Cao Ying’s red qi orb flew into Wu Yue’s forehead, projecting a flashback of Cao Ying’s memories from the battle. Wu Yue’s eyes went wide and glowed red, a direct response from the qi orb.

Her soul consciousness watched clearly as everything unfolded, the fight against the Soul Formation cultivator and the moment Lin Tian had nearly lost his life because of it.

All of it had come down to the struggle over the High-Grade Earth Flame. Lin Tian had sacrificed an enormous amount of money to win the auction.

He had also nearly died simply because he was trying to protect that flame for Luo Mei.

The flashback ended, and Wu Yue’s eyes stopped glowing. She dropped to her knees, breathing hard. Cao Ying’s memory orb had been more than enough to stir up a storm inside her heart.

Luo Mei panicked and hurried over to Wu Yue, helping the woman to her feet and steadying her.

"I don’t know how devastated Lin Tian is right now. I don’t intend to ask him directly," Cao Ying said.

"I’m telling you this because I was part of that fight and I saw Lin Tian pushing himself to protect something important for his disciple," Cao Ying continued.

"But what happened? You turned around and threw away everything Lin Tian worked for, saying you didn’t need that fire."

Cao Ying let out a breath and turned away. She had nothing more to say, already fed up with Wu Yue’s arrogance and selfishness.

She walked toward the exit of the Pill Refinement Hall, but her steps stopped once more as something that had been sitting heavy on her heart needed to come out.

"I don’t know what happened between you and him. But you just threw away Luo Mei’s only chance to become the finest alchemist she could be," Cao Ying said.

"I hope you find an Earth Flame better than the one Lin Tian got for her."

Wu Yue stayed silent through all of it as Cao Ying laid everything out. Her heart still refused to accept Lin Tian’s efforts. Her mind and her heart were still clouded by anger and hatred toward him.

But as a person with a heart, she could feel the weight of her own guilt now that she knew the High-Grade Earth Flame Lin Tian had obtained was the result of him fighting a Soul Formation cultivator with everything he had.

"What exactly happened?" Luo Mei asked, confused.

"I... don’t know what to do," Wu Yue answered.

She turned and told Luo Mei everything about what she had done, throwing away the High-Grade Earth Flame Lin Tian had brought. Luo Mei listened to every detail, and her expression shifted into one of pure shock.

"Master Wu? Why would you do that?" Luo Mei asked quietly.

"I couldn’t accept it!" Wu Yue said firmly, still refusing.

"He practiced the sect’s secret technique on his disciple. That’s disgusting and immoral. I will never agree with what he did."

"He did it to you too, didn’t he? Tell me the truth, Mei’er," Wu Yue pressed.

Luo Mei went quiet for a moment, then sat down beside Wu Yue and looked straight ahead, avoiding her master’s eyes.

"We didn’t go as far as being intimate, but we did do other things," Luo Mei answered softly.

"But—"

"I knew it! He forced you, didn’t he?" Wu Yue cut in.

The girl beside her stayed quiet for a moment, smiled faintly, and glanced briefly at Wu Yue.

In Luo Mei’s view, there was a misunderstanding in Wu Yue’s mind about the Lingxian Sect’s secret technique and about Lin Tian’s character.

"He never forced me," Luo Mei said, "He always asked first before we agreed to do anything. That’s something I admire about him."

"He treated me with gentleness, warmth, and care. I was happy doing that with him," Luo Mei added.

She turned to look at Wu Yue again, "Isn’t that just what people do when they love each other?"

"Y-You... have feelings for him?" Wu Yue asked.

Luo Mei went quiet for a brief moment, then a wide smile spread across her lips at the question.

To her, it was the first time anyone had ever asked her that, and she had been ready with her answer ever since those feelings first took root.

"Yes."

"I like him," Luo Mei replied, a warm blush spreading across her face.

"He’s helped the sect grow well. He protects our sect well. He also trains us with real patience and care."

"In my opinion, he’s the most remarkable man I’ve ever met," Luo Mei said.

Wu Yue was a little taken aback by Luo Mei’s words, but she could see that the girl’s expression was completely genuine and sincere, without even a trace of dishonesty.

That was more than enough to prove that everything she said and everything she felt was the truth, not some attempt to make Lin Tian look good in Wu Yue’s eyes.

"He’s the person who destroyed my life. I hate him deeply," Wu Yue said.

"I know. We’ve all seen it. But he didn’t have a choice either. What he did was purely to protect his sect."

Wu Yue cleared her throat. She was aware of that, but she didn’t want to let it go. Holding onto that hatred was the only thing she could do to keep it alive inside her.

But the effects of that hatred were hurting both her and Luo Mei. She didn’t know how to carry herself in this situation anymore.

"I already threw that Earth Flame away. I don’t know where it went. I also don’t know how to explain any of this to Lin Tian."

Luo Mei smiled softly and gave Wu Yue’s shoulder a gentle pat. Her expression was steady and certain. She told Wu Yue that she felt confident she could talk to Lin Tian and ask him to forgive her.

"I’ll go find him and explain everything about your regret, Master Wu."

"You can stay here and wait for me. I won’t be long," Luo Mei said.

"No," Wu Yue replied, "I’ll come with you and explain everything to Lin Tian myself."

"However you look at it, this was my fault. This was my selfishness. So I’m the one who has to take responsibility for it."

The girl felt a wave of happiness and relief hearing Wu Yue willing to open up to Lin Tian, "Alright. Let’s go find him."