After a good while, Huangfu Wenqing’s emotions finally settled down. In a coquettish tone, she said,
“Yan Zhen, if I beat you, will you honor our agreement and marry into Cloud Heaven Palace?”
Yan Zhen nodded.
“I will. But you won’t beat me.”
“Hmph, you can’t be so sure. I haven’t shown you my true strength yet.”
“Uh heh heh~”
No matter how strong she was, it wouldn’t matter. If things got dicey, he could just whip out the Overdrive Card Set—anyone below Mystic Ancestor Peak would be out of luck.
Forget her alone. Even if she teamed up with Yun Xiu, master and disciple joining forces, Yan Zhen was confident he could handle them.
After all, he had cheats on his side.
“Don’t take it so lightly. If you lose to me, you’ll have to abandon those other women and stay in Cloud Heaven Palace, devoting yourself only to me (and my master). And when that happens, no take-backs.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Huangfu Wenqing grew annoyed at Yan Zhen’s half-hearted attitude. She was a reincarnator, after all. In her previous life, she had reached the peak of Mystic Ancestor Peak. She was confident she could break through to Mystic General Realm before their duel. With the Evergreen Secret Art and Sword Formula on top of that, even a typical Mystic King wouldn’t stand a chance against her.
Unless Yan Zhen unleashed that Extreme Flame Mystic Skill that had nearly leveled Cloud Heaven Palace—but given their current relationship, no way would he use a lethal move like that just to win a spar.
“How’s your injury?”
“All healed.”
He’d chugged so much of that milky medicinal juice he’d been stuffed for days, no need to eat.
“Good to hear. Tomorrow starts a new month, so the General Star List will update. Since you beat Fu Cheng of White Fang, you’ll take his spot.”
“What rank was that guy?”
“Ninety-nine.”
“Yikes!”
The General Star List had one hundred and eight spots total. Ninety-nine was basically the tenth from the bottom.
Huangfu Wenqing looked worried.
“It’s rare for a Mystic Master Realm cultivator to make the General Star List. You’ll draw a ton of attention—and a ton of trouble.”
Yan Zhen knew exactly what she meant. In the script, right after he climbed onto the list, some Mystic General Realm experts would get salty and challenge the lowly Mystic Master. Then there were the club leaders eyeing his talent, trying to recruit him. When he turned them down, they’d turn nasty and try to crush him. And don’t get him started on all the fair-weather friends cozying up to him…
“Things are about to get busy.”
Cultivation on top of dealing with all those clowns.
“But there are perks to being on the list. Besides the Level 4 Courtyard Card, you get resource rewards at the start of each month. Plus, access to the two major secret realms for training.”
The Inner Academy housed one yin and one yang secret realm, both relocated and remodeled by Jialan Holy Land’s Mystic Venerables from elsewhere. The Yin Extreme Secret Realm was for soul refinement, while the Yang Pole Secret Realm focused on body tempering.
The Yang Pole Secret Realm was mostly a volcanic region, rich in herbs and ores. Yan Zhen still needed to gather materials there to forge the Gold-Silver Flame Sword—and boost his Body Realm cultivation while he was at it.
The body refining technique he practiced, the Primordial Dharma Body Atlas, was fundamentally a bloodline method. By collecting the blood of the Ten Great God Clans, one’s bloodline would revert to its ancestral state, manifesting the “primordial dharma body” of humanity’s forebears.
But his affinity was fire, not the attribute-less kind of the human ancestors. In the end, his physique would manifest as the Supreme Gang Body.
That reminded Yan Zhen of Yi Xian’er and her Innate Fiend Body. He wondered how she was doing—whether she’d made it safely to Shadow Moon Kingdom and entered Evil Spirit Valley to cultivate.
The next time they met, they’d be enemies. She’d have to work through her issues before they could reconcile.
The problem was, even after reconciling, they couldn’t get as intimate as before. Gang and fiend energies repelled each other. Any physical contact would spark a violent reaction.
Sigh…
“Yan Zhen?”
“Oh. Hey, Wenqing, you should try making the General Star List too. Then you’d get a Level 4 Courtyard Card, and we could train together on the fourth floor of the Firmament Nine-Story Tower.”
“To be honest, I already beat a senior ranked one hundred and one on the list. Once it updates tomorrow, I’ll be on there too.”
“Wait, when did that happen?”
“Some guy tried to harass me on the road, so I challenged him right then. Took three sword strikes to finish him—and I won five hundred points to boot.”
Well…
Yan Zhen was at a loss for words.
His fiancée’s storyline had been off the rails from the start, and it was only getting more ridiculous.
So why had Yun Xiu sent her to Holy Land Academy in the first place?
—Tch. Once he got to Cloud Heaven Palace, he’d make her atone with her body, show her the error of her ways!
The image of Yun Xiu naked beneath him, writhing and moaning, begging for mercy in that alluring way—it set Yan Zhen’s heart racing.
For some reason, Yun Xiu always stirred an inexplicable “urge” in him!
Huangfu Wenqing, still nestled in his arms, noticed immediately. Her heart fluttered with a mix of shyness and delight. In a soft voice, she whispered,
“Yan Zhen, are you… thinking about it?”
Yan Zhen snapped back to reality, flushing with embarrassment. He denied it at once.
“N-No! I’ve always been this size.”
Huangfu Wenqing bit her lip.
It was obvious this reaction was because of her.
She was dressed so provocatively, and she’d been rubbing against him in his lap. Of course he’d respond…
Her face burned hotter. After a moment’s hesitation, she said,
“Since I caused it, let me take care of it for you.”
Yan Zhen jolted in alarm. Take care of what? Zi Xunyi was still in the room—probably hiding under the tablecloth, even.
“Really, no need. It’ll go down on its own soon.”
“I’m your fiancée. Helping you with this is only natural~”
“B-But—”
Huangfu Wenqing played her trump card.
“Mentor Yu Xuan can do it, but I… can’t?”
—Holy shit!
Yan Zhen flushed crimson, his momentum crumbling. Powerless to resist, he let Huangfu Wenqing push him down onto the stool.
“Wenqing, maybe we should just forget it…”
She ignored him. Zi Xunyi’s appearance had ignited a fierce sense of crisis in her, stronger than what she felt toward Mentor Yu Xuan, Yan Meng’er, Yan Ruyu, Mi Xue’er, or Xiao Xinyan.
Zi Xunyi had been one of the biggest winners in her previous life—and she was a reincarnator too. Her advantages were overwhelming.
If she wanted to win her fiancé’s heart, she had to claim his body first.
As these thoughts raced through her mind, Huangfu Wenqing knelt down between his legs. With a few deft movements, she released the seal. Her heart pounded as she watched the dragon mark gradually emerge.
—Master did it like this…
She moistened her lips, then leaned down to kiss the dragon mark. Her tongue darted out, tracing it from base to tip, following its coiling path until she reached the head and gently took it between her lips.
It was clumsy and inexperienced, but earnest and meticulous. No expert technique, but the attitude of a pro—raw talent in the making!
Yan Zhen clenched his fists, fighting to stay silent. Then he sensed an invisible wave of spiritual perception spreading from under the table. His whole body went rigid.
—She’s definitely under there. We’re so busted this time!
