“It… it hurts so much!” Yu Jia’s beautiful face had gone pale from the pain, her entire body trembling violently.
“Second Young Master, what are you doing? Stop it now!” she cried out. It felt as if countless hammers were smashing her bones all at once, nearly crushing her completely.
Wu Yi hadn’t expected her reaction to be so intense. Clearly, enhancing spiritual roots was a painful process. He said, “Sister-in-law, bear with it. I’m helping you improve your spiritual roots.”
Yu Jia clenched her silver teeth tightly, gripping his clothes with both hands. “But it really hurts~”
Wu Yi continued hammering with the Hammer of Boundless Merit and said, “Sister-in-law, there are some things I can’t explain yet, but please believe me. The pain is temporary, and the benefits are far greater than you imagine.”
Though drenched in cold sweat, Yu Jia still held on. She wasn’t sure if what Wu Yi said was true—enhancing spiritual roots sounded too fantastical—but because she had always spoiled this younger brother-in-law, she chose to believe him.
“You… you bastard.” Overwhelmed by the pain, she instinctively hugged Wu Yi tightly, almost burying herself in his chest. Sometimes she really wanted to slap herself. Why had she spoiled him so much?
…
An entire hour passed before Wu Yi finally put away the Hammer of Boundless Merit. He stretched his sore arms and smiled with satisfaction. “Low-grade, peak-tier. Not bad.”
In just one hour, he had improved Yu Jia’s spiritual roots by an entire tier. If anyone else knew, their jaw would drop.
Meanwhile, Wu Yi himself gained greatly from it too—earning 2,100 merit points. Since he was worried that Yu Jia might die from the pain, he had hammered slower than usual.
At this point, Yu Jia had already passed out from the pain. Her hair was soaked with sweat and stuck to her pale face, and her clothes were drenched and clung tightly to her body.
“Tsk, this sister-in-law isn’t just kind and beautiful—her figure and looks are absolutely top-tier,” Wu Yi muttered. “Seems like my cheap elder brother just didn’t have the luck.”
He chuckled darkly. “System, allocate all 2,100 merit points to cultivation.”
[Calculating… 2,100 merit points successfully consumed. Cultivation level increased. Please continue working hard.]
Wu Yi immediately felt a burst of pure spiritual Qi surging into his dantian and Qi sea.
BOOM!
His robe fluttered, inflated by spiritual Qi without any wind.
“Martial Disciple, 4th stage? I broke through just like that?”
He had only been at the 2nd stage Martial Disciple Realm. With just 2,100 merit points, he’d jumped straight to the 4th stage—an achievement that would take others months of bitter cultivation.
“At this rate, who needs cultivation? I’ll just keep hammering people!”
Just then, Duke Wu An strode in with a powerful aura.
But as soon as he entered and saw the unconscious Yu Jia, his eyes widened in shock.
Duke Wu An stared blankly. “?”
Wu Yi responded instantly, “Stare!”
After a brief moment of eye contact, Duke Wu An’s fury exploded.
“You unfilial son! What did you do to Yu Jia? She’s your sister-in-law! Even if you have no shame, she still does! Our Duke of Dingguo household still has its reputation to uphold!”
How could he not be angry? Yu Jia’s father, Yu Quanshun, had not only been his senior brother, but had also died on the battlefield to protect him. In Duke Wu An’s heart, Yu Jia was more than just a daughter-in-law—she was a living connection to his late senior brother, a symbol of his emotional legacy.
After five years of living together, he had long treated her like his own daughter. There was no way he would allow Wu Yi to bully her.
Wu Yi was furious too. If he had really done something, then fine—scold him. But to be wrongly accused before even starting? How could he not be annoyed?
“Old man, I’d love to do something, but I haven’t even started yet. What are you yelling about? My sister-in-law and I are perfectly innocent.”
Duke Wu An’s eyes bulged. “You dare call me old man?!”
Seeing his father about to explode and raise a hand, Wu Yi panicked and quickly pulled out the Hammer of Boundless Merit and swung it.
CLANG!
[Merit +1]
Caught off guard, Duke Wu An clutched his head as the corner of his mouth twitched violently. “Hiss~”
“You even dare hit your own father? You’re simply committing Reversal of Heaven and Earth!”
“I’ll make sure you understand what the clan rules are, and where the ancestral teachings come from!”
Wu Yi broke into a cold sweat. The loving fatherly image of Duke Zhenbei on court didn’t match the aggressive mountain-collapse style of fatherhood at home!
Without hesitation, Wu Yi began hammering wildly.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
[Merit +1]
[Merit +1]
[…]
While hammering, he shouted, “I’m sorry, Father! My hammer strikes your head, but the pain is in my heart. As your son, it breaks me to do this, truly!”
“I swear to the heavens, I did nothing to Sister-in-law!”
Even though he said that, his hands didn’t stop. In fact, the hammering got even faster.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
[Merit +1]
[Merit +1]
[…]
In the end, Wu Yi couldn’t help adding cheekily, “Of course, if you had come a bit later… who knows what might have happened. Hehehe…”
Duke Wu An’s scalp had gone numb from the hammering. He was leaning against the wall just to stay upright.
After calming down, he carefully examined the two. Their spiritual auras were clear, free from the murkiness of dual cultivation. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief and quickly raise his hands in surrender.
“Stop! Stop! I was wrong. It was a misunderstanding. I apologize!”
“The Empress has summoned you. Hurry and come to the palace with me.”
…
Once a Martial Sect cultivator was reached, one could already fly through the air. As a Martial King, Duke Wu An was even faster.
Carrying Wu Yi, he flew straight toward the palace.
Technically, flying was prohibited in the capital city, but Duke Wu An held special privileges as Duke Zhenbei.
“Father, what do you think the Empress summoned me for all of a sudden?” Wu Yi asked.
Duke Wu An frowned slightly and said in a serious tone, “I suspect it’s related to the Xu family.”
“Recently, the Xu family has become increasingly restless. You killed Xu Yangshuo, so you must be very cautious. Be prepared for their revenge.”
Wu Yi clicked his tongue but said no more. He had a feeling nothing good would come of this sudden summons.
But then he thought about how Long Qiyue’s curves had subtly shown through her robes… and his heart stirred once more.
After all, he was undeniably a leg man.