Liucheng, the City Lord's Estate.
Deep in the night, the central grand hall remained brightly lit.
Only two figures occupied the spacious hall—a man and a woman. The woman stood on a high platform, her back turned to look out the window as if gazing down upon the night scenery of the entire Liucheng. She wore a pristine white palace dress, her slender figure appearing slightly delicate, with a verdant jade flute hanging from the jade belt at her waist.
The man standing below the steps was none other than An Qisheng, commander of the Liucheng City Guard.
"How is your recovery progressing?"
The woman’s voice was cool and detached as she turned her head. Through the hazy candlelight, one could faintly discern her fair, melon-seed-shaped face, vibrant red lips, a high and straight nose, and a pair of phoenix eyes holding autumn waters. Her features were exquisite and three-dimensional, complemented by a cascade of fluttering silver hair that gave her an ethereal grace, making her look like a fairy stepped straight out of a painting.
Yet such a peerless beauty bore a demonic moniker that struck fear into everyone who beheld her. Throughout Pingyang Prefecture, people called her Yu Luosha. In the twenty-plus years since she took charge of Liucheng, her decisive and ruthless execution of justice had cowed all the large and small factions that secretly harbored restless ambitions.
Over time, very few people dared to mention Yu Luosha's real name anymore.
An Qisheng kept his expression calm and replied respectfully, "This subordinate has no major issues left, Your Ladyship."
During the battle at the city gates back then, Daoist Hulu had detonated his Golden Core. Although Yu Luosha arrived in time to suppress it and prevent massive casualties, An Qisheng had been caught right at the epicenter of the blast. Fortunately, he had expended a trump card to barely cling to life, but he still suffered severe injuries.
Without timely recuperation to completely eradicate the hidden dangers, it could even impair his foundations. Naturally, he could not take it lightly, which was why he had kept a low profile inside his estate for the past half-year, only making a full recovery today.
"That is good."
Yu Luosha nodded. After a moment of contemplation, she flicked her delicate hand, sending a brocade box flying through the air. "This is the inner core of a fire-attribute Golden Core beast. It aligns with your cultivation method. Refining it will shorten the time it takes for you to break through to the Golden Core Stage."
An Qisheng reached out and caught it. Feeling the violent, scorching energy radiating from within the brocade box, his heart skipped a beat. He quickly bowed in gratitude, saying, "Thank you for the reward, City Lord."
Just as Yu Luosha had said, this beast inner core was immensely useful to him at his current stage. His cultivation had been stuck at Foundation Establishment Perfection for over two years. Had he not suffered that severe injury half a year ago, he would have broken through smoothly in a few months once preparations were complete. Instead, unexpected twists and turns had arisen, and he had assumed his day of reaching the Golden Core Stage would have to be postponed.
Now, possessing this fire-attribute beast inner core, he was confident of breaking through to the Golden Core Stage within three months.
Having witnessed the formidable methods of Daoist Hulu, he was filled with anticipation for stepping into the Golden Core Stage. Prior to that, he had believed that with his Foundation Establishment Perfection cultivation, even when facing a Golden Core Real Person, he wouldn't be utterly vulnerable. Yet reality was cruel; after that battle, he deeply understood just how vast the gap in strength was across a major boundary.
"This City Lord is clear on rewards and punishments. This is what you have earned."
After speaking in a calm tone, Yu Luosha turned around, clearly signaling that An Qisheng could leave.
"This subordinate takes his leave."
An Qisheng bowed, cast one final, lingering look at Yu Luosha's peerlessly graceful back, and then turned and departed from the grand hall.
"Hehuan Sect..."
Yu Luosha gazed out into the distance, murmuring softly with an unfathomable look in her eyes.
...
The next day.
Just as the sky was growing pale at dawn, Xia Changsheng woke up.
After several consecutive hours of hard labor, he instinctively massaged his lower back. Fortunately, his physical constitution had been transformed and reinforced by elemental energy, making it far superior to what it used to be; otherwise, he might not have been able to handle such high-intensity, unreserved imparting of knowledge day after day.
He glanced at Zhang Yuwei, who was lying on her side next to him, seemingly still fast asleep. A trace of a smile flashed in his eyes, but he temporarily left her be. What he cared about more right now was the fruit of his hard work throughout the night.
Host: Xia Changsheng
Rank: 1st-Rank Element Apostle
Elements: 25/100
Laws: Law of Wind I, Law of Water I
Wife: Liu Qingyue — Talent: 8th-Grade Wind Spiritual Root (40/500)
Concubine: Zhang Yuwei — Talent: 9th-Grade Water Spiritual Root (0/100)
"It went up by 5 points."
Xia Changsheng's heart stirred slightly. Compared to the 10 points Liu Qingyue initially provided, Zhang Yuwei's first contribution was only half of that. He guessed this was related to the difference in talent between the two women.
Liu Qingyue possessed an 8th-Grade Spiritual Root, whereas Zhang Yuwei had a 9th-Grade Spiritual Root.
The gap was self-evident.
Of course, the most important thing was the addition of a new power of Law. A blue ocean instantly flooded his mind and wrapped around him, gentle and warm—a gift from the sea.
Xia Changsheng couldn't help but look forward to it... Just how much of a boost would women with 7th-Grade Spiritual Roots, or even middle-three-grade and upper-three-grade Spiritual Roots, bring him?
Calming his mind slightly, he felt that those things were still too far away; grasping what was right in front of him was the most important task.
Thus, he gently stroked his young bride's pretty face and looked at her with deep affection. "Good Yuwei, let's continue."
Zhang Yuwei, who was still feigning sleep, nearly thought she had misheard. She figured that she had only just become a woman yesterday, and her body simply couldn't endure being tossed about for much longer. Why couldn't her husband show a little pity?
She could only continue pretending to be fast asleep, hoping to escape this ordeal.
"Yuwei isn't speaking, which means silence gives consent."
Yet Xia Changsheng had long known she was faking sleep, so he continued to tease her.
"......"
The delicate body curled up beneath the quilt trembled slightly. Knowing she couldn't pull the wool over her husband's eyes and feeling a bit aggrieved, Zhang Yuwei had no choice but to open a pair of slightly reddish peach-blossom eyes. Biting her thin lips, she gave Xia Changsheng a resentful look and said, "Husband, this wife is tired."
At this moment, Zhang Yuwei retained none of her usual poise and calmness as a talented scholar; she was filled entirely with grievance.
That charming and dainty appearance made one's heart ache with a mix of affection and desire.
That's right!
Yuwei was only in the Blood Moving Realm, and her body's recovery capacity simply could not compare to Yue'er's.
Knowing he was in the wrong, Xia Changsheng quickly placated her, saying, "It's this husband's fault for not considering your feelings and letting your body suffer."
"Get some good rest. I'll go brew you some qi-and-blood-tonifying medicinal soup."
With that, he quickly dressed and got out of bed. Then, amid the astonished gazes of quite a few early-rising maidservants and servants, he went to the front courtyard to cook himself. Out of guilt, he even added quite a few precious herbs into the pot—all of them remedies meant to replenish qi and blood and nourish the spirit.
However, he clearly lacked experience in this area and ended up with soot all over his face. Fortunately, Liu Qingyue, having heard the commotion, hurried over. After giving him a sidelong glance, she chased him out of the kitchen and personally brewed the medicinal soup for her good sister.
Seeing this, Xia Changsheng could only give a helpless, wry smile. He then left the front courtyard and headed toward a rather spacious martial arts training ground located in the side courtyard.
For the past half-year, Xia Changsheng had come to the training ground every single day, ranging from half an hour to an hour or two, rain or shine. Although this couldn't bring him any massive leaps in cultivation, familiarizing himself with what he had learned never hurt, and the results were quite noticeable.
He was now adept at skillfully employing Levitation and Wind Blades in combat. Combining the two doubled their power, and it was entirely unpredictable to opponents.
Even Liu Qingyue, who had already reached the Qi Condensation 3rd Layer, could only passively and laboriously defend when sparring with him.
Days passed just like that.
During the day, Xia Changsheng would accompany his beloved wife and concubine to sightsee everywhere, occasionally exchanging pointers in spars. At night, he lingered in the gentle embrace of the two women, enjoying himself so much he completely forgot about returning.