The silence in the classroom was absolute, heavy and charged with disbelief. The golden light pouring from the Soul Crystal was not just a spectacle; it was a break from everything they knew about cultivation.
Soul Realms were red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and, for the most talented, indigo.
The color Gold wasn't on the scale. It was something belonging to myths and legends, not the classroom of a beginner-level institute.
Shen Xiu's eyes were fixed on the crystal, her face a mask of shock. The arrogance and disdain had been swept away, replaced by a complex mix of astonishment, confusion, and, to her own surprise, a pang of greed.
'A talent like this... If the Sacred Family could recruit him... No... if they could have him under their control...'
The mere thought of wielding that power made her shudder.
She forced the words out of her dry throat, her voice barely above a whisper but echoing in the silent room. "Ye Chen... Golden Soul Realm... Soul Strength..." She looked at the numbers floating above the crystal, and her heart skipped a beat. "...412!"
Sigh!
A collective sigh swept through the classroom. A soul strength of 412 meant he had recently advanced to the 4-Star Bronze Rank. Ye Chen was, without a doubt, the strongest student in the class, and perhaps the entire institute.
At that moment, as Ye Chen calmly withdrew his hand, a familiar sound echoed in his mind.
[DING!]
[Congratulations, Host! For revealing a talent that defies the heavens and shocking an elite audience, you have established Initial Dominance.]
[Reward: 50 Harem Points. Harem Points can be used in the System Shop (currently locked) to purchase valuable items.]
"Harem Points?... That's interesting," Ye Chen thought, a playful gleam in his eyes as he watched the stunned teacher. He was no longer surprised by his system. He already knew new features could unlock as he engaged more with the world.
The class continued and then ended strangely and anticlimactically. Shen Xiu, unable to regain her authoritative composure that day, dismissed the students with a weak voice.
As Ye Chen moved to leave with Ye Ziyun, a young man with an arrogant look, dressed in the finest silks and wearing the Sacred Family's emblem embroidered on his chest, blocked his path.
It was none other than Shen Yue.
"You," Shen Yue spat, eyes full of barely disguised envy. "Ye Chen, right? A mere member of a secondary family. I don't know what trick you used with the Soul Crystal, but don't think that makes you important."
Ye Chen simply raised an eyebrow, waiting. He now understood why Nie Li always smiled when confronting Shen Yue. This guy was a total clown.
Ye Chen's calm silence only seemed to infuriate Shen Yue further. He stepped closer, lowering his voice to a threatening growl. "Ye Ziyun will be my promised bride. The union between the Snowwind Family and the Sacred Family is the future of this city. Watch how you speak to her and keep your distance, peasant."
That finally irritated Ye Chen. But before he could respond with the disdain the situation deserved, a clear and irritated voice intervened.
"Shen Yue!" Ye Ziyun stepped between them, her face flushed with anger. "There's no engagement! And Brother Chen is my family, not a peasant. Apologize to him!"
Seeing the normally gentle and reserved Ziyun defend him so fiercely surprised even Ye Chen for a moment. For Shen Yue, it was like a slap in the face. His face twisted with jealousy and fury. He, Shen Yue, the pride of the Sacred Family, being reprimanded by his future bride in defense of a nobody?
"Ziyun, you defend him?" he hissed. "Don't forget your place!"
"And you don't forget yours," Ye Chen's voice cut through the air, cold as ice. He stepped forward, slightly shielding Ziyun in a protective stance. He looked directly into Shen Yue's eyes, calm but overwhelming presence. "Talent speaks louder than status. Remember that next time you decide to bark at your betters."
Shen Yue instinctively took a step back, shocked by the audacity. He wanted to retaliate, but the image of that golden light and Ye Chen's soul strength was etched in his mind. He was at a disadvantage. "Hmph, you'll regret this!"
With one last venomous look, he turned and stomped away, silently vowing revenge.
As the commotion calmed, Ye Chen's eyes wandered across the room, resting on Shen Xiu. She was watching the interaction with an unreadable expression. Perhaps expecting a fight or wanting to see if Ye Chen's strength was real.
But Shen Yue was truly useless, not even daring to make a move.
Ye Chen and Shen Xiu's eyes met briefly, and he saw a reluctant spark of curiosity behind her cold facade. Probably just as he expected. She was curious about him.
"Putting aside her terrible personality, she really is a beauty," he thought, already calculating. A voluptuous figure barely contained by her tight qipao, long legs, and a cold beauty begging to be melted. "Wasting her on a bunch of arrogant old Sacred Family men? That would be a great crime."
"System," he ordered internally. "Target analysis on Shen Xiu."
[Target Analysis]
Name: Shen Xiu
Age: 24
Cultivation: Silver Rank 3-Star
Soul Realm: Green
Soul Attribute: Fire and Lightning
Affection Level: 5/100 (Residual Disdain / Reluctant Curiosity)
Status: Untouched
.
.
.
"She's Untouched too? That makes things even better."
A predator's smile touched Ye Chen's lips. The affection level was nearly zero, as expected. [Disdain and curiosity...] That was something he could work with. A woman like Shen Xiu, proud and arrogant, wouldn't be won over with kindness.
She needed a stronger, more dominant man—someone who could break her arrogance and make her submit. And he would be that man. Just needed a little more time.
Ye Chen's cultivation and Golden Soul Realm spread like wildfire through Glory City. Soon, not only the Sacred Family but even the Dark Guild would know about it.
Yet, without appearing concerned, he walked calmly beside Ye Ziyun.
The path back to the Lord of the City's Mansion was quiet. The afternoon sun painted the sky with a light orange tint, but the atmosphere between Ye Chen and Ye Ziyun was different. The incident with Shen Yue and Ye Chen's power revelation lingered in the air.
Finally, Ziyun broke the silence, her voice soft. "Brother Chen... why have you never told me about your Golden Soul Realm?"
Ye Chen looked at her, his face serious. "I didn't think it was important. And Uncle Ye Zong and Grandfather told me not to talk about it with anyone in the past. I had forgotten. Only recently Uncle Ye Zong said I didn't need to hide it anymore." It was a half-truth, the best he could offer.
"Oh!" Ye Ziyun murmured, looking at his face briefly before dismissing the subject.
They continued walking, and Ye Chen noticed a small dry leaf falling and catching in her dark purple hair.
Acting on instinct—a system-guided instinct—he reached out. His fingers brushed a strand of her hair as he picked up the leaf. The touch was light, almost imperceptible, but to Ziyun, it felt like lightning.
She froze, her whole body stiffening. Her heart, which had finally calmed after the confrontation, raced wildly again, beating uncontrollably against her ribs.
She looked at him, really looked at him.
The sunset's light outlined her silhouette, making her pretty features sharper, more mature. She recalled the last month: the bold "adjustments" during training, the warmth of his body pressed against hers, his breath on her ear.
She thought about how he protected her from Shen Yue—not with explosive anger, but with a cold, unwavering confidence. She thought of that blinding golden light, a power that seemed to place him on a pedestal above everyone else.
Suddenly, a strange feeling bloomed in her heart.
It wasn't just intense training. It wasn't just her cousin being protective. Everything… his touch, his gaze, his new aura of power… was connected. He was no longer just "Brother Chen," the childhood companion she grew up with. He had already become a man. A man who was powerful, enigmatic, handsome, and, she admitted to herself with a blush spreading across her cheeks, incredibly attractive.
She quickly shook her head, her face burning, trying to push the thoughts away. 'What am I thinking! Brother Chen would never flirt like that with me.'
'But what if...'
The realization hit her like a wave. Her feelings for him were not just confusion or familial affection. There was something more, something new and exciting blossoming in her chest.
Ye Chen noticed the blush and distant look in her eyes. He showed her the small leaf in his fingers and smiled—a genuine, warm smile that made her heart leap.
"It was caught in your hair," he said simply.
Ye Ziyun couldn't find a reply. She only nodded, averting her gaze, her face aflame.
For the rest of the way, she walked beside him, painfully aware of every movement he made, the sound of his breath, the possibility of their hands brushing. The seed of curiosity had finally sprouted, and Ye Ziyun was beginning to see her cousin in a completely new and dangerous light.