A blazing light burst forth in Xiao Zhantian’s eyes; his exhaustion swept away in an instant.

It was the instinctive reaction of a clan head who had caught the scent of a chance for his family to rise.

He slammed his palm heavily on the table.

“Good! Good! What a ‘mysterious benefactor’!”

Su Wan also came back to her senses from the shock.

“In that case, the Sun Family must be in complete chaos right now,” she said softly, turning to Xiao Zhantian.

Xiao Zhantian nodded hard, his gaze burning.

“Che’er, take Qing’er to rest. I’ll summon the elders at once to discuss this matter!”

With the Sun Family’s ancestor fallen, internal turmoil was inevitable. A power vacuum would appear… This was simply a heaven-sent opportunity! Whether the Xiao Family could ride the wave, devour this fat prize, would depend on what happened next.

Seeing his father so fired up, Xiao Che finally felt at ease.

Misfortune could indeed give birth to fortune. This calamity seemed to have brought the family an unexpected turning point.

As for that “mysterious benefactor” who hid their merit and name so deeply…

Xiao Che subconsciously rubbed his lower back.

Mm. This “life-saving grace” would have to be repaid properly next time they dual-cultivated.

Hopefully, next time… he wouldn’t get knocked out again.

…

Sword-Tempering Pavilion.

Bath chamber.

Steam filled the room. Hot water was already prepared. Xiao He stood quietly at the side.

Just as Xiao Che was about to do it himself, Xiao He stepped forward, her fingers lightly resting on his sash.

“Young Master, let me help you change.”

Xiao Che instinctively pressed down on her hand.

“No need. I’ll do it myself.”

But unlike usual, Xiao He didn’t step back.

She forced herself to lift her head. Her cheeks were flushed red by the steam, her eyes shimmering with moisture. Her voice was soft and sweet, yet stubborn.

“Young Master wasn’t like this last time…”

She bit her lower lip, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Last time, Young Master clearly… wanted to kiss me.”

Xiao Che’s breathing stalled. His hand froze where it was.

The Empress’s warning still rang in his ears, yet the warmth and softness beneath his palm, and the clear eyes before him reflecting his own flustered expression, were impossible to ignore.

Seizing the moment he was distracted, Xiao He deftly moved her fingers and untied the outer robe.

She lowered her gaze, not daring to look at him again. The tips of her ears burned crimson, yet her hands didn’t stop. Her voice grew even quieter, as if murmuring to herself or voicing a small grievance.

“If Young Master dislikes A-He, just say so… Why be one way one moment, and another the next?”

“I…”

Xiao Che opened his mouth, but the words “I don’t dislike you” stuck in his throat. Faced with those eyes, the words of refusal suddenly became hard to say.

Seeing him falter, Xiao He seemed to gain a bit of courage.

She neatly set aside the robe she’d removed, then turned to wring out a warm towel, leaving Xiao Che with only her slender back.

“The water will get cold. Young Master, hurry.”

“I’ll be outside… If Young Master needs anything, just call me.”

With that, without waiting for his response, she lifted the curtain and left.

Standing amid the rising steam, Xiao Che watched the curtain sway gently. He raised a hand and rubbed his brow.

Great. This girl… had learned to advance by retreating?

He sighed, removed his inner robe, and stepped into the tub. The warm water wrapped around him, yet it somehow couldn’t compare to how scorching that brief touch had been.

Outside the door, Xiao He leaned against the wall, one hand pressed to her pounding chest, her face burning hot.

She’d said it… She’d actually said it.

And Young Master hadn’t gotten angry.

A secret smile curved at the corners of her eyes.

When Xiao Che came out, Xiao He wasn’t by the bed. Instead, she stood by the table, holding a bowl of calming tea.

“Young Master, have some tea.” Her voice was still a little tight.

“Mhm.”

He took it. Their fingertips brushed, and both quickly pulled back.

He drained the bowl in one go.

“I still have some techniques to verify in the meditation room. You don’t need to wait for me. Get some rest first.”

Setting the cup down, he walked into the meditation chamber.

Xiao He stood by the table, watching the door close. Her fingers lightly brushed her palm, where a trace of warmth still lingered, and her lips curved faintly upward.

Once inside, Xiao Che leaned back against the door and slowly let out a breath.

He needed some quiet.

He needed cultivation—to temporarily suppress those distracting warmths, blushes, and shining eyes.

That night, he cultivated in the meditation room until dawn.

His cultivation at Foundation Establishment, Seventh Layer, already at perfection, finally reached fruition through the life-and-death battle with the Sun Family’s ancestor, stepping into the Eighth Layer.

Over the next few days—

At night, Xiao Che focused himself in the meditation room, circulating the Pure Yang True Fire Art, gradually polishing and solidifying his newly advanced Eighth Layer realm.

By day, he practiced sword techniques in the courtyard.

Since the Qingfeng Sword had already shattered,

he called over Xiao An.

“Tell my father to allocate another sword. A low-grade spirit weapon will do.”

Xiao An handled things efficiently. Within half a day, he returned with a low-grade spirit sword.

The blade was long and slender, with faint red patterns along its length. Its name was Flowing Flame.

“The elders said it was taken from the Sun Family’s spoils. Fire-aspected—perfect for Young Master.”

Xiao Che weighed it in his hand. The feel was excellent.

He drew the sword and began to move. His Pure Yang Dao Body resonated with his top-grade Fire Spirit Root.

The Pure Yang Golden Fire Sword Art matched his physique and spirit root perfectly. Cultivating it was as smooth as replaying a character with maxed stats—his efficiency was outrageously high.

Whenever this happened, Xiao He would quietly sit beneath the corridor, elbow propped on the stone table, chin resting in her palm, watching him with rapt attention.

Thus, days spent practicing swordplay, nights refining qi—seven days passed in this cycle.

Seven days later, the Pure Yang Golden Fire Sword Art naturally advanced into the realm of mastery.

When the sword was drawn, the heat was fully restrained. Only a single red-gold line flashed through the air, sharp enough to pierce the eye.

Xiao Che spun the sword in a clean flourish and sheathed it.

Done.

The feeling was like fully maxing out a core skill during the beginner phase.

Solid.

With his sword art complete and his condition adjusted to its peak, on the night of the seventh day, he examined his qi sea. Within it, red-gold spiritual liquid lay calm and deep, without the slightest hint of instability.

The foundation of the Eighth Layer of Foundation Establishment was completely secure.

With a thought, he once again stirred the green lotus seal.

This time, two strands of moon-white azure qi were drawn out, surging along the circulation path of the Pure Yang True Fire Art to be refined.

Vast primal power poured in like a great river, pushing his cultivation straight to the peak of the Eighth Layer—only a thin line away from the Ninth Layer bottleneck.

Xiao Che ended his cultivation, feeling power surge within him, the corners of his mouth unable to keep from lifting.

Within his qi sea, the red-gold spiritual liquid roiled violently. Compared to when he was at the Seventh Layer, his total spiritual power had nearly doubled.

In the late stages of Foundation Establishment, each layer’s breakthrough meant an almost exponential increase in strength.

If he were to face the Sun Family’s ancestor again, even if he couldn’t win outright, with this explosive growth in spiritual power and a perfected sword art, he’d have more than enough ability to maneuver and protect himself.

This pace probably saved him two or three years of slow grinding—though… it was a bit rough on the waist.

Tsk. Looks like this Empress’s “kept man” life… cough, she might be fierce… but it was undeniably sweet.

Every day, Xiao An came to report, like a live battlefield broadcast.

“Young Master, two Sun-branded pill shops in the west of the city put up our family’s signboards this morning!”

“The two Foundation Establishment stewards guarding the Sun Family’s spirit mine ‘voluntarily’ resigned last night.”

“Several small families that were dependent on the Sun Family jointly sent congratulatory gifts this morning…”

Xiao Che wiped down the Flowing Flame sword as he listened.

Tsk tsk tsk. This wasn’t suppression at all—it was practically a loot-counting phase.

He could almost picture his father in the study, circulating his cultivation to heal while his grin stretched wider and wider.