Even if it was out of concern that Yin Tingxue might be recognized, and thus avoiding the poetry gathering at Prince Jing's mansion, Chen Yi still had no intention of attending the poetry gathering at the Cui family estate.

For someone like him, the much-lauded Zige Bureau Minister, going to the Cui family's event—wouldn't that be a bit beneath his stature, overly indebting himself to their hospitality?

As for the fact that the widow Lin Wanxiao would also be at the Cui family's poetry gathering... this was something Chen Yi hadn't considered yet.

Fiddling with the invitation in his hand, Chen Yi pondered for a good while before the thought of Yin Weiyin crossed his mind.

Perhaps... he really should meet her parents.

Although, the idea of poetry gatherings, for someone who couldn't compose poetry, made Chen Yi's head throb at just the thought.

But still, he should pay them a visit, if only for the sake of the Great Yin.

Resolving his thoughts, Chen Yi nodded slightly toward the little fox.

Yin Tingxue, momentarily elated, wanted to read to him, but Chen Yi, considering the possible disruptions ahead, shook his head and said he wished to retreat to the study.

Entering the study, Chen Yi casually settled in front of the desk. On the desk lay the book *Dao Strategies*, and Yin Tingxue, seeing that he was about to read or contemplate, refrained from disturbing him. Instead, she mentioned that she would brew him some tea shortly, and after that, she would read, too.

The little fox had recently been reading *Peony Pavilion*.

Though Chen Yi was seated at his desk, he didn't open *Dao Strategies*. Instead, he spread out a piece of xuan paper, ground some ink, and picked up his brush, writing line after line of words upon the paper.

For the matters ahead, he needed to sort through his current thoughts.

After Zhou Yitang revealed the *Heavenly Vision* to him, it had brought forth a plethora of doubts.

Some doubts Zhou Yitang could answer, but there were others she couldn't—either because she herself was equally in the dark, or because revealing such truths would violate heavenly secrets, resulting in divine retribution.

Thus, Chen Yi had to confront these doubts, writing down the inexplicable aspects as if he were performing a mental replay.

For if this wasn't a game, then many of his earlier perspectives would have to be overturned.

The most pressing question: What was the connection between the two save points?

According to Zhou Yitang, it was as though time had rewound, and everything had reset to its original state.

Not long after mending the heavens with his own body in a previous life, the *Heavenly Dao* was repaired, and time was rewound to its initial starting point.

At this moment, the celestial immortals and Buddhas had yet to ascend; they were still scheming.

"Did time rewind because I failed to completely mend the heavens, triggering some form of reset? Or is it because..."

Chen Yi paused, considering an outlandish possibility:

"I mended the *Heavenly Dao* too perfectly?"

Mended it so perfectly that nearly everything returned to its pristine state...

Both answers seemed plausible, but one must have confidence in oneself, and so he decided—quite well-pleased with himself—to choose the latter possibility.

After all, even if he chose incorrectly, it wouldn't matter much, since all this concerned the past anyway.

Having written out his thoughts on the xuan paper, Chen Yi smoothly shifted to the next question.

What exactly were those so-called "strategies"?

Based on his earlier memories, when playing this game called *Heavenly Realm*, after clearing the first round by mending the heavens with his own body, during his second round, he began using the "strategies."

But… if, as Master Zhihui said, these so-called "strategies" were nothing more than fabrications created by the *Heavenly Vision* to help him adapt, then what was the true essence of it all?

Chen Yi was curious.

Back in the Heart Lake, the colorful pebbles Zhou Yitang showed him—she had said those were fragments of his memories and "strategies."

The "strategies" and the memories were so intertwined that they were almost indistinguishable.

Why were they so interwoven...? Could it be that "strategies" and memories from past lives were essentially the same thing?

His thoughts came to a halt here. The brush in his hand paused, droplets of ink speckling the xuan paper.

Instinctively, he bit the end of the brush, leaving noticeable teeth marks, but no new thoughts emerged.

At a loss, he set the brush down and paced the study, trying to organize his ideas from another angle.

How difficult it was for a person to come up with a new line of thought—it was because one's mind was often trapped by existing perspectives. In seeking a new path, halfway through, one would discover they had unknowingly wandered back onto an old one.

Could the strategies be some kind of predestined arrangement?

Unlikely, because he often didn't stick to the strategies, and many aspects of this life completely diverged from them.

If the strategies were indeed a preordained setup, then whoever arranged them must've been utterly incompetent...

No answers came to mind... No matter how he replayed it, he still couldn't arrive at any conclusions...

Squashing one idea brought him no comfort; rather, his brows furrowed more deeply.

His thoughts suddenly broke off, leaving a blank space in his mind.

Chen Yi gave a bitter smile. It seemed no matter how he replayed it, the answers eluded him...

Wait... replay.

All at once, as if catching hold of something, an inspiration burst forth in Chen Yi's mind. It was like breaking through a stone wall to reveal a gushing spring.

What am I doing right now?

Replaying!

I'm replaying things—wouldn't I have replayed in my past life, too?

Of course I would replay!

Chen Yi's eyes slowly widened as he recalled one significant detail: the fact that those "strategies" and memories had become intertwined, transforming into colorful pebbles, indistinguishable from one another.

Could this mean...

That the so-called "strategies" were, in fact, the optimal solutions he derived from replaying events in his past life?!

I wrote the strategies for myself!

In that instant, Chen Yi felt a sense of sudden enlightenment, exclaiming to himself:

"So it turns out I'm this impressive."

The feeling he had at this moment resembled that of looking back on his peak performance during the college entrance exams, marveling at how he had managed to solve even the most challenging questions.

Since the strategies were the optimal solutions derived from replays, Chen Yi thought for a moment and decided to reverse-engineer these so-called "strategies."

Just as his brush was about to touch the paper again, Yin Tingxue entered carefully, holding a cup of tea in her hands.

"Sister Weiyang is here."

She placed the cup of tea next to the desk and softly reminded him.

It was a day off, so Yin Weiyin's visit was perfectly normal. The female crown had never dared not to come by.

Chen Yi casually picked up the tea, intending to have the little fox inform her to wait. But then, suddenly, something occurred to him.

...Within the "strategies,"

there was no mention of Yin Weiyin!

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