“Ye Feng, Ye Feng, don’t be like this…”
Zhu Lan’s voice already carried a heavy sob.
The unprecedented reaction of her body made her feel strange and afraid.
She tried to resist but was barked at.
“Don’t move!”
Zhu Lan’s body stiffened, and her tears finally burst through the floodgates.
“I’m scared, I’m scared…”
Zhu Lan could only repeat those words.
She was filled with regret and fear, crying so hard she was gasping for air.
When a woman cries so miserably, even a man caught up in the heat of the moment wouldn’t have the heart to continue.
Ye Feng finally stopped his movements, hugging Zhu Lan and whispering, “I’m stopping, I’m stopping. Don’t cry, don’t cry.”
No matter how much interest he had, he couldn’t ignore the tear-stricken Zhu Lan.
He held and coaxed Zhu Lan for over 1 hour before her crying gradually subsided, leaving only uncontrollable sobs.
“I shouldn’t have raised my voice at you. I’m sorry. I won’t ever treat you like this again. I’ll wait for you to form your Golden Core.”
Zhu Lan’s eyes were red and swollen from crying; she was exhausted.
Although she had been lying down all day, her heart had been too heavy to sleep.
Now, regardless of where she was, she drifted into a deep sleep.
After realizing the person in his arms was asleep, Ye Feng gave a helpless laugh.
“Heartless girl. I was even going to ask you to help me with your hands.”
This feeling of being edged was something Ye Feng felt no man could endure.
He could only suppress his own needs.
Setting Zhu Lan down, he locked himself in a private room to resolve the issue alone.
…
When Zhu Lan woke up, the first thing she felt was a dull ache in her eyes.
Her whole body was sore and lacked strength.
“Awake?”
Ye Feng had gotten a bowl of food from somewhere and wanted to feed her.
Zhu Lan turned her head slightly, avoiding his hand.
“I’ll eat by myself.”
Ye Feng frowned, but hearing Zhu Lan’s raspy and weak voice, he granted her request.
Zhu Lan ate in silence.
She was too hungry and truly had no strength left in her body.
Ye Feng didn’t speak either, and the cultivation room was filled with an oppressive silence.
“From now on, you will live here with me,” Ye Feng suddenly declared.
Zhu Lan shook her head.
“Do you think you can control yourself?”
Ye Feng was momentarily speechless.
He wanted to say “yes,” but his behavior yesterday made it impossible to give a certain answer.
“Fine, you can keep living in your own cultivation room. But you must come here once every 2 days.”
“3 days.”
Ye Feng’s brow furrowed.
Just as he was about to speak, Zhu Lan changed her tone and said, “3 days, please?”
“Fine, that works.”
After getting his answer, Zhu Lan gave a self-deprecating smile.
‘I wonder how long this “honor” born of the male lead’s guilt will last?’
‘Should I take advantage of the male lead’s current willingness to agree to anything and ask for some precious items?’
Zhu Lan said nothing more and finished her food in silence.
“I’m leaving.”
Zhu Lan wiped her mouth and stood up to leave.
Ye Feng’s expression was complex.
He opened his mouth and asked, “Do you still have the strength?”
“I do.”
People weren’t that fragile.
As Zhu Lan reached the door, a voice came from behind her.
“You need to come tonight. I’ll teach you something, and we’ll do body tempering to help you form your Golden Core sooner.”
Zhu Lan’s pace slowed slightly as she softly replied, “Okay.”
…
“Senior Brother, did you know? The Daoist Disciple is back!”
“I heard our Daoist Disciple crushed the competition in the mystic realm this time and obtained the legacy of an ancient powerhouse!”
“Ahhh! The Daoist Disciple is here! He’s so handsome!”
“The Daoist Disciple? Interesting. It seems his looks really are on par with mine.”
“Tell us something we don’t know.”
“The Daoist Disciple was already at the late Foundation Establishment stage half a year ago. I wonder if he has formed his Golden Core yet.”
The entire Heavenly Fate Sect was buzzing with discussion, and news of the “Daoist Disciple” reached the ears of Zhu Lan and Ye Feng.
The Heavenly Fate Sect only had five core disciples, and the Daoist Disciple was the head of them.
“Daoist Disciple” was a title.
This title represented the most outstanding existence among all the disciples in the sect.
Other major sects had similar titles.
The most outstanding disciple of the Jade Lake Holy Land was given the title “Jade Lake Saintess.”
The most outstanding disciple of the Myriad Sword Sect was the “Sword Head.”
The West Pole Buddhist Sect had the “Buddhist Child.”
The names differed, but none of the people who held these titles were pushovers.
All of them were the most brilliant and top-tier figures of the younger generation.
“The Sect Tournament is only a few days away. You need to focus on body tempering tonight.”
Ye Feng took out a bottle of Ancestral Dragon Blood and gave it to Zhu Lan.
“This is?”
“Divide it into several portions. Soak in a bit every night and try to finish it before the tournament.”
Zhu Lan took it, staring blankly at the crystal-clear liquid in the bottle.
‘Is this also beast blood? Why is it so beautiful?’
“There are still 7 days left. Should I divide it into seven portions?”
“No, this blood is too potent. You should divide it into fourteen portions. Try to finish half before the tournament.”
Zhu Lan nodded.
She had undergone body tempering with beast blood so many times already; her body should be much stronger.
Did she really need to divide it into fourteen portions even now?
“Try your best to break into the top fifty in this Sect Tournament.”
“I’ll try. But don’t you need to be in the top ten to get a slot for the mystic realm? What use is the top fifty?”
Zhu Lan was puzzled.
After the Sect Tournament, the top ten disciples would receive generous rewards from the sect and earn a qualification to enter the “Jade Lake Spiritual Spring” of the Jade Lake Holy Land.
Rumor had it that the water of the Jade Lake Spiritual Spring could reshape bones and save souls, while the Spiritual Peaches could improve one’s constitution and purify spiritual roots.
Such treasures could not be hidden from the world, so the Jade Lake Holy Land released forty slots every year as a matter of political balance.
Their own sect disciples would have fifty slots.
The good stuff was in their sect, so what was wrong with them taking the lion’s share?
This also kept the other three major sects quiet.
Everyone got some benefits, and once they drank from the Jade Lake Holy Land’s spiritual spring, they couldn’t exactly turn against them.
The strategy was indeed effective.
Now, every 3 years, the Jade Lake Holy Land would announce that the Spiritual Peaches had ripened and release forty slots to the outside world.
Because of this, every sect basically held their Sect Tournament on the eve of the Jade Lake Holy Land’s opening.
Only those with the ability could earn the right to enter.
“Among the rewards for the top fifty is a custom-made exclusive weapon from the sect.”