Chapter 49 | I Accidentally Became the Training Target

After chatting with Ning Xian about the whole sequence of events, Fang Xuan took a moment to look back on yesterday.

Put simply, no one knew from what backwater corner it had crawled out of, but a lump of black tai sui had secretly slithered into the wine jar Ning Xian had buried beneath a tree behind the house for soaking medicinal liquor—and it had been growing there for nearly ten years.

In the original story, there might indeed have been such a trivial side episode, but it was definitely part of the post-rebirth plotline. Before rebirth, Ning Xian absolutely wouldn’t have been able to handle it.

When Fang Xuan had read the novel back then, he’d skimmed ten lines at a glance, only caring about how Ning Xian dominated everything in the later stages.

As for this kind of “rural ghost-story”-level mini-arc, he’d long since forgotten it entirely.

According to Ning Xian’s deduction, that jar of wine and the special environment had accidentally provided the black tai sui with perfect nourishment.

The thing itself was already somewhat uncanny, and after being nurtured like that, it gradually developed a faint, rudimentary awareness.

Then Fang Xuan—this guy practically radiating high-quality yang energy all over his body—moved in.

And on top of that, he sat cross-legged cultivating every single day right over its “head.”

For a black tai sui that had just awakened its intelligence and was in desperate need of nutrients, this was basically like a starving wolf seeing a fat sheep—one that delivered itself straight to its mouth.

So it secretly siphoned off the yang energy that leaked from Fang Xuan’s body while simultaneously driving some barely-formed wandering ghosts in the valley, staging last night’s Hundred Ghosts Night Parade.

The goal was simple: knock out this “great tonic,” and then… well, probably drag him into the jar and slowly feed over time.

As for what it tasted like after eating it—

The texture was kind of like extremely chewy black fungus.

The flavor itself had been masked by Ning Xian’s seasonings, leaving only a rich, salty fragrance. Honestly, it tasted pretty good.

More importantly, once it entered his stomach, it immediately transformed into a potent medicinal effect that rapidly spread through his limbs and bones.

He could clearly feel that the explosive spiritual power he’d gained earlier from cultivating the nameless cultivation method was now being tempered and compressed by this medicinal force, becoming far more solid and dense.

A true great tonic!

Ning Xian also mentioned that the black tai sui’s true body possessed astonishing vitality—cutting off a piece of flesh wouldn’t kill it, and it would slowly grow back.

It could be kept and harvested periodically in the future.

Seen this way, it was almost certainly an opportunity meant for Ning Xian after her rebirth—he’d just triggered it ahead of time.

One more thing: its appearance really was… hard to love.

A pitch-black lump, with chunks of flesh inside that still wriggled slightly.

But in the face of real, tangible benefits, who cared about looks?

All Fang Xuan felt was: absolutely delicious.

……

Next up was the matter of the sect tournament.

Under normal circumstances, today should have been Qingyun Sect’s annual internal sect tournament.

Disciples from each peak would take the stage to compete, display their cultivation, and fight for rankings and rewards. It was also an important occasion for peak lords to showcase their teaching results and select talent.

As a newly accepted direct disciple, and a representative of outstanding talent, Fang Xuan should have shown up—maybe even secured a high ranking.

But now that he was “seriously injured and bedridden,” there was no way he could attend.

Shen Chen, that old bastard, was probably even happier about it.

With Fang Xuan absent, Shen Chen could operate freely.

For example, in front of the sect master and elders, he could let his trusted disciples put on a show, crushing disciples from other peaks and farming presence hard.

Then Shen Chen could step forward with a face full of regret and pride and say:

“Sigh, it’s a pity that my newly accepted disciple Fang Xuan is severely injured and couldn’t participate. However, with his talent and strength, had he been present, first place would certainly have been his.”

First, he’d slap everyone else in the face with the Void Core reputation, cementing the image of Fang Xuan as a genius who simply happened to be absent.

Then Shen Chen would override objections and aggressively secure benefits for Fang Xuan—secret realm slots, special rewards, higher status, and so on.

On the surface, he’d look like a master cherishing talent. In reality, he’d be putting Fang Xuan on the fire.

At the same time, it also laid the groundwork for any future “accidents”—look, I gave him so many benefits; if something goes wrong, it’s because he wasn’t capable enough.

But all these under-the-table tricks didn’t matter to Fang Xuan.

Reputation, status, other people’s opinions—these empty things were meaningless in the face of absolute strength.

Shen Chen could act however he liked.

Fang Xuan was already at the Void Core Realm. After cultivating the nameless method, his total spiritual power was terrifying. Add to that the black sword “Little Brother” and his preliminary mastery of sword momentum—

His combat strength likely already surpassed that of ordinary late-stage Void Core cultivators.

Once he returned from the secret realm, or found a chance to break through to Golden Core, or even higher—

Shen Chen’s petty schemes would look like children playing house.

……

Finally, and most importantly after today’s review-

Training value.

Over the course of last night and this morning, the number in the system panel under [Training Value] had skyrocketed like it was riding a rocket.

No more stingy increases of 0.1 or 0.01—it had jumped straight into the hundreds.

He carefully checked the logs.

Most of the increase came from his interactions with Ning Xian during last night’s Hundred Ghosts Night Parade.

For example:

【Forced onto the bed by master Ning Xian, generating feelings of obedience and passivity. Training value +2.】

Those were fairly normal—small, passive gains.

But the real bulk came from one record with a completely different tone:

【Detected intimate training between sex slave Fang Xuan and master Ning Xian…】

—

【Involving handling—, including forceful restraint and binding—, with pulling and tugging—】 (small tools)

【Long duration; host remained in a forced acceptance state throughout.】

【Training value +500!】

Fang Xuan: “…..”

He stared wide-eyed at the record.

This was a massive misunderstanding.

Those who knew would say it was just bandaging wounds.

Those who didn’t would think they’d gone full-on… perverted.

After all, restraint and binding alone were already bad enough—there was even pulling and tugging…

Still, the result was great. Training value was training value.

It’s just… this misunderstanding was really a bit too perverted.

At the same time, it confirmed that the system’s training judgments really were focused on those… improper things.

No wonder his previous jade-foot appreciation only gave him pocket-change-level gains.

What happened yesterday—something involving that—was, in the system’s eyes, a thoroughly satisfying, epic-level training session.

……

Looks like this injury…

Really should be “played up” for a few more days.

Not only could he reasonably stick close to senior sister, brushing up daily interaction and affection, he could also farm some training value.

The only thing to watch out for was not dragging it out too long—especially not missing the Qingyun Secret Realm.

That place held danger, but also opportunity.

Shen Chen probably wanted him to enter with bad intentions, but flipped around, it was also Fang Xuan’s chance to rapidly increase his strength.

Finally, regarding Ning Xian—

Her affection had definitely increased, and by a lot.

From her anxious expression this morning, her meticulous care, and her slightly stiff but sincere concern, it was obvious.

But exactly how far had it gone? Fang Xuan couldn’t quite tell.

All he knew was that senior sister seemed to be indulging him more and more.

The upside was that a compliant senior sister would make it much easier to ask for slightly excessive things in the future—like… ahem, certain training behaviors required by system missions.