Chapter 39: "Dividing the Spoils"

Guan Qianyi was seething with rage. He seemed hell-bent on finishing his diatribe against Lord Wanghua, assuming these December Sect disciples would surely be angry or argue back loudly; after all, many in the cultivation world worshipped the Sword Sovereign.

Little did he know that among the three December Sect disciples present, all three were completely indifferent to what he was saying.

"And do you think Lord Wanghua is so pure and radiant? He blah blah blah blah blah blah blah."

The sword-wielding girl never stopped her moves, only furrowing her brow slightly—annoyed by the noise.

Guan Qianyi ranted for another stretch, finally saying snidely, "Can you guess how he executed them back then?"

The result was that no one paid him any attention. The two fighters used his talking as an opening to intensify their assault. Fortunately, Guan Qianyi was accustomed to talking while fighting and could multitask; otherwise, he would have been skewered through.

However, the trio's dismissive attitude truly made Guan Qianyi want to spit blood, and he couldn't help but add a few more sarcastic remarks.

After a few more exchanges, Guan Qianyi released hidden weapons from his sleeve. Zora retracted her sword and flipped backward, the motion of her fluttering hem sweeping the weapons into its folds. The arrays embroidered on her hem flared brilliantly, helping her trap the weapons; as she completed the flip, she redirected and fired the weapons back.

Guan Qianyi was forced to shift and dodge.

During the clash, there was an opening he failed to cover. With a thought, Zora prepared to pull Vane over.

He, however, was faster than the puppet strings. Being so close and unable to raise his spear in time, the youth simply grabbed Guan Qianyi’s white sword with his bare hand. A sharp, splitting pain shot through his palm, and blood dripped along his fingers and the tip of the blade.

Drip.

A few drops of crimson hit the ground, soaking into the soil.

Vane’s expression remained unchanged, his brow steady. He even held onto the sword and spun through the air, forcing Guan Qianyi to let go.

Zora seized the chance to charge. Guan Qianyi was forced into a retreat, his spiritual power nearly exhausted from maintaining the barrier. Seeing his left cheek sliced open and bleeding, and then being kicked violently in the abdomen by Zora—causing internal organ damage and bleeding—Guan Qianyi backed away several steps. He spat out a mouthful of stagnant blood and summoned a magical tool through gritted teeth: "Immortal-Binding Net!"

A golden light flickered as a massive, radiant net suddenly descended from the sky, seemingly blotting out the sun, leaving no escape.

Zora used the edge of River Snow to resist, but she couldn't cut through the net. Vane couldn't get there in time; even driven by the puppet strings, he couldn't reach her fast enough.

Zora was caught in an instant. The Immortal-Binding Net automatically tightened and rose, hanging her from the treetop.

The youth’s dark eyes stared at the golden net, and he bit his lip. Because his attention shifted, a thin scratch was cut into the side of his face by Guan Qianyi.

When Vane’s gaze snapped back, it was filled with overwhelming, icy killing intent.

As Guan Qianyi dodged Vane’s suddenly accelerated attacks, his heart was bleeding. The Immortal-Binding Net could only restrain a person but couldn't harm them; she couldn't even be hurt from the outside. That was the meaning of "Immortal-Binding"—to restrain the "immortal" exactly where they were.

He had used the tool reflexively in desperation. He had been holding onto his other lethal tools to kill Turi Qi and had lost his head; now he regretted it until his face turned green, but it was too late. In battle, someone always makes a mistake under pressure.

The sound of the spear and sword clashing grew louder, piercing and grating. Sparks frequently appeared where the weapons met. The white sword was no match for the spear’s dominance, showing signs of weakness.

Guan Qianyi wasn't worried at first. Though he wasn't as martially skilled as a sword cultivator, Vane alone couldn't kill him. But as he moved, the internal organs Zora had shattered with her spiritual kick churned and collided inside him, turning his lips pale with pain and slowing his movements significantly.

...And what was going on? This disciple's moves had changed. They weren't the December Sect techniques Guan Qianyi had faced before, but rather a mix of other, more ruthless killing strikes.

He didn't know that Vane's learning in the Demon Realm was highly disorganized, and in the cultivation world, he learned whatever killed fastest. Vane was also extremely intelligent; while others who learned disorganized moves became neither here nor there, he was the opposite, merging the styles into a seamless whole, filling in every gap.

In front of the December Sect disciples, he only used the common sect techniques; on missions, he used a far more lethal spear style.

The net tightened, hanging from the branch. Mid-air, Zora shifted into a more comfortable position. When Turi Qi rushed over and looked up, the net looked like a blue ball nestled inside, swaying slightly.

"Junior Sister Zora, are you alright?" Turi Qi asked worriedly.

The net moved. Zora seemed to be turning over, then her head popped out. Her hand gripped the mesh of the net, and the blue ball turned back into a living person. Those rounded eyes looked at her: "I'm fine."

Zora was in a good mood. She hadn't expected to win completely; she just wanted to give Guan Qianyi a beating. Since he couldn't kill her either, she figured she'd try, so she was very satisfied with having shattered one of his organs.

Turi Qi said anxiously, "The tokens to leave the secret realm aren't working. I'm afraid we're all trapped in the Mizi Secret Realm."

In the distance, Guan Qianyi had many strange and unexpected magical tools, eventually managing to push Vane back a few meters and flying toward Turi Qi. Vane was extremely fast and tangled with him again.

Guan Qianyi felt anxious and uneasy. The youth’s dark pupils were filled with ferocity, as if he would be killed heartlessly the moment he let his guard down.

The battle was fierce, with the constant grating of blades.

Suddenly, the air seemed to tear open. The barrier broke, and a person stepped through the rift.

Lord Wanghua scanned the battle briefly, drew his sword, and stepped forward. As a Sword Sovereign who had cultivated for centuries, and in a foul mood to boot, he broke Guan Qianyi's body in three strikes, sending blood and flesh flying.

Vane shifted his footing, changing his offensive pace with ease. Turning sideways, his ponytail swaying slightly, he spun his spear into a blur to form a shield, flicking away the blood and meat that exploded nearby.

In the original story, the Sword Sovereign’s arrival was described as that of a celestial god, but now he looked more like a baleful demon. Turi Qi didn't have the grateful thoughts from the original either; her heart and eyes were focused on Junior Sister Zora curled in the net, worried she was uncomfortable. Turi Qi didn't even notice her Master at first.

The birth of liking is a silent rain; the fading of admiration is the same.

"How does it feel in the net? Does it consume spiritual power? Or make you feel strangely tired?"

Zora looked down at her through the net and shook her head.

Lord Wanghua was about to walk toward Turi Qi when he was blocked by the black-clad youth with the ponytail. He retracted his spear and lowered his gaze, not looking directly at him, sounding respectfully formal: "Thank you for the rescue, Sword Sovereign. Please do not worry about us; do not let us delay the important matters, otherwise I would have a guilty conscience."

...Important matters?

Lord Wanghua frowned slightly. He had entered the Mizi Secret Realm out of an instinctive worry for Turi Qi’s safety; naturally, his first priority was to check on her. It was nothing like the high-sounding words Vane spoke about "important matters."

Zora looked at the two. In the original story, he indeed came to save Turi Qi first. After killing Guan Qianyi, Lord Wanghua had coldly scolded Turi Qi for a long time before going to break the barrier.

Lord Wanghua paused for a long time.

Vane’s expression remained unchanged, looking like a good disciple who believed wholeheartedly that the Sword Sovereign was a kind immortal who came for everyone's safety. He said smoothly, "Please do not hesitate, Sword Sovereign. This disciple truly cannot afford to delay the lives of thousands of disciples. Your help is something we will never forget, and we are absolutely unwilling to waste any more of your time."

If he had directly expressed that he didn't want the Sword Sovereign near them—specifically, near Zora—Lord Wanghua might have reacted coldly. But he spoke of "the lives of the disciples" and placed himself in a humble position, making it impossible to find fault, even subtly pushing Lord Wanghua forward.

"..."

Lord Wanghua glanced with pale eyes at his disciple, whose back was to him as she fussed over the girl in the net. His knuckles tightened quietly, and he gave a slight nod before turning to leave.

Vane straightened up and looked up, his face as still as an old well.

Turi Qi was still worrying about how to let her down without a fall when a long spear whistled through the air, piercing the branch holding the net. The spear tip sank deep into the tree, the handle vibrating slightly.

Zora fell and was caught by Vane.

Aside from the uncomfortable rope net, she was as soft as a cloud. The youth was dazed for an instant, but he didn't hold her long, putting her on the ground the next moment.

Zora sat on the grass, picking at the net. "How do I undo this?"

"Wait, I think I have a relevant book." Turi Qi lowered her head to rummage through her storage bag.

The net on her head was too messy, and her limbs were entangled in stray ropes. Zora tried to untie it herself for a while, gradually becoming impatient.

A hand suddenly reached out, helping her untie the ropes entangled with her hair ribbon and black hair. Zora looked up; Vane was kneeling on one knee, leaning over to untie the ropes, his hand reaching through the gaps. No emotion could be seen on his face.

She stared at him and said, "Remember to untie the ones on my legs too."

"...Yes."

His hand was injured, with blood still on his palm.

Zora added, "Don't drip blood on the golden net."

No one knew if this magical tool would react to blood; some were useless, while others grew more frenzied. This time, Vane looked down into her serious eyes, was dazed for a second, then suddenly curved his lips into a smile, seemingly finding her words very logical.

"Yes."

When he went to untie the ropes around her calves, he inevitably touched her, but only with his knuckles or fingertips. Though it was just a small patch of skin on his hand through the cool fabric, not even feeling the contour of her calf, Vane still paused slightly. He lifted his eyes to glance at her before lowering them to continue. His fingers were exceptionally nimble and fast, untying a tangle of ropes in a few breaths.

"Found it!" Turi Qi pulled out a book, looking for the solution to the Immortal-Binding Net. Perhaps because Guan Qianyi was dead or had abandoned the net, the spiritual power on it had mostly dissipated, making it easier to untie.

A moment later, Zora broke free from the net and looked at Turi Qi: "Thank you."

"It's nothing, no need for thanks. If anyone should say it, it's me. Thank you, Junior Sister Zora and Junior Brother Vane, for the rescue."

Zora walked toward Guan Qianyi. He was lying on the grass, blood having already stained the green grass red. A large hole was torn in his abdomen, his intestines spilling out, and the organs Zora had shattered were vaguely visible.

Master never killed like this before.

Turi Qi frowned, finding this method of killing unpleasant. She wasn't a saint who couldn't stand killing, but this method revealed a loss of control in Lord Wanghua's emotions, which felt subtle, especially now.

Zora leaned in for a look and found Guan Qianyi wasn't dead yet; he had a final breath left, his spiritual power scattering and nourishing the surrounding trees. His eyes were half-closed. Seeing Zora and the others in his semi-conscious state, he tried to speak in a weak voice.

"You..."

Squelch.

Zora crouched down and cut a fatal gash across his neck. Before Guan Qianyi could finish, he was dead.

One moment Turi Qi was thinking her Master was too cruel, the next she felt Junior Sister Zora was truly efficient. Zora’s face was expressionless when she killed, and combined with her simple, cute features and pure gaze, she looked innocently dazed.

She continued her movements, feeling for Guan Qianyi’s storage bag and the magical tools on his person. With the master dead, the storage bag was unsealed, and the master's mark on the tools had vanished.

Zora: "Want them?"

Turi Qi shook her head, declining the invitation to divide the spoils. Zora nodded; the social etiquette of "insisting" simply didn't exist in her head.

Vane took on the task of organizing and categorizing, tidying the tools and the contents of the bag. He listed the items obtained, then placed them in Zora's storage bag in order of importance—he took nothing for himself. It was natural; the items must fill the master's storehouse first.

Turi Qi watched them with a smile. Without a doubt, Zora and Vane had saved her. She had rarely been this close to a junior sister. Other juniors were either very respectful or very dissatisfied with her busy schedule, often absent from team-ups or making snide remarks about her "indecisiveness." She had met some who could be friends, but they had inevitably drifted apart due to time and different experiences.

Only Zora was different. Turi Qi liked everyone in the Five-Person Group, but undeniably, her feelings for Zora were the deepest; that was why she had joined the group. Sometimes she looked at Zora and thought:

So someone truly can be this pure, that any displayed cruelty looks natural on her.

Turi Qi took a deep breath and looked at the two.

Vane was meticulously investigating every tool and pill. The youth's looks were beginning to show their edge—thin lips and starry eyes, with features that were exquisite yet hidden with ferocity. Right now, it was all retracted as he lowered his head to classify the items, picking and choosing, only tossing away useless things after asking Zora.

Zora was quite idle. She hugged her knees, using a twig to poke Guan Qianyi's corpse to see if he had anything else, and actually found his hidden weapons and some envelopes. Seeing Zora didn't care about the letters and was about to toss them after a glance, Turi Qi hurriedly stopped her, saying, "Let me see."

She looked through them and sighed. "It seems he was someone Master attracted. We can use these letters as evidence for the Elders and Immortals. This way, we can clear ourselves of suspicion and silence the Immortals of other sects."

Vane gave a "Mhm" and tossed away a bottle of useless pills.

Zora nodded indifferently, continuing to poke the slimy, bloody corpse in front of her. Turi Qi put away the envelopes, the Sword Gate head disciple already mentally drafting the explanations needed later.

For a moment, the atmosphere was very peaceful.