At this moment, Ye Anping was sitting under a locust tree, his face flushed and breathing heavily, sweat soaking his clothes as if they had been soaked in water. He took off his shirt, and when he wrung it, he could probably wring out several large bowls of sweat at the very least.

Compared to his exhaustion, Pei Lengxue, who had been practicing with him, only had a few drops of sweat on her forehead. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, and she seemed to be holding back about seventy to eighty percent of her strength.

Ye Anping had actually thought long ago that he wouldn’t be able to continue being Pei Lengxue’s sparring partner.

But he hadn’t anticipated that this day would come so quickly.

Genius and cannon fodder were on the same path, but the gap between the two would only grow wider.

However, he didn’t feel discouraged. On the contrary, he felt a sense of accomplishment, as if his daughter had grown up. “Look, I’ve taught her well. She’s so amazing!”

Unfortunately, accomplishments were just accomplishments.

Everyone knew Wang Anshi’s “The Lament of Zhao Zong.”

Whether it was the Hundred Lotus Sect or himself, Ye Anping, there were no more resources to provide to Pei Lengxue.

Her rare “Singular Water Spirit Root” had demanding requirements for techniques and cultivation environment.

Moreover, she was already at the peak of Qi Refining and was about to build her foundation.

After building the foundation, the demand for spirit stones and the extreme yin spiritual energy would increase exponentially.

By then, unless Ye Anping could convince his father to give all of Hundred Lotus Sect’s cultivation resources to Pei Lengxue, her future path would be incredibly difficult.

Thinking of this, Ye Anping couldn’t help but feel a bit troubled, reminiscent of the mobile games he used to play.

— The rarer the character, the more expensive the materials for nurturing them would be.

If the protagonist Feng Yudie is an SSR character, then Pei Lengxue is probably UR.

“Ah, I can’t afford it anymore, I can’t afford it…”

“What can’t you afford?” Pei Lengxue sheathed her sword and walked to his side, kneeling down and gently massaging his shoulder muscles to help him relax. She asked, “Senior Brother, are you thinking of raising a little spirit beast as a pet? How about we go around town? I saw some small birds for sale last time. They looked really cute.”

“Well, I’m not interested in those little things.” Ye Anping shook his head and replied, “What I mean is, I can’t afford to support you much longer.”

Pei Lengxue pouted, thinking that Senior Brother was treating her like a pet. But then she thought, being Senior Brother’s pet wouldn’t be bad either, so she jokingly said, “Why can’t you afford it? I’m easy to take care of. Just give me a place to sleep, three meals a day, and some occasional cuddles and pats, and I’ll be fine. I’m much easier to raise than those little spirit beasts and potted plants.”

Hearing her words, Ye Anping sighed again, his lips slightly downturned as he said, “Over the years, I’ve spent quite a bit of spirit stones on you.”

“How much have you spent on me? I can give it back to you. I’ve saved up quite a few spirit stones.”

“Come on, how much could you have in that little savings jar of yours?” Ye Anping shrugged and pondered for a moment before saying, “If we really calculate, I’ve probably spent over fifty thousand spirit stones on you.”

“What? Fif–fifty thousand?”

“You’ve been taking a medicine called ‘Mysterious Ice Lotus’ on a daily basis. In the market, one plant sells for five to six hundred spirit stones. You’ve been taking this medicine since you were seven, so you’d need about twelve plants a year. Add that to other miscellaneous expenses, and fifty thousand might not even be enough.”

Pei Lengxue was somewhat surprised for a moment. She knew that Senior Brother would often give her some pills to take, but she thought it would be a few thousand spirit stones at most. She really hadn’t expected that it could add up to so much.

Seeing her expression, Ye Anping smiled and teased, “Junior Sister, you’ve spent so many spirit stones of mine. What should we do now?”

“Ah…” Pei Lengxue bit her lip uneasily, pondered for a moment, then suddenly brightened her eyes and asked with a smile, “Senior Brother, how much do you think I’m worth? Should I write a contract to sell myself to you to pay off the debt?”

Ye Anping gave her a look and waved his hand, “Who needs your contract?”

“You don’t want it, Senior Brother?” Pei Lengxue lowered her eyes, disappointment in her gaze.

“… …” Ye Anping blinked, then raised an eyebrow and asked in a playful tone, “Why? Are you happy to sell yourself to me?”

If marrying Senior Brother was the best option, then selling herself wasn’t completely out of the question…

Pei Lengxue raised an eyebrow, raised her index finger, and said, “Well… paying off debt is only fair. Since I can’t repay so many spirit stones, I could sell myself to Senior Brother, right?”

“How much do you weigh now?”

“About 85 jin, I think?”

“Pork meat sells for about two spirit stones per jin in the market. You’re worth about 100…”

“Senior Brother!!” Pei Lengxue furrowed her brows and reached out to grab Ye Anping’s face, squishing it into a pancake shape, “You’re the pig here!!”

Ye Anping caught her hand and laughed, saying, “Okay, okay, no more jokes.”

“Hmph!”

“I’m serious. If you stay in the Hundred Lotus Sect in the future, you won’t be able to progress in your cultivation. I was thinking yesterday, maybe I should send you to the Profound Star Sect.”

“Profound Star Sect?”

“Yes, after all, the Profound Star Sect is one of the Five Great Sects. They have far more resources than Hundred Lotus Sect.”

“Great, then let’s go together.” Pei Lengxue quickly nodded, “Didn’t Senior Brother say that there will be a disciples’ assembly in Profound Star Sect in two months? Senior Brother will definitely rank at the top.”

“Whew…” Ye Anping tapped her forehead and said, “I can’t attend it.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Profound Star Sect has extremely strict requirements for disciples’ aptitude. Your Senior Brother here is just a Dual Wood-Water Spirit Root cultivator, and I don’t even qualify to participate in the disciples’ assembly.”

“Oh, I see… If Senior Brother can’t go, then it’s even more unlikely for me. Well, even if my cultivation progresses slower in the future, I’m fine staying with Senior Brother at Hundred Lotus Sect.”

Ye Anping hadn’t officially explained to Pei Lengxue about her spiritual root, so she still thought she had a trinary spirit root.

However, keeping Pei Lengxue at Hundred Lotus Sect wasn’t a bad idea either.

With Wu You’s death, and once Feng Yudie entered Profound Star Sect, the main storyline would start accelerating.

Not only Pei Lengxue, but he himself would also need a significant amount of resources in the future.

Going to Profound Star Sect to reap benefits was undoubtedly the easiest among all methods of obtaining resources.

But the problem was, neither he nor Pei Lengxue could enter Profound Star Sect.

Pei Lengxue’s Singular Water Spirit Root was too unique, and the elders of Profound Star Sect most likely couldn’t see her true aptitude. As for himself, he only had a Dual Wood-Water Spirit Root, which also didn’t meet the requirements.

However, he remembered that Profound Star Sect allowed entry for a cultivation companion.

So, having either himself or Pei Lengxue accompany Feng Yudie could be a solution.

But…

He really didn’t want to get too close to Feng Yudie.

Having cannon fodder get close to the protagonist, wasn’t that the same as courting disaster?

And if he had Pei Lengxue go with her, he feared that Feng Yudie might lead his carefully nurtured junior sister astray.

Pei Lengxue was the junior sister he had spent more than a decade cultivating! How could he just hand her over to the flirtatious Feng Yudie?

Feng Yudie was quite notorious in the later stages of the game. She first deceived Xiao Yunluo, the sect master’s daughter, and rob her of her chastity, then later flirted with princesses and several other talented and beautiful girls.

Just as Ye Anping was thinking about Feng Yudie, her voice suddenly came from the side.

“Miss Pei… and also, Young Master Ye.”

“… …”

Ye Anping turned his head, while Pei Lengxue instinctively tightened her grip on her sword.

Feng Yudie was now being supported by Xiao Die as she limped over from the edge of the training field.

Upon reaching them, she nodded at Ye Anping in greeting and said, “Thank you, Young Master Ye, for preparing the medicinal gruel for me. After drinking it, I indeed feel much better.”

Hearing this, Pei Lengxue’s eyes widened, and she unintentionally tightened her grip on her sword a bit more.

Ye Anping was also a bit puzzled. He hadn’t prepared any medicinal gruel for Feng Yudie, and why was she wearing his mother’s old clothes?

He glanced at Xiao Die’s expression, and suddenly understood. Most likely, the medicinal gruel was prepared by her mother, and his action of bringing Feng Yudie back had led to a misunderstanding on Kong Yulan’s part.

“Well, you’re welcome. By the way, why are you out here in the training field instead of resting in your room?”

“I heard that Young Master Ye and Miss Pei were practicing swordsmanship here, so…” Feng Yudie glanced at Pei Lengxue at the side and smiled playfully, “I wanted to observe from the side. Is that all right?”

“My Senior Sister and I just finished practicing. But I was actually planning to come find you later. I have something I want to discuss with you.”

“Discuss with me?” Feng Yudie pressed down on her head in embarrassment, wondering if this guy had actually developed feelings for her.

“Yes, there’s something I’d like to ask for your help with.” Ye Anping paused for a moment, then looked at Xiao Die at the side, “Xiao Die, could you please go and make us a cup of tea?”

Xiao Die nodded, but her eyes rolled, and she quickly added, “Young Master, Miss Pei is having trouble walking alone right now. She needs someone to support her. Why don’t you help her, Young Master?”

“No need, really.” Feng Yudie politely declined, but after a pause, she shyly glanced at Pei Lengxue and said, “It’s just that there are differences between men and women… so, it wouldn’t be convenient for Young Master Ye to help. Perhaps… Miss Pei could help me?”

Seeing the direction of her gaze towards Pei Lengxue, Ye Anping instantly understood her intentions.

Most likely, she had already set her eyes on his junior sister.

Without hesitation, he ignored Feng Yudie’s refusal and directly grabbed her arm, pulling her toward a nearby pavilion.

“Miss Feng, I’ll support you.”

“Ah?!” Feng Yudie instinctively tried to break free, but Ye Anping’s grip tightened even more, “Young Master Ye, this…”

Ye Anping leaned in close to her ear, a cold smile playing on his lips as he said, “Miss Feng, please relax. I have no interest in you whatsoever. But I can tell…”

Feng Yudie’s gaze slowly shifted to his face, and she suddenly saw a hint of an antagonistic smile on Ye Anping’s previously placid face, which was rather eerie.

She swallowed hard and asked, “What can you tell?”

“Other girls would usually never think of other girls as potential partners, but for you, them being the same sex as you seems to be a plut instead.” Ye Anping glanced at her coldly, his words dripping with venom, “If you dare to lay a hand on my junior sister, you’ll regret it.”

Feng Yudie hadn’t expected to be seen through and felt quite embarrassed. She could only force a silly smile.

“Ahaha…”

However, hearing her forced laughter, Ye Anping’s expression grew even more serious.

In the game, whenever Feng Yudie felt guilty, she would exhibit this kind of awkward laughter.

“Miss Feng, don’t think your silly laughter will work on me. I’m dead serious.”

Feng Yudie hesitated for a moment and hurriedly tried to defend herself, “Young Master Ye, this… I just admire Miss Pei, that’s all. You’ve really misunderstood.”

“If I’ve misunderstood, then that’s good.” Ye Anping responded with a smile, “I saved your life. Don’t repay kindness with enmity.”

Glug… Feng Yudie swallowed nervously, apprehensively smiling, “No… I won’t, definitely won’t.”

At this moment, she felt that this man was truly terrifying.

Even though he was just a Qi Refining cultivator, and a mediocre one with a Dual Wood-Water Spirit Root at that, he looked like an extra in a play. However, he emitted an aura similar to her master, True Immortal Tai Xu.

The little spirit of the Heavenly Dao Scripture floating above her head, which usually looked down on everything, was now surprised that she was intimidated. It once again looked at Ye Anping with newfound respect.

In its memory, Feng Yudie hadn’t shown this level of fear to anyone except her master, True Immortal Tai Xu.

『He was able to see that Feng Yudie has a penchant for women with just a glance? And he could even scare her? This Young Master of Hundred Lotus Sect is quite something, capable of handling things!』

However, no one noticed that Pei Lengxue, who was standing still, had bloodshot eyes.

She stared fixedly at Feng Yudie’s back.

The sword in her hand was making a faint “cracking” sound as she clenched it tightly.

“Tsk, this vixen…”