As expected, he was indeed a Luck Pack.
With a bit of scheming, Ye Qian could extract a fortune in Villain Points. Leaving him untouched would be a missed opportunity.
Being kissed so fiercely in front of Yue Qingshan left Yue Ming drowning in conflicting emotions.
She wanted to push Ye Qian away, yet her body refused to obey. From initial resistance to her current compliance, she had been compromising with him step by gradual step.
Ye Qian noticed her loyalty climb from sixty points to sixty-five—another five gained without effort.
He released her, a mischievous curve playing at the corner of his lips.
Could this Yue Ming possess a slight masochistic streak? Why else would her loyalty rise instead of fall when he claimed her mouth by force?
"Ye Qian! You vile scum!"
Yue Qingshan's rage echoed impotently across the mountain peak. He couldn't even touch Ye Qian, reduced to nothing but howling fury.
Yue Ming kept her head slightly bowed, but the impatient glare she shot Yue Qingshan spoke volumes.
She found him insufferable now. If not for his sudden, unwelcome arrival, none of this would have unfolded.
Why did he have to come here?
[Ding! Yue Ming now greatly dislikes Yue Qingshan. An irreparable rift has appeared in the relationship between the Child of Destiny and the Daughter of Heaven. Yue Qingshan loses 2000 Luck Value. The Host's Villain Points increase by 2000 points. Current Villain Points: 6700.]
Three thousand Villain Points from a single chain of actions—Ye Qian hadn't anticipated such a windfall.
He'd expected a thousand at most, yet the returns tripled his projection. As expected of a Luck Pack. His earlier strategy had proven devastatingly effective.
Still, this particular method wouldn't work twice. Stripping Yue Qingshan of his remaining Luck would require fresh approaches.
Ye Qian didn't spare Yue Qingshan a single glance.
He strode past him to the very center of the mountain peak and clasped his hands behind his back.
Cloud-brocade robes rippled in the wind; his waterfall of black hair swayed with aristocratic grace. His expression remained indifferent, radiating an aura that held the world at a thousand paces.
Watching him stand there, Yue Ming felt her heart rate involuntarily quicken. A flutter of nervousness stirred in her chest, unfamiliar and unwelcome.
Had she fallen for Ye Qian?
Impossible. He'd forcibly kept her captive, done excessive things to her. Falling for such a man defied all logic.
Did she truly have masochistic tendencies?
She shook her head hard, banishing the jumbled thoughts.
At least she harbored no doubt about the upcoming battle's outcome. She knew how terrifying Ye Qian's strength was.
Even if Yue Qingshan had clawed his way into the Early Stage of Enlightenment Realm through opportunistic means, he'd be no match.
And she didn't even realize Ye Qian had already shattered through the Enlightenment Realm entirely, ascending into the Holy Induction Realm—a height many cultivators of mediocre talent would never glimpse in their entire lives.
Ye Qian turned his gaze on Yue Qingshan with contempt and beckoned lightly with one finger.
"Come. Didn't you want to challenge me? I'm granting you the chance."
Against a Yue Qingshan stuck at the Early Stage of Enlightenment Realm, Ye Qian didn't require a weapon.
Even wielding the Crushing Star Blade, how much of its true power could the boy unleash? It was like handing a cannon to a child—utterly wasted.
Yue Qingshan could rely only on the blade's sharpness to dominate peers within his realm. But facing Ye Qian, who had crossed an entire stage, even that legendary weapon would prove inadequate.
"Ye Qian! Die!"
Yue Qingshan's fury ignited. Gripping the Crushing Star Blade, he tapped his toes against the ground and launched himself at Ye Qian in a straight charge.
Sword shadows flickered; streaks of Sword Light carved the air into ribbons.
Facing the storm of blade-shadows, Ye Qian stood unmoved, his heart a still pond.
He brought his right hand's index and middle fingers together, then raised them in a single, fluid motion. Sword Qi slashed outward from between his fingertips, a thread of killing intent made manifest.
The Sword Qi tore through the air, shattering Yue Qingshan's Sword Light one by one as though they were paper illusions.
Yue Qingshan hadn't expected a casually released Sword Qi to carry such devastating power. He jerked the Crushing Star Blade horizontal before his chest.
Clang!
The Sword Qi slammed into the blade, ringing out a dull, ominous note. Though the Crushing Star Blade held firm, the immense force drove Yue Qingshan backward.
He couldn't withstand the momentum. His feet scraped furrows in the stone as he stumbled back, finally plunging the blade into the ground with both hands to arrest his retreat.
More than ten zhang. A single strike had thrown him that far.
Disbelief flashed through Yue Qingshan's eyes as he stared at the distance he'd covered.
Before he could recover from the shock, Ye Qian materialized in front of him.
No time to react. No chance to defend. Ye Qian struck him in the chest with a single outstretched finger.
Even without dedicated finger techniques, Ye Qian's mastery of the Primordial Sword Art allowed him to adapt it effortlessly.
More importantly, this strike carried not only his spiritual power but Sword Qi itself—turning a finger into a blade required profound comprehension of the Dao of the Sword, far beyond mere cultivation.
The finger pierced Yue Qingshan's chest like a blade forged from moonlight. Sword Qi flooded his meridians, circulating with vicious intent, threatening to shred his internal organs.
Fortunately, Yue Qingshan had never neglected tempering his body. His internal cultivation surpassed most within his realm.
Even so, he couldn't suppress the hot rush of blood that surged up his throat.
"Wah ah!"
He spat a mouthful of crimson and staggered backward, grievously wounded.
Planting the Crushing Star Blade into the ground, he dropped to one knee and clutched his chest where the finger had struck.
Yue Qingshan had never imagined the gap between them would be this vast.
He thought Ye Qian's cultivation would have plummeted after his Qi Deviation, that challenging him now would tilt the odds in his favor.
Instead, he now found himself in such a wretched predicament.