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In order to ensure that Ye Zichen wasn't ambushed and injured again, Xue Yang arranged for him to stay in a little standalone home right beside where the Hermit Emperor was staying.

That wasn't all. The other Great Emperors took up residence in the surrounding huts, and throughout the night, at least one of them would be up, scanning the area with their divine sense on high alert. They absolutely wouldn't let anything like this happen again.

Whoever it was had slipped past Ye Rong's Seven Star Lock without any injuries, so they were almost certainly a star bearer, and of a high-ranked star, too. The probability of that was over ninety percent.

Xuan Ji and Ye Rong had already started their investigation. Although the Society of Saints was formed of star bearers, that didn't mean every single star bearer in the Upper Three Realms was in their ranks. It was similar to how not every single spiritual formation master joined the Supreme Hall. Su Yiyun, for instance, hadn't done so.

As such, the focus of their investigation was "star bearers who hadn't joined the Society of Saints." At the same time, they were investigating all bearers of five or more stars. There were countless star bearers, so if they limited the scope of their investigation, they were much more likely to get useful results.

They left Ye Zichen's care to Xiao Yumei and the others. Furthermore, the Hermit Emperor was nearby, so if anything happened, he'd sense it immediately.

Although the Hermit Emperor had said Ye Zichen needed strict bedrest, his room was currently full of people.

They were all members of Skyspan Academy. Bei Bei told them what had happened, and they were worried, so they rushed over to see his situation for themselves.

Yang Jian and the Great Sage stood outside like temple guardians, their divine senses intercrossed and covering the entire area on high alert.

Suddenly, without any advance warning, the unconscious Ye Zichen sat up. He rubbed his right eye, then touched his c.h.e.s.t.

"Brother Ye.

"Zichen."

The room instantly burst into uproar. Xiao Yumei almost burst into tears of happiness, and Pao Jingwan dashed out to find the Hermit Emperor.

"Why are you all here?" Ye Zichen's eyes were full of shock as he stared at the room full of people. Then, he glanced outside…..

It was already dark out.

"Why is it this late already?" He instinctively rubbed his eye and c.h.e.s.t.

As he did that, the Hermit Emperor walked inside. Ye Zichen wanted to stand to greet him, only for the Hermit Emperor to push him back into bed, grab his remaining wrist, and take his pulse.

"Do you remember what happened before you went unconscious?"

"First, my eye started to hurt, then the pain spread throughout my head, then to my heart, and then I lost consciousness," said Ye Zichen.

The Hermit Emperor narrowed his eyes, then took off Ye Zichen's outer clothes. The emperor's palms glowed with iridescent turquoise light as he searched Ye Zichen's body for clues.

However, the second he removed Ye Zichen's outerwear, the Skyspan Academy student society heads froze, shocked.

Practically every inch of him was covered in wounds. Some had already started filling back in, while others were still scabbing over.

What horrified them even more was his left arm, or rather, his lack thereof. From the shoulder down, there was nothing at all.

The angle of the cut lined up perfectly with the scar over his eye, forming one long continuous gash.

When they first saw Ye Zichen's eye, they were already stunned. None of them would have guessed that his wounds were this severe.

Xiao Yumei couldn't help but sob, while Yang Jian and the Great Sage averted their gaze.

No one wanted to look directly at his wounds, but Ye Zichen, the person who had to deal with them, had acted like nothing was wrong. He'd never told his friends what he'd been through.

If not for the Hermit Emperor barging in and taking off his clothes, Murong Xue and the others might never have found out.

"I can't see anything out of the ordinary. I'll come tomorrow to check up on you again."

"I apologize for the trouble, Hermit Emperor." Ye Zichen nodded at him and smiled. "Senior, remember what you said to my mother? Do you think she'll agree?

With that, he turned and left.

By now, Ye Zichen had already put his robes back on. He glanced at the others and took in their expressions. "I must have scared you, huh?" His tone was light, as if he were just joking around.

Despite herself, Murong Xue instantly burst into tears. Beibei bit her lip; it was unclear what she was thinking. The atmosphere was suddenly heavy.

"Jiang Wei, why did you tag along? These sort of group activities don't suit you," said Ye Zichen, changing the subject.

"They don't suit me, and it is a bit awkward." Jiang Wei nodded. "But those wounds…."

"It's nothing but a scratch. It's not even worth mentioning."

"A scratch? Your whole left arm is gone, and your left eye, and your body is covered in wounds that would have killed anyone else," said Jiang Yong.

"Scars are a man's pride. Alright, quit looking so sad. At least I'm still alive, right? And I brought that sc.u.mbag Bai Yulong back with me. Also, compared to Xue Mo, my injuries don't count for much."

Xiao Yumei helped Ye Zichen put his clothes back on properly. Then, Ye Zichen sat cross-legged on the bed.

"Of course not. We wouldn't let him die so easily. We have some spare time, so we thought he'd pay him another visit. We'll definitely make him beg for death," said Jiang Yong.

"That's for the best. Whatever you do, don't let him die. So long as you keep him alive, though, you can do whatever you want."

"But that Bai Yulong keeps shouting about how the God Emperor ordered him to do it," said Luo Zi. "Brother Ye, is he telling the truth?"

"He's lying," said Ye Zichen, denying it without hesitation. "Don't listen to a word he says. It's true that the God Emperor raised up the Bai Family. However, out of concern for the God Realm's stability, the God Emperor didn't intervene even when they faced destruction. Bai Yulong is bitter about it, and wants us to suffer too, which is why he's flinging baseless accusations at the God Emperor. He's just trying to stir up internal conflict."

"As expected. That guy really is an irredeemable sc.u.mbag," said Xu Lei.

"He's even trying to stir up trouble between the Divine Mountains and the God Emperor. It seems we ought to discipline him even harder, until he has no energy left to spout lies and slander." Chen Guangfa snorted in agreement.

Everyone from Skyspan Academy was furious, but Yang Jian knew the truth. He glanced furtively at Ye Zichen.

Ye Zichen glanced back at him, indicating that he should imitate Jiang Yong with the others.

Yang Jian took the hint. He gnashed his teeth and cursed alongside them.

Once the room was empty save for those already in the know, Yang Jian knit his brows and asked the question he'd been bottling up this whole time. "Ye-zi, you don't really think Bai Yulong is lying, do you?"

"What's wrong with your brain? You really believed what Ye Zichen said earlier?" Pu Jingwan rolled her eyes. "He said that earlier to hide the truth from his friends. We still need to maintain the balance between the Divine Mountains and the God Emperor. We can't break the peace now. Even I, someone from the Outside, understand that. How could you be so…."

"Aren't I an Outsider too? What are you going on about?" Yang Jian glared at her. "Wasn't I just…"

"Shh!" Ye Zichen interrupted their argument before they built up steam. He put his finger to his lips, then pointed outside his door.

Their expressions turned serious, and the Great Sage inched towards the door. Yang Jian and Pu Jingwan kept glaring at each other, but they nevertheless stood protectively before Ye Zichen until the Great Sage kicked in the door.

"Ouch!"

When they hurt that pained shout, everyone in the room froze. They then watched as a young woman crawled up off the ground, her eyes watering slightly.

When they saw who it was, everyone was shocked.

"Beibei!"