Chapter Fifty-Six: Nightmare

Diexian still stood in the office of Carlotus, quietly waiting for something. Since Carlotus vanished before her eyes, she had not moved at all.

In the next moment, with a subtle ripple in the air, Carlotus and the Third Princess reappeared silently.

“How did it go?” Diexian asked. The question was not urgent, but it was the first asked after a long wait.

“How long was I gone?” Carlotus inquired.

Diexian found the question somewhat strange, but quickly gave her answer.

“Fifteen minutes,” she replied.

“Good.” The Student Council President nodded. “I brought everyone back. They’re all fine for the most part, just kept under observation in the infirmary for now.”

He looked at Diexian calmly.

“Thank you,” Diexian said, gazing at him with genuine gratitude.

“You shouldn’t thank me for this.” Carlotus turned to the silent girl in black beside him. “We owe it all to the Third Princess.”

“The gratitude we owe the Third Princess remains in our hearts and needs no further expression,” Diexian said, meeting his gaze. “Now, what about your condition?”

“So you’re eager to get rid of your thanks to me, huh?” Carlotus retorted, then looked at Diexian and continued, “Go make me a pot of tea.”

“That’s it?” Diexian was slightly surprised.

She had prepared herself mentally for much more, never expecting Carlotus to ask for something so simple.

“If I asked you to make tea for me on a normal day, would you be willing?” Carlotus countered calmly.

Diexian was momentarily speechless.

Of course, normally she wouldn’t even consider it.

“That’s why I’d really like to taste your tea,” Carlotus went on.

Diexian nodded without another word, turned, and walked into the inner chamber of the office—the President’s office occupied the entire top floor of the Sun Tower, slightly smaller than the Dean’s office, but still over five hundred square meters. Besides the main office, there were other rooms for various functions: cloakroom, restroom, tea room, and so on.

Since the offices of the Sun, Moon, and Star Towers shared the same structure, only differing in decor according to their occupants’ preferences, Diexian could head directly to the tea room and expertly begin brewing tea for Carlotus.

“Why are you so skilled at this?” Carlotus’s voice came from behind her.

“I don’t treat this place as mere decoration, unlike you,” Diexian replied quietly without turning around. “And why did you follow me in here? It’s distasteful.”

“Is that how you treat someone you just sincerely thanked?” Carlotus sounded wounded.

“One thing at a time. Let’s keep it straight,” Diexian said calmly. She pressed the lid of the teapot, quietly poured the deep red fragrant liquid into a jade-green cup, turned, and handed it to Carlotus. “Here.”

“Are you trying to scald me?” Carlotus refused to take it.

The tea had only just finished boiling!

“Just tell me if you’ll drink it or not,” Diexian said, watching him.

Carlotus cleared his throat. “Let me tell you a joke.”

“If you won’t drink it, I’ll pour it out,” Diexian said calmly.

Carlotus quickly took the steaming cup and sipped it bit by bit.

Though he sipped, he felt no burning heat.

Diexian turned and walked towards the door.

“Where are you going?” Carlotus asked.

“To check on my team members, obviously,” Diexian replied as if it were self-evident.

“Just one cup?” Carlotus asked.

“I brewed a whole pot. The rest is yours to enjoy at your leisure,” Diexian said, vanishing swiftly from Carlotus’s sight.

“With that temper, she’ll have a hard time getting married,” Carlotus sighed.

He picked up the teapot, calmly poured himself another cup, and looked toward the Third Princess, who remained silent.

“Have a cup. You’re the one who worked the hardest this time,” he said.

The Third Princess walked over slowly—an unusual gesture for her.

“Here.” Carlotus handed her the cup. The girl took it, brought it to her lips to sniff, then decisively set it down.

Carlotus chuckled awkwardly. “You find it too hot, I see.”

...

...

“That’s how it happened,” Liu Ru stood opposite Su Ziye, recounting the events to the young man before her.

“Didn’t Carlotus say not to tell anyone if possible?” Su Ziye asked.

“He said ‘if possible,’” Liu Ru replied calmly.

Su Ziye was obviously not included in that ‘if possible.’

“So, what do you think?” Su Ziye asked.

“A great many things,” Liu Ru answered, looking at him.

“Specifically?” Su Ziye pressed.

Liu Ru sighed. “You once said the Third Princess was a monster. I couldn’t understand it at the time.”

“Why would you call such a lovely, beautiful girl a monster? She didn’t seem dangerous at all.”

“But today, I followed the Third Princess through countless worlds, searching for Xie Yanluo’s trail. I even saw her rip open a world as easily as tearing a cardboard box, allowing us to step inside.”

“To be honest, if I had to describe it, I can think of no word but ‘monster.’”

“Exactly,” Su Ziye smiled at Liu Ru. “When you witness the power of these monsters, your entire worldview collapses. I felt the same way. But most monsters in this world aren’t like the Third Princess.”

“If you had such power, would you remain on equal footing with the common folk, mere ants beneath your feet?”

“Would you restrain yourself, refusing to use your power for selfish gain, never harming others for your benefit?”

“The answer is obviously no. All monsters in this world are like dragons perched atop their hoards: greedy, stubborn, and only understanding the language of force. Worst of all, they hardly ever die—the stronger the monster, the longer its life.”

Su Ziye spoke with a sense of nostalgia. “This world has been squeezed to the point where ordinary people have no room to live.”

“So what do you want to do?” Liu Ru asked, looking at Su Ziye. “You think differently from everyone else.”

“I want to kill those monsters,” Su Ziye said quietly.

“Then I’ll join you,” Liu Ru declared.

“But not yet,” Su Ziye laughed.

“Though you think I’m strong, I’m still terrifyingly weak compared to those monsters. We need to gain power, gather allies. One day I’ll stir up an unprecedented storm in this world, and any monster that can’t withstand it should be erased.”

“It may take twenty, thirty, even fifty years, but sometimes, dedicating yourself to one goal from start to finish is the best meaning life can have.”

“Mm,” Liu Ru nodded.

“So do you know what you need to do now?” Su Ziye asked in return.

Liu Ru was stunned for a moment.

She thought it over and said, “Complete the Third Trial, then enter Nightleaf Academy?”

Only then could she keep growing, keeping pace with Su Ziye.

Su Ziye shook his head.

“Then…” Liu Ru tried.

Su Ziye laughed. “The task at hand is to kill Mo Yun.”

“Mo Yun?” Liu Ru had never heard the name.

“You’ve met him, though he left little impression. He’s a genius cultivated by Darkstar, currently in Nightleaf City. He was given the task of killing me as his trial.”

“I told you before—I wrote a spell, linking Beizhou to me through various clues. Because of Beizhou’s special status, entering Mo Yun’s sights meant certain death.”

“As a result, Darkstar will step up their operations. I’ve anticipated all possible moves, but they chose the most dangerous, most lethal path.”

“I didn’t expect Xie Yanluo’s choices, but this incident will alarm Carlotus. Someone inside Nightleaf Academy must have asked him for help. Since the academy is involved because of me, I owe them a great favor. Now that Carlotus spared Mo Yun, it falls to me to take his life and settle the matter.”

Su Ziye explained calmly.

“So what should I do?” Liu Ru asked, eager to act.

“Do what you do best,” Su Ziye smiled. “Be the bait.”

...

...

Mo Yun staggered into a dark room filled with stars, half-kneeling, visibly shaken.

“Why are you here?” a calm voice sounded. Mo Yun looked up to see a pure black stone slab floating before him.

“Starshine is dead,” Mo Yun said quickly, staring at the slab.

“What happened?” the slab asked with surprise.

Starshine was Mo Yun’s guide and also responsible for his safety. Mo Yun surviving while Starshine died was highly unusual.

“I followed the plan and kidnapped three Nightleaf Academy students, as they held clues about the Seventh Prince’s whereabouts. But things went awry,” Mo Yun reported respectfully. “Carlotus brought an unknown red-haired girl, forcibly broke through the Imaginary Space, and killed Starshine outright.”

“Why weren’t you killed?” the slab asked.

“Carlotus said someone had already bought my life,” Mo Yun recalled.

“Describe everything that happened in detail,” the slab said thoughtfully.

Mo Yun recounted from the beginning: the world trembling, his realization of an intruder, their immediate attempt to clean up and escape, but still Carlotus arrived first.

He described Carlotus killing Starshine—how Starshine’s abilities failed, how he was compressed into a small sphere and crushed, utterly incapable of resisting.

Hearing this, the slab was unusually silent. “Carlotus really did that?”

“If you doubt me, send someone to verify it,” Mo Yun replied without hesitation.

“This is rare and valuable information. I’ll report it to the Grand Elder. Carlotus’s threat level will be raised further. We’ll avoid him as much as possible. What else?”

Mo Yun nodded, then described the Third Princess tearing open the world—his last memory before Carlotus appeared behind him, warning him, and forcing him to flee.

“The red-haired girl is designated as Third Princess,” the slab said calmly. “This was not your fault. We had no idea Nightleaf Academy would react so strongly. We acted according to his rules; they replied in kind. We must accept this failure.”

The slab paused. “But you must wash away the disgrace. You know what to do.”

“I do,” Mo Yun said.

The loss was severe—Starshine had a good chance of reaching the Heavenly Realm, yet was killed so easily. Darkstar’s actions would bring retaliation from the academy and West City. The loss was expected, but still bitter.

As the main executor and leader of the mission, Mo Yun had to act to redeem himself.

Now there was only one path: quickly follow the original plan, find, and kill the Seventh Prince of Stet.

“I have one request. Will you hear it?” Mo Yun said in a grave voice.

“Speak,” the slab replied coolly. “Is it about your brother?”

“No.” Mo Yun shook his head. “I entrusted it to Starshine, but Starshine is dead, so that’s that.”

He seemed unexpectedly relaxed and natural.

“My request is just this: If I fail in my next actions, and the organization wishes to continue, since my death will not end this matter—please have the Weapons finish the task.”

The slab fell silent.

Then it spoke. “Why are you so insistent on the Weapons?”

“Because she is my nightmare,” Mo Yun replied calmly. “I very much hope that this nightmare will descend upon someone else.”

“That would be the most wonderful thing.”