Gu Jianlin glanced at the message. No wonder this woman had been hesitant to speak earlier.

Uncle Mu sighed, "Time flies. The Little Princess has grown up so much. I first saw her when she was four years old. Back then, the President personally asked me to teach her martial arts. The moment we met, she poisoned my tea. Even with a Priest in attendance, I ended up with diarrhea for two whole days."

"Haha, you got off easy. Last time my brother tried to teach her, she left him completely bald."

Chen Bojun added with a sigh, "That's just how she is—wild and unmanageable. Anyone who tries to discipline her gets tormented. The Second Team's A Group has consistently gone without a leader because she keeps chasing them away. Frankly, the Little Princess is formidable, armed with bizarre poisons and endless dirty tricks. No average person can stand against her."

He paused for effect. "Even if you can defeat her, you'd still suffer terribly from her poisons."

Diarrhea was manageable.

Baldness was a bit terrifying.

Then there was Fatty's video.

Gu Jianlin fell into a brooding silence.

So, the President was lying in wait for him.

On the surface, it was presented as a promotion. But in reality, it was meant to trip him up and humiliate him.

While there was no true malice involved, there was certainly plenty of mischief.

And the so-called Grandmaster had such a petty temperament.

Vulgar Master.

The parrot's eyes widened: "Insidious! This is a conspiracy!"

No, this was an open scheme.

Even if Gu Jianlin knew about it in advance, he would still willingly walk into this trap for a chance to join the Second Team.

"I had planned for someone else to take on A Group's leadership."

Chen Bojun said, "It almost worked. Such a pity."

Uncle Mu froze. "Could it be because of that training ground explosion the day before yesterday?"

They all turned their heads. In the distance, faint rumbling sounds came from a training ground.

It seemed the construction crews were working on rebuilding it.

"Who was it?"

Gu Jianlin wondered. Almost succeeding meant it must've been quite the individual.

"You know her."

Chen Bojun glanced at him. "Thunder. She just advanced to the Fourth Rank."

Uncle Mu nodded slightly, "That Sword Tomb successor? She's indeed quite gifted. Likely, she harbored Extreme Thunder since childhood, which hindered her advancement significantly. But once she steps into the Superdimension, it'll all pay off. Give her some time, and she might even catch up with the First Team directly."

Gu Jianlin was startled—it turned out to be her.

The First Team essentially required a Fifth Rank skill level.

"Thunder and the Little Princess are like lightning striking ground—unceasing collisions. Neither backs down, and every encounter ends in combat. Although I didn't witness their battle, rumors say the duel between the two female warriors escalated to the edges of the universe. Stars shattered, laws were erased! Although the Little Princess couldn't beat her, she fought fiercely, rising again after every defeat."

Cheng Youyu marveled: "In twelve hours, they fought nine times. That's a fight every hour and a half—nearly tearing the base apart. Eventually, Thunder got transferred elsewhere."

"When I went to heal the Little Princess, she was still plotting revenge."

Nie Xiangsi timidly added, "Actually, Senior Sister Tang probably held back a little."

Zhang Cheng interjected, "That's true. I've been beaten by Senior Sister Tang before. The Sword Sect Path and Ghost Slayer Path are pure killing arts."

Gu Jianlin cradled his forehead—this was truly a tangled mess.

Luckily, he was about to break through to the Third Rank.

Otherwise, he'd probably get thoroughly beaten up.

"This directive came from the President, who approached Minister Lu personally to issue it. The original statement was, 'The Little Princess is unruly; as her incompetent mentor, I cannot discipline her. Perhaps it's better left to capable folks. Since you're Peak City District's Newcomer King and are favored by the King of Qing, you must have exceptional qualities.'"

Chen Bojun paused briefly. "It's also to give you a platform to shine!"

Uncle Mu let out a helpless sigh.

Gu Jianlin's eye twitched slightly.

Everyone stared at him with pity in their eyes.

"Alright, I'll leave you to your reminiscing."

Turning away, Chen Bojun said, "Old Mu, don't forget to deal with the boxing manual situation."

Uncle Mu replied curtly, "Got it. But my inherited boxing manual? Don't even think about it."

Chen Bojun chuckled. "Fine!"

·

·

The apartment's living room smelled richly of tea, with a faint sandalwood aroma hanging in the air.

"Xiao Gu, thank you."

Uncle Mu poured a cup of tea, hesitated, then pulled a bottle of cola from the fridge and set it on the coffee table. With sincerity, he said, "I almost forgot—young people like you usually prefer cola over tea."

The fridge was high-end, loaded with various buttons. His unfamiliar movements revealed that he wasn't quite adept at using it.

Gu Jianlin shook his head: "No need to be so polite. This is what I should do—you've shown great kindness to my father."

"What is 'should' anyway? If it weren't for you, we would've likely been captured by the Judgement Court, interrogated for days, then secretly executed."

As Uncle Mu spoke, his gaze turned calm. "Thank you. Truly… thank you. But I must say, if something like this happens again, don't act recklessly. You have talent and tremendous potential—your life is worth more than all ours combined. It's not worth risking it."

He advised, "In the world of Transcendents, life is measured by its value. Your talent and ability to oppose the Ancient God Clan means your life carries significance beyond just being yours—it represents the entirety of humanity's hope."

"I don't know what Old Gu left you, but whatever it is, it will bring immense power—and immense consequences. Cherish your life. Don't act so impulsively again."

"True, you've earned the approval of the King of Qing, who will always watch over you. But with your personality, I suspect it won't be long before you stop listening to even him. Alright, I'll be more confident—remove 'suspect.' It's definitely happening."

"You're simply lawless—I can see it already. Just promise me you'll listen to the King of Qing closely. This is the most important opportunity of your life—grasp it tightly and don't let go. Do you understand?"

This old man was like a father, endlessly nagging.

What was peculiar was that he didn't ask anything else.

Because he knew—this child had become a disciple of a Catastrophe-level entity.

Under the King of Qing, all problems were trivial.

Still, he worried that Gu Jianlin might go too far and lose his life.

Gu Jianlin wouldn't promise anything.

"Don't bring this up again. If it happens again, I'll still do the same thing."

He stated firmly, "The Judgement Court's trash doesn't deserve to make me back down."

The parrot squawked, "What kind of scum are they!"

Uncle Mu paused in mild surprise. "Lu Zicheng gave you this parrot, huh?"

Gu Jianlin replied with a grunt: "You've heard about the Nightmare Master incident, right?"

Uncle Mu fell silent for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, I've heard."

An expression of faint sorrow and wistfulness filled his eyes.

His eldest daughter had died in an incident eight years ago.

Though now, revenge had been served.

"Your personality combined with this parrot—a complete disaster waiting to happen."

Uncle Mu sighed, "I'm crippled. I can't control you."

Gu Jianlin shook his head, saying, "Don't say that. Are you comfortable living here?"

Uncle Mu nodded slightly. "Comfortable? That's a stretch. I spent so long hiding underground like a rat. The world changes so quickly, folks like us, discarded by the times, adapt poorly. Nevertheless, compared to the underground, this place is paradise—a nice environment. Everyone enjoys it."

Gu Jianlin asked, "What about Wanwan?"

Uncle Mu gestured toward the upstairs room: "She's taking a nap."

Thinking of the sweet little girl, Gu Jianlin felt a rare sense of warmth.

A cute child like Wanwan deserved to be pampered like a princess.

This was the life she should have.

"By the way, Uncle Mu."

Gu Jianlin said seriously, "I have something I need to ask you."

Uncle Mu noticed his solemn expression and asked, "What is it?"

"The Night Watchers—someone approached me."

Gu Jianlin explained, "A person named Han Jing, and another named Wang Taisheng. They want to recruit me into the Nightwatch Department, but their condition is that I stop investigating my father's matter."

He continued, "It's an uncomfortable demand. What do you think?"

"Wang Taisheng… oh, if it's him, it's no surprise."

Uncle Mu said, "He's part of the turncoat faction—leaning toward the Judgement Court's side."

Gu Jianlin thought—so that's how it is.

"As for Han Jing, what did she say? You didn't contradict her, did you?"

Uncle Mu's expression grew odd: "She was your father's first love and former fiancée."

Spit.

Gu Jianlin nearly choked on his cola.

[PS: This book originally launched on Qidian Reading App. This chapter is 4000 words—a compact double—so I'll write another right after. Don't bother waiting; I'll post it as soon as it's done.]