Lu Yuan's Show of Power — Knowing the Human Heart

After that, Li Xinghai left to contact the other Battle Emperors.

Meng Jiang meanwhile had Lu Yuan, Si Tingxue, Wang Lingling, Stevenson, and Bakula spend some time getting acquainted so they could coordinate in the upcoming battle.

Lu Yuan, Si Tingxue, and Wang Lingling had all already fought in the gauntlet, so Stevenson and Bakula were at least somewhat familiar with the three of them. Since Stevenson and Bakula never actually got a turn on the stage, however, Lu Yuan knew relatively little about either of them.

After brief introductions, he had the general picture: Stevenson was an Assault Type warrior; Bakula was Assassination-type.

Five people in total — Lu Yuan as Guardian Type, Si Tingxue and Wang Lingling as Elemental Type, plus one Assault and one Assassination-type. On paper, that was a decent lineup. The weak point was that they had almost no experience fighting together, and their coordination left something to be desired.

A day passed quickly.

The following morning, Lu Yuan's group disembarked from the aircraft.

He noticed none of the additional Battle Emperors Li Xinghai had mentioned — which struck him as odd — but since Li Xinghai offered no explanation, he didn't press for one.

From the Gnoll aircraft across the way, a line of Gnolls stepped forward in kind.

Both sides stood facing each other. The atmosphere was heavy with tension.

Several of the Gnoll geniuses stared straight at Lu Yuan, the killing intent in their eyes entirely undisguised.

He gave them one glance and looked away, completely unmoved.

Dushan's voice came out cold: "Shall we begin?"

Meng Jiang smiled. "Let's begin."

Dushan produced a grayish stone, channeled Spirit Power into it, and dropped it onto the ground.

The space around the stone began to distort immediately. With his Spatial Type gene, Lu Yuan could sense it clearly — a vast space was unfolding within the stone's interior.

As it expanded, a twisted spatial gate gradually formed in the air above the stone, until it hung there like a gray-white vortex, slowly turning.

Li Xinghai had explained the stone to Lu Yuan beforehand. It was called a World Stone — a name that suited it perfectly. The stone contained a Small World inside, and was an extraordinarily precious treasure. That interior world was where the team battle would be fought.

Once the World Stone was active, Li Xinghai and Adams went to inspect both the stone and the Small World within, confirming everything was in order.

The powerhouses from both sides then placed seals on the Battle-mark Spaces of every participant, ensuring nothing could be retrieved from them during the battle, before also checking that no one was concealing special items on their persons.

Both sides went through the process again and again, checking several times over.

It wasn't hard to understand why they were being so thorough. The geniuses entering this team battle were the finest that humanity and Gnollkind had to offer — if anything went wrong, the losses would be devastating.

Only after going through everything meticulously, multiple times, were both sides satisfied.

Meng Jiang said flatly, "Any issues?"

Dushan gave a cold laugh. "Go in."

He glanced at the participating Gnolls and gave them a slight nod.

The Gnolls stepped through the entrance into the Small World.

At the same time, Meng Jiang looked toward Lu Yuan's group. "Safety first. Go ahead."

They nodded and walked in.

Inside, Lu Yuan found a tiny world spanning just over ten kilometers in every direction — nothing but gray-white rocky terrain stretching to the edges of the space, where a glass-like spatial barrier formed the boundary walls. Impossible to pass through.

The five Gnolls who had entered ahead of them were already several hundred meters away: Bloodrage Fang, Shuiji, Zhiliang, Wenlin, and the one hidden talent who hadn't taken the stage during the gauntlet.

The other four had all fought yesterday. The only unknown was that hidden talent — a Gene Warrior with pale-blue skin, clad in leather armor.

While Lu Yuan's group sized up the five Gnolls, the Gnolls watched back. Their attention was concentrated almost entirely on Lu Yuan, killing intent plain on their faces.

Stevenson cracked a grin. "These guys have eyes only for you, Lu Yuan. The rest of us might as well be furniture. Honestly, that's annoying."

Lu Yuan smiled. "Isn't that better? If I'm drawing all their attention, doesn't that give us a better shot at winning?"

Bakula glanced at Lu Yuan. He still looked as cold as ever, but the outright hostility he'd shown earlier was gone.

"Didn't you say we'd kill them? How do you plan to do that?"

Lu Yuan narrowed his eyes, studying the five Gnolls across the way. Then he smiled.

"There's an opportunity — but we'll have a window of only a split second. If anything goes wrong, the powerhouses outside will rush in immediately. We need to find exactly the right moment." He paused. "And I need to know who's the most vulnerable."

*My targets are Zhiliang and Shuiji — the two Elemental Type geniuses. If I catch them off guard with Space Teleportation and go all out, there's a decent chance I can put them both down.*

*But...*

He glanced at the hidden Gnoll talent.

"Let's see what that one can do first. I'd hate to be caught off-guard later."

*If he has powerful defensive abilities, killing the others might not go as cleanly as I'd like.*

Wang Lingling smiled gently. "Then let's just fight normally for now."

Everyone agreed.

Lu Yuan's White Jade Spirit Body began to circulate. Silver-white light rippled across Stevenson. Bakula simply vanished — swallowed whole by shadow. Wang Lingling split into four copies and spread out. Si Tingxue's expression went ice-cold, frosty mist flowing and expanding around her.

Across the way, the Gnolls were equally ready — Spirit Power surging, Combat Techniques awakening.

Crimson flames flowed around Bloodrage Fang. Shuiji summoned a Frost Giant. Wenlin lit up in gold, a battle armor materializing across his body in sheets of golden light, a radiant shield spreading outward to encase him completely.

The hidden talent hadn't moved at all.

Every member of Lu Yuan's group took quiet mental note.

Then Bloodrage Fang bellowed and charged alongside Wenlin straight at Lu Yuan's group, while Shuiji and Zhiliang began condensing their elemental Combat Techniques for long-range bombardment.

As the two sides drew closer, Wang Lingling triggered her flash Combat Technique. The Gnolls all knew her move — the instant they caught the flash, they snapped their eyes shut. They still got some of the afterimage dazzle, but far less than if they'd been caught fully looking.

In that same moment, lightning balls, ice lances, ice spikes, and a torrent of other Combat Techniques came screaming from Lu Yuan's side.

The Small World erupted in clashing Spirit Power and rolling explosions.

Outside, humans and Gnolls alike had gathered at the spatial gate to watch.

The gray stone pulsed with a dim, colorless light. A projection had materialized within the gate — a shimmering light screen showing the battle within.

The moment the fighting started, it was savage.

In terms of raw combat power, the Gnolls had a slight edge — but only slight. Both sides traded blow for blow, neither giving ground.

Then the hidden Gnoll talent's eyes flickered with an eerie blue light.

He had been holding something all along: a massive, dark-blue stone pillar carved with strange symbols unlike any ordinary inscription. He closed his eyes and began to murmur — and streams of starlight flowed from the pillar into the bodies of the other four Gnolls. Tiny motes of starlight shimmered into existence around each fighter. Their auras swelled dramatically, and dark-blue protective shields materialized around each of them.

Bloodrage Fang — who had been fighting with his hands half-tied, hemmed in by Wang Lingling's golden light particles and the constant disruption of her flash Combat Technique, while Lu Yuan pelted him from hundreds of meters away with a stream of crimson sword-shadows — broke into a savage grin.

"Didn't expect this, did you?! Our Kulu has a King Grade group amplification Combat Technique!"

He threw his head back and roared. Crimson battle armor and bloodmarks erupted across his body. Bathed in dark-blue starlight, he smashed straight through the shield bombardment, his Crimson Storm spinning furiously, and hurled himself directly at Lu Yuan.

Not just him — every other Gnoll, the moment the amplification hit, immediately redirected all their firepower toward Lu Yuan. Lightning balls, ice arrows — everything, aimed squarely at him.

Wang Lingling and the others' expressions shifted. They moved to help.

But Wenlin bellowed, and his golden light shield surged outward like a wall slamming down between them, cutting Lu Yuan off from any support.

At the same time, something cold settled over Kulu's face.

A thread of black light rose from his stone pillar, descended from above, and settled over Lu Yuan's body.

Lu Yuan felt himself grow heavier. Every aspect of his strength dropped by roughly twenty percent.

He stared at the hidden Gnoll talent, genuinely taken aback. *His Combat Technique is this potent?*

*He's either an Innate Lord Grade like Si Tingxue — or possibly even an Innate King Grade.*

His first target changed. He was going to take this one out first.

Outside the Small World, watching the projection, Li Xinghai's group saw Lu Yuan surrounded and debuffed — and their expressions tightened.

They were weighing whether to concede.

Just then, Dushan and the others let cold smiles cross their faces. They drifted, almost casually, to block the spatial gate.

Dushan's tone was mild. "The winner hasn't been decided yet. No need to be hasty, is there?"

Li Xinghai's group stared at them, eyes narrowing to hard, cold lines.

Then the image on the light screen changed.

On the screen:

As lightning balls, ice arrows, and axe-glow were about to converge on Lu Yuan, his body vanished — and reappeared hundreds of meters away, directly behind Kulu, in the space of a single heartbeat.

Lu Yuan's eyes were ice.

Black Steel Force. White Jade Spirit Body. Battle Disciple Emblem. Dark Harvest. Crimson Storm.

Every Combat Technique, every Body Technique, every Gene Armament skill — all of them, active at once.

A terrifying aura poured off him in waves.

His greatsword rose. A heaven-splitting sword-glow of white threaded through with black mist swept down on Kulu.

At the same moment the blade fell, twelve crimson sword-shadows struck as one.

A single flash of light.

Kulu's body locked in place.

The twelve shadows flickered through him simultaneously.

Blood erupted from Kulu's body. His eyes still held a trace of bewildered disbelief — as if he could not comprehend how Lu Yuan had materialized from hundreds of meters away in an instant.

He took that question with him into death.

The lifeless body struck the ground with a heavy thud.

The human geniuses who had been rigid with tension all let out stunned gasps — then their eyes went wide. Rebecca practically vaulted off the ground:

"Oh! A-Yuan actually has a Combat Technique like that?! Yes!"

Si Tingyu's gold-and-crimson eyes flashed. She stared hard at the light screen, fingers curling into a fist at her side.

Everyone else held their breath.

The Gnoll geniuses watching the screen had gone pale, staring at the projection in disbelief:

Heiming cried out, "What kind of Combat Technique is that?!"

Feiba's voice was shaken: "A Spatial Type Combat Technique?? Kulu — this is bad!"

Those words made something drop in Dushan's gut. He and the others tore their attention away from Li Xinghai's group and snapped their eyes up to the screen.

Li Xinghai's group did the same.

Both sides looked up just in time to see Lu Yuan finish off Kulu, the body slowly tilting and crumpling.

Dushan's group went rigid. Eyes wide.

Dushan's roar tore through the air: "No!! Kulu!!"

The others stared with blazing eyes, full of rage and disbelief.

But they quickly realized — it wasn't over.

Lu Yuan was already gone. He appeared behind Shuiji.

The moment Shuiji had seen Kulu die, every hair on his body stood on end.

Now he felt the terrifying aura pressing against his back. Dread flooded his eyes. The presence Lu Yuan was putting out now was far, far beyond what he'd shown during yesterday's platform exchange.

That overwhelming force pressed down on Shuiji like a wall he couldn't see past. Something close to despair welled up in him.

He refused to go quietly — he roared and commanded his Frost Giant to attack Lu Yuan while he spun to unleash a torrent of white cold air.

But Lu Yuan at full power was significantly faster. A flash of sword-light — fear crossed Shuiji's eyes — and his consciousness went dark.

The Frost Giant, robbed of its master, let out one last roar and dissolved into icy mist.

Zhiliang, standing not far away, watched two of his companions fall so easily that his mind simply stopped functioning. Pure, cold terror filled his eyes. His body converted to lightning without a second thought and vanished.

The instant Zhiliang disappeared, Lu Yuan appeared exactly where he had been standing. He clocked the retreating bolt of lightning, frowned slightly, and disappeared again.

A hundred meters away, the lightning coalesced — and Zhiliang barely had time to exhale before a blade of light swept past. His body locked. Blood sprayed.

His eyes held fear and defiance as he whispered:

"...Fast..."

With Lu Yuan's perception, tracking where Zhiliang would rematerialize was trivial. And Space Teleportation outpaced lightning — the moment Zhiliang reappeared, Lu Yuan was already there. One sword stroke. Clean and effortless.

From the moment Kulu fell to the moment Zhiliang died, it had all happened within one to two seconds.

Outside the Small World, the instant Lu Yuan cut down Shuiji, Dushan's group snapped into action.

They surged toward the spatial gate — but Li Xinghai's group smoothly moved to block their way.

Meng Jiang, utterly calm: "The outcome hasn't been decided yet. Rushing in seems premature, doesn't it?"

Dushan's expression contorted. His teeth ground together. "We concede! Stand aside!"

Meng Jiang and the others smiled and stepped through the gate first.

Dushan's group charged in right behind them.

When they entered, Lu Yuan had already reached Wenlin. Wenlin was collapsed in a pool of blood. Only Bloodrage Fang remained — every muscle taut, face drained of color, Spirit Power blazing at its ceiling as he watched Lu Yuan with absolute vigilance.

Seeing that four of the five Gnoll geniuses were down, Dushan's group's eyes turned red.

Their gazes fixed on Lu Yuan. Killing intent rolled off them in waves, Spirit Power surging:

"Filthy human!! You want to die?!"

Nidam's roar shook the air.

Li Xinghai and Adams' auras flared as they stepped between Lu Yuan and the Gnolls.

Li Xinghai's expression turned sharp and cold. He smiled faintly, the deep lines of his face utterly composed:

"If it's a fight you want — come. We'll have one."

Beside him, Adams let purple vines unspool from the air itself, curling lazily through empty space as he watched Dushan with that same pleasant smile, killing intent simmering just beneath the surface.

Faced with Li Xinghai and Adams as a wall between them and Lu Yuan, Dushan and Nidam's expressions twisted. Their auras surged.

A beat of silence.

Then Dushan drew a slow breath, gave Li Xinghai a cutting look, and went very still.

"Fine. You've both made your impression. I won't forget this."

Nidam let his aura recede. He held Li Xinghai's gaze for a long moment, then shifted his eyes to Lu Yuan.

When Dushan's group had come through the gate, Lu Yuan had stopped.

He pressed his lips together, quietly a little disappointed.

*I already knew time would be tight — I didn't even pause between targets, just went straight from one to the next, no different than running errands. Still didn't think they'd get in here this fast.*

*I was hoping to test whether I could take Bloodrage Fang too.*

That said — Bloodrage Fang was a high-tier Battle Venerable genius, and not a physically frail Elemental Type. Given enough time and Spirit Crystals, Lu Yuan was confident he could grind him down eventually. In the current situation, though? Not so certain.

He let it go with equanimity. Four dead. That was more than enough.

*The Gnolls must be in real agony right now.*

*Especially since one of those four was probably an Innate King Grade with such a rare group amplification Combat Technique engraved.*

He felt a quiet laugh rise up inside him.

*You reap what you sow. Who told them to come after me first?*

Meanwhile, Bloodrage Fang — watching Dushan's group come through the gate — let some of the coiled tension ease from his shoulders. He released a long, slow breath. After watching Lu Yuan move through his companions with that uncanny spatial ability, the weight pressing down on him had been enormous.

Honestly, he hadn't felt confident he could have escaped unscathed.

Dushan's group gave Lu Yuan and Li Xinghai's people one long, final look, then moved to collect the bodies of the four fallen Gnoll geniuses.

Li Xinghai waved cheerfully at Lu Yuan and the others.

"Come on. Let's head out first."

Lu Yuan and the still-slightly-dazed Si Tingxue and the rest fell in together and walked out.

The moment they cleared the Small World's entrance, a wave of cheers erupted from the human camp:

"Lu Yuan! Lu Yuan!!"

"Junior Lu Yuan is something else!"

"Ha! Let those mongrels swagger all they want — one sword each, and our geniuses taught them their place!"

Every single person — young geniuses and Battle Sovereign-level powerhouses alike — was grinning from ear to ear.

The still-slightly-dazed Si Tingxue and the others got swept up in it and found themselves smiling too.

Si Tingxue looked up at Lu Yuan. A faint flush had crept into her usually icy features — she seemed genuinely stirred. She said, just a little stiffly:

"You were really impressive this time."

Then she immediately looked away.

Wang Lingling's eyes sparkled with a gentle smile, the surprise in them not yet fully faded. She said warmly, "A-Yuan, I had no idea you had such powerful Spatial Type Combat Techniques. You honestly startled me. If the Young Miss finds out how strong you've gotten — do you think she'll cry?"

Lu Yuan caught the barely-contained anticipation in Wang Lingling's eyes and felt his expression go flat. He spent a few silent seconds offering condolences to Amy.

Stevenson glanced at Lu Yuan and gave a pointed cough.

"Ahem... so, that sparring challenge between us — let's just pretend it never happened."

Lu Yuan blinked, looked at him, and smiled. "The occasional sparring session wouldn't be bad."

"No, no, no — I'll stick to finding someone at my own level, thanks. Right, Bakula?"

Bakula: "???"

He shot Stevenson a withering glare.

"What does that have to do with me?!"

Then he turned to Lu Yuan. His expression shifted — stiffened, as if the words cost him something — and he ground out:

"You really are impressive."

Lu Yuan smiled with modest grace. "Oh, I'm just okay. Mostly it's because I put in enough effort. If you worked as hard, you could reach this level too."

Bakula's ice-cold composure crumbled entirely. He rolled his eyes at Lu Yuan and resolved to say nothing more.

In stark contrast to the humans' jubilation, the Gnoll camp was graveyard-silent.

Feiba stared at Lu Yuan, something approaching fear flickering behind his eyes.

The other young Gnoll geniuses had gone quiet, their gazes toward Lu Yuan restless and uncertain — none of them willing to hold eye contact.

The Gnoll Battle Sovereign-level powerhouses stood with stormy expressions, glaring at the celebrating humans, Spirit Power at a barely-leashed simmer — as though one wrong word could set them off.

Then Dushan and Nidam emerged, Bloodrage Fang trailing behind them.

Bloodrage Fang was unusually subdued. He glanced at the cheering humans, and the corner of his mouth twitched. Frustration and helpless fury flickered behind his eyes.

Dushan and Nidam stared coldly toward the human camp, killing intent thick in their gaze.

Dushan gave Bloodrage Fang a look — a clear signal to fall back. Then both he and Nidam released their full auras at once.

The oppressive pressure radiating from two Battle Venerables silenced the celebration outright. The young geniuses felt a suffocating weight press against their chests; several faces went pale as they looked toward the two Gnolls with barely-contained alarm.

Li Xinghai and Adams rose to meet it — their own Spirit Power surging to intercept and deflect the pressure.

Li Xinghai's expression was ice: "What's this, Dushan? Looking for a fight?"

Dushan gave a cold laugh.

"You think it's just the two of us who came?! Stop hiding already — are you going to stand there and watch this human prodigy walk away?!"

The next instant, two powerful auras erupted from a mountain range in the distance. Two Gnolls arrived fast and took position in the air overhead, looking down at the human camp with expressionless faces.

Both were Battle Emperor-level auras. Their eyes settled specifically on Lu Yuan.

Even at that distance, a Battle Emperor's vision cut through clearly with nothing in the way. They had seen everything that happened inside the Small World.

Both were privately shaken by Lu Yuan's performance — and privately seething with killing intent.

Four Gnoll Battle Emperors on the field now. Dushan's expression turned cold and flat.

"Li Xinghai — do you think you can shield this human?! Hand him over, and I'll let the rest of your geniuses leave in one piece."

Four against two wasn't guaranteed. At the Battle Emperor level, there were too many variables — he didn't feel confident they could truly hold two Battle Emperors down. But the other human geniuses were a different matter.

Li Xinghai's expression didn't change. He gave a short, humorless laugh.

"Dushan, we've crossed paths enough times. Did you really think I'd forgotten how treacherous you Blood Bone Gnolls can be? Did you honestly think I came without preparing for exactly this?"

With those words, two more powerful auras closed in from the distance and took position in the air on the human side in moments.

Lu Yuan looked up. A white-haired elder and a powerfully built, red-haired man — strangers to him. But clearly both Battle Emperors.

Ice shot down Dushan's spine. "Si Qi — Barton Yas? I didn't think you two would show up!"

Si Qi's white hair streamed freely in the wind as he hovered in the air. He was the Ancestor of the Si family — in his early years he had founded the Red Maple Empire itself, and once his cultivation reached a sufficient level, he had stepped back from imperial affairs entirely to focus on his own training. He had remained at the Battle Emperor stage for over a hundred thousand years, accumulating a depth of power and resources that defied easy description. He hadn't yet shattered the next Gene Lock, but in terms of sheer fighting strength and accumulated arsenal, he stood unquestionably at the apex even among Battle Emperors.

He stared down at Dushan and the others with cold eyes. Even now, something regal clung to his bearing — the echo of a man who had once built a nation:

"Shall we fight?"

The Gnoll Battle Emperors' expressions changed. Dushan's jaw tightened — then he bit out the words:

"We're leaving."

The Battle Sovereigns formed a rearguard escort for the Gnoll geniuses. The four Gnoll Battle Emperors held the rear, keeping the human Battle Emperors from attacking while their younger fighters retreated to their aircraft and departed.

Only once the Gnoll geniuses were clear did the four Battle Emperors give Li Xinghai's group one final, measuring look — then turned and left as well.

Just as they were withdrawing, Meng Jiang spoke up:

"Since this round went to us, we trust the Blood Bone Gnolls will honor the terms of the wager. Ice Vein Star belongs to the Red Maple Empire."

Dushan and the others paused briefly. A cold snort — and they walked away.

Once they were gone, Li Xinghai and the others finally let their smiles show.

"Let's head back."

Everyone boarded the aircraft. It lifted off and banked toward the defensive camp.

Si Qi and Barton Yas boarded as well.

Si Tingxue and Si Tingyu turned toward Si Qi with a respectful bow:

"Ancestor."

Si Qi's gaze swept across them both. A quiet, warm smile touched his face.

"Both of you have done well. Little Chengye raised two fine daughters."

Then his gaze moved to Lu Yuan. Genuine wonder crossed his expression.

"You're Lu Yuan?"

Lu Yuan smiled and nodded. "Yes, Senior Si."

Si Qi gave an approving nod.

"Your strength surprises even this old man. At the Battle General stage, I was nowhere near what you are."

"You flatter me, Senior."

Si Qi shook his head. "This old man speaks only plainly. With your gifts, reaching Battle Emperor is not a question of if — and there may even be a path to Battle Saint. For Great Qi Star, that would be a blessing beyond measure. We have never had a Battle Saint, and our standing in the White Cloud Star Domain falls short of the true top powers — an awkward, in-between position within the human community. If you were to achieve Battle Saint, all of Great Qi Star would benefit."

Li Xinghai nodded beside him with a long exhale:

"If Great Qi Star had a Battle Saint, would the Blood Bone Gnolls dare throw their weight around in front of us?"

Lu Yuan took it in. *It always comes back to strength,* he thought.

Then something else surfaced — Yeye's Ancestor was apparently a Battle Saint?

That would put Yeye's family among the true top powers of the White Cloud Star Domain.

He looked up, expression earnest.

"Junior will do his best."

"Ha ha ha ha! Excellent — very good indeed!" Si Qi burst out laughing, then paused, glancing between Si Tingxue and Si Tingyu. "Speaking of which — how about joining our Si family? Whichever of these two you prefer, this old man will arrange it. Both is fine too. I've heard from the palace that you're quite close to both Tingxue and Tingyu — there should already be a foundation of feeling there, no?"

Lu Yuan: "???"

He stared at Si Qi, completely blank.

*How did we go from career prospects to marriage arrangements in ten seconds?*

*And one wouldn't do — he's offering two?*

*...Two...*

He stole a glance at the breathtakingly beautiful Si Tingyu and Si Tingxue, then immediately looked away.

*Damn it. That's dangerously tempting.*

*This old man actually knows how to read a man's heart?!*

*But I, Lu Yuan, am a man of upstanding principle. I would absolutely never be swayed by something like this.*

*...Mainly, an arrangement like this feels a little off. A bit disrespectful to my mentor — and to Tingxue.*

He decided to let things develop naturally.

Beside him, Si Tingxue and Si Tingyu had both frozen.

Si Tingxue's lips pressed into a tight line. She balled her hand into a fist and shot a cold glare at Lu Yuan — as if blaming him for charming the Ancestor somehow.

Lu Yuan felt entirely innocent.

Si Tingyu looked even more adrift.

She had never lacked for admirers or suitors, and had always been unmoved by all of them. And Lu Yuan was her student — not to mention the sworn little brother of her closest friend. She knew Li Qinghe seemed to feel something for him that went beyond the ordinary. She had never once thought of him in those terms. Now, hearing Si Qi's words, her thoughts simply went blank.

Wang Lingling watched the whole scene with a bright, interested smile — something unreadable glinting in her eyes.

Rebecca glanced between Lu Yuan and the two Si sisters, then dropped her gaze to her own hands, not daring to make a sound.

Among the other young geniuses, the men had gone visibly green with envy. The women's eyes drifted toward Lu Yuan, wide and flickering with something complicated.

Then Li Xinghai's voice cut through it all, cheerful as ever:

"Old Si, that won't do. My Qinghe's relationship with A-Yuan runs far closer than your two girls'. If he's joining anyone's family, it's mine."

"Oh? Old Li — is that so?"

Si Qi's eyes narrowed as he turned toward Li Xinghai.

The two men held each other's gaze. Their auras stirred — and Lu Yuan had the distinct, uncomfortable feeling that the air between them had just turned dangerously electric.