Gā Yǐ Dual Cultivation

Dusk, the sun set behind the western hills.

Ye Li stood before the south gate of Guangming City, gazing at his uncle's family.

"Uncle, Aunt, after this parting, we may not see each other for several years."

Ye Li's expression was solemn. "Take care of yourselves. Live as wealthy commoners abroad, and once your nephew has achieved success, I will bring you home in glory."

With that, he looked toward Wang Ganshi at his side. "Uncle Wang, please ensure you escort the three of them to a safe location."

"Rest assured, nephew. We are taking the official road, and with Body Tempering Realm guards hired by the merchant caravan, there will be no mishaps," Wang Ganshi promised, then took a deep look at the handsome young man before him.

He could hardly describe the shock he felt when Ye Li had come to him yesterday to thank him for the Body Tempering Pill.

To break through to the Body Tempering Realm within two months—setting aside those legendary figures found only in storybooks—was top-tier talent in Guangming City. A future in the Post-Heaven Realm was well within reach!

At this moment, Wang Ganshi felt incredibly fortunate for his investment strategy.

Thus, when he heard Ye Li ask for help in sending his uncle and aunt to another city to avoid being implicated, he had decisively organized a merchant caravan the very next day.

Parting is the most sorrowful of times; Ning Qiu sighed softly, looking at Ye Li without a word.

Ye Duo clung to Ye Li's waist, reluctant to let go, while Ye Cunmang looked at his nephew and said:

"You must take care of yourself, too. If it feels too bitter, stop practicing martial arts. The safety of the family is what matters most. Your father met his end because he was too fond of fighting and brawling. Be careful while you are alone in the city."

Ye Li nodded silently. "It was my own love for fighting that implicated the family. Do not be stingy with the hundred taels of silver; do not worry about money. I will continue to send more. As long as the money keeps coming, it means your nephew is safe and sound."

"What talk of implication is there between family? If anything, we are the ones who have implicated you," Ye Cunmang sighed.

His trait was merely [White: Numeracy]. He had spent the first half of his life barely scraping by as a shop clerk, unable to offer any help with Ye Li's difficulties.

As an ordinary man, he had a clear understanding of his own capabilities.

He knew well that his life experience, limited to earning a few taels of silver a month, could offer no guidance for his nephew's current path.

All he could do was shrink away, trust in Ye Li's choices, and let him venture forth to explore the path best suited for himself.

He would remain in the shadows of his nephew's journey, trying his best not to become a burden.

"Brother Ye Li, I don't want to leave you," Ye Duo said, her voice muffled as she buried her head in his chest, clutching the colorful pinwheel Ye Li had given her.

Ye Li also felt a pang of reluctance as he stroked the girl's hair. "Endure for a few years. When Duo'er grows up and Brother Ye Li is invincible, I will come to bring you back."

"When you return, you will see the entire Guangming City covered in pinwheels!"

With a child's fickle heart, the grand promise Ye Li painted soon made her eyes shine, briefly forgetting the sorrow of parting as she looked forward to that scene of prosperity.

After a few more words, the two sides finally parted ways.

Ye Li watched silently as the three merged into the caravan, watching the backs of the merchants as they receded into the distance, saying nothing.

He knew clearly that in a fantasy novel, such a parting would mean the next meeting would likely not occur for dozens, or even hundreds, of chapters.

By then, it would be a completely new scene.

Watching the long caravan disappear from sight, Ye Li let out a slow, turbid breath. In the end, he still lacked power!

Gently loosening his joints, Ye Li turned and headed toward the east of the city.

Now that his weaknesses had been sent away and his worries were gone, he could naturally spread his wings in the city without fear of harming his family.

First, he had to return to the Azure Dragon Gang!

For the past two days, Ye Li had been busy.

Busy with cultivation, busy with socializing.

He had to ask Wang Xian's father, Wang Ganshi, to send his family to a safe place in another city, and he had to use Feng Yue to connect with the Post-Heaven Realm elder, Yang Shichang.

Only in this way could he use them as a stepping stone to reach the Gang Leader, Zheng Tong!

Zheng Tong, a half-step into the Pre-Heaven Realm, was currently one of the top three martial artists in Guangming!

Whether Ye Li wanted to protect himself or grow stronger, what better way was there than to get on the good side of the Gang Leader?

As an organization whose influence encompassed most of Guangming, the Azure Dragon Gang possessed a variety of cultivation techniques that Ye Li could never hope to collect on his own.

He still clearly remembered the day he joined the gang, when Feng Yue had handed out basic martial arts manuals to every disciple as if they were picture books.

Although those were only basic techniques that could be bought for twenty taels of silver, the gang surely hid more profound secret manuals suitable for the Body Tempering or Post-Heaven Realms.

If he wanted to obtain traits through cultivation techniques and possess the status to contend with the Li Family, leveraging influence was essential.

Azure Dragon Gang. After being away for a few days, Ye Li returned to the sect.

However, this time he did not go to the area for new recruits, but to the Gang Leader's Mansion, the core territory of the gang!

As soon as he approached the mansion, he felt a murderous aura rushing toward him.

The high walls built of bluestone were as imposing as iron ramparts, the vermilion-lacquered, copper-studded gates were as heavy as mountains, and the Stone Suanni crouching on both sides had ferocious fangs, their beast eyes inlaid with red gold, glowing with a cold, hard light in the twilight.

The four guards on duty were clad in black armor, their blood energy as solid as rock; all were at the peak of the Body Tempering Realm.

When the guards' hawk-like gazes swept over the token at Ye Li's waist, their expressions softened slightly. It was the personal token of Elder Yang Shichang.

Having already received word from Yang Shichang yesterday about Ye Li's arrival, the guards allowed him to enter with ease after he presented the token.

Stepping into the gang leader's manor, the view suddenly opened up.

The courtyard was devoid of delicate flowers or weeping willows; only pines coiled around rockeries, and the stone paths were paved with solid ironwood, exuding an aura of iron and blood.

At the far end of the reception hall, the image of a rugged, iron-blooded man with a face like cast bronze and cheekbones sharp as if carved by an axe came into Ye Li's view.

Only at this moment did Ye Li finally see the gang leader's face for the first time.

Zheng Tong sat in a grand armchair with a domineering posture. Seeing Ye Li walk into the main hall, he spoke in a low, gravelly voice: "Shi Chang told me you wanted to see me?"

Without waiting for Ye Li to speak, Zheng Tong continued: "If this is about the Li Family, you can leave right now; they wouldn't dare act recklessly!"

Having said that, he stared at Ye Li, waiting quietly for the young man's reply.

Standing before the gang leader, Ye Li took a light breath, his demeanor neither servile nor overbearing:

"Reporting to the gang leader, I have come for two reasons: first, to present a gift; second, to offer my congratulations!"

"Oh? What did you say?"

Ye Li's choice of words caused Zheng Tong's expression to shift slightly, ripples forming in his heart: "What is this gift, and where does this congratulation come from?"

OK, half the battle is won!

Seeing Zheng Tong take the bait, Ye Li let out a sigh of relief.

An old saying goes: when a girl becomes curious about you, you are not far from successfully winning her over.

This logic holds just as true for men.

After all, besides Galgame, there are also Otome games for romancing men!

Yet the world only knows of Galgame and remains ignorant of the great name of Otome!

The experience from both sides is interchangeable; one can use Galgame to woo a wife, and use the experience from Otome games to make roommates and brothers call you "Daddy"!

To succeed in a conquest, you must make the character's emotions follow your rhythm completely.