In the meantime, Zhuan Ming stood outside, processing everything that had happened.
For a moment, he seriously considered leaving the sect as quickly as possible.
However, there were too many problems with that idea.
First, the investigator.
Second, the sect itself.
And most importantly, Li Qingyue.
If they left now, they would inevitably encounter battles along the way, and he had yet to fully stabilize her condition.
"To think I was being controlled all this time."
"Was my ambition truly so shallow that I would forget my dream so easily?"
He looked up at the night sky, dark and filled with countless stars.
Taking out the water sword, whose blade was still relatively short due to its lack of accumulated energy, he lightly cut his palm and drew a star upon it with his own blood.
"Even if I am controlled or suffer memory loss, I will never forget my dream."
Ever since he was young, Zhuan Ming had been fascinated by space and the stars.
Having grown up poor, he had often slept without a roof above his head. In those dark nights, the stars had been the only source of light that belonged to him.
That was why he had vowed to one day reach them and explore the worlds beyond.
It was also the reason he had chosen the Space Path.
And unlike his previous life, he had no intention of abandoning it.
The Qi Pill Ancestor had exploited the temptation of quick power and overwhelming strength that had always lingered somewhere in the depths of Zhuan Ming's mind, using his desire for the Blood Path to subtly influence his decisions.
But in truth, every path possessed limitless potential if one knew how to use it.
"I'll have to slowly accumulate Space Path spiritual energy."
The problem was that Space Path artifacts were exceptionally rare.
That was one of the reasons Zhuan Ming had often resorted to plundering Solar Soul Worlds in his previous life, leaving each expedition with unimaginable resources.
It was also one of the reasons he wished to leave this sect.
The Azura Sky Sect was simply too small for him.
At best, he might find a few low-level Space Path artifacts here.
For now, he could only hope that one of the Heavenly Fruits would contain a suitable Space Path artifact.
At present, the only Space Path artifact he possessed was his storage ring, which offered no offensive capabilities.
Fortunately, changing cultivation paths was not impossible at his current stage.
The process only became truly difficult after becoming an immortal.
Most immortals ultimately chose the path with which their souls possessed the greatest compatibility.
When a cultivator formed their soul, it would initially take the shape of a dormant sphere.
Eventually, the sphere would hatch and reveal a soul animal.
It was one of the most significant moments in a mortal cultivator's life.
Yet most never reached that stage.
Hatching the soul required an enormous amount of energy, which was why most cultivators only managed it after reaching Rank 4 or beyond.
Of course, it was possible to force the process earlier.
However, doing so often resulted in weaker or incomplete soul animals.
Before major wars, many sects would resort to mass hatching the souls of less talented cultivators by supplying external soul energy and forcibly breaking the shell.
It was a cruel practice intended to squeeze as much value from them as possible before they died on the battlefield.
Zhuan Ming continued staring at the stars while considering his next move.
Then Li Qingyue stepped outside.
"Are you alright?" she asked, her concern obvious.
Her eyes quickly fell upon his bleeding hand.
"Did he do that?"
Zhuan Ming glanced at his palm.
"Oh, this?"
"No. It simply symbolizes my resolve."
"Don't worry. It wasn't anything serious. He merely questioned me."
Li Qingyue stepped a little closer.
For a moment, Zhuan Ming was caught off guard, but he remained still.
She lowered her voice.
"Was it because you killed that outer sect disciple?"
He was surprised.
She had known all this time.
"Perhaps."
He made no attempt to deny it.
"So what do you think?"
"Do I deserve punishment?"
"Am I evil?"
"No..."
The answer escaped her mouth almost immediately.
In truth, it wasn't that she approved of killing innocents.
She didn't.
In fact, she despised the clan for allowing her parents to die meaningless deaths.
Zhuan Ming could see the conflict written across her face.
"You see, I am neither evil nor just."
"They were simply unfortunate."
"In this world, everyone possesses the same opportunity to act."
"For all we know, they may have targeted me next."
"I simply acted first."
After saying those words, Zhuan Ming turned and began walking away.
Li Qingyue instinctively reached out her hand.
She wanted to say something.
To stop him.
But no words came.
Perhaps she wanted to keep an eye on him.
Perhaps she was afraid that he would distance himself now that he knew she was aware of his true nature.
Or perhaps she simply didn't want to watch another person walk away from her.