Lu Er strode from the room, hands tucked casually into his pockets. The scent of old stone and polished wood filled the castle's air, a stark contrast to the tension they had just left behind.

  The sole of his boot scraped against the chill flagstone; the sound echoed louder than it should have.

  Cai Hong hesitated half a heartbeat before falling into step behind him, his own movements less assured.

  One by one, the others followed, a silent procession moving under the unspoken weight of Xia Sahui’s authority. The conditioning of their own clan-bound lives ran deep, a reflexive obedience etched into them. Even as Unawakened, they moved like subordinates.

  Had it not been for that ingrained fear, they might have challenged Hua Yong already.

  At the room’s entrance, Cai Hong scooped up his discarded bag and hurried to catch up with Lu Er. The castle corridors were wide and dimly lit by various light artifacts embedded in the walls.

  “Hey Lu Zhiheng, why do you keep talking to her like that?” Cai Hong asked, his voice a hushed murmur against the echoing quiet.

  “Like what?”

  “You know, that tone. It's like you don't respect her or follow her at all."

  Lu Er let out a soft, derisive laugh. “And why would I obey her?”

  “Because she’s a scion! Not to mention, we’ve all taken the Heaven and Earth Vow. We’re destined to be subordinates to a scion sooner or later.”

  "Haha. No.” Lu Er’s pace didn’t falter. “First, I am not her subordinate. We’re in some sort of alliance you can say. She’s coercing me. So yes, I’ll act like I own the place. Second, I am also a Ranked. I’m not scared of her.”

  “What?!” The exclamation burst from Zhu Yan, the first word she had spoken since the meeting. Her usual quiet composure shattered.

  The other five, including Cai Hong, had the same stunned reaction, but they kept silent, their eyes widening as the implication settled over them.

  Xu Qin stared at him with wide eyes, her lips parted slightly, twitching.

  A Ranked? An actual practitioner, existing above the Awakened, let alone their own Unawakened selves.

  She quickly composed herself, but her mind had already sprinted into the shrubbery of theories: 'A Ranked? That's almost equivalent to a scion—no, many scions aren't even Ranked.

  My soul trial was so weird. I passed easily but never received a Soul Gift. Could it be that he is a son of an ultra-rich merchant? Why haven't I heard of him?

  No, he must be an illegitimate heir of some major family—that's what I've read in storybooks.

  Right, this seems like the perfect setup!

  His father must be Xia Hong, who abandoned his mother. Now he's come to prove himself, getting close to Lady Xia so he can reach Instructor Xia. Somewhere in the middle, he'll fall in love with her—wait, but doesn't that make them half-siblings?

  Forbidden love?

  No, wait, he doesn't look like Instructor Xia.

  Maybe he took after his mother…'

  Her imagination ran wild, drifting further and further away from the truth.

  “Are you sure you’re not just making things up?” Cai Hong asked, his voice laced with blunt skepticism.

  Lu Er shrugged. “Believe what you want. It’s your prerogative.”

  “That… I’ll have to give you credit, that’s incredible. But I have another question: how did you clear the soul trial? When I completed my soul trial, I thought that I had cleared it but I never received any gift, do you have any idea?”

  "No. Actually, I had the same question, even I don’t know how I cleared it. It was very strange." Lu Er sneaked a glance toward Zhu Yan and the others.

  'This girl was silent the whole time, and only after I revealed my status are they baffled. Hehe, they must be thinking: how can a peasant like me be this strong and affluent? Sigh, these young maidens. I'm going to break a lot of hearts.'

  ‘Your delusion is truly commendable,’ Lu Yi sniped within their shared mind. ‘People don’t fall for someone so easily, you know, especially with a personality like yours. And let’s be honest, you’re not that handsome.’

  ‘Oh, and they definitely fall for you, don’t they?’ Lu Er shot back.

  ‘That’s because I am different.’

  ‘We are literally the same person.’

  ‘How many times must you repeat that?’

  ‘Until I win.’

  ‘I refuse to engage in such a pointless debate.’ Lu Yi’s spectral form—inside the mind—lounged sideways as if on an imaginary bed, propping his head up with a hand, radiating smug indifference.

  Alas, if only Lu Er had known why Zhu Yan had remained silent earlier, his opinion would have been vastly different.

  ‘Why does this talkative, try-hard princess get a soul gift, while I get nothing?’ Zhu Yan seethed internally. ‘Hmph! He must be drowning in luck, to get a soul gift. The world is never fair.’ Unaware of his true achievements, she chose to believe Lu Zhiheng was simply born with a golden luck, fueling her resentment.

  The other boys feigned nonchalance, but jealousy simmered beneath their carefree expressions. Despite their internal turmoil, none offered a single word of appreciation, each pretending like it wasn't a big deal.

  Lu Er arrived at a door and pushed it open without ceremony.

  “Whoa, whoa! That’s my room!” Xu Qin protested, but she was a second too late. He was already inside.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  The room was spacious, larger than any bedroom he’d occupied in the game, save for the meeting room from earlier. It was sparsely decorated, with personal effects scattered here and there, but was mostly stocked with supplies: dried food, water skins, and miscellaneous gear. He tossed his own bag into a corner and flopped onto the bed. It was a large double bed, big enough to accommodate three people easily and even then, was surprisingly soft and inviting.

  “I’ll sleep here. The rest of you can figure it out amongst yourselves.”

  “Hey! That’s my room!” Xu Qin shouted, her face flushing.

  “So? I’m tired. I need to sleep.”

  “Do you take me for a fool? You—you pervert! You’re going to sleep on a girl’s bed?! What indecent things are you planning?”

  “And? What’s your point? Cai Hong and I will take this room. You can share with Zhu Yan. You’re both girls; it’ll be fine.”

  ‘What?! He’s going to do things with Cai Hong? On my bed? And he wants me to do it with Zhu Yan, too! This guy is truly a shameless degenerate. No wonder he’s destined for forbidden love affairs in the future!’

  “Ugh… I want my bed back,” Xu Qin whined, her defiance crumbling into a plea. “Can’t you go somewhere else? Please?”

  “Hey, why the dramatics? I’m not taking the entire room. Cai Hong needs a place to sleep, too. Don’t you, Cai Hong?” Lu Er looked pointedly at his friend.

  “Ah! Yes—yes, of course!” Cai Hong stammered, catching on. “I work for Lady Xia. How could I possibly sleep on the ground floor with the others?”

  “Besides,” Lu Er continued, “Chen Yuan will have to bunk with his brother. Everyone is sacrificing space. You’re not alone.” He had already counted the rooms, there were only five on this floor. With three new additions and Xia Sahui claiming one for herself, accommodations had to be shared. Yao Ming was the sole exception, retaining his private room.

  "Then go to Yao Ming's room!"

  "Are you suggesting one of us should sleep with Zhu Yan? I don't have a problem, but I think she will. You can ask her. Given her quiet personality, I doubt she'll agree."

  Xu Qin sighed in defeat. She knew the logic was sound; she simply stood no chance of winning this argument.

  “Fine!”

  She trudged out of the room, her steps heavy with resignation. ‘I’ll remember this… and that bastard Yao Ming, why does he get to sleep alone? I’ll remember that, too.’

  The other three boys and Zhu Yan had already retreated to their respective rooms. Only Lu Zhiheng and Cai Hong remained.

  Cai Hong lingered in the doorway, cheeks mottled scarlet and pale. “I—uh—thank you?”

  “Suit yourself man.” Lu Er said, lying back. The bed was already furnished with a soft mattress, pillows, and clean sheets. “Turn off the light artifact and find your own blanket. I’ll share the bed, but not the blanket. I don’t share my blankets with men.”

  “Uh—" Cai Hong didn’t know how to reply to that, it wasn’t like he wanted to share the blanket. Sleeping on a bed in a safe place without worrying about someone killing him in his sleep was reward enough. He wasn’t going to complain after all that.

  The daytime temperature was mild, but the castle’s stone interior grew chilly at night. Lu Er quickly curled into the blanket, which was pleasantly warm and carried a faint, floral scent.

  A wave of cozy contentment washed over him, but it was swiftly overwhelmed by the exhaustion, pulling him into a deep, worry-free slumber. The castle was guarded by Unawakened in shifts; he didn’t know how the original five had managed it, but their competence was evident. In just a few days they had assembled the group, managed to keep away from infighting, and made everyone work together in a proper system. This was not something a group of Unawakened would be able to achieve normally. It was commendable.

  But for now, all Lu Er cared about was sleep.

  Cai Hong watched Lu Er snuggle deeply into the blanket. Shaking his head, he retrieved his own blanket from his bag—he’d already gathered all his belongings when they entered the castle.

  The light sphere glimmered overhead, a captive star. He extinguished the softly glowing light artifact, plunging the room into darkness, and settled onto his side of the bed.

  …

  Day 5 in the Game.

  Morning,

  Lu Er looked at the survivor count hovering in his vision.

  [254/500]

  The realm had shrunk considerably. It was likely some had perished due to the destruction of the realm.

  Light slid through arrow-slits like thin, sharp spears. Lu Er sat leisurely on the floor, tossing and catching a palm-sized flask of crimson glass. Inside it, something sluggish—too thick for liquid, too sullen for gas—rolled like a sleepless eye.

  “So, what’s the grand strategy?” He asked.

  Chen Tao watched him with poorly concealed discontent but held his tongue. “Based on their speed, I’d estimate they’ll pass through the western ruins by afternoon.”

  “Are you certain we’re ready for this fight?” Xu Qin interjected, worry lining her face. “Look at their resources compared to ours. They have superior armor, a fortress, and the home-ground advantage.

  What do we have? Only comparable artifacts and numbers. Especially considering these,” She gestured to the flask in Lu Zhiheng’s hand “exploding artifacts. They give them a significant edge.”

  Lu Er studied the object.

  [Blood Fusion Exploding Flask: A volatile concoction housed in glass. Detonates 5 seconds after contact with the blood of a living human.]

  ‘Heh. Finally got my hands on one of you, too,’ he thought, admiring the intricate craft. It wasn’t his, but as part of the team, he could at least appreciate it. The last one he had seen was some sort of solid sphere while this one was a flask activated by blood.

  “It’s not a matter of if we’re ready,” Cai Hong added. “We only have one chance to attack, no?”

  “Precisely,” Chen Tao said, pointing to a rough map etched onto the table. “That’s why we must move now. See their route? They haven’t stopped. Fortunately, they’re moving slowly to conserve essence stones for the mountains, but they’re still advancing.

  We’ll take this longer, circular path. They’re ahead, so a direct approach is suicide. We’ll set an ambush here.” His finger landed on a cluster of high ruins near the temple’s flight path.

  “The main problem is ingress. The temple floats above the ground. Remaining on the surface is meaningless and dangerous, since they could simply land the temple on us. We can’t use the flasks recklessly, as we risk damaging the temple, which we need later.

  Our only viable option is to hide within these upper ruins and jump directly onto the temple deck. It will require good stealth. If we are detected, we’ll fail before we even begin.”

  “Correct.” Xia Sahui’s voice cut through the planning, her first contribution to the conversation. “Very well. Let’s proceed. How many Unawakened are under our command?”

  “Twenty-three, after the recent losses, some running away and new ones joining—” Chen Tao began.

  Knock. Knock.

  “Enter.”

  A young man peered in. “Lady Xia, I’ve gathered all the Unawakened in the main hall as you asked.”

  “Good. Let’s go.” She stood, her movement fluid and commanding, and led the way out. Everyone fell in behind her.

  As they moved, Chen Tao approached Lu Er. “My flask.”

  “Here, it’s not like I was going to steal it,” Lu Er said, handing it over.

  Chen Tao took the artifact without a word and walked ahead. Lu Er shrugged and followed the group.

  They soon reached the second-floor balcony overlooking the great hall. Below, a crowd of twenty-three Unawakened milled about, a low hum of anxious whispers filling the cavernous space.

  “Look, it’s Xia Sahui of the Xia family!” Someone called out. A hush fell immediately, and all eyes turned upward.

  “Chen Yuan is standing behind her. Looks like she’s the leader now,” one whispered.

  “Why wouldn’t she be the leader, you idiot? She’s a scion! Now shut up, she’s going to speak!”

  Xia Sahui’s voice, clear and resonant, carried effortlessly across the hall. “You must be wondering why I’ve gathered you all here. The reason is no great secret: today, we attack the temple.”

  A ripple of tension passed through the crowd.

  “You all know the primary reason you were gathered here was to secure the temple, to ensure you rank within the top fifty and achieve Awakening. However, the temple is currently occupied by Hua Yong, scion of the Hua family. Therefore, I will lead you. We will take what is rightfully ours. But to do so, we must fight.”

  She paused, letting her words sink in. “All of you, under the banner of Xia, will enter this battle.

  We will see this through to the end, together. You will be divided into groups, each with a designated leader. They will inform you of your specific roles and positions.

  Remember this: you answer to your leader, and your leaders answer to me. Betrayal or failure to comply with orders will be punishable by death. If you do not wish to follow me, you may leave. Now.”

  The atmosphere grew taut and heavy. For a long moment, nobody moved.

  “Good.”

  Lu Er watched from behind. ‘Just like her father, eh?’

  She turned to the five original leaders standing behind her. “Divide the subordinates as you see fit. Take as many as you can effectively manage. You must brief them thoroughly and ensure they perform their duties flawlessly.”

  They nodded and immediately descended the stairs to begin their work.

  Cai Hong took a step forward, but Lu Er’s hand shot out, stopping him.

  “Not you.”

  “Huh? Why not?”

  “What do you mean, ‘Why not’? Do you know anyone down there?”

  “Uh… no?”

  “Exactly. How do you plan to command them? Those five have already established their networks. You have nothing. You’ll only make a fool of yourself. The choice is yours.”

  Upon hearing this, Cai Hong quickly retreated, standing silently in his original spot.

  Lu Er shook his head slightly and turned to Xia Sahui.

  “By the way,” he asked, his tone casual yet pointed, “what do you think the chances are that Hua Yong possesses a soul gift?”

  Xia Sahui met his gaze and replied, “High.”