Wait.

Wait.

*Why does this feel so familiar?*

Wasn't this Si Tingxue's technique?

He stared at the listing with a slightly odd expression.

He had to admit the effect was genuinely excellent.

The third option, Icefire Vortex, was a powerful area-of-effect Combat Technique.

Icefire was a special type of flame that combined the bone-deep cold of ice with the scorching burn of fire — a strange and potent hybrid. This technique conjured an Icefire Vortex that dragged enemies inward, leaving them struggling to move while both freezing and burning simultaneously.

Thunder Heaven's Wrath was also a strong AoE option.

He ruled it out immediately. He already had Wind Thunder Fury — stacking two lightning-type techniques made no sense.

His attention settled on the first three.

Light, ice, and fire — none of which he currently possessed.

All three offered something genuinely useful.

Radiant Brilliance cleansed negative effects and amplified base stats. His base attributes were already excellent, and they only grew stronger as he continued evolving his Transcendent Genes — meaning the returns on that amplification would compound dramatically over time. The gene would scale far better in his hands than for an average Gene Warrior.

Cleansing curses was also a real advantage. Some fighters built their entire strategy around layering insidious debuffs, grinding opponents down through sheer attrition. Having a clean answer to that would spare him considerable grief.

And it was a rare light attribute, at that.

Frost Breath... he found himself wondering what expression Si Tingxue would make if she saw him using the exact same technique as her.

He'd watched her deploy it in the arena fight. The control it offered was remarkable. He'd been quietly envious since.

Icefire Vortex had the powerful AoE capability he needed, along with a crowd-control component — and like Wind Thunder Fury, it carried dual elemental properties, ice and fire simultaneously. Genuinely impressive.

Honestly, all three were solid choices.

After turning it over carefully, he ultimately chose Radiant Brilliance.

The curse-cleansing utility was simply too valuable to pass up, and the base-stat amplification — given how much room he still had to grow — had a ceiling that was almost obscene in his hands. The other two might turn up again someday. This one had a single unit in stock. Walk away now, and the chance might never come again.

He spent three million Credits and bought Radiant Brilliance.

King Grade. No regrets.

With the purchase complete, his Credits dropped back down to 360,000.

*Credits flow like water,* he sighed inwardly.

The academy's delivery speed was, as always, impressive.

The gene arrived at his door before long.

He secured it safely, then settled back into his daily routine — spending daylight hours at Si Tingyu's place working on Steel Body, returning to the dormitory at night.

Sometimes he ate dinner in his room. Other times he shamelessly mooched a meal off Si Tingyu.

The story of Lu Yuan one-shotting the gnoll Feiba had been spread to every corner of the campus by enthusiastic eyewitnesses, and it had now thoroughly taken root.

Si Tingfeng, Maige, and Yang Ping all tracked him down to ask if it was true, marveling at how fast he was climbing.

By Maige's reckoning, if Lu Yuan kept this up, he'd be a Battle Sovereign by graduation.

There was a plaintive look in Maige's eyes when he said it.

After all, reaching Battle Venerable by graduation was already an excellent result for most people.

And there was Lu Yuan, making the entire standard look absurd.

*We live in the same dormitory. Could you at least leave the rest of us some dignity?*

Even Si Tingfeng wore a complicated expression, admitting that Si Chengxin had specifically tracked him down and asked him to come talk some sense into Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan's face darkened when he heard that. *That man still hasn't given up on dragging me into the Red Maple Guard.*

Absolutely relentless.

He wasn't the only one calling. Li Qinghe phoned him too.

"Hey, little brother Yuan. I heard you cut down Feiba — the strongest gnoll Battle General genius — in a single sword strike?"

Her voice was as languid as ever, but beneath it Lu Yuan caught genuine surprise.

Lu Yuan stretched out on his bed and answered with a grin:

"That's right. The guy had a real attitude problem — I just couldn't help myself. With him out of commission, he shouldn't be able to return to the Land of Origin anytime soon, right?"

Li Qinghe laughed softly. "A Third-rank Battle General at full Tempering Proficiency — once someone like that dies out, they need at least two months before they can re-enter the Land of Origin. He must hate you to death."

Lu Yuan laughed.

"All the better."

Two months of real-world time was nearly 280 days inside the Land of Origin. Feiba had taken an absolute loss on that exchange.

Lu Yuan, on the other hand, had come out firmly ahead — Feiba had yielded 700,000 Credits and 1 million Fifth-tier Spirit Crystals.

A cool edge crept into Li Qinghe's voice. "Those gnolls had the audacity to set up an arena right outside our Red Maple City. Dying there served them right. You did well — I'm very pleased. Want a reward?"

The last few words carried a barely-there note of warmth that sent Lu Yuan's pulse skipping.

He cleared his throat. "Ahem... that doesn't seem quite right, does it?"

Li Qinghe's languid voice floated back:

"Oh? Little brother Yuan actually wants his reward? My, you've gotten bold enough to make demands of your older sister?"

Lu Yuan stiffened. *Something's not right.*

He'd walked right into one of her traps again.

When had she ever actually delivered on a promised reward?

He was pulling himself together, about to salvage his dignity, when Li Qinghe's voice dropped to something almost hushed:

"Check the messages."

Lu Yuan blinked, then opened the chat. Li Qinghe had sent a photo.

He looked at it.

His eyes went wide.

Ahem. Long, slender legs. Black stockings.

Well...

*More. I need more.*

"If you dare show that photo to anyone else, I'll kill you."

Li Qinghe's voice was warm and smiling. It was also completely cold.

Lu Yuan answered with perfect solemnity:

"As if I would. This one is strictly for my eyes only. No one else gets to see it. Ever."

Li Qinghe seemed to grow flustered — clearly not eager to dwell on the subject — and pivoted:

"Anyway, little brother Yuan, as you know I'm an Honorary Elder of the Night Watchman. That quick kill of yours has made quite a stir, and I'd imagine by now quite a few influential figures are lining up to recruit you after graduation, right?"

Lu Yuan paused, thinking of Si Chengxin and Ducan — and beyond them, a message had also come from Groat, who stated directly that Karol, Commander of the Endless Mountain Range Guard Corps, had asked him to reach out. The invitation was clear: join the Endless Mountain Range Guard Corps after graduation.

He hadn't committed to any of them.

After all, he was only a first-year student.

He was practically still a child.

How did these people have the heart to pressure him like this?

"Yes, Qinghe-jie. A few people have approached me about joining their organizations."

Li Qinghe's voice carried a note of exasperation:

"I've been getting pushed by our Night Watchman's President to contact you as well. They want you to join the Night Watchman after graduation. If you've reached Battle King Rank by then, the President said you'd be given Honorary Elder status too."

That was unexpected — even Qinghe-jie had been recruited as a recruiter.

He understood, of course. She was a Night Watchman member herself.

The Night Watchman made him think of the Evolution Cube.

The Evolution Cube needed Unknown Aura from Aberration Entities or aberrant Feral Beasts to evolve further. If he was going to work somewhere after graduation, the Night Watchman was probably his best option — their constant exposure to Aberration Events would give the Cube the fastest possible evolution pathway.

Curious, he asked:

"Qinghe-jie, does the Night Watchman deal with a lot of Aberration Events?"

Li Qinghe replied:

"Of course. Aberration Events are frequent throughout the entire Red Maple Empire — every major city has a Night Watchman branch. Headquarters not only manages the events in the Imperial Capital but is constantly dispatching support to branch offices. The staff there are incredibly busy. That friend of yours, Xue Wang — he's with Franming now. Barely has time to breathe, from what I hear. I can get away with being lazy because I'm an Honorary Elder. Hehehe."

A trace of smug satisfaction crept into her voice at that last part.

She continued: "With your talent, reaching Battle King Rank before graduation should be no issue. Becoming an Honorary Elder means free time and a salary — what's not to love?"

*In another life,* Lu Yuan thought, his eye twitching, *Li Qinghe would have been the world's most accomplished office slacker. Management level, no less.*

He cleared his throat and said:

"Mm... when I have some free time, I could visit the Night Watchman and help handle some Aberration Events. Would that work?"

"Hm? Is little brother Yuan actually thinking of joining the Night Watchman? Giving your older sister this much face? I'm so touched! How would you like me to reward you?"

Lu Yuan desperately wanted to say *send me more stocking photos — white ones work too, honestly anything works as long as it looks good*.

He caught himself. He was a decent person. Not a pervert. That wasn't the kind of thing a respectable man said aloud.

"Since it's Qinghe-jie's invitation, I figured I should at least give it a try. And besides, Aberration phenomena genuinely interest me."

Li Qinghe, who knew something of his past, fell briefly silent, then smiled and said:

"In that case, when the time comes, I'll come along and investigate with you."

"Thank you, Qinghe-jie."

"Why are you still being so formal with me?"

"Ahem... fair enough. Then I won't hold back. Do you have any more stocking photos?"

Lu Yuan had failed, in the end, to rein himself in.

A very audible silence fell from the other end.

Then, a voice of pure ice:

"Get lost. When you come home, I'm going to beat you senseless."

The call ended.

Lu Yuan lay there, replaying her final words, cold sweat beginning to gather at his temples.

*I need to find some excuse to avoid going back for the foreseeable future.*

But then another problem struck him.

He still had a Heavenly Spirit Pill to deliver to Qinghe-jie. He couldn't put off returning forever.

Though — with a Heavenly Spirit Pill as a peace offering, she wouldn't actually hit him. Right?

Surely not.

White Willow District. Li Qinghe lay on her bed, phone still in hand, a faint flush on her face — half embarrassment, half indignation.

"That little brat. He's actually started teasing *me* now? I used to be the one teasing him!"

The irritation dissolved on its own, and she laughed despite herself.

She lay there thinking for a while, then got up and walked to her walk-in closet. She pulled out a garment she'd bought online with Da Xiong Yu — never once worn — and hummed quietly to herself as she held it up and tried it on.

The next day, Lu Yuan was about to head to Si Tingyu's place for training when word came that Si Tingyu was in the middle of absorbing her Heavenly Spirit Pill and couldn't be disturbed.

He thought for a moment and decided this was a good time to make a trip back — he'd deliver the Heavenly Spirit Pill to Li Qinghe and be done with it.

So Lu Yuan left the Talent Camp, summoned Black Bear No. 1, and headed back to White Willow District.

When he arrived home, Li Qinghe hadn't expected him to show up out of nowhere. For half a second, something flickered across her face — and then her gaze sharpened into a cold smile.

"Little brother Yuan. I see you've come prepared for your beating."

Lu Yuan's nerves jangled. He quickly plastered on a grin.

"Qinghe-jie, I have a surprise for you."

Li Qinghe looked puzzled. "What surprise?"

Lu Yuan produced the Heavenly Spirit Pill and held it out to her.

Rich Spirit Power radiated from the pill. Li Qinghe felt it the moment it was within reach.

She shot him a surprised look, then accepted it.

After reading the information the Heavenly Spirit Pill contained, Li Qinghe stared at him in astonishment.

"This Heavenly Spirit Pill... it can actually raise one's talent?"

Lu Yuan smiled and nodded. "Is this a good surprise, Qinghe-jie?"

Li Qinghe smiled and nodded. Then: "What about you? Did you take one yourself?"

"I did. I grabbed an extra one for you."

Lu Yuan then recounted everything — how he, Rebecca, and Si Tingxue had gone to hunt Zhou Er together.

Li Qinghe listened with a nod. "I see."

"So take it, Qinghe-jie. It'll do you good in the long run."

Li Qinghe looked at him for a moment, then smiled and reached up to pinch his cheek.

"I'm very satisfied with this surprise. Your beating has been cancelled. Stay for a bit — don't rush back to school. Your older sister has a surprise for you too."

Lu Yuan was puzzled, but he nodded and agreed.

Li Qinghe went off to absorb the Heavenly Spirit Pill.

And so Lu Yuan settled in.

The next morning, a powerful surge of Spirit Power rippled out from Li Qinghe's room. Lu Yuan opened his eyes and glanced toward her door.

She'd finished absorbing the pill.

He smiled and got up.

Shortly after, Li Qinghe emerged.

Lu Yuan looked at her with a grin. "How do you feel, Qinghe-jie?"

Li Qinghe's voice was barely contained excitement. "Wonderful! After absorbing the Heavenly Spirit Pill, I don't think it'll be long before I can attempt the breakthrough to Battle Sovereign."

Lu Yuan's eyes lit up. He felt genuinely happy for her.

"Then congratulations, Qinghe-jie."

Li Qinghe raised an eyebrow, her smile turning mischievous.

"Wait outside. Your older sister has a surprise to get ready."

Lu Yuan watched her disappear back into her room with a puzzled look.

Before long, Li Qinghe's door opened again. A pale, slender arm extended outward, one finger curling in a slow, unhurried beckon. Her voice, when it came, held a thread of something almost imperceptible — nerves:

"Little brother Yuan — come in."

Lu Yuan stepped inside curiously.

And then he saw her.

Li Qinghe was wearing a sleeveless black slip dress — short, fitted, unmistakably alluring — black stockings hugging every inch of her long legs.

Lu Yuan: "...???"

Wait.

*Wait??*

He briefly wondered whether he had somehow died and wandered into paradise.

Because this had to be a dream.

Li Qinghe, who always wore that signature lazy smile, now had the faintest look of self-consciousness on her face.

It didn't last. She shook it off, and the mischievous smirk reappeared. She rested one hand on her slender waist, struck a deliberately provocative pose, and gave him a slow, teasing wink.

"Well? Do I look good? I bought this with Da Xiong Yu on an online shopping spree and I've never actually worn it until now. You're the first to see it, little brother Yuan."

Lu Yuan: "...Qinghe-jie, is it alright if I sit down on the bed?"

Li Qinghe blinked.

Then something seemed to dawn on her. The look she turned on him was pure wicked amusement:

"Hm? If you want to sit, then sit."

Lu Yuan: "..."

*I am not okay.*

*If I could actually beat her in a fight, I'd show you the true meaning of suffering right now.*

He kept that firmly inside his own skull, then sat meekly on the edge of the bed.

Li Qinghe's smile sweetened. "Alright, show's over! Your older sister is changing back!"

She retreated to the walk-in closet and pulled the door shut. The moment it clicked closed, she leaned back against it — and her face, with no one left to perform for, flushed a deep, unmistakable red.

She pressed a hand to her chest and exhaled slowly.

*My heart is beating way too fast.*

Once her pulse settled, the color faded. She changed back into her usual clothes.

She looked at the little black dress and the stockings for a long moment. Then, with a certain solemnity, she folded them away.

Lu Yuan had not seen any of that coming.

He was entirely satisfied.

His only complaint was that it had been over far too quickly.

Then again — if it had gone on much longer, he wasn't sure his self-restraint would have survived. There was a real possibility he might have done something that earned him a fatal response from Qinghe-jie.

On reflection, short was probably for the best.

Hmm?

Wait...

*Da Xiong Yu.*

Once the moment passed and his brain started working again, that offhand remark surfaced without warning. His expression went a little strange.

Mm...

As a nickname, it really did fit the instructor's defining characteristics rather well.

Lu Yuan refused to think any further on the subject. He locked that nickname away in the deepest, most inaccessible vault of his mind.

No reason to invite an early death.

Li Qinghe came out shortly after and promptly shooed him out.

Lu Yuan caught the odd looks she kept shooting him and felt profoundly awkward himself. Li Qinghe was Battle King Rank — she had definitely noticed something that could never be spoken aloud.

He made his exit.

Back at school, Lu Yuan returned to his normal rhythm.

Daily trips to Si Tingyu's home for Steel Body training.

Ever since Li Qinghe had let that nickname slip in conversation, Lu Yuan had found it impossible to look at Si Tingyu with entirely clear eyes. The mental image was simply terrifying.

Si Tingyu herself noticed nothing unusual. She continued to pound on him without mercy during every session.

His progress was genuine, regardless.

His Steel Body's defensive amplification had climbed to nearly three times his base defense. It hurt. It was also working.

Inside the Land of Origin, unable to go out hunting gnoll geniuses, Lu Yuan applied himself to cultivation with full focus.

Word had reached him that the fighting between Red Maple Empire geniuses and gnoll geniuses had been growing fiercer by the day.

Casualties were mounting on both sides. He learned that Li Qingmei — ranked 4th on the Talent Camp Combat Rankings — and Zhang Shi — ranked 7th — had both been killed in counter-ambushes while hunting gnoll geniuses.

Those ranked further down had suffered even greater losses.

The gnolls weren't faring much better. Plenty had died in the exchanges.

For what was still only a preliminary skirmish — a prelude to the real contest over Ice Vein Star — both sides had already paid a steep price.

Time passed.

A month and a half later.

Lu Yuan had entered the Land of Origin six times, absorbed 1.3 million Fifth-tier Spirit Crystals, and raised Space Teleportation's Tempering Proficiency to 70%.

Space Teleportation already provided the highest baseline attribute boost of any of his genes, and as Tempering Proficiency rose, those stats had surged upward once again by a substantial margin.

Lu Yuan realized he was now capable of engraving one more King Grade Gene Armament.