Chapter 38: The Price to Be Paid
From afar, Chang Le An spotted Li Shuang. A flash of contempt passed over his eyes. After all the torment she had dealt to their Little Junior Sister—who was only just beginning to mend—what was Li Shuang doing here? Had she not troubled Little Junior Sister enough?
Chang Le An was about to unleash some scornful words when he saw Li Shuang approaching. But then his face froze in shock.
Because…
Li Shuang had walked by without uttering a word, like a lone warrior drifting through a mountain pass, heading straight into the Disciple Hall.
Watching her graceful figure vanish into the hall’s dim light, Chang Le An gritted his teeth. [What is her game?] Why had she come to the Disciple Hall? Was it not a deliberate act meant to further taunt Little Junior Sister?
“Third Senior Brother, what brings Senior Sister Li here?” Ye Zhao Zhao asked in a soft, trembling tone. “Could it be… that she is plotting again? I truly fear Senior Sister Li.”
“Do not be afraid!” Chang Le An declared, straightening his back as if drawing his sword. “I will see for myself what scheme she is crafting.”
Gripping Ye Zhao Zhao’s hand, he strode toward the hall. Yet as they neared, Li Shuang’s cool, measured voice reached their ears.
“Register me.”
Chang Le An’s eyes narrowed, and he instinctively rubbed his ears. Li Shuang? Registering? Surely he had misheard!
Inside the Disciple Hall, a disciple accepted her Command Token to record her details. But when he glanced at the inscription, his eyes widened, and his voice trembled with surprise.
“Li Shuang, at the Energy Refining Stage? Are you sure you wish to register?”
Without a trace of hesitation, Li Shuang replied, “Register me.”
“Senior Sister Li,” Ye Zhao Zhao murmured softly, her eyes shimmering with fake concern, “are you certain you wish to sign up for the Langya Secret Realm selection trials? In Langya Secret Realm, every disciple’s cultivation is suppressed to the Foundation Establishment Stage. Usually, only those who have reached Foundation Establishment or beyond participate. With your current cultivation…I fear it may not be enough.”
Li Shuang’s brows knitted slightly. She turned to the registration disciple. “Are there any rules barring a disciple below Foundation Establishment?”
The disciple, wiping sweat from his brow, hesitated. “No… but—”
A disciple of the Energy Refining Stage competing against those at the Foundation Establishment was a gap too vast to bridge!
Before he could finish, Li Shuang’s tone remained calm, “Then register me.”
With no choice, the disciple recorded her name. “Senior Sister Li, the first trial match is in three days.”
Retrieving her Command Token, Li Shuang nodded. “I will be there.”
Without even glancing back at Ye Zhao Zhao or Chang Le An, she turned and departed.
Chang Le An’s expression darkened, yet he could not hold back his fury. He hurried after her, and when he blocked her path, he sneered, “Li Shuang, do you still fancy yourself the mighty Eldest Senior Sister of Spirit Void Peak? Right now, you are no better than a raw outer sect disciple! The Langya Secret Realm is the pride of our sect. Only the elite may enter.
“And you—what claim do you have to be called elite?”
Once, when he was at the Golden Core Stage and she at the Nascent Soul Stage, he had no choice but to honor her title. But now? She had cut ties with them long ago, and he felt no need for restraint!
“Third Senior Brother, please do not speak so,” Ye Zhao Zhao interjected softly, her voice laced with feigned concern. “I am sure Senior Sister Li does not wish to descend so low.”
Yet, behind her gentle tone, a glimmer of mischief shone.
[The legendary Grand Supreme Emotionless Art—so many years have passed, and no one has mastered it. Is it real, or merely a myth?]
She had felt a painful dip in her own cultivation in recent days, a trial that had nearly broken her spirit. And Li Shuang—she had lost everything in a single night.
Do not be deceived by Li Shuang’s calm mask—inside, she must be enduring great torment. Since Li Shuang had driven her to despair, Ye Zhao Zhao vowed silently to strike where it hurt the most.
“She brought this upon herself!” Chang Le An declared coldly. “Had she not abandoned you on Snow Mountain, she would have returned with us to the sect long ago. None of this would have occurred! Li Shuang, listen well—I swear I will uncover the truth of what transpired on Snow Mountain. The punishment our Little Junior Sister endured—I will make you pay a thousandfold!”
Li Shuang met his gaze with icy indifference. “I await your discoveries.”
Her fearless calm only stoked Chang Le An’s anger further. Just as he was about to press his attack, Ye Zhao Zhao tugged at his sleeve, “Third Senior Brother, enough. I have said all I wish.”
In truth, Ye Zhao Zhao yearned most for the truth of Snow Mountain to remain hidden forever.
Softening with pity, Chang Le An looked at her. “Zhao Zhao, your kind heart has only made you a target. You may want to let it go, but has she ever spared you? Do not worry—once Langya Secret Realm is over, I will unearth the truth and make Li Shuang pay her due!”
His words rang with firm resolve, yet Ye Zhao Zhao remained gentle. “Third Senior Brother, let us not speak of this now.”
Turning to Li Shuang, she added, “Senior Sister Li, my Third Senior Brother and I have registered for the selection. If you choose to compete, you will surely face us there. And when that moment comes…”
Chang Le An cut in harshly, “When that time comes, I will show no mercy! Little Junior Sister, do not waste your breath on her. Come on!”
With that, he pulled Ye Zhao Zhao away, leaving behind a trail of whispered regrets. Ye Zhao Zhao cast one last wistful look at Li Shuang. Deep down, she hoped Li Shuang might secure a place in the top fifty.
[If Li Shuang stays in Sword Sect, dealing with her will be a tangled matter. But if she enters the secret realm… then all bets are off.]
The Langya Secret Realm was a vast, mysterious expanse. In its depths, making someone vanish without a trace was a simple art.
Alas, Li Shuang was too weak now. There was no way she could reach the top fifty. Ye Zhao Zhao guessed that Li Shuang could not bear the collapse of her cultivation and was desperately grasping at straws.
Li Shuang watched Chang Le An and Ye Zhao Zhao perform their angry parting act before they left abruptly. Her expression stayed serene, her heart as still as a quiet lake.
Those two had long lost the power to stir her inner calm. Their entrance into the Langya Secret Realm mattered little to her plans.
She joined the selection for her own sake—to restore her cultivation and seek treasured secrets to reach Foundation Establishment. She walked her solitary path.
As for those of Spirit Void Peak, their old grievances were settled. She sought no vengeance, but she would not allow them to block her journey.
Her gaze remained as calm as a mountain stream, yet deep inside, a steely resolve glimmered. She was on the path of the invincible Sword Cultivator. Her world was vast, far beyond the petty quarrels of lesser hearts.
…
At Spirit Void Peak, Chang Le An and Ye Zhao Zhao returned to their sect.
“Eldest Senior Brother, guess who we saw signing up for the selection?” Chang Le An’s voice dripped with ridicule. “That Li Shuang—how absurd! She dares to sign up for the trials. If I meet her in battle, I will…”
Before he could finish, a weak voice interrupted, “Third Junior Brother… who did you say signed up?”
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