Yan Zhen returned to his room and lay down on the bed, letting out a wistful sigh.
He truly felt that Mentor Yu Xuan liked him. But no matter how he racked his brain, he couldn’t come up with a single reason why she would.
The hero-saves-the-beauty arc from the script hadn’t even kicked off yet. Since enrolling, he hadn’t made any real moves on her, and besides, she wasn’t the type to fall easily—otherwise, some smooth-talking player would’ve swept her off her feet ages ago.
If there was one special event between him and Mentor Yu Xuan, it was that awkward bathroom mix-up at the start.
To apologize, Yan Zhen had picked out the Snow Wind Pearl and Ice Coagulation Dew as gifts for her.
In the process, he’d accidentally learned a little about her private tastes, so he’d blurted out his own kink to share the social death. That led to her misunderstanding him as desperately thirsty, and she’d agreed to give him some Secret Teaching.
Yan Zhen went over it carefully in his mind. If there was a problem anywhere, it had to be in that self-exposure bit. But he couldn’t quite recall the exact words anymore.
—System.
【……】
—System-chan?
It took calling twice before a sound like a computer booting up echoed in his mind.
Was this thing really all that smart?
【Here, host. At your service.】
—Do you have a conversation log feature?
【Yes. The system records the host’s performance and lines in text form, constantly comparing them to the script and noting discrepancies. Which time period would you like to review?】
Yan Zhen thought back carefully before giving the specifics.
—It should be the evening of the third day after enrollment.
【Ding! Request received. Searching… Search complete. Here’s the conversation from that night.】
Yan Zhen scanned the wall of text on the system interface and quickly found his own words.
(…After all, I’m a mature older-sister type guy. I go for big-sis vibes, women like Mentor here who radiate that full-bodied allure—they’re right in my strike zone!)
“No doubt about it, there’s some real ambiguity there. Mentor Yu Xuan probably took it as a confession.”
She was kind and gentle, taking on a male disciple for the first time. When he confessed, it must’ve thrown her for a loop.
To keep his mind on cultivation, she’d agreed to give him some secret guidance.
But somewhere along the way, she ended up falling for him herself. After all, Mentor Yu Xuan had no dating experience.
It sounded far-fetched, but right now, Yan Zhen was the protagonist of this world, complete with his special charm toward women. Sure, it was a no-harem power fantasy, but that didn’t stop the women around him from developing feelings.
Take his cousin, for example—those incestuous vibes were getting stronger by the day. He was half-afraid she’d climb on top and start rocking while he was asleep one night.
He’d figured it out, but Yan Zhen’s mood remained downcast.
It looked like he’d unintentionally “teased” Mentor Yu Xuan, which was why things had escalated to this point.
Meaning most of the blame lay with him.
But he couldn’t take responsibility right now.
According to the script, the only two he could end up with didn’t include Mentor Yu Xuan.
He couldn’t just keep stringing her along forever, enjoying her devotion while pretending he was clueless, could he?
That would be too scummy.
Truth be told, Yan Zhen really liked Mentor Yu Xuan, both as her disciple and as a guy. He didn’t want to hurt her feelings.
“Guess I need to clear the air with her after all?”
The question was, how?
—Mentor, you got the wrong idea. I wasn’t confessing. Don’t like me? Because liking me leads nowhere?
Way too cringey!
You’d have to be a card-carrying member of the Breakup Brigade to say something like that.
And what if—what if Mentor Yu Xuan didn’t actually like him at all? What if she was just guiding a promising disciple onto the right path? Then he’d just come off as overly self-important.
—Should he distance himself instead? Turn down her kindness until she got the message?
Just thinking about it reminded him of his cousin. That had to hurt, for both sides.
Plus, he and Mentor Yu Xuan still had scenes together at Holy Land Academy. Botching their relationship now would derail the later plot.
“Aaah, this is so annoying. System-chan, got any helpful hints?”
【Ding! System hint: As long as the host doesn’t initiate or refuse, no responsibility required.】
Yan Zhen’s expression cooled instantly, turning blank and emotionless as he said:
“…That’s the kind of attitude that gets you dunked in a pig cage.”
Whatever. Asking a flip-phone-level system about human emotions was pointless anyway.
“For now, I’ll just push through the Mystic Academy plotline. Play it by ear.”
What he feared most was crumbling under Mentor Yu Xuan’s full-court press, jumping into her bowl to become a willing dinner—and derailing his protagonist persona in the process.
So he needed to steel his resolve!
A will of pure steel!
—System, show me how steel is forged!
【Received.】
The system interface popped up a video of steel being hammered—clang, clang, clang—as the iron struck the glowing-hot metal with powerful, earth-shaking force.
“…”
Physical steel-making wasn’t his thing. He wasn’t planning a tech-farming route.
Yan Zhen decided to head to the Beautiful Master for the next plot segment.
He was just about to activate the Star Shifting Fire Seal when he suddenly remembered the bath earlier. His neck, shoulders, and ears had been licked and kissed all over by Mentor Yu Xuan—definitely leaving marks.
A quick check in the mirror confirmed it: several fresh hickeys stood out clear as day.
If the Beautiful Master saw those, he was in for it.
Yan Zhen circulated his mystic power, massaging the muscles around his neck to fade the hickeys away. Only then did he step into the Crystal Stone Space.
—Felt totally like a cheating scumbag.
Every time he entered the Fire Refining Starry Sky, the towering pillars ringing the plaza and the burning stars beyond them shook him to his core. So damn cool.
Of course, they paled next to the Beautiful Master at the altar’s center.
White hair, G-cup assets, bare feet, mature goddess vibes.
The Beautiful Master was number one in the world!
“Master.”
Yan Zhen called out respectfully.
Even though things had gotten intimate with the Beautiful Master, a master was a master. Proper etiquette mattered.
Chen Xi, who had been meditating, opened her eyes and glanced at him. “Zhen’er, is your hand feeling better?”
“Thanks to the treasure medicine Master gave me yesterday, it’s almost healed. Just can’t put too much strength into it yet.”
That reminded Yan Zhen of the milky taste in his mouth that morning, leaving him with a weird feeling in his chest.
Chen Xi’s cheeks warmed slightly too. It was her first time experiencing that motherly sensation—different from the fun of dual cultivation. It was a happiness that made her want to drown in it forever, as if her body and soul had been claimed by his gentle sucking and nibbling.
“Ahem. Once your arm’s fully healed, we’ll resume pill refining lessons. For today, I’ll teach you a mental secret art that doesn’t require hands.”
Yan Zhen’s eyes lit up. “A mental secret art?”
