The Haul... Might Have Exceeded Expectations

After leaving Anya's palace, Qin Yan did not head straight back to camp.

Instead, an Elf Clan guard led him to a secluded side hall near the palace complex, where the Human Clan's senior members had been lodged.

The door stood ajar, and the hall beyond was brightly lit.

Qin Yan stopped outside and asked respectfully, "Dean Su, are you there?"

"Come in."

Su Zhiming's clear voice came from within, tinged with weariness.

Qin Yan pushed the door open and entered.

Relief flashed through Su Zhiming's eyes when he saw Qin Yan return unharmed, but it was outweighed by a heavy sadness.

Of the Magic Capital Martial University students who had attended the Hidden Dragon Assembly, only Qin Yan and Li Mu had returned alive.

As a grandmaster, Su Zhiming had long since grown accustomed to the cruelty of the Martial Path and the uncertainty of life and death.

Yet whenever such vibrant young lives were lost—especially students his own university had nurtured so carefully—he could never entirely erase the grief and regret in his heart.

Most had been barely twenty. The scroll of their lives had only just unfurled, yet it had been frozen forever in Gu Yue of another world.

"Qin Yan, what brings you here so late? Is something urgent?"

Su Zhiming gathered himself and looked at Qin Yan.

He caught a barely perceptible gravity in Qin Yan's expression.

"Dean," Qin Yan said as he stepped closer and lowered his voice, "my haul from Azure Dragon Ancient Mountain... may have been considerably larger than expected."

He chose his words carefully.

"Oh?" Su Zhiming raised an eyebrow, prompting him to continue.

Qin Yan briefly recounted how he had obtained the Life Grail and handed it to Anya. He also mentioned that, through a chance encounter late in his