The next day, inside the Academic Affairs Office at Dao Seeking Academy.
Ning Rongrong clung tightly to Chen Xin's sleeve, crying like a child.
Her tears streamed nonstop, her shoulders hitching as she sobbed:
"Grandpa Sword, I was so afraid I'd never see you again..."
"Rongrong, be good. Don't cry. Grandpa won't ever leave without a word again."
Chen Xin stood before her, his face battered and bruised, one eye ringed in purple and a dried streak of blood still at the corner of his mouth.
He gently patted Ning Rongrong's back. His face, usually as hard as iron, was now filled with guilt toward his granddaughter.
The previous night, Jin Da and the others had been ordered to find the Clear Sky Sect's hideout.
With Zilan Pavilion's vast intelligence network, they had pinpointed the mountain range where the Clear Sky Sect was hiding without breaking a sweat.
As luck would have it, while searching around, Chen Xin had actually stumbled across the place.
He had just reached the mountain gate and hadn't even had time to see what was inside before Jin Da and the others surrounded him.
At first, he had wanted to fight back. His sword was already out, and his Soul Rings were shining.
But after Jin Da and the others gave him a thorough "persuasion," Chen Xin very "sensibly" put away his Martial Soul and "came back together" with them.
"He really did find the place."
Standing outside the room, Zhao Linchuan listened to Jin Da's report and couldn't help shaking his head with an amused smile.
"Well done. Whether you stumbled across it by chance or a blind cat caught a dead rat, you deserve credit for this."
He thought for a moment, then turned to look at Jin Da, who was kneeling on