CHAPTER 294
Diary
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No respectable person keeps a diary, but Ye Qinghan was no respectable person.
In the drawer of the dressing table beside Ye Qinghan's bed, next to the "Master's Training Manual," lay a brown-covered notebook.
This was Ye Qinghan's diary. She didn't write in it every day, but she recorded many amusing incidents.
For instance, on September 17th, Dongfang Jue challenged her to a duel and ended up with a swollen rear.
September 23rd: Li Shiyao got caught stealing the Master's wine and ended up with a swollen bottom.
September 27th: She deliberately made a mistake and had her bottom beaten until it was swollen by her Master…
Today's events, too, were recorded by Ye Qinghan.
As follows:
The master's gaze swept over me, as if it could devour me whole. I longed to rush forward, hold him in my arms, and tell him, "Don't be afraid. Qinghan is right here."
I longed to share my tenderness with him, but he remained distant, as if burdened by self-doubt, hesitant to draw near.
I could see the look in Dongfang Jue's eyes as he gazed at the Master, filled with longing, as if he too wished to become as powerful as the Master.
I could also see the fervor in my junior sister's eyes. I knew she was thinking, but I couldn't fathom what the Holy Maiden was pondering.
But when I looked at Chu Youwei, I knew she must be thinking the same thing as me.
Unlike when I first met Jue'er and Su Muchan, I didn't strike out at her. It was as if I was trying to act like a proper and confident master's wife.
My master seemed pitiful—that was my only thought.
I felt a pang of guilt, cursing myself for failing to see the future in my master's eyes, cursing myself for not knowing how to help her.
How could I ever be like my master's wife?
I could hear swords wailing like vengeful spirits demanding lives, and I could hear gales lashing trees like the wails of wronged souls.
And I could hear the thoughts within my master's heart.
【Hunter】, 【Apostle】
These unfamiliar terms echoed in my ears, leaving me bewildered. I couldn't comprehend what my master was facing.
This was merely the beginning of the calamity.
I didn't understand what a Hunter was, nor did I grasp what the beginning of a disaster meant.
Until I recalled what Master's wife had said—that she and Master were engaged in slaying deities and seizing power from their hands.
Apostles must be the gods' minions, right?
Hunters must be the name given to these minions.
My master's sword energy dispersed the mist, revealing the hunter's true form.
When that monster—the one my master called the Hunter—emerged from the black mist, it dawned on me: Wasn't this the very monster Shiyao and I had fought in the secret realm?
Had Master been laying this groundwork from the very beginning?
Though similar in appearance, this Hunter was vastly larger than the one I encountered in the secret realm!
The Hunter's form resembled most felines, its head more akin to a cheetah. The one before us stood over three meters tall, its physique robust and muscular.
The Hunter possessed no fur, instead sporting copper-hard skin and iron bones! Its entire body was encased in a black, armor-like substance, granting it a body as indestructible as diamond.
Honestly, it was hard to tell if it was even a living creature.
The sword energy had merely left a scratch on the hunter's body. I could see the look of concern on Chu Youwei's face.
I couldn't quite understand. She had already witnessed my master's magical artifact and sword formation. That strike had been nothing more than a casual gesture.
What exactly is she worried about? Master wasn't even using his full strength!
Could she possibly think that with all these treasures, Master couldn't handle this iron cat?
Fortunately, events unfolded as I'd anticipated. Under the Shattered Army Sword Formation inscribed on the jade slip, even its iron-hard hide was reduced to scrap metal by my master.
Of course, this left Chu Youwei somewhat stunned. Her master might not be quite what she had imagined.
The hunter hadn't even had time to attack before Master dismantled it. Yet, looking at Master's face, there was no sign of relief—as if he were worried about some greater danger.
Thanks to my master, I too came to understand this was merely an appetizer before the main course of disaster. But I thought to myself, as long as we all work together, even the gods might not be so formidable, right?
With my master by my side, I feared nothing.
But clearly, I was wrong.
My master wasn't contemplating future crises, but the immediate one. For after the smoke cleared, the hunter had indeed been slain by my master.
Yet a new villain arrived—the ultimate monster I'd encountered in the secret realm: the Faceless One.
【How could this happen? How did this special apostle appear?】
This was what Master was thinking at that moment. Through mind-reading, I vaguely gleaned some information about "gods."
Deities are manifestations of Authority's power—essentially, Authority taking human form or possessing an individual to fulfill its duties.
Though most powers take human form, they are fundamentally not human and cannot comprehend the nature of humanity.
In the eyes of Authority, humans—or this world itself—are merely parts on a machine.
Their purpose is to remove discarded parts from the machine and replace them with new ones.
In the eyes of my Master and those so-called deities, the world I grew up in was nothing more than a broken-down part.
It suddenly dawned on me why my cultivation had stagnated, even regressed, when I practiced my master's techniques earlier.
The spiritual energy was sparse, the power of the Dao's laws weak, even relying on the Immortal Gate…
This seemed to be the world's means of self-preservation—granting someone the opportunity to ascend to the Dao…
I must have been both utterly lucid and utterly deluded back then.
This clarity felt like comprehending a fundamental law, finally achieving enlightenment.
That confusion mirrored an utterly brutal reality: above the rules of the Dao of Heaven lay even more binding laws of survival. I trembled at my own insignificance.
Now, recalling my master's thoughts when I became his disciple, I feel nothing but profound shame.
【I couldn't even protect myself, yet I had the audacity to take on a disciple.】
Understanding this, hearing the Master's true thoughts becomes clear.
Master spoke of the authority of the Matriarch—the authority known as the Blade of Protection. The Apostle before us, wielding sword and shield, was referred to by Master as the Faceless One.
This humanoid Apostle, standing over ten meters tall, was a minion of the Guardian Authority. Yet it should not have appeared here.
Master was merely at the Foundation Establishment stage, lacking any cultivation techniques to support him. Frankly, most magical treasures couldn't unleash their full potential.
It might suffice against some cultivators, but against that shield as solid as a city wall, even the Fallen Immortal Ruler would exert negligible suppression.
Truthfully, I could see my master was growing anxious, for all his jade slips were in my possession.
He kept only three jade slips with him, and one had just been used against that Hunter.
"Youwei, can you help me hold it off?"
As Master spoke, I saw Chu Youwei's slightly surprised gaze gradually harden. She seemed to perceive something invisible to me.
In that moment, I understood my envy. I envied that my master would trust a girl he'd just met enough to have her guard his back.
It was something I desired but could never possess. How could I not understand what Shiyao had said? My master simply refused to let me face danger. He would not tolerate me suffering even the slightest injustice or harm.
Now I grasped what Master's wife had said: many actions, many words, require a certain identity to be spoken.
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