Chen Mo, I Hate You Most!

Chen Mo was utterly baffled.

He recognized every single character. So how did they become incomprehensible when put together?

His predecessor had grovelled for over a year, fussing over her every need with meticulous care, yet her favorability had not budged in the slightest.

And one slap from him had earned him "Regret not meeting sooner"?

Could that woman have some hidden trait... Had he actually slapped her into pleasure?

Just then, two more prompts popped up before his eyes:

[First-stage reward unlocked.]

[Obtained special item: Dao Rhyme Crystal.]

"Damn, that's good stuff!"

Chen Mo's eyes lit up!

In the game's settings, True Spirit was similar to "proficiency." It had to be filled to the maximum before a skill's level could be raised.

A Dao Rhyme Crystal, meanwhile, could be understood as a "skill point."

It ignored all prerequisites and directly raised a cultivation art or martial skill by one level!

If it had already been cultivated to mastery, using a Dao Rhyme Crystal could grant it "Dao Rhyme," giving it a certain chance of undergoing a transformation and rising in grade!

"The first-stage reward is already this good. Wouldn't the later ones be even more outrageous?"

Chen Mo could not help feeling tempted.

Favorability ranged from 0 to 100 and was divided into four stages.

0–25: Strangers.

25–50: Regret not meeting sooner.

50–75: Soulmates.

75–100: Unwavering Devotion.

Reaching the maximum value of each stage would unlock the corresponding reward.

There were also hidden settings such as "Subservience" and "Transgression"...

Gu Manzhi's favorability had now reached 45 points. She was only 5 points away from the next-stage reward—it was practically within arm's reach!

But Chen Mo quickly calmed down.

The rewards were certainly tempting, but he had to live long enough to claim them!

If that Highness learned that he was entangled with the Moon Radiance Sect's Holy Maiden, even ten lives would not be enough for him to die!

After dismissing that impractical thought, Chen Mo turned to look at the girl beside him.

According to incomplete statistics, she had already eaten two pig trotters, three roasted sweet potatoes, and five pieces of dried sweet potatoes...

She somehow produced another piece of brown sugar mochi and was about to put it into her mouth when she noticed Chen Mo staring. Her movement paused slightly.

After hesitating for a moment, she reluctantly handed the mochi to him.

"Here."

"...Thanks."

Chen Mo reached out and took it.

It should have gone completely cold after so much time.

Yet the mochi was still giving off wisps of heat, as though it had just come out of the pan.

"How did you do that?"

Chen Mo was rather curious.

"Impressive, right? This is my secret technique!"

"As long as you control your True Essence to spread evenly over the food's surface and keep it circulating, it can preserve the temperature!"

"But the amount of True Essence has to be precise. Otherwise, it burns easily. It takes a long time to practice!"

Shen Zhixia said proudly, hands on her hips.

"..."

Well then. This girl was a walking microwave.

Chen Mo shook his head and said with a smile, "Thank you for bringing me back. Oh, right, your name is Zhixia, isn't it? Have we met somewhere before?"

Perhaps it was only his imagination, but the room temperature seemed to drop several degrees the moment he said that.

Shen Zhixia frowned. "You don't remember me?"

Seeing Chen Mo's blank expression, Shen Zhixia's gaze gradually turned cold. Without saying a word, she turned and walked out of the room.

Not long afterward, she hurried back in.

She snatched the mochi from Chen Mo's hand and stuffed it straight into her own mouth.

Her cheeks puffed out as she chewed fiercely, as though she were not biting mochi, but some awful villain.

"Qing'er was right. You're a complete bastard!"

"I hate you most!"

Two recent events in Heaven Capital City had become hot topics of discussion among both commoners and court officials.

The first was Chen Mo tearing up the marriage contract.

Chen Zhuo and Shen Xiong, one a civil official and the other a military commander, both wielded real power.

With the court in turmoil, the marriage alliance between their two families carried profound significance, so naturally it had drawn much attention.

No one had expected Chen Mo to stir up such a mess...

By all rights, the Shen Family should never have been able to swallow such an insult.

Chen Zhuo's methods were forceful and domineering, and he had made many enemies in official circles. After this happened, plenty of people had been waiting to laugh at his misfortune.

Yet for some reason, there was suddenly no follow-up.

The two families tacitly refused to mention the matter, as though nothing had happened.

The second matter was the mysterious disappearance of Gu Manzhi, the reigning courtesan queen.

Cloud Water Pavilion had been emptied out. Every maid and servant girl had vanished without a trace.

The Music Bureau's explanation was that Gu Manzhi had saved enough silver to redeem herself, left the world of dust and pleasure behind, and secluded herself from the world.

That sounded reasonably plausible.

But strangely, the Heavenly Qilin Guard sealed off the Music Bureau for several days and turned the entire place upside down.

Then the Capital Prefecture came to search it as well...

And the Ministry of Rites, the Music Bureau's supervising authority, remained silent from beginning to end, as though it feared something.

Both matters carried the unmistakable scent of something strange.

Rumors claimed that on the day Gu Manzhi disappeared, Chen Mo had been the only person to enter Cloud Water Pavilion...

For a time, all kinds of speculation ran rampant.

Compared to the uproar outside, Chen Estate was peaceful and tranquil, its days flowing softly by.

In the courtyard, Chen Mo reclined in a lounge chair beneath the sun. A maid crouched beside him, peeled grapes, and fed the flesh into his mouth.

After several days of rest and recovery, bolstered by all sorts of top-grade pills, his severely depleted body had been completely replenished. His true qi was so full it was nearly overflowing.

"Almost there."

"I've reached my optimal condition. I can prepare for a breakthrough."

He opened his attribute panel.

Name: Chen Mo

Title: None

Realm: Seventh-Grade Mortal Realm · Muscle-Tendon Transformation Realm

Cultivation Art: Primordial Body Forging Art · Minor Mastery (185/1000)

Martial Skills:

Blazing Flame Eight Slashes · Mastery

Wind-Thunder Leap · Proficient (73/100)

Divine Abilities: None

True Spirit: 1

Unused Item: Dao Rhyme Crystal *1

Chen Mo knew perfectly well that although he had narrowly escaped disaster last time, he had also changed the plot. It was difficult to predict what would happen next.

He was now standing at the heart of the whirlpool. If he wanted to protect himself, he had to raise his strength as quickly as possible.

The key lay in this Dao Rhyme Crystal.

He had to make the most of it.

In this world, martial skills and cultivation arts were divided into four tiers. From highest to lowest, they were Heaven, Earth, Mystic, and Yellow.

Each tier was further divided into upper, middle, and lower grades.

Wind-Thunder Leap was an Earth-tier middle-grade movement technique, and he had only reached proficiency with it, so its boost to his combat strength was limited.

Blazing Flame Eight Slashes was an Earth-tier upper-grade saber art. It had already reached mastery, and if he added "Dao Rhyme," there was a high chance it would rise to the Heaven tier.

He could do it, but there was no need.

At his current realm, he could not control it at all. He had no desire to experience being drained into a human husk again.

That left only the Primordial Body Forging Art.

Though this cultivation art appeared to be merely Earth-tier upper-grade, it was actually far from simple.

The "Body Forging Art" circulating in the world was only one part of it. If all its fragmented chapters were gathered, it would become a supreme method capable of cultivating all the way to the Sainthood Realm!

And the locations of its other fragments had already been etched deep into his mind.

As for why Chen Mo remembered them so clearly...

It was because when he cleared the game in his previous life, this had been his primary cultivation art, and the "Body Forging Art" portion had dropped from "Chen Mo" himself...

"Even a turtle attending day school can't keep it bottled in."

Chen Mo's mouth twitched.

At that moment, the Old Butler walked over and said, "Young Master, the medicinal bath has been prepared according to your instructions. Red Sun Flower, Heavenly Chief Powder, Dragon Snake Pill, Golden Spear Grass... have all been added."

"But these are all things that strengthen the blood and raise yang energy. Your body has only just recovered; it can't withstand such heavy supplementation."

Now that Chen Mo was confined to the estate, the Old Butler feared that he might bottle up some illness.

He was thinking that perhaps he should bring a few male courtesans over from the pleasure houses to help him vent his fire.

Chen Mo said with a smile, "It's fine. I know what I'm doing. But Uncle Fu, I'll have to trouble you later."

"Huh?"

The Old Butler's expression froze, and he stared at him in horror.

"Young Master, surely you aren't..."

"I've served as a slave in Chen Estate for decades, diligent and tireless, bearing hardship without complaint. Who would have thought that in my old age, I would still suffer such a calamity?"