Tang Sect is bankrupt? What's that got to do with me, I'd rather cuddle!

Xiyao's light-forged body was soft and slightly cool.

It felt like the finest warm jade, yet carried a sun-like, radiant warmth.

She was like a clingy kitten, curling her entire body into Lin Ciyan's embrace.

The young girl pressed her cheek against his neck, greedily breathing in the pure, Holy Radiance Qilin aura emanating from him, occasionally lifting her head.

With lips that were slightly cool and shimmering with a faint halo, she pressed light, fragmented, and dependent kisses against his chin or cheek.

Lin Ciyan held her slender waist with one arm, while his other hand rhythmically stroked her smooth back, which flowed like moonlight, enjoying this quiet and intimate moment.

Well, I suppose this is the ultimate enjoyment of "slacking off" in one's cultivation, right?

However, his thoughts inevitably drifted.

As the day to head to the outer courtyard approached, certain timelines from the "original work" couldn't help but surface in his mind.

"Let's see... at this point in time, that kid Huo Yuhao should still be struggling to survive in the White Tiger Duke Mansion, right?"

"Ma Xiaotao must already be suffering from the torment of the evil fire, right? As for a certain important 'plot trigger'..."

Not long ago, Heaven Dou City, Tang Sect.

It was a dark, windy night—the perfect kind for "murder and arson."

This ancient sect, once incomparably glorious and passed down for ten thousand years, met its well-deserved doom.

Ten thousand years of resting on their laurels, clutching the castrated Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record as if it were a peerless secret manual, had caused this former "number one sect on the continent" to fall so far that they couldn't even produce a decent powerhouse.

The current sect master was merely a Spirit King-level Blue Silver Grass spirit master.

With the four single-attribute clans having long since split off and gone their own ways, how could a single Blue Silver Grass Spirit King defend this foundation?

It occupied a vast, prime location in the heart of Heaven Dou City, with architectural specifications that still maintained the grandeur of a top-tier sect from ten thousand years ago.

It was like squatting in a royal mansion in the middle of a city where every inch of land was worth gold, yet having no decent security—if they didn't rob you, who would they rob?

And so, the Iron Blood Sect made their move.

The process was devoid of suspense: a one-sided slaughter and purge.

Logically speaking, with such a large-scale faction conflict occurring within Heaven Dou City, the city guards should have intervened long ago.

But strangely, that night, the City Lord's Mansion remained deathly silent, as if they had collectively gone deaf and blind.

The reason was simple: months ago, the Iron Blood Sect had reached a "friendly" agreement with the Heaven Dou City Lord.

And the reason the City Lord nodded was two words: tax revenue!

Ten thousand years ago, Emperor Xue Beng, in order to reward Tang San, had offered the Tang Sect a series of outrageous preferential conditions, including a permanent exemption from all taxes in Heaven Dou City!

It wasn't just land tax; it was all commercial activities and all income—not a single cent in taxes!

This was no longer a standard preferential policy; it was practically carving out an "extraterritorial zone" inside Heaven Dou City!

What was even more absurd was that over the ten thousand years, the declining Tang Sect not only enjoyed these tax-exempt privileges but also exploited loopholes in the regulations to take advantage of Heaven Dou City and fleece the Empire.

The Tang Sect's logic: "Without our ancestor Tang San, your Heaven Dou would have perished long ago! So what if we take a little? That's the tribute you owe us!"

Which City Lord could tolerate such a ten-thousand-year-old deadbeat?

Now that the Iron Blood Sect, these "concerned citizens," were willing to step in and clean house, the City Lord was delighted, practically wanting to open the gates and lead the way for them himself.

He could get rid of the Tang Sect, these blood-sucking parasites, and collect taxes from the Iron Blood Sect in the future.

Two birds with one stone—a total victory!

In this long-planned purge, the Tang Sect was almost completely wiped out.

Only a blue-haired girl in her early teens, relying on a bit of luck and her familiarity with the terrain, managed to escape with her life.

She watched helplessly as her parents and relatives fell in pools of blood, the desperate cries of her kin echoing in her ears:

"Tang Ya, run!"

"Tang Ya, you must survive!"

"Rebuilding the Tang Sect... it all depends on you, Tang Ya!"

Her name was Tang Ya.

Carrying a heart full of hatred and the heavy obsession of rebuilding her sect, she walked alone, battered yet resolute, stumbling toward the direction of the holy land for spirit masters—Shrek Academy.

Interestingly, compared to certain "predetermined" trajectories of fate, the destruction of the Tang Sect seemed... to have happened early.

On Sea God Island, Lin Ciyan was taking a nap beside the Golden Tree.

In his sleepy haze, he happened to see Bei Bei walking over from not far away.

And following closely behind him was a blue-haired girl who looked somewhat timid.

Though the girl was young, soul masters developed early, and her figure already possessed the budding grace of a maiden.

Despite her slightly disheveled clothes, they could not hide her clear and lovely features, especially those large eyes that carried a touch of fragile, heart-wrenching vulnerability.

Hey, buddy, classic skin.

Limited Edition: Down-and-Out, Rebuilding the Tang Sect, Tang Ya, is now online.

Lin Ciyan whistled in his heart, watching the look of obvious protectiveness and concern in Bei Bei's eyes, and couldn't help but shake his head to himself.

Sigh, Bei Bei, oh Bei Bei, you really...

You've clearly already started slacking off in front of me (though you're secretly grinding like crazy in private, and after a few failed attempts to persuade you, I stopped caring).

Even a "white moonlight" like Zhang Lexuan couldn't completely distract you, so how did you still get caught by this "plot gravity"?

Is this the legendary "fated tribulation"?

He grumbled internally, debating whether to pull his childhood friend out of the fire or uphold the spirit of "better you than me" and watch the drama unfold.

Suddenly, his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

Something's wrong!

His Holy Radiance Qilin Martial Soul possessed an extraordinary sensitivity to dark and evil auras.

Just a moment ago, he had sensed a trace of extremely subtle, faint... dark-attribute soul power from Tang Ya.

Holy crap! There's something dirty here!

Case closed!

He finally understood why, in the original story, Bei Bei was so devoted to Tang Ya, to the point that even his childhood sweetheart Zhang Lexuan was... So that was the root of it!

Someone: The Tang Sect was founded by me after all, how could I bear to watch it just fade away like this...

Lin Ciyan's mind automatically conjured the image of a figure standing in the God Realm, peeking down at the Douluo Continent.

And that face of his, claiming "everything is for the good of the Tang Sect."

What "for the Tang Sect," it's all for yourself.

Fine, fine, so that's how you want to play?

To find free labor for your pathetic sect.

You even resorted to methods like binding and favorability halos? You really have no shame!

Having just enjoyed a few days of peace, he had already run into this kind of divine-level power struggle.

Lin Ciyan felt a massive headache coming on.

He instantly made up his mind: Cherish life, stay away from Tang Ya!

To avoid being dragged into this inexplicable whirlpool and being plotted against by some petty God King, the best way was to keep Bei Bei away from this "source of trouble" as well!

Although he felt a bit sorry for his childhood friend, it was better than everyone getting screwed over later.

Sigh, why is it so hard to just slack off in peace?

Having to guard against schemes from the God Realm, I really have broken my heart for this family!

The outside world is too complicated.

My Xiyao is still the best; pure, harmless, and I can even increase my cultivation just by cuddling.