Yan Wei didn’t respond to Zhuo Xidong.
Although he hadn’t deliberately concealed his past before this Ascension since recovering his memories, he didn’t particularly enjoy being recognized. If it weren’t for the sudden turn of events forcing him to confront Zhuo Xidong head-on, he would have preferred to pass by this old rival unnoticed and end this instance quietly.
Especially now, as he pieced together his own speculations and the fragments of the Malevolent’s words, he had come to understand why he had been given a second chance.
It was simply because destroying the Tower would have meant Yan Mingguang’s annihilation, and he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He had given up when success was within reach.
Yan Wei wondered, what if those who recognized him knew that he could have ended all of this long ago but had hesitated and let the opportunity slip away? Would they blame him? If he hadn’t been given this second chance, would the Players who died between his last Ascension and this one have lived entirely different lives?
Those hundreds of fleeting figures who perished in the instances, the momentary rivals he had clashed with in this journey, and the friends who hadn’t made it this far—Zhou Tian, Ding Xiao, and now Lin Qing, whose life hung by a thread…
No one had the responsibility to stand in front of everyone, nor the right to blame others for not saving them. The life of one versus the lives of thousands—it was an ancient and unanswerable dilemma, where no one life was inherently more valuable than another.
Yan Wei understood this, yet he couldn’t help but blame himself.
He glanced at Zhuo Xidong, then turned his head away, carefully rotating the Guanyin Purification Vase in his hands. His only thought now was to quickly leave the Shen Estate with Lin Zhen and the others. The Malevolent’s words, combined with Lin Qing’s sudden crisis, had made Yan Wei even more worried about Lin Qing and Lin Zhen.
Zhuo Xidong had been ready to rally the other Players to fight for the vase, but the moment he recognized Yan Wei, he abruptly raised his hand to stop the Shen Estate faction’s Players from advancing any further.
His gaunt face was filled with shock. Though one eye was covered by an eyepatch, his other eye stared intently at Yan Wei, more in horror than surprise.
He was all too familiar with that voice.
In that dark, hidden instance, his proud skills had been repeatedly seen through by this person. Every strategy he thought was foolproof had been effortlessly dismantled. He had remained hidden in the shadows for so many years, only revealing some information in the Ghost Marsh instance—all because of V.
When he heard that V had disappeared in the top-floor instance, Zhuo Xidong’s reaction was different from the others’ regret.
He had breathed a sigh of relief.
But that relief now caught in his throat.
The shadow V cast over him was too great. Even after all this time, he still remembered the feeling of being utterly outmatched, no matter what he tried. In that moment, countless possibilities flashed through Zhuo Xidong’s mind as to why V was here, but only one thought remained—V was on the opposing side.
Having survived in the Tower World for so long, his greatest strength was making snap decisions.
Regardless of the reason, V was his opponent once again, and V had already obtained the Guanyin Purification Vase.
Zhuo Xidong immediately said, “We’ll give up the Guanyin Purification Vase. Old Xu, grant us all permission to pass through the barrier. We’re leaving!”
He was the undisputed leader of the Shen Estate faction, and the other Players didn’t dare question him. In an instant, they moved in unison with Zhuo Xidong. The Player named Old Xu, who controlled the barrier, activated his Legendary Item, and with a wave of Lin Qiao’s hand, the group vanished from Yan Wei’s sight.
Geng Liang was stunned. “…They ran!??”
Zhong Bufan wasn’t surprised. If Yan Wei really was that person, the name alone was enough to send people fleeing. Zhuo Xidong had acted decisively, knowing that a direct confrontation was impossible—even though Yan Wei hadn’t said a word, Zhong Bufan blindly believed that V had a way.
Yan Wei, however, was somewhat taken aback.
This time, he had miscalculated. He hadn’t expected his mere presence to be so intimidating to Zhuo Xidong that they would leave without even starting a fight.
“This is bad,” Zhong Bufan’s expression suddenly darkened as he looked up at the transparent barrier only Players could see. “This Legendary Item has a time limit and can’t be broken by force. They’ve left the Shen Estate, but we’re trapped here.”
Lin Zhen: “What about my brother…”
Yan Wei exchanged a glance with Yan Mingguang.
Yan Mingguang shook his head. “This is a completely rule-compliant Item.”
He himself could bypass the instance’s rules and even contend with the Malevolent, but he couldn’t interfere with other Players’ movements within the instance. He could come and go freely, but he couldn’t take Yan Wei and the others with him.
Yan Wei looked at Lin Zhen, his expression growing darker.
The Malevolent had made its move to discourage him, so it wouldn’t have dealt with Lin Qing lightly. Even without seeing it, he could guess that Lin Qing’s life was… hanging by a thread.
Yet, apart from some superficial wounds, Lin Zhen hadn’t sustained any new injuries since earlier.
Lin Qing… what exactly was he thinking?
Yan Wei tucked the Guanyin Purification Vase into his sleeve and said, “Zhuo Xidong is probably planning to take a different approach, but our priority right now isn’t to confront them. We need to get out…”
He turned and glanced at the small courtyard filled with overwhelming Resentment, whispering, “The array.”
At Jiang Jingyun’s resting place, there was an array that none of the Shen Estate Players had known about.
The unknown was always a variable.
Under the endless stele.
All the speculations and uncertainties were answered in Zhuo Xidong’s single sentence: “It’s you.”
They had argued fiercely before, but now that the dust had settled, there was nothing left to say.
Xu Miaomiao looked up, her grip tightening on her bone staff. She had never openly discussed Yan Wei’s identity with Ding Xiao, relying solely on her own speculations. Now, with Zhuo Xidong’s confirmation, she still felt a sense of unreality.
Beside her, Ding Xiao smiled sweetly. “…It’s him.”
Xue Wan nearly dropped the knife in her hand.
Xiang Ying, shaking his bald head, sighed. “It seems my years of surviving high-floor instances have sharpened my instincts.”
In a remote corner of the Tower World.
The Player who had thought he’d mistaken Yan Wei rubbed his eyes, opened his mouth, but couldn’t find the words.
The Tower World seemed eerily quiet, yet in every corner, similar voices murmured. Countless words ultimately condensed into a single phrase.
—He’s back.
“It’s a one-way transport array! From your description, if I’ve drawn it correctly…”
Song Cheng’an, completely ignoring the biting cold of the thick snow on the long steps, crouched in the snow. The white ground was stained with blood from Lin Qing’s wounds. Using a dry branch, he quickly sketched the array’s pattern based on Yan Wei’s description.
“This is a one-way transport array with an unknown starting point and Jiang Jingyun’s corpse as the endpoint. If—”
Yan Wei’s voice immediately came through the communication. “If I draw a reversal array based on this, would Jiang Jingyun’s coffin become the starting point?”
“Theoretically, yes. If you successfully activate the reversal array, the transport array at the coffin’s location will briefly reverse direction, sending you to its original starting point. And from your description, this transport array covers a considerable distance, so it could indeed get you out of the Shen Estate. But what about the Resentment at the coffin?”
“As long as we can get out, I’ll handle it,” Yan Wei said. “How’s Lin Qing?”
Song Cheng’an instinctively glanced toward the side hall entrance.
Yu Feizhou sat nearby, his wounds continuously increasing. Lin Qing leaned weakly against the doorframe, his face calm but his body covered in blood. His exposed skin was turning black, as if corpse spots were about to appear at any moment.
This was the backlash from the Resentment that had surged through the array from the Black Sea the moment Lin Qing opened the door, corroding his life force bit by bit.
If Lin Qing hadn’t immediately split part of the damage to Lin Zhen, and if Yu Feizhou hadn’t been transferring the wounds while healing, Lin Qing would have died the moment he opened the door.
But even now, it wasn’t much better.
At best… he was only holding on for a little longer.
Such sudden crises were something Song Cheng’an had experienced countless times in the instances, accustomed to brief encounters followed by farewells. But this was the final top-floor instance, the moment they were so close to Ascension. It felt like reaching for the stars only to fall from a great height, missing by a hair’s breadth.
Yu Feizhou had told him that Lin Qing had heard Lin Zhen’s cry for help.
Regardless of how the fake cry had come about, someone like Lin Qing should have known it was likely a trap, aware of the dangers lurking at every step in the instance.
It was simply a case of concern clouding judgment.
No matter how accustomed he was to remaining detached, Song Cheng’an still felt a dull ache in his chest.
He thought of how Lin Qing, even in his weakened state, had sternly ordered him to keep silent and not hinder Yan Wei. Finally, he said, “He’s still alive.”
For now.
Yan Wei understood the implication.
He said, “We’ll be there soon.”
Lin Zhen, sitting nearby, hummed a tune, leisurely tending to his wounds with the medicine he’d exchanged.
Zhong Bufan couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t you worried about when Old Lin might pass?”
Lin Zhen shrugged. “Either way, I’ll die first.”
Yan Wei, caught between urgency, frustration, and a hint of amusement, didn’t know what to say to Lin Zhen, so he said nothing. He walked up to Yan Mingguang and said seriously, “Since Zhuo Xidong has another plan, hoping to complete the task while we’re trapped in the Shen Estate, let’s take advantage of this opportunity. We’ve got the Guanyin Purification Vase, and now we need Jiang Jingyun’s Ghost body. If this is a one-way transport array, and Jiang Jingyun’s corpse is surrounded by Resentment, it’s almost certain that the other end leads to Jiang Jingyun’s Ghost body, which has been haunting Guanyin Town all these years.”
So all the Resentment that emerged after the killings had been gathering through this array, from Jiang Jingyun’s Ghost body to her resting place, accumulating over the years into this overwhelming force.
The corpse within that Resentment must have been transformed into something unrecognizable.
If they reversed the array now, they would most likely be transported directly to Jiang Jingyun’s Ghost body. Though it was an unprepared leap, it was the fastest way to capture the Ghost body and escape the Shen Estate.
Yan Mingguang nodded. “Don’t worry. After you finish the array, use your skill to let me know.”
The array was at the resting place, surrounded by overwhelming Resentment. Only Yan Wei, in his Undying State, could enter.
For all of them to leave, Yan Wei would have to enter first, draw the reversal array, and at the moment it activated, Yan Mingguang would use his teleportation skill to bring Lin Zhen and the others to the array’s center. Entering too early would expose them to the Resentment, and too late would mean Yan Wei had already left.
But Yan Mingguang was the one timing it.
Given his identity, even if he was currently wearing a Player’s skin, wasn’t every second of the instance under his control?
Yan Wei wasn’t worried at all.
After instructing Lin Zhen and the others, he turned and walked into the Resentment.
Yan Wei endured the negative emotions brought by the Resentment and stopped in front of the coffin, cutting his finger.
Song Cheng’an, through the Black Ring’s communication, guided him step by step on how to draw the reversal array based on the one on the Guanyin statue.
Arrays were Song Cheng’an’s expertise. Yan Wei hadn’t delved deeply into these Ghost-related array techniques, but he could manage a brief imitation. Maintaining focus, he used the blood from his palm to draw a short-lived reversal array over the existing one at the coffin.
The moment the final stroke was completed, Yan Wei sent a mental message to Yan Mingguang: Now.
In the next instant, the final line of the reversal array connected, completing the pattern. The one-way transport array reversed direction, and Yan Mingguang, using his teleportation skill, brought Lin Zhen and the others into the array.
The Resentment enveloped them as the array activated.
The barrier over the Shen Estate remained intact, but Yan Wei and the others felt the world spin around them. In the blink of an eye, they found themselves in an unknown location.
When Yan Wei steadied himself, he caught the familiar, alluring floral scent he had once smelled at Guanyin Academy. Candlelight flickered before him, bed curtains hung low, and the room seemed warm, yet the air was chillingly cold.
A figure in a bright red dress, sitting by the bed, stiffened, clearly not expecting their sudden appearance.
Zhong Bufan exclaimed, “—Ayu!?”
