The Starlight in Hui Xing's Eyes.

"After spending so much time, you finally look like you amount to something."

For the first time, a clear look of approval appeared in the crimson eyes of the little red-haired girl.

Her tone shifted, and a hint of disgust reappeared on her face.

"Going out now, you won't be an embarrassment to me."

Su Ji looked down at his Daoist robe, which had long been reduced to tatters, and gave a bitter smile.

Forget about being an embarrassment; looking like this, he would probably be treated as a beggar if he went out.

The aftermath of their battles had been too fierce. Even with intentional protection, ordinary clothing simply couldn't withstand this level of combat.

He took out a new outer sect disciple uniform from his storage ring and changed into it, his movements a bit slow.

To be honest, from the very beginning, his mind was filled with thoughts of ending this inhuman torture as soon as possible, and then ruthlessly leaving without a second thought.

But now that he had truly reached this point and learned he was about to graduate, his heart felt inexplicably empty, and he actually felt somewhat reluctant to leave.

Over the past four months, although he had been constantly teetering on the edge of getting beaten half to death every day, his strength had genuinely advanced by leaps and bounds.

There is no banquet in the world that doesn't come to an end; he understood this principle.

"Yeah, I'm leaving."

Su Ji slung his new spear onto his back, stretched his muscles, and looked at the senior before him who had taught him so many stances and techniques.

"Senior, is there anything you need my help with? For example, bringing back something interesting from the outside to relieve your boredom?"

Hearing this, the little red-haired girl waved her hand in sheer boredom, her demeanor returning to the laziness she had when they first met.

"No need."

Su Ji thought for a moment and asked again.

"Then is there any message you need me to pass on, or any errands?"

This time, the little red-haired girl fell silent for a moment.

Carrying her crimson spear on her shoulder, she turned and walked over to the bluestone she had sat on for four months, sitting down gently.

"No."

Her voice was very soft, carrying a trace of imperceptible desolation.

"I am a traitor to the Dragon Clan."

"I have long since had no ties or attachments..."

Su Ji's heart trembled.

A traitor?

He looked at that petite figure from behind, not knowing what to say for a moment.

"If you insist on thanking me..."

The little red-haired girl's voice sounded again, interrupting Su Ji's thoughts.

"Then help the master of that sword take revenge..."

The expression on Su Ji's face instantly froze.

That sword? Yinfeng?

He subconsciously reached for his waist, where that ordinary-looking ancient green sword still hung quietly.

"Is it strange?"

The little red-haired girl seemed to notice his surprise. She turned her head, her crimson eyes calm and unrippled.

"As if there are no traitors among you humans."

These words left Su Ji unable to retort.

He took a deep breath and nodded solemnly.

"This junior will remember."

Did this count as... taking on another quest?

But it also seemed like something he would be doing along the way anyway?

He looked at her petite figure, suddenly feeling that this True Dragon who had lived for countless tens of thousands of years didn't seem so unreachable after all.

She also felt loneliness, and she also felt hatred.

Su Ji walked to the edge of this space. Beyond the blurry streams of light was the molten cave he had come from.

He stopped and looked back.

"Pardon my presumption, but after so long, I still don't know Senior's name."

The little red-haired girl was slightly taken aback by his words.

It seemed like it had been a very long time since anyone had asked for her name.

She tilted her head up, looking at the eternally grayish sky, her gaze somewhat distant, as if recalling something extremely far away.

"I've forgotten my old name."

"Later... I was called Hui Xing."

Hui Xing?

Su Ji silently repeated the name in his heart.

It didn't sound particularly nice or roll off the tongue.

Nor did it seem to match her characteristics at all.

Hui Xing seemed to see through Su Ji's doubts: "Since I was a child, I was the least favored one in my clan."

"The world I saw was too dull in color, too monotonous."

She seemed to be speaking to Su Ji, yet also talking to herself.

"She was different."

Su Ji knew that this "she" referred to the master of the Yinfeng sword.

"She yearned for freedom and lived so brightly, as if nothing could bind her."

"No difficulty could stop her."

"She was the starting point of miracles and the incomprehensible."

The little red-haired girl's voice carried a trace of yearning and... loneliness that even she herself hadn't noticed.

"So brilliant that... it made me think that as long as I got close to her, I could be dyed in the same colors."

After she finished speaking, she said no more, only quietly looking at the sky, as if trying to find a different color amidst that eternal gray.

Su Ji stood in place, watching her quietly.

At this moment, he suddenly understood something.

He didn't speak to disturb her again, but simply gave a deep bow toward her back.

Su Ji turned around and took a step forward.

The sensation beneath his feet changed from the solid wasteland to a patch of nothingness.

The scenery before him began to distort, turning into streams of light—it was the very passage connecting this place to the molten cave outside.

He did not look back.

Partings inherently required no extra words.

He and Hui Xing were merely in a transaction where each took what they needed.

From now on, the mountains would be high and the rivers long; perhaps there would never be a day they met again.

Just as half of Su Ji's body had stepped into the flowing light and he was about to completely leave this dead space...

A faint, drifting voice caught up to his ears.

"She didn't let me interfere in the conflict between Great Xia and 'them'..."

"Even she, who yearned for freedom, confined me here and stripped me of my own freedom."

"I know she wanted to protect me, because I am not good at fighting."

"Later, they failed. And as a traitor to the Dragon Clan, the moment I show my face, I will naturally face a reckoning."

"But as things stand now, whether it's life and death, freedom, or miracles and dullness, I have no heart to care about any of it."

"If you ever need it, I can still clear an obstacle for you before the Dragon Clan comes to finish me off."

"But only this once."

Behind him, that crisp voice, now carrying a hint of anger, exploded without warning.

"Catch!"