Leaving Seclusion

The Wanshi area. Sixteen hours, 370 drops of blood essence consumed, 32 apertures opened, bringing his total apertures opened for the War God Art to 98. He was only ten apertures away from 108. The further he progressed, the faster he burned through blood essence, and the more drops it required. Initially, two drops might have been enough to open an aperture, but in the later stages, it could take seven or eight, or even ten or more drops! Qianjun Eighth Layer! Not the Qianjun Seventh Layer that Old Huang and Old Nie had imagined, but the eighth. Once the newcomer departed, Su Yu exhaled in relief and took the robe off his head. "Ten apertures left until Qianjun Ninth Layer. Besides that, I have 130 drops of blood essence remaining." Su Yu let out a soft breath. It looked like that should just about be enough. Five hundred drops of blood essence... He had originally thought that after opening the apertures for the War God Art, he would open apertures for other techniques, like the Thunder Yuan Saber. Now it seemed he had gotten ahead of himself. Those 130 drops might only be enough to satisfy his cultivation of the War God Art. The Qianjun chapter willpower text of the War God Art that Bai Feng had written was now completely ruined, stripped of any remaining willpower. The first half of the Sky-Breaking Slash text was also significantly dimmer. He could clearly sense that it had suffered immense willpower depletion; if things continued like this, it would probably be ruined soon as well. "Shatter Yuan!" Su Yu had barely managed to learn the third form, Shatter Yuan. All forty-eight apertures required for it fell within the range of apertures he had already opened. Guided by the explanations in the willpower text, he attempted to link these forty-eight apertures. The apertures across his body gleamed with light. At this moment, Su Yu discovered a new method that might let him stay inside even longer. Practicing his ultimate move! Burning yuanqi! Su Yu suddenly realized that there were many functions of the Yuan Qi Secret Realm he had yet to exploit—such as repeatedly practicing ultimate moves. "Shatter Yuan!" With a low bark, taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, Su Yu began testing the third form of the Sky-Breaking Slash. It did not matter that he lacked a saber; he had his cultural weapon, which worked just as well. The cultural weapon materialized, morphed into a long saber, and thrust straight out! It was a thrust, not a slash. The third form was primarily about puncturing an entire plane through a single concentrated point. A small vortex of yuanqi formed in midair. A sudden strike, an eruption, and with a bang, the vortex burst! Su Yu shook his head. It drained a massive amount of yuanqi, but that was not the problem. The real issue was that it made far too much noise. It lacked Bai Feng's effortless composure! Back when Bai Feng had slain that All-Races Sect Tengkong cultivator, he had made it look utterly casual. His opponent had been left with no way to evade, having their apertures blown apart with ease and leaving not a single intact piece of their body. "Teacher's mastery of the third form is consummate. Combined with his powerful willpower and divine characters, he instantly slew a Tengkong Fourth Layer!" While this owed much to Bai Feng's overwhelming strength, it also showed how critical proficiency in the martial technique was. As for Su Yu, he had only just grasped the basics. Being able to execute it at all was already quite an accomplishment. After a single execution of Shatter Yuan, the yuanqi within his body was mostly depleted. Su Yu smiled. It worked like a charm. "This place should be an ideal ground for training martial techniques. I wonder why barely anyone practices martial techniques in here?" Su Yu muttered to himself. He found it puzzling that everyone he saw was focused on cultivating and opening apertures rather than drilling martial techniques. He had forgotten that for a Wanshi cultivator, a single entry cost two hundred merit points! How many people were willing to spend two hundred merit points just to come in and practice martial techniques? Practicing outside only cost a bit more time. Under normal circumstances, unless facing an impending breakthrough, almost no one was wealthy enough to keep running in here. It was far too wasteful and extravagant. As for those who entered to break through, some did try practicing martial techniques afterward; Su Yu simply had not crossed paths with them. Putting the thought aside, Su Yu resumed opening apertures. It would be best if he could open all 108! "After Qianjun comes Wanshi..." "For Wanshi, I'll need to buy the Wanshi chapter of the War God Art. The academy is obsessed with money!" Su Yu cursed inwardly. What he had used before was only the Qianjun chapter, which did not include the Wanshi chapter. "Qianjun focuses on opening apertures, but what about Wanshi?" Su Yu grew curious. His progress had been so swift that he had not had much time to look into it; he had only heard that Wanshi no longer focused on opening apertures, turning to other aspects of cultivation instead. Because of that, the apertures used by martial techniques were all opened during the Qianjun Realm. So... what did Wanshi cultivate? "It has to be related to the physical body." Su Yu did not fret over it too much. Judging from the cultivation manuals he had read, the primary goal of the warrior's path was to temper the physical body. Apertures were opened to strengthen the body and ensure an abundance of yuanqi, and the Wanshi Realm would be no exception. Still, once he got out, he would definitely need to study the cultivation methods of Wanshi in greater detail. Not to mention, exchanging for manuals would cost a fortune. "A Wanshi cultivator should still be able to open apertures, right?" Su Yu muttered. Surely it was possible; otherwise, if a martial technique required apertures that had not been opened in the Qianjun Realm, would one never be able to learn it? "One probably still needs to open apertures in the Wanshi Realm, but advancement and evaluation might no longer be judged by how many apertures you've opened." As Su Yu cultivated, he pondered the matters that lay beyond Qianjun. His advancement this time had been a bit too fast, and he had already decided not to rush into Wanshi. Rushing into advancement without even becoming accustomed to the power of his newly opened apertures would easily lead to trouble. While turning the matter over in his mind, he continued swallowing blood essence, opening aperture after aperture! One drop, two drops... A moment later, another person stepped inside. Without a word, Su Yu pulled his hooded robe back over his face and shifted further to the side so they would not interfere with each other. Yet just as he drew away, the newcomer called out, "Hey, classmate! Old Huang and Old Nie outside asked me to pass along a message!" "What is it?" "They asked if you're hungry. If you are, the next person coming in can bring you some food, and maybe even a bed while they're at it so you can take a nap!" "..." Su Yu was dumbfounded. The newcomer chuckled as well. "Classmate, are you a student or grand-disciple of Old Huang and Old Nie? Just how long have you been in here? They're even preparing meals for you..." He found the whole thing hilarious. When the two elders had asked him to deliver that message before he came in, he had been utterly baffled. Bring food? Bring a bed? How had they even come up with that? And just how long had this guy been inside? Embarrassed beyond measure, Su Yu called back loudly, "No need! I'm not hungry!" What were those two old men thinking?! Offering to send him food and a bed—how humiliating! The newcomer grinned and dropped the subject. He knew the two elders were likely joking, but he could not help feeling curious. The elders' implication had been clear: he would probably leave before this person. *The thing is, I just got here. How could I possibly leave first? Who knows how long this guy has already been inside!* Watching Su Yu drift further away, the newcomer sat cross-legged and began cultivating. In his mind, he wondered when this mysterious classmate would finally call it quits. Ahead, yuanqi fluctuated steadily. Judging from the ripples, the newcomer figured the person was at most an early-stage Wanshi. Could someone like that really outlast him? Nonsense! Ignoring Su Yu, he focused entirely on his own cultivation. One hour, two hours... Once his apertures were saturated with yuanqi and his flesh and blood were fortified—his goal for this session achieved—the man opened his eyes, a strange expression taking over his face. *Damn it, why are you still absorbing yuanqi?* *Are you bottomless?* *A bottomless pit?* *Aren't you afraid of blowing yourself apart?!* Shaking his head, the man decided not to worry about Su Yu. His own cultivation was complete, and while he could have lingered a bit longer, there was no point. "Classmate, I'm heading out. Any message for the two elders?" Su Yu called back, "I'll be out soon! Tell the elders not to trouble themselves!" Without another word, the man stepped through the portal. ... Inside the small cabin. Old Huang was so hungry his voice lacked all strength. "I haven't eaten in a day and a night. How about we get something to eat and stop waiting!" Old Nie kept silent, his face dark. He was going to wait, damn it! If that brat didn't come out, he wasn't eating. It wasn't like he was going to starve to death anyway! As a dignified Lingyun cultivator, he wouldn't starve even after a month without food! "How long has it been?" "About twenty-one hours?" Old Huang was no longer certain. Roughly that long, at least. He was thoroughly convinced. Last time, they had said that staying less than twenty-four hours made him a waste. Had the boy overheard them and pulled this stunt on purpose? Old Nie grumbled with a dark expression, "I'm going to recommend to the academy that we charge by the hour from now on, not per visit!" "..." Old Huang laughed helplessly. "If you do that, those geniuses will come looking for trouble." The more gifted someone was, the longer they stayed. If they really charged by time, ordinary students wouldn't care, but the geniuses would curse their ancestors. Dropping the subject, Old Huang said curiously, "I really am wondering, just how many apertures has he opened this time?" "At least twenty!" Old Nie's eyes shone with a strange light. "At the very least! Otherwise, there's no way he could stay inside this long without coming out. Even if he were practicing martial techniques, the rate of consumption wouldn't keep up with the rate of replenishment, and he would quickly be forced out. Only by constantly opening apertures and saturating new ones could he possibly burn through that much yuanqi!" Opening new apertures consumed vast amounts of yuanqi. Filling those new apertures required even more. Only by repeating this process over and over could Su Yu remain inside without being expelled. Otherwise, even with martial techniques, consumption fell short of replenishment, and lingering would soon get him kicked out of the secret realm. "That many?" Old Huang clicked his tongue. "He had opened sixty-six apertures before. If he really opened twenty more, that puts him past eighty-six! Qianjun Seventh Layer is certain, and Eighth Layer is within reach!" Old Nie nodded. Without a doubt! Old Huang thought for a moment and remarked, "Under normal circumstances, the Yuan Qi Secret Realm is indeed great for opening apertures, but not indefinitely! Locating an aperture and opening it takes time! Often, before you even open a new one, the others are already saturated. How can he keep going like this, maintaining that pace and balance?" That was what baffled him the most! It defied logic! They had seen plenty of geniuses, but what Su Yu was doing bordered on abnormal. "Didn't you hear that he went into the Wanshi area? His absorption speed is terrifyingly fast. It has to be a divine character, a special bloodline, or a secret technique..." Old Nie said calmly. "Perhaps he temporarily opened extra apertures to absorb vast amounts of yuanqi and flush through the new ones." "Or maybe he possesses a unique bloodline that allows his pores to absorb yuanqi directly." "Or maybe it's a special divine character—one that hardens the flesh, or blasts through apertures, or..." Old Nie rattled off a string of possibilities in an instant. Old Huang nodded slightly. "He brought a huge stash of blood essence inside. It might have something to do with that. A Qianjun cultivator can consume blood essence to temper the body, but digestion is limited. Given how much he carried in, his ability to absorb blood essence must be abnormal." "Indeed..." Old Nie's gaze turned peculiar. "His absorption rate for Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence cannot be slow. He brought Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence last time, and likely this time as well. If that's the case... could this boy... could he carry the Mountain-Breaking Ox bloodline?!" "..." Old Huang's expression turned just as bizarre, his voice turning hollow. "The descendant of an expert? A bloodline modification? Or... was one of his ancestors a Mountain-Breaking Ox?" "..." The two exchanged a look, their expressions growing weirder by the second. Bloodline inheritance was an established reality. Back when the conflicts across the All-Heavens were not yet as severe, experts from other races had traveled among humanity, just as human experts had roamed foreign realms. Once an expert reached a certain level, taking human form was trivial. Given sufficient strength, reproductive isolation could be overcome. As a result, certain mixed-blood lineages from the all-races had been passed down through generations. Without exception, the progenitors of these lineages were formidable figures—powerhouses capable of breaking through reproductive barriers. "So Su Yu... is actually a little bull calf?" The two stared at each other, utterly bewildered. Old Huang hurriedly opened the terminal beside him to pull up records, murmuring after a long silence, "Nothing special here. His father is a centurion in the Demon Suppression Army who retired eighteen years ago and only recently reenlisted. His mother died giving birth to him; she was just an Origin Opening cultivator who hadn't even reached Qianjun..." "His grandfather was an ordinary citizen in Nanyuan, and so was his grandmother. His maternal grandparents passed away years ago..." Exercising his authority, Old Huang probed further, adding, "Wait, there really might be a Mountain-Breaking Ox bloodline in his lineage! Look at this photo of his father—he looks like a bull himself, tall and massive..." Old Nie leaned over to look and nodded. In the picture, Su Long was grinning broadly, his frame undeniably burly. "To know for sure, you'd have to trace back ten generations or more..." Centuries had passed since experts of the myriad races first stepped into the human realm. For events that distant, unless physical mutations manifested at birth and the bloodline showed itself in every generation, the public would remain oblivious. Who could say what dormant traits might have survived down the line? Old Huang, however, grew increasingly convinced. "It has to be the Mountain-Breaking Ox bloodline! No wonder this kid can last so long—he has the bloodline! By swallowing Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence, he stimulates his own heritage, constantly strengthening his bloodline and bursting through apertures. That explains how he can keep going indefinitely!" Old Nie sighed. "Does that mean he's swallowing the blood essence of his own ancestors?" "..." The two exchanged another glance and suddenly broke into laughter. Soon, Old Huang grew solemn. "Even if he's a descendant of the Mountain-Breaking Ox, after so many generations, human blood dominates. He's human; how could he be counted as an ox?" "True enough, but we should still report this up the chain to have it looked into." Old Nie said quietly, "These are just our guesses. If he really is a descendant of the Mountain-Breaking Ox, we need to know the facts." Old Huang agreed. Pausing in thought, he added in a strange tone, "Then again, could it be... Liu Wenyan's doing? Isn't that fellow in Nanyuan? Do you think that's possible?" "It is!" Old Nie grunted. "That man was never up to any good back then. Do you think he conducted some sinister research on Su Yu?" "Surely... it hasn't come to that?" "Hard to say!" In an instant, their imaginations ran wild. Had Liu Wenyan been carrying out illicit experiments in Nanyuan? Had he modified Su Yu? Otherwise, Su Yu's circumstances were simply too abnormal. Who on earth could open apertures non-stop like this? ... Inside, Su Yu naturally had no inkling of their wild theories. Twenty-two hours had passed! He had consumed 480 drops of blood essence and opened eight more apertures, bringing his total to 106. He was practically devouring money! Setting aside the fact that the blood essence was worth 4,800 merit points, Su Yu strongly suspected that the yuanqi he had consumed would yield well over a hundred drops of yuanqi liquid if condensed—probably far more! "Does the Qianjun Realm always cost this much?" Su Yu grumbled. He felt that not even a Lingyun expert could afford to raise him; he would need a Shanhai benefactor, and even a Shanhai would probably end up weeping. Yet he could not deny that the gains were monumental. Just two more apertures, and he would reach the peak of the Qianjun Realm! As for whether the remaining twenty drops would be enough, he was not worried; he still had hundreds of drops of ordinary blood essence. Any that failed to unlock a page in the golden album would simply be absorbed by him. Those that did unlock a page, of course, could not be absorbed. With nearly four hundred kinds of blood essence, Su Yu was certain most would fail to activate the album. Another half hour passed, and with a muffled roar, his 107th aperture opened! Only one remained! The final aperture of the Qianjun chapter of the War God Art! His blood essence gradually ran dry. Yet that final aperture stubbornly refused to yield. Su Yu was in no rush. As the last drop of Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence was consumed, he reopened the chest and turned his attention to the other varieties. ... "Fire Swine blood essence... this one probably won't work..." Su Yu swallowed a drop of Fire Swine blood essence, and sure enough, his body absorbed it directly! He had tried blood essence from this sort of trash race before. It seemed that over all these years, he had never been killed in his dreams by a pig, or at least not by this sort of garbage pig. "Ironwing Bird blood essence... That fat bastard ripped me off!" Su Yu cursed under his breath. He had told Xia Huyou to gather distinct types of blood essence, yet the fellow had included duplicates. Of course, he hadn't explained clearly, and Xia Huyou had no idea what he wanted them for, simply preparing a batch of whatever he could get. Swallowing it, he absorbed the energy to aid his aperture opening. Su Yu continued. "White Cloud Leopard blood essence... useless!" "Long-Necked Crane blood essence..." The next instant, Su Yu's eyes lit up! Within his sea of consciousness, the golden album stirred, and a moment later, a new page unlocked! "Long-Necked Crane (Qianjun Sixth Layer): Racial Skill: Sovereign of the Sky (Unlocked with blood essence) Basic Yuan Art: Flight Art (Unlocked with blood essence)" Su Yu glanced at it, frowned, and shook his head. He felt helpless! Useless, absolute garbage! Though it claimed to unlock with blood essence, in reality, it was completely impractical and useless to him. Powerful as the album was, some physical realities could not be defied. For instance, the Ironwing Bird had more than one racial skill; aside from Tear, it also possessed Iron Wing Slash. Su Yu had once tried activating that skill. The result... he had no wings! He couldn't slash with them! A bunch of apertures had opened on his back, but what use were they? Was he supposed to slam into people with his spine? Of course, that wasn't entirely impossible. In short, it was simply impractical! This Sovereign of the Sky was obviously meant for flight and relied on wings; Su Yu was certain that even if he unlocked it, he wouldn't be able to fly. It would just be a waste of blood essence! "Next!" Su Yu couldn't be bothered to look further and moved on. Besides, he only had a single drop of each type, purely meant to unlock the pages. Even once unlocked, he had no extra blood essence to experiment with. Ten types, twenty types... Su Yu continually swallowed blood essence, attempting to unlock pages in the album. Since these were all Qianjun-level blood essence, his current body could easily absorb them without danger. Had he swallowed them recklessly like this before, he would have exploded long ago. Page after page in the album slowly unlocked. For most, Su Yu merely skimmed through, finding little of interest. Until yet another page unlocked! Su Yu's eyes flashed with brilliant light! "Soul-Devouring Insect (Qianjun Ninth Layer): Racial Skill: Soul Devour (Unlocked with blood essence) Basic Yuan Art: Soul-Devouring Art (Unlocked with blood essence)" "Soul-Devouring Insect!" Su Yu's eyes shone brightly. This creature had been covered in his classes: an insect race that was not particularly strong individually, but exceptionally troublesome in swarms because they spat a liquid. A liquid that corroded a Civilization Master's willpower! In small numbers, they posed little threat since the creatures were generally weak. But in swarms numbering in the thousands or tens of thousands, even a Lingyun or Shanhai expert could be brought down by them. They were a nightmare tailored specifically for Civilization Masters. On the All-Heavens Battlefield, when these insects encountered warriors, they were slaughtered in droves. Yet when they faced Civilization Masters with fragile bodies, a single spit from a bug could instantly corrode their willpower to nothing, turning them into nourishment for the swarm. "Soul Devour..." Su Yu murmured. Could this innate skill allow him to spit venom and corrode someone else's willpower? "That would be pretty disgusting, wouldn't it?" Still... when life and death hung in the balance, what did disgust matter! Spitting on an enemy and watching their willpower melt away would feel amazing! "Basic Yuan Art: Soul-Devouring Art..." Su Yu's mind stirred. A thought crossed his mind: if humanity possessed the Ten Thousand Characters Classic to cultivate willpower, didn't the myriad races have their own methods? There had to be yuan arts specifically designed for cultivating willpower! He simply hadn't encountered them before because his thinking had been too rigid, assuming he could only cultivate willpower through techniques once he reached the Tengkong Realm. Yet he had the album! As long as he found races that could cultivate willpower in the Qianjun or Wanshi stages and obtained their yuan arts, couldn't he cultivate willpower as well? "Is the Soul-Devouring Art a willpower yuan art?" Su Yu speculated silently. Since these insects targeted willpower specifically, did they cultivate a willpower-based yuan art? If so, by using Soul-Devouring Insect blood essence to cultivate it, could he actively cultivate his willpower before reaching Tengkong, rather than relying solely on passive resistance to strengthen it? "Unlocking this page has truly opened up a whole new world for me!" Su Yu's eyes burned brighter and brighter! Although races that cultivated willpower in their early stages were rare, they were not nonexistent. He would have to dig through the records thoroughly once he returned! Ninety-nine divine characters—the mere thought always gave him a massive headache. Even if he managed to outline them, could his willpower keep up? At this moment, it seemed he had finally found a solution! Unfortunately, he had no more Soul-Devouring Insect blood essence on hand, or he would have tested it right away. Putting the thought aside, Su Yu continued consuming blood essence. Most types failed to unlock anything. Some succeeded, but their innate skills and yuan arts were largely impractical, with only a handful proving truly useful—and Su Yu had no extra blood essence to experiment with those anyway. Over the course of several hours, he finished consuming nearly four hundred drops of blood essence and unlocked thirty-eight new pages. Adding the Mountain-Breaking Ox and the Ironwing Bird, Su Yu had unlocked a full forty pages in the album! "Too few..." Su Yu frowned. He had been killed in his dreams for so many years; how could he have unlocked so few pages? Recalling the races he had just tested, Su Yu sighed helplessly. Most were common species, while only a minority were rare—and the ones that successfully unlocked pages happened to be those rare varieties. "Does that mean I never dreamed of these common races, and might dream of them later before unlocking them?" Su Yu clicked his tongue. Just how many years would these dreams have to continue?! Still, it didn't matter. They were weak races anyway; failing to unlock them was no great loss. Forty complete pages had provided Su Yu with forty basic yuan arts, and even more innate skills, as some races possessed more than one. The remaining three hundred or so drops of blood essence, all being at the Qianjun level, produced only mediocre effects. As Su Yu swallowed them down, he barely managed to force open the final aperture. By now, his physical body had reached a clear state of saturation. His apertures were saturated, and so was his flesh. Furthermore, because the blood essence he had consumed was so varied, Su Yu clearly felt that the yuanqi within his body had become quite impure. "I shouldn't swallow blood essence haphazardly like this, but it's fine..." Su Yu smiled. He had unlocked a page for a creature called the "Brightlight Bird." Though not particularly strong, the bird was revered by many as a symbol of purity, possessing the ability to dispel foulness. The Brightlight Bird's basic yuan art was called the "Yuan-Purifying Art," which Su Yu surmised was used to cleanse and purify yuanqi. Thus, although his yuanqi was somewhat tainted at the moment, it was not a major issue. He could simply consume some Brightlight Bird blood essence later to cultivate the art and resolve it. At this very moment, both his physical body and his apertures were completely saturated! Every drop of blood essence was spent! The cost had been exorbitant! Yet the outcome left Su Yu thoroughly satisfied: Qianjun Ninth Layer, and forty unlocked pages in his album. Both were tremendous achievements. Right now, in terms of raw physical combat power, he was roughly on par with an ordinary warrior cultivating the War God Art. There was nothing particularly extraordinary about him: his martial techniques were unpolished, his yuanqi was no stronger than anyone else's, and his physique was perhaps only slightly sturdier, though not noticeably so. Placed among a crowd of geniuses, he would hardly stand out. Su Yu didn't care. For now, he had merely laid down the raw foundation. He could slowly polish it later—purging the impure yuanqi, cleansing his energy, opening more apertures to boost his reserves, and mastering his martial techniques. In due time, he would naturally become a powerhouse among warriors. After all, this was an Earth-rank peak cultivation method! It was far superior to what warriors cultivating Profound-rank or Yellow-rank methods practiced. The sheer number of apertures was incomparable, and utilizing different apertures for martial techniques yielded far greater explosive power. "Dad probably isn't a match for me anymore!" Su Yu mused with emotion. His father, who cultivated the Qianjun Art, had only opened thirty-six apertures—a mere third of his own. His Shatter Yuan alone unleashed the power of forty-eight apertures. In a single clash, even if his father channeled all thirty-six of his apertures to blast out yuanqi, he would still be blown away! "Oh, Dad, you cultivate so slowly!" Su Yu shook his head, feeling pity for his old man. Opening thirty-six apertures had taken him decades. One aperture a year! *Look at your son: I've opened more apertures in a single day than you did in your entire life. It seems I'll really have to look after you from now on.* He indulged in a bit of smug satisfaction, delighted with himself. Naturally, he could never utter those words to his father's face, or he would be beaten black and blue! "Time to head out. How long have I been cultivating?" Su Yu felt a bit disoriented. Under thirty hours, right? It shouldn't have exceeded that, but it was probably close! He had entered late on the night of September 22nd. Stepping out now, it should be the morning of the 24th, right? ... Outside. Old Nie muttered, "Should we have someone bring over some food? Old Huang, I'm getting a bit hungry too." A day and a night had passed—no, nearly thirty hours! Had that brat gotten so comfortable inside that he had no intention of leaving? Old Huang rolled his eyes at him. Hadn't he insisted on holding out against Su Yu to the bitter end? Keep going, then! I'm not hungry anymore! Just as the thought crossed his mind, Old Huang's expression shifted, and delight flared in his eyes. "He's coming out!" He sensed movement behind the portal! He was finally coming out, and there was no one else inside right now! Old Nie's face lit up with joy as well. *Damn it, brat, you finally decided to drag yourself out!* They had genuinely begun to think the kid had decided to make a home in there!