Killing

Chu Huai Xu had indeed already opened his second aperture.

All morning, he had been bitterly training.

His body was telling him that three full circulation cycles per day was the absolute limit; anything more would be overloading it.

And this was even after he had gained 1 point of [Physique].

Once he finally scraped together enough Cultivation Technique Experience Points, Chu Huai Xu spent a full five minutes mentally preparing himself, then gritted his teeth: "System, upgrade me!"

Even though he had steeled himself, he still nearly passed out from the pain.

Clearly, among the three stages—"enduring pain," "getting used to pain," and "enjoying pain"—he was still stuck at the most superficial one.

The first breakthrough, he felt like someone was riding a motorcycle back and forth over his body.

The second breakthrough, he suspected the motorcycle had picked up a passenger—a fat pig at that.

It could actually hurt even more.

But, despite his fox-like face and standard fox-like appearance, deep down he was a wolf of a man, ruthless even to himself.

The more this damn technique tortured him, the more his stubborn nature refused to yield.

"Give me the scripture! Give me the most painful scripture!"

I'll train this shit to death!

"Only three sessions a day is my body's limit, not my will's limit."

"Go ahead and try to kill me with pain!"

"He really is a cultivation genius, just like me." Han Shuangjiang stood outside the door, thinking to herself.

After everything that had happened, even if she were stupid, she would have realized by now that her own talent for cultivation was exceptional.

The two sat down at the stone table outside the house, and Han Shuangjiang laid out her money-saving plan.

"You can cook?" Chu Huai Xu asked, surprised.

"A little." Han Shuangjiang nodded, answering modestly.

Hearing this, Fox Face, relying on the fact that he wasn't picky about food or taste, immediately concealed the truth of his own astonishing culinary skills.

The path of cultivation was already so hard; he might as well slack off whenever he could in daily life.

Whatever "The Most Beautiful Foodie Fell In Love With Me" nonsense, just get lost.

As for why Han Shuangjiang could cook, that was naturally from her training in the brothel.

Some of the older sisters would personally prepare some side dishes before their patrons arrived, letting those who were unhappy at home experience the warmth of a home away from home.

"Making our own fire and cooking our own meals—that works." Chu Huai Xu agreed immediately.

A man and a woman eating out together—that was a date.

Eating at home every day—that was life.

Hearing him agree, Han Shuangjiang felt joy in her heart, but her tone remained as cold as ever, betraying no emotion, as if she were speaking purely with reason:

"I've calculated it. At the speed the two of us are cultivating, our silver should be more than enough."

"Are you sure?" Chu Huai Xu smiled.

Hearing this, Han Shuangjiang shot him a confused look but said nothing.

Fox Face began to explain: "You should know that after a Registered Disciple opens all nine apertures, they can go to the Outer Sect's Scripture Pavilion to obtain the cultivation method for the First Realm."

The cold-faced girl nodded slightly at this.

"Both cultivation techniques and martial arts are divided into four grades: Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow. You definitely know that too, right?"

She nodded again.

"Then do you know how to obtain a high-grade cultivation technique?" Chu Huai Xu looked at her.

Han Shuangjiang replied, "It's all written in the Registered Disciple's handbook."

She was signaling him to get to the point.

On the first floor of the Outer Sect's Scripture Pavilion, there were four zones. The outermost area held the worst Yellow Grade techniques, while the innermost held Heaven Grade techniques.

Each zone was protected by a formation.

A Registered Disciple only needed to forcefully break through it to enter.

Simply put, it was a test.

"We people in the Aperture Opening Stage can't store spiritual power in our bodies. Every breakthrough mainly strengthens our physique." Chu Huai Xu began to get to the point.

"Therefore, these formations require us to break them with pure force!"

"Since you have a Profound Yin Physique, a naturally top-grade spiritual fetus, it will help you absorb the [Aperture Opening Pill], strengthening your physique without wasting any medicinal effect."

"So, purely through cultivation, the improvement of your body's various functions will be a notch higher than an ordinary person's."

"That's your advantage."

Chu Huai Xu clapped his hands together, then spread them apart: "So, here's the question."

"You were born with natural advantages, but do you know how to throw a punch?"

"Like this? Or like this?" He swung his arms in the air. "Which way has the most force?"

Han Shuangjiang heard this and immediately understood. "You mean we need to practice, to learn."

"What else?" Chu Huai Xu smiled.

They needed to pick up some simple techniques.

Sullen-faced girl, big brother is taking you to learn a [Skill].

The aloof, cold-faced girl wasn't stupid. She'd already caught on and asked, "Does it cost silver?"

"What else?" Chu Huai Xu repeated those three words.

Han Shuangjiang finally grasped why cultivation emphasized wealth, methods, companions, and location—and why wealth came first.

But soon, a new doubt surfaced.

"If that's the case, then body refiners would have an advantage in this situation, wouldn't they?" she said.

"Naturally," Chu Huai Xu replied.

Strictly speaking, the heretical technique he practiced—the Sword Refining Art—was a blend of internal and external cultivation, somewhat akin to body refinement.

On top of that, he'd added 1 point to his [Physique] attribute, making his physical condition far superior to most.

But he was an outlier.

Chu Huai Xu explained, "Do you know how slow body refinement progress is? How grueling the process is?"

"With your innate Profound Yin Spiritual Embryo, you can fully absorb the effects of an Aperture Opening Pill. The improvement from that alone would take an ordinary body refiner with average talent a whole year of hard training to match."

"You get what you pay for, don't you?" Chu Huai Xu said. "Breaking the formation in the Scripture Pavilion—that's the payoff."

Han Shuangjiang was convinced.

But soon, like a girl full of questions, she had another doubt. "What if we take other pills or soak in medicinal baths to strengthen the body?"

"That's certainly a shortcut," Chu Huai Xu nodded.

"But I'll tell you two things."

"First, the Aperture Opening Pill was created by the Dao Ancestor. It's the most suitable body-tempering elixir for our current stage. No one surpasses the Dao Ancestor in alchemy."

"In that case, taking other pills during the Aperture Opening Stage, or soaking in medicinal baths, will only yield very limited improvement."

"Of course, limited or not, it's still better than nothing."

"So, here's the second thing I need to tell you."

He propped his face up with one fist, tilting his head to look at her, and asked a question that struck straight to the heart:

"Do you have money?"

Han Shuangjiang fell silent—this time, completely silent.

Whether pills or medicinal baths, neither was something their current finances could afford.

After leaving the Joyful Sect, she'd drifted through hardship, and the thorny problem of being broke had haunted her the whole way.

She hadn't expected it to be the same here in the Dao Sect.

As for Chu Huai Xu, his mindset was fairly relaxed.

Absolute fairness had never existed in this world.

The wealthy had their own paths, and geniuses could rely on their talent to make up the difference.

The most pitiful were often the mediocre.

And the mediocre were the majority.

They spent their whole lives striving, only to realize their mediocrity and accept it.

Han Shuangjiang, a heavenly daughter with a Profound Yin Physique, wasn't just blessed by the heavens—she was practically force-fed by them.

"Come on, let's spend some silver to learn a few moves," Chu Huai Xu said, standing up first. "The little money I have won't last us long."

Han Shuangjiang followed behind him, her mood somewhat gloomy.

Not just because of the inescapable poverty, but because she felt like she'd just been lectured by him.

But soon, the cold-faced girl adjusted her mindset and muttered quietly to herself:

"See! I told you we should buy ingredients and cook our own meals!"

Along the way, Chu Huai Xu led the way, while Han Shuangjiang followed on her long, jade-like legs, keeping pace easily.

Her natural hip and pelvic curves were superb, making her walk sway with grace.

"We don't need to learn much. Spending a little silver on one or two moves is enough," Fox Face said.

Learning a [Skill]—he was pretty excited about it. His fighting ability was about to shoot up.

He glanced back and asked curiously, "By the way, have you ever actually fought anyone?"

Han Shuangjiang looked at him and responded with silence once again.

Fight?

What kind of fight could she pick in [Red Sleeves Beckon]—pull hair and slap faces with the sisters?

She'd only ever been beaten by "Mother."

As for later, when she went to the [Joyful Sect], that was even less worth mentioning.

What was most popular there was bed-battle, fighting to one's heart's content.

Either the man would yield, or the woman would go limp.

Then, Chu Huai Xu asked another question.

"Have you ever killed anyone?" he asked.

Han Shuangjiang watched his back as he walked ahead, frowning with some exasperation as she said, "Of course not. Don't tell me you have?"

The moment the words left her mouth, she saw Chu Huai Xu, three steps ahead of her, stop in his tracks.

It all happened too suddenly, so she didn't stop in time and soon found herself walking shoulder to shoulder with him.

And just as they stood side by side, Chu Huai Xu turned his head to look at Han Shuangjiang.

The noonday sun spilled over his shoulders, and over that Fox Face.

"I have," he said.

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