Fu Qinglan stared blankly at Luo Chen's serious expression, still trying to process what had just happened. She had never seen this side of him before. Since arriving in the Central Continent, he had always been calm and restrained, so she had certainly never expected him to become so forceful the moment they entered the pocket world, much less over something involving one of her close friends.

To be honest, she was quite angry at first. He was supposed to be her Dao Protector, so how could he simply take charge as though the decision were his alone? Yet after that harsh lecture, her anger gradually gave way to doubt.

Is it right to back down? 

Luo Chen knew nothing of the thoughts running through her head, nor did he think there was much to think over. He had accepted Fu Chaosheng's request, and once he accepted a responsibility, he had to see it through faithfully.

Their original agreement had already benefited him greatly. Afterward, Fu Chaosheng had given him pills and the Withering Origin Fire Essence and then even tried to secure him a formal position as a Star Gate guest elder. Though that effort had ultimately failed, Luo Chen could hardly blame him for the result when he had clearly done everything within his power. Since Fu Chaosheng had treated him with such generosity, Luo Chen would naturally do everything he could to help Fu Qinglan in return.

The situation inside the pocket world only made that determination stronger. Fourth-tier illusory beasts appeared unpredictably and were extremely difficult to track down, so cores were hard to come by. More than that, he had no wish to stay here any longer than necessary. The sooner Fu Qinglan gathered enough cores to do whatever she had to do, the sooner they could leave. Now that one was already in his grasp, giving it away simply because Lin Bufan happened to...