Lin Taiji stood quietly, observing everyone.

  Her eyes slowly passed across each face, as if she were evaluating something deep within her mind.

  At first, she had thought that the man in white wearing the black mask must be someone difficult to approach. Someone who stood above others in cold isolation.

  But after witnessing his attitude and the way he spoke with everyone just now, she began to feel that he was not quite as cold as she had imagined.

  At the very least, he was still someone who could converse normally.

  Her gaze gradually shifted until it stopped on another woman.

  Gui Ying.

  Lin Taiji looked at her for a moment before slightly furrowing her brows.

  Her eyes began to work.

  Her expression showed that she had suddenly remembered something.

  "Oh…"

  She spoke with a teasing tone.

  "Aren't you the eldest daughter of the Gui family who disappeared after your younger sister stole your lover?"

  Lin Taiji tilted her head slightly.

  "So this is where you ended up working."

  Gui Ying turned to look at her with surprise.

  Then the corner of her lips lifted into a faint smile.

  "Greetings, Elder Lin."

  Her voice was gentle, yet there was clear resistance hidden beneath it.

  "Have you already come to terms with the fact that your beloved senior sister ran away with that man?"

  Gui Ying looked at her with false gentleness and concern.

  "After that incident, I heard you declared that you would enter closed cultivation for the rest of your life and would not come out until you became a Great Emperor. Wasn't that what you said?"

  Long Yantian let out a soft laugh.

  "What a pitiful middle aged woman."

  Lin Taiji narrowed her eyes slightly as she looked toward him.

  "At least I never spent thousands of years waiting for someone, only to love them secretly for my entire life."

  Her words caused the atmosphere to fall silent for a brief moment.

  Then Kang Hao smiled.

  "Come on, everyone has the right to choose."

  He spoke casually.

  "Not being chosen doesn't hurt that much. What truly hurts is lowering yourself to become just another option, only for them to still not choose you in the end."

  Suddenly, Gui Ying, Long Yantian, and Lin Taiji all turned to look at Kang Hao at the same time.

  Their gazes were filled with hostility.

  Kang Hao only smiled faintly.

  Meanwhile, Liu Long, who was watching from the side, muttered quietly,

  "At first I thought he was trying to put out the fire. Turns out he just threw more fuel into it."

  Ming Yuan, standing nearby, spoke calmly.

  "The words sound good… but that's all they do."

  Gui Ying chuckled softly before turning toward Kang Hao.

  "City Lord, have you forgotten… you weren't even an option to begin with."

  Those words struck Kang Hao like a direct punch to the chin.

  "That was a long time ago. Let's just forget about it…"

  Not far away, Zhang Wen was seated, writing down certain operational plans.

  Although his eyes were focused on the paper before him, he could still hear every word of their conversation clearly.

  At that moment, the system's voice suddenly sounded.

  [It seems the people you chose all have problems with their hearts.]

  Zhang Wen smiled faintly.

  "I'm a little surprised myself. To be honest, I wanted to build an organization that gathers benefits into my pocket, not a shelter for the abandoned."

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  The system fell silent for a moment before speaking again thoughtfully.

  [Should I name the organization for you? How about… Association of the Abandoned?]

  Zhang Wen let out a soft laugh.

  "I didn't ask… and I don't even have a history with such things."

  The system paused briefly before replying.

  [Host, have you forgotten? Just a few days ago Lin Qingtong requested to cancel your engagement.]

  Zhang Wen suddenly fell silent, as if something had just come to mind.

  "Oh… that's bad. Does that mean I now have a record?"

  The system responded coldly.

  [Was it ever good, Host?]

  Zhang Wen remained still for a moment before a fragment of memory surfaced in his mind.

  His gaze shifted toward Lin Taiji again.

  Her face looked faintly familiar.

  As if he had seen it somewhere before.

  Then Zhang Wen vaguely remembered that Lin Taiji had once been one of the people present during the engagement agreement between him and Lin Qingtong.

  But that memory was far too blurred.

  He immediately dismissed the thought.

  The engagement had already been canceled.

  Everything had ended.

  Revealing his identity now would bring him no benefit. It would only create trouble and momentary excitement.

  The fewer people who knew he was Zhang Wen, the better.

  Meanwhile, Long Yantian, Kang Hao, Lin Taiji, and Gui Ying continued exchanging verbal blows without stopping.

  Liu Long and Ming Yuan stood to the side.

  The two quietly spoke with each other, and before long they began to appreciate the knowledge and understanding the other possessed.

  The atmosphere became slightly chaotic.

  Then Zhang Wen's voice sounded.

  "Enough."

  His voice immediately made everyone stop speaking.

  "What most of you still lack right now… is power."

  Zhang Wen raised his hand.

  Several transparent droplets appeared in midair.

  Inside each droplet was the power of one moment of enlightenment.

  He looked calmly at everyone before speaking briefly.

  "Let's increase it."

  …

  …

  …

  Elsewhere.

  At the center of the Black Wind Continent.

  A place where the spiritual power of the entire continent gathered.

  A massive ancient city stood towering within the endless currents of spiritual energy. Its walls rose like ancient mountains, while the enormous city gates were carved with archaic runes that still radiated power even after millions of years.

  Above the gate hung a massive stone plaque.

  Two ancient characters were deeply engraved upon it.

  Gu Clan.

  Countless people moved through the wide stone streets.

  Shops, pavilions, and palaces lined the roads in perfect order. The sounds of conversation, trading, and faint collisions of spiritual power filled the entire city with life.

  Every structure here was grand and magnificent.

  This was not merely a great city.

  It was the center of power for one of the strongest clans in the world.

  Deep within the heart of the city stood an enormous palace surrounded by carefully constructed spirit gardens and spirit lakes.

  Inside the palace lay a deep, clear blue pool that continuously radiated immense spiritual energy.

  Suddenly, the surface of the water began to tremble.

  A terrifying pressure slowly spread out from the depths of the pool.

  Then a figure slowly stepped out from the water.

  Gu Heng.

  The ancestor of the Gu Clan.

  The man who had once personally exploded Zhang Wen's body with his own hands.

  Drops of water slowly slid down from his robe.

  A heavy aura quietly spread from his body. The cultivation of a Great Emperor Level One pressed against the surrounding air until it trembled.

  He had just successfully broken through his limit.

  Gu Heng's eyes turned cold before his voice echoed through the hall.

  "Where is the Centipede Unit?"

  In the next instant, the empty space beside him split open.

  A man dressed in purple black robes appeared silently. His entire body was concealed beneath the cloak.

  He immediately knelt without hesitation.

  "I am here, my lord."

  He lowered his head deeply before continuing.

  "Congratulations on successfully breaking through to the Great Emperor realm. The Gu Clan will grow even stronger."

  Gu Heng nodded slightly before asking calmly,

  "Is there any news about Zhang Wen?"

  The man in purple black answered immediately.

  "We have searched by every possible method, my lord. But we have found no trace of him. Even the use of divination techniques cannot locate his position."

  He paused briefly before continuing.

  "At present, we believe there are two possibilities."

  "The first… he is already dead."

  "The second… some powerful existence is protecting him."

  Gu Heng nodded thoughtfully.

  Then the man in purple black continued.

  "But something strange has happened within the Zhang Clan."

  Gu Heng narrowed his eyes slightly.

  "Speak."

  "Zhang Yi. At first he was merely an ordinary person who worked as an accountant for the clan. But suddenly he broke through to the Saint realm."

  "And now he has taken complete control of the Zhang Clan, replacing Zhang Lingyue, who is currently recuperating within the Gu Clan."

  Gu Heng listened carefully before asking immediately,

  "Did you investigate the source of his power?"

  The man in purple black shook his head slightly.

  "We did not continue the investigation, my lord. While you were in seclusion breaking through your cultivation, the Holy Daughter Gu Lanyue issued an order to stop all searches and investigations regarding Zhang Wen."

  He paused briefly before continuing.

  "Not only that, the Holy Daughter also sent a portion of resources to the Zhang Clan."

  Gu Heng frowned and immediately asked,

  "Did she give a reason for doing that?"

  The man in purple black replied,

  "The Holy Daughter only said that Zhang Lin has now become an unpredictable variable, and someone far too dangerous to provoke into a long term conflict."

  He paused for a moment before continuing.

  "Therefore, the Holy Daughter decided to change the hunting plan."

  "The Holy Daughter intends to use… love… to create an opportunity to eliminate the entire problem."

  Suddenly, Gu Heng burst into loud laughter.

  "Hahahahahaha!"

  His laughter echoed throughout the palace hall.

  "Are you mocking me?"

  The man in purple black immediately replied,

  "No, my lord. The Holy Daughter has already summoned elders from the greater world to protect her."

  Gu Heng's laughter slowly faded.

  The atmosphere instantly fell silent.

  He stood still for a moment before speaking slowly.

  "So… it is Zhang Lin… not Zhang Wen."

  His eyes gradually darkened.

  "It seems this matter… has already gone too far."

  A strange unease slowly began gnawing at his heart.

  Even though he had just broken through to the Great Emperor realm, the joy of that achievement quickly faded away.

  What remained instead was a bad premonition.

  Gu Heng slowly closed his eyes.

  The image of a young man appeared within his memory.

  He had only seen Zhang Wen for a brief moment.

  Yet that brief encounter had carved itself deeply enough that he could no longer forget that face.

  Bright eyes accompanied by a smile whose thoughts could not be read.

  A calmness that felt unnatural.

  A demeanor filled with confidence, as if he always had a plan prepared.

  If he had not chosen to capture Zhang Wen as bait in order to lure Zhang Lin.

  If he had simply killed that young man from the beginning.

  Would everything have turned out better?

  If…

  If…

  If…

  If…

  If…

  Countless excuses began appearing in his mind, searching for reasons to comfort the mistake he had made in the past.

  It was like a nightmare that continued to haunt him.

  A nightmare that slowly devoured the peace within his heart little by little.

  Until even the power of a Great Emperor…

  Could not drive it away.