Outside the courtyard, Xiao Qingxuan stumbled her way down Biluofeng, her True Qi in utter chaos, until she could only slump weakly against a stone by the roadside.
She gasped for breath, her face so red it seemed blood might drip from it.
This wasn’t the Ye Luqing she remembered.
“Ah Qing, how could Ah Qing do something so frivolous…”
A flash of pain crossed Xiao Qingxuan’s eyes.
The Ye Luqing in her memories was a reserved, adorable girl who would only ever tug at her sleeve, at most daring to hold her hand.
The most intimate thing they’d ever done was rub noses or foreheads. How could she now do something so bold and ambiguous?
“But why… why does it feel so good?”
A strange sensation rose in her heart.
She pressed a hand to her chest, feeling her wildly pounding heart.
“I really want… I really want to hold Ah Qing in my arms.”
Xiao Qingxuan closed her eyes, imagining that scene in the room just now—directly embracing Ye Luqing, greedily breathing in that dry yet sweet scent of Qingmuhua.
“Haa… mm…”
Her legs squeezed together involuntarily, her expression slipping out of control.
Unrestrained Sword Qi burst from her body, shredding all the surrounding grass, flowers, and stones.
What she liked was the Ye Luqing from before the amnesia—reserved, conservative, gentle, adorable, the one who’d blush just from holding hands.
But why, when faced with this flirtatious, teasing Ye Luqing after amnesia, was she almost completely falling for her?
Were her feelings for Ye Luqing really so shallow?
She admitted she did crave Ah Qing’s body, but she was unwilling to believe that six years of affection would crumble so easily in the face of mere desire.
After a long while, Xiao Qingxuan finally calmed herself and swiftly flew down from the mid-slope of Biluofeng.
“I must help Ah Qing recover her memories.”
“Otherwise next time… I might not be able to hold back.”
***
Ye Luqing lay on her side on the big bed, legs clutching the quilt, face full of resignation.
It was good that her Blackening Value was rising, but surely it shouldn’t go up no matter what she did?
Right now, Xiao Qingxuan even had that special Demonization Value.
If it rose out of control, she’d probably end up repeating her fate from the previous life.
The next moment, the System’s voice echoed in her mind.
[Detected: Destined Female Lead Xiao Qingxuan’s Blackening Value has dropped to 92%]
“Hm?”
Ye Luqing sat up from the bed, staring in confusion at the value window before her.
“Up first, then down… is she self-strategizing?”
She rubbed her chin. Looks like she’d only stimulated Xiao Qingxuan for a moment just now—it wasn’t a lasting effect.
Thinking this, Ye Luqing flopped back onto the bed.
Staring at the open System page, she suddenly remembered she hadn’t checked the reward for the story mission yet.
Since she was already here, she might as well take a look.
“With the 300 points from the mission, plus the 13% increase in Blackening Value, I have 1,430 points now.”
“Looks like there’s also a random pill?”
Ye Luqing rummaged through her bag and found the second mission reward.
[Xuanhuang Dan, Mysterious grade, upper tier. Contains abundant Xuanhuang Qi. Price: 300 points]
“Xuanhuang Qi, huh…”
There were all kinds of True Qi in this world. Depending on the cultivation method, the type of True Qi transformed would also differ.
For example, Xiao Qingxuan’s Sword Qi, or the Danhuo of alchemists, were both catalyzed and transformed from True Qi.
After reaching the Golden Core Realm, one could cultivate special techniques to transform ordinary True Qi into special types.
Ye Luqing extended a finger, a swirling blue-green vortex dancing at her fingertip.
“My True Qi is wood and water attributed, but the purity is very high.”
In the original story, all of Ye Luqing’s Array Arts leaned toward supporting others, so her cultivation methods also focused on that aspect.
She might have some combat ability, but not enough to really count as a fighter.
“Hm?”
Suddenly, Ye Luqing seemed to think of something.
Opening the Blackening Value Shop, she saw a technique she’d coveted before.
[Supreme Array Subduing Art, Earth grade, lower tier. Price: 1,200 points]
[Construct arrays based on Xuanhuang Qi, draw upon Disha Power to suppress enemies]
“At least I’ll have an offensive move now.”
Looking at the 1,430 points she’d saved up, Ye Luqing gritted her teeth and chose to buy the Supreme Array Subduing Art.
The former Ye Luqing had relied entirely on Xiao Qingxuan.
As an Array Master, she never needed to think about attacking—Xiao Qingxuan was her sharpest sword.
But now, she not only had to face Xiao Qingxuan, but also this unfamiliar world.
She had to learn some means of self-defense.
The next instant, the words of the Supreme Array Subduing Art turned into a stream of light, flying straight to Ye Luqing’s brow.
She felt as if a clear spring poured over her crown, and in a flash, she gained a deep understanding of the Supreme Array Subduing Art.
A moment later, a wisp of black-gold Xuanhuang Qi condensed at her fingertip—she’d mastered the Supreme Array Subduing Art.
“That was fast!”
Feeling the wisp of Xuanhuang Qi coursing through her, Ye Luqing still felt a sense of unreality.
It was just like using a skill book in a game and instantly learning a new technique.
Ye Luqing waved her hand, and the freshly refined Xuanhuang Qi split into fine threads, instantly forming black-gold array talismans.
She guided her Soul Palace’s spiritual power, arranging the Xuanhuang Qi array talismans into the shape of a small golden bell.
With a casual toss, the array landed on a giant rock in the courtyard.
In an instant, Disha Power crushed the boulder to rubble, then ground it into fine powder.
Even the ground beneath the boulder sank several inches, showing just how powerful it was.
“No wonder it’s an Earth grade technique.”
She nodded in satisfaction.
This was the first offensive array she’d learned.
Though there was still a huge gap between her and those cultivators focused on attack, at least she wasn’t limited to just taking hits anymore.
With this in mind, Ye Luqing began circulating the Supreme Array Subduing Art, continuing to refine Xuanhuang Qi.
Beyond the basic five elements, the more powerful the True Qi, the harder it was to refine.
Normally, a technique like the Supreme Array Subduing Art, being Earth grade, required extremely complex True Qi.
Only after reaching the Nascent Soul stage and communicating with the heavens and earth could one use it proficiently.
And as an Array Master, constructing arrays required even more True Qi than ordinary cultivators.
If she waited to refine it in the middle of a fight, she’d definitely lag behind her opponent.
An hour passed in the blink of an eye, and Ye Luqing had only refined twelve wisps of Xuanhuang Qi.
Watching the sky gradually darken, Ye Luqing slowly stopped cultivating.
A single wisp of Xuanhuang Qi could easily crush a boulder, but it wouldn’t be so easy against a cultivator.
Thinking of Xiao Qingxuan’s current half-step Nascent Soul Realm, she couldn’t help but feel a headache.
“What can I do? She’s the protagonist, after all…”
Destined Female Lead, peerless talent, ascended to immortality in just over a decade, breaking the cultivation world’s ten-thousand-year record.
Making Xiao Qingxuan blacken was easy, but the problem was withstanding her rage after blackening.
Never mind 400% Blackening Value—back when she’d just transmigrated, after all those wild moves, she hadn’t even reached 200% before being casually wiped out by an out-of-control Xiao Qingxuan.
Just as Ye Luqing was feeling troubled, she caught sight of a pink puffball timidly crouched by the door.
“Senior Sister Ye…”
Ye Luqing, sprawled on the bed, turned toward the voice. It was Ying Qianqian.
“Come in, Senior Sister Xiao’s already left.”
Ye Luqing swung her pink, delicate feet in the air, propped her chin with her left hand, and waved her other hand at Ying Qianqian by the door.
Hearing this, Ying Qianqian patted her chest in lingering fear, then carefully tiptoed into Ye Luqing’s bedroom.
Seeing Ying Qianqian’s appearance, Ye Luqing couldn’t help but laugh.
“Don’t worry, she doesn’t actually mean any harm.”
But for a Golden Core Realm cultivator, the aura of a half-step Nascent Soul Realm was still terrifying—that sharp Sword Qi had even affected Ye Luqing.
She soothingly ruffled the pink-haired puffball’s head.
The latter nodded in vague understanding, her expression gradually returning to normal.
“Then, Senior Sister, let’s go eat together.”
“Oh, right, Senior Sister—the Sect-wide Tournament is about to start, and tonight there are Inner Sect Disciple duels in the Dueling Arena. If you have time, let’s go watch together!”
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