"master……?"

Before Pan Ling could react, she suddenly felt everything go black.

When she opened her eyes again, the scene around her was different—it was clear that Xu Shi had brought her to his "threshold space".

A place where conversations are convenient and there is no risk of being eavesdropped on or having information leaked.

What are you doing here?

She blinked, shook her head to ease the discomfort in her heart, and then asked.

"Don't pretend in front of your teacher. Do you think I don't know what you're thinking?"

Xu Shi smiled. "I think you should know what I'm going to tell you next."

Pan Ling pursed her lips; her master was right.

Or perhaps, she has already figured out quite a few things.

After the war with the Papacy, Xu Shi's attitude towards her was actually a bit strange.

The main issue concerns matters related to "natural law".

Aside from answering her questions at the beginning, Xu Shi never mentioned this matter in front of her. He simply asked her to do the things she was already doing, and even seemed to be preventing her from getting involved.

However, he did not stop his foolish apprentice from investigating through others, such as Su Lin and the others, or even Old Master Wen. It can be said that Pan Ling learned far more about "Heavenly Principles" from them than from Xu Shi, her proper master.

On the contrary, Xu Shi, upon careful calculation, realized that today might be the first time he had formally discussed the topic of "natural law" with Pan Ling.

If you connect all of this together, it's actually a bit like...

"Yes, you guessed right, you can think of all of this as a test."

Xu Shi knew what she was thinking and nodded calmly. "Now the test is over, and my assessment is... you did very well."

"Well, it's not just good, I'd give it a 99 out of 100. I'm afraid you'll get arrogant if I give you one less point."

He thought about it and then changed his tune, rarely giving her such a high degree of affirmation.

"……oh."

Perhaps because she had guessed this, Pan Ling wasn't particularly happy to hear this, but simply replied calmly, "Then what is your purpose in doing this..."

"To have a backup plan."

Xu Shi laughed and said, "Or perhaps, I should find a suitable person to take over for myself?"

"I really didn't expect that you could deduce the 'protagonist halo' on your own... To be honest, after so long, I myself have overlooked this aspect."

He said seriously, "That's why I said you're excellent. It wasn't for nothing that I've taught you for so long."

That's the truth. He didn't tell Pan Ling everything about "Heavenly Principles" on his own initiative because he wanted to see how much she could learn and what she could analyze through her own investigation.

He didn't expect the final result to be so good; to be honest, it was a bit beyond his expectations.

"If you can do this well now, you might even do better than your teacher in the future."

Xu Shi cleared his throat and continued, "Now there's only one thing I need to confirm with you: do you... have any thoughts about overturning 'natural law'?"

"I... I still have many areas where I haven't done well enough..."

Pan Ling immediately understood what he meant and instinctively waved her hand in refusal, "Perhaps there's someone more suitable than me... right?"

"You're right, never think you're the best."

Xu Shi remained noncommittal, but upon hearing this, he simply shook his head, "However, I don't have the time to look for anyone else, let alone the inclination to take on a second apprentice."

"All you need to do is answer me: do you actually have this thought?"

"……some."

Pan Ling didn't hesitate for long this time before giving her answer.

To be honest, the reason she kept asking people around her about "the principles of Heaven" was because Xu Shi had given her a heads-up that day, which piqued her interest.

Having grown accustomed to her master's unrestrained and carefree attitude, she could no longer accept having her life controlled by others, and she desperately wanted to change all of this.

"That's fine then."

Xu Shi could tell that this was her true feeling, and his tone relaxed a bit. "Then remember this well: if anything really happens to your teacher, you will have to take over everything from me, and you will have to finish the things that are not yet finished."

"Master, you shouldn't say such things!"

Pan Ling became a little anxious upon hearing this, and even subconsciously wanted to shut her master up.

This sounds like entrusting someone's orphan to another family. Does Master have some other plans?

"Why not?"

Xu Shi grasped her wrist. "Don't think of your teacher as so noble. I also value my life and won't die so easily."

"Then you..."

"Nonsense, shouldn't you prepare for the worst before doing anything?"

Xu Shi rolled his eyes at her. "This is just a pre-arranged plan. You're my apprentice. If I don't entrust this to you, who else can I entrust it to?"

"I have a feeling... the day we have to face the 'laws of nature' isn't far off. Until then, we must do everything we can to prepare."

He explained, "Besides, you're still far from your current level. This is just a heads-up."

"oh……"

Hearing her master say that, Pan Ling felt a little better.

After all, the atmosphere just now was a bit... To be honest, rather than fighting against "natural law," she would prefer that her master stay safe and sound, even if it meant staying by his side as a junior apprentice, rather than taking over his mantle.

But as she thought about it, she became a little resentful. How far behind was she? How far behind? She had studied and done everything her master had assigned her diligently, and so far, she hadn't seen anything go wrong.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!