Of all the hostages taken, Yue Yang was by far the most comfortable.

Not only was he spared being crammed into the Gladiators’ Plaza with everyone else — he received excellent treatment from the star bandits, top to bottom. Besides ample food and clean clothes, he was given a cabin to himself. It wasn’t as luxurious as his old one, but it was far better than what an ordinary star bandit got.

The burly star bandit “Flower Duck,” who had appointed himself Yue Yang’s big brother and declared he’d look out for the boy from now on, brought over dinner — and Yue Yang, without the slightest ceremony, threw him out. Flower Duck had been feigning a heart-to-heart while in fact fishing for information, and Yue Yang slammed the door hard enough that it nearly flattened his nose. Then, thoroughly at his ease, he returned to the Grimoire World to rest, unable to be bothered with anything happening outside.

Rubbing his aching nose, Flower Duck went back in a huff to report to Boss Winged Tiger.

Winged Tiger roared with laughter.

But Raven, standing to one side, knit his brows slightly. “This young man will be hard to control, I fear. He isn’t the sort who’s willing to stand below another…”

“Black Leaf, that’s jealousy talking!” Winged Tiger reached out and clapped Raven on the shoulder, shaking his head with a laugh. “I understand it. You’re a young man yourself, and however broad a man’s heart may be, it still galls him a little to see another who’s finer and has more potential than he does. Any man who lays eyes on a formidable rival — whichever side he’s on — feels a certain twinge inside. That’s simply human nature.”

“That isn’t what I—” Raven began, then stopped himself.

“It’s fine. I understand.” Winged Tiger nodded at him. “And as you say — the young man may have potential, but whether he’s willing to join us is another question entirely. A young man like that has likely had capable people guiding him from behind all along. We’re only a band of star bandits; we could hardly contain so bright a future. Even so, I mean to try my luck. And until then, whatever you do, don’t let that fellow Wind Hawk find out — he’d fall out with me and try to poach the boy regardless!”

“Yes. I know what to do.” Raven, sure enough, dropped the subject.

“Boss Winged Tiger — word from Lord Wind Wing. Marshal Griffin, General Golden Eagle, and the reception envoy Mao Podi: all three still haven’t been found.” A burly star bandit hurried in to report.

“This is a bit strange.” Raven’s brows drew tight again.

“Griffin, Golden Eagle, and Mao Podi are certainly still aboard. They’re waiting for their chance to retake the Gannet.” Winged Tiger, wearing an ordinary soldier’s battle-armor, nodded. “I’d wager Griffin and Golden Eagle are lurking in the shadows, watching. What they truly fear is Flamingo — who fought two men at once earlier without giving ground — not Wind Hawk and me. They’ve probably already realized we’ve mastered the forbidden power, which is why they went to ground the moment the ship turned, denying us any chance to surround them! But that doesn’t mean they’ll simply hand the Gannet over to us… I have a feeling there’s a battle of dragons and tigers still to come. This is only the warm-up. Black Leaf — from here on, you’ll need to handle things with far greater care.”

“I’ll be doubly careful.” Raven didn’t dare grow complacent either. He might have mastered the forbidden power and multiplied his strength a hundredfold, but the positions held by Marshal Griffin and Great General Golden Eagle hadn’t been won through connections — they were a reputation forged in one bloody battle after another, hard-earned and real.

No one could afford to take them lightly.

Winged Tiger, in his ordinary soldier’s armor, thought for a moment. Then, after a pause, he gave Flower Duck an order: “Go press them at the bridge. Tell Pelican to hurry it up. We must reach the meteor belt between the Mountain Beyond the Mountain and Earth Valley as fast as possible. Only there is our own territory; only there is it truly safe. The Gannet isn’t the fastest of the sky-hanging motherships, but she can still make ten thousand kilometers in a day. Hm — by the look of it, another half day and we’re home. Have Pelican keep a close watch. At a juncture like this, we absolutely cannot afford a slip!”

Flower Duck took his orders and left. Winged Tiger sank back into thought, guessing at where aboard the ship Griffin and Golden Eagle might be hiding.

What place aboard could he possibly have overlooked?

Where would be the safest place of all?

Winged Tiger racked his brains without success.

At last, helpless, he let out a long sigh. “The plan was perfect, but the execution is riddled with holes. It seems that since obtaining the forbidden power, I’ve failed to keep my old caution and attention to detail — I’ve grown overconfident.”

In a wholly unremarkable cabin, a single table had been set out, with two men seated across from each other.

On the table was a game of chess. The battle was joined and fierce.

The players fixed their whole attention on the board, seemingly deaf to the footsteps of the star bandit search parties passing outside in wave after wave.

Beside the two, a third man sat watching the game, his expression somewhat tense — though whether because of the chess or because of the approaching footsteps, there was no telling…

The Grimoire World.

The moment Yue Yang returned, he summoned everyone at once.

Princess Qianqian and the others had already retired, but at the news they came hurrying over. Yue Yu and a few of the others had at least changed into proper clothes; Fengxian couldn’t be bothered, and simply came as she was, in a nightgown that concealed nothing at all — the twin buds of her fruit-red peaks straining against the fabric of those towering summits. As if that weren’t temptation enough, the Divine Punishment Empress kept yawning, sending waves rippling across her chest, until Inan and Xia Yi and the rest very nearly shriveled up like little quails from sheer inadequacy.

“Good grief. I wonder how long it’s been since she could see her own toes.” Princess Qianqian couldn’t resist the jab.

“She doesn’t mean you, Xiao Nu — don’t take it the wrong way!” Yue Yu, afraid Xiao Nu would be hurt, hastened to console her.

“Ha! It’s no use envying me. Only my little rascal knows how good they are!” Fengxian shot Yue Yang a smug, you-know-what-I-mean wink, which left the time-crosser’s mouth so dry he nearly adjourned the meeting on the spot, scooped up the Divine Punishment Empress, and charged for the bedroom to discuss the seventy-two bedchamber positions.

“If you called us here to admire your lecherous face, then congratulations — you’ve succeeded.” Princess Qianqian, exasperated at iron that refused to become steel, thumped Yue Yang with a fist.

“Ahem, ahem. I actually have serious business!” Yue Yang hastily gathered his wits.

“A forbidden power? And an ancient relic fragment that can command it?”

Once Yue Yang had laid it all out in detail, everyone fell silent. After a long while, Luohua was the first to speak: “This ancient relic fragment — could it be connected to the ancient relic you’re looking for?”

“It certainly is. Otherwise, why would that forebear inside the silver grimoire’s boundless world have sent him here to the Mountain Beyond the Mountain to search for it? My only worry is this: if the ancient relic has shattered into a great many fragments, gathering them all up is going to be a great deal of trouble.” Princess Qianqian, after careful thought, judged that the likeliest cause of the relic’s shattering was the battle and fall of the two great gods Taiyan and Bingli. If that were so, then it was possible that the remaining eight false gods each held a fragment — and the largest fragments at that — while what Raven and the other star bandits had obtained was merely the smallest of the scraps, holding the least divine power of all.

“We don’t know the situation in Earth Valley, but there’s no Law-restriction here in the Mountain Beyond the Mountain. When the time comes, we can go out and lend you a hand.” Fengxian was ready and waiting; if it came to that, she’d go out and try her hand against one of the false gods.

“Martial force may not be forbidden, but a hundredfold weakening isn’t a factor to be ignored either.” Yue Yu pointed out the crux of it with perfect rationality.

“If only we could use that forbidden power!” the Southern Wilderness Demon King sighed.

“No.” Luohua refused in a single word, and said gravely: “First, we don’t know how that forbidden power is obtained. Second, whether or not it breeds dependence, using another’s power to strengthen oneself is by its very nature a false strength. We cannot do it — otherwise, in terms of cultivation, it’s a boat sailing against the current: fail to advance and you fall back.”

“I was only making a hypothesis,” the Southern Wilderness Demon King hastily explained.

“Purely from a tactical standpoint, doing so isn’t entirely wrong — but it isn’t the best choice, and we’d do well to avoid it.” The Sick Beauty, who rarely spoke up, offered this to smooth things over for the Southern Wilderness Demon King. As Yue Yang’s first woman, she seldom interfered in or asked after outside affairs; yet in everyone’s hearts her standing was in a certain sense transcendent, and even the Divine Punishment Empress Fengxian treated her with a good measure of deference. As they all turned to look at her, the Sick Beauty broke into a smile — and her face was like the hundred flowers bursting into bloom when spring returns to the earth. Even in a room full of beauties, each lovely in her own distinct way, none could match, in that moment, the rare and gentle radiance of the Sick Beauty’s smile, tender as water and still as an unrippled pool.

The Sick Beauty reached out.

She lightly stroked the delicate, blossom-soft cheek of Inan, who was dozing off, slumped against Yue Yang’s chest — as gentle as a young mother.

Inan’s long lashes trembled faintly, half-waking; soothed by the Sick Beauty’s touch, she quickly settled back into contented sleep. The Sick Beauty raised a jade finger to her lips, signaling everyone to keep quiet, and said softly: “The forbidden power is difficult to control, very likely damages the body itself, and does nothing to benefit cultivation. If we can avoid using it, we should. But there is one thing I trust you’ve all noticed: the divine power stored inside the ancient relic resists the forbidden power. We may decline to use the forbidden power ourselves — but there’s no problem whatsoever with using ancient relic fragments.”

“Yes! With those, the enemy’s forbidden power is as good as useless!” Princess Qianqian was so delighted she nearly sprang up and slapped the table — but one look at Inan, asleep in Yue Yang’s arms, and she sat hastily back down. She lowered her voice, but couldn’t suppress her excitement.

“Little Third — this trip back, you’re planning to inlay everyone’s Black Tortoise Battle-Armor with ancient relic fragments, aren’t you?” The one who understood Yue Yang best was still Yue Yu.

“How did you guess?” Yue Yang was astonished.

“One look at that smug face of yours, like a child fishing for praise — anyone but a blind man could see it…” Yue Yu scolded him with a laugh. But having been the first to guess what he was up to, her own heart went sweet inside.

“You stole an ancient relic fragment back with you too?” At this, the excited Princess Qianqian couldn’t sit still a moment longer. She sprang up and gave Yue Yang a delighted little punch — nearly waking Inan — and then, adorably, stuck out the tip of her pink tongue, and reached out to pat Yue Yang’s cheek. “Good boy. Well done. It seems next time I’ll have to reward you with a—” She had meant to say reward you with a kiss, but one glance at everyone watching and her tsundere pride reasserted itself; she changed course at once: “—very good. Next time, Big Sister will reward you with a candy!”

Everyone was truly at their wits’ end with this proud, face-saving princess.

You could kiss him in front of all of us and nobody would say a word.

Must you really make things so hard on yourself?

Talking like that — even if it doesn’t exhaust you, the rest of us get exhausted just listening…

(End of Chapter 1142)