Morning light filtered through the paper screens, casting pale rectangles across the tangled sheets. Luo Fan lay still, the warmth of Su Qingxuan and Su Qingyin pressed against his sides. Their bare skin rose and fell in steady rhythm, smooth and unhurried.
'Guess this is what being strong actually feels like. Not a single ache anywhere. Waking up like I dragged boulders up a mountain, that whole thing is just gone. Like it never happened.'
Su Qingxuan stirred first. Her dark hair spilled across his chest as she blinked against the light. A breath later, Su Qingyin shifted, her arm tightening around his waist.
"Young Master Luo," Qingxuan murmured, her voice thick with sleep.
"How long have you been awake?" Qingyin asked, propping her chin on his shoulder.
Luo Fan ran a hand down Qingxuan's bare back, then gave Qingyin's hip a gentle squeeze. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and sat up, reaching for his inner robes.
"Not too long." He tied the sash at his waist and looked back at them. "I really enjoyed your company last night."
He leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to Qingxuan's forehead, then another to Qingyin's lips.
'Special constitution bodies are just built different. Nothing like the girls back on Earth. Honestly, a whole other level.'
'And not a mess either. Just a little sweat, and what I put in there. Even when they both peaked, nothing. Inside still moist but not wet. Genuinely good experience.'
Luo Fan turned to face them fully. He opened his right palm, and a soft golden light bloomed in the center of his hand, resolving into two distinct pills.
"These are Divine Origin Pills. A type of Marrow Cleansing Pill." He watched their eyes track the glowing objects. "Since you slept with me, your bodies aren't virgin anymore. That makes this the best time to take them. Cleanse the marrow. Rebuild the body from the root."
He let that sit for a breath.
"You were born in an Incomplete Lower World. Your marrow, your physical bodies, they're full of mortal waste and incomplete laws. It caps everything. Prevents you from cultivating anywhere near your full potential." He tilted his palm slightly, letting the runes catch the light. "These will awaken your physique. Enhance your talent to the point where even in the Upper Realm, you'd be top prodigies."
The pills radiated intricate golden runes that spun slowly across their surfaces. A faint, sweet fragrance drifted through the room. Qingxuan and Qingyin both drew a deep breath, their shoulders dropping as their bodies instinctively relaxed.
Guided by a gentle pulse of his qi, the two pills lifted from his palm. They drifted through the air and slipped past their lips, dissolving the moment they touched their tongues. A sweet, cool taste flooded their mouths.
Their bodies began to slowly release waste through their skin.
Black sludge seeped from their pores, coating them in a thin, sticky layer. The stench hit the air, thick and sour, like an open waste dump baking in the sun.
Luo Fan flicked his wrist. A thin barrier of qi snapped into place, sealing the stench away.
Almost an hour passed.
Su Qingxuan and Su Qingyin slowly opened their eyes. The whites were brighter. The skin beneath the black sludge looked purer, flushed with new vitality.
As consciousness fully returned, the trapped stench hit their lungs. They both doubled over, coughing.
"This is..." Qingxuan's hand flew to her mouth.
Luo Fan touched his nose slightly.
"Your bodily waste. And your impurities."
"This is in our body?..."
Then the realization landed. Luo Fan was still standing there. Fully dressed. Watching. A deep flush burned across their newly cleansed cheeks. They grabbed a spare blanket, wrapped it tight around themselves, and hurried out of the room to find a bath.
Luo Fan dressed and stepped out into the corridor. The stone was cool under his boots, still holding the night's chill. He headed toward the Main Hall.
Grand Ancestor Liang had not slept. Had not broken his focus. He sat outside the quarters, watching in case Luo Fan needed anything, his face locked in deep concentration.
For cultivators, sleep wasn't mandatory. Meditation sufficed. Drawing in the energy of heaven and earth, cycling it through the meridians, that was rest enough.
But Liang still felt it. The weight on his shoulders pressing down like something physical. A tiredness he hadn't known since he first descended to this Taixuan Realm.
Seeing Luo Fan step out, Liang rose slowly. He drifted after him, slipping into the space gap right behind his young master.
Luo Fan walked the Taiyin Holy Land. Morning mist clung to the jade pavilions, softening every edge, muffling the distant chime of wind bells into something low and shapeless. The paths were empty. The whole place breathed like it was holding still on purpose.
The scenery was beautiful, genuinely. But it stayed within mortal scope. Nothing extraordinary. Nothing that made the air itself feel different.
Deep inside an unknown cave, Ye Chen sat meditating. Damp stone. The faint drip of water somewhere in the dark. His face was pale and drawn, his robes torn and stained with dried blood.
A red lightning energy surrounded him, piercing through his muscle second by second, forcing fresh blood from the wounds. His dao foundation injury worsened with every crackle.
'That Star Emperor. Which force sent him? Sending someone like that down to the Taixuan World, that's not something any ordinary force can afford. This place isn't even rich in resources. Just a Lower Realm, Lower Grade. Who could afford to send that kind of cultivator down here?'
'I can count them on one hand. Maybe. And every single one of them is a power I can't afford to touch. Even at my prime, that would've been suicide.'
The remnant soul in the ring noticed the red lightning. She moved fast, drawing it inward, pulling the energy toward the ring. The lightning that had been preventing Ye Chen from healing struck hard against her soul.
'This is the Murderous Law. Not just a Star Emperor, but a Star Emperor who gained enlightenment of the Murderous Law. A figure like that...'
She didn't finish the thought.
After a while, Ye Chen slowly regained some of his strength. The powerful technique his master had given him pulled him back from the edge. The surface wounds closed. But inside his body, his core was cracking, nearly breaking. Every time he tried to meditate, a terrifying pain shot through his soul.
Ye Chen sat on the cold stone and stared at his hands. His jaw worked. Fingers curling, uncurling. This was the most humiliated he had ever been. So powerless. Even when the whole world called him waste, even then, he had never felt this powerless.
The remnant soul inside his ring slowly emerged. Her figure was the kind associated with eternity. The kind they called beauty of an era. But right now her form was faint. Nearly transparent.
Her red radiant eyes had dimmed. Her skin, even as a remnant soul, looked paler than before.
"Master, you..."
'Ye Chen. I will bestow you a concealment technique. From now on, lay low. Do not offend anyone. I will go into seclusion for a while. You need to take care of yourself.'
A faint golden light flew from the remnant soul's temple and descended into Ye Chen's.
'While I am in seclusion, I will have no way of helping you. No way of sensing anything outside the ring. You are on your own.'
"No. No, how can you leave me, Master?"
Ye Chen's voice cracked. Panic flooded his face, ugly and raw. From the very beginning, it had been his master's power backing every move. The confidence to act arrogantly before genius tianjiao, the ability to stand in the same room as them. Strip that away, and his own talent wouldn't have qualified him to breathe the same air.
The remnant soul watched him. Pity softened the edges of her fading form.
Ye Chen's eyes went blurry. He saw it all now. Every technique his master bestowed. Every weakness identified for him, handed over like a gift so he could exploit it. Making him seem powerful. Making him seem talented. Letting him fight prodigies with ease. But at the end, it was all borrowed power. And underneath it, he was a coward who didn't dare fight a prodigy at a lower cultivation level unless his master found a weakness big enough to exploit.
The remnant soul slowly faded back into the ring.
'Master...'
Ye Chen didn't know what to do. Didn't know what the feeling was that sat in his chest, eating him from the inside. It felt like hate. Felt like sadness. Felt like emptiness. All three at once. None of them quite right.
He sat there for a full hour. Then he slowly stood.
'No. I cannot stay here.'
The first time since he started cultivating that everything felt like it was slipping out of his hands.
Luo Fan glanced through space and time toward Ye Chen.
'This guy's improvement arc seems to be starting.'
He sighed slightly. Ye Chen was a Son of Fate. But at the same time, he didn't seem worthy of that title at all.
'I really want to see what kind of improvement he makes after a period of time.'
Su Qingxuan and Su Qingyin emerged into the Hall, their faces still burning with embarrassment.
Luo Fan glanced at them and felt a small surge of energy.
The Divine Origin Pills had done their work. They were transformed. More beautiful than before, skin radiant and flawless, their bodies carrying a new kind of perfection. Not decoration. Something structural. Something deeper.
"Have you two tried to cultivate yet? To see the difference?"
They hadn't. They'd spent the entire time cleaning. Scrubbing each other's backs, making sure every trace of the black sludge was gone. Making sure they were clean for Young Master's eyes. They hadn't even bothered checking what had changed in their bodies.
But now, paying attention, they could feel it. Their bodies were lighter. Their control sharper. Each muscle seemed individually controllable. Their physique felt fuller, and commanding it seemed effortless.
As Su Qingxuan and Su Qingyin slowly gathered the energy, the whole room's qi rushed toward them. Sucked inward like they were black holes devouring everything in reach.
Grand Ancestor Liang's eyes widened. They were both weak. Foundation Establishment at best. This kind of absorption rate shouldn't be possible.
After a while, Su Qingxuan and Su Qingyin broke through to the Peak of Foundation Establishment.
They opened their eyes. Terrified.
'This... we were just Early stage a few minutes ago and now...'
'This kind of speed is at least hundreds of times faster.'
Luo Fan glanced at them, thinking for a moment.
"You still need experience and control. I will bestow you two a set of cultivation techniques. You will be training with Grand Ancestor Liang from now on to hone your skills."
He tapped the armrest slowly. A golden light appeared inside Su Qingxuan and Su Qingyin's minds.
In Su Qingxuan's mind, two powerful techniques materialized, radiant and shining bright.
'Nine Extremes Evolution Technique.'
'Epoch-Severing Frost Sword Technique.'
In Su Qingyin's mind, an equally powerful scripture unfolded.
'Myriad Laws Origin Scripture Technique.'
'Formless Dao Thousand Swords Technique.'
The moment the techniques settled, their constitutions responded. A faint resonance passed through both women, their special physiques recognizing the affinity like a key finding its lock. The techniques began to cycle on their own, slow at first, then steadier, the energy pathways lighting up without either sister consciously guiding them.
"Young Master, this is..." Qingxuan's voice trailed off, her eyes wide.
Luo Fan watched them, a quiet pride settling in his chest. These four techniques were not products handed down by the system. He had built them himself, piece by piece, drawing on his own understanding and the knowledge the system provided. His creation. And they worked flawlessly.
"This Cultivation Manual was created by me. It will learn by itself even if you don't meditate. The speed depends on your understanding of the technique."
He paused, letting the weight of that land.
"As for the sword techniques, you'll need to reach the second level before you can manipulate your constitution's special power. That's when the real strength shows. The first level was made for when you don't yet have the ability to control it." A slight tilt of his head. "But even at the first level, they are immensely powerful."
Qingyin's fingers curled against her knee, the qi still spiraling through her meridians in lazy, self-guided loops. She looked at her own hands like they belonged to someone else.