The moment Ziqing pursed her lips, everyone tensed at once, eyes fixed on her delicate mouth like nails, waiting with breathless anticipation for what she would say.

Was she about to speak?

If she spoke, it would mean she was accepting the humble, deferential gesture Madam Gu and Gu Meiting had offered — and once accepted, everything that followed would become far easier to negotiate. There would be no turning back.

Even someone as seasoned as Madam Gu grew tense waiting, and even Jun Beiyue couldn’t help but glance at Ziqing, looking somewhat puzzled, even worried — surely this girl hadn’t actually softened, had she?

This was, without question, an emotional trap set to exploit sympathy!

In the silence, as Ziqing kept her lips pursed, her gaze shifted toward Jiang Yuan. Madam Gu’s heart clenched, and she hurriedly nudged the boy forward. “Quick, call your aunt! Quickly!”

Seeing both his grandmother and grandfather so tense, Jiang Yuan didn’t dare delay any longer, and quickly spoke up. “Aunt, Aunt!” — calling it out twice.

Ziqing actually gave a satisfied nod. With that, the hearts hanging suspended in midair all around the room finally settled safely back down — especially Madam Gu, who nearly broke into laughter. But then she saw Ziqing’s gaze shift to settle on Gu Meiting, and she forced herself to hold back.

Meeting Ziqing’s gaze, Gu Meiting gave a startled jolt, growing tense once more. She was, after all, the most honored eldest young lady of the Gu clan — and yet here she was, taking the initiative to speak first, even managing a gentle, faintly ingratiating expression. “Ziqing, you must be tired from the journey.”

Surely now, however reluctant Han Ziqing might be, she would at least have to smile back at her!

But to everyone’s astonishment, Ziqing arched a brow and adopted an expression far more elevated, far grander, far more refined and dignified than even the eldest young lady of the Gu clan herself — a look of utter arrogance and disdain — and let out a thoroughly contemptuous “Hmph!”

Having snorted, she immediately flung her head back, high and proud, and said coldly, “Jun Beiyue, let’s go!”

For a moment, everyone stood frozen. This woman had actually… actually done that!

Jun Beiyue, too, stood stunned for a long moment before recovering, then burst into unrestrained laughter right in front of everyone, striding off alongside Ziqing.

This woman — she truly never failed to surprise him, and never once disappointed him!

So decisive, so full of character — he loved it!

Patriarch Gu’s face darkened, while Madam Gu and Gu Meiting felt every bit as mortified as Gu Suying had felt earlier, discovering that the woman she’d begged from was Han Ziqing. Anger was secondary — humiliation was the real point here.

Making an opponent furious, resentful, or hateful could never compare to making them feel ashamed. Ziqing’s mind had never really been on the tedious people of the Gu clan to begin with — they had simply blocked her path, and she’d casually humiliated them in passing.

A clean, decisive way of letting them know there was absolutely no possibility of reconciliation — so they’d better keep their distance and not bring further trouble on themselves.

Along the winding path through the courtyard, Jun Beiyue’s mood was excellent. He draped an arm over Ziqing’s shoulder, still laughing, mimicking her earlier expression. “Hmph! Ha ha!”

“That’s exactly the kind of presence this prince’s woman ought to have! Hmph!”

Ziqing couldn’t help but burst out laughing too. “Still laughing about it!”

“This prince was just thinking — if this prince had three thousand beauties in his harem, with you among them, would that harem ever know a moment’s peace?” Jun Beiyue asked with a grin.

“Not for a moment. Not one single moment! And the outer court wouldn’t know peace either! Just try it if you dare!” Ziqing narrowed her eyes, a warning look on her face, utterly serious.

Jun Beiyue only smiled without answering, pressing a light kiss to her forehead — a silent promise.

In the ancestral hall, enshrining the memorial tablet of Jun Beiyue’s mother-consort, Ziqing watched Jun Beiyue light the incense, her fingers brushing against the flowing-light blade hidden in her sleeve, remembering the moment this man had given her the flowing-light dagger. A sweet smile curved at her lips.

“Yingzi, any word from Guxi’s side yet?” Ziqing asked in a low voice. Without Shiliang or Guxi around, even with Hongyi personally attending her, she still felt somewhat constrained and awkward.

“Not a single word, Your Highness. Not to speak ill of you, but that greenhorn Guxi — what could he possibly accomplish? Yaoshun Island isn’t a place just anyone can climb onto, the checks there are even stricter than here on Liuxian Island. Why not have the prince pull some strings, give him a boost?” Yingzi offered helpfully.

“No need,” Ziqing said flatly, offering no further explanation. Back when Guxi had said that, once the matter was done, he’d take even Shiliang’s share of the reward too, she had worn this same smile — impossible to tell whether it meant anger or relief.

After paying their respects, Ziqing and Jun Beiyue returned to the main residence at the mountain’s peak. Everything there remained just as it had been — Patriarch Gu had it cleaned daily and forbade anyone from entering carelessly.

For these two days, Jun Beiyue and Ziqing stayed and rested in the main residence. Gu Meiting and Madam Gu didn’t come to disturb them again, and Ziqing didn’t interfere with their affairs either.

Having already been humiliated to that degree, if they still dared come around asking for more trouble, Ziqing would genuinely have to admire the mother and daughter’s nerve in inviting themselves in for a sit-down!

That afternoon, Patriarch Gu arrived, beaming with excitement, bringing the registration roster. Though the Gu clan was now hollowed out, all façade and no real substance, it was still the foremost house, and still held certain privileges not to be dismissed.

“Is this the complete roster?” Jun Beiyue asked, not rushing to look at it the moment he received it, instead asking earnestly first.

“We’re the last to register — I guarantee it’s complete!” Patriarch Gu said with certainty.

“And this is the same list that will be posted tomorrow?” Jun Beiyue asked again.

“Rest assured, I’ve gone over this list myself — there’s no room left to add anyone else. Your internal cultivation now far surpasses mine. For this battle, so long as we register, we might as well be sitting back and waiting to claim first place!” Patriarch Gu was, after all, still the head of a great house, but this matter mattered so much to the Gu clan that he couldn’t help but let a look of smug satisfaction show.

Jun Beiyue hesitated for a moment, then asked nothing further, opening the roster to look through it together with Ziqing.

This roster wasn’t arranged by order of registration, but by the rankings from the previous newly-risen-power battle — in other words, by the current standing of the clans on Liuxian Island.

Ranked first was, of course, the Gu clan — though the entry was written in a rather curious way.

“Gu clan’s adopted son, Jun Beiyue?” Ziqing murmured, reading it aloud. After the name, it even recorded the technique Jun Beiyue would use in the competition: “Gu Clan Internal Cultivation.”

“So, are there rules about which martial school one has to represent?” Jun Beiyue asked with a smile.

Patriarch Gu grinned broadly. “That’s the rule of the martial world — same as on the Longyuan Continent. This is a newly-risen-power ranking battle, but really it’s also a ranking battle for clan heirs, so of course you’re expected to use your own clan’s techniques!”

Aside from what Gu Suying had leaked to the Bai clan, practically no one on Liuxian Island — or even across the whole Longyuan martial world — actually knew that all of Patriarch Gu and Madam Gu’s internal cultivation had already been fully transferred to Jun Beiyue, and that Jun Beiyue’s Wind Blade technique had been trained since childhood, honed to sheer perfection!

Barring some unexpected turn, looking across every great house on Liuxian Island, let alone the young heirs — even the clan heads themselves, in a real contest, might well prove no match for Jun Beiyue!

He had expected there might be some difficulty arranged against him, but as it turned out, everything seemed perfectly peaceful.

Jun Beiyue continued down the list. As expected, ranked second was the Bai clan, and the one set to compete was, unsurprisingly, Bai Feiyao — who had always disguised herself as a man.

Reaching this point, Jun Beiyue merely glanced at the third-place entry and read no further. This roster looked so ordinary that it felt distinctly abnormal.