"Y-Yes, Sect Leader!" Xue Jiye quickly stood up before making her way towards the portal and disappearing from the scene, leaving behind a trail of glistening liquid and a small puddle of clear water.
Once Xue Jiye left the place, Long Yijun and Elder Xuan turned their attention to Yuan, but when they saw his golden eyes behind the black jade mask, their bodies uncontrollably trembled from a dreadful feeling that made them feel as though they were standing before a powerful beast, almost like they were in a life-or-death situation.
Despite their cultivation base as Spirit Masters, they felt helpless before a mere Spirit Warrior just from his gaze; it was an incomprehensible feeling for the two experts.
"Daoist Yuan... Can you do something about your eyes?" Long Yijun asked Yuan a moment later with a weird smile on his face.
"My eyes? What about my eyes?" Yuan asked, still unaware that his Dragon’s Gaze was active.
"It’s glowing golden, and it doesn’t feel comfortable being stared at by it," Long Yijun said.
"Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was active... No wonder why my eyes were feeling a little bit different than usual," Yuan closed his eyes and deactivated the skill.
Because he’d gotten used to keeping Dragon’s Gaze activated inside the special space for many days without rest, it felt as natural as breathing, hence why he didn’t notice it instantly.
Once the golden eyes were gone, Long Yijun released a relieved sigh before speaking, "Hello, Yuan. My name is Long Yijun, and I am the current Sect Leader for the Dragon Essence Temple, and this over here is—"
Elder Xuan stepped forward and extended his arm for a handshake, "How are you doing, Yuan? My surname is Xuan, Xuan Zan."
"Xuan...?" Yuan raised his eyebrows after hearing this familiar surname.
"That’s right. I am Xuan Wuhan’s grandfather. She has already told me about you," Elder Xuan said.
"Oh! So you’re Xuan Wuhan’s grandfather! She also told me to come see you if I ever come to the Dragon Essence Temple!" Yuan shook his hand.
"Yes. If you’d came to me straight away, I could’ve made you a disciple right away, and you wouldn’t have needed to participate in this examination. With that being said, I am also relieved that you didn’t come to me first, or else we would’ve never realized the full extent of your talents." Elder Xuan said with a smile on his face.
Long Yijun suddenly began walking, and he stood before the golden tablet a moment later with his hands caressing the solid tablet with a mesmerizing look on his face.
"Congratulations, Yuan... or should I call you Disciple Yuan now that you have passed the exam? Either way, you have achieved something nobody— not even our Founder could have achieved by comprehending 100 percent of the technique given to you by the Tablet of Comprehension within 7 days. Hell, you’d even completed it in 2 days!" Long Yijun said to him a moment later.
"W-Wait a second... two days? I have been here for two days?" Yuan asked them with a dumbfounded look on his face.
"Yes." Long Yijun nodded.
"I-I’ll be right back!"
Yuan immediately logged off to see if Yu Rou was still around.
"Yu Rou?" Yuan immediately called for her after logging off.
"The Young Lady has already left for school, Young Master." A clear voice that belonged to a young lady suddenly responded to him, but it was not Yu Rou’s voice.
"That voice... Is that you, Meixiu?" Yuan asked.
"Yes, Young Master. This is Meixiu speaking," she responded.
"I see... How long have I been in the game?" he asked her a moment later.
"The Young Master has been playing since yesterday morning, and he’s missed two meals— last night’s dinner and this morning’s breakfast. The Young Lady has ordered me to standby here just in case you log off and require assistance," Meixiu said.
Because Meixiu was Yu Rou’s personal maid and also the same age as her, Yu Rou trusted Meixiu enough to leave her alone with Yuan, and she would let Meixiu take care of Yuan whenever she could not.
As for why Meixiu wasn’t present the previous time Yu Rou was unable to attend Yuan, it was simply because she was busy with another task.
However, it was not only Yu Rou who trusted Meixiu, as Yuan also trusted her, even treating her like a friend, as they have known each other for many years— even before he was crippled.
"Would you like to eat breakfast... or lunch now, Young Master?"
"It’s okay, I’m not hungry. Since Yu Rou has already gone to school, I will return to the game for now. You don’t need to stay here either," Yuan said to her.
"I cannot do that, as the Young Lady has specifically ordered me to stay here until she returns," Meixiu said.
"...You’re just like your mother, always so serious with your job, even though you’re around the same age as Yu Rou. It’s admirable, really."
"Thank you for your compliments, Young Master."
"I’ll go now. You can do whatever you want." After saying that, Yuan went back into the cultivation world.
After returning back to the cultivation world, Long Yijun continued speaking to Yuan as though he’d never left in the first place, "Not only have you achieved something nobody has ever achieved before, but you have done it in an unbelievably short time! If I didn’t witness your results with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it even if someone beats me to death!"
"However, while your achievements are definitely incredible, we also have to keep it a secret for now, or it might bring you— even the Dragon Essence Temple unnecessary trouble. I will explain more to you later, but for now, let’s get you out of this place."
"What about the special jade slip?" Yuan suddenly asked him.
"Hahaha! Don’t worry about something like that. I have already decided to let you enter the Dragon Temple!" Long Yijun said, and he continued, "Come, let’s continue our conversation somewhere more comfortable."