Lin Qingzhu was the last to recover from her shock.
She did not understand anything about the Immortal Court's judgment, nor could she make sense of recognizing the token rather than its bearer.
She understood only the most important statement—Zhou Xuan was safe.
Not only was he safe, but he had also passed some kind of trial.
The nerve that had been stretched almost to breaking finally relaxed. An immense wave of exhaustion swept over her, making her sway.
But immediately afterward, an indescribable pride rose from the depths of her heart.
She straightened her back and met the complicated gazes of the Longevity Realm experts without the slightest trace of retreat in her eyes.
Look. This is the Northern Lands cultivator you looked down on.
This is the man you wanted to manipulate, the man you wanted to scheme against.
He accomplished what you failed to do in tens of thousands of years.
Inside the Treasure Vault Hall.
Zhou Xuan knew nothing of what had happened outside.
After the temporary "Explorer" mark merged into the back of his hand, the attitude of the entire Immortal Court ruins toward him underwent an earth-shattering change.
The cold sense of being scrutinized and rejected was gone.
So was the eerie suction that had threatened to drag him into the Abyss.
It was as though he had gone from an unwelcome intruder to a guest permitted to look around.
Zhou Xuan looked at the path paved with starlight before him. It stretched out from the entrance of the Treasure Vault Hall, winding into the darkness where, before, he could not have seen his own hand.
Along both sides of the path, ancient runes glimmered on broken stone pillars and collapsed hall walls, like silent streetlamps guiding his way.
Without hesitation, he stepped