Beneath the Southern Mountain Range lay a natural cavern. After generations of modifications by the Star Crown Sect, it had become a maze of interconnected passages, yet there was only one exit.
A stone gate nearly twenty meters tall slowly opened. Two Star Crown Sect disciples escorted out a tall, gaunt man covered in wrinkles, with graying hair and only a few teeth left in his mouth.
There was no doubt that Smith had suffered greatly during his imprisonment.
"Hello, Mr. Smith."
Li Yang flashed a radiant smile.
But Smith merely glanced at her and said, "No need to curry favor with me. I'm nothing but a cripple now—I can't offer you any benefits."
Li Yang's smile stiffened for a moment, but she still maintained it as she greeted the two Star Crown Sect disciples behind Smith. After explaining that he was from her village, she led him slowly down the path toward the village.
"What crime did Mr. Smith commit to be imprisoned?" Li Yang knew perfectly well that she should not ask such things. It would do nothing for her future and would only invite trouble.
But prisoners who were released had usually already been crippled, their channels for circulating Soul Power severed, leaving them unable to use their Martial Souls...
She was confident she could beat him.
Of course, that was not what mattered. What mattered was that last night's curiosity had left her unbearably restless today. If she did not get to the bottom of it, she feared she would never be able to settle down and cultivate again.
"Knowing that won't do you any good, will it?" Smith seemed to see through Li Yang's thoughts. Grinning and exposing several yellowed teeth, he pointed at the Astrolabe hanging at her waist, snatched it away, then noticed