At dusk, beside Moon Lake.

Xu Chen returned to the others. The girls were still standing where they had been, and a trace of grievance lingered in their hearts.

Zi Wan, however, didn’t seem to care. She sat on a rock nearby, dipping her feet into the lake.

Xu Chen didn’t say much. He asked, “How did you find today’s insights? Zi Wan, you look so relaxed. I assume you gained quite a lot. Why don’t you go first?”

Zi Wan climbed down from the rock and said, “Hah! What insights? I think you were just messing with us! Right, sisters?”

Sakiko’s face darkened. “I, for one, can feel that this world is rather special. Everything here seems to exist in a unique way that’s difficult to explain.”

“Exactly!” Fantian said. “Xu Chen, your Encounter World really is incredible. But I’ve only been here for half a day, so what I can sense is still limited. I think it’ll take me several years just to comprehend this world.”

“Mm-hm. I think the lake water is especially unusual,” Lianhua said.

Xu Chen turned to Qingyin. “What about you, Qingyin?”

Qingyin didn’t answer. She only closed her eyes and silently moved her arms.

A small, pure-white, crystalline point of light appeared in her hands.

“What? This… this feeling…” Sakiko exclaimed. “The strange laws contained within this world feel blurry and faint to me.”

“But that point of light in your hands contains an incredibly dense origin of consciousness. Qingyin, did you really comprehend that origin in just one afternoon and reach such a level?”

Lianhua and Fantian were astonished as well.

“Hmph! H-How is that possible?” Zi Wan refused to admit her surprise. “Xu Chen, you must’ve conspired with Qingyin to deceive us! How could she reach this level in a single day? This is an entirely new world!”

“Zi Wan!” Xu Chen said sternly. “You refuse to cultivate diligently, and now you’re even suspecting Qingyin. What do you have to say for yourself?”

“W-What do you mean, what do I have to say?” Zi Wan froze.

“I once gave you the chance to leave, but you chose to stay. Since you’ve decided to cultivate here, then cultivation must follow certain rules.”

“On top of that, you made a baseless accusation against Qingyin. If I don’t punish you today, how am I supposed to train the Four Demoness in the future?”

“Huh? W-What did you say? You’re going to punish me? Y-You dare!”

Xu Chen said nothing more.

With a single thought, a rope suddenly appeared in the sky. It bound Zi Wan’s hands and feet, then suspended her in midair.

“What are you doing? Xu Chen, what are you doing? Put me down! Let me go!”

Zi Wan struggled desperately. But she now had only the strength of an ordinary woman. There was no way she could break free.

Xu Chen controlled the rope and sent Zi Wan flying toward him. Then he hoisted her over his shoulder and walked into the forest.

Sakiko and the others silently watched everything unfold. None of them said a word.

Zi Wan had indeed gone too far.

It was understandable for her to talk back to Xu Chen. But making a reckless accusation against Qingyin was a serious mistake.

“I’m sorry. I… I didn’t react in time just now,” Qingyin said guiltily. “I actually stood by and watched Xu Chen treat Zi Wan like that. I should’ve tried to stop him.”

“Zi Wan deserved her punishment,” Sakiko said. “I just didn’t expect Xu Chen to act so decisively.”

She lowered her head, her face faintly flushed.

A thought flashed through her mind. If she made a mistake, would Xu Chen punish her too?

She was a married woman, after all. If she were punished by a young man like him, it would be utterly humiliating…

As for how Xu Chen punished Zi Wan, however, they would never know.

The next morning, when Xu Chen gathered the sisters for cultivation again, Zi Wan still showed some resistance in her heart.

But in her actions, she no longer dared disobey in the slightest. She stood there obediently, waiting for Xu Chen’s further guidance.

Qingyin, Sakiko, and the others saw it all.

They could only guess what had happened. Still, the result was obvious.

Xu Chen’s punishment had worked.