Jiang Ke’er understood the stakes.
If she were a Demon, only racist elements of the Human Clan would be after her.
But if she used the power of the Heavenly Demon, then the Nine Provinces Allied Forces would come after her.
Li Lao’er wouldn’t help her either; he would only look for opportunities to stab her in the back.
Lin Gang, Jie Shui, Gan Ruanruan, Si Lian, Yiqin, Mushuang, and even the sealed Big Fox Xun Fang… would all abandon past ties without hesitation.
Because at that point, she would be an Epidemic Poison, an external enemy that must be eliminated.
Looking at Qiao Xiaoxian’s concerned gaze, Jiang Ke’er gave the same ungrateful response.
“Meddling! I know what I’m doing!”
“You know nothing!” Qiao Xiaoxian was unusually serious this time. “Promise me, don’t use it! You’re already strong enough; all you need is time!”
“Mm-hmm, fine, fine. I’m not stupid. Relax, I really do know what I’m doing!”
Jiang Ke’er’s answer was still deeply unconvincing.
Qiao Xiaoxian had to switch tactics. She leaned close to Jiang Ke’er’s ear and spoke in a tone colder than the surroundings.
“If you use that power in front of others, I will punish you severely.”
“…”
Jiang Ke’er really didn’t dare now.
After returning to Dongming City, Jiang Ke’er entered self-isolation mode.
To put it nicely, it was self-isolation; to put it bluntly, she stayed home without stepping out.
She suddenly began cultivating at full speed, and the rate at which she absorbed Qi even stirred up a huge Spiritual Energy Storm around all of Dongming City.
Many cultivators complained bitterly, reporting to the government office one after another, “From this morning, for some reason, Spiritual Power suddenly stopped obeying me,” “I almost fell into qi deviation during morning practice,” and so on.
It was Qiao Xiaoxian who realized something was wrong and found Jiang Ke’er; only then did Jiang Ke’er slow down her cultivation speed.
“Next time you cultivate, you need to set up a cordon and mark it as a high-risk area,” Qiao Xiaoxian said.
She wasn’t joking.
“But why haven’t I seen you cultivate so hard before?” Qiao Xiaoxian asked, puzzled.
“Nagging, nagging, so annoying!” Jiang Ke’er kicked Qiao Xiaoxian out and continued leveling up at full speed.
Standing outside the door, Qiao Xiaoxian was very depressed.
Lately, Jiang Ke’er had been strange.
Always fierce and clawing at her; whenever she got close, Jiang Ke’er would find some weird reason to drive her away.
And clearly, she was implying “I want to make you angry and drive you away.” Qiao Xiaoxian could see that.
Was it because spring had arrived?
Ahh— A deep sense of weariness washed over her heart, but she had no thoughts of backing down.
This prickly Jiang Ke’er made her feel even more that she shouldn’t give up.
She didn’t know why she was actively seeking suffering. Probably as Jiang Ke’er said, she was stupid.
The speed of her upgrade from the Six Harmonies Stage to the Seven Luminaries Realm probably reached the peak level of Jiang Ke’er’s lifetime and set a new record for the entire Shenzhou.
Fifteen days, without using any Celestial Materials and Earthly Treasures to force growth, she completed the cumulative qualitative change from 0 to 100.
Absolutely a new record, even faster than the rebuilt Qiao Xiaoxian!
This made Jiang Ke’er extremely proud.
The moment she reached the peak of the Six Harmonies Stage, she ran to Qiao Xiaoxian and said sarcastically, “I heard some genius took a month to break through to the Seven Luminaries Realm… Hmph, that’s called a genius? Isn’t fifteen days enough?”
After saying that, under Qiao Xiaoxian’s bewildered gaze, Jiang Ke’er broke through to the Seven Luminaries Realm with a bang.
The SSS-Class Technique had no bottleneck at all; breaking through was as simple as popping popcorn.
After breaking through, Jiang Ke’er immediately suppressed her cultivation base back to the peak of the Six Harmonies Stage to avoid being kicked out.
Then she raised her chin and said, “What is an international genius, huh? Look! This is an international genius!”
“Pfft—” Qiao Xiaoxian couldn’t help laughing. Not only was she not in the least bit angry, but her somewhat suppressed mood of the past few days was inexplicably healed quite a bit.
She couldn’t help reaching out and picking up the vaunting Jiang Ke’er, lifting her high.
“Yes, yes, you’re the best.”
“Hmph~ Good that you know… Bastard, put me down!!!”
“Did you cultivate so fast just for me?”
“Your delusional imagination is getting more and more vivid,” Jiang Ke’er said scornfully.
“Then I’ll take it as yes~”
“Wake up. It’s noon. Don’t daydream.”
For the past fifteen days, the atmosphere between the two girls hadn’t improved much.
Jiang Ke’er was still fierce, as if she had the words “I am a wild beast” plastered on her face.
Her tone was harsh; although she didn’t use swear words, every sentence was hurtful.
Qiao Xiaoxian was exhausted, yet she silently stubbornly stayed by Jiang Ke’er’s side, no matter how much she was driven away.
Jiang Ke’er felt she was like a clingy shadow.
Qiao Xiaoxian had long entered the Seven Luminaries Realm, but she had been using treasures to suppress her cultivation base and stay in the Realm of No Regret.
Now, they could leave this place.
“There haven’t been any rescue missions for half a month now,” Fei Ling walked over and said emotionally.
“With the Xu God dead, the surrounding Void Kings and Xubeasts have become much more docile… Plus, the major city-states have recently given emergency quality training to cultivators, which has greatly reduced the probability of incidents like digging through underground rivers.”
“Perfect timing. We’re leaving.” Jiang Ke’er was already tidying up the room.
She had a set of beloved little quilts that she had been using ever since she came to the Jiuzhou World.
If she didn’t have this quilt covering her, she wouldn’t feel at ease even when closing her eyes to cultivate.
So no matter where she stayed, she would take out this quilt and use it, falling asleep to the familiar scent, and carefully pack it away before leaving.
After putting away the quilt, Jiang Ke’er looked at Fei Ling.
“Where’s the exit?”
“There’s an exit in Dongming City,” Fei Ling said. “Outside the City Lord’s Office.”
“Thanks, bye.”
Jiang Ke’er replied rudely.
Fei Ling looked at Qiao Xiaoxian, her expression becoming serious.
“I’m counting on you.”
“Mm,” Qiao Xiaoxian nodded. “I will do my best.”
The phrase “do my best” for Qiao Xiaoxian was not a perfunctory politeness. When she made such a promise, she would truly give it her all.
Moreover, even if Fei Ling hadn’t entrusted her, she would still do it.
This was her lifelong dream since childhood.
“Beiju Luzhou…”
The little fox was born there, died there, and her story began there.
In Jiang Ke’er’s memory, the name Beiju Luzhou always stirred only anger and regret.
That place was her knot, her nightmare.
It was the source of motivation that made her struggle, swear to become strong, and never admit defeat.
—No matter the cost, she wouldn’t let those scum look down on her!
Whenever she was knocked to the ground by the System Dummy and felt despair and exhaustion in her heart, she would recall the scenes she experienced in Beiju Luzhou.
Then she would get up and continue dying.
Among the reasons she repeatedly struggled on the brink of life and death like a cockroach and never gave up, everything in Beiju Luzhou held a huge weight.
And now.
Finally, it was time to settle the debt.
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