A year had passed since Shenwu Yanye's defeat and Yun Wuji's takeover of the Eternal Light Kingdom of God. He spent about half that time refining the Divine Power, and the rest indulging in all sorts of indescribable things.
By refining the Divine Power, he reached the 13th level of the Divine Master Realm, which was beyond anything he expected when he first 'borrowed' it from Shenwu Yanye.
For the first time in a long while, his main body surpassed the Heretic God Body in cultivation.
The Heretic God Body was still stuck at the 10th level of the Divine Master Realm.
Since the flow of time in the Abyss was ten times faster than in the Primal Chaos, a year there was barely a little over a month in the Primal Chaos. Nothing of any significance happened during that short period.
"...You finally showed up. I thought you forgot your duty as a teacher," Hua Qingying put down her sword and spoke. Her tone stayed calm, and her expression stayed indifferent, but her eyes carried a clear hint of irritation.
In the past year, he barely came to see her, only showing up a couple of times. Normally, a single year felt like nothing to her, but for some strange reason she couldn't understand, she felt uncomfortable with how little she saw him during that time.
It felt as if he was completely ignoring her, or that she meant very little to him. That thought, paired with the amount of time she caught herself thinking about him every day, only made her more irritated. While her mind kept drifting back to him without her permission, he acted like he didn't care about her at all.
So even if she told herself it was her own problem, that tiny resentment still clung to her.
'Heh, she's starting to feel it, tsk tsk tsk… who can blame me for being this handsome?' Yun Wuji felt pretty proud of himself. After nearly two years, it looked like his work was finally paying off. He replied calmly, "I was busy handling some important matters."
"Yeah, important matters, like _The Stepsister Stuck in the Washing Machine_ play, _The Domineering Sword Immortal and the Fallen Princess_ play, or _The Naive Son and His Obsessive Sister and Mother_ plays. You were indeed very busy this past year. I can vouch for that!" Hei Xiaolian snickered.
"You forgot the Evil Incubus and the Chaste Priest, too. That was an interesting one as well. Lingzhu's acting was on point," Yun Wuji said, holding his chin as he answered Hei Xiaolian.
It is worth mentioning that because he had been so busy with so many 'important' matters, the coronation ceremony to officially crown him as the Divine Regent, which was supposed to be held half a year ago, had been postponed.
"Important matters? Heh!" Hua Qingying scoffed at him. She turned and walked a few steps away, then began stabbing a large stone slab with her sword as if venting all her resentment on it.
"Of course. I recently attained a breakthrough in my cultivation and had to stay in seclusion for a while," Yun Wuji said, releasing a wisp of his aura before retracting it quickly. By now, he was very, very strong. He reckoned that if he were to activate Invictus, even if Jie Yuan stood before him, he would make quick work of her, maybe even give her a good spanking.
'Wait, why am I thinking of spanking her?' He froze for a second, baffled by his own thought. 'How weird...'
"!!!" Hua Qingying froze in place, her eyes widening as she sensed that fleeting aura. It was countless times more powerful than before. Did this freak just get even stronger? How the fuck did he do it?
At their level… no! Even at the Divine Master level, they could barely achieve a minor breakthrough in decades, if not centuries. But this guy… in just a measly year, he had advanced again! That was pure cheating!
She turned around, trying to appear calm, and spoke evenly. "So that is the case. You could have informed me." For some reason, hearing that he hadn't come to see her often because of his cultivation made her feel infinitely better. In fact, she felt a little happy that despite focusing on important matters like his breakthrough, he had still found the time to visit her a few times.
'Women are easy to satisfy if you understand even a tiny bit about them,' Yun Wuji thought, smiling inwardly as he sensed the shift in her attitude.
"Did you get stuck again?" He asked casually, his hands clasped behind his back as he glanced around.
"Yes," Hua Qingying answered calmly, then added, "I want you to do that trick you used last time." She was referring to the technique he had used to make her feel calm and free. She wanted to experience that feeling again, the sensation of being utterly unrestrained and free.
"No." Yun Wuji refused calmly, his tone growing slightly cold. "I am your teacher, not your nanny."
"There are things you have to do on your own. You can't just rely on me to walk you through everything." He walked past her, eyes on the stone slab riddled with countless holes. "You should know that cultivation is about comprehending the laws and yourself. This is a process that only one can do alone. Teachers and mentors can only guide from afar, not spoon-feed you."
"Well, I still have things to attend to… until later." Yun Wuji gave her a side glance before teleporting away.
"What's wrong with him?!" Hua Qingying stood frozen, bewildered by his sudden change in attitude. Just when he had shown signs of understanding and explained himself, he suddenly turned cold.
This wasn't the first time either. During his visits over the past year, he had grown colder and colder than usual. He had once been very annoying and provocative, saying hateful and irritating things so easily, yet she could still feel that he was attentive to her in his own way.
Like 'coercing' her into playing games with him, or cooking for her and eating together, or telling her weird jokes that were strange but somehow funny, she always told him he was being annoying for doing those things, but secretly she looked forward to them.
But now she could sense that he was becoming increasingly indifferent.
'Hmph! So what if he's become like this! It's not like I want him to play with me or eat his food!' Hua Qingying suppressed the uncomfortable feeling in her chest and snorted coldly.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
She turned to the stone slab and began stabbing it with her sword continuously, as if venting the resentment that had surged again.
The stone slab: 'Why is it always me?! What did I do to you?!'
After a long while, Hua Qingying felt her emotions calm slightly. She walked to her favorite meditation spot and sat cross-legged.
'Why is it like this?' She felt that the progress she had made in the Limitless Sword Arts over the past year had vanished. On the contrary, it felt as if she were regressing.
'Why can't I calm down?' Hua Qingying opened her eyes, sensing the chaos in her heart. She tried to meditate again, but she remained stuck. This wasn't the first time it had happened. She had noticed that whenever she had a 'conflict' with Yun Wuji, her cultivation would stagnate, and whenever they got along, her progress became faster and much smoother.
The core concept behind the Limitless Sword Arts was to stay true to your heart, to follow it freely and easily. But right now, Hua Qingying could feel her heart restrained and restless, especially after Yun Wuji had just left.
'It can't be! How could I… and with him… that's impossible!' Hua Qingying wasn't stupid. On the contrary, she was incredibly talented and sharp. Even if she had subconsciously tried to evade it, now that she was faced with it, there was no denying it.
Memories of their time together flooded her mind. From the moment they met, how he had beaten her effortlessly again and again, all the significant moments they had shared, and even the little bickering between them. As she remembered, she found herself actually smiling.
Upon noticing this, her expression froze, and she stared ahead in a daze.
Confused and even afraid, Hua Qingying bit her lower lip tightly until it bled. Her heart began to race, and she quickly tried to calm herself by meditating. This time, she was not cultivating; she was only trying to regain control of her emotions.
A long time passed while she remained in the same position. Hua Qingying was not the type to be indecisive. On the contrary, she was decisive and quick in her actions. This was a trait common among Sword Users. They all preferred to strike directly rather than evade, choosing to cut through obstacles instead of avoiding them.
Since she sensed that perhaps she was developing feelings for that insufferable man, she decided to explore her heart and see for herself. After all, this was all for the sake of her cultivation.
Yes! It was for her cultivation. That man had repeatedly told her that she should follow her heart if she wanted to succeed in mastering the Limitless Sword Art.
Absolutely not for anything else!
She began reviewing everything that had happened since the moment they met from a different perspective, noticing how her emotions fluctuated every time she interacted with him. She also began questioning herself and answering her heart truthfully. Finally, she imagined a world without him and wondered what would have happened if she had never met him.
The mere thought of never seeing his annoying smile, hearing his insufferable, arrogant remarks, not playing with him, not eating his food, or even just sitting together doing nothing, made her heart tighten as if it were wrapped tightly by an invisible, pointed chain, suffocating her.
Opening her eyes, Hua Qingying felt something wet on her cheeks. Touching it, she realized it was a tear.
She actually cried at the mere thought of not having him in her heart. Standing up, Hua Qingying looked calm, except for her slightly pale face. She walked to the edge of the cliff and muttered, "To think I fell so deeply... Wanxin... Brother... is this how you felt back then?"
...
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