Wang Li's heart thundered like a divine war drum as he stood at the edge of the Moonlight Lake. The silver waters rippled under the starlight, reflecting the pale glow of two figures—one clad in frost, the other in flame.
Feng Yuling, wrapped in icy blue robes that shimmered like glaciers under moonlight, stood with her arms folded. Her eyes, cold and proud, held the subtle tremble of a woman guarding her vulnerability. Across from her, Mu Qingling radiated with a gentle yet fierce aura. The crimson lotus embroidery on her robes flickered with every motion, as if her very presence stirred flames in the air.
Neither spoke.
Both glared at each other with a heat that could incinerate mountains or freeze oceans.
Wang Li stood between them, blinking slowly.
"Did… something happen while I was cultivating?" he asked cautiously.
Mu Qingling turned toward him, her voice dangerously calm. "She broke into your room last night."
Feng Yuling raised a brow. "Correction: I helped him circulate the second stage of the Moonfrost Sutra, saving him from freezing his organs into ice cubes. You're welcome."
"He was shirtless."
"He was burning up. I had to regulate his meridians with my own frost Qi. You're welcome again."
"You touched him without his permission."
"His heart rate was spiking, and he mumbled my name. I took it as implied consent."
Mu Qingling's fingers clenched, spiritual energy coiling around her like a flame about to explode.
Wang Li's soul left his body.
He suddenly missed the days when he was a useless trash disciple with no ex-girlfriends threatening to annihilate each other.
"I think we can all agree this is a misunderstanding—"
Both girls stepped forward, simultaneously grabbing one of his arms.
"You're coming with me," Mu Qingling said.
"No, with me," Feng Yuling countered.
Suddenly, an immense burst of spiritual pressure fell from above.
A deep voice echoed, freezing the tension in the air: "Is this how the disciples of Cloudsky Sect behave?"
A middle-aged man descended from the sky on a swirling platform of light. His eyes were ancient and piercing, like a dragon sealed in human form.
Wang Li instantly recognized him.
Elder Shenzhou.
One of the three ruling Elders of the Cloudsky Sect—and a terrifying cultivator at the peak of the Soul Sea Realm.
The girls let go of him, their spiritual energy retracting like frightened snakes.
"E-Elder Shenzhou!" they chorused.
Wang Li bowed deeply. "This disciple greets the Elder."
Shenzhou glanced at him, then at the two girls. "Hmph. Sect Master ordered me to oversee the preparations for the Azure Sky Sect banquet. Yet here you three are—acting like a bad romance drama."
Mu Qingling flushed. Feng Yuling actually looked ashamed.
"You!" he pointed at Wang Li. "You're the key to the alliance. Azure Sky's princess specifically asked for you."
Wang Li's mouth dropped open. "Princess?"
"Yes. Princess Yue Xian'er. You apparently helped her when she was disguised as a wandering rogue cultivator three years ago."
"…I thought she was a beggar."
"Of course you did. She remembered your kindness. And now, she wants to meet the 'gentle-hearted hero' who saved her."
Mu Qingling and Feng Yuling turned slowly toward Wang Li.
"You saved another girl?" Mu Qingling asked, a dangerous smile playing on her lips.
"Do you just collect princesses now?" Feng Yuling added with venomous sweetness.
"I didn't even know she was a princess!" Wang Li groaned.
Elder Shenzhou waved a hand. "You'll accompany me tomorrow to the Azure Sky Pavilion. Until then, all three of you are forbidden from causing trouble."
And with that, he disappeared like a phantom.
A heavy silence settled between the three.
Mu Qingling turned away. "I'm going to train. Alone."
Feng Yuling smirked. "Enjoy the wall punching."
She turned to Wang Li and whispered, "Tonight. Don't forget."
Before he could ask what she meant, she vanished into the night air.
Wang Li staggered back to his room like a man who had survived a spiritual tribulation. As he lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling, he muttered, "My life used to be so peaceful…"
But he couldn't deny it.
He liked it better this way.
And he could feel it—beneath all the chaos, the fights, and misunderstandings, something deeper was brewing. Love, yes. But also power. Purpose. Destiny.
The banquet with Azure Sky Sect was just the beginning.