On the fifth day after Ding Shuang began treating Nalan Jie’s poisoning, Nalan Yanran returned to her family that evening. Just as Ding Shuang was using a strange fire to expel the poison in the room, Nalan Yanran suddenly pushed open the door and entered, saying, “Grandpa! I heard someone can cure the deadly poison in your body?”

Distracted by Nalan Yanran, Ding Shuang lost control of her strange fire and accidentally injured Nalan Jie. Nalan Jie groaned, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. Ding Shuang immediately withdrew her strange fire, glaring angrily at Yanran who had entered through the door, and said, “Miss, don’t you know that one shouldn’t be disturbed while expelling poison?”

Nalan Jie opened his eyes at this moment, glaring at Nalan Yanran and angrily said, “Yanran! Who told you to come in without saying hello! How disrespectful! Do you want me to punish you with solitary confinement?!”

Seeing Nalan Jie injured and angry, Nalan Yanran trembled with fright and quickly stepped forward to hug his arm, saying, “Grandpa, Yanran was wrong! Yanran was only worried about you, that’s why I rushed over! Please forgive Yanran this time. Yanran will definitely change next time! I will definitely change!”

Ding Shuang rolled her eyes. Change my ass! Next time she’ll definitely do it again, no, she’ll definitely do it again next time.

Nalan Jie was helpless against this genius granddaughter of the family. The whole family doted on this little girl, including himself. Even when she went to annul her engagement without permission three years ago, he only said a few words to her and did not punish her.

“Sigh, you girl, always so impulsive. When will you ever mature?” Nalan Jie sighed, realizing he couldn’t bring himself to punish the girl.

Ding Shuang coughed and said, “Ahem! Old Master Nalan, let’s end the detoxification here for today. You were also injured by the strange fire. Starting tomorrow afternoon, I will come over to treat the injuries caused by the strange fire first, and then detoxify you.” After saying that, Ding Shuang got up and was about to leave.

Nalan Yanran stood up and said, “Master Cao, let me see you off.”

Ding Shuang said expressionlessly, “No need. Miss Nalan, you should stay with the old man; after all, he’s injured.”

Nalan Jie waved his hand and said, “I’m fine, I just need a rest. Yan’er, go see Master Cao off.”

Ding Shuang bowed to Nalan Jie and took his leave, with Nalan Yanran following closely behind as they left the room. They walked one after the other in silence. This was the first time Nalan Yanran had encountered a man who hadn’t initiated conversation with her, and she didn’t know how to speak first. Ding Shuang, on the other hand, was observing Nalan Yanran after using his appraisal spell.

Using his appraisal skill, Ding Shuang learned Nalan Yanran’s true strength: a Seven-Star Great Dou Master! This level made Ding Shuang frown. Had Nalan Yanran been practicing with some kind of magic potion all these years? Was her progress even more terrifying than his own, who was practically cheating? Ding Shuang himself was only a Two-Star Great Dou Master; was the gap really that big?

Nalan Yanran couldn’t help but speak first, “Master Cao, have you had dinner? Let me treat you to a late-night snack.”

Ding Shuang said coldly, “Thank you for your kindness, Miss Nalan. I must go back to rest now.”

Nalan Yanran frowned slightly. This was her first meeting with Cao Ran. Why did she sense a constant hostility from him? All the young talents of the empire had always treated her like a devoted follower. Some had feigned indifference, but she could see through them immediately. But Cao Ran was genuinely ignoring her. Could it be because her sudden intrusion had angered him?

Nalan Yanran said, “Master Cao, you don’t need to call me Miss Nalan. Just call me Yanran.”

Ding Shuang said, “It would be more comfortable for me to call her Miss Nalan.”

Nalan Yanran gritted her teeth secretly. How could Cao Ran be so ungrateful? She had already humbled herself so much! She had originally wanted him to stay overnight at the Nalan’s house, but seeing this, she knew he would refuse, so she simply didn’t mention it.

The two fell silent again, and didn’t part ways until they reached the gate of the Nalan family’s residence. Nalan Yanran, seeing Ding Shuang hadn’t even said goodbye, stomped her foot in anger and turned back.

Ding Shuang didn’t harbor much hatred towards Nalan Yanran. From Ding Shuang’s modern perspective, Nalan Yanran’s actions stemmed from her desire to pursue her own happiness and avoid the constraints of an arranged marriage. Ding Shuang felt that Nalan Yanran’s annulment of the engagement had little to do with whether Xiao Yan became a useless person; rather, Xiao Yan’s becoming a useless person simply gave her an opportunity.

However, Nalan Yanran’s actions were indeed somewhat extreme; there’s no reason to force someone to annul an engagement. Couldn’t they have sat down and talked things out? Why resort to such an extreme method? However, given the era and environment of the Dou Qi Continent, and the education Nalan Yanran received from a young age, it’s understandable that a teenage girl might be a bit arrogant and domineering.

It can only be said that it’s all the fault of the time! Oh no! It should be said that the fault lies with this era.

Back at the hotel, Ding Shuang opened the system shop, looking for ways to improve his strength. To secure a victory against Nalan Yanran, he needed to quickly surpass her level. Then, he could capture and control her before the three-year agreement was reached, and that would guarantee his win. Don’t call Ding Shuang shameless; he wouldn’t stoop to anything for victory.

The store didn’t offer any quick fixes, or the items were too expensive. Ding Shuang decided to continue with the lottery. Having already received 10 Platinum lottery tickets for completing the Snow Enchantress and Two Women quest, Ding Shuang decided to use all 20 Platinum and 10 Diamond lottery tickets this time.

This lottery draw wasn’t particularly good or bad. Eighteen mostly useless E and F level rewards, but two S level ones. After this draw, Ding Shuang upgraded her skills: Music Theory and Concealment Technique reached D level; Medical Skill reached C level; and she gained a C level Disguise Technique, replacing her C level Disguise Technique. The C level Disguise Technique has a much smaller range of facial changes than the C level Disguise Technique, but it’s much more versatile. It can change height within a certain range, alter one’s voice, and even slightly change the shape and size of one’s penis! Fortunately, Cao Ran’s changes aren’t too drastic yet, otherwise she wouldn’t be able to use Cao Ran’s identity anymore. And she’ll never have to suppress her voice again.

Ding Shuang’s alchemy skills have reached Rank B, a level surpassing even Gu He’s. At his peak, Yao Lao’s alchemy was Rank S, and his soul-state alchemy was Rank A. Ding Shuang’s current Rank B alchemy skills place him among the top alchemists.

There are two rewards. One is an A-level reward that grants 100,000 experience points, which should be added to your real-world level experience bar. The other A-level reward is an upgrade pill that allows you to level up 5 levels. The experience rewards aren’t as good as the item rewards, and the same goes for the travel points rewards. One C-level reward only gives 40,000 travel points, while a C-level skill requires 1 million travel points to exchange, and even a C-level skill upgrade card requires 500,000 travel points.

Ding Shuang had no choice; that’s just how the lottery system works. He thought the two S-rank rewards were pretty good: one was a 7-day limited-time return card, which he’d accumulated to 14 days; the other was the Cold Weapon Master trait, granting him proficiency in all cold weapons. With this trait, his E-rank one-handed sword skill was replaced by a skill learning card.

Ding Shuang currently holds a B-grade cultivation technique upgrade card. Both the “Desire Emperor’s Heart Sutra” and the “Manipulating Women’s Heart Sutra” can be upgraded, but Ding Shuang is currently torn about which one to upgrade. The “Desire Emperor’s Heart Sutra” is currently at level six, needing 780,000 more experience points to upgrade. The “Manipulating Women’s Heart Sutra” is currently at level five, requiring 50 more women to learn it before it can be upgraded.

Upgrading the Heart Sutra grants an extra slot for controlling Primordial Desire, but upgrading the Heart Sutra itself might be a gamble. The control conditions for upgrading the Heart Sutra haven’t changed in recent upgrades, but Ding Shuang has a feeling this upgrade will be different. Ding Shuang decides to take the gamble; even if he loses, he’s not afraid, as long as he surpasses Nalan Yanran’s strength as quickly as possible. After all, he’s an alchemist! At worst, he can just take pills to reach that level!

Ding Shuang won his gamble! The control condition for the Heart Sutra became simply not exceeding one’s own cultivation level. At this moment, Ding Shuang and Nalan Yanran were at the same cultivation level, both Great Dou Shi! All that was needed was one opportunity.

The following afternoon, Ding Shuang arrived at the Nalan family home. After greeting Nalan Su, he went to Nalan Jie’s residence. He didn’t even glance at Nalan Yanran, who was standing next to Nalan Su. A large part of his reason for doing this was to pique Nalan Yanran’s interest. He knew that these young ladies and gentlemen often had masochistic tendencies; the more enthusiastic you were, the more likely you were to be met with indifference. It was better to be aloof and let them come to you with enthusiasm.

Nalan Su asked Nalan Yanran curiously, “Yanran, do you have a grudge against Master Cao?”

Nalan Yanran said aggrievedly, “Yanran met him for the first time yesterday, how could there be any grudge between us?”

Nalan Su was even more puzzled and asked, “Then why did Master Cao ignore you?”

Nalan Yanran sighed and said, “Perhaps it was because I disturbed him while he was treating Grandpa yesterday. I didn’t mean to, why is he so petty!”

Nalan said solemnly, “Yanran, skilled alchemists often have many quirks. Yesterday, you disturbed him while he was treating the old man, causing him to accidentally injure him. This is very embarrassing for an alchemist with a high sense of pride. The old man will invite him to dinner at the clan’s residence tonight; you should apologize to him properly.”

In the afternoon, Ding Shuang treated Nalan Jie’s injuries from the strange fire. Having upgraded his alchemy skills to B-level, treating such a minor injury was a piece of cake. Next came the detoxification process, during which Ding Shuang discovered a problem he had previously overlooked. In the original novel, some of the branding poison transferred into Xiao Yan’s body, but Ding Shuang discovered that he had absorbed all the branding poison from Nalan Jie’s body.

Within his dantian, at the convergence point of the “Burning Desire” technique, a black sphere floated in the center. The Primordial Desire Fire and the Azure Lotus Earth Core Fire continuously scorched below, slowly breaking down the branding poison and converting it into energy that was fed back to Ding Shuang. After helping Little Fairy Doctor break free of her virginity, Ding Shuang’s resistance to poison had reached an extremely high level. The branding poison not only couldn’t cause him any harm, but instead contributed a tremendous amount of energy.

Ding Shuang roughly calculated that if he could completely digest the branding poison in his dantian, he could advance from a two-star Great Dou Master to a five-star Great Dou Master. If he could convert all the branding poison from Nalan Jie, he should be able to reach a nine-star Great Dou Master! Thank you to the old man of the Nalan family for the branding poison energy!

Ding Shuang wasn’t overwhelmed by the sudden surprise; he continued to slowly expel the poison from Nalan Jie. He planned to go back tonight and fully activate the “Burning Desire” technique to see if he could accelerate the transformation of the branding poison.

That evening, Ding Shuang was invited to stay for dinner by Nalan Jie. Nalan Yanran had initially invited her, but Ding Shuang declined. Only after Nalan Jie spoke up did Ding Shuang agree to stay. This left Nalan Yanran feeling frustrated once again. During the meal, Nalan Yanran was even more upset, as Ding Shuang consistently gave her a cold shoulder and barely responded to her questions.

Nalan Jie was helpless regarding Ding Shuang’s ignoring of Nalan Yanran. After all, his granddaughter had been in the wrong, and it was a matter between the young people. As an old man, he shouldn’t interfere, so he just let the two of them be.

For three consecutive days, Ding Shuang dined at the Nalan family’s house, remaining cold and indifferent to Nalan Yanran and the rest of the Nalan family. This led Nalan Yanran to believe that this was simply Ding Shuang’s personality.

Unexpectedly, on the fifth day, Ya Fei came to the Nalan family to discuss business and was invited to dine with them. Ding Shuang chatted and laughed with Ya Fei during the meal, getting along very well. This immediately made Nalan Yanran extremely jealous. What did she lack compared to Ya Fei? So what if Ya Fei had a bigger chest? Her own chest wasn’t small either! Did all men like promiscuous women?

Over the past few days, Ding Shuang hadn’t given Nalan Yanran a kind look. However, Ding Shuang’s abilities and appearance had somewhat stirred Nalan Yanran’s heart. If Ding Shuang knew Nalan Yanran’s current thoughts, he would definitely say, “Just as I expected, these pampered young masters and ladies are all fucking masochists!”

After the banquet, Ding Shuang and Ya Fei left together. Instead of returning to Ding Shuang’s hotel, they went to a secret location owned by Ya Fei in the capital. Upon entering the room, they embraced.

“Little brother, I’ve missed you so much these past few days! There’s been so much going on at the auction, otherwise I would have come to see you much sooner!” Ya Fei’s main reason for visiting the Nalan family today was to see Ding Shuang. She didn’t want to wait until evening, so she made up an excuse to come over in the afternoon.

“Sister Yafei, haven’t you always wanted power? This is such a great opportunity. Being busy means you’re gradually moving closer to the center of power. Once you truly have power, things will be much easier,” Ding Shuang comforted Yafei.

“Hehe, little brother knows quite a lot. Let’s not talk about family matters anymore, hurry up, sister can’t hold back anymore. Ah~” As soon as Ya Fei said she couldn’t hold back anymore, Ding Shuang pounced on her on the bed, spread her legs and started licking her.

Ya Fei was wearing a crotchless bodysuit with stockings today, so Ding Shuang easily pulled down Ya Fei’s panties. Just as Ding Shuang was servicing Ya Fei, Ya Fei took off her cheongsam.

Ding Shuang licked for a while, then demonstrated a one-click undressing technique to Ya Fei. Ya Fei was dumbfounded; this guy had really pushed the storage ring’s function to its limits!

Ding Shuang chuckled, straightened his penis, and thrust it inside. The thrusting caused Ya Fei’s enormous breasts to bounce back and forth.

“Ah~ little brother~ um~ how have you been spending time with Yanran these past few days~ oh oh~ how has it been~ ah ah~”

“What else can we do? It’ll just stay that way.”

“Oh, oh, oh~ Could it be that my little brother… ah, ha~ doesn’t have any ideas at all~ ahhhhh~”

Upon hearing Ya Fei’s words, Ding Shuang shoved her a few times and said, “What kind of ideas do you have! Is it because Ya Fei’s breasts aren’t big enough? Or because Xiao Yu’s legs aren’t long enough? Is Xun’er not pretty enough? Or is Mei’er not sexy enough?” Ding Shuang didn’t mention any other women that Ya Fei didn’t know about.

“Ahhh~ Little brother~ Ahhh~ Your penis has gotten bigger again~ Ahhh~” Yes, Ding Shuang shamelessly used a disguise technique to enlarge his penis. This made Ya Fei unable to continue the previous conversation.

“Mmm-hmm~ If little brother has feelings for Yanran~ Ahhh~ Big sister can help~ Ohhhhhh~” After Ya Fei got used to Ding Shuang’s new size, she continued the topic of Nalan Yanran. During the adjustment period, Ya Fei had an orgasm.

“How can you help?” Ding Shuang asked curiously.

“Hmm~ Little brother still has feelings for Yanran~ Ahh~ He has feelings for her~” Yafei pouted, seemingly a little unhappy.

Ding Shuang was furious and intensified his attack, charging headlong into Ya Fei while yelling, “Trying to trick me? Trying to trick me? Is entrapment fun? Is it fun? I’ll fuck you to death! You dare to do it again?”

As Ding Shuang vigorously fucked her, Ya Fei cried out repeatedly, “Ahhh~ I won’t dare~ I won’t dare~ Ahhhh~ Spare me~ Ahhh~ Good husband~ Ahhh~ Spare me~ Ohhhhhhh~ Help me help me help me~ Ahhhhhh~ I’m going to be fucked to death by my husband~ Ahhh~ I’m dying, I’m dying, I’m going to be fucked to death~ Ahh …

An hour later, Ding Shuang and Ya Fei lay in bed, embracing each other. Ding Shuang buried his face between Ya Fei’s breasts, greedily inhaling her milky fragrance.

Ya Fei said, “Little brother Xiao Yan, are you really not interested in that girl Yan Ran? I’ve got a great opportunity for you today.”

Ding Shuang looked up and asked, “Sister Yafei, what opportunity?”

Ya Fei didn’t tease Ding Shuang any further and said directly, “Yanran came to me today, wanting to ask you out alone. She said she wanted to apologize to you for being too rash before.”

Ding Shuang asked, “Did you agree?”

Ya Fei said, “I agreed. Tomorrow morning, at Luoyan Teahouse, in the No. 1 Pavilion of the Heavenly Class. But I can’t guarantee you’ll definitely go. Whether you go or not is up to you. Go to sleep early; it’s good to see Yanran tomorrow.”

Ding Shuang sat up abruptly, grabbing Ya Fei’s breasts and saying, “What are you sleeping for! The night is so long, don’t waste time!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the creaking of the bed in the room began again, accompanied by Ya Fei’s moans.