Chapter 65

Chapter 65: Can We Start Over

Long Yan stared at Ye Zhao Zhao. He had given up everything for her, so she should do something for him too. He didn’t want to become an empty, unaware Spirit Body again. Li Shuang had raised him before; Ye Zhao Zhao should be able to do it as well. But he also knew her personality. He had always believed he was special to her, different from others, the only one who had truly seen her dark side. He had even thought her bad habits were a little cute. But now that same dark side made him afraid.

He suddenly realized: Ye Zhao Zhao really might do the thing Luo Ming Yue had just mocked her for.

He felt the turbid qi inside him growing little by little. If this dragged on, he would not escape Reversion to Void. He showed a pained look and begged: “Zhao Zhao, please don’t abandon me. Please save me.”

Everyone looked to Ye Zhao Zhao again.

She wanted to cry. She bit down and said: “I… I’ll try again!”

She started over. Since she had crossed into this world, her life had been smooth. What others gained through years of bitter training, she could get with ease from Li Shuang. This was the first time she truly faced how hard cultivation could be.

She failed seven or eight times in a row. Each time, her meridians felt stabbed, and her face turned a dead pale. In her heart, she cursed Li Shuang, cursed Long Yan, cursed the people of Ling Xu Peak, cursed the entire Sword Sect over and over, and finally, she succeeded once. A thin wisp of Sword Qi flashed from her fingertip.

“Too much Sword Qi. Pull some back,” guided Li Shuang.

Ye Zhao Zhao snapped her eyes to Li Shuang.

Li Shuang remained calm and explained: “The Sword Spirit’s body is too weak to bear it.”

Grinding her teeth, Ye Zhao Zhao drew some back.

“Good,” said Li Shuang without pause, “next time, use one more wisp than this.”

The sharp force crashed through Ye Zhao Zhao’s meridians again and again. To keep her image, she had to hold on. In her heart, resentment toward Long Yan swelled without end: [If it were only this once, fine. But this useless Sword Spirit could grow turbid qi at any time. Are you telling me I have to live with this pain for the rest of my life?]

She felt like she was going to break. [Li Shuang did this on purpose. She gave me a Defective Sword Spirit, and I actually fell for it.]

She kept drawing out Sword Qi, and her face grew worse and worse. But she was too slow, and the turbid qi kept growing.

“Hurry, Zhao Zhao,” Long Yan urged, voice tight with fear, “my spirit body can’t hold on.”

Ye Zhao Zhao shot him a murderous look: [I am in this much pain, and you still dare to rush me.]

“Long Yan, don’t go too far. Can’t you see Zhao Zhao is already in agony?” yelled Chang Le An.

Liu Jun Cheng lifted a brow and said with a chill: “Didn’t Little Shuang endure this kind of pain thousands of times? Ye Zhao Zhao keeps saying Little Shuang threw Long Yan away, and she, so pure and kind, took him in. If she’s that pure and kind, can’t she endure this little bit of pain?”

Luo Ming Yue blinked in mock surprise and added: “What, she’s shrinking back already? Looks like some people’s kindness has limits.”

“You—” Chang Le An shot to his feet, ready to argue.

Ye Zhao Zhao, white as chalk, cut in first: “Third Senior Brother, I’m fine. I can do it…” She had come this far, so she decided to finish the performance today. [Fine. I’ll act this out to the end. That way I can keep my image and maybe earn some sympathy.]

“I… I can keep going,” she said, forcing herself to gather Sword Qi again.

But she had delayed too long. Long Yan’s spirit body had reached its limit. Before the turbid qi was fully cleared, he screamed, and his form slowly faded. In the end, only a transparent Spirit Body stood there, full of resentment.

“What a pity,” said Li Shuang with a gentle sigh. “Junior Sister Ye, if you had been a little faster, Long Yan wouldn’t have lost his physical body.”

Her eyes, however, were ice cold. With Ye Zhao Zhao’s half baked skill, she was destined to suffer, and Long Yan was destined for Reversion to Void. Their payback was arriving step by step. She would stand on the shore and watch them both fall.

Long Yan looked at his now transparent body and crumbled inside. Ye Zhao Zhao’s face was just as bad. She had suffered so much, and this useless man still lost his body. [So all my effort was for nothing?]

Shen Yue let out a quiet breath and reminded her: “Junior Sister, clear the last of the turbid qi first.”

Unwilling but obedient on the surface, Ye Zhao Zhao removed the final wisp of filth. Long Yan had completely lost his body, and who knew how much of his strength had vanished.

“All right,” said Li Shuang in a calm voice. “It looks like Junior Sister Ye has learned the Sword Qi Purification Method. Next time the turbid qi appears, just use the same method again. By my estimate, the second time will come within three months, so be ready. Still, the love between you and Long Yan shakes heaven and earth. I believe that no matter the cost, you’ll surely raise him well. I, as his former Master, was useless and only barely gave him a physical body. Junior Sister Ye, you are blessed with great talent. Perhaps one day you two will reach Man and Sword as One and align with the Heavenly Dao. I’ll offer my blessing now: may you be locked together forever.”

Man and Sword as One, aligned with the Heavenly Dao. Long Yan and Ye Zhao Zhao looked at each other and both saw blame in the other’s eyes. Long Yan blamed Ye Zhao Zhao for being incompetent and making him lose his body. Ye Zhao Zhao blamed Long Yan for being a Defective Sword Spirit and forcing her to endure such pain.

Li Shuang simply watched. Long Yan was a Sword Spirit who had grown feelings and even betrayed his Master for Ye Zhao Zhao. Now, so soon, his feelings were already fading? He was already starting to resent her? It was laughable.

“The turbid qi is gone. If you have nothing else to do, you can leave,” said Luo Ming Yue, openly driving them away.

Floating in the air, Long Yan didn’t move. A sudden clarity came to him. If he were truly a peerless Sword Spirit, it wouldn’t matter who he followed. He would thrive. But he wasn’t. He was a Defective Sword Spirit. If he stayed with Ye Zhao Zhao, he would soon be polluted by turbid qi again and again. Only Li Shuang could lead him back to the peak.

He looked at Li Shuang with pleading eyes and said: “I… I didn’t know you had done so much for me. We have had too many misunderstandings, but misunderstandings can be cleared up. Can we… start over?”

He stared straight at her, certain of one thing: Li Shuang must care for him. Otherwise, she would not have done so much. Thirteen years together. He refused to believe she had no feelings at all.

Before Li Shuang could answer, Ye Zhao Zhao lost control and screamed: “Long Yan!”