Li Shuang's figure was nearly swallowed in the dazzling brilliance of golden sword light.
A smug smile curled at the corners of Ye Zhaozhao's lips.
Long Yin's power was undeniably formidable—but wasn't that only because of Li Shuang's cultivation? So what if she had once nurtured him? Now, Long Yan, who had once resisted and delayed signing a contract under Li Shuang, had taken the initiative to sign the harshest master-servant treaty with her instead. Worse still, for Ye Zhaozhao's sake, he struck at Li Shuang without hesitation.
That was enough to prove Li Shuang's utter failure as a person.
Now, Ye Zhaozhao longed to savor the moment—Li Shuang's pained expression in defeat.
Holding Long Yin tightly, she could hardly wait to see despair etched across her rival's face.
With a surge of golden dragon might, Long Yan drove Long Yin forward, striking straight at Li Shuang.
This was his ultimate move. When Dragon Roar had reached its fourth stage, Li Shuang herself had painstakingly sought out a True Dragon Stone. Once forged into the blade, the weapon gained terrifying power: not only infusing each strike with a trace of True Dragon essence, but also storing it for one decisive, fatal blow.
In all those years, Li Shuang had never unleashed this True Dragon power. Now, ironically, it was used against her.
But such power did not come without cost. Ye Zhaozhao's suppressed Foundation Establishment cultivation was far too weak to mobilize it. Long Yan could only summon this world-shaking strike by burning away his own soul.
The toll was immense.
Once, his spirit body had been so solid it was indistinguishable from a human's. Now, under the strain of soul-burning, his form wavered, faintly translucent. With careful nurturing, he might barely maintain his existence, but any further damage would cause him to dissolve into nothingness.
Even so, he had chosen to pay this price—just to defeat Li Shuang openly.
He wanted the world to see: he, Long Yan, was never merely Li Shuang's creation. Even if his master had changed, Long Yin remained a peerless sword, and he, its spirit, remained just as peerless.
Closer, closer—he could already taste victory. His body trembled with excitement. Ye Zhaozhao's smile widened in triumph.
But then—
In the midst of the golden radiance, Li Shuang raised her hand. Her sword moved.
Ye Zhaozhao froze, pupils shrinking in disbelief.
A terrifying chill surged outward. For an instant, she felt as though the world itself had turned to ice.
And then, before her eyes, unfolded a sight she would never forget.
An ice lotus bloomed upon the stage—its petals crystalline and translucent, its pistil glimmering with frost.
A deadly beauty that heralded deadly peril.
The moment it unfurled, sword energy filled with freezing intent soared into the heavens.
The Black Abyss Sword transformed into an icy blade, striking directly at the golden dragon's head.
The dragon let out a mournful roar before shattering into countless motes of golden light.
With its fall, the True Dragon Stone embedded in Dragon Roar's hilt trembled violently.
Then—with a sharp crack—it shattered into dust.
The wind scattered the remnants, while a fissure split along Dragon Roar's blade. Its once radiant glow dimmed.
Long Yan's face turned ashen.
The Dragon Roar Sword—degraded!
Once, Li Shuang had nurtured it into a fourth-tier weapon. But with the True Dragon Stone destroyed and Long Yan's spirit weakened, its power crumbled. The Dragon Roar was reduced to a mere third-tier sword.
The ice lotus continued to bloom as Li Shuang stepped gracefully from within it. Each of her movements carried the elegance of falling snow and the sharpness of ice.
Cold petals spiraled around the Black Abyss Sword, radiating a biting chill.
"Ye Zhaozhao." Li Shuang's voice was as frigid as winter frost. "Long Yan has lost. Every technique he used was mine—my sword insights, my swordsmanship. And you? Where is your swordsmanship, Ye Zhaozhao? Come. I'll give you a chance. Show me."
Her blade pointed directly at Ye Zhaozhao.
Pale and trembling, Ye Zhaozhao felt panic consume her heart.
Li Shuang.
How could she still stand?
No—she should have been the victor. She should have been the one basking in triumph.
Inwardly, she screamed: Long Yan! Attack again! Use that move again! I don't believe she can summon another Ice Lotus!
But Long Yan's spirit body flickered weakly. His voice trembled with helplessness.
"Zhao Zhao… The True Dragon Stone is shattered. I cannot use that technique again. Even if it were whole, my spirit is too unstable. A second time is impossible."
"So what if you're unstable?" Ye Zhaozhao's words dripped with venom. "If you can't defeat Li Shuang, then what use are you? Think of something! Will you just stand there and let me be humiliated?"
Her desperation spiraled into madness.
Ever since she crossed into this world, everything had gone her way. She had dragged even the once-proud Li Shuang down from her pedestal. So what if Li Shuang was once the Heaven's Chosen?
I am a traveler!
With the wisdom of another world at her back, how could she possibly lose to a mere native?
Yet the one she had always dismissed—reborn from despair, forged by hardship—now stood unyielding before her.
Impossible. Absolutely impossible.
"Long Yan! Attack!" she shrieked.
But Long Yan fell silent.
Her curses grew sharper, harsher.
His eyes clouded with confusion.
This wasn't how it was supposed to be.
When he had first met Ye Zhaozhao, she had smiled sweetly at him, her crescent-shaped eyes filled with warmth. Though he was a sword spirit, she treated him as if he were truly alive—worrying over his exhaustion, telling him stories, noticing even the smallest changes in his mood.
But now—
Didn't she see how translucent his body had become? How pale his face was, like white paper?
He had always known that her innocence was an illusion, that beneath her sweetness lurked cruelty. She had even urged him to kill Li Shuang. But back then, he found her wickedness strangely charming.
She had claimed she wanted Li Shuang gone so she could be with him forever.
Those tender words still echoed in his ears.
Yet now, her furious curses stripped them bare as lies.
Long Yan's lips trembled. His gaze drifted to Li Shuang, unfocused, dazed.