“Greetings, Mentor Yu Xuan.”
Yan Meng’er curtsied obediently. In her previous life, she had shared a close bond with Mentor Yu Xuan. Now that they had reunited after her rebirth, there was no awkwardness between them at all.
“My name is Yan Meng’er. I’m sixteen years old this year, a Two-Star Mystic Practitioner.”
Mentor Yu Xuan was quite familiar with Yan Meng’er as well. After all, in her previous life, this girl had been one of her proudest disciples. Her talent wasn’t bad at all; it was just that her mind often wandered from cultivation, requiring constant prodding from her mentor.
However, at this point in her previous life, Yan Meng’er should have only been a One-Star Mystic Practitioner, still far from reaching Two-Star. How had she grown stronger after rebirth?
Could it be that some unpredictable change was at play in the grand scheme of fate…
It had been over a month since Mentor Yu Xuan awakened her memories from her previous life, and this was the first time she had encountered a development that deviated from the past. She immediately grew cautious.
“A sixteen-year-old Two-Star Mystic Practitioner— that’s promising material. You can train alongside Ruyu under my guidance.”
Yan Meng’er bowed deeply at once.
“Thank you, Mentor Yu Xuan~ I won’t let you down. I’ll cultivate diligently.”
Only then did Mentor Yu Xuan turn her gentle gaze to Yan Zhen. Her soft eyes blinked as she carefully studied his face, a peculiar emotion brewing in her pupils.
She had always only accepted female disciples, but Yan Zhen was the one exception she couldn’t resist making. His talent was simply too extraordinary—even in a place teeming with prodigies like Holy Land Academy, he would shine brightly.
Yan Zhen was the first male disciple she had ever taken, and also one she had come to regret.
If she hadn’t accepted him back then, she wouldn’t have fallen for him over time, only to be held back by the taboo of their master-disciple relationship. She couldn’t take that forbidden step and had no choice but to bury her feelings deep inside.
Fortunately, she wasn’t some naive young girl. As time passed, she gradually let go of her infatuation. By the time of his grand wedding, she had fully severed those thoughts, offering her sincere blessings as his mentor.
It was all in the past.
Or at least, it should have been.
But now, reborn and seeing Yan Zhen’s handsome face—still carrying a hint of youthful innocence—Mentor Yu Xuan felt the long-sealed depths of her heart stirring faintly once more.
—Have I really not let go? No, that can’t be. I no longer felt that flutter for him years ago.
While Mentor Yu Xuan gazed at Yan Zhen, he was gazing back at her.
Unlike the icy elegance of the Beautiful Female Master, Mentor Yu Xuan exuded a gentle grace. Her brows and eyes were soft and warm; a single smile from her felt like a spring breeze caressing the skin. The mature charm honed by the years was like fine aged wine— one sip left an endless aftertaste.
She might not match the Beautiful Female Master’s peerless beauty, but her skin had a natural, dewy radiance. Her figure was no less alluring either.
Her breasts were full and ample, her hips plump and rounded. The waist between them wasn’t the fragile slip of a girl’s but rather a perfect, sensual curve that hugged her robes just right, without an ounce of excess. One could easily imagine how intoxicating it would feel to wrap one’s arms around her.
To borrow a modern term, Mentor Yu Xuan was what people called a “curvy goddess.”
The two stared at each other quietly, neither willing to look away for a long time.
“Mentor Yu Xuan?”
Yan Ruyu’s voice snapped Mentor Yu Xuan out of her daze. She cleared her throat awkwardly and said to Yan Zhen,
“What’s your name?”
Joining Mentor Yu Xuan’s tutelage was a crucial plot point, so Yan Zhen didn’t dare slack off. He mustered all his focus and recited his line.
“In response to Mentor, my name is Yan Zhen. I’m sixteen years old this year, a Five-Star Mystic Practitioner.”
Even though this was the second time Mentor Yu Xuan had heard this, she couldn’t help but gasp in admiration.
True, Holy Land Academy was full of sixteen-year-olds at Five-Star Mystic Practitioner level. But she knew Yan Zhen’s circumstances were unique—he had a three-year gap in his cultivation. In truth, he had rocketed from Mystic Disciple Third Stage to Five-Star Mystic Practitioner in less than a year.
And that was just the beginning. Yan Zhen’s feats only grew more monstrous from there.
So, her decision to make an exception back then was understandable.
But now… should she take him as a disciple?
To be honest, in her previous life, after accepting Yan Zhen, she hadn’t guided him much in cultivation.
Every so often, he would naturally advance a star on his own, rendering her carefully prepared training plans useless.
If she didn’t accept him this time, could she avoid being drawn to him again?
But she had already let go, hadn’t she? Accepting him shouldn’t make a difference.
As Mentor Yu Xuan pondered this, one of her female disciples suddenly walked in.
“Mentor Yu Xuan, I’ve brought you a talented individual. I hope you’ll accept him into your tutelage.”
This girl was another of Mentor Yu Xuan’s disciples—the prized daughter of Silver Moon City’s foremost clan, the Xiao Family. Xiao Xinyan was nineteen years old, a Six-Star Mystic Practitioner.
Xiao Xinyan had a fine figure and a sweet face, but she fell short of Mi Xue’er and Yan Ruyu in every aspect. She hadn’t made the cut for campus belle, though her cultivation edged them out a bit. Because of that, she loved taking subtle jabs at them for being “all looks, no substance.”
Trailing behind her was a tall youth of seventeen or eighteen. He had a burly build and an honest face, but his squinting eyes gleamed with cunning. The moment he entered, his gaze swiftly swept over the four women in the tent, deliberately skipping Yan Zhen. He was clearly a closet pervert.
Without the script in hand, even Yan Zhen might not have spotted it.
Xiao Xinyan took in the scene inside the tent and quickly pieced it together. She sneered,
“Mi Xue’er, Yan Ruyu, you’ve brought people too? Hope you didn’t drag in any second-rate losers and put Mentor Yu Xuan in a tough spot.”
To Xiao Xinyan’s surprise, Mi Xue’er—the one who usually clashed with her the most—didn’t fire back this time. Instead, she adopted the air of a spectator enjoying the drama, her eyes fixed on Xiao Xinyan with an oddly knowing glint.
—That was the leisure only a reincarnator could afford.
Yan Ruyu, however, frowned at the phrase “second-rate losers” and shot back sarcastically,
“Who are you calling second-rate losers? Take a look in the mirror.”
In terms of looks alone, their side—men and women alike—completely outclassed the newcomers.
Xiao Xinyan glared, on the verge of exploding, when Mentor Yu Xuan spoke up in time.
“Xinyan, who’s the one behind you?”
Xiao Xinyan plastered on a smile and introduced him.
“Mentor Yu Xuan, this is my cousin, Xiao Shi. He’s just turned seventeen, but he’s already a Four-Star Mystic Practitioner. He achieved it all on his own, without any external aids. He’s a rare talent—taking him under your wing won’t embarrass you at all!”
“Greetings, Mentor.”
Xiao Shi looked restrained and proper, but the reincarnated women knew his lecherous true colors all too well. It was Yan Zhen who had exposed him in time back then, and Xiao Xinyan herself had been the victim.
Mentor Yu Xuan said patiently,
“Xinyan, you know my rules. I don’t take male disciples. His talent isn’t enough to make me break that rule.”
Xiao Xinyan blinked in stunned silence.
“A Seventeen-year-old Four-Star Mystic Practitioner isn’t enough? There haven’t been many like him in the academy’s century-long history.”
Mentor Yu Xuan shook her head.
“It would have been… but not anymore.”
“Why not?”
“Because of him.”
Mentor Yu Xuan turned back to Yan Zhen. Xiao Xinyan and Xiao Shi followed her gaze.
“…”
Listening to the mission prompt chiming in his ear, Yan Zhen couldn’t help but gripe inwardly: As expected of a protagonist in a power fantasy—always showing off, or on the way to show off. He’d already flexed twice over meals, and now here came another chance.
—Fine, time for a little flex!
