Inside the small cabin.
Danxia fell into complete silence.
In her vision, she was the life-claiming Rebirth survivor of the future, while Ye Shu was the heartless man who would kneel and beg for mercy, offer a thousand excuses, or try to use their past feelings to gloss over his sins.
She had prepared herself to face his ugliness, prepared to use her cold flames to end this ill-fated relationship.
But what was the reality?
The man before her was neither humble nor arrogant, showing not even a trace of fear.
Every word he spoke was for her own good, so considerate that it even made her feel like she was the one being unreasonable.
The resentment she brought back from her Rebirth felt like a punch landing on cotton; not only did she fail to vent her anger, but her chest felt tight with suppressed frustration.
“I…”
She opened her mouth, but found she didn’t know what else to say.
Indeed, what was there to say?
After deep consideration, she was actually left speechless.
It seemed that accepting everything Ye Shu said was the only truly correct path, with no other options available, but why…
did her heart feel so empty?
She had won, but not completely.
After a long while, Danxia finally took a deep breath.
“I will take you out of the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
During this period, our plan remains unchanged.
At least within the Magical Beast Mountain Range, I am still your Master.
I will still teach you cultivation, teach you the Dao of Alchemy, and help you improve your strength.
You don’t need to feel awkward; just treat it as my repayment for your fifteen years of support, and as the last of the Master-disciple sentiment between us.”
Having said that, she let out a sigh, and her figure gradually dissipated.
Seeing this, Ye Shu finally breathed a sigh of relief.
A slight breeze blew past.
He suddenly shivered, only then noticing that his back was completely drenched in sweat, his clothes sticking damply to his skin.
He glanced at the braised pork on the table and finally pulled out a chair to sit down.
“Since things have come to this, I’ll eat first.”
He picked up his chopsticks, but his hand began to tremble.
The braised pork, slightly deformed from being stepped on by Xiao Bai, was picked up and dropped, picked up and dropped.
The chopsticks shook incessantly as if he had Parkinson’s, seemingly acting against him on purpose.
In the end, it was Xiao Bai who used her small hand to pick up the braised pork.
“Here, eat.
The Heavenly Dao is personally feeding you.”
She pinched the braised pork, her small face flushed.
“Consider this a reward for your good performance just now.”
Ye Shu wasn’t pretentious and opened his mouth to eat it.
Mental exertion often consumes more energy than normal physical exercise; he desperately needed to replenish his energy now.
While eating, he closed his eyes in deep thought.
In the pitch-black field of vision, his thoughts became clear.
As the Child of Destiny, his beginning was a classic of classics, the Xiao Huohuo template: born with awakened memories of a past life, reciting poetry at three, entering Qi Refining at five, shocking Moon City.
There was also an arranged marriage with Li Qingran, the Young Miss of the Li Family, one of the four great families of Taiwu Imperial City.
In the year he reached Foundation Establishment at age eight, his Qi Sea mysteriously dissipated.
No matter how he cultivated, the Spiritual Qi would all vanish into nothingness, leaving him empty as if entering an abyss.
From then on, he became a fallen Genius, enduring the cold looks of his clan.
He also had a childhood sweetheart who grew up with him, innocent and loyal, never leaving his side.
Ultimately, his engagement was broken by the Li Family, and a Three-Year Agreement was set.
“The Three-Year Agreement…”
Ye Shu murmured these few words under his breath.
Originally, with Danxia as his Master and his own natural talent, returning to Foundation Establishment or even Golden Core within three years to crush that Li Family Young Miss wouldn’t have been difficult.
But now, after leaving the Magical Beast Mountain Range, he would be all alone.
That wasn’t even the biggest problem.
Damn it, what are the cultivation levels of the Villains and the Female Leads now?
Golden Core at the very least, probably.
And what about him?
He had just restarted his cultivation, at the third level of Qi Refining.
“Sigh…”
Ye Shu sighed heavily, feeling his head ache terribly.
What the hell was this?
It was equivalent to not even having left the starter village yet.
All his future supporters had defected, and the Villain already possessed advance information that he would grow strong.
It was like the Soul Emperor knowing from the start that Xiao Yan would become the Flame Emperor, and his own Yao Lao had even been turned against him, ready to stab him in the back at any moment.
So his only hope at this moment was…
Ye Shu opened his eyes and looked at Xiao Bai in front of him.
“So, Lady Heavenly Dao, may I ask what use you are?”
“Me?”
Hearing this, Xiao Bai was stunned, then proudly puffed out her chest.
Her fair little feet swung back and forth on the dining table, making the plates clatter as she said in a precocious tone:
“I’m very impressive!”
“Grandma said I’m a natural at taking care of my younger sisters.
When I grow up and get married, I’ll definitely be good at raising kids.
Plus, I know how to use a smartphone, I go to the restroom by myself, I find a place to hide when it rains, and I can use a washing machine to wash clothes.”
“Grandma said I’ll definitely get into university in the future.”
“So, as expected, I got into the Traditional Xuanhuan Vocational and Technical College, and even got into the most popular major: Broken Engagement Tropes!”
When Xiao Bai reached this point, her eyes lit up.
“I’m first in every class!
I’ve mastered the one hundred and eight ways for a male lead to show off during a broken engagement, and the three thousand routines for how a ‘trash-tier’ male lead should be mocked by bystanders…”
“…”
After hearing this, Ye Shu’s vision went dark.
Damn it, so she’s basically just a child bride?
“Is there anything actually helpful to me?” he asked, suppressing the urge to complain.
“Of course there is!”
Xiao Bai nodded vigorously.
“Like I just said, although I can’t directly interfere with the living beings of this world, I can use my invisible hands for macro-adjustments, allowing you to encounter various fortuitous encounters and grow step by step.”
“For example, someone might come to the Magical Beast Mountain Range to hunt Demonic Beasts and both sides end up injured, allowing you to swoop in.”
“For example, a certain ruin is about to open.”
“For example, I know where all the good stuff in various Secret Realms is.
When no one is looking, I can secretly turn them into exactly what you need most at that time.”
Hearing this, Ye Shu’s eyes grew brighter and brighter.
He had to apologize for just saying Xiao Bai was useless.
He rubbed his hands together and smiled somewhat ingratiatingly.
“Then, Lady Heavenly Dao, can you make it so that when I go out in a bit, I trip over a rock, only to find that the thing that tripped me is actually a bottle of Medicinal Pills?
When I open it, it turns out to be the long-lost Nine-Revolution Golden Core, and one bite leads to immediate Immortal Ascension.”
“Then I show off my Divine Might and slap the Villain to death with one hand.”
“We can just go for a speedrun.”
“What do you think?
Is it doable?”
Hearing this, Xiao Bai was dumbfounded.
She looked at Ye Shu rubbing his hands like a fly, and her whole brain stalled.
How could there be such a ‘Genius’ idea?
But if they did that, how could this book keep dragging on?
“Well…”
Xiao Bai frowned and shook her head.
“It would have been possible when the world was first forming, but now that the plot has started, everything is fixed and the items are already placed.
I can only swap out the rewards in those Secret Realms for something of equal value, making them give you the most help based on your real-time situation.”
Hearing this, Ye Shu looked disappointed.
Whatever, he thought he could speedrun it.
“And…
and…”
Xiao Bai suddenly clutched the corner of her clothes, her little feet moving uneasily on the table as she stammered with a blushing face:
“I forgot to tell you…”
“Actually, although there are deviations in the original plot instilled by the System, all the locations of fortuitous encounters and the ways to obtain them in there are real…”
“Huh?”
Ye Shu was completely stunned.
“You mean to say that right now, not only does the Villain know I’ll grow into the Flame Emperor, and not only are the Female Leads on his side, but all the Rebirth Female Leads and the Villain also know what Opportunities I’ll get in the future and will intercept them in advance?”
“Um…
yes, that’s right…”
Xiao Bai bit her lip, lowering her head, not daring to look at him.
“Not you…”
Ye Shu was so angry he laughed.
He stopped talking, put down his chopsticks, stood up, and turned to walk out of the cabin.
“Hey!
Where are you going?”
Xiao Bai shouted at his back.
Ye Shu didn’t look back, leaving only a desolate silhouette.
“I’m going to find a river to drown myself in, so the Villain and the Female Leads can’t use my head to pad their K/D ratios.”