The forest suddenly felt quieter.
Lin Ye looked at Su Li, his mind filled with confusion.
"You're searching for the forbidden book?" he asked, frowning.
Su Li nodded.
"Yes."
"What is it called?" Lin Ye asked.
She studied him carefully.
Lin Ye hesitated for a moment before answering.
"I don't know."
Su Li narrowed her eyes slightly.
"You don't even know its name," she said slowly, "yet you dared to use its power?"
Lin Ye gave a bitter smile.
"I was about to be eaten by a Shadow Wolf," he said.
"Do you really think I had time to study the title of the book?"
Su Li didn't argue with him.
Instead, she lowered her gaze toward the ground.
Lin Ye's shadow was trembling faintly.
Like a quiet cloud of black mist clinging to the earth.
After a moment, she spoke.
"That book is called the Abyss Book."
Lin Ye blinked.
"The Abyss Book?"
Su Li nodded.
"One of the Seven Forbidden Books."
She walked over to a nearby rock and sat down, as if she had decided it was time to explain everything.
"A long time ago," she began, "this world was ruled by a Demon King."
"His power nearly destroyed the entire continent."
Lin Ye listened carefully.
"Later," Su Li continued, "humans and other races joined forces to defeat him."
"But they couldn't completely destroy his power."
"So they sealed it instead."
Lin Ye frowned.
"Where?"
Su Li looked straight at him.
"Inside seven books."
Lin Ye felt a heavy weight settle in his chest.
"You mean…"
Su Li nodded.
"That's right."
"The forbidden books contain fragments of the Demon King's power."
Lin Ye fell silent.
That explained why the power felt so strange.
So unnatural.
Strong enough to kill a Shadow Wolf.
Su Li continued her explanation.
"The Seven Forbidden Books each represent a different type of power."
"The Abyss Book is considered the most dangerous of them all."
Lin Ye couldn't help asking, "Why?"
Su Li looked down at his shadow again.
"Because it devours its user."
The air suddenly felt colder.
Lin Ye felt a chill crawl up his spine.
"What do you mean?"
Su Li spoke slowly.
"At first, you control the power."
"But as the power grows stronger…"
"…it slowly begins to control you."
Lin Ye's mind flashed back to the previous night.
The vision.
The endless darkness.
And the enormous eye opening in the abyss.
The whisper that echoed in his mind.
More power…
He remained silent for a long time.
Then he asked quietly, "If it's so dangerous… why are you searching for it?"
Su Li didn't answer immediately.
For a few seconds, she seemed lost in thought.
Finally, she spoke.
"Because of my family."
"My family are the Seal Keepers."
Lin Ye frowned.
"Seal Keepers?"
Su Li nodded.
"Our duty is to guard the seals."
"To make sure the forbidden books never fall into the wrong hands."
Lin Ye let out a soft laugh.
"Sounds like I'm pretty unlucky."
Su Li looked at him seriously.
"The unlucky one is this world."
"If a forbidden book falls into the wrong hands…"
She didn't finish the sentence.
But Lin Ye understood the meaning.
Silence fell between them.
After a few seconds, Lin Ye asked, "So what are you going to do now?"
Su Li stood up.
She walked slowly toward him.
"Give the book to me," she said.
Lin Ye paused.
"It's not in my hands anymore."
Su Li frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Lin Ye lowered his head and looked at his shadow.
"It seems like…"
"…it's already inside my body."
The air fell silent.
For the first time, Su Li's expression changed.
"What?"
At that exact moment—
A deep growl echoed from the depths of the forest.
The sound was loud.
Heavy.
And far too powerful to belong to an ordinary beast.
Su Li's expression immediately turned serious.
"That's bad."
Lin Ye looked toward the forest.
"What was that?"
Su Li spoke quietly.
"A monster."
"And not just one."
In the distance, trees began to shake.
Dark shapes moved between the trunks.
Several of them.
Like a pack of creatures closing in.
Su Li tightened her grip on the short sword at her waist.
Then she glanced at Lin Ye.
"Looks like," she said,
"your training time is over."
Her voice became calm and firm.
"The real battle is about to begin."