Ye Zhaozhao stared at Long Yan in disbelief.
Even though she had felt disgust after realizing he was just a useless sword spirit, she had still endured it for the sake of her image.
She had just suffered unbearable pain to cleanse his turbid energy—yet the moment she finished, he turned to Li Shuang with such words?
Her blood boiled. She nearly went mad.
This sword spirit…What was he?What the hell was he thinking?
Ye Zhaozhao snapped. She lunged forward and clawed at Long Yan.
But Long Yan was already hollow. When she instinctively infused her attack with spiritual power, his fragile soul body was torn, red cracks spreading across him like shattered glass.
"Long Yan! Do you have no conscience? I just expelled the turbid air for you, and now you betray me?" Ye Zhaozhao's face twisted into something feral, her pretense of calm utterly gone.
Sheng Yuan and Shen Yue quickly restrained her.
"Junior Sister, calm down!" Sheng Yuan urged. His water-attribute spiritual power flowed into her, forcing her emotions to settle.
Long Yan's soul weakened further under her strike—but to him, Ye Zhaozhao's outburst was proof his gamble might succeed.
He said nothing, only cast a pitiful gaze at Li Shuang.
He was gambling. Gambling that Li Shuang's heart would soften.
Yes, he was useless—but still awakened. Li Shuang had cultivated him once; surely, she could again.
The Black Abyss Sword's spirit hadn't even awakened yet. Wasn't a familiar sword spirit better than an unknown one?
This was his last chance.
He knew Ye Zhaozhao's nature. She had reluctantly helped him today, but he had seen the resentment in her eyes—clear as day.
She could still endure in front of others. But in secret? With their master-servant bond, a single thought of malice from her could wrack him with torment worse than death.
He had to escape. He had to return to Li Shuang.
They had exchanged swords once before—why couldn't they trade them back now?
Ye Zhaozhao clearly regretted choosing him. So why not return sooner, before it was too late?
Long Yan's eyes shimmered with false contrition, silently begging Li Shuang for another chance.
Ye Zhaozhao ground her teeth and shot Li Shuang a glare. "Li Shuang, are you satisfied now? You and Long Yan—was this all just an act to deceive me?"
Suspicion burned in her heart.
Long Yan had claimed he pierced Li Shuang's dantian himself. Could the Supreme Forgetfulness Technique really repair a dantian so easily? And if it failed once, why couldn't it fail again?
Had he lied all along?
Could he and Li Shuang have staged everything—the injuries, the battles—just to trick her?
Was today's match also a performance?
The more she thought about it, the more it made sense.
"Li Shuang!" Ye Zhaozhao screamed. "That day, in front of the Sutra Library, we agreed to exchange swords and never regret it! Now you want to take him back? Impossible!"
Even if Long Yan was useless, he was still a true third-level sword spirit and could provide some help.
But Hei Yuan?
That sword was trash among trash! Its spirit hadn't even awakened. What use was it?
Long Yan betrayed her—and now wanted to leave her? What a joke!
Li Shuang's face remained calm. She glanced once at the pitiful Long Yan, then at Ye Zhaozhao's rage. "I've said before: once unfaithful, I will never be together again. I don't regret what I chose. You and Long Yan are your own matter. Take him and leave. Do not disturb Wuqing Peak."
Long Yan froze. He had lowered himself, reached out first—and Li Shuang still didn't want him?
His voice trembled. "You don't want me? Am I worse than that Black Abyss?"
Ye Zhaozhao laughed bitterly, sarcasm dripping from her voice. "I said I would never regret it. What else do you want?"
"Li Shuang!" Long Yan cried. "We used to work together perfectly. You needed me, and I needed you! Years of shared battles—can't even the biggest misunderstandings be overcome? You worked so hard to cultivate the Dragon Roar Sword to the fourth level. Now it's fallen—don't you want to restore it? That was all your effort!"
He pointed at the sword at her waist. "And the Black Abyss is just a first-level sword. Its spirit hasn't even awakened! If you rely on it, it will only drag you down!"
Inside the Black Abyss Sword, the dormant spirit trembled.
Her vague figure stirred, anxious, her lips pressing together as if she wanted to speak.
I am not useless. I can awaken. I will be powerful. And I will never betray you.
Her faintly formed eyelids quivered but remained shut.
Li Shuang sneered. In one motion, she drew Hei Yuan and leveled its icy tip at Long Yan's throat.
The cold aura silenced him.
"Long Yan," Li Shuang said coldly, "I am not you. I do not abandon companions. Many called you useless, urged me to give up. I didn't. You bred foul energy, failed in battle, but I still did not abandon you. Even when you seemed hopeless, I nurtured you step by step. I proved everyone wrong."
Long Yan's face paled.
Yes… that was true.
Li Shuang never abandoned companions simply because they were weak. He knew that better than anyone.
"And now, my partner is Hei Yuan." Her eyes blazed with ice. "I don't allow anyone to insult my partner. Next time—let's settle this in the arena."
With a sharp swing, her blade flashed past his cheek. Behind him, a boulder split to dust.
Her voice was flat, absolute.
"Now—leave."