"Don't look at me. There's no bad blood between us."
Xu Yuan smiled.
"I lost a great deal of power... all thanks to you, and you still say there's no bad blood?" The woman tilted her head and asked in a curious tone. Xu Yuan's smile widened.
She was the one trying to deal with him, yet she acted as though she were innocent.
If he could beat her, he would kill her without a second thought.
And there was something else he found fascinating.
She was no woman. Her true form was probably some kind of Immortal Species, yet she had taken a woman's shape before him to plant a subtle suggestion in his mind. She even resorted to tricks this petty.
Xu Yuan grew warier still.
"Those who gaze into the abyss must bear its gaze in return. If your thoughts keep circling around me, don't blame me when I stop being polite," Xu Yuan said. "You think you can defeat my true form?" the woman asked.
"Sooner or later," Xu Yuan said.
The woman suddenly smiled too. "I'll remember that. I'll be waiting for you on the Second Layer. Perhaps we can talk again."
Her entire body sank into the ground and gradually vanished.
Only Xu Yuan and the Overseer remained.
"Your Nameplate."
The Overseer spoke.
Xu Yuan handed over the Nameplate at once.
The Overseer brushed a hand across it.
A ring of fine runes appeared on the Nameplate, flashed a few times, then disappeared.
Lines of faintly glowing text appeared:
"Ruin Gate Messenger Credential."
"Nameplate, special item."
"Bears three imprints proving your status as a 'Secret Operative,' your 'achievement,' and your standing as an 'Envoy.'"
"A fourth imprint has now been added: 'Identity.'"
The Nameplate returned to Xu Yuan's hand.
"Go to the Second Layer.