Chapter 41: Enchanting Eyes

Hour of the Dog.

Within the Myriad Phenomena Garden of the Duke Protector’s Manor.

After leaving the Pavilion of Blossoms, Cheng Guang parted ways with Qiao Songshan and returned to the manor with a group of guards. Strangely, ever since he uttered those words and left the pavilion, the familiar chime of the system had not sounded in his ears. Could it be that this mission had failed?

Cheng Guang was a bit surprised by this, but not particularly disappointed; he did not dwell on it. After all, if he failed once, he could always try again.

Upon returning to the manor, Cheng Guang cultivated for a while, stopping only when his body felt weary. He intended to enjoy Qingluan’s massage before bathing and retiring for the night. Unexpectedly, just as he was preparing to relax, the cold, mechanical voice unique to the system abruptly sounded in his ear.

Reclining on a wooden chair, enjoying Qingluan’s delicate fingers pressing gently against his forehead’s acupoints, Cheng Guang listened to the system’s notification of mission completion.

[Revenge against Bai Shuxuan, the Saintess of the Qingqiu Fox Clan, mission accomplished.]

[Would you like to claim your reward?]

The moment Cheng Guang heard this, his eyes lit up. So there was a delay in the mission’s completion?

He had nearly given up hope, but now the system suddenly informed him the mission was finished. It was an unexpected delight.

Cheng Guang immediately asked Qingluan to leave. Claiming system rewards often brought about unusual phenomena; if she witnessed anything, it would be hard to explain.

Once Qingluan had thoughtfully tidied his bed and quietly withdrawn, Cheng Guang quickly climbed onto the bed, burrowed beneath the covers, and prepared to claim his reward.

“Claim!”

With a slight movement of his mind, a mysterious force materialized within him, coursing through his meridians as if searching for a target. A moment later, it seemed to find its destination and began to converge on his eyes. His pupils throbbed with pain, and golden flames seemed to blaze before him.

Golden rays of light, almost tangible, flashed across his vision.

“Hiss… that hurts…”

Cheng Guang’s face twitched, his eyes assaulted by a sensation akin to countless steel needles—stabbing, burning, as though innumerable ants crawled within.

Clutching his eyes, he fought to keep from making a sound.

After what felt like an eternity, the pain finally began to ebb.

He opened his eyes again to find the world before him brighter, tinged with new and unfamiliar hues. If an outsider were to look into his eyes at that moment, they would notice a distinct difference from before. No longer merely dark and fathomless, his gaze now shimmered with clarity and transparency, carrying a faint, beguiling allure. It lent his already handsome features an oddly enchanting, almost otherworldly beauty.

At the same time, a message appeared in his mind.

[Eye of Enchantment (Divine Ability): Inherited from the bloodline of the Qingqiu Fox Ancestor, this ability allows the user to wield enchanting power, controlling the minds of others for personal use. It also grants immunity to all mental influences of enchantment.]

[Note: The actual effect of the Eye of Enchantment depends on the host’s spiritual strength. The system bears no responsibility for the user experience.]

Cheng Guang couldn’t help but twitch his lips at the system’s typically unnecessary note. Still, it was in line with the system’s usual style.

Ignoring the remark, his attention shifted to the newly acquired Eye of Enchantment. A peculiar brilliance flickered in his gaze.

“Eye of Enchantment, capable of beguiling and controlling the minds of others?”

“Hiss, this divine ability is remarkably powerful. If one’s strength were sufficient, wouldn’t that mean you could manipulate anyone at will, making anything you wished to achieve effortless?”

“In the mission prompt, the true heir turned into such a pitiful, groveling wretch—could it have been due to the Eye of Enchantment?”

Cheng Guang stroked his chin, pondering carefully, but found this unlikely. Given the Duke Protector’s Manor’s formidable power and the abundance of experts, any tampering with the heir would hardly go unnoticed for so long.

So, it was probably not the work of the Eye of Enchantment.

What else could it be? Could it be that Bai Shuxuan really used nothing but her cunning, manipulative ways to turn the heir into such an ultimate sycophant?

Cheng Guang couldn’t quite believe it; it seemed just as unrealistic. No matter how skilled Bai Shuxuan was, it was impossible for the heir to defy the opposition of everyone in the Duke’s household, insist on marrying her, and let her run wild in the manor as if he’d lost his mind.

What method did Bai Shuxuan use to control the real heir?

Perhaps, even if it wasn’t the Eye of Enchantment, it was an ability not much different from it.

Reading over the system’s description of his new divine ability, Cheng Guang felt a newfound sense of confidence. No matter how strange or resourceful Bai Shuxuan might be, he need not face her with the same trepidation as tonight.

The Eye of Enchantment would render him immune to all mental manipulations—at least, when facing Bai Shuxuan, he would not lose his mind.

He walked to the mirror by the bedside. With a thought, the Eye of Enchantment manifested as a faint, mysterious mark in his dark pupils. Though the change was subtle, his eyes now gleamed with the eerie luster of a beast, shimmering with a crystalline, emerald brilliance.

Gazing at the divine mark reflected in his eyes, Cheng Guang felt a surge of joy.

“I’ve only reached the Foundation Condensation Realm, yet I already possess a divine ability that only fourth-grade cultivators typically attain—and a rare and precious bloodline ability at that.”

“I truly am starting from the head of the pack.”

To his knowledge, even among the imperial family, awakening a bloodline ability required more than mere status: only those whose cultivation reached the fourth grade and whose bloodline was sufficiently pure could hope to do so. Many within the royal house, their bloodlines too diluted, never awakened any such ability at all, and in the end had to resort to martial methods—turning various divine sigils, meant for soul cultivation, into marks to serve as their own divine abilities.

After admiring his new power for a while, Cheng Guang calmly retracted the mark. He lay back down on his bed, intending to rest for a while before sleeping fully clothed.

Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he murmured to himself, “Whenever the system issues a new quest, it’s always around midnight. Now that a mission’s been completed, will the next one be issued at the same hour?”

Curious, Cheng Guang wondered what new mission the system would assign.

The system’s missions didn’t just offer him precious resources and powerful abilities; they also, to some extent, allowed him to foresee what was coming.

Rare treasures and divine abilities were, of course, important—but for Cheng Guang, surrounded by uncertainty and danger in the Duke Protector’s Manor, information was even more vital. At any moment, he might face assassination, betrayal, or be drawn into some web of conspiracy.

In such circumstances, intelligence could be even more valuable than resources. It could alert him to danger in advance, and in a critical moment, might even save his life.

Take Bai Shuxuan, for instance. Had he not known her true purpose or identity and simply regarded her as a common courtesan, he might have ended up either ensnared by her wiles or toyed with at her whim.

Lying quietly on his bed, Cheng Guang stared serenely at the white gauze above, his thoughts churning.

Time ticked by.

When the hour hand reached midnight, the cold voice of the system sounded in his mind once more—precisely on cue.

“So it has come.”

Cheng Guang’s expression flickered, and he immediately focused all his attention to listen.