A figure in silver drifted to Xiao Jietian's side.
Han Yue's gaze swept left, then right. Her brow furrowed slightly.
"Why isn't Junior Sister Xun'er here?"
"Senior Han Yue." Xiao Jietian smiled at her. Briefly, softly, he explained.
Xun'er had left the academy.
Han Yue was silent for a long moment.
So that's why…
That's why Xun'er told me to take care of him.
Then, breaking from her usual cool reserve, she reached out and took his hand.
Her voice was gentle. Steady.
"Xun'er's departure is sudden, I know. But you said you would go and bring her back." Her fingers tightened around his. "So she will wait for you."
A pause.
"You must also take care of yourself. Let's work hard together… so we can go and bring Xun'er back together."
These words. This gesture.
It was a declaration.
A confession.
Han Yue's jade-like hand was cool to the touch. But within it, Xiao Jietian felt her determination. Her warmth.
He did not hesitate.
He clasped her hand firmly in return.
Her face flushed. But beneath the shyness, there was joy.
He accepts me.
He truly accepts me.
Xun'er, somewhere in the distant skies: …I asked you to take care of my boyfriend. THIS is how you take care of him?!
The surrounding crowd erupted.
Heartbreak. Wails. The sound of countless male students' dreams shattering in real time.
Another goddess of the academy has fallen into Xiao Jietian's hands!
And yet… no one was truly surprised.
Xiao Jietian already had Xun'er. Xun'er didn't seem to mind. In fact, she had tacitly indicated her approval.
In the cultivation world, it was hardly unusual for a talented powerhouse to have multiple companions.
The Pan Gate members exchanged strange, knowing glances.
Even Zi Yan, mid-chew on her pill, paused for a fraction of a second. But her focus was, as always, on growing up. She glanced at the couple, shrugged internally, and resumed chewing.
Love stories are boring. Growing up is the real goal.
She had no idea that future her would disagree vehemently.
"Yue'er."
Xiao Jietian squeezed her hand gently.
"After the Heart Flame Body Tempering… come find me. I have something for you."
Han Yue's ears turned crimson.
Yue'er.
He called me Yue'er.
A junior disciple, younger than me, calling me Yue'er… doesn't that make me an old cow eating tender grass?
Her thoughts immediately derailed.
Vividly. Completely.
She recalled certain… materials that the members of Moon Spirit had enthusiastically recommended to her. Romance novels. Illustrations. Scenes she definitely had not imagined herself in.
Definitely not.
Xiao Jietian noticed her silence. He turned, confused.
Han Yue's eyes were darting everywhere and nowhere. Her cheeks were pink. Her expression was… wandering.
Adorable.
He reached out and pinched her cheek.
"Yue'er." His voice dropped to barely a whisper, lips nearly brushing her ear. "What are you thinking about?"
A pause.
"You wouldn't be thinking about something… improper, would you?"
Han Yue snapped back to reality.
Improper. Improper!
She had just been mentally walking herself through a full wedding ceremony—all the way to the bridal chamber. And beyond.
"N-No! Not at all! Absolutely not!"
Her hands waved frantically, denying everything with the desperate energy of someone who had definitely, absolutely, one hundred percent been caught.
Xiao Jietian's expression said: I don't believe you.
Han Yue wanted to die.
If there was a crack in the ground, she would have burrowed into it. Her toes, she felt, had already excavated a fully furnished three-bedroom, two-living-room apartment beneath her feet.
Social death. This is social death.
"I'll come find you then!" she blurted, desperate to change the subject. "I heard you gave away your Heart Flame Body Tempering opportunity?"
Xiao Jietian allowed the subject change.
"Mm." His tone was casual. "It's not particularly useful to me."
Han Yue leaned closer, her breath warm against his ear.
"Your cultivation must be very high, then. No wonder you defeated Senior Sister Zi Yan." Her voice dropped to a curious murmur. "I'm very curious… just how strong are you, really?"
Nearby, Zi Yan's chewing slowed.
Her feet shuffled imperceptibly closer.
"I'll tell you another day." Xiao Jietian smiled.
Then his hand reached out and pressed down on Zi Yan's head, halting her stealthy approach.
"Zi Yan. You're curious too?"
Zi Yan nodded without hesitation.
She still vividly remembered how helpless she had felt against him. Her monstrous strength. Her control over space. As a Five-Star Dou King, she could crush ordinary peak Dou Kings with ease. She could even fight a One-Star Dou Emperor to a standstill.
That was the unreasonable advantage of her beast form.
And yet, against Xiao Jietian, she had been utterly powerless.
How strong is he, really?
Xiao Jietian looked at her.
I'm definitely abducting her in the future.
Right now, Zi Yan was too naive. Without the inheritance of the Ancient Void Dragon Clan, she relied purely on brute force. She had no techniques to channel her monstrous strength effectively.
Her talent was top-tier—perhaps the highest on the entire Dou Qi Continent. Even Xun'er, strictly speaking, fell slightly short.
Such potential. Wasted on wild swings and temper tantrums.
I need to recruit her.
"Zi Yan." His voice was casual. Almost offhand.
"You wouldn't want to lose the pills I refine for you, would you?"
Zi Yan froze.
"…What?"
"I mean." Xiao Jietian's tone was smooth, unhurried. "Do you still want the pills I make for you in the future?"
"YES!!" Zi Yan nodded frantically.
"Then how about this." His voice dropped slightly, taking on a warm, persuasive quality. "Put your name under my faction. Follow me, and I'll cover all your pill expenses. You'll never run out."
A pause.
"I'll even tell you my cultivation realm."
His words curled through the air like smoke, wrapping around Zi Yan's thoughts.
Pills. Energy. Unlimited pills. Unlimited energy.
Her finger rose to her lips. Her gaze grew distant.
Pills…
Unlimited pills…
"Ahem! AHEM!"
A cough—loud, pointed, utterly unsubtle—shattered the atmosphere.
Several aged figures had materialized beyond the crowd.
The one coughing was, of course, Elder Su Qian.
He had arrived earlier. Heard Han Yue's question. Been curious himself about Xiao Jietian's true strength, and so had lingered unseen.
Then Xiao Jietian had started luring his granddaughter.
His granddaughter!
If he had appeared even a moment later, Zi Yan would have been abducted right under his nose!
The more Su Qian looked at Xiao Jietian now, the more the young man's hair seemed… yellow.
Xiao Jietian, internally: Old man. My Thunder God's Manifestation is parked right below your building. Are you sure you want to do this?
Zi Yan, who had been teetering on the edge of temptation, was jolted back to reality by Su Qian's cough.
She blinked.
Oh. Right. The Heart Flame Body Tempering.
She turned to say something to Xiao Jietian—