Yang Lingtian recalled what his predecessor had done and felt that it had indeed gone too far.
With his adoptive mother putting it that way, he seemed to have nothing to say.
He couldn't exactly say that he was no longer the original Yang Lingtian.
Let her scold him. After all, she would be his future mother-in-law.
For now, the most important thing was figuring out how to complete the mission.
Suddenly, inspiration struck. Putting on a regretful expression, he said earnestly, "Adoptive mother, I know I was wrong."
"I've reflected deeply on myself. I know that the person I wronged most was Yiyue."
"So please allow me to step forward and sincerely apologize to Yiyue."
As soon as he said this, the three of them froze.
How strange!
He had admitted his mistake that easily?
In the past, he had always done whatever he pleased and refused to repent.
Only then did Chen Zhengqing speak.
"Enough. Just apologize properly to Yiyue, and let this matter end here."
With permission granted, Yang Lingtian calmly walked toward Chen Yiyue.
By then, Yang Lingtian was already very close to Chen Yiyue. He stared at her with deep-set eyes.
Chen Yiyue looked at Yang Lingtian in surprise and suspicion, not knowing how he planned to apologize.
Yang Lingtian began, "Yiyue, don't worry. I really won't go to places like brothels anymore."
Then he suddenly leaned forward. Before Chen Yiyue could defend herself, he planted a fierce kiss on her cheek.
The sudden scene left all of them stunned.
Chen Yiyue in particular had her eyes wide open, her face blank with shock.
It was the first time a man had kissed her cheek.
When she came back to herself, she shouted angrily, "You bastard! You lecher! Yang Lingtian, go to hell!"
Then she raised her foot and kicked, sending Yang Lingtian flying.
Although Chen Yiyue was slightly younger than him, her cultivation was far higher. She had already reached Qi Refining Level 7.
Moreover, she had only begun cultivating within the past year or two, and her cultivation talent was quite good.
Even though she had not used her full strength, that kick still left Yang Lingtian aching all over.
Yang Lingtian was deeply puzzled. Don't women like domineering men?
I kissed her so domineeringly, yet she didn't fall for me. She got angry instead.
Looks like I'd better read fewer Domineering CEO novels from now on.
Seeing that the situation was bad, Yang Lingtian knew Chen Yiyue was still furious. He had to run.
Thus, he hurriedly said, "Adoptive father, adoptive mother, I've already apologized. If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving first."
Before they could reply, he slipped away.
Chen Zhengqing merely smiled faintly and muttered to himself, "This boy has the makings of my younger self."
He knew that Chen Yiyue's kick would not seriously injure Yang Lingtian.
But his adoptive mother was genuinely angry, and thoroughly enraged.
"This little brat! Is that how you apologize?"
"Yiyue isn't even an adult yet, and he already dared to tease her."
"He's a born womanizer. No wonder he went to a place like a brothel."
"Chen Zhengqing, if you don't discipline him, he'll become utterly lawless!"
Chen Zhengqing said indifferently, "He only kissed her once. Yiyue is going to marry Ling Tian sooner or later anyway."
"Yiyue will soon be eighteen. Once they're married, I believe Ling Tian's temperament will change."
"Hmph, keep spoiling him. Just look at what he's become!" Liu Yingxue complained angrily.
"A dog can't stop eating filth. My poor daughter."
Chen Zhengqing grew somewhat displeased.
"Enough. No matter what, he'll be your son-in-law in the future. Don't keep saying such unpleasant things."
Liu Yingxue was still furious, so she led Chen Yiyue away from the main hall.
At that moment, Yang Lingtian was returning to his room. For now, it was best to go back and cultivate.
After all, he had obtained such an heaven-defying cultivation art. Not cultivating would be a complete waste.
On the way back, some servants saw Yang Lingtian pass and began pointing at him.
"Did you hear? He went to a brothel last night, lost control of himself, and burned the entire place down."
"Yeah. Not only is he a wastrel, but his conduct is rotten too. He's practically a lecherous demon."
"What a disgrace. He doesn't feel guilty at all. He's ruined the Chen Family's reputation."
Yang Lingtian could sense that throughout Chen Manor, aside from his adoptive father Chen Zhengqing, who treated him with some care, everyone else looked down on him.
However, he could not be bothered with them. He was destined to become the strongest person alive.
There was no need to concern himself with these mortals!
After returning to his room, Yang Lingtian sat down and closed his eyes.
He began cultivating according to the method of the Chaos Dao Divine Art.
The Chaos Bead inside his dantian seemed to have been stimulated and trembled once.
Immediately afterward, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth began surging wildly.
The spiritual energy within a radius of more than a dozen li gathered toward Yang Lingtian.
At that moment, Yang Lingtian seemed unable to control his own body.
The pores all over his body suddenly opened, greedily absorbing the spiritual energy.
His body was like a bottomless pit.
No matter how dense the surrounding spiritual energy was, it was all sucked into his body and entered his dantian.
Yang Lingtian was horrified. His dantian was actually absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth on its own.
The terrifying rate of absorption made even him feel shaken.
If this continued, then under normal circumstances, the enormous amount of spiritual energy would soon cause him to explode.
Yet after so much spiritual energy entered his dantian, it vanished like a stone sinking into the sea.
He focused his senses and discovered that all the spiritual energy had been drawn into the Chaos Bead inside his dantian.
It seemed that the Chaos Bead was absorbing energy to repair itself.
However, this little spiritual energy probably could not restore even one ten-billionth of the Chaos Bead's power.
At that moment, with Yang Lingtian at the center, the spiritual energy within a radius of several li surged madly, forming waves of wild wind that howled through Chen Manor.
The entire Chen Manor was thrown into chaos, with dust and stones flying and fallen leaves swirling everywhere.
Although most of the spiritual energy was absorbed by the Chaos Bead, a tiny portion still spilled out from it.
It transformed into pure spiritual power and was absorbed by Yang Lingtian.
Even this tiny portion of spiritual power caused his cultivation to rise rapidly.
Qi Refining Level 3!
Qi Refining Level 4!
Qi Refining Level 5!
At the same time, Chen Zhengqing, who was inside his room, was shocked.
"What's going on? How can the fluctuations in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth be so violent?"
Then he transformed into a blur and shot out, arriving above Chen Manor at tremendous speed.
He sensed that all the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was gathering toward the area where Yang Lingtian lived.
He immediately looked toward Yang Lingtian's room with a solemn expression. Confusion and bewilderment appeared on his face.
He did not know what was happening inside. Even he could not create such violent spiritual-energy fluctuations.
The entire process had lasted only a few minutes.
A few minutes later, the Chaos Bead seemed to fall silent and stopped absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
The raging spiritual energy also gradually calmed.
Yang Lingtian had raised his cultivation to Qi Refining Stage Level 6.
He tried cultivating again according to the Chaos Dao Divine Art, but found that he could no longer stimulate the Chaos Bead.
It seemed that the Chaos Bead had fallen dormant once more.
Otherwise, if this happened a few more times, he might be able to break through directly to the Foundation Establishment Realm.
[Congratulations, Host. Your cultivation has broken through to Qi Refining Stage Level 6, bringing you one step closer to the path of the strong.] [As a special reward, you have received Tier 3 Alchemy and the corresponding knowledge, including pill formulas for all pills of Tier 3 and below.]
"Tier 3 Alchemy? Doesn't that mean I've instantly become a Tier 3 Alchemist?"
"I heard that even the True Elixir Pavilion in Tianchen City doesn't have a Tier 3 Alchemist. Doesn't that make me the only Tier 3 Alchemist in Tianchen City?"
"This system wants me to become self-sufficient through alchemy! It's helping me become an all-rounded powerhouse."
"From now on, if I lack any spirit pills, I can just refine them myself. I won't have to be controlled by others."
"This feels damn great!"
After receiving another system reward, Yang Lingtian was overjoyed.
At that moment, Chen Zhengqing had already arrived outside the room, and his somewhat anxious voice came from outside.
"Ling Tian, are you all right? What exactly happened in there?"
"I'm fine." Yang Lingtian came back to himself from his delight and replied while looking toward the door.
Then he rose and opened the door. He knew that his adoptive father would definitely come in to investigate.
With Chen Zhengqing's Golden Core cultivation, he could naturally sense Yang Lingtian's Qi Refining Stage Level 6 aura with ease.
A look of astonishment appeared on his face as he exclaimed, "Ling Tian, you actually broke through from Qi Refining Stage Level 2 to Qi Refining Stage Level 6 in one go?"
Then a long-lost smile appeared on his face.
"Hahaha, good! Ling Tian, you've given me a pleasant surprise. It seems your cultivation talent isn't that bad after all."
"But the commotion from your cultivation was far too great."
"Your meridians were already damaged. Will cultivating like this cause any problems?"
Yang Lingtian could feel his adoptive father's concern and reassured him, "Don't worry, adoptive father. This was only an unexpected occurrence. It won't happen again."
"Very well. You should cultivate properly for now."
"I'll help you find a Meridian-Renewing Elixir, though that kind of pill is extremely rare."
"Even the True Elixir Pavilion might not have one, but I'll do my best to find it for you."
After Chen Zhengqing finished speaking, he left.
Yang Lingtian had previously enjoyed eating, drinking, and having fun, neglecting his cultivation.
Since he had finally begun cultivating properly this time, Chen Zhengqing no longer disturbed him.
After Chen Zhengqing left, Yang Lingtian began cultivating again, but his cultivation speed was much slower than before.
He discovered that because his damaged meridians had not fully recovered, his cultivation was being obstructed.
Therefore, he had to find a Meridian-Renewing Elixir first to repair his meridians.
In Tianchen City, it was probably only the True Elixir Pavilion that could refine one.
The Meridian-Renewing Elixir was a Tier 2 Spirit Pill, and extremely difficult to refine.
Moreover, the pill did not have much of a market, since very few people suffered damaged meridians.
Therefore, the True Elixir Pavilion rarely refined this pill, and normally did not have it for sale.
But now he was a Tier 3 Alchemist, so he could refine it himself.
However, he still had to go to the True Elixir Pavilion to purchase the required medicinal ingredients.
After all, the True Elixir Pavilion was Tianchen City's largest supplier of medicinal ingredients and pill merchant.
It existed independently and was not controlled by any faction, standing aloof from worldly affairs.
The True Elixir Pavilion in Tianchen City was merely a branch. The Star-Moon Dynasty was covered with branches of the True Elixir Pavilion.
It was said that the faction behind it was extraordinarily powerful. No one dared provoke the True Elixir Pavilion.
Even the City Lord's Mansion was deeply wary of the True Elixir Pavilion, which was completely outside its jurisdiction.
Furthermore, the True Elixir Pavilion had Golden Core Realm powerhouses of its own.
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