My Core is the Boss

"Stretch your hands out. Hold that position, good."

Three little red booklets appeared. Canary held one, Little Bride's sleeve clutched one, and Qi Yuan held the third. Zero-One recorded the whole thing.

Qi Yuan had made a new discovery for the day. "I used to see people in videos with cameras on their heads and never understood it. Now I finally get it. They were robots!"

Canary grinned. "I can also grow a camera on my head."

To prove it, a camera lens emerged from the top of her head, and Qi Yuan burst out laughing. From inside Little Bride's sleeve, a wooden plaque painted with a happy face slid out.

Zero-One said, "I’ve edited the video and finalized the caption. Master, you may post at any time."

Qi Yuan logged into his account, and found the video waiting in his drafts. The footage only showed three hands holding three marriage certificates.

With great satisfaction, he posted it. "Finally, it’s my turn to show off!"

Nearby, Xie Xinsu was in a state of bewilderment. Canary had already given her enough confusion yesterday. This morning, Xie Xinsu'd woken up to find a bridal gown walking around the room on its own. The garment had apparently registered a marriage with the cold and emotionless owner as well.

She was thoroughly lost. Is it a demon? A puppet? What exactly is it?

What she couldn't make sense of was that Canary was clearly a powerful cultivator, and yet she was sharing a husband with... whatever this “Little Bride” was. [1]

She was uneasy. Perhaps being a Core Formation cultivator in her previous life wasn’t as impressive as she'd always assumed. Moreover, she could feel that Little Bride had origins that felt far from ordinary.

It couldn’t be that my owner is also someone extraordinary, right? The thought was alarming enough that she immediately shook it off. Impossible. If he were someone of importance, why would he bother with martial arts?

Those who walked the immortal path would not bother with martial cultivation, especially in this world where the latter clearly had its limits. Xie Xinsu's cat brain went around in circles, unable to make sense of any of it.

Qi Yuan waved and grinned. "Well, the wedding's done and the banquet's tomorrow. Good thing it's just the three of us on our family trees, so there are no rounds of toasts to make. We even saved on the officiant's fee."

He had saved money. The Arch Star purchase fund had increased slightly.

Still, he never forgot the game's objectives no matter what. "Right... I have notified our guests and booked the hotel. Time to focus on martial dao!"

Martial cultivation was the mission. Canary and Little Bride were his life.

Canary took Little Bride by the sleeve and headed for the balcony. "Sister Little Bride and I are going to sit in the sun!"

The apartment was warm.

***

Back in his room, Qi Yuan threw himself into his martial cultivation.

Even though he could devour unlimited demon essence blood to increase his cultivation, he would not progress without practice.

"Condensing martial blood qi into a storage space is so troublesome. The estimated time is an entire night?" Qi Yuan sighed after a while. "Forget it. The cultivation method is too much trouble. I'll just spend the points."

He decided to be lazy. Sitting on the bed, he closed his eyes. A faint, delicate scent drifted to him. It was Canary's scent. Images of her from earlier conjured in his mind. Her small figure, her gaze, the vulnerable look in her eyes.

Qi Yuan, be a disciplined person. Exercise self-restraint.

"I only have about fifty drops of demon essence blood left. I have to be careful with it." Then, he began narrating as usual, "You have consumed ten drops of demon essence blood and begin compressing your blood qi throughout your body."

Qi Yuan looked inward and found that a small blood-qi storage space had formed inside him. "Ding. Blood-qi storage space successfully opened. Volume: 0.01 cubic meters. Ultra tiny, but good enough I guess."

Though he could use more demon essence blood to expand it, he held back.

He could use more demon essence blood to expand it, but he held back. It could be better to keep a reserve for emergencies. He was powerful, but that was no reason to stop thinking ahead.

"This cultivation session is actually fruitful. My greatest breakthrough is that the sound effects work has improved. The ding. That sound is the essence of a game."

The more he thought about it, the prouder of himself he became. The satisfaction was comparable to skipping a stone seventeen times across still water.

I wonder when the next mission will open. My demon essence blood reserves are getting low.

With that thought, he continued cultivating.

***

"What a downpour."

In a dim underground room, Shen Yang stared at the damp floor worriedly. His room was barely ten square meters in size but cost five hundred dollars a month. For such a city, it was considered reasonable. At least there was a roof over his head.

Unfortunately, someone had come by today to notify him that cramped underground dwellings and basement rooms were now being flagged as safety hazards and could no longer be occupied.

He knew about the hazards. Honestly, if given the choice, who would want to stay in a place like this? His last place had been a little better, but a typhoon blew the roof away, forcing him to move. Now, his new place was being taken from him too.

Earning money is really hard. Still, it is better than staying in the village and farming that little plot of land. At least here, I can save something. There's hope.

A full day of manual labor had left him utterly exhausted, his back aching. All he could do was scroll through short videos. As much as he was eager to improve his life, it felt like there was nothing he could do in such a world.

Just then, a video caught his eye. He paused and a flicker of envy crossed his face.

He rambled, "The powerful are getting bolder. They are even showing off marriage certificates now. Two wives at once!? This guy is not even trying to be subtle... Someone should pass a law against flaunting wealth. Those of us at the bottom don't appreciate it."

Smiling at his own ridiculousness, he scrolled to the comments.

└The rich, as always!

└Boss, teach me your ways!

└Man, you married two wives at once!

└I can't take it, I'm reporting you!

└Wait, get it right, this isn't some rich heir, this is an immortal cultivation big shot. Look, his last video was selling a cultivation manual!

Shen Yang stopped on that comment. An immortal cultivation manual?

His mind drifted to everything that had been circulating online lately.

This world might be changing. Things keep getting more impossible to explain.

In the Martial Arts Tournament, Champion Qi Yuan broke through the martial peak and reduced his opponent to a blood mist with a single punch. Then, immortal light appeared on Spider Island, and ten thousand female infant corpses had been found. Later, the Qin Yuan Kingdom took a vote deciding the fate of the Mu family. And finally, that second sun in the sky.

Strange events kept happening one after another. Most people had begun to sense that something enormous was approaching. Perhaps the world was about to change and history would be rewritten.

If I became an immortal cultivator, would I get to marry two wives too?

Of course, it was nothing more than fantasy. If he ever did become a cultivator, he'd use that power to do something worthwhile.

He clicked onto the profile of this person who'd married two wives and looked at the first video posted there. An immortal cultivation manual selling for one hundred million dollars? And someone actually bought it? Is this for real?

Something stirred in his chest. He followed the account.

Should I try?

He'd always known that most people had no talent aside from the rare few. One had to have guts and go for it to maybe stumble upon a chance.

Do I have to give a gift to send a private message?

Shen Yang steeled himself, paid for the gift, and sent his message.

Shen Yang: Congratulations on your marriage, wishing you happiness.

This account's last video had fewer than a few dozen comments. The number of people who would want to send a private message was probably negligible, especially since it required money.

1. 😹cat, you are not alone ☜