Chapter 524 A Kiss

"Can't you just take some initiative? Brother is about to ascend soon. Go and actively awaken those Quasi-Emperor-level elders within you, then join forces to kill him. You'll just get more of them killed—do I really need to remind you of this?"

An Yuaner froze.

Lu Ye also frowned.

Right. The point of making you surrender and submit was to have you get things done.

Not for you to flit around in front of me every day, distracting me.

An Yuaner knew she had to leave now.

She immediately declared.

"You're right, Sister. I’ll go awaken those Quasi-Emperors right away. But Brother Nine Lives—"

Shen Xitong snapped in rage.

"Who said you could call him 'brother'?"

An Yuaner flinched. "I saw Sister calling him that, so I thought I could too."

"You are NOT allowed to call him that!"

At this moment, Shen Xitong acted like a mother bear protecting her cub, stepping directly in front of Lu Ye, her sharp eyes pinning An Yuaner with a sword-sharp glare.

"Yuaner was wrong. I won’t call him 'brother.' Then… can I call him 'Lord'?"

Shen Xitong grew even angrier.

Lord?

*Right in front of me*, you dare to seduce my host?

"What do *you* think?"

Shen Xitong’s voice rose several pitches.

"Then I’ll just call him Nine Lives. Sister, please don’t be angry. I know Nine Lives is yours. I never meant to compete with you." An Yuaner said meekly.

"Glad you understand. He’s *mine*!"

If An Yuaner were just an ordinary human woman acting like this, Shen Xitong might not have been so furious.

She wouldn’t have been so confrontational.

But the problem was—this was the Darkness Origin.

Something similar to her. Especially in their past life, after she ascended as Providence, the Darkness Origin had constantly schemed, trying to replace her.

Last life, it wanted to replace her. This life, judging by the situation, it even wanted to steal her host. Wasn’t this just continuing its scheme to supplant her?

Shen Xitong’s fighting and protective instincts reached a fever pitch.

"Sister, Yuaner understands. I’ll leave right away and go awaken the Quasi-Emperors. I just wanted to ask Nine Lives—how many Quasi-Emperors should I awaken to ensure complete victory?"

Lu Ye calculated the forces he could muster.

"Nine. Any more, and the battle’ll escalate. We’ll take it step by step."

"Alright, I'll take my leave now. Goodbye, Nine Lives. Goodbye, sister. Goodbye, Little Providence. Goodbye, Stone Sword. Goodbye, Human Emperor Banner. Goodbye, Way Comprehension Tree..."

An Yuaner bid farewell one by one.

Then, her figure disappeared into thin air.

Shen Xitong gave a disdainful snort.

She turned her gaze back to Lu Ye.

"Ding, host, do you see the Dark Origin's ulterior motives now?"

Lu Ye had a smile but didn't respond.

Shen Xitong took a deep breath.

"Ding, brother!"

Lu Ye's grin grew wider, and he nodded in satisfaction.

"I see. She's trying to win your affection."

After separating from Shangguan Huanling, Lu Ye had gotten much smarter.

He could now figure many things out, and of course, he could tell the Dark Origin was trying to get his attention.

"Ding, exactly! She's trying to take my place in your heart, brother. You must be careful and watch out for her."

Lu Ye nodded.

"Alright, I'll watch out for her."

Though Lu Ye said yes right away, Shen Xitong still wasn't convinced.

But what could she do?

Shen Xitong thought about it.

Soon, she got an idea.

Little Providence, upon receiving Shen Xitong's notice, immediately made a beeline for Lu Ye.

She launched herself at him without hesitation.

Lu Ye instinctively caught Little Providence, who then gave him a big smooch on his cheek.

"Ding, host, you better behave!"

Lu Ye was stunned.

Huh?

"Ding, sister said this is a little treat for you. If you listen to her obediently, next time she'll give you a kiss too."

Shen Xitong froze upon hearing this, her cheeks turned bright red. She swiftly grabbed Little Providence and lifted her up.

"I never said that! Don’t listen to her... Don’t listen to her nonsense. I... I’m going back first."

Completely flustered, Shen Xitong vanished into Lu Ye's body, dragging Little Providence along with her.

Lu Ye...

Why so shy all of a sudden?

We're bros, what's the big deal with a quick peck?

Lu Ye couldn't help but touch the spot where Little Providence had pecked him, and ultimately couldn't suppress a silly, dad-like grin.

That's it—he's made up his mind to protect this Little Providence no matter what. He said it, not even a saint could talk him out of it.

Little Providence was dragged back to the Heavenly Palace by Shen Xitong.

Her cheeks still flushed with a lingering blush.

She glared fiercely at Little Providence.

"Beep, you little rascal, when did I ever say that if the dog host behaves well, I'd kiss him too?"

"Beep, sister, did I say something wrong?"

Little Providence looked up, her face the picture-perfect innocence.

"Of course you did! I'm a system, not a woman. If I dare kiss the dog host today, tomorrow I'll be hit by his ultimate attack. No thanks!"

Little Providence looked bewildered.

What's this 'ultimate attack' thing?

Is it scary or not?

From how sister said it, it sounded really scary.

"Beep, so if I kissed the host, does that mean I'll be hit by his ultimate attack next?" Little Providence asked curiously.

"Beep, no, you're different."

Little Providence's cry of "Daddy" had locked her in as a daughter, so Little Providence wouldn't be hit by an ultimate attack.

Of course, if Lu Ye went beast mode, that's another story.

Hearing this, Little Providence immediately whined.

"Beep, no, no! I want to be like sister and get hit by the ultimate attack too!"

Shen Xitong's eye started twitching.

What to do when a child throws a tantrum?

Simple—just spank them.

So Shen Xitong grabbed Little Providence, flipped her over her lap, and raised her hand.

"Whap! Whap! Whap!"

"Ow! I'll get you for this!" she yelped.

"Whap! Whap! Whap!"

The two engaged in a fierce battle.

In the end, it concluded with Little Providence ending up bruised and swollen.

But Little Providence wasn't having it.

"Ding! Master, I wanna be invincible... sob..."

Lu Ye?!

What?

Invincible what?

Lu Ye was confused but shrugged it off, continuing his cultivation instead.

His body transformed yet again, becoming even more terrifying.

In the void, torrents of energy surged toward him like celestial dragons, converging into his body.

By now, Lu Ye was experiencing the benefits of a powerful physique firsthand.

It turned out that there truly were many physiques that could cultivate at breakneck speeds even without abundant resources.

Because the void, the starry sky, the chaos, and the very fabric of heaven and earth—all were resources.

His cultivation charged forward without pause, exhilarating and unstoppable.

Having a world within his body made the benefits even greater.

Perhaps ascending to the Seventh Heaven might be within reach.