Su Bei quashed the growing anticipation in his heart. “My burdens are heavy. As my disciple, you’ll have to take on my duty and calling, my responsibilities.”

“I understand,” Zhuo Yifeng replied resolutely.

“You accept this despite knowing nothing of them?”

“I…”

“Don’t rush,” Su Bei advised. “You’re a free man, a student of Kongming Academy. With your talent and potential, you could easily make a name for yourself, so why saddle yourself with my burdens?”

“No matter my accomplishment, what’s the point if there’s no one to share it with?” Zhuo Yifeng laughed bitterly. “My sister’s my only living kin, but she doesn’t care about my being accomplished. What she dreams of is having her parents back, having me around, having a warm, stable family. This is a goal I’ll never be able to fulfill, and I think she’d be very happy if I found a godfather.”

When Su Bei heard Zhuo Yifeng bring up Zhuo Lin’er, he couldn’t help think of a thin, almost emaciated girl. Su Bei had been away when Zhuo Lin’er was born, and he had only seen her once when she was small. Zhuo Lin’er’s impression of him was only through Zhuo Yifeng’s recounting.

As a result, when Su Bei appeared before Zhuo Lin’er, she didn’t recognize him. She walked past him carrying a basket of vegetables, not having realized that the tall, black-robed man was actually her father.

Su Bei followed Zhuo Lin’er all the way back to the Lin manor, only turning to leave when he saw him enter its front doors.

“We’ll talk about this once you return from the alternate dimension,” Su Bei finally claimed. He stood up. “Since you’re leaving in two days, you’d better work hard before then. How’s the progress on your advanced wood-attuned spiritual technique?”

Zhuo Yifeng tossed the empty flask of alcohol down the cliff before standing up. As his arms swept a circle around him, countless vines appeared from mid-air. Following Zhuo Yifeng’s command, they twisted together to form a giant whip. One crack was sufficient to smash a large boulder into powder.

As the boulder vanished, however, so did the whole tangle of vines.

“Your technique’s not bad, but your spiritual energy reserves are lacking,” Su Bei commented, tossing a small black bottle at Zhuo Yifeng. “This is a spiritual pill that can expand your spiritual vortex. Consume it and cultivate, and you should see results within two days.”

Zhuo Yifeng glanced at the bottle in his hands. “Thank you, Master.”

By the time he raised his head, the black-clad man had vanished.

After a full day and night of dual cultivation, Yun Ruoyan was feeling much better. However, her cultivation had regressed because of her injury, and she wasn’t able to make it back to eighth-rank.

Li Mo consoled her, noting her anxiety. “Yan’er, it’s already very impressive that you were able to regain so much of your cultivation so quickly after such a serious injury.”

“But the portal to the otherworld opens tomorrow morning! I have to make it to eighth rank by then,” Yun Ruoyan exclaimed.

“Yan’er, rushing won’t do you any good.” Li Mo’s face was unusually severe. “Even if it’s dual cultivation, your body won’t be able to take much of it while you’re still so weak. Tonight, you have to rest.”

“But—”

“No buts!”

Yun Ruoyan’s face fell. Li Mo pulled her into an embrace. “Yan’er, listen to me. Sleep now, and maybe your cultivation will be back by tomorrow morning.”

As Li Mo coaxed her, he slowly slid his palm to the back of her neck, where he hit a nerve that would cause her to fall asleep.

“Don’t try to coax me! That possibility is far too low,” Yun Ruoyan mumbled. “No matter what, I have to… I have to… go with you…”

Yun Ruoyan closed her eyes and drifted into a dark, deep sleep. Her night passed dreamlessly, and by the time she awoke again, it was bright in the morning.

“Li Mo!” Yun Ruoyan shouted as she awoke. No one was by her side, so she immediately stepped out of bed. Because she had spent so long in bed, however, her legs were weak and powerless, and she immediately stumbled and fell to the ground.

“Li Mo, where are you?! You promised not to leave me alone! You liar!” Yun Ruoyan hollered, tears streaming from her face. “Li Mo, you bastard! I’ll never trust you again!”

“Yan’er, who are you scolding?” Li Mo’s voice suddenly rang out from the back.

Yun Ruoyan stilled. She turned around to where the sound had come from and saw Li Mo walking into the bedroom, a tray of food in his hands.

“Li Mo, you didn’t go?” Yun Ruoyan looked at Li Mo, smiling with tears still in her eyes. “I thought that—”

“You thought that I left for the otherworld without even telling you?” Li Mo put down the tray of food and carried Yun Ruoyan back into bed. “I did think about it, but I wouldn’t dare actually do so. Otherwise, my dear consort would never trust me again.”

“Don’t even think about it!” Yun Ruoyan emphasized.

“Alright, alright, I promise. I won’t even entertain such notions any longer.” Li Mo smiled helplessly as he passed her breakfast.

After breakfast, Yun Ruoyan tried to condense her spiritual barrier again. Unfortunately, no miracle appeared, and she remained unable to do so.

“What am I going to do?”

“We’ve already assigned someone to replace you,” Li Mo said. “There’s no need to worry. Since your cultivation hasn’t recovered, just wait here for me, alright? I’ll return immediately after saving Qin Feng.”

“Do you have a plan against Pi Batian?”

“I won’t challenge him directly,” Li Mo replied. “I might not be his match in a straight fight, but I still have my wits. There’ll be a way out, I’m sure.”

“But—”

“Alright, Yan’er.” Li Mo broke her off. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll come back safe and sound.”

Yun Ruoyan pursed her lips, not saying anything. Li Mo flicked her forehead, prompting a pained ‘Ouch!’ as she caressed her forehead while puffing up her cheeks.

“Yan’er, if you keep going on like this, I’ll not be able to make it to the otherworld in time.”

“I want to at least see you go through the portal,” Yun Ruoyan finally suggested a compromise.

The portal to the alternate dimension would be opened up through the all-seeing mirror around noon, in about two hours. Yun Ruoyan gingerly stepped off the bed and tried to walk a few times before finally managing to do so without Li Mo’s help.

“Li Mo, I heard Qiuqiu say that I was poisoned with some sort of corpse poison.”

“Yes, that’s right. Luckily, Kongming Academy possesses the antidote to this type of poison, but I didn’t have it with me. By the time we brought you back to Kongming Academy, the poison had ingrained itself within your body, which made it far more dangerous.”

The spear that had penetrated Yun Ruoyan’s chest looked frightening, but it wasn’t particularly dangerous to her. When Yun Ruoyan thought back to what had happened, she seemed to recall that spear shifting slightly right before it struck her.

She didn’t know whether her eyes were playing tricks on her, but it didn’t matter: Pei Ziao had died to the corpse poison.

“Where did the shade that poisoned me come from?” Yun Ruoyan asked. Before she fell unconscious, she saw Li Mo burn it to death with his spiritual fire, and she was curious about its origins.

“It’s a demon,” Li Mo replied. “As for its origins, I haven’t had time to investigate.”

“Have you investigated whether it’s related to Yi Qianying, then?”

“Yi Qianying? Wasn’t she locked up by the second elder?”

“She was, but Zong Yang said that he saw her in the academy not long before the training. I suspect that the second elder freed her to participate in the otherworld expedition,” Yun Ruoyan explained. “And the shade told me that the person who instigated it to kill me was her!”

Li Mo frowned. “If it was truly Yi Qianying, I’ll make her pay.”

Two hours seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. The students participating in the expedition gathered by the top of the southern tower, where the all-seeing mirror was placed, following their respective colleges’ elders.

Yun Ruoyan also arrived at the top of the tower with Li Mo.

“Sister Ruoyan, you’ve awoken! Thank goodness!” Lin Qingchen and Lin Qingxue crowded around her the moment they saw her. “You frightened us half to death!”

When Yun Ruoyan awoke, Li Mo told her that the Lin sisters had encountered the shade-controlled Pei Ziao, but managed to run away safely. By the time Li Mo carried the heavily wounded Yun Ruoyan back to the shore, they were already there waiting for her. Only then did Yun Ruoyan finally feel secure in sending them to the otherworld.

Zhuo Yifeng stood behind Lin Qingxue and Lin Qingchen. Ever since arriving at the southern tower, he had only glanced at Yun Ruoyan once.

“Zhuo Yifeng!” Yun Ruoyan called out.

Zhuo Yifeng finally turned to Yun Ruoyan. “What is it?”

“Please take care of Qingxue and Qingchen on my behalf.”

“You’re not going?”

“My cultivation hasn’t recovered yet, so I can’t go.”

Zhuo Yifeng suddenly smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ll definitely protect Qingchen and Qingxue on your behalf.”

“It’s time!” the first elder announced, and the all-seeing mirror slowly came to life in front of the crowd. Its pitch-black surface suddenly exploded in brilliant white light...