"What did you say?"
Chen Fan stood up abruptly, his face grim. "What exactly happened?"
"Alas."
Chen Qi sighed. "It is the disciple's fault for not protecting Rouqiu well, which led to its slumber."
"Speak plainly."
This was the first time Chen Fan had rebuked his disciple.
He wanted to know what had transpired.
Sensing his master's anger, Chen Qi dared not dally and quickly said, "Things began ten thousand years ago..."
"Wait."
Chen Fan interrupted his disciple. "How long has it been since I last left?"
"Master doesn't know?"
"...Master was in slumber."
He could only explain it that way. How else could he say he was from the future?
Even if Chen Qi believed him, he couldn't reveal it.
Hearing his master's explanation, Chen Qi didn't think much of it and continued, "After Master left, I focused on developing the Land of Order, aiming to create a utopia free from conflict."
"At first, everything developed in a good direction. The Land of Order grew larger, and Chaos became more peaceful."
"Even if there were dissenting voices, they were minor skirmishes that didn't stir up much trouble."
"But..."
At this point, Chen Qi's voice became even more self-reproachful. "This disciple mistakenly trusted the complexity of human hearts. Be it humans or beasts, long periods of orderly life made many people dissatisfied."
"The greater the power, the more magnified the desires in their hearts."
"Ten thousand years ago, the ninety-nine domain lords who believed in order united and rebelled..."
Chen Fan remained silent, merely listening.
"They were all people I trusted the most. Why?"
His voice carried a hint of tears. Being betrayed by those he trusted most, and all of them at that.
It was imaginable how much pressure Chen Qi had endured at the time.
"And then?"
Chen Fan finally spoke. "Was there no one loyal to you?"
"There was."
Chen Qi answered this with utmost certainty. "But what of it? Those people were too weak and couldn't help me at all. In the end... a war swept through the Land of Order, and ninety-nine powerful beings surrounded and attacked me and Rouqiu."
"The battle lasted for nearly ten thousand years, and in the end... I was defeated."
"At the last moment, Rouqiu, at the cost of its own slumber, helped me escape the desperate situation and come here."
"The enemy pursued us, and the small tree Master planted back then erupted, setting up an astonishing formation that protected my life, while Rouqiu... could only fall into slumber, and I don't know when it will awaken."
"..."
His disciple had finished his account, yet Chen Fan remained silent for a long time.
His gaze fell upon the small tree beside him.
Then, he stood up and touched the small tree again.
This time, a familiar aura spread through the tree.
"Rouqiu."
The familiar fluctuation of energy brought a smile to Chen Fan's face.
Rouqiu was still alive.
The reason this small tree had withered was that all its strength was being used to nurture Rouqiu.
"Chirp chirp."
Rouqiu sent out a mental fluctuation, seemingly expressing its joy.
There was also a trace of sadness... sadness because it couldn't come out to play with its master.
"There, there."
Chen Fan quickly comforted it. "Heal well. I'll play with you next time I come back."
Hearing this, Rouqiu's dejected mood clearly shifted.
It became happy again.
Chen Fan's heart also eased; it was good that Rouqiu was alright.
"So what is this place?" he asked.
"This is a forbidden area."
Chen Qi said, "I am trapped here, not allowed to leave. If I do, I will be hunted."
"Heh."
Chen Fan chuckled.
But the laughter was filled with chilling coldness. "Someone dares to confine my disciple?"
Saying this, he quickly got up. "Let's go, Master will take you out. I'll see who dares to try and kill you."
An overwhelming killing intent surged.
These scoundrels were going too far.
"Master."
Chen Qi hesitated.
Chen Fan immediately frowned. "Speak your mind."
This disciple was good in all aspects, except for his indecisiveness.
He had noticed this long ago but hadn't pointed it out.
Sometimes, a hundred reminders are not as effective as one personal experience.
It seemed he had now experienced it, but the outcome wasn't great, and Chen Qi's state was not right.
"Let it be, Master."
Chen Qi shook his head. "This disciple feels that life here is quite good. Carefree, at ease, and no one bothers me."
"Do you truly think so?"
"...Yes." He admitted.
Although his expression was somewhat conflicted, Chen Qi was confident he had concealed it perfectly.
"Heh heh."
Unfortunately, no matter how well he concealed it, he couldn't fool Chen Fan.
He had raised this young one; he knew the young one's temperament too well.
He then said sternly, "Are you sure you want to grow old alone here, living as a prisoner for your entire life?"
"..."
"And then, be confined here with Rouqiu?"
Rouqiu was Chen Fan's inverse scale, and now it was also Chen Qi's inverse scale.
Chen Fan had poured all his deepest tenderness into the relationship from the beginning of Chaos, and that vision of a woman buried deep in his heart.
Seeing his disciple fall silent, even lowering his head in embarrassment, Chen Fan had to speak again. "A'qi... do you know why I named you Chen Qi?"
Chen Qi looked up at his master.
A'qi was his given name, and only his master called him that.
Now, at his age and cultivation level, only his master dared to call him that, and hearing the name A'qi made him very happy.
"No." Chen Qi shook his head.
Chen Fan sighed. "The reason Master named you Qi was that Chaos was too chaotic.
Master hoped that you, like the morning star, would bring light and hope to this dark Chaos."
This was the first time he had sincerely admonished his disciple.
This was also his truest thought.
The future of Chaos was too messy.
There was too much darkness he was unwilling to see, the sordidness of human hearts, the dirty world.
He hoped for a beam of light to illuminate Chaos.
Chen Qi was the light he saw, and changing the future from the very beginning, from the root, might be the best choice.
"Alas."
Chen Fan sighed again. "You have now lost hope for the future.
This is not right. You must believe that there will always be a light in this world to illuminate a dark future."
His gentle words struck Chen Qi's heart like muffled thunder, shattering the illusion that had held him captive for so long.
The shackles that had confined his heart for ages shattered silently.
But something was still missing...
Chen Fan's voice echoed softly, "I had a pearl, long trapped by dust and toil. Today, the dust has vanished, its light shines, illuminating myriad mountains and rivers."
Boom.
The sky brightened.
At this moment, Chen Qi's body erupted with dazzling divine light.
The boundless fighting spirit was ignited by the last line of poetry.
The ancient Eastern poem contained a mysterious power that stirred one's fighting spirit.
The light of hope, from this very spot, poured out and spread in all directions.