“Step three inches to the left.”
“Advance three feet.”
“Dodge to the side!”
Magical Beast Mountain Range, by the side of a small river lake.
Splash!
Splash!
Ripples swayed, and water droplets splashed everywhere.
On the shallow surface of the river, two figures—one male and one female—were clashing at high speed.
Sword light flickered, and fist shadows moved like the wind.
The calm water surface constantly erupted with splashes.
Xiao Bai sat squatting to the side, chin resting on one hand, quietly watching the two fight.
Danxia floated in mid-air, offering guidance from time to time.
“If your Realm is lacking, make up for it with technique.”
“If your strength is insufficient, compensate with a Cultivation Technique.”
Danxia said indifferently, “Shu’er, use the Earth Rank footwork I taught you, the Flowing Cloud Turning Step.
Gaining insights during combat is the most effective and rapid method.”
“Since your frontal strength is lacking, you cannot meet force with force.”
“Dodge and maneuver, then wait for an opportunity to strike.”
Ye Shu didn’t say a word.
His eyes were calm, and his footwork was agile, never clashing head-on with Lin Qingxue.
The two fought for dozens of rounds.
Ultimately, Lin Qingxue caught a flaw in Ye Shu’s footwork.
Seizing the moment when his old strength had just faded and his new strength had yet to arise, she swung her sword.
Bang!
Ye Shu was sent flying backward by the strike, skipping across the river surface like a stone several times before he managed to flip and stabilize himself.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and remarked with emotion:
“I’m so damn strong.”
Even with the Circumference of Heavenly Stars, he still couldn’t fight across Realms.
Although it was partly because the effects of the “Circumference of Heavenly Stars” hadn’t been fully unleashed—its true power would only manifest after Foundation Establishment.
But with three hundred times the Spiritual Qi reserves alone, he should have been able to look down on his peers.
He had to admit, he was simply a monster.
The jade pendant in his robe had already dimmed significantly.
Fortunately, although he couldn’t win right now, he didn’t need the jade pendant to save his life; otherwise, it would have shattered long ago.
On the other side, Lin Qingxue sheathed her sword, stood with her hands on her hips, and pointed at Ye Shu’s pathetic state, mocking him loudly and arrogantly:
“Weakling, weakling!
You’re such a big weakling!”
“You couldn’t even last a few moves?
You don’t even have half the strength of Eldest Senior Brother!”
Despite her words, there was no joy in her heart.
Because the guy in front of her…
was a total monster.
It had only taken him three short days to go from being instantly defeated to fighting dozens of rounds.
What kind of growth rate was this?
What shocked her even more was his perseverance.
For three whole days, except for necessary rest and meals, he fought her almost every waking moment.
This filled Lin Qingxue’s heart with doubt.
She knew about Ye Shu’s Three-Year Promise, but in her previous life, although Ye Shu worked hard, he was never this desperate, this…
urgent.
It was as if he would die if he didn’t work hard.
Moreover…
there seemed to be absolutely no trace of lust, calculation, or impetuousness in his eyes.
If she hadn’t experienced it herself and returned through Rebirth.
Lin Qingxue could hardly associate the determined youth before her with the swindling, lecherous, and wretched scoundrel of her past life.
“What am I thinking?”
“This guy forced me to be his sparring partner, and in my last life, he even tricked me into giving him my body before becoming a Heartless Man with a vast harem.
Lin Qingxue, you can’t let him deceive you again!”
Lin Qingxue shook her head, her gaze becoming haughty once more.
“Little weakling, you want to fight This Young Lady?
Go practice for another hundred years!”
Hearing this, Ye Shu wasn’t annoyed.
He looked up and smiled faintly.
“What, does Eldest Young Miss Lin plan to stay here with me for a hundred years?”
“Who wants to spend a hundred years with you!”
Lin Qingxue retorted loudly without a second thought.
“Very well.”
Ye Shu nodded and slowly walked across the water toward her.
Lin Qingxue watched him warily, her hands behind her back.
“W-what are you doing?
Do you want to pin me against a tree again?”
“Hehehe…”
Ye Shu rubbed his hands together, revealing a smile that could be described as wretched, and said beamingly, “How could I possibly be that kind of person?”
“It’s like this, Eldest Young Miss Lin.”
He spread his hands and spun around in place.
“Look, I’m so poor I don’t have a single Spirit Stone on me; I can’t even make a clinking sound.
I don’t even have a decent weapon.
If I want to beat you, how long will that take?
Maybe by the time we’re dead, our kids are grown up and burning paper at our graves, I still won’t have beaten you.”
Hearing this, Lin Qingxue spat at him.
“Who wants to have children with you?
I’d rather live with a dog than have kids with a playboy like you.
The ‘developing feelings over time’ trick won’t work on me!”
Ye Shu waved his hand.
“It’s a metaphor, just a metaphor, okay?”
“My point is, if Eldest Young Miss Lin just gives me some Spirit Stones and tosses me a spirit sword or something, I’ll be able to beat you sooner, right?”
Lin Qingxue was stunned after hearing this.
Why were there such shameless people in this world?
“You mean to say, I tried to kill you just now, but you turned the tables and almost killed me instead.
Then, not only did you bastard force me to be your sparring partner, but now I also have to provide you with Spirit Stones and Magical Artifacts so you can beat me faster?”
“As expected of Eldest Young Miss Lin, you’re so smart!”
Ye Shu clapped his hands together and gave her a thumbs up.
“Giggle, giggle.”
Floating in mid-air, Danxia couldn’t help but cover her mouth and snicker.
Her disciple’s bizarre train of thought, yet clear logic, was truly infuriating…
yet also quite adorable.
“We are enemies, enemies!”
Lin Qingxue couldn’t help but roar, “You want me to use my own resources to aid my enemy???”
“Do you think I’m an idiot?”
“Are you kidding me!!!”
Hearing this, Ye Shu frowned.
“No room for negotiation?”
“None!” Lin Qingxue’s attitude was firm as she turned her Face away.
“I won’t agree to any of your demands.”
“Then there’s no other way.”
Ye Shu waved his hand.
“Then let’s just wait it out and see who lasts longer.
Anyway, I’m prepared to stay here for a lifetime.
Until I beat you, I won’t take a single step out of the Magical Beast Mountain Range.”
“Don’t even think about leaving either, or I’ll use Ghost Possession to spank your butt.”
He found a large, clean rock, lay down, and comfortably began sunbathing, clearly indicating he was in for the long haul.
Seeing his “dead pig unafraid of boiling water” attitude, Lin Qingxue’s chest heaved with anger.
“You…
you rogue!” she gritted her teeth.
“Not as bad as someone who tries to kill me over a disagreement,” Ye Shu replied indifferently, a blade of foxtail grass in his mouth.
“You’re despicable!”
“It’s called wisdom, baby.”
“You’re shameless!”
“I think so too.”
“You, you, you!
You’re infuriating me!” Lin Qingxue was completely at a loss for words.
She realized she couldn’t out-argue or out-fight him, so she could only swallow her anger.
She raised her right hand, and her storage ring flashed.
A small pile of Low-Grade Spirit Stones appeared at her feet, along with an ancient-style longsword that emitted a faint green luster.
“Take it!” she kicked the items toward Ye Shu crossly.
“A Yellow Rank High Grade Azure Peak Sword and twenty Low-Grade Spirit Stones!
Consider it…
consider it a loan!
You have to pay me back later!”
Originally, she wanted to say it was a gift.
But thinking about it, why should she give her own things to this annoying guy?
So she changed it to a loan.
Ye Shu collected the Spirit Stones and picked up the longsword.
Then, he walked toward Lin Qingxue and lightly brushed his longsword against the spirit sword in her hand.
Not a single sound was made.
The longsword in Ye Shu’s hand was easily sliced in half, like a knife through tofu.
“Miss Lin.”
Ye Shu held the broken sword and said with a serious Face:
“There’s something wrong with this sword; I want a tenfold compensation for this fake.”