This was actually what Rise of the Midnight King was originally supposed to be. However, that story got too much plot. It’s intended to end up on Webnovel (if I wrote it) Well, Rise of Midnight didn’t do popular, you’ll have to let me know if this does.
Tags: Action, Adventure, Isekai, Cultivation, Harem, Humor, Romance, Male-Protagonist, Xian Xia
I wasn’t going to go full ero, as Webnovel censors it, so it’d probably be ero-lite… something akin to God and Devil World. Well, it’s just another concept that exists right now.
A group of six men surrounded one, but that man had a calm demeanor and a gentle smile on his face. He was an attractive man, but no so attractive as to cause himself trouble. Still, he had a scholarly appearances that attracted women of all types. His hands were behind his back, and he made no move of aggression despite they all had their blades out.
“Are you him?” The one who appeared be in charge demanded. “My lord demands to have an audience with you.”
“Are there not proper channels for this kind of thing?” The man asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Hmph… you truly don’t see your place! Do you know who my Lord is?”
“Of course, it’s Lord Ping, correct? He was a Disciple of the Guiding light sect, and now is a lord of three provinces. He’s a cultivator, and I believe he’s reached the condensation realm?”
“Exactly! A tier seven of the condensation realm is not something a puny loose cultivator like yourself can hope to top! What realm are you in!”
“Sadly, I’m only an origin cultivator. I’ve reached the ninth tier, but I have long to go before I reach the next realm.”
“Hmph… are you sure this is the right guy?” A snobbish boy spoke up.
That man, in other words I, straightened my robe. “If you’re asking if I am the cultivation guru who has helped over three cultivators break through bottlenecks in their training, then that is indeed I. However, my services aren’t cheap, and I don’t like to be threatened.”
“You think way too highly of yourself!” The boy took a step forward, but the older leader held up his hand and stopped the boy.
“Young lord, I know you’re worried about your mother’s progression, but if we bully this man too badly, he may choose to make things difficult on us.”
“Who would dare?” The young Lord looked like he couldn’t believe it.
So, that was Lord Ping’s son. I had noticed that most young lords were extremely arrogant and thought they were owed everything. As a man who grew up from a meager family of cultivators, I had a lot more humility than these men. My gift was basically magic. They should be groveling at my feet for my help, but instead, they approached me with weapons drawn and condescension in their eyes. Even my reputation wasn’t enough to earn their respect.
After all, I was a lowly origin expert. This was the first realm, and many would say I wasn’t even a tree cultivator yet. This was a world where the powerful ruled. Anyone who didn’t specifically focus on having the highest cultivation level was looked down upon. A few managed to side-line this. There were powerful alchemists and merchants who were so skilled at their craft, that the cultivators couldn’t dare look down on them. Their significant resources, along with their connections to powerful guilds, also had a part to play.
Unfortunately, for me, I had no guilt for what I did. My resources were none existent. My previous successes had all been done in desperation, and not for any kind of profit. This was actually the first time I had asked for money, which made my statement that I wasn’t cheap a joke to anyone who knew the truth. All I had was my reputation, and even that was suspect. Due to the nature of my methods, no one spoke of how I succeeded. They only would say that I did. For any logical thinking cultivator, this was far too suspicious. That’s how I knew that this Lord Ping must be desperate.
If it hadn’t been for me finding out about a certain gift, my family would have already been destroyed. I’d be dead, along with my Mother and Father. I had managed to turn their fate around, and now they had enough to live comfortably. My family was still the lowest ring, but we had the potential to grow into something more. I wanted to become something more. I wanted to make my family proud. However, for that, I needed resources, and resources meant I must sell my particular skills.
“Excuse me, my lords…” I bowed to all of the men respectively, swallowing any pride I had. “If you need my services, I will, of course, provide them. I have heard of the Lady Ping already. Her beauty across the three provinces is well known.”
“Don’t think you may even lay your filthy commoner eyes on Mother!” The Young Ping snarled.
“Is she not the one that requires cultivation assistance?” I asked with an innocent expression.
The older man sighed. “She is… please, Young Master, please allow us to handle this.”
The man-child muttered something in a low voice and lowered his head, although he still looked unpleased.
“Well, naturally, I will need to see her if I wish to cure her of her problem,” I responded with a shrug.
“Come, commoner, Lord Ping wished to see you first.” He said, instead of acknowledging my words.
I didn’t let any anger reach my face. Years of being abused by those of higher rank had given me a great deal of tolerance for humiliation. Since I already knew the direction this would take, I was willing to allow them to look down on me. There would be a time in the future when I would be looking down at all of them. I bowed politely again and allowed them to lead me back to his palace.
The palace was extremely large, and you were able to see it from any place within the city. It wasn’t built by cultivators like the sects though. This was the work of mortals. Lord Ping was merely a disciple of a small sect, but within the mortal world, that put him at a rank so high it was impossible for commoners to reach. My family, the Wang family, controlled only a single city within one of Lord Ping’s provinces. He was at a place so high that I never thought I’d ever be able to reach, and now I was being brought before him as a respected guest.
Well, respected was relative. The truth was that I was just a tool to Lord Ping. My entire family had been tools to him. It was actually his cousin’s actions that had nearly destroyed my family. Lord Ping didn’t know this, but I hated his guts and would love to see his demise. I wasn’t the only one. Many families had been suppressed by him for years. His palace was a clear indicator of this. It had been built on the money of hundreds of suppressed families, and a mountain of mortal corpses.
Yet, he was a third realm cultivator in a place where even first realm cultivators were rare. He even had the backing of a sect. There was no one who had the capacity to overthrow him. There was no one who would even dare risk trying.
Yet, here I was, brought before the great Lord Ping. It was a Massive Hall, and he sat on a raised chair that made him look more imposing. He was a bear of a man, with a long beard, and a giant knob of a nose. He was not attractive by any sense of the word. He was an imposing man, and he gave off a pressure that would cow most cultivators. I was able to resist that pressure only a little. Mortals would normally faint.
“Level nine, origin realm.” He said, “Not bad. If you were five years younger, I’d consider making you a part of my guard.”
His words sounded polite, but there was definitely mockery in them. I was twenty years of age, and to be still in the first realm was definitely trash. Most reached the second realm by the age of eighteen, although it’d take them another twenty years to reach the third. Lord Ping had supposedly hit the third realm when he turned 25. Fifteen years later, he was at the higher tier of the third realm, and on his way to reach forth. Once he reached the fourth realm, his dominion over this area would be solidified.
“My Lord, it is an honor…” I gave him all due respect, all but kowtowing on the floor.
“I know it is…” He snorted. “I don’t have time to waste on pleasantries. What I want to know… is can you do it?”
“I apologize, but your men were unclear on what exactly I’d be doing. If my Lord makes it clear, I can answer better.”
This caused the Young Lord, who was kneeling beside me to shoot me an ugly look. He was already in the second tier himself and looked to be about eighteen. He had the right to look down on me, based on the laws of this world.
“Hm…” He snorted. “Two years ago, I was wedded to a beautiful young cultivator. My son’s true mother past away during childbirth. She was only a mortal woman. My current wife is a promising cultivator. At sixteen, she is already in the ninth tier of the opening realm. However, she had not progressed to the third realm in the last year, no matter what resources I’ve given her.
“I’ve been told my wife’s vital yin will be most useful to me if she is in the same realm as me. Thus, she must reach the third realm so we can begin dual cultivation. I hope to be able to break into the fourth realm, finally with such a method. Can you help my wife progress to the third realm?”
I looked him straight in the eye and nodded. “I absolutely can.”
In truth, most of his plan was a joke. She had more potential as a cultivator than he had, and he wanted to destroy her potential for his own personal gains. Whatever family had given her to him as a bride were fools. Had they just supported her a few more years, then she could have brought their family to heights even higher than the Ping family. Instead, they threw her away to a beast.
Furthermore, his plan wouldn’t even work. While dual cultivation had some advantages, he was too far away from the fourth realm. For a level 7 to jump to 9 and then pass a great realm, that was impossible. At best, if he cultivated to level 9 and remained there for a few years, then his plan to reach the forth realm in his life might actually work. However, at his current rate, it’d be another twenty years before he reached tier 9. After all, each tier was more difficult to reach than the last. Lord Ping passed his prime. While he should have focused on having sons and building them to be stronger than himself, he was instead still trying to gain supremacy and lengthen his life span.
Of course, I said none of that. He would likely have me killed in an instant if I disagreed with anything he said. I was sure his advisors were in a similar tough spot. If he tried to cultivate later, his wife would surpass him eventually, and few men could stomach a woman who was more powerful than them. He’d rather waste her potential, just as her family had, for mild gains.
The one thing that had actually surprised me about what he said was that this was only a sixteen-year-old girl. The way Young Lord had called her Mother and defended her, he would have sworn she really was an older woman. It wasn’t until the Lord gestured and a beautiful jade-like figure with a veil across her eyes walked out into the throne room that he understood.
Although Lord Ping appeared to be clueless, it looked like the Young Master had untoward thoughts toward his new Mother. It was clear he wanted to do some dual cultivation of his own, although his desire was purely for pleasure!
“Meixiu, this man will have the ability to bring you into the third realm. We can finally dual cultivate!” Lord Ping said, looking at her like a piece of meat.
She was wearing a long white dress. Her hair was silky smooth. Her eyes were like deep pools. Her skin was soft and pure. She was far too good for Lord Ping, in every sense of the word. The only thing off-putting was that her face showed no expression. It was as if the woman had shut off her ability to feel anything. Perhaps, that was her only defensive mechanism from living in such an environment where she was nothing but a tool to her husband, and an object of lust to her son by marriage, who happened to be a bit older than her, as it turned out.
She gave a delicate bow, but her eyes didn’t change a drop from the dead-eyed stare. However, I noticed her bow was a bit more than necessary. It was a level of respect that the rest of her family had failed to show. It gave me something to think about.
“Alright, then begin!” Lord Peng ordered.
Scratching my chin, I looked at him directly. “I need privacy. It’s not simply a trade secret, but it requires absolute concentration. I request a private chamber, with a seal placed around it. No sound or view in or out.”
“How could we agree to that?” The Young Master stood up angrily.
“It’s a trade secret! And even if it wasn’t, If there is even a small distraction, I could accidentally ruin her cultivation forever. Then you will definitely take my head. This is non-negotiable. Your woman is welcome to describe the procedure to you after we’re done, but during it, I need absolute privacy! I will let you know after I have checked her out what it will take to make a breakthrough.”
The Young Master wanted to say something again, but Lord Ping raised his hand and silenced him. He stared at me for a second, but I kept a face as stoically unchanging as the maiden wife standing next to the throne.
“Hm… fine… but no funny business.” He growled. “If my wife isn’t 100% satisfied with her cultivation progress, then you will die immediately.”
“Don’t worry…” I responded, stroking my chin. “Satisfaction is guaranteed!”
He waved, and guards appeared. Rather than leading the way, they grabbed me and dragged me away like I was a prisoner. I was eventually pushed into a room that looked to be the room of the young woman. She wasn’t pushed around as rudely. Lifting her skirt, she obediently went where directed.
Lord Ping stood outside the door with his arms crossed. “You have thirty minutes to make your diagnosis. At that point, I’ll decide whether to hire you or kill you!”
He slammed the door, and a moment later, a barrier was erected around the room. I cautiously felt it, and finally gave out a sigh of relief. I had succeeded. Turning to the woman named Meixiu, I could see she hadn’t moved from her spot. She was like a puppet going through the motions while not having any free will of her own. However, after standing there staring at her for a few minutes, she finally made the first movement, glancing at me.
“You better hurry. My husband wasn’t joking about killing you if you fail.”
“Your husband will probably kill me if I succeed.” I chuckled. “He wouldn’t want a person like me helping his enemies, right?”
“…” She didn’t say anything, but she looked away, showing that she likely agreed.
“Do you love your husband?” I asked a different question.
“He is my husband. I love him with all of my heart.” She responded, but her words sounded rehearsed and unconvincing.
“And what would you say if I told you I had a plan to kill him.”
Her body shook for a second. “What are you saying… t-t-treason!”
“What if I could give you the power to kill him yourself?”
This time, her eyes finally raise, and she looked up at me. A fire that had previously not existed appeared in her eyes for just a second.
“What are you saying?” She demanded.
“You have great potential as a cultivator. Anyone with a brain can tell you were conspired against. This is the only reason you ended up in such a pitiable situation.”
“Even so…”
“Your potential is greater than you realize. I know you have been hiding your cultivation supplies, trying to keep yourself from increasing your realm as long as possible.”
“How did you know?“ Her eyes widened in shock.
I chuckled. “You just told me…”
Her eyes grew even more fearful. “You… if you tell him I’ve been hiding my supplies…”
She started to resonate with power. It looked like she was going to go to attack me. As someone an entire great realm under her, I would be killed in a heartbeat if she wanted it. That was one reason that her husband allowed me to be in a room with her. There was no way I could do anything she didn’t approve of.
“Don’t be hasty!” I coughed up some blood as the pressure she emitted pushed me to the floor. “Didn’t I say I was trying to help?”
Realizing her mistake, she pulled back her power, suddenly blushing. Her previous aloof and dead-eyed demeanor had been replaced with something else. She had just a hint of hope, and she acted more animated than she had likely acted in over a year.
Wiping my mouth, I stood back up. “Alright, let’s try this again… I have the ability to increase your cultivation, not just to the 3rd realm, but by an entire great realm! In one month’s time, I can make you a 3rd ream, 9th tier cultivator. That is two tiers higher than your husband.”
“Th-then what?” She asked, her mouth falling open.
“Hehe… anything you want? You’ll be the strongest person in the realm, and your potential will be limitless. You won’t have to be bullied again.”
“Even if I believed you… what’s in it for you?” She asked, looking nervous.
“I said, I want Lord Ping gone. His son can be gone as well. Although, I would also appreciate those cultivation resources you’ve been storing.”
“Is that all?” She asked cautiously.
“Should there be anything else?” I shrugged. “Look, decide now. As you stated, there isn’t much time. Today, I can loosen your bottleneck. Then, you will tell your husband that you’ll need a month in seclusion, with me as your advisor. By the time you get out, everything will change.”
She only thought about it before a moment before she nodded. “What do you need me to do?”
“Take off your clothes.”
“E-excuse me?”
“Ah? Didn’t I say… my technique is Dual Cultivation!”
“Y-you… you pig! You’ll ruin my cultivation and cause us both to die! Why was I even listening to you!” Her pressure began to return, and she lifted a hand, causing a ball of spiritual energy to appear.
If she released it, it’d be enough to turn me to ash in a second.
“Have you not heard the rumors!” I cried, crouching down on the floor defensively. “I’ve helped three other women cultivate in a similar manner. My body is strange and unique. Where a normal man takes a woman’s vital yin during intercourse and cripples her cultivation, I do not do that!”
“H-how is that possible?” Her pressure let up just a bit, allowing me to raise my head.
“I do not know, but my body rejects your vital yin. In other words, I can inject a woman with my yang, and it will cause her rapid progress in her cultivation while having none of the setbacks!”
“C-can this really be true?” her resolve weakened slightly, as did her pressure.
I stood up. “I am every woman’s perfect Dual Cultivation partner! If you practice with me, I guarantee your cultivation will grow by leaps and bounds, and your vital yin will remain intact. No man will be able to tell, and you will appear a maiden to even to intense scrutiny. Give me your womanhood, and I will give you the strength to change your fate!”