The Huo Clan's main hall smelled of old sandalwood, lingering incense ash, and the sharp metallic tang of barely concealed contempt.
Huo Xuanyang stepped through the wide red-lacquered doors with the relaxed, almost lazy stride of a man who had just discovered he was carrying a loaded weapon into a room full of people who still thought he was defenseless.
The hall was built to impress ancestors long dead and clansmen very much alive. Towering crimson pillars carved with coiling dragons supported a vaulted ceiling painted with fading constellations of spirit stars. Silk banners bearing the Huo family crest—a blazing sun encircled by black chains—hung limp in the still air. Floating qi lanterns cast soft amber glows across the polished black marble floor. At the far end, on a raised platform of dark jade, sat the elders in a semicircle of carved thrones. Their expressions ranged from bored indifference to thinly veiled disgust.
Younger clan members lined the walls in neat rows—disciples in training robes, minor branch family scions, a few favored servants. All eyes turned to him as he entered.
And in the very center of the hall, like a blade of living frost thrust into warm flesh, stood Su Qing霜.
She turned slowly, crimson ponytail swaying like a pendulum of blood-red silk. Height close to 170 cm, she carried herself with the regal poise of someone who had never once doubted her place above others. The outer robe was flowing crimson silk embroidered with white frost-lotus motifs and soaring phoenix feathers; beneath it, a tight white inner dress clung like a second skin, accentuating a narrow waist that flared dramatically into wide, womanly hips. Long, shapely legs peeked through high side slits whenever she shifted—toned, smooth, currently planted in a stance that radiated "I will freeze you where you stand if you so much as breathe wrong."
Her skin was flawless porcelain, almost luminescent under the qi lanterns, cool and perfect except for the faint icy-blue veins that shimmered beneath the surface when she channeled her Frost Dao. Ice-blue eyes—sharp, crystalline, almost silver in bright light—narrowed at him with practiced disdain. Full, naturally rosy lips pressed into a thin line of annoyance.
A thin veil of frost mist swirled lazily around her ankles, creeping outward in delicate tendrils that frosted the marble wherever she stood. The temperature in the hall dropped noticeably the moment she turned her full attention on him.
She looked at Huo Xuanyang the way one might look at a disappointing stain on expensive silk.
"So," she said, voice cool and cutting as midwinter wind over a frozen lake, "the cripple finally decided to crawl out of his hole."
The hall rippled with suppressed snickers from the younger disciples. Several elders exchanged glances but remained silent.
Huo Xuanyang stopped about five paces away. He tilted his head, letting his gaze travel—slowly, deliberately—from the silver phoenix hairpin pinning her high ponytail, down the elegant lines of her crimson-and-white robes, lingering just long enough on the dramatic curves hidden beneath to make a point, then back up to her face.
"Qing霜," he said, letting her name roll off his tongue like he was tasting something rare and expensive. "You look even more breathtaking up close. That frost aura of yours… it's doing interesting things to the temperature in here. Makes a man want to get closer just to warm up."
Her eyes widened a fraction—just a fraction—before narrowing again into twin blades of ice.
The tips of her ears turned the faintest shade of pink.
She noticed immediately.
Her hand twitched toward Bingfeng—the frost-enchanted longsword strapped to her waist—fingers curling around the hilt as though seriously considering drawing it right there in front of the elders and half the clan.
"You dare speak to me in such a vulgar manner?" Frost spread farther across the floor, thin cracks forming in the marble like spiderwebs. "A dantian-less worm who cannot even sense the flow of heaven-and-earth qi has the audacity to—"
"Audacity?" He took one deliberate step forward. The system chimed softly in his vision, pink-gold text floating like seductive neon.
**[Harem Target: Su Qing霜 – Compatibility: 68% (Tsundere Ice Type – High Yin Purity)]**
**[Current Emotional State: 74% irritation, 16% curiosity, 10% unacknowledged attraction]**
**[Hint: Tsunderes respond best when you acknowledge the fire hidden beneath the ice. Compliment her hidden heat directly. Risk of sword-drawing: 42%. Reward potential: High.]**
Huo Xuanyang's grin widened into something dangerously charming.
"I'm just being honest," he continued, voice dropping into a lower, more intimate register that carried just far enough for her to hear clearly. "Despite all the frost you're throwing around like it's going out of style, I can feel the warmth coming off you. It's… intoxicating. Like there's a volcano under all that ice, just waiting for someone to melt the surface."
The hall went deathly silent.
Su Qing霜's ears turned brighter pink. A faint flush crept down her neck, barely visible against her porcelain skin.
She opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.
"You—" she hissed, taking half a step forward. Frost exploded outward in a sudden pulse, coating the nearest pillars in thin ice. "How dare you speak to me as though I am some common—"
Before she could finish, Elder Huo Zhen cleared his throat with enough force to rattle the banners overhead.
"Enough of this farce," the elder said, stroking his long gray beard. His voice carried the weight of someone who had long ago decided that dignity was more important than truth. "Young Master Huo, you were summoned to explain your recent… absence from cultivation duties, and to face judgment for your continued inability to contribute to the clan."
Huo Xuanyang shrugged, eyes never leaving Su Qing霜.
"I've been busy," he said casually. "Cultivating."
More laughter—this time louder, more mocking.
"Cultivating?" Huo Tianlong, the tall, broad-shouldered cousin who had orchestrated the meridian-shattering "accident" two years earlier, stepped forward from the side ranks. His face twisted in contempt. "With what dantian? You can't even sense qi, let alone gather it. You're a disgrace to the Huo name—a living embarrassment."
Huo Xuanyang finally turned his gaze to Huo Tianlong.
The system pinged again, almost eagerly.
**[Side Mission Unlocked: First Face-Slap – Target: Huo Tianlong]**
**Objective: Defeat or publicly humiliate Huo Tianlong in front of witnesses.**
**Reward: 150 Harem Points + Temporary Strength & Qi Flow Buff (60 minutes) + Su Qing霜 Compatibility +10%**
**Bonus: If done in one move → Additional 100 Points + Random Technique Fragment**
Huo Xuanyang cracked his knuckles once, slowly.
"Wanna test that theory?" he asked mildly.
Huo Tianlong's face purpled with rage. "You dare challenge me? Fine. Sparring ring. Now."
The elders exchanged glances. No one stopped it. In the jianghu, face was currency—and trash had no right to speak back without consequences.
Su Qing霜 crossed her arms under her chest—unintentionally accentuating the generous curves hidden beneath her robes—and huffed.
"This should be quick," she muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Do try not to die too pathetically, cripple."
Huo Xuanyang winked at her as he walked past.
"Don't worry, darling," he said softly, just for her ears. "I'll make it entertaining."
The sparring ring was a wide circular platform of black granite in the central courtyard, surrounded by a growing crowd of disciples and servants who had heard the commotion. Huo Tianlong stood opposite, already circulating qi—Qi Condensation Layer 8, with a faint crimson flame aura flickering around his fists.
He sneered. "I'll end this in three moves. Then perhaps the elders will finally allow the annulment to proceed without further embarrassment."
Huo Xuanyang rolled his shoulders, feeling the familiar ache of blocked meridians—and then the sudden rush as the system overrode it.
**[Newbie Buff Activated: Temporary Strength Amplification + Forced Qi Flow Correction – Cost: Overdraft 80 Harem Points (Payable after first successful conquest)]**
Warmth flooded his meridians like sunlight breaking through storm clouds. For the first time since waking up in this body, qi moved freely—sluggish at first, then stronger, cleaner.
He cracked his neck once.
"Three moves?" he said lightly. "I'll finish it in one."
Huo Tianlong roared and charged, right fist wrapped in blazing crimson flame qi, aimed straight at Huo Xuanyang's chest.
The attack was fast—fast enough that most of the onlookers gasped.
Huo Xuanyang sidestepped lazily, almost bored, then drove an open palm straight into Huo Tianlong's sternum.
The impact was not loud. It was deep.
A sound like a thunderclap muffled inside a barrel.
Huo Tianlong's eyes bulged. His body folded around the palm like wet paper. Then he flew—backwards, fast, trailing smoke and flame qi that fizzled uselessly in the air.
He crashed through a stone pillar at the edge of the courtyard, shattering it into rubble, and embedded halfway into the far wall with a crunch of masonry and bone.
Silence.
Absolute, stunned silence.
Huo Tianlong coughed once, twice—blood flecked his lips—then slumped, unconscious.
The disciples stared.
The elders stared.
Su Qing霜 stared.
Her frost mist had stopped spreading. Instead, tiny beads of condensation formed on her cheeks and neck—not from cold, but from the sudden heat that had risen in her own body.
Huo Xuanyang flexed his hand, feeling the new qi circulating cleanly through his meridians for the first time. It felt… good. Really good.
"Oops," he said, loud enough for the entire courtyard to hear. "Guess my meridians aren't so blocked anymore."
He turned slowly to face the elders.
"Anyone else want to test the theory?"
No one moved.
The system chimed happily in his vision, pink-gold text sparkling.
**[First Face-Slap Completed!]**
**Reward: 150 Harem Points + Temporary Buff Extended (60 minutes) + Su Qing霜 Compatibility +12% (Now 80%)**
**[Bonus Achieved: One-Move Victory → +100 Points + Random Technique Fragment Unlocked: "Blazing Palm Echo" (Low-grade yang strike amplification)]**
**[New Mission Update: Invite Su Qing霜 to a private "discussion" tonight. Success chance increased by 35% due to face-slap momentum.]**
Huo Xuanyang met Su Qingfrost's eyes across the ruined courtyard.
She looked away first—ears bright pink, frost mist flickering uncertainly around her like it didn't know whether to retreat or advance.
He smiled.
Tonight was going to be very interesting.