"If he really is part of your race, then …" The Grandmaster stopped talking and stared at Jinde with a complicated mood. He hadn’t noticed anything off about his disciple but now that he thought about it, maybe he should have expected something like this. A human man in his twenties that had already understood sword energy … it was nigh impossible. A dragon was an entirely different matter though. Unfortunately, him being a dragon would bring a plethora of other troubles.

That pair of golden eyes focused on him, wordlessly demanding for him to ask the question he was wondering about.

Zhangsun Xun Yi sighed and sat down on the ground in the lotus position. "I mean if he has fallen in love, won’t that be a problem? What if … things go wrong between them?" He coughed and looked away, not daring to look at Jinde’s face.

The dragon sighed just the same. "There is no use in worrying over that. He’s more decisive in this regard, it seems, but he is just as dumb as his father. He already did something irreversible. Even if you tried to protect him, it would be of no use. It’s already … past the point of return."

Zhangsun Xun Yi couldn’t help but glance over. His father …? Had they known each other? But … this man had come here several thousands of years ago. In that case … He cleared his throat and pushed the thought away. He really didn’t want to think about it. If he did, he’d just have to question what he had thought when he took Qiu Ling in. "So your meaning is …?"

"Just let everything take its natural course. There is nothing you or anyone else could do. It’s up to them in the end."

Grandmaster Zhangsun nodded. He wouldn’t have known what to do anyway. The matters of the heart, he had never thought about them. He wouldn’t start with that now. "Then I’ll just watch and concentrate on training him."

Jinde smiled sardonically. "Train him? Even I wouldn’t be able to train that brat. What do you want to teach him? Just let him stay at your sect and use him when it’s convenient. He’ll be content just being able to watch over the person he fell in love with."

Zhangsun Xun Yi frowned. So he had really taken in a disciple that wasn’t a disciple in the end? He had feared as much when this man mentioned that Qiu Ling was of the dragon race and that he even knew his father but … somehow, he still felt reluctant to accept this fact. Taking in a disciple had been the one thing he wanted to achieve before he left. "Is there really nothing I can teach him? His mind … It did seem somewhat unstable."

"You’re not wrong about that but you’re not the right person to change that. Neither am I. So let’s not get involved. His problems … somebody else will help him with them or maybe he’ll be able to overcome them by himself. Who knows? Anyway, it’s not the time yet and it’s not our fight."

"So you’re saying that … there is no way for me to teach the disciple I finally took in?"

Jinde chuckled and shrugged. "You just set your sights too high. If you want to teach somebody, look for someone with potential but no training, not someone who has already mastered everything."

Zhangsun Xun Yi sighed. "Maybe it’s just time for me to ascend."

Jinde examined his expression before getting up and turning his back to Zhangsun Xun Yi, walking to the edge of the lake. "What’s the difference? Whether here or there you’d still be alone." He didn’t wait for an answer and jumped right into the water, diving down to the ground and shifting into the lotus position again, returning to his usual meditation.

Zhangsun Xun Yi looked at the figure now submerged in the water and tightened his lips. That golden hair was floating around him, an unbelievably beautiful sight to behold but at the same time, it seemed utterly depressing, making even his heart feel heavy although he had long renounced the feelings tied to the secular world.

He turned around and left the special dimension. They had already talked about the things that needed to be cleared up. There was no need to disturb that man’s peace any longer. Obviously, his questions had already touched a sore spot.

When the array flashed and Zhangsun Xun Yi’s figure vanished from the special dimension, Jinde opened his golden eyes and blankly stared ahead. Ascending … That sure was a way to escape the problems of the mortal realm. Unfortunately, he wasn’t human and couldn’t ascend. He couldn’t return home either. He couldn’t even leave this dimension.

He closed his eyes again and a sigh escaped his lips, drifting to the surface of the lake. As much as he wished for things to move forward, he was damned to wait at this place. Damned to wait for things to be set in motion all on their own. Damned to wait for that person to come and find him.

Just how long … did he want him to wait?