[Coming clean, talking, compensation]

[At the banquet that day, "Chen Qingyan" gave nothing away.]

[He seemed truly to be nothing more than the Lineage's prodigy, safely returned from a perilous adventure.]

[He chatted and laughed with the elders, and even the Foundation Establishment Ancestor noticed nothing amiss. The entire Chen Family was immersed in joy.]

[You dared not reveal the slightest hint. You attended the banquet like an invisible man, then returned to your quarters early. Yet your heart refused to settle.]

[The information revealed by the Eye of Illusion was branded into your mind.]

[The words "accepting his fate only to repay his karmic debt" in that assessment stirred a trace of complicated doubt amid your fear.]

[—He seemed... not necessarily to have come with purely malicious intentions?]

[Late at night, all was silent. You had not gone to sleep, but sat meditating on your bed, your mind unsettled.]

[Suddenly, a figure appeared inside your room without warning, like a ghost.]

[He even... politely tapped on the door, which was already open.]

[Seriously? He was still observing such courtesies at a time like this?]

[You looked up. Sure enough, it was Chen Qingyan.]

[But he was entirely different from the dazzling prodigy you had seen during the day. Now his face was deathly pale, utterly bloodless.]

[The oppressive sense of Rank that had belonged to the Qi Refining realm had vanished without a trace. His aura was as ordinary as... a mortal's?!]

[No, that wasn't right!]

[In the feedback from the Eye of Illusion, the entry for his cultivation realm clearly displayed [None]!]

[At this moment, he was a mortal without any cultivation whatsoever!]

[The heavy atmosphere was almost suffocating. At last, you could bear it no longer and spoke first, your voice slightly dry:]

["What exactly... is going on with you?" A thousand words ultimately condensed into the most direct question.]

[Chen Qingyan merely gave a faint smile. Against his pale face, it looked somewhat weak, yet carried the calm of someone who saw through everything:]

["Judging by your expression, you must already know quite a bit. Why bother asking me?"]

[Your heart abruptly tightened! He could read minds?!]

[You believed that after so many simulations and years of accumulated experience, your state of mind was no longer that of the greenhorn you had once been. You controlled your emotions exceptionally well; no one should have been able to read your thoughts so easily from your expression!]

[As though noticing your alarm and suspicion, he volunteered an explanation. "No need to be surprised. The art I cultivated during Qi Refining was called Mind-Reading. It allowed me to sense the thoughts of those whose Rank was lower than mine.]

["Although I have now lost my Rank, the essence of the art was once inscribed in the Purple Mansion within my dantian. I can still draw on a little of its residual power.]

["As long as the target's Rank does not exceed the Qi Refining realm I once possessed, I can still glimpse a little."]

[You understood at once. He was using the Divine Abilities and arts he had once cultivated as a kind of single-use "consumable."]

[Moreover, he had admitted that he had once reached the Qi Refining realm!]

[That meant he had actually escaped the certain-death trap laid by that Golden Core Powerhouse in the Blazing Fire Sect's Secret Realm!]

[What astonishing means he must have possessed?!]

["Oh? It seems you know about that place in the Myriad Beasts Mountain Range!" Chen Qingyan raised an eyebrow slightly, once again precisely voicing the thought that had flashed through your mind.]

[His gaze sharpened, fixing firmly on you:]

["How did you learn such secrets? Do you also have a mighty expert backing you? Or are you yourself... a reincarnated True Lord?!"]

[Without the slightest hesitation, he revealed his own identity as a reincarnated True Lord, while also beginning to suspect your origins.]

[Yet you keenly noticed that he did not seem to have read your core thoughts concerning the Simulator!]

[So... the Simulator was on a level he couldn't read in his current state? You immediately began making plans.]

[An idea arose, and you began trying, on the surface of every thought,]

[to deliberately attach or associate the concept of the Simulator, as though erecting a mental firewall.]

[Sure enough, Chen Qingyan immediately frowned, a trace of surprise flashing through his eyes:]

["I can't read them anymore... You don't look as though you possess a supreme treasure that blocks probing. It seems you know some exceptionally high-level information and have built your own mental defenses..."]

[He stopped his futile probing. His tone grew level again, yet carried an unquestionable resolve:]

["Never mind. None of that matters. I don't have much time, so I'll keep this brief—I returned this time to repay my Karma to you."]

[His gaze seemed to pierce through your flesh and see the Hidden Dragon in the Abyss Fate Pattern mysteriously linked to you.]

["Back then, the fault was mine. I stole your Fate Pattern to prolong what remained of my life. Now it is time to return it to its rightful owner."]

["How will you compensate me?"]

[This was what concerned you most. Empty promises were meaningless; tangible benefits were what mattered.]

[With your current cultivation at merely the perfected Embryonic Breath Realm, even a little that slipped through his fingers would be enough to benefit you endlessly.]

[Chen Qingyan did not seem surprised by your bluntness. His tone remained level, yet carried an unquestionable weight:]

["Three options. You may choose only one."]

[He held up his first finger:]

["First, you are currently stuck at the perfected Embryonic Breath Realm. What you seek is simply a breakthrough into Qi Refining, and perhaps a higher Dao Path beyond that.]

["I will give you a top-tier Heaven and Earth Wonder, enough to help you forge the most perfect foundation for Heaven-grade Qi Refining. I imagine that would suit your wishes very well."]

[This was precisely what you had dreamed of: simple, direct, and powerful.]

[Then he held up his second finger:]

["Second, I will give you a lead to a place of unclaimed opportunity that definitely exists.]

["This opportunity has far-reaching implications and perhaps greater potential, but it is an extreme test of your personal Fortune."]

["If your fortune is insufficient, even if you reach that place, you may gain nothing and return empty-handed."]

[This Option offered opportunity and risk in equal measure. It was more like a gamble.]

[Finally, he held up his third finger and gave you a complicated look, one that seemed to hold a trace of something indescribable:]

["Third, I will help you... find the catalyst to awaken your Hidden Dragon in the Abyss Fate Pattern."]