Dual Cultivation

Two hours have passed since Wang Shuren's special training in alchemy began, and she has already burned over a hundred pills. Furthermore, they were all Elementary-grade pills — pills that she would normally be able to concoct while being half awake.

'This is utterly impossible! I cannot even control the flames in my current state, much less concoct a pill!' Wang Shuren cried inwardly as she burnt another pill.

Another hour passed, and just as Wang Shuren was getting the hang of it, Su Yang suddenly said to her, "I see that your body has relaxed quite a bit. Get on the bed, we'll cultivate again before you continue to concoct pills."

Wang Shuren looked at him with a dazed face.

"I-I didn't know that you were such a sadist, Su Yang…" she said with a bittersweet smile.

Su Yang merely smiled and said, "Then you've learned yet another new thing about me."

A few moments later, Su Yang pounded Wang Shuren's cave with his rod until her body was twitching all over the place.

Once he was done with her, Wang Shuren felt even more exhausted than previously with barely any strength to even sit still.

"A-Are you sure this is training and I'm not being tortured instead…?" Wang Shuren asked him in a low voice.

"Like most training out there, it's usually the hardest to endure at first, but once you get used to it, you will understand just how effective this method of training is." Su Yang said.

"Although you may have never experienced this kind of training before, it's actually quite common in my world. Of course, unless they practice dual cultivation, they have other methods of exhausting one's body. However, the results are always the same regardless of how you do it."

"You want to become the best Alchemy Master in this world, right? I am helping you achieve that before I leave in two years, which is not possible under normal circumstances. But if you really refuse this method of training, I will train you normally. Obviously, the results will differ greatly, and your abilities won't be anywhere where you would be if you train using the Heaven and Hell Experience. I'll let you choose now."

"..."

Wang Shuren stared at the cauldron before her with a serious pondering expression.

A few moments later, she nodded, "I don't care what you do to me or my body — I want to be the best Alchemy Master this world has ever seen before!"

One hour… two hours… three hours… Wang Shuren continued to concoct pills while under stress and exhaustion for the entire day. And whenever her body recovered barely enough strength to move properly, Su Yang would stop her training to cultivate with her until her entire body felt like jello again.

Within just a few hours of training, Wang Shuren stopped wearing clothes even when she was concocting pills, as her body was covered in sweat most of the time.

The following morning, Wang Shuren laid on the bed with a blank expression and dead-looking eyes, almost as though she had turned into a soulless body.

"How do you feel?" Su Yang asked her with a relaxed expression on his face.

While Wang Shuren suffered around the clock, he only felt pleasure and satisfaction from their cultivation.

"Am I… still alive…?" she mumbled in a mosquito-like voice.

"Congratulations, you have endured your first day of training. After today, I will come here once a week to continue this training method. During the days I am not here, you can concoct pills normally."

"I am going to return to the Profound Blossom Sect now."

"W-Wait a moment, Su Yang!"

Wang Shuren suddenly stopped him.

"What's the matter?"

"I still have some matter with you… though it's nothing really important."

Su Yang nodded and waited for her to continue.

"Do you remember Wang Chen and his eldest son, Wang Shichong, from the auction at Snowfall City?" Wang Shuren asked him.

"If I recall correctly, there were a few insects that annoyed me with a similar name." Su Yang casually insulted them. "Why are you bringing up their name?"

"Well… they've been bugging me ever since the Regional Tournament, begging me to ask you to forgive them for offending you at the auction house. Although I don't particularly like them, they are still my family, so..."

And she continued, "They are probably terrified that you might seek them for revenge later for offending you. They also said that they are willing to do anything for your forgiveness, Su Yang. What do you think?"

However, Su Yang merely scoffed in a nonchalant voice, "People like that cannot offend me even if they try! They are simply too beneath me for me to feel offended. Though since they are your family, I will let you handle everything."

"Thank you, Su Yang…" she said to him. "By the way, I will make your temporary residence a permanent one so that you can return to the same place when you return in the future."

Sometime later, Su Yang returned to his living quarters to get Xiao Rong before leaving the Burning Lotus Sect.

Meanwhile, within the Profound Blossom Sect, Sun Jingjing approached Su Yang's living quarters and knocked on his door.

"Hello, Sister Jingjing." Qin Liangyu greeted her at the door.

Over the past few days, Qin Liangyu has familiarized herself with all of the disciples in the sect, even becoming good friends with some of them — to the point where they address each other as though they were real sisters, and Sun Jingjing was one of these individuals she treated as though they were sisters.

There was just something about Sun Jingjing that made Qin Liangyu feel relaxed whenever she was around, almost like she was before Su Yang's presence.

"Sister Liangyu, is Su Yang inside? I have something important to talk to him about." Sun Jingjing asked her.

"No, he went to the Burning Lotus Sect a few days ago. However, he should be back soon." Qin Liangyu said.

"Is that so…" Sun Jingjing sighed.

"Is something wrong?" Qin Liangyu asked her.

"No, it's just that…"

Suddenly, another voice interrupted her.

"Hey, why do I sense Su Yang's presence coming from you?"

A few moments later, an extremely beautiful lady with silver hair appeared from one of the rooms inside Su Yang's living quarters, shocking Sun Jingjing to the core.

"Y-You are Su Yang's Master!" Sun Jingjing exclaimed in surprise.