"I am, indeed, a mortal physique. But who ever told you that a mortal physique can't be stronger than a spirit body?" Chen Ye said with a faint smile.
Then, he glanced at the blood-spitting, unconscious Zhang Bai, and casually picked up the fallen pheasant. "I'll be taking this Spiritfire Pheasant. Bye."
The Spiritfire Pheasant was a low-level spirit beast, but its meat was incredibly nourishing for cultivators. Using this to make a soup would definitely improve Xiao Qingluan's cultivation efficiency.
The better she cultivated, the stronger he would become!
Good junior sister.
Don't you let your senior brother down!
Chen Ye thought to himself, then headed down the mountain to buy some side ingredients for the soup.
After the other young man carried Zhang Bai away, he recounted the entire incident to others. For a time, the story of Chen Ye "pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger" spread like wildfire throughout the Azure Cloud Sect.
Some didn't believe it.
How could a mortal physique possibly pretend to be a pig to eat a tiger?
Others were filled with curiosity.
How did a mortal physique defeat Zhang Bai?
In short, Chen Ye, who had been all but forgotten, was once again on everyone's lips.
Chen Ye couldn't care less about any of this.
After returning to Jade Bamboo Peak, he began preparing the soup for Xiao Qingluan. Soon, a pot of fragrant chicken soup was simmering. The broth was a rich golden color, covered with a thin layer of glistening oil, with ingredients like spirit berries, red dates, and ginseng floating on top. The aroma was intoxicating and promised immense nourishment.
Xiao Qingluan took a single sip, and her eyes couldn't help but light up.
"This is... a Spiritfire Pheasant!"
"Even the weakest Spiritfire Pheasant has the strength of a peak Qi Gathering cultivator. To hunt this for me, he must have gone through a lot of trouble..."
Xiao Qingluan glanced at Chen Ye, her mind filling with assumptions.
[Ding! Xiao Qingluan's favorability +1]
Chen Ye blinked.
Wow, another favorability point.
This junior sister's favor was far too easy to win. All he'd done was treat her to two meals. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a little worried. "Junior Sister, promise me. In the future, if someone offers you a free meal, don't just go along with them."
She was so naive, she wouldn't even realize she was being tricked.
Xiao Qingluan blinked. What did he mean by that?
She replied calmly, "I am not so easily invited to a meal by just anyone."
In her past life, even when Saints wished to dine with her, she would only accept based on her mood.
After finishing the pot of chicken soup, Xiao Qingluan felt a warm current surge through her body. The flush on her cheeks made her look even more adorable.
She looked at Chen Ye again. He had also drunk a lot of the soup, but his expression was completely normal.
This left Xiao Qingluan a little confused. I drank so much I need to immediately meditate to digest it, yet he's completely fine.
I see. His mortal physique is so poor that his aptitude is abysmal. He can't even absorb and digest the spiritual essence of the soup. It's all going to waste...
Thinking of this, her gaze towards Chen Ye became even more sympathetic.
Even an ordinary mortal physique wasn't like this.
Only the absolute worst of the worst, a physique sometimes called a "Leaky Body," would be like this. As the name implied, the body was like a sieve with a thousand holes; any spiritual energy that entered would simply leak out.
It was impossible to refine! No matter how potent the spiritual medicine, it would be utterly useless.
"Junior Sister, you should go cultivate first."
Chen Ye looked at Xiao Qingluan's flushed face. Although he wanted to admire his lovely junior sister for a while longer, he knew it was better for her to cultivate. Letting that much spiritual energy sit in her body for too long could cause problems.
Even with such poor qualifications, he still cares so much about my cultivation. This senior brother... he's quite gentle. And handsome, kind-hearted, and a good cook...
Truly rare.
[Ding! Xiao Qingluan's favorability +1]
Chen Ye's worry deepened.
This little junior sister was far too easily swayed. If she ran into any real villains in the future, she would surely suffer. Sigh, how did this girl manage to become an empress in her past life? Were the people of the Qingluan Continent just that simple and honest?
"Looks like I'll have to keep a closer eye on her from now on," Chen Ye thought to himself.
Xiao Qingluan returned to her hut and began to cultivate.
The True Qi in her body circulated, refining the spiritual energy from the Spiritfire Pheasant.
After a short while, her cultivation broke through to the next level!
She advanced from the second level of True Qi to the third!
On the other side, Chen Ye, who was washing the dishes, also received a system prompt.
[Ding! Xiao Qingluan's cultivation has advanced from the second level of True Qi to the third level. Commencing random feedback to Host!]
[Congratulations to the Host for advancing from the first level of the Divine Sea to the second level of the Divine Sea!]
Chen Ye felt his power surge once again.
"As expected of a Phoenix Holy Body. Even eating a chicken can lead to a breakthrough!" Chen Ye exclaimed.
But his own improvement wasn't bad either!
Every single minor level advancement in the Divine Sea realm was incredibly difficult. It was said that an elder in the Azure Cloud Sect once spent more than a decade just to advance from the first level to the second.
And him? He did nothing but treat Xiao Qingluan to some chicken soup.
And he broke through!
He had already repeated the words "this system is awesome" more than ten times in his mind.
The next day.
Xiao Qingluan finished her all-night cultivation session. She looked towards the rising sun in the east. As the saying goes, the morning is the most important part of the day, and the rising sun's nascent spiritual energy was the purest.
She planned to go absorb some of that morning solar essence.
She stood up and began to walk.
Before she left, she glanced towards Chen Ye's room and vaguely heard the sound of snoring from within. She frowned slightly. "He's really so lazy..."
But thinking of his physique, she sighed again. "Perhaps he tried. Perhaps he was once unwilling to give up, but in the end, he found that his body was simply unsuited for cultivation, and that's why he developed his current indolent nature. Forget it. Let him be. A life without worries like this is also a kind of blessing."
Thinking this, she paid it no more mind and headed down the mountain.
"Ughh..."
Chen Ye stretched and sat up.
[Ding! It has been detected that your junior sister is being bullied!]
The system prompt sounded abruptly.
Chen Ye froze.
"System, you can detect my junior sister's safety?"
[A bound target is intrinsically linked to the Host. It is the system's duty to monitor their status, ensure their safety, and thus protect the Host's interests!]
Chen Ye nodded upon hearing this. "That's a good function."
Then, he stood up and walked out of the hut, his expression turning cold. "Someone dares to bully my junior sister? They're looking down on me! Looking down on me is looking down on my master, a half-step Transcendent! And looking down on my master is looking down on the entire Azure Cloud Sect! This is simply outrageous!"
As he spoke, he quickened his pace, rushing towards Xiao Qingluan's location.
The system considerately opened a navigation map for him.
On a path not far from Jade Bamboo Peak.
Xiao Qingluan had just finished absorbing a wisp of solar essence and was about to head back when several young men blocked her path. The one in the lead was dressed in fine white robes, a longsword at his waist. He was looking her up and down with scrutinizing eyes.
"You are the new disciple of Jade Bamboo Peak?"
"That is correct." Xiao Qingluan nodded slightly.
"Three years ago, the Lord of Jade Bamboo Peak accepted a mortal as her disciple, causing a huge stir in the sect. Now, she has accepted another. I wish to see just what the difference is between you and Chen Ye!"
The youth in white spoke calmly, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
"Draw your sword."
Xiao Qingluan took a deep breath. She looked at him, clearly sensing his cultivation level... the ninth level of the True Qi realm!
Far, far above her own.
This person was obviously here to bully the new girl.