As the moonlight bathed my face, I felt as if I had transformed.

  The silver glow cascaded down endlessly, making Han appear dreamlike, almost ethereal—his figure blurred, difficult to discern.

  Whoosh!

  Suddenly, a surge of energy rippled outward from Han’s soul, stirring the wind and forcing An Lang to retreat. In the distance, the peach trees rustled, drawing Lu Qingmo’s gaze.

  Han inhaled deeply, and the moonlight was drawn into him in an unending stream, as if he were a ravenous devourer of the lunar glow.

  Eventually, every trace of moonlight that had gathered around him was consumed.

  An Lang stared in disbelief from afar—You finished it all? What am I supposed to absorb now?

  Not even a sliver left for me!

  Of course, this was because Han had ceased his visualization, causing the Moon God’s imprint to deactivate. Otherwise, no matter how much he absorbed, he could never have devoured all the moonlight—it was drawn directly from the celestial body itself.

  He was human, not some legendary sky-devouring beast.

  “You broke through?” Lu Qingmo asked.

  Han nodded. “I believe so. I’ve reached the late Night Wanderer stage.”

  It was unfortunate that it was nighttime, with no sun in sight. Otherwise, Han could have felt the pull of sunlight on his body.

  He knew that even at night, the sun still existed, but without its visible rays, he couldn’t yet sense its presence directly. His cultivation level simply wasn’t high enough for that.

  Lu Qingmo’s expression turned slightly strange.

  “You’ve only been a Night Wanderer for about two months, haven’t you?”

  Han nodded again. “A few more days, and it’ll be exactly two months.”

  It had been three days since his martial arts advancement to the Viscera stage.

  “Two months… and you’re already nearing the threshold of the Day Wanderer realm?” Lu Qingmo was momentarily speechless.

  “The Moon Imprint has been a tremendous help,” Han admitted. “Without it, the time I’d need to reach this stage would have at least doubled.”

  Endless, inexhaustible lunar energy—purer than the moonlight that filled the world—constantly bestowed upon him by the Moon Demons in their ceaseless worship…

  The benefits were simply immeasurable.

  He owed everything to the Moon God. At this point, Han considered himself the deity’s most devoted believer, willing to offer up everything in service.

  Well, unless the Moon God actually demanded something in return—then he might reconsider.

  Lu Qingmo’s gaze fell upon the lunar imprint at Han’s brow. She nodded slightly.

  She had watched over him every night; she knew exactly what he had been doing.

  The Moon Imprint was indeed a formidable asset.

  If she had possessed such an imprint in her youth, her life would have turned out very differently. She wouldn’t be here now.

  In fact, she would likely hold a position of immense authority, perhaps even ruling over the Xuan Capital Sect.

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  Of course, that was an exaggeration. But at the very least, she would be standing at the peak of power.

  Her current post in Black Cloud Town was as much for Bai Ruoyue as it was a duty forced upon her.

  After maintaining the dream realm for several hours, Bai Tian emerged from the peach grove, calling over Shen Long and the others.

  “Father, what is it?”

  Bai Tian smiled faintly. “During this time, I’ve been using the dream to refine the final technique of the Taibai Sword Art—‘Selfless Blade.’ I’ve managed to mitigate some of its side effects.”

  Lu Qingmo cast him a surprised glance but said nothing before silently retreating into the pavilion.

  “You can do that?”

  No one but Bai Ruoyue would dare ask so bluntly.

  Bai Tian was honest. “I couldn’t before. As long as I remained stuck at my current level, refining ‘Selfless Blade’ was nearly impossible.”

  “But thanks to Han’s dream, I had the opportunity to experiment freely.”

  “With my adjustments, ‘Selfless Blade’ now causes significantly less damage to the body. A period of rest should be enough for recovery, without leaving any lasting injuries.”

  Previously, the technique was so demanding that using it once would leave the wielder incapacitated—almost as if temporarily crippled.

  Even with post-battle treatment, a full recovery took at least a month, and some injuries were permanent, hindering future martial progress.

  This was why Bai Tian had repeatedly warned Han: Only use it as a last resort.

  Han was surprised that Bai Tian had found the time to refine such a deadly technique while searching for a breakthrough.

  But he knew the cost of that refinement—countless failed attempts.

  It wasn’t about having superior insight; it was simply the result of relentless practice.

  Under normal circumstances, no one would dare to refine a technique that crippled them with a single use. But the dream realm granted an unprecedented advantage—one that Bai Tian had leveraged to its fullest.

  Now, he passed the improved ‘Selfless Blade’ to Han and the others. The modifications allowed even warriors in the Meridian Stage to barely endure the aftermath of using it.

  The higher one’s cultivation, the lesser the side effects—but the technique’s power would naturally diminish as well.

  Few martial arts techniques remained effective from one’s weakest days to one’s peak.

  As he practiced, Han mentally calculated the time remaining.

  Including today, there were only five days left before the dream realm reset. After that, they would no longer have this convenience.

  To regain it, he would need to unlock another cheat ability.

  Ah, how I wish I could keep every cheat ability forever.

  Han and the others were completing their morning martial lessons when Bai Tian, hands behind his back, instructed them to watch over the martial hall and not leave until his return.

  Then, without further explanation, he departed.

  “Where’s my father going?” Bai Ruoyue asked, puzzled. “If he was heading to the Yun family, he wouldn’t have left instructions like that.”

  Han, engrossed in a martial tome Bai Tian had brought back from the Yun family, replied absentmindedly, “Where else? He’s probably abandoning you.”

  Bai Ruoyue’s brow twitched, and she moved to strike Han, but he dodged in time.

  “Sister Ruoyue, I’m not so easily bullied anymore,” Han teased. “In fact, you should start treating me with more respect—otherwise, in the future…”

  “In the future, you’ll still be a dough ball in my hands. I’ll knead and shape you however I please!”

  “You dare challenge your teacher? Such audacity!”

  Bai Tian left in the morning and didn’t return until evening.

  “Father, where have you been all day?”

  Thud!

  Bai Tian tossed a corpse onto the ground.

  A middle-aged man, riddled with wounds, eyes wide open in disbelief.

  Han didn’t recognize him, but he recognized the emblem on the man’s chest—embroidered with the character “Huang.”

  “The martial artist leading the Huang family’s expedition into Black Cloud Town?” Zhang Yuantao was stunned.

  As the martial hall’s manager, he had gathered intelligence on all the major forces in the area.

  “Master, did you… kill him?”

  Bai Tian nodded. “I received word this morning that he was returning to the county. So I tracked him down in secret.”

  “When he reached the outskirts of Tianyue City, I struck. I even suppressed my strength, making it look like an even battle, so witnesses would be misled.”

  “You let people see?”

  Bai Tian chuckled. “Of course, I concealed my identity and altered my aura. No one will suspect it was me, nor will they know I ever left Black Cloud Town.”

  The Huang family’s Bone Refinement expert was slain outside the county capital, seemingly by another Bone Refinement warrior in a heated duel.

  How could anyone suspect the Taibai Martial Hall?

  Han smirked internally—his master was quite the actor.

  And now, their revenge was complete.

  "I really didn't."

  "Aunt Mo, can you take a look at his soul for me?"

  Lu Qingmo sighed. "At least show some respect for my position."

  Yet, despite her words, she didn’t refuse Han's request. A moment later, a flicker of change crossed her expression.

  "There is something rather interesting among the memories I can access."

  Han's interest was immediately piqued. If Lu Qingmo found it noteworthy, then it had to be significant.

  "What is it?"

  "A place where yin energy gathers and souls are drawn in. According to his memories, any Huang family cultivator who practices ghost-controlling techniques must visit this place at least once."

  "And what exactly is inside?"

  "He had no idea. But..."

  But the fact that it was a mandatory destination for the Huang family’s ghost cultivators was more than enough to spark Han’s curiosity.