Yang Jin let out a complicated sigh—when he suddenly heard his friend speak.

“Is the fight over?”

“It’s over.”

Only then did Zuo Tian open his dim, deep eyes.

He let out a breath in his heart.

He didn’t dare look.

Didn’t dare look at Su Yingxue’s sword light.

Otherwise, that fear would only deepen.

And now, Su Yingxue could actually defeat a laoshi at the Foundation Establishment stage while still being below that level?!

Zuo Tian began to doubt whether he could even win against Su Yingxue himself.

“Child,” came the voice of the ancestral soul within Zuo Tian’s heart, “if this continues, you’ll fall farther and farther behind. Once Su Yingxue establishes her foundation, you’ll have no hope left.”

“Ancestor… but if I lose to her again, I might never recover.”

Zuo Tian sighed silently. The more he worried, the more afraid he became—and the more afraid he was, the harder it was to cleanse his Dao heart and find himself again.

“Perhaps you still have one method,” the ancestor said calmly. “‘The mortal dream is easily broken; emotions are hard to resist’—this was the Mirror of Truth’s evaluation of Su Yingxue’s mental state. There are many ways to defeat her.”

“You mean—?”

“Make Luo Qingchuan disappear from this world. Wake Su Yingxue from her dream. Her Dao heart will collapse far harder than yours. Then, when you fight her again, winning will be simple.”

Zuo Tian froze.

The ancestor said coolly, “I don’t wish to suggest such a cruel path—but things have come to this.”

Zuo Tian’s breathing quickened. A glint of cold, violent intent flickered in his eyes.

He was at the ninth layer of Qi Refining. With his spiritual artifacts and mysterious cultivation method, killing someone like Luo Qingchuan—who was only at the second layer—without leaving a trace… would be easy.

So in the end…

It really has come to killing Luo Qingchuan? His talent is mediocre—no, terrible. Only at Qi Refining layer two. He wouldn’t survive a second in my hands!

Like a lion hunting a rabbit.

So obvious, so natural—there’s no choice now but to kill him.

“Child, you are chosen by the heavens. In the future, if all beings are on the brink of destruction, if the order of humanity collapses, only you will be able to intervene. But if your Dao heart is broken, how can you bear such responsibility? To kill one and save millions—what greater virtue is there? Who else in this world is more suited to become a god above all? You must do this.”

Zuo Tian hung his head low, struggling inwardly:

“No…”

“No?”

“Ancestor, let me think more… just a little more…”

…

On the tree-lined path within the academy, phoenix tree leaves swirled past the twin-tailed girl. Flowers blooming in autumn lined both sides, making the already ethereal girl seem like a spirit from a myth.

Lu Chuning turned around, glancing at Luo Qingchuan and Su Yingxue, her lips curling in a smile.

She looked at Su Yingxue, whose expression had grown less cold, and said with a chuckle, “Let me say this first—I’m not that good at swordsmanship.”

Su Yingxue shook her head. “I don’t mind.”

“Well, even so, you can’t beat me. So I must be at least a little stronger than you—so don’t regret anything.”

Lu Chuning then turned her gaze to Luo Qingchuan, staring at him so intently he had to force himself to remain calm.

“If you’ve got something to say, just say it.” Luo Qingchuan gave a wry smile. “I still don’t know why a qianbei like you would be looking for me. I’m completely ordinary.”

“Mm, maybe because you’re good-looking?”

Luo Qingchuan sensed the temperature around Su Yingxue drop slightly.

She was nervous.

Luo Qingchuan had reason to suspect—one’s appearance really did affect personality quite a bit!

Lu Chuning was like a mischievous little devil! She was teasing Su Yingxue on purpose!

The girl’s laugh was musical, but as Su Yingxue’s gaze grew colder, Lu Chuning cleared her throat lightly and said, her eyes curving:

“Well then, let’s get to the point.”

Even her youthful voice took on a bit of seriousness: “I have two things to say. First, I’d like to invite Su tongxue and Luo tongxue to join Quexie.”

Luo Qingchuan frowned and refused: “No way. We’re students.”

Su Yingxue glanced at Luo Qingchuan, then nodded.

“Oh? You want to join?” Lu Chuning looked slightly pleased.

Su Yingxue immediately shook her head and said softly, “I meant I agree with Luo Qingchuan.”

“I see. I expected that,” Lu Chuning continued, “If you join Quexie, you’ll get better cultivation resources, access to insider information from the cultivation world, and even chances to hear true experts lecture. If you gain insight, the benefits are endless.”

Luo Qingchuan sighed lightly. “But it’s dangerous. We’re still young.”

“True, many Quexie members are young too, but they joined of their own will. If you don’t want to join, you could become ‘Walkers’ instead…”

Walkers… what first popped into Luo Qingchuan’s head was a childhood hero from Huaxia—

The fearless Great Sage Equal to Heaven.

Su Yingxue asked curiously, “What are Walkers?”

Lu Chuning answered seriously, “Kind of like guest cultivators? You’ll receive bounty alerts, take missions, and receive generous rewards. Your identity stays completely anonymous, but you won’t get other benefits.”

“We only act if we want to, right?” Luo Qingchuan confirmed.

“Right.”

“Then I agree.”

Luo Qingchuan nodded without hesitation.

Only benefits, no downsides—only a fool would say no. Plus, he could see which tasks had rewards and earn some Saint Points.

“Let’s add each other as friends.”

A phone suddenly appeared in Lu Chuning’s small hand. She smiled, “I’ll send you the Quexie internal app and your registration codes.”

Soon, a new app appeared on Luo Qingchuan’s phone.

The icon was a blood-red ancient sword in the dark.

Quexie.

The Seeking Dao app’s icon was much simpler—a black-and-white yin-yang symbol.

“‘Walkers’ can also post intel on the internal forum. But if it’s proven false, your credibility stars are deducted. Lose them all and your account is permanently banned.”

Lu Chuning put away her phone.

“Thanks for the heads-up.” Luo Qingchuan put his phone away too, then asked, “Lu laoshi, what’s the second thing?”

A gentle floral fragrance floated on the autumn breeze. A single petal danced toward the sky as Lu Chuning looked up, smiling:

“There was thunder that struck the heavens directly—the news spread fast. Someone’s already figured it out…”

Luo Qingchuan’s expression stayed calm, pretending to be curious. “Figured out what?”

“Dragon clan thunder arts.”

Lu Chuning’s bewitching eyes turned toward Luo Qingchuan.

It was as if the boy had been cast into endless darkness.

Lu Chuning’s alluring eyeliner was blood red, like twin crimson moons hanging in the night.

Then Luo Qingchuan heard her silvery, bell-like voice say something shocking:

“The dragon clan has hidden for countless years. They look no different from humans. But once they transform, their entire bodies are priceless. Dragon horns can forge swords—sharp beyond compare; dragon cores grant breakthroughs in cultivation; dragon scales become armor that ordinary spiritual tools can’t penetrate. Dragon tendons, dragon blood, dragon meat…”

“Stop!”

A drop of sweat slid down Luo Qingchuan’s forehead. His heart raced wildly as he tried to steady himself, then forced a disinterested look. “I don’t get it.”

Lu Chuning paused, then carefully studied him and smiled:

“I want to ask—when it comes to dragons, would your heart be moved? Many cultivators dream of peeling the skin off a divine dragon, breaking its bones, and consuming it whole.”

“Lu laoshi, I’m not interested,” Luo Qingchuan replied with a polite smile. “Let’s talk about something else.”