Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!
Under Qin Qingyue’s overwhelming pressure, every time Jiang Huai raised his arm to block, every time he twisted his body to dodge, it drained every ounce of strength from him.
His muscles ached so much they felt like they would tear apart, and even his bones seemed to be groaning.
Yet with each repetition, the Innate Primordial Qi continued to temper his body.
Jiang Huai could feel his constitution growing stronger, and the Innate Primordial Qi within him gradually swelling.
Su Yingman’s wooden sword was both cunning and precise.
She executed Qin Qingyue’s orders perfectly, controlling her strength to the very threshold that a Qi Refining Stage cultivator like Jiang Huai could endure—painful, but not unbearable.
One after another, bright red whip marks rapidly appeared on Jiang Huai’s arms, shoulders, back, and even his waist, burning as if seared by a hot iron.
Jiang Huai clenched his teeth so hard that his gums tasted of blood, but his gaze only grew fiercer.
He refused to admit defeat.
He wanted to cultivate, so he couldn’t stop at the very first step.
“Ha!”
Jiang Huai let out a hoarse, low roar, and in the heavy pressure suddenly twisted his body, barely managing to parry the wooden sword stabbing toward his ribs with his own longsword.
Though his movements were still slow and clumsy, his steps staggering, this time—he blocked the strike.
Qin Qingyue sat upright on the Black Jade Chair, her Dragon Tail unconsciously tapping lightly against the armrest.
Seeing Jiang Huai finally manage to barely withstand Su Yingman’s assault under her pressure, a faint trace of satisfaction flashed through her eyes, only to be quickly replaced by deeper severity.
The rhythm of her Dragon Tail tapping sped up.
“Continue!”
Night fell and the day’s “tempering” finally ended.
Jiang Huai leaned on his sword, almost collapsing from exhaustion, gasping for breath.
Every part of his body ached, especially the crisscrossed whip marks, which stung even more under the sting of sweat.
Su Yingman put away her wooden sword, her posture still respectful.
“Take him to bathe.”
Qin Qingyue’s voice betrayed no emotion as she stood up, the hem of her Deep Black Skirt brushing over the polished floor.
“Clean him up thoroughly and apply the medicine carefully.”
Su Yingman acknowledged the order and walked to Jiang Huai’s side, speaking gently:
“Husband, please come with your concubine.”
Once Su Yingman had helped Jiang Huai away, Qin Qingyue lowered her head and wiped a pearl-like tear from the corner of her eye, her delicate nose twitching slightly.
Still, her heart ached for him.
Within the Dragon Palace, there was a Warm Pool, shrouded in mist and rich in spiritual energy, effective for soothing muscles and healing external wounds.
Shedding his sweat- and blood-soaked clothes, Jiang Huai stepped into the warm spring water, unable to suppress a sigh.
The warmth enveloped his exhausted body, easing the persistent pain just a little.
Su Yingman knelt by the edge of the pool, rolling up the sleeve of her Seven-Colored Glow Skirt, revealing a slender, fair forearm.
Her movements were gentle and careful as she wiped the wounds on Jiang Huai’s back.
“Husband, please bear with it.” Her voice was soft, her fingertips brushing lightly over those vicious red marks.
Jiang Huai kept his eyes closed, quietly feeling the cautious touch behind him.
At this moment, Su Yingman’s tenderness was meticulous, yet carried an undeniable sense of “duty.”
The Sect Master had given her favorable treatment; she had to fulfill her responsibilities well.
Even as a concubine, she would be a qualified concubine!
“Do you want to stay here?” Jiang Huai suddenly asked, turning his head slightly to look at Su Yingman beside him.
“Tell me the truth.”
Su Yingman smiled, glanced at the bottom of the pool, and teased:
“Your concubine has already swallowed that thing, how could I not take responsibility for my husband?”
“Besides, staying here brings me great benefits.”
“What, does husband not think I’m worthy?”
The pure male and female cultivators of the Huanhuan Sect were always in demand, especially as concubines.
They had so many tricks and could bring endless pleasure to both men and women.
Her gaze swept over the scars covering Jiang Huai’s back, and her fingertips occasionally sensed the faint yet exceptionally pure Innate Primordial Qi circulating within him.
Desire surged in her heart, but she forcibly suppressed it.
Though she was a concubine, without Qin Qingyue’s permission, she truly didn’t dare to sneak a taste—she wouldn’t even dare to touch him.
“Then don’t leave.”
After a while, Jiang Huai spoke.
Su Yingman froze for a moment, then smiled knowingly and continued washing his upper body.
She hadn’t expected this little husband to be so possessive.
Once cleaned and changed into comfortable sleepwear, Jiang Huai felt as if he’d been taken apart and put back together again, barely having the strength to walk back to the bedchamber.
Inside the bedchamber, the Night-Luminescent Pearl cast a gentle glow.
Qin Qingyue had already changed into a soft black silk robe, her long hair loose, her daytime sharpness replaced by a trace of languidness.
Seeing Jiang Huai being helped in by Su Yingman, her Dragon Tail curled around him, gently lifting him onto the spacious White Jade Bed.
Qin Qingyue stretched out her arm and pulled him fully into her embrace.
Jiang Huai’s tense body involuntarily relaxed in her arms, a crushing fatigue washing over him.
Qin Qingyue rested her chin atop Jiang Huai’s head, her Dragon Tail naturally wrapping around his calf in an almost instinctive gesture of possession.
Her warm hand pressed against a particularly swollen whip mark at his waist, and a gentle, mellow spiritual power slowly flowed into him.
“Does it hurt?” she asked softly, her voice muffled in the quiet bedchamber.
Jiang Huai let out a muffled “Mm,” his consciousness already beginning to blur.
Qin Qingyue said nothing more, only hugged him tighter, rubbing her chin against the top of his head, her Dragon Tail pulling him closer.
Su Yingman silently lowered the curtain, quietly retreated to the outer room, sat cross-legged, and began her own cultivation.
No matter what those two did inside, as the personal concubine, she had to remain on guard outside.
Suddenly, Su Yingman realized something: with Jiang Huai’s constitution, there would surely be other concubines in the future.
She was a Xuanyin Body, so there would definitely be Pure Yang Body female cultivators to come.
Yin and yang complement each other—that was what Jiang Huai needed.
If that was the case, being a personal concubine wasn’t so bad; at least it was the closest position to the center of power.
Should she try to curry favor with Jiang Huai now, to secure her current place?
Su Yingman shook her head, coming back to her senses, and continued her cultivation.
She had plenty of tricks up her sleeve; could other female cultivators really compare to someone from the Huanhuan Sect?
The second day, the third day.
Life seemed to be stuck on repeat.
The pressure on the training grounds, the sound of the wooden sword slicing through the air, the dull thud of flesh being struck, sweat and gritted-teeth perseverance, washing and applying medicine, sleeping on the White Jade Bed wrapped in the Dragon Tail.
The old scars on Jiang Huai’s body hadn’t faded before new ones appeared.
But he could clearly feel that, under Qin Qingyue’s inhuman pressure, his bones and muscles were being tempered into something tougher, and his spiritual power was being forced to become more refined and harmonious.
As for Su Yingman’s wooden sword, whereas at first he couldn’t even defend himself, gradually he learned to predict a move or two, and his blocks and dodges became a little quicker.
Progress was slow, but like a stream wearing down stone, steady and unmistakable.
His Qi Refining also advanced rapidly under the Innate Primordial Qi.
Qin Qingyue remained strict, but Jiang Huai seemed to be getting used to it, even catching the fleeting, almost imperceptible hint of approval deep in her eyes.
Su Yingman always played the perfect “tool,” supervising cultivation with meticulous precision, striking without mercy, yet tending to wounds with painstaking care.
Until the morning of the fourth day.
The dawn had yet to fully dispel the deep-sea darkness above the Dragon Palace, when a thunderous explosion, like a bolt from the heavens, violently shattered the outer Forbidden Array of the Dragon Palace.
Boom!
The entire massive Dragon Palace shook violently, the ground trembling uncontrollably.
A wild, unmatched sword qi mixed with a freezing cold current and searing, domineering dragon flame crashed into the Core Region of the Dragon Palace.
“Not good!”
Qin Qingyue sprang up, a terrifying black light erupting around her, the Xuanhei Dragon-patterned Armor instantly covering her body, her Dragon Horns fierce, her Dragon Eyes transforming into burning Blood Suns, and her long spear in hand.
She immediately shielded the just-awakened, still-dazed Jiang Huai behind her, her vast divine sense surging out like a tidal wave.
“Qin—Qing—yue!”
An icy, furious female voice, filled with boundless hatred and endless longing, pierced through the shaking Dragon Palace, echoing clearly in every corner.
“Give Jiang Huai back to me!”
Wu Zhaohua had come storming in again—this time, bringing along both the Red Dragon and the White Dragon as her allies.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.