The wooden floorboards of the bungalow were dripping wet and to Ying Yue He's eyes, everything was thick with some kind of tension. She was inclined to think that it was the sexual kind, but the man was currently deep in his thoughts.

Was he worried about what was going to happen if they stayed here for one more night?

She was aware of who the people were and what they were capable of—even if they didn't fully show that side to her. It was one of the things that a person kind of picked up with their intuition and gut feelings.

.. It also didn't help that one of their Senior Cultivators was a Poisonous Insect and Animal Tamer and was very interested in breeding Gu Spirits—it was kind of obvious at that point what kind of situation she found herself into.

But they treated her well during her stay so she didn't have much problems at all. Now that Li Yang was around and she was being asked to return back to the city with him.. this was where things might end up difficult.

Ying Yue He rubbed her shoulder and wringed out some of the seawater. "Hey, why don't you take a bath first, Mister Li?" Before the two of them could even decide to do anything, she'd like him to get a little more comfortable first.

"I'm fine, you can go ahead first," Li Yang said. "I don't want you to get a cold."

Ying Yue He rubbed the back of her neck. "Uh—I don't get colds anymore."

"Oh, right. My bad, it slipped my mind."

"No worries. Thanks actually, I'll go ahead now.. unless," Ying Yue He chewed on her bottom lip. Even if the two of them had kissed.. it didn't mean that she'd get to invite him to join her in the shower, could she?

That was jumping several bases—besides, it wasn't what she wanted that mattered in this situation. Or maybe what mattered was her wanting to see the man's expression ease up.

"Unless?"

"Ah, unless you wanted to—but of course you don't. You just told me to go ahead first. Thanks!"

He was doing one of those faces that he did in the office when he was stressed out—something she picked up alone throughout their years together in work.

Ying Yue He felt like she was working out in thawing out the more relaxed side out of her boss and that was a difficult endeavor. A hot bath was the first step to everything though and so she did.

—-

Li Yang let Ying Yue He take a bath first and it was something that she didn't mind at all. He found her thankful, although hesitating slightly as if she wanted to say something. Right before she stepped inside of the bathroom, he looked at her retreating figure.

He got slightly distracted with how her clothes stuck to her skin and made it revealing—but he concentrated on getting things done.

'Assess Individual Ying Yue He'

[ Evaluation Now Updated ]

Individual is an insignificant being in the earthly plane, however there is some merit to their constitution if one were to pursue the path of Body Cultivation or Martial Arts. The Individual seems to have reawakened a suppressed bloodline that had thinned throughout the millennia.

Through their choice of pursuing both body cultivation first and with the access of the great resources of the Liu Group, the Individual has achieved great success as a beginning cultivator despite their late start.

Considered suitable as part of the 'Harem' for the Host's.

[ .. Further Information Gathered ]

[ Name: Ying Yue He ]

[ Age: 26 years old ]

[ Cultivation: Foundation Establishment (2/9) Early Stage ]

[ Body Cultivation: Pulse Condensation - Body Transformation ]

[ Constitution: Gourmet Body (36%) ]

[ Bloodline: Epicurean Bloodline (awakened) - Concentration (15.99%) ]

[ Roots: Wood (11.2%) / Earth (14.8%) / Water (12.3%) ]

[ Sect: Liu Group ]

[ Cultivation Methods ]

[ Blossoming Vine Scripture (Mortal) ]

Power: Extremely Weak

Comprehension: Advanced (250/256)

Stage: Qi Condensation (9/9)

Notes: A mortal cultivation method provided by the Shen Group that is perfect for those with multiple but roots that harmonize well. It focuses on creating a healing blend of qi in the latter stages, which is also good for alchemy-pursuing cultivators and those who prefer a less violent fighting style.

[ The Waning Vermillion Butterfly (Earth)]

Power: Weak

Comprehension: Intermediate (48/128)

Stage: Foundation Establishment (2/9)

Notes: An earth-rank cultivation method provided by the Liu Group that focuses on the quick and decisive strikes that harmonizes with a more aggressive use of wood-roots. Can be combined with a poisonous cultivation method and upgraded to mystical arts of Venomous styles and also Illusionary styles.

With the later stages, if the User has great mental energy, they can create actual butterfly-like attacks that fade once it hits its target with potent poison and frightening illusions.

[ Martial Arts Methods ]

[ The Moon's Ephemeral Dance (Earth) ]historical

Power: Weak

Comprehension: Intermediate (96/128)

Stage: Pulse Condensation (9/9)

Notes: An earth-rank cultivation method and technique that provides the individual with greater speed and smooth movements. Requires continuous training of the body at powerful water sources to make the bones and body as graceful as the moon reflected in waters.

[ Skills ]

Innate Ascension (rare)

Members of the Epicurean Bloodline can ascend through body cultivation, also known as martial arts, even without much training due to high receptiveness to their intake

Spiritual Sense (common)

Most cultivators use beyond their five senses to navigate through life. Individual has a degraded version due to lack of any cultivation method both spiritual or physical

[ Fate ]

Prior: Background Individual

The individual has taken the path of least resistance and is living a mundane life

Current: A Jewel of the Liu Group

The individual has received a great amount of resources from the Liu Group and has received some prioritization compared to her peers due to her special constitution and favor from one of the higher-ups of the organization.

Future: ???

[ Notes ]

Freed from the System's Missions by the Host due to intervention

Epicurean Bloodline and Gourmet Constitution allows the Individual to Highly Benefit from Resources

Epicurean Bloodline was said to have vanished or thinned due to the huge amount of resources needed and wanted by members to ascend

Li Yang stared at all the changes in Ying Yue He's status and then looked back at the bathroom door where she was currently bathing.. Did she really do all of this? It was hard to imagine that she grew that strong.

.. She even outmatched him by ascending into the Foundation Establishment Realm. Granted, he took advantage of what was akin to a cheat code by taking more levels in Qi Condensation that was granted by the System—still, this is what the Harem Cultivation System wanted him to get for as partners?

He suddenly remembered the Song Family's precious daughter and wondered how exactly did she get included in the list. Surely there was some sort of rhyme and reason to this System, didn't it? It had specific conditions that made one woman viable as part of the harem and other times not.

Li Yang assumed that Taiga was strong and she probably was—but when he remembered how Setsuko herself had some kind of Divine White Fox sealed bloodline and now he was seeing his secretary being prepared by this Liu Group as some sort of Poisonous Butterfly Cultivator.. he couldn't help but sigh.

He tried to remember the faces of the cultivators earlier on their swords—did one of them happen to be a Poison Cultivator? Li Yang wouldn't be surprised if it happened to be the same exact guy who claimed to have no interest in Ying Yue He.

.. a part of him felt annoyed. He was more annoyed than jealous. Was Ying Yue He aware of the latter stages or did she just accept the cultivation method without a fuss? Li Yang knew that she did her best to become strong because of his disappearance.

While he was happy with the results and now knew that he didn't have to worry about her getting hurt—unless they faced cultivators in higher realms.. they happened to be inside an island with cultivators of higher realms.

What was he going to do? Wait until dawn and hope for amicable separation? Compared to the Nian beast that he killed—that was practically just a resource material and held no comparison to Ying Yue He herself.

Should he try to escape now?

Did he have any kind of item that would help him? These kinds of occasions made it impossible for him to solely use the Points he accumulated for cultivation alone—but simply rising in one cultivation method wasn't going to cut out a path of escape for him and Ying Yue He.

Li Yang opened up the System's Shop Screen right at the same time that the bathroom door swung open. Ying Yue He stepped out of the bath wearing a fluffy white towel that somehow hugged her body well, showing off her figure and clean appearance.

"Mister Li—I mean, Yang. We're not in that kind of relationship anymore, are we?" Ying Yue He coughed slightly. "Since I kind of left my job, you know?"

Were distractions welcome?

—-—-

Author's Note: Golden Tickets! Golden Cores! We have those—well, the Golden Tickets at least. Thank you so much for the following who contributed their tickets for the book. FallenReaper, David_Hubbard, IronPirate, SoulessFang and Jack_Jones.. Thank you so much for helping this book stay relevant in the ever-changing need for change in AllNovelFull! This book was more focused on Harem originally, but thanks to the [ Materials and Resources ] I've also been receiving from Fallen who joined the discord, I feel a bit more confident tackling the Cultivation part lol.