All of the remaining draws only yielded the guaranteed points, but for Xu Mu, this haul was already quite satisfactory.
When everything was done, he took out the Grade-7 pill he had obtained earlier and placed it in his mouth to taste. Immediately, the formula and required ingredients surfaced in his mind.
"So that's how it is."
Xu Mu nodded to himself. A pill of this level could no longer be produced by machines. Even if he gathered all the rare materials, his company would never be able to manufacture it.
It required qi to extract the spiritual essence from those heavenly treasures—and at least a Divine Ability Realm practitioner to refine it.
The Qi Sea Pill required three kinds of rare materials, plus several ordinary herbs.
One of them happened to be Blackleaf Grass, which he already had. As for the other two, he would fight for them the moment he found any leads.
He then examined the Earth-rank technique – Shadow-Slaying Mind Technique.
What he'd obtained was only the mental formula, meaning he couldn't use it directly—it required actual cultivation to master.
Reading through the description carefully, he realized it was an assassination-type technique, perfectly suited for someone like Meng Wanyue.
However, it was still too early for her. She hadn't even fully comprehended the Illusionary Sword, so he decided to store the manual in his inventory for now.
This round's total: 210 Cultivation Points and 120 Attribute Points.
He added everything to his stats, and black text appeared before his eyes:
[Congratulations, host has entered Late Stage Gang-Qi Realm]
Adding the attribute points strengthened his physique once again.
When all was done, Xu Mu opened his status panel:
Name: Xu Mu
Identity: Holy-Body Villain, HR Manager of Xu Group
Realm: Late Stage Gang-Qi Realm
Physique: 510
Spirit: 510
Cultivation Value: 180 (Max 400)
Fate Power: 177
The drop in Fate Power was due to having boosted Xu Ningbing earlier.
With that checked, Xu Mu closed his eyes—tomorrow, he would deal with the parasites inside the company.
The next morning.
Ye Tong woke up early but kept her eyes half-closed, pretending to sleep. She'd learned her lesson—whenever Xu Mu got up unclothed, she was better off pretending to be asleep.
Only after he entered the bathroom did she finally sigh in relief and hurry to get up.
Breakfast prepared, the three of them ate quickly before heading out.
Ye Yu rode her electric scooter to school, Ye Tong drove to the pharmaceutical company, and Xu Mu set out to find Li Yun.
Before leaving, he texted Meng Wanyue, telling her he had errands to run and giving her permission to skip work to focus on her cultivation.
She replied immediately: Received. Honestly, if Xu Mu wasn't around, she had no desire to go to that company anyway.
When Xu Mu reached Li Yun's apartment, he knocked lightly.
Moments later, she opened the door.
"Auntie, ready? I'll take you to the company today."
Xu Mu smiled.
She was wearing a black sweater without a jacket, the soft fabric noticeably distorted by the curves beneath.
"Alright, wait for me—I'll change my clothes," Li Yun said quickly and turned toward her bedroom.
Xu Mu narrowed his eyes slightly. Using his sensory ability at such a moment was… morally questionable.
But since no one could detect it, and he alone knew, he justified it to himself: even the most upright person might do small private things in their own room—as long as it didn't hurt anyone, it was fine.
With that excuse, he extended his perception outward. In truth, he told himself, it was for safety—after all, the Dai family might send people after him, and he needed to stay alert to any threats.
"What a dangerous force… makes me want to crush it," Xu Mu muttered, closing his hand into an imaginary grip.
Just then, Li Yun stepped out of the bedroom dressed neatly in an office uniform.
Seeing Xu Mu still standing by the door, repeatedly clenching his fist, she asked curiously, "Xiao Xu, what are you doing?"
"Training my grip strength. Might come in handy someday," Xu Mu replied casually, turning away. "Let's go."
Every man longed for the trial of heavenly thunder—but Ye Tong's physique had already matured, meaning she could no longer provide that "heavenly punishment" he needed. Xu Mu decided to leave it to fate. Maybe someday, a worthy thunderbolt would come his way.
Once in the car, he noticed Li Yun sitting in the back seat instead of the front.
"Why not sit up front?" he asked.
"I saw online that the passenger seat's reserved for the wife. I don't want your wife to be upset," Li Yun explained with a gentle smile.
"She's not that kind of person," Xu Mu said, shaking his head with a grin, then started the engine.
On the way, he asked what kind of job she wanted.
Li Yun wasn't sure. Back in the day, she'd worked in reception and sales, then later saved enough to run a small breakfast shop.
"At my age, it's hard to find easy work. If I can't, I'll just do some manual labor," she said softly. "I can handle hardship."
"You just recovered from an illness—no manual labor for you. I'll find something easy," Xu Mu said from the driver's seat with a smile.
[Favorability +10]
Li Yun was deeply touched. She truly felt she owed this young man far too much.
A shameful thought even crept into her mind: Even if he's married… maybe I could entrust my daughter to him.
After exiting the highway and driving a few more kilometers, Xu Mu turned into the Xu Group's branch office.
From the back seat, Li Yun's eyes widened. "Xiao Xu, what are we doing here?"
"This is where I'm recommending you," Xu Mu said calmly.
"But… the man who harassed me yesterday—he's an executive here."
Nervousness filled her chest. "You even hit him yesterday… I'm afraid he'll cause us trouble."
"Don't worry. I'll handle everything."
Xu Mu's steady gaze reassured her.
Gathering her courage, Li Yun followed him out of the car. After all, Xu Mu had given her a medicine worth millions—how could he possibly mean her harm?
In fact, a wild thought crossed her mind—Even if he did something improper like Wu Shengqi had tried to… I wouldn't refuse. I owe him too much.
With that thought buried in her heart, she followed him inside.
In the reception hall on the first floor, a woman approached them from a distance.
"Welcome—wait, Li Yun?"
It was Zheng Yan, her old classmate.
The moment Li Yun saw her, anger welled up. So it was true—she really had been colluding with Wu Shengqi all along. And to think she'd trusted her!
"Heh, changed your mind already?" Zheng Yan asked mockingly.
"You little punk—it's you!"
From the corridor, Wu Shengqi emerged from the restroom. The instant he spotted Xu Mu, fury flooded his face.
He hadn't had time to look into the boy yet after last night's "entertainment session" with Zheng Yan—and now the brat had shown up on his own.
Striding over, Wu's expression softened slightly when he saw Li Yun.
Both of them coming here together—there was only one explanation.
They must be terrified and here to apologize.
Smirking, he stepped closer. "Little Li, why did you come looking for your brother?"
"Go to hell!"
Xu Mu's kick landed squarely in Wu Shengqi's gut, sending him crashing to the ground.
"You bastard! How dare you hit me?!" Wu shouted, clutching his stomach. "Security! Are you all dead? Grab him!"
Li Yun turned pale in shock, panic flashing across her face as she instinctively clung to Xu Mu's arm.