Feng Mu and Yuan Xidi left, and the atmosphere over breakfast seemed to have frozen slightly.

Zhao Zhixin's facial muscles twitched, and he didn't come back to his senses for a long time. He couldn't tell if the junior brother actually listened to what he said.

The junior brother couldn't just be like those righteous people, pretending to praise but actually being sarcastic, could he?

Hmm, probably not. Zhao Zhixin was very sure the junior brother's nature is dark.

So, the junior brother was sincerely praising and admiring. He did listen, but perhaps it had the opposite effect?!!

Zhao Zhixin sighed and looked at Li Guishen for help, complaining slightly: "Master, can't you persuade the junior brother? He might spoil the atmosphere of our [Ronggui Sect]."

Li Guishen's toes, which were clawing at the ground, stiffened, and the calculations became chaotic and needed to be redone.

He gave Zhao Zhixin a glare of irritation and then glanced at everyone, saying in a deep voice: "Back then, when I taught you all the [Blood and Flesh Initial Solution], I did teach you the true essence of the evil path—anything goes, unconstrained, and seizing joy in the moment."

Li Guishen sighed: "That was because your innate talents and comprehension were insufficient, making it truly difficult to cultivate the [Blood and Flesh Initial Solution] to Great Success Perfection."

He took a draw from his pipe: "Since hope is slim, why not indulge recklessly in the finite, countdown life, doing whatever you wish, so as not to waste this evil skill, and not to come to this world for nothing."

Li Guishen slowly exhaled ring after ring of smoke, his face appearing older and more profound in the mist:

"The leader is different, he hasn't cultivated our sect's evil skill, so he is safe from any life expectancy issues."

"The rest of you, hmm, including myself, constantly have a fast-draining hourglass hanging over our heads. Even if we fill it with all our might, in the end, it just flows faster and ends in futility."

Li Guishen could educate all [Ronggui Sect] disciples outstandingly, clearly understanding the principle of teaching according to personality. His spoken truth might be harsh, but it undoubtedly cuts deep into the heart.

"Unlike your junior brother, he is highly compatible with the [Blood and Flesh Initial Solution], a once-in-several-centuries evil genius of our sect, truly with potential to cultivate this technique to Great Success Perfection."

Li Guishen lightly tapped the ash from his pipe, looked up, gazing at the magnificent enormity of Upper City's sky as if reminiscing about the past, a touch of nostalgia on his face, voice deep and wistful:

"We are like meteors streaking through the sky, desiring to burst forth with the most dazzling brilliance in the fleeting trajectory of life, pursuing that moment of glory and splendor."

"But he, the eighth one, he is different. He does not wish to be merely a fleeting meteor, he wants to become an eternal Sun crossing the firmament."

Zhao Zhixin and the others' faces changed slightly, yet such fluctuations lasted only a moment. Shortly after, they began joking with each other, and the atmosphere became relaxed.

"See, didn't I tell you not to ask Master? Yet you insisted, and now look at the result? Our reputation is broken into pieces, irreparably."

"Haha—, I already told you, the master's teachings before were just well-intentioned lies, and you believed them. Look, now the truth is revealed?"

"I think Master wasn't wrong, I still feel that being a meteor isn't bad, though it's brief, it's brilliant. Instead being the Sun, always in the sky, is too exhausting."

The senior and junior brothers and sisters bantered and joked with each other, though none of them had ever witnessed firsthand the Sun's glory or a meteor's flight; their understanding of these celestial bodies was limited to the yellowed ancient words and the sparse banned video fragments circulating online.

Zhao Zhixin glanced at the meaningful eyes of his master, and his heart inexplicably shivered.

He took a deep breath, touched his head, and said, "Then let's all be good meteors, lighting up the path for the Sun before it ascends into the sky."

All the brothers and sisters stopped laughing, glanced at each other, silently nodded, made up their minds, and then got up and dispersed.

After everyone left, Hong Ya slowly put down the bowls and chopsticks, and said to Master Li Guishen with a face full of hope: "Master, when will our Douqiong Martial Arts Hall open in Upper City?"

Li Guishen looked at Hong Ya with meaningful eyes and surprisingly said: "You always thought Upper City's sky was too ugly, and felt it was good for us to stay in Zone 9?"

Hong Ya nodded and then shook her head, saying: "Zone 9 is nice, but I also want to go up and see what the stars look like?"

Li Guishen wasn't in a hurry to answer. He slowly took out some tobacco from his pocket, crumbled it into his pipe, then took a deep draw, smiling without saying a word.

Seeing the master's lack of response, Hong Ya pouted, hummed, took out her phone, deleted a playlist from her collection while walking toward her boudoir.

In truth, Hong Ya hadn't told the master the whole truth; she didn't just want to go to Upper City to see stars; she also wanted to see the moon.

Hong Ya had once traded with a scavenger from the Relic Area for a yellowed ancient book, with its cover and title damaged, only barely discernible that it was published in the last era.

This novel's story is also incomplete, with missing words and pages, and Hong Ya pressed it at the bottom of her chest after reading it once.

But there was a sentence in it that left a deep impression on her.

——The moon is also a star, but it is the star closest to the sun!

Yes, Hong Ya not only wanted to be a star, she wanted to be the moon too. It wasn't about love, it was just that after being a little junior sister for a long time, a little junior brother younger than her finally came, and she wanted to experience the authority of being a senior sister.

The little junior brother wanted to be the sun, so at the very least, Hong Ya had to be the moon, or else, wouldn't her dignity as a senior sister be lost?

The dignity of a senior sister came partly from seniority, and partly from strength, both indispensable. Although Hong Ya hadn't been a senior sister for long, she had already deeply understood its hardships.

Most importantly, if everyone became a fleeting meteor, leaving the little junior brother alone to be the sun, wouldn't that be pitiful?

At this moment, Hong Ya made a decision in her heart. She took a deep breath and first went back inside and punched through the laptop on the desk.

With a crackling sound, Hong Ya's face suddenly changed: "Oh no, this determination was too strong, to the point that I forgot this laptop was borrowed from senior brother!!!"

After dinner, the table was empty, with only Li Guishen and Li Bashan sitting opposite each other. The atmosphere around was somewhat silent.

Li Guishen was still smoking, while Li Bashan had not said a single word from the beginning, continuously eating without looking up.

The speed at which he ate today was particularly slow, and only now did he slowly finish the last grain of rice.

Li Bashan slowly put down the rice bucket, looking at Li Guishen with an unusually serious and solemn expression, speaking in a muffled voice: "Master, you shouldn't have said those words earlier."

Li Guishen squinted slightly: "Are you blaming your master?"

Li Bashan's expression did not change. He pondered for a long time before speaking bluntly: "I am the master's disciple, so I won't blame the master, but I am also the senior brother to the junior brothers and sisters, so I am quite puzzled, what is Master trying to do?"

Li Guishen avoided the intense gaze of his eldest disciple. This disciple he had painstakingly cultivated seemed dull and couldn't think through too many twists, but his intuition was frighteningly keen.

This was what Li Guishen most admired and praised in the past days.

However, at this moment, this keen intuition made Li Guishen feel a bit of a headache, because it meant that this carefully nurtured eldest disciple had already started to doubt him, and whatever he did, it would be hard to hide from this unreasonable intuition.

He responded evasively: "Do you still remember when the plaque unexpectedly fell and cracked on the ground the day the eighth junior joined?"

Li Bashan nodded, recalling: "Of course I remember, the plaque had a secret manual hidden inside."

Li Guishen gently put down the smoking pipe and, with a sigh, said:

"It was that secret manual, named [Deceitful Demon Skill]. Recently, I, as your master, have been studying it and found that this cultivation technique is not only profound and extensive, its depth and sinister nature are beyond my imagination, truly terrifying."

Li Bashan was puzzled: "Disciple doesn't understand."

Li Guishen's brow furrowed slightly, his usually somewhat comical monkey face now showing a hint of grimness, his voice carrying a trace of eeriness:

"After careful consideration, I suddenly realized that what the ancestors sent was not only an unexpected surprise but also a huge trouble. I am also undecided in my heart and don't know what to do."

Li Bashan still couldn't fully comprehend the deeper meaning in the master's words, but he responded according to his intuition: "I don't recognize the ancestors, I only recognize the master and fellow junior siblings."

Li Bashan paused, speaking in a muffled voice: "If the ancestors sent gifts that the master likes, accept them. If they sent trouble, I shall go and dig up the ancestors' graves for master."

Li Guishen's pupils contracted slightly, seemingly tempted, but finally, he let out a long sigh: "Bashan, you don't understand, if it were just digging up a grave to solve it, I wouldn't be so troubled."

Li Bashan remained silent.

Li Guishen slowly stood up, tightly gripping the smoking pipe, as he walked inside, speaking softly:

"In any case, Bashan, you should take good care of your little junior brother, as I have to make a big move as your master."

"Yes, Master!" Li Bashan obeyed, but his intuition was not feeling well, akin to having socks blocking his nose while asleep, making his breathing faintly uneasy.

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