Hate Me, Witch!

Why is everyone so obsessed with whether or not I’m a virgin?

Xia Ya’s face darkened—innocently caught in the crossfire.

Now that his virgin status had been confirmed, trying to act like a worldly flirt in front of Little Ai was totally out the window.

His whole “experienced guy teasing the girl” act was officially busted—

All that remained was the truth: a theory expert with zero field experience. A paper tiger.

On the other side—

At first, Sylvia had a faint smile on her face after seeing the grail’s answer.

But the moment that second question lit up on the Knowledge Grail’s surface—her entire expression flipped.

A dusky hue surged outward.

Sylvia’s argent eyes gleamed with icy cold, her finger lifting ever so slightly, and twilight’s glow flickered within.

After a long silence, the frost-like pallor on her face finally softened a little.

She took a deep breath and stared at the dainty grail, her pale fingertip tracing elegant golden script into the air:

“I refuse to answer the question. But I can offer equally valuable secret knowledge in exchange.”

“You?”

The little grail tilted slightly, then slowly revealed a reply on its surface:

“Only secrets I do not know—completely unknown to me—are worth the price of exchange.”

“Young Throne.”

“Even if you’ve assimilated divinity, taken on the authority of an Ancient God, and forged a unique path to the Throne—impressive as that may be in my eyes—you’re still far too young.”

“The history you’ve experienced is but a drop in the ocean since the birth of the Material Plane.”

The grail leaned back slightly—as if doing a tactical recline.

“Little girl, what you consider the most taboo, the most precious secret knowledge…”

“Means nothing to me.”

Sylvia’s argent-blue eyes grew even colder.

This damn cup striking that smug, arms-crossed lean-back pose—seriously looked like it needed a beating.

Still, the witch carefully tucked away her emotions.

She had just stripped the life force from a Legendary-tier earlier—probably came off too aggressive in front of Xia Ya.

If she kept showing off her violent side, Sylvia worried Xia Ya might grow distant.

After all that lemon-cat anxiety, she’d finally confirmed Xia Ya was still a virgin…

If she lost her chance just because she slipped up now, she’d be crying for real.

Expressionless, Sylvia sat at the edge of the bed, her graceful script continuing to appear:

“The Dark Tower holds a relic at True God-level...”

The grail wobbled lazily: “Already knew that. Next.”

“The Water Elemental Emperor of the Elemental Plane has a weakness at…”

“Useless trash info. Next.”

“The origin of the Starforged Dragon species is…”

“Old. Knew. Boring. Next.”

——

The silent exchange continued.

The grail’s wobbles and back-leaning motions grew more exaggerated with each round.

“Good grief, this d*mn cup really does know a ton,” Xia Ya muttered on the side, watching like a melon-eating bystander.

Judging by how obscure Sylvia’s intel was—and how easily this fake grail dismissed it—it was clearly no ordinary relic.

Due to its unique nature, the Knowledge Grail had the ability to connect with both the Starrealm and the Spirit Realm, pulling in hidden knowledge via divine insight.

Plus, since it was created way back when arcana and wizardry were still budding—across several eras—it had accumulated an absurd amount of classified knowledge.

The info Sylvia offered was already deep and hidden—things most Thrones might not even know.

But to this obnoxious cup, they were worthless.

“If you can’t trade secrets, then answer the question.”

The grail gave a little shake, a big arrow pointing directly at the Argent Witch.

“Quick answer, or you’ll lose sleep over it.”

Sylvia’s face stayed stony as she gripped the pillow Xia Ya had been lying on earlier.

Light gold script etched itself into the pristine white bedsheet.

Xia Ya also focused in.

He was genuinely curious now.

What had his main wife done in the third hidden chamber on the sixth floor of the castle, left of the hallway, within the third-dimensional pocket of the Plane of Eternal Slumber?

The gossip gremlin within him was thrilled.

“I did nothing there but sleep.”

“That is a lie.”

“…Fine.” Sylvia exhaled sharply. “I conducted a mystic ritual there.”

The grail paused for a beat—then more words appeared:

“What kind of ritual? That answer is too vague. Doesn’t meet the standard for equivalent exchange.”

Frost flickered in Sylvia’s eyes. She engraved her next reply, word by word:

“A Familiar Conversion Ritual.”

The cup shook its head:

“Still too vague. Details, please.”

“In that secret room, I cut off a portion of my own mental energy. Using a mystic ritual, I transformed half of that energy into a familiar that shares my consciousness and perception.”

Sylvia’s writing paused. Her gaze, now dangerous and unfiltered, locked onto the grail:

“That’s everything. That should be enough—end it.”

But the grail didn’t stop. Still swaying left and right:

“Not enough. Still too vague. More details! What kind of familiar? What does it look like? What did you do after creating it?”

What the h**l—this cup’s got balls!

Xia Ya stared at the brazen grail in shock.

You know what? Forget “Knowledge Grail.”

Just call it the Snitch Cup.

Sure, it was impressive—able to access hidden truths through Spirit Realm and Starrealm insights.

But Xia Ya knew well: this thing was just a Q& A machine. It had zero combat power.

That’s why its price in Sands of Time was way lower than the original “Black Grail.”

It couldn’t turn “omniscience” into “omnipotence.”

And it was out here provoking Sylvia—a Throne-tier?!

Seriously, Snitch Cup, aren’t you scared the Tower Master of the White Tower might just smite you with a word spell?

Even with Sylvia’s killing intent no longer veiled, the cup still refused to back off.

It even flipped itself upside down without hesitation.

From Xia Ya’s Beastmaster experience, this was like when a lion or cat or dog rolls onto its back, offering its belly—signaling surrender.

But having a cup do it?

Yeah, that was just… abstract.

“Little girl, you can smash me in front of this young man if you like.

As long as you’re prepared for how he’ll see you afterward.”

The Snitch Cup sprawled shamelessly—absolutely fearless.

“Of course,” the cup continued, “the moment you shatter me, I’ll broadcast the answer to your refused question into the Starrealm—publicly, to every Legendary and Starrealm creature.”

Sylvia clenched her silver teeth.

And Xia Ya couldn’t help but suck in a breath.

He realized something terrifying—

The Knowledge Grail, despite being physically helpless and absolutely begging to be smashed, had still managed to survive for several eras without anyone crushing it to dust.

The key wasn’t strength—it was leverage.

It didn’t need power when it could guarantee every equivalent exchange would go through smoothly, without ever worrying about someone backing out.

It was no wonder this thing endured.

Because words could kill.

And blackmail, especially with the right black history, was a weapon deadlier than blades.

This cup? Holding everyone’s darkest secrets like it had its finger on a nuke—

And it even had auto-broadcast enabled.

Straight into the Era of Deterrence.

Still, after all this lead-up and verbal sparring, Xia Ya had to admit—

He was seriously curious now.

Why wouldn’t Sylvia just answer?

What was this secret she was so adamant about hiding?

Sylvia looked at the cup.

Then she looked at Xia Ya.

After a long moment—

Those argent eyes of hers took on a calm, transcendent stillness.

Like she’d come to terms with life, death, and reincarnation.

Finally, a set of weak, lifeless script slowly surfaced in midair.

“In that hidden chamber, I used a Familiar Conversion Ritual to create a white cat-shaped familiar—my mental incarnation, connected to my thoughts and sensations.”

“Then, I sent that familiar to the Imperial Capital.”

“While I remained at the White Tower to handle the administrative setup of a new branch, whenever I received sensations from that mental incarnation…”

“I would go alone to that hidden room in the auxiliary plane, lie on the bed, and…”

“Roll around, back and forth, on the bed by myself while feeling everything my mental incarnation experienced.”

……………