The moon hung high in the night sky, a pale disc that cast silver light over the Crimson Cloud Sect. The training fields had emptied, and silence reigned... except in the secluded garden where Wang Li stood, his spiritual aura swirling in a lazy spiral.
His breath was calm.
His gaze sharp.
But his heart? Trembling.
Because standing opposite him, dressed in flowing azure robes, her hair cascading like ink down her back, was Feng Yuling—the ice-cold beauty who had once tried to kill him... and now seed intent on sothing far more dangerous.
Dual cultivation.
"Have you made up your mind?" she asked coolly, stepping forward, her steps so light they didn’t disturb even a single blade of grass.
Wang Li exhaled. "I’ve made it. But you’re really not going to tell the real reason you’re doing this?"
She paused. "I told you. You’ll die if you stay weak. I don’t like watching people I care about die."
His heart skipped.
That was the closest thing to a confession she’d ever given him.
She raised her hand, and a frost lotus blood in her palm, illuminating the space between them. "This is the Moon-Frost Convergence Technique. Our spiritual energy must be synchronized. Your body must be bare."
"Of course it must," Wang Li muttered under his breath.
He closed his eyes and took a step forward.
She did not retreat.
Their fingers brushed.
In an instant, icy yin and burning yang flared between them—an invisible bond forming, tightening, searing both spirit and soul. His dantian trembled as her energy poured into him, freezing, then invigorating, coiling like a dragon of frost that challenged the fire within his own core.
The moonlight intensified.
Their auras tangled.
Her eyes fluttered shut—and in that mont of intense cultivation clarity, their lips t.
Neither knew who moved first. It didn’t matter.
It wasn’t passion for the body. It was the resonance of their hearts.
When they parted, her cheeks were pink.
"You kissed ," Wang Li said with a stupid grin.
"You leaned in first," she replied with a huff.
They said nothing more. But the bond had changed.
Forever.
---
anwhile, in the Jade Pavilion...
Mu Qingling crushed a porcelain cup in her hand, spiritual pressure leaking out.
"What’s wrong?" asked Lin Ruoyan, raising an eyebrow.
"Nothing," Qingling said, venomous sweetness in her voice. "Except a certain soone is out there playing dual cultivation with an ice princess!"
"Oh," Lin Ruoyan smirked. "So you do like him."
Mu Qingling’s eyes flashed. "I’m going to kill her."
"Stand in line."
---
Back in the garden...
The technique ended.
Wang Li staggered slightly, his cultivation having advanced one whole minor realm. His ridians buzzed, overcharged with yin essence and frost qi. It was cold—but it was a beautiful cold.
Feng Yuling turned away, the moonlight making her hair look like starlight.
"This never happened," she said quietly.
"But—"
"I’ll deny everything."
Wang Li smirked.
She was already gone.
He touched his lips, then looked at the sky.
"Well, damn... That was better than flying swords."
The next morning, Wang Li rose from his cultivation mat with a stretch and a satisfied groan. His body was still humming from the effects of the Moon-Frost Convergence Technique. He could feel the power flowing smoother through his ridians, and his spiritual sea was noticeably denser.
"I should get ambushed by beautiful won more often," he muttered, pulling on his robes.
But as he stepped outside his courtyard, a sharp sensation struck the back of his neck—cold, prickling, dangerous.
He froze.
Then turned.
Mu Qingling stood behind him, arms crossed, eyebrows raised, and the kind of smile that belonged on a murderess, not a sect beauty.
"Morning, Wang Li," she said sweetly.
"G-Good morning, Qingling," he said cautiously.
"I hope you slept well." She took a step forward. "Rested. Relaxed. Ward by the arms of... a certain frosty soone?"
Wang Li blinked. "You heard."
"Oh, everyone heard."
Behind her, Lin Ruoyan was leaning against a pillar, sword on her back, smirking like she’d just found her next piece of entertainnt.
"Did you know the frost qi you cultivated leaked all the way to the outer court? The sect masters think soone’s awakening an ancient bloodline."
"Oh," Wang Li coughed. "Oops."
"I see," Lin Ruoyan said, stepping closer. "So, you’ve upgraded from peeping in bathhouses to dual cultivating under the moonlight. You’re evolving."
"It wasn’t like that!" Wang Li protested. "I an, yes, she kissed —but only because our souls resonated. It was an advanced spiritual interaction—"
"You kissed?" Mu Qingling asked, her voice oddly calm.
Lin Ruoyan whistled. "Oh, now you’ve done it."
"I an she kissed !"
"She kissed you?!" Mu Qingling’s eyes flared with violet spiritual light.
This was bad.
This was very, very bad.
---
Ten minutes later...
Wang Li found himself standing awkwardly inside the Sect’s Bathing Pavilion, surrounded by three of the most beautiful won in the sect. One was furious. One was laughing. And one—Feng Yuling—was calmly stripping off her robe like none of it concerned her.
"This... this is the worst and best day of my life," he whispered to himself.
"Eyes up, pervert," Mu Qingling snapped, her robe still on but her hand on her sword hilt.
Feng Yuling sank into the steaming water like a serene fairy, the mist clinging to her porcelain skin. "If we’re going to argue, we might as well do it where it’s warm."
Lin Ruoyan jumped in without hesitation. "I agree. Besides, I’ve always wondered what kind of body Wang Li’s hiding under those cheap robes."
"I’m still here, you know," Wang Li muttered.
"Get in," Mu Qingling said.
"What?"
"If you’re going to make us all crazy, you’re going to take responsibility."
"I—WHAT?!"
She pointed at the bath. "Now."
Wang Li gulped and obeyed. Monts later, he was sitting neck-deep in warm spiritual water, surrounded by three gorgeous won, and trying very hard not to combust.
---
And then the ambush began.
"So," Lin Ruoyan began. "Who do you like more? The frost queen, the fire princess, or your sparring partner?"
"I... like you all?" Wang Li tried.
"Wrong answer," Mu Qingling said flatly.
Feng Yuling spoke without opening her eyes. "He kissed ."
"YOU kissed ," he protested.
"Still counts," Lin Ruoyan said. "Strike one."
Mu Qingling leaned in. "If I told you I wanted to dual cultivate with you right now, would you say yes?"
"I—I—" Wang Li’s brain caught fire. "Yes?"
Strike two.
Lin Ruoyan tilted her head. "And if I asked you to join for a naked sword dance at midnight?"
"What’s a naked sword dance?!"
Strike three.
"You’re dead," Mu Qingling said.
Feng Yuling smiled faintly. "I’ll freeze his body. You slice him. Ruoyan can bury the pieces."
"Girls," Wang Li laughed nervously. "You’re joking... right?"
They weren’t joking.
Not even a little.
---
Later that night...
Wang Li limped back to his courtyard, covered in bruises and love bites he wasn’t sure were accidents. His spiritual energy had improved, yes. His relationships? Complicated.
But his heart?
Still pounding.
Still burning.
And when he opened the door to his room... he froze.
Because there, waiting for him in a moonlit robe, sitting on his bed, was none other than—
Bai i, the flirty Saintess from the Heavenly Spirit Valley.
"Oh good," she purred, uncorking a spiritual wine bottle. "You’re ho. I heard you’ve been getting cozy with your exes."
Wang Li’s knees buckled. "Please... let rest..."
She smiled. "No."
Reviews
All reviews (0)