I Just Wanted To Live but I Somehow Became Better Than the Protagonist

Self-Realization

“Ah…” After a long while, Ye Yong let out a deep sigh, akin to a drug addict finally getting their fix, his expression filled with immense pleasure, comfort, and satisfaction.

“Master, are you alright?” Hua Ningyan, who had been tense all over, finally relaxed a bit, as Ye Yong had been too close for comfort. His hot breath felt as if it could ignite her, and his rough handling seemed like he wanted to devour her.

“Much better, much better.” After indulging in the fox, Ye Yong felt his mood lift significantly. However, he also realized that if he continued like this, as his realm increased, the duration of his seclusion would only grow longer and more unbearable. Thus, a time artifact was essential. When the time came, while others experienced a day, he could experience several, alleviating the discomfort of seclusion and allowing him to spend more time with the female lead.

But glancing at the price of the time artifact, the protagonist’s dragon-themed 1:3 divine jade pendant space cost over two million, while the lower-tier 1:2 version was priced at 1.3 million. Ye Yong only had 600,000 now, not even half of what he needed, and even the ultra-low-tier 1:1.5 version was still 100,000 short.

Not to mention, he had reserved these reversal points to deal with the Holy Son of the demon race.

Ye Yong did not believe that Ye Qingwu could persuade Peng Zhang not to come looking for trouble. As a former reader, he was well aware of Peng Zhang’s temperament—he held grudges like no other. The Blood Flame Sect was a prime example; they had never even met, yet after a confrontation with Ye Qingwu that injured her, Peng Zhang had risked offending the human race to infiltrate the imperial city and assassinate an elder of the Blood Flame Sect… If he knew that everything was caused by Ye Yong, it would be a volcanic eruption waiting to happen.

Keeping 600,000 reversal points to deal with Peng Zhang felt insufficient to Ye Yong. Peng Zhang was countless times more dangerous than the Black Water Secret Realm. Killing him would bring the wrath of the vast Penghu demon clan, leading to a frenzied revenge. If he didn’t kill him, he would keep sending reckless subordinates to cause trouble.

All fear stemmed from his own lack of strength. Ye Yong deeply empathized with Long Tian’s plight at this moment. One could only say that the protagonist’s opportunities were not so easily severed; a careless mistake could lead to eternal damnation.

However, with things having come to this point, Ye Yong had no choice but to brace himself and face the situation head-on, responding to each challenge as it arose.

Returning to the current issue of the painful trials of cultivation, with insufficient reversal points and no way to purchase time treasures, he could only attempt another method: to rely on himself to comprehend the techniques.

If one were to view cultivation as a game, with each realm seen as a level, then experience could be gained by absorbing spiritual energy, or it could be enhanced when one grasped the deeper meanings of certain techniques.

The automatic grinding had caused Ye Yong to miss out on the experience of comprehending techniques. While others were in seclusion, they could at least gain some insights, akin to being in a state of deep learning, where time would pass quickly and unconsciously. Ye Yong, on the other hand, was merely going through the mechanical motions of taking medicine and operating his mental techniques daily, increasing the spiritual power within him. In some ways, this was convenient, but it also made the cultivation process feel more tedious and monotonous.

Comprehending techniques was not easy, and it consumed more time, but it could make cultivation less dull and tedious; overall, the benefits outweighed the drawbacks. After all, cultivation was like learning—if it were entirely uninteresting, no matter how one studied, it would be hard to continue, ultimately leading to counterproductive results. Ye Yong also did not want to develop a fear of seclusion.

Choosing a few commonly used techniques, Ye Yong planned to pause the automatic grinding system when he entered seclusion later, relying on himself to increase his progress. As for now, he just wanted to relax for a few days and not worry about cultivation.

——

After a long-awaited shower, Ye Yong emerged from the bathroom dressed, just in time to bump into Wu Xue, who had returned home from training. At first, Wu Xue could hardly believe her eyes upon seeing the young master; she blinked several times to confirm she wasn’t hallucinating, then hurriedly tossed aside the knife in her hand and joyfully leaped into Ye Yong’s embrace.

“Young Master! You’re finally out!”

Fifty-five days—almost two months. Who knew how she had managed to endure?

Ye Yong patted Wu Xue’s head, relieved that he had just absorbed the fox spirit comfortably; if she had been the first to see him upon exiting seclusion, she would likely have been left in a daze: “Have you been slacking off during this time?”

“Not at all! I’ve been very serious! And I’m already at the tenth level of body refinement!” Wu Xue lifted her head, her small face brimming with pride. “I believe I’ll break through to the bone refinement stage soon!”

“Impressive! So, what reward do you want?” The body refinement stage for martial artists was equivalent to the foundation establishment stage for cultivators, while bone refinement corresponded to crystallization. Ye Yong couldn’t help but marvel at her speed of advancement, especially given the ample resources available. However, it was normal for martial artists to progress quickly in the early stages of body refinement; when it came to refining internal organs and meridians, that was when the real pain began, and progress would slow significantly.

“Um…” Wu Xue pondered for a moment, suddenly blushing as if she had thought of something: “I want…”

“Want?” Ye Yong’s lips curled into a slight smirk as he looked at her mischievously.

Wu Xue quickly lowered her head: “Whatever the young master gives, I’ll take it.”

“Oh?” Ye Yong’s mischievous grin widened. “Alright then, I reward you with half an hour of petting Ning Yan.”

“I don’t want that!” Wu Xue immediately shook her head; she didn’t want to waste her reward on petting that flirtatious fox.

“Neither do I!” Hua Ning Yan, hearing the commotion, stepped out from the room. She had intended to continue talking to Ye Yong after he finished his shower, but she hadn’t expected Wu Xue to have already returned.

After all these days, the relationship between the two little cuties hadn’t changed much, which Ye Yong found unsurprising. He was the bridge connecting their communication; as long as he was in seclusion or absent, they had little opportunity to converse.

—

After all, a human martial artist and a beast clan spirit fox are different races, different systems, and still rivals vying for affection.

“Alright, I won’t tease you anymore. How about each of you accompany me for half a day?”

“Only half a day?” Wu Xue clearly felt it was insufficient.

“Can’t it be a whole day?” Hua Ningyan also chimed in.

It seemed that only at this moment did their opinions align.

“I still need to continue my seclusion later.” Ye Yong felt helpless; he had also counted Qin Shimeng and Liang Xiaorou in. Four female leads, two days’ time. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to spend more time alone with the female leads, but he had to conceal the anomalies that might arise when breaking through to the tenth level of the Crystal Stage.

An anomaly during a breakthrough was a very serious matter. Previously, he had been unprepared and, by good fortune, had not been discovered by the outside world. Now, Ye Yong couldn’t afford to gamble on luck; the Heavenly Dao might be ready at any moment to set the stage for his demise.

In any case, once he successfully broke through to the tenth level of the Crystal Stage, it wouldn’t be too late to continue nurturing his relationship with the female leads. Ye Yong had always been a patient person; if he couldn’t hold back, he wouldn’t have been able to stay in a seclusion chamber with no entertainment for a full fifty-five days.

Hearing that he was going to seclude himself again, both Wu Xue and Hua Ningyan felt a bit down. How long had the young master/hero been out?

“The next seclusion will be much shorter, don’t worry.” As Ye Yong spoke, he used a communication stone to contact Qin Shimeng and Liang Xiaorou, inviting them over to gather.