“Alright, A-Qing, the Sword Qi in the spirit sword is enough for your use over the next few days.”
“Before the Grand Tournament, you can come find me again to refill it.”
Xiao Qingxuan handed the spirit sword back to Ye Luqing and said softly:
“I’ve used this sword a few times, but it hasn’t been nourished with True Qi, nor bound to a master.”
“You can name it and become its true master.”
Ye Luqing took the Jade Spirit Sword. She hadn’t decided on a name yet, so she first stored it in her Storage Dharma Artifact.
After thinking for a moment, she took out a round, smooth pill and offered it to Xiao Qingxuan with a light laugh:
“Sister, have this pill.”
Xiao Qingxuan was slightly startled, subconsciously receiving the pill.
“What is this?”
Since Ye Luqing had always been her support, she rarely took pills and didn’t recognize many, but she could easily sense the surging Sword Qi within.
“This is a Heavenly Sword Unyielding Pill, used to replenish Sword Qi.”
“I see that Sister’s True Qi consumption has been a bit high lately. Perfect for taking this to replenish.”
The Heavenly Sword Unyielding Pill had a recycle value of 450, half again higher than the Jade Spirit Sword, and its tier was also higher. Using it as a return gift could be considered repaying the favor for teaching the One Qi Sword Art.
Furthermore, since Xiao Qingxuan was a Sword Cultivator, it was perfect for her.
This way, when she used the Jade Spirit Sword for mischief later to stimulate the Blackening Value, she could feel a bit more at ease.
Hearing this, Xiao Qingxuan’s expression stiffened.
What did she mean, “replenish”? Wasn’t this mocking her for being weak?
As a fierce woman of Heavenly Sword Peak, she felt the need to explain.
“A-Qing, it’s really not that I’m weak. It’s that Sword Qi is very difficult to recover, especially for our Emotionless Sword Lineage. Only upon entering the state of ‘Desire Severing Seal, forgetting emotion and mind’ can one…”
But just as Xiao Qingxuan was babbling a long-winded explanation, Ye Luqing grasped her fingers.
Then, applying slight pressure, she made that slender jade hand close around the pill in her palm.
“Sister, take it.” Ye Luqing gave a faint smile.
“Consider it… a gift from the ‘present’ A-Qing to her sister.”
A smug curve lifted the corner of her lips. She intended to use the guilt stirred from last night’s heart-to-heart, both to make Xiao Qingxuan accept the gift and to further stimulate her Blackening Value.
Hearing this, a trace of bitterness flickered through Xiao Qingxuan’s eyes. She then forced a smile and shook her head.
“No, A-Qing, you need this pill more than I do.”
“The Duo Tournament allows carrying pills. The One Qi Sword Art you’re cultivating requires a lot of Sword Qi. Keeping this would be better for emergencies.”
“Keep it. I hope you achieve smooth victory in the Grand Tournament.”
She reached out and gently ruffled Ye Luqing’s little head.
Listening to Xiao Qingxuan’s heartfelt words and feeling the warmth from her palm, Ye Luqing froze.
Her lips moved slightly, wanting to say something but unable to, a hesitant look on her face.
Why not take it?
The Heavenly Sword Unyielding Pill was an Earth-Rank Mid-Grade pill.
Not just for Half-Step Spirit Transformation, even for Spirit Transformation Cultivators, it was absolutely precious.
She had clearly wanted to clear her debt to Xiao Qingxuan, so that later, when raising the intensity due to Blackening Value, she wouldn’t have to hold back.
Yet what Xiao Qingxuan was thinking about was whether she’d have enough Sword Qi during the tournament.
This sincerity made Ye Luqing feel a warmth in her heart—and also a deep sense of desolation.
Because this concern had nothing to do with her. It belonged to the Original Host of this body.
Since crossing over, her already limited sense of belonging diminished even further in that instant.
At this moment, a never-before-felt, inexplicable emotion rose from the depths of her heart.
It was jealousy.
She was jealous of “Ye Luqing.”
She subconsciously lowered her head, not even realizing when Xiao Qingxuan had placed the pill back in her hand.
[Bzz… bzz…]
[Bzz… Detecting… bzz…]
Faint crackling electric sounds echoed in her mind, along with garbled, indistinct words.
However, the only thought in Ye Luqing’s mind now was to flee. She subconsciously ignored these faint sounds.
“Senior Sister Xiao, I… I’ll go back and practice the sword art first.”
With that, she turned and left without a backward glance, completely missing Xiao Qingxuan calling after her.
It wasn’t until she descended Heavenly Sword Peak that the stifled feeling finally eased.
She looked back. This was once the place the original host loved to visit most, but now it felt slightly oppressive.
“Ah…” She sighed bitterly.
“I clearly decided to be a substitute. How did I end up developing real feelings…”
She had failed to stimulate the Destined Female Lead and instead been stimulated herself.
If it were deliberate sarcasm, she could have laughed it off.
But this unintentional, genuine sincerity had momentarily broken through her defenses.
Ye Luqing shook her head, casting this strange thought away.
She wasn’t foolish enough to truly fall into it. According to the World Line’s development, Xiao Qingxuan’s Blackening Value would inevitably rise to 400% in the future. She was merely the fuse sent by the System.
She certainly didn’t want such a ticking time bomb beside her. Even if the other loved her, she knew she was merely a “substitute.”
This world was indeed not virtual, but she didn’t belong here either.
This stimulation helped push her to realize:
Focusing on completing the mission and returning home safely was the true path!
If she could negotiate with the System to bring back a few things to reality—like divine abilities or cultivation—that would be even better.
She took a deep breath. No more hesitating. Her resolve to make Xiao Qingxuan fall into blackening was firm.
From now on, on the premise of safety, she would stimulate that Destined Female Lead as much as possible, complete the task step by step, and return to Earth successfully.
As she walked towards Azure Sky Peak, she pondered the details of her next steps.
Unbeknownst to her, in a corner of the System interface that Ye Luqing couldn’t perceive, a blood-red notification had appeared at some point.
[Detected Host Blackening Value increase to 8%]
…
On Azure Sky Peak
Ye Luqing ascended the White Jade Platform.
With the Sect Grand Tournament approaching, those coming to prepare were gradually increasing.
Looking around, the White Jade Platform held not only Formation Cultivators but also disciples from many other peaks.
While the Formation Cultivator disciples of Azure Sky Peak were somewhat weaker in single combat, they were the darlings of other peak disciples for their supportive abilities.
Moreover, as one of the Three Peaks of Profound Firmament, Azure Sky Peak’s training platform configurations were second to none, capable of almost simulating a real battle environment.
“Senior Sister Ye, Senior Sister Ying is cultivating her formation at the innermost jade platform. Shall I guide you there?” An Inner Disciple approached to report.
“No need. I’m just here to look around.”
She gazed from afar at Ying Qianqian’s back as the pink furball repeatedly cast formations. Seeing her hardworking appearance, Ye Luqing fell into contemplation.
“Blackening Value Karma…”
When the System had told her to team up with Ying Qianqian for the Duo Tournament, the phrasing was “Detected Blackening Value Karma, triggering special plotline.”
At the time, Ye Luqing only noticed the “special plotline” part, but she hadn’t figured out what “Blackening Value Karma” meant.
One had to know, dodging the soul probe of Bai Yuhan, a Dao Integration Stage Dao Venerable, only gave 300 points plus a Profound-Tier Pill as a reward.
But the initial reward for this mission was a full 1000 points. If she took first place, there was even a generous reward: the title “Formation Dao Grandmaster.”
In other words, in the System’s view, the importance and priority of this mission even outweighed her own safety.
Then, the so-called Blackening Value Karma wasn’t hard to guess.
“If taking the Duo Tournament championship with Little Ying is the ’cause,’ then a huge spike in Xiao Qingxuan’s Blackening Value is the ‘effect.'”
Anything prompting the System to offer such rich rewards was inevitably linked to the Destined Female Lead and the repair of the World Line.
Although the process and principles were unclear, for her, getting the System’s rewards was enough.
Without lingering on the White Jade Platform, she turned and headed further up the peak.
She had more important things to do.
