The atmosphere within the Heavensward Institute had shifted from the stagnant scent of decay to the sharp, electric hum of awakening power. While Old Man Wei, the newly christened First Disciple, was busy setting up the Cauldron Peak department—and using the Third Prince as a glorified footstool for his herb-crushing—Gaurav stood on the highest balcony of the library.
Beside him, the air shimmered as Empress Mo Rong materialized. Her Soul-Frost had been temporarily eased by Gaurav's touch, but her silver eyes were fixed on the horizon.
"The Holy Sect of the Radiant Sun has sent their vanguard," she murmured, her voice a chilling breeze. "And leading them is the daughter of the High Priestess—Saintess Liu Fei. They call her the 'Purest Soul of the Continent.' They won't like what you've done to a Prince of the Empire, Gaurav."
Gaurav leaned against the stone railing, his eyes glowing with the golden light of the Sovereign Archive. "They don't like anything they can't control, Rong'er. The Holy Sect thinks they own the light. It's time to show them that the light answers to me."
[DING!]
[Scanning Target: Saintess Liu Fei]
[Status: 5 Miles away. Cultivation: Level 5 (Soul Sea) — Peak Stage.]
[Identity: Potential Second Personal Disciple.]
"A Saintess as a student?" Zhu Feng walked up behind them, her red robes billowing. She looked at Gaurav with a mix of pride and fierce jealousy. "You better not be looking at her 'purity' too closely, husband, or I'll turn this library into a bonfire."
Gaurav laughed, pulling both dominant women closer to him. The contrast was stark—the freezing elegance of the Night Empress on his left and the scorching passion of the Fire Matriarch on his right. "My heart is already occupied by two Terrifying Queens. A Saintess is just another student in need of a proper education."
The Arrival at the Gates
At the foot of the academy hill, the drizzle stopped as if by command. A carriage made of white jade and pulled by four winged horses touched down. A woman stepped out, draped in shimmering white veils that radiated a soft, blinding glow.
Saintess Liu Fei was the epitome of grace. Her every step caused small white lotuses to bloom in the mud. Behind her stood ten Paladins, their Level 4 auras suppressing the nearby forest.
"Master of the Heavensward Institute!" Liu Fei's voice carried a melodic, yet arrogant tone. "You have enslaved a scion of the Crimson Empire and harbored a rogue Ancestor. By the decree of the Holy Sect, you are ordered to surrender and—"
She stopped.
Gaurav was standing at the gate, alone. He wasn't kowtowing. He wasn't even looking at her. He was holding a small, wilting flower in his hand.
"Saintess," Gaurav said, his voice cutting through her Holy Aura like a hot knife through butter. "Your 'Radiant Breath' technique is leaking. For every lotus you grow with your footsteps, you are losing three days of your lifespan. Your mother, the High Priestess, taught you to be a beacon of light, but she forgot to tell you that a beacon without a fuel source eventually burns its own wick."
Liu Fei's composure shattered. Her Holy Glow flickered. "How... how do you know the secret of the Radiant Breath?"
"I am the Librarian," Gaurav smiled, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "I know the flaws of every book ever written. Including yours."
One of the Paladins, a man with a massive claymore, roared in anger. "Blasphemy! To insult the Saintess is to insult the Heavens!"
He lunged, his blade glowing with Holy Light.
"Manners," Gaurav whispered.
He didn't move. Instead, he channeled his Holy Energy. But as the energy left his fingertips, it didn't shine white. It turned a translucent, sickly emerald-gold.
[Technique Active: The Saint's Venom (Conversion: 100%)]
The emerald light touched the Paladin's blade. In an instant, the 'Holy' weapon turned into black liquid, melting in the man's hands. The Paladin gasped as the emerald mist entered his lungs. He didn't die, but his Qi suddenly turned against him, paralyzing his nerves. He fell, not in pain, but in a state of 'Pure Agony'—a poison born from the very energy he worshipped.
"Holy... Poison?" Liu Fei stepped back, her face pale. "That's impossible! Holy energy cannot be toxic!"
"In the hands of a student, it is a tool for healing," Gaurav said, walking toward her. "In the hands of a Master, it is whatever I want it to be. Liu Fei, your mother has turned you into a puppet of the sun. But you were born with the 'Lunar-Solar' physique. You are supposed to master both day and night."
He looked back at Mo Rong, who was watching from the balcony. "Just like my Empress here. You are the missing piece of her department."
Gaurav reached out and touched Liu Fei's forehead. The Eye of the Sovereign pulsed.
[DING!]
[Flaw Correction Initialized: Redirecting Radiant Breath to the Soul Sea...]
Liu Fei felt a surge of warmth that she had never experienced in the cold halls of the Holy Sect. The constant ache in her chest—the price of her 'purity'—vanished. She looked at Gaurav, her eyes wide with a realization that bordered on religious fervor.
"You... you fixed me," she whispered.
"I am your Teacher," Gaurav corrected. "And your first lesson is: The Holy Sect is wrong. True purity comes from balance, not abstinence."
Liu Fei knelt. She didn't kowtow like the Prince; she knelt with the reverence of a scholar finding the Ultimate Truth. "Master... please. Let me stay. I wish to learn the Path of the Physician and the Poison Master."
[System Notification: Second Personal Disciple Bound.]
[Reward Unlocked: The Garden of Eternal Toxins & 1 'Holy Venom' Skill Scroll.]
The Private Lecture
That night, the Academy was silent, save for the bubbling of Old Man Wei's cauldron. Gaurav sat in his private study, the Sovereign Archive hovering before him.
The door creaked open. Zhu Feng and Mo Rong entered. They didn't look like Matriarchs or Empresses now. They looked like wives who had been waiting for their husband.
"You took a Saintess as a student," Mo Rong said, her voice teasing yet sharp. She walked behind him, her cold hands sliding over his shoulders. "I hope you remember that 'Personal Lessons' are reserved for us."
Zhu Feng sat on his desk, her fiery aura warming the room. "The Holy Sect will come for her, Gaurav. They won't let their Saintess stay in a place that practices Necromancy and Poison."
Gaurav pulled both of them into his lap, his hands resting firmly on their waists. He felt the dominant power of the two women, but tonight, they were yielding to the aura of the Master.
"Let them come," Gaurav whispered, his voice vibrating against their skin. "I have 8 more God-Binding Leaves, a Legion of Shadows in the basement, and the Heavens themselves are already under my surveillance. If the Holy Sect wants a war, I will turn their 'High Priestess' into my Academy's head chef."
Zhu Feng laughed, her head leaning against his chest. "I like this side of you, Gaurav. But enough about war. You mentioned a 'Soul-Thaw' elixir... and a 'private demonstration' of your Holy Energy?"
Gaurav smiled, the golden glow of the Archive reflecting in his eyes. "Indeed. But be warned, my Queens... the Sovereign's energy is quite... addictive."
The lights in the library dimmed as the Sovereign Archive shrouded the room in a protective, golden veil. Outside, the world was preparing for a storm, but inside, the Master was finally claiming his due.