325: There's always someone stronger.

In a pavilion halfway up the mountain.

Shi Suiyan did not look at Zhou Yan, but faced the stream, covering her face with her wide sleeves.

"Senior Brother is quite relaxed and cozy. Your own Junior Sister is so beautiful and moving, yet after disappearing for so long, you didn't even ask a single question and are still happily cooking here."

She covered her face as if about to weep, looking like a woman heartbroken by a fickle lover.

Zhou Yan was speechless for a moment.

The Third Peak was entirely female Cultivators, and even the Spirit Beasts they raised were female. Why would a grown man like him go there for no reason?

However, he was indeed curious about Shi Suiyan's whereabouts during this time.

"Sob, sob, sob, Junior Sister is truly heartless. I've worried about you for so long and always wanted to look for you, but hindered by the distinction between men and women, I could only wait and hope bitterly."

"Today, we finally meet, and it should have been a happy day, yet you act like this, making it seem like I'm the one in the wrong."

Zhou Yan also covered his face with his sleeve, but the voice he produced made Shi Suiyan's mouth drop open.

It wasn't his usual clear and bright voice, but a soft and melodious female voice, like the gentle chirping of an oriole.

As soon as this voice rang out, it sounded exceptionally 'endowed,' forming a sharp contrast with Shi Suiyan's plain vocal range.

Zhou Yan was using the voice of his female avatar.

This kind of voice, combined with the posture of 'partially hiding the face behind a pipa,' made him look more like a tragic young lady than Shi Suiyan.

"I was wrong, Senior Brother, I was really wrong! Don't be like this, I beg you!"

Shi Suiyan stopped her antics and quickly pressed her hands together in a gesture of apology, repeatedly asking for mercy.

Since being honest with Zhou Yan, she actually hadn't known how to face him.

Exploring multiple timelines was extremely taxing on the mind. For self-protection, she often actively adopted the personality she had at that time, creating a rift with her true self.

This was almost like artificially creating a split personality.

Therefore, the words she spoke last time were almost involuntary, and she regretted them as soon as she finished.

This was also the reason she hadn't come to see Zhou Yan for a while.

Now that she had come, she had naturally thought things through.

But if her fragrant and soft Senior Brother really strayed onto the wrong path, she feared she would truly cry herself to death.

After all, Wang Yao and Long Tianxing both avoided women; they looked strange no matter how one saw it.

If they really were fond of the 'Dragon's Sun,' they could just play by themselves—they must not corrupt Senior Brother.

The reputations of the Body Cultivator and the Overbearing President were still dragging down the public opinion of those two.

"Alright, enough joking."

Zhou Yan also dropped his previous act.

He had gotten into the habit of 'catfishing' with his female avatar before, and he had subconsciously pulled that move as a sort of counter-magic.

Fortunately, she just took it as a joke. If she truly realized he had a female avatar, his reputation would really be ruined in his later years.

Thus, he quickly changed the subject.

"By the way, where has Junior Sister been all this time? You didn't even participate in the Sect's major events."

Shi Suiyan's expression became much more serious.

"During this time, I used my Divine Ability to scout the Eastern Extreme Secret Realm."

"According to my deductions, there will be a 'Three Sects Martial Competition' next. Only by participating in it can one safely reach the Secret Realm."

"Otherwise, no matter which path I take, I will likely be intercepted by Ma Hao or killed by an unknown existence in the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains."

"Only after attending the competition will the path forward be easier, and the higher the rank, the less the resistance."

"I came specifically to tell you this, hoping Senior Brother will prepare early. The Eastern Extreme Secret Realm is very unusual; if you enter, you might find a way to break the deadlock and counter Ma Hao."

Zhou Yan's expression also turned solemn.

"What level is Ma Hao at now?"

Shi Suiyan did not give a direct answer.

"It's hard to say."

"His own cultivation hasn't exceeded Soul Transformation, so I can still deduce a thing or two, but whenever he uses his power, that timeline collapses directly."

"After several times, I've roughly judged that it should be caused by his Law of Time or Divine Ability."

"Looking at it this way, his strength should have recovered to the Soul Transformation Stage."

"With the power of the Law of Time, he is probably already the number one person below the Body Integration Realm."

"The number one person below Body Integration."

Zhou Yan repeated in a low voice.

The last time he heard this title, it was used to describe Ma Hao's master, the top of the Heaven Rank, Feng Xu.

Zhou Yan had borrowed even stronger power before, so he had a deep understanding of the gap between Realms.

Although he often boasted he could rival a Soul Transformation cultivator, he actually knew how difficult it would be to truly face a Nascent Soul Cultivator.

Even with all his methods exhausted, it would probably only be a forty-sixty split—forty for him, sixty for the Soul Transformation cultivator.

And that was for an ordinary Soul Transformation cultivator. If he met a Prodigy among them, he could only run away quickly.

Now, he wasn't afraid of Wang Defu mainly because he relied on his identity as the Saint of the Qingxu Grotto-Heaven.

At worst, he would just announce his identity and then find a way to move the entire Taiyi City and flee.

It was just that he wouldn't be able to continue his layout in the Eastern Region.

The fundamental reason he was targeted by the Demon Sect before was that he wasn't an official Saint yet and was still in training, so he couldn't mobilize much power.

But it was different now.

As long as he revealed his identity, let alone Soul Transformation, even Body Integration Cultivators would have to shine his shoes.

Except for research-obsessed madmen like Ma Hao, few people dared to cross him. The higher the cultivation, the more they understood the weight of his position.

But the logic remained the same; if he really met a reckless madman, he would have no choice.

No matter how noble a 'Heavenly Dragon Person's' status was, they were equal before a madman, unless he never stepped out of the Northern Territory.

"I already know about the Three Sects Martial Competition."

"The Grand Elder and the others came to see me before and mentioned the Eastern Extreme Secret Realm and the Three Sects Martial Competition."

"I originally planned to go into seclusion after handling the matters at hand."

"Once my cultivation has progressed and I've achieved a good rank in the competition, I'll go to the Eastern Extreme Secret Realm. By then, there should be no problem."

Shi Suiyan sighed softly upon hearing this.

"On the timelines, I still cannot see Senior Brother, so it's hard for me to predict exactly how the future will be."

"But I can be certain that Ma Hao is definitely doing this on purpose."

"He will definitely lie in wait in the Eastern Region, waiting for us to appear."

"After several trials, I have found a route to arrive safely."

"But because of your existence, Senior Brother, he might turn his attention to you instead, so I cannot guarantee whether your path will be safe."

"And even for the originally safe path, if the two of us go together, there's no guarantee there won't be any accidents."

"Therefore, I will also go to the Eastern Extreme Secret Realm, but I cannot travel with you... Please be careful, Senior Brother."

At this point, Zhou Yan noticed that Shi Suiyan's cultivation had reached Foundation Establishment Perfection, only one step away from Core Formation.

But this was normal; in other timelines, she had probably reached Nascent Soul Formation several times.

Even though her Dao might not be perfect due to the unique nature of the timelines, it was reasonable for her cultivation to progress quickly through comprehensive understanding.

Perhaps by next year, her Realm would even surpass Long Tianxing and the others.

"Thank you for the reminder, Junior Sister."

Just as Zhou Yan was about to thank her, a soft body suddenly threw itself into his arms, and then Shi Suiyan quickly pulled away and flew into the distance.

Zhou Yan only managed to catch a glimpse of her slightly reddened earlobes.

Only after Shi Suiyan had completely left did Zhou Yan calm his somewhat trembling heart.

However, his heart wasn't trembling from shyness, but from fear.

"Scared me to death, I almost didn't hold back my hand!"

Zhou Yan felt that if it weren't for his dao body, he would have broken out in a cold sweat.

Just now, it was really just a hair's breadth away; he had subconsciously wanted to trigger a Dragon Transformation to counterattack and send the other person flying with an elbow strike, but luckily he suppressed it.

Zhou Yan patted his chest and let out a long sigh of relief.

"Shi Suiyan has explored so many timelines; her mental age must be at least several hundred or even a thousand years old. At such an age, would she still be so repressed?"

He could naturally see the other's feelings.

Although he was Xiao Chunan, he wasn't dense.

But for now, Zhou Yan wanted to focus on cultivation.

So compared to Shi Suiyan's emotions, he cared more about her warning just now.

"Will that old fellow Ma Hao camp for people? Then it seems I'll have to switch accounts to go to the Eastern Extreme Secret Realm."

Zhou Yan pinched his chin and pondered for a moment.

"First, continue to teach those fellow brothers. Once that's settled, I'll go into seclusion to raise my cultivation and further refine my Escape Techniques and Combat Arts."

"Now all signs indicate that this Opportunity should belong to me."

"Ma Hao... shouldn't be able to stop me!"

His thoughts soon drifted elsewhere.

It was a pity Shi Suiyan got the order wrong; she should have hugged first and then talked business.

This was like having a hug after watching a sword-forging competition or donkey hoof trimming; while the mind was still thinking about speed bumps and reviews, that hug wouldn't stir up any waves.

Actually, this was also Shi Suiyan's shortcoming. After all, she had only thought about how to survive in the past, and she was truly inexperienced in the ways of love.

However, another person who had already 'graduated' in this field was preparing to leave her seclusion to find a way to get close to Zhou Yan.

Time flew by like a weaver's shuttle.

In the blink of an eye, a year had passed.