More voices rang out from the jade pendant. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

“Well... Second Sister’s just notifying us again.”

“I knew there was no way Second Sister would seek permission... Ugh... Brother Long, you’re going to have to go clean up the mess again.”

With that, Chan Kongzi pressed his palms together, forced the abyssal rift before him shut, and marked it clearly. Silver light flickered. Someone would soon arrive to reinforce the seal, and then his job would be done.

Chan Kongzi spoke into his jade pendant once more, his expression stern. “You Ming, what are you doing?”

At the edge of the Daochan Territory’s sea region, You Ming’s hands moved in a blur, blood threads weaving together into a massive sealing array. He snapped back, “I’m sealing a rift! What the hell are you asking for?! Why are there so many of them?! I’m about to go mad here, and you keep asking and asking... Shut up!”

Chan Kongzi held the jade pendant at arm’s length, an odd look on his face, but he did not dare talk back. If one were to ask who among them had been the busiest lately, the answer would undoubtedly be You Ming. He was like a firefighter—whenever something was burning, he was the one who had to go.

After a moment of silence, Long Hou spoke into the jade pendant once more, slow and calm. “Keep at it, the rest of you. I’ll go check on Hong Zhi.”

You Ming’s eyes flickered as he watched the rift slowly seal shut before him, his face a little pale. Only once the rift was fully sealed did he drop onto a pile of rubble with a thud and catch his breath.

“Rotten bastards. How are they still suspicious of me at a time like this?!”

***

At the Purple Spirit Paradise Realm, Li Guanqi and Ye Feng sat alone atop a mountain peak, sharing a drink.

Li Guanqi said softly, “You still haven’t finished refining what Long Hou gave you?”

Ye Feng scratched the back of his head, took a swig of liquor, and said with a laugh, “I was going to finish them off over the next couple of days anyway. Otherwise, I’ll never unlock the second stage of my sword spirit void.”

Ye Feng was covered in ghastly scars now. It was hard to imagine what he had been through during his time out in the world.

He gazed into the distance, his eyes unfocused, and spoke in a quiet, gentle voice. “Boss.”

“Mm?”

“Chasing after you is exhausting... My talent is average, my comprehension is average, and my cultivation speed isn’t great either. The first time I left your side, I already knew it wouldn’t be easy to keep up. But when I climbed out of the Dungeon Abyss, I was genuinely full of confidence, especially when I rescued you from that plaza back then. It gave me such a huge sense of accomplishment.”

Li Guanqi looked at Ye Feng’s weary expression, unsure how to respond.

Ye Feng kept drinking and went on, “And it’s not just me. Big Head and Xiao Chen feel the same. Xiao Chen likes my little sister, Ye Qing’er, but after that incident, he stopped coming over. And even now that he’s back, he’s cultivating all day, every day.”

This was the first time Li Guanqi had heard Ye Feng open up like this. He pressed his lips together, unsure what to say.

Ye Feng looked at him and said softly, “None of us wants to be left behind, but you’re moving too fast... The rest of us have to run with everything we’ve got just to keep pace.”

Ye Feng lay back on the grass with his hands behind his head, face tilted toward the sky, eyes closed. He murmured, “Boss, sometimes I wonder... How can the gap between people be this vast? Just from what I’ve heard about Sun Tianqi, I reckon it’d be fifty-fifty between him and me at best. And the Sun family is just a small clan among the ancient clans. There are so many ancient clans with legacies spanning ten thousand years. How powerful would the younger generations they’ve raised be? It’s exhausting...”

Li Guanqi sat with his back to Ye Feng, silent. Talent truly was the ceiling that held everyone back. When it came to character, Ye Feng and the others were second to none. They cultivated hard, and they were willing to stake their lives. But even then, Li Guanqi could not deny that the gap between him and them was widening.

Li Guanqi softly replied, “Go and fully refine what Long Hou gave you. There’s still a little left... I’ll watch over you.”

Ye Feng sat up, smiling as he nodded. Within a single breath, he started cultivating.

Yin Hellfire swirled around Ye Feng as he refined the golden light at his brow. Li Guanqi watched in silence, then sighed.

“Sword Spirit...”

“I know what you want to say. Their innate talent is above average at best. Raising it any further... that’s very hard. If they ascend to the Immortal World, there are things I could seek out to help them. But here and now, it’s nearly impossible,” Sword Spirit said bluntly, her voice echoing in Li Guanqi’s mind.

Li Guanqi's expression changed slightly. He hadn’t expected even Sword Spirit to be at a loss.

Seeing his expression, even Sword Spirit felt a flicker of reluctance. She appeared beside Li Guanqi and spoke in her usual cool, aloof tone. “If they cultivate diligently day after day and send me more vital force, I could put together a set of techniques for each of them. Also... I think you should ask that man in the golden armor for help.”

Li Guanqi’s expression brightened. Much of his formidable strength came from the sword techniques Sword Spirit had taught him. If Ye Feng and the others could all get technique manuals of that caliber, their strength would increase at a tremendous pace.

Then his expression changed. “Uh... You mean, have Long Hou take them on as disciples?”

Sword Spirit shrugged and glanced toward Xiao Chen, who sat by a stone pool in the distance. She said with a smile, “That fellow uses a spear, doesn’t he? If you bring it up, that man should agree.”

Li Guanqi’s eyes gleamed, and he quietly made up his mind. He did not want to ascend to the Immortal World alone. He wanted to walk into that vast, magnificent world with his alongside his brothers.

Sword Spirit sat cross-legged beside Li Guanqi, her beautiful eyes fixed on him. She said softly, “Once they wake up, I can help them reopen their spirit voids.”

Li Guanqi’s eyes sharpened. He frowned at her, the words slipping out before he could stop himself. “Their spirit voids already closed. Even if you can reopen them, wouldn’t it cost a great deal of your origin power?”

Sword Spirit’s mouth curved up slightly. She tilted her head and looked at him with a smile. “Don’t worry. These little ones... as long as it’s what you want, I’ll help them. It won’t cost me much. The spirit void artifacts they have now are ones that chose them, not ones they chose for themselves.”

She lifted her head slightly, a distant look in her eyes. She murmured. “I can let them choose those ‘artifacts’ for themselves. Once upon a time... those artifacts had to look up to me.”

As the words left her lips, Sword Spirit glanced at Li Guanqi out of the corner of her eye, a smile on her lips. “They’re powerful, too. Truly powerful!”

Once he recovered from the shock, Li Guanqi asked her silently, “Is it because of Spirit Pardon?”

Sword Spirit smiled, pressed a finger to her brow, and said quietly, “It isn’t because of Spirit Pardon. It’s because... across all of heaven and earth, I may be the only one who still remembers ‘them.’ There is only one chance. Whether Ye Feng and the others can find ‘them’ will come down to the karmic connection between the two sides.”

Li Guanqi took a deep breath and turned to Sword Spirit, whose eyes still held that distant look.

“Thank you,” he said quietly.