"Senior Sister."
Su Wen's phoenix wings fluttered, stirring the breeze and lake, as he softly landed before a lotus platform and whispered.
"Hm… Did you use spiritual detection?" The white-veiled girl's voice trembled slightly, agitation clear. "That's cheating."
"Of course not," Su Wen chuckled. "But I know your body too well, Senior Sister. It doesn't matter if you're clothed or not—I'd recognize you instantly."
This wasn't just photographic memory—this was from countless, repeated physical… exposure. Every patch of skin was memorized…
"Ah…" Zhang Lexuan blushed, turning her face aside, letting Su Wen remove her white hat.
The boys whistled across the lake.
"Whoa~ She didn't resist at all," Han Ruoruo stuck out her tongue. "Looks like our Vice Dean has long since fallen into the river of love."
"Han Ruoruo, quit acting cute! Don't you know how old you are?" Zhang Lexuan snapped, blushing.
"..."
Su Wen lifted Zhang Lexuan's hat, wings spreading as he hovered above the water, gazing down at the white-garbed girls.
"Tsk, want me to use my spiritual detection?" Big Eye's voice resounded mischievously in his mind.
"No need," Su Wen replied coolly.
He narrowed his eyes—my eyes are my measuring stick.
Soon enough, he spotted a boldly built figure.
Gliding to another lotus, he gently lifted a girl's hat, face freezing slightly. "Wu Ming-jie…"
He'd thought it was Sister Xiao Tao, but was mistaken.
He'd never imagined that this girl, with her face covered, could resemble Xiao Tao so much…
"What, not satisfied?" The unveiled woman snorted, hands on her hips. "Doesn't matter, you're too young for me. I don't like younger guys."
"Hmph, sour grapes," teased the woman in white beside her.
"Sour? Me?!" Wu Ming huffed in anger.
Only now did Su Wen glimpse the girl who had just spoken, standing on the lotus adjacent.
He felt a secret relief.
Recognizing Senior Sister was fine. But recognizing only the Senior Sister and nobody else? Now that would've meant trouble…
"Too amateur," Big Eye snickered in Su Wen's mind.
"Shut up!" Su Wen fumed.
He moved on to the next girl.
"Sister Xiao Tao."
He unveiled her hat, revealing a stunning, bashful-and-angry face. Her red eyes shot daggers at him as she whispered, "You can recognize Senior Sister, but not me?"
"Looks like lately you haven't been cooling my fire enough. You're getting unfamiliar with me! After the event, come to my place. I'll refresh your memory!"
Su Wen gulped, hesitated, and nodded.
It was his mistake, after all…
"Eh—"
Across the lake, the boys were speechless. In the previous rounds, it'd taken everyone great effort to unveil even a couple of hats. Yet, the inner court girls in front of Su Wen didn't even put up a fight—like overripe flowers, waiting to be picked!
Three in a row, even.
Including the two most fiery-tempered beauties in the inner court, plus the Senior Sister.
It was basically written on their faces: I want to go home with you!
"Ahem, ahem, girls, even if you like him a lot, let's stick to the process!" Yan Shaozhe smiled slyly. "In this segment, the guys are supposed to go through trials before they can unmask you. Show a little restraint! I think some of you are so into Su Wen you'd say 'yes' before he even asks?"
Making Su Wen's job a bit harder.
"Yeah, you ladies should at least try to resist, even if it's useless!" Cai Meier joined in, fanning the flames.
"You know how Little Pavilion Lord got his spot? He fought for it!" Wu Ming huffed, but couldn't say much, so she muttered, "You were the examiner for his inner court graduation assessment just the other day, weren't you?"
Su Wen scanned the group, spotting a tall girl with long, shapely legs.
Buzz!
The girl remained calm, her fair hand aiming at Su Wen as ice-cold energy raced down the lotus and over the lake, congealing sheets of frost in its path.
But the chill stopped at Su Wen's feet.
He smiled faintly.
Thankful for the favor from the Dean…
His suspicion confirmed—she was forced to use her powers as a way of proving her identity.
With a flash, he appeared before the girl, hands meeting as fingers intertwined.
"Mm…" The girl grunted softly, as if shocked by Su Wen's power, yet through the joining of hands, he sent a surge of pure, ultimate ice energy into her body.
"Sister Luochen." Su Wen beamed, unmasking her.
Blushing, the girl glared at him, but kept her grip tight, leaning forward and planting a kiss on Su Wen's cheek—soft, damp, and fragrant, like a blossom in winter. Su Wen froze, caught off guard…
"Whoa!!"
"Who's this beauty?"
"Sister Ling Luochen, I think. One of the inner court's seniors. She participated in the last Continental Master Tournament, one of the three main-team members left, and her talent's top tier. She should be Soul Emperor by now."
"Soul Saint, actually. Last time I saw her in the Arena, she beat several strong inner court seniors in a row; the strongest was Zhang Ling, a level 73 Soul Saint."
"Is this allowed?"
"A lot of girls have a thing for Little Pavilion Lord. Some joined Shrek's inner court just for Su Wen."
"Little Pavilion Lord's amazing—he's helped Shrek attract so many geniuses. I know for a fact that the highly-trained Gu Yuena and Mu Qiu'er both entered the Academy specifically for 'Su Wen'—same with Ning Tian, Wu Feng, Meng Hongchen and so on…"
"Don't talk. I'm dying of envy."
"Every single one's a goddess…"
"..."
Su Wen continued unmasking more girls—Wang Dong'er, Gu Yuena, Mu Qiu'er, Ning Tian…
Anyone he recognized, he unveiled.
He floated back to his lotus, his wings folding away.
Calm on the outside, inside, he was utterly panicking.
Thirteen!
At least!
Sure enough—Ju Zi, Meng Hongchen, the cheeky Nana winking, "free gift" Gu Yuena, and the tsundere Lucky Beast.
So many beauties, truly dazzling.
But Su Wen's head was spinning.
"Tsk tsk, fourteen unveiled hats!" Yan Shaozhe teased. "If our Su Wen wanted, he could probably unveil every single girl's hat."
"Su Wen's popularity with the girls is just another form of charisma," Cai Meier said gently.