120: Chapter 120: You mean, you're planning to go back ten thousand years?

She shook her head gently, her golden hair flowing with a dazzling luster in the sunlight filtering through the window lattice. Her voice was ethereal and pleasant, carrying a natural gentleness. "Don't talk about hard work; it's too formal. Xiao Wu is a clever and lovely girl. Having her around has made these five years much livelier for me. Besides..."

She paused, her gaze carrying a hint of teasing yet remaining incredibly serious. "Since Xiao Wu is someone you brought back, she is naturally one of my own. I will naturally protect my own people and won't let her suffer the slightest grievance. How can it be considered a bother?"

"Mhm, mhm! Exactly!"

Beside them, Xiao Wu, who was whispering with Wang Donger, had very sharp ears. Hearing Qian Renxue's words, she immediately poked her head over and nodded like a chick pecking at grain. Her pink eyes were full of reliance and affection as she said, "Sister Xue is so good to me! She gives me the best food, the best clothes, and often guides me in my cultivation!"

Lu Jing watched Xiao Wu and Wang Donger getting along harmoniously and didn't say much. Instead, he turned to look at Qian Renxue, a flash of imperceptible solemnity crossing his eyes.

He gave Qian Renxue an almost unnoticeable look, his lips moving slightly as he mouthed, "Let's talk outside."

How intelligent was Qian Renxue? She immediately understood Lu Jing's meaning.

Although she didn't know what he wanted to say, seeing his slightly solemn gaze, she knew it must be something important.

The gentle smile on her face remained unchanged, but she calmly and very slightly nodded to indicate she understood.

Their eyes met, a mutual understanding forming naturally.

Immediately after, Qian Renxue casually smoothed her skirt and said in a relaxed, natural tone to Xiao Wu, who was still hovering around Wang Donger, "Xiao Wu, stay here with Donger and Senior Snow Empress for a bit. I'll go arrange for someone to prepare some tea and snacks."

"Okay, okay! Go ahead, Sister Xue!" Xiao Wu was holding Wang Donger's hand and asking all sorts of questions. Hearing this, she responded without even looking up, clearly not noticing anything unusual.

Wang Donger and the Snow Empress also nodded slightly, not paying it much mind.

Especially Wang Donger; after being reunited after so long, she also needed to catch up with Xiao Wu and talk about their experiences over the past few years.

Qian Renxue gave Lu Jing a look, then turned first, her lotus steps moving lightly as she elegantly walked out of the study.

Lu Jing followed closely behind, gently closing the door and temporarily isolating the laughter and chatter inside the room behind them.

The corridor outside the study was quiet and elegant. Sunlight filtered through the carved window lattices, casting mottled shadows on the floor.

Qian Renxue didn't go far. She stopped at the corner of the corridor, leaning against the railing, and turned to look at Lu Jing as he caught up.

Lu Jing walked to her side and stood shoulder to shoulder with her. His gaze wasn't on her, but instead cast toward the several magnolia trees swaying in the breeze in the courtyard. He asked softly, "Sister Xue'er, how much more time is needed here in the Heaven Dou Empire?"

Hearing this, a brief silence fell over the corridor. Sunlight filtered through the carved window lattices, casting an interplay of light and shadow on Qian Renxue's exquisite profile.

Her eyes, which resembled a galaxy, stared unblinkingly at Lu Jing. Her brow furrowed slightly as if she were processing the complex meaning contained in his question: "How much more time is needed here in the Heaven Dou Empire?"

"What's wrong?"

There was a hint of imperceptible tension in Qian Renxue's voice, but her tone remained as calm as ever as she asked, "Is... something about to happen? Does it involve the Heaven Dou Empire?"

The first thing she thought of was whether Lu Jing had detected some movement within the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, or if some variable had appeared in Spirit Hall's plans. After all, Lu Jing had been away from the continent for five years. Returning suddenly now, at the sensitive juncture when the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament was about to be held, and asking such a question about time, she couldn't help but be cautious.

Lu Jing shook his head gently, withdrawing his gaze from the magnolia trees in the courtyard to look at Qian Renxue. His eyes were calm and steady, as if he were merely stating a simple fact. "No, it has nothing to do with you, nothing to do with Spirit Hall, and nothing to do with the Heaven Dou Empire."

"Nothing to do with us?"

A flash of confusion crossed Qian Renxue's eyes, but then, as clever as she was, she immediately caught the subtext in Lu Jing's words.

If it had nothing to do with them, then what did it involve?

Her thoughts raced. Combining Lu Jing's previous experiences on Sea God Island with his currently solemn expression, a startling thought instantly flashed through her mind.

"Nothing to do with us... then it has something to do with yourselves?"

Qian Renxue's voice lowered slightly. She looked sharply at Lu Jing, her tone carrying a hint of testing, and also a hint of tension she hadn't even noticed herself.

If it had nothing to do with "us," it naturally had something to do with "you."

And "you" clearly referred to Lu Jing and Wang Donger themselves.

Thinking further about their mysterious origins...

Lu Jing met her gaze without any evasion, nodding frankly. "More or less."

"What exactly is it?" Qian Renxue's heart involuntarily skipped a beat. She leaned forward slightly, her eyes full of inquiry and solemnity.

Anything that could make Lu Jing so serious as to avoid others to ask privately was definitely no small matter.

Lu Jing took a deep breath, his gaze looking toward the azure sky above the courtyard, as if he wanted to pierce through that boundless firmament to see the end of a deeper time and space. His voice became somewhat distant, carrying a strange sense of power. "I... have felt the power of space."

"The power of space?"

Qian Renxue's brow furrowed even tighter, her exquisite face full of incomprehension as she asked, "What do you mean? Your Spirit... doesn't seem to have a space attribute?"

She thought Lu Jing was talking about an insight or breakthrough regarding the space attribute. After all, his cultivation was now profound, so having some insights would be normal.

Lu Jing turned his head to look at her again, his eyes deep. Word by word, he clearly spoke the secret that was enough to shake anyone's soul:

"It's not an insight into an attribute. It's myself, or rather, the understanding of space deep within my Spirit's origin has reached a critical point. I feel that I am about to... or rather, I already possess the preliminary ability to open a door."

"A door?" Qian Renxue repeated subconsciously. But then, her violet pupils suddenly contracted, and her delicate body couldn't help but tremble slightly. For the first time, her exquisite face showed a look of shock that bordered on losing her composure!

She understood almost instantly what that "door" in Lu Jing's words represented!

"A Gate of Time and Space?"

Qian Renxue's voice carried a hint of trembling she hadn't noticed herself. It wasn't fear, but an unbelievable shock. "You... you mean, you can... open a passage... to your era?!"

"Yes!"

Lu Jing nodded, giving an affirmative answer.

His expression was calm, but deep in his eyes, there was also a hint of imperceptible complexity as he said, "Before long, I might be able to try communicating between the two time-spaces and establish a relatively stable passage. This means we have the possibility of returning to the era ten thousand years later."