Big Brother's in trouble!
Staring at the contradictory messages from your eldest brother, your scalp went numb. You instantly realized that Sun Shou must have already fallen into danger.
You knew your eldest brother's character like the back of your hand. He was the domineering, no-nonsense type—never one for jokes, let alone cruel pranks like this.
「What's more, Big Brother never calls me 'Second Brother.' He's always called me 'Ah Qian.'」
You were certain beyond a shadow of a doubt: the person messaging you now was not your real brother. It was the true mastermind pulling the strings behind the scenes!
But clearly, the enemy had no idea about the Sun Family's secure communication protocols—that every message vanished forever after being read. They couldn't confirm what your brother had told you earlier.
So they were trying to trick you into returning to the Imperial Capital by impersonating him?
Did they really take you for some naive, inexperienced kid?
Sensing your silence, the sender fired off another message—this time dropping all pretense, their threats dripping with malice.「Kid, come back to the Imperial Capital obediently. Otherwise, every last member of the Sun Family will die…」
「Idiot!」
Crack!
Without a moment's hesitation, you shot back a single word, then crushed the Bloodline Communicator in your palm. You incinerated the shards with talisman fire, severing any chance of being tracked.
You weren't a fool. With the Sun Family in ruins, returning would be walking straight into a death trap. Staying alive out here was the only way you'd ever get your revenge.
「The Sun Family in the Imperial Capital is finished. Big Brother is presumably dead. Did the mastermind within the Qianyuan Imperial Family make his move? No—I can't stay in Magic City any longer!」
「All previous plans are canceled, put on hold indefinitely. My top priority now is to get out of Magic City.」
Originally, you'd planned to stay in Magic City and execute the strategy of pitting the tiger against the wolf. You'd intended to lure Liu Yue—the mysterious Heavenly Realm powerhouse—and her backers into the fray, then rally every available ally to strike back at the mastermind's forces in Magic City, dealing them a painful blow.
You'd also hoped to seize the complete Nine Steps to the Heavens and plunder more cultivation resources to prepare for what came next.
But now, fleeing was the only sensible option. Even though you were in the simulator and had no fear of death, you wanted your life to mean something.
More importantly, you were desperate to find out who the mysterious protector your brother had mentioned was—the one who would keep you safe if you headed south to the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.
「The situation is getting more and more complicated by the minute. Some want to kill me, some want to protect me, and others want neither—they just want what I'm hiding.」
Sun Qian's eyes remained calm as he watched the power dynamics shift in the simulator, gaining a clear grasp of his precarious position.
The mastermind hidden within the Qianyuan Imperial Family, along with his lackeys like the Gu Family, oozed malice toward him. They wanted him dead so they could seize his Supreme Emperor Bone.
The Qianyuan Sun Family, and some other hidden forces, wanted to protect him. In fact, the only reason he'd survived this long was because these guardians had been watching over him silently from the shadows.
Then there was Liu Yue—the mysterious Heavenly Realm powerhouse representing the third faction: the neutrals, the fence-sitters. She wanted something from him, playing her little game of 「taking the seed and discarding the father」…
The three forces intertwined, checking and balancing each other—that was why he'd lived to see another day.
But now… had that delicate balance been shattered? Was everything collapsing?
「The Qianyuan Empire has a strict hierarchical system, divided into nine ranks from top to bottom. The Sun Family and the Gu Family belong to the second rank among the top three—Heavenly Realm clans, with several Heavenly Realm powerhouses in their ranks.」
「But above the Sun Family stands the first rank: the Qianyuan Imperial Family. They have true Earth Immortals in their midst.」
「I should've realized earlier. The Qianyuan Sun Family is powerful enough to go head-to-head with fellow second-rank clans like the Gu Family, but they were never a match for the Qianyuan Imperial Family…」
「There must be another, even stronger force propping them up from behind, shielding me from harm.」
「But now… has that protector fallen into trouble?」
Sun Qian lowered his eyes slightly, his gaze drifting to Liu Yue, who lay on the carpet covered by a blanket, seemingly fast asleep.
She must have dismissed him as harmless, because she was sleeping soundly—even snoring a little.
This mysterious Heavenly Realm powerhouse, a member of the neutral faction, clearly knew far more than she let on. She might even know the full truth behind everything that was happening.
Perhaps he could get some answers out of her.
But it was far too risky.
And she would never tell him anything voluntarily.
One wrong move could set off a chain reaction that would unravel everything.
More importantly, he simply didn't have the strength to negotiate with her right now.
If only his real-world self had Heavenly Realm power, he could just capture Liu Yue, torture her, and force her to spill all her secrets…
Sensing his intense, unspoken malice, Liu Yue suddenly shuddered in her sleep, as if chilled to the bone. She cracked open her eyes in confusion, glancing over at Sun Qian…
But by then, he'd already averted his gaze, wearing an expression of perfect indifference, as if he'd never been looking at her at all.
After a long moment, unable to figure out what had disturbed her—or perhaps simply overcome by sleepiness—Liu Yue yawned, rolled over onto her side, and drifted back into slumber.
「Of the three factions, the neutral side represented by Liu Yue is the weakest. They dare not provoke the mastermind's forces that want me dead, nor do they dare offend the mysterious power protecting me. They wouldn't dare use force against me lightly.」
「But then the question arises: is a mere scion of the Sun Family really worth all this infighting between the great powers?」
Sun Qian's gaze fell on his own body, on the Supreme Emperor Bone hidden beneath his skin. He already had a vague inkling of the answer.
There was no time to waste. You used the Shadow Devil Art to transform back into the sallow-faced Han Li, then slipped out of Qi Wei's villa. You headed straight for the abandoned warehouse hidden near Magic City University—the place where Sun Zhong had hidden Su Mei.
Fortunately, the journey was uneventful. Before long, you reached the warehouse and found the little girl huddled inside, her eyes milky white.
When you spotted her, Su Mei was struggling to open a bag of snacks, munching away quietly.
「Su Mei, I'm a friend of your brother Su Meng's. I've come to take you away…」 You began to explain, ready to spin a plausible lie.
But she cut you off before you could finish, her voice eerily calm.「Is my brother dead?」
Her lack of grief, her utter composure, caught you completely off guard.
「Brother told me that if anyone ever came to take me away suddenly, I should go with them. Because that would mean he was probably dead already…」
Su Mei turned her milky-white eyes toward you, her voice steady as she spoke.「I may be blind, but I can sense my brother's aura on you. And I can tell you mean me no harm. I'll go with you.」