Qing Tian paused his sentence for a moment. "And if you happen to cross paths with the Wang Clan patrols at the border... do not pursue. Do not provoke. Simply observe and report."The elders obediently nodded despite still retaining lingering remnants of fury. However, a senior elder still dared to brazenly speak up, "Patriarch... honestly tell us, do you think Zilong's actions are entirely right?"The hall was once again wrapped in silence. That question hung heavy in the air.Qing Tian did not answer immediately. He stared straight ahead, gazing far into the distance. "He destroyed Wang Li's meridians.""Yes.""Meaning, he did indeed take an extreme action that cannot be justified under sect law.""Yes.""Then why do you still seem to protect him?"Qing Tian's pupils turned pitch dark. "I am not defending his actions." He took a heavy breath. "I just refuse to forget what happened to my son three years ago."The elders were stunned."For three years," Qing Tian continued with a tre

All the pieces of the puzzle collided in her head: Wang Li, who was now permanently crippled having lost all his meridians; Zilong, who still stood firm despite being surrounded; down to his ability to escape from the Wang Clan's death grip.Shi Nian bit her lower lip until it nearly bled. "No. I refuse to think that way."Yet her conscience argued: Why not?Because if she admitted that truth... she would inevitably have to admit that she had made the biggest blunder of her life. She hadn't just misjudged; she had thrown away a pure diamond in pursuit of a false illusion.A few seconds later, chatters from another group encroached upon her hearing again."Rumor has it, Zilong in the past deeply adored Miss Shi Nian, right?""Really?""Weren't they officially engaged?""Spot on. Come to think of it..." A small, mocking chuckle was heard. "...if I were in Miss Shi Nian's position right now, I would surely have died of agony from regret."Shi Nian's breath caught instantly. Her clenched

Zilong recalled the course of the battle in the arena: dozens of practitioners from the Wang Clan, varying levels of cultivation surrounding him, and the mysterious old monster whose strength clearly surpassed the boundaries of the Earth Realm. His fingers clenched underwater. I cannot keep fighting with my hands tied.Tianyi changed his tone to a serious one. "Could you actually win that duel?""If I released all my sealed power... perhaps.""Only 'perhaps'?"Zilong shook his head slowly. "Winning or losing isn't the essence of it.""Then?""How many pairs of eyes would witness the truth?"Tianyi paused for a moment, digesting his master's line of thought."If I flaunted my full strength at Earth Realm Level 10 in front of the sect's public, all the disguise I've built up until now would instantly crumble," Zilong continued. "They would realize I was never at Earth Realm Level 3.""And the impact?""They would dissect my identity down to its very roots."Tianyi nodded knowingly. "So

Night had long since given way to dawn, yet the stillness of Qing Zilong’s dimensional space remained undisturbed. Amidst the gurgling of the Holy Tears, which reflected a dense white glow, the young man sat cross-legged to recover.The torn wounds on his shoulders and waist slowly closed, though his breathing still left a heavy burden every time he forced Qi to circulate across his core."Earth Realm 10th Stage..." Zilong muttered softly, clenching his own palms.The brutal battle against Elder Wang opened his eyes to one absolute reality: the limit of his current physical capabilities had reached its peak. Relying solely on sword techniques and combat experience would not be enough if the escalation of the enemy's hunt continued to rise. Moreover, massive pressure was now beginning to squeeze his own family in the Qing Clan."I must become stronger," he asserted without hesitation.From atop a large boulder, Tianyi flapped its wings lazily. "You have repeated that phrase over and ov

The fifth day passed without result. The sixth followed in silence. The seventh day slipped by without a single clue.The massive search in the outside world continued to expand into a radius of dozens of kilometers. Various wild speculations arose among cultivators. One logical conclusion began dominating the sect elders' discussions: Qing Zilong had never escaped via normal routes.Yet, how? Not a single human being could solve the mystery.Because, in a place isolated from the space and time of the real world—deep inside Zilong's Dimensional Space—the laws of physics operated with an entirely different rhythm.One day in the outside world was equivalent to seven full days inside the dimension.And when the outside world had barely passed a few days since the bloody incident in the arena... inside this dimension, time had spun for nearly three weeks.At the edge of the river stream flowing with the mystical liquid Tears of the Holy, Qing Zilong sat cross-legged with his eyes closed