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"Perhaps I should say 'that's just like Pu Jingwan'?" When he saw her username, Ye Zichen couldn't help but facepalm. Still, after thinking it over, he repressed his d.e.s.i.r.e to complain and accepted it.

However…

Why had Pu Jingwan and Xiao Yumei joined the group too?

Only Idealism: Yang Jian, what are you doing? I made this chat group because I had something I wanted to talk to you two about.

Erlang Shen: They both wanted to join.

Invincible Adorable Beauty: Hey! What could you possibly have to talk about that you can't say in front of us? Is it some sort of… ahem…."secret" between men?

Ultimate Charmer: Zichen, if you don't want me to see it, I can leave the group.

"I can't help but feel like Pu Jingwan is distorting my words…." Ye Zichen couldn't help but sigh. He didn't quite know what to say.

What he wanted to say to Yang Jian and the Great Sage naturally wasn't anything remotely like what Pu Jingwan was imagining. He'd only formed the three-man group because they were extremely close, and he didn't want to trouble anyone else.

But since Pu Jingwan and Xiao Yumei had joined the group, there was no real harm in letting them know too.

Invincible Adorable Beauty: Ah? Why aren't you saying anything? It seems I guessed right. Don't worry about it! We're all a.d.u.l.ts here; it's no big deal.

Yang Jian: My mistake. I shouldn't have invited her.

Monkey King: I've got my eye on you!

Only Idealism: Quit talking nonsense. I have serious business to discuss with Yang Jian and the Great Sage. Pu Jingwan, don't throw off my rhythm. Yumei, there's no need for you to leave the group. What I'm about to say isn't a secret.

Ultimate Charmer: Alright.

Invincible Adorable Beauty: So, you can tell it's me? You've got good eyes. What do you think? My username quite suits my personality, doesn't it? One look at it and you can just picture me, can't you?

Ding!

The Invincible Ultimate Beauty was kicked from the group.

Just as she was relishing showing off her "perfect username", Pu Jingwan watched the chat group disappear before her very eyes. Her finger froze over the screen.

Yang Jian, the Great Sage, and Pu Jingwan rushed up to stop her. Pu Jingwan, meanwhile, glared at Ye Zichen's door and readied her fists.

"I really envy those youths." The Hermit Emperor watched this play out. He couldn't help but chuckle. Although all of them were imperial-level rulers, in his eyes, they were still a bunch of children.

He'd truly lived for far, far too long. If we compared him to someone from the modern world, he'd be an elder in his eighties, while Pu Jingwan and the others were a bunch of rowdy kids who'd barely hit twenty.

"They are enviable." Ye Rong couldn't help but smile. "But, Hermit Emperor, surely you didn't come here just to tell me that? What is it you've come here for?"

"Thanks for the reminder. I almost forgot. When people get old, their memory suffers." The Hermit Emperor ran his fingers through his whiskers, then looked away from Pu Jingwan and the others. Ye Rong sat upright in her chair, waiting for him to speak.

"Actually, I fully understand why you refused me so decisively back then. You're worried about permanently exhausting a portion of your son's imperial starlight, rendering it incomplete. Furthermore, you're concerned that this might cause problems when he attempts to transcend, resulting in the destruction of our entire era. Am I right?" asked the Hermit Emperor.

"You're wise indeed, Hermit Emperor." Ye Rong nodded.

"I've actually already considered these problems, but upon careful consideration, I decided that they were not serious. Otherwise, I wouldn't have suggested this method to Xue Yang and the others."

"I'm afraid I can't agree," said Ye Rong. She didn't seem at all convinced.

"None of us is the Emperor Star, and none of us have had any contact to speak of with the previous Emperor Stars. It's uncertain whether imperial starlight can recover, and if it can, how long the process will take. Transcendence requires the celestial fate of the Emperor Star; only its bearer can save us. We cannot tolerate any flaws in his starlight. Based on what you just said, you know that full well, so why do you say treating Xue Mo would be harmless?" asked Ye Rong.

Even in the face of Ye Rong's rapid-fire argument, the smile never once left the Hermit Emperor's face.

When she stopped her tirade, he said but a single name, just two syllables: "Zhou Wu."

Xuan Ji and Ye Rong knit their brows, then heard him laugh, "Surely you know he, too, has imperial celestial fate?"

"Of course," said Ye Rong. "But that has nothing to do with imperial starlight. Zichen, Zhou Wu, and heaven's other chosen emperor all have true celestial fate, but there's still only one Emperor Star. Its light won't change, now will it?"

"A rational response," said the Hermit Emperor affirmingly. However, the next moment, he said something utterly shocking: "The light of the Emperor Star is naturally eternal and unchanging, but what if this era had two Emperor Stars?"

…..

After booting the Invincible Adorable Beauty from the group, everything seemed to quiet down. However, it was almost a bit too quiet; no one was talking!

Erlang Shen: Ye-zi, I'm going to let Big Sister Pu back in, okay? After you kicked her out, she practically went insane.

Erlang Shen: Big Sister Pu says she's going to murder you. Sis-in-law and the monkey are busy holding her back.

"..."

That did indeed sound like something Pu Jingwan might say.

Right now, he couldn't use his jade transmission slip. The internet and his cell phone were his only way of receiving information from the outside world. He still had important business to discuss with the Great Sage and Yang Jian. He couldn't just let Pu Jingwan keep kicking up a ruckus like this.

Only Idealism: Let her back in, but keep her under control this time, okay?

Erlang Shen invited the Invincible Adorable Beauty to join the chat.

Invincible Adorable Beauty: @Only Idealism, You dare kick me from the group? Who gave you the audacity? How dare you kick a cutie like me from the group!

Invincible Adorable Beauty: Let me tell you, if you know what's good for you, you'll let me in the group. If you don't….

Ding!

Pu Jingwan was already in the middle of venting her fury at Ye Zichen. When she saw this, her rage intensified. She started screaming about wanting to kill him.

Back at the pagoda, Ye Rong and the others couldn't help but look askance at her, but before long, they looked away.

"Did you just say there were two Emperor Stars? How is that possible? There's just one in the night sky. If there were two, as the Lord of the Seven Stars of the Big Dipper, there's no way I wouldn't know about it."

"What would you say if I told you the other Emperor Star was hidden? How could you know about it then?" laughed the Hermit Emperor.

Ye Rong's skeptical expression froze. She was the Lord of the Big Dipper, and yet, she'd never heard of a second Emperor Star. Why would the Hermit Emperor say such a thing?

Was he lying?

Given his status, it was unlikely that the Hermit Emperor would tell such an outrageous lie.

But….

"Lord of the Big Dipper, if you doubt me, you can go ask Great Emperor Chao Feng, or perhaps, the ordinary star bearers. Ask them this: 'has your starlight's recovery rate halved over the past hundred years?' If so…. Won't everything become perfectly clear?"