As Rong Tianhai grumbled to himself, he looked toward the west side of the hall of penitence. A valley had naturally formed there, and it was filled with arrays that had likewise been formed naturally. Anyone who had challenged the heavens would be sent there to receive heavenly tribulation.

The last time the valley had been used was to punish Li Mo for forcefully activating the all-seeing mirror—and Rong Tianhai was sure that he would soon receive further such tribulation. 

As Li Mo, Yun Ruoyan, and Zhuo Yifeng walked out of the hall of penitence, Yun Ruoyan couldn’t help turning back. While entering, Yun Ruoyan had only given the hall’s exterior a superficial glance. This time, she scrutinized it carefully. Beneath its roof appeared to be a relief sculpture, one hidden from plain sight and lying in the shadows.

For some reason, Yun Ruoyan’s gaze was instantly drawn to that sculpture. As she continued walking forward, she infused her eyes with spiritual energy and focused on the sculpture: a snake-like creature covered in scales and walking on four feet, but with its head missing. Because of the missing head, Yun Ruoyan wasn’t able to discern exactly what type of spiritual creature it was, but it gave her a strange, creepy feeling.

“Ah!” Because she was so focused on the sculpture, she didn’t notice that Li Mo had stopped. Instead, she walked right into his back.

When Yun Ruoyan turned back to her front, Li Mo turned around to look at her. As their eyes met, Yun Ruoyan subconsciously cradled her head. 

If you rap my head again…!

“Miss Yun,” Zhuo Yifeng suddenly began. “I’m going to head back to prepare for the training, then leave for the plaza on my own.”

Before Yun Ruoyan could react, Zhuo Yifeng was already walking off toward the central college. Yun Ruoyan stared forlornly at Zhuo Yifeng’s back—was there really no way to resolve the conflict between him and Li Mo? A few questions regarding Li Mo, which Yun Ruoyan had tried her best not to think about, then began popping into her mind. 

As the son of the Beast King, there had to be a reason why Li Mo had ended up killing beastkin in droves. Yun Ruoyan could sense that this was the key to unravelling the feud between Li Mo and Zhuo Yifeng. However, there was clearly a deep secret hidden here, and Yun Ruoyan couldn’t bring herself to bring it up on her own.

While she was thinking about the affair, her forehead suddenly began to hurt.

“Li Mo!” Yun Ruoyan clutched her forehead, really about to get mad at him.

“I heard you entered the hall of penitence voluntarily!” Li Mo’s tone was particularly serious.

“So what?” Yun Ruoyan rubbed her forehead, not feeling as if her actions were mistaken at all. 

Her naive behavior left Li Mo rather annoyed. “Are you aware just what kind of place the hall of penitence is?”

“No.” Yun Ruoyan continued walking forward, deliberately hitting him with her wrist as she walked past him.

“I forbid you from being so impetuous in the future.”

“That I can’t guarantee,” Yun Ruoyan replied, not turning back. “After all, I can’t just ignore my friend when he stood up for me!”

“If you wanted to help your friend, you could easily have found me instead. There was no need to join him as a prisoner.” Li Mo was furious, because no one knew better than he just how dangerous the hall of penitence was. If he hadn’t been there, if there weren’t a ready excuse like the impending training, then even he would have had to tread carefully!

“And what if you weren’t there? If I couldn’t find you in time? If you weren’t willing to save him?”

Li Mo stared at the obstinate girl in front of him, his heart stuffed up with anger and vexation. 

Why can’t you just obediently listen to me?!

“So you entered the hall of penitence with Zhuo Yifeng because you were worried I wouldn’t rescue him?” Li Mo’s dark eyes turned even darker. 

Yun Ruoyan finally stopped, not knowing what to say. 

“Yan’er, do you think me so petty?”

Yun Ruoyan definitely didn’t think Li Mo petty, but Zhuo Yifeng was so important a friend to her that she didn’t dare take a risk. 

“Yan’er, you were certain that I cared about you, so you used yourself to force me into action…”

The moment that Li Mo received news that Yun Ruoyan had been taken to the hall of penitence, he had dropped everything to help her, rushing there within fifteen minutes of finding out about the fact. 

Li Mo smiled bitterly: he really would do anything when it came to her. He suddenly felt as though he understood why his mother had forbidden him from dabbling in romance. His feelings were a weak spot, and weak spots could be easily taken advantage of—for instance, when Wei Hai had kidnapped Yun Ruoyan.

That time, however, it was an external threat. This time, Yun Ruoyan was the one threatening him, with her own body, to save another man. No matter how good Li Mo’s upbringing, this wasn’t something that he could easily overlook.

While Li Mo was understandably upset by her behavior, Yun Ruoyan didn’t regret what she had done. If a similar thing were to happen again, she would likely behave in the same way.

“Alright, go back to your cottage and prepare for the training. Make sure you’re not late this evening.” Li Mo left after seeing Yun Ruoyan’s reticence to speak.

“Ah, wait!” By the time Yun Ruoyan reacted, Li Mo had already flown off into the distance. “This time he’s really angry, isn’t he…” Yun Ruoyan couldn’t help feeling a little vexed upon seeing Li Mo fly off.

“Sister Ruoyan, are you alright?” Not long after Yun Ruoyan returned to the female residences, the Lin sisters found her and carefully scrutinized her all over, as if trying to confirm that Yun Ruoyan was whole and unhurt.

Apparently, after Yun Ruoyan and Zhuo Yifeng had been taken away, the older students had brought up quite a number of horror stories about the hall of penitence. Allegedly, a common punishment was to cripple students’ cultivation, or even to break their fingers and toes, frightening the Lin sisters so much that they had immediately sought out Li Mo.

“I’m alright! Don’t be worried.”

“Where’s Brother Zhuo, and where’s Master Mo? Why aren’t they with you?” Lin Qingxue asked.

“Zhuo Yifeng went back to the central college, and Li Mo… returned to the southern college.” Yun Ruoyan walked quickly back to her own cottage with her two cousins: she didn’t know how long this training would last, and she had quite a number of things which she needed to inform her cousins of.

Within the northern tower, Rong Yueshan, Pei Ziao, Yi Qianying, and five other students were listening carefully to the second elder’s every word. Because he couldn’t reveal too much, his advice seemed to be a little unclear. 

Perhaps because of his guilt at sending these students into grave danger, even the usually cold and severe second elder seemed to be particularly garrulous today.

“Pei Ziao!” he called out.

“Yes, Second Elder!” Pei Ziao stepped forward, and the second elder handed him a small, flute-like object.

Pei Ziao’s eyes shone, because that flute-like object was his family heirloom that had been confiscated right after he entered the college. He took the spear and gratefully bowed to the second elder before stepping back.

The second elder then proceeded to return the other students’ spiritual weapons, then had them prepare for the upcoming training. 

As soon as Pei Ziao and the others left, Rong Tianhai brought Guan Tianyu over to the northern tower seeking an audience with the second elder. 

“Grandfather!” Guan Tianyu knelt down as soon as he saw the second elder.

“Tianyu, what’s the matter? Stand up!”

“No, I won’t!” Guan Tianyu resolutely continued to kneel. “Grandfather, as long as you forbid me from participating in the expedition to the alternate dimension, I won’t stand!”

“Nonsense!” the second elder yelled out. “It’s too late now that the roster’s set!”

“I don’t care, Grandfather! I’m far superior to those other students in terms of cultivation and talent, so why won’t you let me go? I’m your own grandson, so why would you give them the opportunity instead?!”

“If I say you won’t go, then you won’t! My decision is final! Get out!” the second elder thundered. “Tianhai, drag him out and keep an eye on him until the expedition members have all left.”

Rong Tianhai forcibly dragged Guan Tianyu away, then returned to report to the second elder about the altercation between Guan Tianyu and Yun Ruoyan.

“This child tried to stir up trouble just so he’d get a chance to join the expedition—serves him right!” the second elder remarked.

Rong Tianhai was quite surprised by the second elder’s attitude, because he was so petty that he would always seek revenge if he felt that he had been wronged. It was this domineering attitude of his that had caused Guan Tianyu to become so tyrannical.

This time, however, the second elder had actually said that Guan Tianyu deserved it! Rong Tianhai had never encountered such a situation before.

“Master, I don’t understand.”

“Tianhai, you’re a favored disciple of mine, but I’ve never let you participate in the expedition to the alternate dimension before. Have you ever blamed me like Tianyu?”

“In the past, Master,” Rong Tianhai replied truthfully. “Later, I began to understand that it was because my cultivation was inadequate and that you were only trying to protect me. Master, I’ve been trying my best to improve, hoping that I’ll one day have the strength to enter the other dimension and obtain a treasure for you.”

“Tianhai, I’m well aware of your filial piety, but drop all notion of heading to that dimension,” the second elder brusquely responded. “Tianyu’s father, himself a ninth-rank blademaster and infinitesimally close to being a sword saint, just like Li Mo, lost his life there. Don’t think of heading to that dimension before you’re a sword saint.”

The second elder’s words caused Rong Tianhai’s back to break out in sweat, and the doubts in his mind had finally been clarified. For quite a long time, he’d noticed that very few of his seniors who had gone to explore the alternate dimension had ever returned. The elders explained that the missing students had gone into seclusion after obtaining a miraculous treasure in an attempt to advance their cultivation.

Based on what the second elder had just mentioned, however, it seemed far more likely that they had all perished in the other dimension!

Evening finally arrived, and the students participating in the expedition gathered excitedly at the plaza. Because Li Mo was the only instructor taking part, he was primarily responsible for the yearlong training. After checking the time, he began to read off names from a roster.

“Zong Yang! Zong Yang…?” Li Mo read one name a few times, but no one responded.

“Master Mo,” Guan Ruliu spoke up. “Zong Yang was hurt by an icy knife, so he won’t be able to participate in the training.”

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter