Late at night, the moon's light pierced through the clouds, cutting across the mechanical facade of the Gear Tower and illuminating the smiling face of Chen Xing. Although her smile was breathtakingly beautiful, it carried a hint of a pathological distortion.
She gazed at the demonic blade in her hand and whispered, "Give up. Even if I'm one day devoured by you and lose my mind, I believe he will respect my decision and give me a proper end—an end that belongs only to me, bestowed by his own hands."
As she spoke, Chen Xing covered her face with her left hand. Through the gaps in her fingers, her crazed, crimson eyes were revealed.
"So, you either completely submit to me and stand by his side with me, or..."
Chen Xing suddenly twisted the blade, gently resting its sharp tip against her beating heart. "...you'll turn into the sharpest blade in his hands and help him cut down everything that gets in our way."
Chen Xing paused, and her voice suddenly rose, filled with an unwavering determination.
"Because I want him to know that what Caroline can do, I, Chen Xing, can also do. And what Caroline can't do, I, Chen Xing... will do at any cost!"
"You know who I'm talking about, right?"
Hearing Chen Xing's near-maniacal declaration, the demonic blade, which had been trembling violently with excitement, slowly calmed down. The blade's surface shivered slightly with an emotion called "fear."
As a part of Chen Xing's mind and body, it knew better than anyone who the "he" in her words was—the master of the Star Eclipse Heavenly Eye, who had carved an eternal brand deep into Chen Xing's soul from their very first encounter.
And if things really came to that, it would not only lose all hope of gaining "freedom," but it would also be bound by Chen Xing's crazy obsession, turning into the world's most twisted curse alongside her, forever locked deep within that man's soul with no hope of escape.
Just dealing with Chen Xing alone was already a struggle for it, but if that person were added to the mix...
Thinking about this, the demonic blade instantly "calmed down." It was afraid that this crazy woman would truly push everything to that point.
But while the demonic blade retreated, Chen Xing did not. The light in her eyes became even more fervent. She stared at her reflection in the blade, her face flushed with excitement, and her voice was filled with anticipation and thrill.
"Actually, when I think about it, dying by his hand is not a bad option either."
"Because when that happens, I believe he will always have a place for me in his eyes, and I will become the 'only one' he can never forget for the rest of his life."
"After all, he's so gentle. How could he forget the 'companion' he killed with his own hands?"
Upon hearing these words, the demonic blade fell completely silent. It was only now that it finally understood that Chen Xing's heart held a deeper, more insane, and pathological obsession than simply subduing it. She wanted to carve a scar into that man's life and soul that would never heal, even if the price was her own body and soul.
But she wasn't just willing; she was eagerly chasing after it.
Compared to Chen Xing's twisted and pathological "love," which was almost like a curse, its own greed for broken souls and thirst for blood were completely insignificant! What kind of decent person would be so crazy as to treat "death" as a gift, just to be "remembered" by someone? Was she not insane?
Damn it, did it choose the wrong owner?!
Meanwhile, in a villa in the Steam City.
"Sigh..."
Tendo looked at the chessboard in front of him, his gaze fixed on the shallow "cut" mark left on the edge of the board where Chen Xing's finger had unintentionally grazed it while setting fire to her "black pieces."
"That girl, Xing, is being influenced more and more by the demonic blade."
Tendo sighed, his azure eyes clearly seeing the faint killing intent that remained on the board. This killing intent was not about good or evil; it was twisted yet incredibly pure. Although this killing intent was Chen Xing's unstoppable weapon in battle, just as a sharp blade can hurt both others and oneself, an excess of killing intent also affected Chen Xing's will to a certain extent.
"It's a good thing Xing's talent is strong enough and her will is firm enough. If it were anyone else, they would have probably been enslaved by this killing intent and turned into a monster that only knows how to kill."
Tendo lightly tapped the table with his finger, creating a faint echo in the quiet villa hall. After a moment, he stopped and said, "Although Chen Xing's problem wasn't fully exposed in the second season, based on my interactions with her lately, I can clearly feel that the blade in her hand is becoming more and more restless."
"Perhaps she also realized this, which is why she didn't take Chen Kong with her and went to the Blazing Sun Tribe alone."
"Is she not even sure if she can control that blade anymore?"
After thinking for a moment, Tendo frowned and then suddenly stood up. He walked to the villa window and looked out at the bright moon in the night sky.
"While it's not a good thing to interfere with someone's cultivation so rashly, it's a bit too much to expect her to suppress those violent obsessions and broken souls on her own."
"She probably hasn't even noticed that she's become more and more obsessive."
"She wasn't like this before."
At this, Tendo let out a soft laugh, his expression filled with a sense of nostalgia for the past.
"The reason she didn't have this problem back then was that whenever there were any signs of it, she would subconsciously find me under the pretext of a challenge and completely vent the uncontrollable desire to kill in a battle on the training grounds."
"Thinking about it now, maybe she already had a feeling about it back then?"
"The reason why others couldn't help her with this is because what the demonic blade is looking for is not victory, but a home."
"A sheath, a 'home,' that can make it willingly hide its edge."
"Therefore, simply winning against the demonic blade isn't enough. The demonic blade has to submit from the heart. Only then can it temporarily calm down."
"In that case, I'll find an opportunity to test Chen Xing's current strength later."
"After all, it's been a while since I've bullied her."
"But before that, I need to take care of something else first."
As he spoke, Tendo took out the mask he kept in his subspace and put it on. Before long, the mysterious masked man who had briefly appeared at the beginning of the second season returned after several episodes.