General Li was so angry, he trembled from head to toe.

He stared, unblinking, at Su Liuer for quite some time, but just as he was on the brink of explosion, he nodded, hard, then grabbed the phone from Zuo Mos hands and stormed out.

Ye Zichen looked at Su Liuer in confusion

His impression of Su Liuer was that she was domineering, but she shouldnt have been this unreasonable.

Even if you didnt believe in not speaking ill of the dead, General Lis son had sacrificed his life to get them that video, which was precious to their cause. Even if Su Liuer was right, saying it so bluntly was over the line.

General Li! Xiao Yumei called out to him, but General Li didnt even look back.

She shot Xiao Yan a meaningful look, and both he and Xiao Hu hurried out of the room and after General Li.

Big Sister Liuer, said Ye Zichen.

All I did was tell it as it is. Hes different from other people; hes experienced the Outsider Gods invasion. He ought to understand better than anyone how important a first-person account of the enders would have been. But now, our understanding of the era-ending giant beasts is limited to the video his son sent us. Dont you think thats ridiculous? Su Liuers eyes glinted with cold light.

In the face of her cold indifference, Ye Zichen couldnt even speak. Before he could respond, he heard Su Liuer snort, And dont you call me big sister. I cant possibly bear the weight of that title. Little Yan, lets go.

Su Liuer dragged Su Yan out of the room. Those still present looked at each other. None of them understood just what Su Liuer was so mad about.

Could Big Sister Liuer be in the middle of that special time all women have? Gou Yuzhan, still slumped in his chair, muttered carefully.

Yin Shang shot him a vicious glare, forcing any other comments back down. Are you sick of living?

Ye Zichen looked around at all the newly empty chairs. He never would have guessed the meeting would end up like this.

Yumei, go look after Big Sister Liuer. Everyone else you can leave!

Everyone left in dejection. It would be difficult for this meeting to proceed any further. They rose, bade Ye Zichen farewell, and left.

Still sitting in an otherwise empty room, Ye Zichen put his head in his hand.

Perhaps I shouldnt have come, said Gu Li.

You? Ye Zichen lowered his hand. Then whyd you come with me? Are you intentionally trying to disrupt my alliances unity?

Even if I wanted to do that, I wouldnt use such a half-assed method. Gu Li only shrugged. I just didnt expect to see her here, and I didnt realize her distaste for me was still so intense.

Distaste? That she didnt kill you where you sat was already magnanimous. Ye Zichen waved Gu Li away, then put his head back in his hand. You can leave too. Id like to sit here by myself for a while.

Everyone else had left.

The door to the grand hall was open, and from time to time, a gentle breeze blew inside. The flickering candlelight made Ye Zichen and the chairs shadows shake about.

Ye Zichen could understand why Su Liuer had lost her temper.

Back when the demons invaded, the Endless Beast Region, Immortal Region, Heavenly Court, and Underworld lost far too many people.

Yuan Hong had died during that invasion. He wasnt just Ye Zichens friend; he was Su Liuers one true love, as well as the Great Sages brother.

After meeting An Lu, Gu Li had changed. It was as if hed become a different person.

A prodigal sons return was worth more than gold. Gu Li had seen the light, and although Ye Zichen still bore him enmity, he was gradually coming to accept him.

The Great Sage hated Gu Li, but for the sake of the big picture, he chose not to act against him.

But Su Liuer.

Untying the knots in her heart would be far too difficult.

Even if Gu Li became the new messiah, even if he saved billions or trillions of lives, Su Liuer would never see him as anything but the reason Yuan Hong had died.

This was a fact, and there was nothing Gu Li could do about it! Ding!

Ding!

Suddenly, the sound of cell phone notifications filled the room. They were particularly jarring amidst the dead silence.

As Ye Zichen sat there, racked with anxiety, he listlessly took out his phone, opened his social media app, and saw that it was from the Stranger, or rather, the Divine Arbiter, one of the God Emperors closest confidantes.

There were only two words, the message brief and to the point.

You here?

Ye Zichens fingers tapped against the screen. He edited his response, then sent it.

Only Idealism: Im here. Whered you get the time to come looking for me? Right, I still havent gotten the chance to thank you for your help back in the mausoleum.

Stranger: Even without me, with that expert from the Yao-Sealing Pagoda, I imagine the likes of Yuchi Kong couldnt have harmed you.

Only Idealism: I still ought to thank you.

Back in the palaces true room, Ye Zichen had encountered grave peril as he faced down both Yuchi Kong and Huangfu Youming.

Fortunately, the Divine Arbiter had come just in time. After she blocked an otherwise fatal attack for him, Ye Zichen used peach juice as a lure to summon Cang Xiong. That was how hed avoided calamity.

As for the God-Smiting Bow.

It hadnt actually been much use.

Its arrows had been used up, and reusing old arrows didnt have much of an effect. Ye Zichen had used it mostly as a bluff, his goal, to win himself enough time to reach an agreement with Cang Xiong.

Stranger: If you really want to thank me, you ought to kill Yuchi Kong.

Stranger: If he tells Zhou Wu what happened, itll be hard to avoid a rift forming between us.

Stranger: On that note, Yuchi Kong is still in your Yao-Sealing Pagoda, isnt he? Do you have a use for him in there?

Only Idealism: I do!

Stranger: Are you planning to use him as leverage against the Yuchi and Huangfu families? Youve sure got guts.

To this, Ye Zichen merely responded with thought-provoking grin emoji, but he didnt say anything excessive.

At the end of the day, the Divine Arbiter had never clearly expressed a desire to join their alliance. Instead, shed made it perfectly clear that she was Zhou Wus, even in death.

Ye Zichen had every right to keep certain key secrets from her, and to avoid answering related questions.

The Divine Arbiter had said as much herself a long time ago!

Stranger: Alright, whether you hold onto him or not, I hope you wont let him spill anything he shouldnt.

Only Idealism: I cant guarantee that.

Stranger: Are you trying to land me in hot water?

Only Idealism: I absolutely have no such intentions. Ill do my best to make Yuchi Kong behave himself.

Only Idealism: But I doubt you sought me out just for a chat. Is there something you want to tell me about?

The Divine Arbiter fell silent for a long time.

Ye Zichen stared at his screen for at least a hundred breaths of time before he saw that the other party was typing.

Stranger: Im deeply conflicted!

Only Idealism: You chose to reach out to me, so even if youre conflicted, your heart must be pushing you in a certain direction. Say it! Has Zhou Wu done something cruel and extreme enough to make you think hes gone insane again?

Stranger: Yes!

When he saw this response, Ye Zichen was stunned. Hed said all that casually; he didnt think hed hit the nail right on the head.

Only Idealism: What did Zhou Wu do this time?

Stranger: He.

A moment later, when Ye Zichen read the rest of her message, his expression changed dramatically!