At dinner, Yan Zhen usually sat at one end of the table with his peers—Yan Meng’er, Yan Ruyu, and Mi Xue’er—while Mentor Yu Xuan occupied the other end as a sign of respect.
But today, Yan Zhen sat right next to Mentor Yu Xuan, keeping a wide berth from the three girls. His reason? He wanted nothing to do with those crazy fangirls.
The girls’ cheeks still held a faint blush. Whenever their eyes met, the color deepened.
Mentor Yu Xuan glanced at her disciples, amusement flickering in her eyes.
She had nearly finished preparing dinner in the kitchen when the three girls returned from school. They had searched Yan Zhen’s room without finding him and came to ask her.
Mentor Yu Xuan had told them he was probably still in the bath, so they headed there.
They called out for a long time from outside, but Yan Zhen never responded.
Considering his physical condition, the girls feared something had gone wrong. In their panic, they forced the bathroom door open and barged inside.
They caught him just as he stepped out of the bath. The three of them had seen everything, and now Yan Zhen was sulking.
Though they had already explained and apologized, he had yet to forgive them.
He had just been kissed by his beautiful female master, leaving his body in a state of heightened excitement, only for it all to be laid bare before them. Who could endure that?
His pride and sense of shame had taken a severe hit.
After wolfing down his meal, Yan Zhen ignored the girls and slipped back to his room like a thief.
He shut the door behind him and entered the Crystal Stone Space, where he continued sketching the Fire Symbol on white paper with black ink.
As he drew, his Divine Soul resonated and pulsed in harmony with the patterns. Signs of spiritual power awakening began to emerge.
Success was drawing near, but so was the intensifying Divine Soul Pulsation. Without pills to soothe it, only dual cultivation with his beautiful female master could alleviate the resulting headaches.
Since beginning his cultivation of the Emperor Flame Technique, Yan Zhen had engaged in dual cultivation with her three times.
Once to refine the Gold-Silver Fire, once when she checked his progress, and once the day before yesterday to ease the aftereffects of a Divine Soul Pulsation.
Today would be the fourth.
The original script had made no mention of dual cultivation. Yan Zhen couldn’t help worrying that it might affect the story’s progression. Moreover, his beautiful female master was perfection incarnate, like a fairy from the heavens, which only made him feel inferior by comparison. To avoid breaking character, he could only passively follow her lead without taking the initiative. Each session left him thoroughly on edge.
“Don’t be nervous, Zhen’er,” Chen Xi said softly. “Dual cultivation is simply another form of practice. Treat it earnestly, and there’s no need to feel any guilt.”
“But I can’t help feeling like I’m wronging you, Master.”
“You’re such a fool. Didn’t your master already tell you? There’s not the slightest grievance on my part.”
Chen Xi gazed out beyond the Heavenly Pillar into the endless starry sky of the Fire Refining Starry Sky. Her eyes grew Mystic.
“In the past, your master guarded this realm, passing empty days in isolation. Time lost all meaning. I was alive, yet existed like a wandering ghost—lost in a haze, devoid of purpose—until I met you, Zhen’er.”
Her gaze returned to Yan Zhen, brimming with tenderness.
“Cultivating you into a great talent is your master’s greatest wish in this life. Everything I’ve done for that fills me with satisfaction. I want to teach you so much—be it cultivation, technique refining, or even dual cultivation. To personally guide my own disciple into becoming a true man… your master is immensely proud of that, Zhen’er~”
Yan Zhen’s heart swelled with emotion at his beautiful female master’s heartfelt words. His nose tingled. What virtue did he possess to deserve such devotion from her?
He was so deeply moved that he missed the odd undertone in her words. His mind filled only with the burning desire to repay her. Passion surging, he declared, “Master, I swear I won’t disappoint you! I’ll cultivate diligently until I reach the pinnacle of the Mystic Heavens!”
Chen Xi smiled with evident gratification.
“Your master believes you can do it… Then let’s begin our dual cultivation.”
With that, she gently pushed against his chest, easing him down onto the stone bed padded with soft bedding.
The gauze curtain drifted down gracefully. Their clothes slipped away in silence. The taboo practice between master and disciple slowly commenced.
Yan Zhen: /(//o/ω/o//)/
Chen Xi: ()
…
Since tomorrow was a cultivation class where he couldn’t study talisman drawing, Yan Zhen requested another sick day from Mentor Yu Xuan.
Concerned for his health, she approved without hesitation and asked if he was feeling unwell again.
Yan Zhen assured her he was fine overall—just needed another day of rest.
Yan Meng’er watched her cousin retreat to his room. Silently, she jotted down the kisses from yesterday and today in her little notebook, planning to claim payback once he recovered.
After breakfast, the three girls headed to school. Without Yan Zhen by their side on the way, something felt inexplicably missing.
Yan Ruyu and Mi Xue’er felt it most acutely. In class, the empty seat between them left a strange void in their hearts, so they sat together as they once had.
Mentor Yu Xuan, meanwhile, was summoned to the Dean’s Office over the incident of injuring Discipline Mentor Zhang Wei a couple of days prior.
Zhang Wei’s uncle was one of Mystic Academy’s two vice deans, overseeing the beginner classes. It was his doing that allowed a mere Two-Star Mystic Master like Zhang Wei to become a discipline mentor.
With his nephew beaten, the uncle naturally wouldn’t let it slide. Yet Mentor Yu Xuan was no weakling. She had a mysterious background tied to Holy Land Academy, and as an instructor for the Intermediate Class, she fell outside his jurisdiction. Unable to act directly against her, he went to the dean to throw a tantrum.
A fellow instructor inciting infighting within the academy violated regulations severely and demanded punishment… Not to mention that insolent student who dared assault his superior—equally deserving of harsh discipline… and so on.
The dean had been appointed by Holy Land Academy and vaguely knew Mentor Yu Xuan’s standing there. Naturally, he took her side but couldn’t make it too obvious. He called her in merely to hash things out.
Mentor Yu Xuan hadn’t intended to make a big fuss, but upon hearing the vice dean wanted to punish Yan Zhen, fury ignited within her.
Yan Zhen’s sudden headache yesterday was likely from the injury inflicted by Zhang Wei. She hadn’t even settled scores with them yet, and here they were playing the victim.
“Dean, I’ll leave this matter to you,” she said coolly. “Handle it properly, or you can kiss your position goodbye. I’ll have the elders send someone to replace you.”
With that, Mentor Yu Xuan turned and left, sparing them not a single glance.
The dean, who had hoped to play spectator, jolted in shock.
The vice dean felt a chill run down his spine, uncertainty gnawing at him. He opened his mouth to speak, only for the dean to fix him with a grim, piercing stare.
“Within three days, have that worthless nephew of yours apologize to Mentor Yu Xuan and her disciple. If you can’t secure their forgiveness, don’t blame this old man for forgetting our collegial bonds!”
He then shoved the stunned vice dean out the door.
Unaware of the drama unfolding at the academy, Yan Zhen diligently practiced sketching the Fire Symbol in the Crystal Stone Space.
On the white rice paper, the black talisman patterns were nearly complete—only the final stroke remained.
