The Glitch in the Jade

The silence in the Hall of Tranquility was heavy enough to crush bone.

Seraphina "Sera" Lin sat in the center of the first row, her legs folded into a perfect lotus position. Her white robes were starched to a razor’s edge, her spine was a line of unyielding steel, and her mind was screaming.

It was the Mid-Term Meditation Exam. Three hundred disciples of the Celestial Peak Academy sat in rows behind her, circulating their Qi. The goal was to maintain a state of "Void stillness" for three hours.

Sera was at two hours and fifty-nine minutes.

* Perfect,* she told herself, though the sweat trickling down her spine felt like ice. *Just hold it. Father is watching.*

High above on the dais, Sect Leader Lin sat on his throne of carved jade. He wasn't looking at the other students. He was looking only at her. His gaze was a physical weight, pressing down on her shoulders.

Sera pushed her Qi through her meridians. It should have been a smooth river. Instead, it hit a wall.

A sharp, tearing pain erupted in her chest. Her Core trembled. It was a bottleneck—a lethal one. Her Yin energy was spiraling out of control, freezing her blood. She gasped, her perfect posture faltering.

* No,* she panicked. *Not here. Not now.*

If she failed, she wasn't just a disappointment. She was discarded.

Her vision blurred. The white hall spun. Through the haze, she saw a blue rectangle flicker into existence before her eyes.

**[CRITICAL WARNING: Yang Deficiency Detected.]**

**[Host Life Signs Failing.]**

**[Initiating Emergency Harmonic Protocol...]**

Sera blinked. A hallucination?

**[Scanning for compatible Yang Source...]**

**[Target Acquired: Ren Jett.]**

* Ren Jett?* The name hit her dazed mind like a slap. Ren was the stain on the Academy’s honor. He was the boy currently sleeping in the back row, drooling on his sleeve.

The pain in her chest spiked to a crescendo. Sera felt her heart stop.

**[System Activated. Tethering in 3... 2...]**

A golden thread, invisible to everyone else, shot out of Sera’s chest. It zipped over the heads of the meditating disciples and slammed into the chest of the boy in the back row.

Ren Jett jerked awake with a yelp.

Sera felt a sudden, violent pull. It wasn't gravity; it was magnetic. Her body moved before her mind could consent. She scrambled up from her lotus position, stumbling over her robes.

"Seraphina?" the Proctor hissed. "Sit down!"

Sera didn't hear him. She was being reeled in. She ran past the shocked students, her breath coming in ragged gasps. She reached the back row just as Ren stood up, rubbing his chest and looking confused.

"Hey, what's—" Ren started.

Sera didn't let him finish. The System flashed a command in bold red letters: **[PHYSICAL CONTACT REQUIRED TO STABILIZE.]**

She lunged. She grabbed the lapels of his messy, unwashed outer robe and slammed her body against his.

The contact was electric. A shockwave of warmth flooded her freezing veins. The pain vanished instantly, replaced by a rush of pure, golden power that felt like sunlight after a long winter.

The Hall of Tranquility erupted in gasps.

Sera stood there, the Sect Leader’s daughter, the Ice Princess of the Jade Courts, hugging the school delinquent in front of three hundred people.

Ren looked down at her, his hands hovering awkwardly in the air. He smelled of rain and cheap noodles.

"Uh," Ren whispered, his voice vibrating against her ear. "Princess? Not that I’m complaining, but your dad looks like he’s about to murder me."

Sera looked up. The System screen hovered next to Ren’s grinning face.

**[Stabilization Complete. Bond Established.]**

**[Warning: Separation of more than 10 meters will result in immediate Qi Deviation.]**

Sera’s knees gave out, and she fainted dead away in his arms.