CHAPTER 379
Intermission
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Staggering toward the canyon, yes—a flash of black sword light altered the Northern Domain's landscape as Chu Youwei made her way to where the original owner had been.
The still-warm earth spoke to her of harsh reality, while she muttered incoherently under her breath.
No one paid her any mind, leaving her to stand there blankly on the scorched earth.
The lingering echoes of the Thunder Summoning Art had yet to dissipate. Thunderclaps still rumbled intermittently from all directions, as if that master were complaining about Chu Youwei's cold indifference.
Purple lightning plunged from the heavens, as if to punish this disobedient disciple, striking straight toward Chu Youwei!
But Chu Youwei seemed to have lost her senses, showing no intention of dodging. Like a walking corpse, she remained frozen in place.
As the thunder roared, the purple lightning had already struck. The so-called imposter stood before Chu Youwei. With Zero Two's power within her, such an attack could not harm the former queen.
Yet blood trickled down the jade-like hand clutching the dagger. The Chu Youwei in her arms slowly raised her head, her eyes devoid of emotion. She felt only that the God of Death had returned.
Three consecutive stabs—drawing the blade, thrusting it in, drawing it out, thrusting it in again…
Chu Youwei was no fool. Distinguishing which was her true master required no thought—the man before her clearly was not.
She would atone with her life before her master, but before that, she had unfinished business.
Not everyone, however, was like Su Cheng. Some felt their blade-wielding hands clamped down, their bodies flung uncontrollably into the distance.
This force was equally unshakable. The Lingxian Hall's First Disciple clearly wouldn't allow her to continue harming her master.
"Shiyao! Kill her!"
Ye Qinghan's beautiful eyes were already filled with murderous intent. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, as if a torrent of rage was waiting to be unleashed!
"Master, let me go!"
Li Shiyu complied, giving Dongfang Jue a meaningful glance before drawing the Sacred Blood Sword and slowly advancing toward Chu Youwei.
Dongfang Jue felt the same. Who was the true master? There was no question about it.
From any perspective, whether it was the victor or the master they loved, there was only one—Su Cheng standing before them.
Dongfang Jue had long disliked Chu Youwei. He kicked out, wishing he could bury her in the ground.
"Stop!"
Brushing aside Ye Qinghan's healing touch, Su Cheng glanced at the three bloody holes in his waist and merely smiled helplessly.
Explanations were clearly pointless. The moment Chu Youwei clenched the dagger, she had already cast life and death aside.
How could she possibly be a match for Su Cheng? How could she possibly be a match for three direct disciples?
After briefly treating the wounds on his waist, Su Cheng slowly approached Chu Youwei. Meaningless words were no longer worth uttering.
"Master has always taught Qinghan that when cutting weeds, one must uproot them completely. Sparing her today risks inviting disaster! If Master finds it inconvenient to act, Qinghan will kill her for you, then proceed to reclaim the spatial anchor point!"
Ye Qinghan admitted she didn't dislike Chu Youwei. In truth, she had even accepted Chu Youwei's arrival.
But true to the style of the Executioner's Blade, since Chu Youwei had drawn her dagger, she must pay the price!
She must pay with her life for her foolishness!
"Qinghan is my disciple, and she is also my disciple. Even if I were her master, I would not betray her. Let her go."
"He is not dead. If Youwei is wise enough… tell him to surrender the spatial anchor point. I shall spare both of you."
The ink-black greatsword in her grasp was the demoness incarnate. Every disciple around her was her enemy. Chu Youwei cursed her own foolishness—how could she have mistaken a traitor for her father? Her error was so colossal.
Chu Youwei had never felt so utterly powerless. Even when facing Cheng Liang, even when condemned by all, even when opposing an Immortal Emperor, she had never felt such dread.
But now she must confront… her master…
Her fake master…
Staggering away, Su Cheng did not order anyone to pursue or follow her—for there was no need.
At Lingxian Hall, a dozen Valkyries were herded into the courtyard by Xiao Ai—they’d trashed Su Cheng’s Main Hall like a nightclub after a wild party.
"He Guang, you fucking loose cannon! Spilled tea all over the floor?"
"And you! What the hell are you laughing at? This floor covered in melon seeds—you spit them out, didn't you? Get over there and lick it clean for Xiao Ai!"
"Damn it, are your eyes stuck up your ass? Whose fucking bottle is this?"
Despite the cursing, Xiao Ai was just that kind of person—if things needed cleaning up, they got cleaned up. That wasn't the job of this group of Valkyries.
But seeing Xiao Ai start cleaning up after them, the Valkyries scrambled over to help, hoping to avoid getting their own asses spanked.
By the time Yu Meng led Su Cheng and the three direct disciples back, the Main Hall had been tidied up. Xiao Ai had already prepared the promised tea for Su Cheng.
The tea was Xiao Ai's own, as were the tea utensils—all specially delivered by her request.
"Thank you for your trouble, Xiao Ai."
"No trouble at all. It's Xiao Ai's job."
"Within three days at most, I'll obtain the spatial anchor point."
"Xiao Ai trusts you, Master."
To be honest, Ye Qinghan, Dongfang Jue, and Su Muchan were all completely dumbfounded at that moment!
Wasn't this damn Xiao Ai the one who kept talking about grooves?
How come she's acting as docile as a kitten now?
Is there something wrong with how we're handling her?
"Right, Xiao Ai, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."
Xiao Ai slowly took the teacup Su Cheng had sipped from, placed it on the table, and then smiled as she spoke.
"My lord, are you referring to the matter concerning immortal arts?"
Su Cheng smiled. This was precisely why Xiao Ai was considered the most outstanding personal attendant—whether it was tea or any task, she was flawless.
"Even if Xiao Ai's Valkyrie is powerful, she remains a mortal being. Without her weapon, she is ultimately just an ordinary person."
"Hmm, Xiao Ai has noticed this too, but I haven't yet grasped the concept of protective qi, or how to activate techniques like the Golden Bell Shield or Iron Shirt."
She grasped concepts instantly, and chatting with Xiao Ai was always refreshingly easy.
Xiao Ai comprehends so-called immortal arts and incantations. Immortal arts activated by talismans or spells share the same fundamental principles as ritual-driven techniques.
It's the concept of words manifesting into magic, or inscribing immortal arts onto jade tablets or talismans—nothing extraordinary.
What was extraordinary was that Ye Qinghan, merely at the Qi Cultivation stage, could withstand blades and swords with his bare flesh.
To Xiao Ai, this seemed utterly unreasonable.
Though he still couldn't withstand their weapons, it was nonetheless a method beyond armor that significantly reduced the warriors' mortality rate. This was no small matter, and Xiao Ai had long taken notice, though she had never understood the reason behind it.
"Xiao Ai's physical strength is also exceptionally high, but it manifests differently."
Xiao Ai's physical strength primarily manifested in her self-healing abilities and her adaptability to mental or spatial-level attack methods.
Beyond that, she was deeply intrigued by numerous immortal arts. Yet, constrained by various factors, she could only dispatch agents to investigate matters concerning cultivators.
The findings naturally surprised her. While she held no regard for even the so-called Human Emperor Immortal Sovereign, many aspects piqued her curiosity.
For instance, a spell that transforms one into a small bird? Xiao Ai was quite intrigued by that!
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