Chapter 20
Chapter 20: Take Back What Is Hers
Liu Jun Cheng spoke steadily: “Those two from Ling Xu Peak do not look like they will let this go. First Senior Sister, I will first report to the Disciplinary Hall, then go speak with Master.”
He always handled things with care, filing ahead of time so troublemakers could not twist the story first.
“I also…” Li Shuang started to speak.
Liu Jun Cheng smiled a little: “Junior Sister, just go to the bazaar like usual. This small matter does not need your worry.”
Li Shuang still felt uneasy.
“It’s fine, they will arrange it,” Luo Ming Yue looked at her with gentle eyes and said: “You should learn to rely on us a little.”
Li Shuang blinked in surprise.
[Learn to rely on us a little?] A warm feeling slowly rose in her chest.
The corners of her lips lifted into a faint smile: “Okay.”
In that instant it was like a flower blooming on a snowy mountain. Luo Ming Yue could not help pinching her cheek as she said: “You should smile more often from now on.”
Li Shuang answered with full seriousness: “I will try.”
She looked at Jiang Yi and said: “Fourth Senior Sister, First Senior Sister will go with me at the bazaar, that is enough, so you should go back and rest.”
Jiang Yi paused and looked at her. In Li Shuang’s eyes there was nothing but care.
Jiang Yi’s fingers curled tight.
[Junior Sister… saw through it.]
She had always feared being the center of attention. Losing face in public just now had used up all of her social energy for the day. She felt out of place all over, yet she tried hard not to show even a trace of it.
But Li Shuang had already noticed.
And she did not think it strange. She simply, thoughtfully, told her to go rest.
“Okay,” Jiang Yi answered softly with her head lowered.
They had only just met Li Shuang, yet they could already feel the blazing heart beneath her cold shell.
What about those people from Ling Xu Peak? Could they really not feel it?
Whether they felt it or not no longer mattered.
Now, Li Shuang was their Junior Sister. She had nothing more to do with Ling Xu Peak.
After Liu Jun Cheng and Jiang Yi left, Luo Ming Yue led Li Shuang on toward the bazaar.
Even while they walked, the Supreme Emotionless Art inside Li Shuang’s body ran on its own.
Luo Ming Yue felt a hint of envy and said: “This Passion-Severing Mantra is truly fierce. The technique runs at all times, who knows how much time it saves from closed-door cultivation.”
As soon as she finished speaking, it happened.
Li Shuang’s spiritual power grew out of nowhere, then directly broke through to the Sixth Level of Qi Refining.
Luo Ming Yue’s mouth opened into a small o.
That morning, Li Shuang had only just broken through to the Fifth Level of Qi Refining.
No matter how fast the Supreme Emotionless Art ran, it had only been a few hours. Her spiritual power had grown again and jumped straight to the Sixth Level of Qi Refining. Wasn’t that a bit too outrageous? Luo Ming Yue could not help asking, puzzled: “Your spiritual power… broke through again?”
Li Shuang hesitated, then nodded: “It seems so.”
She was re-cultivating, so of course she would be faster than before, but was this speed not a little over the top? Luo Ming Yue grew worried and asked: “What is going on? Does your power feel steady right now?”
Li Shuang nodded: “Very steady.”
That was the strange part.
The power that appeared out of thin air flowed without the slightest hitch, as if she had earned it through hard training.
The phenomenon was strange, and Li Shuang could not figure it out no matter how she thought.
But her instincts told her this was not a bad thing.
She faintly felt that right now she was only taking back, bit by bit, what had always belonged to her.
“Ask Master later. Also, keep an eye on your power. If anything feels off, go to Master right away,” Luo Ming Yue reminded her.
In a thousand years, only one Li Shuang had stepped onto the Emotionless Path.
No one knew how wondrous this technique truly was. Maybe with the Supreme Emotionless Art, power could suddenly grow like this. Luo Ming Yue was not sure.
Li Shuang agreed with a nod.
“Come on, let’s stick to the plan and hit the bazaar. You should at least buy a few decent magic tools for yourself,” Luo Ming Yue said seriously: “And if you are set on this Black Abyss Sword, once you reach the Foundation Establishment Stage, the sword can be upgraded a second time, so we have to prepare the materials well in advance.”
She went through everything point by point, and Li Shuang listened carefully.
Her gaze fell to the Black Abyss Sword at her waist.
Upgrade the Black Abyss Sword, huh.
Even though she was still in the Qi Refining Stage, she had a feeling that breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Stage would not be far off.
So the upgrade work should begin now.
Only, no one knew the sword better than its Sword Spirit.
Before upgrading, it would be best to wake the Sword Spirit and decide the upgrade path according to its nature.
Where was the Black Abyss Sword Spirit, and how could she wake it?
Thinking about it, Li Shuang sank her mind inward.
The Sword Spirit of Black Abyss still curled up in a corner.
But Li Shuang sensed a tiny difference.
[Is the Sword Spirit more condensed than before?]
She studied it closely.
The change was small, but her soul was strong, so she still caught that subtle shift.
The Sword Spirit really had changed.
Her gaze flickered.
What had caused this change?
What had she done just now?
She had only entered a bout and won.
[Could that be why the Black Abyss Sword Spirit changed?]
Her pupils tightened a little.
If that was true, then how many more fights and how many more wins would it take to make the Sword Spirit fully condensed?
Through one victory after another, she and Black Abyss would temper an invincible Heart of the Sword Dao together, and only then would she have a truly peerless sword.
She had this guess, though she could not be sure yet.
That was fine.
She had plenty of time to test it.
At Ling Xu Peak.
Ye Zhao Zhao returned with Shen Yue, who was still unconscious.
Sheng Yuan looked at Shen Yue’s pale face in shock and asked: “Zhao Zhao, what happened?”
“Who in the sect would dare hurt someone like this?” The third disciple, Chang Le An, could not help roaring in anger.
Ye Zhao Zhao’s eyes grew red. She wiped her tears and spoke in pain: “It was the First Senior Sister… no, she will not allow us to call her that anymore. It was Li Shuang. She pushed the people of Emotionless Peak to act, and they hurt Second Senior Brother like this.”
Her body trembled as she spoke: “He only wanted to ask for one Frost Blossom for me. Senior Sister Li could have just refused, but she chose to strike so hard. First Senior Brother, Third Senior Brother, she truly does not want us anymore.”
Clear tears fell one by one. Her shaking grew worse as if she had suffered a heavy blow.
“So excessive,” Chang Le An burst to his feet with his sword in hand and moved to storm off to settle accounts with Li Shuang.
“Wait,” Sheng Yuan’s face was dark too, but he still stopped him.
“First Senior Brother, you will just watch Second Senior Brother get bullied like this?” Chang Le An could not hold back.
Sheng Yuan looked at Ye Zhao Zhao and said: “Zhao Zhao, what exactly happened? Tell me everything from the start. Where was Second Junior Brother bullied? If the people of Emotionless Peak were really this over the line, did no one stop them?”
This was inside the sect. Ye Zhao Zhao’s crying had lit a fire in his chest at first, but after a moment’s thought, Sheng Yuan felt something was off.
Ye Zhao Zhao’s gaze flickered. Then, unwilling, she told the story of Shen Yue’s match with Li Shuang.
“Senior Sister Li took all of Second Senior Brother’s savings, and he got so angry he spat blood and fainted,” she said, still wiping away tears.
“Bullying too far, far too far. First Senior Brother, what do you say to this?” Chang Le An fumed: “We cannot just let Second Senior Brother be bullied.”
Sheng Yuan’s eyes grew cold.
What had he just been hoping for? Hoping this was only a misunderstanding? Hoping Li Shuang was not that kind of person? From the moment she left their Junior Sister to face danger alone, from the moment she betrayed teacher and sect to join Emotionless Peak, he should have known what kind of person she was.
Looking at Shen Yue’s state, his face turned gloomier. He said in a hard voice: “I will go have a proper talk with those people from Emotionless Peak. Third Junior Brother, go ask Master to step in. Junior Sister, you stay and look after Second Junior Brother.”
Ye Zhao Zhao answered at once.
When Sheng Yuan and Chang Le An left, a glint flashed in Ye Zhao Zhao’s eyes.
She guessed that Li Shuang had probably gone to the bazaar, so Sheng Yuan would not run into her today.
But that did not matter.
Let him make a fuss. Over at the bazaar, she could give Li Shuang a little jolt first.
“First Senior Sister…” Shen Yue murmured in his sleep.
Ye Zhao Zhao shot him a cold look.
It was only one match.
And now Shen Yue was muttering about the First Senior Sister? All her years of trying to please him, had they all gone to the dogs?
A flush rose on Shen Yue’s face. Sweat beaded on his forehead.
He kept mumbling nonsense.
One look and it was clear something was wrong with him.
Ye Zhao Zhao did not care.
Even if he died like this, it would be Li Shuang’s sin, not hers.
She had more important work.
Pretending not to see his pain, she locked Shen Yue in the room and went out.
With everyone away, it was the perfect time to visit the bazaar.
A chill glimmered in her eyes.
Before, Li Shuang had always acted like she did not care about resources at all.
Now she could not pretend anymore.
In Ye Zhao Zhao’s view, today’s actions meant Li Shuang was short on spirit stones.
Of course she was. For years she had played the good person and given away her resources, so she was always broke.
Since she had stopped pretending, spirit stones became extra important.
Whatever Li Shuang valued, Ye Zhao Zhao would destroy. Only then could she force out Li Shuang’s negative emotions.
A vicious light flashed in her eyes. The bit of cultivation she had just lost, she wanted Li Shuang to pay back right now.
She put on a veiled hat to cover her face and slipped into the bazaar.
The first thing she did was quietly meet Steward Qiu of the Treasure Pavilion.
“Miss Ye, what brings you here?” Steward Qiu greeted her warmly. This little disciple from Ling Xu Peak always had business schemes. She provided ideas, he handled execution, and together they had made quite a bit of money.
You never slight a god of wealth, so he was all smiles.
“I want you to help me deal with someone,” Ye Zhao Zhao said coolly.
His eyes flickered and he replied: “I am only a merchant. I am not good at fighting and killing.”
“No fighting is needed. We use business,” she said, already impatient. “I will teach you another sure-win method today. I want no cut at all. I have only one condition. I will name a person, and you will make her lose everything.”
Her ideas were usually sound, so Steward Qiu grew interested at once: “Please go on, Miss Ye.”
Head high, she explained the plan step by step.
That useless System always called her worthless, saying she could only rely on it.
In her view, the System was just gaslighting her.
She was a Transmigrator after all. She had plenty of ways to earn spirit stones.
But making Li Shuang suffer mattered more than profit.
She would give up the money to force out Li Shuang’s negative emotions.
“Do as I say and you will make a killing. That person is short on spirit stones right now. Tempt her properly and she will take the bait. My only demand is that you strip her of every coin,” Ye Zhao Zhao said, handing him a portrait of Li Shuang.
Steward Qiu’s eyes flashed again and again. The plan was indeed good, and if done right, it could also boost the Treasure Pavilion’s sales.
“Alright, we have a deal,” he said, memorizing Li Shuang’s face with a smile.
Ye Zhao Zhao nodded: “She should be in the bazaar now. Please act quickly, Steward Qiu. I will wait here for your good news.”
To collect negative emotions, she needed to stay within a hundred meters of the target, so she would not go far.
“Rest assured, Miss Ye,” Steward Qiu answered cheerfully and went off to arrange things.
Ye Zhao Zhao sipped her tea slowly, a cold light in her eyes.
[Li Shuang, even if you left Ling Xu Peak, you are still fated to be my stepping stone. Everything you have, I will ruin sooner or later.]
Through the window, she watched the street below.
Steward Qiu worked fast. If Li Shuang was anywhere in the bazaar, he would find a way to draw her over.
On the street.
Luo Ming Yue strolled with Li Shuang and talked nonstop: “Stock up on different talismans, and keep the common pills ready. You have an Ice Spiritual Root, so you need Frost Blossoms to temper it. The sect only has two in the pool of resources, which is far from enough, so we must get more ourselves. We do not always have to buy in shops. Many Cultivators set up stalls along the streets, and their prices are often better. But there is risk of getting scammed, so you have to keep your eyes open and tell real from fake.”
Seeing Li Shuang’s fresh, curious look at the bazaar, she did not rush to buy things but instead explained the basics of trade.
As they walked and talked, a lively shout rang out.
“Blind boxes, blind boxes, the Treasure Pavilion’s newest blind box event, do not miss it if you pass by.”