Rong Xi stared at Gu Jun, utterly dumbfounded.
If a girl had joked like that, it would have been harmless banter. But when a boy like Gu Jun says something so bold—especially about someone like Bai Yue—it was bound to stir trouble. Not just from the Bai family, but from Bai Yue's long line of admirers.
Sensing the shift in atmosphere, Rong Xi quickly tried to change the subject.
"Hey, junior brother, why are you ignoring me?" she said, putting on an exaggerated pout. "Thanks to you, I'm in deep trouble now. The Wang family is demanding an apology and blaming me for everything. I stood up for you, and this is how you repay me?"
Xiao Wei glanced at Gu Jun with renewed admiration. The kind of trouble Gu Jun stirred just by existing—it was both enviable and dangerous.
Rong Xi continued, "Let me introduce my two friends. This is Ji Yan, and this is Qiang Suyan. They're both third-years."
Gu Jun gave them a polite nod.
The boys took their turn introducing themselves.
When it was Xiao Wei's turn, Rong Xi rolled her eyes and snapped, "You don't need to say anything, white-faced peacock. I know you too well. But remember—you're in Tianhai Royal University now. My turf. Stop flashing that face around and seducing girls everywhere."
Xiao Wei replied, ever the charmer, "I don't seduce anyone. They see my face and get seduced all on their own."
This time, Bai Xue chimed in coldly, "Then maybe cover your face before going out in public."
Xiao Wei clutched his chest and looked dramatically at Bai Xue. "Sister, you wound me."
Meanwhile, Zhao Ming was quietly observing Ji Yan and Qiang Suyan, clearly trying to figure out how to strike up a conversation. Unfortunately, neither of them even glanced at him. Their eyes were focused on Zhou Hao, Xiao Wei, and—surprisingly—even Li Ming.
Zhou Hao had a calm, noble air. Xiao Wei had charm and flamboyance. And Li Ming, though silent and distant, carried an air of mystery that some girls found irresistible.
Poor Zhao Ming could only sigh in defeat and sip his drink.
A moment later, the waiter arrived with a new bottle of wine. Everyone raised their glasses and took a sip.
Gu Jun then turned toward Rong Xi. "So, what's going on with the Wang family?"
Rong Xi's face immediately turned sour. "Ugh, they're being dramatic. I just broke a little bone in his hand—what's the big deal? I'm such a beautiful girl, can't they let something like that slide?"
She sighed and continued, "My dad scolded me for hours. If it wasn't for my grandfather stepping in, I think he would've beaten me. Honestly, if I was going to get punished anyway, I should've just broken his legs while I was at it!"
The table went quiet for a beat.
Then Xiao Wei muttered under his breath, "Remind me never to get on her bad side."
Antarctica.
A frozen world. Heaven made of ice—or hell, depending on who you ask.
It was midnight. A brutal ice storm raged across the barren continent, winds howling like tortured spirits. Visibility was almost zero, but suddenly, three silhouettes appeared in the white chaos.
All three were men, seemingly in their thirties. One stood at the front, while the other two followed closely behind.
Anyone who saw them would be stunned—this world-ending storm didn't seem to touch them. The winds bent around their bodies, and the snow didn't cling to their robes. They walked as if through a spring breeze.
In the hand of the leading figure was a golden rod. At first glance, it seemed like nothing more than an ornate staff, but every four seconds, it pulsed with a faint golden glow, accompanied by a soft clicking sound.
It was no ordinary tool—it was a Treasure-Seeking Staff, specifically tuned to locate pieces of the Heaven-Encompassing Array.
The man wielding it was Longyun, the Tenth Elder of the Gu Empire and one of the deputy Executors of the Tianhai Plan. A peak Initial Innate expert. The two men behind him were his subordinates, Code B and Code Z, both in the late stage of Huajin.
They were here for one purpose: to locate the final piece of the Heaven-Encompassing Array—a mystical formation being assembled in secret in Tianhai.
They moved through the icy wasteland at frightening speed, unaffected by the sub-zero temperatures or the storm's fury.
Then, the rod changed. The glow and clicking were no longer periodic—they came in rapid succession.
The three men exchanged glances.
They were close.
After three relentless hours, they reached a massive, ice-covered mound—a frozen hill that rose like a tombstone in the lifeless land. The staff pulsed wildly now, reacting nonstop.
This was the place.
The men halted. Longyun raised another artifact from his storage ring—a small metallic disc etched with ancient runes. He placed it on the ground.
From the device, invisible waves rippled outward in all directions, passing through ice and earth before bouncing back. Longyun closed his eyes, attuning his senses to the returning echoes.
Thirty minutes passed. His eyes opened.
Found it.
"It's on the left flank of the mound, about 600 meters deep," he said. "Ice, followed by rocky earth, and then water. Inside the water are floating rocks—one of them contains the fragment."
Without hesitation, they moved.
Within ten minutes, they bored through the thick ice sheet and rocky ground, reaching the underwater cavity. The water was strangely still, eerily quiet.
Longyun and Code B descended into it, leaving Code Z above.
There, in the dark water, suspended among slowly drifting boulders, was the object.
Longyun stared at it for nearly ten minutes. His senses probed every inch, looking for traps, curses, or concealed arrays. Nothing.
At last, he extended his hand.
Just as his fingers brushed the fragment—
A chill unlike anything he'd ever felt crawled up his spine.
Even submerged, the hair on his body stood on end.
Behind him, something stirred. Something ancient. Something malevolent.
He didn't turn, but he could feel it—the presence.
Elsewhere—
In an unknown corner of the world, a place where no light reached, only endless blackness—
A pair of deep, cold eyes opened.
It was Xuanzhi. He stared silently, across space and distance, toward Antarctica.
In other places around the globe, other eyes—strange, profound, terrifying—also opened.
All of them turned their gaze toward the frozen continent.
Something had been disturbed.