The clouds hang heavy with gloom.

Zuo Qiutian still stared dazedly at the water by the pond. Next to him, there was no swordsman lounging against the railing—only a person sitting in a rocking chair, their features obscured by a veil, making it impossible to see them clearly.

"Mr. Zuo, the Prophet spoke to me yesterday, saying today’s a day of great misfortune. I’m afraid things won’t go smoothly for you."

Zuo Qiutian replied nonchalantly, "Timing is unpredictable; the Prophet’s words are not necessarily certain."

"Hahaha."

The person in the pavilion laughed heartily, "If the Prophet heard you say that, he would surely blow his beard and glare."

At that moment, a girl in a goose-yellow coat came bounding joyfully from the side, looking very cheerful.

"Master! Mr. Zuo! I’ve got the item!"

Zuo Qiutian turned to face the pavilion, showing a slightly triumphant smile.

"Good!"

The master in the pavilion stood up suddenly from the chair, "Good, Mr. Zuo, we’ve got the eye of the formation, now we can finally start."

Zuo Qiutian asked the girl, "How did you get this thing?"

The girl tilted her head, "I just took it from the academy."

"I mean, what about the old scholar?"

"I killed him!" the girl said with a cheerful smile.

Zuo Qiutian gave a thumbs-up, "You’re impressive."

"Hee-hee." The girl lifted her head as if she were a cat ready for a pat.

Before the three could celebrate their recent progress, they saw a towering figure striding over, looking panicked.

"Master!"

He held a jade ring with both hands, intricately carved with dragons and phoenixes, beautiful and exquisite, yet it had split into two.

Seeing this object, the smile vanished from all their faces, and the eyes of the girl in yellow filled with tears.

"Yuanhua."

Zuo Qiutian’s brows twitched lightly, "The Prophet wasn’t wrong."

The pavilion’s veil flapped, then was quickly grasped by an invisible giant hand.

The master said coldly, "What? He said back then there was no threat on that island."

Zuo Qiutian shook his head, "If there’s anything uncertain, besides the Heavenly Dao, it’s the outsiders. Even I’ve been caught off guard, let alone Yuanhua."

The girl in yellow whimpered, "That Song guy must have been tricked. Mr. Zuo, who did this? I’ll kill him!"

"I couldn’t possibly know, but no matter, after the mission, you can find them yourself."

.....

Bam!!!

A bloody wave surged into the sky, and even from afar, a blood-colored dome appeared out of thin air.

"What is that?!"

The seasoned Dong Sanchuan abandoned his usual composure, staring at the distance and calling out to the others.

These were naturally the people including Guan Gui who previously held up Song Yuanhua. Lacking any escape technique, they could only chase after once Li Rui disappeared, but hadn’t made it halfway before witnessing the anomaly ahead.

"So strong..." Guan Gui murmured in a volume only he could hear.

"That’s the Blood Evil Sect’s soul-burning explosion."

0103, experienced and elderly, recognized the skill, "It’s self-destruction, at such intensity, even if advisors from the department came, they wouldn’t stand a chance."

"The world’s NPC must be dead!"

Jiang Yu exclaimed halfway, then suddenly realized, "Li Rui..."

Everyone felt a heaviness in their hearts.

With such attack strength, who could survive?

"Get over there quickly and see."

It was certain that such commotion meant Song Yuanhua was dead; the only question was whether Li Rui still lived.

"He did it for us!"

Nan Jiumei gritted her teeth and shouted, "That guy, damn, never seemed so noble before."

Zhang Hujun shook his head slightly, "A real man."

Everyone sighed with regret, also hating their own inability.

"After we get out, we must thank them sincerely for their great contribution, yet themselves..."

"Thank who? What do we do afterward?"

At that moment, a voice echoed from behind the already halted crowd.

Dong Sanchuan furrowed his brow, finding the voice familiar. Turning around, he saw Li Rui, perfectly fine, staring back at him.

"Huh?"

Today was the day Dong Sanchuan’s persona collapsed; he might not be as succinct as Guan Gui, who spoke no more than ten words each time, but he certainly had a label of steady calmness. Yet today, he showed clear surprise at unexpected developments repeatedly.

Even decades later, Nan Jiumei at the drink table would always relive, "I love what Brother Chuan said back then, ’Huh?’"

"How did you come out from behind?"

Guan Gui was rare to speak more words, but his curiosity was overwhelming.

Li Rui replied, "I returned to where we were earlier, but you were all gone, guessing you’d chased after, afraid you’d think I was blasted to pieces, so I came to tell you, task complete, we can head back."

"....."

"Maybe Xiaoguan was asking, how did you get back to that place?" someone said half laughingly.

Cheng Mingyue first recalled he seemed to have a strange displacement skill, guessing some of it based on previous performances.

"Let’s not pry into others’ cards," she helped defuse the situation.

The crowd could no longer ask, and 0103 took temporary command, sending the best-conditioned individuals to check the explosion site, while the rest, having more or less spent themselves, started returning for rest.

After all, even dealing with the world NPC, the Secret Realm battlefield still had other foes, like the Western Kingdom and Polar Alliance.

.....

"How are you recovering?"

Leslie could hardly imagine caring so much for a person from the Western Kingdom, yet that’s precisely the situation they were in now.

Ulysses chuckled sarcastically, "Heh, recovering well, what’s the situation on Dragon Country?" 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"It’s in chaos, they’re all moving towards Cyan Pine Ridge."

Leslie said, "Our chance has come, during this time... we can head directly north from the west and reclaim our lost territories."

Ulysses immediately grasped the idea, "Let Dragon Country deal with that world NPC, while we swiftly reap the spoils, you truly are devious."

Leslie drew large circles in front of his chest, "The gods do not prohibit the use of strategy, as long as our goal is to spread the glory of the gods."

Ulysses smiled silently, without rebuttal.

Soon, the grand forces of the two nations assembled completely, choosing an unconventional route—a vast canyon not suitable for marching. Under normal circumstances, this would not be a suitable place for an army, but to avoid the battlefield between Dragon Country and the world NPC, they chose this path.

Once through the canyon, they would reach the central territory of Cold Wind State, a place once controlled by the Western Kingdom. Here they aimed to reclaim their land.

After two or three days of trekking, the joint forces reached the canyon, then began swift marching to bypass the danger zone quickly. But halfway through, the Prophet suddenly issued a dire warning.

Both commanders were startled, immediately ordering vigilance and discussing whether to retreat. But before a decision was reached, someone reported that Dragon Country had sent envoys and wished to meet them personally.