Harem Master: Seduction System

Chapter 368: Feng Xiao Meets Ya Su and Lin Ruoli

The waterfall at the Dragon Carp Falls roared like a captured beast, thousands of tons of water crashing down into the mist-shrouded basin below. To any ordinary cultivator, the pressure of the falling water alone would be enough to crush bone, but today, the waterfall itself seemed to recoil in fear.

A pillar of pure, unadulterated azure fire erupted from behind the curtain of water, vaporizing the liquid instantly and creating a tunnel of steam that stretched for miles.

From within that tunnel, a figure walked out. He walked on the air, his steps light but carrying the weight of a mountain.

Feng Xiao.

He looked different than he had just a few days ago. His black robes, though tattered from his battle with the Beast Kings, fluttered around a body that hummed with terrifying power. His skin had a lustrous, jade-like sheen, and his eyes burned with the intensity of two miniature suns. The chaotic, somewhat unstable aura of a newly ascended Martial King was gone, replaced by a deep, ocean-like reservoir of power that felt endless.

He took a deep breath, inhaling the humid air. The spiritual energy of the world rushed toward him, forming a visible vortex around his body before being devoured by his pores.

"Third Stage Martial King," Feng Xiao whispered, clenching his fist. The air popped audibly inside his palm, a sonic boom created by sheer physical strength. "The Nine-Cycle Nirvana Pill lived up to its reputation."

Inside the Secret Realm, after the lightning ambush and his fall into the lake, Feng Xiao had not retreated. He had fought. He had slaughtered the Abyssal Hydra Kings in a rage that burned the lake dry. He had harvested the Azure Sea Soul Grass, and instead of waiting, he had taken a gamble. He used the Beast Kings’ cores and the herb to concoct the pill right there in the realm, using his Blue Lotus Flame as the furnace.

It was a risky move, but Feng Xiao thrived on risk. The pill had cleansed his meridians, stabilized his foundation, and propelled him two full stages forward.

"Whoever threw that lightning..." Feng Xiao’s eyes darkened, scanning the surrounding cliffs. "A hidden Lightning Beast King? A remnant soul of the realm?"

He had searched the area after his breakthrough, but found nothing. The presence was gone. He dismissed it with a scoff. "It matters not. Whatever rat tried to ambush me failed. And now, I am strong enough to crush anything in this mountain range."

His confidence was absolute. He was the chosen one. The Heavens tested him, but they never broke him.

But then, his expression shifted. The arrogance melted away, replaced by a sudden, sharp spike of anxiety.

"Sister Su!"

He remembered Ya Su. She had been on the ridge. When the lightning struck, when he fell... she had been there.

Feng Xiao’s figure blurred, vanishing from his spot and reappearing instantly on the ridge where he had last seen her. The ground was scorched, the vegetation flattened by the shockwaves of his battle.

"Sister Su!" he shouted, his spiritual sense exploding outward, covering a radius of fifty miles in a heartbeat.

Silence. Only the chirping of insects and the roar of the waterfall answered him.

There was no trace of her. No body. No blood. No aura.

Feng Xiao knelt, touching the dirt. There were no signs of a struggle. It was as if she had simply vanished.

"She must have fled," Feng Xiao muttered, trying to calm his racing heart. "She is the Chief Auctioneer of the Gilded Lotus. She carries life-saving talismans. When she saw the lightning... she must have used a Greater Teleportation Talisman to escape."

It made sense. Ya Su was not a combatant; she was a merchant. Her instinct would be to run.

"She is safe," he told himself, forcing the conviction into his mind. "She has to be. She wouldn’t leave me otherwise. She is loyal."

He stood up, his jaw set. He couldn’t just assume. He needed proof.

"I need to find a Gilded Lotus branch," he decided.

He didn’t waste time flying manually. He summoned his Blue Lotus Flame, condensing it into a pair of magnificent fire wings on his back—the Eagle Wings of the Burning Sky flight technique. With a single flap, he broke the sound barrier, shooting toward the nearest major settlement: Mistfall City.

Mistfall City was a mid-sized trade hub located at the foot of the Cloud Mist Mountains. It was busy, noisy, and currently terrified.

A streak of blue fire descended from the sky like a judgment from the gods, landing directly in front of the Gilded Lotus Auction House branch. The shockwave of the landing cracked the cobblestones and sent guards tumbling.

Feng Xiao stepped out of the crater, his aura unsuppressed. He marched through the front doors, the heat radiating from him causing the wood to smoke.

"Manager!" Feng Xiao roared, his voice amplified by Qi, shaking the entire building. "Get out here!"

The branch manager, a portly man named Fatty Liu, scrambled out of his office, his face pale as dough. He took one look at the young man with the fire wings and the terrifying pressure and nearly wet himself.

"L-Lord!" Fatty Liu stammered, bowing so low his nose touched the floor. "Please! Mercy! What has this humble branch done to offend a Martial King?"

Feng Xiao ignored the pleasantries. He grabbed the manager by the collar and hoisted him into the air effortlessly.

"Ya Su," Feng Xiao growled, his eyes burning. "Where is she? Check your communication arrays. Is she safe?"

"M-Mistress Ya Su?" The manager’s eyes bulged. "I... I will check! Please, put me down!"

Feng Xiao dropped him. The manager scrambled to a large jade crystal embedded in the wall behind the counter—the internal communication network of the Gilded Lotus family. He poured his Qi into it, his hands shaking violently.

Feng Xiao waited, tapping his foot impatiently. Every second felt like an hour. If something had happened to her... if that lightning beast had hurt her... he would burn this mountain range to ash.

"Lord!" the manager squeaked after a minute. "Good news! Mistress Ya Su is safe! Her token has registered in Snow Moon City!"

Feng Xiao let out a long breath, the tension leaving his shoulders. "Snow Moon City... she went to the main hub. Smart. She must have teleported there."

"Yes, yes," the manager nodded fervently. "She is safe. She checked in just a few hours ago."

"Good," Feng Xiao said, turning to leave. "That is all I needed."

"Wait... Lord..." The manager hesitated, looking at the glowing text on the jade screen.

Feng Xiao paused, looking back over his shoulder. "What?"

"There is... another report," the manager said, swallowing hard. He sensed that this young man was intimately connected to Ya Su, and perhaps to other figures of the cultivation world. "Since you asked about Snow Moon City... the intelligence network flagged a sighting of high importance."

"I don’t care about your business gossip," Feng Xiao said dismissively.

"It concerns Sect Master Yun Lan," the manager whispered.

Feng Xiao froze.

He turned around slowly, the air in the room suddenly becoming heavy and suffocating.

"Yun Lan?" he repeated.

He hadn’t heard that name in years. Not since that night. The night he had returned to the Frozen Cloud Asgard to take revenge on his ex-wife, Nalan Yue. He had destroyed the sect’s foundation, absorbed their Ice Vein... and in the chaos, he had stumbled upon Yun Lan.

She had tried to stop him. They had fought. But there had been... complications. An aphrodisiac array triggered by the collapsing buildings. A moment of weakness.

He had taken her. The teacher of his enemy. The Sect Master.

He had left before dawn, conflicted and guilty, but also possessing a deep, arrogant sense of ownership. She was his woman now. Even if they were enemies on paper, he believed their fates were entwined.

"What about her?" Feng Xiao asked, his voice low.

"She... she was sighted in Snow Moon City yesterday," the manager read from the screen. "She appeared injured. Very weak."

"Injured?" Feng Xiao frowned. "Who dared to injure her? She is a peak Martial Grandmaster."

"The report says..." the manager cringed, "she was being carried. By a man."

Feng Xiao’s eyes narrowed to slits. "A man?"

"A... handsome, blonde-haired young man," the manager read, sweat pouring down his face. "Witnesses say they were... intimate. She was holding him. They checked into the Silver Pine Inn together. Into... a single room."

CRACK.

The solid oak counter under Feng Xiao’s hand disintegrated into splinters.

A terrifying, green-hued flame flickered in his eyes—jealousy. Pure, unadulterated jealousy.

"Intimate?" Feng Xiao hissed. "With another man?"

"That... that is what the report says, Lord!" the manager wailed, backing away.

Feng Xiao’s mind reeled. Yun Lan? The Ice Master? The woman who was so cold she froze the air around her? She was with a man? A blonde man?

"Who is he?" Feng Xiao demanded, his aura flaring so hot the papers on the desk caught fire. "What is his name?"

"Unknown!" the manager cried. "Identity unknown! But they seemed... close. Very close."

Feng Xiao felt a phantom pain in his chest. It was the sting of betrayal. In his mind, Yun Lan belonged to him. She was his conquest. His secret trophy. How dare she look at another man? How dare she let another man touch her?

"She is mine," Feng Xiao whispered to himself, his logic twisted by the protagonist’s arrogance. "She is punishing me for destroying her sect. She is trying to make me jealous. That must be it."

He turned to the door, his face a mask of dark fury.

"Snow Moon City," he stated.

"Lord?"

"I’m going to Snow Moon City," Feng Xiao declared. "I need to check on Ya Su. And... I need to have a word with an old friend."

He walked out of the auction house. He didn’t care about the damage he left behind. He spread his fire wings and launched himself into the sky, creating a sonic boom that shattered windows for three blocks.

He flew with a speed that defied logic, pushing his new cultivation to the limit.

’Yun Lan,’ he thought, the wind screaming in his ears. ’If you are playing a game, it is a dangerous one. And if that man touched you... I will burn him until not even his soul remains.’

He arrived at Snow Moon City in record time, descending like a meteor. He didn’t bother with the gates; he flew right over the walls, ignoring the shouts of the city guards.

He spread his spiritual sense aggressively, sweeping the entire city without a shred of politeness. He looked for the icy aura of Yun Lan.

He found nothing.

The city was full of cultivators, but the specific, unique signature of the Frozen Cloud Arts was absent.

"Gone?" Feng Xiao gritted his teeth, hovering above the central plaza. "Did they leave already?"

He scanned again. This time, he searched for Ya Su.

He found her.

She was in the Emerald Pavilion, the most expensive tea house in the city. Her aura was stable, but faint, as if she were tired.

Feng Xiao descended, landing in the courtyard of the tea house. He strode toward the private room where he sensed her, his anger over Yun Lan simmering just beneath the surface, waiting for a target.

The private room of the Emerald Pavilion was an oasis of calm. Incense curled from a bronze burner, and the sound of a guzheng played softly from a hidden corner.

Feng Xiao threw the sliding door open.

"Sister Su!"

He stepped inside, ready to sweep her into his arms, to reassure himself that at least one of his women was safe and loyal.

But he stopped dead in his tracks.

Ya Su was there, sitting at a low table. She looked pale, her usually vibrant eyes rimmed with red, wearing a high-collared dress that covered her from chin to wrist.

But she wasn’t alone.

Sitting across from her, sipping tea with an elegance that made the rest of the world look clumsy, was a woman Feng Xiao had never met, but whom his instincts immediately screamed was dangerous.

Lin Ruoli.

She was breathtaking. Her hair was like dark silk, pinned up with jade ornaments that cost more than a city block. Her face was a perfect oval of porcelain skin and sharp, intelligent features. She wore robes of deep emerald green, embroidered with serpents that seemed to move when the light caught them.

Her aura was restrained, but Feng Xiao could feel the depth of it. She was powerful. A Martial Grandmaster, at least. But it was her presence—the regal, cold command in her eyes—that gave him pause.

"Brother Xiao!" Ya Su stood up, her voice trembling with relief. "You... you are safe!"

She took a step toward him, her hands reaching out.

Feng Xiao moved to hug her, his heart aching at her pale face. "I am safe, Su’er. I thought I lost you."

He reached for her.

Clink.

The sound of a teacup being set down on a saucer echoed like a sword being drawn from a scabbard.

It wasn’t loud, but it was sharp. Precise.

Feng Xiao froze. His instincts flared. He looked past Ya Su to the woman sitting at the table.

Lin Ruoli was looking at him. Her expression was one of mild, polite disdain, as if he were a muddy dog that had just run onto a pristine carpet.

"Brother Xiao," Ya Su said quickly, stopping short of his embrace. She shot a nervous glance at the woman. "Please... mind your manners. This is Guildmaster Lin Ruoli of the Jade Serpent Guild."

Feng Xiao blinked. The Jade Serpent Guild? That was one of the Three Great Merchant Guilds of the empire, rivaling even the Gilded Lotus. And this woman was its leader?

He straightened his posture, performing a cultivator’s bow. "Flame King Feng Xiao greets Guildmaster Lin."

Lin Ruoli didn’t stand. She didn’t bow back. She simply nodded, a movement of barely an inch.

"So," she said, her voice cool and melodious, like water flowing over ice. "This is the ’Flame King’ I have heard so much about. You look... younger than the rumors suggest."

"I found your little friend wandering the mountains," Lin Ruoli continued, gesturing to Ya Su with a graceful hand. "She was lost. Alone. Near a battlefield of Beast Kings. You should take better care of your women, Feng Xiao. It is unbecoming of a hero to lose his treasures so easily."

Feng Xiao flushed. Shame burned in his gut. She was right. He had failed to protect Ya Su.

"It was a chaotic battle," he defended himself, though his voice lacked its usual bite. "I was ambushed. I thank Guildmaster Lin for protecting her. I owe you a debt."

He looked at Lin Ruoli. Really looked at her.

She was stunning. An Ice Queen in her own right, but different from Yun Lan. Yun Lan was ethereal, distant. Lin Ruoli was sharp, political, a queen of the mortal world.

A thought crossed his mind. ’She is powerful. She controls the Jade Serpent Guild. If I could... bring her to my side... my resources would be limitless.’

His charm switched on instinctively. He stepped forward, a confident smile playing on his lips.

"Guildmaster Lin," he said, his voice dropping to a smooth baritone. "Perhaps I could repay this favor immediately? I could treat you to dinner tonight? The Snow Moon City has excellent wine, and I would love to hear more about your... guild."

It was a blatant advance. He was the Flame King. Women usually swooned.

Lin Ruoli didn’t swoon. She looked at him with amusement, the way a tiger looks at a kitten trying to roar.

"Brother Xiao!" Ya Su interjected hurriedly, her face turning white. She stepped between them, as if shielding Feng Xiao from a blast. "You... you misunderstand!"

"Misunderstand what?" Feng Xiao asked, annoyed at the interruption.

"Guildmaster Lin..." Ya Su whispered, her voice trembling, "she is the wife of General Bao."

Feng Xiao froze.

The blood drained from his face. The confidence evaporated instantly.

General Bao.

One of the Four Great Generals of the Celestial Dragon Empire. The "Iron-Blood Demon." A man who commanded millions of soldiers. A subordinate of Emperor Huang Tian himself. A Martial King at the peak of the realm, rumored to be half a step into the Half-Emperor realm.

General Bao was known for two things: his brutality in war, and his extreme possessiveness.

Feng Xiao swallowed hard. He was strong, yes. But he wasn’t stupid. Offending General Bao was suicide. It was declaring war on the Empire.

"I... see," Feng Xiao stammered, taking a step back. His lust cooled instantly, replaced by a bucket of cold political reality. "My apologies. I meant no disrespect to the General. Or to you, Madam Bao."

Lin Ruoli watched him squirm, hiding a smirk behind her teacup. It was the truth, of course. But now...she belonged to Alaric.

Alaric had taken her, broken her, and made her his slut right under the General’s nose.

But using the General’s name to castrate the protagonist? That was Alaric’s idea. And it was delicious.

"The General is... possessive," Lin Ruoli said smoothly, taking a sip of tea. "He does not like it when young men make advances on his property. I suggest you keep your distance, Flame King. For your own health."

"Understood," Feng Xiao said, bowing deeper this time. "I will not disturb you."

He turned his attention back to Ya Su, needing to regain control of the situation. He grabbed Ya Su’s hand—not noticing her slight flinch—and pulled her to sit beside him.

"Sister Su," he said, his voice serious. "I need to ask you something. It is important."

Ya Su looked at him, her heart breaking. She saw the worry in his eyes, but she also saw the possessiveness. And beneath her clothes, the slave seal throbbed, warning her.

"What is it, Brother Xiao?"

"Did you see Yun Lan?" Feng Xiao asked, his eyes intensifying. "The Gilded Lotus report said she was here. In Snow Moon City."

Ya Su stiffened. She looked down at her lap, unable to meet his gaze. The guilt was a physical weight in her stomach.

"I... I did," she whispered.

"Where is she?" Feng Xiao demanded. "I searched the city. I couldn’t find her aura."

"She is gone," Ya Su said softly. "She left this morning."

"Left?" Feng Xiao slammed his hand on the table. "With whom? The report said she was with a man. Who is he?"

Feng Xiao looked ready to kill. "Tell me his name, Su’er. Who dared to touch her?"

Ya Su opened her mouth, but the words stuck in her throat. She couldn’t lie to him. But she had to.

Lin Ruoli set her teacup down. The sound drew Feng Xiao’s attention.

"A brute from the Western Desert Prefectures," Lin Ruoli said calmly, lying with the ease of a sociopath. "He calls himself Qin Wu."

Feng Xiao frowned. The name sounded familiar. "Qin Wu? The gladiator? The one they call ’The Soul Eater’?"

"The very same," Lin Ruoli nodded. "A savage man. Crude. Violent."

"What was he doing here?" Feng Xiao asked, confused. "The West is thousands of miles away."

"He claimed he came to the Cloud Mist Mountains to find rare herbs," Lin Ruoli spun the tale Alaric had scripted. "For his childhood friend, a woman named Mu Qing. Apparently, her meridians are damaged."

"And Yun Lan?"

"He found her," Lin Ruoli said. "He found Sect Master Yun Lan trapped in a cave, sealed in Absolute Zero Ice."

"Absolute Zero Ice?" Feng Xiao blinked. "Why was she sealed?"

"You didn’t know?" Ya Su spoke up, her voice trembling. She had to make this believable. She had to protect him. "Yun Lan... she tried to break through to the Martial King realm alone. She failed. She suffered a deviation. To save her life, she sealed herself in the ice. She was trapped there... dying... for years."

Feng Xiao felt like he had been punched in the gut.

Yun Lan had been dying? While he was... doing what? Traveling? Fighting beasts? flirting with women?

"I... I didn’t know," he whispered, horror dawning on him. "Why didn’t she tell me?"

"Because she is proud," Lin Ruoli said cuttingly. "And while you were absent, this Qin Wu found her."

"He broke the ice?" Feng Xiao asked, skepticism warring with fear. "How? He is just a gladiator. That ice requires a Heavenly Flame."

"Brute force," Lin Ruoli shrugged elegantly. "And a strange, dark artifact he carries. A cube, I believe. He smashed the seal. He saved her life."

Feng Xiao clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. "He saved her."

"Yes," Lin Ruoli said. "And she was... grateful. Very grateful."

She let the implication hang in the air.

"Grateful?" Feng Xiao’s voice shook with suppressed rage. "What do you mean, ’grateful’?"

"Women are fragile when they are injured, Flame King," Lin Ruoli said, a mocking lilt to her voice. "Especially when they have been abandoned by their... previous entanglements. Qin Wu is a persuasive man. He stayed with her. He nursed her. And when she woke up... well. A life debt is a heavy thing."

"She is the Ice Master!" Feng Xiao roared, standing up and knocking his chair over. "She is noble! She wouldn’t fall for a desert savage like Qin Wu! She wouldn’t let him touch her!"

"She did," Lin Ruoli said simply. "I saw them. At the inn. She was clinging to him. She looked at him like he was her savior."

"Lies!" Feng Xiao shouted, though deep down, the doubt was eating him alive. "She belongs to me!"

The room went silent.

"To you?" Lin Ruoli raised an eyebrow. "I wasn’t aware you had claimed the Sect Master of the sect you destroyed. Scandalous."

Feng Xiao flushed, realizing his slip. "She... she is my senior. My responsibility."

"Well, she is Qin Wu’s responsibility now," Lin Ruoli said. "He took her away this morning. He said the Northern climate was too harsh for her recovery. He took her back to the West. To the desert."

"The West..." Feng Xiao breathed.

"Yes. He said he has a safe place there. A fortress."

Feng Xiao stood there, breathing heavily. His mind was a chaotic storm of jealousy, guilt, and rage.

He hated himself for not being there. But more than that, he hated Qin Wu.

Qin Wu, the Soul Eater. The man who had stolen his opportunity to be the hero. The man who had touched his woman.

"He is courting death," Feng Xiao snarled, his eyes glowing with a terrifying light. "He dares to touch what is mine? He thinks because he saved her, he owns her?"

"It seems he does," Lin Ruoli said, pouring herself another cup of tea.

"I will find him," Feng Xiao vowed, his voice a low, guttural promise of violence. "I will go to the West. I will tear his fortress down brick by brick. And I will sever his head from his shoulders."

"A noble goal," Lin Ruoli deadpanned.

Feng Xiao turned to Ya Su. "Sister Su. I need you to use the Gilded Lotus network. Find out exactly where this Qin Wu operates. Find out where he took her."

"I... I will," Ya Su whispered. "But... Brother Xiao... the Alchemy Tournament..."

Feng Xiao stopped.

Right. The Grand Alchemy Gathering at the Yao Clan. It was only a few months away. He needed to attend. He needed the rewards from that tournament—the Heavenly Soul Fire—to cure his teacher’s soul. He couldn’t go running off to the Western Desert right now. It was too far. He would miss the tournament.

He was torn. Save the woman, or save the teacher?

He clenched his fists.

"I cannot go yet," he admitted, the words tasting like bile. "The tournament... I have prepared for years. I cannot miss it."

"Then focus on the tournament," Ya Su urged him, desperate to keep him away from Alaric (who she knew was with Yun Lan). "Let me search for them. I will track Qin Wu. I will find where he is keeping her. And when the tournament is over... you can go. You can save her then."

Feng Xiao looked at her. It was the sensible choice.

"Fine," he spat. "But find him. Do not let him disappear."

"I promise," Ya Su lied.

Feng Xiao looked out the window, toward the West.

"Qin Wu," he whispered. "Enjoy your life while you can. Because when I am done with the Yao Clan... I am coming for you."

In the corner, Lin Ruoli hid a smile behind her sleeve.

It was perfect.

Alaric had Yun Lan. Feng Xiao blamed Qin Wu. And Qin Wu, thousands of miles away in the desert, had no idea that a Flame King was plotting his demise.

The protagonists were at war. And the Villain was winning without lifting a finger.