Chapter 103: Getting Benefits
Li Yao exhaled deeply as she finished reviewing the final document. In truth, the Empress had done most of the work. She had first tried to guide her but it got so frustrating that she just did it herself.
Setting the papers aside, she thought to herself that her senior brother should have begun refining the bloodlines by now. It would be good to check on his progress.
With that thought in mind, she rose from her seat, crossed to the window, and flung it open. Without a backward glance, she launched herself into the air, her form streaking across the sky as she flew toward Mountain Heart Pavilion.
"Sect Master?" Elder Huang called out as she entered the chamber moments later, only to find it empty. Her eyes immediately landed on the open window, and understanding dawned. A knowing smile curved her lips as she crossed the room to close it. She thought to herself that despite her new position of authority, Li Yao remained the same impulsive, free-spirited girl she had always been.
Xiang Yu was just returning to his courtyard when Li Yao descended from the sky, landing gracefully before him. Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she greeted him.
"Senior Brother, did you finish refining the bloodlines?" she asked enthusiastically. She thought to herself that if he hadn’t finished, she could pretend to help him and then...
"Yeah, it’s really great. Thanks," Xiang Yu replied warmly, genuinely grateful for such a valuable gift from his junior sister.
"As expected, you still haven’t..." Li Yao began automatically, before his words registered. Her eyes widened. "Wait! You did what?" Shock colored her voice. How could he have refined them so quickly? The Empress had said that even for her, it would have taken quite some time, and he was refining two of them simultaneously. How was that possible?
"I’ve refined them," Xiang Yu repeated simply.
"Let me check," she insisted, stepping forward without hesitation. Her hands reached for his robes, parting the fabric to expose his chest. Her fingers traced patterns across his skin as she leaned closer, causing Xiang Yu to blush slightly at her proximity.
[What are you doing? You can’t detect bloodlines like this,] the Empress’s voice echoed within Li Yao’s mind, her tone exasperated. [Even me, in my current state, am unable to detect bloodlines.]
"Hehehe, who said I’m detecting bloodlines? I’m just getting some benefits," Li Yao responded mentally.
When the Empress heard this, she retreated back to the spiritual sea without another word, unwilling to witness more of her host’s brazen behavior.
"Umm, Junior Sister..." Xiang Yu spoke nervously, his cheeks flushed crimson.
"Hmm?" she looked up at his blushing face innocently.
"Is that really necessary?" he asked, pointing at her hand that had wandered dangerously close to the waistband of his pants.
Only then did Li Yao realize she had become so engrossed in feeling his muscles that she had lost herself completely. Her face reddened instantly to match his, and she jumped backward as if scalded.
"Um—well..." she stammered, utterly flustered. Searching for an excuse, she managed, "Your physical strength has grown quite a bit."
"Is that so?" Xiang Yu smiled at the compliment, and Li Yao nodded vigorously, grateful for the change of subject.
"Here," Xiang Yu extended his hand toward Li Yao, offering her something.
Li Yao carefully picked up three paper talismans from his palm. "This is..."
"I’ve recently advanced my talisman making to the eighth grade and improved my explosion talisman," he explained, cutting her off.
Internally, he thought to himself that he had made it sound simple, but in reality, it had been incredibly difficult. He’d needed to manually devise improvements for the ninth grade explosion talisman to reach the eighth grade without any formulas like he’d received with cooking recipes.
It was then that he truly understood the usefulness of his system. When breaking through using the system, it provided real insights, but breaking through on his own required gaining those insights independently.
Still, this was the only way he could properly thank his junior sister for the two precious bloodlines. He suspected his earlier ninth-grade explosion talismans might not be useful for someone of her strength. From what he had heard, she had easily defeated a Golden Core cultivator—only eighth-grade talismans might be somewhat useful to her.
"Thank you," she said sincerely, carefully storing the talismans in her spatial ring. She thought to herself that it was truly wonderful to have someone looking out for her.
Within Li Yao’s spiritual sea, the Empress observed this exchange with mild irritation. She had always been looking out for this girl, yet received no acknowledgement for her efforts. Well, she would be the bigger person and not blame it on the younger generation.
She would simply let Li Yao suffer a little more next time—this wasn’t being petty, how could the Human Empress stoop that low? She was simply preparing her for the real world.
...
After finishing lunch, Xiang Yu retreated to his room, settling into a comfortable meditation posture on his bed. He closed his eyes, focusing on the flow of energy through his meridians. The familiar tingling sensation told him he was nearing another breakthrough.
He contemplated how rapidly his cultivation had advanced recently. The morning’s feast had supplied an abundance of spiritual energy, and soaking in the spirit spring had further accelerated his progress. But there was another factor at play—his newly acquired bloodlines.
According to cultivation texts, monsters didn’t rely on spiritual roots like human cultivators. Instead, they absorbed energy directly through their bodies. Though his dragon and phoenix bloodlines were still at the thin blood stage, he could already feel this ability beginning to manifest. The potential excited him, though he recognized that significant improvements would require upgrading his bloodlines substantially.
A soft sigh escaped his lips as he compared his journey to Li Yao’s meteoric rise. She had not only reached the Golden Core realm but had now become Sect Leader as well. He wasn’t particularly surprised by the news—he had expected such an outcome given her strength, especially in these troubled times.
Xiang Yu reached into his spatial ring, withdrawing several thick manuals his martial aunt had provided. He arranged them on his bed, examining the peculiar titles:
[Pill Refining 101]
[The Truth About Blacksmithing]
[The Difference Between Alchemy and Medicine]
[The Ten Steps to Becoming a Great Farmer]
[Is Formation Making Stronger Than Talisman Making?]
He couldn’t help but chuckle at the strange titles—they sounded remarkably like clickbait headlines from his previous life’s internet browsing. Still, Elder Huang had assured him these were excellent foundational texts. He trusted her judgment, even if her taste in educational materials seemed questionable.
Before diving into these secondary profession manuals, however, there was an important matter he’d nearly forgotten. With everything that had transpired, he hadn’t yet examined the spatial ring taken from the Core Formation expert he’d killed.
Reaching back into his spatial ring, Xiang Yu retrieved the blood-stained ring he’d claimed from his defeated enemy. It was time to see what benefits it held.