Her voice, when it came, was soft but deadly cold.
Long Yifan gave a small, almost guilty smile.
"I didn’t want to scare you," he said lightly. "Besides, I already handled it."
Instructor Luo scoffed.
"Handled it? You almost killed her, you idiot!"
Gu Jin turned toward Long Yifan, her voice dangerously calm.
"Next time," she said quietly, "wake me up. I can handle it myself."
Long Yifan grinned at her shamelessly.
"Of course," he said. "But letting me protect you a little... is fine too, right?"
Instructor Luo rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.
Could he stop flirting even in such a serious situation?!
Long Yifan turned lazily to Instructor Luo and asked, "When will Han Xiaoyu’s trial be held?"
Instructor Luo rubbed his aching temples and replied tiredly, "In two days. The authorities are handling it carefully to avoid any unnecessary noise."
Long Yifan nodded calmly, as if everything was already settled.
Gu Jin, who had been silent until now, spoke up, her tone polite but distant."Can I leave now?"
Instructor Luo sighed deeply, feeling like he had aged ten years in a single conversation.
"Wait," he said, waving his hand. "Before you go... when did you reach Earth Rank Advanced Stage? And can you stop revealing your real rank?"
Gu Jin smiled slightly, her expression calm. Her next words almost gave Instructor Luo a heart attack.
"I didn’t," she said lightly. "That’s not my real rank. I’m actually at Earth Rank Peak Stage."
The room fell into dead silence.
Instructor Luo and Long Yifan stared at her, blinking in disbelief as if they had heard wrong.
"You... what did you say?" Instructor Luo asked, his voice cracking slightly.
Long Yifan straightened from the wall, his lazy posture gone. His usually calm face was now frozen in shock.
"I said," Gu Jin repeated with a small chuckle, "my true rank is Earth Rank Peak Stage."
Both men looked at each other, then back at Gu Jin, and then at each other again.
"You’re not lying?" Instructor Luo asked carefully, his brows furrowed.
Gu Jin raised an eyebrow. "Why would I lie about something so boring?"
"B-Boring?!" Instructor Luo almost coughed up blood.
The difference between Advanced Stage and Peak Stage was only one substage, but it was a huge difference! Earth Rank Peak Stage wasn’t something a twenty-two-year-old should even dream of!
Most geniuses reached Peak Stage in their late thirties—if they were lucky!
Instructor Luo’s heart pounded wildly in his chest. For a moment, he lost all control and jumped up from his chair, almost dancing with joy.
"Hahahaha! Wonderful! Fantastic! You little monster! China has created a monster!" he cried. He rushed forward, arms open wide, wanting to hug Gu Jin out of pure excitement.
But before he could even touch her, Long Yifan smoothly stepped between them, blocking him like a wall.
Instructor Luo’s hands froze mid-air. He stared at Long Yifan, whose calm face looked at him like saying, Don’t even think about it.
Instructor Luo’s lips twitched hard.
Was this brat a bodyguard or a jealous lover?
Meanwhile, Gu Jin found the whole thing funny. Her lips curved into an amused smile, and she didn’t even try to stop them.
Long Yifan turned to Gu Jin and, for once, his serious side showed.
"Congratulations," he said softly. "You’re truly a genius alchemist."
Gu Jin waved her hand lightly, brushing it off.
"It’s not a big deal," she said casually, as if reaching Earth Rank Peak Stage at twenty-two was something anyone could do.
Instructor Luo felt like vomiting blood again.
If this isn’t a big deal, then what is?!
He gritted his teeth, trying to calm his pounding heart.
Then, suddenly, a strange thought popped into his head.
Then he looked at Long Yifan.
And then back at Gu Jin again.
One was a cultivation genius who had reached Transcendent Level at only twenty-three years old—a stage most people never reached even in their entire lives.
The other was an alchemy genius who reached Earth Rank Peak Stage at only twenty-two—a rank so rare at her age it was practically unheard of.
Together, they were like a match made by the heavens themselves!
Instructor Luo’s eyes gleamed with excitement.
If these two monsters ever had a child... would that child have incredible talent too?
Maybe one would be a super alchemist.
Maybe another would be a super cultivator.
Or maybe—just maybe—one would be a monstrous genius in both alchemy and cultivation!
The thought made Instructor Luo almost burst with excitement.
He clenched his fists, his heart racing.
Wealth, power, glory... all within reach!
Before he could stop himself, he turned to Gu Jin with a deadly serious face and said,
"Gu Jin, if you and Long Yifan ever have a child, make me the god grandfather!"
Both Gu Jin and Long Yifan froze at his sudden outburst.
The room went dead silent for a few seconds.
Gu Jin’s mouth twitched uncontrollably.
Long Yifan blinked, looking like he wasn’t sure if he should laugh or kill someone.
Instructor Luo, on the other hand, was completely serious. His eyes were shining with hope, like he had found a golden treasure chest.
Long Yifan coughed and finally said, his voice dangerously low,
"Instructor Luo... don’t you think you’re getting ahead of yourself?"
Gu Jin couldn’t help it anymore and let out a soft laugh, covering her mouth with her hand.
The atmosphere, which had been tense before, lightened instantly.
Instructor Luo grinned shamelessly and said,
"I’m just planning ahead! You two are both national treasures, you know! Your future children will surely be little monsters too!"
Long Yifan glared at him like he wanted to punch him.
Gu Jin just shook her head helplessly.
Seeing Long Yifan’s dark face, Instructor Luo chuckled and backed away a little, but he still muttered under his breath,
"God grandfather... heh, it’s a good idea."
Gu Jin crossed her arms and said teasingly,
"Instructor Luo, shouldn’t you worry about when we are actually together first?"
Long Yifan’s ears turned slightly red at her words, and he immediately looked away, trying to act cool.
Instructor Luo blinked, then grinned wider.
"That’s even better! I’ll be your biggest supporter!" he said, slamming his fist into his palm like he was making a big decision.
Long Yifan finally couldn’t take it anymore.
He grabbed Gu Jin’s hand and said seriously, "Let’s go. Ignore him. He’s gone crazy."
Gu Jin chuckled again and let him pull her out of the room.
Behind them, Instructor Luo’s voice echoed:
"Think about it seriously! God grandfather, okay?!"
Gu Jin shook her head. She never knew that Instructor Luo could be so childish.
Suddenly, she turned toward Long Yifan and asked,
"You don’t like children?"
Long Yifan shook his head, his expression serious.
"It’s not that I don’t like children," he said. "I do. I just... I can’t bear the thought of you going through so much pain."
Gu Jin blinked, a little surprised.
Long Yifan continued, "I heard there’s a company working on a way to make childbirth painless. They’re developing an artifact for it. But even after they finish it, they plan to test it on at least a million people before they release it."
He looked at her, his voice soft but firm.
"Only after that... would I even think about babies."
Gu Jin stared at him, stunned. A strange, unfamiliar feeling twisted in her chest. She quickly looked away, pretending to admire a nearby tree.
Long Yifan wasn’t finished.
"Besides," he said with a low chuckle, "I don’t want your attention split between me and a bunch of kids. I want all of it. Every second."
Gu Jin was completely speechless.
She finally turned back to him and said, almost awkwardly, "I don’t want to talk about this."
She hesitated, then added softly, "But... thank you for saving me."
Long Yifan waved his hand carelessly.
"It was nothing," he said, flashing her an easy grin.
Gu Jin narrowed her eyes a little and continued, her tone firm.
"But don’t kill anyone for me. I can handle my own problems."
Long Yifan nodded without hesitation, the look in his eyes saying clearly: Whatever you want, I’ll agree.
Just as they were talking, a loud voice broke through the quiet air.
"Captain!" Li Mian called out, running toward them.
Long Yifan rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, "Pretend you didn’t hear that."
But before he could escape, Li Mian reached them, her face bright with excitement. She tried to grab Long Yifan’s arm, but he easily dodged her, keeping a careful distance.
"Li Mian," he said calmly, "please respect personal boundaries."
Gu Jin: "..." Sometimes, even she wants to say the same to Long Yifan.
Li Mian pouted dramatically.
"You’ve become so cold, Captain!" she whined.
Then her face lit up with a mischievous smile.
"But since today’s my birthday, I’ll forgive you!"
Gu Jin raised an eyebrow slightly, curious where this was going.
Li Mian clasped her hands together and leaned closer, her eyes sparkling.