Chapter 297

Deep night, the entire Jingcheng lay in silence.

In the darkness, faint rustling sounds emerged from within the Fang residence.

With a sigh of satisfaction, Feng Qiaoyan began clearing the mess.

Seeing Fang Can's fingers, now as white as Bai Yu, still clinging to strands of malt syrup, the girl felt it would be a waste to let them go unused.

With the tender devotion of a mother cow licking her calf, she finally, after several minutes, reinserted Fang Can's right hand back into the quilt.

Only then did the girl's tense heart ease slightly; she exhaled as she gazed at the boy before her, who appeared to be sound asleep.

Looking down at her game log, the content made her face flush crimson.

【EXP +1】

【EXP +1】

【EXP +1】

Since earlier, a prompt for EXP gain had reappeared every minute, as if Fang Can's fingers were some miraculous elixir.

Players normally gain only 1 point of EXP per hour of cultivation—yet here, just a minute of this yielded 1 point.

If before she did it for her own selfish reasons, now she had no choice but to keep going.

For only after breaking through the First Transformation did the game's cruelty truly reveal itself to players.

Previously, killing just one ordinary NPC granted 10 EXP; theoretically, with enough kills, reaching Seventh or Eighth Transformation would be effortless.

But after truly breaking through the First Transformation, she realized it wasn't like that.

Like those legendary games advertising "one slash, 999 levels," the developers never told you that 999 was merely the beginning—every subsequent level would balloon to unimaginable scales.

After the First Transformation, all EXP gained from killing low-level monsters, including already-acquired EXP, was reduced by ten thousandfold.

Each subsequent transformation further reduced monster-killing EXP by a hundredfold, until after the Fifth Transformation, monster-killing rewards dropped to zero.

That meant, to go from mortal to First Transformation required at least five thousand lives—and from First to Second Transformation, purely through monster-killing, required ten billion lives?

Even inflation wasn't this fast!

Feng Qiaoyan stared at the EXP required to advance from First Transformation 0% to Second Transformation: 100,000 points.

Aside from the slashed monster-killing EXP, sitting in meditation for one hour granted 1 point—meaning, without stopping, she'd need to cultivate for ten years to reliably reach Second Transformation.

But if she kept making Fang Can do it, she might reach Second Transformation within a hundred days.

A hundred days to reach Second Transformation? If she kept going, how fast could she climb? She dared not imagine.

She glanced at the middle of the quilt, then shook her head sharply: "No, no… I've already taken too long. If the elder wakes up, it'll be disastrous."

Forcing down the urge to continue, the girl quietly slipped out of the bedroom and closed the door behind her.

……

Dawn… as Fang Can awoke from sleep.

After a night of cultivation, her constitution had improved slightly; she instantly felt refreshed and invigorated.

Stepping outside, she stretched beneath the rising sun and let out a soft sigh.

"Indeed, this orderly life suits me best. In less than half a year, so much has happened—women I've had relations with outnumber the days I've cultivated. I've had enough!"

With contentment in her current peaceful life, Fang Can greeted Feng Qiaoyan, whose expression was slightly flustered, then slowly walked toward the imperial palace.

But upon entering court, she immediately sensed something strange about today's atmosphere.

The ministers around her looked at her with odd glances, as if holding back words they were too embarrassed to speak.

"What's going on? Why are you all staring at me? Just say it."

As she spoke, she walked to Jiang Qilan's side, where a grand armchair sat beside the throne where the girl sat.

Settling in comfortably, Fang Can looked at the assembly and said: "After all these days, have the compensation payments from the various factions arrived?"

Jiang Qilan replied oddly: "Yes. Last night… the Su Xin Zhai's compensation was delivered."

"Su Xin Zhai?"

Hearing the faction's name, Fang Can's expression turned peculiar.

"Yes. Besides the original compensation, there's… an additional gift."

Jiang Qilan spoke with difficulty: "Su Xin Zhai announced yesterday that it would open a branch in Dayan Jingcheng, and its core disciples and elders arrived overnight to select a location."

"The location chosen? Right next door to your Fang residence, Fang Dage."

"Su Xin Zhai's Elder Xingxi said the compensation is inside the branch—Fang Dage, if you wish, you may come and collect it."

"Damn…" Fang Can muttered, fully understanding Su Xin Zhai's intentions.

He only wanted their compensation payment—yet these people wanted his principal!

If he went over there, would he ever get out again?

"And… the marriage alliance," Jiang Qilan added.

"Marriage alliance? With whom?" Fang Can looked up, puzzled.

"The Great Chu alliance. They say compensation isn't enough—dowry is acceptable. If you agree to become the Great Chu's imperial son-in-law, everything on the original list becomes part of the dowry."

"And… other sects have similar ideas," Jiang Qilan glanced at Fang Can, unsure how he'd respond.

If not for the Wu Lin's customary rule that the Empress cannot cultivate, she herself would have considered a marriage alliance.

Only Fang Can wore a look of utter discomfort.

Listening to the marriage proposals from every sect, she didn't know how to express her emotions.

If she agreed, the compensation would be instantly secured—though she'd have to humble herself by becoming a concubine to a superpowered man.

Was the entire Dongfang Wujie's political stability really resting on her cock? This world should just end.

"Refuse!"

Fang Can said without hesitation:

"Compensation is compensation—don't bring up dowries. If others hear this, they'll think I lost and am giving them charity. Tell them right now: within a month, every single coin must be returned, or we fight again."

While speaking, Fang Can seemed to sense something and glanced outside Yongle Dadian, then composed his expression and said:

"Next, as I said before, we cannot yield a single step on the matter of compensation. I still have some matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave first."

As he spoke, he left the entire court of civil and military officials behind, took a single step and vanished from within Yongle Dadian, crossing a distance of several tens of li in just a few breaths, and arrived outside the city in the blink of an eye.

'Senior Liu?' Fang Can looked at the blue-haired graceful figure with her back to him, his heart already without a ripple.

Or rather, during this period of successfully abstaining from desire, he found it hard to feel any stir looking at anyone — in that state of being without desire or want.

Liu Qingmeng turned her head and looked at the youth with a complicated expression, slowly opening her mouth to say: "Jiang Ningan is about to break through to the Fourth Rotation. What did you do before?"

Fang Can was puzzled, then saw Liu Qingmeng slowly say: 'A few days ago, for the duration of half an incense stick's time, the effect of Jiang Ningan's cultivation of Lush Vitality was especially good.'

At these words, Fang Can's expression also became somewhat awkward as he said: "I haven't figured out the cause either — I can only chalk it up to coincidence."

"But Senior, you didn't come all this way just to say this, did you?"

(End of this chapter)