Lanny’s curse-removal plan was simple in theory... but terrifying in execution.

Inside the Time Seclusion Chamber, the built-in Illusion Arrays allowed them to create dreamlike worlds as real as reality itself. One month outside equaled one full year inside, which meant they could run countless scenarios in a short span.

The goal was to force the curse to reverse Lanny’s emotions until the mask breaks.

They didn’t know which emotion would be the trigger, so they tried everything.

---

Illusion 1 — The Phoenix Hairpin Girl

Lanny played the prostitute who sold the Phoenix hairpin to Tyler.

But in the illusion, Tyler acted as a villain, cornering her and threatening her until she became his slave. She trembled, excitement and lust.

But the mask reversed it.

Her excitement become feat

Her lust twisted into something else - humiliation.

They stopped it immediately.

"Now," Tyler muttered, shaking. "let’s try different scenarios... This one is not intense."

Lanny was excited.

This time she is feeling disappointed.

---

Illusion 2 — The Ruined Wedding

Lanny was about to marry the love of her life.

A calm ceremony, tears of joy, a gentle groom—

Then Bandit Tyler burst in.

He defeated her lover easily and declared Lanny his slave in front of everyone.

Her emotions spiked again—rage, despair, heartbreak— and again the mask inverted them, making her reactions disturbingly wrong.

Before it escalated, Tyler shut it off.

"I think we are doing it wrong..."

Lanny quietly nodded.

These illusions hurt more than she expected.

---

After Dozens of Attempts,

They tried many worlds after that.

Worlds of betrayal.

Worlds of happiness.

Worlds where Tyler was gentle, cruel, indifferent, or overly clingy.

But each time, right before they reached the crucial moment, they stopped.

Either the scenario wouldn’t be effective...

or Lanny’s mask resisted the reversal at the last second.

It was frustrating.

After nearly a hundred scenarios, they created the Academy one.

They sealed Lanny’s memories. Only released it during every intimate moment between Tyler and Lanny, they amplified the mask’s reversal.

That’s why Lanny showed disgust even when she enjoyed something.

That’s why she couldn’t resist or fight back.

It built pressure inside her.

Again and again.

Until—

The mask finally shattered. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

---

While Lanny lived through emotional turmoil, Tyler also trained in the chamber for ten whole years of subjective time. His consciousness healed, recovered, and reorganized itself.

His memories returned little by little in first few years.

The moment they returned, he realized what he had forgotten...

And because Mana was inside his consciousness, she realized it too.

She learned the truth he once meant to hide:

Her ex-boyfriend— the traitor who killed her father— was none other than the Master of the Red Dragon Boat.

He is now at Loose Immortal Level.

Mana said nothing.

She simply turned around— and vanished.

---

"She’s probably in the Red Dragon Boat," Tyler said softly.

He lay on the bed, exhausted from years of training. Lanny leaned against him, her head resting on his chest. Now that her mask was gone, her expressions were alive and soft and real.

Lanny looked up at him nervously. "She won’t do something crazy... right? Like charge in and fight the Master?"

"She won’t," Tyler said. "Mana may act like an airhead, but she’s smart. She’s died once already —maybe twice. She won’t try suicide. Wait she is already dead though."

He sighed.

"She’ll go in quietly. Possess someone. Infiltrate from inside."

"And you’re not going after her?" Lanny asked.

"Not yet. My consciousness just repaired. I need one more month of rest. After that, we’ll chase her. If she really infiltrated the place, she might make a move at any moment."

Lanny nodded slowly, but her eyes were full of worry.

---

Tyler’s guess was right on the mark.

Mana’s Infiltration is going on. A servant unloading crates paused when no one was around. He glanced left and right.

Mana slipped out of his shadow like smoke.

The servant collapsed instantly.

Mana looked around, then glided into the body of the supervisor standing nearby.

The supervisor’s eyes glazed over for a moment— then sharpened with Mana’s consciousness.

He walked away calmly.

"I need someone higher up," Mana murmured through his voice. "Someone close to him."

She disappeared into the crowd.

Her revenge had already begun.

---

Back Inside the Chamber,

"Who is Lan Xuero?" Lanny asked suddenly.

Tyler blinked. "Oh— my senior sister from the Frozen Heart Sect. You look like her. Maybe you’re her distant relative. That would explain how you can speak the Zi World language."

Lanny’s eyes glowed with hope. "Then maybe by finding her ... I can discover where I come from!"

She leaned over and kissed him deeply.

Then, with no hesitation—

"Tyler... marry me."

Tyler froze completely.

Lanny saw and laughed softly.

"Not now. But... if one day you decide to take wives... please save a place next to you for me."

Tyler breathed out slowly.

"Oh... then, alright. If you’re still waiting by then."

He said it casually.

But Lanny’s heart lit up like fireworks.

Tyler never liked marriage. But she believed she could change that one day. She decided to add some allies from his crew for this operation.

---

The chamber melted around them.

Time’s flow returned to normal.

A month outside had passed.

But inside, an entire decade ended.

Tyler finally stepped back onto the deck of the White Pearl, the familiar scent of sea breeze and polished wood greeting him. The moment he appeared, Priscilla froze in place, her eyes widening as she glanced between him and Lanny.

"Lan Xuero?" Priscilla blurted out, genuinely shocked.

"She looks exactly like her, right?" Tyler winked playfully.

Priscilla narrowed her eyes, that tiny hint of jealousy failing to hide itself. "Hmm... looks like you two got closer while you were away," she muttered, arms crossing.

Before Tyler could respond, Lanny moved close—far too close—to Priscilla’s ear and whispered with a mischievous grin, "Hehehe... Don’t worry, sister. Tyler doesn’t belong to just one person. He belongs to all of us."

Priscilla jerked, feeling Lanny’s breath tickle her ear, and flicked her forehead.

"Ouch..." Lanny pouted, rubbing her head.

"You little brat. You’re far naughtier now," Priscilla said with a helpless smile.

Lanny only grinned wider. "Maybe because... inside the chamber... he was inside me—"

Before the sentence even finished, Priscilla turned red from her neck to her ears and grabbed Lanny by the collar. "You—! We are talking privately. Now."

She dragged the giggling Lanny away like a misbehaving child.

But before they disappeared around the corner, Priscilla suddenly stopped, turned back, and spoke with a surprisingly serious tone.

"Junior Brother Tyler... there’s something important I want to discuss. It’s about that mysterious person who saved us in the Void."

Tyler’s expression shifted, all playful energy vanishing.

"Tonight," he said. "Let’s talk then."

Priscilla’s face burned even redder. She grabbed Lanny again and ran off.

"Junior brother, you pervert!" she shouted while fleeing.

Tyler blinked in confusion.

"...I just meant for a proper discussion."

Though, admittedly, he did have a few motives that were less proper.

---

Later, Tyler opened a projection call with Lily. Her exhausted but sharp face appeared above the table.

"So Mana knows the truth," Lily sighed heavily.

Originally, the plan was simple—reach Nox Pass, break through to Immortal, and then confront the Red Dragon Boat Master together when their power matched his.

But things had changed. A lot.

"I do have something that might help us," Tyler said, recounting everything that happened in the Dragon King Territory—Vera, the illusions, the Copper Pot, the Mist Dragon, and especially the future warnings.

Lily closed her eyes, thinking deeply.

"Then your first priority is to find Mana. Before she does something reckless."

"I know," Tyler said. "Where are you now?"

Lily looked around. She was on a lonely boat drifting across a foggy region. "Isadora already knows I’m tracking her. She’s waiting for me."

"Did you actually find her location?" Tyler asked.

"No," Lily admitted, "but I know the general area. The blood she used to write on the boat was from a Worm Water Seal. Those creatures only exist near specific underwater vents around this region. So she’s definitely close by. I’m heading there now."

Tyler nodded. "Good. Be careful. And if Masha is with her, tell her... her clone from the future met me. She might trust you more."

"Oh? Clone, huh?" Lily raised a brow.

Tyler reached into his storage and took out a tiny, shimmering cube fragment.

Lily nearly dropped her whip.

"That’s... an Orion Cube Fragment!?"

"Yes." Tyler smiled faintly. "Future Masha gave it to me. Back then, without memories, I didn’t recognize it. But now I know."

Lily exhaled, shaking her head. "Your abnormal luck is terrifying, you know that?"

"With this, even without Isadora or Masha, we can force our way into the Orion Cube - the Tesseract. But after the warnings from the future... working with them is safer."

Tyler nodded firmly. "If we succeed... we might become the fastest cultivators in this world’s history to reach Immortal."

A grin spread across Lily’s face. "Then let’s go for it."

The projection faded.

Tyler leaned back, closing his eyes.

Two missions now defined his path:

Find Mana before she reaches the Red Dragon Boat Master.

and

Wait for Lily’s return, so they could enter Nox Pass together.

Everything else... could wait.

Nope —there’s still the matter of tricking Senior Sister into the bed, – Nope – discussing life with her.