She Dominates the Immortal Realm with Her HP Bar

Happiness came so suddenly that Yan Luoyue could hardly believe it.

To make sure she wasn’t seeing things, Yan Luoyue deliberately removed Xiao Ming’s reservoir.

Even after deducting the equipment bonuses, Yan Luoyue’s health bar still retained one-third of its length.

Though it looked like just a short segment, compared to the thin red line from before, it was a world of difference.

Now, Yan Luoyue’s initial health points were 10.

It felt like a gift from the void, as if an invisible hand had gently added a zero after her 1 health point.

Rubbing her cheeks, which had unconsciously blossomed into a smile, Yan Luoyue was eager to find out the reason behind her increased health bar.

First, she ruled out food as a factor.

Yan Yu and Yan Gan weren’t particularly picky about their meals.

Since winter began, their family had followed the same menu for seven days in a row. Today’s lunch was exactly the same as the previous two days, and Yan Luoyue hadn’t sensed any extra spiritual energy while eating.

Next, she ruled out cultivation as a factor.

Yan Luoyue had successfully drawn in spiritual energy and entered the Qi Refining Stage a month ago. This had allowed her level to transition from lv0 to lv1.

If her health bar were supposed to change with leveling up, it should have increased long ago, not waited until today.

Yan Luoyue counted on her fingers, eliminating possibilities like environmental influence, a sudden encounter, a bug fix, or the game developers suddenly being generous.

After ruling out all these factors, the only remaining possibility Yan Luoyue could think of was…

“Sister Yu, is today a special day?”

Yan Yu was momentarily stunned by the question. She lowered her head and thought for a while, then a faint smile appeared on her lips.

“You little rascal, I almost forgot if you hadn’t reminded me.”

Yan Yu said softly, “Alright, alright, I’ll make something delicious for you tonight. How about your favorite pan-fried yellow croaker?”

Yan Luoyue blinked. “Huh? Why?”

Yan Yu gave her a playful glare. “Don’t play dumb. Isn’t today the anniversary of your hatching?”

Yan Luoyue clapped her fist into her palm: So that was it. Mystery solved.

To be honest, she now had a very fitting hypothesis about her current state.

Yan Luoyue boldly speculated: Perhaps her health bar was indeed bugged. But the bug wasn’t “health points fixed at 1,” but rather “every year, health points multiply by 10 from the current base!”

In other words, every year on this day, a zero would be added to the end of Yan Luoyue’s health bar!

With even the most basic understanding of math, one could see how terrifying this multiplicative progression could be.

If Yan Luoyue’s speculation was correct, the first few years wouldn’t be a big deal. Her health bar would only go from 1 to 10, then from 10 to 100, with minor changes in a small range.

But if she could resist the urge to show off, lay low, and survive the toughest early stages, in just five more years, by the time she was six years old, Yan Luoyue’s health points would reach an astonishing one million!

Yan Luoyue: “!!!”

Taking a deep breath, Yan Luoyue felt her entire turtle self perk up.

Though this was still just her personal hypothesis, all she needed to do was patiently wait another year. By this time next year, the truth would reveal itself.

In any case, the sudden tenfold increase in her health bar completely swept away all the frustration Yan Luoyue had accumulated before.

—After all, just a month ago, Yan Luoyue had successfully drawn in spiritual energy and leveled up, only to find her health points unchanged.

In those days, she had been so visibly downcast that even Yan Gan couldn’t bear to talk to her much.

Speaking of Yan Gan, Yan Luoyue couldn’t help but ask, “By the way, when will Brother Gan get back from school?”

Yes, Yan Gan had been sent to school.

This matter was a long story, and it had a little something to do with Yan Luoyue.

Every year during the hatching season, it was also the hibernation period.

Generally, during this time of year, except for clan members like Yan Yu who were on duty, everyone would follow their natural instincts and enter a long, sweet hibernation.

Yan Luoyue refused to hibernate because she wanted to seize the time to cultivate.

As for Yan Gan, he refused to hibernate purely because he was naturally lively, loved excitement, and unlike other clan members, didn’t enjoy passing the time by sleeping.

Last year’s hibernation period, Yan Gan had been helping Yan Yu take care of the children, which led to the incident where a demon beast broke into the hatching room.

If it weren’t for Yan Luoyue’s innate cheat, their turtle nest would have become a buffet for the weasel.

This year’s hibernation period, Yan Gan still refused to sleep. His parents were at a loss and worried that their overly energetic son might cause more trouble.

So, the two of them came up with a plan: they sent Yan Gan to school!

Yan Luoyue: “…”

It seems that no matter the era or culture, parents deal with mischievous children in the same way.

Because Yan Gan was sent to school, Yan Luoyue learned that there was actually a school near their turtle clan.

She specifically asked Yan Yu about it and got a detailed answer.

“Of course, that school is specially set up for us demon beasts. Any demon beast from the Yunning Great Marsh region can send their children there to study—back then, the Guiyuan Sect made a mutually beneficial agreement with all the demon beasts of Yunning Great Marsh, and establishing this school was one of the terms of that agreement.”

Yan Luoyue pondered this. “So, it’s a school set up by humans, but only accepts demon beast students?”

“Yes,” Yan Yu replied casually. “Not only is it set up by humans, but it’s also taught by humans. It’s said that the teachers at the school are all disciples sent by the Guiyuan Sect, and nine out of ten are human cultivators.”

Because the school was run by humans, some of the demon beasts in Yunning Great Marsh were willing to send their children there, while others preferred to raise their kids within the clan, teaching them themselves.

Yan Yu had received her education within the clan and had never attended that school, so she only had a rough idea of its schedule.

She glanced at the sky outside and traced an arc along the window frame with her fingertip.

In a tone used to coax children, Yan Yu said, “Look, when the sun reaches this point, your Brother Gan should be back from school.”

With that, before her little sister could ask more questions about this unfamiliar topic, Yan Yu beckoned to her first.

“Today is the anniversary of your hatching. Come closer, let me braid your hair into something prettier.”

The wooden comb slid smoothly through Yan Luoyue’s jet-black hair, as dark as ebony. As Yan Yu felt the softness of her hair, she couldn’t help but marvel inwardly while also feeling a bit teasing.

This little girl must have used all the nutrients she consumed to grow her hair.

Otherwise, how could she be three fingers shorter than the other hatchlings, yet her hair be a full foot longer than her peers?

Among demon beasts, it’s common for the childhood period to be short and the growth period to be long.

So, in the demon beast world, it’s not unusual to see one- or two-year-old hatchlings bouncing around, running faster than the wind; while twenty-something young demons still have baby faces and youthful figures, their tender looks practically begging to be pinched.

Yan Yu carefully braided several strands of Yan Luoyue’s hair, decorating them with colorful ribbons and fluffy white pom-poms. One thin braid was even artfully draped across Yan Luoyue’s forehead.

As for the remaining hair that wasn’t braided, Yan Yu combed it through with water, letting it fall naturally down to Yan Luoyue’s waist.

Finally, she added a small pearl hairpin as an accent, and a little beauty was freshly made, adorable no matter how you looked at her.

Yan Yu admired her handiwork with satisfaction.

The little girl’s skin was as fair as snow, and she looked sweet and well-behaved. Her jet-black hair was adorned with two or three fluffy white pom-poms, and a few colorful ribbons hung down by her cheeks, accentuating her delicate and lovely features.

Yan Yu couldn’t resist reaching out, her hand seemingly moving on its own as she gently pressed Yan Luoyue’s soft pink cheeks, rubbing them back and forth, letting out a satisfied sigh akin to a human petting a cat.

“Mmm, little Luoyue is so good, so good~”

The very good and obedient Yan Luoyue let Yan Yu fuss over her for a while.

She waited until Yan Yu let go, then took a step back and replaced the pearl hairpin with her usual wooden hairpin.

Yan Yu watched this, utterly puzzled.

“Luoyue, do you really like this hairpin that much?”

She’d carried it around every day as a child, and now that she was a bit older, she still insisted on wearing it day and night.

Yan Luoyue smiled and touched the wooden hairpin, nodding in acknowledgment. "Yes, I really like it."

Of course, Yan Yu wouldn’t understand—this wasn’t just a matter of liking or disliking, or whether it was pretty or not.

This was about Yan Luoyue needing it to save her life.

To put it bluntly, just moments ago, when Yan Yu had pinched her cheeks and rubbed them vigorously, Yan Luoyue had instantly lost 0.5 points of health!

That was equivalent to 5% of her total health!

As Yan Luoyue fastened the "Little Ming's Reservoir" hairpin onto her head, she silently calculated in her mind:

The wooden hairpin added 20 points to her health. Once equipped, her health would jump to 30 points. Its passive effect was that every fifteen minutes, her health would decrease by 10%, which was 3 points. However, Yan Luoyue also automatically recovered 3 points of health every fifteen minutes.

In other words, the gains and losses balanced out perfectly. Truly, it lived up to its name as Little Ming's Reservoir!

Not bad. This piece of equipment was still usable and could be worn for another year without issue.

Handing the pearl hairpin back to Yan Yu, Yan Luoyue leaned against the windowsill, standing on her tiptoes. She hopped up and down a few times before finally catching a glimpse of the path outside the window and the faint figure walking along it.

"Hey, Sister Yu, it looks like Brother Yan Gan is back from school!"

On his first day of school, Yan Gan had been like a child who had just been granted the status of a primary school student, brimming with excitement about school life.

Moreover, when he spoke, there was a hint of pride in his tone, as if to say, "I’m going to school now; I’m a big kid."

Yan Yu, however, remained calm and composed, her eyes filled with the knowing gaze of someone who had been through it all.

From Yan Luoyue's perspective, it seemed like Sister Yu’s eyes were practically screaming, "Hmph, let’s see how long this excitement lasts."

As for Yan Luoyue, she naturally took the approach of encouraging him.

That evening, Yan Gan excitedly chattered away to Yan Luoyue.

"Little sister, do you know what happened at school today? Blah blah blah..."

Yan Luoyue clapped her tiny hands like a little turtle. "Brother, you’re so amazing!"

Yan Gan’s eyes sparkled. "Little sister, you didn’t see it, but our teacher blah blah blah..."

Yan Luoyue clenched her small fists. "Mhm, school sounds so great! Brother, you must study hard!"

"Little sister, you have no idea, the school—" At this point, Yan Gan suddenly slammed on the brakes.

He muttered to himself, "Ah, I’m bragging about school to you, but you can’t go there yourself. You must feel really sad, right?"

Yan Luoyue: "Huh?"

That was a misunderstanding—she didn’t feel that way at all.

"Got it!" Yan Gan clapped his hands excitedly. "Little sister, if you turn into your turtle form tomorrow, I can just carry you into school with me!"

He thought this idea was completely feasible and even stood up as he spoke.

"Right, I’ve noticed that my classmates all have little dolls hanging from their school bags—some are woven from grass, some are ceramic, and others are carved from wood. Little sister, you can pretend to be a doll tomorrow, bite onto my bag strap, and I’ll sneak you in. No one will notice."

"...Huh?" Yan Gan paused, blinking uncertainly. "Little sister, why are you looking at me like that?"

It was nothing. Yan Luoyue silently averted her gaze.

She was just observing his expression and thinking, "Brother, it looks like you’re about to get yourself into a world of trouble!"