When Seraphine and Echo returned to the viewing platform, several elders were already seated, their faces dark with barely contained fury. They’d all witnessed that bastard Xu Zhuoli’s shameless intimidation display earlier—equal parts frustrated and furious. Frustrated because the old coot’s advanced age had pushed him into the Soul Transformation stage, making him untouchable for now. Furious because he’d dared to threaten Seraphine in broad daylight. “Palace Lord, should we request Elder Si to emerge from seclusion?” one elder whispered. I perked up at that. Elder Si? Siyi? “That’s my aunt who raised me.” Seraphine explained softly. “She’s also Siyi’s master.” Seraphine smiled at Echo’s reaction before turning back to the elder. “Aunt Si sustained heavy injuries during the campaign against the Nine Heavens Sect years ago. She’s still recovering—no need to disturb her over something this trivial.” The elder bowed respectfully. “Please be cautious, Palace Lord.” Seraphine: “Don’t worry.” After that elder had stepped away and the area cleared, Seraphine leaned slightly toward Echo and called her name. Echo immediately responded, turning her head. The beautiful face beside her was so close she could see every lash fluttering softly, a smile glimmering in her eyes. Seraphinecasually rested a hand on Echo’s shoulder, placing her chin on the back of it, and in her lazy, low voice murmured once more, “Echo.” I was genuinely confused. My hands came together automatically, opening like a clamshell to project a holographic interface. Inside, my silver matchstick avatar scratched its head under a floating question mark. Since I couldn’t exactly manifest question marks in public, I settled for the head-scratching gesture. “How may I assist you?” I asked in my most professional customer service voice. Seraphine’s eyes narrowed with amusement. “Why were you so quiet on the way back?” “What were you thinking about?” If Seraphine really wanted to know, I could show her. I cupped my hands again, this time displaying a conversation log. Seraphine leaned slightly closer, lowering her gaze to read. Main System: “Greetings, Golden Finger System Echo. How may I assist you?” Me: “Regarding the endorsement opportunities, have any new commission fees been generated?” Main System: “Oh? Are you short on points? No new products have been released yet.” Me: “When might new products become available?” Main System: “Still in development. The earliest new release is scheduled for 156 days from now at 6:00 PM sharp.” Me: “Please prioritize new product development.” Main System: “Hahaha! You really are desperate for points. While I can’t break protocol and send you a large sum, I can manage this much.” The log showed Echo receiving a small data transfer at the bottom. “How many points did Main System give you?” Seraphine asked curiously. I visibly deflated, my eyebrows drooping. “Dejection. Main System gave me one hundred points.” “One hundred points buys exactly one small ice pop” Seraphine gave a beat, couldn’t help but let out a ‘pfft’ of laughter, thinking that the Main System is also a wonderful system. I tilted my head, watching Seraphine laugh against my shoulder. The phoenix crown atop her head trembled slightly, its ruby inlays catching the light in prismatic flashes. Despite my monetary concerns, I found myself smiling too. When her laughter subsided, Seraphine asked gently, “What do you want to buy?” She paused, sitting up straighter with sudden alarm. “Wait—you’re not planning to purchase some divine weapon that could send Xu Zhuoli straight to his grave, are you?” “Mm.” I said honestly, “I can’t afford that anymore.” “I want to exchange points for cultivation levels.” Seraphine tapped her cheek thoughtfully, studying Echo with those perceptive eyes. She’d casually asked Echo about this once before, back in the jade house beneath Chongshan Immortal Palace. That’s when Echo had explained how her cultivation level converted from accumulated points. Now Echo was just another broke system, unable to afford power-ups. Instead of sympathy, Seraphine’s mouth curved into a mischievous smile. She reached out and tapped Echo’s nose with one finger. “Will you dare challenge people to duels so carelessly in the future?” I didn’t answer immediately. Instead, I gathered Nine Heavens into my arms and stared directly toward the Crimson Thunder Sword Sect’s viewing platform through the gauze curtains. My gaze was steady, cold, and unwavering. Seraphine fought back another smile. “And this is……?” “I am releasing killing intent.” I explained matter-of-factly. “Like you demonstrated earlier.” “Pft.” Seraphine shook her head with amusement, rising to extend her hand toward Echo. “Since you’ve chosen to be human, don’t waste your natural talent. Come—I’ll take you to cultivate.” “We can improve your cultivation without spending points.” Points would make the process faster, and they represented my legitimate earnings rather than unearned benefits. I was still terrible at sword flourishes, but I pressed my lips together and slowly stood, placing my hand in hers. Seraphine’s fingers closed around mine with gentle firmness. “Cultivate properly.” Seraphine said softly, “So you can protect me.” That logic was sound. My eyes lit up with renewed purpose as I followed her toward Phoenix Roost Peak’s cultivation chamber. The cultivation room sat directly above Luanyang Palace’s spiritual vein. No decorative elements cluttered the space—only carved formation arrays covered every surface. The Spirit-Gathering Array rotated slowly, drawing ambient spiritual energy inward. Meditation cushions rested in the Spirit-Gathering Array. “Remember the spiritual vein technique?” Seraphine asked. I gave her a thumbs-up. “The cultivation manual?” I immediately pulled up my interface, displaying the text version of the Sword Immortal Arts for her review. Seraphine smoothed her sleeves and returned the thumbs-up gesture. This was the first time I’d seen her make that gesture—I was so delighted I couldn’t help but touch her finger. “The spiritual energy here is abundant.” Seraphine explained. “I’ll place a spirit heart within the Spirit-Gathering Array. With its assistance, cultivation efficiency doubles.” Seraphine opened her storage ring and withdrew a spiritual containment box, but when she lifted the lid, she froze. I leaned forward, getting most of my head in her field of vision. Seraphine gently moved my head aside with a hand under my chin, frowning. “Where’s the spirit heart?” She’d collected spirit hearts from both the Chongshan secret realm and Grandmother Xue’s legacy—two priceless treasures stored in a spirit qi-isolation box. Now only one remained, glowing with soft moonlight. “Was it eaten?” I suggested. I pulled up two interface panels showing images of both spirit hearts. After scanning and comparing, I confirmed: “This is the one from Chongshan secret realm.” Seraphine suddenly remembered her earlier suspicions about the spirit heart gaining intelligence back in the secret realm. With everything that had happened since returning to Luanyang Palace, she’d completely forgotten! She picked up the remaining spirit heart and interrogated it directly. “Did you devour the other spirit heart?” The spirit heart remained perfectly still, as if it were nothing more than an ordinary stone that happened to emit spiritual mist. “Brothers from the same root,” I intoned dramatically, “why harm each other so hastily?” The spirit heart maintained its mountain-like stillness, releasing spiritual energy in cloud-like wisps. The Spirit-Gathering Array beneath their feet became redundant as dense spiritual energy threatened to condense into actual rain. Seraphine laughed coldly, tossing the spirit heart into the Spirit-Gathering Array with the casual disdain of someone discarding a roadside pebble rather than a priceless treasure. “One spirit heart can birth an entire spiritual vein.” she said slowly. “Spiritual veins produce spirit stones. LuanyangPalace has only two spiritual veins total. You just consumed half our palace’s worth in one bite!” I opened my points interface and let out a small “ah” of realization. “Shame.” Money’s importance only becomes clear when you need it. As a system, I’d always viewed points as meaningless numbers, completing tasks simply because Main System commanded it. But now…… I couldn’t afford half a palace. Maybe two roof tiles, enough to curl up under when I needed to transform into my sphere form. I touched the orb at my waist absently. The spirit heart maintained its innocent act, as if the other spirit heart had simply evaporated through no fault of its own. What did any of this have to do with one small, innocent spirit heart? Seraphine crossed her arms, discovering she truly couldn’t do anything about it. The realization made her even more irritated. “Fine. Cultivate first. I need to check on the arena situation.” I looked up in surprise. “I’ll be here alone?” My expression grew serious. “Xu Zhuoli is still out there.” Seraphine pressed her finger against Echo’s shoulder, stopping her attempt to follow. “Senior Sister Lanzhi is present. She won’t allow Xu Zhuoli to attack me openly. Don’t play your little ‘I send you, you send me’ game with me. Stay here and cultivate properly.” Seraphine’s voice grew softer, almost shy, as she looked away. “Besides, others can only protect me temporarily. You…… you need to protect me always.” Without waiting for Echo’s response—though she probably knew what her expression would be—Seraphine headed for the door. Just before leaving, she loosened her grip on something at her wrist. Error dropped down and slithered into the cultivation room, tail swishing. The dragon wanted to benefit from the spiritual energy too. “Watch over her.” Seraphine instructed. Error would handle it! The dragon transformed into its true form, instantly filling the cultivation chamber. It coiled around the Spirit-Gathering Array, trapping the meditation cushions—and me—within its embrace. “Oh!” I found myself pressed against Error’s scales, standing on tiptoe to catch a glimpse of the slowly closing door. And the flash of red robes disappearing beyond it. Once the door sealed completely, leaving only the wall pearls to provide illumination, I pressed a hand to my chest. “Unhappiness.” I wanted to return to the arena with Seraphine. But she was right. When I’d chosen to exchange points for a physical form and human body, protecting Seraphine became my highest priority directive. I trudged dejectedly to the meditation cushion, settling Nine Heavens beside me. Looking down at the spirit heart, I said, “Please provide me with additional spiritual energy.” The spirit heart seemed to understand. The surrounding spiritual energy suddenly intensified, mist condensing into actual droplets that fell onto my sleeves and Error’s scales. The dragon eagerly extended its tongue to lap up the spiritual liquid from its scales. I cupped my hands to catch the falling droplets, smiling. “Thank you.” Following Seraphine’s earlier example, I settled into meditation posture, closing my eyes to absorb spiritual energy. The process was tedious—drawing energy through my spiritual vein, converting it to spiritual power, then directing it toward my consciousness sea. Boring but essential foundational work for any cultivator. Error closed her eyes as well. Back at the tournament arena, Seraphine returned alone to find Siyi seated in Luanyang Palace’s viewing area. On the Foundation Establishment arena, Xue Mengtao held her sword formally, bowing respectfully to her opponent. “Where’s Fellow Daoist Xi?” Siyi asked, rising when she noticed Seraphine’s solitary return. “She had matters to attend to.” Seraphine replied carefully. Siyi raised an eyebrow and poured fresh tea for her Palace Lord. Steam rose from the cup. With other peak masters and elders focused on their disciples’ matches, privacy allowed Siyi to voice her persistent question. “When did Palace Lord first meet Fellow Daoist Xi?” Siyi served as both subordinate and family to Seraphine, but some truths couldn’t be shared completely. Seraphinementally apologized before answering. “In the Chongshan secret realm.” Siyi looked startled. Xi Lingren’s cultivation was clearly mid-Nascent Soul stage, but the Chongshan secret realm only admitted Golden Core cultivators and below. “She possesses extraordinary talent.” Seraphine said unhurriedly. Advancing two major stages in six months—was that unusual? Siyi smiled knowingly. “I see.” But Seraphine’s explanation clarified something else. “Then the Chongshan Immortal Palace inheritance……” Seraphine raised her tea cup. Their eyes met across the rim, understanding passing between them without words. Dawn broke over another day. In the cultivation chamber, I opened my eyes as spiritual liquid droplets fell from my lashes, one landing on my lips with a soft plop. I extended my tongue to taste it—the concentrated spiritual energy created a thunderous sensation in my chest, but the liquid itself was tasteless. I wiped my soaked face and dismissed my alarm clock. One night had passed. The spiritual liquid had accumulated into shallow pools around us. My dress hem was completely soaked, fabric clinging to my skin. The spirit heart and Nine Heavens floated in the water while Error resembled a post-rain mountain, mist rising from its fire-red scales in shimmering waves. I sensed the spiritual power fluctuations around Error’s body and reached out to pat its gently. It opened its eyes and roared softly in discomfort. “You’re about to transform?” I asked in surprise. “I should call Seraphine.” Error roared again, pressing her head against Echo to prevent her departure. “All right, then I’ll leave the chamber to you. I need to watch Seraphine’s match today.” But Error remained immobile. Master’s orders: don’t let Echo leave until she returned. I said seriously, “We should work-life balance.” “How about I stay and play chess with you?” At the mention of chess, flames shot straight up from Error’s horns. It looked ready to transform from sheer rage, pushing Echo with its massive head until she sat back down. Spiritual liquid rippled in waves around us. The jade pearl at my waist swayed down, tapping against Error’s head. Despite being painless, it whimpered pitifully. I cradled her huge head, examining it carefully before picking up my system core for inspection. Inside the golden wire mesh, my silver essence flickered with subdued light, reflecting both the fire dragon’s glow and the chamber’s pearl illumination. As I held my own core, studying it thoughtfully, a lightbulb appeared over my head. Wait—I’d just thought of an excellent cultivation method! Back at the tournament arena, lightning crackled across the stage. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel_fіre.net Seraphine stood behind the curtains, tea cup in hand, watching the lightning storm rage across the platform with an expressionless face. Lightning mixed with shimmering water mist, amplifying the electrical assault’s power until the entire arena resembled a prison of pure electricity. “I surrender!” Xu Zehua’s opponent spat blood and raised his hand in defeat. The crowd erupted in amazed commentary as Xu Zehua casually dismissed his lightning display. “This Xu Zehua is incredibly fierce! Nothing like that coward from the recording stone!” “What weapon was he using? So powerful—must be a high-grade magical artifact!” “I was mocking him earlier. Now I should be mocking myself.” Discussions filled the air. Xu Zehua listened with growing satisfaction, only regretting that today’s opponent hadn’t been Seraphine! He glared coldly toward Luanyang Palace’s viewing platform, almost wanting to storm over and tear down the curtains to see Seraphine’s panicked expression. Seraphine sipped her tea slowly, speaking without turning around. “How did you get out?” I’d just entered through the side curtains, hands behind my back, laughing. “Did I miss anything? Are you finished with your match?” “Not yet.” Seraphine turned to look at Echo, noticing she had changed into light blue robes. Echo’s hair was messier than usual, the ends slightly curled, giving her a hurried appearance. She smiled, beckoning Echo over. When Echo approached, she withdrew a comb from her storage ring and began arranging Echo’s hair. “Thank you, Seraphine.” I kept trying to glance backward, seeing only her sleeve edges. “I left my system body in the cultivation chamber to continue cultivating, so my human form could come out.” I felt quite pleased with this solution, a small flower blooming above my head in my happiness. Seraphine’s hand paused, her eyes widening. “Hm?” What did Echo mean by leaving her system body to cultivate? I patted my waist where the golden wire mesh still contained a pearl—though this one was paler and less lustrous than usual. One of my backup cores from the rotation system. “My system is my true body.” I explained. “I wrote cultivation code and transmitted it to my system form. Whether I’m present or not, it will absorb spiritual energy, convert it to power, and store it for transfer to my human body when needed.” More flowers bloomed above my head as I continued happily. “This way I can cultivate while protecting you simultaneously!” Systems were an excellent species. I’d never doubted this fundamental truth. I noticed Seraphine had stopped combing my hair and turned to see her staring at me with slightly parted lips, her expression somewhere between disbelief and awe. “Seraphine?” I waved my hand in front of her face, only to have her catch it firmly. “For the first time, I’m experiencing…… the advantages of being a system.” Her voice was slightly hoarse. She closed her eyes and exhaled slowly before putting away the comb. “If my mental fortitude weren’t so strong, you’d have completely shattered my Dao heart.” I quickly patted her shoulder in comfort, the same gesture I always used to console her. This only seemed to make Seraphine more upset. She snorted coldly. “No. You need to compensate me for this.” While I didn’t understand the logic, I was willing to cooperate. She led me to the jade chair where she produced a brush and small dish. After retrieving a jade pot and pouring clear spring water into the dish, the liquid transformed into silver paint-like substance. Seraphine dipped the brush in the mixture and cupped Echo’s chin. “Don’t move.” I held perfectly still, feeling coolness touch my forehead. “Seraphine, it’s cold.” Seraphine leaned close while painting forehead ornaments, her robes’ fragrance drifting to Echo’s nose. When their eyes met, Echo smiled. Seraphine quickly looked away. “Stay still.” Seraphine murmured. I hadn’t moved. “Understood.” Outside the curtains, battles raged with rising cheers. Inside, only our breathing disturbed the quiet. After fifteen minutes, Seraphine straightened and leaned down to blow gently on Echo’s forehead. The gold necklace around her chest swung forward, dangling in front of Echo. I reached out to touch the golden pendant, my gaze traveling through the chain’s circle to focus on the pale skin visible between her robes—smooth as silver fish in a clear stream. I couldn’t resist touching it. “Wait!” Seraphine jerked backward, staring at Echo with shock and alarm. She clutched her robes closed, face flushed red. “What are you doing!” I examined my fingertip, then touched the same spot on my own body, laughing. “Seraphine, your skin there is rather cool.” Seraphine’s embarrassment turned to indignation. She glared at Echo, seeing only innocent confusion in Echo’s expression. Her mortification increased. She hastily produced a small mirror. “Siyi called for me. I need to step out.” I believed her, waving goodbye as she departed. I lifted the mirror to examine my reflection. The mirror showed a beauty with moon-silver hair, front strands framing her face to reveal her forehead’s center. A delicate phoenix-flower pattern in silver paint spread across the space, its intricate lines blooming shyly like a budding blossom. I smiled, eyes crinkling with delight. I wanted to touch it but quickly pulled my hand back. Looking around to make sure no one was watching, I grinned at my reflection. Seraphine painted it, so of course it’s beautiful. Seraphine’s so good to me… and it’s only going to get better. How exactly? Oh, you’ll have to see for yourself...… 😉 20 chapters of mischief and surprises await at Pxtreon➡️LoveisLove520.