As they navigated the fog-laden trail, Qing Yan sped up his pace slightly, stepping beside Luo Mingye.

He adjusted his facial expression, lowering his eyes and slumping his shoulders to project an aura of fragile, helpless vulnerability, hoping to appeal directly to her gentle nature.

"Sister Mingye..." Qing Yan spoke softly, his voice trembling as if he were holding back tears. "I... I really don’t know what I would have done without you and Sister Mengyao back there."

Luo Mingye shook her head, "We’re classmates, so it’s only natural that we help. In fact, you’re already brave, trying to save those people despite knowing you’re in danger."

"Really?" Qing Yan beamed, but then he looked down, "You don’t have to comfort me, sister Mingye. I know I’m the weakest in our class, a useless burden that everyone looks down on... I try so hard every single day, but no matter how much I cultivate, I can never catch up to geniuses like you. Sometimes, I wonder if a worthless peasant like me even deserves to walk on the same path as a true fairy like you..."

He looked up at her with big, wide, moisture-filled eyes, waiting for her to offer him warm words of comfort, pat his shoulder, or reassure him of his worth.

Luo Mingye maintained a serene, polite smile on her face as she walked, her gait smooth and ethereal. "Cultivation is a long journey, Junior Brother Qing Yan. As long as you maintain a peaceful heart and do your best, there is no need to compare yourself to others."

Her tone was gentle, but beneath her perfect, courteous smile, a subtle flicker of deep annoyance flashed through her deep green eyes.

She found his forced self-pity thoroughly exhausting. Rather than focusing on standing on his own two feet or fighting with dignity, he was actively wallowing in his weakness, begging for sympathy like a needy child.

It was completely unbecoming of a cultivator of the Imperial Academy.

Is this why Sister Xiansu abandoned him? If her partner was this annoying, she would’ve abandoned him as well.

Besides, she doesn’t really want to get close to a man. What if some students saw them getting along, and rumors were to spread, and it reached the ears of her beloved Haoran?

Although nothing happened, she will feel very guilty, and she will feel even worse if he actually believed the rumors.

What’s even more terrifying is if the rumors got out of hand, with everyone saying she had slept with a man...how will she prove that she didn’t?

It’s not like she was a virgin, with her primal yin intact. So she can’t really say, "young master, you can test the product, my factory seal is still intact!".

She shuddered at the thought.

Yeah, friendly with a guy? Absolutely. Getting close to them? Impossible.

That’s why, she was starting to feel annoyed with this guy trying to get close to her.

Suddenly, a loud, sharp red warning flashed right before Qing Yan’s eyes.

[WARNING! Target: Luo Mingye’s Affection Level has decreased by 1 point! Current Affection: 9 (Slight Annoyance)]

Qing Yan’s heart dropped into his stomach. ’What?! It dropped?!’

Before he could even process what went wrong, Xia Mengyao, who was walking a few paces ahead, suddenly glanced back over her shoulder.

Her sharp, refined senses had picked up on Luo Mingye’s subtle discomfort, and seeing Qing Yan hovering so closely to her friend and whining pitifully, Xia Mengyao’s eyebrows knit together into a cool, defensive frown, her piercing gaze locking onto him with silent, icy disapproval.

[WARNING! Target: Xia Mengyao’s Affection Level has decreased by 2 points! Current Affection: 8 (Mild Dislike)]

[Host, you have no game.] The system’s monotone voice chimed in his mind, carrying an unmistakable trace of dry, robotic mockery.

’Shut it!’ Qing Yan retorted furiously in his mind, his face burning with a mixture of anger and deep embarrassment.

He immediately clamped his mouth shut, stepping back into a quiet, subservient posture behind them.

He didn’t dare say another word, terrified that breathing too loudly might cause their affection points to drop all the way into negative numbers.

*ROAAAR!*

Just then, an earth-shattering, guttural roar exploded from the dense, misty valley ahead, followed by the heavy, metallic thud of colliding spiritual energy that caused the very ground beneath their feet to tremble violently.

Xia Mengyao and Luo Mingye stopped instantly.

They exchanged a brief, unspoken look, their eyes sharpening in unison, and gave each other a decisive nod.

Without wasting a single second, they tapped the ground with their toes and transformed into twin blurs of silver and azure light, sprinting toward the source of the commotion at maximum speed.

Qing Yan blinked in utter shock. Before his brain could even register their movement, the two maidens had already vanished into the fog.

"Wait! Sister Mengyao! Sister Mingye! Wait for me!" he yelled frantically. Gritting his teeth in sheer desperation, he channeled all his weak Golden Core qi into his legs and ran blindly in the direction they had disappeared.

Ahead of him, Xia Mengyao and Luo Mingye’s figures were flickering like ghosts across the rocky terrain, moving so blazingly fast that they weren’t even visible to human eyes.

They tore through the fog like divine arrows, leaping over massive boulders and clearing wide ravines in single, effortless bounds.

Before long, they broke through the dense treeline and arrived at a wide, open grassland.

Directly in the center of the field, a massive, mountain-sized Armored Ironclad Boar—covered in thick, razor-sharp steel scales and swinging two massive, blood-stained tusks—was roaring furiously.

It was charging violently, engaged in a fierce, high-speed battle with a single, solitary figure.

Upon a closer look through the dust and flashing sword light, the two realized that the person fighting the beast was none other than their classmate, Xu Xiansu.

Without a single moment of hesitation, the two decided to step in and help.

Luo Mingye instantly sat cross-legged in mid-air, her robes fluttering dramatically as she rested her ancient wooden zither across her lap.

Her slender fingers flew across the silk strings, unleashing a wave of soft, hypnotic, and heavy music that washed over the battleground like a soothing wave.

*Ting—!*

The moment the soothing, sleep-inducing melody echoed through the air, the massive Armored Boar’s furious charge faltered.

Its glowing red eyes grew hazy, its heavy limbs staggering as a profound, magical drowsiness washed over its chaotic mind.

Xu Xiansu immediately noticed the incoming support.

Recognizing her friends, her cool expression shifted slightly, and she instantly activated her innate Sun Moon Divine Physique.

In an instant, a dazzling dual aura of golden solar light and silver lunar light erupted from her body, creating a localized temporal field that slammed down onto the boar, locking its feet into the dirt and slowing its movements to a complete crawl.

Seeing the opening created by her friends, Xia Mengyao leaped into the sky, drawing her longsword with a ringing metallic sound.

"Spring Blossom Sword Art, First Form: Cutting Petals!"

Xia Mengyao’s sword art was stunningly beautiful.

As she swung her blade, thousands of radiant, glowing pink sword-intent petals materialized in the air, swirling around her like a serene spring storm.

Yet, beneath that mesmerizing, artistic beauty lay a terrifying sharpness.

*SWISH—!*

The swirling storm of peach blossom sword intent sliced through the air with microscopic precision, passing cleanly through the thick, armored neck of the giant beast.

With a single, breathtaking strike, the colossal boar’s massive head was cleanly decapitated.

Heavy black blood burst forth like a fountain, and the giant body crashed onto the grassland with a deafening *BOOM*, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Xia Mengyao landed gracefully on her feet, letting out a long, quiet exhale as a thin trail of steam rose from her blade, before sheathing her sword with a smooth click.

Seeing that everything was handled safely, Luo Mingye immediately floated down from the sky and ran over to join them.

Xu Xiansu retracted her aura, wiping a thin smudge of dust from her cheek as she offered them a rare, genuine smile. "Thanks for the help, you two."

"Well, you probably could have handled that beast on your own anyway," said Xia Mengyao, stepping forward and smiling warmly at her.

Xu Xiansu shrugged casually. She certainly had the capability to grind the beast down eventually, but that didn’t mean she didn’t appreciate the swift, seamless assistance from her friends.

It really does feel nice. These two who were once her enemies in that other life, generals of Shen Haoran, were now her friends, and fighting together with her.

She turned around, her gaze landing on a small group of terrified native servanrs who were cowering behind a nearby rock formation, shivering in fear.

She waved her hand dismissively at them, her voice firm but not unkind. "Go. Find a nice, safe cave somewhere in the mountains to hide until the exam ends."

The natives wept tears of joy, kowtowing repeatedly toward her before scrambling away into the wilderness as fast as their legs could carry them.

Just then, the sound of heavy, frantic panting echoed from the treeline.

Qing Yan finally arrived, staggering out of the fog, his face red, his clothes disheveled, clutching his knees as he gasped desperately for air.

Xu Xiansu turned her gaze towards him, her warm smile instantly evaporating as her brows furrowed into a sharp, deeply irritated line. "Did you guys bring him here?"

Xia Mengyao blinked, surprised by the sudden drop in temperature. "Yes, we found him wounded earlier and healed him... but, Sister Xiansu, you seem to really hate him?"

Xu Xiansu thought for a moment, looking at Qing Yan with an expression of profound, unadulterated disgust, before shaking her head.

"No... I don’t hate him. I just feel intensely irritated whenever I’m anywhere near him. It’s like standing next to a repulsive enemy or a poisonous insect. My skin literally crawls."

Xia Mengyao and Luo Mingye looked at each other, thoroughly confused by her unusually harsh reaction to the quiet boy.

Meanwhile, Qing Yan, who was still trying to catch his breath, raised his head and locked his eyes onto Xu Xiansu.

In an instant, his entire mind went completely blank.

She was breathtaking. Standing in the golden sunlight with her flowing dark hair, her flawless fair skin, her athletic, perfectly sculpted figure, and the radiant, almost divine aura... she was mesmerizing!

She was too stunningly beautiful! If she wasn’t such an arrogant, cold-hearted bitch who had abandoned him to die earlier, she would definitely be his ultimate, absolute dream girl!

’System, scan her right now!’ he ordered frantically in his mind.

[Initiating Scan on Target: Xu Xiansu...]

A translucent panel expanded before his eyes.

[Name: Xu Xiansu]

[Identity: Reincarnation of Sun Moon Empress/ Bearer of Sun Moon Divine Physique]

[Charm Rating: 91 / 100]

[Affection Level: -10 (Extremely Irritated / Instinctual Repulsion)]

[Capture Difficulty: IMPOSSIBLE]

Qing Yan’s jaw dropped so wide it almost touched the grass.

His eyes bulged out of his head in absolute, panicked horror as he stared at the word IMPOSSIBLE flashing in blood-red text.

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!

You mean I can’t capture her? Is this woman’s heart made of stone!? How is this even possible?!

And that reincarnation of Sun Moon Empress...this, this is literally a protagonist template isn’t it!?

Is this woman the protagonist of this world!? Did I somehow transmigrated into a novel I haven’t read?

Shit! I should’ve read many novels! I knew I shouldn’t have believed my parents when they told me it was the darn phone!

But, before he can think further, he suddenly felt the temperature going down, causing him to shiver.

Then, a cold voice resounded in his ears.

"What are you gawking at?"