In the tall building in Pond Water City.0

Recently, Cui Dongshan had been frequently pacing back and forth within the golden lightning field.0

In contrast, Cui Chan spent most of his time resting with his eyes closed, only opening them when he received letters by flying sword of the highest caliber, alerting him to important military and political matters of the Great Li Empire that he had to attend to.0

At this moment, Cui Dongshan was standing at the edge of the circle, looking down at a pair of picture scrolls, one of which depicted Gu Can and Tan Xue, while the other depicted Chen Ping'an in his room.0

"If Gu Can were to have never encountered Chen Ping'an following his departure from the Jewel Small World, do you think he would've been able to become the second Upper Five Tiers cultivator of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent after Liu Laocheng on his own?" Cui Dongshan asked.0

Cui Chan opened his eyes and nodded in response. 0

"It's very likely that he would've been able to. Someone like Gu Can thrives in a world that is chaotic rather than peaceful."1

"What do you say now, you old bastard?" Cui Dongshan asked with a provocative grin. "The foundation of my teacher's Great Dao may have been damaged, but ultimately, the situation hasn't become any more dire than before. You must be even more disappointed than my teacher is right now! 0

“You invested so much time and effort into arranging these four hurdles, yet my teacher has simply conceded at the third hurdle that's meant to be a test of his will. Deep down, he's convinced that what Gu Can did was wrong, yet he finds himself unable to kill Gu Can or abandon him, so as a solution to what appears to be an irresolvable conundrum, he shattered his second bonded item. 0

“Not only has that reduced your first two hurdles to a complete joke, he also used this opportunity to carry out another bout of severance and delineation, choosing a small side path with the fewest numbers of crossroads. He has temporarily cast aside his feelings and principles to pursue the origin, and while considering the events that led up to this point, he has begun to attempt to make his way out of his 'faultless' circle for the very first time. 0

“Essentially, he has broken down an important barrier and no longer allows his principles to trap him. He has begun to step...0