Chapter 322: Chapter 322: Checkmate.

Fen Ziyan’s brows slowly furrowed.

’… What is this place?’

She lifted her gaze and for a brief moment, her breath caught.

… Above her stretched a night sky unlike any she had ever seen.

Countless stars shimmered in the endless darkness, scattered like fragments of light across the heavens.

…It was beautiful, serene, and almost unreal.

’…Is this a dream?’

The thought surfaced naturally, as if the scene itself was too difficult to believe was real.

With a quiet exhale, she began to walk forward.

Each step sent gentle ripples across the black ocean beneath her feet, the surface bending softly before returning to stillness.

The world remained silent and peaceful and even almost… strangely comforting.

For a rare moment, Fen Ziyan’s usually sharp expression softened.

Her steps grew lighter, almost playful, and she even hummed faintly under her breath as she moved through the endless expanse of darkness and starlight.

But then her eyes brightened.

In the distance, she spotte… a figure, someone who appeared to be kneeling.

’…Hmm?’

Her pace slowed slightly as she focused, curiosity replacing her earlier calm.

From afar, she could make out long white hair cascading down his shoulders, flowing like silk and spilling into the black water below.

The strands partially obscured his face, leaving his expression hidden as his head remained lowered.

But even with his face hidden, even from such a distance…

There was something about him…

…Something familiar.

Fen Ziyan blinked curiously at this feeling and walked forward.

When she arrived up close, she finally realized how massive the figure was.

Even kneeling, his presence towered over her.

She had to lift her gaze just to take him in and even then, she felt as though her head would barely reach his waist if he were to stand.

Slowly, her eyes traced over his form.

Cracks of silvery light ran across his body like fractured glass, woven with strands of starlight.

And tiny, star-like veins pulsed within those cracks, faintly illuminating the darkness around him.

There was something… majestic about him.

Something ancient.

Something far beyond her understanding.

And yet… he was kneeling.

Almost as if he were trapped… and helpless.

Fen Ziyan couldn’t help but feel a faint sense of awe as she looked at the figure.

She couldn’t understand why someone so majestic would appear here in such a state.

Curiously, she reached out to touch him.

’…Um… hello?’

But her hand passed straight through him.

Just as she was wondering what kind of strange dream this was—

The black ocean beneath her feet began to stir, as if something was approaching.

’W-What…?’

Fen Ziyan panicked, even though she believed it was just a dream.

The sudden change felt too real.

Then, as if guided by instinct… she slowly turned her head.

And what she saw made her breath stop.

There….

A massive black wave loomed in the distance, rising higher than the heavens themselves.

It surged into the sky, blotting out the stars above as though it sought to devour them whole.

It wasn’t just large,… it felt as though the heavens themselves were collapsing.

“…!”

Fen Ziyan’s pupils shrank as the towering wave began to fall, its overwhelming force crashing down toward her.

Or rather…

…Toward the kneeling figure beside her.

_

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Inside the Azure Moon Sect,

At Li Feng’s small residence…

“Ahh!”

Fen Ziyan suddenly cried out, waking from her meditation as she took a deep breath.

“…A dream?” she murmured, pressing a hand to her forehead as she was filled with questions about that strange dream.

It had been a week since Li Feng entered the secret realm, and she had been training both her body and mind on her own during these past few days.

“…”

Fen Ziyan glanced around the empty room with her crimson eyes before her expression softened as a faint trace of loneliness appeared.

She slowly pulled over the blanket where Li Feng usually slept, hugging it tightly as she curled up like a child left behind by her parent.

“…Li Feng.”

Her heart felt strangely empty, as the only person who wouldn’t abandon her was now gone.

But then she gritted her teeth and shook her head.

“No! I cannot be like this!”

Determination filled her eyes as she clenched her fists and decided to return to the training ground again.

It wasn’t just to become stronger… as she wanted to win their spar against Li Feng when he returned.

…And training also helped distract her from the loneliness, even if only a little.

Then, she tried to think of it more positively.

“It’s been a week… he should be back soon…”

Fen Ziyan murmured as she have already checked the records of past expeditions to the secret realm.

Most of them returned within a week or so.

To her, it had only been a week, but for Li Feng and the others, it would probably have been a month or more, as time flowed differently.

She stood up from the bed and stretched her graceful body.

“Uhh~”

As she looked down at her ample breasts, Fen Ziyan couldn’t help… but feel as though an imaginary hand belonging to a certain shameless junior was already reaching out to shamelessly grasp and play with them so early in the morning.

She let out a small, wryly smile and headed toward the door.

But the moment she opened the door, Fen Ziyan froze.

Because standing right outside were Mu Qingyao and her usual entourage, all of them staring at her with cold sneers.

All the nearby male disciples who caught sight of the scene from afar couldn’t help but wonder what a group of beautiful female disciples were doing out so early in the morning.

And Fen Ziyan frowned, wondering what these bitches were up to so early in the morning.

Then, the memory of the recording stone she had watched together with Li Feng flashed in her mind.

A mocking smile couldn’t help but slowly spread across her face.

She sneered at these women who had moaned and begged Li Feng for mercy while lying underneath him.

With her chest puffed out and a proud expression on her face, Fen Ziyan walked straight toward them, passing through the group as if they were nothing but lowly commoners.

Just then, Mu Qingyao’s voice rang out.

“Wait, Fen Ziyan.”

Fen Ziyan paused mid-step and turned around to look at the graceful woman who had opposed her since they were young.

Right now, Mu Qingyao’s expression looked exactly like hers at the moment… as though she had also seen Fen Ziyan’s most degrading and shameless side.

’Hmph! This fallen princess is nothing but a slut underneath a man, yet she still acts so high and mighty.’

’Hmph! That bitch’s face actually looks so good when she’s moaning like a helpless slut under Li Feng.’

The two proud women, both from noble backgrounds, continued smiling arrogantly while looking down on each other.

….Yet both had been underneath the same man , even if one had been willing and the other transactional.

“What do you want ?” Fen Ziyan asked, breaking the strange silence with a sneer as she stared coldly at Mu Qingyao.

Mu Qingyao didn’t seem bothered by the harsh tone as she simply smiled back gently.

“Oh, it’s nothing… I just wanted to check on your face once in a while to make sure it hasn’t rotten.”

Fen Ziyan sneered at her words.

This woman definitely came here just to recall those scenes from the recording stone while looking at her face.

“Is that so? Then I won’t thank you for your pointless concern. As you can see, I remain beautiful and graceful as always.”

With a cold snort, Fen Ziyan flicked her silky hair and turned her back, beginning to walk away.

She had already planned to head to the training grounds to continue tempering her body.

But Mu Qingyao’s voice echoed from behind her once more.

“Wait. Where do you think you’re going?”

Fen Ziyan ignored her and kept walking, refusing to entertain those bitches any further.

However, Mu Qingyao’s next words made her pause.

“Ahh… I wanted to give you a letter from Concubine Zi, but it seems the daughter doesn’t wish to see it.”

Mu Qingyao let out a soft sigh as she held up a sealed envelope.

“I even go out of my way to deliver so earl—”

But then—

In a blur of motion, Fen Ziyan snatched the envelope from her hand and immediately retreated back into Li Feng’s residence.

Bang!

The door slammed shut with a loud thud.

Seeing this, Mu Qingyao’s subordinates become angry.

“Hmph ! She still acts all high and mighty even though she’s no longer a princess.”

“Yes ! She really needs to learn her place !”

But Mu Qingyao just raised her hand, silencing them.

“I have delivered the letter. Let’s head back.”

The other women blinked in confusion, wondering if they had really gathered in such a large group just to deliver a single letter.

Seeing their puzzled looks, Mu Qingyao just smiled faintly and began walking back.

One of her subordinates, a graceful woman with a rather nice hips who happened to be one of Li Feng’s favorites among the group, walked beside Mu Qingyao.

She asked curiously,

“What’s in that letter, Young Miss?”

“Oh? I don’t know either,” Mu Qingyao replied.

Her answer seemed to surprise the subordinate, but then Mu Qingyao gave her a meaningful smile.

“…But my uncle told me it will be great news for us.”

_

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Inside Li Feng’s residence,

Fen Ziyan carefully opened the envelope, her eyes tracing over the familiar, elegant handwriting.

And as she read… her expression slowly changed.

When she finished, her grip tightened around the paper.

“…Mother.”

She murmured softly, her voice laced with worry.

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