Chapter 341 - 227: Return to School, Speculation

Chapter 341: Chapter 227: Return to School, Speculation

Passing through the black mist, Yu Fei set foot on his home planet once more. A wave of joy surged through his heart, and every cell in his body seemed to cheer. He felt like a prodigal son finally returning to his mother’s embrace. The spiritual comfort was so intoxicating that Yu Fei’s eyes began to well with tears.

’Something’s not right...’

Yu Fei abruptly snapped out of his reverie. He looked at Jiang Nianwei and asked,

"How does it feel to be back?"

Jiang Nianwei was confused. "It’s great! The sky in the Abyss is always red, and staying there for too long feels really oppressive. It’s so much more comfortable back home!"

Yu Fei pressed, "But do you feel an overwhelming sense of welcome from our home planet? The kind that makes you so emotional you want to cry?"

Jiang Nianwei’s eyes widened as she stared at Yu Fei. "Don’t scare me. We need to get back to school and have Mr. Tang take a look at you. Your mood swings are out of control.

We were only gone for seven days. It was like a business trip. I mean, it’s nice to be home, but it’s not as dramatic as you’re making it sound!

Something’s wrong with you!"

Yu Fei suppressed the turmoil in his heart and gave a small smile. "It’s nothing. I’m just being sentimental. Let’s head back."

After leaving Demon Suppression Gate, they boarded the train for their return journey. Along the way, Yu Fei speculated that this sudden onslaught of emotion might be related to his newly upgraded gold-tier talent, Shenxiao Saint Body.

[Effect 6: Aegis: You are favored by the will of the planet. You may receive sudden insights when a crisis is imminent.]

The description on the Fate-Defying Pearl was starkly clear, explicitly stating that the planet beneath his feet possessed its own will. Yu Fei had researched it extensively at the time but had never found any similar records.

Perhaps he could discuss this with Ye Shuping. He also possessed a gold-tier talent; maybe it, too, came with the effect of being favored by the planetary will.

Yu Fei held no ill will toward the planet beneath his feet; on the contrary, it was his home. If another race were to ever invade his home planet, he would willingly fight to the death.

But that decision had to come from his own will, from his own emotions—not as a result of interference from some so-called planetary will. Not as a result of... manipulation!

Life craves freedom—the freedom to choose anything, even death.

If one’s thoughts were being manipulated, then even if one were doing the right thing, the individual would have lost their true self. The preservation of that self was life’s most basic, instinctual need.

Once he was back on his home planet and communications were restored, the first thing he did was contact Ye Shuping. He simply said he had a few questions and wanted to speak with the old master.

Ye Shuping took the matter very seriously and immediately agreed, telling him to come to the Gui Zhen Dojo as soon as he returned to school.

And so, poor Tang Lihui once again had his territory commandeered by his own teacher.

An old man and a young man sat facing each other across a simple, unadorned tea table.

The water boiled. As the tea steeped, delicate green buds floated to the surface and stood on end. A sense of summer freshness, of all life bursting with vitality, filled the air. Yu Fei, who had arrived with a heavy heart, suddenly felt a sense of calm wash over him.

Ye Shuping’s movements were concise, natural, and simple—as immovable as a mountain, yet perfectly controlled.

"Here. This is ’Jade Green,’ a new harvest from the Xiaoqingquan Boundary Realm. Have a taste. It should help get rid of that demonic stench you’re carrying."

Yu Fei had, of course, washed up and changed his clothes before meeting Ye Shuping. But to the old master’s eyes, his spirit was still stained with the blood and fire of the battles he had endured.

He looked at the vibrant green tea before him, and after a moment’s thought, downed it in one go.

’I hope he didn’t spike this with anything,’ Yu Fei thought.

His experience with the Long Lake Forgetfulness Tea had left a lasting impression. While its effects were second to none, the memory of its side effects still gave him pause.

As the tea passed his lips, Yu Fei’s mind drifted into a trance. He seemed to enter a forest after a rainfall, transforming into a tree—without thought or worry, without fear or sorrow, losing all track of time in his reverie.

Suddenly, a breeze seemed to blow through him, and Yu Fei’s consciousness returned to his body. He was overcome with an indescribable sense of lightness and peace.

Ye Shuping sighed softly. ’Like casting pearls before swine,’ he thought. ’What a waste of fine tea.’

"Master, have you ever heard of a planetary will?"

Yu Fei asked, voicing the hidden worry in his heart directly.

"Hmm? Why do you ask?"

Ye Shuping was surprised. ’Shouldn’t this kid be asking me about his emotional instability?’ he thought.

Yu Fei spoke frankly. "Not long ago, I had a dream where it felt like my consciousness was pulled from my body. I was taken to some kind of realm of consciousness, a place that felt incredibly welcoming and familiar. The dream felt completely real. Then, just now, as I returned from the Abyss, the moment I stepped onto our home planet, I felt that same unprompted sense of intimacy.

I don’t think it’s just an illusion, which made me think of things I’ve read in novels. I started to wonder... could there be such a thing as a planetary consciousness?"

Ye Shuping fell into deep thought. Yu Fei’s words had stirred a distant memory. Over two hundred years ago, when he had advanced to the rank of Martial Saint, he too had a brief experience of his consciousness being pulled from his body.

And every time he returned from a Boundary Realm, he did indeed feel a profound sense of familiarity, as if returning after a long absence.

’Could it be...?’

"Isn’t feeling that connection a good thing? It just shows how deeply you love this land!"

He chuckled.

Yu Fei didn’t mince words. "Master, of course I love the land beneath our feet. But I believe a person’s thoughts should be their own. That feeling of connection... it didn’t feel like it came from my true self. It was too sudden!"

Ye Shuping’s expression remained unchanged. "You’re just overthinking things. Call it a stress response from killing too many monsters."

"Really? Maybe I am overthinking it, then."

Yu Fei didn’t press the issue. He placed his right hand on the teapot, lifted it to pour Ye Shuping a cup, then refilled his own and downed it in one gulp.

The crude gesture made Ye Shuping’s brow twitch. He resolved then and there not to let Yu Fei touch the teapot again.

The "Jade Green" was remarkably effective. After downing that cup, Yu Fei felt the boundaries of his Divine Sense slowly expanding once more, and this time, he detected no adverse side effects.