Trading system, I exchanged vegetables for golden pills.

And so it went on until late at night.

Xiao Qi's aura surged, and he broke through without any doubt, successfully establishing his foundation in the Heavenly Dao.

The second Foundation Establishment cultivator after Ye Chen.

"Master, I've achieved Foundation Establishment!"

Xiao Qi was very excited and couldn't wait to share his joy of reaching the Foundation Establishment stage with Ye Chen!

Ye Chen grinned: "Congratulations, but your second bloodline awakening isn't over yet. Stay calm, now is not the time to relax!"

Xiao Qi nodded: "Yes, I understand, Master!"

Xiao Qi's bloodline has only just begun its second awakening; Foundation Establishment is merely a necessary step in the awakening process.

You should know that True Person Xuanming progressed all the way from the early Foundation Establishment stage to the Golden Core stage!

Of course, it's possible that Master Xuanming has other opportunities, but Xiao Qi is no slouch either; he should be at least in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage!

The next morning, when Ah Long arrived, he noticed something unusual about the villa.

"Big Yellow, what's wrong at home? Why is it so cold?" Ah Long shivered and asked Big Yellow beside him.

Big Yellow, looking rather annoyed, transmitted his voice: "Can't you tell? Miss Qi has broken through!"

Ah Long blinked: "Breakthrough? Xiao Qi broke through again? Then, doesn't that mean he's reached the ninth level of Qi Refining? But what does this have to do with temperature?"

There's hardly any spiritual energy left in the courtyard. It does seem like someone is breaking through, but what does that have to do with the temperature drop?

Da Huang didn't know how to explain to Ah Long why the temperature was dropping.

"Maybe the cold air has moved south again?" Da Huang said in a serious but nonsensical tone.

At this moment, Ye Chen rubbed his hands together and came out: "You're here. We won't be cultivating today. Go find your Qianqian. Xiao Qi needs some more time and space!"

Ah Long looked at Ye Chen: "Brother Ye, Xiao Qi has broken through again! Reaching the ninth level of Qi Refining means he'll be close to Foundation Establishment soon!"

Although he has achieved Foundation Establishment, it was only through a fortuitous opportunity.

Xiao Qi cultivated his skills on his own, and the two are of different natures. Ah Long couldn't help but sigh that there really are differences in talent.

"Oh, Xiao Qi did indeed break through; he successfully established his foundation last night!" Ye Chen said casually.

Ah Long's face froze in mid-air, filled with shock. After a long while, he stammered, "Foundation Building?"

Ye Chen nodded: "Yes, I've reached Foundation Establishment!"

"Tsk tsk tsk—amazing—" Ah Long sighed in admiration.

Ye Chen waved his hand: "Alright, stop reminiscing. Go help your little Qianqian at the TCM clinic these next couple of days. You don't need to come over unless it's absolutely necessary!"

Ah Long blushed slightly and scratched his head: "Okay, Brother Ye!"

After Ah Long left, Ye Chen casually tossed one Xuan Yuan Golden Pill to Da Huang and Xiao Liu.

"Since there's no spiritual energy, you should focus on body cultivation!"

Xiao Liu was initially a little aggrieved, since it hadn't been able to properly cultivate since Xiao Qi arrived.

Now all the grievances have vanished into a golden pill within my abdomen.

Xiao Qi remained awake throughout the entire day.

If her breathing hadn't remained steady, Ye Chen would have been worried that she might have lost her temperature.

Today is the Lantern Festival, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and there's still a bit of festive atmosphere in the neighborhood.

The property management organized activities such as mooncake gambling for residents, parent-child lantern DIY, and lantern riddle guessing, which were quite lively.

Ye Chen wasn't originally going, but Zhou Caiwei invited him, so he went along for a stroll.

As luck would have it, Ye Chen won the top prize in his very first game!

Of course, the prizes organized by the property management company weren't as luxurious as they were last year when Mr. Xie and his family hosted a party for Mid-Autumn Festival.

Otherwise, Ye Chen could drive another Patton back.

The prize for the top scorer this time is a shopping card for a chain supermarket worth 1 yuan.

Although it wasn't much to Ye Chen, it was still considered a good omen, and Ye Chen immediately gave the prize to Caiwei.

Ye Chen accompanied Zhou Caiwei to guess a few more riddles, but none of them were difficult, and Ye Chen guessed the answers in no time.

So Zhou Caiwei received many small prizes in both her left and right hands.

Although these spoils weren't worth much, Zhou Caiwei was very happy.

She only stopped when she couldn't hold any more in her hands!

Ye Chen didn't feel anything special about the Lantern Festival in the past; he would just eat a bowl of glutinous rice balls and that was it.

After all, the grueling work had already left him breathless, so he didn't have any feelings left.

This year he realized that there are so many things to do during the Lantern Festival.

The two sat on a quiet bench for a while, and Ye Chen looked at Caiwei and smiled:

"Xiao Qi is still breaking through, I need to go back and keep an eye on him. That's all for today!"

"Huh? Oh~!" Zhou Caiwei was taken aback for a moment, then asked with a slightly downcast tone, "Is it your female disciple?"

Ye Chen nodded: "Her name is Qi Lirong, a freshman at the University of Science and Technology!"

"Yeah, I've seen her a few times on the street. She's very quiet and pretty!" Zhou Caiwei said sourly.

Ye Chen smiled and shook his head: "Why do I feel a little sour about what you're saying?"

Zhou Caiwei was slightly taken aback: "Huh? Really?"

Ye Chen nodded seriously: "Yes!"

Perhaps it was a girl's intuition, but Zhou Caiwei lowered her head and pursed her lips.

After a long pause, she seemed to have mustered up tremendous courage, looked up at Ye Chen, and suddenly spoke:

"Brother Ye Chen, if—and I mean if—you had to choose between Xiao Qi and me, who would you choose?"

Here it comes, here it comes, the life-or-death choice.

However, Ye Chen was not surprised when Zhou Caiwei asked this question.

It could be said that the topic about Xiao Qi was deliberately brought up by him.

Girls often ask similar questions when they feel insecure.

Ye Chen was aware of Zhou Caiwei's feelings for him.

Knowing this, Ye Chen felt compelled to bring up this unavoidable topic at this moment.

Taking advantage of the fact that he hadn't wronged anyone yet, Ye Chen chose to lay his cards on the table.

He doesn't want anyone to become a so-called "third party" in the future, or for anyone to hate anyone else.

At that time, those who are already suffering will only suffer more!

Ye Chen took a deep breath and slowly said, "I knew you'd ask me this question sooner or later!"

Zhou Caiwei's voice was tense: "So, you already have the answer in your heart, right?"

Ye Chen nodded: "If it were the old me, hehe, the old me... you probably wouldn't even see me!"

Speaking of this, Ye Chen chuckled self-deprecatingly. In the past, he was just an ordinary ox or horse, and the two sides would never have crossed paths.

There would never have been this conversation.

"To put it another way, if I were still an ordinary person, I might go along with your question and give you the answer you want to hear."

"But I don't want to lie to you!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Caiwei trembled slightly, her knuckles turned white, she pursed her lips, and stared intently at Ye Chen.

The answer didn't seem to be what she wanted to hear. Could it be that...

Ye Chen shifted his gaze to the distant sky and continued, "We have already embarked on the path of cultivation that transcends the mortal realm. This path is uncertain and fraught with dangers and uncertainties!"

"Therefore... cultivators don't make this kind of choice between the palm and the back of the hand, and you are not meant to be chosen. I don't want to, and will not, abandon any of my companions!"

"You can call me fickle, or you can walk away in time, but my answer is: I want it all!"

"If Xiao Qi had asked me this question today, this would be the only answer she would get!"