Evening.
After finishing her sparring session with Ying Qianqian, Ye Luqing collapsed onto her bed in exhaustion.
Even with the wind-attribute formation cranked to maximum power, scattering everything in the room across the floor, she still felt unbearably stifled.
Pei Ruyi’s presence seemed to linger in her nose.
What was Pei Ruyi to her, really?
A tool for her experiments? A toy for her training to pass the time? Or a target for affection when she lacked a sense of security deep down?
Ye Luqing couldn’t figure it out, nor did she want to.
What she had to do was complete the ultimate mission given by the System—pushing the Destined Female Lead’s Blackening Value to 400% to restore the World Line, then return to Earth in glory.
As for the emotional entanglements of this world, she had decided not to get trapped in them anymore.
Logically, that was how it should be.
But she simply… couldn’t completely forget.
Even after ruthlessly pushing the other away, that look in Pei Ruyi’s eyes—like an abandoned puppy—seemed etched into her heart.
Ye Luqing’s gaze dimmed. The scene of her coordinating the Yin-Yang Meridian Array with Ying Qianqian this afternoon was still vivid in her mind.
Clearly, Ying Qianqian was the one who needed more practice, but today, it was Ye Luqing who made more mistakes.
Her heart was also in turmoil.
“So annoying…”
Agitated, she walked out the door, intending to practice swordplay in the yard, only to find the weather as gloomy as her mood, thick with dark clouds.
The evening wind made her robes flap loudly. She looked up at the clouds above and murmured softly, “It’s going to rain, huh…”
…
Heavenly Sword Peak, Direct Disciple Hall.
Pei Ruyi looked complexly at Hua Sheng, who had come to find her for a sword spar.
Tomorrow was the opening day of the Sect Grand Tournament. As a newly promoted Direct Disciple, Pei Ruyi didn’t need to participate in the first two days of selection matches.
But for Hua Sheng, it was different.
Even as the top-ranked Inner Sect Disciple, he still had to compete in the selections starting from day one.
Therefore, on the night before the selections, Hua Sheng wanted to spar with Pei Ruyi one last time. Win or lose, it would be experience for the tournament.
Like Pei Ruyi, he also wanted to become the Void Comprehension Divine Lord’s Direct Disciple. His goal couldn’t just stop at the preliminary rounds.
He had been in the sect for six years now, losing his age advantage, and his cultivation was a step behind Pei Ruyi’s, having yet to break through to Nascent Soul Stage.
Showing his brilliance at the Sect Grand Tournament was the best way forward.
The two walked silently toward the Sword Testing Platform on Heavenly Sword Peak. Neither spoke.
Hua Sheng focused his attention, condensing his Sword Intent to its absolute limit, completely shutting out the outside world.
Even though Pei Ruyi was already a Sword Cultivator at the Nascent Soul Stage, he didn’t believe he stood no chance.
Contrary to Hua Sheng, Pei Ruyi’s heart was a chaotic mess.
After returning from Ye Luqing’s place this morning, she had shut herself away, not even showing her face when Tao Xiaoxian came looking for her to practice.
Out of the guilt in her heart, and gratitude for the gifted sword, she had still agreed to Hua Sheng’s request.
The two arrived at the Sword Testing Platform. Hua Sheng settled into his stance, staring at Pei Ruyi opposite him.
“Senior Sister Pei, I’ll be troubling you tonight.”
Looking at Pei Ruyi, who seemed listless, he joked.
“Mm…”
Pei Ruyi nodded, then woodenly drew her most commonly used Profound-Tier Mid-Grade sword.
Seeing this, Hua Sheng across from her was slightly taken aback, a hint of bitterness flashing in his eyes.
“Hah… Watch out!”
He advanced with his sword, the sword momentum of the Golden Core Stage instantly erupting.
The wave-like sword qi surged to its peak, as if he was going all out from the very start.
This was typical of a clash between Sword Cultivators. The duel of Sword Daos could be decided in a single breath.
Decisive and thorough, leaving no room for error.
Although Ye Luqing had defeated him in one move that day, he wasn’t actually weak. His loss was mainly due to unfamiliarity with the Profound Yellow Mountain-Suppressing Art.
Even at the Golden Core Peak Stage, he still had the confidence to challenge a Nascent Soul cultivator.
However, Pei Ruyi didn’t attack. Instead, she raised her sword defensively, utilizing the Sword Control Art she wasn’t even proficient in.
Not deciding victory through the Way of the Sword, but suppressing him through cultivation base.
Clang!
Even though Pei Ruyi was the one with the higher cultivation, she received Hua Sheng’s strike in a very sorry state.
Had their cultivations been equal, this single exchange would have been her undeniable defeat.
Hua Sheng stood over ten zhang away from Pei Ruyi, his brows tightly furrowed.
“Ruyi… you’re not yourself today.”
“Maybe we should just forget it. I’ll find someone else to spar with.”
Unlike Pei Ruyi, he cultivated the Trinity of Sword Heart, Sword Intent, and Sword Qi.
Despite that, he could see that Pei Ruyi’s Sword Heart was wavering at this moment, even worse than three years ago when Xiao Qingxuan abandoned her.
What exactly had happened?
But Hua Sheng could no longer press for the root cause, blaming himself only for being too hasty when seeking Pei Ruyi out for sparring, failing to notice her condition.
However, his words were like a thorn, viciously stabbing into the most fragile part of Pei Ruyi’s heart.
“Even you… don’t need me anymore?”
Pei Ruyi raised her head, a flash of agony in her eyes.
Her slender figure was like a feather, seemingly ready to be scattered by a mere breeze.
She raised her sword again. The commonly used sword shimmered with a cold light, but the blue-green tassel she’d made herself hung listlessly, lacking its usual vigor.
She didn’t dare use her nearly shattered Sword Dao against Hua Sheng, because as long as she didn’t contest it, her Sword Dao would never fully shatter.
But she suddenly felt that such a Sword Heart and Sword Dao… maybe it didn’t matter if they broke.
With a thought, a dragon-like Sword Qi erupted from the ground, almost instantly reaching its peak.
Compared to Hua Sheng’s wave-like Sword Qi, Pei Ruyi’s strike was more condensed, its sharpness more formidable, more terrifying.
It should have been.
In that instant, Ye Luqing’s cold, distant voice, tone, even her icy gaze flashed through her mind.
Ye Luqing’s training, her love, her unreasonable domination—all these complex things mixed together.
These thoughts made her heart seize violently, her sword qi instantly thrown into chaos.
And Hua Sheng’s clashing sword was already thrust before her. The force and sword qi of the Golden Core Peak Stage easily pierced through her defense.
The tip stopped an inch from her throat, carrying a metallic coldness.
Yet Hua Sheng’s eyes held almost no joy of victory, only deep concern.
“Ruyi… what’s wrong with you?”
This couldn’t be Pei Ruyi’s true level. Having dueled for six years, he understood her swordsmanship better than anyone.
He lowered his head slightly, linking her recent strange behavior. His expression grew increasingly grim.
“Could it be Senior Sister Ye…”
But when he looked up again, all he saw was Pei Ruyi’s figure walking down the mountain.
He instinctively wanted to chase after her. Just as he was a few steps away, Pei Ruyi’s faint, breathlike voice drifted from ahead.
“Leave me alone…”
“Please… let me be alone… for a while…”
He stared blankly at her retreating back. His outstretched hand froze in mid-air.
Only from such close proximity did he notice faint red welts on the pale skin of her back beneath her plain white sword robe—marks of a beating.
He gritted his teeth, wanting to ask what exactly had happened these past days. As a True Disciple of Heavenly Sword Peak, who would dare treat her like this?
But seeing Pei Ruyi’s fragile state, as if she would shatter at a touch, he ultimately couldn’t voice those words.
In the end, he just stood there, watching Pei Ruyi walk step by step down the mountain.
…
The evening sky was fickle. Large raindrops pelted down, instantly linking into continuous lines.
Pei Ruyi walked aimlessly through the rain, completely soaked, like an abandoned fledgling.
Losing to Hua Sheng on the Sword Testing Platform was the last straw, crushing her final shred of perseverance.
She understood better than anyone that her Sword Heart had already fractured.
The rain grew heavier, gradually blurring her vision.
She wandered without purpose. Unconsciously, she found herself outside Ye Luqing’s small courtyard.
Pei Ruyi looked up, only to find Ye Luqing already standing in the doorway, as if she had anticipated this, watching her with a complex expression.
She smiled, but it looked worse than weeping.
To finally die here… maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad ending after all.
She slowly walked toward Ye Luqing and handed her the Lifebound Spirit Sword, which felt heavier than a thousand jun.
“Junior Sister Ye, please…”
“Kill me… let me forget all of this…”
