’Only three days,’ Wangchen told himself, his eyes snapping open, glowing with a dangerous, icy blue light. ’When he comes out of that portal... I am locking him in my kitchen. And no one else is ever getting a taste!’

For Lin Ji’an, the terrifying survival trial of the Myriad Illusions Lower Realm had rapidly devolved into something far more familiar: a shift at a high-end daycare center.

Back in her original world, before she became a full-time chef, she used to volunteer at a local nursery to make ends meet.

She knew how to handle cranky toddlers, how to enforce naptime, and how to sneak vegetables into puréed meals.

Dealing with Princess Zhao Ling’er was fundamentally no different. You just had to feed her until she was full, bandage her boo-boos, and speak to her in a firm, soothing voice until she tuckered herself out.

Currently, the spoiled Princess of the Empire was sound asleep on a bed of soft moss inside the warded cave, snoring softly, her bandaged ankle propped up on Tang Bo’s spare bundled robes.

The rest of the Class 9 and Class 6 misfits were similarly dead to the world, their bellies full of premium Shadow-Weave Serpent stew, exhausted from the adrenaline of almost dying.

Outside the realm, in the Assembly Plaza of the Celestial Sword Sect, the situation was utterly absurd.

Due to the complex spatial arrays governing the Lower Realm, the flow of time was distorted. A full twenty-four hours inside the realm equated to roughly two hours in the outside world.

By now, the elite disciples of Classes 1 through 5 were supposed to have commenced their grand sparring matches on the jade terrace.

The organizers had the brackets drawn, and the gongs were ready to be struck.

But no one was moving.

The Head Elder of the Discipline Hall, the peak masters, and the "Dragons" of the Inner Sect were entirely glued to the massive floating projection screens.

The organizers, a group of sweating, stressed-out deacons, stood awkwardly by the arena rings, clutching their clipboards. They didn’t dare interrupt these prominent young lords and bigshots.

You couldn’t exactly tell the Holy Son, the Sword Lord, the Merchant Prince, Second Prince of the Empire, and the terrifying Ice Genius to stop watching a cooking show and pick up their swords.

So, the entire Celestial Sword Sect was currently engaged in a massive, collective binge-watch of "Lin Ji’an’s Wilderness Camp."

Inside the realm, Ji’an sat by the dying embers of the fire, wide awake.

"I stink," she whispered to herself, pulling her collar up to her nose and instantly regretting it.

She smelled of snake viscera, mud, exploded chili peppers, and sweat. Her Five-Grain Constitution ran hot, which meant she burned energy quickly, but it also meant she felt grimy faster.

She needed a bath, desperately.

She stood up, careful not to let her boots crunch on the stone floor of the cave. She looked at the sleeping disciples. The forest was crawling with nocturnal beasts; she couldn’t just leave them exposed.

’System,’ she thought. ’Do you have any warding items in that overpriced shop of yours?’

[System: ’Aegis of the Slumbering Bear’ (Rank 3 Barrier Talisman) available. Duration: 6 hours. Cost: 200 Points.]

"Extortion," Ji’an grumbled silently. "Buy it and deploy it at the cave entrance."

[System: 200 Points deducted. Deploying Aegis.]

A faint, translucent dome of golden energy shimmered to life across the mouth of the cave, completely soundproofing the interior and masking the scent of the sleeping disciples from passing predators.

Satisfied that her "kids" were safe, Ji’an slipped through the barrier and melted into the dark forest.

***

On the giant screens in the Assembly Plaza, the audience watched as Candidate #459 left the safety of the cave.

A ripple of excited, malicious murmurs spread through the crowd of male Outer Disciples who were intensely jealous of Ji’an’s sudden surge in popularity.

"Look!" a guy from Class 7 pointed eagerly at the screen. "He’s sneaking out in the middle of the night! He set up a barrier to trap his teammates!"

"I knew it!" another sneered. "He was acting too nice. He’s going to abandon them and steal their tokens! Or maybe he’s going to perform a demonic ritual using the snake’s blood! He’s finally showing his true colors!"

On the jade terrace, the elites leaned forward.

Lu Jianheng’s hand tightened on his sword. ’What is he doing? It’s foolish to wander the Lower Realm alone at night without a proper weapon.’

Xie Wangchen’s eyes tracked Ji’an’s moving figure on the screen, his breath hitching slightly. He didn’t think Ji’an was doing anything nefarious; he was just terrified a beast would jump out of the shadows while she was alone.

But then, the perspective on a secondary screen shifted.

Inside the cave, a figure stirred. It was Su Wan.

The White Lotus had been merely pretending to sleep. She had felt the subtle shift in Qi when Ji’an deployed the barrier.

Seeing the handsome, enigmatic "Senior Brother Lin" slip away into the moonlight, her curiosity and a strange, budding infatuation she refused to analyze, got the better of her.

She wanted to know his secrets. She wanted to see what a man who could command princesses and slay beasts did when he thought no one was watching.

Moving with the silent grace of a trained noblewoman, Su Wan slipped out of her bedroll, bypassed the sleeping guards, and stepped through the barrier, following Ji’an’s fading footsteps into the woods.

In the plaza, the excitement skyrocketed.

"Junior Sister Su is following him!" "Yes! She’s going to catch the Flower Thief red-handed! Expose him, Sister Su!"

The entire sect held its collective breath, the tension thick enough to slice.

.

.

.

Deep in the forest, following the sound of rushing water, Ji’an found exactly what she was looking for.

A secluded, moonlight-drenched waterfall fed into a deep, crystalline pool surrounded by smooth, white river stones. Bioluminescent lilies floated on the surface of the water, casting a soft, ethereal blue glow.