Monitored... taken care of?
What does that mean?
He knew he was being monitored? He took care of those Imperial spies...
How did he take care of them?
Xiao Wu seemed like she hadn't fully woken up yet, shyly burying her face into Li Yifei's broad chest, only revealing a pair of pink rabbit ears that twitched slightly.
Zhu Zhuqing looked at the man before her, and her cold cat eyes instantly burst forth with brilliant starlight.
She looked at this mysterious and unfathomable man, observed her sister's almost fanatical gaze, and recalled the earth-shattering changes her sister had undergone recently.
One thought sent a chill through her entire body.
She finally asked, in a voice trembling uncontrollably, the question that was capable of changing her entire life, and even the destiny of the entire Zhu family.
"Zhuqing..."
"Who... exactly is he?"
Zhu Zhuqing turned her head to look at Li Yifei, her cold cat eyes filled with inquiry and deference.
Li Yifei nodded slightly.
Having received permission, Zhu Zhuqing looked back at her older sister.
She took a deep breath, her chest rising and falling slightly with excitement, and spoke word by word in an unprecedentedly solemn and fervent tone:
"Sister, he is not a 'who'."
"He is the one who can lead our Zhu family, and even the entire Douluo Continent, toward a new beginning..."
"God!"
The final word landed with a resounding impact!
"God?"
Zhu Zhuyun instinctively wanted to scoff.
Gods? Aren't the Gods of the Douluo Continent merely illusory beings from legends? Even reaching Godhood at Rank 100 is the endpoint of a Spirit Master's Cultivation, a Realm, not a living person!
But she couldn't laugh.
Li Yifei's previous uncanny method of appearance, and the casual manner in which he'solved' the Imperial spies, forced all her words of doubt to stick hard in her throat.
Zhu Zhuqing noticed her sister's wavering disbelief and continued, "I know you don't believe it. The gods we know are merely the pinnacle of power on this continent. But Brother Yi Fei... he comes from a higher-dimensional world. His power far surpasses any deity within our comprehension."
Higher dimension?
This was yet another term Zhu Zhuyun could not comprehend at all.
Seeing her sister's still bewildered and confused eyes, Zhu Zhuqing knew that any verbal explanation would be pale and weak.
She stopped speaking, and with Li Yifei's tacit approval, she stepped forward.
spirit power surged out of her body like a tide, but it wasn't a violent outburst; rather, it was a restrained and pure flow.
Yellow, Purple.
Two spirit rings rose beneath her feet.
Zhu Zhuyun's pupils suddenly contracted!
She stared intently at the spirit power fluctuations surging around her sister. She was intimately familiar with the intensity of that spirit power.
Rank thirty-seven!
Her spirit power definitely exceeded Rank thirty!
Her sister's spirit power had increased so much in such a short time!
But that wasn't the main point.
The main point was...
Where was the third spirit ring?
It was missing!
The purple spirit ring that should have coiled above the second spirit ring, the symbol representing the Soul Elder Realm, was empty!
How was this possible?!
This was a trampling upon the iron law of the entire Douluo Continent's Spirit Master system!
Without obtaining a third spirit ring, it was absolutely impossible for spirit power to break through the Rank thirty Bottleneck!
This was common knowledge, an axiom, the truth instilled in every Spirit Master since the day their Spirit Awakening!
But now, this truth was being utterly shattered before her eyes by her sister in the most unreasonable way possible!
Zhu Zhuyun's mind went blank.
She finally understood that her sister wasn't crazy.
She had truly encountered a miracle that could not be fathomed by common sense!
At this moment, the way Zhu Zhuyun looked at Li Yifei completely changed.
The previous wariness, fear, and vigilance crumbled completely in the face of ironclad fact.
In their place was a complex emotion mixed with reverence, shock, bewilderment, and a spark of burning hope ignited deep within her Soul.
She realized that her sister's words, "to flip the table and shatter the cage," might truly not have been empty talk.
Li Yifei took in all of Zhu Zhuyun's shifting expressions. He said nothing more, only stating calmly, "We shouldn't linger here."
He waved his hand casually, as if merely brushing dust off his sleeve.
The air ahead did not twist or tear; it simply parted smoothly to the sides, revealing a stable doorway emitting a warm, yellow halo.
On the other side of the door, bonfires leaped, and the stone walls were warm—it was the same mountain cave as before.
This unbelievable scene once again reorganized Zhu Zhuyun's understanding of power.
Spatial ability?
No, she had heard of Spirit Masters possessing spatial attribute Spirits, but when they used their Spirit Abilitys, their spirit power always raged, and space always trembled.
It was absolutely impossible for it to be as effortless and casual as opening and closing a window, like this man before her.
The two sisters passed through the light door, and the sight of the dense forest behind them vanished.
Warmth washed over them, dispelling the chill of the woods.
Li Yifei also walked in, and the light door quietly closed behind him without leaving a trace.
He casually took out two portions of hot food and handed them to Zhu Zhuyun and Zhu Zhuqing, who were still in a daze.
Having survived a disaster and then experienced a massive shock to her worldview, the simple warmth caused the nerves that Zhu Zhuyun had kept tense for over a decade to finally relax completely at this moment.
She silently took the food, swallowed, and whispered, "...Thank you."
In the cave, the firelight illuminated everyone's faces.
Xiao Wu was still sleeping soundly in Li Yifei's arms, breathing evenly.
For the first time, the two sisters faced each other not as pursuer and fugitive.
Zhu Zhuqing voluntarily sat next to her sister and lowered her voice, selectively recounting some of her experiences after joining the magical Chat Group.
Of course, she omitted the core secrets of the Chat Group, only saying that it was an Opportunity bestowed by Brother Yi Fei.
When Zhu Zhuyun heard that the former Clear Sky Douluo, Tang Hao, who once dominated the continent, was casually wiped out by Li Yifei with a single gesture, leaving not even ashes behind, the hand holding the food trembled uncontrollably.
That was a Titled Douluo!
That was an existence that she, and the entire Zhu family, had to look up to!
And he was just... gone?
She looked at the man gently stroking the back of the girl in his arms, and a chill mixed with inexpressible excitement rushed straight to her head.
It turned out that the so-called strong, the so-called rules, were truly... utterly vulnerable in front of this man.
The night gradually deepened.
Xiao Wu had long fallen sound asleep in Li Yifei's arms, even adjusting to a more comfortable position, curled up entirely within the curve of his arm.
Zhu Zhuqing yawned and unhesitatingly walked to Li Yifei's other side, lying down close beside him, resting her head on his arm, closing her eyes with a satisfied smile on her lips.
It was as if that spot was the safest and warmest harbor in the entire world.