West City Gate, Xishun Pawnshop, Secret Chamber.
Zhang Yuge sat cross-legged on the carpet, clad only in a thin white robe.
Li Yuluo leaned her ear against his thigh, her face weary yet calm, a faint sweat glistening on her forehead. She wore the Cat Ear Headband, letting Zhang Yuge stroke her head like a docile cat.
The carpet bore stripes of Western charm, soft and thick in texture—something Zhang Yuge had sent someone to procure from a well-known imported goods store in the capital just a few days ago.
Previously, the secret chamber was furnished with only crude tables and chairs, and a rough, dry earthen floor.
Laying down a large, soft carpet made it much more comfortable for Zhang Yuge and his two Sword Spirits to train.
Zhang Yuge picked up a small knife and cut his left index finger, letting the red blood slowly seep out.
The little cat beside his thigh immediately climbed up, pressing her small head close to Zhang Yuge’s chest, staring wide-eyed at his wounded left hand.
Unfortunately, the Fox Tail behind this little cat was fake, or else it would surely be wagging excitedly.
“A little reward for the good child.”
Zhang Yuge extended his bloodied index finger toward Li Yuluo, and the girl immediately took it into her mouth, sucking hard.
Li Yuluo cultivated the Blood Nether Technique, which required continuously absorbing the essence blood of cultivators to nourish herself.
This technique allowed the practitioner to achieve rapid progress in a short time, but once started, there was no turning back.
If cultivation of the Blood Nether Technique ceased, the practitioner would suffer from blood addiction withdrawal and a series of side effects—at best, a significant drop in strength; at worst, premature aging and exhaustion.
Zhang Yuge regularly provided Li Yuluo with small amounts of essence blood imbued with true qi.
Though this tiny bit was barely enough to quench her thirst, it was sufficient to help her improve.
Having waited a long time for the blood from Zhang Yuge’s fingertip, Li Yuluo’s desire burned fiercely.
Though the little cat sucked Zhang Yuge’s finger like a ravenous beast, as if she wanted to bite off the entire finger, she never dared to reach out and grasp his arm.
The young master had said that cats should behave like cats—their front limbs would never be raised casually, much less to grip something.
Zhang Yuge smiled gently, feeling playful, and forcefully slid his left middle finger into the cat’s small mouth, fingers swirling inside without restraint.
His two fingers pinched a blood-soaked piece of pink flesh, pulling it out.
It was like admiring a portrait of Louis XIV in the Versailles Palace as Zhang Yuge observed the tongue coating between his fingers.
“Haven’t you broken through to Qi Refining Stage Eight yet?”
Zhang Yuge asked.
“Probably not, just a bit short…”
With her tongue hanging out, Li Yuluo’s answer was muffled.
“In that case, young master will reward you with some more essence blood.”
Zhang Yuge withdrew his hand, then cut his middle finger as well, dipping it back into the cat’s mouth and continuing to stir.
Zhang Yuge possessed a Pure Yang Body, which granted rapid blood production and quick recovery of essence, qi, and spirit.
After all, dual cultivation consumed the most essence, qi, and spirit.
For Zhang Yuge, nourishing a Li Yuluo was more than manageable.
Moreover, since Li Yuluo was his Sword Spirit, providing her some essence blood to advance her cultivation also granted him half of the cultivation bonus.
No matter how the deal was calculated, it was never a loss.
The spiritual energy Yun Lan lent him days ago had long since been exhausted, and his foundation-level cultivation had disappeared.
Yet Zhang Yuge did not worry at all that Zhang Qingyao or Li Yuluo might turn against him—between the Slave Contract and the Sword Spirit Iron Law, how could he lose?
After several days of intense dual cultivation, Zhang Qingyao had broken through to Qi Refining Stage Seven, Li Yuluo was close to Stage Eight, and Zhang Yuge himself had reached Stage Four just two days prior.
Zhang Yuge’s rapid progress irked Zhang Qingyao greatly.
After all, she had once barely reached Stage Two.
How long had Zhang Yuge been cultivating? He was already at Stage Four?
When they had just left the Zhang family and set out for the capital, Zhang Yuge had only just broken through to Stage Two.
Logically, since they were all cultivating together, their levels should be similar.
How was Zhang Yuge flying ahead like this?
And Zhang Yuge gave all the cultivation-enhancing pills to her and Li Yuluo, hardly taking any himself—so why was his cultivation advancing the fastest?
Zhang Qingyao didn’t know that Zhang Yuge also received system cultivation rewards.
Besides the gains from dual cultivation, he obtained half of the cultivation progress from each of his two Sword Spirits.
Half from Qingyao, half from Li Yuluo—it was equivalent to the cultivation result of another person’s efforts.
Li Yuluo sucked diligently, and after a while, she successfully broke through to Qi Refining Stage Eight.
At that moment, knocking came from outside the room.
“Young master, your lunch has arrived.”
Hearing Zhang Qingyao’s call, Zhang Yuge pulled his fingers from the little cat’s mouth.
“Go open the door for her.”
Li Yuluo reluctantly got up and hurried to the secret chamber door.
Zhang Qingyao didn’t expect the one to open the door to be Li Yuluo wearing the Cat Ear Headband, dressed in only a thin, semi-transparent gauze dress.
Her expression instantly soured.
“I slave away cutting vegetables and cooking, and you’re just sneaking snacks here?”
Zhang Qingyao entered carrying the food, while Li Yuluo closed the door behind her.
Seeing the lifeless plush cat tail hanging down beneath the gauzy dress, Zhang Qingyao whispered,
“Hmph, shameless.”
Li Yuluo feared only Zhang Yuge, so she naturally didn’t stand at attention or accept Zhang Qingyao’s reprimand.
“No choice. Young master cares for me, so I have to trouble sister.”
Her words dripped with charm, making Zhang Qingyao grit her teeth in irritation.
“Don’t forget, you used to be a man. Never thought you’d so quickly accept your new identity. Our young master truly is a man of iron bones and steel spirit, a role model and a true man’s man.”
Lately, whenever Zhang Qingyao teased Li Yuluo, she always used this, winning almost every time.
With a triumphant look, Zhang Qingyao gloated at Li Yuluo.
“Young master, after cultivating so long, you must be tired. Qingyao has prepared a loving lunch for you.”
She placed the food on the table and put on a show of sincerity.
Suddenly, she felt a chill beneath her.
Li Yuluo seized the moment and yanked Zhang Qingyao’s skirt down, swiftly pulling off her white shorts underneath.
Zhang Qingyao hurriedly crouched to put her shorts back on, but Li Yuluo pressed down firmly, preventing her.
“What are you doing?! Are you crazy?”
“Heh, you call me shameless—then what’s this?”
It turned out Li Yuluo wasn’t the only one with a tail; behind Zhang Qingyao, a Fox Tail was also visible.
“T-this, this is something young master made me wear! Let go…”
“Hmph, my cat tail is also something young master made me wear,”
Li Yuluo said with a smile.
“Young master even said your fox tail came before mine.”
While the two girls bickered, Zhang Yuge suddenly made a sound.
Thanks to the cultivation rewards, he had broken through again—to Qi Refining Stage Five!
Both girls stared at Zhang Yuge in shock.
“N-no way?”
Zhang Qingyao’s mouth twitched.