Wei Hai opened his eyes wide and lowered his head to look at the tip of the blade poking through his chest, shocked that Li Mo would forswear himself. The cultivators of the Chenyuan continent believed in gods and demons, forcing them to uphold their oaths—and yet Li Mo didn’t seem to care at all!

“You’re forsworn! You, don’t you care about being punished by the heavens?!”

What Wei Hai didn’t know was that being struck by lightning really was no big deal to Li Mo. Li Mo didn’t even spare another glance at Wei Hai; his entire attention was focused on Yun Ruoyan. However, Yun Ruoyan was looking intently at Wei Hai. He had died before he could reveal her secret!

Su Bei sheathed his sword and Wei Hai crumpled to the ground, blood spurting out from his mouth and the wound by his heart. With the last of his breath, he looked toward Yun Ruoyan. “Go speak with the old turtle if you want to figure out your secret.”

“Who’s the old turtle, and where do I go to find him?” Yun Ruoyan hurriedly asked, but it was too late. 

Li Mo shot Su Bei a glance, and he nodded almost imperceptibly.

“This bastard—good riddance!” Li Sheng commented disdainfully, looking at Wei Hai’s corpse. 

Yun Ruoyan snorted. “You were the one who instigated him to abduct me, weren’t you? Don’t think you’re absolved of all your crimes just because he’s dead!”

Although Wei Hai wasn’t a good person, he was at least honest and truthful. On the other hand, Li Sheng gave Yun Ruoyan an exceedingly poor impression. What she knew of him had all been from hearsay, but she thought that someone who was able to scheme and lie in wait for decades while plotting a rebellion had to be remarkable in his own right.

Now, however, seeing Li Sheng’s petty behavior for herself, Yun Ruoyan felt as though his reputation was truly ill-deserved. He was far inferior even to his brother Li Xiu, emperor of the Li kingdom. Although Li Xiu always had a smile on his face, he was undoubtedly shrewd and astute, as was clear from his attitude toward Li Mo.

On the other hand, Li Sheng had offended Li Mo almost immediately. Ever since quelling the beastkin rebellion many years ago, Li Mo had never again participated in the governance of the Li kingdom. Li Sheng could easily have tried to rope Li Mo in instead of alienating him by abducting Yun Ruoyan.

Given Li Sheng’s lackluster performance in dealing with Li Mo, she doubted he would be able to accomplish much of anything even if he were to follow through with his planned rebellion.

“Miss Yun, I was only trying to play a joke on you. I never intended on causing you any real harm, and it was all this bastard who foiled my plans!” Li Sheng stood erect, still trying to assume a royal’s authority. “If not for me, Miss Yun, you might still be trapped in Wei Hai’s grasp! Li Mo, based on our agreement, you have to send me back at once!”

Yun Ruoyan had expected that Li Mo would deal with Li Sheng the same way he had dealt with Wei Hai. Contrary to her expectations, however, Li Mo instead waved at Su Bei, who began flying off with Li Sheng on his sword.

“You’re letting him go just like that?” Yun Ruoyan stared at Li Mo. After all, Li Sheng was the mastermind behind the entire affair, and Yun Ruoyan really wasn’t satisfied with letting him go so easily. Furthermore, she still had a request for Li Sheng: to go to his manor and look at her records for herself.

“Yan’er, there are plenty of opportunities to get revenge on him in the future. Right now, we have to hurry back to the Kongming Summit.”

“Did something happen within the academy?”

“No, nothing.” Li Mo shrugged off his robe and draped it over Yun Ruoyan. “But the first elder just sent me news that the portal to another dimension is opening a year in advance. The academy’s soon going to be selecting a new batch of students to train and enter the portal.”

This portal would open only once every three years. That it was happening a year in advance meant that the students would only have one year to train for its opening, and time would be very tight indeed.

“In that case, let’s hurry back.” Yun Ruoyan had heard Li Mo say that one of the requirements for entering the portal was to be an eighth-rank blademaster. Only then would she be able to achieve resonance with her blade and use it to fly, to become a true blademaster.

Only then would she have the minimum power required to protect herself and to vie for treasures within the parallel dimension. Otherwise, she would be nothing but cannon fodder. Even Li Mo, a ninth-rank blademaster bordering on a sword saint, was an ordinary existence in that dimension. As a result, this year of training would be immensely valuable to both Li Mo and Yun Ruoyan to guarantee their survival.

“Have you recovered fully from the poison?” Li Mo noticed Yun Ruoyan’s unusual pallor.

“I’m fine, the poison’s dealt with. Let’s set off immediately.”

A few hours later, Yun Ruoyan and Li Mo returned to Kongming Academy at night. Li Mo first sent Yun Ruoyan back to her little cottage by the cliffside before returning to the southern tower, where the first elder was waiting.

“Master, why is the portal to the alternate dimension opening in advance this time?”

The first elder’s face was unusually serious. “I’m not too familiar with the affairs in that dimension, and I don’t have the authority to ask too many questions. The information was suddenly transmitted to me through the all-seeing mirror. Also, ten more people will be allowed into the portal than usual.”

“You mean there’ll be thirty students this time?” Li Mo’s tone was shocked. There had only ever been twenty students admitted at once! 

Thirty students wasn’t much considering Kongming Academy’s three-thousand-strong enrollment, but gathering thirty eighth-rank students wasn’t so easy. Most of the new students were at the level of a fifth-rank blademaster, and there weren’t many eighth-rank blademasters even among the older students. To send out thirty such students would dramatically thin the ranks of the elites.

Although Li Mo had never entered the portal, he was familiar with the process after having been at the academy since his childhood. With the first elder’s guidance, except for those who had already entered the portal, he was surely the most familiar with the other dimension.

Those who had never entered the portal thought that there was treasure to be found everywhere, that spiritual herbs and pills littered the ground, that it was a gathering ground for spirits and immortals. As a result, they would give their all just for a chance to enter the portal.

Before the first elder had described what the other dimension was like to Li Mo in detail, he had been the same way. The other dimension truly was lined with treasure, but also unimaginable peril. Many existences of the other dimension had cultivations so advanced that eighth-rank blademasters would be nothing more than ants in front of them. Even their slightest motion could mean death.

As a result, only a lucky few ever returned from the other dimension alive. However, those who returned would surely become superior existences on the Chentuan continent, and they had, with no exception, forbidden their own cherished children from entering Kongming Academy.

As a result, Yun Moxiao, Wang Meng, and a few other particularly talented scions hadn’t been students of the academy. Wang Meng had only entered due to his unusual circumstances, and he had hidden his decision from his father.

“Tomorrow, the elders will be convening to decide on the students entering the other dimension,” the first elder began. “All sixth-rank blademasters and up have a chance of being selected, and Yun Ruoyan’s already beyond that. What’s your plan?”

“She’ll only be of age next year, and I naturally don’t want to bring her into such a cruel, dangerous place just as she enters adulthood.” Li Mo sighed. “My original plan was to wait for her to become older, but she seems very eager regarding this expedition. I’ll let her know about the benefits and drawbacks and let her decide for herself.”

The next morning, Yun Ruoyan felt far more refreshed after a good night’s rest. Just as she was about to head into Lin Qingchen’s bamboo forest to walk to class with her, Li Mo suddenly flew into her window. 

He had done so so many times that Yun Ruoyan wasn’t even shocked. “Do you have more information regarding this other dimension?”

Li Mo walked over and wrapped his arms around Yun Ruoyan’s small body. “Yan’er, I spent so much effort to get close to you. Why do I feel that you’ve become colder and colder toward me these last few days?”

“I… Have I?” Yun Ruoyan really hadn’t noticed her subconscious estrangement from Li Mo. 

Li Mo guessed that Wei Hai must have revealed something to her during their captivity. Based on Yun Ruoyan’s attitude, however, she likely still didn’t know much about the secrets he was hiding, so her behavior was only mild suspicion rather than full rejection. 

I have to tell Yun Ruoyan that she’s a human furnace at some point, but the expedition to the other dimension’s more important…

If he were to reveal the secret all of a sudden, who knew how Yun Ruoyan would react? 

“Yan’er, no matter what, know that you’re a girl that I care for very much.”

Although Li Mo had always enjoyed being intimate with Yun Ruoyan, this was the first time he’d ever said something so direct and mushy.

Yun Ruoyan blushed and began to laugh, burying her head in Li Mo’s lap, her hands tightly wrapping around Li Mo’s waist.

“I must have misheard—what would others think if they heard what the Slaughtering King just said?”

“Haha.” Li Mo sported a rare laugh. “Others might fear me, but not my precious Yan’er.”

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