After returning from Suotuo City to Heaven Dou City, Chen Jieqi continued his cultivation at Heaven Dou Royal Academy,
honing formations and tactics with the Huangdou team and improving his Soul Power,
while quietly deepening his ties with Xue Qinghe.
They had tested the waters once before, shortly after he first arrived in Heaven Dou, leaving an impression on each other,
but now, as they met again, their unspoken understanding proved more intriguing than any forced warmth.
The seeds planted in Suotuo City needed time to take root,
and the game in Heaven Dou City required even more patience.
Yet one piece on this board proved far harder to control than Chen Jieqi had expected.
She had infiltrated the Heaven Dou Imperial Family more than a decade ago and had long impersonated Xue Qinghe. Her heart had grown as hard as iron, and she never trusted anyone easily.
Her original purpose in approaching Chen Jieqi had been simple.
His talent was monstrous, and the exceptionally pure Holy Light Power within him could actually resonate deeply with her Angel Martial Soul.
Only Martial Souls with supreme divine attributes of the same rank could produce such a resonance. It was proof enough that his origins were extraordinary.
Someone like him had to be either brought under her control or watched closely. She absolutely could not leave him as a future threat.
Every time they met, they maintained just the right distance—not too close, not too far—with a tacit understanding between them.
They discussed the political situation in Heaven Dou, Soul Master cultivation systems, and the distribution of powers across the continent.
In every exchange, Xue Qinghe hid a probe, seeking to uncover his stance, his background, and the limits of his strength.
But there was one thing she had never said aloud, though she was more certain of it than any of her suspicions:
The stir and resonance between Martial Souls were always mutual.
At their first meeting, her Angel Martial Soul had stirred at the source of his Holy Light. The response had been clear and powerful, impossible to fake.
She knew that with Chen Jieqi's strength, he must have sensed it too.
But the real Xue Qinghe possessed only the ordinary Swan Martial Soul passed down through the Heaven Dou Imperial Family. It could never have resonated with Holy Light.
He must have known that she wasn't the real Xue Qinghe.
That thought had occupied her mind for an entire month.
But he didn't call her out, and she didn't expose him. A silent game of unspoken understanding quietly unfolded between them.
After a month together, Xue Qinghe's heart was no longer as calm as it had been at the beginning.
Chen Jieqi's Holy Light repeatedly stirred her Angel Martial Soul, and made her see for the first time that
her talent and Martial Soul were not unique in all the world.
The absolute confidence she had long rooted in being "one of a kind" had developed a tiny crack. She didn't want to admit it, but she couldn't ignore it.
Once, after Chen Jieqi left, she realized she had stood by the window and watched his retreating figure for a moment longer.
Just a moment. She hadn't even noticed it herself.
Another time, he had said, "Your complexion doesn't look well today, Your Highness."
She had paused.
It had been a long time since anyone had cared about her complexion. Everyone only cared about the attitude of "His Highness the Crown Prince."
These little things were like grains of sand, piling up one by one until, without her noticing, they had formed a small mound.
To suppress this stir in her heart and stabilize her realm, she had recently pushed herself to cultivate faster, rushing things.
On top of that, impersonating Xue Qinghe required her to constantly suppress the source aura of her Angel Martial Soul, placing an enormous strain on her mind.
The two burdens compounded, and the Angel Soul Power within her finally began to grow unstable.
That day, Xue Qinghe visited again.
As soon as she sat down, Chen Jieqi noticed something was off.
Her breathing was half a beat faster than usual. Her fingertips curled unconsciously for a moment, then she forced them to relax.
He didn't point it out. He simply slowed as he poured the tea, and when he pushed the cup toward her, his fingers lingered on its rim for a breath.
Xue Qinghe took the cup, and her fingertips trembled almost imperceptibly.
The next moment, the Soul Power she had been forcibly suppressing finally found an outlet.
A faint golden glow slipped from her sleeve, vanishing in an instant, so fast it was almost impossible to catch.
But both of them saw it.
The air froze.
Xue Qinghe's fingers clenched hard. A vein stood out on her forehead, and her breath stopped for half a beat.
A bone-chilling killing intent flashed through her eyes—not fear, but a decision made after weighing everything to the limit.
If he showed even the slightest suspicion, even the faintest change in expression, she would strike at once and eliminate the threat for good.
Her secret could never get out. No one was an exception.
Chen Jieqi raised his eyes and looked at her calmly. There was no suspicion or fear in them.
He wasn't even making a show of staying calm. His gaze was so clear it seemed as if nothing had happened.
Then he lifted a hand. A gentle, utterly harmless Holy Light slowly flowed from it.
It passed silently over her, with no display, no probing touch,
and no attempt to restrain her. It simply soothed the restless Angel Soul Power within her with pure Holy Light,
and firmly pressed back the power that had nearly leaked out.
In an instant, the aura around Xue Qinghe settled completely, without a trace of anything amiss.
She stared at him, her killing intent not yet faded. But there was also a strange emotion in her eyes, one she hadn't had time to identify.
He had seen it. He knew what that golden glow meant. But he hadn't asked.
He hadn't fled, tried to use it against her, or even taken a second look.
He had simply and casually helped her press it back down, as if brushing a speck of dust from a table.
"Your Holy Light is very special."
Her voice remained steady as she maintained the refined bearing of the Heaven Dou Crown Prince.
But deep in her eyes, the lingering chill mingled with that strange emotion,
giving her words a deeper meaning that invited thought.
Chen Jieqi withdrew his hand, his expression calm, as if he had done nothing out of the ordinary.
"Holy Light takes no sides. It shines on life, quells conflict, and soothes wounds."
He paused, his gaze resting calmly on her face, his tone objective and indifferent.
"You don't have to stay tense all the time, Your Highness. When someone can see through you, you don't have to work so hard to keep up the act."
His words were neither flippant nor flirtatious, and showed no hint of taking her side. They were simply the objective observation of an onlooker.
Yet they were like a blunt knife, cutting straight through the hard shell she had worn for years.
"Someone who can see through you."
She couldn't remember how long it had been—or if she had ever heard those words before.
She was used to being feared, used, and regarded with suspicion. She was used to everyone focusing on her identity as the Crown Prince and the power behind her.
She was used to hiding three parts of the truth in every sentence and calculating three steps ahead after every expression.
But no one had ever seen the weariness beneath her disguise at a glance, while still giving her the dignity of not exposing her, coercing her, or trying to curry favor with her.
The place deep in her heart, sealed away for years and hard as iron, stirred faintly.
It didn't crack open. It only gained a hairline fracture.
She lowered her eyes, lifted her teacup, and took a sip, concealing that momentary lapse without a sign.
When she looked up again, she was once more the composed Heaven Dou Crown Prince.
But she knew that from now on, Chen Jieqi's labels in her heart—
"chess piece," "ally," and "variable"—
would be joined by a word she had never given anyone before:
"Special."
It wasn't a flutter of the heart. It was nowhere near that. But in a world built on profit and ruled by scheming,
those two words already carried considerable weight.
She set down her teacup, her tone returning to its usual refinement.
"I'll have people keep an eye on the Shrek group you asked me to look into. If there's any news, I'll send someone to tell you."
After a pause, she changed the subject, a trace of amusement glinting in her eyes.
"A few days ago, something interesting happened over in Suotuo City.
Shrek was attacked at night, but a mysterious expert came to their aid and drove off the attackers with a single blow.
Word has it that the person wielded a massive black hammer."
She deliberately stressed the words "massive black hammer," her eyes fixed on Chen Jieqi's face as she watched for his reaction.
There were plenty of Soul Masters who wielded hammers, but few could drive off their enemies with a single blow and send the Evil Soul Masters scattering.
She already had a suspicion, but she didn't pursue it.
If it really was that person, the child shouldn't be held responsible for the score.
Chen Jieqi's expression didn't change. He merely nodded slightly, as if the words "massive black hammer" hadn't affected him at all.
Xue Qinghe looked away and didn't press him.
These words were her response to the help he had given her today. She hadn't deliberately entrusted him with anything, placed her complete trust in him, or relied on him blindly.
There was simply a little personal approval and consideration between them, in addition to their mutual interests—not too much, not too little, just right.
Chen Jieqi nodded slightly and said no more.
The night breeze brushed his face as he watched Xue Qinghe leave.
A faint smile passed through his eyes—not one of pride, but of confirmation.
Some moves didn't need to be announced.
A month of testing, with both of them fully aware. At this point, they had found the perfect distance.