Watching the footage of Ling Zhao being killed, Grant couldn't accept the brutal reality. The one he had cherished and protected was now murdered right before his eyes.
Even Leander, heir to a great family and someone who had seen countless horrifying scenes, found this one hard to stomach. He turned his head to look at Han Ling standing beside him, only to find the man calmly and steadily watching the playback. A question rose in Leander's mind—was Han Ling truly unbothered by this?
In truth, Leander had secretly investigated his boyfriend. Apart from being the only child of the Han family, the original Han Ling had been a neglected figure, overlooked by both his father and stepmother. This led to his withdrawn nature and years of being cooped up at home.
Could someone who barely stepped outside, who may have rarely seen the sun, truly have self-studied and become a Celestial Master?
Leander doubted it.
But months of observation had shown him a different Han Ling: someone who confidently attended social events and never acted timid or withdrawn. This was in complete contrast to the records.
Though suspicion crept in—that perhaps Han Ling's soul had been replaced—he found himself attracted to and enamored with this version of Han Ling. And since the current Han Ling never brought up the past, Leander chose not to question it either.
As for Han Ling, who was being watched with curiosity, his mind remained still and unmoved. He had seen too many such scenes in the Immortal Realm. There were no laws there; killing was rampant as long as one could afford the cost.
Many had indeed perished after failing to bear the karmic backlash for their misdeeds. But even knowing the consequences, people still chose to kill.
Ling Zhao's death was not unusual. What was unusual was someone trying to steal his destiny—his Tiande Ziwei fate—to enhance their own cultivation. Han Ling observed the footage closely and caught some subtle details.
When Chen Qiyue crouched to remove the ring from Ling Zhao's finger and handed it to a 'transparent' Celestial Master, Han Ling could clearly see the scene: under dim lighting, a lifeless body lay motionless. Then, a wisp of soul like pale mist slowly rose from Ling Zhao's chest, silent and blurry, yet unmistakably his.
The soul remained asleep, with no signs of resistance or awakening. It had clearly been extracted by that Celestial Master.
To the right of the projection, a figure almost fused with space itself. Nearly invisible, the Celestial Master only began to take faint form when Ling Zhao's soul appeared. Cloaked in a robe enchanted with invisibility, his features were blurred and his spiritual aura muted and silent. He stood unmoving.
The transparent master looked down briefly but didn't take the ring. Instead, he raised his right hand, palm up, fingers spread slightly. Spiritual energy began to swirl within him as an invisible force extended like threads toward Ling Zhao's unawakened soul.
The soul stirred slightly, as if drawn by an unseen pull. The Celestial Master said nothing, his aura stable, though his eyes held a near-greedy depth. He used no artifact nor spell—he relied solely on his spiritual energy to make contact, seemingly intending to devour the soul.
But just as the spiritual power was about to envelop the soul, something unexpected occurred.
Ling Zhao's soul trembled. A nearly imperceptible counterflow surged from within him. The Celestial Master's power, upon touching the soul, was drawn in like falling into an abyss.
What was meant to be absorption flipped—Ling Zhao's soul was now absorbing the master.
The master's fingers clenched abruptly as he sensed something wrong. He tried to sever the connection, but it was too late. Deep within the dormant soul lay a quiet but powerful force that continued to consume his energy like light swallowed by a black hole.
A silver glow began to radiate from Ling Zhao's soul—from between his brows, spreading to his chest, arms, and entire body like a starry river awakening.
Then, the entire soul burst into a dazzling light.
Silver, blue, white, and gold intertwined into a silent explosion of brilliance, like a starfall shower. The soul turned into thousands of shimmering feathers and vanished, as if it had never existed.
The screen froze in silence.
The Celestial Master stood still, stunned, unable to comprehend what had just happened. His spiritual flow had been interrupted. His right hand trembled slightly, still half-open.
After a long pause, he finally lowered his head and took the ring from Chen Qiyue.
His movements were slow. He formed a few silent hand seals, each one precise, perfectly mimicking spiritual fluctuations. But to Han Ling, the performance was too perfect—too rehearsed. And he noticed the seals weren't even imbued with spiritual energy.
After two half-hearted gestures, the Celestial Master tossed the ring back to Chen Qiyue without hesitation or sentiment, then left Ling Zhao's residence. Only Ling Ning and Chen Qiyue remained inside.
Chen Qiyue caught the ring with both hands, cradling it like it was his heart. His eyes were filled with joy and obsession. He whispered:
"Now... we'll never be apart again..."
His words were soft but certain, as if this was his only salvation.
Beside him, Ling Ning's face changed completely.
She had seen everything, yet couldn't understand what truly happened. All she saw was Chen Qiyue still desperately clinging to Ling Zhao, crying with joy, whispering to a ring that no longer held a soul.
Her breathing became rapid, chest heaving, her gaze losing composure.
She was jealous.
That person was dead. They had destroyed him with their own hands. So why couldn't Chen Qiyue let go?
Her lips trembled with barely suppressed rage, her features contorting.
The image froze: a madman, a hollow ring, a manipulated scene—and Ling Zhao, now gone, but no longer a powerless soul.
Han Ling's gaze was sharp as a blade, locked onto the retreating figure of the transparent Celestial Master.
Han Ling explained what he saw to Leander and Grant. As expected, the two hadn't seen Ling Zhao's soul and were unaware of the soul extraction.
"So you're saying the ring Chen Qiyue wears doesn't contain Ling Zhao's soul?" Leander confirmed again.
"Then where is his soul?" Grant asked, anxious to recover Ling Zhao.
This was what puzzled Han Ling. The divination showed Ling Zhao's soul was stable, indicating he was in a safe place. But they couldn't locate him. A prior suspicion resurfaced...
He thought he might need to...
"Let's review the footage again, see if we missed any clues," Han Ling said, urging the three to focus.
Frame by frame, the projection advanced. Light flickered. Ling Zhao's faint soul shimmered mid-air. The invisible Celestial Master's outline remained barely discernible. Han Ling frowned, fast-forwarding with one hand while holding his forehead with the other.
"...Something's still off," he muttered. "He meant to absorb Ling Zhao's soul, but ended up losing his power instead. Look here."
He pointed at the screen where the soul light flickered, reversing the pull. A faint wisp of spiritual energy flowed back from the master to Ling Zhao.
Moments later, the soul flared like shattered stars returning to the sky.
But Han Ling forgot—Leander and Grant couldn't see Ling Zhao's soul.
"Baby, we can't see it..." Leander gently reminded.
"..." Han Ling, used to assuming everyone could see what he saw, flushed with embarrassment.
"The soul... didn't get absorbed. It avoided capture on its own," Han Ling explained, still blushing. "Though he was asleep, some mechanism inside him protected him."
Grant remained silent, arms folded on the sofa, a flicker of distraction in his eyes.
"Wait," Han Ling suddenly said, zooming in on a corner of the screen.
"Look here." He pointed to a low wooden tea table on the left side of the image, where a white-purple vase once sat.
"What is it?" Leander leaned closer. "...Lisianthus?"
"Mm," Han Ling nodded softly. "I noticed it in the first video. It was a regular vase Ling Zhao kept at home. The flowers were in full bloom then."
He rewound to a few days prior—the footage of Grant first entering the empty house. Grant opened the door, glanced around, and briefly looked at the white and purple lisianthus.
Now, the flowers were gone. Clearly, Grant had taken them.
Han Ling suddenly thought of the lisianthus brooch he asked Grant to buy for him at the charity auction... Could it be related to Ling Zhao too?
"I remember you said you dreamed of Ling Zhao lying in a bed of flowers, right?" Han Ling asked.
Grant frowned. "...Yeah, I just thought..."
"When you left the house, did you touch that vase of flowers?" Leander interjected, sensing Han Ling's train of thought.
Grant didn't answer immediately. His gaze drifted from the projection to his interlaced fingers.
"...I just thought the flowers were strange," he mumbled. "It felt like... they were watching me."
"You brought them back with you," Han Ling said calmly, not accusing—just confirming.
"I don't even know why," Grant finally admitted, his voice hoarse. "I just didn't want to leave them there."
The room fell silent as the footage continued to play. The glow from the soul's explosion had faded in the empty living room.
"Do you still have the flowers?" Leander asked.
Grant nodded hesitantly. "They're by my bedroom window... I tried putting them in the living room, but I got this overwhelming sense of unease, so I moved them."
Han Ling and Leander exchanged a glance. The same thought crossed their minds.
"Let's head to your place," Han Ling said softly. "I think... Ling Zhao might be there."
"Send the footage of Ling Zhao's murder to Hang Zhongxuan and his team," Han Ling added. "It's time they took action."
"Roger that, my dear lord!" Leander replied playfully. Han Ling ignored him. Not in front of the others!
Alright, maybe it was because neither of them had ever been in a relationship before, but Han Ling really couldn't handle Leander being so blunt...
...
On the other side, Hang Zhongxuan immediately convened a meeting after receiving the footage from Leander. Following Han Ling's warning, they all activated their spiritual vision.
"These two really killed him without hesitation..." Jiang Mingyao muttered, brows furrowed.
"Forget the Celestial Master for now. Let's split up and capture Chen Qiyue and Ling Ning."
"I'll team up with Cen Wenyu to go after Chen Qiyue," Hang Zhongxuan said decisively.
"You!" he pointed at Jiang Mingyao, who immediately knew the director was using this as a convenient excuse for a date.
"Deputy Director Lan Qihan, take Gu Xingxi and Jiang Mingyao with you."
"Begin the operation!"
"Damn it! I knew that sly fox had something up his sleeve—he just wanted an excuse to team up with his lover!" Jiang Mingyao finally exploded.
"Cen Wenyu can investigate. We have Gu Xingxi in our group. Want to go over there and be a third wheel? You're welcome," Lan Qihan said flatly, while Gu Xingxi hid her blushing face behind her hair.
Lan Qihan continued to stare at Gu Xingxi, who lowered her head even more in embarrassment.
Meanwhile, Jiang Mingyao remained clueless that his teammates had started a new romance.
When would Jiang Mingyao stop being the third wheel?
...
Back with Han Ling, a different thought was occupying his mind: Could there still be descendants of that long-lost bloodline alive in this era?
Was Ling Zhao really what he suspected...?
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