Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

When Chen Mu woke up, the oncoming wind rushed into his mouth and nostrils, choking him uncomfortably. After being dazed for a long time, he finally realized he was being carried by Wei-ah. However, his entire body was so painfully sore that he had trouble lifting a finger, not to mention turning his neck.

However, he couldn’t stop stealing glances at the Madam from Faya, whom he grasped tightly in his arms. Suddenly, he was delighted because the adventure had been quite successful overall. Although he and Wei-ah were more miserable, and their entire bodies were still sore, his mind was at ease. Both of his arms were completely numb, as if they were dead. Fortunately, Chen Mu didn’t have to worry about loosening his grip due to his fatigue.

“Wei-ah, are you all right?” Chen Mu was suddenly reminded of Wei-ah’s discomfiture that he’d seen. But his neck was completely frozen, so he couldn’t even turn his head to see Wei-ah behind him.

“Yup.” Wei-ah’s voice sounded no different than usual, so Chen Mu was reassured. However, it had been the first time Chen Mu had seen someone forcing Wei-ah into such a situation. He couldn’t help but exclaim, “That guy wearing the bronze mask is really strong! Wei-ah, how is he compared to Principal Jiao Si?”

“I don’t know,” Wei-ah replied.

“That’s normal.” Chen Mu broke into laughter. “If people on their level didn’t fight, it would probably be difficult to estimate the outcome.” He suddenly thought of an interesting topic. “Wei-ah, out of the two of you, who won?”

“No one.” Wei-ah’s answer was still free of any waves of emotion. He managed to stride on as he carried both Chen Mu and the Madam. With the cover of night, no one discovered them throughout the journey.

“Hmm. It was a tie, huh? That guy was crazy strong!” Chen Mu was deep in his thoughts. He couldn’t objectively place how powerful the bronze-masked man was. However, he was definitely powerful if he was able to tie with Wei-ah in a fight. He then asked again, “Wei-ah, would you be able to beat him?”

“I don’t know.” Wei-ah’s answer remained concise.

Suddenly, the Madam showed signs of waking up as her body began to struggle. Chen Mu exclaimed, “Wei-ah, she’s going to wake up!” His hands were numb, so he could only watch helplessly.

“Oh.” Before Wei-ah finished speaking, his hand slammed hard into the back of the Madam’s neck. The Madam, who had just shown signs of awakening, passed out again.

* * *

The house that had just been the scene of the fight had become a piece of ruins. The surrounding two houses had also been affected. The bronze-masked man stood in the ruins, unaware of the blood stains on his chest.

How long had it been since he had felt that way? The stone-cold man, the unfathomable power, the marvelous air skills! The speed that had seemed challenging even to him, the unchanging facial expression, and the indifference in his eyes—they had all been so impressive. Since when had the Heavenly Federation had such a powerful figure he had never heard of?

At first, he’d thought Qiao Yuan was a secret character developed by Desert Camp. The way Desert Camp developed cardless sects had always been secretive, but it hadn’t been news for a long time. Whether it was Faya or the remaining Big Six, all of them paid tremendous attention to that. When he’d seen the high-level cardless sect ace’s technique, the air maneuver that had been used in the last part of the battle of Qiao Yuan against Jin Yin and Dang Han, he had been fairly shocked.

His mind had immediately questioned if Desert Camp could have developed the cardless sects to such an extent. In his opinion, Qiao Yuan would be a rather successful example, with excellent card artisan techniques and the ability to perform such a high-level cardless sect technique like the air maneuver!

Faya had heard the news of Desert Camp’s development of the cardless sects long ago. According to Faya’s internal assessment, the cardless sects Desert Camp had developed were definitely not pure cardless sects but were rather the combination of the cardless sects and card artisans. The result of that assessment was recognized by almost everyone. The cardless sects had long been eliminated due to their innate shortcomings!

There were too many shortcomings when cardless sects were compared to card artisans, such as the inability to fly, the lack of effective long-distance attacks, the absence of protective abilities, and many more. Most importantly, the core of the cardless sects was the use of human strength. However, the human body was always limited, which had been the main cause of the elimination of the cardless sects. That was the most popular view of the federation’s academic community, which was also the popular view universally.

That view was ingrained in his mind, but everything that had happened that day had completely subverted all of his perceptions. The blood flowing from his chest seemed to be reminding him of the scene that had taken place in the battle.

A little more, and that hand… Young lady…

* * *

Wei-ah soon found an abandoned warehouse and brought the two in. As Wei-ah loosened his grip, Chen Mu and the Madam fell hard to the ground.

“Ouch! Wei-ah, is this how you treat a wounded person?” Chen Mu complained.

“You’re not wounded,” Wei-ah countered in a simple and direct manner, without even looking at Chen Mu.

After the period of resting, Chen Mu had slightly recovered. His pair of numb hands could move again. He propped himself up to sit with some difficulty.

The warehouse wasn’t completely dark. The Garden Above the Center glowed with faint, cold light, which shone in through the window. Chen Mu had good eyesight, so the bit of light was enough for him to see clearly. When he saw the appearance of Wei-ah, he was startled.

“Wei-ah, are you okay?” he asked nervously. Wei-ah’s whole face was blackened, and his arms were exposed in the air, likewise blackened. There were many small scars on his face and exposed skin. Even though the scars were thin, they were in an interlaced pattern, which was quite frightening.

Wei-ah nodded. “I’m all right.”

After staring at Wei-ah for a long time, Chen Mu saw that Wei-ah wasn’t pretending to be okay, so he finally retracted his gaze. He couldn’t help but stretch his back as he moaned in comfort, “Oh, it feels so good to be alive.” Now that he recalled the dangerous battle that night, he was a little scared. However, he was also proud to have successfully captured the Madam in the midst of so many enemies.

Wei-ah was silent. He bowed his head as if thinking about something.

Chen Mu began to have a headache as soon as his gaze fell on the unconscious Madam. It was true that they had captured the Madam, but how they would deal with her was a rather troubling question. The unconscious Madam was still wearing the mask, which covered her face tightly. The mask was divided into two respectively black and white parts down the center. There was a sun painted in the center of the mask, but one side was black and the other white.

Chen Mu was curious. What would the face beneath the mask look like? He moved to the Madam’s side and extended his hand to the mask on her face. The mask felt soft, different from those Chen Mu had worn before. It was obviously made of special materials.

A stunning face was revealed before Chen Mu. If one didn’t know about her identity, the Madam would look like a regular office lady. Her smooth forehead was covered by bangs, and her tightly shut eyes were like two curved arcs. Her eyelashes, which were slightly shivering, and the light frown on her brow, indicated that she was in pain. Her nose was slender, and her lips were bright red, but there was a faint scar on them—a mark left by Chen Mu. Her slightly pointed chin was so fair that it would leave a deep impression on others.

At the same time, the unconscious Madam moved slightly, and she opened her eyes in confusion. No one would link the weak and feeble movement to the powerful Madam from Faya.

As she opened her eyes, her dazed gaze shifted to Chen Mu, but she squinted suddenly. She jerked up into a sitting position, and her sight was recovered. When she felt the cool air on her face, she subconsciously reached out and touched her cheek. Her expression changed abruptly.

“Were you the one who took off my mask?” she asked Chen Mu coldly. She was a completely different person from when she was unconscious. Her eyes were slightly narrow, and her loose eyebrows were converged, giving off a malicious feeling. Her proud and cold gaze, in particular, was exuding a superior aura.

Chen Mu didn’t like the kind of gaze he was getting. He didn’t have the slightest affection for the woman in front of him. As a matter of fact, he was not an unreasonably cold person. Being neither cold nor hot seemed to be his style. Only if the other person really annoyed him would his coldness be rather obvious.

“Is there a problem?” he asked expressionlessly.

The Madam stared squarely at Chen Mu with her serious face. Chen Mu wasn’t afraid at all. To be honest, spending a long time with Wei-ah had gotten him used to that kind of gaze.

Something about her gaze was strange. There was a mix of resentment, hatred, surprise, and emotions Chen Mu couldn’t identify. However, Chen Mu simply didn’t care about what the Madam thought of him. Their positions had determined that they would be enemies. Ever since Yang An had died at her hand, the enmity between the two had become irreconcilable.

“What is your name?” Chen Mu asked, still expressionless.

“Why should I tell you?” she said coldly, slightly raising her eyebrows.

“If you want to try something painful.” Chen Mu wasn’t angry, but his good mood had clearly vanished. He stared at the Madam and said, “Even though I’m not well-versed with the numerous forms of punishments, I do know some simple ones.”

When Chen Mu said that, his tone wasn’t intense but was instead indifferent. However, the indifferent tone caused a slight change in the Madam’s expression. She was good at analyzing people’s psychology. Hence, she knew being able to say such words calmly showed that Chen Mu hated her to the bone. She had no doubt that he would implement what he had said if she were to not cooperate.

“Qiu Shanyu,” she replied quickly. The coldness on her face disappeared as she tried to appear soft and harmless. “I really did behave badly last time. I’m willing to pay enough to apologize for the distress I have caused you by my rude behavior. I think you will like my offer.”