[Yuexi's POV]
I ran.
Demons swarmed everywhere, their red eyes glowing through black smoke. People screamed and died around me. But all I could think about was the way Tianzhao's eyes had widened when our hands touched.
He felt my power. He knows.
My feet carried me toward the exit, away from the chaos. Away from him. I had to get out before—
"Wait!"
His voice cut through the noise like his sword cut through demons. I didn't stop. Couldn't stop.
A hand grabbed my wrist and spun me around.
Tianzhao stood there, blood splattered across his face, his dark eyes intense and confused. Behind him, other cultivators fought the demon swarm. He should be helping them. Why was he chasing me?
"Let me go," I said, trying to pull away. "I need to—"
"Who are you?" he demanded. His grip was gentle but firm. "I felt your cultivation base. You have spiritual roots. Strong ones. But you're dressed as a servant, and—" His eyes narrowed. "You're Lin Qingwan's sister. The one they say has no power."
My blood turned to ice. "You're mistaken. I'm nobody. Please, let me—"
"Don't lie." His voice was sharp. "I've been cultivating since I was six years old. I know what I felt. You have a sealed cultivation base, don't you? Someone blocked your power on purpose."
How did he know that just from touching me?
"I don't know what you're talking about," I whispered, even though we both knew it was a lie.
A demon's roar interrupted us. Tianzhao's head snapped toward the sound, then back to me. He was torn between his duty to fight and his curiosity about me.
"Go," I said quickly. "People need you. I'm not important."
"That's where you're wrong." His eyes held mine. "A sealed Heaven-grade spiritual root is incredibly rare. If someone suppressed your power, that's a serious crime. Tell me who—"
"Young Master Shen!" Another cultivator shouted from across the arena. "The Demon King is here! We need you!"
Demon King. The words sent terror through the crowd. Demon Kings were powerful enough to destroy entire cities.
Tianzhao cursed under his breath. He looked at me one more time, and I saw something in his expression I couldn't name. Concern? Interest?
"Stay alive," he commanded. Then he let go of my wrist and ran toward the biggest demon I'd ever seen.
It was twelve feet tall with horns and armor made of black scales. Its aura alone made normal people faint. This was the Demon King—and it was staring straight at Tianzhao with hungry red eyes.
I should run. Get somewhere safe like he'd told me.
But my feet wouldn't move. I watched as Tianzhao and five other sect cultivators surrounded the Demon King, their swords raised.
The battle was terrifying and beautiful. Tianzhao moved like water and struck like lightning. His sword technique created wind blades that cut through demon flesh. But the Demon King was too strong. It knocked two cultivators unconscious with one swing of its massive claw.
Tianzhao was bleeding now, a cut across his ribs. He was slowing down. Getting tired.
The Demon King smiled with its nightmare teeth and lunged.
Tianzhao raised his sword to block, but I saw what he didn't—another demon, smaller but fast, sneaking up behind him. It raised its poisoned claws, aiming for his unprotected back.
He's going to die.
My body moved before my brain caught up.
I grabbed a fallen sword from the ground—it was too heavy, too awkward, but I didn't care. I ran toward Tianzhao, screaming, "Behind you!"
He turned, but too late. The demon's claws were already coming down.
I threw myself between them.
The claws that should have hit his spine hit my back instead. Fire exploded across my shoulder blades. I gasped as poison burned through my veins.
But I'd bought him one second. One chance.
Tianzhao's sword flashed. The demon's head rolled across the ground.
Then I was falling, the world spinning. Strong arms caught me before I hit the stone floor.
"You idiot!" Tianzhao's voice sounded strange. Angry and scared at the same time. "Why would you—you're poisoned. Demon poison. You'll die if—"
"Worth it," I mumbled. Everything felt fuzzy and far away. "You needed... to live..."
"Stay with me." He pressed his hand against my back where the claws had struck. "I can heal you, but I need—" He cursed. "The only way to purge demon poison this strong is through dual cultivation energy transfer. Do you understand what that means?"
I barely understood anything anymore. The poison was spreading fast, making my thoughts muddy.
"It means I have to share my cultivation base with you. Intimately. Our energies have to merge completely." His face appeared above mine, those dark eyes burning with intensity. "I need your permission. Say yes or no. Quickly."
"Why... do you care?" I whispered. "I'm nobody..."
"You just saved my life!" His voice cracked. "And you're not nobody. You're someone whose power was stolen, who's been hiding and suffering, and who was brave enough to throw herself in front of a demon for a stranger. So say yes or say no, but choose now because you have maybe two minutes before this poison reaches your heart!"
The Demon King roared somewhere behind us. The battle wasn't over. People were still dying.
If I said yes, he'd feel all my power. He'd know the truth about the seal. About Father. About everything.
But if I said no, I'd die. And somehow, looking into his desperate eyes, I didn't want to die.
Not yet.
Not when I'd just started fighting back.
"Yes," I breathed.
Relief flooded his face. He lifted me in his arms and ran, carrying me away from the battle toward a quieter corner of the arena.
"This is going to feel strange," he warned, laying me down. "But trust me. I won't hurt you."
He placed both hands on my shoulders. His eyes closed, and I felt his cultivation base pour into me like liquid gold.
It was intense. Overwhelming. His energy crashed against the seal on my power like ocean waves against a dam. I felt the seal crack. Then crack more.
Tianzhao's eyes flew open, glowing with shock. "Your seal... it's breaking from the poison stress and my energy combined. This is—"
The seal shattered completely.
Power exploded through my body like I'd been struck by lightning. Eighteen years of suppressed cultivation erupted all at once. My back arched. Light poured from my skin, golden and pure and terrifying.
"No, no, no!" Tianzhao pressed his hands harder on my shoulders, trying to control the energy surge. "Too much at once! Your body can't handle—you'll explode from the inside!"
But the power wouldn't stop. It flooded every vein, every bone, every cell. I was drowning in my own cultivation base.
Through the agony, I felt Tianzhao's energy wrapping around mine, trying to contain it. Trying to save me from myself.
"Listen to my voice!" he commanded. "Breathe with me. In. Out. Guide the energy. Don't let it control you!"
I tried. I really tried.
But there was too much. Too fast. Too strong.
Everything went white.
When I opened my eyes again, I was floating three feet off the ground, surrounded by golden light. My hair whipped around my face from the power radiating off me.
And Tianzhao was staring at me like I'd just transformed into a goddess.
"Heaven-grade spiritual roots," he whispered, awe clear in his voice. "No. Higher. You have Divine-grade roots. The rarest spiritual potential in a thousand years. And someone sealed THIS?" Anger replaced the awe. "Who did this to you? Tell me who sealed a cultivation genius and I'll—"
"TIANZHAO!" Sect Master Shen's voice boomed across the arena. "The Demon King is escaping! Stop standing there and—"
He stopped mid-sentence when he saw me. Saw the golden light. Saw the impossible amount of power radiating from a girl who was supposed to be worthless.
His eyes went wide. Then narrow. Then calculating.
"Interesting," he said slowly. "Very interesting indeed."
The way he looked at me made my skin crawl.
Not like Tianzhao looked at me—with concern and curiosity.
Sect Master Shen looked at me like I was a tool. A weapon. A thing to be used.
And I knew with sudden, terrible certainty:
I'd just made a huge mistake letting them see my power.