The next moment.

The anomaly in the painting suddenly withdrew.

Light and shadow shifted.

The vast battlefield illusion in the sky, colored like a fiery sunset, and the pervasive taste of blood and fire in the air, the surging will and emotions, all suddenly vanished.

In an invisible breeze, it was drawn back into the painting of unknown material on the desk, yet it still appeared as vivid as ever, almost transformed after Lin Guang's final stroke.

An unfathomable voice said:

"Do you have any other purpose for this painting?"

In the always flat and arrogant tone of the other party, there was surprisingly a trace of emotion.

It seemed like...

A desire to collect, a sense of enthusiasm.

The somewhat fatigued Lin Guang paused slightly, then immediately sensed something in this emotion, and couldn't help but smile: "As you wish."

Without a doubt.

For him, the fact that his strict teacher could react this way to his painting was already a substantial acknowledgment.

As soon as he said this, the painting disappeared from its original place.

A full half-hour passed, not knowing what the teacher was doing, waiting until Lin Guang's nearly exhausted Spiritual Power almost recovered, before the voice spoke again.

This time, the tone returned to its usual feeling, even unexpectedly became stricter, firing off questions like a machine gun.

"It's acceptable, but that doesn't mean you can be complacent."

"Your brushwork and Heart Power flow both have issues."

"Your subject is too large, both your Spiritual Power and Heart Power can't keep up, if not here, using the pen I gave you, you couldn't possibly complete this painting."

"And even so, the people and demons in this painting can't even move, showing you're still far behind."

"Moreover, it's too mechanical; you almost instinctively replicated what you saw with your Talent, without considering that more detail isn't always better. In many areas, your emotions clashed at the moment of writing, dispersing your essence..."

"..."

The teacher said a dense barrage of words, leaving Lin Guang bewildered, eventually summarizing it into one sentence.

"Your basics are lacking, you need more practice."

Then—

The silhouette of a Spirit Beast appeared again in front of the pavilion.

This time, it was a magnificent large bird covered in colorful feathers.

[Grand Phoenix Sparrow]

Under normal circumstances, it should be extremely splendid, even possessing some Phoenix-like charm, but this Grand Phoenix Sparrow seemed to have been dragged out directly from sleep at home, still maintaining a huddled posture like a chicken in its nest, looking puzzled and clearly unaware of its situation.

The voice spoke mercilessly to Lin Guang: "Continue practicing."

—Still practicing!

—The first painting took two or three days!

Lin Guang sighed, resignedly continuing to paint at the desk. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

...…

"That's enough, let's stop here for today, continue next time."

With a somewhat unfocused gaze, Lin Guang finally set down his brush with relief, as the starlit colors on his hand gradually faded, and he exhaled deeply.

With not only complete focus on the strokes but also constantly listening to the teacher's guidance, the Hand of Full Mastery and the Eye of Omniscience and Omnipotence were running at full capacity for several days, with very little opportunity for rest and medication.

Even an iron man couldn't endure such exhaustion.

Normally, the next step would be to be dismissed by this teacher.

However, in this moment, Lin Guang composed himself, calming the Sea of Spirit, and suddenly raised his head.

"Teacher."

"I have some questions I'd like to ask."

Though there was no reply, upon saying this, in Lin Guang's Perception, the invisible wave about to envelop his body paused, seemingly waiting for Lin Guang's next words.

Lin Guang gazed at the sky, suddenly reaching out, gripping the pendant at his chest interwoven with ebony and emerald, and softly spoke.

"Are you acquainted with Teacher Kaelis?"

Upon saying this, more questions rapidly followed from Lin Guang's mouth.

"What kind of person is she? How did you meet? Do you still keep in touch?"

—The pendant records many things, a wealth of information, guidance, and even speculations, including things from ten-plus years ago concerning Lin Guang's parents, of which Kaelis provided extensive analysis from her perspective.

Except for two matters, Kaelis never recorded anything.

Her past.

This teacher, the identity of her old friend.

Even though Lin Guang had inferred who this teacher might be from behaviors and traits, it didn't mean he could derive the full scope of things from the information he knew.

They arrived on Blue Star over a hundred years ago.

In a world as extraordinary as Blue Star, evolving over five hundred years, a century is sufficient to cultivate countless untold stories, many hidden histories?

Why did Kaelis join the Divine Heart Association?

Why does she provide technology for human experimentation, while also supporting Terran groups in Fusang, disregarding any taboos?

What is her current situation?

Perhaps the chance to understand this lies with this mentor, hiding themselves, unwilling to appear.

Today, her attitude shifted somewhat, perhaps an opportune moment to inquire.

"..."

The voice hesitated for a moment before sounding in Lin Guang's ear: "Her... I haven't corresponded for over a decade."

"I can roughly predict what she would do."

"Regarding her past century, I don't fully know either."