Yusuf had underestimated them. He’d been arrogant, treating Lauren’s Domain like a child’s trick, convinced she’d burn out in moments. He’d thought killing them both would be like crushing ants.

  Instead, he was the one gasping on the ground.

  With a final thud, Yusuf’s body colpsed.

  Tarot wasn’t much better—his legs buckled, and he crumpled to the dirt, barely clinging to consciousness.

  Lauren rushed to his side, helping him up. “Brother!”

  His face was pale, voice weak. He jabbed a trembling finger toward Yusuf’s corpse. “Hurry… destroy his Nascent Soul…”

  Then he bcked out.

  Lauren whipped her head around—just in time to see a tiny, vest-wearing version of Yusuf shoot out of the body, his Nascent Soul screaming as it fled into the night.

  She gritted her teeth, about to give chase—

  When a phantom dragon suddenly coiled out of the void, maw opening wide.

  With one effortless gulp, it swallowed Yusuf whole.

  The Nascent Soul was gone, devoured so completely that not even a scream remained.

  Lauren froze, eyes wide, breath caught in her throat.

  After swallowing Yusuf’s Nascent Soul, the dragon shadow coiled once, then slipped back into Lauren’s body.

  Her heart skipped. Was that… Little Four Legs?

  “Hey!” she hissed inwardly. “Why the hell would you swallow a Nascent Soul raw? That’s a sinister trick. Are you trying to get yourself possessed?”

  His zy voice echoed back. “You’ll get possessed if you eat one. I won’t.”

  Lauren: “…”

  He snorted. “You human cultivators gobble down demon beast cores to raise your cultivation. But when I eat a human’s Nascent Soul, suddenly it’s evil? What’s wrong with me eating them?”

  Her stomach tightened. In that instant, she understood why he’d been sealed.

  The logic was simple enough: if a hunter kills a tiger, it’s natural. If a tiger kills a hunter, it’s natural too. But in a world where humans rule, anything that threatens human safety is branded evil.

  And here was this bck dragon, brazenly announcing he ate people. Who else was they supposed to kill, if not him?

  A shiver ran through her. If she kept helping him, would she be unleashing a disaster on the human world?

  “Uh… how many people do you usually eat in a day?” she asked weakly.

  No reply.

  She looked inward and saw him curled into a coil, eyes shut, a murky yellow-brown aura wrapping around him. He was digesting Yusuf’s Nascent Soul, lost in trance.

  Fine. She had bigger problems. Tarot was unconscious, and she had to get them back to the sect.

  Before leaving, she stripped Yusuf’s body of valuables and burned what was left.

  ........

  The journey back was uneventful.

  A day ter, Tarot stirred. His face was pale, but his eyes were sharp.

  “Yusuf’s Nascent Soul—it’s gone, isn’t it?”

  Lauren nodded. Almost fully digested by Little Four Legs, she thought but didn’t say.

  “Good,” Tarot muttered. “Remember, always kill the root. Never let the Nascent Soul escape.”

  Lauren studied him in silence, then frowned. “Brother… Master didn’t teach you that, did he?”

  Tarot gave a crooked smile. “Master doesn’t need to. Some lessons come from experience. No one has to teach me.”

  She said no more. Everyone had their own scars.

  “You’ve damaged your vitality,” she murmured instead. “It’ll take time to recover.”

  He nodded. “A year or two, with Restoring Spirit Pills.”

  Lauren bit her lip. “Brother, I’m sorry. I dragged you into this.”

  He ughed and waved her off. “Don’t talk nonsense. Just fly faster.”

  Not long after, they ran into Cornelius and his men, who had been sent out to search. With him leading, their return to Thunder Sect was swift.

  .......

  Meanwhile, in the Moonlit Sect, disciples scrambled.

  “Master,” one reported breathlessly, “the spirit tablet of Senior Brother Yusuf has shattered.”

  Immortal Herbert, still recovering from Drake’s brutal lightning strikes, sat up in shock. “Destroyed? Completely?”

  “Yes. And… his Nascent Soul didn’t return. Not even fragments.”

  Herbert’s face darkened. “What do the returning disciples say?”

  “They said Senior Brother Yusuf refused to return. He went off alone, chasing that girl from Thunder Sect.”

  Herbert snorted. “That brat? She’s barely at Foundation Establishment. How could she possibly kill Yusuf?”

  The disciple hesitated.

  Herbert’s eyes narrowed. “Speak.”

  The disciple swallowed. “They said… although she’s only at Foundation Establishment, she’s already manifested the Ice Domain.”

  Herbert shot to his feet. “What? Foundation Establishment… Ice Domain? Impossible!”

  “When she was snatching the Danjie Fruit in the secret realm, she released it. Everyone saw it. She crushed the competition.”

  Even so, Immortal Herbert wasn’t convinced.

  “A Foundation Establishment brat, manifesting a domain? Impossible. Those young disciples must’ve been dazzled by some fshy technique. Plenty of tricks can imitate a domain, but they’re not real domains. Most likely, Thunder Sect sent someone to intervene. That’s how Yusuf ended up dead.”

  The messenger nodded. “That’s… possible. But then, what do we do about Yusuf?”

  Herbert exhaled a long plume of smoke, his face dark.

  “He brought it on himself. Disobeying orders, charging off recklessly. With Drake personally coming down our mountain, how could the Thunder Sect not send someone to protect their disciple? And Yusuf actually thought she was just a common Foundation cultivator—someone who could beat Timothy, no less.”

  The messenger frowned. “So… we just let it go?”

  Herbert’s voice turned cold. “Thunder Sect has Drake. What else can we do but let it go?”

  That shut everyone up.

  They had witnessed Drake’s strength firsthand only days ago. Just because he hadn’t left Thunder Sect in a thousand years didn’t mean he was gone. As long as he lived, no one could touch Thunder Sect’s dominance.

  Herbert’s jaw tightened, rage simmering. He spat a curse under his breath, praying the old monster would drop dead soon.

  ......

  By the time Lauren returned, her first stop wasn’t Gerald—it was Starfell Summit, where she carried Tarot back.

  Gerald wasn’t upset when he heard. “Better to take him back first. My uncle must be worried sick. We’ll give him time. She can come ter.”

  Still, he couldn’t help puzzling over the mess. After the disciples reported what they’d brought out of the secret realm, he was baffled.

  The Moonlit Sect’s behavior didn’t add up.

  To Nash, Sebastian, and the others, that stone tablet was practically worthless compared to the three Patching-Sky Pills. Clearly, the Moonlit Sect survivors had gone home and compined, and now their elders were throwing a tantrum over the pills. Gerald and the others cursed them for it.

  Short-sighted bastards. And petty as hell.

  Sure, Patching-Sky Pills were priceless—even he coveted them—but for a Spirit Severing elder to hunt down a Foundation Establishment girl over three pills? Utterly shameful.

  Disgraceful, even.

  Still, the whole thing stank. They needed answers. And only Lauren could give them.

  Gerald paced outside the hall, gncing up at Starfell Summit every few steps, waiting for her shadow to appear.

  At that same moment, Lauren was in front of Master Drake, expining everything.

  “So, they were after you because of the boundary marker?”

  Lauren nodded. “Yes, Master. The boundary marker controls the Hidden Mist Secret Realm. I snatched a Ground Bag from one of their disciples, found the marker inside, and cimed it. That’s what ended the trial early.”

  She presented the Ground Bag respectfully.

  Drake waved it off. “I don’t meddle in sect politics. Give it to Gerald ter.”

  “Yes, Master.”

  “Then go. Gerald and the others are waiting.”

  “Yes, Master.”