The treasury's interior was a vast underground chamber, carved from living stone and reinforced with layer upon layer of inscription arrays.
Torches burned in sconces along the walls, their flames flickering with an unnaturally steady light—enchanted, Shen Fei noted, to never gutter or fade.
"How is it?" Ziyun's voice carried a note of pride as she watched his reaction. "Amazing, isn't it?"
Shen Fei looked around at the endless shelves—some holding demon spirits in sealed jars, others displaying weapons and equipment, still others stacked with ancient scrolls whose origins might predate the city itself. The scope was impressive, even to his jaded eye.
"Amazing indeed," he replied, keeping his tone deliberately nonchalant.
He saw her jaw tighten, her fingers curling into fists at her sides. She'd expected awe; he'd given her indifference.
The contrast between expectation and reality was like a slap—exactly as he'd intended.
'Keep her off balance,' he thought.
She's used to people being impressed by her family's wealth. Show her that you're not like the others, and she'll wonder why.
That wondering is the first step toward interest.
He began to browse the shelves, letting his divine sense wash over the treasures without focusing on any individual object.
Most of what he saw was worthless to him—standard cultivation materials, common demon spirits, weapons that would shatter against any serious opponent.
But beneath the surface level, there were hidden gems. Things the Snow Wind family had collected over generations without fully understanding their value.
'Where are the relics from the ancient era?' he wondered, scanning the shelves with growing frustration.
Nie Li found treasures here—things that changed the course of his cultivation. The space-time demon spirit. The ancient legend-raked inscription scrolls.
But nothing matched his expectations. The shelves were filled with the detritus of a thousand years of accumulation, but none of it possessed the resonance he sought.
"Is this all?" he asked, allowing a hint of disappointment to color his voice.
Ziyun's eyes flashed with anger.
She was clearly insulted—by his tone, his attitude, his refusal to be impressed by her family's wealth.
"Hmph! Our Snow Wind family is the strongest and most established in all of Glory City. This is just one of the treasuries."
Her voice was sharp, challenging. "You can pick anything you like here, then we'll go to the next one."
Shen Fei hid a smile. The bait had been taken.
For the next half hour, he moved through the treasury with focused attention, letting his enhanced senses guide him to the items of true value.
His talent, god rewards hard work, worked flawlessly as ever, as his treasure appraisal skills and knowledge of various treasures kept filling and evolving in his mind under the effects of his talent.
He selected a dozen stones of various colors, each glowing with elemental energy that only he seemed to notice.
Ziyun watched him with growing curiosity, her anger slowly giving way to fascination.
"What are those? Do you know what they are?" she asked, her voice softer now.
He didn't answer, instead picking up a large, star-shaped rock with a noticeable chip in its surface.
The energy radiating from it was unmistakable—snow and wind, intertwined in a perfect balance that spoke of elemental harmony at the highest level.
"This is a Snow Wind elemental stone," he said finally, handing it to her. "For someone with the snow wind attribute, wearing it close to the body increases cultivation speed and affinity with that element."
Ziyun's eyes widened.
She turned the stone over in her hands, feeling the subtle energy that resonated with her own soul force.
The reaction was immediate—a warmth spreading through her fingers, a sense of rightness that confirmed his claim.
'It will bind her to me,' he thought. Every time she uses that stone, she'll remember who gave it to her. Who recognized its value when her own family couldn't.
Her fingers closed around the stone, and he saw the confusion in her eyes—gratitude warring with suspicion, fascination wrestling with fear.
She couldn't understand him, couldn't fit him into the neat categories she'd constructed for the world.
He was too contradictory—brilliant but arrogant, generous but mocking, knowledgeable but infuriating.
'Good,' he thought. Let her struggle. The more she thinks about me, the more she'll become entangled.
He continued browsing, selecting scrolls—some damaged, some intact, each containing techniques or knowledge that would be invaluable to his growing collection.
The Snow Wind family didn't recognize their worth; to them, these were just old papers, relics of a past they barely understood.
But to Shen Fei, they were keys to power.
"Let's go to another treasury," he said after pocketing the last of his selections.
Ziyun's expression shifted from confusion to outrage.
"You—" She looked at the thirty elemental stones he'd collected, the nine scrolls, the various other items that had disappeared into his spatial ring. "You've already taken so much!"
"The City Lord did say I could pick whatever I wanted."
Her fists clenched at her sides, her jaw tight with suppressed fury. She clearly wanted to argue, to call him greedy and shameless, but her father's words bound her.
Instead, she turned on her heel and stalked toward the exit, her purple hair bouncing with each angry step.
Shen Fei followed, savoring the view.
After all, her anger was just another form of engagement. Another form of interest.
The other treasuries proved more fruitful.
In the second, he found the culmination of his search: a space-time beast egg, dormant but alive, its shell pulsing with the faint energies of dimensional manipulation.
This was the prize Nie Li would have claimed in the future. Now it belonged to Shen Fei.
The third and fourth treasuries yielded more scrolls and books, written in languages that had gone extinct before Glory City was even founded.
Woodland Empire script. Sacred Empire hieroglyphs. Ancient tongues that predated the demon beast wars themselves.
Just reading the titles—which he could now decipher, thanks to his extensive studies—sent thrills down his spine.
The Snow Wind family has no idea what they're sitting on, he realized. These texts alone could double my knowledge base.
By the time they emerged from the final treasury, the sun had dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in shades of orange and purple.
The air had cooled, carrying the first hints of evening breeze through the compound's winding paths.
They walked in silence for a while, Ziyun's earlier anger having cooled into a sullen resentment.
She kept her distance, refusing to meet his eyes, but her posture betrayed her—she was acutely aware of him, tracking his every movement with the unconscious fixation of prey watching a predator.
"You've taken so many treasures from my family," she said finally, her voice tight. "Teach me the best cultivation technique you know. Consider it... repayment."
The demand was delivered with all the confidence she could muster, but Shen Fei heard the uncertainty beneath it—the knowledge that she was asking for something she had no right to demand.
He smiled, slow and predatory. "You'll have to pay for it. Or—" he paused, letting the moment stretch—"if you marry me, I'll consider giving it to you for free."
The effect was immediate and explosive.
Ziyun's face went through a rapid series of transformations—shock, fury, embarrassment—before settling on a deep, vivid crimson.
Her mouth opened and closed soundlessly, her hands flying to her cheeks as if to cool the burning skin.
"You—you—" she sputtered, struggling to form words. "Damn, hoodlum! Rogue! Bastard! Shameless scum!"
The insults tumbled out in a torrent, each one an attempt to wound, to push back against the humiliation he'd so casually inflicted.
But her voice was thin, her words lacking conviction.
She'd never cursed anyone before—her noble upbringing had ensured that—and the novelty of it made her delivery awkward, almost comical.
Shen Fei laughed, the sound warm and genuine. "Such language, young lady. What would your father think?"
The reminder of her father's expectations only intensified her blush.
She turned away from him, crossing her arms over her chest in a gesture that was meant to be defiant but came across as vulnerable.
The hour had grown late. The compound's pathways were now lit by inscribed lanterns, their light casting long shadows across the stone.
Servants and family members passed by at a distance, their eyes sliding over the pair with unspoken curiosity.
Soon, the gossip would spread—the City Lord's daughter, walking alone with Shen Fei, blushing and flustered.
'Exactly what the City Lord wants,' Shen Fei thought.
Let the rumors fly. The more people assume we're involved, the harder it becomes for either of us to back out.
The thought didn't disturb him. If anything, it pleased him.
As they walked, his mind drifted to the knowledge he'd gained—and what it revealed about the future.
The Nine Revolving Ice Phoenix Technique, the legendary cultivation method that would perfect Ziyun's natural attributes... that technique was still locked away in a temporal demon-spirit book, inaccessible to anyone who couldn't command the power of time itself.
In the original work, Nie Li had obtained it through fate's favor, at a crucial moment when the world's balance hung in the balance.
But fate, as Shen Fei had learned, could be rewritten.
'I need to accelerate my practice of the Dark Devouring Technique,' he mused.
'With the God Rewards Hard Work talent accelerating its evolution, it should eventually allow me to access the temporal demon seed and book pages within Nie Li. '
'When he reincarnates a year from now, I'll be ready. Ready to consume him whole and claim the vast hidden library as my own.'
The thought of devouring the so-called protagonist's cheat code—of turning the hero of this world into just another stepping stone on his path to power—sent a thrill through his veins.
In the original story, Nie Li had been the center of everything, the one who would shape fate with his will and determination.
Now, the future belonged to whoever was strongest, smartest, most ruthless. The future belonged to him.
"Brother Shen Fei?" Ziyun's voice broke through his reverie.
She'd stopped walking, her expression uncertain. "We should head back. Father will be waiting for your report on the treasury visit."
He nodded. "Lead the way."
They walked in silence toward the City Lord's office, the tension between them so thick it could have been cut with a knife.
Ziyun's earlier anger had faded; now she seemed lost in thought, her brow furrowed as if wrestling with some internal conflict.
That uncertainty was the seed. Given time, it would grow—into curiosity, into fascination, into the desperate longing that would make her his forever.
The City Lord's office came into view, its windows glowing softly in the deepening twilight. Guards stood at the entrance, their faces impassive but their eyes sharp with professional watchfulness.
"Brother Shen Fei," Ziyun said, her voice barely above a whisper. She didn't look at him, her gaze fixed on the ground. "Thank you. For the elemental stone, I mean. It's... it's a thoughtful gift."
Shen Fei smiled, the expression warm enough to be mistaken for genuine. "It suits you. The snow wind attribute is rare—you should cultivate it carefully."
She nodded, still avoiding his eyes. Then, without another word, she turned and fled, her purple hair streaming behind her like a banner in the evening wind.
Shen Fei watched her go, his smile hardening into something darker. 'Run while you can, little girl. Soon, you'll run toward me instead of away.'
But he pushed the thought aside, focusing on the present. There would be time for that conquest later.
Tonight, he needed to return to the Academy. There was a reading list to complete, techniques to practice, and plans to refine.
There was also his slave, cum slut, teacher, and Aunt, Shen Xiu, waiting for the whole night of pounding.
And his newly gained fuck toy, Huyan Lanruo; he really wants to fuck her more to mold her body in his shape.
___________________________________________________________
Thank you to our amazing Patrons for your incredible support and contributions to our work. You're all legends.
[Buddyschlym]: THE GODLY FAN - $50 Pledged
[UR-E-GO]: A Die Hard Fan - $20 Pledged
[Victor A Centeno]: A Die Hard Fan - $20 Pledged
[David]: A Die Hard Fan - $20 Pledged
[Ambos Da]: A Super Fan - $10 Pledged
[Sebastian]: A Super Fan - $10 Pledged
[41730]: A Super Fan - $10 Pledged
[Budhha Snow]: A Super Fan - $10 Pledged
[Aung Thant]: A Super Fan - $10 Pledged
[Sai Manoj Nelavalli]: A Super Fan - $10 Pledged
[Jose Newcomb]: A Super Fan - $10 Pledged
[Romeo Stone]: A Super Fan - $10 Pledged
[[ ]]: A Super Fan - $10 Pledged
[Ryan Letchford]: A Super Fan - $10 Pledged
[Will]: A Loyal Fan - $5 Pledged
[Bdog6996]: A Loyal Fan - $5 Pledged
[Change]: A Loyal Fan - $5 Pledged
[Vnovels]: A Loyal Fan - $5 Pledged
[Colin Hilterhaus]: A Loyal Fan - $5 Pledged
🎉 Join the Club! 🎉
Want to see your name up here and get exclusive perks, more advanced chapters, and art?
Join our Patreon family and be part of something special. Your support helps us create awesome content and brings you closer to the action.
Don't miss out on the fun—become a SuperFan today!
You can join us at patreon.com/UchihaRemant.
Thank you, everyone, for making this journey amazing! Let's keep rocking together! 🚀💥
________________________________________________________________________