After I stopped trying, a rich woman trained me into a demon emperor.

Zhou Ran sat back in the head throne, his left arm wrapped with cloth around his neck, and his right hand resting on the hilt of the Taihuang Black Blade.

The last remaining pattern on the blade flickered between light and shadow, barely clinging to life.

The battle damage ledger for the Mingcang warehouse was still swirling in his mind.

The Nine Nether Well exploded, the Cold Algae Production Area disappeared, the Blood Sea Ancestral Pool shrank by 30%, Huan Yin dropped by half a level, and 120,000 of her soldiers were injured.

This problem would be enough to make any person in power worry themselves sick.

Zhou Ran had no time to worry.

He turned to the last page of the Unified Army Register, where the curve connecting the Nine Nether Well to the main hall of the Devouring Heaven Demon Palace was still hanging, though the lines were much fainter than before.

The remaining light spots of the sound transmission array lit up again.

This time it wasn't Chen Ya.

Lin Qingxue's voice squeezed in through the barrier between the two realms, dry, tense, and hoarse, a characteristic trait of someone whose magical power had been exhausted.

"Zhou Ran".

Two words. Nothing more.

Zhou Ran's finger paused for a moment on the military register.

"The memory you erased has left Chen Ya's files empty, and the video recordings of the White Pagoda have also become blank."

Lin Qingxue's tone was flat, as if she were reading a test report.

"But it's still in my head."

She paused for a moment.

"I remember everything: what clothes you wore when you first arrived at the White Tower, which passage you took, and what your first words were when you stood in front of the array. Not a single word was missing."

Zhou Ran gripped the knife handle tightly.

Lin Qingxue continued.

"I can reactivate the Black Mark of the Path of Return. I still have 15% of the Dharma Eye's essence left, enough for me to keep the passage open for 25 minutes. You don't need to come back; I can just transfer the memories over."

"Fourteen minutes is enough."

The hall was so quiet that you could hear Mingcang swallowing.

Qin San stood by the door, the Taihuang Black Blade held upright in front of his knees. He didn't understand the technical terms Lin Qingxue used, but he could tell that this woman was risking her life to open the door.

Zhou Ran spoke up.

"no."

Two words: crisp and clean.

There was a three-breath silence on the other end of the sound transmission array.

"Let me finish."

Lin Qingxue's tone changed; it was no longer a plea, but a resolute insistence.

"You've lost more than just a personal memory."

On the day we first met, when you walked into the White Pagoda passage, the Dharma Eye scanned the causal pathways of your entire body.

That data now only exists in my head.

"There is a hidden mark left on you by the scribe inside."

That mark is associated with the actual usage of the bone pen.

You changed the verdict once with a broken pen, thinking you had used up all your chances.

Actually, that pen had a second use.

Zhou Ran's pupils contracted slightly.

"Before the official who wrote the document passed away, he buried his secret within the causal threads, which can only be deciphered from the scan data of the first meeting."

You fed that memory to the bone pen, and the data shattered along with it.

But I still have the original copy.

Her voice finally became urgent.

"Zhou Ran, if you don't take this data back, you won't even have the resources to fight to the death next time the Emperor's son comes."

Several gazes simultaneously fell upon Zhou Ran within the hall.

Mingcang's pen rested in mid-air, he dared not write.

Qin San moved his fingers from the hilt of the knife to his sleeve, as if he wanted to say something, but then swallowed his words.

Zhou Ran closed his eyes.

Lin Qingxue was telling the truth.

He had experienced the methods of the scribe firsthand; the hidden tricks within the cause and effect were not something that just anyone could decipher.

The comprehensive scan of the case revealed a wealth of information far exceeding his expectations.

Ke Guilu Heiwen was the bullseye that the Emperor had been watching for seven days.

The coordinates of the blue star on that big flag were written up to the seventh stroke.

The Moon Emperor's silver spear knocked away the remaining ink, leaving the coordinates unfixed. But the Emperor's son had already locked onto the direction.

Reactivating the passage at this point is no different from lighting a lantern in front of the Emperor.

"The road home cannot be opened."

Zhou Ran opened his eyes, his tone very calm.

"The Emperor's banner was written with seven strokes."

Although the coordinates are not fully set, the direction is already locked.

Activating the channel now is like lighting a fire in the darkest night.

"Following this flame, the prince can complete the remaining three strokes within three breaths."

There was silence on the other end of the sound transmission array for a long time.

"So what do you plan to do?" Lin Qingxue's tone returned to calm, but something was weighing on it. "Without the scribe's backup plan, what do you have to stop this time?"

Zhou Ran looked at the light gray scar on his left wrist.

"Tell me in person when I get back."

His fingers moved from the hilt of the knife to his forearm, his fingertips pressing against the gray patterns.

"Just remember this for me until then."

The light spot of the sound transmission array flashed violently twice, and the person on the other side was gripping something tightly.

Lin Qingxue spoke one last sentence. It was so soft that even the sound transmission array almost missed it.

"The interest on what you owe me is getting higher and higher."

The light spot disappeared.

Only breathing remained inside the hall.

Zhou Ran slammed his palm onto the military register.

"Mingcang".

"Your subordinate is here."

"Activate all causal detection arrays in the direction of Blue Star and raise the defense level to the highest level. Do not dismantle the remaining array framework of the return route, but cut off all power supply nodes."

He paused for a moment, then lowered his voice.

"Anyone who attempts to open the passage from this end will be considered a traitor. Even my orders will not be obeyed."

Mingcang's pen finally landed on the paper, leaving a crooked ink mark.

He didn't ask why the phrase "Even my orders are not valid" was added.

Because he saw Zhou Ran's knuckles picking at the cover of the military manual.

The bones are turning white.

Qin San turned around and faced the door.

He wiped his face vigorously.

I'm not watching anymore.

His master's back looked so heavy that he was afraid he wouldn't be able to hold back.

At the end of the long corridor outside the hall, Huanyin leaned against a stone pillar.

Her dark red dress was stained with mud, and her hair was disheveled and draped over her shoulders. She had waited a full fifteen minutes for this message, her ears perked up the entire time.

She heard Zhou Ran's words of refusal clearly.

Especially the last line, "Just remember it for me."

She had never seen him speak in such a tone. Normally, whether facing the Emperor's son, Lieshan, or Momingling, every word Zhou Ran spoke was sharp and barbed, as if it had been honed from the bone.

Only this sentence revealed a crack beneath the hard shell.

Huanyin straightened up from beside the stone pillar and walked towards the side hall.

As Zhou Ran walked out of the main hall and passed the entrance to the side hall, Huan Yin came up to him from the side.

She didn't use any magic, didn't use any soul-summoning seals, and didn't use any tricks.

I grabbed his right wrist with my left hand and pulled him to a stop.

Zhou Ran turned his head to look at her.

Huan Yin slightly raised her chin, her dark red eyes devoid of their usual mockery and calculation.

"I have no reason."

She lowered her voice.

"It's not about repairing the soul imprint, healing injuries, or setting up a plan."

He tightened his fingers slightly, the warmth of his palm pressing against his pulse.

"You don't have to carry everything yourself. But if you want to, I'll be standing behind you watching."

Zhou Ran did not pull his hand away.

He still gripped the Taihuang Black Blade in his right hand, his left arm was wrapped in cloth around his neck, and he stood ramrod straight.

He didn't reply, nor did he shake him off; he just let her hold on to him.

The night wind blew in through the cracks in the side hall door frame.

At the other end of the corridor, a pair of bloodshot eyes were fixed on the two of them.

The bloodthirsty spear was gripped so tightly that the shaft deformed, and blood began to seep again from the open wound on his hand.

She stood there, her chest heaving with hot blood, her jawline taut as if it would break.

He stared intently for five breaths.

Turned around and left.

The soles of the boots scraped against the stone slabs, making a harsh sound.