Chapter 128

Chapter 128

Shen Wang laughed, "This is what happens when you hermits from secluded sects hide away and become ignorant, turning into frogs in a well."

The old man's face twitched slightly, "Ignorant fool, do you think a mere formation can trap me... How naive!"

"The spiritual energy in the immortal mountains is many times denser than in the metaphysical world, naturally putting us above ordinary cultivators. It's laughable that these ordinary cultivators dare to be so bold in their words because of my benevolence!"

The elder stopped holding back, and his dust whisk suddenly enlarged in his hand: "Evil and heretical, meet your demise!"

As he moved, the formation that should have trapped him started showing signs of breaking.

Shen Wang's eyes flickered, and his hands moved swiftly. Following his actions, the formation on the ground was repaired, trapping the elder once again and greatly limiting his spiritual power.

Little Hei also drew a long sword, its aura sharp and killing intent intense.

Under the combined efforts of Shen Wang and Little Hei, they managed to suppress the elder, whose cultivation level was far above theirs, even gaining the upper hand.

However, the elder, being nearly at the Golden Core stage, quickly adapted to the chaos and regained control. His dust whisk danced through the air, deflecting all attacks.

The whisk, seemingly light, struck Shen Wang, causing him to spit blood.

"Damn it," Shen Wang cursed under his breath, exchanging a look with Little Hei.

The battle, involving the three of them, lasted from day to night without a clear winner, even though the elder's power was restrained by the formation. Shen Wang's eyes darkened, thinking: We can't drag this on any longer.

After all, the disparity in strength was evident. The elder's spiritual energy was superior to theirs, and the longer the fight, the more disadvantageous it was for them.

Gritting his teeth, Shen Wang summoned the remaining few spiritual swords, a total of five, hovering above his head and casting a colorful halo in the darkness.

The elder was startled again: "Where did you get so many spiritual weapons!"

Looking at the spiritual weapons above Shen Wang's head, the elder felt a mix of anger and greed.

Even though the celestial mountains seemed rich in spiritual energy, spiritual energy was just that. Treasures like elixirs, spiritual plants, and spiritual weapons were scarce and controlled by the elders of the sect.

Even the elder, a respected figure of Yingzhou's celestial mountains, only had a dust whisk that could be considered a spiritual weapon. Yet, this young man possessed as many as five.

Driven by either greed or jealousy, the elder's power surged dramatically, and he laughed heartily: "No wonder those charlatans at Fangzhang Mountain said that my departure would bring me a great opportunity."

"Indeed, it's an opportunity of immense proportions!"

Shen Wang also laughed, his five lifebound swords soaring out simultaneously, entangling with the old man's duster in a fierce battle that was evenly matched!

As both sides were locked in a tough fight, Xiao Hei Ge suddenly joined the fray.

The old man had already regarded Shen Wang's lifebound sword as his own trophy, launching a lethal attack on him, even relegating his original target, the innate demon kind, to secondary priority.

As they fought, the old man suddenly realized something was amiss; the speed at which the spiritual energy inside him was depleting seemed too fast!

Startled, he looked down at his feet, only to notice that the golden formation he was standing on had slowly changed its appearance, now shimmering with even brighter golden light.

The old man's pupils shrank: "You've altered the formation! This is..."

"What formation it is doesn’t matter. What matters is that today, you’re going to meet your downfall in the gutter!" Shen Wang, still bearing the marks of the old man's attack and blood at the corner of his mouth, flashed a blood-tinged grin. "Go to hell!"

As he spoke, the formation beneath their feet burst into intense golden light, enveloping the old man in a tight, impenetrable web.

The old man could feel his spiritual energy rapidly draining away, like water from a bucket missing a plank, the speed of which was so alarming that it brought a look of terror to his face.

If this continued, once his spiritual energy was completely depleted, he would indeed be killed here by these two lowly cultivators!

A flash of pain and hatred crossed the old man's eyes. In a decisive move, he risked backlash to forcefully break free from the constraints of the formation, but in doing so, he was seriously injured and could no longer continue the fight.

Coughing up a mouthful of blood, the old man fended off the attacks from Shen Wang and Xiao Hei Ge, retreating as he fought, and soon he was out of the battle, disappearing into the horizon.

He left behind a resentful roar: "Shameless brats, I will make you pay!"

Shen Wang hadn't fought such a tough battle in a long time. Once he was sure the old man had left, he collapsed to the ground, exhausted: "Damn it, we let him get away after all that effort."

Xiao Hei Ge also lay down beside Shen Wang, exhaustedly saying, "This time, at least we seriously wounded him. He won't be able to cause trouble for a while."

The two exchanged a glance, each showing a weak smile.

When the enemy was still present, even if they were both nearly exhausted, they couldn’t show any weakness. Now, alone with each other, they no longer had to hide their fatigue.

Shen Wang sighed deeply: "The question is, after fighting off this old foe, will more come after us…"

"Those three mysterious and unfathomable celestial mountains are not to be trifled with."

Little Hei scoffed at this, saying, "Do you really think that their forceful capture of the world’s spiritual energy, confining it to those three islands, came without any price?"

Shen Wang looked puzzled.

"Those so-called celestial mountains were initially just islands with slightly more spiritual energy than the mainland. A thousand years ago, several of the biggest sects in the cultivation world discovered the truth behind the dissipation of the world's spiritual energy. They collaborated to capture a large amount of it, confining it to those three islands using a formation."

"By trapping the spiritual energy, they also trapped themselves, creating their own prison."

"That formation prevents the spiritual energy from flowing out, but likewise, it's extremely difficult for those within the formation to leave. They are trapped there, generation after generation, just like the spiritual energy."

Realization dawned on Shen Wang. No wonder there were so few rumors about the three celestial mountains in the metaphysical world, known only to some sects and their higher echelons.

However, he turned to Little Hei, who bore a resemblance to Gu Dongting, "How do you know all this? Little Hei, I'm becoming more and more curious about your identity. You haven’t even told me your name..."

Little Hei paused, then turned his head away, avoiding Shen Wang's gaze: "In time, you will know."

He knew the secrets of the three celestial mountains because, in his past life, Tang Jiu somehow entered the mountains and had a romance with the empress of Penglai Island.

To help the three mountains break free from the formation, Tang Jiu put in a lot of effort. Eventually, he resolved the formation issue, allowing the cultivators of the mountains to come and go freely.

Later, however, there seemed to be a problem with the formation again... But at that time, Gu Dongting had fought the empress, was seriously injured, and recovering, unaware of the specific details.

He only knew that very few of the cultivators from the three mountains survived.

The present Gu Dongting had no interest in playing the saint. Those sects had accelerated the dissipation of the world's spiritual energy for their own gain. It was karma that they ended up trapped in their own formation. It was nothing but retribution.

"Having hoarded the spiritual energy for a millennium, only to die under a formation... If you ask me, their end came too late."

A glint of cold light flashed in Gu Dongting’s eyes as he watched the elder leave, his lips curving into an inscrutable smirk.

"Now that I've become the arch-villain, how can I not eradicate the root of the problem?"

The elder, having escaped from Shen Wang and the others, ran a great distance before stopping, gasping for breath and cursing bitterly: "I was too careless, falling for their trap..."

"Once I've recovered, I swear to tear them to pieces to quench the hatred in my heart!"

After his vow, the elder thought of the five spiritually powerful swords, his cloudy eyes revealing his greed as he muttered: "Pearls cast before swine. In my hands, those treasures would truly shine..."

Before he could indulge further, a low, cold chuckle sounded: "Humans are indeed greedy, coveting everything they see. No wonder you've survived for thousands of years."

The elder's pupils dilated in shock: "Who's there!"

"I'm not human." The newcomer sneered disdainfully, revealing himself from the shadows.

Upon seeing the young-looking man, the elder relaxed slightly, but his expression changed rapidly as he realized he couldn’t gauge the man’s strength.

"Who are you exactly?" Clutching his dust whisk tightly, the elder felt an ominous premonition, "I have no grudge with you. Why block my way?"

"No grudge? Who said that?" The newcomer, Cong Zhuo, eyed the elder, who looked like a sage, and felt his PTSD flare up.

A thousand years ago, another sage-like human cultivator had trapped him in a formation, confining him for a millennium.

The elder stiffened: "I come from the distant celestial mountains overseas and have never been to the Central Plains before. I am certain I have never met you... Could you be mistaking me for someone else?"

"Oh, I've been tricked by someone who looked like you, so seeing your face makes me sick," Cong Zhuo said nonchalantly, "Besides, my stingy and vengeful master ordered me to leave your life here... Blame it on your bad luck."

"For offending my petty and grudge-holding master."

Speaking, Cong Zhuo struck without hesitation. His strength was suppressed, but being a rare Jiaolong of this world, he didn't need magic. Relying solely on his formidable physical attributes, he could grind down cultivators a level higher than himself.

Moreover, the elder had been previously tricked and seriously injured by Shen Wang and Gu Dongting, significantly weakening him.

In the darkness, a human form suddenly transformed into a massive serpent, its long claws tearing through the elder's dust whisk and slicing his body...

The moment the elder saw Cong Zhuo's true dragon form, he was both shocked and ecstatic: In this world, there still exists a Jiaolong. Its scales, claws, and blood are all treasures...

The thought was fleeting, and the next second, the elder's pupils dilated, and he lost his breath.

When leaving the celestial mountain, someone had predicted his fortune, saying his journey would bring mixed joy and sorrow. Great danger awaited, but if he survived until his return, he would encounter a tremendous opportunity.

He thought those five spiritual swords were his destined fortune. Only upon seeing Cong Zhuo did he realize.

Alas, it was too late.

As per Gu Dongting's advice - 'strike while the enemy is weak' - Cong Zhuo, having dealt with the despicable elder, transformed back into human form and left without a glance at the corpse.

For a Jiaolong, killing a human cultivator didn't evoke any peculiar feelings, even though he had never before taken the life of any human or beast.

Gu Dongting, lying beside Shen Wang on the ground, received a message from Cong Zhuo. He glanced at it and said to Shen Wang, "That Taoist has been taken care of by my arranged person."

Shen Wang: "???"

Shen Wang, both shocked and elated: "Little Hei, you're awesome."

He had thought the elder had escaped due to a miscalculation, worrying about revealing his five life-bound swords and how to deceive others in the future... It turned out that Little Hei was the reliable one.

Both were extremely delighted, bursting into the arrogant laughter characteristic of villainous bosses.

Without further rest, Shen Wang and Little Hei took advantage of the night to return to their respective homes as if nothing had happened.

Within two days, Shen Wang learned the outcome through the gossipy little fatty. In the familiar chat group, several familiar IDs were frenziedly posting, and there were even a few new ones.

It was evident that, after two rounds of the metaphysical competition, the socially anxious little fatty had made quite a few new friends.

[Did you guys hear? That old man from the celestial mountains is dead!]

[He was found dead in the suburbs, with multiple serious injuries on his body and a look of extreme terror on his face, as if he had seen something horrifying.]

[Wasn’t he from the celestial mountains? What could have scared him so much, considering he must have seen all sorts of wonders there? Seems like those mountains aren’t all that great.]

[Good riddance to that old man. How dare he point at Brother Gu and call him a natural-born demon, just because of some prophecy? He didn’t even bother to investigate before attacking...]

[Are prophecies always reliable? He wanted to kill Brother Gu without any investigation... He who kills must be prepared to be killed. Serves him right.]

The chat group was abuzz with discussions, but most were happy and cheerful. Compared to a stranger like the old man, they obviously preferred to protect and care for their Brother Gu Dongting, who had done so much for them.

This chat group also offered a glimpse into some attitudes within the metaphysical community.

As Shen Wang was engrossed in reading the chat, his doorbell rang. He was startled and went to check, finding Shi Yan at the door.

Besides Shi Yan, there were a few familiar members of the special department.

Shen Wang, puzzled, opened the door: "What's the matter? Hasn’t the deal already concluded?"

His deal with the special department was to act as an external support, achieving a ranking in the metaphysical competition, in return for choosing a few treasures from their treasury.

"Now that I've refined the treasures, what does the special department want by showing up at my door?"

Shi Yan: "..."

Shi Yan, with a twitch at the corner of his mouth and observing Shen Wang's wary gaze, said, "I've been ordered to conduct an investigation."

"It's not about reclaiming the items from the deal."

Shen Wang uttered an 'oh' and let Shi Yan and his team in: "You should have said that earlier. I would have let you in."

Sitting down on the sofa, Shi Yan, rubbing his forehead in resignation, asked seriously, "Where were you the night before last?"

Shen Wang replied confidently and casually: "I was at home cultivating."

Shi Yan further inquired: "Do you have any witnesses?"

Shen Wang, exasperated, said: "I was cultivating alone. How could there be any witnesses?"

Shi Yan paused in his note-taking, then continued: "Are you aware of the death of Gui Chenzi?"

Gui Chenzi? Shen Wang shook his head: "I don't know him."

"He's the Taoist from the celestial mountains," Shi Yan said, laying out some photos on the coffee table for Shen Wang to see, "He was found dead in the suburbs yesterday morning, with only a few signs of struggle around."

"So, he's called Gui Chenzi," Shen Wang said with interest, not hiding his schadenfreude, "What an apt name. Dust to dust, earth to earth. Serves him right to die like that."

Shi Yan rubbed his temples, his tone resigned: "We suspect you're involved in his death. You don't need to... emphasize your motive so strongly."

Shen Wang defended himself righteously: "He ambushed me during my competition, causing me injury. I had to stay in my room to recover... Am I not allowed even a bit of schadenfreude at his death?"

At a loss for words, Shi Yan thought about Shen Wang's personality. Just reveling in misfortune seemed indeed normal for him.

After a few more simple questions, Shi Yan closed his notebook and said in accordance with procedure, "Thank you for cooperating with the investigation. If we need anything further, we will notify you."

Having said that, he took his leave.

Shen Wang waved goodbye with a smiling face, showing no sign of irregularity.

Once outside the villa, a person behind Shi Yan spoke up: "Director Shi, Gui Chenzi had only left the celestial mountains for a few days and offended only two people. He's a major suspect. Why didn't you take him in for investigation?"

Shi Yan glanced at the new recruit: "Exactly. Knowing he's a major suspect, why do you think those above sent me, who has a good relationship with him, to investigate?"

The new recruit scratched his head in confusion.

"It's because Gui Chenzi went too far. The higher-ups actually didn't mind seeing him dead," Shi Yan said resignedly, breaking down the rationale for the newbie.

"Gui Chenzi was powerful, but does being powerful mean you can do whatever you want? It's not the survival-of-the-fittest world of thousands of years ago."

"We live in a society governed by law. He wanted to kill someone based on some absurd prophecy, showing no regard for the law, the special department, or the nation... Now he wanted to kill the innocent Gu Dongting because of a prophecy. What about in the future? For what reason will he kill next?"

As he spoke, Shi Yan let out a cold laugh: "What era are we in to kill based on prophecies? Don’t believe in feudal superstitions; if he doesn’t understand that, don’t you?"

The new recruit finally had an epiphany, deeply understanding why Shi Yan, despite being the same age, could be the director of the southwest region, while he was still a newbie.

He tentatively summarized: "So, it's because his actions have crossed the legal line. If it weren't for the fact that we can't overpower him, the special department would have taken action against him?"

"More importantly, he intended to disrupt the hard-won peace of the metaphysical world," Shi Yan sighed softly. "If he, being powerful, thinks he can kill whoever he wants, wouldn’t we be reverting to the old world of the survival of the fittest...”

"In that world, the strong can kill, and the weak deserve to die... Is that the world you want to live in?"

The employees of the special department shook their heads. With their abilities, they would only be at the bottom of the hierarchy, with only ordinary people being weaker than them.

But how could they, who had received formal education, ever bring themselves to harm ordinary people?

After all...

The employee of the special department murmured softly, "The new society is indeed better."

Shen Wang didn't hear Shi Yan's admonishment; he felt no guilt over Gui Chenzi's death.

Even though he now lived in the relatively safer world of metaphysics, the concepts ingrained during his years in the cultivation realm were too deep-rooted to change.

The special department's investigation, more of a formality, lasted a few days and found nothing amiss. They eventually concluded: Gui Chenzi's death was due to vendetta.

Beyond that, there was nothing else.

Shen Wang, using both coaxing and trickery, plucked another petal from the Nine-Layered Lotus, made three pills, kept one for himself, and gave the remaining two to the injured Gu Dongting and Little Hei.

For some reason, even though Gui Chenzi's matter was resolved, Gu Dongting still showed no intention of returning home, leaving Shen Wang feeling quite lonely.

Soon after, Shi Yan sent a message to Shen Wang, inviting him to a meeting.

Shen Wang initially didn't want to go, but decided to attend after learning that Gu Dongting would be there. He slowly got dressed and groomed himself before heading to the special department for the meeting.

He thought the meeting would still be about Gui Chenzi's incident. Upon arriving at the conference room and seeing all the familiar faces, Shen Wang belatedly realized that the invitees seemed to be familiar.

There was Bo Yu from the Metaphysical Association, Wushu, Feng Ju and Lu Tingchun from the special department, and others from various sects like Lin Leliu, Pang He, Luo Tian... Chou Yin and Bai Fuchun were also among them.

They were all quite young and familiar with each other, chatting and laughing together.

Seeing Shen Wang, Bai Fuchun was the first to greet him excitedly: "Brother Shen! Brother Shen! Come sit here! I saved you a spot!"

Shen Wang, with a question mark over his head, sat next to Bai Fuchun and asked curiously, "What are you all doing?"

His question stirred the nest, attracting a chorus of responses.

"Brother Shen, don’t you know?"

"The top fifteen from the metaphysical competition will participate in the World Special Abilities Contest, representing our country."

"We're here for a meeting to finalize the procedures."

"I heard this year’s World Metaphysical Competition is in England... I've never been there; I wonder if it’s fun."

"It's not fun. The place is shabby, cramped, and has an indescribable smell... The cultivators there are bad-tempered, too."

"I heard they don’t call them cultivators there, but rather, people with special abilities? Wonder what the difference is..."

"Seems like there's not much difference. They still use elements like metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, as well as wind, thunder, and lightning..."

Shen Wang listened for a while and finally realized he had heard about this.

The national metaphysical competition was essentially a qualifier for the world competition, but he had been so focused on getting treasures from the special department’s treasury that he hadn’t paid much attention to it and had promptly forgotten.

Only now did he remember that after the metaphysical competition, there was another world-level competition.

Shen Wang: "…Can I choose not to go?"

His question brought the enthusiastic discussion to a halt. Everyone turned to look at Shen Wang, leaving him bewildered: "What? Do I have to go?"

Bai Fuchun pursed his lips and said, "Every winner has gone in the past. There's never been an exception."

"Brother Shen, those foreign cultivators are really overbearing. They look down on us. We must go and show them, for our country's honor."

"In the previous competitions, we only had Brother Gu supporting us. The results weren't satisfactory, and we were ridiculed by foreigners. Now with you, Brother Shen, and Brother Gu together, we can definitely regain our honor."

"It's a free trip abroad, with all expenses for travel and accommodation covered. Brother Shen, do you really want to miss out on this opportunity?"

Faced with so many people persuading him, Shen Wang felt a headache coming on. He was about to speak when he saw more people entering.

Among them were the familiar physical cultivator Xia Ye, Bai Qingxing from the Bai family, and Kuang Jun from the special department, along with several special department leaders he had seen but didn’t know by name... and Gu Dongting walking amidst the group.

Seeing Gu Dongting's aloof expression, Shen Wang vaguely felt it had been a long time since he last saw him.

...The Gu Dongting played by Little Hei didn’t count.

Shen Wang waved at Gu Dongting, who glanced at him before quickly averting his gaze, remaining cold and distant.

Shen Wang: "???"

"I feel like Gu Dongting's mood doesn't seem too good today."

"Based on my understanding of him, even if he couldn't speak, he'd normally respond with eye contact to my greeting."

"But today, he's completely unaffected. There's no eye contact, and that faint smile in his eyes that's just for me is gone too."

"Once everyone was seated, the head of the special department quickly began: 'All of you here represent the future of the metaphysical world, and I believe you're aware of the World Special Abilities Contest.'"

"'The contestants of the World Special Abilities Contest are all under thirty-five years old, representing the young elite from various countries. You will be representing our country...'"

"Shen Wang stopped listening after a while, the speech being nothing more than motivational fluff. His attention remained on observing Gu Dongting's demeanor."

"It might have been his imagination, but although Gu Dongting's expression seemed no different from usual, there was a subtle difference in his aura."

"Unable to pinpoint the subtle change, Shen Wang leaned towards Bai Fuchun, whispering to this avid fan of Gu Dongting, 'Do you feel like Gu Dongting is acting strangely today?'"

Bai Fuchun, puzzled, replied, "Strangely good-looking?"

A few black lines slid down Shen Wang's forehead: "I'm talking about something serious here."

Bai Fuchun looked extremely aggrieved: "Then, I really can't tell. Isn't Brother Gu always like that - aloof, serious, unapproachable?"

Shen Wang paused: "He's not like this when he's with me..."

Bai Fuchun was speechless, giving Shen Wang a look before scooting his chair a few centimeters away from Shen Wang, moving closer to Chou Yin.

"Who knows what you kind of couple do in private!!"

Seeing he couldn't get an answer, Shen Wang could only sigh, attributing this oddity to his own illusion.

After a meeting that lasted over two hours, filled with countless motivational speeches, they finally got to the main point.

"This competition will be led by Gu Dongting, with Xia Ye, Bai Qingxing, and Kuang Jun accompanying for protection."

"The participants are Shen Wang, Bo Yu, Chou Yin..." The names were read in order of ranking. The leader of the special department closed the file and asked, "Do you have any questions?"

Everyone looked at each other, their gazes all converging on Shen Wang.

Shen Wang glanced at Gu Dongting and touched his nose: "No questions."

He really didn't want to travel all the way abroad before, but since Gu Dongting was in charge of leading the team... What could he do? To support his friend's work, he had to go.

After the meeting, while Gu Dongting hadn't left yet, Shen Wang quickly avoided the crowd and approached him: "Dongting, are you in a bad mood today?"

Gu Dongting looked at Shen Wang, his eyes conveying an indescribable meaning: "You can tell I'm in a bad mood?"

Shen Wang nodded as if it were a matter of course: "Of course, we are close friends."

"Indeed, a good friend," Gu Dongting said with a light laugh, slowly speaking.

His smile was fleeting, and Shen Wang didn't notice anything unusual.

The two walked side by side out of the building. Hei Jiao, who had been waiting at the door for a long time, came up to greet them, ignoring Gu Dongting's cold, almost murderous gaze, and looked eagerly at Shen Wang.

"Shen Wang, how is my little flower?"

Shen Wang: "..."

Shen Wang touched his face awkwardly, avoiding Hei Jiao's gaze: "Pretty, pretty good."

It was just that a few petals were coaxed away, a few branches had fallen off, and some lotus seeds were collected...

Congzhuo looked at Shen Wang skeptically: "Really? Don't lie to me, bring him out now."

Faced with a parent's doubts, Shen Wang couldn't ignore it. He had to go to a corner out of sight to summon Jiu Chonglian.

As soon as Congzhuo and Jiu Chonglian saw each other, neither could hold back. One embraced his precious flower, and the other rushed into his guardian's arms.

"My poor little flower, why are you so dried up and thin? What on earth did Shen Wang do to you!"

"Congzhuo, where have you been these past days? I thought you found me too delicate and didn't want me anymore."

"It's all that damned Gu Dongting, not letting me show myself, always trying to hide me. If I hadn't secretly followed this time, I wouldn’t have seen you..."

"Shen Wang took a petal from me. My flower is missing a petal now, it's incomplete..."

Shen Wang, listening to their complaints about Gu Dongting's unreliability, didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

He took Gu Dongting aside and secretly handed him something: "Enter the village quietly, no need for gunfire."

Gu Dongting felt a small box in his hand. He opened a crack and was greeted by a strong scent of elixir. He quickly closed the box: "What's this?"

"Shh," Shen Wang hurriedly signaled Gu Dongting to lower his voice. "It's a healing pill made from the petals of the Ninefold Lotus. Aren't you injured?"

Gu Dongting looked at the precious pill with an inscrutable gaze, "To give away something so valuable, isn't it too wasteful?"

"A healing pill is made for healing. There's no waste in that."

Shen Wang was carefully observing Cong's movements, afraid he would discover that he had used the petals of his cherished little flower for making the medicine.

He didn't notice Gu Dongting's inexplicable expression.

"So..." Gu Dongting fiddled with the pill box in his hand, and after a long while, he revealed a faint smile, "I really appreciate that you've been thinking of me."

He is still the 'Little Black Brother' in Shen Wang's words, not Gu Dongting.

For a long time, Gu Dongting's consciousness had suppressed him. Logically, when Gu Dongting's emotions became intense, reaching a threshold, he would appear.

But it's unclear if Gu Dongting's emotions were too calm, without ripples, or if he had noticed something amiss. Little Black Brother hadn't appeared for quite some time.

This time, having finally seized the opportunity to control the body, he was determined to firmly maintain control.

Between Shen Wang and Gu Dongting, due to their daily interactions, they didn't realize that at some point, the atmosphere between them had subtly changed.

The long-absent 'Little Black Brother' noticed it right away.

The undeniable ambiguity and sweetness in the air, and the unspoken understanding in their eyes when they met... Little Black Brother thought they had fallen for each other, but they hadn't realized it yet.

Little Black Brother clenched the object in his hand tightly, unwilling to accept this.

In Shen Wang's heart, the Gu Dongting he knew was always the pure, aloof, flawlessly white-robed figure, like a Tianshan snow lotus. But the black-robed Gu Dongting seemed to be just a friend.

Even though they were the same person, with the same appearance... He had realized his own feelings earlier than anyone else! How could he accept this?

How could he accept being just a supporting character to another version of himself?

Everything was his first - the meeting, the flutter of heart, the realization of his feelings... A fleeting emotion passed through Xiao Hei Ge's eyes, then quickly disappeared.

Shen Wang, however, was completely oblivious to this.

A few days later, Shen Wang and others went abroad. Everyone in the economy class was as excited as school children on a field trip, especially those who had never been abroad before.

Little did they know, just after disembarking the plane and finding the people who came to pick them up, they faced their first setback.

The people who came to pick them up were a few blond, blue-eyed foreigners, lazily holding signs, chatting and laughing. Upon seeing Shen Wang and his group, they didn't stop their banter but instead laughed louder.

Shen Wang didn't understand English; he heard them speaking an unfamiliar language, and several people in his team showed angry expressions.

Shen Wang turned to Bai Fuchun and asked quietly, "What are they saying?"

Bai Fuchun's face showed humiliation as he clenched his teeth: "They're insulting us... calling us 'monkeys with a stench'."

Everyone present was a proud talent of their own country and had never been subjected to such indignity. They glared fiercely at the foreigners.

The welcoming party shrugged their shoulders and said cheekily in Chinese, "Relax, it's just a small joke. Don't be so humorless."