Chapter 100: Be My Little Wife
“I’ve been waiting nearby for a while. I mapped out the entire courtyard before coming back to find you,” Lu Yunxi said, observing her apprentice’s face, a slight glimmer dancing in her eyes.
She decided to probe tentatively. “Shen San, what is your evaluation of that wealthy young lady? To my parameters, she appears quite beautiful and gentle, and she clearly favors your character. Do you wish to…”
She trailed off, lowering her eyes in thought.
If her disciple had genuinely developed feelings for the heiress, then his logic matrix dictated he should anchor his coordinates here. There was zero utility in forcing him to travel with her if his heart remained tied to this town. Besides, her own attributes had already scaled to Level 80; factoring in the massive stat buffs granted by her complete sect armor set, she no longer required any physical protection to navigate the global map.
Shen San had no idea what calculations were running through her head. He watched her fold her arms across her chest and lower her gaze, her eyes seemingly heavy with thought. Even though she maintained a light smile while speaking, a sudden, crushing wave of unease crashed into his chest.
An inexplicable panic surged through his code, and he subconsciously launched into a frantic defense. “Master, it is absolutely not what your station assumes! I possess zero positive evaluations of that woman. I… in my entire database, no one compares to you! Master, your parameters are the absolute peak!”
Lu Yunxi, who had been fully expecting to hear her apprentice formally request a leave of absence to trigger a marriage event, was completely caught off guard by the sudden, intense barrage of compliments. She paused for a long moment, completely bewildered, before a soft, involuntary laugh escaped her lips.
After repeatedly verifying that her apprentice truly harbored zero romantic interest in the wealthy heiress, she led him swiftly out of the town limits.
Fortunately, despite the chaotic anomalies that had plagued their earlier pathing, the remainder of their journey proceeded with smooth, uninterrupted efficiency.
The duo finally arrived in Huzhou.
Huzhou was a beautifully integrated, deeply connected metropolitan zone. Lakes and ponds of varying scales were scattered seamlessly throughout the city grid. Numerous high-tier residential structures were built directly over the water, framed by swaying willow trees and elegant stone bridges arching over the flowing canals.
As Lu Yunxi and Shen San navigated this serene, picturesque environment, the ambient tranquility of the surrounding citizens naturally bled into their own emotional parameters, causing them to deeply relax.
However, the moment they crossed the threshold into the commercial center, the quiet, gentle atmosphere of the water town violently shattered, instantly replaced by the chaotic energy of a dense, hyper-active hub. Passing by the local taverns, their audio feeds were bombarded by the sounds of shattering furniture, the sharp crash of wine jugs, and the booming, raucous laughter of rough men shouting over one another.
The two paused at the intersection. They glanced at a nearby tavern that was overflowing with rugged martial artists, then looked further down the street toward a branch of The Fisherman’s Inn, which was equally crowded but entirely devoid of brawls. In total, silent agreement, they immediately pivoted and marched straight into the rowdy tavern.
“Server! Bring out your highest-grade wine and a full spread of provisions!” Shen San roared, perfectly emulating the arrogant swagger of a seasoned mercenary as he slammed his massive broadsword onto the wooden table with a thunderous crack.
Lu Yunxi took her seat quietly beside him. She was outfitted in a brilliant crimson silk dress that flawlessly accentuated the pale, porcelain clarity of her skin, making her look exceptionally charming. Sitting passively in his shadow, she appeared entirely harmless—merely a decorative accessory to the hulking warrior.
The surrounding patrons immediately registered their arrival, subtle, calculating gleams flashing in their eyes.
“That swordsman is a high-tier expert. Did you track his movement? His footsteps were so light they barely registered on the audio logs,” one veteran muttered, instantly categorizing Shen San as a severe, high-priority threat.
“The girl is an absolute stunner, though. I wonder what her stamina parameters are like in bed,” another sneered, countless lustful, predatory gazes raking over Lu Yunxi’s delicate curves.
Before their food could even materialize from the kitchen, a gaunt, hollow-eyed man—whose sunken features screamed of chronic, excessive debauchery—swaggered over to their table, lazily snapping open a silk fan.
He arrogantly scanned Shen San from head to toe, a look of profound contempt curling his lip.
“Little beauty, what possible utility is there in following a crude brute like this?” the man drawled, turning his focus to Yunxi. “You’d be far better off transferring your registry to my party. I am the direct disciple of the grandmaster of the Evil Slaughter Sect. Follow me, and you’ll secure the title of the sect heir’s primary wife in the future. How does that sound?”
Lu Yunxi slowly lowered her eyes to the edge of the fan the man had brazenly rested beneath her chin. Tilting her head slightly, she met his gaze over the silk rim, a deeply subtle, unreadable light flickering in her eyes.
“Primary wife?” she murmured. Raising a single, tiny finger, she discreetly signaled Shen San to hold his blade, then refocused entirely on the fool standing before her.
The young master frowned, seemingly reconsidering his offer. “Are your parameters truly set on the primary wife slot? No, the primary slot must be reserved for a political alliance with another sect. However, securing a concubine slot would still be an incredible upgrade for your profile! I harbor zero affection for my future primary wife anyway, meaning you would easily become the most favored unit in my estate.”
“…What exactly is the Evil Slaughter Sect?” she asked abruptly, completely ignoring his tedious, arrogant drivel.
“The Evil Slaughter Sect? We are a highly renowned, elite faction on this map! If you bind your profile to mine, you’ll be granted full access to our sect’s internal resources,” the man boasted, snapping his fan closed with a practiced, arrogant flourish. “My master is currently on the absolute verge of shattering the Advanced-tier threshold! His metrics completely outclass those pathetic novices who have barely crossed into the Intermediate tier!”
“With a faction leader possessing combat parameters nearly equivalent to a high-tier expert backing you, your entire family lineage would be absolutely secure. You could even migrate your relatives into our sect boundaries!” The young master raised an eyebrow, his face practically radiating smug superiority. “Well? Is your logic matrix tempted yet?”
Lu Yunxi: …
Even she, a genuine Master-level cultivator hovering on the absolute precipice of a Grandmaster breakthrough, didn’t possess an ego this grotesquely inflated. But seriously… can a registered sect truly be this pathetic? The faction leader was only hovering at the Intermediate level?! Even if he managed to scrape his way into the Advanced tier, his stats were still absolute garbage! Back in her own faction, every single Palace Master and Elder within the Misty Rain Palace was a certified Grandmaster.
She ran a few more diagnostic questions, but quickly realized this man’s database was completely devoid of any high-tier intelligence. With a soft sigh, she offered a sharp, final wink to her apprentice.
Shen San instantly released the tension he had been fiercely suppressing. He grabbed the hilt of his heavy broadsword and stepped toward the gaunt man, a lethal, freezing glint in his eyes and a terrifyingly forced smile plastered across his face.
Later that afternoon, Lu Yunxi and Shen San sat comfortably in the spectator stands of the local arena, casually eating fresh fruit from a side table as they watched the combatants executing their rotations on the central stage.
“Master, are we going to register for the tournament bracket?” Shen San asked, running a quick scan over the surrounding challengers. The baseline level of the local combatants was staggeringly low.
The tournament rules enforced a strict age cap, restricting entry to models under the age of thirty. If the two of them entered the bracket, their superior parameters would guarantee a flawless victory!
Lu Yunxi shook her head slowly.
She wasn’t entirely certain if the Water Continent possessed a uniquely flawed generation algorithm, or if she had simply failed to pay close attention to the macro-data before. Aside from the established major sects, the map was absolutely littered with countless micro-factions, each headed by a leader who barely registered as a mid-level or advanced fighter. Some sects were even led by absolute beginners! These pathetic little guilds were scattered densely across the entire region.
Fortunately, her foundational worldview had been shaped by the Misty Rain Palace, leading her to initially assume that all sects operated under similar parameters—meaning high-tier experts everywhere, and Master-level entities as common as stray dogs!
The martial arts tournament currently being hosted in Huzhou had been explicitly organized to settle a dispute over a high-tier loot drop.
When they had first crossed into the Water Continent, the regional chat logs had been exploding with rumors regarding a legendary treasure hunt in Huzhou. As it turned out, the “treasure”—a Blue-grade skill manual—had been unearthed a few weeks prior, and no single faction was willing to forfeit their claim. To resolve the gridlock, a public tournament was established; the absolute victor of the bracket would be granted ownership of the manual.
A Blue-grade manual… To Lu Yunxi’s professional evaluation, the item was utterly worthless.
She was far too lazy to assimilate low-tier code herself, and Shen San’s active skill slots were strictly limited by server architecture. The cosmetic heating spell he had assimilated back on the Ice Continent was already wasting a critical slot; there was zero utility in consuming another one on something this mediocre.
“Shen San, if your progression path demands new skill trees, you must locate a method to infiltrate a primary sect. This Blue-grade manual is… fundamentally garbage,” she murmured, staring blankly at the ornate golden chest displayed on the stage. She strongly suspected the gold chest itself held a higher market value than the manual inside it. “If you wish to bind your profile to my faction, I can issue a formal recommendation when the timing is optimal. Provided you clear the entry trials, your registry will be accepted.”
Shen San nodded, mentally cross-referencing the tutorial threads he had studied on the global forums. “I deeply appreciate the offer, Master, but my current objective is to bind to a different sect first. The specific skill trees offered by that faction are a much higher synergy match for my heavy-combat build.”
The community forums had published exhaustive guides detailing the most accessible major sects for outworld players, explicitly breaking down the unique skill branches and combat characteristics each faction specialized in. He had already finalized his build strategy and was simply waiting to cross back into the Forest Continent to execute it.
After exchanging a few more encrypted whispers, the two fell silent, returning their focus to the ongoing matches.
A previous round had just concluded, and a new engagement was initializing on the stage. Standing opposite a young girl was the exact same gaunt, hollow-eyed man who had demanded Lu Yunxi become his concubine earlier that afternoon.
“Hehe, little beauty, your aesthetic parameters are exceptional! This young master favors your model. How about you drop your registry, follow me, and become my little wife?!” The man’s dialogue loop was sickeningly familiar, practically an identical copy of the script he had run on Lu Yunxi.
The master and disciple felt their eyes twitch in unison.
Does this absolute degenerate run the exact same dialogue prompt on every single female avatar he encounters?!
The girl in yellow standing opposite him possessed a highly youthful character model, looking no older than ten. She puffed out her cheeks in fierce anger, glaring at him with pure disdain. “Cease your garbage output! Who would ever bind to a weakling like you? I could solo ten of your models simultaneously!”
The negotiation failed instantly, and the combat phase engaged.
The girl in yellow wielded a woven silk ribbon as her primary weapon. While its base attack modifiers were incredibly low, the kinetic animations were fluid, beautiful, and highly aesthetically pleasing. The young master opposite her utilized his folding fan, which possessed equally abysmal damage output, but his attack animations were designed to look arrogant and stylish.
“…Are they attempting to win via combat superiority, or are they competing for the highest aesthetic score?” Lu Yunxi muttered.
