The next day, at the boarding gate for the flight to Shangkai, four young men, three campus beauties, and throngs of family members stood by, murmuring anxieties and constantly checking on this and that—even heading off to university seemed tinged with a peculiar nervousness.

"Alright, Mom and Dad, I promise I'll take good care of myself," Xia Shiyun said to her parents.

"Good, good. If you ever run short of money, remember to call home right away, and Dad will wire it immediately," Xia Tian, her father, looked genuinely anxious. As a self-made man with limited experience in high finance, he certainly hadn't gone through university himself. The fact that his daughter had managed to get into such a good school made him intensely worried.

"I know, and besides, the living expenses you give me are already more than enough," Xia Shiyun pouted.

Yang Yi watched, a familiar pang of envy stirring in his chest. He knew only that he was an orphan, with no parents to speak of—perhaps only that mysterious, enigmatic grandfather. "Uncle, Auntie, please don't worry. I will certainly look after Shiyun," he assured them.

Xia Shiyun felt a slight ambiguity in Yang Yi's words and blushed furiously, gently chiding him, "Who's entrusting whom to whom? You shameless fellow!"

"Uh! Haha!" The Xia Tian family paused for a beat before erupting in laughter. "That's right, as long as Little Yi is around, there's nothing to worry about."

"Indeed. Little Yi, you must keep a close eye on her for me," Xia Shiyun's mother added with a smile, teasingly. "If some other boy manages to snatch her away, you won't have a chance to call me 'Mother-in-law' anymore."

"Uh!" Even with his thick skin, Yang Yi’s face flushed deeply. "No problem, it's all on me!"

"Hey, you scoundrel!" Li Yang's voice suddenly cut through the air.

"Uh! Old man, what is it?" Yang Yi asked as he saw Li Yang approaching with Li Qian in tow.

"Here, take my granddaughter too," Li Yang announced, his tone possessing a slightly roguish edge that made the Xia Tian couple exchange puzzled glances; they knew Principal Li, but the man before them seemed subtly different today. "You better not let her down, boy, or I'll discipline you on behalf of your own grandfather."

Li Yang seemed to sense their scrutiny, his face reddening slightly. He cleared his throat and said, in a more serious tone, "Continue!"

"This is?" Yang Yi asked, eyeing the letter Li Yang was extending.

"This is from your grandfather for you. You can read it later," Li Yang said with a smile.

"Oh!" Although Yang Yi's expression remained outwardly calm, a thrill of excitement ran through him. He quickly asked Li Yang, "Is my grandfather well?"

"Don't worry, he's fine! Alright, time is nearly up... Oh, yes, I also managed to secure that degree for Murong Lianxue for you!" Li Yang seemed to recall something suddenly, pulling out a white sheet of paper and handing it to Yang Yi. "Why isn't that little girl here?"

"Heh heh, she's not around right now." A fleeting twitch crossed Yang Yi’s face, gone so quickly that only Li Yang caught it.

"Alright, off you go! It's almost time." Li Yang's eyes held a sharp focus, and he asked nothing further.

Yang Yi nodded, leading the group into the cabin toward the boarding entrance.

"Brother Yi! What did that old man—uh, I mean, Principal Li—give you?" Fatty Lin started to call Li Yang an old man but quickly corrected himself when he saw Li Qian's challenging glare. He was still deeply wary of the near-demonic fury the girl could unleash.

"Nothing much, just a letter from Grandpa," Yang Yi smiled faintly. "Let's board first. We'll sort everything out once we're in Shanghai."

"En!"

Only after Yang Yi and the others had disappeared from view did Xia Tian seem to grasp the implications. "Good heavens, Little Yi is truly something, even managing to... " As he spoke, he glanced sidelong at Li Yang, whose intentions were painfully obvious. Li Yang merely offered a dry chuckle and nodded politely before walking away without a word.

"Old man, do you also aspire to be like Little Yi?" A slightly resentful voice suddenly chimed in, causing the nearby Xia Yu, who had remained silent, to cover her mouth and stifle a giggle.

"Uh, well... any man would!" Xia Tian blurted out, instantly regretting it. A cold sweat began to bead on his forehead as he slowly turned to face his wife, whose face was already crinkled into a tight frown. "Oh, my dear goodness!"

"You old rogue, you!" Hearing her husband suddenly make a run for it, Mrs. Xia called out angrily to Xia Yu. "Little Yu, let's go! If we catch that old man, I'll show him what I'm capable of!"

"The 360-Degree Scissor Kick?" Xia Yu muttered dumbly, looking bewildered.

................

On the plane flying to Shanghai, Yang Yi sat by the window, gazing at the letter in his hand. He took a deep breath; he seemed tense, yet intensely eager to know the contents.

"Yi!" Li Qian called out when she noticed Yang Yi's tense expression.

Yang Yi tugged at his lips and carefully opened the somewhat ancient letter. The first thing that greeted him was the sight of exquisite brushwork. Yang Yi knew how much his grandfather loved calligraphy, and seeing these strokes instantly brought a strange calm over him.

Yi'er: By the time you read this, you will have met Li Yang. Your grandfather is well; you need not worry about me. But the purpose of this letter is not to bid you farewell; it is simply to offer you a few words of advice. I hope you will grasp them well and not disappoint me.

Remember, whether you are caught within a game within a game, or outside of any game, never forget who you are. Few in this world truly understand what is meant by 'the overall situation,' nor how to control it. Grasping the situation lies not with the one holding the reins, but with the one driving the development. As the saying goes, 'Of the three thousand drowning souls, I choose only one sip.' Can the game within a game truly be decided by a single move?

Yi'er, I have seen you grow up. Your performance in the battle in Country R fully demonstrated your talent, and I am immensely gratified. However, the sixty-eight paths are laid out—the Way of the World is the Way, and the path of sentient beings is without compassion. I trust you will understand what I mean when you see these words. I am quite busy recently, so I will not write more. I hope you will remember these lessons well.

Signed: Yang Yitian!

Yang Yi finished reading the letter, a glint of crimson light flashing in his eyes. A thrill of awe ran through him as he mumbled, "The Way of the World is the Way, and the path of sentient beings is without compassion. Grandfather, do you think my path as a destined hero must be utterly devoid of feeling?" He finished his self-muttering with a sarcastic smile, thinking inwardly, Can the current situation in Huaxia truly be manipulated so easily?

"Yi, what's wrong?" Xia Shiyun asked, startled by the blood-red look in Yang Yi's eyes.

"Uh!" Yang Yi quickly composed himself, forcing a smile. "I'm fine!"

"Brother Yi, what did Grandpa's letter say?" Fatty Lin, who had been closely watching Yang Yi’s expression from the seat ahead, quickly pressed when he saw him close the letter.

"You can read it yourself," Yang Yi replied, handing the letter over.

Fatty Lin's expression shifted rapidly as he read. He too muttered, "The Way of the World is the Way, and the path of sentient beings is without compassion?" At first, he didn't quite grasp it, but after repeating the phrase, his eyes widened in disbelief. He looked at Yang Yi and asked, "Brother Yi, is your Grandpa telling you to..."

"Probably," Yang Yi said, maintaining that faint, sardonic smile.

Everyone nearby—including Xu Ming and the others, as well as Li Qian and Xia Shiyun—looked puzzled. Among them, Xia Shiyun had the deepest classical literary background, yet even she couldn't fully decipher the meaning.

"Boss, what exactly is 'the Way of the World is the Way, and the path of sentient beings is without compassion'?" Ye Xiaohou asked.

"There are Six Paths in the world: Heaven, Human, Asura, Animal, Hungry Ghost, and Hell—these are the 'Six Paths.' In Buddhist scripture, they are also called the 'Appearance of Sentient Beings, the Path without Form,'" Yang Yi thought to himself with a cold smile. He currently commanded a nascent 'Six Paths' of his own, albeit a cycle of reincarnation.

"The Six Paths are without compassion?" Xia Shiyun gasped suddenly.

"Heh heh, don't overthink it. These are just some strong words my grandfather chose; they don't have any special meaning," Yang Yi said, seeing the flurry of changing expressions, trying to brush it off. Yet, deep down, he thought: Six Paths without compassion, suffering for all beings! Grandfather, are you implying that I must become the unfeeling master of these Six Paths before I can reach that realm you have always dreamed of?

A profound silence settled over the group. The letter had been deeply illuminating for Yang Yi, filling him with awe, but for the others, it was mostly just a source of confusion. Time slipped by, and it felt as if the aircraft had passed through a temporal shift before it slowly began its descent into Shanghai.

Shanghai: an international metropolis renowned for its commercial wealth, ranking second in Huaxia only to the capital city's prestige. It was also the place Yang Yi currently desired to establish his foothold most. Not only because he intended to build his commercial empire, the Black God Gang, there, but because Shanghai was a city rife with potential—a place where hidden dragons and crouching tigers resided.