Three days passed in a blur of brutal training that left me too exhausted to think.
But at night, alone in my room, the thoughts came anyway.
Tianzhao is getting married. To Qingwan. Tomorrow.
I tried to feel nothing. Tried to convince myself I didn't care.
It didn't work.
[Wedding Day]
The ceremony was beautiful in a way that made me want to scream.
White flowers everywhere. Hundreds of guests in their finest robes. Musicians playing traditional wedding songs. The Heavenly Sword Sect had spared no expense.
I stood in the back with Elder Bai, wearing simple robes, trying to be invisible.
"You look like you're attending a funeral," Elder Bai muttered.
"I am," I whispered back.
Then the ceremony began.
Qingwan appeared first, and even I had to admit she looked stunning. Her wedding dress was red and gold, traditional and expensive. Her hair was arranged with jade pins that probably cost more than a house. She walked down the aisle with a triumphant smile, like she'd won the greatest prize.
Then came Tianzhao.
My breath caught despite everything.
He wore formal black robes with silver embroidery, his hair tied back with a ceremonial crown. He looked powerful, handsome, every inch the sect heir.
But his face was blank. Empty. Like he was watching himself from far away.
Our eyes met across the crowd.
For one heartbeat, everything else disappeared. Just him and me and three months of unspoken words hanging between us.
Then Qingwan took his arm, and the moment shattered.
The officiant began the ceremony. Traditional vows. Promises of loyalty and partnership. All the things that were supposed to mean forever.
"Do you, Shen Tianzhao, take Lin Qingwan as your cultivation partner and wife?"
Silence stretched for three seconds too long.
Everyone held their breath.
Tianzhao's jaw clenched. His hands fisted at his sides.
"I—" he started.
Then stopped.
His eyes found mine again, and I saw something break in them.
"No," he said quietly.
Gasps rippled through the crowd like a wave.
"What?" Qingwan's smile froze on her face.
"No," Tianzhao repeated, louder this time. "I can't do this. I'm sorry."
He pulled his arm free from Qingwan's grip and turned to face her directly.
"You knew," he said, his voice hard. "You knew about the seal on Yuexi's cultivation. You helped your father keep her powerless for eighteen years. You watched her suffer and did nothing. And when she finally escaped, you tried to have her captured and sealed again."
Qingwan's face went pale, then red. "That's a lie! I never—"
"I investigated." Tianzhao's words cut like his sword. "After the demon attack, I had my people look into the Lin family. They found records. Letters between you and your father discussing how to 'handle the Yuexi problem.' You're not innocent, Qingwan. You're not the victim here. And I won't marry someone who tortures family members for ambition."
The crowd erupted in shocked whispers.
Father Lin jumped to his feet. "How dare you accuse my daughter of—"
"Sit down," Elder Bai's voice rang out, casual but deadly. "Or I'll share what I know about how you acquired your herb monopoly. Something about poisoning your business rivals? I'm sure the authorities would be interested."
Father Lin sat down so fast he nearly fell.
Sect Master Shen stood up, his face purple with rage. "Tianzhao! This marriage is necessary for the sect's alliance with the Lin family! You can't just—"
"I can, and I am." Tianzhao met his uncle's eyes with steel in his own. "I've spent my whole life following your orders. Choosing duty over everything else. But I'm done. The engagement is broken."
He turned and walked straight toward me through the silent crowd.
My heart hammered so hard I thought it might explode.
He stopped right in front of me, those dark eyes intense and focused entirely on my face.
"Yuexi," he said, loud enough for everyone to hear. "I know you're trying to hide as Lady Yue. I know you're planning to disappear after this ceremony. But before you do, I need to say something."
"Don't," I whispered. "You're making a mistake. Your sect needs—"
"You," he interrupted. "My sect needs me happy and whole, not hollow and going through motions. And I can't be either of those things without you."
"Tianzhao—"
"I'm sorry." His voice cracked. "For not believing you when you told me about the baby. For letting them take you away at the tournament. For every moment I chose duty over the person who actually matters. I'm sorry it took me this long to realize what everyone else already saw—we're meant to be cultivation partners. Our energies proved it. Our hearts already knew it. I was just too stupid and scared to admit it."
Tears burned in my eyes. "You don't mean this. Tomorrow you'll regret breaking the alliance, losing your position—"
"Then I'll regret it." He took my hands in his. "But I won't regret choosing you. Not for one second. Not for the rest of my life."
The entire sect was watching. Hundreds of witnesses to this moment.
"What about your duty?" I asked, my voice breaking.
"My duty," he said softly, "is to protect what's precious. To stand up for what's right. And you, Yuexi, are the most precious and right thing in my life. So I'm choosing you. If you'll have me."
I opened my mouth to answer—
And that's when the attack happened.
A massive explosion rocked the ceremony hall. The walls shattered. People screamed.
Demons poured through the broken barriers—dozens of them, led by something worse.
A figure in black robes stepped through the smoke, power radiating off them in waves that made my skin crawl.
"How touching," the figure said, and I recognized that voice even before they pulled back their hood.
Qingwan.
But not Qingwan. Her eyes glowed red like a demon's. Black energy leaked from her skin. Her beautiful face twisted into something monstrous.
"You should have married me, Tianzhao," she said, her voice layered with something inhuman. "I've been cultivating forbidden demon arts for five years, absorbing the power of failed disciples, preparing for this moment. With your sect's resources, I would have become unstoppable. But you chose HER." She pointed at me, hatred burning in those red eyes. "The sister I despised. The genius I was never allowed to be. So now? I'll take everything. Your sect. Your power. And your precious Divine-grade cultivator's energy will make me a Demon Queen."
"You're demon-possessed," Elder Bai said, his voice grim. "Qingwan, you fool girl. You let them in. Now they're consuming you from the inside."
"They're making me POWERFUL!" Qingwan screamed. "Something I could never be on my own! Father sealed Yuexi to give me a chance, but even then, I knew I'd never be enough. So I made a deal. My humanity for strength. My soul for victory."
She raised her hands, and the demons behind her attacked.
"Protect the civilians!" Tianzhao shouted, his sword already drawn. "Elders, defensive formation! Disciples, get the guests to safety!"
Chaos erupted. Cultivators fought demons. People ran screaming. And Qingwan—or the demon wearing her face—came straight for me.
"This ends now, sister," she hissed. "I'll devour your cultivation and finally be what I was always supposed to be—the best."
"You were always so focused on being the best," I said, golden light gathering in my hands, "that you never learned to be good."
We clashed in an explosion of power that shook the entire mountain.
And behind me, I felt Tianzhao's cultivation merge with mine again—that perfect compatibility, stronger than before.
"Together?" he asked, echoing our earlier battle.
"Always," I answered, and meant it.
We fought as one, our combined power brilliant and terrible against Qingwan's stolen demon strength.
But she was stronger than the Demon Lord. Stronger than anything I'd faced before.
And she was my sister—twisted and broken, but still the girl I'd grown up with.
Could I really kill her to save everyone else?
Qingwan's claw came down toward my heart, and I had one second to decide:
Let her kill me.
Or kill her first.