Upon learning that Jing Shaoyu had lost contact in the small world, Cai Yue'er and Wu Zhangkong immediately halted all plans and rushed to the Tang Sect with their students.
"I demand an explanation!" Cai Yue'er glared at the Tang Sect representative before her, her eyes burning with fury. The missing person was none other than the future leader of Shrek Academy. If anything happened to him, she wouldn't dare face Yun Ming even in death.
"Elder Cai, we never expected this to happen," said Elder Wu, who was responsible for guarding the entrance to Dragon Valley, his voice grave. "According to the fighters who returned, an anomaly occurred in the Dragon Valley Small World, forcibly ejecting them all. As for Jin'er, we're equally puzzled as to why he hasn't emerged."
"However, rest assured—we've already contacted Xingluo City and headquarters. The Heartless Douluo and the Battle Hall's forces are on their way. We will find a way to reopen the entrance to Dragon Valley and rescue Jin'er."
Hearing that the Heartless Douluo was en route, Cai Yue'er's expression softened slightly, though her anger still simmered beneath the surface. "It had better be so!"
With that, she stormed off, leaving Elder Wu standing helplessly behind her, his face etched with resignation.
"Na'er, are you really not lying to me?" Ye Xinglan questioned, her tone sharp as she stared at the seemingly innocent girl before her.
After being ejected from the Dragon Valley Small World, she had woken up only to find that Jing Shaoyu hadn't returned with her. The realization had struck her like a bolt from the blue, plunging her into despair. She couldn't fathom a world without him.
From the moment she emerged until Wu Zhangkong found her, she had been in a dazed, lifeless state. If not for Black One assigning someone to watch over her, she might have truly lost control.
When she saw Gu Yue, Xu Xiaoyan, and the others, the emotions she had been suppressing finally erupted. She clung to Xu Xiaoyan and sobbed uncontrollably. Her tears triggered a chain reaction, and soon, the other girls—already weighed down by worry—joined in the crying.
"Enough! Stop crying!" Gu Yue snapped, her patience worn thin by the chorus of sobs.
The wailing ceased instantly. Ye Xinglan, Xu Xiaoyan, and Mo Hentian turned tearful eyes toward her, while Wu Siduo watched with red-rimmed eyes.
Gu Yue's voice was icy. "Nothing is confirmed yet. What's the point of all this crying? Are you hoping for something bad to happen to him?"
"N-No, of course not!" Xu Xiaoyan hastily waved her hands, sniffling. "I'm just so worried… Waaah! Brother Shaoyu…"
Her renewed sobs set off Mo Hentian again, though Ye Xinglan, having already cried her heart out, seemed slightly more composed.
"Ugh!" Gu Yue massaged her temples in exasperation. "That's not what I meant. Just… stop crying, alright?"
Deep down, she knew Jing Shaoyu would be fine. Though she couldn't explain why he hadn't left Dragon Valley immediately, she felt an odd sense of relief—at least this gave her time to figure out how to face him.
Perhaps he stayed in the Dragon Valley because he didn't know how to face her either, Gu Yue thought to herself.
Ye Xinglan wasn't aware of Gu Yue's thoughts. Now that she had calmed down, her intelligence returned, and she immediately noticed that Gu Yue and Na'er's emotions were too stable. This reminded her of what she had seen in the Dragon Tomb. She quickly walked up to Na'er and stared directly at her.
"Na'er, have you been with everyone all these days?" Ye Xinglan asked.
"Mhm!" Na'er nodded with a downcast expression.
"Duoduo, is that true?" Ye Xinglan seemed unconvinced and turned to Wu Siduo beside her for confirmation.
"Xinglan, why are you asking this? Could Na'er have something to do with Shaoyu's disappearance?" Wu Siduo asked curiously.
"I'm not sure if it's related to Shaoyu staying in the Dragon Valley Small World, but I'm certain that before I passed out, I saw Na'er in the Dragon Tomb!" Ye Xinglan said.
"How is that possible?" Xu Xiaoyan's voice trembled with a hint of skepticism. "Na'er has been with us all these days, even sleeping together. How could she have been in that damned Dragon Valley?"
"Yeah, yeah!" Mo Hentian nodded in agreement.
Gu Yue said solemnly, "Xinglan, are you sure you didn't mistake someone else for her? Or could it have been a hallucination?"
"I..." Seeing everyone so adamantly vouching for Na'er, Ye Xinglan began to waver. Her gaze at Na'er grew unfocused, and her memories seemed to blur, the line between consciousness and reality fading.
Noticing Ye Xinglan's confused expression, Gu Yue inwardly sighed in relief and pressed her advantage. "Xinglan, tell us everything that happened in the Dragon Valley. Let's analyze it together."
"Gu Yue is right," Cai Yue'er appeared at that moment, her tone grave.
On the seventh day of Jing Shaoyu's stay in the Dragon Valley Small World, atop the mountain where the original Dragon Valley entrance had been.
"Zang, I entrusted my disciple to you, and this is how you take care of him?" Leng Yaozhu pointed angrily at Zang Xin, who had just returned to Douluo Continent only to rush back to Star Luo, and shouted, "I'm telling you, if anything happens to A Yuan, I'll blow up your Tang Sect!"
"A Zhu, calm down, please calm down!" Zang Xin, the Emotion Douluo, forced a smile. "I guarantee Jing Shaoyu is in no mortal danger! All we need to do is find a way to reopen the Dragon Valley Small World, and he'll come back to you safe and sound!"
"How can you guarantee that?" Leng Yaozhu was far from calm. "I regret ever agreeing to let you take him into that damned small world!"
"Look at this." Zang Xin knew that if he didn't give Leng Yaozhu a satisfactory answer today, she was fully capable of bombing the Tang Sect. So he set aside secrecy and produced a golden token, handing it to her.
"What's this?" Leng Yaozhu snapped.
"This is our Tang Sect's Golden Soul Duel Token, of which there are only two," Zang Xin explained. "This one belongs to Yun Ming—I specifically borrowed it from him before coming to Star Luo. The other is with Jing Shaoyu. These two Golden Soul Duel Tokens were forged using the Tang Sect's most advanced technology and have a mutual positioning function."
"Mm?" Leng Yaozhu immediately snatched the golden token and began fiddling with it.
"Channel a stream of Soul Power into it," Zang Xin advised, watching her haphazardly manipulate the token.
Leng Yaozhu did so, and instantly, the Golden Soul Duel Token emitted a glow before projecting a light screen. On it, two distinct red dots appeared before them. "These two red dots represent the holders of the Soul Duel Tokens. Look, this one is Jing Shaoyu—the red dot indicates he's in good condition, and the dotted line between the points shows the distance."
Seeing how close the two dots were, Leng Yaozhu frowned. "So, A Yuan is very near us right now?"
"Extremely close!" Zang Xin affirmed. "Open the Small World, and he can come out."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Leng Yaozhu demanded impatiently.
Zang Xin gave a bitter laugh. "If it were possible, of course I'd want to open the Dragon Valley entrance immediately and bring Jing Shaoyu out. But according to our Tang Sect technicians' analysis and reports from returning fighters, the Small World entrance here is already in a state of collapse. If we forcibly open Dragon Valley from here now, the entire Dragon Valley Small World might collapse! If that happens, Jing Shaoyu may never return."
Leng Yaozhu's expression darkened instantly. She stepped forward, grabbing Zang Xin by the collar and snarling, "Didn't you promise A Yuan's safety? What's this about the Small World collapsing?"
"Precisely to protect Jing Shaoyu that we haven't recklessly reopened the old Dragon Valley entrance here!" Zang Xin spread his arms, submitting to her grip, and explained, "We're currently searching for a new spatial node to serve as Dragon Valley's new entrance. Once we find it, everything will be resolved."
"How long?" Leng Yaozhu released his collar, her voice icy.
"At least a year. At most... uncertain," Zang Xin replied. "Dragon Valley Small World is unstable now. Node anchoring requires stable spatial conditions, so we must wait."
"Fine. I'll wait one year. If you don't have definite news by then... well." Leng Yaozhu gave a cold laugh, stepped back, and soared away.
Watching her leave, Zang Xin rubbed his temples helplessly. He didn't even dare think about demanding the Golden Soul Duel Token she'd taken. Facing an enraged woman—he truly didn't want to provoke her further!