Ye Luqing flipped her wrist, and the Emotion Branch was swiftly stored inside the Storage Magical Artifact at her waist.
Pei Ruyi was instantly stunned, the hazy confusion that had enveloped her dissipating as the clear Sword Intent reclaimed her spirit platform.
She hurriedly retracted her soft tongue, wiping the drool from the corner of her mouth with her sleeve in a fluster, then stood up and glared angrily at the blue-haired girl opposite her.
“Ye Luqing! What exactly did you do to me?”
“Senior Sister Pei, you’re mistaken. I didn’t do anything at all,” Ye Luqing feigned a pitiful expression, as if she were the one being bullied.
“If I must say I did something… maybe I just spoke some truths—about sword bone, charm bone, and all that?”
Ye Luqing lifted her eyes slightly, looking at Pei Ruyi with a hint of playful amusement.
“You—!”
Pei Ruyi’s finger trembling slightly as she pointed at Ye Luqing, yet no words of rebuttal came out.
How strange—it was as if her inner fury, though reaching a peak, would instantly collapse the moment it reached its height.
A smug curve appeared on Ye Luqing’s lips.
Ever since Elder Xu of Dan Ding Peak gifted her that pill, she had begun pondering the correct use of the title “Heartthrob”.
One of the effects of being a “Heartthrob” was that the charm’s goodwill could offset hatred.
This effect was perfect for teasing a young girl like Pei Ruyi, whose Dao heart had cracks.
“I just wanted to play a little game with Senior Sister Pei, so why are you so angry?”
“And about sticking out your tongue—if you didn’t like it, you didn’t have to follow my lead.”
“Could it be that although Senior Sister Pei looks very angry now, she’s actually someone who says one thing but means another?”
“In other words, Senior Sister Pei actually… enjoys the feeling of being commanded and controlled by me, right?”
Boom!
Ye Luqing’s voice exploded in Pei Ruyi’s mind like a thunderclap.
Pei Ruyi staggered back half a step, collapsing onto her chair, tilting her head with a complicated, disbelieving gaze fixed on Ye Luqing.
“I…”
How could that be possible?
How could she possibly enjoy being treated like this by Ye Luqing?
But… if that weren’t true, then she should have refuted it with utter disgust instead of enduring the harassment physically and mentally time and time again.
Could it be that she was really like Ye Luqing said—exteriorly made of sword bone, but internally craving to be commanded, a body of charm bone?
Memories of being dominated by her family in childhood slowly surged up in her heart.
Pei Ruyi suddenly felt as if she were sinking underwater, unable to breathe, yet within that suffocation arose a pleasure she found addictive.
Watching Pei Ruyi’s breathing grow heavy and her pupils tremble with wavering doubt, Ye Luqing was more than satisfied.
Finally, she had bitten the bait.
No matter how strong the effects of the Six Desires Marionette Array she’d used to train Pei Ruyi were, they were all temporary illusions.
Only by causing Pei Ruyi to doubt herself and lose herself in an unaffected, normal state—thus planting a seed of submission—could she achieve the result she desired.
The Six Desires Marionette Array was a temporary state; if one relied on it for too long, once its effects vanished, Pei Ruyi would enter a kind of refractory period and immediately recover.
Now that Pei Ruyi was already influenced under normal conditions, that seed would only take root and sprout with time.
Finally, Ye Luqing planned to replicate this success with Xiao Qingxuan—the Destined Female Protagonist—turning her into someone utterly obsessed with her.
Once she completely dominated Xiao Qingxuan, she could direct her darkening however she wished.
Perfect.
Thinking of this, Ye Luqing grew even more determined to cherish Pei Ruyi as a precious test subject.
Whether she could conquer Xiao Qingxuan all at once depended entirely on Pei Ruyi’s pre-experiment.
She stepped forward, cupping Pei Ruyi’s delicate face in both hands, meeting the flustered ice-blue eyes.
“Senior Sister Pei looks a little tired. Let’s call it a day.”
Ye Luqing had a feeling that if this went on any longer, Pei Ruyi might be broken beyond repair—and that would be a loss.
“But…”
Pei Ruyi’s confused and hesitant gaze was met with Ye Luqing pulling her up.
“Qing is always here, waiting for Senior Sister Pei to fulfill her promise.”
She tiptoed, leaning close to Pei Ruyi’s ear and whispered softly:
“If you crave Qing’s commands, you can come again tomorrow.”
At those words, Pei Ruyi’s cheeks flushed red, her whole body trembling as if a switch had been flipped.
A moment later, she nodded and quietly uttered four words:
“I understand…”
***
Pei Ruyi wandered down the mountain in a daze, her whole being seemingly soulless.
“Yo, Senior Sister Pei.”
The call made Pei Ruyi startle, and she quickly turned to look.
Seeing who it was, she relaxed.
“Huasheng, it’s you…”
“Didn’t I tell you not to call me Senior Sister?”
Seeing her fellow apprentice and classmate from Heavenly Sword Peak, Pei Ruyi felt a faint warmth stir in her heart, somewhat dispelling the shadow of Ye Luqing’s control.
As if remembering something, Pei Ruyi asked:
“What are you doing at Biluo Peak?”
Like her, Huasheng was the type of sword cultivator who only left Heavenly Sword Peak when absolutely necessary.
Usually, he would at most go to Wanshi Peak for missions or to Scroll Peak to exchange for cultivation techniques and divine abilities—places like Biluo Peak were off-limits without cause.
Huasheng scratched his head awkwardly.
“I injured a Biluo Peak inner disciple yesterday during a sparring match. Came to check how his injury’s doing today.”
Pei Ruyi was briefly taken aback, then immediately understood.
Huasheng had injured quite a few fellow disciples in contests before, but she’d never seen him care so much about any of them.
Knives and swords showed no mercy; if they were injured, they would admit their inferiority and heal alone.
Huasheng coming to Biluo Peak today was really because he didn’t trust her going to see Ye Luqing.
Pei Ruyi felt warmth swell in her heart. She turned her head and gave Huasheng a faint smile.
“Huasheng, thank you.”
A rare curve appeared on the girl’s usually cold face, as if ancient eternal ice had melted into a clear, warm spring.
Huasheng was stunned for a moment—he had never seen such gentleness from Pei Ruyi before.
They were evenly matched in strength, having fought countless times since entering the sect, usually ending only when blood was drawn.
Over the years, Pei Ruyi’s image in his mind had been no less than a ruthless sword maniac.
Most Heavenly Sword Peak disciples were sword maniacs, but Pei Ruyi was among the coldest and most merciless.
Huasheng once thought that aside from the top disciple Xiao Qingxuan, Pei Ruyi was the most suitable to inherit the Ruthless Sword Dao.
But after seeing her today, he felt this was the real Pei Ruyi—the previous one was merely imitating Xiao Qingxuan.
He scratched his head, as if making up his mind, then pulled a spirit sword from his Storage Magical Artifact.
“I don’t think I’ve congratulated you on becoming a True Disciple yet.”
“So, this sword is a gift for you.”
It was a superior-grade Profound Realm spirit sword, perfectly suited for Nascent Soul Realm cultivators.
“No, it’s too valuable.”
Pei Ruyi instinctively refused, but Huasheng forcibly pressed it into her hand.
“I’m still only at the Golden Core Realm, so I probably can’t breakthrough before the big competition.”
“I’m giving you this sword first. When I reach Nascent Soul, don’t forget to get me a good sword too.”
Hearing this, Pei Ruyi no longer resisted.
Feeling the sword’s burning warmth, an inexplicable sense of security washed over her.
“Okay, I’ve noted it.”
Seeing Pei Ruyi accept the sword, Huasheng’s heart relaxed considerably.
“Let’s go back to Heavenly Sword Peak.”
Watching Huasheng’s brisk figure retreat, Pei Ruyi sighed inwardly.
They had competed fiercely for six years; she naturally understood Huasheng’s thoughts.
But she feared she could no longer reciprocate.
“I’m sorry…”
By some strange impulse, Pei Ruyi stored the spirit sword gifted by Huasheng into her Storage Magical Artifact, letting the coldness commanded by Ye Luqing once again take hold of her body.
The scenes of their six years of rivalry flashed vividly before her eyes, only to be swallowed and replaced by the fleeting pleasure of Ye Luqing’s training.
The outwardly radiant True Disciple of Heavenly Sword Peak was inwardly already corrupted beyond repair.
“Now… I’m no longer worthy of your concern.”
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