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"Li Yaoxuan is raising a monster." Reading what had happened in the imperial palace on the day his family was celebrating Xiao Si’s birthday, Xu Yuan couldn’t help drawing in a cold breath. "Isn't he afraid of pushing too far and driving the man mad?" "Is there a slight possibility that you did the exact same thing?" "..." Xu Yuan was speechless. Dusk steeped the glazed, dark eaves in shadow, filtering into the hall of the mobile palace. Xu Yuan stared rather speechlessly at Lou Ji, who was rolling about on his bed across the room. "Hold on, Sis. I only brought you along because you said it was on your way. We're almost at the Tianyuan Mountain Range—why are you still loitering in my floating palace?" Lou Ji stopped rolling around. Lightly clad in gossamer silk, she lay flat on her back with her head resting over the edge of the bed, looking upside down at the young man behind the desk with a beaming smile. "What? Are you worried about me?" Xu Yuan did not deny it. Instead, he said solemnly, "The powerhouses of the Sect Alliance are gathered in the Tianyuan Mountain Range right now. With your cultivation, if you slip in and get discovered, you won't be getting back out easily." "Your sister's cultivation is higher than yours." "I can beat ten of you." "..." Lou Ji. "No one in the world can match my speed when running for my life." "Heh, no one has ever dared challenge me in fleeing for their life." "..." Lou Ji puffed her cheeks in annoyance. Straightening her fair, supple legs, she bounced up from the bed, brushed down her gauze dress, and said, "If not for me, could you have learned what happened inside the palace so quickly?" "Is there a slight possibility that I have a Heavenly Communication Crystal, and this floating palace is also equipped with communication crystals?" "..." Breathing with indignation, Lou Ji slipped into her shoes, walked up behind Xu Yuan, and raised a fist to knock the brat on the back of his head. *Whoosh—* A sharp whistle broke the air. Lou Ji struck empty space. Xu Yuan kept his eyes cast down on the dossier in his hands. Without even looking back, a slight tilt of his head was enough to dodge his elder sister's sneak attack. Turning his head with a helpless look, he said, "Sis, I know you're worried about me, but haven't I already told you? My mental state is completely fine, so you don't need to fret. The situation is so tense right now—as the Chief of the Black Scales, shouldn't you be focusing on your proper duties?" Lou Ji's ample cleavage rose and fell for a few breaths. Utterly drained of the will to go on, she flopped back onto the bed, muttering in a tearful whimper, "Changtian's wings have grown sturdy; now he turns around to lecture his elder sister..." Xu Yuan's eyebrow twitched. He finally set the dossier down, looked back, and stared at the melodramatic vixen. "Sis, I'm really fine. I already know how I'm going to handle things with Tianyan and Ran Qingmo, and I've prepared contingency plans for the battle to wipe out the Sword Sect on this trip. You really don't need to worry." Lou Ji sprang back up with a swish, her lovely eyes filled with doubt. "Really?" "As real as it gets." Xu Yuan smiled and nodded, tapping his fingertip lightly against the dossier recording the palace's upheaval. "Compared to the matter of the Sword Sect, what actually worries me more right now is Li Zhaoyuan." Lou Ji's playful expression gradually receded. Supporting herself with both hands on the mattress, she crossed one leg over the other. "Why worry about him?" Xu Yuan pondered for a moment before speaking in a low voice: "Before this, no matter how cold and ruthless Li Zhaoyuan was, he still had a single attachment in this world. But now, he has severed that attachment with his own hands. In other words, not a single shred of humanity remains in his heart." Lou Ji considered this briefly before countering, "Yet if it were truly as you fear, he ought to have broken back when that fox died—" "It's not the same." Xu Yuan rubbed the rough cover of the dossier repeatedly, his tone subdued. "That fox was a confidante he met along the road, but Li Zhaoyuan's mother was the very origin of why he set out on this path in the first place. Now that the origin has collapsed, we have no way of predicting or constraining whatever he might decide to do from here on." Lou Ji countered, "Didn't you say, Changtian, that he had ideals, that he wanted to prove what he stood for was the ultimate truth of this world?" "And he has already finished proving it." Xu Yuan spread his hands. His tone was helpless, but his gaze was heavy with gravity. "The capable must rise. He has already crawled from hell to the summit of the world. Just as his ideals were realized, his sole tether to the mortal realm vanished like smoke. I am genuinely afraid that once he takes the throne, his mind will fracture and he'll develop some kind of self-destructive tendency." Lou Ji remained in deep thought for a long while before finally whispering, "Perhaps your worries are warranted, but I am more inclined to believe that rather than destroying himself, a man like him is far more likely to become a solitary ruler who guards his power above all else." Hearing this, Xu Yuan smiled. Picking up the dossier, he casually burned it to ash. "I think so too, but in all things, one must guard against the worst." To cling to authority and style oneself a solitary ruler meant one was bound to be constrained by power. As long as that was the case, his actions would follow a traceable logic, rather than being completely erratic like those of a madman. The red sandalwood screen was open-carved with celestial mountains rising from the sea, and light, elegant incense drifted like clouds. Once the conversation tapered off, the palace hall fell into temporary silence. Xu Yuan couldn't resist asking again, "Sis, you're still not leaving?" This time, Lou Ji showed no hint of playfulness. She gazed intently into Xu Yuan's eyes. "Changtian, I know you well. There is definitely something else weighing on your mind. You aren't speaking of it because I cannot help you, right?" "..." Xu Yuan's brow stirred slightly. He merely smiled and offered no reply. Seeing this, Lou Ji understood. With a soft sigh, she walked over to him, pulled him tightly into an embrace, and murmured, "I'm sorry." "..." Her fragrance filled his nose. Xu Yuan kept his eyes cast down, remaining completely silent. The struggle for succession within the imperial palace had already drawn to a close; all that remained in Di'an City was the clash between Emperor and Chancellor, entangling them for decades. In this contest, not even Lou Ji, nor Xu Yuan himself as a son, could intervene. This was a final struggle that belonged solely to those two elders. The soft, warm embrace parted, and Lou Ji rubbed Xu Yuan's head as she always did. "I'm leaving. Take care of yourself, Changtian." Watching her slender figure don a beast-fur cloak, Xu Yuan suddenly asked, "Where are you heading?" "You finally thought to ask? I was beginning to think you didn't care at all." Lou Ji turned her lovely face halfway back, smiling brightly. "Back when we parted at Shengshan County, you asked me to investigate the Wanyao Sect and the Shenji Sect. The former was wiped out by Li Zhaoyuan, and the investigation into the latter bore fruit some time ago. They discovered a secret realm containing vast deposits of Source Crystals. It is well worth making the trip in person." Recalling the matter, Xu Yuan chuckled softly. "Then you truly ought to go yourself." Hearing this, Lou Ji paused as she pulled her cloak tighter, her eyes turning slightly strange. "Changtian, did you already know there were Source Crystal veins inside that secret realm the Shenji Sect found?" Xu Yuan did not hide it this time. With the rise of his status and cultivation, there were many things he no longer needed to explain away. "Yes. Why else would I have told you to investigate them back then?" "Why didn't you explain it clearly?" "Because I wasn't certain." "Hmph." Lou Ji let out a soft snort and straightened her garments. And right at that moment, Xu Yuan suddenly took out the Heavenly Communication Crystal for a glance, his eyes involuntarily narrowing. Another report had arrived. Seeing this, Lou Ji immediately poked her head over like a thief, hoping to get a look, but Xu Yuan pocketed the Heavenly Communication Crystal before she could. Lou Ji gave him a dissatisfied shove. "What news is so secretive?" Xu Yuan chuckled and explained, "It's from that brat Li Junqing. He says he's almost reached his destination. Those formation warships are truly fast." Hearing that it concerned the underground palace remnants, Lou Ji did not pry any further, but merely advised, "You had better place that divine official named Yi Kui by the Third Prince's side. Otherwise, over time, there's no telling whose banner the soldiers you lent him will ultimately march under." Xu Yuan fell silent for a moment before shaking his head with indifference. "The underground palace remnants are different from ordinary folk. Ten thousand years of isolation from the outside world have made this young master's standing in their hearts unshakeable. Sis, the power—and the hazard—of religion is greater than you imagine." Lou Ji shook her head, reminding him, "As long as they are still human, human hearts can change." Xu Yuan sighed and shook his head again. "If they truly change, it won't matter if this young master simply treats those soldiers as a gift to that brat. Heheh..." "'It won't matter'?" Lou Ji slipped into a sarcastic, mock-sweet tone. "Well then, Third Young Master, aren't you quite the generous soul? When will you show this humble maiden such generosity for once?" Xu Yuan gave his elder sister a side glance, mimicking her tone: "Rest assured, Chief, that day will surely come." "Hmph. Let's hope so. I'm off." "Bye-bye." "One more hug?" "Just hurry up and leave already. You keep running around in so little clothing, messing with my Dao heart." "Oh, and here I thought Changtian didn't like it anymore. Giggle~" "See you in Di'an." "Mm, see you in Di'an, Changtian."