“Then isn’t that the same as not having one?” Jie Se asked with a pout.

Master Jian Huang didn’t bother saying anything else and just gave his disciple’s bald head a vicious beating.

Then, Wang Wuxie declared the opening of the daoist sect's secret dungeon the next day. The nine winners of the group stage and the four second-place group stage members with the best results, together with Chu Chuyan, made up the candidates who had the right to enter the secret dungeon.

Among them, Emptiness Isle’s Peng Wuyan took Qiu Honglei’s spot. Even though she hadn’t fought, she was still a representative disciple, so people were still okay with that.

Wan Guiyi suddenly found Peng Wuyan’s familiar face extremely unfamiliar and puzzling. It was clearly the same appearance, but why didn’t it possess that aesthetic of strength anymore?

…

After the announcement, the crowd gradually scattered. The various sects began to prepare their disciples for the next day’s secret dungeon exploration. At the same time, many of them enthusiastically discussed the Devil Sect Master and Saintess. Even though they were all speaking righteously on the surface, the two women had clearly left a deep impression on them.

The murderous great demoness was actually so beautiful! That Devil Sect Saintess was also a beauty, not inferior to Fairy Chu at all. Furthermore, her dance had left them with a rich aftertaste even now…

After Zu An returned to his room, he opened up the Rage system. He had collected a total of 84,593 Rage points. He wanted to get some Faith in Brother Spring and other medicines for Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman. After all, he couldn't enter the secret dungeon this time and couldn't watch over them on their end. Even though with their cultivation, it wasn’t supposed to be that dangerous for them, secret dungeons were always places that no one truly knew everything about. It was still better to be careful.

When he pressed the button to start, ‘Thank you for playing!’ messages continued to show up, but they couldn't make him feel a thing anymore.

In the end, however, the keyboard landed on the R key. 

Congratulations! You have won a Nickname Card!

You can temporarily change a person’s name.

This wasn’t the first time Zu An had obtained the item. The first time he got it, he had thought that it was useless rubbish, but he had discovered that this thing was actually quite the miraculous item in the right situation.

At any other time, obtaining the Nickname Card would have made him really happy, but he didn’t feel the same way right now at all. After all, he hadn’t obtained any treatment medicines or defensive artifacts.

For some reason, his eyes twitched whenever he thought of this daoist sect dungeon, as if something bad was going to happen.

Suddenly, there was a light knock on the door. Zu An looked up and saw Xie Daoyun standing timidly by the entrance. He asked with a smile, “What is it, little sister Ling’er?”

Xie Daoyun hesitated a bit, then took out two talismans and said, “Big brother Zu, these are two Last Breath Talismans that I drew myself. Even though the effects aren’t as good as teacher’s, they can still be helpful. You should give these to Miss Chu and Miss Pei.”

Zu An was briefly stunned, but then he was extremely happy. He had been feeling worried about what to give the two women and hadn’t expected Xie Daoyun to come forward in his time of need.

“Thank you so much, little sister Ling’er!” Zu An said. He suggested, “Why don’t you give it to them? You know both of them, after all.”

Xie Daoyun shook her head and said, “I actually came to Violet Mountain secretly and didn’t reveal my identity, so I can’t show myself in public. It would be the same thing if big brother Zu gives it to them. I saw that you were really frustrated just now and kept sighing, so I knew that it was probably out of worry for the two of them.”

Zu An said gratefully, “Little sister Ling’er really understands people well. Whomever has the fortune of marrying you truly will be blessed.”

Xie Daoyun’s cheeks turned red. She pouted playfully and replied, “Big brother Zu~”

Zu An laughed and said, “Then I’ll be going. I’ll be sure to tell them that it was your goodwill.”

Xie Daoyun blushed and didn’t say anything else.

When she saw how Chu Chuyan and Qiu Honglei had fought against each other, she had thought to herself that improving her relationship with the two wouldn’t necessarily be too bad of an idea…

…

Zu An arrived in front of the White Jade Sect’s area For some reason, Yan Xuehen didn’t come out to see him, so he went straight to Chu Chuyan and gave her the Last Breath Talisman.

Chu Chuyan was surprised and happy, saying, “Thank you.”

Zu An told her that it was something prepared by Xie Daoyun, but then Chu Chuyan’s expression became a bit strange. However, she still said, “Please thank her for me. I thought that she was a good person back in Brightmoon City. She doesn’t put on airs like a normal noble at all.”

After chatting for a bit, they inadvertently ended up talking about the competition. Zu An asked, “You’re not wounded, right?”

Chu Chuyan shook her head slightly and said, “I’m not. Even though my battle with Miss Qiu was fierce, neither of us really went all out. That’s why it only looked frightening.”

Zu An chuckled and said, “That’s good then, that’s good.”

Chu Chuyan suddenly said with a sigh, “Back then in Brightmoon City, she was crying and begging to call me big sister, and saying she was going to be your concubine, and yet she came here to try and become the big sister. If I had known things would end up like this, I would have just agreed back then.”

Zu An immediately began to sweat.  Even though she looks pretty calm and aloof on the surface, she’s probably not that happy about this. She has to have gone through a lot to accept all of this…

A while later, Chu Chuyan suddenly said, “You should head over to Manman. You probably have one for her too, right?”

Zu An said with an awkward smile, “It wasn’t me who prepared it for her. It was Miss Xie.”

Chu Chuyan merely chuckled. Zu An couldn’t meet her clear and cold gaze anymore and ran away.

When he left, Yan Xuehen appeared in the room and remarked, “That kid is so fickle. Is he really worth it?”

Chu Chuyan held the talisman close. There was a gentle smile on her face as she murmured, “Why did I have to bump into him back then? Maybe it’s fate…”

Yan Xuehen sighed and said, “It really might just be fate.”

Chu Chuyan gave her a look of surprise. Why did it almost seem as if her master felt those emotions stronger than she did?

…

Meanwhile, Zu An ran over to Jadefall Palace’s area. Because of Pei Mianman’s disappearance, Elder Huo Ling was even more strict now, not leaving her side for any reason. She interrogated anyone who approached her disciple like a criminal. Thus, Zu An didn’t have the chance to share any intimate words with Pei Mianman, and left after giving her the Last Breath Talisman.

When he left, Elder Huo Ling stared at her disciple and said, “Manman, tell me honestly. What is your relationship with him?”

Zu An’s previous instances of assistance could be explained, but he had helped her become first place, and he had even given her something so precious. That was definitely not something that could be explained just with infatuation.

Helpless to do anything else, Pei Mianman could only vaguely describe her relationship with Zu An. After all, just the thought of her master always getting in their way was a headache to think about.

“There are no good men in this world!” Elder Huo Ling cried, turning pale from fright when she heard about their private relationship. She felt as if her precious pearl had been swallowed by a swine. But when she thought about how Zu An had helped her, she still added, “But this kid isn’t that bad. He’s at least a bit better than Wan Tongtian back then.” Then, she added with a frown, “But he is a bit too fickle. I heard that he has an unclear relationship with that White Jade Sect’s Chu girl.”

Pei Mianman carefully explained, “They were actually husband and wife before…”

Elder Huo Ling immediately cried out in alarm before she could finish, “No way, no way, then aren’t you going to become a concubine? Someone like you deserves a man who is completely devoted to you!”

“They’re already divorced…”

“That’s still not okay. Why would you want something another woman doesn’t even want?”

“That’s not really it…”

…

The next morning, the daoist sects all gathered on Golden Peak. The Righteous Sun Sect’s elders started to open up the secret dungeon. Zu An was then surprised to discover that the so-called secret dungeon was actually hidden in the Wordless Edict!

The Wordless Edict opened up, and a group of daoists performed a ritual. Streaks of black and blue light shone from the book, casting out a wormhole-like gate of light nearby. The qualified candidates bid their sects goodbye, then entered the gate one after the other.

Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman also secretly said goodbye to Zu An. Zu An wanted to suggest that they work together inside, but he was worried that his suggestion would produce the opposite effect. The two were good friends, though. If they really encountered something, they would know what to do.

When people were finished entering, the portal disappeared. The Wordless Edict returned to normal. The gate would open up again half a month later. As for what they could acquire in the secret dungeon, that would depend on their own luck.

Because the Wordless Edict now belonged to Jadefall Palace, Wan Tongtian and Elder Huo Ling guarded it together to prevent something from happening to it, lest danger befall the disciples inside. The other sects were worried, so they also placed experts nearby.

Zu An felt a bit more at ease when he saw that. 

...

After leaving Golden Peak, he intended to say something to Yan Xuehen, but he didn’t see her anywhere. He assumed that she was probably hiding from him, so he could only return to his own place out of helplessness.

When he returned, he saw that Xie Daoyun was lying in bed asleep. He found that a bit strange. Suddenly, he frowned and stared deeper inside.

A woman with hair that cascaded down her back like a waterfall walked out, remarking, “Tsk tsk, our Sir Zu is pretty blessed, no? He has a beautiful mistress wherever he goes.”

“Big sis Yun!” Zu An exclaimed happily. He saw the beautiful woman behind her too and said, “Honglei! So both of you came.”

Qiu Honglei said with a smile, “It almost feels as if we’re disturbing your happy time.”

Zu An replied with a smile, “What are you saying? You two know why Miss Xie came here too. I was just worried that you two would be noticed by those daoists.”

Yun Jianyue said with a snort, “In my eyes, those daoist sects are nothing at all.”

Zu An couldn't help but ask, “You might not be worried, but what about Honglei?”

Yun Jianyue rolled her eyes and retorted, “Doesn’t she still have you? If the two of us worked together, I refuse to believe that anyone could do anything to her.”

Qiu Honglei was speechless. Master, this isn’t what you used to say when you tried to stop me and Ah Zu from getting together…

Zu An said with a laugh, “That’s true.”

“Ah… It pisses me off just thinking about it! Honglei had a chance of looking around that daoist secret dungeon too, and then we could have just looted all of those daoists’ treasures. That would have been really exciting to see,” Yun Jianyue said. She was a bit upset, especially since today was the day the others had gone inside the dungeon.

Zu An asked curiously, “Just how did those Emptiness Isle people escape? Did you find out why?”

“I haven’t had time yet. There’s something more important to take care of right now,” Yun Jianyue said with a cough.

Qiu Honglei seemed to have woken up from a daze. She said, “Ah Zu, actually, we came here today because we needed your help with something. We need you to rescue someone for us.”