Compared to the first time he saw her, Dongfang Kui had undergone another subtle transformation. Although her appearance remained the same, there was a new softness about her. The faint, almost masculine sharpness that once lingered in her features was now completely gone.

Dongfang Kui looked at Ye Wen. This headmaster of the Shu Mountain Sect gave her an impression of unfathomable depth, a sense of ethereal detachment as if he might ascend into the air and depart at any moment. With just that one glance, she understood that everything Xia Qinghe had told her was true.

“Headmaster Ye, are you truly about to shatter the void?”

“Indeed!” Ye Wen smiled, a hint of liberation in his expression. He couldn't quite pinpoint why he felt this way. Perhaps it was because he was never one to covet the position of Sect Head. His dedication to the Shu Mountain Sect might have stemmed more from the lingering will residing in this body and a desire not to disappoint his junior sister. Now that he was about to shatter the void and depart, he could rightly hand over the affairs of Shu Mountain to another!

He tilted his head back, gazing at the profound night sky. Though he had no idea what kind of world awaited him, Ye Wen remained thoroughly optimistic about his future: “Worst case, I’ll just transmigrate again. I’ve done it once, what’s there to be afraid of!”

He had considered the possibility of arriving in a higher-realm world where Innate Beings were common, and those who had Shattered the Void walked everywhere. In such a place, he would merely be a common, low-level figure, subjected to bullying and a life of intense hardship... but he didn't care.

“If you’re inferior to others, then strive to become stronger! It’s the same in this world as it would be in another! Since the younger me has already gone through this once, why fear a second time? It’s actually a good thing to shatter the void while I still possess this drive.”

Dongfang Kui watched Ye Wen looking up at the pitch-black sky, uncertain what the Headmaster was contemplating. She stood quietly beside him for a long time before suddenly murmuring, “Headmaster Ye... you got married!”

Ye Wen was somewhat surprised by the question. “Yes! It’s a pity you were still asleep then...”

“Yes...” Dongfang Kui whispered, then suddenly began speaking to herself, “Headmaster Ye, do you know? During this feigned death, I wasn’t in as much pain as before!”

“Oh?” Ye Wen was a bit taken aback. Had her Phoenix Nirvana Skill changed? Would it no longer conjure those terrifying, endless nightmares to torment her during periods of dormancy?

Dongfang Kui continued, “When I first lapsed into unconsciousness, I vaguely dreamt that someone was carefully removing my outer robes, then meticulously applying medicine to me. The touch was so gentle and careful that it almost made me forget the agony I was enduring!”

Hearing this, Ye Wen’s expression became exceedingly strange.

“In the following days, although I suffered immense pain daily, each time I would recall that person using those hands to gently brush over the areas where the pain was worst. Miraculously, whenever I thought of it, the pain seemed to lessen considerably...”

Dongfang Kui suddenly turned her head and asked, “Headmaster Ye... do you know who was applying the medicine to me while I was unconscious?”

Ye Wen scratched his face sheepishly. “Perhaps Miss Fu? She has been taking care of you these past days...”

Dongfang Kui said nothing, merely continuing to stare at Ye Wen. Finally, just as Ye Wen felt an overwhelming urge to jump off the mountain cliff, Dongfang Kui withdrew her gaze. “Perhaps...”

Only when he heard this did Ye Wen let out a breath. For the rest of the time, he dared not look directly at Dongfang Kui, because every time he met her gaze, his mind instantly conjured up everything he had witnessed that day.

“A heart like clear ice, unshaken even if the heavens collapse...” He muttered the phrase nonsensically in his mind, yet felt not the slightest lessening of his guilt. Ye Wen could only keep his head held high, staring at the night sky, affecting an air of profundity to mask his embarrassment.

They stood in silence for a while longer before Dongfang Kui spoke again. “I have already heard about the Azure Dragon Society from Qinghe...”

“Oh! What does Miss Dongfang intend to do...?” Ye Wen was curious how Dongfang Kui would decide. She already held deep resentment toward the Azure Dragon Society; surely she wouldn't want to return to rebuild this faction of a hundred families?

As expected, Dongfang Kui gave a cold laugh before stating, “Though I detest everything about the Azure Dragon Society, it is still the property of the Dongfang family. How can I let a group of mere jesters run rampant with it? I plan to leave Shu Mountain and kill every last one of those clowns! Anything belonging to the Dongfang family—even if it must be destroyed—must be destroyed by my own hands!”

Although Dongfang Kui had declared to Dongfang Yi that she had severed all ties with the Dongfang family, the family had raised her for twenty years; how could she simply let go? It was just that she hadn't realized it herself, convincing herself that the justification—that the Dongfang family’s possessions must be destroyed by her hands—was the only correct path.

Ye Wen understood that saying anything else now would be pointless. Moreover, the moment the Azure Dragon Society Master died, these followers immediately descended into infighting over power. Anyone witnessing such a spectacle would feel a sense of profound sorrow. Now that Dongfang Kui was awake and saw the Azure Dragon Society, which rightfully belonged to her family, reduced to this state, it would be strange if she weren't angry.

However, he couldn't help offering one piece of advice: “If Miss Dongfang is determined to proceed, then I, Ye Wen, will