Ah, fuck, alright... I knew she was fucking strong, but I didn't know she was that much damn stronger than me... Earth Profound Realm at eighteen... what kind of monstrous genius is this woman?
Huang Shi's golden eyes trembled, his pupils dilating as the weight of her words settled like lead in his stomach. Bai Xinyue's cold, slender hands remained anchored on his pale cheek, her touch a sharp contrast to the burning heat still radiating from his overtaxed meridians.
He was just about to give some sort of snarky retort—something about how, if he had just enough time and a few more fortuitous encounters, he would catch up soon enough—when a sudden, sharp thought flashed through his mind like a bolt of lightning.
Hmm... I'm currently at the third level of the Nascent Profound Realm... but I can technically fight people at the seventh level of the Nascent Profound Realm... that's a minor realm difference of four stages, and with my Primordial Sunfyre Halo, I can get that up to five stages.
He began to do the mental math, his heart racing.
Doesn't this mean that if I was in the same realm as this woman, I would actually be stronger than her? If I were at the first stage of the Earth Profound Realm like her, with my ability to fight across cultivation realms..
This thought was something that had just inadvertently appeared inside of his head, yet it took root instantly. It wouldn't disappear; instead, it grew, becoming a lifeline—a psychological fortress for his bruised ego to hide behind in the face of Bai Xinyue's monstrous talent.
Seeing that Huang Shi hadn't yet submitted, Bai Xinyue's expression flickered. A small furrow appeared between her brows as she grew a bit confused.
Clearly, she had expected this overwhelming show of dominance to be the final blow that curbed Huang Shi's reckless ego. After all, she truly didn't want him to rush into a sudden and early death because he overestimated his place in the world.
Why do his eyes still look like that? she wondered, her gaze searching his.
Is there still something else that he is relying on? Some hidden card or an area of cultivation where he truly believes he is better than me?
Bai Xinyue's analytical mind went into overdrive. She replayed the scenes of his fight with Huang Bai and the elders of the Disciplinary Hall in her mind's eye.
She recalled him standing his ground against multiple opponents, the way he adapted to the demonic transformation of his enemy, and that final, terrifying golden sun that had bleached the world in purifying golden light.
She factored in his age, his relatively recent rise from "trash" status, and the sheer density of his spiritual energy.
Finally, after a few moments of silent calculation, she caught the underlying theme of his confidence. She looked into his eyes and saw that lingering, slightly smug glint of a man who knew he could punch far above his weight class.
Ah... alright... I understand.
All of a sudden, Huang Shi felt a sharp pinch at his cheeks. Bai Xinyue didn't just touch him; she gripped his face, forcing his wandering attention back toward her. She finally removed her hand, but instead of the soft calmness from before, she wore a smug, knowing smile that reached her eyes.
When Huang Shi saw that look, the goosebumps returned with a vengeance. He felt another bout of genuine nervousness, the kind a prey animal feels when it realizes the predator has been playing with its food.
Fuck... it can't be, right? No way...
"Huang Shi," she began, her voice dripping with a playful yet deadly edge, "it can't be that you think only you can skip ahead cultivation realms and fight opponents stronger than you, right?"
The moment he heard these words, Huang Shi's expression finally paled as the last source of his pride and ego came crumbling down, and the only thought that went through his head was this:
Shit... can I really not win against this woman in anything?
Seeing that the spark of arrogance had finally vanished, replaced by a look of genuine depression, Bai Xinyue felt her heart once again inexplicably tremble. The victory didn't feel as good as she expected; instead, her chest ached with a strange pang of guilt.
Once again, she reached out, her hand gently cupping his face as her tone shifted. The smug prodigy vanished, replaced by a calm, thoughtful woman who looked at him with a gaze far softer than even she realized.
"I'm saying this because I don't want you to be too arrogant and suddenly lose your life prematurely. You have to know that there is always a sky above a sky, and that there will always be people stronger than you...
For some reason, Bai Xinyue let the words hang in the air as their eyes were locked into each other. Finally, she opened her mouth and spoke, yet the words that came out of her mouth filled him not with a sense of despondency, but with a fire—a fire of ambition that would never be put out.
"At least for now, there will be people stronger than you, stronger than us... but eventually... we will be strong enough that even if the sky falls down, we will be there to hold it up."
Seeing that the fire had returned to Huang Shi's eyes, Bai Xinyue finally felt that her job was done. She felt a surge of quiet happiness and was just about to remove her hand from his cheek, when all of a sudden, a soft and weak arm raised up. He held her hand in place, as if demanding that it stay exactly where it was.
Bai Xinyue's heart once again thumped, and she felt her cheeks redden. She still didn't understand what she was feeling; she felt nervous, happy, and a swirl of different emotions that she couldn't yet name. All she knew was that, for some reason, she was okay with Huang Shi holding her hand like that.
"Fine. Since her royal highness has said that she needs help holding up the sky, then I, Huang Shi, will gladly be there with you."