Chapter 4
Liu Ming sat cross-legged in the corner of the cell, sweat beading on his forehead.
Circulating the Profound Female Art was becoming increasingly difficult. The yang energy within him seemed ready to boil over, on the verge of breaking free of his control at any moment.
He had no idea how long he had been in the cell. He only knew that the maids had brought him food twice, and he had eaten it all.
He didn’t care whether they’d slipped some kind of potent drug into the food. He only knew that if he didn’t eat, his hunger would soon make it impossible to control the yang energy within him.
The other men were in the same predicament, struggling desperately to suppress their yang energy. A few looked ready to lose control at any moment.
The burly man, on the other hand, still seemed completely fine. He even kept scanning the others, watching to see who would “erupt” first.
“It should be nearly tomorrow...” Liu Ming gritted his teeth, feeling the increasingly violent surge of heat within him.
Summoning a clone seemed to have drained a great deal of his mental energy. Now he was dizzy, and even the scene before his eyes had begun to blur.
“No... If this keeps up, my yang energy is going to erupt!”
He desperately circulated the cultivation art, but without yin energy to nourish him, the yang energy within him was like a wild horse that had broken free of its reins, becoming harder and harder to suppress.
Just then, a shrill laugh came from nearby.
“Hahaha! That kid’s about to lose control!” The burly man suddenly stood up and pointed at Liu Ming, shouting, “Someone, come quick! His yang energy is about to erupt!”
Liu Ming jerked his head up, a flash of anger and alarm in his eyes as he glared at the burly man.
The burly man grinned viciously. “You’re going to die anyway. I might as well report you again and earn another chance to live!”
Outside the cell, footsteps rapidly approached.
“Whose yang energy is about to erupt?” came a cold female voice.
Liu Ming’s heart tightened. The maid was almost here, and his yang energy was on the verge of spiraling out of control. If she discovered what was happening, he was as good as dead!
[A new day has arrived. You may summon a new clone]
Just then, the system’s prompt rang out like music to his ears.
Liu Ming’s heart leaped with joy. He gave a rapid command in his mind:
“Summon a clone!”
[Summoning clone]
[Clone appearance generated at random]
[Please select items to assign to the clone]
“Assign the yang energy in my body!”
Liu Ming made his choice without hesitation.
This was something he’d wanted to try for a long time. If he could even assign his own “talent abilities,” then could he assign the yang energy in his body, too?
Perhaps it could ease the effects of the Yang-Attracting Pill and save his life!
[Assigning yang energy... Assignment successful]
[Please name the clone]
It worked!
Liu Ming felt the yang energy suddenly vanish from his body and breathed a sigh of relief.
Then, as he prepared to give the clone a random name, he suddenly froze.
This time, the clone the system had generated... was a woman!
A slender young woman with delicate features appeared out of nowhere in his mind, waiting to be summoned.
“A woman?” Liu Ming was momentarily dumbfounded.
He suddenly realized that the clone’s appearance was truly random—even its gender could be random!
Unfortunately, time was short, and he couldn’t dwell on it.
“I’ll call you... Liu Meng!”
[Summoning clone... Please wait]
Outside the cell, the maid’s footsteps had already reached the door.
“Is this the one?” The maid in the black mask looked coldly at Liu Ming.
The burly man hurriedly nodded. “Yes, yes! It’s him! His yang energy is about to erupt!”
The maid narrowed her eyes and placed a hand against Liu Ming’s chest, seeming to sense something.
Liu Ming held his breath, his heart pounding like a drum.
A moment later, the maid withdrew her hand and snorted. “What nonsense! His yang energy is calm. There’s no sign of it about to erupt!”
The burly man was stunned. “Impossible! I clearly saw—”
“Shut up!” The maid slapped him across the face, sending him stumbling backward. “If you make another false report, I’ll feed you to the pigs!”
The burly man covered his face and didn’t dare say another word, but the hatred glimmering in his eyes refused to fade.
Liu Ming silently breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he’d suspected, as long as nothing was wrong with him, the maid wouldn’t attack him without reason.
The maid glanced at the others, then suddenly turned and looked toward Liu Meng outside the cell.
“Hm?” She furrowed her brow. “Who are you?”
The newly summoned clone, “Liu Meng,” stood rooted to the spot without saying a word.
She had thought she was as good as dead. Now that the maid had spotted her, death seemed inevitable. But if she could take the yang energy from her main body and save his life, then dying wouldn’t be a waste.
She hadn’t expected the clone to be a woman this time!
If so, perhaps she could take advantage of the situation and use this identity a little longer.
“I... I’m new here today.” Liu Meng lowered her head, her voice softer than a whisper.
The maid stared at her for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed. “So it’s you! What took you so long? Miss Su has been waiting for you!”
Liu Meng lowered her head again and said timidly, “I... I was delayed on the way here, Senior Sister. I... there’s something I’m not sure I should say...”
“We don’t have so many rules here. Just say it.” The maid seemed much less imposing with Liu Meng.
“I think... I think someone didn’t want me to come here, but I’m not sure...” Liu Meng spoke softly, as if afraid to say anything.
“Oh? Is that so?” An amused look appeared in the maid’s eyes. “Never mind. You’re here now. Come with me. I’ll take you to your room first.”
With that, she turned and headed down the corridor.
Liu Meng glanced into the cell, then silently followed the maid.
Before long, she entered a familiar passage lined with many rooms. It seemed this was where she would be living from now on.
Liu Meng kept her head lowered as she followed the maid, feeling the yang energy within her.
Now, she had an idea.
The Profound Female Art required both yang and yin energy to cultivate. Liu Ming hadn’t been able to truly practice it because he lacked yin energy; all he could do was struggle to suppress the yang energy within him.
But now Liu Meng had received the yang energy from her main body, and as a woman, she had yin energy of her own. Could she... cultivate this art by herself?
Unfortunately, with the maid beside her, she had no chance to try. She could only use the yin energy within her to suppress the yang energy and wait until she found a chance to be alone.
“Your room is right here.” The maid stopped in front of a door and spoke without turning around. “By the way, what’s your name?”
“Liu Meng...” Liu Meng answered softly.
Just then, hurried footsteps sounded from the end of the corridor.
“Senior Sister! The new Junior Sister has arrived!” A maid wearing a white mask hurried over, with another timid young woman following behind her.
The maid in the black mask suddenly stopped.
She slowly turned around and cast a cold glance at Liu Meng and the other “new arrival.” A frigid smile appeared at the corner of her mouth. “How interesting. Since when were there two new Junior Sisters arriving today?”
Before Liu Meng could react, the other young woman suddenly fell to her knees, pressing her forehead to the ground as she trembled all over, too afraid to speak.
The maid in the black mask sneered. “No matter who you are, once you become Miss’s maid, you’ll never be able to betray her.”
“But we only need one maid. Here’s what we’ll do: the two of you will compete right here. The winner joins us, and the loser dies on the spot.”
“As for the contest... the two of you will see who can draw yang energy into her body first!”