Betrothal Gifts

Lu Yuan's shamelessness was nothing new to Si Tingxue. She gave him a single withering eye-roll and said nothing more.

"Are you two done cultivating?" Lu Yuan asked with a grin.

"Almost."

Si Tingxue sat cross-legged and took out a Spirit Crystal to continue absorbing.

Rebecca smiled warmly. "I'm done — just waiting on Little Xue."

"By the way, Rebecca," Lu Yuan began, "are you still trying to challenge the hundredth-place slot on the Prodigy Rankings?"

Rebecca puffed her cheeks and shot him an aggrieved look. "Obviously. But don't just say it out loud like that — it makes me feel pathetic. I'm Innate Chief Grade and I still can't even crack the top hundred."

Lu Yuan reached over and pinched her slightly chubby cheeks with a grin. "What's the matter? Even the ice block over there couldn't make it either."

Si Tingxue's Spirit Power immediately stuttered.

Lu Yuan glanced over. *She's been eavesdropping.*

He couldn't help but stifle a laugh.

Rebecca noticed it too. Still having her cheeks pinched, she gave Lu Yuan a reproachful look.

"Actually," Lu Yuan said, eyes curving with amusement, "I have a way to get you onto the Prodigy Rankings."

Rebecca blinked, eyes going wide. "What way?"

"I've been hunting Feral Beasts in the Demon Dragon Mountain Range lately, remember? Good haul. Picked up a few Fourth-rank Sovereign Grade Gene Armaments — want one?"

Rebecca's jaw dropped. "Sovereign Grade? *Fourth-rank* Sovereign Grade?? Are you serious?"

For Fourth-rank Gene Armaments, Sovereign Grade was the absolute ceiling. Even the rewards for placing on the Prodigy Rankings were only Fourth-rank Sovereign Grade — the sole exception being first place, which earned a Fifth-rank Sovereign Grade Gene Armament.

The value of such an armament was staggering.

To Lu Yuan, of course, evolving one was relatively simple — a few hundred thousand Fourth-rank Spirit Crystals at most. He had evolved several Fourth-rank Sovereign Grade armaments with no intention of putting them on the market. These were set aside specifically for Rebecca, Si Tingxue, and Amy.

What he planned to sell were King Grade quality Fourth-rank armaments.

"Have I ever lied to you?" Lu Yuan smiled. "Of course it's real."

He produced a staff that looked as though it had been carved from deep crimson gemstone and held it out to Rebecca.

She accepted it in a daze. The moment she read its stats, her eyes filled with shock.

"It really is Fourth-rank Sovereign Grade! And it's perfectly tuned for Fire-element amplification! This thing is incredible."

She gripped the staff tightly — then her expression fell. "But I can't afford it. A Fourth-rank Sovereign Grade Gene Armament costs millions of Fourth-rank Spirit Crystals, and I've spent everything I had on cultivation lately."

"I'm not asking for your Spirit Crystals," Lu Yuan said easily. "This was prepared for you from the start. It's a gift. Oh, and—"

He produced a long crimson robe. "This is a Sovereign Grade mage robe. At your current strength, two Sovereign Grade Gene Armaments is probably your limit — fill out the rest with King Grade ones. With these armaments plus your own power, breaking into the Prodigy Rankings should be manageable. Your ranking probably won't be high at first, but once you break through to Battle King Rank, you can look into engraving stronger Transcendent Genes. Plenty of room to climb from there."

Rebecca stared at him, frozen. Her eyes dropped to the staff in her hands, then to the red robe. Color flooded her cheeks, and her words began tumbling over each other. "Th— that... A-Yuan, if these are betrothal gifts, you're supposed to bring them to my family in person... the Ancestor would definitely agree... no, I mean — I also — th— that..."

Lu Yuan stared at her.

*Betrothal gifts?*

*What betrothal gifts?*

His expression twisted into something deeply bewildered.

He wasn't about to deny that he had certain feelings for Rebecca, but leaping straight to betrothal — that was a bit of a jump.

After hearing the elf elder speak about the true severity of the Aberration, Lu Yuan had been thinking about ways to make the people around him stronger. If things ever went truly sideways, they needed to be able to protect themselves. He had even considered finding powerful Spatial Type Transcendent Genes for them one day, so they could repair Spatial Rifts alongside him.

But right now, these were nothing more than gifts.

He hadn't expected Rebecca to sprint straight to betrothal.

His mouth twitched. A wicked grin spread across his face. "What's going on in that head of yours? This is just a present. Though..." He tilted his head. "If you want betrothal gifts, I can arrange that too. I'll pay a formal visit to your family sometime soon."

"Huh?"

Rebecca went completely rigid.

The color in her cheeks deepened to a vivid, burning red. She tucked her chin against her chest and crouched down on the floor, wanting to disappear entirely.

Lu Yuan watched her curl up in flustered silence and decided not to push further.

He glanced toward Si Tingxue. Her Spirit Power was fluctuating badly. *She claims to be cultivating, but she's heard every word.*

He cleared his throat. "Actually, I prepared something for Tingxue too. Though she seems rather focused on her cultivation at the moment..."

Si Tingxue's eyes snapped open. Her deep blue gaze fixed on Lu Yuan.

She caught the wicked curve of his smile — and paused. Then she understood. Everything he had just said had been aimed squarely at her.

Even her cool, composed features couldn't stop a faint flush from rising across her cheeks. She turned her gaze away and fired off a firm excuse:

"...You two were talking too loudly."

Lu Yuan nodded sagely. "Of course. Completely understandable."

Si Tingxue shot him a furious glare. His tone made his meaning obvious.

But her attention was quickly stolen by the staff in his hand — white, set with gleaming ice-blue crystals.

Lu Yuan held it up with a playful swing. "Want it?"

Si Tingxue's lips pressed briefly together. Then she met his eyes. "Yes."

"You don't think this is a betrothal gift too, do you?" he asked, grinning wickedly.

From the corner, Rebecca let out a muffled whimper and curled herself tighter.

Si Tingxue glanced at Rebecca, then fixed Lu Yuan with another glare. A ghost of color rose across her otherwise composed features. She looked away, and when she spoke, her voice was ice-cold but carried the faintest tremor: "You know perfectly well what my ancestor intended."

Lu Yuan's expression shifted slightly.

Si Qi — Si Tingxue's ancestor — had made no secret of his desire for both Si Tingxue and Si Tingyu to marry Lu Yuan.

He gave a dry cough, a little flustered himself. Then he straightened and said with full sincerity, "What Senior Si Qi intends is his business. What matters most is what *you* want."

Si Tingxue stilled. The very faintest curve touched the corner of her lips — there and gone in an instant.

Then she turned on him with the full force of her icy composure, strode forward, and snatched the staff from his hand.

Lu Yuan watched her march over with that imperious energy and couldn't help but smile.

"There's also a robe," he added. "Want that too?"

"...Yes."

Si Tingxue's commanding aura immediately deflated by several degrees.

Lu Yuan pulled out the robe, then produced a ring as well.

"You're a little different from Rebecca — you're Innate Lord Grade, so you should be able to equip three Sovereign Grade genes at once."

Si Tingxue glanced at the ring he held out, accepted it with one hand, and gave a quiet nod. "Mm."

"All right, go back to cultivating. Once you're done, we'll head out."

A quiet nod. "Mm."

She equipped all the Gene Armaments Lu Yuan had given her, then resumed her cultivation.

At some point while that was happening, Rebecca had migrated to a corner of the room and was crouching there instead.

Lu Yuan noticed her tucked away in the corner and blinked, then walked over.

Rebecca peeked up at him from behind her arms — then immediately buried her face again.

His mouth twitched. He settled down quietly beside her. "Rebecca?"

"Rebecca isn't here."

A muffled, glum little voice drifted out from behind her arms.

"Where did she go?"

"...Probably died of embarrassment. I really couldn't say."

Lu Yuan couldn't help the grin that pulled at his mouth. Then a wicked idea crossed his face.

"Since she's not here, I suppose I can do whatever I want with her body."

"Rebecca's back!"

Rebecca flinched violently and raised her head at once.

At that same moment, a cold voice cut through the room from not far away:

"You two! If you're going to flirt, take it outside!"

Si Tingxue was glaring at both of them, visibly irritated.

Lu Yuan and Rebecca exchanged a glance and went quiet.

Though Lu Yuan did, quite silently, shift himself a little closer to Rebecca. He reached out and took her hand, his fingers curling gently around hers.

Rebecca stiffened — then gradually settled. As his behavior grew steadily bolder, she froze for a moment, her bright eyes finding his face, filled with shy uncertainty.

Lu Yuan grinned and pressed a finger to his lips, then nodded pointedly toward Si Tingxue, who was deep in cultivation.

Rebecca bit her lower lip. Her breathing quickened a little. Then, quietly, she let him do as he pleased.

By the time Si Tingxue finished cultivating and opened her eyes, she found Rebecca's cheeks blazing scarlet, her hair in mild disarray. Puzzled, she asked, "Rebecca, what's wrong?"

Rebecca went rigid. "Nothing," she said, shaking her head.

Si Tingxue's brow furrowed. She turned a suspicious look on Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan wore an expression of absolute innocence and moral rectitude.

"Done cultivating? Shall we head out?"

Si Tingxue gave a quiet nod. "Mm. Let's go."

Rebecca bounced back to her usual bright self, laughing. "This time we're definitely making it onto the Prodigy Rankings!"

The three of them left Red Maple Manor and took the transport hall to White Cloud City.

From there, they boarded Black Bear No. 1 and flew to the Central Plaza.

The plaza, as ever, was crowded with scouts and observers from various factions, watching the challengers come and go.

When Black Bear No. 1 first touched down, the scouts barely spared it a glance. It was only when Lu Yuan stepped out with Si Tingxue and Rebecca that heads began to turn, recognition rippling from face to face.

"Is that — Lu Yuan? That's Lu Yuan, isn't it?"

"Lu Yuan? The human who used to be ranked first on the Prodigy Rankings? He's here? Where?"

"Over there — stepping off the aircraft. Two human women with him."

The crowd redirected their attention to the aircraft.

As they processed what they were seeing, surprise spread through the observers.

"An aircraft? Lu Yuan used to arrive riding the Night Sky Fiend with Princess Yeye. Is this his own personal vehicle?"

"What's Lu Yuan here for? He's already Battle King Rank — there's nothing left for him to challenge. Surely he's not going after the King Rankings?"

"And he always came with Princess Yeye before. Why isn't she here this time?"

"Hmm — I recognize those two women. They've challenged the Prodigy Rankings before. Not weak by any means, but they were a bit short of the standard set by the geniuses already up there."

The scout who recognized Si Tingxue and Rebecca spoke up, clearly placing them from memory.

Others nodded along. Then one voice cut through with a knowing tone:

"Looks like Lu Yuan came to keep them company while they challenge."

"Tsk, tsk. Last time it was Princess Yeye, now it's two human women. Lu Yuan gets around."

"Ha... men."

Under all those watching eyes, the three made their way to the stone stele. Rebecca shifted nervously.

"When Little Xue and I came before, nobody paid us this much attention. Why is everyone staring now?"

Si Tingxue glanced briefly at Lu Yuan, then spoke in her usual even tone. "You'd have to ask the person standing beside you. He was once ranked first on the Prodigy Rankings, and his performance left quite an impression. These people probably assume he's here accompanying us."

Rebecca's eyes lit up as something occurred to her, and she grinned. "Hehe — I wonder what their faces will look like when they find out A-Yuan is here to challenge the King Rankings?"

Lu Yuan smiled wryly. "When are you two scheduled? Have you submitted applications?"

Rebecca scratched her head. "After I lost last time, I never reapplied. I'll do it now."

She had already equipped the Fourth-rank Sovereign Grade Gene Armaments Lu Yuan had given her, and she submitted her challenge request.

A moment later, her eyes went slightly wide. "It went through right away."

In the next instant, an arena platform materialized in the center of the plaza, and every gaze in the square swung toward it.

Rebecca's figure appeared on the platform.

Across from her stood a Green Demon Lu Yuan didn't recognize. Checking against the Prodigy Rankings list, he found the name: Mao Guan.

Some of the names from the last time he had checked had undoubtedly changed — some of those geniuses had likely broken through to Battle King Rank, and fresh talent may have bumped others out. Lu Yuan found more than a few names he didn't recognize at all.

The Prodigy Rankings updated faster than any other board in White Cloud City, which made sense given the pace at which young talent rose and fell.

Mao Guan looked Rebecca over with a cold smirk.

"Human. Didn't expect you to come back for more. Your strength is far beneath mine — just give up. You can't beat me."

Rebecca's expression turned serious. "This time is different."

Even as she spoke, her Spirit Power surged. Waves of flame bloomed around her, a formidable aura rolling outward in all directions.

Mao Guan felt it like a wall. His expression shifted, a flash of disbelief crossing his eyes. "How did you improve this much?"

He wasn't the only one shaken. The scouts who still remembered Rebecca from before stared in open surprise, unsettled by the sheer scale of her advancement.