Smile!

Crimson Rainbow Calendar, 8916, March 1.

Ziying Academy, cafeteria.

Zhao Hongzhou rushed into the cafeteria, travel-worn and dusty, heading straight for a private room in the corner.

He pushed open the door, and the young man sitting in a chair spoke with a smile at the corner of his lips.

"Long time no see!"

Zhao Hongzhou paused, then his face blossomed into a smile.

"Brother Shan, it's been ten years, yet you haven't changed at all!"

Over ten years, he had passed thirty, and time had left its marks upon his face. Yet Li Qingshan still looked exactly as he had in Zhao Hongzhou's memories, without the slightest change.

"Just ten short years." Li Qingshan gently shook his head, looked Zhao Hongzhou over from head to toe, and smiled.

"You've already transformed into a rainbow. Once you break through to the Aperture Opening Realm, you'll live another two or three hundred years at the very least. You won't grow old that quickly."

"How could it be that easy?"

Zhao Hongzhou shook his head, though the smile on his face did not fade.

"Brother Shan, you have no idea. When I first started working at the academy's World Gate, I had it terribly rough. I could only huddle inside the camp like a turtle in its shell."

"I also have to thank you for the points you left behind. Otherwise, I couldn't have broken through so quickly. Things are much better now..."

Zhao Hongzhou rambled on, recounting his experiences over the past decade.

Although Li Qingshan had left him one hundred thousand points when he departed, Zhao Hongzhou had not simply sat around and eaten through his savings. Instead, following the original plan, he had entered the academy's second-tier World Gate to work immediately after breaking through the Qi Blood Realm, and he had worked there for ten years.

Ten years was not worth mentioning compared to the Martial Dao Space's seclusion periods, which were measured in tens of thousands of years.

Yet the peril and excitement Zhao Hongzhou described were far beyond anything that dull seclusion could compare to.

Li Qingshan listened quietly, a smile lingering at his lips.

A moment later,

"I got so caught up talking about myself." Zhao Hongzhou slapped his forehead and said excitedly,

"Brother Shan, you don't know yet, do you? Hong Qian got married five years ago and even had a daughter, but..."

"I know. The three of them moved to Crimson Yellow Star."

Li Qingshan waved a hand and cut him off with a smile.

"I've already contacted Hong Qian and Yu Lei."

Over ten years, their former classmates had all gone farther and farther down their respective paths in life.

Hong Qian had poured nearly all his energy into the family business. He had achieved decent results by now and could even expand into neighboring planets.

Like Zhao Hongzhou, Yu Lei was still focused on martial arts. However, with an older sister like Yu Man, her path was much easier.

"Oh, right, Brother Shan."

Zhao Hongzhou scratched his forehead and asked,

"Eight years ago, Teacher Wan finished teaching his final class and went to the Martial Dao Seven Stars. I sent him messages several times, but never received a reply."

"That's normal. It'll take at least a few more years before he can return."

Eight years ago, Li Qingshan had received the news, but he had been in seclusion at the time.

Old Wan had gone to the Martial Dao Seven Stars naturally to enter the Crimson Rainbow Continent and break through to the Inner Scene.

Under normal circumstances, after the resonance between heaven and man, one had to spend a great deal of time constructing one's inner heaven and earth. Eight years was not long.

Compared to that, Li Qingshan was more curious about something else.

I wonder whether Old Wan has met Martial Uncle Dai yet?

At the thought, a faintly amused smile curled onto Li Qingshan's lips.

"Brother Shan?" Zhao Hongzhou asked, baffled.

"What are you smiling about?"

"Nothing. I just thought of two tsundere elders..."

Buzz, buzz!

The Communicator vibrated, interrupting him.

Gao Nianren

Li Qingshan stared at his wristwatch, his smile fading as he looked toward Zhao Hongzhou.

"I have something to deal with. Let's leave it here for today. We can get together again when there's a chance."

As soon as he spoke, his figure abruptly vanished.

When he reappeared, he was already in an open area outside the academy.

He tapped with a finger, and a projected screen popped up.

In the image, Gao Nianren wore a sorrowful expression as he said heavily,

"Guardian Li, sorry to disturb you. There's something I feel I should notify you about..."

"Dean Wei has met with an accident." Li Qingshan interrupted calmly.

"Tell me the specifics."

Gao Nianren was slightly stunned, then nodded.

"This morning, I was originally supposed to accompany the dean to New Star for a Federation meeting. But before departure, the dean deliberately sent me away."

"Just now, news came back from New Star. The dean and Shi Tianhe fought fiercely in the council building. Shi Tianhe was seriously injured, while the dean used the Self-Detonation Technique and was directly reduced to nothing, not even bones remaining."

"These are the battle videos from the scene..."

As he spoke, Gao Nianren sent over several videos.

The videos came from different angles, but every camera pointed upward. Clearly, they had been filmed by ordinary citizens present at the scene.

In the footage, the battle itself was not complicated. It was merely an Outer Scene martial artist burning away his entire body in a battle against a fifth-tier Mecha Pilot.

The result was the same as Gao Nianren had said.

"The details are still uncertain. I'm currently on my way to New Star..."

Gao Nianren paused, his eyes reddening as he pleaded,

"Guardian Li, I hope that after you return to the Star Academy, you can pass along the news..."

"I don't need you to teach me how to do things!"

Li Qingshan calmly shook his head and looked directly into Gao Nianren's eyes.

"The news is flying everywhere online, enough to confirm the truth. Dean Wei didn't even leave behind a corpse, so there's no need for you to collect one."

"You're going to New Star. Are you planning to throw your life away?"

"I..." Gao Nianren's face immediately flushed red, his features filled with dejection.

Just then,

Buzz, buzz!

The Communicator vibrated again, and a new email popped up in the lower right corner of the screen.

Sender: Wei Huaian!

Li Qingshan's gaze shifted as he looked at Gao Nianren and said seriously,

"You should understand why Dean Wei deliberately sent you away. Don't do anything pointless. Dean Wei will not have died in vain, and this matter cannot possibly end here."

"Go back first. Stabilize the academy's situation and wait calmly for the Star Academy's arrangements."

With that, he hung up without waiting for Gao Nianren to react, then opened the new email.

There was only one video inside.

When he opened it, Wei Huaian appeared in the image with a kindly smile.

"Guardian Li, this email was scheduled to be sent. By the time you see this video, I should already be dead."

"Dick Star has long been burdened by deep-rooted problems beyond cure. A grave illness requires strong medicine. I brought on this illness, so I naturally have to become that dose of 'strong medicine.'"

"Dick Star involves five cross-domain companies, with other star domains standing behind them. Even the Star Academy finds it difficult to interfere, but there is one exception..."

Wei Huaian paused in the video.

Outside the video, Li Qingshan's eyes brightened slightly.

"Evil god!"

The two words left Li Qingshan and Wei Huaian's mouths at the same time.

"I've lived for nearly a thousand years. I've had more than enough of living."

Wei Huaian faced the camera and said with smug satisfaction,

"Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. This time, by framing someone with the life of me, the academy dean, the Star Academy will have more than enough reason to intervene."

"Just a frame-up?"

Li Qingshan had just furrowed his brows when Wei Huaian's tone suddenly shifted in the video.

"Calling it a frame-up isn't entirely right." Wei Huaian also frowned, hesitating as he spoke.

"Guardian Li, in truth, Dick New Star's situation is highly unusual even among all the planets operated by the Erosion Dream Group."

"The Erosion Dream Group's main business is entertainment, but there are far too many ways for entertainment to make money. It is far more than simply supplying NPCs to game worlds."

"Yet Shi Tianhe has been far too detached on Dick New Star. He provides all entertainment content completely free of charge, does not care about resource development within the World Gates, and does not even mind letting the other four companies come and take a share of the pie."

"Of course, I don't know much about it either. I simply felt that Shi Tianhe was extremely suspicious, so I chose him as the target of the frame-up."

At this point, Wei Huaian suddenly laughed.

"It doesn't matter. Once the Star Academy comes down with great force, whether Shi Tianhe has a problem or not, Dick Star will ultimately return to normal."

Wei Huaian gave a slight bow toward the camera and apologized.

"Guardian Li, I'm sorry to trouble you again."

"I've already sent a letter of accusation to the Star Academy, but the contents of this video are unsuitable to be included in the report. Please convey them to the Star Academy's higher-ups."

"Oh, right. If you see little Ranran again..."

Memories filled Wei Huaian's eyes, and he was briefly lost in thought.

A moment later, he shook his head and smiled at the camera with relief.

"Tell her that Grandpa Wei hasn't seen her smile in a long time. Grandpa Wei likes seeing her smile."

The image froze on the old man's final smile.