Silence fell over the room.
Xiao Se had one hand slipped inside Dongfang Huaizhu's robes, while his other hand gripped the tie at her waist. The two of them stood pressed close together, facing sideways in an awkward, frozen position—neither daring to move, neither daring to speak.
"Knock, knock."
A light tapping sounded at the door. From outside came Dongfang Qinlan's clear, lively voice.
"Brother-in-law, have you seen my sister?"
—
The next morning, Xiao Se left Divine Fire Manor with a deeply conflicted heart, bidding farewell to Dongfang Huaizhu, Dongfang Qinlan, and Dongfang Guyue.
Thanks to Dongfang Qinlan's perfectly timed interruption, Dongfang Huaizhu had blushed crimson and fled out the window in embarrassment.
And so, Xiao Se ultimately failed to complete his transformation from boy to man.
[Ding. System transmission successful. Host has returned to the Dou Qi Continent.]
"…Sigh."
Looking at the familiar layout of his room, Xiao Se let out a long breath and lazily collapsed onto the bed.
"Looks like big brother is quite troubled because of last night."
A streak of blue light drifted from Xiao Se's right hand, landing softly on the bed. It shimmered and took shape, forming the graceful, slender figure of Long Kui, who lay atop him with a teasing smile.
"If you're a man, you'd be troubled too," Xiao Se replied helplessly, gently stroking Long Kui's back.
In front of her, he had no reason to hide his thoughts.
"Well… maybe…" Long Kui hesitated, her cheeks flushing red. "I could let Little Red help you…"
"Uh—" Xiao Se's mouth twitched. "When did you find out?"
"Little Red is my second personality. We share one body, two hearts. Whatever she does, I can feel it clearly," Long Kui answered shyly.
"Uh…"
Xiao Se's lips twitched again.
Does that mean… she also knows about that "incident" when I was twelve?
The memory flashed across his mind, and his face instantly burned hot.
Clearing his throat awkwardly, he quickly turned his head toward the door and changed the subject.
"It seems Xian'er has finished her closed-door cultivation. I'll go take a look."
Without waiting for another word, he stood up and hurried out of the room. If he stayed any longer, he feared he would suffer complete social annihilation.
Watching his flustered retreat, Long Kui's beautiful eyes sparkled mischievously. She dissolved back into a streak of blue light and slipped into the demonic sword mark on Xiao Se's right hand.
—
The moment Xiao Se stepped outside, he saw the Little Fairy Doctor seated at a table, leisurely sipping a cup of fragrant tea.
Hearing his footsteps, she turned her head slightly. A gentle smile bloomed across her delicate face.
"When did you come back?"
"About ten days ago," Xiao Se replied as he sat down beside her. "I just haven't come out much. Looks like you gained quite a bit from this retreat."
The aura emanating from her body now was no weaker than that of Su Qian, the Great Elder of the Inner Academy, from before.
"All thanks to that Snow-Colored Swan Kiss you gave me," she said with a soft smile, pouring him a cup of tea.
"Where's Zhuqing?" Xiao Se asked casually, glancing toward the small feline's room upstairs.
His throat moved involuntarily.
Through his clairvoyant vision, he could see the little cat changing clothes. Her long limbs, snow-white skin, the elegant curves of her body, and her increasingly refined figure—
He had to admit.
The little cat was growing more and more stunning by the day.
"She just came back not long ago. She's upstairs changing. You're not allowed to peek," the Little Fairy Doctor teased.
"As if I'd peek," Xiao Se said solemnly. "If I look, I'll look openly."
The Little Fairy Doctor laughed lightly and added, "Were you about to say, 'If I look, I'll look openly'?"
"You saw right through me. Xian'er, we truly are in perfect sync," Xiao Se grinned, pulling her slender waist into his embrace.
"Smooth talker…" she murmured, not resisting as she rested against his chest, eyes gently closing.
After a moment of quiet warmth, she suddenly spoke.
"During my time cultivating inside the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower, I paid special attention to the Fallen Heart Flame for you. Every day, more than three Dou Huangs and several Dou Wangs guard it. There are also powerful sealing formations beneath it. With our current strength, I'm afraid it would be impossible to seize it without alerting Great Elder Su Qian. Do you have a plan?"
"It's not just me who wants the Heavenly Flame," Xiao Se replied with a faint smile. "There's also—"
Before he could say Han Feng's name, his right eye suddenly trembled.
Three blood-red tomoe appeared automatically, spinning rapidly—then transforming into a four-pointed pinwheel pattern.
"The Kotoamatsukami has recovered," Xiao Se murmured softly, touching his right eye with his fingers.
"Xiao Se… your eye…" The sudden crimson glow startled the Little Fairy Doctor.
Though she sensed no hostility from him, a deep, instinctive danger rose within her.
The source of that danger—
Was his blood-red right eye.
"Xian'er," Xiao Se said with a smile, closing his eye briefly before reopening it—now back to normal. "It seems the Fallen Heart Flame is destined to become mine."
—
Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower. Sixth Level.
Inside a secluded cultivation chamber.
"Is this really safe?" the Little Fairy Doctor asked hesitantly. "Even if your ocular power has recovered, don't you need eye contact for it to work?"
Before this, she had never heard Xiao Se mention the Mangekyō Sharingan. However, she was familiar with the ordinary three-tomoe version.
Back when he obtained the Black Fiend Blood Poison Hand—a Dou Technique comparable to mid-tier Earth Rank—Xiao Se had read it first, then used the Sharingan to transmit its cultivation method directly into her and Zhuqing's minds.
"This ocular technique is called Kotoamatsukami," Xiao Se explained, left eye closed while his right eye snapped open again. "It's special. I can invade the target's mind without them realizing it and rewrite their will. Unlike the three-tomoe, it doesn't require eye contact. I only need to lock onto them with my soul."
"That sounds completely overpowered," she said in amazement. "No wonder I feel fear when facing that eye."
"If it were truly invincible, that would be nice," Xiao Se replied with a wry smile. "But it has major limitations."
"First, the cooldown is extremely long. It's been a full year since I used it on Dong'er's scumbag teacher. It only just recovered today."
"Second, it only works on those whose soul realm is lower than mine. After advancing to Dou Wang, my soul strength increased significantly, but I'm still far from the level of a seventh-grade alchemist. Otherwise, I would've already gone straight to Maple City and used it on that so-called Medicine Emperor Han Feng. He possesses Sea Heart Flame, ranked fifteenth on the Heavenly Flame list—just below the Fallen Heart Flame."
"And lastly—the biggest restriction of all. Its ocular power is non-renewable. Once consumed, it's gone. When it runs out, this eye will revert to the three-tomoe form permanently. The stronger the target, the more power it consumes. After this use… I'll probably only have one chance left."
The Little Fairy Doctor nodded in understanding.
"No wonder you chose to use it on the Fallen Heart Flame. It may have birthed a fire spirit and possess immense strength, but its soul is far weaker."
"Smart," Xiao Se said softly.
His right pupil suddenly dilated.
Unconcealed joy spread across his face as he whispered—
"Locked on."
"Submit to me… Fallen Heart Flame."
(End of Chapter)
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