Fifteen Levels in One Go, Who Could Refuse Such a Betrothal Gift?

Late at night, Hu Liena sat by the window of her bedchamber.

With one leg curled against her chest and her chin resting on her knee, she watched the moonlight spill through the half-open casement, casting a glow across her profile.

Her fingers rose instinctively to touch the center of her brow.

The pale purple Nine-Tailed Fox Seal remained there, slightly feverish, radiating a steady, persistent warmth.

The images from that day surfaced in her mind once more.

Purple-gold light poured down from a rift in the void, and a Sanskrit chant, so grand it felt as though it might crush the soul, echoed between heaven and earth—

"By the ancient covenant of the Qingqiu Fox Clan, with the Heavenly Dao as witness and the fox kin as surety, I choose the Martial Soul Hall Saintess, Hu Liena, to be my dao companion."

Hu Liena remembered her initial reaction.

It was not shock, nor fear, but a pure, irrational rage.

She had charged forward, unleashing her third soul skill, intent on burning that marriage contract to ash.

Instead, her fox fire was swallowed whole by the dao patterns, and she was sent flying, her fox ears popping out uncontrollably and drooping in shame before thousands of onlookers.

In that moment, she felt she had never been more humiliated in her life.

Bibi Dong's words still rang in her ears—"Whether you like it or not, you have already become entangled with that Shen Yichen."

When her teacher spoke those words, her right hand was still wreathed in black smoke.

Her five fingers were swollen and distorted, with dark red blood seeping from beneath her fingernails.

Hu Liena moved her fingers away from the Nine-Tailed Fox Seal and gripped her own wrist.

Three days and three nights of bloodline awakening; the Demon Fox had evolved into a Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox, and her soul power had surged from level sixty-nine to eighty-four. A fifteen-level leap—such a thing had never happened in the history of Martial Soul Hall.

Her spiritual essence had been cleansed from top to bottom, the lingering evil from the Capital of Slaughter wiped away without a trace, leaving her mental world impossibly clear.

Every fox-type soul beast in the Star Dou Great Forest had prostrated themselves in worship the moment her bloodline awakened.

All of this had been bestowed upon her by a man she had never even met.

Hu Liena looked up at the moon outside her window.

The moonlight was beautiful tonight, impossibly round, casting a cold, white sheen over the glazed tiles of the eaves.

What did he actually look like?

As this thought emerged, the tips of Hu Liena's ears suddenly grew hot.

She subconsciously raised her hands to cover the fox ears peeking through her hair, only to find they were already burning to the touch.

A translucent, pale pink flush spread from the tips of her ears all the way to the roots.

Fine, so I'm embarrassed, it's not like anyone can see.

She let go of her ears, allowing her mind to wander.

A man who could command the power of the Heavenly Dao, who could produce a Primordial Spirit Bead—a treasure that defied the heavens—as a betrothal gift, and who had remained in seclusion for a century yet still possessed the appearance of a youth.

He shouldn't be ugly.

No, not just "not ugly."

A man who could propose in such a manner, dressed in white as pure as snow, with an otherworldly aura, standing there as if he were a world unto himself—Hu Liena didn't know when this image had taken root in her mind.

She shook her head vigorously, trying to banish the thought.

It was useless; as soon as she shook it away, it reappeared.

What exactly was this ancient covenant of the Qingqiu Fox Clan?

The way the turbid energy had condensed into the phantom of a nine-tailed fox before dissipating—she had scrutinized the contents of that marriage contract countless times.

What kind of agreement had the Celestial Master lineage made with the Qingqiu Fox Clan ten thousand years ago, such that after ten millennia, he would seek out the last descendant of the Qingqiu bloodline and offer eighteen layers of betrothal gifts to marry her?

This was not a matter of simply finding someone to settle for.

"He chose me."

Hu Liena whispered to herself, her voice so soft she barely heard it.

As the words left her lips, a tingling sensation surged in her heart, spreading through her veins to her limbs.

The Nine-Tailed Fox Seal on her brow pulsed in rhythm.

Knock, knock, knock.

The sound of knocking at the door.

Hu Liena jolted upright, her six fox tails snapping straight, her ears swiveling toward the entrance.

"Who is it?"

"Me."

Xie Yue's voice came from outside, muffled and heavy with sleep.

Hu Liena let out a breath, reaching up to smooth her disheveled hair and tucking her burning ear tips back into the strands.

"Come in."

The door pushed open, and Xie Yue walked in carrying a celadon bowl. Steam rose from the white soup within, carrying the faint, refreshing scent of lotus seeds.

He swept a glance over the windowsill, then turned his gaze to Hu Liena's face.

"Still not asleep this late?"

"I can't sleep."

Xie Yue didn't press her, simply handing over the bowl.

"Lotus seed soup, for calming the nerves. The imperial kitchen closed long ago, so I brewed it myself. The heat control is a bit off, just make do with it."

Hu Liena took the bowl and lowered her head to take a sip.

It was sweet.

The lotus seeds were boiled until soft, melting the moment they touched her tongue, while the fragrance of red dates mingled with the crisp sweetness of rock sugar, spreading through her mouth.

The heat control was a bit off?

It was clear he had watched over the stove for a long time.

Hu Liena took another sip, holding the bowl in silence.

Xie Yue sat on the chair opposite her, crossing his legs and draping an arm over the back of the chair.

The moonlight shone on his face, highlighting the heavy dark circles under his eyes—he had kept watch for three days and three nights, and hadn't even caught up on sleep since returning.

The two remained silent for a while.

Xie Yue spoke first.

"Nana."

"Hm."

"Are you now—"

He paused, weighing his words:

"Still hating that Shen Yichen?"

Hu Liena's hand holding the bowl faltered.

She wanted to say she hated him; instinctively, reflexively, she wanted to say she hated him, but the word reached her lips and simply wouldn't come out.

What was there to hate?

Hating that he had forced the marriage contract? Hating that he had domineeringly nailed her life to a Purple Gold Scroll?

Yet he had also granted her bloodline awakening, given her a transformative Martial Soul Evolution, and provided a leap of fifteen levels in soul power.

Every effect of that Primordial Spirit Bead had precisely matched her needs.

It wasn't a casual handout; it was done with genuine care.

"I don't hate him anymore."

The moment those words left her lips, Hu Liena's face burned.

She hurriedly lowered her head to take a large gulp of the lotus seed soup, using the rim of the bowl to hide half her face.

"He is indeed domineering, setting the engagement without so much as a word. Anyone would be furious at that."

She stared at the remaining lotus seeds in the bowl, her voice dropping lower.

"But he didn't hurt me. From beginning to end, everything he did was to help me."

Xie Yue tilted his head to look at her.

Under the moonlight, his sister's cheeks were flushed with a faint red, and the tips of her ears peeked out from her hair—that shade of pink was impossible to hide.

The corner of Xie Yue's mouth twitched.

"I've noticed you've been distracted these past few days."

He spoke slowly, deliberately drawing out his tone:

"Are you thinking about that Shen Yichen?"

"Brother!"

Hu Liena looked up and glared at him, her eyes clearly saying, "Try saying one more word and see what happens."

But those two patches of crimson burned from her cheeks all the way to the base of her neck.

"What nonsense are you spouting?"

She turned her face away, her speech noticeably faster:

"I'm just curious. Merely curious. I don't even know what he looks like, how could I possibly be thinking of him?"

Though Hu Liena said this, her eyes betrayed her.

As she gazed at the bright moonlight outside the window, a sliver of anticipation sprouted in her heart—an anticipation for that mysterious Celestial Master to arrive in Martial Soul City soon, so that she might finally meet him.