Shh, Don't Say Anything Now, Senior Brother Has Never Begged Anyone in His Life, But Now I'm Asking You for a Favor...

Su Ji's palm was warm, the heat seeping through the thin fabric of his Daoist robe and directly touching Su Jiu's skin.

It was an unfamiliar sensation.

Unlike the dry heat of medicinal baths or the scorching intensity of cultivating techniques.

This warmth carried a soothing power.

For a moment, the tension in Su Jiu's heart loosened ever so slightly.

She didn’t pull away.

In fact, she found herself craving this feeling.

"Senior Brother..."

Su Jiu's voice was soft, tinged with a barely noticeable hoarseness.

"I..."

The burden of revitalizing her clan weighed on her like an invisible mountain, crushing her until she could barely breathe.

She had kept it buried deep inside.

Only now had she found the chance to voice it.

Su Ji remained silent.

He simply listened, feeling the faint tremors in the delicate shoulders beneath his hand.

He could sense her helplessness.

That powerlessness of bearing the fate of an entire race, only to find the path ahead severed.

A long silence passed.

Just as Su Jiu thought he wouldn’t respond, Su Ji suddenly spoke.

His voice was calm, yet carried an unshakable certainty.

"I am the strong one."

Su Jiu stiffened, instinctively raising her head. Her clear fox-like eyes widened in shock.

Su Ji met her gaze, his usual frivolity absent.

Instead, there was a seriousness she had never seen before.

At this moment, Su Jiu saw a completely unfamiliar Su Ji.

She couldn’t tell anymore.

Were the reflections in this man’s eyes merely the molten lava of the underground cavern—or were they burning with an ambition fierce enough to scorch the heavens?

All of Su Ji’s past actions—his greed, his schemes—now took on a new meaning.

Not cowardly opportunism, but the accumulation of strength.

Like the legendary bird of the north, silent and still for three years.

Yet when it finally takes flight, it soars three thousand miles.

When it finally cries out, its voice shakes the heavens.

Su Jiu’s heartbeat quickened uncontrollably as she stared into those profound eyes.

She could feel it.

This was no jest.

Su Ji’s future truly lay in becoming a powerhouse.

She was about to nod firmly when Su Ji spoke again:

"How about you call me 'Master' first, Junior Sister?"

The carefully built atmosphere shattered instantly.

Su Jiu sprang up from the ground, her fair cheeks flushing crimson in an instant.

Even her snow-white neck turned a delicate shade of pink.

"...Shameless!"

Embarrassed and furious, she swung her hand without thinking.

How could he say something like that out loud?

Wasn’t it enough to just know it in their hearts?

A surge of immense yet non-lethal demonic energy, laced with scorching heat, rushed toward Su Ji.

Su Ji didn’t dodge. Instead, he let out an exaggerated cry—"Aiya!"—and rolled twice on the ground.

Watching his undignified flailing, Su Jiu’s anger subsided, though the blush on her face remained.

She stomped her foot and turned away, refusing to acknowledge him.

"Hmph, let’s go."

"We’ve completed the Foundation Establishment. Shouldn’t we return to the sect?"

Her voice was muffled, giving no hint of her emotions.

...

The two retraced their steps without further incident.

By the time they crossed the frigid pool and returned to Qihuang Gorge, dusk had fallen.

The unlucky fire dragon they had encountered earlier was nowhere to be seen.

Without lingering, they set off toward the Love-Longing Sect.

Half a day later.

The undulating mountain range of the Love-Longing Sect appeared on the horizon.

Yet the closer they got, the deeper Su Jiu’s frown became.

"Something’s wrong."

Su Jiu stepped into the air, ascending effortlessly.

Hovering midair, she stared intently at the distant sect, her expression grave.

Su Ji followed her gaze.

The Love-Longing Sect was now encased within a massive, translucent dome, exuding an aura of immense weight.

Countless arcane runes drifted across its surface, reinforcing the barrier until it seemed impregnable.

"What’s this? Looks impressive—some kind of sect-protecting array?"

Su Ji, a complete novice in cultivation, could only think of that term.

"It is a sect-protecting array..."

Su Jiu’s fox-like eyes flickered with unease.

"Once activated, the daily expenditure of spirit stones is astronomical—enough to bankrupt a mid-sized sect within a month."

"Even for the Love-Longing Sect, this array is only deployed during existential crises, requiring joint activation by the sect master and the Grand Elders."

She paused, her tone growing heavier.

"To my knowledge, the last time this array was used was five hundred years ago, during the Blood Fiend Sect’s invasion."

Su Ji’s heart sank.

Was even the Love-Longing Sect no longer safe for him?

Without hesitation, he focused his mind.

[Fate’s Gaze]!

The familiar gray-white world enveloped his vision once more. Three crimson threads hovered before him.

[Spiritual Root Tribulation]

[Love-Longing Tribulation]

[Golden Core Tribulation]

Su Ji’s movements froze.

His eyes locked onto the thickest thread at the top.

[Spiritual Root Tribulation]?!

Seriously?

He had already reached Foundation Establishment—why was this still haunting him?

Was it glued to him like some stubborn curse?

Grumbling inwardly, Su Ji’s divine sense obediently pressed forward.

The surroundings shattered like glass, disintegrating into dust.

...

In its place, the familiar gates of the Love-Longing Sect materialized.

In the vision, he and Su Jiu had just handed over their identity tokens to the gatekeepers and were about to step inside.

Then—

An indescribable pressure descended from the heavens.

Su Ji didn’t even have time to react before his body locked in place, completely immobilized.

A woman in pristine white robes, her figure elegant and poised, appeared before them without a sound.

She ignored Su Jiu, her gaze sweeping over Su Ji just once.

That single glance made him feel as though he had been stripped bare—every secret laid open.

"To think our Love-Longing Sect’s outer sect has grown so lax in oversight?"

Her voice was icy, devoid of emotion.

"Allowing a little thief with… certain features to slip in?"

"Given the sect’s current troubles, we cannot afford to keep you."

With that, she simply raised a slender finger and pointed lightly at Su Ji.

No earth-shaking force, no cataclysmic energy.

Yet Su Ji felt his very soul tremble under that fingertip, on the verge of annihilation.

Death’s shadow loomed over him like never before.

"You dare!"

Su Jiu stepped forward.

The vision abruptly ended.

Su Ji’s eyes snapped open.

That was the Love-Longing Sect’s master?!

Talk about overkill!

Camping the entrance just to one-shot him?

"Senior Brother, what’s wrong?"

Su Jiu noticed his pallor and spoke with concern.

"You look terrible."

Su Ji didn’t answer. He stared at the sect gates so close yet so far, then at Su Jiu beside him.

A reckless idea took root in his mind.

Taking a deep breath, he seized Su Jiu’s wrist.

Su Jiu flinched, instinctively trying to pull free, but Su Ji held firm.

"Senior Brother, you—"

"Shh, don't speak yet. Your senior brother has never begged anyone in his life, but now I'm asking you for a favor..."