My Xianxia Harem Life

Chapter 436: Chapter 436 Console

"Father, can we talk in private? There’s something I need to tell you," Valery said, her voice low but firm.

Riley paused mid-step and turned to look at her.

For a brief moment, his sharp eyes studied her expression, as if trying to measure the gravity of her words.

Then he smiled faintly.

"Of course, Valery. Come with me."

He led her down a quiet corridor and into his study.

The moment the door closed, the outside world seemed to fade away.

Tall shelves covered every wall, overflowing with books of every kind—ancient histories, cultivation manuals, forgotten legends, poetry, philosophy, and even worn collections of fairy tales.

The faint scent of old parchment and ink lingered in the air.

Riley had built this private library over many years, using reading as a way to endure the long, monotonous stretches of his life.

Riley walked around his desk and sat down, folding his hands together calmly.

Valery took the chair opposite him, her back straight, her fingers resting lightly on her knees.

The silence between them stretched for a moment, heavy and expectant.

"You might be wondering why I’ve suddenly become stronger, Father," Valery finally said, breaking the quiet.

Riley raised an eyebrow, then let out a soft chuckle.

"Wondering? Not at all." His voice was warm and reassuring.

"I’ve always believed you were destined for great things, Valery. From the moment I met you, I knew you were special."

He leaned back slightly, his gaze distant. "That must be why my dreams led me to you in the first place."

Valery’s eyes flickered subtly at those words.

It was a lie.

Riley himself knew it better than anyone.

Back then, he had acted in line with his great plan.

The story about the dream was merely a convenient explanation, one he had repeated to his family and to Valery.

He had claimed that he saw Valery standing in the light of fate, that destiny urged him to bring her home.

In truth, there had been no dream.

"Hmmm..." Valery nodded slowly. After a brief moment of thought, she made her decision.

If Riley had once used a dream to explain her existence, then she would now return that excuse to him.

"I have dreams as well, Father," Valery said, her voice steady and sincere.

"Very vivid ones. In them, I see myself practicing many techniques—stances, breathing methods, and strange movements that feel both foreign and familiar at the same time."

She paused, as if choosing her words carefully.

"At first, I thought they were nothing more than illusions of sleep. But one day, out of curiosity, I tried to imitate what I had seen. I followed the breathing, adjusted my posture, and focused my mind the way I did in those dreams."

Her eyes softened. "And it worked."

Valery slowly raised her hand and clenched it into a fist.

A faint sense of restrained power lingered there, subtle but unmistakable.

"I became stronger. My body felt lighter, faster. My reflexes sharpened—far beyond what ordinary humans should be capable of."

She met Riley’s gaze again. "I still don’t fully understand why these dreams appear, or why the techniques within them function so perfectly in reality. But they do." After a short hesitation, she added, "That’s why I wanted to tell you."

Then, in a softer tone, she asked, "Would you like me to teach you these techniques, Father?"

Riley fell silent.

His fingers tapped lightly against the armrest as he studied Valery, his sharp eyes no longer carrying warmth alone, but calculation as well.

Finally, he laughed softly. "Of course. That would be immensely beneficial to me—and to our family."

His smile widened, pride evident in his expression. "After all, strength is the greatest form of security."

But the smile faded almost instantly, replaced by a grave seriousness.

"And this world," he continued, his voice low, "is never as peaceful as it appears on the surface."

Valery nodded. "Then listen carefully."

She straightened her posture.

"The technique I will teach you is called Desolate Great Ape Transformation. It is a body-refining method that focuses on awakening the dormant potential hidden within flesh and bone."

She stepped closer and demonstrated a stance—feet planted firmly, knees slightly bent, spine straight, shoulders relaxed yet heavy, like a mountain rooted to the earth.

"This technique strengthens muscles, tempers the bones, and toughens the skin. Over time, it allows the practitioner to draw out explosive strength far exceeding that of ordinary men."

As she explained, Valery silently extended her divine sense and examined Riley’s body in detail.

Just as she expected.

His meridians were unremarkable, thin and unused.

There was no spiritual root—no affinity with the world’s spiritual essence at all.

But that did not surprise her.

This world’s spiritual energy was frighteningly sparse, so thin that even sensing it required effort.

True cultivators would be rarer than myths here.

That was precisely why this world had never progressed beyond mortal limits.

And that was why Valery had chosen this technique.

The Desolate Great Ape Transformation required no qi, no spiritual root, and no absorption of heaven and earth’s essence.

It relied purely on the physical body—on pain, repetition, and indomitable will.

Riley, unknowingly, was the perfect candidate.

"Breathe in slowly through your nose," Valery instructed, her voice calm and authoritative.

"Feel the air sink into your abdomen. Hold it for three heartbeats, then exhale through your mouth."

Riley followed her instructions carefully. His movements were stiff at first, his breathing uneven.

Within moments, sweat began to form on his forehead, even though he had barely moved.

"This technique will be painful," Valery warned. "Your muscles will ache. Your bones will feel heavy. At times, you may feel as if your body is tearing itself apart."

She looked at him seriously. "But you must endure. If you stop halfway, the effort will be wasted."

Riley exhaled deeply and nodded. "Pain is nothing new to me."

Valery watched him closely as he held the stance.

Despite the strain creeping into his expression, he did not falter.

His teeth clenched, but his posture remained steady.

Seeing this, Valery felt a flicker of approval.

With this foundation, even without a spiritual root, Riley could walk a path that surpassed ordinary humans.

And once he did, the fate of this family—and perhaps even this entire world—would begin to shift, ever so slightly, from its original course.

Valery remained in the study for over an hour, patiently explaining every detail of the technique—its breathing rhythm, the proper distribution of strength, the dangers of forcing progress, and the subtle sensations one should pay attention to while cultivating.

She also explained the different levels and realms of the technique, and to her surprise, Riley’s questions were exceptionally sharp, probing into details most people would never think to ask.

Only when she was certain that Riley had fully grasped the fundamentals did she finally take her leave.

She paused at the doorway and glanced back, seeing her father already immersed in practice, his posture firm and unmoving.

"Tell them that under no circumstances should anyone disturb me today," Riley said without opening his eyes.

"I will, Father," Valery replied softly.

She closed the door behind her and made sure her instructions were followed exactly.

Inside the study, silence returned.

Riley slowly opened his eyes, and a smile crept onto his face—one far sharper and more calculating than the one he had shown Valery.

"Perfect," he thought. "Now... let’s tweak this technique a little."

He did not dare speak.

A part of him remained cautious, almost paranoid, as if he feared Valery’s divine sense might still be lingering somewhere nearby, listening in.

Only when he was absolutely certain she was gone did he relax slightly.

His body, of course, possessed no spiritual root. In this world, no one did.

That was simply the limit imposed by the heavens themselves.

Perhaps Valery alone was an exception—her Trinity Samsara Physique, forged across three lifetimes, had granted her a spiritual root stronger than all her past lives combined.

Riley felt no envy.

A spiritual root was merely one path to power.

Even without it, he was confident—utterly so—that he could one day stand at the peak of this cultivation world.

Based on Valery’s instructions, a normal practitioner would need nearly a hundred years to reach the first realm of the Desolate Great Ape Transformation.

Riley scoffed at the thought.

He had no intention of wasting that much time.

Slowly, he closed his eyes and began to replay every word Valery had spoken, every movement she had demonstrated.

His mind dissected the technique piece by piece, stripping away inefficiencies, rearranging the flow of strength, and refining the breathing rhythm to better suit his own body.

Pain flared through his muscles almost immediately.

Riley welcomed it.

"This will do," he thought, adjusting his stance once more. "No... it can be faster."

Within the quiet study, surrounded by countless books and ancient knowledge, Riley began forging a path that even Valery had not anticipated—reshaping the technique with his own hands, driven by ambition, patience, and a will that refused to bow to the limits of this world.

And if the heavens truly intended to bar him from power...

Then he would simply break through by force.

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