"As I told you before, later Lin Junzhao developed her own ideas and began to break away from my teachings. At first, I didn't care, until I discovered what she had done and realized that my thoughts were all wrong."

Staring at Lin Ruxue's desolate expression, Pei Yan cautiously asked, "What exactly did she do?"

"She was cultivating her own power. Initially, the world only had a few people affected by the spatial energy leak, opening up what's known as your inner source abilities. During the time she was beyond my sight, Lin Junzhao deliberately searched globally for people with these physical traits, secretly assisting them in awakening their inner sources, gathering those with abilities she favored under her command, and commencing experiments to inject her own source into these people. This organization became the embryonic form of what is later known as Divine Intention."

"What! What are you saying? Divine Intention was founded by Lin Zhaoxue?" These words truly shocked Pei Yan, who stood up suddenly, knocking over the fruit tray held by the maid beside him, and questioned insistently.

"It was just the prototype. Regardless of the organization's name or its later development, it actually has little to do with her." Lin Ruxue smiled contentedly at Pei Yan's stunned expression.

Upon hearing this, Pei Yan sat back down, adjusted his emotions, and retorted, "But what's wrong with that? Aren't you also cultivating your power? Does this threaten your interests?"

"Sort of." Lin Ruxue mumbled as she placed a lychee from the fruit tray into her mouth, "It doesn't necessarily infringe on our interests, but everyone's, including yours. She was supposed to accelerate the conversion speed of the leaking inner source, but she started expanding her power for her own benefit. Such actions are like a spatial wall originally burdened with pressure from one side, now besieged from both sides. This is the truth behind the increasing number of awakened ability users each year and the frequent openings of space rifts over the past century."

"So, under normal circumstances, neither my colleagues nor I should exist in this world as ability users." Pei Yan muttered to himself as he rubbed his chin.

"Yes, exactly. This world wasn't meant to have ability users. According to the current popular notion, this world should exist as a low-magic world to effectively regulate the balance of other planes. But this balance has been broken repeatedly — the first time by us, the second time by this world's self-born source. When I found her to try and stop her, she already possessed the power to resist me, refusing to heed my advice, and disappeared from my sight when I was caught off guard, concealing her whereabouts ever since."

Hearing this, Pei Yan nodded and pursued the matter, "And then? Did you find her and take action?"

"Alas, I did have a few brief encounters with her afterward, and each time I saw her, she was stronger. I grew more anxious. As she told you, she considered herself a god of this world, while I, constrained by my body and fighting on foreign ground, couldn't subdue her with my strength alone. So, twelve years ago, I sought the source entities of three other dimensions, as well as a strong one from this world."

Surprised, Pei Yan asked, "A strong one from our world?" A name suddenly shot into his mind, and he exclaimed, "Candle Dragon?"

Lin Ruxue paused, then inquired, "You've met him?"

"No, I just heard Lin Junzhao mention him. From her tone, it seemed like this person was the leader of Divine Intention. Is it really him? Why are you cooperating with the Divine Fish Pill?" Pei Yan asked in confusion.

"Yes, it's him. The reason for choosing him first is because he is powerful enough to surprise us, and second, because we don't want to hand over the source entity to the official management structure of this world. She's special, so we can't kill her because we don't know if such actions might trigger new chain reactions, nor can we simply hand her over, as her existence is too tempting for your ability users. We can't ensure that, after handing her over to this world's secular managers, you'll resist the temptation. Will you form a secret pact with the source entity to continue expanding your power in the shadows? We're unsure, so we can only weaken Lin Junzhao's power to the lowest point, seal her, and hand her over to the then-weak underground force, Divine Intention. We saw this as a win-win solution, thinking that when Divine Intention became too inflated, we could use government forces like the Investigation Bureau to eliminate them and start anew. However, the developments were unexpected, and it proved I made another mistake."

"Divine Intention developed too rapidly?" Pei Yan interjected.

"Yes, not only did it develop rapidly, but it also established good relations with dark forces from other dimensions. They are plotting something." Lin Ruxue frowned, leaning against the cushion as she spoke.

Pei Yan scratched his head, discerning the problem, and asked, "That's not right. If you're equivalent to a god in your dimension, can't you control these dark forces? Why not just eliminate or assimilate them?"

"It's not as easy as you think. The term 'god' is a self-designated concept. I'm powerful in my dimension, but not omnipotent. Moreover, when I select some people, there will inevitably be others who are disappointed. These disappointed individuals harbor resentment and hide in the darkness, choosing another path to fight for their future. The matters here are complicated, and you don't need to know at present." Lin Ruxue's ambiguous answer left Pei Yan shrugging helplessly.

Understanding the situation somewhat after Lin Ruxue's vague response, Pei Yan spread his hands and said resignedly, "Okay, I understand the general course of events. What do you plan to do next? In two days, the entity inside me will awaken. If, as you say, even you can't subdue her, don't you need to find some help?"

"No need. You just stay here, and when the time comes, I want to talk to her. Alas, she used to care a lot about her identity, considering herself too noble to, like us, find a suitable vessel when walking the world. This gave us the chance to capture and segment her. Now that she's willing to enter your body, it's a kind of compromise. I hope the twelve years of confinement have brought her not only anger but also reflection."

After Lin Ruxue finished speaking, she waved at Cen Xiaoran and said, "Leave him here, and come back to pick him up in four days. Rest assured, I'll take good care of him."

Cen Xiaoran said nothing, casually tossing a honeydew rind aside, picking up a basket of mandarins, wiping his mouth, and heading for the door. It wasn't until he opened the door and exited the room that Pei Yan sighed with relief and muttered to himself, "Wow, you can't tell this old guy can eat so much. I didn't even notice him eating another honeydew!"

"Do you think the fruits here are just fruits? Although they don't compare to the fish I gave you, each piece contains quite a bit of energy. Alas, that old fox always comes to eat or pocket something whenever he visits, clever as he is!" Lin Ruxue's teasing voice came from behind Pei Yan.

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