That Brother Is Doomed

Because Gu Chengyin suddenly realized something.

Something he had overlooked.

Luo Zhao's cultivation.

Was already nearly the late Foundation Establishment stage.

These two pieces of information collided in his mind, producing a dull thud only he could hear.

When had he started ignoring this?

Was it because Lin Qingyan's Golden Core invincibility was too dazzling, or because Gu Xiaoli's half-step Nascent Soul was too monstrous?

Spending too much time around these two, the late Foundation Establishment stage—a level that would already make any ordinary cultivator stand proudly among their peers—

Had become as unremarkable as a pebble by the roadside.

Even Gu Chengyin himself hadn't noticed when Luo Zhao had cultivated to this level.

In fact, he didn't even know when Luo Zhao had started cultivating seriously.

No.

It wasn't that he didn't know.

It was that he had never paid attention.

What if Luo Zhao had been cultivating all along?

Not sporadically, but day after day, month after month.

In places no one could see, using the fragmented scraps of time crushed by court politics.

Grinding away at her cultivation, bit by bit?

Why would Luo Zhao do this?

She was the Crown Prince.

The future Empress of the Great Luo Dynasty.

Her battlefield was in the court, in the memorials, in the maneuvering against those senior officials.

Cultivation had never been a necessity for Luo Zhao.

She had the Golden Feather Guard, the royal attendants, the Golden Core cultivators of the Heavenly Master Mansion backing her.

No one would expect a Crown Prince to personally charge into battle.

All she needed was to use her unlimited resources to extend her lifespan.

But Luo Zhao was still young, very young.

Extending her lifespan wasn't a necessity for her right now.

So why did Luo Zhao spend so much energy?

On improving something that wasn't necessary for her at this moment?

Unless...

Gu Chengyin's pupils contracted slightly.

Unless Luo Zhao felt that these things weren't enough.

Unless she felt that the Golden Feather Guard couldn't protect her, and the Golden Core attendants couldn't protect her either.

Unless she believed she could only rely on herself, or rather, that she had to face something alone.

"Big brother?"

Gu Xiaoli's voice yanked Gu Chengyin back from his brooding.

The little cat-girl tilted her head to one side, her spiritual energy cat ears leaning forward, her large eyes filled with confusion.

She had said so much, only to realize that Gu Chengyin hadn't taken in a single word.

"What is big brother thinking about?"

Gu Chengyin blinked, and in an instant, all those churning thoughts were pressed back into the depths of his eyes.

The corner of his mouth curved back into that faintly amused arc. He reached out and lightly tapped Gu Xiaoli's forehead with his knuckles.

"I was thinking that Xiaoli is right."

His voice regained its earlier languor:

"Her Highness is indeed very impressive."

Gu Xiaoli covered the tapped spot on her forehead, pouting, but she didn't dodge.

Her spiritual energy cat ears twitched, as if verifying how much truth and how much falsehood were in Gu Chengyin's words.

After a moment, seeming satisfied with her assessment,

She picked up where she had left off, as if the little interruption had never happened.

"But Sister Princess isn't suitable for big brother either."

Gu Xiaoli's tone became resolute, like someone announcing a carefully considered conclusion.

Her spiritual energy cat ears pressed back slightly, though the tips still pointed forward—a posture of both vigilance and confidence.

"Because Sister Qingyan will definitely be jealous."

At this point, Gu Xiaoli lowered her voice, as if afraid someone might overhear. She glanced around in a circle.

Only after confirming that the courtyard held just the two of them did she lean closer to Gu Chengyin and whisper the second half:

"If Sister Princess marries big brother first, big brother is done for."

Gu Chengyin finally couldn't hold it in and laughed out loud.

A genuine laugh that rolled up from his throat, vibrating through his chest, sounding especially clear in the quiet courtyard.

The leaves on the trees were startled by the laughter, rustling for a while.

A few golden old leaves fell, spiraling down onto Gu Xiaoli's head.

"Then by that logic," Gu Chengyin said once he'd laughed his fill, reaching out to pick the leaf from Gu Xiaoli's head, his tone still carrying lingering amusement:

"Wouldn't that mean Xiaoli doesn't work either?"

Gu Xiaoli's expression froze for a moment.

Not the freeze of someone struck at a sore spot, but the freeze of someone caught in a net of their own weaving.

Her large eyes darted around quickly—left, right, then left again.

As if desperately searching for an exit to slip through this trap.

By that logic, she indeed didn't work either.

Because Lin Qingyan didn't get along with her.

The friction between the two went way back, something both of them acknowledged.

If Lin Qingyan would be jealous over Luo Zhao, then naturally she'd be jealous over Gu Xiaoli too.

Fair is fair—there was no reason to favor one over the other.

Every reason Gu Xiaoli had used to dismiss Shangguan Yunying and Luo Zhao could be turned right back around and applied to herself.

But Gu Xiaoli wasn't the type to be choked by her own words.

Her eyes spun around three times, and suddenly lit up, like a lamp being kindled in the dark of night.

The light came so fast and so suddenly that Gu Chengyin could almost see a tiny, sparkling point of light appearing beside her spiritual energy cat ears.

"Xiaoli is different!"

Gu Xiaoli puffed out her chest, her chin tilting slightly upward, her delicately world-weary face displaying a complex blend of pride and guilt.

Like a cat that had stolen a fish from the tank, yet strutted around as if nothing had happened.

"Xiaoli's cultivation is high, very, very high!"

Gu Xiaoli bit down hard on every word, as if using weight to make up for her lack of conviction:

"Even if Sister Qingyan has objections, Xiaoli can still protect big brother."

After she said this, her spiritual energy cat ears shot straight up, the fur at the tips puffing out into a proud fan shape.

But Gu Xiaoli's gaze was wandering—drifting left to right, right to left, never daring to land on Gu Chengyin's face.

But Gu Chengyin's eyes lit up.

This was what he'd been waiting for.

No—from the very beginning, this was the whole point.

What Gu Chengyin needed was exactly this.

When Lin Qingyan faced some unforeseen situation, someone needed to be able to stand up and counter her.

Not with authority, not with schemes, but with real, tangible cultivation.

With the kind of power that would make even a Golden Core invincible think twice.

And that person could only be Gu Xiaoli.

Shangguan Yunying wouldn't work—her cultivation was still too weak; Lin Qingyan could restrain her with a single finger.

Luo Zhao wouldn't work either—she was the Crown Prince, her authority could mobilize a thousand troops, but it couldn't stop thunder descending from the sky.

The civil and military officials of the court surely wouldn't work—their world and the world of Golden Core cultivators were separated by an invisible chasm.

Like talking to a brick wall, beyond reach.

Only Gu Xiaoli.

Only Gu Xiaoli, with her half-step Nascent Soul.

But Gu Chengyin didn't immediately spell this out.

He let his gaze rest on Gu Xiaoli's face and asked seriously:

"Little Aunt is a Golden Core invincible. Xiaoli, can you really protect me?"