“She said she wants to go to the Void Realm again. What do you think?”
As they returned to Penglai, Feng Family’s team traveled with the Fifth Family’s team.

On the road, Fifth Sheng asked Feng Qinxue.

“What can I think?” Feng Qinxue’s expression was indifferent, and it was difficult for others to discern her true thoughts from her face.

“Even at this critical moment, are you still going to play dumb with me?” Fifth Sheng raised his voice, visibly annoyed.

They stepped into the glowing teleportation array together.

Speaking was prohibited during the teleportation, so when they emerged from the array, Fifth Sheng quickly caught up with Feng Qinxue.

“Previously, when we left the Void Realm, Dao Sovereign said that the Void Realm would remain sealed and would not open to outsiders again. If it were to be opened, it would be at a time of life and death for the human race. Do you think we’ve reached such a crisis point now?”

“Do you think it’s only a crisis if the Beast Clan’s army reaches Penglai?” Feng Qinxue glanced at Fifth Sheng.

Fifth Sheng was momentarily speechless, then became irritated. “You know that’s not what I meant!”

Seeing that Feng Qinxue was ignoring him, Fifth Sheng turned to the two children behind him. “You also went to the Beast Realm. Share your thoughts.”

“I didn’t enter the Blood Pool,” Fifth Youlin responded first with a shrug.

“Why not?” Fifth Sheng asked in confusion.

“There was a second round of selection at the foot of Tianxing Mountain, and the beast body I was possessing did not meet their selection criteria,” Fifth Youlin explained succinctly.

Fifth Sheng thought about the selection criteria Qin Ruqing had mentioned earlier: one required bloodline, and the other required bloodthirstiness.

Youlin’s beast body indeed met neither requirement, which made him sigh.

He also thought about how that girl had quickly chosen the beast body with the best bloodline condition from the start, even though she didn’t know about this requirement at the time, and he sighed even more.

Truly impressive!

Youlin had no complaints about losing.

“I entered the Blood Pool,” Feng Mingyue spoke up, interrupting Fifth Sheng’s thoughts.

Both Fifth Sheng and Feng Qinxue turned to look at her. “Did you discover anything? Was there any change in the beast body you possessed?”

“Ten days in the Blood Pool is roughly equivalent to ten months of cultivation in the Beast Realm. That’s the most basic change,” Feng Mingyue said calmly and slowly.

“The secondary change is an enhanced ability to comprehend the laws.”

“Each beast has a different starting point in their comprehension of the laws, which leads to different levels of advancement. This difference determines whether they will merely accelerate their cultivation speed in the Blood Pool or undergo a change in bloodline and awaken new divine abilities.”

Feng Mingyue’s perspective seemed slightly different from Qin Ruqing’s.

Fifth Sheng couldn’t help but frown. “Then why did Qin Ruqing say that the Blood Pool might involve the source power?”

“Is she mocking us?”

Feng Mingyue shook her head. “The most likely explanation is that I’m describing the surface, while she’s talking about the essence. What I just mentioned, ‘comprehension of the laws,’ might be understood from another angle as ‘approaching the source’ according to Qin Ruqing. It seems like two different things, but the essence might be the same.”

“The level she’s at compared to mine is naturally different.”

Feng Qinxue and Fifth Sheng looked at Feng Mingyue in surprise.

Her words didn’t seem to belittle Qin Ruqing.

On the contrary, it seemed like a high compliment—almost as if Feng Mingyue was admitting that Qin Ruqing’s level was higher than her own.

“Do you think so highly of her?” Feng Qinxue asked.

“Do I think highly of her?” Feng Mingyue actually countered the question.

Unconsciously touching the hilt of her sword and gazing ahead, she said, “I’m only speaking the truth. Not only do I think she’s at a higher level, but I even believe she has mastered a form of ‘source power’ in a certain sense.”

In the Blood Pool, Qin Ruqing had transmitted mysterious energy to her, perfectly merging her human soul aura with the beast soul aura.

More precisely, she had completely simulated the beast soul aura, creating an artificial barrier around her human soul.

Such a method, bridging the gap between the human and beast races, would be difficult to achieve without source power.

Fifth Youlin nodded in agreement beside her.

“She is no longer what she used to be. Although we have long known this fact, I must say that compared to when she was in the Void Realm, she now seems even more dangerous and inscrutable.”

These two top prodigies, who were of the same generation as Qin Ruqing, gave such a high evaluation.

They lack the superiority brought by age and experience, so their assessment is, to some extent, more objective and impartial.

In response, both Fifth Sheng and Feng Qinxue fell silent.

“Let’s talk about the Void Realm,” Fifth Sheng said, putting away his shock and the difficult feelings he couldn’t quite express, and forcibly bringing the topic back on track. “Should we open the Void Realm barrier again? This might be the last time.”

They all knew that the barrier’s energy was thinning, and if they opened it once more, it might never be sealed again.

“This is not something we can decide just by discussing it briefly now,” Feng Qinxue said, expressing her stance, “but I agree with Qin Ruqing’s suggestion.”

“When the time comes for the Void Realm meeting, I will also state my position as usual.”

Upon reaching the Penglai territory, the Feng clan’s group bade farewell to Fifth Sheng.

After they left, Fifth Sheng remained in place, his brow furrowed with worry.

Fifth Youlin thought for a moment and suddenly said, “Father.”

“Hm?” Fifth Sheng was still lost in his thoughts.

“Just now, when the Feng clan was here, I didn’t mention something. I said Qin Ruqing felt dangerous and inscrutable… Actually, I have the same feeling about Lingyu.”

“Hmm!” Fifth Sheng suddenly looked up.

“I just received a message that Lingyu has returned from the East Sea and has already completed the Fourth Prison.”

This news shocked Fifth Sheng so much that he forgot about his “worries” and said urgently, “Let’s go. We need to intercept him immediately! There are some things I need to ask him to prevent this brat from running away again.”

Fifth Sheng’s tone was filled with bitterness and helplessness.

As the Clan Leader with real power, he found it hard to be stern with Fifth Lingyu.

With the weight of his deceased brother and his brother’s last wishes pressing on him, he truly couldn’t speak harshly to Ling Yu.

He couldn’t manage Ling Yu, and the elders were reluctant to deal with the younger generation’s trivial matters, leaving no one in the clan who could control this young man.

When Fifth Sheng and Fifth Youlin blocked the entrance to the Fourth Prison, Fifth Lingyu had just emerged from inside.

He no longer dressed flamboyantly but wore dark robes, his demeanor sharper.

Seeing Fifth Sheng and the others, he raised an eyebrow and walked over.

Fifth Sheng came to block him but, upon actually meeting him, found himself unsure of what to say.

“Lingyu, you’ve completed the Fourth Prison. Which one did you pass?” Fifth Sheng finally managed to find a topic.

“Clan Leader, as you say, I’ve already passed the first two prisons. The third prison is closed and not open to the public. Which one do you think I could have passed?” Fifth Lingyu raised his eyebrows, half-smiling.

Yes, the only remaining one that could be entered was the Fourth Prison.

Fifth Sheng gave a sheepish smile. “So, how was the result of the Fourth Prison?”

He regretted asking as soon as he spoke. Lingyu’s innate talent wasn’t great… and the result of the Third Prison had been the worst, a Yellow grade.

This time was likely no exception.

Bringing it up was like poking at a sore spot.

“Average, Earth grade.”

“It’s nothing. Yellow—what? Earth grade?” Fifth Sheng’s voice rose in surprise, unable to hide his astonishment.

Fifth Youlin, who had been silent, also showed a hint of surprise.

For the Fifth family, a Heaven grade evaluation was rare in a century, and an Earth grade evaluation was already considered excellent.

But clearly, Ling Yu had no innate talent, so how did he achieve this Earth grade evaluation?

“Good, good, Lingyu, you’ve made progress.” Fifth Sheng finally managed to say this.

Lingyu achieving an Earth grade was indeed surprising.

But in the current situation, that surprise seemed insignificant.

Times had changed.

In the cultivation world, they had more urgent matters to attend to.

So, whether the result was Earth grade or Yellow grade, Fifth Sheng was not concerned.

He only cared about one thing.

“I need to ask you, what were you doing in the East Sea during this time?” Fifth Sheng’s voice grew serious, finally regaining his authority as the clan leader.

“Cultivation,” Lingyu replied without ignoring him, at least acknowledging the question.

But this response was clearly not what Fifth Sheng wanted.

“I previously sent Fifth Jia to ask you about your connection with the Dao Ancestor’s heir. Why didn’t you give a clear answer?”

“Didn’t I return?” Lingyu looked at Fifth Sheng, a faint smile at the corner of his mouth, casually adjusting his sleeve.

“Is that a return? What you returned with was—‘Who knows?’” Fifth Sheng raised his voice angrily, “Such ambiguous words. If it weren’t for the Dao Ancestor’s heir already being confirmed as that demonic star from the Qin family, I would almost think our Fifth family was about to have a huge, unprecedented good fortune!”

Lingyu’s eyes narrowed, the smile at his lips slowly fading.

He replied coldly, “As I said, regarding this issue, the Clan Leader can interpret it however he wishes.”

Fifth Sheng choked on his words, deeply staring at Fifth Lingyu, seeing the unmasked rebelliousness and insolence in him.

He was still opposing the Fifth family.

As if retaliating against his father’s legacy.

Finally, with a stern expression and a hint of severity in his voice, he said, “Lingyu, I want to tell you that the Fifth family is the blood, sweat, and tears of your father, of me, and of our ancestors for generations. You might have grievances against your father and the Fifth family, but you should not let personal emotions affect the bigger picture. Do you know how tense the situation outside is? Do you know where Youlin went this time? The Void Realm might open again, do you know what that means? It means our human race might be at the brink of life and death…”

“You said the Void Realm might open again?” Among all the words, Fifth Lingyu seemed to have only heard this one sentence.

Fifth Sheng paused, interrupted, and couldn’t continue his train of thought.

With an unfriendly expression, he said, “It’s not certain yet. There are major movements in the Beast Realm, using some dark arts to build a blood pool that can greatly enhance the strength of the lower-tier beast races. After our discussion, if we don’t disrupt the beast races’ plans, humanity will inevitably decline. After returning from investigating the blood pool, the Qin family’s demonic star suggested reopening the Void Realm, saying that the blood pool involves primal powers and that we need to ask the Dao Ancestor…”

He paused and then continued, “But such a major decision cannot be made by her alone. Whether we go or not will ultimately be decided by the Void Realm meeting.”

After hearing this, Fifth Lingyu unexpectedly said lightly, “Go, why not?”

“Hearing the Clan Leader, the human race is already in such a tense situation. Should we wait until the beast races’ plan is fully successful before going to the Void Realm to seek help from the Dao Ancestor?”

Fifth Sheng looked up with a mixture of surprise and confusion. “…Your words sound very much like Feng Qinxue. Do you agree with reopening the Void Realm? You should know, this might be the last time.”

After this, even if the Void Realm barrier doesn’t dissipate, it won’t be reopened.

Fifth Lingyu revealed the first genuine smile so far.

He said, “Of course, I agree. When the time comes, when the Clan Leader chooses people to go in, be sure to take me with you.”

“I also want… to contribute to the family.”