Knock, knock, knock—
Lin Qiye stood before the Sword Pavilion, his knuckles tapping lightly on its door.
"Come in."
A familiar voice came from within the Sword Pavilion.
A smile appeared in Lin Qiye's eyes. He pushed open the door and stepped inside.
The crude Sword Pavilion contained only a small bed made of cardboard, a wooden table, and a suitcase full of books.
In the open space at its center, Zhou Ping sat cross-legged on the ground, looking at him with a smile.
"Congratulations, Teacher, on breaking humanity's limits once more and entering the Supreme Realm."
Lin Qiye spoke respectfully.
"There's no need to congratulate me specifically... This realm doesn't seem all that hard to enter." Zhou Ping smiled. "How were the gains from your trip to Olympus?"
"Thanks to you, Teacher, they were quite good."
"Actually, it wasn't only my contribution..."
Zhou Ping looked toward a spot in the void. Several hundred miles away in that direction, a half-dead figure lay in a sand pit, groaning as a group of people in white carried him onto a plane.
"After you left, he kept guarding my door. The moment I broke through to that realm, he rushed in and asked me to act... He even gave me quite a fright at the time."
Lin Qiye opened his mouth. "Teacher, you saw everything just now?"
"Mm." Zhou Ping paused before speaking. "To be honest, I don't like that monk. He's too cold and heartless, nothing like any of the heroes in books... and nothing like me.
"But there's no denying that he wants humanity to win more than anyone else. It's just that the methods he uses to get closer to victory are somewhat unusual."
After hesitating for a long while, Lin Qiye finally asked:
"Teacher, if you had been