Yet, as he looked at the sheer aesthetic perfection of the illusion generated by the Supreme Artifact...

A very faint, highly unnatural tinge of pink slowly crept up the tips of Elder Qin’s ears.

He took a slow sip of his tea, clearing his throat quietly. ’Ahem. The boy... takes good care of his physical foundation. A healthy vessel for a chaotic root.’

He refused to acknowledge the flush, desperately hoping no one was looking at him.

No one was. Because everyone who wasn’t screaming was currently looking at the most dangerous person on the terrace.

If Elder Qin was mildly flustered, Xie Wangchen was currently going through a psychological apocalypse.

Wangchen stood at the railing. The temperature around him had bypassed "freezing" and entered the realm of "absolute zero." The jade railing beneath his hands hadn’t just cracked; it had disintegrated into fine, glittering powder.

He stared at the screen. He stared at the broad back, the glistening skin, the curve of the waist.

A possessive, violent, all-consuming fire erupted in his chest, warring instantly with his Ice Qi.

The thought wasn’t a suggestion. It was a roar that echoed in the deepest, darkest caverns of his soul.

’That is mine. Those shoulders are mine. That back is mine.’

And then, the realization hit him like a physical blow: He wasn’t the only one looking at Ji’an anymore.

He slowly turned his head, his eyes glowing with a terrifying, demonic blue light. He looked down at the courtyard, where thousands of female disciples were screaming over the sight of his Ji’an.

He looked at the male disciples, some of whom were staring with unhidden envy or appreciation.

He looked at Xiao Yichen’s amused smirk and Gu Zhiwei’s flushed, peeping face.

And worst of all, he looked at the bottom of the screen, where Su Wan’s hands were trembling as she hid in the bushes, her eyes devouring the sight of his Young Master in the flesh.

Wangchen’s breathing grew ragged. The Frost-Soul energy inside him screamed for blood.

He wanted to jump into the screen. He wanted to march into that forest, wrap Ji’an in his own robes, hide him away from the world, and then systematically blind every single person in the sect who had dared to look.

"Su. Wan," Wangchen hissed the name under his breath, the syllables crystallizing into actual ice shards that fell from his lips.

He was going to make sure she never looked at anything ever again.

Suddenly, on the screen, the oblivious Lin Ji’an sighed contentedly, stepping forward into the cold, clear water of the pool.

As the water rose past her waist, she turned slightly, giving a momentary, breathtaking profile view, before submerging herself with a splash.

The screen from Su Wan’s token trembled as the girl in the bushes finally gasped, stepping backward and accidentally snapping a dry twig.

CRACK!!!

In the water, Ji’an whipped around, water cascading down her chest, which the artifact obligingly rendered as a perfectly sculpted set of male pecs.

Her dark eyes locked onto the bushes with the sharpness of a predator.

"Who’s there?!" Ji’an barked, raising her hand, water spinning around her fingers like a weapon.

Su Wan let out a terrified squeak.

She turned and bolted through the forest, the camera feed shaking violently as she ran for her life, leaving the screen a dizzying blur of leaves and darkness.

In the plaza, the feed cut out as Su Wan ran out of range.

The audience groaned in collective, agonizing disappointment.

But on the jade terrace, Xie Wangchen closed his eyes, his chest heaving as he fought to regain control of his rampaging cultivation.

He touched the space over his heart. It was beating so fast it physically hurt.

The sparring matches of the Inner Sect were officially forgotten. The tournament had been entirely hijacked.

.

.

. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

The forest of the Myriad Illusions Lower Realm was dark, but it wasn’t silent.

The frantic, terrified snapping of twigs and the heavy, panicked breathing of Su Wan echoed through the trees.

She was running blindly, her pale pink robes snagging on thornbushes, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird.

She had seen it. She had seen the "Flower Thief’s" back. And worse, he had seen her.

He had whipped around in the water, his dark eyes locking onto the bushes with the terrifying precision of an apex predator.

’It’s over! It’s over! He’s gonna kill me!’ Su Wan’s mind raced, tears of genuine panic welling in her eyes. ’I spied on him, invaded his privacy, and even got caught! Cultivators have killed for less! I have to get back to the cave’s barrier! before he catches me!’

She burst through a thick cluster of ferns, anticipating the safety of the clearing.

Instead, she slammed chest-first into what felt like a solid wall of warm, immovable stone.

"Oof!" Su Wan rebounded, falling backward into the dirt.

She looked up, trembling, expecting to see a monster.

Standing over her, leaning casually against the trunk of an ancient oak tree, was Lin Ji’an.

She had somehow bypassed Su Wan using her Shadow Step, thrown her gray inner tunic and trousers back on, and intercepted her halfway to the camp.

Her hair was still damp, hanging loose over her shoulders, and her arms were crossed over her chest.

She didn’t look angry or murderous.

Rather, she looked thoroughly, wickedly amused.

"Going somewhere, Junior Sister Su?" Ji’an purred, her voice a low, smooth drawl that sent a shiver down Su Wan’s spine that had nothing to do with fear.

Su Wan scrambled backward on her hands, her face burning so hot it could probably boil water. "I—! Senior Brother Lin! I... I was just... sleepwalking! Yes! Sleepwalking!"

Ji’an chuckled. It was a rich, vibrating sound. She pushed off the tree and crouched down in front of the trembling White Lotus, resting her forearms on her knees.

"Sleepwalking," Ji’an repeated, tilting her head. "All the way to the waterfall? Through a dense thicket? That’s some very coordinated sleepwalking."