The comments said I was deeply affectionate, I just added points by using an alternate account.

Chen Guan stared at him, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

He is his true self.

The Chen Guan outside, who dominated the arena and was admired or feared by countless people, was just a hard shell he created to protect himself.

Click.

The coffin lid was closed again.

He clapped his hands, stood up, and moved the coffin to the corner.

Then, he walked to the center of the room, cleared a space, closed his eyes, and issued instructions in his mind.

"Leopard, time to get to work."

With a flash of purple light, the leopard appeared out of thin air with elegant cat-like steps. It fixed its gaze on the coffin, its golden vertical pupils filled with the confusion of someone just waking up.

A moment later, it came over affectionately, nuzzled Chen Guan’s trouser leg with its head, and made a satisfied purring sound in its throat.

Chen Guan rubbed its fluffy head; it felt especially good to touch today.

"Bring out the other iron coffin."

Leopard tilted its head and lazily opened its mouth.

The next moment, it appeared on the dormitory floor.

Chen Guan's gaze fell on the coffin. The reason he took it out today was because he suddenly had an idea he wanted to verify.

He reached out and placed his palm on the coffin lid, applying slight pressure with his arm.

squeak...

A sickening scraping sound rang out as he pushed open the coffin lid, which bore the marks of time.

Chen Guan stopped moving.

Just as he had thought, the inside of the coffin was not empty.

A layer of completely carbonized, unrecognizable fibrous material lay at the bottom, covered with a layer of dried, cracked gelatinous substance that had long lost its activity and crumbled into powder at the slightest touch.

These materials are clearly some kind of buffer and energy isolation arrangement. Their grade is unknown, but the fact that they still exist indicates that they are definitely top-quality items.

What truly made Chen Guan's pupils shrink was a clear human-shaped indentation on the broken materials.

The silhouette was neither too big nor too small, just the size of an adult male.

There was once a person lying here.

"Interesting, really interesting." Baal's laughter was filled with the excitement of discovering a new toy: "Kid, looks like you're not the first one. Before you, there might have been another unlucky predecessor."

Chen Guan didn't speak. He squatted down and ran his fingers along the edge of the human-shaped indentation.

He could imagine someone else, just like him, carefully furnishing their home with the best protection, then lying inside and falling asleep.

But now, the coffin is here, but where is the person inside?

Is it so powerful that it no longer needs this iron lump, or... has it completely vanished into the long river of history?

Chen Guan leans more towards the latter.

If someone were truly an immortal being, they shouldn't be unknown. Even if they kept a low profile like Beidou, Baal should still have some impression of them.

Will that person's fate be my future?

"Leopard, put it away." Chen Guan's voice was calm.

Leopard obediently opened its mouth and swallowed the coffin back, then rubbed its head against Chen Guan's trouser leg.

Chen Guan bent down, rubbed its big head, and tossed a demon core over.

"Well done."

Looking into the leopard's clear, golden vertical pupils, the gloom in his heart dissipated considerably.

The road ahead is unknown, so there's no use thinking about it too much.

All we can do is, like a hamster, constantly reinforce our nest and accumulate strength.

Absolute safety is the only truth.

Chen Guan patted Leopard's head again: "Leopard, open the portal, I want to go in and see that Miss Song."

Song Zhiheng is Guan Jinyue's younger sister.

Although Chen Guan didn't know why the two didn't share the same surname, since Guan Jinyue had entrusted his sister to him, he had to show some concern.

Leopard obeyed Chen Guan's command and opened the portal. Chen Guan went inside and immediately saw the obvious ice coffin.

It's exactly the same as I remember.

She was still wearing a white dress, lying there quietly.

"Leopard, have you sensed any changes in this ice coffin these past few days?"

Chen Guan asked the leopard that had followed him closely. Although it couldn't speak human language yet, it could basically understand his language and could roughly respond with gestures.

Leopard tossed its head back and forth, clearly indicating that nothing had changed.

Chen Guan was puzzled. Old Bal had secretly told him that Leopard's space would be beneficial to Song Zhiheng. Wasn't this a scam?

"Hmph, I bet you're thinking about something really rude, aren't you?"

Baal spoke as if he could read Chen Guan's mind.

"Everything takes time. It's not that it's not helpful, it's that it's slow and gradual. It's about helping first and then guiding people... wait, this can't be done with a formula. Oh well, young people are just too impetuous."

Chen Guan could only shrug helplessly at Baal's accusations.

Alright, you're the demon god, you're in charge.

The final interpretation of all words rests with Barr.

……

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

For the past three days, aside from eating and sleeping, Chen Guan spent his time in the dormitory researching the "Dragon Meteor Warhammer" and familiarizing himself with the interior of the upgraded coffin.

Qin Wu came to see him several times, trying to take him out for a feast, but Chen Guan always brushed him off with the excuse of "seclusion".

The third day, at six o'clock in the morning.

As soon as it was light, a group of people were already standing in the square outside the south gate of Huaqing College.

These were the sixteen students who participated in the exchange competition.

Everyone's face was filled with undisguised excitement.

The Void Realm, a place that exists only in legends, a place full of opportunities.

Everyone's face was filled with the joy of making money.

Chen Guan's gaze swept across the crowd. An Changqing was talking quietly with several classmates, his face still bearing that gentle smile, but when his eyes occasionally drifted to an empty direction, a hint of disappointment would flash across his face.

Su Yuehe did not come.

"Yuehe is still recuperating, so she won't be participating in this secret realm," An Changqing said as if noticing his gaze.

"Yes, is she alright?" Chen Guan nodded.

An Changqing shook his head: "She's already awake. My dad said that the Speaker has no special arrangements. After all, this place is like her backyard to her; she can come and go as she pleases, and it's not a big deal."

Even so, An Changqing also found it a bit strange. Like him, Su Yuehe's elders never interfered with her upbringing, and this was the first time this had ever happened.

Just then, a composed figure appeared before everyone.

Situ Ming maintained his serious expression and, without saying a word, walked to the open space in the center of the square and raised his hand.

"Time is precious, let's get ready to go."