[Host, you don’t look too happy…]
Staring at the pile of items in front of him, Su Chen frowned and said flatly, “Is this all?”
“Uh…”
Seeing that Su Chen was already clenching his fists, the system shrank back and stammered, “Host, the third hidden compartment on the left contains a secret chamber. The tenth on the right has something valuable.”
Boom!
Once again, the system was sent flying.
[Why did you hit me again?!]
Faced with the system’s pained outcry, Su Chen calmly retorted, “For not saying it earlier.”
“You really are asking for it!”
“…..”
At that moment, the system felt a chill run through its nonexistent body.
No, it couldn’t feel pain, but it still felt incredibly wronged.
Would the days ahead even be livable?
Su Chen walked over to the third hidden compartment on the left.
He noticed a concealed zipper and gave it a slight tug.
The mechanism clicked.
In this supposedly airtight treasury, a door suddenly rumbled open nearby.
A flood of radiant light and treasure poured out.
The countless treasures in the treasury suddenly seemed dim and dull under the glow of what was hidden inside.
The moment Su Chen stepped through, he could feel it.
Immortal energy swirled around, spiritual energy surged high into the heavens—just breathing it in was enough to rapidly increase a Bone Tempering stage cultivator’s strength.
The little system avatar pointed to an object and began explaining:
[That’s the Seven Saints Longevity Pearl—crafted from the demon cores of seven peak-tier monsters and infused with pure Human Path sacred energy.]
[With it, you’ll be immune to all beast attacks, and it will greatly accelerate your cultivation. You’ll advance at lightning speed.]
[This treasure is absolutely perfect for training your disciple to become a cultivation prodigy.]
[Oh, not the one in your arms right now, though.]
Su Chen’s gaze fell to the center of the chamber.
There, nestled within, was a pearl that shimmered with bluish-white light and radiant hues.
But he only glanced at it briefly, showing little interest.
Instead, Ruo ximeng was staring intently at something else.
Su Chen followed her gaze.
It was a black longsword radiating immense pressure.
Even through the sheath, the edge’s sharpness could be felt.
A single gem was embedded in the sword’s hilt—crystal-clear, yet tinged with an ethereal, misty glow.
“You like that sword?” Su Chen asked.
Ruo ximeng shook her head and pointed at the gemstone embedded in the sword instead.
[Good eye. That sword is—]
The system leapt out again, eager to explain.
Bang!
Before it could finish, the sword was already shattered by Su Chen’s punch.
He reached in and extracted the gemstone.
[You—you actually destroyed that sword?!]
[That sword could amplify a Nascent Soul cultivator’s strength by five levels!]
[It could also absorb damage—an incredible defense artifact for low-level cultivators!]
[It was the perfect weapon for your future disciple—and you just destroyed it without a second thought!]
The system was livid, practically heartbroken.
Su Chen ignored the tantrum.
He walked over and handed the gemstone—now glowing gently in his palm—to Ruo ximeng.
“This is for you.”
Ruo ximeng blinked, eyes fixed on the glowing gem.
“Take it,” Su Chen said again.
“O-okay.”
She took it with both hands, her expression soft and obedient.
Then, she shyly glanced up at Su Chen and said, “I want to give this to Master. It’s really pretty, and I think it would make the perfect gift for you…”
Su Chen was stunned.
He hadn’t expected Ruo ximeng to like the gem because of him.
He gently patted her head.
Feeling the warmth of her master’s large hand softly brushing over her head, Ruo ximeng’s cheeks flushed pink.
Still, she stood there quietly, her eyes filled with hope as she looked up at Su Chen.
Su Chen smiled and said, “Alright. I’ll accept it. Thank you, little Ximeng.”
Watching Su Chen take the gemstone, a satisfied smile bloomed on Ruo Ximeng’s flushed little face.
Her bright eyes seemed to sparkle with even more light in that instant.
“Mm! Thank you, Master,” Ruo Ximeng said sweetly.
***
The secret chamber was filled with magical weapons and treasures—at least eighteen out of every twenty compartments held something extraordinary.
Su Chen picked a few rare medicinal items, then turned to leave the treasury.
[You’re not going to look around some more?]
The system sprite, still recovering from the trauma of the divine sword being destroyed, was startled to see Su Chen walking away so casually.
[Most of the things here are average to you, sure—but in this world, they’re priceless treasures.]
[Even if you don’t need them, your future disciple will.]
“I’ll come back for them later.”
“Uh…”
[Is there a problem?]
“Nope. What you said makes too much sense—I have no comeback!”
***
Su Chen glanced around the massive national treasury and finally chose a fairly decent cauldron from the Mu Yang sect.
Then he tossed all the spirit herbs and rare medicines from the hidden compartments into the cauldron.
[Thousand-Year Flameleaf Grass.]
[Three-Thousand-Year-old Tianze Divine Maple Root…]
[And the Ten-Thousand-Year Tianji Phoenix Ginseng, known to heal shattered bones!]
The system finally couldn’t hold back anymore.
[Host, what are you doing?] it asked, anxiety creeping into its voice.
It had a very bad feeling about this.
“For my disciple—I’m repairing her foundation,” Su Chen said calmly.
“But these spirit herbs are extraordinary. Even someone with deep cultivation might not be able to fully digest the power of just one of them.”
“Besides, some of these ingredients are pharmacologically incompatible.”
“Even if you boil them for years, you might not draw out even a fraction of their total medicinal power.”
Su Chen gave a disinterested “Oh” and, after making his selections, poured the entire reserve of Jiushou Springwater into the Immortal Doruo Cauldron.
“It’s time,” Su Chen said quietly.
Then, right in front of the system sprite’s disbelieving eyes, he unleashed a surge of intense heat from his palm.
The herbs inside were instantly pulverized.
The spirit water boiled. Spiritual energy spread in waves.
“Medicinal efficacy reaching fifty percent… seventy… one hundred?! That’s impossible!”
“E-even if it’s like that, no wast—”
Su Chen silently clenched his fist.
The system swallowed a nonexistent gulp and quickly corrected itself.
[I-I mean, even if she could absorb it, with her broken body, at least 99.999% of it would still be wasted—]
Su Chen grew impatient with all the nines and knocked the system sprite flying with a punch.
“Ximeng, get in,” Su Chen instructed, pointing to the Immortal Doruo Cauldron.
“Okay.”
Ruo Ximeng nodded obediently and climbed in without hesitation.
Inside the cauldron, the spiritual energy, which had been stabilized by Su Chen’s power, now had a release point.
The moment Ruo Ximeng entered, it surged toward her in a frenzy.
Her little face instantly turned red.
The system, having somehow flown back, cried out in alarm, [She can’t handle this! At this rate, her body will explode in three seconds!]
But Su Chen waved his hand.
In an instant, the raging energy turned calm. Ruo Ximeng’s flushed face slowly returned to normal—now glowing with a gentle, rosy hue.
The violent energy had turned docile in the blink of an eye.
“What were you saying just now?” Su Chen asked.
“…”
[I didn’t say anything! Is it still too late to pretend I was never here?]
The system stared in agony at the spirit herbs, utterly dejected.
‘So many rare treasures… if given to true geniuses, dozens of prodigies could be created!’
‘And yet Su Chen had used it all on a waste.’
‘Even if her foundation was repaired, so what?’
‘A ratio of dozens-to-one was outrageous.’
‘Even with a fixed body, Ruo Ximeng would, at best, be ordinary—nowhere near a genius.’
‘The system didn’t believe Su Chen didn’t understand this.’
‘But still…’
‘Su Chen showed not even a shred of regret for using those herbs, as though he didn’t care about wasting them at all.’
The more the system thought about it, the more it felt like its nonexistent liver and intestines were being torn apart.
***
The spiritual energy, now gentle and harmonious, slowly worked to repair Ruo Ximeng’s body.
Su Chen’s expression shifted slightly.
“Someone’s here.”