"Look... I didn't an to... When I use my Golden Eyes, it's not what you think—there's no ill intent..."
Ye Liuyun kept trying to explain, but the more he spoke, the redder Liu Yunyao's face beca, her flush now creeping all the way down her neck.
"Mhm... mhm..." Liu Yunyao murmured vaguely in response to each of his words.
Her mind had completely blanked out. She wasn't even processing his explanations—all she could think about was how Ye Liuyun had seen her completely exposed, and now, by all rights, she could only ever belong to him.
*But I barely know him! What if he already has a woman? If he does... how could I, a princess...* Her thoughts spiraled wildly.
Seeing that she was only giving absentminded replies, Ye Liuyun paused, waiting for her to say sothing.
Silence stretched between them, thick and awkward.
"Uh... are you okay?" Unable to bear the tension any longer, Ye Liuyun finally spoke up, worried she might be overthinking things.
"Mhm!" Another soft hum from Liu Yunyao, and then—nothing.
"You should practice separating your physical and spiritual vision first. You can't just stay frozen like this—you can actually move around now," Ye Liuyun reminded her.
"I'd rather stay seated. If I move, I'll lose focus even more!"
Finally, Liu Yunyao responded with a full sentence, snapping out of her daze at his prompting.
Hearing her speak properly, Ye Liuyun let out a quiet sigh of relief. At least she didn't seem too distraught.
"Then keep practicing. I'll wait here, and afterward, I'll take you out to hunt so beasts for real combat training," he offered, his tone almost placating. He wanted to make it up to her, hoping she wouldn't hold it against him.
"Mhm!" Another brief acknowledgnt, and Liu Yunyao imdiately imrsed herself in cultivation, shutting everything else out.
She was also aware that she couldn't let Ye Liuyun stay here for too long. Forcing herself to focus, she repeated the practice over and over again.
Half an hour later, she finally managed to open her physical eyes without awakening the crimson pupils in her spiritual consciousness.
The mont her eyes fluttered open, she instinctively glanced at Ye Liuyun, her face flushing scarlet all the way down to her neck. Ye Liuyun, equally flustered, avoided eting her gaze.
To dispel the awkward tension, he quickly suggested, "How about we go hunt a few beasts to test your skills?"
"Mhm!"
Liu Yunyao responded with another soft "Mhm," keeping her head lowered as she followed him out.
Outside, several maids had been waiting anxiously. Knowing their mistress was cultivating, they hadn't dared to intrude, pacing restlessly by the door.
Now, seeing Liu Yunyao erge, they finally exhaled in relief.
But the maids—especially Hongling—imdiately noticed sothing amiss.
Ye Liuyun's eyes darted around guiltily, a far cry from the composed deanor he'd had when he arrived. anwhile, the princess kept her head bowed, her face burning red, as if too embarrassed to et anyone's gaze.
*"Did the two of you just… sleep together in there?"* Hongling instantly sent a hushed ntal ssage to Liu Yunyao.
*"You little brat! Don't spout nonsense! Nothing happened!"* Liu Yunyao fired back just as quickly.
*"Then why do you both look so strange? Especially you—don't tell nothing went on. I won't believe it!"* Hongling pressed.
*"There was… a misunderstanding. Just drop it. My mind's a ss right now!"* Liu Yunyao wanted to explain but didn't know where to begin. She'd have to tell her later.
Instead, she simply instructed the maids, "Ye Gongzi and I are heading out for a while. Just wait here until we return."
"Yes!" the maids responded in unison.
"Princess, you forgot your veil!" Hong Ling reminded Liu Yunyao, quickly fetching the veil and helping her put it on.
As soon as Ye Liuyun and Liu Yunyao stepped out of the battleship, the other three maids imdiately crowded around Hong Ling.
"What's going on? The princess and Master Ye seem... a little too close, don't you think?"
"Right! The way they looked at each other—like they were sneaking around!"
Hong Ling, however, played coy. "How should I know? Don't go spreading rumors! These are just your wild guesses, not mine! If the princess hears about this, don't you dare drag into it!"
The other maids exchanged knowing glances before giggling and nudging each other as they headed back to rest.
Outside, Ye Liuyun summoned his falcon and mounted it, waiting for Liu Yunyao to join him. In a daze, she climbed aboard as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
The martial artists waiting for Ye Liuyun to ta their beasts were puzzled when they saw him suddenly leave with the princess.
"Where are they going? Should we keep waiting?" they asked Lin Fengzhi curiously.
"Just wait. There's food and drink here—what's the rush? Can't you be patient when asking soone to ta beasts for you? The princess probably made another request, sending Master Ye off to capture so demonic beasts. It shouldn't take too long, or he would've told ."
Though Lin Fengzhi was also curious about Ye Liuyun and the princess's sudden departure, he kept his composure.
Ye Liuyun's falcon shot into the starry sky at full speed before diving downward, heading straight for the border between the territories of first-tier and second-tier celestial beasts.
"Your falcon's cultivation level..."
This ti, Liu Yunyao noticed that the falcon wasn't at the celestial realm—it had already reached the second level of the Dominator realm.
"It's almost at the Dominator Third Level!" Ye Liuyun no longer hid the truth from her.
"Oh!" Liu Yunyao responded softly, though inwardly she felt a flicker of joy. The fact that Ye Liuyun had begun revealing his true strength to her ant their relationship had deepened.
Without hesitation, Ye Liuyun subdued a ferocious beast, immobilizing it for Liu Yunyao to practice on.
Seizing the opportunity, Liu Yunyao finally opened the crimson pupils embedded in her soul—this ti, without restraint. The full power of those scarlet eyes unleashed, instantly devouring the beast's spiritual essence.
Though her own soul power was still weak, making the absorption process slow, the beast, held motionless under Ye Liuyun's control, couldn't resist. In the end, she succeeded.
"Close the crimson pupils and focus on absorbing the soul energy. Feel how it strengthens your spiritual power," Ye Liuyun advised.
This ti, when Liu Yunyao shut the red pupils, she instinctively closed her physical eyes as well.
Ye Liuyun suppressed a chuckle, waiting patiently until she had fully processed the sensation of absorbing the soul energy and recognized the growth in her spiritual strength. Only then did she open her eyes—this ti, the crimson pupils remained dormant.
"I felt it," she said. "After the red pupils devoured the beast's soul, they began converting it. About ten percent of the energy transferred to . The rest was absorbed by the pupils themselves."
Ye Liuyun nodded. "If you continue absorbing soul energy this way, you'll need soul-refining elixirs to stabilize it. Otherwise, while your spiritual power may grow, it'll remain unstable."
"Soul-refining elixirs?" Liu Yunyao tilted her head slightly, confusion flickering in her eyes. Such elixirs were unheard of in their region.
Realizing the limitations of their local alchemy, Ye Liuyun retrieved a supply of his own soul-refining pills and handed them to her.
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