“This is me? Ten-year-old me?”
Gu Qingxue recognized the scene at a glance.
A little boy slowly approached. He wore a long black robe. Though he appeared only ten years old, tender and youthful, the pride between his brows and the peerless elegance in his bearing were already faintly revealed.
In the image, Gu Qingxue was in the middle of cultivation. Her delicate brows furrowed from time to time, showing a trace of pain.
“Qingxue seems to be pushing herself too hard. She’s so eager to catch up to me that her foundation has become unstable,” Qin Yuan murmured to himself.
“I should help her. If something goes wrong, it’ll be troublesome.”
After thinking for a moment, Qin Yuan’s gaze turned firm. He bit his finger and circulated all the true qi in his body. The process was clearly agonizing; his face even twisted in pain.
Soon, a drop of golden liquid slowly emerged from the wound on his fingertip.
“Talent essence blood… You… What are you going to do?”
Gu Qingxue’s eyes widened.
Talent essence blood was a supreme blessing granted by the heavens at birth. With it, breakthroughs in realm and insights in cultivation would progress by leaps and bounds.
It could be said that talent essence blood was the very foundation of a cultivator’s talent.
“Qin Yuan… What is he trying to do?”
A terrible thought surfaced in Gu Qingxue’s mind.
As expected, in the next instant, Qin Yuan injected that drop of origin essence blood directly into the center of Gu Qingxue’s forehead without hesitation.
“Qingxue… This way, you should be able to catch up to me.”
Before losing consciousness, Qin Yuan said only that one sentence.
“…”
Gu Qingxue stood frozen.
Why?
Why would he do this?
When the system had mentioned his deathly pale face, she had already sensed the problem.
So it was true.
It was true.
“Idiot… idiot… Why didn’t you tell me? Why!”
Looking at Qin Yuan lying unconscious in the image, Gu Qingxue’s eyes gradually turned red, and her heart throbbed faintly.
Why had she been so foolish back then?
She had clearly felt that her cultivation speed was becoming faster and faster, so fast that it felt abnormal.
She had simply assumed her talent had awakened. She had never once suspected that Qin Yuan was secretly helping her.
“But Qin Yuan… Why didn’t you tell me?”
In the next moment, her question was answered, but the answer only poured salt into her wound.
In the image, Gu Qingxue awoke from cultivation.
“Yay! I improved again!”
At that time, her face was filled with innocent joy, pure like a blooming lotus.
“You’re awake, Qingxue? How do you feel?”
Qin Yuan slowly woke up as well. He wiped the sweat from his forehead. His tone was weak.
Gu Qingxue put her hands on her hips and said in a spoiled tone, “Brother Qin Yuan, you’re really unreliable. You fell asleep while guarding me.”
“I…” Qin Yuan smiled and said, “Sorry… Qingxue, I was too tired.”
“Hmph. Don’t let it happen again.”
“Mm. I promise.”
Watching Gu Qingxue skip away happily, a gentle smile curved on Qin Yuan’s lips before quickly fading.
He murmured to himself, “I can’t tell Qingxue about this. I can’t let her feel pressured. And if my family finds out, they might trouble her…”
“…”
Gu Qingxue fell into long silence. Tears shimmered in her eyes.
“Idiot… you idiot… Why are you so stupid… No… you’re not stupid. You’re foolish. You’re a fool!”
Those words seemed to be directed at Qin Yuan.
And also at herself.
He had been so weak back then. Why had she not noticed?
Had she only cared about her own happiness?
Or… had she simply never paid attention?
Gu Qingxue shut her eyes painfully, not daring to think further.
The images continued.
Every time she entered seclusion, Qin Yuan guarded her.
Each time, he forced out a drop of essence blood and sent it into her body, while he himself fell into unconsciousness from weakness.
And every time she awoke, her first words were always blame.
“Brother Qin Yuan, you’re getting more and more unreliable.”
“Sorry, Qingxue. I was too tired.”
This scene repeated again and again until she finally broke through to the Foundation Establishment Realm.
Yet Qin Yuan remained stuck in the Foundation Establishment Realm, unable to advance further.
When she stood proudly before him, he only smiled gently and said, “Congratulations, Qingxue.”
“…”
Gu Qingxue closed her eyes in pain. Two clear tears slid down her delicate cheeks.
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“Continue!”
Gu Qingxue’s voice trembled, yet it was firm.
She wanted to see what happened next.
She wanted to know why Qin Yuan had become what he was now.
What exactly had caused it?
[At eleven years old, you broke through to the 2nd stage Foundation Establishment Realm. Qin Yuan reached the 5th stage Foundation Establishment Realm.]
[At thirteen years old, you broke through to the 4th stage Foundation Establishment Realm. Qin Yuan reached the 7th stage Foundation Establishment Realm.]
[At fourteen years old, you reached the 6th stage Foundation Establishment Realm. Qin Yuan reached the 9th stage Foundation Establishment Realm. That same year, you were both sent to the Supreme Profound Sect.]
[By then, you had matured and understood the gap between you and Qin Yuan. “I can’t catch up to you.” “It’s alright. I’ll protect you,” Qin Yuan said as he patted your head. You blushed, but for some reason, the word “Mm” that rose to your lips was never spoken.]
Gu Qingxue once again sank into memory.
Back then, she and Qin Yuan had truly been close.
So when had the change begun?
[At fifteen years old, you went to the Kuiyuan Forest for training.]
[On the way, you encountered a spirit beast at the Foundation Establishment Realm attacking a small family’s team. The strongest cultivator in that team was only at the Qi Refining Realm. It would not have taken long for them to be completely wiped out.]
[Without thinking much, you casually struck and killed the spirit beast with a single sword.]
[The survivors were filled with gratitude toward you. You paid them no mind.]
[However, among them, one young man caught your attention.]
[He was not particularly outstanding in appearance, only somewhat delicate, but his temperament was exceptionally resolute.]
[When he looked at you, aside from admiration, there was no trace of inferiority.]
[For some reason, this young man drew your attention, and you inexplicably felt curious about him.]
[But that was all.]
[Your gaze lingered on him only briefly.]
[You left, never noticing that his eyes remained fixed on you until you were out of sight.]
[Or perhaps you simply did not care.]
[And it was not worth caring about.]
“Su Fan!”
Gu Qingxue blurted out the name.
After Su Fan entered the Supreme Profound Sect, he had told her about this incident.
Only then had she remembered that she had indeed encountered Su Fan in the Kuiyuan Forest.
[It was merely an ordinary trial.]
[However, from that moment on, your personality inexplicably began to grow colder. Even toward your family, you no longer showed a smile.]
[When facing Qin Yuan, you also developed an inexplicable sense of resistance and gradually began to distance yourself from him.]