by Imperfection
To cultivate, or not to cultivate. That was the agonizing question.
It didn't stay agonizing for long.
Lü Yang had no power to refuse. In broad daylight, under the open sky, Yu Suzhen simply took matters into her own hands. She tore away his clothes and bit down.
"Hiss!" Lü Yang's teeth chattered as he struggled. "Senior Sister, wait. At least find another place..."
"No need. Right here is fine!"
Lü Yang was utterly powerless to refuse. Recalling the safety net of his Book of a Hundred Lives, he simply went limp and offered no more resistance.
In an instant, a fierce battle commenced.
One was a true succubus of the Demonic Sect. The other was a transmigrator armed with a cheat.
After the time it took for an incense stick to burn had passed, Yu Suzhen frowned in dissatisfaction.
"That's it?"
"Truly pathetic," she spat, her tone laced with contempt. "You have such a handsome face, yet you possess barely any Primordial Yang to speak of."
The color drained from Lü Yang's face.
What little vitality he had left was flowing into Yu Suzhen's body. His already frail frame grew more withered by the second.
The Ode to the Supreme Bliss of Yin and Yang.
The cultivation method he'd been given flashed through his mind, and a grim realization struck him. The so-called trial of the Joyful Union Hall was nothing more than pitting registered disciples against one another through this technique, raising them like venomous insects in a jar. Only the last one standing would be promoted to an official disciple.
"Congratulations, Senior Sister Yu."
Several registered disciples approached from the sidelines, their faces slick with flattery. "Now that you've drained the last one, you should be able to reach Qi Refinement."
"Once you enter Qi Refinement, you'll no longer be a mere mortal!"
"We humbly ask that Senior Sister look after us in the future. We're willing to serve at your side."
Watching this scene unfold, Lü Yang suddenly laughed.
"Heh..."
The sudden laughter from a husk of a man who had just been drained dry immediately drew everyone's attention. Yu Suzhen shot Lü Yang a sidelong glance. "Junior Brother, what are you laughing about?" she asked coldly.
"I'm laughing for Senior Sister's sake," Lü Yang said with complete sincerity. "I was worried about your health, but it seems my concern was unwarranted."
"Worried about my health?" Yu Suzhen blinked.
"Indeed." Lü Yang let out a heavy sigh. "Before I entered the sect, I was suffering from a terrible illness. Senior Sister, you moved so quickly just now that I didn't have time to mention it. But since you're about to break through to Qi Refinement, surely a minor ailment like that won't be a problem for you. Right?"
Yu Suzhen: "..."
[Yu Suzhen, in a fit of rage, beat you to death.]
[Current Book of a Hundred Lives remaining pages: 99]
[A new life begins. You may choose one of the following from your previous life's gains:]
[One: Treasures
[Two: Cultivation Base
[Three: Lifespan
[Four: Forfeit all gains and randomly awaken a Talent based on your previous life's experiences]
"Those whose names are called, step forward."
Lü Yang opened his eyes. The black-robed Daoist stood on the platform before him, and he realized he was back on the assignment plaza, right at the moment he had first entered the Primordial Saint Sect.
Everything he had just experienced had been completely real. The taste of the demoness still lingered vividly in his memory. Yet here he was, starting over from the beginning, all of it reduced to something like a half-remembered dream. The stark contrast of it left him dazed for a long moment before he collected himself. Beneath the awe, though, a thrill of excitement stirred. The Book of a Hundred Lives truly was a miraculous treasure.
Steadying his thoughts, Lü Yang looked down at the Book's options.
He skipped the first three immediately. He hadn't even begun officially cultivating before Yu Suzhen drained his vitality and killed him. The only real choice was the fourth.
[Calculating your previous life's experiences...]
[After draining your vital energy, Yu Suzhen successfully broke through to the Qi Refinement realm. However, she contracted your illness. Unable to purge the affliction from her True Qi, she was bedridden for months before ultimately dying of the disease.]
[Since ancient times, to follow Heaven is easy, to defy it is hard.]
[Martial arts cannot rival Divine Abilities. The gap between a mortal and a cultivator is vaster than the distance between heaven and earth.]
[And yet you threw yourself into the game, skillfully using Dual Cultivation. With nothing but a mortal's body, you slew a cultivator. This is akin to winning against Heaven by half a move, a truly Heaven-defying act!]
[You have awakened the White Talent: Dual Cultivation Prodigy.]
[Dual Cultivation Prodigy: Your comprehension of Dual Cultivation Techniques is extraordinarily high. No cultivator of the same realm can drain your essence; any forceful attempt will result in a backlash against them.]
The glowing text on the panel shifted once more.
[Name: Lü Yang]
[Age: 18]
[Cultivation Base: None]
[Talent: Dual Cultivation Prodigy (White)]
[Cultivation Method: Ode to the Supreme Bliss of Yin and Yang (Beginner)]
[Divine Ability: None]
[Treasures: None]
[Book of a Hundred Lives pages: 99]
Lü Yang exhaled deeply. A rush of blood and qi surged straight to his Dantian, and in an instant his strength was restored, his body brimming with vigor. His originally weak body gradually recovered.
This illness... doesn't seem to be cured. I can just hold out longer now.
Lü Yang quietly assessed his condition.
Beyond the physical recovery brought by his new talent, he also found that his understanding of the Joyful Union Hall's technique, the Ode to the Supreme Bliss of Yin and Yang, had deepened considerably. After all, firsthand experience mattered far more than theory alone, and his talent amplified the gains even further.
From there, everything unfolded exactly as before.
Thanks to his handsome face, Lü Yang was once again assigned to the Joyful Union Hall. He met Yu Suzhen at the entrance, and she once again singled him out.
What an incredible technique, this Ode to the Supreme Bliss of Yin and Yang!
This wicked essence-draining art couldn't only harvest Primordial Yang and Primordial Yin; it could also absorb knowledge and experience from Cultivation Techniques and Divine Abilities!
At this thought, Lü Yang threw himself into his work with even greater vigor.
One day, two days, three days...
As time passed, Yu Suzhen's expression slowly shifted from enjoyment to terror. Her once-flat abdomen even began to swell...
"Enough, that's enough! Stop for a moment!"
"I... I can't take... Ah!"
"I'm sorry, I was wrong, please wait."
Lü Yang turned a deaf ear to Yu Suzhen's pleas, single-mindedly circulating the Ode to the Supreme Bliss of Yin and Yang, his mind completely immersed in the pleasure of cultivation.
And in the process, for the first time, he sensed the existence of Qi.
This wisp of Qi was inside Yu Suzhen's body. If not for their current proximity, Lü Yang was certain he would never have been able to perceive it.
This treasure is destined to be mine!
Without a moment's hesitation, Lü Yang pushed the Ode to the Supreme Bliss of Yin and Yang to its limit, forcibly extracting every last trace of Qi from Yu Suzhen's body.
"No!!!"
A bloodcurdling scream escaped Yu Suzhen's lips before her head lolled to the side.
In the next second, Lü Yang felt his own essence, energy, and spirit merge with that wisp of Qi. With a final, thunderous jolt, it was as if an invisible gate had been flung wide open within him.
Realization struck like a bolt of clarity. I've broken through!
When spirit and qi unite, that is Qi Refinement.
Yu Suzhen, as a veteran registered disciple of the Joyful Union Hall, had been only a single step away from Qi Refinement. In the previous life, she had drained him dry to complete that final step and succeeded. In this life, her own technique backfired on her, and everything she had accumulated flowed into him instead.
From this day forward, he was a cultivator at the first layer of Qi Refinement.
A single breakthrough promoted him to an official disciple, a leap in status akin to soaring to the heavens. It seemed simple, yet for countless years, it had remained an insurmountable barrier for untold numbers of registered disciples.
"How delightful. Senior Sister Yu, I doubt I'll ever forget you."
Lü Yang stood and looked down at Yu Suzhen lying motionless on the ground. He couldn't help but sigh.