Time passed, and a week passed in a blink of an eye.
The grand, sweeping routines of the Imperial Academy continued to grind forward, but beneath the surface of the academic lectures and rigorous spiritual training sessions, a completely different kind of tension had been silently building.
Ye Hongyan stood just outside the heavy wooden doors of the primary classroom, her delicate fingers resting lightly against the cold stone frame as she tried to calm herself.
Her heart was beating with an erratic, fluttering rhythm that was entirely uncharacteristic of a high-stage cultivation master of the 6th stage Heavenly Saint Realm.
She closed her eyes, forcing her breathing to slow down, but the tumultuous thoughts within her mind refused to settle.
A week.
An entire week had dragged by since that fateful afternoon in her private office.
During these past few days, she couldn't get Haoran off her mind for even a single waking moment.
