(Tang Ya beauty illustration)
Scarlet King finally couldn't hold it in any longer.
It whipped around, pushed off with all four legs, scooped up the weakened Auspicious Beast on the ground, and bolted deep into the forest!
It was even a third faster than when it had come.
In the blink of an eye, its dark-red figure vanished into the night.
Once he was sure Scarlet King had gone far away, Lin Ye felt as if his body had been hollowed out. His organs were all protesting.
His strength rapidly ebbed away. The Three-Headed Eight-Armed Dharma Image gradually faded in midair, then shattered like a broken mirror.
His vision went black, and he plummeted from the sky, losing consciousness.
Who knew how long had passed.
Lin Ye opened his blurry eyes. His vision gradually came into focus.
He found himself in an unfamiliar room. The furnishings were simple, but clean and tidy.
There was a wooden bed, a wooden table, a Soul Guidance Lamp, and a small, unidentified flower on the windowsill, swaying gently in the breeze.
Someone seemed to be beside him, asleep with her head resting on the edge of the bed.
Short pink-and-blue hair, slender shoulders, and a familiar face marked by exhaustion and weariness. Her brows were faintly furrowed, as if she still couldn't put her worries aside, even in sleep.
It was Wang Dong'er.
Just then, someone came in from outside, walking softly, as though afraid of waking anyone.
"Xiao Ye, you're awake?!"
It was Tang Ya.
She seemed to have lost her usual vivacity. Though her voice held a note of delight,
her pretty face was clouded by an indescribable sadness, and even her steps seemed heavier than usual.
Wang Dong'er was startled awake too and abruptly raised her head.
She looked much more haggard, with dark circles beneath her eyes and bloodshot whites. She seemed to have lost weight.
"Lin Ye... you're awake..."
Overcome with joy, she threw herself into Lin Ye's arms and clutched his lapels tightly. Her shoulders trembled, and tears soon soaked the fabric over his chest.
Tang Ya hurried over and reached out to help Wang Dong'er. "Wang Dong, why are you crying like that? You're supposed to be a man."
Though she said that, her own eyes were red too. She was merely forcing herself not to cry.
Wang Dong'er lifted her head and wiped her eyes, her voice still choked with sobs.
"Senior Tang Ya, I thought Lin Ye would never wake up..."
Lin Ye parted his lips, his throat dry. "Dong'er, Senior Xiao Ya? What happened to me?"
Wang Dong'er sniffed and composed herself before speaking.
"Lin Ye... you fell unconscious during that Soul Hunting expedition. You've been out for two months now."
"Two months?!"
Lin Ye's voice rose sharply. He instinctively tried to sit up, but a wave of dizziness forced him back down.
He could feel that his Soul Power was nearly depleted. His meridians were like fields scorched by a raging fire, left utterly devastated.
He slowly recalled how he had burned through his Soul Power and forced the Three-Headed Eight-Armed Dharma Image into action that day. It really had been too much for him.
That violent energy had drained too much of his essence.
"Thank goodness you're awake. That's all that matters." Wang Dong'er took his hand and gently rubbed the back of it with her thumb.
Looking at her bloodshot eyes, Lin Ye felt warmth rise in his heart. "Dong'er, you've worked so hard."
"It's okay." Wang Dong'er shook her head.
"Luckily, there were Xiao Xiao, Big Sister Xiaotao, and the others, as well as Senior Tang Ya. She came to see you every day, too."
Lin Ye turned to Tang Ya. "Senior Xiao Ya, thank you, too."
Tang Ya managed a strained smile. "Xiao Ye, there's no need to say that between us."
Wang Dong'er had been crying from joy, but another emotion was plainly written across Tang Ya's face.
Wasn't she usually cheerful and outgoing? Why did she look so troubled now? Even after he woke up, she hadn't reacted much.
Lin Ye studied Tang Ya's face and asked seriously, "Senior Xiao Ya, is something bothering you?"
Tang Ya looked deeply sorrowful. Her eyes were faintly red, but she stubbornly held back her tears.
She stood there, twisting the hem of her clothes in her hands, looking as if her very soul had been drained from her.
Seeing her like that, Lin Ye's heart sank too.
He had only just woken up, and his body was still very weak, but his mind was already working.
"Senior Xiao Ya, if you're having trouble, just tell me. I'll help however I can." Lin Ye's voice was quiet, but firm.
Tang Ya bit her lip and hesitated for a long while before speaking.
"Xiao Ye, you've only just woken up. I shouldn't be telling you this... but..."
After only a few words, her eyes reddened, and her voice grew choked. All her usual cheerfulness had vanished.
"I... I... I..."
She opened her mouth, but it was as if something had caught in her throat. She couldn't get a complete sentence out.
Lin Ye frowned. "Senior Xiao Ya?"
Tang Ya took a deep breath and finally managed to say it. "The Tang Sect... I've let my parents down..."
"What happened to the Tang Sect?" Lin Ye pressed.
"I'm no longer the Tang Sect's sect master... and I'm not even a member of the Tang Sect anymore."
Tang Ya's voice sank, heavy with an indescribable bitterness.
Lin Ye stared at her. "Huh?"
Tang Ya bit her lip as if trying to crush and swallow all her hurt and anger.
"A while ago, Huo Yuhao brought Ren Zhu, the transfer student in your class, and said she wanted to join the Tang Sect. I was pretty happy at the time, thinking the Tang Sect would finally have another member.
"But who knew? The moment Ren Zhu walked in, she started inexplicably saying things like, 'How did the Tang Sect end up like this?' Then she insulted me horribly... What the hell does she care what the Tang Sect is like?!"
Tang Ya grew more agitated as she spoke, her voice rising. Her chest heaved violently; she had clearly been holding this in for too long.
Lin Ye also found it strange. There was clearly no one named Ren Zhu in the original story. He couldn't have remembered wrong.
Tang Ya continued, "She even shouted about reviving the Tang Sect and challenged me. She bet that if she won, I'd have to give her the sect master's position."
Lin Ye's mouth twitched. "...So you agreed?"
"She was just a first-year student, and so arrogant. Of course I had to teach her a lesson!"
Tang Ya said indignantly, then deflated like a punctured ball. "But I really couldn't beat her..."
"I don't think she's only eleven or twelve!" Tang Ya grew angrier as she spoke.
"Just look at her. You could tell me she was forty, and I'd believe it! And she's already a four-ringed Soul Master. Can you believe that?!"
Wang Dong'er had been listening quietly beside them, but now she couldn't help asking,
"What? She was only a three-ringed Soul Master when she first arrived, and now she's already four-ringed?"
"A first-year with four rings is bound to become a core disciple. She's bound to enter the Inner Court!"
Tang Ya's voice carried helplessness and self-mockery.
"And she even knows the Tang Sect's techniques! She's more proficient in them than I am! Some of those Hidden Weapon techniques—I've never even seen them before!"
As Lin Ye listened, a storm was already raging in his heart.
No way?
Had his appearance caused the world's course to change?
And Ren Zhu's true identity...
Before you continue