Zheng Xiu hadn’t wanted to do this.

But his four family members were incredibly insistent.

Pingping, who was from Persia, was an expert at handling men. The moment she saw Zheng Xiu hesitate, she decisively threw off her outer robe, revealing the red, textured, sheer lingerie beneath.

The other three were dumbfounded by Pingping’s sudden move. It was clearly unplanned.

Zheng Xiu took two steps back. Pingping then whipped out a length of White Silk and pretended to throw it over a beam. Tears streamed down her face as she said, her voice choked with grief, "Master, if you don’t agree, I’ll hang myself in this red outfit, become a Fierce Ghost, and haunt you for all eternity."

"Put that away! What is all this fuss about life and death? Have you no sense of propriety?!" Zheng Xiu scolded Pingping with great distress. "Fine, I’ll do it! Isn’t that enough?!"

"Master, you really are the best!"

Pingping’s pretend sobs turned into a radiant smile. The four women showered their master with praise for his wisdom and might.

After exerting a tremendous amount of effort to lock the four of them in shackles, Zheng Xiu wiped the sweat from his brow. He blindfolded them, repeatedly stating that he was only helping them with their training—helping them loosen up their Path, and nothing more.

Zizi even proactively asked to be tied up with ropes.

Zheng Xiu had no choice but to bind Zizi tightly from top to bottom.

The four women, their faces flushed red, writhed in their restraints. The sight made Zheng Xiu subconsciously swallow.

But soon, the Nightmare of being obliterated into dust by Feng Bei’s single strike flashed through his mind, and he was instantly jolted back to his senses.

’What’s going on?’

Zheng Xiu thoughtfully closed the dungeon door and returned to his room. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was strange about that Nightmare, as if he couldn’t escape it.

Lying in bed, Zheng Xiu thought of the four delicate flowers bound in the dungeon. Something felt off. He tossed and turned, unable to sleep. It wasn’t until the middle of the night that Zheng Xiu abruptly sat up, secretly twisted the vase, and entered the dungeon again.

Looking at the four women again, they seemed completely unaware of their master’s arrival. Their bodies were still twisting restlessly—but it was as if they had entered a bizarre state. A strange steam rose from their bodies, and their skin was scalding hot and red, filling the cell with four distinct, flower-like body scents.

’Can you really fucking train like this?’

Zheng Xiu was dumbfounded.

Their current state... if they weren’t in heat, the only other explanation was that they were entering a Deep Path. Zheng Xiu was more inclined to believe it was the former.

He even intentionally made a few noises, but the four women seemed not to hear. Or perhaps they knew the dungeon was secret and only their master could enter, so they simply resigned themselves to their situation.

’Such hardworking and ambitious young people.’

Besides being described as "ambitious," their "desperate" actions also revealed something else: they trusted Zheng Xiu so completely that they were willing to be bound by him in a sealed dungeon in order to train.

While Zheng Xiu was secretly touched, he also felt a little ashamed for subconsciously pondering how many primary wives and concubines a Marquis was allowed to have under Daqian law.

’But it seems... it’s not against the law.’

At the same time, Zheng Xiu was also contemplating the training method for the [Orchid] Path and whether there were any aspects he could reference for his own Path.

By logical deduction, the [Orchid] Path was that of a prostitute, and the core of role-playing a prostitute was to sell oneself. But these four refused to sell themselves, which was perhaps why they had been shut out from a certain gate all these years. Then, that day when Zheng Xiu unintentionally bound them in the dungeon, he had broadened their horizons, allowing them to comprehend a new training method.

After observing from a distance for a long while, Zheng Xiu finally walked to the end of the dungeon corridor, chose a formidable-looking cell, and closed his eyes to enter his Heart Prison.

"Mmm~ Master, don’t~"

"Master~"

Zheng Xiu had just submerged himself into the Heart Prison.

When faint, whimpering moans, almost too quiet to hear, echoed from the dungeon.

WHOOSH— WHOOSH— WHOOSH—

The moment Zheng Xiu appeared in Feng Bei’s home—on that bald mountain—as his alias, Zheng Shan, he was hit in the face by a blast of frigid, howling wind.

The sound of the roaring wind filled his ears.

Clenching his fists, Zheng Shan crashed onto the mountaintop like a meteor, sending up a flurry of snow.

Usually, when Feng Bei was at home, Feng Bei called the shots. But today, Feng Bei was at *his* home, which meant that in Feng Bei’s home, *he* called the shots.

Zheng Xiu felt not a shred of guilt for trespassing. He directly opened the [Feng Bei’s home] Post Station and appeared there.

[Name]Zheng Shan

[Birth]Painter

[Path]Painter

[Title]None

[Age]Thirty-two (In his prime)

[Muscle Strength]Thirty (Powerful Strength)

[Step Technique]Thirty (Peerless Speed)

[Constitution]Thirty (Immune to all illness)

[Appearance]Thirty-six (Peerlessly handsome, extraordinary bearing, unmatched in this era)

[Will]Thirty-two (Loyal and unyielding, firm as a rock)

[Destiny]Eleven (Slightly blessed)

[Physique]Twenty (Broad and burly)

[Scholarship]Thirty (Vastly learned)

After pushing open a new gate in the [Prisoner] Path, his previously max-level alt, [Zheng Shan], was now maxed out for nothing. His [Muscle Strength] Attribute couldn’t even compare to the Evil Child’s. It felt like having a set of god-tier gear that lost its invincible aura after a new game patch, leaving one feeling desolate and sighing in disappointment.

But it didn’t matter. Zheng Xiu carefully assessed [Zheng Shan’s] state without getting too hung up on it. As long as Feng Bei was around, this walking experience pack would sooner or later max out Zheng Shan’s Experience Level.

Zheng Xiu now had three Incarnations.

They were:

The Evil Child, [Zheng Er], from a scholarly family.

The Painter, [Zheng Shan], from a Danqing Family.

And [Zheng Baimei], from a Sword Dao family.

Zheng Baimei possessed the Golden Trait [Heaven and Earth Sword Intent], taken from the [Inner Rulebook]. If [Zheng Baimei] could step onto a Path in the future, the Path he would take was practically a foregone conclusion—he was set on the way of the [Knight].

But even though [Zheng Baimei] was equipped with the fixed [Heaven and Earth Sword Intent], his Path column was still empty.

Similarly to Zheng Baimei, Machoman Zheng Shan’s [Danqing Painting Skill] was also a fixed Trait that couldn’t be unequipped at will, yet Zheng Shan had gained insight into the [Painter] Path.

In other words, there was no direct correlation between having a fixed Golden Trait and gaining insight into a Path.

[Danqing Painting Skill (some accomplishment)] I, a man from a Danqing Family, was utterly clueless about the Danqing Painting Skill, yet I shamelessly called myself a Painter. Then, on a certain day of a certain month in a certain year, amidst a blizzard, I yearned for a remarkable woman. I expressed my feelings freely, my brush creating poetry, and finally glimpsed the rudiments of Danqing’s mysteries, becoming self-taught and acquiring the Danqing Painting Skill.

[Heaven and Earth Sword Intent (Peak of Perfection)] A Nameless Sword Saint held a sword at age three, became famous at six, was undefeated by twelve, and sealed his sword in a tomb at nineteen. At thirty, he sought a worthy opponent in vain, and at fifty, he entered secluded meditation on a snowy mountain. Three hundred years later, the Nameless Sword Saint died of old age. In his final Life and Death Struggle, he comprehended the True Meaning of Sword Dao. Using his "heart" to command the sword, it could destroy Heaven and Earth or show mercy to all living things. The Heartless Ultimate Sword and the Compassionate Kindness Sword, the convergence of Heaven and Earth, blended into a single strand of Unity Sword Intent. This Sword Intent can only be unsheathed on the verge of death, in a state between life and death, when the Human Soul is leaving the body. As a result, the Unity Sword Intent that the Nameless Sword Saint comprehended at his death could only be used once in a lifetime, becoming an unsung masterpiece unknown to the world.

Zheng Xiu still remembered the ecstatic joy he felt when he pulled the Golden Trait from the [Inner Rulebook].

But when he figured out how to use the [Heaven and Earth Sword Intent], he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

A Trait with such a terrifying description was actually... a Passive Skill!

Just as the name implied, to truly unsheathe the [Heaven and Earth Sword Intent], you had to be on the brink of death.

Even so, this Skill was worthy of its "Peak of Perfection" grade and its Golden quality.

After all, if the Incarnation died, the Main Body would still be fine. Zheng Xiu could already imagine it: when facing an unbeatable opponent, he could just summon "Zheng Baimei," send him to his doom, and once his health was critical, activate the [Heaven and Earth Sword Intent]. Wouldn’t that be like a nuclear bomb? At worst, he’d just have to create a new ancestor.

However, if this [Heaven and Earth Sword Intent] self-destructed in the Ghostly Realm, all of Zheng Xiu’s previous progress would be for naught. There were pros and cons.

But this kind of self-destruct characteristic was still awesome. Zheng Xiu decided to treasure it as his ultimate trump card.

Of course, the "Peak of Perfection" grade also gave Zheng Xiu something to look forward to. According to the dictionary of idioms, what if above "Peak of Perfection" there were other grades, like "Superb," "Divinely Inspired," or "Returning to the Essence"? Maybe if it evolved further, he could use it twice? Or even use it at will?

It was a gamble on the future.

’But will it really be that smooth?’

Zheng Xiu couldn’t help but feel that obtaining the [Heaven and Earth Sword Intent] had been a little too convenient, too easy.

’Well, if I get the chance to enter the Ghostly Realm, I’ll give it a try.’

Although Zheng Xiu felt uneasy, he wasn’t afraid. You have to taste something to know its flavor. Cowering in fear and avoidance would only allow evil forces to grow more rampant.

Yes, I’m talking about you, Riddle Arm.