Usually, your average social butterfly is just an annoyance to the socially anxious, but you can still manage a conversation with them.
Toph, however? She was something else entirely.
She wasn't just socially bold; she was a Social Terrorist. The kind that was completely off the charts.
Li Ke wanted to maintain some shred of dignity. No matter how mature she acted, Elsa was still a Disney Princess—the crown jewel of the world's most powerful legal department—and one of his all-time favorite characters. He had every intention of staying on her good side.
After all, this was a fairy tale. Li Ke didn't mind deconstructing a fairy tale, but he didn't want to ruin it. Being around a princess type should, by all rights, be a comfortable experience. Besides, he harbored a secret desire to visit Elsa's world to see if it was populated by the likes of Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, or Rapunzel—beautiful women who would decide on a lifelong commitment after a single meeting.
As for not being a Prince? Why bother being a Prince when, with his combat prowess and resources, he could simply become the founding King of his own dynasty?
So, building a solid rapport with Elsa was priority number one. Especially since, if it came down to a real fight, he knew he couldn't actually beat her.
This was only because it was Elsa, though. If it had been that princess from the Shield Hero world, his room would already have a hidden basement featuring a girl with shattered limbs. Li Ke wasn't exactly a "virtuous" man; he just didn't like being unrefined.
But Toph was making it very hard to stay refined. Her "Social Terrorist" side was out in full force.
If they were back in the 7 Days to Die world, Li Ke would have already shown this "adult" brat exactly what "intense" really meant! That three-minute finish earlier was strictly Work Mode—it wasn't even close to his true potential.
"Toph, if you keep this up, I'm switching from Work Mode to Serious Mode," Li Ke warned, staring intensely at Toph as she shamelessly looked for an opening to feel up his pecs and abs.
Thanks to the absurdly effective training gains in the 7 Days to Die world, Li Ke had already carved out a solid physique. He didn't have the exaggerated, bulging muscles of a bodybuilder; instead, he had the kind of natural, lean definition that stayed hidden under his clothes.
This was the type of build meant for actual combat. Massive, over-muscled guys often had terrible stamina because they lacked the body fat to fuel long-term exertion, and their own strength often put too much torque on their joints and bones. It was the reason a 200-pound strongman could potentially lose to a conditioned old master.
Though, he certainly wouldn't be losing to some "fake master" getting blindsided in a viral video.
"Ha! You think I'm scared?" Toph's lips curled into a smirk. "A three-minute man like you? Don't make me laugh! I bet you're just all talk anyway—and hey, those were your words, not mine."
Li Ke: "..."
Li Ke set the ladle down and handed it to a beet-red and thoroughly confused Elsa. Without a word, he grabbed Toph by the collar and started dragging her toward the sleeping quarters.
"Ha! What's the matter? Can't handle the truth?" Toph's face was flushed, but she was far more curious than she was afraid. Fear didn't seem to be in her vocabulary.
Before disappearing inside, Li Ke looked back and gave Elsa a quick instruction.
"Give it a stir every two minutes. If the liquid gets too low, add some water. Don't worry about the flame—I'll keep supplying the mana to keep it burning."
Then, with a firm grip on Toph's collar, he hauled her into the room.
Elsa half-wanted to stop them, but as she thought of Toph's smug, relentless taunting, she hesitated. Besides, Toph actually looked... excited?
"Where on earth did Toph come from?! And what is wrong with her?!" Elsa wailed internally, burying her face in her hands as the stew pot began to bubble and hiss. She truly couldn't wrap her head around it.
Inside the room, even as Li Ke tossed her onto the bedroll, Toph maintained her defiant, mocking smirk. "Oh? So the little man has a temper after all?"
"That's right. And I'm about to teach you a lesson."
Li Ke pulled out a bottle of fresh water and tossed it to her. "Rinse your mouth. I'm not touching anything dirty. And don't worry—I'm going to clean myself up, too."
Even though he was annoyed and determined to put Toph in her place, Li Ke remained professional about his hygiene. When it came to "interacting" with girls, he took the preparation seriously.
"Ha! Typical rookie, always making a fuss over the small stuff," Toph scoffed.
Despite her bravado, she was starting to feel a flicker of unease. The aura Li Ke was radiating right now reminded her of Aang—the Avatar—right before a decisive battle. It was a heavy, focused pressure.
But her curiosity was stronger than her nerves. If her Bending were still working, she wouldn't be acting this... "thirsty." But her connection to the earth was her lifeblood. She could give up men, she could give up marriage, but she would never give up Bending.
Besides, Li Ke had promised not to go "all the way." If it was just mouth service, what was there to be afraid of?
She took a swig of the water. It tasted surprisingly good, so instead of spitting it out, she swallowed it. Once Li Ke finished his cleaning, he turned back to her for one final check.
"Are you ready?"
Toph didn't hesitate. She just blurted it out, all bravado.
"Hah?! Bring it on!"
Her face lit up with that trademark cocky grin — the one that said she was the greatest earthbender alive and nobody could touch her. But the next second, Li Ke's hand clamped around the back of her head and shoved down hard.
Toph's mouth was small, her teeth neat and tiny — clearly, even as an adult, her body hadn't quite caught up to her massive ego. But damn if it didn't feel good. The channel was soft, warm, yielding, and he bottomed out against the back of her throat almost immediately. Tight. Hot. Perfect in its own frustrating way.
The only problem? Her tongue wasn't doing a thing.
"You gotta lick it, you know," he reminded her, voice low.
Toph's tongue finally flicked out — but it was lazy, just sweeping along the sides like she was half-assing a chore, avoiding the head entirely.
Li Ke felt a flicker of disappointment, but the way her throat clenched around him every time he nudged deeper? That more than made up for it.
So he started moving her head for her — gripping her short, messy hair and guiding her in steady, insistent bobs.
Toph hated it instantly. The salty, musky length kept sliding over her tongue and bumping her throat, and now he was rocking her head like she was some toy. One or two minutes? Fine, she could tough it out. But five minutes in, her head started swimming. Dizziness crept in, her breaths came shorter, sharper — and with his rough pace, air was getting harder to steal between thrusts.
Finally, lungs burning, she shoved him back hard and gasped for oxygen, chest heaving.
She barely got a full breath before something hot and slick dragged across the tip of her nose, smeared over her cheeks, then slid right back between her lips.
She braced for another skull-fuck — but instead, Li Ke took over completely, hips snapping forward on his own.
"Hah, that's it? You're done already?!"
Toph seethed inwardly. Being underestimated pissed her off more than anything. But her head was still spinning, so she let him keep going — no point in begging for the rough handling again when she could barely think straight.
Fifteen minutes dragged by.
Her jaw ached, lips numb, but Li Ke hadn't even started trembling. Back when she'd had him in her hand earlier, he'd been twitching in under a minute!
Wait… had he really been holding back this whole time? In "work mode"?
The realization hit. If she wanted this over fast, she needed to step up.
Smart as ever, Toph adapted quick. She focused her tongue on the sensitive underside, pressing and flicking right where the head met the shaft. Every time her tip grazed the slit, his whole body jerked — involuntary, helpless little shudders.
Gotcha.
But another fifteen minutes passed.
By now she'd figured out how to steal nose-breaths around him even when he was deep. She pushed him out again, rubbing her sore jaw, glaring up even as her mouth felt wrecked.
Just as Li Ke opened his mouth to taunt her, she snapped back, words slightly slurred but full of fire.
"Bring it, kid!"
Her stubborn streak was unbreakable.
This time he pinched her cheeks, forcing her mouth open wider — lips, teeth, tongue all yielding as he slid back in slow, deliberate, grinding against every surface before ramping up to full jackhammer mode.
Another fifteen minutes of relentless pounding.
Toph finally broke.
"Mmph— okay! I was wrong! I shouldn't have been so cocky! Just— just go back to work mode, please!"
She pulled off with a wet gasp, drool stringing from her lips to the floor in thick strands. Her mouth was completely numb; the fact that she could still talk clearly was a testament to her sheer willpower.
Li Ke gave a cold chuckle.
"You think you can just call it quits? Where's my dignity in that?"
He slapped his slick length against her cheek — once, twice — mirroring her earlier arrogance right back at her.
Toph could only manage an awkward, sheepish grin.
"I just… didn't know you were actually this good, okay? I've never done this with a guy before. How was I supposed to know you weren't bluffing…?"
She was used to being the top dog. In her world, she was a prodigy — inventing metalbending at twelve, outclassing masters decades older, surviving disasters that would break anyone else. Only Avatar-level power could reliably put her down.
But here? No bending. Her chi was sealed, her earth sense useless. If she fought him for real, she'd probably hurt him bad — and make everything awkward as hell.
So she'd figured she'd play along, get her powers back, then maybe string him up by his ankles or encase him in rock armor and make him fetch her tea.
But her big mouth had backfired spectacularly.
Still… she kinda liked his style. He didn't bully the weak, but if you pushed him? He pushed back hard. Respectable, in a twisted way.
If he weren't from another world, maybe dating wouldn't be so bad…
Wait. Weren't they already doing couple stuff?
Was this dating? Was Elsa in the same boat? Should she act jealous, like she'd been cheated on?
Her brain was still spinning wild ideas even now.
"Fine," Li Ke huffed. "Be a good girl and lick it a few times properly. Then we're done."
Toph gave in fast — no point torturing herself anymore when he had the clear upper hand.
"Got it, got it!"
She stuck out her small, pink tongue and got to work, tracing the ridges and grooves with lazy swipes while her mind wandered.
Once her bending came back… should she hoist him up and spank him senseless? Or trap him in a stone suit so he'd have to serve her like a butler?
Tough choice.
Distracted, she kept licking — until Li Ke finally started trembling under her tongue.
Instinctively she opened wider, curious to taste whatever weird thing the others raved about.
But the second her lips brushed him again, he erupted.
Thick ropes of white splashed across her face — hot, sticky, painting her pale cheeks and freckles in messy streaks.
Toph froze, stunned, the pure shock written all over her usually smug expression.
Then she licked a stray drop from the corner of her mouth, grimaced, and spat dramatically.
"Ptoo! Gross! They were all lying!"
Li Ke: "…"
Her disgusted face was hilarious — totally normal reaction, sure — but part of him wanted to grab her again, shove back in, and make her choke on her words until she learned some manners.
"Nobody forced you to swallow," he said dryly, grabbing tissues to wipe her face clean. The stuff was in her hair too — she'd never get it all herself.
Noticing a smear on her foot, he sighed. Guess he'd buy her new shoes later.
As Li Ke wiped the last of the mess from her face, he caught a glimpse of the system tally.
"Eighty energy points for one session…" he muttered, half-impressed and half-exasperated. "Seriously, Toph, do you even have a sense of shame?"
He kept his expression neutral, hiding the fact that a small, precious flicker of World Power had slipped into his reserves alongside the energy.
"Who needs shame?!" Toph shot back, her chin thrusting upward with defiant pride despite the state he'd left her in. "That stuff is useless for a Master!"
Li Ke looked at her—messy, stubborn, and completely unrepentant—and realized he had no comeback. He simply turned away, the quiet of the room settling over them as the tally on his status screen hummed with a newfound, golden weight.