The old man called after her.
"You kissed him!"
"GRANDPA!"
The restaurant door slammed.
Silence lasted several seconds.
Then...
Meng Lan laughed.
The old man laughed harder.
For a brief moment...
The restaurant felt warm.
Normal.
Happy.
Then the old man’s laughter gradually faded.
His eyes drifted toward the empty chair again.
Meng Lan noticed.
"Still worried?"
The old man nodded.
"Yun Wanhe should’ve come."
He stood.
His expression became thoughtful.
"That boy has been getting worse lately."
Meng Lan sighed.
"He seems angry all the time."
"He is."
The old man picked up his cane.
"He doesn’t understand how to lose. He thinks every setback is Heaven insulting him personally."
Meng Lan looked toward the door.
"Do you think he’s okay?"
The old man paused.
Then smiled.
"I’m sure he’s fine."
But the smile didn’t reach his eyes.
He stepped outside.
"So it seems my disciple is in a bad mood..."
He rested the cane across his shoulder.
"I should go check on him."
Yun Wanhe wasn’t at home.
His parents hadn’t seen him since the previous evening.
The old man’s concern deepened.
He checked the school.
Nothing.
The streets.
Nothing.
Finally...
He followed the faint traces of Yun Wanhe’s Qi.
They led outside the city.
Toward the mountains.
The farther he traveled...
The stranger the atmosphere became.
Birds were quiet.
Animals avoided the area.
Even the morning wind seemed unnaturally cold.
The old man stopped near a forest path.
His expression darkened.
"...Demonic Qi."
He immediately understood.
His grip tightened around his cane.
"No."
He moved faster.
Branches blurred past him.
His spiritual perception expanded.
Then...
He felt Yun Wanhe.
Deep inside the forest.
The old man rushed forward.
Eventually...
He reached the ruins of an ancient shrine.
Black Qi drifted between the trees.
At the center of the clearing...
Yun Wanhe stood with his back turned.
His clothes moved gently in the wind.
A black ring rested on his finger.
The old man stopped.
"...Yun Wanhe."
Yun Wanhe didn’t turn.
The old man’s voice hardened.
"What did you do?"
Silence.
Then...
Yun Wanhe slowly looked over his shoulder.
His eyes were different.
Still familiar.
But colder.
Something unstable existed behind them.
The old man immediately sensed the transformed Qi circulating through his body.
His expression became horrified.
"You cultivated demonic energy."
Yun Wanhe calmly replied.
"I found a better path."
The old man stepped forward.
"A better... Do you even hear yourself? You’re corrupting your foundation!"
"My foundation was weak."
"It was one of the best I’ve ever seen!"
"It wasn’t enough."
Yun Wanhe’s voice sharpened.
The old man froze.
Yun Wanhe turned fully.
"It wasn’t enough to beat him."
The old man understood immediately.
"...Shen Tian."
Yun Wanhe’s expression twisted.
"Always Shen Tian."
The old man sighed.
"Again with this?"
"He took everything!"
"No."
The old man’s voice became firm.
"You lost."
Yun Wanhe’s eyes darkened.
The old man continued.
"You lost a tournament. You lost some stupid games. That’s life. You don’t destroy yourself because someone is better than you."
Yun Wanhe clenched his fists.
"You don’t understand."
"I understand perfectly."
The old man stepped closer.
"You’re jealous."
Black Qi flickered around Yun Wanhe.
"Stop."
"You’re angry."
"Stop."
"You’re obsessed."
"I SAID STOP!"
The ground cracked beneath Yun Wanhe’s feet.
The old man didn’t flinch.
He stared directly at his disciple.
"Good. Get angry. But then control it. You’re a cultivator. Not an animal."
Yun Wanhe’s breathing became heavier.
Inside the ring...
Mo Tianxue’s voice whispered.
[He wants to weaken you.]
Yun Wanhe’s jaw tightened.
[He fears your new strength.]
The old man continued.
"Take that ring off."
Yun Wanhe looked at him.
"No."
"Yun Wanhe... I’m not asking again."
The old man’s Spirit Perception aura slowly spread outward.
"I am your master. For your own sake... Take it off."
Yun Wanhe stared.
His old master.
The man who had trained him.
Fed him.
Beaten sense into him.
Believed in him.
For one brief moment...
Something inside Yun Wanhe hesitated.
His fingers moved toward the ring.
Then Mo Tianxue whispered again.
[Weakness.]
[He will take your strength.]
[Then Shen Tian will continue surpassing you.]
Yun Wanhe’s hand stopped.
The old man noticed.
"Yun Wanhe?"
Dark Qi erupted.
The old man’s eyes widened.
"YUN WANHE!"
Yun Wanhe attacked.
The old man barely raised his cane in time.
BOOM!
The clearing shook.
The old man slid backward.
His eyes filled with disbelief.
"You attacked me?"
Yun Wanhe stood surrounded by black Qi.
His breathing was uneven.
"...You were going to take it."
The old man stared at him.
Then his expression became deeply sad.
"No. I was trying to save you."
Those words...
For some reason...
Made Yun Wanhe angrier.
He attacked again.
The old man defended.
He didn’t strike to kill.
He couldn’t.
This was still his disciple.
Every attack Yun Wanhe threw...
The old man redirected.
Blocked.
Avoided.
"Yun Wanhe! Wake up!"
Another strike.
"Remember who you are!"
Black Qi tore through the shrine wall.
The old man countered with a burst of spiritual pressure.
Yun Wanhe stumbled.
For one second...
His eyes cleared.
"Master..."
The old man immediately moved forward.
"That’s it. Come back."
He reached out.
Then...
The ring pulsed.
Mo Tianxue’s voice screamed inside Yun Wanhe’s mind.
[KILL HIM.]
Yun Wanhe’s eyes turned bloodshot.
His hand moved before his mind fully registered it.
A concentrated burst of demonic Qi struck forward.
The old man’s expression changed.
Too late.
The attack pierced through his defense.
He staggered.
Silence.
Yun Wanhe froze.
The black Qi disappeared from his hand.
The old man looked down.
Then back toward his disciple.
Yun Wanhe’s eyes widened.
"Master..."
The old man stumbled backward.
Yun Wanhe rushed forward instinctively.
"Master!"
The old man’s legs gave out.
Yun Wanhe caught him.
For several seconds...
Neither spoke.
The old man’s breathing became shallow.
Yun Wanhe stared in horror.
"No. No, no...I didn’t... Master..."
The old man slowly looked up at him.
There was no anger.
That made it worse.
Only sadness.
"...Idiot..." The old man coughed up blood.
Yun Wanhe’s eyes trembled.
(Author’s Note: IMPORTANT!)
SEND POWESTONES!!!
ALL SUPER GIFTS (Magic Castle, Space Ship, Golden Gachapon) = MORE ChapterS!

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