He wasn’t a saint, and with a beauty like Ziyi actively provoking him in the wilderness, he wasn’t about to decline.

“Come then, Husband!” Ziyi giggled, her voice a coquettish challenge. She moved with the agility of a cat, twisting her hips to slip from his grasp. “Show me just how powerful your ‘Little Water Ball Spell’ really is!”

Zhou Kai chuckled deeply, his arm lashing out like an iron band. He caught her by the waist, hauling her back into his chest with a surge of strength that made her gasp. He tilted her head back, capturing her lips in a bruising, hungry kiss.

“Mmm…” Her resistance was purely academic. “Wait… we’re outside…”

“Even better,” he whispered against her skin.

MODE A: INTIMACY / R-18 (EXPANDED)

Zhou Kai didn’t give her a chance to argue further. He bore her down onto the soft, mossy earth beneath the shade of the ancient tree. His hands, calloused from years of manual labor and alchemy, were rough as they hiked up her skirts, exposing the breathtaking length of her jade-white legs.

Ziyi’s breath came in ragged hitches as Zhou Kai’s mouth moved from her lips to the sensitive hollow of her throat. She arched her back, her fingers digging into his shoulders, her skin flushing a deep, delicious pink. As a body cultivator, her skin was firm and incredibly smooth, possessing a subtle elasticity that made every touch feel electric.

“Husband… ah!” she cried out as he found the sensitive skin of her inner thigh.

He made quick work of their remaining layers. The air was cool, but where their bodies met, the heat was stifling. Zhou Kai looked down at her—her hair spread out like a dark halo against the green moss, her chest heaving, her eyes clouded with a primal, shimmering desire.

When he finally pushed into her, Ziyi let out a long, high-pitched moan that echoed through the quiet woods. She was incredibly tight, the friction generating a searing heat that sent waves of pleasure through both of them. Zhou Kai felt his Mana and her Vitality begin to stir and intertwine, a natural byproduct of their bond.

He drove into her with the relentless power of a man who had been suppressed for too long. Each thrust was deep and deliberate, making Ziyi’s entire body tremble. Her legs locked around his waist, pulling him deeper, her heels digging into his back as she met his pace with a fierce, athletic stamina. The sound of their bodies clashing—wet, rhythmic, and desperate—shattered the silence of the forest.

“More… give me more…” Ziyi pleaded, her voice a broken whisper.

Zhou Kai obliged, his movements growing more frantic as he felt the climax building like a storm. The flow of energy between them intensified, a golden-blue swirl of Qi that pulsed with every heartbeat. With a final, guttural growl, he emptied himself into her, the sheer force of the release making Ziyi’s eyes roll back as she collapsed into a shattering, toe-curling peak.

A long time later, Ziyi lay limply against Zhou Kai’s chest, her face flushed and her skin slick with a fine sheen of sweat. She didn’t have the strength to move a finger. Her husband was like an inexhaustible bull—dominating and rough, yet possessed of a gentleness that left her utterly addicted.

Zhou Kai wore a triumphant smirk, though he was equally spent. He continued to let his hand roam over her curves, savoring the lingering afterglow.

They rested for a while, shared a knowing, intimate smile, and finally straightened their clothes to continue their journey.

They traveled for another ten days. Gradually, the environment shifted. The abundant Spirit Qi of the mountain range thinned until it was almost indistinguishable from the mundane world of mortals.

One more day until Broken Wood Bay, Zhou Kai thought. No wonder Zhao Tieshan called this place godforsaken. The Spirit Qi is practically non-existent.

As they emerged from a dense thicket, the view opened up to a winding northward path—the road to the bay. Exhausted from the trek, they found a leafy tree and sat down to rest. Ziyi pulled a water skin from her storage bag, handing it to Zhou Kai before taking a few dainty sips herself.

The peaceful silence was suddenly shattered by the rapid thud-thud-thud of approaching hooves.

Zhou Kai’s eyes snapped toward the sound. He stood up instantly, placing himself in front of Ziyi, his fingers twitching as he prepared to summon his flying sword from his sleeve.

A youth, perhaps fifteen or sixteen, appeared in the distance, galloping toward them on a powerful reddish-brown steed. He wore dark green martial attire and carried a massive pack that looked far too heavy for his frame. A longsword hung at his hip.

Zhou Kai swept the boy with his Divine Sense. No Mana. Just a Mortal, though his Vitality is unusually high for a kid. He relaxed his grip on his weapon.

“Whoa—!” The youth yanked the reins, the horse rearing up with a loud whinny before settling a few yards away. He dismounted with a practiced, athletic grace and strode toward them, a wide, desperate grin on his face.

“Excellent! Two months!” he shouted, his voice cracking with relief. “Finally! Real people!”