Qin Ye sat up from the ground, gasping for breath. Blood flowed from his lips, but his injuries were in truth rather light.

After all, how heavy-handed could he have been when he inflicted such a wound on himself?

Whoosh… The ground quaked lightly, and even the trees and branches seemed to bow down silently. Then, a pair of shoes appeared in his field of vision.

They had appeared suddenly, and without warning.

“How’s your condition?” Zhou Xianlong finally spoke.

Qin Ye nodded with a bitter smile on his face as he employed his masterful acting skills, “Still alright. I should be fine after a day’s rest. Boss, could you grant me a day off tomorrow?”

“Certainly.” Zhou Xianlong’s voice was calm and placid, “What happened over here?”

Qin Ye shook his head, “I don’t know. I only saw several blurry figures similar to the ones that had earlier attacked Student Ye and breached the Great Dipper Vault. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to see what exactly they looked like.”

“How many were there?”

“Not more than ten.”

Zhou Xianlong didn’t ask anymore. Instead, he patted Qin Ye on the shoulder and then crouched down.

They were now speaking at the same level. Zhou Xianlong looked Qin Ye straight in the eye and suddenly quipped, “You know…”

“I’ve been scanning the First Academy of Cultivators all night tonight, yet even I was unable to detect anything amiss.”

Qin Ye’s heart skipped a beat.

Yet he remained completely silent as he listened to Zhou Xianlong finish...