The next morning, Ace woke up to the sound of hushed murmurs outside his room.
"Master is still sleeping! What do you want? Even if you're the princess, I won't let you pass!"
Ace blinked, groggy as he took in his surroundings. He was still in bed with no shirt on.
Last night… right. He'd had a few cups of Spirit Rice Beer.
And, well… yeah. That had knocked him out cold.
Just as he was about to sit up, the door suddenly burst open before he could even put his shirt on.
"What is it?" Ace asked, irritation clear in his voice.
A figure stepped inside, it was the princess.
"Master Ace, will you tutor ?" she asked, her voice unwavering.
Ace stared at her, dumbfounded.
"...Huh? You're joking, right? I'm just a Silver Rank cultivator," he blurted out.
"You raised your disciples well," she said calmly. "Can you raise like one?"
Ace felt his brain stall, then crash.
What the hell…?
Ain't no way.
Taking in the princess as a disciple? That was basically asking for a giant target to be painted on his back.
Ace narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, no. Absolutely not."
The princess, unfazed, took a step closer. "Why not?"
"Because I'm not interested in raising a royal disciple," Ace replied flatly, rubbing his temples. "I have enough on my plate already."
"You raised Shan Yifeng and Liu i just fine," she pointed out. "Surely, one more won't be a problem?" Experience new tales on My Virtual Library Empire
Ace let out a dry laugh. "Yeah, because those two aren't the princess of the damn country."
The princess folded her arms. "Are you saying I'm not qualified?"
Ace pinched the bridge of his nose. "No, I'm saying I enjoy having my head attached to my body, thank you very much. Teaching the royal family? That's like begging for trouble."
"But I want to learn from you," she insisted, undeterred.
Ace sighed. "Yeah, well, I want a peaceful life. Looks like neither of us are getting what we want."
The princess smiled sweetly. "So you admit that I'm persistent?"
"You're a headache with legs," Ace muttered"I'll pay you," she tried again.
"Nope."
"I'll give you resources."
"Still nope."
"I'll owe you a favor," she said, voice laced with temptation.
Ace hesitated for half a second before shaking his head. "Nice try, but no."
The princess finally sighed. "Master Ace, you're difficult."
"And yet, you're still here," Ace shot back.
Irritated, the princess finally snapped, "Fine! Take in, and I'll be your dual cultivation partner."
Ace stared at her for a long mont before scoffing. "Oh, nice try. You think I don't have enough trouble in my life already? Adding you as a dual partner? Yeah, no thanks."
The princess smirked. "So you're saying I'm not tempting enough?"
"I'm saying I enjoy living," Ace deadpanned. "And accepting that offer is basically signing my own execution warrant."
She folded her arms. "Afraid?"
"Of the royal family hunting down? Absolutely," Ace shot back. "Pretty sure your father would personally skin alive."
The princess huffed, then smirked. "So what would make you accept as your disciple?"
The princess finally sighed. "Master Ace, you're difficult."
Ace groaned, flopping back onto the bed. "Why … Why are you so desperate to be under my tutelage?"
Soho opened her mouth, then hesitated.
"Do you really want to know?" she asked.
"Yes, I want to—no, I need to know," Ace pressed.
She took a deep breath. "It's like this. My previous master taught a dual cultivation technique… but I had no idea at the ti. At first, everything seed normal—I advanced quickly. But now that I've reached the Dark Gold Rank, the… urges have beco overwhelming."
She exhaled slowly before continuing, "I always lock myself up whenever it happens. So don't worry, I'm still a virgin if you want as a dual partner." She even smiled as she said it.
Ace blinked. "No, what does this have to do with ?"
"Actually… nothing," she finally admitted.
Ace raised an eyebrow. "Then why are you here?"
With another deep breath, she sighed. "Your master. I heard Divine Garden owners can obtain items that can change a cultivation technique."
Ace rubbed his temple. "So let get this straight. You blindly cultivated a technique, it ssed you up, and now you want to fix your mistake?"
Soho nodded, her expression completely serious.
Ace exhaled sharply. "And you tried to bribe with—" He cut himself off, shaking his head. "You know what? Forget that part."
She smiled, tilting her head. "So, will you help ?"
Ace folded his arms. "And what do I get out of this?"
"The satisfaction of saving a desperate princess?" she offered sweetly.
Ace snorted. "Yeah, no. That sounds like a you problem."
She sighed, then hesitated before saying, "If you help , I won't bother you again."
Ace narrowed his eyes. "And if I say no?"
She smiled again. "Then I guess I'll just keep asking."
Just in ti, a cheerful loud voice echoed from outside the room.
"Brother, brother! Is the scary princess bullying you? Fear not—your favorite little sister is here!"
Ruby rushed in dramatically, arms wide open, ready to throw herself at Ace.
Before she could reach him, Liu i moved in a blur, cutting Ruby off.
Before she could even squeak, she was on the ground, securely pinned.
Ruby pouted. "Hey, what gives?"
Liu i questioned . "You're just looking for an excuse to hug him, aren't you?"
Ruby hesitated for a second before grinning. "Maybe~"
Sitting triumphantly on top of her, Liu i turned to Ace. "Master, why not take the princess in as a disciple?"
Ace groaned. "You too? No."
"Why not?"
"I already explained everything to Princess Soho. Ask her."
Liu i pouted. "No, I want to hear it from you, Master."
Ace sighed, rubbing his temples. "Because I don't want to die."
Liu i instantly sprang to her feet, her expression shifting to full alert mode. "Master, who's trying to kill you? I'll protect you! Let's run away together!"
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