The slap heard across the banquet echoed far beyond the marble walls.
By morning, every courtyard, training hall, and spirit pavilion in the Azure Cloud Sect was buzzing with one name:
Ye Feng.
[System Passive: Reputation Echo]
Spreads all positive or humiliating rumors about the Host within a 10 km radius.Current Topics:— "He slapped Mo Tian like a ragdoll!"— "He asked for a seat and earned a throne!"— "Is Ye Feng courting the Ice Fairy?"— "Wait… wasn't he the trash from the slums?"
[System Mood: Smug. Very Smug.]
Xue Yuning stood near a koi pond, her reflection rippling in the water. Despite her usual cold persona, her fingers occasionally touched her cheek—right where Ye Feng's warm presence lingered from the night before.
"I should've known he was different…" she whispered.
Behind her, a junior disciple giggled.
"Senior Sister, are you… smiling?"
Yuning turned away, but not before her lips curved ever so slightly.
Elsewhere, in a darker, colder part of the sect—
Lin Ruyan sat before her mirror. Her eyes were bloodshot. Her wine cup lay shattered on the ground.
She'd watched it all. Every slap. Every glance. Every smile Ye Feng had given Yuning.
[System Passive: Emotional Echo Detected — Lin Ruyan]
Status: Emotional TurmoilMood: Conflicted × Regretful × Jealous × Bitter
She touched the earring Ye Feng once gifted her—something she hadn't dared throw away.
"I should've stayed… I should've trusted you," she muttered.
Then her voice darkened.
"But if I can't have you—no one will."
[Danger Flag Triggered: Ex Plotting Scenario - Stage 1 Activated]
System Alert: A woman scorned is a side quest waiting to explode.
Meanwhile, Ye Feng sat at a terrace outside the martial library, sipping tea like a retired war hero.
That's when she approached.
Su Xiaolan.
She was the girl who'd first watched his face-slap with wide eyes in Chapter 4. Younger, bright-eyed, and a top disciple in the Healing Hall.
"Senior Ye," she said, eyes sparkling. "I… made you something."
She held out a charm engraved with protective runes.
Ye Feng blinked. "For me?"
She nodded, blushing. "You looked lonely, back then. Not anymore. But still… I wanted to thank you for showing us how to stand tall."
[Affection +10: Su Xiaolan] [Potential Romantic Route Detected] [Love Polygon Status: Ye Feng at Center]
Lin Ruyan: Regretful ExXue Yuning: Cold Beauty Warming UpSu Xiaolan: Hopeful Healer with a Crush
Suddenly—
A senior disciple ran up to Ye Feng, panting. "Senior Ye! The Elders have summoned you! They say a mysterious scroll bearing your name just arrived… from the Forbidden Archives!"
Ye Feng stood up.
"The Forbidden Archives? I've never even been there."
[System Quest Incoming: The Scroll of Forgotten Might]
Difficulty: UnknownDanger: HighOpportunity: DivineAccept? ▸ Yes ▫ No
Ye Feng sipped the last of his tea and smirked.
"Let's see what the heavens want now."