Su Yaping stopped in his tracks. He turned and stared intently at the main gate.

The gate was made of scarlet abyssal wood he had specially procured, encased in a molten iron alloy, and weighed over five thousand pounds. An ordinary person couldn’t even budge it. To open it, a mechanism had to be painstakingly cranked from the inside, a task that required two or three people working together.

Furthermore, the estate’s outer walls were built entirely from deep-sea bronze rock, the hardest material available. They were so sturdy that even he, attacking with his full strength bare-handed, wouldn’t be able to destroy them in anything less than several dozen blows.

And that wasn’t even mentioning the unique relic-warding formation he had set up inside.

Logically, with defenses this impregnable, even he wouldn’t be able to get in for a while if he forgot his key.

But now... somehow...

Su Yaping watched as the gate was slowly pulled open. Under the gray-white light of the sky outside, two figures leisurely crossed the threshold and entered the courtyard.

"This place isn’t half bad. It’ll do as a temporary place to rest."

The white figure in the lead spoke softly.

Her voice was clear and poised—clearly a woman’s.

"You are absolutely right, Mother, but why not rest in the Moon Tower? The Inner City Moon Tower will surely have sensed our arrival." The person behind her spoke in a low, respectful voice.

"The environment in the Moon Tower is far too dull," the woman in front said casually. "Those three are not easy to deal with. I have no desire to interact with them unless it’s necessary. They’re currently fighting the Fog Spirit host. They probably don’t want any extra trouble either. If I don’t make a move, they’ll pretend they didn’t see us. That’s for the best."

"I see," the man behind her replied.

"Alright, you’re Su Yaping, correct?" After speaking, the woman’s gaze fell upon Su Yaping, who was standing in front of his bedroom door.

"Come now, little one. Tell me where your Daoist Master is."

As the woman drew closer, the strange distortion and blurriness around her body slowly faded, revealing her true face.

The moment he saw her face, Su Yaping’s pupils constricted, and he couldn’t help but take a step back.

Her face was pitch-black, save for a single, multi-colored eye in the center of her forehead that shimmered with a piercing halo of light.

In the next instant, the entire world around him—up, down, and all around—changed completely.

The courtyard turned a shade of dark crimson.

A layer of dark flesh silently grew over everything.

Blood seeped from the ground. The walls sprouted intestinal villi. The stone pillars supporting the house grew pulsating membranes of flesh.

The thick, metallic stench of blood began to permeate the air.

’This is bad. My Heart and Spirit has been completely crushed! This person is...!’ Su Yaping was horrified.

He had been dragged into her mental domain.

With the current strength of his Heart and Spirit, not even a Blood Ancestor could have dragged him into a mental illusion so easily.

Yet this woman had done it the moment they met, before he even had a chance to resist...

’There’s only one possibility for someone capable of this!’

’A Fog Person!’

Su Yaping drew a sharp, cold breath. He did his best to steady himself and remain perfectly still.

He knew that in this state, resistance was futile. She could directly brainwash him, scramble his cognition, and turn him into an idiot.

"I was not aware of Your Excellency’s arrival. If there is any way Su Yaping can be of service, please do not hesitate to command me."

Su Yaping, knowing what was good for him, immediately dropped to his knees.

"Tell me the location of your Daoist Master," the woman repeated.

"The Daoist Master..." Su Yaping’s heart was in turmoil. He wanted to answer, but in that instant, the Dharma Seal of Qingfeng Dao flashed in his mind.

If he betrayed the Daoist Master, the Dharma Seal would surely abandon him. The power of Qingfeng Dao was his only hope for a future breakthrough.

But now, if he didn’t speak...

"You’re hesitating?" The woman instantly saw through him, a look of surprise on her face.

’Faced with my question, a mere Mingji actually dares to hesitate!?’

That this potential act of betrayal was enough to make him hesitate, even for a moment, in front of her was quite a remarkable thing.

Whether it was the Martial Dao or Summoning, even pushed to their absolute limits, they were nothing more than acrobatics, like a dance, in Tuyue’s eyes. Their power was so weak and feeble. They had no strength to resist this dangerous world.

This was why the Fog People, including herself, treated everything with a playful, almost game-like attitude, except when facing their peers.

And now, Su Yaping’s hesitation only fueled her curiosity about Lin Hui even further.

"My, it’s been a long time since I’ve had this much fun..." A brilliant smile spread across Tuyue’s face.

"Your Excellency...!" Su Yaping trembled, kowtowing deeply. "If this junior reveals the Daoist Master’s whereabouts, I will pay a terrible price... But this junior also knows that failing to report truthfully to you would mean a fate worse than death. That is why this junior’s heart is filled with pain, conflict, and hesitation..."

"A terrible price? Interesting. So you’re saying you believe the price he would make you pay is comparable to the one I would?" Tuyue chuckled.

"In this junior’s heart, yes," Su Yaping replied in a low, serious tone.

’If I can’t pursue greater heights and break through my limits, I would rather die.’

"Interesting... How very interesting!" Tuyue suddenly burst into laughter.

Her laughter shook the ground and made the house hum, as if everything was trembling in fear.

Su Yaping and Ning Qianzhi desperately suppressed their terror, keeping their heads bowed and silent, waiting for Tuyue to finish laughing.

After a full several minutes, Tuyue’s laughter finally died down.

"Well then, I have another question."

"Please, ask," Su Yaping said, sighing in relief internally.

"Your Daoist Master... just how strong is he? Strong enough to make you submit so completely, to be so utterly devoted to him. I recall that just six months ago, you were Xingdiao’s Vice Palace Master of the Rain Palace, were you not?" Tuyue said with a slight smile.

"This junior... does not know." Su Yaping paused, then decided to answer honestly. Answering this question truthfully probably didn’t count as a betrayal.

"You don’t know?" Both Tuyue and Ning Qianzhi were surprised.

Su Yaping, a Bright Extreme Grandmaster, actually didn’t know the specifics of Lin Hui’s strength.

Normally, this only happened when there was an immense gap in power between two individuals.

And Lin Hui... how many years had he been cultivating? How could he possibly have reached such a level?

’Could it be...?’

A sudden guess flashed through Ning Qianzhi’s mind, and he quickly looked up at his mother.

But Tuyue just shook her head slightly.

"He’s not one of us. Our kind can sense each other within a certain range."

’If he’s not one of them, then it’s even more outrageous...’

What was above the Mingji realm? Blood Ancestor.

But even a Blood Ancestor would need at least a hundred, or even several thousand, years to reach a level like Ning Qianzhi’s.

By Ning Qianzhi’s estimation, perhaps only someone on his level could make an expert of Su Yaping’s caliber completely unable to even perceive the gap in their strength.

And seeing him now, Su Yaping seemed a great deal stronger than the Mingji he remembered.

"Last question," Tuyue said with a grin. "In your eyes, who is stronger: me or your Daoist Master?"

"..." ’This question...’

Su Yaping fell silent. More and more beads of sweat formed on his forehead, and his back was already soaked through.

"Don’t be afraid. Tell me the truth," Tuyue added.

"Yes..." Su Yaping considered for a moment, then decided to stop hiding anything.

He took a deep breath.

"In this junior’s eyes, you are like a vast, boundless ocean with no visible shore."

"And the Daoist Master... is like a deep abyss, unfathomable and pitch-black."

’Isn’t that the same as saying nothing?’

"Alright, I understand." Tuyue knew she wouldn’t get anything more out of him. Every single fluctuation in his Heart and Spirit was an open book to her, so she knew perfectly well whether he was telling the truth.

"Let’s just go find him directly. I’m getting a little impatient."

*

*

*

「Early morning, inside the Taixu Martial Academy.」

Lin Hui ambled into the teaching pavilion, carrying a cloth bag full of books. The absorption of the Pulse of Life, though scant, had further enhanced his physical strength.

It was only a tiny amount, yet the change it produced felt greater and more powerful than when his Typhoon Body Tempering had advanced him directly to the First Grade.

He now felt as if his body had been strengthened to its absolute limit and was beginning to use the Pulse of Life to slowly contract and compress inward.

Not only that, but now, whenever he walked upon the earth, he could faintly feel his feet connecting with some vast pulsation deep within the planet.

’The Star Breath Sword Manual... Star Breath... the breath of a planet...’

He was starting to understand why this Sword Manual was named as such.

Of course, he didn’t know exactly how strong it was or how much power this Sword Manual could unleash. He only felt that it was stronger and more dangerous than the Typhoon Swordsmanship.

At this moment, he was acting as usual—chatting normally with the Class Leader, Song Xinyan, and assisting with supervising the students and teaching.

He seemed no different from any other ordinary teaching assistant.

Meanwhile, in the sky several thousand meters outside the martial academy...

Tuyue and Ning Qianzhi stood in the void, gazing in the direction of Lin Hui.

"That’s him," Tuyue said via voice transmission. "How interesting. It would have been so easy to get his location, but that Su Yaping was adamant about not telling us."

"We’ll find out once we capture him and take a look," Ning Qianzhi said in a low voice.

"Yes, well then... bring him over," Tuyue said with a laugh. "Remember, don’t make a big scene."

"Yes." Ning Qianzhi nodded respectfully.

The next moment, his figure flickered and vanished, reappearing instantly outside the martial academy’s main gate several kilometers away.

"Hm? A great relic formation connected to the Moon Tower? To think that a mere branch of a martial academy would have such tight security..."

He could certainly destroy it and force his way in, but that would inevitably alert the supervisory formation at the Moon Tower.

Recklessly destroying another Fog Person’s property was an absolute provocation.

As if sensing his predicament, a trace of impatience appeared on Tuyue’s face from her position in the distant sky.

She raised a hand, lifted a finger, and pointed it toward Lin Hui inside the academy.

"Tuyue! This is not your Tuyue City!"

Suddenly, a black figure appeared, blocking her path.

"Sister Xinlian?" Tuyue retracted her hand, a gentle smile on her face. "Listen to you. I just saw a fun toy, and he happened to escape to your territory. I only want to bring him back."

"This is my Black Cloud City. Anyone who enters my city becomes a citizen of Black Cloud City, and all past matters are wiped clean. If you don’t understand the rules, you can go and re-familiarize yourself with the public notice posted by my two brothers and me." The black figure was blurry and distorted, its form and face indistinct, but the female voice that emerged was exceptionally firm.

"If any Fog Person can just come in and snatch people at will, how is my Black Cloud City supposed to conduct business!?"

"...Sister Xinlian, why be so domineering? If you have conditions, just name them," Tuyue said, still smiling.

"Don’t ’Sister, Sister’ me. You’re only a dozen or so years younger than I am. The rules are the rules. If you want to take him back, you’ll have to find another way. If you dare break my rules, don’t blame me for not giving you face," the Fog Person, Xinlian, said coldly.

With that, her figure abruptly dissipated.

Leaving Tuyue floating in mid-air, her expression ugly.