Reunion of Master and Disciple

Exiting Xiuxin Pavilion, Su Yu was drenched in cold sweat. The scene just now had felt like a dream. What had he just witnessed? He had seen that Wan Tiansheng had actually taken part in that battle all those years ago. He had seen Wan Tiansheng and Ye Batian join forces, nearly beating two Invincibles to death, until two other Invincibles struck from the shadows, shattering Wan Tiansheng's three-life embodiment and slaying Ye Batian. Were they Invincibles back then? Probably not! Wan Tiansheng and Ye Batian might have both been merely quasi-Invincibles at the time, but they had certainly not been ordinary ones. What terrifying men! The crux of the matter was... why the hell did Old Wan show me that? Su Yu bared his teeth and grimaced. Did you just want to show off in front of me? No! At that moment, Su Yu's mind wandered for a second before clarity struck. "I get it!" He vaguely grasped something. Old Wan... was teaching him! Yes, teaching him. "He's teaching me not to capture the past embodiment first, but the future embodiment... and then, at the very moment the future embodiment erupts, capture the past embodiment..." He felt as if he had caught a glimpse of the truth! He was stunned! Right! Once you captured your future embodiment, your combat power might rival an Invincible. If you hadn't captured your past embodiment yet, could you then capture the strength you possessed when your future embodiment was erupting? For instance, Wan Tiansheng could capture that moment fifty-one years ago as his past embodiment. Then he... would be monstrously powerful! Su Yu swallowed hard. By that logic, anyone could do it, provided they captured their future embodiment first. Of course, he had no idea how difficult it was, but it was bound to be insanely hard. "Was Old Wan teaching me this?" Su Yu muttered to himself. Maybe he was. As for anything else, Su Yu didn't want to overthink it! All he knew was that the entire world had underestimated Wan Tiansheng. Perhaps someone knew—for example, that Invincible of the Tianyuan race who had fled heavily wounded. Rumor had it he hadn't died and remained gravely injured, likely wounded by Wan Tiansheng. What a terrifying guy! That person might know something. Wan Tiansheng's identity probably hadn't been exposed, but the two Invincibles who struck that day might also know that one fellow hadn't truly died—only one of his three-life embodiments had fallen. Su Yu let out a breath. Could they guess it was Wan Tiansheng? Hard to say! Back then, Wan Tiansheng had only been at the peak of Shanhai; likely no one would connect it to him. Such a powerful embodiment, capable of slaying Invincibles, might have been assumed to belong to an extraordinarily mighty Invincible—King Daxia's, perhaps? Maybe they thought they had killed an embodiment of King Daxia? Su Yu pushed those thoughts aside. His head spun in a daze. Old Wan was this formidable, which meant his long years of lying low could only mean he had massive ambitions. Su Yu had previously consulted the stone sculpture. Three-life embodiments could be restored, though the past embodiment was the hardest to recover. As long as the past embodiment remained, having a past meant having a present, and having a present meant having a future. The one that died back then was most likely Old Wan's future embodiment, which meant he might have already restored it. Terrifying! Had he not captured his past embodiment because he couldn't, or because he was afraid that doing so would force him into the Invincible Realm? Attaining the Dao caused an enormous commotion. Su Yu still didn't understand that realm very well. He didn't know whether capturing past and future automatically fused them to attain Invincibility, or if one had to capture them first and then find a way to fuse them to attain the Dao. There was quite a difference between the two. The former meant that once all three embodiments were captured, one stepped into Invincibility instantly. The latter meant one might have to fuse them gradually, like aperture fusion, which would take a massive amount of time. "Capturing the future embodiment within the past..." The phrasing sounded awkward on Su Yu's tongue, but he grasped the general concept: capture the future embodiment first, integrate it, and then the future becomes the past... Holy crap! Could you even do that? Su Yu had never considered such a trick before. This time, Wan Tiansheng had truly opened his eyes. ... While Su Yu was muttering to himself, Wan Tiansheng sat atop Xiuxin Pavilion, looking somewhat sorrowful. He murmured, "I didn't show you that so you'd capture the future in the past. I wanted to show you that even someone as powerful as me had to bide his time! And so must you! I wanted to show you that there was a problem with Ye Batian's Dao attainment! Do you understand?" You utter moron! Why is your reading comprehension so extraordinarily skewed? My goal wasn't to teach you how to capture an Invincible embodiment from the past! You're infuriating me to death! Fool! Do you actually think you can pull that off? Nonsense! Helpless, Wan Tiansheng sighed. Forget it. Interpret it however you want. Once your cultivation grows stronger, you'll understand—understand how astonishing the scenes I showed you today were, and how mighty I truly am! Ah well, the ignorant fear nothing. Playing the lute to a cow! At least the brat had seen the River of Time and learned how to dredge three-life embodiments... Of course, if he didn't learn, it was because he was too stupid, and that couldn't be blamed on me. At the very least, when the kid reaches the ninth level of the Sun Moon Realm, he will know how to attain the Dao and how to empower himself. He has walked the River of Time, knows its perils, and knows what kind of three-life embodiments to capture. Consider it my parting gift. Wan Tiansheng smiled faintly and leaned back in his reclining chair. Humming an unfamiliar tune, the old wicker chair creaked under his weight. ... Meanwhile, Su Yu was still pondering past and future. "If I fuse a future embodiment from my past, will my future become even stronger? Should I then fuse another future embodiment that already integrated the past and future?" "..." In his sea of will, the little fur ball felt dizzy. Too complicated! Su Yu didn't think it was complicated at all. He mused further: even if you could only integrate one past embodiment and one future embodiment, that wasn't so bad. If that didn't work, could you blow up one of your weaker embodiments yourself? Strengthen continuously, and then fuse again and again? Tsk tsk! Su Yu pondered: Wouldn't my past embodiment grow stronger with every passing second? Could I continuously destroy my past embodiment, fuse a newer past embodiment, and become increasingly stronger...? I think I've discovered the path to invincible power! Could everyone else be doing this too? Keep making the past and future stronger. After all, whenever the three-life embodiments converged, it was the peak state, and each time, one could capture oneself from a second prior. Su Yu circled around and around until he confused himself. Wouldn't that mean infinite growth in power? The premise was that after blowing up your three-life embodiments so many times, you had to still be alive. Otherwise, you'd just blow yourself to kingdom come. "Wait, my physical body is only at Tengkong and my willpower is only at Lingyun. What am I worrying about this for?" Su Yu cursed inwardly. Old Wan led me astray! "Those two Invincibles... one might have been human, and the other from an alien race. Alien races are all enemies anyway, so that's not scary. What's terrifying is if both were humans—then we're in real trouble!" Su Yu frowned. This time, he knew with absolute certainty that there were indeed traitors. Of course, he couldn't rule out that both were Invincibles from the myriad races. At least he knew that Ye Batian had been ambushed, and so had Old Wan. Ye Batian hadn't been as arrogantly reckless as the legends claimed; he had known his limits. He had enlisted his close friend as his personal Dao protector. His friend was extremely powerful, and together with Ye Batian himself, even two Invincibles attacking wouldn't have been a problem. Perhaps they had even intended to bait two Invincibles and slaughter them. In the end, they played with fire and got burned. Four Invincibles had arrived: two out in the open and two in the shadows. Even so, they had managed to kill one and critically wound another, which was an incredible feat. "Truly formidable!" Su Yu sighed with emotion. It turned out quasi-Invincibles could indeed slay Invincibles, and more than one person had been capable of doing it. The future embodiment... Thoughts flickered through his mind. No, don't dwell on it. The more he thought, the scarier it got. Above all, Old Wan had kept this hidden for so many years. "I'm afraid his appetite is massive!" Su Yu guessed secretly. After lying low for so long, Old Wan was finally surfacing and had even led him into the River of Time. Was he preparing to throw caution to the wind and wage an all-out battle? ... After leaving Wan Tiansheng's place, Su Yu stopped wandering. He returned to his residence. Su Yu felt more acutely than ever how minuscule his own strength was. In front of Wan Tiansheng, he was practically nothing. This encounter had confirmed Wan Tiansheng's terrifying might—and even someone that strong had been forced to lie low. Looks like I can't let it get to my head either! I've only reached 57 castings so far. I need to complete the 58th casting as soon as possible. And reach 72 castings as soon as I can! "Grandmaster is in the Sun Moon Realm, but probably only at the first level. That's too weak. Maybe Sun Moon Xuanhuang Liquid can boost his strength. "As for Teacher, he's almost at Lingyun. I wonder if he has cultivated the Five Elements cultivation technique I gave him. If not, reaching the ninth level of Lingyun will be tough. If he did, he'll be lacking a massive amount of willpower, so it'd be best to cultivate using Sun Moon divine characters..." Idea after idea surfaced in his mind. This time, he had come for revenge. As for whom he was avenging... to be frank, Su Yu didn't feel much sympathy for Ye Batian. He had come to seek vengeance on behalf of his teacher, Liu Wenyan, and Hong Tan. As for Su Yu himself, he bore little personal grudge—almost everyone who had harmed him was already dead by his hand! "I need to lay my cards on the table with Teacher!" "With Old Wan holding the fort here, I have nothing to fear. With him being so strong, even Invincibles might not dare come stir up trouble..." At this thought, Su Yu cultivated for a while to suppress his death qi. Soon, his figure flashed, vanishing from the spot. ... Wen Tan Research Center. Hong Tan and Bai Feng were hard at work. As always, the master and disciple were intensely busy. Off to the side, Wu Jia was present as well. Not wanting to disturb them, she tidied up the room and soon left, an enduring look of melancholy lingering on her face. Her teacher had vanished. He might still be alive, but before long, he might be branded a traitor to the Human Realm. The moment Wu Jia departed, Hong Tan looked up, glanced at her retreating figure, and sighed softly. Bai Feng looked up as well and said helplessly, "Senior Brother's departure was certainly clean. Even if he wouldn't contact others, he could have contacted us. But no, he won't even reach out to us!" Then he added, "And pity my poor disciple, waiting for death on the All-Heavens Battlefield right now. Otherwise, setting him and Jiajia up together would be better than what we have now." "You!" Hong Tan was speechless. "Stop dwelling on useless things and finish the Shanhai disassembly art as soon as possible. Up until now, you've only managed to disassemble up to the ninth level of Lingyun. How are you working? If it only reaches Lingyun, the help is limited. Only when it can disassemble Shanhai and Sun Moon will it truly be a divine skill!" Bai Feng replied helplessly, "We still lack experimental subjects. I told you, you're at Sun Moon and I'm at Tengkong. It's already quite something that I could work out the Lingyun level. If Senior Brother were here, he's at Shanhai and would make the perfect guinea pig. Now that our guinea pig is gone, how am I supposed to proceed?" He couldn't trust outsiders! "No matter. Just grab a few Shanhai cultivators at random to experiment on. Right now, there's no shortage of Shanhai and Sun Moon cultivators in the academy." "Can we really snatch them?" Bai Feng grinned slyly. "Why don't you go grab a few?" "Get lost!" Hong Tan cursed, snapping, "Do you have any idea how many eyes are on me? Can I make a move?" He stroked his chin and added, "Didn't you say you hooked up with someone from the Heaven Hunting Pavilion? Why not have them give it a shot and grab a few for us?" "Won't that cause trouble?" "It'll be fine. Snatching a few would be ideal..." Hong Tan said sinisterly. "Kill off the unruly ones. Once they're dead, the factions behind them will have to send more people—stronger ones! It'd be best if they got infuriated enough to send dozens of Sun Moon experts..." Bai Feng's eyes gleamed. He nodded and chuckled, "Understood. Let them fight like dogs biting dogs! But killing them inside the Great Xia Prefecture... wouldn't look good, would it?" "True. We'll talk about it later!" As Hong Tan spoke, his eyes shifted slightly, and he glanced around the room. He barked, "Who's there?" He called out, but there was no response. Hong Tan's expression shifted, and he lunged to grab Bai Feng. Right at that moment, a hand appeared behind Bai Feng, reaching to grip his head. "Courting death!" Hong Tan gave a low roar and slapped Bai Feng away with a palm strike. A divine character erupted, conjuring a giant sword and a massive shield in the next instant. Boom! The figure in the shadows punched out. Cracks instantly spiderwebbed across the shield! Hong Tan's face drained of color. Meanwhile, Bai Feng, having been knocked away by the palm strike, crashed into the wall and slid down, utterly dizzy! Having fractured Hong Tan's shield with a single punch, the mysterious figure flashed forward, seized Bai Feng, hoisted him up, and sneered coldly, "Yield, or die!" Hong Tan's expression changed rapidly! In the attacker's grip, Bai Feng looked as pale as death. Gritting his teeth, Hong Tan demanded, "Impossible! How did you get in?" It made no sense! This was inside the research center, which he had fortified with countless formations! Was this person from the Heaven Hunting Pavilion? The mysterious figure sneered, "How could petty tricks like these stop me, Xuan Jiu!" "Xuan Jiu!" Hong Tan recognized the name and ground his teeth. "It's you! The senior executive from the Heaven Hunting Pavilion who appeared in Nanyuan City!" "Indeed! This seat is the director overseeing the Heaven Hunting Pavilion's Great Xia Prefecture branch!" Hong Tan's face was grim. A high-ranking executive of the Heaven Hunting Pavilion! He hadn't imagined this person would have the gall to infiltrate the Great Xia Prefecture, let alone breach his research center. It was unthinkable. Where was Wan Tiansheng? Didn't he know? "What do you want?" Hong Tan asked coldly. Su Yu sneered, "Nothing much. Don't chase after me. I only want Bai Feng. He looks quite tender and fair, so I figured I'd haul him back and sell him for cash!" "..." Silence! Total silence fell in an instant! Held in the grip, Bai Feng froze, blinking. Infiltrated the research center... It might not be an infiltration; someone could have walked straight in. And into this research center, only five people could walk straight in. Apart from the three inside, there were only two others. One was Su Yu, and the other was Chen Yong. And this level of strength... The next moment, Bai Feng suddenly cursed, "Senior Brother, that's taking it too far!" "Nobody plays around like this!" Hong Tan also froze, looking suspicious. "Xiao Yong?" If it was Chen Yong, having this kind of strength wasn't out of the question—Sun Moon tier prowess. Chen Yong had stepped directly into the ninth level of Shanhai back then. Except... this mysterious figure possessed overwhelming physical strength. Xiao Yong was a Civilization Master. Was it really Chen Yong? Hong Tan wasn't certain. Meanwhile, Bai Feng couldn't resist kicking at Su Yu, yelling indignantly, "Senior Brother, do you know how terrifying that was?!" "I was scared out of my wits!" "Thank goodness it's you. If that brat Su Yu had seen this, I'd want to kill myself!" Bai Feng was overflowing with resentment. Thankfully, it was his senior brother. If this had been Su Yu... unthinkable. It would have been humiliating beyond belief! Of course, Su Yu was still playing city lord out there. The only person capable of silently strolling in right now had to be his senior brother. Who would have guessed Senior Brother had managed to become a big boss in the Heaven Hunting Pavilion? Truly impressive! Saying that, he thumped Su Yu's chest and grumbled, "Senior Brother, stop playing around. Why are you still wearing that mask? Take it off already!" "Master misses you, and so does Jiajia..." Su Yu stared blankly at him. Teacher, I never said I was Martial Uncle. Where on earth did you get the idea that I'm Martial Uncle? And you're thumping my chest! You... look so sissy! Across from them, Hong Tan frowned slightly, sensing something was off. Was it Xiao Yong? If not, Bai Feng was right in his grasp, yet had kicked him; if it wasn't one of their own, how could this happen? "Xiao—" He was about to call out when his jaw dropped wide, only to snap shut an instant later. He blurted out, "Xiao Yu... you... I... he..." Meanwhile, Bai Feng was still talking. He looked up, and suddenly... he froze entirely! His whole body went rigid! His mouth hung open comically wide. After a long pause, he stammered dryly, "Uh... Senior Brother... quit fooling around..." His eyes had to be playing tricks on him! Su Yu laughed sheepishly. "Teacher, Grandmaster, just a joke, don't take it seriously! I didn't even use full strength just now. It was really just a prank to test everyone's vigilance..." Bang! A fist smashed down onto Su Yu's head, and Bai Feng felt like crying from the sheer pain in his knuckles. Hong Tan had initially wanted to mediate, but the moment he heard someone say "I didn't even use full strength," the words died in his throat. Hit him! Beat him black and blue! Beat him to death! What the hell did you mean by that? Not using full strength? You cracked my turtle shield with a single punch, and you dare say you didn't use full strength? Are you implying that at full strength, you could punch me to death? Bai Feng punched Su Yu once, then threw another punch. Su Yu wore an embarrassed grin, while Bai Feng looked ready to weep from the agony. It hurt so damn much! Fuck! Damn it all! Why does hitting you hurt me so much?! "Xuan Jiu?" Bai Feng stopped punching. Grabbing Su Yu by the collar, he roared, "Xuan Jiu, is it?!" "Uh... cough, cough..." "You bastard! You actually broke in here to prank your grandmaster and your teacher?!" "I—" "Do you have any concept of respecting your elders?!" Bai Feng roared again, "And you hit me!" "No, Teacher, I didn't hit you! Grandmaster was the one who slapped you and sent you flying. I was just helping you up. Think back if you don't believe me!" Bai Feng thought back for a second and cursed internally! Wait, that's true! My master slapped me and sent me flying, and then this kid... grabbed me. Counted as helping me up? At this moment, there was no way he could stay calm. He could only bellow at the top of his lungs to cover up everything! Holy shit! It was him! How on earth did he get this strong?! In front of him, I really feel like I could be swatted to death with one palm! Pissing me off to no end! I refuse to accept this! How utterly humiliating! Beside them, Hong Tan also wore a complex expression, his gaze strange. In a deadpan tone, he said, "Xiao Feng, that is no way to discipline a disciple. It's far too unkind. Under no circumstances should you draw a sword to hack at him; his physical body is very tough..." As soon as the words fell, a giant sword materialized beside Bai Feng—Hong Tan's sword! Hack him! Hack him to death! Unfilial brat! In the middle of the night, pulling a prank like this on your grandmaster and teacher—nearly scaring us to death! I thought we were done for! Damn it, turns out it was this little bastard. Bai Feng's Dragon Slaying Sword might not pierce his hide, but my sword will hack him! Bai Feng casually picked up the sword, turned to glance at his master, rendered speechless, and tossed the sword aside. "Enough, Master. If you want to hit him, hit him yourself. I'm not doing it!" "..." Hong Tan glared at him. Look at what you're saying—am I that kind of person? Meanwhile, Su Yu piled on a flattering smile. "Grandmaster, please calm down. You're truly incredible! The palm strike you threw earlier—the wind from your palm alone gave me internal injuries!" "Shut up!" Master and disciple barked in unison. Hong Tan's face burned with embarrassment, and Bai Feng snapped, "Shut your trap, you bastard! How dare you tease your grandmaster? Even if he can't beat you, he did his best!" Then his tone shifted into an emotional sigh: "The disciple I taught... sigh, betraying masters and ancestors. Forget it, forget it. Next time, don't show such disrespect to your grandmaster. You were taught by me; if outsiders saw this, they'd think I was the one defying masters and ancestors, that I ordered you to do it!" Beneath all the words was a single underlying message: You were taught by me, so my teaching skills are unparalleled! Hong Tan rolled his eyes wildly! You're hopeless! Taking a deep breath to suppress his bewilderment and astonishment, Hong Tan looked at Su Yu and asked after a long pause, "Were the rumors fake?" Su Yu hesitated. "Which rumors? The one where I killed dozens of Sun Moon experts, or where I got Boss Stone Sculpture to step in for me and blow up an Invincible, or that I took first place on the Heaven Ranking, or something else...? The earlier ones are true. I'm not sure about the rest." "..." Silence. Bai Feng desperately wanted to beat him again. Was that a genuine question? No, that was pure bragging! "What the hell are you showing off for!" Bai Feng huffed. Su Yu grinned naively, laughing brightly with genuine warmth. It felt just like old times! I... just love showing off a bit. So what? I wanted to see the look of pure shock on Teacher's face! Hahaha! What an awesome feeling! It truly felt as if they were back in the past. Bai Feng looked at him and smiled too, a bittersweet smile that made his eyes sting with unshed tears. "You fool... you're really all right?" "I'm fine, I'm fine! Doing great!" "Acting tough on the All-Heavens Battlefield... now the whole world wants you dead. Happy now?" "No, I just couldn't stand the sight of them. I'm not afraid of them..." Su Yu smiled candidly. "They bullied me, and they bullied our Multiple Divine Characters Faction. Sooner or later, I'll beat every single one of them to death. Don't worry, Teacher. If I go all out now, I can tangle with the mid-stage Sun Moon Realm. Sooner or later, I will wipe out all our enemies!" "..." Heartache. Even now, the kid didn't forget to flaunt his strength. Bai Feng didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and Hong Tan felt the exact same way. Enough! We've been provoked enough. That'll do! "Where's Jiajia?" Hong Tan suddenly remembered something. Su Yu chuckled naively. "I was worried Senior Sister would get too emotional if she saw me, so I casually trapped her in an illusion just now. She doesn't even know yet." "You rascal..." He truly was capable now! At this moment, three generations of disciples looked at one another, their hearts churning with complex emotions. First, Hong Tan had remained stranded on the All-Heavens Battlefield for ages; then Bai Feng had been sentenced to the Vanguard Camp; then Su Yu had been driven out of the Great Xia Prefecture; and ever since, endless storms had raged. And now, the three of them finally stood together once more. Things remained, but people had changed! Bai Feng felt the most conflicted. He glanced at Su Yu, sighed with emotion, and asked helplessly, "How did you become so strong?" "Raw talent!" Su Yu grinned guilelessly. "And it's all thanks to Teacher, who discovered my genius back then. You truly have an eye for talent!" Screw you! I want to curse you into the dirt! Scram! If I'd known you'd be such a blow to my ego, I never would have accepted you as a student! Bai Feng complained silently! Soon, he frowned again. "Is the Xuan Jiu identity real or fake?" "Real!" Su Yu chuckled. "I wasn't lying. I'm genuinely the top dog of the Heaven Hunting Pavilion stationed in the Great Xia Prefecture. I have three white-masks under my command, and the rest of the personnel haven't arrived yet." "So the order to protect my cousin came from you?" Bai Feng understood at last. So that was why. Su Yu laughed sheepishly and called out in Bai Junsheng's voice, "Cousin!" "Watch your manners..." Bai Feng started to scold, but then his face froze! It completely stiffened! His jaw dropped wide once more as he stared at Su Yu. After a long pause, he roared, "You... you were pretending to be him?!" "Cough, cough, cough... Well... I just needed a legitimate identity to enter the academy." "I'm going to kill you!" Bai Feng went totally mad. I'm going to die. Damn it, Xuan Jiu is you, Bai Junsheng is you, the infiltrator is you... You've been playing me for a fool this whole time! If I don't kill you, I'll never find peace! The master and disciple chased each other around the laboratory for a while. Hong Tan watched from the side, and as he watched, feelings of helplessness, amusement, and deep relief welled up within him. Su Yu was still alive. And living well! He had returned. He wasn't on the brink of death as everyone imagined. He was back! Returning in a manner and identity no one could have anticipated: Xuan Jiu of the Heaven Hunting Pavilion, possessing Sun Moon strength. At this moment, Hong Tan felt an overwhelming surge of emotion and helplessness. He's already grown this strong? Soon, he called out, "Stop fighting. Su Yu, tell me: does anyone else know you're back?" "Yes. King Daming, Mansion Master Zhu, and Director Wan all know." "I see!" Hong Tan felt enlightened. No wonder Wan Tiansheng hadn't made a move despite the intrusion—it had seemed so out of character. Turns out he knew all along! He cursed silently. That old ghost had probably been watching in secret, laughing at their expense just now. What a bastard! A tiny heads-up would have spared them all this. How humiliating! Nearly having his turtle shield shattered by his own grand-disciple's punch—sigh! Bai Feng kicked Su Yu a few more times until his own feet throbbed in pain, then snorted, "All right, stop playing dumb! You bastard, you came here deliberately to watch us make fools of ourselves, didn't you?" "No way!" Su Yu denied it, laughing heartily. "Teacher, I was just worried you'd get too emotional seeing me, so I switched to a different approach to cheer you up. Are you happy?" Very happy! So happy I nearly self-detonated just now! Bai Feng cursed inwardly once more! Still, the sorrow and melancholy of a long-awaited reunion had completely dissipated—or rather, had never surfaced at all. The kid was lively and energetic, capable of knocking back his own grandmaster with a single punch. What was there left to worry about? ... Soon, the room settled into silence. Su Yu smiled. "Should we bring Senior Sister over? I can tell you all about what I saw and did. It's really interesting! The All-Heavens Battlefield is genuinely a lot of fun." He was the very first person to describe the All-Heavens Battlefield as fun. Hong Tan thought for a moment and nodded. "Go call her. Ever since your martial uncle left, your senior sister has been depressed. Seeing that you're back might lift her spirits." "Alright!" ... A few minutes later, Su Yu and Wu Jia arrived. Wu Jia's face was filled with delight and disbelief. Her junior brother was back? Wu Jia was genuinely fond of this junior brother of hers. When he was around, no one had dared bully her, and both her master and martial uncle had been cheerful. But once he left, everything changed. Now that he had returned, Wu Jia's gloom evaporated in an instant. Su Yu soon began recounting everything to them. Starting from his journey to the Great Ming Prefecture, he spoke of how he had plotted against and slaughtered Sun Moon experts, how he had thrashed Shan Xiong, how he had disguised himself as Cui Lang... He went into immense detail, especially about the Battle of Starfall Mountain. How he had finished off Zhou Pingsheng! How he had entrapped and annihilated the Single Divine Character Faction members one by one. Wu Jia and Bai Feng listened with mounting excitement, though Hong Tan's feelings were somewhat conflicted; after all, those people had been his colleagues for many years. Before long, Su Yu moved on to the All-Heavens Battlefield. ... "Whoa, Junior Brother, you made it onto the Heaven Ranking as soon as you arrived?!" "Is the Heaven Ranking really that impressive?" "Did you manage to beat Modona to death?" "..." "Are the ancient cities really that fun? Is the stone sculpture cute?" "..." Hong Tan and Bai Feng were speechless. Damn it all! In Su Yu's telling, the stone sculpture sounded adorable, but both of them knew it was an Invincible! An ancient Invincible! A being who had blown up a Demon King with a single punch, beaten four Invincibles within an inch of their lives, and forced the Demon Half-Emperor to intervene in person! You call an entity like that cute?! And especially when he spoke of the death spirit monarchs—terrors feared by the myriad realms—in Su Yu's mouth, they sounded like the captain of his personal guard, someone he casually trotted out for a stroll whenever he felt like it! The perilous All-Heavens Battlefield had been turned into an amusement park in Su Yu's retelling, brimming with fun at every turn. Bai Feng couldn't help but interrupt, "Jiajia, don't believe a word he says. If you ever go there, you'll be horribly misled..." Wu Jia waved it off. "Martial Uncle, of course I know that! Everyone else is terrified, but Junior Brother isn't, because Junior Brother is amazing! I'm not stupid—only because Junior Brother thinks it's cute do I find it cute!" She rolled her eyes at Bai Feng as if thinking her martial uncle was hopelessly dense. Would I really take it literally? Of course not! Bai Feng felt bone-tired. Women! If I ever try talking sense to a woman again, I'll break my own legs. Hong Tan remained silent. He could hear the danger and the hardship beneath the cheerful words. In his mind, scene after scene rose unbidden. Narrow escapes from death! Time and again, relying on his strength, luck, wit, and talent... Su Yu had cheated death repeatedly. Otherwise, he would have perished long ago. And yet today, he could sit here talking to them about it all with such breezy nonchalance. At that moment, Hong Tan felt a surge of deep heartache and pity. The boy was only nineteen years old. It was hard to believe, hard even to imagine, how Su Yu hadn't broken down, how he could remain so full of vitality. Had it been himself, he might have shattered long ago. When his own master fell all those years ago, Hong Tan had nearly collapsed, and back then, he hadn't endured half the hardships Su Yu had faced. From Su Yu's lips, every tribulation was fun, every enemy was a fool, and the stone sculpture was an adorable pet. But only those who had lived through it knew: each step had been a brush with mortal terror! Bai Feng and Hong Tan exchanged a look, both sensing the helplessness and sorrow of being unable to do anything for him. Much of what Su Yu had encountered was already beyond their imagination, colossal affairs they had no power to partake in. They simply could not help him. At this moment, their emotions were overwhelmingly tangled. Yet Su Yu continued smiling brightly, chatting with his senior sister about it all without reservation—how he had nearly been scared out of his wits, how Demon King Rade had blasted the castellan's mansion to rubble with a single strike, scaring him so badly he hadn't dared return for days, and how he had climbed the ranks in the Heaven Hunting Pavilion to become a big boss. It was all very warm. Yet woven into that warmth was cruelty and cold blood. The slaughter of dozens of Sun Moon experts had become mere trivia in Su Yu's telling. More than anything, he spoke of freedom and the joy of doing whatever he pleased on the All-Heavens Battlefield.