Chapter 40: A Professional Team Begins to Take Shape

Luo Chen stood in front of the ruin’s exit, staring at the huge stone they had painstakingly pushed into place.
His hands were clasped behind his back, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

“Tsk—perfect. It’s practically a work of art,” he said with satisfaction.

Next to him, Luo Yuanshan also looked at the stone.
“Young Master, this… will it really work?”

“Of course it will,” Luo Chen replied confidently.
“This ruin has only one exit. You saw for yourself—the stone and the walls inside are of the exact same material, extremely solid. Even if Luo Jiutian has the greatest of skills, breaking through it would take a good while.”

His gaze suddenly sharpened.
“By the time that happens, the secret realm should be closing.”

Luo Yuanshan nodded.

He was about to say more when Luo Chen waved his hand, adopting an affable expression.
“Of course, he’s not completely trapped, unless—”

“Unless?”

“Unless he manages to dig a hole inside the ruin and sneak out another way.”

As soon as these words were spoken, silence instantly fell over the surroundings.

Luo Yuanshan looked at Luo Chen but remained silent.
Yet if one watched carefully, they’d notice the corner of his mouth trying to curl into a smile… only to be quickly suppressed.
Over and over again, his facial muscles twitched in an extremely subtle yet rapid way.

In fact, ever since Luo Jiutian seized control over a fragment of his and Luo Yan’s divine souls, he was able to send one-way messages.
Because of this, he knew Luo Jiutian’s movements in real time.

At this moment, knowing the truth, he was straining to keep his expression in check.

But Luo Chen acted as though he hadn’t noticed, also turning his gaze toward Luo Yuanshan.

Their eyes met, and the air seemed to thrum with an indescribable tension.

“Hahahahahaha…”

“Hahahahaha!”

Both men burst into laughter, in perfect unison.

Luo Yuanshan gave a thumbs-up.
“Young Master, you’re truly humorous!”

“Oh, just so-so,” Luo Chen replied modestly.

After a while of laughing, Luo Chen reined in his expression and quickly reverted to the dignified bearing of a young master.

“That’s enough,” he said indifferently.
“We should get moving.”

Luo Yuanshan nodded seriously.
“Understood.”

In the next moment, without further words, the three of them dashed toward the center of the secret realm.

Wind howled as they moved.
Spiritual energy surged around them.

Luo Chen gripped his spear tightly as he advanced, his eyes cold and sharp.

Wait, Luo Jiutian.

This time, I won’t give you any chance to turn the tables.

Once I get the Essence-Refining Persimmons and successfully break into the Golden Core stage…

You will never see a second chance.

On the other side of the secret realm…

Luo Jiutian sat cross-legged on a rock, eyes tightly shut, spiritual energy flowing steadily within him.

After a moment, he opened his eyes and murmured,
“Foundation Establishment phase—perfected.”

Feeling the extreme condensation of his spiritual energy, he nodded slightly.

If he consumed an Essence-Refining Persimmon now and fully refined it, he could break through into the Golden Core stage.

But unfortunately—

He glanced at the sky above.
Ripples were beginning to appear in the spatial field, and signs that the secret realm was closing were becoming increasingly obvious.

“It’s too late.” he sighed softly.
“I’ll have to wait until I’m outside to find time to refine it.”

Then, Luo Jiutian turned to look at Su Wan’er, not far away.

She was resting her chin on her hand, sitting quietly, her large, sparkling eyes fixed on him without moving.

“Why are you staring at me?” Luo Jiutian asked.

A radiant smile spread across Su Wan’er’s face.
“Jiutian, you broke through, that’s so awesome~”

After that, she suddenly lowered her head and began murmuring to herself:
“But… you’re getting stronger and stronger…
Won’t you not need me anymore in the future?
Won’t you just ditch me?”

Her tone was calm, but her gaze was so serious it was almost chilling.

“Wan’er?” Luo Jiutian called softly.

Su Wan’er seemed not to hear him.

Her mouth curled up further as she continued to mutter:
“But it doesn’t matter. I’ll work hard to become strong too, strong enough so Jiutian couldn’t ditch me even if he wanted to. Yeah… once we leave the secret realm, my cultivation will probably drop back to the peak of Foundation Establishment… So maybe… I should take the chance now…”

Her voice gradually became softer.
Her cheeks reddened.
The abnormal light in her eyes grew even clearer.

Until—

Thud!

Luo Jiutian, for some unknown reason, had already walked up to her and lightly tapped her on the head.

“Ouch!” Su Wan’er held her head.
“Jiutian, you’re hitting me again, you’re so bad!”

She puffed out her cheeks and glared at him in a wronged manner, but didn’t move away.
Instead, she moved even closer.

Luo Jiutian ignored her, merely gazing at the horizon, his expression turning somber.

“It’s about time,” he murmured.

Su Wan’er tilted her head.
“What’s about time?”

The next moment—

【Ding! The Host has successfully caused the Fate Child ‘Luo Chen’ to lose composure. Fate Points are automatically being converted…】

【Current Countdown for Blue Star’s Return: 276 years.】

【6 months have been deducted. Remaining time: 275 years, 6 months.】

The scene shifted to the center of the secret realm.

“Where is he?! And where are the persimmons?!”

Luo Chen roared angrily, his spear pointing at the empty air, his face even redder than the time he extracted gold.

Originally, he hadn’t taken Luo Yan’s words seriously.
But now—

The Essence-Refining Persimmons were gone, and both the Li family and Xiao family had vanished without a trace.
It was hard not to suspect that they had already divided the spoils and left.

Luo Chen slowly walked up to the big tree and stared up at it for a while.

Luo Yuanshan and Luo Yan exchanged a glance, uncertain what he was about to do.

Then—

“Ahhhhh!!!”

Luo Chen let out a furious shout.
He dashed forward, holding his spear horizontally, stabbing repeatedly into the tree.

“Grow back for me!”

“Grow! Back! Now!”

Unfortunately, the bark didn’t budge.
Instead, his spear tip rattled loudly from the impact.

“Calm down! Young Master! Calm down!”

Luo Yuanshan rushed over and tightly grabbed his arm.
“The tree isn’t at fault. It’s the victim here!”

Luo Chen took several deep breaths, finally suppressing his fury.

He planted the spear into the ground, saying nothing, and gradually returned to his usual aloof young master demeanor.

Luo Yuanshan quietly let go and took a half-step back, pretending as if nothing had happened.

At that moment, Luo Yan stepped forward and spoke:
“Young Master, I have an idea.”

Luo Chen glanced at him sideways.
“Speak.”

“Li Daming has killed many of our clansmen.
This debt must be repaid,” Luo Yan said bluntly.
“Why not use this opportunity to demand compensation from the Li family?
One or two Essence-Refining Persimmons should be reasonable.
I don’t think they’d have a reason to refuse.”

“Outrageous!”

Luo Chen spun around abruptly, his expression righteous.
“They are my beloved friends, my sworn brothers!
How dare you suggest I treat them as bargaining chips?!
Does the Young Master act like someone who would do such a thing?”

Luo Yan: “……”

Doesn’t he?

Seeing this, Luo Yuanshan quickly stepped in to mediate.
“Young Master, Skinny Ghost’s suggestion isn’t entirely unreasonable.
Taking a little benefit isn’t selfish—it’s avenging our brothers.
Besides, you need Essence-Refining Persimmons to break into the Golden Core stage, right?”

Luo Chen didn’t respond immediately.
He merely raised a hand behind his back and began pacing in place.

He had indeed thought about it…
But if he agreed so easily, wouldn’t it show he had no principles?

Seeing this, Luo Yuanshan stepped forward again.
“Young Master, if our brothers in the underworld knew, they would hope you grow stronger soon to raise your head in their memory.”

At these words, Luo Chen finally stopped pacing.

He was about to nod in agreement when—

A white light suddenly rose from beneath his feet, quickly enveloping his entire body.

“Hm?” he looked down.
“The secret realm is closing? So soon?”

Luo Yuanshan and Luo Yan also began glowing, glancing at each other in surprise.

Luo Chen’s eyes sharpened.
In a cold voice, he said:

“Fine… some debts… should indeed be settled outside.”