Beneath the broken tower that had turned into flesh, amid the dancing flames and thick smoke, a withered, hunched figure slowly appeared as Ye Xian advanced. He had been sitting there from the very beginning, not moving at all. Simply watching everything happen in silence, he looked on coldly as he enjoyed the tragic disaster and drama unfolding before his eyes.

Master Kong looked as if she had been struck by lightning, and cold sweat poured down her back. She had just walked out from there, and because of the chaos and her injuries, she hadn’t noticed him at all.

What frightened her even more was that man’s face. It looked so old. Clearly, it was a face she knew so well, yet at this moment, it felt utterly unfamiliar. She almost couldn’t believe it.

He was the master sent by the Association, the administrator in charge of all alchemy work in Spring City, the one who had proposed and overseen the entire construction project and every part of its process—Duan Mu.

Her muscles stiff,...