"Where do you place me, your husband?"
"We're already married, but you still can't bind your heart to me!"
Gu Fei's voice was low and ominous.
Xun'er looked up at Gu Fei, whose expression was cold and distant.
She wanted to explain but found herself unable to say anything. Gu Fei was right about many things.
Since she was married, she should have distanced herself from other men. But she had been willful, not considering Gu Fei's feelings at all. Or rather, it wasn't that she hadn't considered them—it was that she simply didn't care.
[Ding, Xun'er is panicking and having a breakdown, her emotional value increases by 300]
"Enough. No more words. Let's just get a divorce!"
"Since you won't give me your heart, I will set you free!"
Gu Fei looked calmly at Xun'er, his voice steady.
"I..."
Xun'er opened her mouth, almost ready to say, "I can give you my heart." But when the words reached her lips, they stopped for some reason.
"Am I so unworthy of your trust?"
Seeing the determination in Gu Fei's eyes, Xun'er's face paled, and a deep discomfort settled in her chest.
[Ding, Xun'er feels sadness, pain, and shame, her emotional value increases by 300]
"What have you given me that I could trust?" Gu Fei retorted.
"I... I..."
Xun'er stammered, her mind in a daze, unable to form a complete sentence.
"Alright... let's part ways peacefully and avoid further embarrassment. I'll move out tonight."
Gu Fei was resolute. After speaking, he turned around and prepared to walk downstairs.
This residence belonged to Xun'er. In the past, Gu Fei had always gone along with Xun'er's wishes. Even after they got married, when Xun'er insisted on staying in her own residence, Gu Fei had agreed without hesitation.
Now, with things between them coming to this point, there was no reason for Gu Fei to stay any longer.
"No... No! You are my husband! You can't leave me!"
Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Xun'er turned quickly and stubbornly pleaded with Gu Fei.
"If you don't want me to go, answer me this: will you consummate our marriage tonight?"
Hearing Xun'er's words, Gu Fei frowned. A look of indescribable disappointment flickered in his eyes as he asked his question.
"I..."
Xun'er fell silent, unable to respond. She had thought about it before, but now, she wasn't ready.
"Alright, tomorrow morning, I will inform the clan leader..."
This time, Gu Fei left the bamboo house with firm steps. No matter how much Xun'er tried to stop him, he didn't turn back.
...
By now, night had fallen, and the moonlight bathed the entire land. A cool, silvery glow spread across the mountain range, giving it an ethereal appearance.
In the heart of the range, clusters of ancient temples stood tall. Under the moonlight, they resembled ancient beasts, exuding an aura of timelessness.
Gu Fei stood alone on a distant mountain, far from the ancient temples.
The peace of the surroundings mirrored the calm that had settled in his heart.
"From now on, I will no longer waste my energy trying to please Xun'er."
Gu Fei exhaled deeply, feeling a sense of relief and comfort.
This mountain was his home before his marriage. In fact, he hadn't been back here for half a year. Now, as he walked toward his old residence, he began contemplating his future.
This was the Douqi Continent, where the lifelong dream of countless individuals was to become the legendary Dou Di. Gu Fei was no exception.
Ten years ago, Gu Fei had activated the Emotion Upgrade System, which elevated him from an average talent to the prodigy of the ancient clan.
The Emotion Upgrade System worked simply: by directly or indirectly stimulating the emotions of people blessed with fortune, Gu Fei could collect emotion points. These points could then be used to enhance his abilities.
In this world, the most fortunate individuals were often those around Xiao Yan, the "future" Emperor Yan. Xiao Yan's luck was far beyond ordinary.
Apart from Xiao Yan, most of the other fortunate individuals resided in the Northwest Continent.
In recent years, Gu Fei had focused almost entirely on Xun'er. To bring her back to the ancient clan, he had trained tirelessly. Combined with the good fortune of a few individuals within the clan, Gu Fei had advanced rapidly.
But the emotional points gained from those with low luck paled compared to those with high fortune. Stimulating an ordinary person might yield only 0.1 or 0.5 emotional points, but stimulating someone as fortunate as Xun'er could earn hundreds of points.
To gather more emotional points, Gu Fei realized he needed to focus on those fortunate people scattered across the Douqi Continent.
[Emotional Points: 4000]
A system panel, visible only to Gu Fei, appeared before him. Before he had proposed the divorce to Xun'er, his emotional points had been just over 2000. Now, they had doubled.
"I've accumulated enough points; it's time to upgrade my attributes."
The thought passed through Gu Fei's mind, and the system's attribute panel appeared.
[Host: Gu Fei]
Age: 16
[Cultivation: Seven-Star Dou Zong]
[Qualification: Level 101 (90-100 is the qualification for the Ten-Star Dou Di bloodline)]
[Physique: Level 78 (Comparable to a late-stage seventh-order imperial bloodline beast)]
[Soul: Early Spiritual Realm]
[Dou Technique: Great Flame Heart Sutra (Heavenly Elementary)]
[Dou Skills: Flame Devouring Cage (Advanced Earth Rank), Sun Finger (Intermediate Earth Rank), Sky Star Step (Advanced Earth Rank Body Movement Fighting Skill)...]
[Alchemy: Level 6]
The system panel was simple, and Gu Fei was familiar with it.
"System, upgrade my alchemy level!"
Gu Fei commanded.
[Ding, the host's current alchemy level is 6. Upgrading to level 7 will consume 3999 emotional points. Proceeding with the upgrade.]
"Buzz!"
In the next instant, a vast amount of knowledge flooded Gu Fei's mind. The intricacies of alchemy were imprinted in his consciousness.
Alchemy was broad and profound. Even what the system imparted to him was only a fraction of the whole.
Gu Fei carefully reviewed the new alchemy knowledge, becoming fully absorbed in it.
He knew the path to becoming a top-tier alchemist was a challenging one. But with the system, Gu Fei was confident that one day, he would become a figure that would shake the entire continent.
Lost in the system, Gu Fei remained unaware of his surroundings.
Not far away, a beautiful girl from the ancient clan stood quietly, gazing at him in silence.