Junior Lu Yuan — As Expected of You

When they arrived at the Virtual Building's main hall, the scene was the same as before — the last day of October, and the place was packed. Most students had pushed their cultivation to its absolute limit and were only now, on the final day, coming in to be tested.

When they spotted Lu Yuan's group of four approaching, a wave of enthusiastic greetings broke out across the hall.

After the incident at the Aier Mechanical Ruins where he'd trapped and slaughtered the Innate King Grade warriors, followed by his first combat test landing him at 25th on the Combat Rankings, and then his outstanding performance at the Endless Mountain Range defensive line — Lu Yuan's reputation across the entire Talent Camp had reached extraordinary heights. It was safe to say that every student and faculty member knew who he was.

The four of them found seats and settled in. Just then, two young women walked through the entrance.

One had blue hair, an ice-cold expression, and a tall, slender figure — her chest probably on par with Amy's, perhaps just barely slightly larger. That was Si Tingxue.

The other had an unusual short orange hair and wore a bright, cheerful smile. She was a touch shorter than Si Tingxue, but her figure was considerably more striking — her chest nearly rivaling Si Tingyu's.

At the moment, the orange-haired girl had her arm looped through Si Tingxue's, chattering away nonstop. Si Tingxue listened in silence, occasionally nodding or murmuring a short reply.

Both were quite beautiful, Si Tingxue especially so. The moment the two walked in, a flood of students covertly glanced their way.

Lu Yuan naturally noticed them too.

When he spotted the orange-haired girl, he paused. Si Tingxue he recognized, but this short-haired girl — hadn't he seen her somewhere before? On the fighter craft coming back from the defensive line, if he remembered right. Sitting right next to Si Tingxue.

He'd always assumed someone as frosty as Si Tingxue couldn't make friends. Apparently she had them after all.

*Huh. Didn't see that coming.*

Beside him, Yang Ping, Maige, and Si Tingfeng had also noticed the pair.

Si Tingfeng caught Lu Yuan looking at Si Tingxue, and a grin spread across his face. He threw an arm around Lu Yuan's shoulder.

"What do you think of my ninth sister? A face that could topple kingdoms, right? I heard you two fought side by side during the Beast Tide. So — any feelings stirring in there?"

Lu Yuan shifted in his seat. Sure, the ice queen was gorgeous, but she was so cold he was genuinely worried he'd get frostbite. Being asked so bluntly, he didn't even know where to begin.

Yang Ping chimed in from the side:

"Yuan-ge would be a perfect match for Her Highness the Ninth Princess! Hehe~ If things ever work out between you two, could you put in a good word for me with Miss Rebecca?"

Lu Yuan blinked. "Rebecca?"

He glanced at the orange-haired girl. So that was her name.

Before he could respond, Maige rolled his eyes.

"Xiao Ping, just let it go. Find someone else. Rebecca is Lord Rafael's inheritor — why on earth would she ever be interested in you?"

Lu Yuan straightened slightly. "Lord Rafael? You mean the White Demon Battle Emperor? That girl is his descendant?"

Si Tingfeng and the others exchanged glances, looking at Lu Yuan with faint puzzlement.

"You didn't know, Yuan?" Si Tingfeng said. "Rebecca might not be quite as famous as my ninth sister here at the Talent Camp, but she's not far behind. She's an Innate Inheritor — even if she only inherited a Chief Grade gene, she's still an exceptional talent."

Lu Yuan shook his head. "I had no idea. I spend all my time cultivating. I never pay attention to that kind of thing."

His mind called up Rafael's rugged face and towering frame. He looked back at Rebecca's delicate, pretty features.

*...They really don't look like they share the same genes.*

While the group was talking, Rebecca spotted Lu Yuan. Her eyes lit up at once.

She tapped Si Tingxue's arm. "Xiao Xue, Xiao Xue! It's Lu Yuan!"

Si Tingxue looked in the indicated direction. When she saw Lu Yuan sitting with Si Tingfeng's group, something flickered in her expression, and she walked over.

Having been watching the two girls the whole time, Lu Yuan's group knew they were coming before they were even close.

Yang Ping and Maige quickly smoothed their clothes and arranged their best smiles, composing themselves for the arrival.

Lu Yuan and Si Tingfeng glanced at each other. Both were at a loss for words.

Once Si Tingxue and Rebecca reached them, Yang Ping rose immediately with a smile.

"Your Highness the Ninth Princess, Miss Rebecca — I'm Yang Ping, a first-year student. I believe we've seen each other in class."

Si Tingxue glanced at Yang Ping, gave a brief nod, then turned to look at Lu Yuan.

Rebecca, meanwhile, gave Yang Ping an enthusiastic wave. "Hi there, classmate Yang Ping!"

Yang Ping's eyes brightened and he was about to speak — then he noticed that Rebecca had already turned back toward Lu Yuan. She brought two fingers together in a quick, slightly odd salute-like gesture, winked with her left eye, and greeted him with a grin:

"Hey, classmate Lu Yuan! What a coincidence!"

Lu Yuan stared at the peculiar greeting. *What kind of new salutation style is this?*

Still, he smiled and nodded. "Hello, Rebecca."

Yang Ping stood in the drift, looking thoroughly defeated.

Maige, who had been about to introduce himself, took one look at Yang Ping and quietly abandoned the idea. He turned and fixed Lu Yuan with a deeply aggrieved stare.

*Of course they all gravitate toward Lu Yuan.*

*So what if he's a little more handsome, a little more talented, a little stronger, and has pulled off a few impressive things lately?*

*Is that really enough? He's plenty handsome too, you know.*

Si Tingxue looked at Lu Yuan.

"You've broken through to Third-rank. I'm curious how many levels you'll clear. Care to compete?"

Lu Yuan gave her a mildly bewildered look.

"You've been Third-rank for a while now. I just broke through. And you want to challenge me?"

Si Tingxue tilted her head slightly, lifting her pale chin with a trace of pride.

"I'm two years younger than you."

Lu Yuan looked helplessly at her — her competitive streak was almost comical — then glanced over at Si Tingfeng, silently imploring him to intervene.

Si Tingfeng gave a helpless shrug.

They were half-siblings, and not nearly as close as Si Tingyu and Si Tingxue. He had essentially no influence over her. All he could offer was a look of helpless commiseration.

Nearby, Rebecca's eyes gleamed with interest, her voice bright and lively.

"That sounds fun! I'm rooting for Xiao Xue!"

Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow, smiling.

"Fine by me. But let's make it interesting — a wager, otherwise where's the fun?"

Si Tingxue held his gaze steadily.

"If I win, you do me a favor in the Land of Origin."

Lu Yuan nodded. "Deal. And if I win... you cook dinner next time. Something decent, at least."

When he trained at Si Tingyu's place, Si Tingxue often came over to join for meals. He couldn't think of anything better to ask for, so a home-cooked meal it was.

The moment those words left his mouth, every head in earshot swiveled — Rebecca, Si Tingfeng, Yang Ping, and the ring of students who'd been quietly watching. They stared at Lu Yuan, then at Si Tingxue, slack-jawed.

Si Tingxue's gaze sharpened. She shot Lu Yuan a pointed look, then gave a firm nod. "Fine!"

The moment she agreed, the hall erupted.

"What?! Her Highness the Ninth Princess is going to cook dinner for Lu Yuan?!"

"Hold on — did you actually listen? He said *next time*. Next time — meaning they already eat together regularly??"

"No... my Ice-Snow Princess... has she already been stolen away by that scoundrel Junior Lu Yuan?!"

"Damn it! I really kind of want to beat Junior Lu Yuan up."

A significant portion of the male students had gone green. Even those who'd previously respected Lu Yuan were fighting an almost overwhelming urge to throw something. After all, Si Tingxue was the Empire's Ninth Princess — stunning, staggeringly talented. And if what Lu Yuan implied was true, just how close were they?

"Excuse me?! Who's talking about hitting someone? What did Junior Lu Yuan ever do to you?!"

"So Her Highness the Ninth Princess is impressive — does that mean Junior Lu Yuan doesn't deserve her?!"

The female students who caught the grumbling turned on the men with raised eyebrows and sharp glares.

Rebecca grabbed Si Tingxue by the shoulders and shook her, eyes wide.

"Wow! Xiao Xue! You're seriously going to cook for Lu Yuan?! Are you two already — privately — together? Seeing each other secretly on a regular basis?!"

Something seemed to occur to her. Her face went red.

Si Tingxue's expression froze.

She fixed Rebecca with an icy look.

"Rebecca. What exactly are you imagining? Lu Yuan is my sister's student. We eat dinner at my sister's place."

The room exhaled collectively. The whispers died down.

Rebecca blinked and nodded. "Ohh. That makes sense."

Si Tingfeng, who had been on the verge of a heart attack, let out an audible breath.

"That gave me quite a scare."

Lu Yuan, for his part, had gone stone-faced. He had genuinely not anticipated everyone's imaginations running quite so far.

*If you're all this creative, why aren't you writing novels?*

Shortly after, Si Tingxue and Rebecca settled into seats in the row directly in front of Lu Yuan's group.

Lu Yuan noticed that Si Tingxue was largely quiet, while Rebecca was decidedly the opposite — animated and outgoing, constantly chattering at Si Tingxue, who responded with patient, long-suffering grace. The two made for quite an entertaining pair.

Rebecca also turned around periodically to chat with Lu Yuan, though she never brought up cultivation. It was all about which restaurants were worth visiting, which boutiques had the nicest clothes, where the best spots for photos were. She had the easy, sociable energy of someone completely at home in the world.

Through her, Lu Yuan heard all sorts of things about the Imperial Capital he'd never known.

With Rebecca keeping the atmosphere light, time passed quickly.

Before long, it was their group's turn to be tested.

Lu Yuan and Si Tingxue both rose. Si Tingxue looked at him — and then, in a rare and startling moment, the faintest smile curved the corner of her lips. Her eyes were bright with competitive fire.

"I'm going to win."

Something sparked in Lu Yuan at the challenge in her gaze, and he raised an eyebrow right back.

"You'd better start planning your menu."

Si Tingxue glared at him and stormed up the stairs.

Rebecca fell into step beside Lu Yuan, hands clasped behind her back, watching Si Tingxue's retreating figure with something that looked almost like fond indulgence.

"Xiao Xue has always been like a little kid about things like this — terrible at losing. Don't take it to heart, Yuan."

She'd upgraded from "classmate Lu Yuan" to just "Yuan" within a single conversation. That was impressively fast.

Lu Yuan smiled. "I'm not that petty."

Rebecca grinned back.

"Even so, I'm still rooting for Xiao Xue."

She stuck out her tongue at him, then ran off after Si Tingxue.

Behind Lu Yuan, Si Tingfeng quietly placed a hand on his shoulder.

Lu Yuan glanced back, puzzled. "Something wrong, Senior?"

Si Tingfeng smiled. He said nothing. He just raised one slow, wordless thumb.

"Junior Lu Yuan," he said. "As expected of you."

On either side of Si Tingfeng, Yang Ping and Maige wore twin expressions of profound, heartfelt suffering as they looked at Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan: *???*

*What just happened?*

The four made their way into their respective Virtual Rooms and began the simulated combat.

Having done this once before, Lu Yuan navigated the interface with easy familiarity. He pulled up the Combat Power Test module.

The simulation began.

Same format as last time, starting from Elite Grade.

This time, however, all of Lu Yuan's opponents were Third-rank — matching his own breakthrough.

For Lu Yuan, who had now inscribed King Grade genes, the early rounds were nothing short of effortless devastation. Even Third-rank Lord Grade opponents posed no meaningful challenge.

He tore through the first forty levels, cutting down a fully-tempered Third-rank Lord Grade Gnoll, and stepped into Level 41.

A Gnoll appeared before him — white fur covering its entire body, Staff in hand, a powerful aura rolling off it in waves as thin tendrils of frost bled into the air around it.

Third-rank, King Grade. Tempering: 10%.

A Gnoll Elemental Type warrior.

Lu Yuan stood facing it in black heavy armor, black greatsword in hand. Both the armor and blade were threaded through with faint ribbons of purple light.

These were King Grade Gene Armaments he had recovered from the Aier Mechanical Ruins.

The Thunder Fury Greatsword and the Thunder Fury Heavy Armor.

Both King Grade Gene Armaments, both at 10% tempering — matching his own current level.

The boost they granted was immense. With both pieces active, his overall capabilities had roughly doubled across the board. It was a vivid reminder of just how extraordinary King Grade Gene Armaments could be.

The white Gnoll appeared and split its muzzle in a savage grin. "Human! Die!"

Killing intent rose in its eyes. Hundreds of ice spikes crystallized in the air before it. It swung its Staff, and they came screaming toward Lu Yuan in a dense, bristling volley.

Lu Yuan's expression didn't change.

His body vanished.

*Space Teleportation.*

The first time he had used it in a simulation.

He reappeared behind the white Gnoll in an instant. White Jade Spirit Body and Black Steel Force surged through him. His greatsword swept out in a single, razor-keen arc across the Gnoll's throat.

The grin on the white Gnoll's face hadn't even faded before it locked in place — frozen, not by ice, but by death. A dull flicker of confusion remained in its eyes.

It hadn't even conceived of the possibility that Lu Yuan would pass straight through hundreds of ice spikes and materialize behind it.

The white Gnoll's cultivation had been on par with his own. And yet Lu Yuan had killed it in a single stroke.

That, alone, said everything about the power of Spatial Type Combat Techniques.