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A long time passed, and still no one spoke. Han

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Lee grew restless and curious. He tried to sneak

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a glance at Dr. Mo. He'd barely raised his head

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halfway when Dr. Mo's cold, sharp voice cut through

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the air. If you want to look, then look. Why

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sneak around? Han Lee paused for a moment, then

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obediently raised his head. His eyes darted across

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Dr. Mo's face a few times before immediately

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snapping back down. Hanli's face remained impassive,

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but inside his heart was a raging sea of turmoil.

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Dr. Mo's face, how did it become so twisted all

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of a sudden? A faint, shadowy black energy seemed

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to cling to Dr. Mo's ashen face. It writhed like

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a living thing, countless tiny tendrils clawing

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and dancing wildly across his skin. What truly

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sent a chill down Han Li's spine was the complete

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transformation in Dr. Mo's expression. Gone was

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the usual rigid mask. In its place was a look

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of ruthless determination. He was staring at

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Han Li with unmistakable malice, a mocking sneer

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curling at the corner of his mouth. Han Li sensed

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something was off. A feeling of unease crept

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into his heart, and a dangerous atmosphere began

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to spread through the room. He retreated half

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a step with wary caution, tucking his hands into

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his sleeves and gripping an iron rod. Only then

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did his taut nerves relax a fraction. Suddenly

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Dr. Moe's voice, laced with mockery, reached

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his ears. You think a little trick like that

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is worth showing off? Dr. Moe's body moved. With

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an unnatural fluidity, he shifted from a half

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-reclined position to a standing one. He gave

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a sinister smile. Then his figure blurred. Like

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a ghost, he appeared right beside Han Li staring

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down at him with a cold, mocking laugh. Han Li's

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face changed drastically. He knew something was

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wrong and tried frantically to raise his arms,

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but a sudden numbness seized his body, leaving

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him paralyzed. Only then did he see that the

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other's fingers had already withdrawn from the

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acupoint on his chest. Elder Mo, what are you

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doing? What have I done wrong? If you have something

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to say, just say it. Was it really necessary

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to seal my acupoints? Dr. Mo, what kind of status

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do you hold? Why lower yourself to my level,

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Master? If you unseal my acupoints, what will

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my punishment be? I'll take full responsibility.

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Han Li offered several more words of flattery,

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but Dr. Mo simply ignored him. He reached into

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the other sleeve, pulled out the iron rod, and

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held it in his hand, watching his performance

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with a look of mockery and contempt. Seeing this,

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Han Li's heart sank to the pit of his stomach.

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Any hope of swaying the other party with words

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was now completely extinguished. It looks like

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he won't give me the slightest opening. Han Li

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hit a bottleneck and stared back at Dr. Mo with

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a completely indifferent gaze. Good, good, good.

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I knew I had a good eye for talent. To remain

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so composed and unflustered in the face of danger?

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My investment in you was not in vain. Just what

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are you going to do with me? How should I deal

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with you? How should I deal with you? That depends

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entirely on your own performance. What do you

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mean? Even if I don't say it, someone as clever

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as you should have pieced most of it together

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by now. I've only pieced together a small part

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of it. The whole story, the cause and effect,

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I still don't understand. Excellent. That's the

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right way to do it. If you have any questions,

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just ask me directly. Don't keep them bottled

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up inside. Dr. Mo gave a sinister smile. The

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dark aura on his face seemed to thicken, making

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his visage appear even more hideous. I know you've

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always been wary of me. You never truly saw me

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as your master. But that's fine. I never really

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considered you my disciple either. The muscles

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in Dr. Mo's cheek twitched several times. He

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asked a completely unrelated question. How old

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do you think I am? Judging by your appearance,

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I'd say you're in your 60s. But since you're

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asking the question, your real age must be different

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from how you look. Could you be even older or

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much younger than you look? Truly the mark of

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one who has practiced the eternal spring arts.

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A country bumpkin kid transformed into someone

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so sharp and clever. You guessed right. I'm only

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37 this year. Impossible! Impossible? It is indeed

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impossible. Anyone who sees me wouldn't think

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I'm 60. If I claimed to be seventy, I doubt anyone

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would question it. Dr. Moe's voice suddenly rose

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sharp and piercing. To Hunley's ears it was grating,

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agonizing, as if it had struck the rawest nerve

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of his soul. In my early years I, Moe Jern, was

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a renowned figure in the martial world of Lanzhou,

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Yue country. I carved out my own territory with

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nothing but my bare hands. Back then, who in

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Langeau hadn't heard of Dr. Moe's fearsome reputation?

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In the world of the righteous and the wicked,

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those who submit to me live, and those who defy

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me die. Dr. Moe's voice returned to its normal

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timbre, narrating his story in a low, deliberate

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tone. As he spoke, his eyes shone with a razor

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-sharp intensity. as if he were once again the

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man who held the world in his fist. Han Li was

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inwardly shocked by Dr. Mo's words. He never

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imagined his nominal master had such an impressive

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background. But the good times didn't last. Just

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as I was entering middle age ready to truly make

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my mark, I was betrayed. A trusted subordinate

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poisoned me with a vile, insidious method. I

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managed to control the injury's progression with

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my own advanced medical skills, but a full recovery

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was impossible. My martial arts were greatly

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diminished, and I could no longer hold my ground

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here. Fearing a sneak attack from my enemies,

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I had no choice but to abandon my home and family,

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vanish without a trace, and search the lands

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of Yew for a cure, hoping to find a way to restore

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my former strength. As he recounted what came

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next, he was completely lost in the telling of

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his past. He clenched his fist so hard his nails

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dug deep into his palm, blood streaming down.

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Yet he seemed completely unaware of it, his face

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twisting into a vicious, teeth -nashing snarl.

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That venomous look was enough to send a chill

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down anyone's spine. Hearing the relentless hatred

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in his words, Han Lee couldn't help but feel

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a chill run down his spine, a cold dread settling

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in his heart. I followed the method described

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in it, and the result, the result is you turning

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into this ghostly apparition you are now. I never

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imagined that following the method in that book

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would restore my cultivation, but it also caused

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me to age at a terrifying rate, turning me into

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this half -man, half -ghost creature you see

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now. You've figured out the cause by now, haven't

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you? It was due to improper practice, which allowed

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a malevolent energy to invade my body. Now every

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day I live consumes the vitality of ten days

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for an ordinary person. I'm constantly massively

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overdrawn on my life. Fortunately, I'm skilled

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in restorative arts. I also concocted a secret

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elixir based on the book's instructions. That's

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what slowed my aging in recent years and kept

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me going until now. So what's the connection

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between the mantra I've been practicing and solving

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your problem? The solution I researched from

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the texts is the eternal spring arts you've been

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cultivating. All I need is someone who has cultivated

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the evergreen art to the fourth layer to help

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me circulate my energy and perform a massage

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stimulating the secret acupoints with evergreen

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chi. that will free me from my current predicament

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and allow me to recover my lost vital essence.

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Why does it have to be me? Can't you just find

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anyone to practice this mantra? You think the

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eternal spring arts is something any Tom, Dick

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or Harry can learn? The incantation not only

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requires a young person to start from scratch,

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but the cultivator must also possess a spirit

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root constitution. I don't know what a spirit

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root is, but before you, I tested hundreds of

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boys. None of them could cultivate the eternal

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spring arts. Is that so? I never imagined the

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requirements for cultivating this mantra would

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be so severe. In the years that remained, I thought

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it impossible to find someone who could cultivate

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the formula. So I gave up on myself, masquerading

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as a wandering quack doctor, and began drifting

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from place to place. I never expected to stumble

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upon the Seven Mysteries sect, which had also

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been ambushed. I saved sect leader Wang's life

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and at his invitation. I joined the Seven Mysteries

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sect, even became a sect elder. I planned to

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live out my final days on the mountain, hidden

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from the world. But then a miracle happened At

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first I was afraid my medical skills and martial

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arts would be lost forever That's why I brought

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you into the valley and took you both as my disciples

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But at the time I don't know what came over me

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I was possessed and I let you two attempt the

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eternal spring arts I suppose I was still clinging

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to a sliver of hope In truth, even if you couldn't

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cultivate this mantra, I would have taken you

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in and passed on all my knowledge. But I never

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imagined you'd actually have a reaction to this

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technique. Heaven truly never seals off all exits.

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Dr. Moe laid out all the answers, his face flushed

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with a sickly red hue. Satisfied, he seemed quite

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pleased with his own good fortune. I haven't

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even mastered the fourth layer of the Eternal

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Spring Arts yet. Why strike now? Why lay all

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your cards on the table with me? That's your

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own fault. I've poured so much effort and care

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into you, yet you fail to satisfy me, always

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playing games with me. We're at the final step

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now, but you keep refusing to advance to the

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next level. I could have waited for you another

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two years. But on my way down the mountain, an

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old enemy recognized me. We fought a bitter battle.

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I killed him in the end, but it drained what

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little vitality I had left. My remaining lifespan,

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it's been drastically shortened. Even if I push

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myself to the limit, I'll only have a year left

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to live. How am I supposed to wait any longer?

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Dr. Mo's smug expression vanished. Replaced by

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a vicious glare, he roared at Han Li. Han Li's

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expression remained unchanged, but inwardly he

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was utterly horrified. His calm and collected

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exterior was a complete facade. He'd long suspected

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Dr. Moe had designs on him, but he never imagined

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the truth would be this deep. The man's origins,

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his experiences, even the cultivation mantra

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he practiced. All of it was beyond anything he

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could have imagined.