Ling Luo couldn’t help but laugh as she remembered the confused look on Yue Liangze’s face when she knocked him down.

In a good mood, with a smile in her eyes and at the corners of her lips, she opened her arms as she walked away, her steps light and quick, like a butterfly fluttering through the forest path.

While she basked in the satisfaction of having taken Yue Liangze down with a single move, her jade listening stone buzzed, its edges glowing with a golden light.

Ling Luo brought the jade listening stone to her ear.

It was a voice transmission from Yu Xiu, who said, “Dinner is ready. Master asked me when you’ll be back.”

Dinner?

Ling Luo had already eaten, and she paused in silence.

Today’s dinner was a special offering for sect leaders and above from the dining hall.

The meal included a balanced mix of meats and vegetables, with a fragrant and visually pleasing presentation, and a carefully arranged dessert on the side.

In the Qing Stone District, at Zhai Xing Tower.

Yu Xiu glanced at the table of food, placed the jade listening stone down, and sat opposite Yun Shouxi. “Junior Sister said she’s on her way back,” he reported.

Yun Shouxi rested his chin on one hand, staring out towards the suspension bridge. The cool moonlight reflected off the tranquil lake below.

Yu Xiu spoke to him about the internal affairs of the sect for the day, and Yun Shouxi occasionally responded.

It wasn’t until he saw a graceful figure approaching the suspension bridge that a slight smile curved on his lips.

Yu Xiu remarked, “Senior Brother sent a spiritual bird, saying that there is a very interesting and difficult to solve Xiaohua maze at Luodang Mountain. It may take several days, and his return will be delayed.”

Yun Shouxi smiled and said, “He never liked staying in Tianji. He’d be glad to stay away longer.”

Yu Xiu’s expression became slightly helpless. “The ancestral worship ceremony is next month. He still has to come back.”

Yun Shouxi replied, “Then send him a message. If he isn’t back before the ceremony, he might as well never come back.”

As they chatted idly, Ling Luo walked across the suspension bridge, passed through the corridors, and reached the top of Zhai Xing Tower. She called out to them, “Master, Second Senior Brother.”

“Sit,” Yun Shouxi nodded to her. “Did you bring everything back?”

Ling Luo obediently sat down and said, “I brought it back. Sorry to have kept you and Second Senior Brother waiting so long.”

Yun Shouxi wasn’t bothered by it. Instead, he smiled and said, “Eat more, you look so thin.”

The atmosphere at the table was harmonious, with Yu Xiu asking her about future lessons. It was clear he was trying to help Ling Luo adjust to the atmosphere and avoid any awkwardness.

Ling Luo ate until she was stuffed. After making small talk with Master and Second Senior Brother, she returned to her room in the West Courtyard. Unable to resist, she threw up everything she had just eaten.

“Eat more. You look so thin.”

That phrase kept repeating in her mind, reminding her of Yun Shouxi’s terrifying control. He didn’t just want her to look like someone else, sound like them, but even regulate her food, clothes, and weight to match that person.

Her sense of self was completely erased, as if she were a blank slate, remade by him at will.

Ling Luo always felt that from the start, Yun Shouxi never saw her as a person.

The world called her crazy, possessed by demons, but in her eyes, Yun Shouxi was the true madman.

Yet, he remained a righteous figure until the end.

Even if she exposed everything Yun Shouxi had done to her, no one would believe it.

Yun Shouxi would always be the Supreme of the Immortal Sect, the revered Zhenjun of the Three Breath Sect.

Ling Luo, feeling despondent, spit out the mouthwash and washed her face with clean water. Wiping her face, she gazed out the window at the top of the mirage.

That was the closest place to the moon, where Yun Shouxi lived.

Her expression emotionless, Ling Luo returned to her room and lay flat on her bed, replaying the events of the past in her mind.

Before she died, she only had one obsession: to destroy the Heavenly Dao.

Its path didn’t allow me, and I would not allow it.

At that time, she hadn’t really wanted to live.

The grudges had ended, her friends and family were gone, and she was left alone on Tianzhao Mountain… Well, not entirely alone, there was also Yue Liangze.

When Ling Luo thought of Yue Liangze, her thoughts wandered.

On the day she forced the Heavenly Dao to perish along with her, where had that man gone?

This delayed curiosity made her determined to come up with an answer, but it yielded no result. In the end, she was kept awake all night, unable to sleep.

The sound of startled deer in the courtyard was crisp. Ling Luo, who had dozed off briefly, was awoken by the noise and rubbed her eyes as she got up.

Ling Luo got up and washed her face. When she returned, she noticed that the jade listening device by her bed was flashing with notification messages.

She turned back to the bed and opened the message on the jade listening device.

Xu Shen of Tianzhou Sect invites you to join [3467 Disciples’ Academy].

Ling Luo: “…”

Xu Shen—second place in the written exam, seventh place in the martial arts exam, a direct disciple of the Sixth Hall Master.

She remembered now: the [3467 Disciples’ Academy] was for the four direct disciples admitted into the inner sect this year. Xu Shen had invited her back then, but she didn’t join.

Ling Luo decided to try a different choice.

She agreed.

Ling Luo of Tianyun Sect joins [3467 Disciples’ Academy].

Fourth Hall’s Chang Fei: “Wow, you really joined!”

Seventh Hall’s Song Yuanyuan: “Xu Shen, you’re impressive! How did you pull this off? I heard people say this girl is as cold as the Third Hall Master, like the moon in the sky!”

Sixth Hall’s Xu Shen: “Fate, it’s inexplicable.”

Fourth Hall’s Chang Fei: “Ling Luo, Ling Luo! Is Qing Shi Fang beautiful? Is the Third Hall Master as stunning as the legends say, with a fairy-like aura?”

“What does the Third Hall Master like to wear? What tea does he like to drink? What’s his favorite food? Where does he usually go?”

Seventh Hall’s Song Yuanyuan: “Can you ask something more interesting? Like, does the Third Hall Master play rock-paper-scissors with the Spirit Tiger, throw a ball, or play hide-and-seek?”

Sixth Hall’s Xu Shen: “Actually, I’m more curious if the Third Hall Master ever argues with Senior Brother Yu?”

Ling Luo: “…”

She looked at the messages from the three of them, feeling amused.

The jade listening device worked thanks to a vast magic array that covered the entire Eastern Island’s Tianji, known as the “Wandering Phenomenon,” which allowed for fast and simple message transmission. As long as there was enough spiritual power, it could send words, sounds, and even images. The corresponding spells were for sending texts, sounds, and images. Sending texts was the simplest and every inner sect disciple could do it.

Ling Luo smiled and casually replied:

“The Third Hall Master is an immortal, only drinking dew and eating moongrass.”

“He likes to stay in Qing Shi Fang, but mostly loves flying to the heavens.”

Fourth Hall’s Chang Fei: “Only drinking dew and eating moongrass! No wonder he’s the Third Hall Master. I’ll go collect dew right now!”

Song Yuanyuan glanced at the jade listening device with a twitching corner of her eye—did you actually believe that?!

Sixth Hall’s Xu Shen: “By ‘flying to the heavens,’ does that mean riding a sword?”

Ling Luo: “It’s even more impressive than that. He doesn’t need a sword, he just flies up with a whoosh.”

Song Yuanyuan fell into deep thought—how is that even possible?

The Third Hall Master really is the Supreme Immortal of the sect, his power is beyond measure! So impressive.

Sixth Hall’s Xu Shen: “Then we’ll have to observe the celestial phenomena more closely.”

What if they see the Third Hall Master flying to the heavens?

Ling Luo read the messages and laughed so hard she fell back onto the bed, gasping for air, tears in her eyes from laughing so much.

At that moment, a voice came from outside the courtyard: “Ling Luo, it’s already the hour of Chen, we should go to the Heart Guarding Hall to attend class.”

“Okay, I’m coming!” Ling Luo tucked away the jade listening device, her smile still lingering on her face.

When she came out, she wiped her eyes. Yu Xiu looked at her and saw that her eyes were red and clearly had been crying. He asked, “Why were you crying?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. I accidentally got some spicy oil in my eyes earlier,” Ling Luo lied, smiling brightly at him.

Yu Xiu was skeptical, “Did you wash it with clean water?”

Ling Luo nodded, “It’s fine now. You don’t need to worry, Senior Brother.”

Yu Xiu let it go.

The two of them first went to greet Yun Shouxi, then left Qing Shi Fang and headed to the Inner Sect’s Heart Guarding Hall for the morning class.

On the way, Yu Xiu noticed many disciples collecting dew. When they saw him, they quickly hid their water bottles, glancing away.

Although Yu Xiu was puzzled, he didn’t ask any questions.

However, Ling Luo, walking beside him, couldn’t hold back a smile at the corners of her lips.

“Yu Xiu!”

“Senior Brother Yu!”

They encountered two close juniors and senior brothers. Yu Xiu stopped and said, “Senior Brother, Zi Xiu, good morning—”

Before he could finish, the two of them grabbed him and shoved what they were holding into his arms, earnestly saying, “Why didn’t you tell us about this sooner? Even if you’re not at Tianyun Sect, we are still fellow disciples. We should help out!”

Yu Xiu froze. “Senior Brother An, what do you mean?”

Senior Brother An winked at him, “This is dew I collected with a jade bottle from the Sacred Qiong Tree. Fresh, delicious, sweet. The Third Hall Master will love it!”

“I, I, I just picked moongrass from the top of the mountain on Immortal Grass Peak! It’s the part that absorbs the essence of the sun and moon! It’s fragrant, flavorful, and plentiful. It’ll last the Third Hall Master for several days!”

Yu Xiu looked at the jade bottle and basket of moongrass in his arms, growing increasingly confused.

Ling Luo couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.

Soon, through the jade listening device’s message network, the news that the Third Hall Master loves drinking dew and eating moongrass spread across the entire Eastern Island’s Tianji.