The Plan

The many Battle Emperors stood wide-eyed. A moment of stunned silence — then relief and joy broke across their faces one by one.

Adams allowed himself a small smile, visibly exhaling the tension he had been holding. "Who would have thought the Aberration would be dead before the Tianming Sage even arrived? No need to live in fear any longer."

Wells surveyed the area, his expression tinged with awe. "The question is, which Saint did this? What incredible power — even at the same Saint rank, they dispatched this Aberration Feral Beast so effortlessly."

Ge Hong spoke slowly. "That Saint pushed Elder Li out of the Shadow Domain before withdrawing it, yet still hasn't shown themselves. Clearly they have no wish to be identified — likely just a passing lord. Let's not pry further."

The others agreed, heads nodding around the group.

Li Xinghai glanced at the green dog's remains, its very bones now crumbling to ash. "The death of this Aberration Feral Beast is a tremendous blessing for us. At the very least, we won't have to abandon Great Qi Star."

Everyone nodded. Si Qi said slowly, "A shame the Aberration's corpse can't be salvaged. If that Saint chose to destroy it, they must have had their reasons."

Silence fell over the group. Then Adams spoke, sounding like a man who had just set down an enormous weight. "Well then — let's head back."

The others agreed, each casting one last glance at the green dog's ashes before turning and flying back toward Great Qi Star.

Lu Yuan stood right there among them, watching them depart. Spatial distortions and shadow-shrouded concealment kept him invisible to every eye present.

After they were gone, he waited a while longer, until the last trace of the green dog had crumbled to ash. Only then did he relax and slip away through spatial movement.

After he left, the final wisp of sacred flame guttered out, and the void of space returned to silent darkness.

A moment later, a flash of green light streaked briefly through the void — and then vanished.

In his dormitory room, the air rippled, and Lu Yuan materialized.

He let out a slow breath and glanced down at the bloodstains on his clothes — remnants of the wounds the green dog had dealt him. He went to the bathroom first, showered, changed into fresh clothes, and returned to his room to rest. The battle had left him genuinely tired.

Meanwhile, as the Battle Emperors dispersed, Si Tingyu had been making her way back to the Talent Camp when Li Qinghe flew up alongside her.

Li Qinghe glanced around with a puzzled look. "Fierce Rain, where's little Yuan? Why didn't he show up?"

The question caught Si Tingyu off-guard. Her golden-red eyes widened slightly, the same puzzlement flickering across her face.

*With Lu Yuan's power, there's no way he couldn't sense the shockwaves of a fight that size in open space. He should have appeared. So why didn't he come?*

Si Tingyu shook her head slightly. "I don't know either. I didn't run into Ah-Yuan."

Li Qinghe frowned faintly, exchanged a glance with Si Tingyu, and suggested, "Should we swing by little Yuan's dorm?"

Si Tingyu gave a small nod, and the two of them flew off toward the Talent Camp.

Li Xinghai and Si Qi, joined by Rafael, returned to the rear mountain of the imperial palace. They checked the room where they had been cultivating and found nothing left behind. They settled into seated positions, legs crossed.

Si Qi's gaze flickered, and he spoke slowly, his confusion evident. "Who is that Saint, really? The Aberration's attack was utterly silent — how did anyone even detect it?"

Li Xinghai nodded in agreement. "That's what puzzles me as well. Whoever that Saint is, they must have been tracking the Aberration's movements beforehand — the moment it made its move, they acted without hesitation. Decisive. I have no idea who it could be."

Rafael chuckled. "What matters most is that everyone's safe. Any Saint capable of killing an Aberration Feral Beast isn't going to cause trouble for Great Qi Star. At worst they'd ask for some compensation, but since they didn't even show themselves, they probably don't even want that. Why overthink it?"

"Fair point," Li Xinghai said with a smile.

Then something crossed his mind. "By the way, both Qinghe and Tingyu made it out there — how come Ah-Yuan didn't show up?"

Si Qi thought it over and shook his head. "Maybe he hit a critical point in his cultivation. That kid's been progressing fast — I honestly don't know."

Rafael grinned broadly. "I hope he breaks through to Saint soon. Next time Great Qi Star faces a Saint-grade Aberration, maybe we won't be quite so helpless."

The other two nodded.

Then Li Xinghai laughed. "Given that kid's power, he might not even need to reach Saint. Just hitting Battle Emperor rank could be enough to hold a Saint-grade Aberration at bay."

"That's not out of the question," Si Qi and Rafael agreed, nodding faintly.

Rafael then said, "Well, I need to get back to guarding the Forbidden Zone border. Stay away too long and the creatures inside start getting restless." Li Xinghai and Si Qi both gave a slight nod as they watched him go.

Dawn was barely breaking over the Talent Camp when Li Qinghe and Si Tingyu touched down in front of Lu Yuan's dormitory building. They knocked at the entrance.

The door opened promptly. The intelligent robot Beji stood in the doorway, mechanical eyes flickering with light. "Good morning, Teacher Si Tingyu."

Si Tingyu gave a small nod, her expression serious. "I'm here to see Ah-Yuan."

"Please come in, Teacher. I'll go fetch Student Lu Yuan."

Beji stepped aside to let them in. Both women settled onto the sofa and watched Beji ascend the stairs.

Beji reached Lu Yuan's door and knocked.

**Knock knock.**

"Student Lu Yuan, Teacher Si Tingyu is here to see you."

In his room, Lu Yuan had barely drifted off to sleep when the knocking jolted him awake. He frowned, eyes opening reluctantly, and stared at the door. *What does my mentor suddenly want with me?*

He sat up, raked a hand through his hair, stifled a yawn, and called out, "I got it." He heard Beji's footsteps retreat down the hallway.

He changed out of his blue pajamas into casual clothes and stepped out into the hallway.

The moment he did, the door of the neighboring room opened and Yang Ping poked his head out. His eyes held a flicker of curiosity, and he quickly leaned in, lowering his voice. "Yuan-bro? Why is Instructor Si Tingyu looking for you all of a sudden?" He had clearly heard Beji's announcement and come out specifically to ask.

Lu Yuan shook his head, equally puzzled. "I don't know either. Go back to your cultivation."

Yang Ping's face fell with obvious disappointment, but he gave a resigned nod and retreated back into his room. Maige's door hadn't opened at all — he was probably deep in cultivation.

Lu Yuan came downstairs to find Si Tingyu sitting on the sofa — and to his surprise, Li Qinghe was there as well.

He walked over, took in the sight of the two women sitting side by side, and shamelessly squeezed himself down between them.

Li Qinghe gave him a sideways look and grinned mischievously. "What's this? Trying to have one on each arm?"

Si Tingyu, who had been maintaining her usual stern composure, froze at Li Qinghe's words. A faint flush crept up her face. She shot a flustered glare at Li Qinghe, then turned one on Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan, who had been brazen enough a moment ago, couldn't quite maintain his composure under such a blunt remark. He cleared his throat and forced on a very serious expression. "Ahem... I simply felt that with Sister Qinghe on one side and my mentor on the other, sitting in the middle was the only way to properly show how important you both are to me."

Li Qinghe: "..."

Si Tingyu: "..."

Both fell silent, fixing him with looks that made him squirm with embarrassment.

He dry-coughed and pivoted the conversation. "So — Sister Qinghe, Mentor — what brings you both here all of a sudden?"

The question seemed to remind Li Qinghe of her actual purpose. She looked at him and smiled. "Earlier, when the Aberration showed up — where were you? Why didn't you come?" Si Tingyu watched him as well, visibly curious.

Lu Yuan blinked. A cold sweat broke out down his back.

*I slipped up.*

*Even Sister Qinghe and my mentor could sense the Aberration's aura from here — there's no way I wouldn't have. And if I could feel that kind of overwhelming sinister energy, there's no way I'd just keep cultivating through it. So the fact that I didn't show up at all... that's pretty suspicious, isn't it?*

He hadn't thought of that until now.

He thought for a moment, then cleared his throat. "I was cultivating earlier and ran into a small problem. So even though I sensed the Aberration's aura, I had to deal with the issue first before I could head out. By the time I sorted it out, the fight was already over."

"Oh? What kind of problem?" Li Qinghe's smile curved wider, a gleam dancing in her eyes. "Tell me and Fierce Rain about it — maybe we can help."

The corner of Lu Yuan's mouth twitched. He knew perfectly well that Sister Qinghe, knowing him as she did, was unlikely to buy the excuse.

He smiled slightly. "Already handled it."

Li Qinghe continued watching him with that same smile until he grew visibly uncomfortable, then gave a soft laugh. "Well, as long as it's sorted. Next time you have a problem, tell us." Beside her, Si Tingyu, who had stayed quiet, gave a small nod.

Lu Yuan paused, glancing between them, then understood they had no intention of pressing further. He smiled and nodded. "Alright, I'll keep that in mind." Both Li Qinghe and Si Tingyu nodded in return.

Then Si Tingyu thought of something and turned to Li Qinghe. "By the way — Elder Li mentioned last time that you and Ah-Yuan have taken your relationship a step further. How did that happen?"

**Pffft!!**

Li Qinghe had just accepted a glass of water from Beji. At those words, she sprayed it out in a mist.

Lu Yuan beside her went rigid.

Li Qinghe coughed several times, gave Lu Yuan a sidelong look brimming with meaning, then caught Si Tingyu's expectant gaze. Her face turned red. "I just remembered I have other business to attend to — there've been a lot of Aberration incidents lately, so..." And with that, she dissolved into a wisp of black mist and vanished, leaving Lu Yuan and Si Tingyu alone.

The room plunged into silence, broken only by the faint sounds of Beji continuing to tidy up in the background.

Lu Yuan looked at Si Tingyu. Si Tingyu looked at him. They held each other's gaze, the silence stretching between them.

Si Tingyu considered for a moment, then asked, "Qinghe won't tell me. What about you?"

Lu Yuan watched Si Tingyu's faintly stern, pretty face and felt the corner of his mouth twitch. He cleared his throat and said with complete seriousness, "Explaining it is actually rather difficult... What if I showed you instead?"

Si Tingyu blinked, still processing — and then her eyes flew wide as her lips were covered.

She froze for an instant, then shoved Lu Yuan away with considerable force.

His body shot backwards and crashed hard into the wall. The room shuddered. Cracks spiderwebbed across the plaster behind him.

Lu Yuan felt no pain, but one look at the cracked wall made his mouth twitch. *Did I maybe take that a little too far?*

Before he could say a word, Si Tingyu's face — a vivid shade of crimson — shot him a blazing glare, and she disappeared.

At that moment, footsteps sounded from upstairs, and moments later both Yang Ping and Maige came down together. They spotted the cracks in the wall and both stopped dead, eyes wide.

After a beat of silence, Maige gave Lu Yuan an odd look. "...Ah-Yuan, I heard Teacher Si Tingyu was here just now. What on earth did you do to make her that angry?"

Yang Ping beside him grimaced, an involuntary shudder running through him.

Lu Yuan cleared his throat. "It's nothing major. I just gave my mentor an answer."

"An answer?"

The two of them blinked, exchanged a glance, and stared back at him in complete bewilderment.

Seven days later, Lu Yuan's Light Gate was restored. He entered the Land of Origin once more.

With the Saint-grade Aberration Feral Beast dealt with, the worry that had been hanging over him was gone. He could cultivate with a clear mind and an unhurried pace.

The one thing that still nagged at him was the intermediary fee he had spent — but it had been necessary. He sighed and let it go.

He took stock of his current resources. His supply of Heavenly King Fruit was nearly exhausted. Once it ran out, he would have to either challenge the Sovereign Grade rankings to earn new cultivation fruits, or search for them elsewhere.

He thought it over and decided that once the Heavenly King Fruit was gone, he wouldn't rush to challenge the rankings just yet.

The ordeal with the Saint-grade Aberration had given him a much clearer sense of where his own strength currently stood. Even among Battle Saints, he was no longer weak. Quite a few of the plans he had shelved were now within reach.

First: venture into the Upper Layer of the Land of Origin. On one hand, to hunt Aberration Feral Beasts and accumulate unknown energy for the Evolution Cube's next metamorphosis. On the other, during his previous interface with the Prodigy Rankings, the Evolution Cube had marked a series of locations scattered throughout the Land of Origin — he now had enough strength to begin investigating them. Those places might hold treasures that could accelerate the Evolution Cube's metamorphosis, or perhaps clues to the Cube's very origins. Either prospect intrigued him deeply.

Last was the matter of the Restorer.

His current combat power was more than capable of handling Rift Pursuers at Battle Emperor rank. Even against Battle Saint-level Rift Pursuers, he didn't feel he would necessarily lose — he simply couldn't guarantee a kill. For now, repairing Spatial Rifts on the scale of the one at Ice Vein Star should be well within his ability. The trouble was, doing so would inevitably alert the Restorer, and Lu Yuan wasn't sure whether to act now or wait until he reached Battle Emperor rank first. He thought it through and decided to put that plan last.

Beyond those three plans, there was one more priority: earning more Spirit Crystals. Rapid cultivation advancement required them above all else, and the higher his rank climbed, the greater the quantities he would need. That made it just as critical as anything else.

For now, though — finish using up the Heavenly King Fruit first.

Lu Yuan headed to the Training Hall and resumed his cultivation.