Investing In My Three Crippled Wives Get 10,000x Times Return

Chapter 48 | Five Years Cultivation

That night, the small bungalow was unusually quiet.

Dexter had already returned to his room, and the girls had also settled into theirs. The house was no longer the cold, lonely place it had been just a few days ago. Through his newly awakened Enhanced Hearing, he could hear the faint, steady rhythm of breathing coming from the room opposite his own. The three women had entered their nightly cultivation. It was peaceful.

Dexter remained seated on his airbed for a few moments. The mattress shifted slightly under his weight. He took a deep breath, but instead of lying down to sleep, he suddenly stood up.

There was still one very important thing left to do.

He stepped out into the dark hallway. Opposite his room was the girls’ room, its door closed completely shut. He paused and glanced at it briefly. He remembered how helpless they had looked when the Ashford family butler had dumped them here with just an old key and ten thousand dollars. He would not let them be helpless again.

Dexter walked quietly toward the living room and reached into his system’s storage space. A small, magical paper appeared in his hand.

It was the Type-5 House Protection Talisman.

The talisman itself was only the size of his palm. However, it felt heavy with power. It was covered in countless silver runes that glowed faintly, looking like tiny stars trapped beneath the surface of the paper.

Dexter looked around the dim living room for a suitable hiding place. His eyes scanned the old furniture, the peeling wallpaper, and the worn-out floorboards. Eventually, his gaze landed on the decorative rug positioned right beneath the center table.

”Perfect,” he whispered to himself.

He carefully lifted the heavy wooden center table and pushed it aside. Then, he folded back the edge of the dusty rug. He placed the glowing talisman flat against the cold floor before covering it up once more. He dragged the table back to its original position, making sure everything looked exactly as it had before.

No one would ever think to look there.

The moment the heavy rug settled back into place—

Buzz!

A faint, warm ripple spread outward from beneath the floorboards. An invisible wave expanded through the living room, rushing through the hallway, and passing through every wall, every window, and every dark corner of the property.

For a brief moment, Dexter felt as though an enormous, transparent glass dome had formed around the entire house. It shimmered in the dark before disappearing completely from sight.

The barrier had activated.

A wide smile appeared on Dexter’s face. With this powerful talisman protecting the house, ordinary street thugs like Kreg and his men would never be able to force their way inside again. Even professional, highly trained assassins would find it nearly impossible to sneak into the bungalow unnoticed.

Not only would the barrier block unauthorized entry, but it would also hide the house from magical detection techniques. Best of all, it would immediately send a warning straight to Dexter’s mind if anyone even tried to breach the perimeter.

For the first time since moving to this broken-down house, he felt completely relieved. He let out a long breath.

”Now they’re safe.”

Satisfied with the security, Dexter returned to his small bedroom and closed the wooden door gently behind him. Only then did his thoughts drift toward another mysterious item resting quietly inside his system storage.

The Primordial Beast Egg.

The egg was incredibly ancient. It looked like a stone that had survived for millions of years. Even the all-knowing system itself hadn’t revealed what kind of species it belonged to. Its only instruction had been very simple:

> [Cultivate beside the egg and it will eventually hatch.]

Dexter strongly considered taking it out and gicing the girls to cultivate with because it would be faster to make it hatch with three of them cultivating it but he quickly abandoned the idea.

If the girls saw a massive, glowing egg sitting in the house, they would naturally ask questions. He couldn’t answer those questions without revealing his system.

Instead, a much better idea formed in his mind.

When coming back from the Hero Association, he could pretend to have found it and bought it.

It was a believable excuse for bringing a giant egg into the house first.

His thoughts shifted again. This time, he thought about the Talent Upgrade Cards.

Currently, only Mira’s dormant talent had surfaced. She possessed the Spectral Arm Talent. Using the upgrade card, he could immediately raise her talent from D-Rank up to C-Rank.

Unfortunately, Lyra and Selene’s hidden talents had not yet shown themselves.

There was no point in rushing the upgrade.

He would simply wait until their new abilities surfaced naturally before making his move. Patience was also a form of investment.

His thoughts then drifted to the Five Years of Cultivation Reward

Dexter then turned his attention entirely inward.

His mana affinity had already risen to the legendary SS-Rank. Even now, while he was just standing there without actively cultivating, mana continuously flowed into his body from the surrounding air.

The difference was almost absurd. He remembered his past life clearly. Back when he possessed a trash F-Rank affinity, absorbing mana had been like trying to catch a slippery fish with greasy hands.

Now? It felt as though the entire world itself was pouring a waterfall of mana directly into his veins. The sensation was absolutely intoxicating.

Dexter sat down cross-legged on his soft airbed. His Flame Demon Bloodline had evolved, making his physical body had transformed into something much stronger. His physical strength had increased several times over.

But before checking his status screen to see his new numbers, there was one major reward he wanted to claim first.

The Five Years of Cultivation Reward.

Dexter slowly closed his eyes and entered a deep state of meditation. His breathing slowed down to a steady rhythm. His racing thoughts calmed into a quiet pool. One minute later, after completely entering his focused cultivation state, he spoke quietly into the empty room.

”System.”

[Ding!]

”I accept the Five Years Cultivation Reward.”

For a brief, agonizing moment—nothing happened.

Then—

BOOM!!

A massive tsunami of pure, liquid mana erupted from deep within his body. It felt as though a gigantic, heavy dam had burst open somewhere inside his chest. Mana flooded every single meridian, every major organ, and every tiny cell in his body.

Surprisingly, there was absolutely no pain. The energy was powerful beyond human imagination, but it was also strangely gentle.