A silver-haired girl knocks on the door late at night! Do you still have any of those candies?

At the same time.

Inside the circular hall on the top floor of the glory federation.

This place had been temporarily transformed into an extremely luxurious lounge.

Avrora was soaking in a massive jade bathtub filled with life energy, repairing the final wounds of her body.

Agatha stood beside her, personally wiping her smooth, long silver hair.

A flush of excitement and joy still lingered on her face.

“Sister, I'm not dreaming, am I?”

Avrora leaned against the edge of the bathtub, feeling the surging power within her body, still finding it somewhat surreal.

“Are you really... going to follow that Lord Lin Yuan?”

“Yes.”

Agatha's movements were gentle and focused.

“He is worth it.”

She paused, a trace of shock that had yet to dissipate flashing in her ice-blue eyes.

“Avrora, you might not know what happened while you were unconscious.”

“He possesses the Primordial Chaos Sacred Body.”

“He admitted to eating the Lord of Guixu in front of the entire military court.”

“With a single thought, he summoned the projections of supreme existences like the War God Lin Zhan and Augustine, the Arbiter of Holy Light, to testify for him.”

With every sentence Agatha spoke,

Avrora's eyes widened a bit more.

By the time Agatha finished,

her delicate little mouth was open wide enough to fit an egg.

She was completely dumbfounded.

Primordial Chaos Sacred Body?

Ate the Lord of Guixu?

Had the War God stand up for him?

Is... is he even human?!

She suddenly remembered Lin Yuan's nonchalant remark: “I fed you a jelly bean.”

So... he wasn't joking?

In his eyes, that Heaven Rank, top-grade nine-turn soul-returning pill—which could drive the entire Alliance insane—really was just a jelly bean?!

An indescribable sense of utter absurdity welled up in her heart.

She looked at her sister, at this “silver wing god of war” who had always believed only in Alliance law, and saw the expression of mixed admiration and fanaticism on her face.

She suddenly understood a little.

If it were her, after knowing all this, she would probably have made the same choice.

That man... he simply isn't a being of this dimension!

...The night grew deeper.

Lin Yuan sat cross-legged in his barracks.

He was not cultivating.

Having devoured the Annihilation Sea Beast and the Lord of the Pasture, his power had reached a temporary Bottleneck.

He needed some time to settle and digest it.

He was simply enjoying this rare, quiet time.

However.

Just then.

“Knock, knock, knock.”

A soft, somewhat hesitant knocking sound rang out.

Lin Yuan opened his eyes, his brow arching slightly.

Who would it be at this hour?

Qin Pojun and his crew should be going crazy around that piece of “firewood” right now; they wouldn't come to disturb him.

Agatha?

Unlikely.

That woman, even if it were a matter of life and death, would wait until the next morning to report.

Then... a playful curve appeared at the corner of Lin Yuan's mouth.

He didn't get up.

With just a thought,

the door slid open silently.

Outside the door.

A petite silver-haired figure in a clean white dress was standing there, looking restless and ill at ease.

The moonlight spilled over her, coating her in a sacred halo.

It was Avrora.

Seeing the door open, she seemed startled and instinctively took half a step back.

When she saw Lin Yuan sitting cross-legged in the center of the room, calmly looking at her,

her delicate, pretty face instantly flushed red again.

She fidgeted with the hem of her dress.

Bowing her head, she looked like an elementary student who had done something wrong.

“Um... Lord Lin Yuan...”

Her voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz.

“I... I'm not disturbing you, am I?”

“Is something the matter?”

Lin Yuan got straight to the point.

“I... I just wanted to... to come and thank you...”

Avrora's voice grew smaller and smaller, “And... also... I wanted to ask...”

She looked up.

Her ice-blue eyes, filled with a desperate courage, stared fixedly at Lin Yuan.

“Those... those jelly beans of yours...”

“Do you have any more?”

...Inside the room, the air seemed to freeze.

Looking at the silver-haired girl with the beet-red face and strikingly bright eyes at the door, Lin Yuan was utterly speechless.

He had seen the greedy.

He had seen those who didn't fear death.

He had even seen the self-righteous.

But someone who would knock on his door late at night and boldly ask for a Heaven Rank Top-Grade Medicinal Pill to eat as a snack... she was truly the first.

“I...”

Seeing Lin Yuan remain silent, only looking at her with a peculiar gaze, Avrora's face turned even redder.

She also realized how absurd and shameless her request was.

That was a divine medicine that could allow someone in the Huagang Realm to ascend to the Peak of the Origin Gathering Realm in a single step!

Even in the oldest myths,

such a thing was a supreme treasure capable of starting wars!

And she... actually wanted more?

“I'm... I'm sorry!”

She bowed abruptly, her voice carrying a hint of a sob.

“I was too greedy! I shouldn't have...”

“Why do you want them?”

Just as Avrora wished she could find a hole to crawl into, Lin Yuan's flat voice suddenly rang out.

Avrora looked up sharply, stunned.

She looked into Lin Yuan's deep eyes and, for a moment, forgot how to answer.

Why?

Yes, why?

Was it because she craved that power to ascend in one step?

Was it because she wanted to become stronger to explore the mysteries of the Ten Thousand Races Battlefield?

No... none of those.

The first thought that flashed through her mind was her sister's tear-filled face when she hugged her.

It was the feeling of powerlessness and despair that had gnawed at her Soul every moment of those three years she was trapped in the “Ranch.”

She didn't want to experience that again.

She didn't want to see her sister worrying and crying for her anymore.

She wanted to become strong!

Stronger than anyone else!

Strong enough to stand by her sister's side and shield her from the wind and rain!

Strong enough to... be worthy of following in the footsteps of the man before her!

Thinking of this,

the shyness and panic in Avrora's eyes gradually faded.

In its place was an unprecedented firmness and persistence.

“Because I don't want to be a burden to my sister anymore!”

“Because I want the power to protect myself and my family!”

“And more importantly...”

She took a deep breath, her ice-blue eyes bravely meeting Lin Yuan's gaze: “I want to become worthy of repaying your kindness!”

Her voice was no longer faint, but crisp and loud!

“...”

Lin Yuan looked at her.

He looked at her stubborn eyes, which were burning with fire.

After a long while,

he suddenly smiled.

Though it was just a tiny, imperceptible curve at the corner of his mouth,

it was like a ray of spring sunshine shining onto a snow mountain that had been frozen for ten thousand years.

“Your body is already saturated.”

He spoke slowly.

“Like a cup already filled with water, if you pour more in, the water will only overflow, or even burst the cup.”

“What you need now isn't more ‘jelly beans,’ but time to digest the power within your body.”

Avrora was stunned.

So... that was it?

A strange sense of disappointment welled up in her heart.

However, before her disappointment could last more than three seconds,

Lin Yuan's next words made her heart race wildly again.

“However...”

He shifted the topic, a hint of playfulness appearing in his deep eyes.

“You can't eat those jelly beans right now.”

“But that doesn't mean there aren't other kinds of jelly beans.”

Avrora's eyes instantly lit up!

“But...”

Lin Yuan's voice was unhurried, “I never make a losing deal. If you want something from me, you must provide something of equal value to exchange.”

“So...”

He looked at her.

His gaze seemed capable of seeing through her Soul: “What do you have that you can use for an exchange?”

“I...”

Avrora was completely stuck.

What did she have?

In terms of strength, her Peak of the Origin Gathering Realm cultivation was probably not even as significant as a strong ant in his eyes.

In terms of power... her sister had already “packaged” and sent over the entire glory federation, along with herself.

In terms of wealth... she was currently a pauper.

Of course, that was not counting the Romanov Family's assets!

She racked her brain but couldn't think of anything she possessed that could possibly catch the eye of the man before her.

Could it be... an absurd thought suddenly flashed through her mind, making her cheeks burn instantly.

And just as her mind was in a mess and she was at a loss,

Knock! Knock!! Knock!!!

A series of knocks, more urgent and forceful than before, rang out again!

And this time,

the force behind the knocking clearly carried a hint of irrepressible, icy anger!

“Avrora?”

A cold yet majestic voice came from outside the door.

It was Agatha!

Avrora was startled.

Like a cat caught stealing fish, all her fur stood on end!

Why was her sister here?!

She instinctively wanted to find a place to hide.

However, it was already too late.

With a thought from Lin Yuan,

the door slid open silently once more.

Agatha, dressed in a crisp, pure white military uniform with a face as cold as frost, was standing at the door.

When she saw the man sitting cross-legged in the room,

and her sister standing before the man in a thin nightgown, with a flushed face and a panicked expression,

Agatha's ice-mountain face, which had only just softened, instantly froze over again!

In fact, it was three degrees colder than before!

“Lord Lin Yuan.”

“Why is my sister in your room?”