High above the clouds, Shen Xin was also marveling at how good it felt to show off—no wonder everyone wanted to be the king of bravado.
“If the original host was this powerful, why did she need Qin Weiji? She could have unified the Six Realms and avenged her grievances all by herself!”
Xiao Ai promptly poured cold water on her enthusiasm: 【That’s not possible. Although the original host was born divine and possessed a powerful divine power attribute, even gods vary in strength and must cultivate diligently. However, the original host spent her days wallowing in melancholy—cultivation was never on her agenda. As a result, she couldn’t sustain such immense divine power. Every time she unleashed her full strength, there were aftereffects: mild cases left her bedridden for half a month, severe cases for half a year. So, in truth, the original host never once went all out.】
Shen Xin, “!”
Why didn’t you say so earlier?
Almost simultaneously, she felt a tearing pain throughout her meridians.
She frowned. Since she had already started showing off, she couldn’t just stop halfway. So, she took a deep breath, maintained her composure, and subtly withdrew her stance. In the blink of an eye, she vanished from the clouds and reappeared beside Qin Weiji, calling out obediently, “Husband~”
Qin Weiji had already suppressed the turbulent emotions that surged when he saw her earlier, his expression unreadable as he coldly eyed her. “What are you doing here?”
Shen Xin blinked. “Helping you.”
Qin Weiji sneered coldly. “Do I need your help?”
Shen Xin huffed proudly. “Otherwise? If I hadn’t come, were you planning to fight him to a mutual defeat?”
Qin Weiji stood tall and poised atop the waves, looking down on her with eyes as cold as swords. “In this world, no one can harm me!”
Shen Xin cupped her face, her eyes sparkling with admiration. “Husband, you’re so amazing.”
Show off and get struck by lightning.
His emotional fluctuations were so intense—even she had detected the Demonic Energy in his Sword Qi earlier. If he had truly acted, he would have been backlash by his own Sword Qi for sure.
How wonderful—he was one step closer to becoming a Demon, hehehe.
Qin Weiji narrowed his eyes and studied her for a moment before coldly scoffing and looking away.
Although he refused to admit it verbally, Shen Xin’s arrival was indeed perfectly timed. He had genuinely been on the verge of falling into demonhood just moments ago.
But now, with Shen Xin’s interruption, the Mermaid Pearl…
As he lowered his gaze to ponder what to do next, Shen Xin had already turned her attention to the Merfolk Clan leader floating on the waves not far away.
The old man’s hair and beard were white, and his half-fish tail had lost its luster. At such an advanced age, he still had to endure Qin Weiji’s bullying—what a pitiful old man.
After a moment’s thought, Shen Xin nodded politely at him. “Hello.”
The Merfolk Clan leader had now completely calmed down. The impulse to teach Qin Weiji a lesson had come and gone inexplicably, and in its wake, he felt a wave of fear. If Shen Xin hadn’t arrived in time, his old life and the lives of countless beings in the East Sea would have been lost to Qin Weiji’s sword today.
Seeing Shen Xin’s politeness, he hurriedly clasped his hands in gratitude. “Thank you for your assistance, Divine Maiden.”
Shen Xin smiled even more sincerely. “You’re welcome.”
The Merfolk Clan leader, moved by her sincerity, grew even more grateful. “The Merfolk Clan will never forget your great kindness today, Divine Maiden. If there is anything you need…”
Before he could finish expressing his gratitude, Shen Xin interjected, “I do have a need.”
The Merfolk Clan leader, “…Huh?”
Shen Xin extended her hand, palm open. “The Mermaid Pearl.”
The Merfolk Clan leader froze, and even Qin Weiji beside her looked surprised, lifting his gaze to study her again.
“I want the Mermaid Pearl. Surely, Clan Leader, you won’t be unwilling to part with it?”
Shen Xin wore an expression of pure innocence. “After all, it’s such a great favor.”
The Merfolk Clan leader finally understood and said angrily, “You two are in cahoots!”
Shen Xin shook her head, appearing wronged. “We’re not in cahoots. But since it’s something my husband wants, of course I have to help him.”
Qin Weiji’s gaze shifted slightly as he looked at Shen Xin, his eyes growing deeper and colder.
So all this commotion was just to seize the Mermaid Pearl?
The Merfolk Clan leader gritted his teeth and sneered coldly. “What if I refuse to give it today?”
Shen Xin raised a hand to her ear, gesturing for him to listen to their surroundings. “Clan leader, don’t you think the East Sea is unusually quiet right now? So quiet there’s not a single sound?”
The Merfolk Clan leader’s ear twitched. Upon listening carefully, he indeed couldn’t hear any sound.
All living creatures in the entire East Sea seemed to have fallen into a deep slumber. Even the ocean waves had ceased their motion, leaving behind complete stillness.
“Wherever my divine power reaches, all things find rest. Of course, the interpretation of ‘rest’ is rather flexible—it could mean peaceful sleep, or it could mean eternal rest.”
Shen Xin maintained her sweet, innocent smile throughout, her tone giving no indication of threat as she slowly added, “So, whether it’s peaceful sleep or eternal rest—that depends on the clan leader’s choice?”
The Merfolk Clan leader was utterly terrified.
He never expected that the rumored Divine Maiden, known only for her beauty and considered the most useless, would actually be the most vicious.
“People from the Divine Realm are truly despicable and shameless!”
He gnashed his teeth in anger but ultimately had no choice but to yield. After all, Qin Weiji alone was difficult to deal with, and now Shen Xin had joined the fray.
Anyway, he had initially intended to give away the Mermaid Pearl. Seeing no point in futile resistance now, he directly tossed the pearl out.
The Mermaid Pearl shimmered with rainbow colors, dazzling brilliantly under the pale golden sunlight.
When the pearl landed in her palm, Shen Xin’s eyes lit up.
Without waiting for the Merfolk Clan leader to speak, she waved her hand, withdrawing all the pale golden divine power that had covered the East Sea’s surface.
In that instant, all things awakened, and ocean waves began moving with the wind once more.
The Merfolk Clan leader snorted coldly, glared at her with displeasure, and dove headfirst into the East Sea.
Meanwhile, Shen Xin turned excitedly toward Qin Weiji, smiling brightly. “Husband, wasn’t I amazing?”
As she spoke, she presented the pearl in her hand to him like a treasured offering. “For you.”
She looked up at him, her eyes curved in smiles, sparkling like a galaxy.
Qin Weiji, who had been coldly observing to see what tricks she was playing, was momentarily stunned. His usual lazy indifference faded slightly in that instant.
He lowered his gaze to see her fair, delicate palm holding the rainbow-glazed Mermaid Pearl.
She actually obtained this Mermaid Pearl… for him?
When he didn’t move, she pushed the pearl closer toward him. “Take it.”
Qin Weiji narrowed his eyes. “Shen Yaoyao, what exactly are you scheming?”
“Scheming?”
After a brief moment, Shen Xin understood his meaning.
She sighed, then curved her lips again. “Just consider it… proof of my love for you.”
Qin Weiji’s eyelid twitched imperceptibly. He ignored her comment but reached out to take the Mermaid Pearl from her palm.
As the pearl settled in his hand, his fingers tightened slightly around it. Before he could say anything more, Shen Xin’s face paled, and blood suddenly trickled from the corner of her mouth.
Qin Weiji frowned. “What’s wrong with you?”
Shen Xin covered her mouth, her voice growing faint as she spoke. “It’s nothing. I’m just too incompetent—suffering backlash from my own divine power.”
Qin Weiji understood—she was usually too lazy to cultivate, which was why she couldn’t even control her own divine power.
He let out a cold snort, not hiding his disdain. “Useless.”
Shen Xin closed her eyes, growing even weaker. “I know I’m useless… My husband is the most capable…”
Before she could finish, her figure swayed, unable to support herself any longer, and she fell straight toward the sea surface.
Qin Weiji’s breath tightened. Without a second thought, he gripped her wrist, pulling her forward, then wrapped his arm tightly around her waist, pressing her into his embrace.
Shen Xin seemed already dazed. Her hands instinctively clung to his neck, her head buried in the crook of his shoulder. As she spoke, her scorching breath brushed against his neck.
“Husband~”
She called out muffledly, her voice thin and soft, coquettish as if wronged. “Husband, could you… not divorce me?”
The heat on his neck felt burning. He could even feel her lips inadvertently grazing his neck as she spoke.
Qin Weiji’s face darkened, yet the fingers resting on her soft waist moved uncontrollably, pressing her even tighter against his chest.
He lifted his gaze to the boundless sea, his expression growing even stormier.
After a moment, he let out a cold sneer, his voice low and carried away by the sea breeze. “Shen Yaoyao, the one who wanted the divorce was you.”