Ling Qingyue looked at the longsword in her hand, and then at Meng Li, who was sitting on the ground in fear before her. She pondered for a long time but ultimately could not bring herself to harden her heart. Ling Qingyue did not know when she had become so weak; decisiveness and ruthlessness were supposed to be her defining traits.
“Shi… Shizun, please don’t kill me, okay? I… I haven’t done anything, I just wanted to live a good life…!”
Seeing her opponent’s hesitation, Meng Li immediately put on a pitiful act. That delicate and helpless appearance was so convincing that even she herself might have been fooled. Meng Li was, after all, facing her Shizun, who had returned from rebirth.
But who said she had no chance? In the end, even Shizun, who was as broken as a system bug, was eventually conquered by her. Meng Li understood that Ling Qingyue was tough on everyone else, but was uniquely helpless against the current her.
“You…”
Ling Qingyue only hesitated for a moment. However, in that split second, Meng Li spotted the opening. Spiritual power surged within her body, and in the blink of an eye, two figures split from her form.
Her Evil Self and Good Self pounced directly at the Avatar Ling Qingyue standing behind her, pointing a sword at her back. Meng Li instantly retrieved the Great Void Bell from within her body. In the brief moment Ling Qingyue was distracted, Meng Li was already right in front of her.
“Shizun! Forgive my offense!”
In the game, when Meng Li was collecting magical artifacts and items specifically targeting Ling Qingyue, she had acquired the Great Void Bell. But Ling Qingyue never hesitated, so Meng Li had discarded this item’s use. However, at this very moment, seeing the word “Rebirth” floating above the other’s head, Meng Li once again took out this artifact she had abandoned.
“I don’t know why it’s with me, but I’ll use it now!”
【Great Void Bell: Memory】
As the bell rang, Ling Qingyue finally snapped back to her senses. If this were a normal battle, Ling Qingyue would never have given her opponent a chance to attack. But now, facing such a weak Meng Li, even Ling Qingyue was completely off guard.
“Unfilial disciple! You dare?!”
Ling Qingyue drew her longsword and thrust it at the other, but when the sword landed, it passed through only an afterimage. The surrounding scene once again became illusory. The cramped, dim cave abode from moments ago now transformed into a bustling street full of traffic and crowds.
The people coming and going around were so familiar, so real. The ambient noise of the lively street was vivid. It felt as if she had truly been transported there. Yet even this illusion realm, terrifyingly realistic as it was, still could not shake Ling Qingyue.
“Another illusion realm…”
【Sword Art: Life-Death Sword】
A white mist began to emanate from Ling Qingyue’s body. A powerful killing intent condensed around her. The longsword in her hand seemed to lose any normal physical constraints at this moment. Her entire aura reached an unprecedented peak.
“The Heavenly Sword emerges, judges life and death. Alone, it severs the eternal ages. One sword, across the vast sky…”
Ling Qingyue’s entire body began to turn ethereal in that instant, while the sword in her hand became even more solid. She was about to swing the blade, ready to cleave this world apart with that tearing sword strike. Just then, a tug came from the hem of her clothes.
Ling Qingyue was about to swing the sword down, but she simply followed the tugging sensation and looked down. She saw a ragged, pink-haired little girl holding a chipped, broken bowl, standing beside her.
“Milady… could you spare a few coins, or perhaps a bit of food…”
Though it was just a glance, and the other’s cheeks were already covered in dust, one look was all it took to recognize her identity. Ling Qingyue couldn’t help but be dazed for a moment. Even the killing intent of the longsword in her hand began to slowly dissipate, until the sword clattered to the ground.
“You… what is your name…”
“Meng… Meng Li…”
Two ordinary words, yet they made Ling Qingyue’s sword stop in its tracks. Knowing full well this was an illusion before her eyes, Ling Qingyue couldn’t help but reach out her hand, gently stroking the other’s forehead. Even the expression on her face became somewhat complicated.
“Meng Li… that’s a good name…”
This scene before her—she had always remembered it clearly, yet she had always chosen to forget it. In her previous life, the first time she met the other was never at the sect’s entrance selection tournament. It was right here, in the mortal world outside the sect.
“Milady, please, I haven’t eaten all day…”
Watching the young maiden’s cautious demeanor, afraid of offending her, it was somewhat similar to the present. Ling Qingyue slowly crouched down, studying that familiar face. No matter what, she could not connect this girl with the unfilial disciple who had locked her in a room and humiliated her night after night.
“If you’re hungry, how about becoming my disciple…”
“Become your disciple? Milady, are you a cultivator?”
“Mhm…”
“If I learn cultivation from Milady, will I be able to fill my stomach every day?”
“You won’t go hungry…”
“Great! I want to! I want to!”
Watching the little girl’s innocent, happy expression, Ling Qingyue seemed to see that day again—the day she sat upon the high platform, watching the tournament arena for the sect’s entrance selection. The maiden there also wielded a longsword, overwhelming the heroes and standing at the center of the selection.
Her innate talent might not have been the strongest, but her mental fortitude, schemes, and strategies were striking. Ling Qingyue had originally thought her presence was merely a formality. But when the maiden on the selection stage pointed her sword at Ling Qingyue’s high platform, ambition already gleamed in her eyes.
“Within the sect, I won’t go anywhere else! I only want her as my Shizun~!”
At that time, or perhaps even earlier, Ling Qingyue understood she had already met this girl long ago. She just couldn’t recall it. Perhaps back then, she had casually tossed down a few spirit stones, causing that maiden to become utterly attached to her.
“Don’t you move! Your true body is in my hands right now. If you dare move, I don’t know what I’ll do!”
At that moment inside the cave abode, Ling Qingyue stood in place, eyes vacant. Beside her, Meng Li looked panicked as she faced the Avatar Ling Qingyue. She had originally planned to land a control spell and then run, but she hadn’t expected the avatar to be completely unaffected.
“If that chopstick in your hand can hurt me, then try it and see…”
Avatar Ling Qingyue’s eyes showed disdain. She thought the other would have some kind of strategy, but in the end, it was just a magical artifact. That level of crowd control was something she could break out of in the time it took to breathe.
“Aiya, what kind of threat is that? Are you really my true self? You wouldn’t be that idiotic, would you~”
Meng Li’s flustered state made even the Evil Self beside her unable to watch any longer. She directly snatched the chopstick from the other’s hand and tossed it aside, then pulled the standing Ling Qingyue down into her arms.
“What if you hurt Shizun? If that happened, wouldn’t we truly become unfilial disciples who attack their Shizun…”
“Desperate times call for desperate measures~”
The Evil Self spoke while gently stroking Ling Qingyue’s cheek in her arms. She looked coquettishly at the avatar Shizun before her, the threat in her eyes self-evident. Although not a single word was spoken, Avatar Ling Qingyue understood the meaning perfectly.
“I advise you not to act recklessly. After all, we have the bond of master and disciple. If you do this, then it will be…”
“Aiya ya, what bond of master and disciple do I share with Senior Sister Nameless? It’s merely that Shizun, her esteemed self, is tired and napping in my arms. I haven’t even said anything, yet Senior Sister is already so anxious~”
“You!”
Meng Li had never imagined there could be such a method. She grew smug again, standing directly before the other and looking at Avatar Ling Qingyue with the expression of a petty person reveling in undeserved success.
“That’s right. If you don’t want us to do something to Shizun, then obediently put down your sword~”
“You!”
“You what, you! There are three of us here. One Shizun isn’t even enough to share. Don’t tell me you want us to have a taste too~”
“You unfilial disciple! How dare you speak such filthy words! Watch me—”
“Watch you what! Do you really think I’m scared? Attack first, let them see our power!”
Meng Li waved her hand, signaling the two behind her to act. However, after waiting for a long time, there was still no reaction. Meng Li was full of confusion. She had just turned her head when she was dumbfounded. The Evil Self, who had just been teasing, now had a dazed expression. Her hand gently caressed that soft cheek.
Just moments ago, she had been uttering harsh words, but now she looked as if she was possessed by a devil. Her eyes were practically watering. Even the Good Self beside her had bent down, leaning close, eyes full of little stars as she continuously studied Ling Qingyue’s vacant eyes.
“Hey hey hey, what are you two doing?! What are you doing!!!”
“Sorry, sorry, Shizun is too beautiful. I got lost in looking at her for a moment…”
“Aiya~ seems like I’m a little wet~”
Meng Li watched the two unseemly individuals before her and immediately became furious. She pushed them aside, intending to take matters into her own hands. However, when she arrived in front of Ling Qingyue and saw her lying there in her arms, eyes vacant, looking pitifully delicate, Meng Li first froze. Then she felt her lips go dry.
“Hiss… looking at her this way, she really is kinda…”
………
…
