Inside Human Valley, Grimoires couldn’t be summoned.

War beasts couldn’t be used either.

But being called back into the Grimoire World by a life-guardian war beast was still permitted. Upon returning, Princess Qianqian and Yue Yu came to meet him — unlike the younger Yue Bing, who’d worn herself out training and gone to sleep early, mind clear as a stream. Today Yue Yang had needed to visit the Silver Maple City Lord as a new noble, and Yue Yu and the others had been anxious on his behalf the whole time.

In Human Valley where combat was forbidden, Yue Yang fighting alone could easily find himself in a genuinely dangerous position.

Seeing him return safely.

Even Princess Qianqian, that fierce girl who wore an icy surface expression, quietly let out a breath of relief.

“How did it go? What kind of person is the Silver Maple City Lord? What was his attitude?” Fengxian, who had just finished bathing and smelled wonderfully of fragrance, was the first to rush forward and wrap her arms around him for a kiss. This Divine Punishment Empress had none of the reserve of other girls — even in front of everyone, her approach was bold beyond measure, completely unconcerned about whether her behavior was setting a bad example for impressionable onlookers. Everyone had long since grown accustomed to her habit of embracing and kissing him the moment he returned. Yue Yu had found it somewhat awkward at first, but having seen it enough times, nobody thought anything of it anymore.

“The Silver Maple City Lord is a crafty old fox — extraordinarily patient, his composure goes very deep. He was probably deeply wary of Mother, and for ten years made no move whatsoever. But the moment I took over Star Diamond Castle, he confirmed Mother had left Human Valley and began acting immediately. To be fair, those moves were still relatively subtle, and he had someone else step forward to take the visible heat on his behalf. In short — he’s going to be a troublesome opponent.” Yue Yang summed it up.

“The prior intelligence had already shown this person wasn’t simple — among Human Valley’s great princes, he’s the one with the most substantive power.” Luohua nodded, then asked, “Beyond the Silver Maple City Lord, were there other notable figures?”

“At least three more.” Yue Yang smiled.

“That many?” Princess Qianqian’s elegant brows drew together slightly.

Someone notable enough for Yue Yang to name them as such — in all the Heavenly Realm, how many were there? And in a single Silver Maple City, there were four of them — beyond the Silver Maple City Lord and his old-fox ways, three more. That alone said something about how genuinely extraordinary a place Human Valley was.

Hearing this, Yue Yu felt her worry deepen.

Not being able to use combat power in Human Valley had always been her greatest concern for him.

Yue Yang gestured for her to relax, indicating he could handle things, then described what he’d seen and heard in Silver Maple City. “Beyond the City Lord, there was a man at the banquet named Hongye — lord of Fallen Leaf Island. He’s extraordinarily deep and concealed, outwardly completely unremarkable, the sort whose face you’d lose in a crowd. Throughout the banquet he kept such a low profile that nobody seemed to notice him. If not for the Heaven’s Eye seeing through his camouflage, I probably would have missed him too. He’s not the Solar King’s equal, but his strength and intelligence are definitely no less than the Silent King’s — possibly comparable to the Heavenly Empress. Whatever his reason for biding his time in Silver Maple City, I don’t know. I can only hope his target is the City Lord and not me — otherwise things could get complicated.”

Princess Qianqian nodded. “That’s the first. What about the other two?”

Raising another finger, Yue Yang continued, “The second is a serving woman at the City Lord’s side. Her status appeared low — she seemed to be doing nothing more than pouring wine for the Lord. But after close observation, I noticed that whenever a situation shifted, the Silver Maple City Lord’s eyes went to her first. From that, she’s either the City Lord’s top advisor, or his daughter. I’d stake my word that even a favored concubine couldn’t reach that level of trust.”

Luohua had only one concern: “Is she a great beauty or a lesser one?”

Yue Yang laughed outright. “When a city lord selects attendants one in a hundred for a formal banquet, how ugly could they be? Only a fool would put an unattractive attendant in a conspicuous position. All right, Luohua — your jealousy has reached the level where we could make a full dish of sweet-and-sour ribs with it.”

“Is she a reincarnated challenger?” Princess Qianqian wanted more information.

“On the surface, no emblem visible — but she may well have put it away. The City Lord himself showed no emblem either, but I’m completely certain this old fox is a challenger, and one with extremely close ties to the Central Divine Hall.” Yue Yang stated this with absolute conviction, drawing puzzled looks from everyone. Suspecting him to be a challenger was one thing — but how could he be so certain about the Central Divine Hall connection?

“Let me guess.” Inan joined the conversation, her black-and-white eyes brightening with sudden intelligence. “I think you must have seen a Central Divine Hall challenger at the banquet who had a close relationship with the Silver Maple City Lord.”

“Oh?” Everyone looked at Inan involuntarily, surprised. The girl didn’t usually show it, but she was quite perceptive.

“Did I guess wrong?” Inan lowered her head shyly.

“Not at all — you got it exactly right. Here’s your reward!” Yue Yang scooped her up happily and pressed a kiss to her clear little forehead, leaving Inan flushed with embarrassment, cheeks turning pink, as everyone erupted in laughter — which sent her burrowing further into his arms like an adorable little quail. Once the teasing and laughter had settled, Yue Yang’s expression turned serious. “Inan was right. I did see a Central Divine Hall challenger at the banquet — and that person was the Hall of Light Master, Zhonghua.”

“What — what?!”

The moment Yue Yang said it, every face changed, Princess Qianqian and Fengxian included.

The Central Divine Hall’s Hall of Light Master Zhonghua was absolutely a formidable figure — in strength he ranked just below Ji Wuri, and in strategic cunning he was easily Ji Wuri’s equal. Having such an adversary appear unexpectedly here was genuinely surprising.

Once the initial shock passed, everyone fell into thought, each quietly working through how to deal with the situation. Yue Yang, not wanting them to worry themselves, was quick to offer reassurance. “Don’t be concerned. Zhonghua doesn’t know who I am. He and Ji Wuri appear to be allies on the surface, but they’re actually bitter rivals competing intensely against each other. I posed as a reclusive heir of the Eastern Immortal Clan from the Upper Heavenly Realm, which delighted him — he made every effort to draw me in. For the time being there shouldn’t be trouble. At minimum, until Ji Wuri discovers me and exposes my real identity, Zhonghua won’t move against me.”

Yue Yu was still uneasy. “What if Zhonghua is only pretending not to know? Could it all be deliberate?”

Luohua had the same thought. “You walked in and inherited Star Diamond Castle immediately, becoming a new lord — Zhonghua shouldn’t have any reason not to know about that.”

Yue Yang shook his head. “The identity of Star Diamond Castle’s master has always been kept from people. Why else would the Silver Maple City Lord wait ten full years before making his move? And Zhonghua’s initial intention was to make trouble in White Sand Town and Black Rock Town. During the banquet, he’d nearly secured what he was after, but the moment he suspected I was an Eastern Immortal Clan heir, he dropped his entire scheme and pivoted to befriending me instead. I played along with his misunderstanding. If he knew I was a Sky Tower warrior, there’s no way he’d have extended friendship so eagerly, let alone worked so hard to recruit me into his anti-Ji Wuri camp.”

“That’s an unexpectedly favorable development.” Princess Qianqian smiled. “An enemy’s mistaken assumptions are exactly the kind of thing we can turn to our advantage.”

“Be extremely careful with words and actions. We absolutely cannot let Zhonghua see through the deception. Intelligent people are always especially suspicious — he won’t believe anything easily, and he’ll keep testing you.” Fengxian, sharp as always, went straight to the key point.

“I’ve already thought through how to handle him. If I can’t lead him around thoroughly by the nose, I don’t deserve to call myself competent.” At his current level, impersonating an Eastern Immortal Clan heir from the Upper Heavenly Realm posed no particular challenge for Yue Yang.

“It’s fortunate that inheriting Mother’s castle let us conceal things from Zhonghua this time. If it had only been Vivienne’s financial inheritance, he would have zeroed in on you immediately — that would have been dangerous. Ji Wuri and Zhonghua both entered Human Valley over three months ahead of us. With their strength, they’ve certainly already earned their qualifications. Since they’re no longer newcomers, we won’t encounter them at the Life Assessment Ceremony three months from now — we have at least three months of relative safety.” Princess Qianqian synthesized all the available information and analyzed it point by point, finding that Yue Yang still held certain advantages — particularly Zhonghua’s misunderstanding, which would likely make the early stage smooth sailing.

“That’s a relief.” Yue Yu felt her worry settle somewhat.

“What exactly is Zhonghua’s status here?” Fengxian was already thinking about how to make further use of Zhonghua’s misunderstanding — if he was going to have a false impression, better to deepen it.

“The Silver Maple City Lord’s tenth son.” Yue Yang added, “Ji Wuri has an even more audacious setup — he’s apparently the Sky Capital Prince. I’d guess he’s trying to claim the throne and build a great achievement for maximum scoring, to earn the Divine Codex’s recognition.”

“A move like that will make him everyone’s enemy. Leave him be for now — let the tigers fight while we watch from the mountain. That works perfectly in our favor.” Princess Qianqian felt this was the ideal arrangement — with Ji Wuri drawing all the fire, Yue Yang could develop quietly and quickly. She paused, then added with a nod, “It’s becoming clear that the Silver Maple City Lord really is connected to the Central Divine Hall. Ji Wuri sheltering under the puppet emperor’s name is at least marginally explainable — borrowing a prestigious lineage for cover. But a genuine power-holder like the Silver Maple City Lord actually accepting Zhonghua as his tenth son? If the City Lord wasn’t a Central Divine Hall affiliate, only an idiot would take in a nobody like Zhonghua and call him family.”

“You’re saying the Silver Maple City Lord might genuinely be Zhonghua’s father?” Inan blinked her large eyes in question.

“Quite possibly — or at minimum a close relative.” Fengxian agreed with Princess Qianqian’s assessment. Without the Silver Maple City Lord’s genuine acceptance, Zhonghua couldn’t have become his tenth son — after all, this wasn’t a game, and the City Lord was a real person with a real mind, not a quest-dispensing NPC.

“So what’s the plan going forward?” Inan felt they needed a solid strategy to develop under the shadow of the Central Divine Hall’s influence.

“Haha — the plan going forward is to rest!” Yue Yang declared cheerfully, scooped up the little woman, and bolted for the pool before she could protest. Fengxian cracked her knuckles enthusiastically and announced her intention to go help, on the grounds that sisters working together could tackle even the great demon king. Luohua felt the pull too, but with Princess Qianqian and Yue Yu both present, she was too embarrassed to say so.

“That man!” Princess Qianqian seethed, very much wanting to haul the shameless scoundrel back out and beat some sense into him.

“……” Yue Yu retreated to her room promptly, because in a few moments things would occur that weren’t suitable for all audiences, and she very much didn’t want to accidentally overhear anything.

The next morning, Yue Yang emerged refreshed and in excellent spirits.

Walking the streets of Silver Maple City.

After wandering partway around, he made his leisurely way to the Wanderer’s Guild to register.

The so-called Wanderer’s Guild referred to the reincarnated challengers. Within Human Valley, all challengers were generally regarded by the locals as “wanderers” — people returning from journeys abroad. The native inhabitants called challengers “wanderers” and referred to the act of entering from the outside as “returning home.” Of course, some native inhabitants were descendants of challengers and understood the truth, but after ten thousand years of using the same terminology, the names had simply stuck.

The Wanderer’s Guild only operated in larger cities, and came in two varieties: the “Heavenly Pride Wanderer’s Guild” for noble-born challengers, and the “Common Roots Wanderer’s Guild” for commoners. The training provided by each was entirely different.

The Heavenly Pride variety cultivated noble young masters in the art of being upper-class — how to live more elegantly, more richly, with greater refinement. The Common Roots variety, without apology, focused exclusively on survival: how to learn practical life skills in Human Valley, how to accumulate wealth, how to reach a point of comfortable stability as soon as possible.

For reincarnated challengers, of course, the real goal was clearing the gate as quickly as possible.

Human Valley was not a permanent home for challengers. Earning a hundred thousand Heaven Crystals and leaving the valley — that was the ultimate objective.

Because of his status as the lord of Star Diamond Castle, the staff received him with considerable respect. After completing his registration and pocketing the tip Yue Yang sent their way, the attendant leaned close and murmured a quiet recommendation: “The Thousand-Year Great Sage is currently holding a lecture for newcomers — if the Titan Lord has time, it would be well worth attending. An opportunity like this is genuinely rare. The Thousand-Year Great Sage only lectures in a single city per year, so if you miss this one, you’d have to wait until next year.”

Yue Yang didn’t need to hear more.

The lecture hall was packed with students listening attentively — by their numbers, most had traveled from elsewhere. Silver Maple City didn’t have nearly enough reincarnated noble newcomers to fill it on its own.

There was no getting a seat inside. Standing in the corridor to listen would have to do.

He wasn’t there for the sitting anyway.

Yue Yang pricked up his ears and listened, and what he heard gave him genuine surprise. The Thousand-Year Great Sage was speaking as follows:

“…What is life? Perhaps everyone believes they know what life is. Snakes and insects, birds and beasts, every creature you can name — including all our own races, gnomes and dwarves, demons and angels, elves and humans — all of what exists on this earth falls within what we see as life. But I would venture to say that many of you do not truly understand what life actually is, nor do you truly understand what life means.”

“The secrets of life are beyond even a divine being’s full comprehension. Deities can create many things — divine artifacts of immense power, resplendent divine halls, even a mountain, a lake, an ocean. In our eyes, deities seem capable of anything. But what you may not know is that even deities cannot easily create life — and the higher the form of life, the harder it becomes to create.”

“Many of us feel there’s no mystery to life. Every person in this room has the ability to dissect a living body. Kill a frog, open up its insides and examine the structure — straightforward, immediately obvious. Kill a wolf, extract its tissues and record them one by one — equally easy, no difficulty whatsoever.”

“And yet that is not the whole of life.”

“Life is not something whose full truth can be seen with eyes alone. It is deeply mysterious.”

“Let us take an example. A human — an ordinary mortal, no ability whatsoever, perfectly unremarkable, living like an ant. The hardships of life can easily bend his spine; illness and injury can easily destroy his existence. By the standard of many life forms, humans are particularly helpless. Life is fragile, easily shattered, and lifespan is extremely short — a hundred years and they return to a handful of earth. Their bodies have no inherent resistance — a knife opens them and blood flows. Pain can torture their bodies to the point of unbearable suffering. Most pitiable of all: humans lack powerful spiritual force. Every single day they must rest, sleeping each night, or their minds and bodies will collapse. Now consider — a creature this frail, a life form this fragile — why do we speak of them? Why give attention to something like this?”

“The reason is simple, and some of you may already know it. This pitifully weak human I just described — once they begin to grow, becomes the most powerful life form in existence.”

“Among all races, the number of humans who attain the divine realm is more than ten times the combined total of every other race put together.”

“I trust that having heard this contrast, you’ll begin to think.”

“What, then, is life, truly?”

“What is its secret?”

(End of Chapter)