Chaotic World Book

For a moment, Zhao Changhe almost thought "It's just a dream, hit him."

But he forcibly restrained himself.

His experiences at Zhao Mansion told him that acting rashly was pointless; he couldn't win the fight, so wasn't he just delivering himself to defeat? Even if he "died," he would just wake up to reality, but his goals would remain unachieved. What would be the point?

Besides, he was now beginning to doubt whether this place was a dream at all… With his own logical thinking, he couldn't imagine such disgusting people. How could he dream of them?

The villagers of Zhao Mansion suffered slaughter, innocent children… all just because of the frustration of "Being hindered while playing with a village girl."

Yue Hongling traveled thousands of miles to deliver the message, her righteousness as vast as the sky, yet all they thought about was how to take advantage of her.

Zhao Changhe felt so nauseated that he wanted to vomit; he had never experienced such "hatred"—a violent emotion that had never arisen during his peaceful student life, now growing and spreading in his heart.

Whether this place was real or a dream, Zhao Changhe didn't want to "wake up" so soon; he truly wanted to kill that father and son first.

Maintaining the persona of a "simple, naive youth," he joined the Luo Family's external sect. That very night, he was given a set of clothes, some daily necessities, and a temporary dormitory.

The temporary dormitory wasn't assigned to him; it was the private courtyard where the senior external disciple lived. It was intended for the senior brother to guide Zhao Changhe first, to learn the basic rules and knowledge—likely, he would be moved to a shared dormitory the day after tomorrow…

From the outside, it seemed like a well-thought-out arrangement. If Yue Hongling were to visit in the future and heard that the "resources were given out that same night and the senior brother was personally mentoring him," it would seem like a favorable treatment… As for how well he learned later and whether he lingered in the outer sector for life, that would be up to his own capabilities, and Yue Hongling wouldn't have anything to say about it.

Knowing this pattern of behavior, Zhao Changhe didn't mind it; was he really going to take the Manor Master as his master? Disgusting.

The senior external brother was named Luo Qi, reportedly a servant born in the family, carrying the surname Luo with a likely future position in the manor. This was the template of a Martial Arts Aristocratic Family; one could glimpse the outline here.

Though he was called the "senior brother," he was actually younger than Zhao Changhe, probably only about sixteen or seventeen, with a delicate appearance and rosy lips and teeth that made him seem somewhat effeminate.

"You're Zhao Changhe? You're quite tall and robust, looking quite strong." Luo Qi's face was rather cold and not too pleasant to look at; the sudden addition of an outsider living in his private courtyard would upset anyone.

His tone was also a bit effeminate; his voice was quite thin… Zhao Changhe didn't start baselessly suspecting someone was disguising their gender. When Luo Qi questioned him, he responded with a simple smile, "Yes, I just arrived. The Family Head asked me to learn the rules first from senior brother."

"There aren't many rules," Luo Qi said coldly, yet seemed curious, "I heard Yue Hongling brought you here? Why didn't you cling to her and take her as your master?"

Zhao Changhe played dumb, "Maybe I'm just slow."

Surprisingly, Luo Qi agreed, "That must be it."

Zhao Changhe: "?"

Luo Qi explained, "The 'slow' isn't about your intellect but your age. You're about eighteen or nineteen, right? Starting to learn at this age, what significant skills can you really acquire... just learning enough postures to guard the house and get by is already good, why would Yue Hongling accept such a disciple? It's said she is about your age and already renowned throughout the heavens… ah…"

Zhao Changhe was speechless.

Too old… This was a common notion. Even if he wanted to excel in sports, one usually starts training from childhood. As a nineteen-year-old university student, he had never heard of someone starting at this age reaching national level.

There aren't many like Kou Zhong or Xu Ziling.

But speaking of which, setting aside the matters of Luo Family and just considering his own goals in "Dream Entry," it seemed killing that demoness didn't require a very high level. It was just a chaotic battlefield with hordes of minor soldiers; even at his current level, he could kill several of them. Since the demoness mingled in such a battleground, she presumably belonged to the lower echelons, hardly displaying the level of prowess Yue Hongling had with a single sword strike clearing a group.

Joining Luo Family to learn Martial Arts—to find and kill the demoness, that seemed to be the intended progression of this dream?

He thought for a moment, then asked, "Senior brother, what does 'Mystical Gate several layers' mean?"

Luo Qi replied, "The human body has nine Mystical Gates, opening them allows one to peer into three great Secret Treasures, achieving the Heavenly Realm, omnipotent if fully unlocked. Ordinary people shouldn't even consider this; just speaking of the Ninth Layer of Mystical Gate, each step is incredibly difficult. People like Yue Hongling and our Manor Master, where do they go without being respected? Any higher and they're Grandmasters, meeting one is rare."

"Is the Manor Master at the Ninth Layer?"

"It's said he's at the Eighth Layer," Luo Qi responded with a look of reverence, "I don't know when I will be able to reach such a realm…"

Zhao Changhe faintly curled his lips, barely noticeable.

Already well into his age, yet at the same level as Yue Hongling, no wonder he was so wary of her, he might even lose in a fight. But it did prove that being at the Eighth Layer of Mystical Gate was indeed impressive; the owner of the Luo Family Manor dominated the locality, while Yue Hongling roamed freely across the world.

"Then…" he tentatively asked, "What about you, senior brother?"

Luo Qi proudly said, "I've fortuitously broken through to the First Layer Heaven!"

Zhao Changhe: "…"

Yue Hongling is probably only two or three years older than you, already at the eighth layer, what are you so proud of?

Not receiving Zhao Changhe's flattery, Luo Qi knew what he was thinking and simply smiled without explanation.

To outsiders, reaching the First Layer of Mystical Gate might seem just a beginner's feat, which is indeed true, but few considered that the Luo Family Manor wasn't some grand sect. An outer disciple of the manor, practicing low-end cultivation techniques, what level could he normally achieve? To break through the First Layer of Mystical Gate at his age was already an official entry into the sophisticated realms of martial arts; it was no small feat.

Not everyone could use a world-renowned hero like Yue Hongling as a benchmark. In fact, his credentials shouldn't even confine him to the outer disciple status anymore.

Zhao Changhe hoped that after ten years of hard training, when he realized breaking through this barrier was harder than moving mountains, he would remember today.

"It's late, let's sleep for now, and talk more tomorrow," Luo Qi said as he stretched lazily, pointing casually to a small house outside the courtyard, "I've cleared out that house for you to stay in... You wouldn't be expecting me to teach you martial arts tonight, would you? Or are you planning to sleep in my room?"

"No, no... I really appreciate it, senior brother," Zhao Changhe said with a forced smile as he retreated.

Returning to the storeroom cleared out for him, Zhao Changhe leaned on the hard bed, and the smile on his face disappeared.

People aren't familiar with you; if you try to ask too many important questions all at once, they might not entertain you. Leave it until tomorrow. And actually, the act of sleeping is in itself an important point.

That is, how to return.

Sleeping... If this is a dream, can one sleep within a dream? If he truly fell asleep here, would he continue to experience a nightmare, or would he wake up back in the present world, or perhaps even "dream" of the present world?

Which is the dream; which is the reality...

Zhao Changhe took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes.

Although his mind was cluttered and it was hard to fall asleep on the hard, cold bed... recently, he had been so exhausted by the nightmares that he could fall asleep just by lying down. Zhao Changhe curled up and rolled around for half an hour, and finally, his consciousness slowly slipped away.

He fell asleep.

And had no dreams.

This was the first time in over half a month that Zhao Changhe had slept without nightmares, and he slept deeply. But if he had a choice, he would have preferred not to sleep like this.

As the night deepened, the sudden sounds of chaos abruptly woke Zhao Changhe from his sleep. Instinctively, he rolled over, the sounds of yelling and roaring filling his ears as fire ignited the manor, turning the night skies red.

He could faintly hear voices saying, "Spare no one!"

Zhao Changhe's expression was extremely grim.

His first thought was, being able to sleep here, to fall asleep without dreams, and to wake up still here—were all enough to prove that this wasn't merely a so-called 'Dream Entry'; this was damn time travel!

The difference between time travel and Dream Entry was that not only could he not return, but being killed would mean true death!

His second thought was—Blood God Sect was attacking, and the incident Yue Hongling had warned about from miles away had occurred that night.

The Luo Family Manor's request for reinforcements sent to the Capital, he didn't even know if the messenger had departed yet... While Yue Hongling had left in the evening and was likely lodging in a nearby city, probably deep in sleep.

At this time, there was no one else who could help righteously.