Tianming was on the streets of Divine Moon Skycity.

"Hurry up!" Ying Huo urged.

"I can't," Tianming said.

"Why? We don't have much time. The imperial guide doesn't often leave the Moonnight Patio, and tomorrow night's going to be your last."

"Sovereign Xi can tell where I am at all times with the blue dot. If I'm too quick, she'll notice something."

These days, Tianming had verified that Sovereign Xi didn't know anything about the wondersky realms, so Orderia might not have one either. Otherwise, she would know if he had gone there or not.

"Oh? Looks like you're growing rather cunning," Ying Huo said.

"I have to. The devil's in the details." He had learned that lesson well from the sovereign. With nobody else to rely on, he had to be careful to the utmost.

"Looks like I've been doing it wrong! Boss says we men have to be careful and dainty!" Meow Meow said.

Tianming really marveled at their ability to joke around in the face of death. Eventually, they reached the Moonnight Patio. Yueshen Xi seemed to have just arrived as well and he waved at Tianming.

"Tianming, are you going to the Bamboo Forest as well?"

"Yes, yes I am." He said as a faint killing intent flashed through his eyes.

......

Light and shadow cascaded within Nulldream Hall in Xi Palace. The lamp illuminated the bed the sovereign and the imperial guide sat on. The imperial guide had her head leaning against Sovereign Xi's shoulder.

"That Li Tianming is far too mysterious. Are you sure you have everything under control?" the imperial guide asked.

"He's just a little boy for me to play with."

"What’re his origins? Is he really from Soulwell Mountain?"

"Huh? No way. More like, he's from a chaos skyjail," Sovereign Xi said with a smile.

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it. Li Qingyu and Ye Lingfeng both came from the chaos skyjail. Li Tianming seems more impressive than them, at least in terms of cultivation speed. He can trick others by saying he uses blood pacts, but he can't fool me. There's no way the Divine Moon Realm can produce a genius of that caliber."

"Then that means he has both lifebound beasts and totems, just like Li Qingyu."

"Do their surnames sound familiar to you?"

"They're both surnamed Li, so they must be from the same clan at least. They might even be siblings."

"Siblings they are, indeed."

"Is that what your intuition tells you?"

Sovereign Xi held the imperial guide's hand and smiled. "Men can’t hide their past. It's always bulging to come through. It only takes a simple guess to reveal it."

"So how many bane-rings does he have?" the imperial guide asked with a furrowed brow.

"It isn’t important."

"Not important? Why? You got rewarded so heavily when you discovered Li Qingyu's talent. If he’s at least as talented, you might get rewarded more."

"Are you an idiot? Miracles like that won't happen twice. It's only impactful the first time around. Can their reward even compare to me becoming an octabane? Do you understand now? Even if Li Tianming has as many bane-rings as Li Qingyu, I’ll still use him to improve myself! I know you want to say that being an octabane might not bring my talent to his level, and that I'm just squandering our chance for great treasure. However, he’s his own being. What he has doesn't belong to me! To make him stronger, I even gave him the universal manna our ancestors kept for thousands of years and allowed him to cultivate, and all of that was just for an even higher chance of succeeding!"

"I haven't seen you so passionate in a long time," the imperial guide said, shaking her head and smiling.

"This is a turning point of fate. I am excited, as you say."

"You said he wanted to rescue Ye Lingfeng, right?"

"That's right. That's why the fellow tried to hide his talent. He didn't want to be brought to Orderia. Otherwise, I wouldn't have this chance. Li Qingyu is a woman, so she won't do. As for Ye Lingfeng, he was stupid enough not to hide his talent and got discovered... what a waste. But Li Tianming could endure it. Just perfect! Even if he disappears, nobody will remember he even existed."

It was all falling into place. She knew everything. The more Tianming wanted to hide it, the happier she was.

"What kind of place is the chaos skyjail? How could three peak geniuses like that appear there all of a sudden?"

"No idea. Entry to that place is forbidden, it's said that the secret to the birth of the universe lies there. Those three might’ve come into contact with it."

"Are you sure you can't tell how many bane-rings Li Tianming has? At the very least, his lifebound beasts seem much stronger than Li Qingyu's. Even if he's only an octabane, he'll enjoy similar treatment to Li Qingyu in Orderia."

"I don't want to know."

"Why?"

"He's already going to be wasted on me. His death is certain, so knowing makes no difference. It might even cause me to hesitate to go through with this."

"So you know it's a waste then? You're an old cow devouring newborn grass."

"Nonsense, I'm still a blooming, unsullied flower."

"A withering, unplucked flower, you mean?"

"You're unplucked yourself, despite being a married woman."

The two of them had known each other since their teenage years.

"I only have one beloved in this world," the imperial guide suddenly said with a lowered head.

"Me too."

"Will this stay the same forever?"

"It’ll never change, ever."

Their slender fingers intertwined with one another.

"Do you need me to stand guard tomorrow?" the imperial guide asked.

"No, I don't want you to have to see that. Just guard Divine Moon Skylake. That beast has gone missing lately, and every time that happens, chaos results. Once I succeed, I’ll tear it to pieces!" she snapped fiercely.

"That lake's all you talk about. I've been guarding it my whole life," the imperial guide complained.

"It won't be for your entire life. You'll still live a long time. I won't abandon you."

Holding hands, they looked deeply into each other's eyes and smiled.

"By the way, what level can Li Tianming fight at?" the imperial guide asked.

"Heptaglory Sky. Why?"

"Then it's fine. When you said he could go through formations as he wishes, it occurred to me that the formations of the Divine Moon Skylake won't be able to stop him either. But my cute puppy and a few other grand moon guides are there to guard it, so it'll be fine. But... it's best I return."

"What are you talking about? That little brat is really obedient—" Her expression suddenly changed. "No, wait!" She abruptly stood up.

"What's wrong?"

"If he's trying to increase the odds of surviving the ritual, he just needs to cultivate! Training his swordsmanship is pointless! Even after I asked him to go to the divine moon hall to go through the legacies of the ancestors, he wouldn’t go. There's no way he has to go to the Moonnight Patio at all! Not to mention, he's hiding at least some totems, so he's definitely a little bit stronger!"

While it was still a stretch for Tianming to defeat elites on the level of Nonahonor Sky, it was odd that he would go to the Moonnight Patio on the very day he might lose his life, regardless of whether or not he could break the formation core. He had been cultivating properly in the palace the few days before, after all.

The imperial guide also looked worried. "Let's hope you're just overthinking this."

The two of them immediately vanished from the palace. This was a battle of wits. The more arrogant one was, the more details they would miss. Tianming had been really careful, waiting for his chance. 

When it finally came, he dealt the fatal blow.