Qin Yun woke up the next day with a pounding headache. While cultivators could easily reverse the effects of alcohol, where would be the fun in that? He was sprawled out on the floor, wearing nothing but his trousers as all his clothes were thrown around the room. At least he was inside his house with a roof above his head.

He tried to rise but found another body blocking his path. Qin Meihui was lying on top of his chest, wearing nothing but her undergarments. Her eyes were still closed, and Qin Yun could feel her soft breath on his skin.

Qin Yun's gaze was locked on her long eyelashes as they slightly vibrated along with her breath while he did his best to restrain himself from doing something he would regret. Despite his miserable state, Qin Yun's memories of last night were crystal clear; he knew nothing had happened between them.

With a slight, mischievous smile, Qin Yun lightly pinched her slender nose, waiting for her to wake. She did this slowly at first until the memories returned to her like a cannonball in her brain.

She rose in one step, snatching the first item of clothing she could find, which happened to be Qin Yun's outer robes. Hiding behind it, she looked at Qin Yun with a piercing glare as if to impress her shame into his mind.

The man chuckled slightly before turning around, letting her get dressed, which she did with much difficulty as her gaze was riveted on him. Once done, her mouth opened and closed several times, trying to find the words to say. After a moment, she finally settled on this.

“We didn’t... did we?”

While she still had most of her memories, some were missing—the most important ones.

“No," Qin Yun affirmed as he turned, locking gaze with her. "The wine was simply too strong, and it unbalanced your Core Qi, which resulted in you taking off your clothes.”

Qin Yun failed to mention that this Dwarven Fire Wine wouldn't have had the same effect on him as the nature of his Spiritual Roots was wildly different. Qin Meihui’s was of the water and wood attribute, which didn’t mesh well with the fire attribute of the wine, which raised her core temperature substantially.

While intoxicated, Qin Meihui argued that it wasn't fair for her to be the only one to take off her clothes, so, with no other choice, Qin Yun obliged reluctantly.

Still, Qin Yun could tell she didn't believe in the slightest that this story was so simple. Yet, the sun was already high in the sky, and she couldn't continue to loiter around here. Unlike this lazy bum, she was quite a busy woman. Still, she wouldn't let this go so easily.

“What should I expect from our relationship from here on?” she asked as she was about to exit the threshold of his house. She turned and looked straight into his eyes, expecting a truthful response without avoiding the issue.

Qin Yun sighed and then spoke his mind.

"That’s up to you," Qin Yun said as he sighed slightly. "There are many things I can give you and just as much that I can't. Still, the path is long and lonesome. Company would always be appreciated."

Qin Meihui frowned, thinking of the implications.

“What about your marriage,” she asked sheepishly.

“For now, I’ve no intentions of going against it. Still, it will all be made clear once I meet the bride,” he said as he shrugged.

Qin Yun rose and, while still bare-chested, approached Qin Meihui, pinning her against the door frame.

“You should clearly think about what you truly want from me. If you want my heart, then you had it long ago. Still, the heart isn’t that simple. I don’t expect you to give your whole heart to me, so don’t expect this from me. I just want you in my life in any way you choose to be.”

Hearing those direct and sincere words, Qin Meihui's gaze became slightly hazy as a complicated feeling rose in her heart. She looked Qin Yun in the eyes yet couldn't sustain his gaze. She turned and walked away at almost a run. Yet, as she left the courtyard, she couldn't help but turn around for one last look before finally leaving.

With a peaceful expression, he went back inside and dressed. While he had feelings for her, his were much more subdued than the average person's. He had loved many people in his long years and had all seen them go, either through his or their deaths. Still, those feelings remained in his heart to this day. To ask him to choose which ranked higher was an impossibility, even if Qin Meihui was alive and they were already long gone.

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Still, Qin Yun tried his best not to be a hypocrite. He left the choice to her to figure out what she truly wanted. He knew he couldn’t avoid this marriage unless he fell out with the entire clan. While it was still a possibility, he would try to avoid it if possible. He also knew, sooner or later, she too would have to face her own marriage. What she would choose at that point would be up to her. He wouldn’t think less of her if she wanted to be with that man, as it would only be fair of him.

While some may think he was cold and uncaring, this was the only way to protect his heart in the long years and countless seasons he had been alive. He had no intention of becoming a machine going through the motions. Everything stemmed from his own will. He wouldn't ask something of someone he wasn't prepared to do himself.

With those thoughts at the back of his mind, Qin Yun sat on the floor and started cultivating. While he did circulate his Innate Qi within his muscles and bones every waking moment, it was only when properly cultivating that most of the heavy lifting was done.

Speeding through the Body Strengthening Realm wasn't complicated, as most cultivators simply chose to skip this stage entirely. They were already born with a more robust body than most mortals, as their innate Qi perfused their flesh, sculpting it into a receptacle fit to accommodate the world's spiritual energy.

Few lingered in this realm, much less those like Qin Yun, who went far and beyond. According to his theories and past experiences, this would come back to haunt most cultivators, as their foundations would be brittle at best, ensuring the road ahead would be filled with hardship.

As Qin Yun wished to reach the peak, he wouldn't settle for anything less than perfection. He took a deep breath and started circulating the pitiful amount of Innate Qi he possessed, making sure to quench every muscle and bone fibre.

Unlike the Spiritual Qi, which cultivators collected in their Qi Centre when they reached the Qi Refining Realm, Innate Qi was a limited and scarce resource determined at birth, which would be slowly expelled as one aged. The only way to retain it was to actively do so, preferably as soon as possible.

Innate Qi was truly a peculiar existence. Unlike Spiritual Qi, which could be found everywhere, innate Qi behaved much differently. For one, it was much more potent, containing much more power, but it was also impossible to renew once used up.

Also, Innate Qi and Spiritual Qi were incompatible, as if their origins were two opposites balancing each other. Spiritual Qi was created from Heaven and Earth, while Innate Qi was created by a mother and then transferred to the child in the womb.

However, as the Spiritual Roots in a newborn child grew, so would the friction between Innate Qi and Spiritual Qi wishing to take root, leading to the dissipation of Innate Qi, almost as if Spiritual Qi couldn’t tolerate its existence.

Fortunately, Qin Yun became aware almost precisely as he was born, so the amount of Innate Qi he possessed was much more than most thought possible. Yet, compared to what even a 1st level Qi Refining Realm cultivator could accumulate, his reserves were indeed pitiful. He could use no techniques for fear of using up any Qi. All he had was his body forged through years of gruelling hardship.

Tempering the body was by no means an easy task, especially past the 10th level. Every time his Innate Qi circulated within his flesh, it would tear at his muscles and break his bones, only to restore them but only slightly stronger. The process would repeat itself, day after day, ad infinitum.

Qin Yun pushed through the pain, regardless. This was far from the worst torture he had ever experienced. Besides, the reward was worth it. He judged his physical body to be as strong as his father’s, if not stronger. One had to know that his father was easily over a century old while Qin Yun was only twenty.

If he were to expose his strength, that would surely be a devastating blow to the clan. Still, this didn't mean he could win against his father in a fight. Only that his current flesh surpassed the Nascent Soul Realm. His father had ample Qi to use, while Qin Yun could only punch and kick his way to victory. Still, he had trump cards but would prefer not to use them.

Qin Yun did the same as he always did. He made the Innate Qi do one full lap around his body, destroying and reconstructing everything before he ground two packets of Innate Qi against each other. A small amount of Qi was destroyed in the collision, yet its purity seemed to rise slightly.

Since the start, Qin Yun had followed this procedure to the letter, working his Innate Qi one bit at a time. After years of doing so, Qin Yun’s Qi was almost void of any imperfections. Still, its amount was truly too pitiful to show. Yet, it was still enough to temper his flesh.

As for why he did so, that was another theory he had. The Qi Refining Realm could be divided into two distinct phases: the accumulation and refining phases, usually done in this order. Yet, Qin Yun thought, why not do it backwards.

Usually, new cultivators enraptured by the allure of newfound strength would accumulate as much Qi in their Qi Centre as possible before slowly refining it to progress to the next realm. However, they failed to realize that the more Qi you had, the harder it was to refine.

Most were left with just half-baked refined Qi as they attempted to build their foundations, which often resulted in a shaky base on which to build.

Qin Yun realized that if you were to add Spiritual Qi to highly refined Innate Qi, the purity would only drop slightly as if the Innate Qi would simply devour the Spiritual Qi introduced. As such, when he finally reached the Qi Refining Realm, Qin Yun could streamline the process and swiftly move through the levels as he prepared to build his foundation.

Still, one problem arose from all this. Qin Yun had no idea how pure he could make his Innate Qi. He had started this project over fifteen years ago, and there was no end in sight. Maybe he would be stuck in the Body Strengthening Realm for quite a long time. This didn't really bother him, as his strength would constantly increase even if his realm did not.

There was another one. As the two types of Qis were incompatible, Qin Yun would be forced to choose between them. His first instinct was to integrate all his Innate Qi into his flesh once it reached its highest purity. This, however, felt like a waste as replacing it with Spiritual Qi would mean a drop in his means. He was reluctant to do so and would seek another way.

With this day's cultivation over with, Qin Yun rose and examined his surroundings. He had never put much effort into fixing his shabby dwelling, as he could sleep mostly anywhere. But now, with his marriage quickly approaching, something needed to be done.

He wasn’t the type of man to let his wife live in such a situation. Even if he didn’t know what type of woman she was, he would do his best as her husband. That was simply the type of man he was. Besides, he was an experienced husband; he knew he could make this work.

With his newfound goal, Qin Yun spent most of each day simply cultivating during the night and fixing his courtyard during the day. He mainly kept out of everyone's way as the clan eagerly prepared for his upcoming marriage. Unbeknownst to him, the list of guests was staggering, ranging from the current city lord to the elders of the surrounding immortal sects.

While most in the clan knew a wedding was coming, the clan's elders had kept the bride and groom's identities under wrap, probably fearing an uproar if they were to know their shame was one of the participants.

As the elders had ordered, Qin Yun had been on his best behaviour for almost an entire month, as he rarely left his courtyard. Nobody even bothered to come see him regarding the details of the ceremony; Qin Yun also didn't bother to ask and left everything to them to manage,

And so, the fateful day was finally upon them.