The next morning.
The sky was still dim, only a few faint morning stars lingering like dying embers.
Inside the Spirit Hall's dormitory, Hu Liena had already risen.
In front of the mirror, she carefully adjusted the black-and-red uniform on her body.
Those charming fox eyes—usually seductive—were now filled with rare piety and unrestrained excitement.
Meanwhile, far away at Shrek Academy, Zhu Zhuqing was also dressed.
She sat quietly on the edge of her bed, her delicate silhouette outlined by cold moonlight—like a statue of a goddess about to step onto a battlefield sealed by fate.
At the same time, in the Star Luo Empire.
Zhu Zhuyun stood at her window, looking at her reflection in a similarly strange uniform.
Ambition and unease intertwined in her eyes.
Then—
As the first ray of dawn pierced the sky.
The maple-leaf badges on their chests glowed with the same warm red light, silently opening oval "light gates" before each of them.
Hu Liena didn't hesitate for even half a heartbeat.
With the devotion of a pilgrim, she practically leapt headfirst into the gate.
Zhu Zhuqing drew a long breath of icy air, suppressing all her fear.
Her eyes steeled.
She stepped forward—toward a destiny she could no longer turn away from.
Only Zhu Zhuyun hesitated.
Just for an instant.
But then she remembered the promise whispered to her last night—
A future where she could overturn the Dai Family, shatter her chains, and end the bloodline's cursed trials.
Her hesitation hardened into ruthlessness.
She stepped inside.
A moment later—Feng Ran Pavilion.
Space rippled like water as three light gates appeared in the hall.
Hu Liena emerged first from the central gate.
The instant she saw the familiar sacred atmosphere, she looked as though she might hum with joy.
From the left gate, a black silhouette stepped out.
Zhu Zhuqing.
She landed silently, her body taut as a bowstring, sharp cat-like eyes sweeping the unfamiliar surroundings with predator-like vigilance.
Hu Liena blinked, startled for a moment.
But seeing the identical uniform on the girl, she instantly understood.
A colleague chosen by Senior.
Her lips had just curved into a friendly smile—
When the gate to the right rippled again.
Zhu Zhuyun stepped out.
Beautiful. Mature. Arrogant.
Her presence was like a sharpened blade hidden beneath velvet.
The very next moment—
Her eyes met Zhu Zhuqing's.
The air froze solid.
"Zhu Zhuyun?!"
All the determination and cold resolve on Zhu Zhuqing's face turned to bone-deep terror.
Her face drained of color.
She had been tricked!
This wasn't an opportunity—
It was a deathtrap set by her elder sister!
Zhu Zhuyun herself paused, caught off guard.
She had just driven this stubborn younger sister out of the Star Luo Empire—
How could she appear here?
But her surprise lasted only a heartbeat.
A cold, mocking smile curved her lips.
"Oh? Isn't this my foolish, runaway little sister?"
Her voice dripped with malicious amusement.
"To appear before me willingly… have you finally realized it's time to die?"
BOOM.
The words shattered all remaining reason in Zhu Zhuqing's mind.
She whirled around and lunged desperately at the fading light gate—
Only for her fingers to grasp air.
The light gate vanished completely.
No escape.
The gap between them—cultivation, power, fate—was a bottomless abyss.
Despair engulfed her like icy seawater.
But the next second, despair ignited something even more terrifying.
Ruthlessness.
If she was going to die, she'd carve a scar into that perfect face first.
The Hell Civet Spirit possessed her in an instant—
Claws extended, cold light flashing, she pounced toward Zhu Zhuyun with suicidal ferocity!
Zhu Zhuyun's expression hardened.
Ignorant child!
She extended her own claws, spirit power surging—
A deadly catfight was about to erupt in Lin Feng's sacred shop—
"Presumptuous!"
A cold, commanding shout exploded across the hall.
It wasn't merely loud.
It carried a soul-deep authority that tolerated no resistance.
Hu Liena stepped forward, her beautiful face now like carved frost.
The Charm force granted—and strengthened—by Lin Feng surged out as an invisible storm.
Both sisters stiffened instantly.
Their bodies refused to move.
Even resisting the command became impossible.
Zhu Zhuyun's heart lurched violently.
Such terrifying mental power!
Who was this woman?!
She looked only a few years older than them, yet her mental force overwhelmed even the thought of struggle.
Hu Liena's frosty gaze swept across the two.
"This is Senior's sacred domain."
"Not a place for you to indulge in petty personal grudges."
She took one more step forward—
THUMP.
The sound seemed to land directly on the sisters' hearts.
"I don't care about your outside hatred."
"Here, you have only one identity—"
Her voice sharpened, her mental force exploded again—
"Senior's servants."
"And servants must follow the rules of servants."
Cold sweat dripped down the foreheads of both Zhu sisters.
"If there's a next time…"
Her voice dropped, dangerously low.
"Don't blame me for abandoning courtesy."
The atmosphere was so tense the air itself felt frozen.
Then—
Creak—
A soft wooden step echoed from the upstairs staircase.
The sound wasn't loud.
But it instantly dispelled all killing intent like a warm spring breeze.
The icy fierceness on Hu Liena's face melted away in an instant, replaced by reverence and adoration so deep it bordered on worship.
She spun toward the stairs and bowed deeply.
"Senior!"
Zhu Zhuqing and Zhu Zhuyun followed her gaze.
A lazy figure appeared at the top of the stairs.
Lin Feng.
Yawning softly, he looked half-awake, his eyes drifting casually over the hall.
They paused briefly on Hu Liena.
"Mm. Not bad."
Just two quiet words.
But Hu Liena felt as though she'd been blessed by the gods.
Her entire body trembled with joy.
Senior praised me!
Senior acknowledged my protection of his sacred place!
What divine fortune!
Lin Feng's indifferent gaze then swept past the Zhu Sisters.
Their souls froze.
This "mortal" man—
With no visible spirit power, no aura, nothing—
Yet looking at him felt like facing heaven, facing the primordial void.
Every instinct screamed to bow, to submit.
Lin Feng didn't even spare them a second glance.
After all, the employees were new.
He couldn't possibly let them work hungry on their first day.
Basic employee welfare.
He thought this calmly as he entered the kitchen.
Before long—
A thread of cooking smoke floated out from the small gap in the kitchen door.
Then—
A fragrance indescribable in words, undefinable even by the soul, swept through Feng Ran Pavilion like a gentle yet overwhelming tide.
Zhu Zhuqing and Zhu Zhuyun, stiff just moments ago, both widened their eyes—
The aroma alone made their souls tremble.
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