Evening — Moonvilla;

Since he had gone to visit his father-in-law, even though he only went there to answer the summons, he was forced to stay at the estate for the rest of the day, meeting other relatives and having tea or having conversations with them, fulfilling his obligations as a matrilocal husband of Thea. And then he stayed for even the dinner, an uncomfortable dinner with his enemies.

By the time he returned, it was already night.

A mentally tired Qin Wei stepped down and calmly walked in silence. Vanessa followed a step behind, her brow furrowed with worry. "Master Icarus," she asked cautiously as they neared the steps, "do you… have a plan? Should I go inquire about Zion Fireheart's techniques, his weaknesses? Maybe…"

"No." Qin Wei's voice was quiet, but firm. "I need rest. We will talk tomorrow."

He didn't wait for a reply. He opened the door, stepped inside, and shut it behind him with a soft thud.

Vanessa stood there for a few seconds longer, gazing at the closed door. her lips parted as if to speak again, but no words came from her mouth. Her hand curled at her side as she thought. "If I know anything about Master Icarus, after watching these past few days, he is neither reckless nor a dimwit. But it wasn't crazy enough to accept this duel and not ask for forgiveness, but he even asked the House Lord to restrict borrowed weapons. It's like cutting the branch he was sitting on. So, what is it that he is planning to do?"

Meanwhile, inside the dim room, Qin Wei sat down on the edge of the bed and exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair.

With a thought, he opened the character interface and scrolled down to the missions list.

Emergency Mission: Defy the Oppressor

Description: The House Fireheart seeks to use its authority to trample your dignity. Show them that strength is not inherited; it is proven.

Reward: Win: Secondary Bloodline: Eye of Truth, Lose: 500 credits

Qin Wei leaned back, eyes fixed on the glowing panel. "So… even if I lose, I lose some credits. But if I win… I get a bloodline." He chuckled bitterly to himself. "Sometimes, I feel annoyed by the situation I was thrown into, but the system knows very well how to motivate me to work hard. Still… this won't be a normal battle. Yes, as long as I try my best, even if I lose, word will spread, and my reputation will climb. But…"

He let himself lie back fully, the bed creaking beneath him as his thoughts began to spiral. "Survival comes first. Worst-case… I should use Ripple Drift and escape."

He slowly drifted into sleep.

*

For the next two days, Qin Wei trained, if it could be called that, under the unrelenting blows of Vanessa.

Sometimes she didn't even need to hit him. Her feints were enough to make him flinch or lose balance.

Still, Qin Wei endured.

By the end of the first day, his robes were soaked with sweat, his arms bruised, and his pride hanging by a thread. But due to his training speed boost buff under Vanessa's training, his body somehow absorbed all of those experiences with more ease, giving him new insights.

On the second day, he started predicting her movements. Not dodging all of them, not yet, but at the very least, he could see them even without the assistance from Heaven's Eye. Like he could already anticipate when her foot would pivot, when her elbow would snap forward. Unfortunately, he could only anticipate. His body couldn't catch up with those speeds yet.

The night before the fight — Moonvilla;

It was a quiet, chilly evening that made warm soup feel like a blessing.

Qin Wei lifted the porcelain spoon to his lips, savoring the rich broth until a soft ding echoed in his ears and a glowing blue holographic screen materialized with a notification.

Ding!

"Pfft—!"

All of a sudden, the soup sprayed from his mouth, the spoon clattered against the bowl, and the broth splashed across his robes and the table.

"Master Icarus!" Vanessa's voice laced with concern as she hurried over, looking alarmed. "Is there a problem with the soup? Did I add too much salt?"

Qin Wei blinked at her, then at the floating screen. "No. No, it's not the soup. It's just… something unexpected." He hurriedly waved his hand. "It's alright."

[Mission 2 Completed: Improve Pubic Reputation to Positive Status. 500 credits have been added.]

He dismissed the prompt, but even before he could collect his thoughts, three more notifications appeared in quick succession:

[Mission 1 Unlocked: Evolve your Heaven's Eye to Stage 3] Reward: 3 Talent Points, 1000 Credits

[Mission 2 Unlocked: Improve your public reputation to +1000] Reward: 5000 Credits

[Mission 3 Unlocked: Take in a Mistress/Secondary Wife/Concubine] Reward: 1 Talent Point

Qin Wei's brow twitched. He stared at the last one in disbelief. "Seriously? That counts as a mission?"

He leaned back, momentarily forgetting the soup, and started thinking about what could have happened for these changes to suddenly occur.

He hadn't even done anything significant for the past two days, no speeches, no heroic rescue, nor had he fought a duel, and yet somehow, his fame had shifted to positive.

How in the hell did that happen?

Then it clicked in his mind. "Is it the Talisman?"

Vanessa tilted her head, still worried. "Master Icarus… are you really okay?"

He glanced at her and gave a lopsided smile. "Nothing. Just thinking about tomorrow, and got a sudden idea. That's all."

She looked utterly confused, but Qin Wei waved it off and wiped the broth from his sleeve.

As he returned to his meal, he couldn't help but glance again at the new missions.

Heaven's Eye to stage 3? That cannot be achieved by training if it goes exactly as he wrote. He needs strong emotions for that, and frankly, there is only one such emotion Qin Wei felt in his life, and that is the extermination of House Phoenix. But he has long accepted that. Maybe he is a survivor who watched all that; he might have carried that emotion for years, but he only heard it like news, and he has already let out that emotion.

And improve public reputation to +1000? Hmm… he doesn't think it can be achieved right away, but if he wins the battle against Zion Fireheart tomorrow, his fame will reach even the imperial palace, to his uncle, and perhaps, he might be able to complete it.

As for the last one, taking a mistress, concubine, or a secondary wife? The first person that came to his mind was obviously Luna. However, he doesn't want to take a mistress, because that's just a secret affair, or a secondary wife, because he is a matrilocal husband. He can't have a second legal wife even if he were nobility.

But then, for some reason, as his gaze fell on the woman sitting nearby, who now seemed more worried than her usual composed self, Qin Wei couldn't help but stare at her. Vanessa felt the gaze. "Master Icarus? You need something?"

Qin Wei shook his head, letting out an awkward smile. "No, nothing else."

Later, midnight;

Qin Wei lay in bed, eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling. His mind was far too restless to drift into sleep.

He rolled onto his side.

Then his back.

Then his stomach.

Still no sleep.

It's almost 3 o'clock, and in just a few hours, the sun will rise, but Qin Wei still couldn't sleep.

He sat up slowly, crossed his legs, and inhaled deeply. "Calm. Focus."

He began to meditate, regulating his breath. The tension in his chest softened, bit by bit, as he drowned his thoughts in meditation. His fast heartbeat slowed. His pulse steadied.

An hour into this meditation, on the rooftop, a shadow moved.

A slender figure landed silently on the window frame.

Luna slipped in noiselessly and tiptoed across the floor like a stalking cat.

Her gaze fell upon Qin Wei, seated on his bed, body upright, hands resting on his knees, eyes closed in deep focus.

"Master Icarus…" she whispered.

There was no response from Qin Wei.

"Master Icarus, it's me… I need to talk to you…" She spoke again.

But there is no response from Qin Wei.

She frowned, reached out, and gently nudged his shoulder. "Master Icarus… wake up… It's urgent."

Still nothing.

Luna bit her lip, hesitating. Her gaze dipped to his peaceful expression. "He's seriously meditating? Right now? But I need to talk to him right now. There's not much time. How to wake him up?"

A teasing smirk tugged at her lips as something clicked in her head. "Yup, there's a perfect way to wake up a man who is too lost in his own world."

She slid onto the bed and climbed into his lap, wrapping her arms loosely around his waist.

Still there was no reaction.

"Really now? Even with this?" she thought mischievously.

But then, she felt a certain reaction from below his waist.

Her eyes gleamed.

"Aha… so it's not like your body's asleep," she murmured and leaned in, then brushed his lips with hers.

In that instant, the air around them crackled.

Qin Wei's eyes shot open, glowing with his Heaven's Eyes. A shockwave of Aether burst from his body, pushing her away.

"Wha…!"

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