No one knew how much time had passed before the flow of time around Gu Lingxiao began to move once more.
Including Ye Han, no one in the Azure Sovereign Holy Land noticed that time had just been frozen.
They only suddenly saw that beside Gu Lingxiao, a petite and adorable little girl had appeared out of nowhere.
Her pretty face was slightly flushed as she lowered her head. Her clothes were somewhat disheveled, yet she had wrapped herself tightly, not allowing outsiders to see even the slightest hint of skin.
But Ye Han recognized the little girl standing beside Gu Lingxiao.
“Lingyue! You…”
A bad premonition took root in Ye Han’s heart, but Lingyue did not even glance at him.
She needed to set her position straight. She could not indulge in past affection.
“Enough, Ye Han. The Heavenly Supreme Sword has already acknowledged me as its master. I am in a good mood today and will not kill you. Leave at once.”
“The Heavenly Supreme Sword acknowledged you as its master? Impossible. Absolutely impossible!”
Ye Han’s emotions became extremely agitated.
In his view, after more than ten years together, he had only established a close connection with the Heavenly Supreme Sword. He had never made it acknowledge him as master.
How could it possibly acknowledge Gu Lingxiao as its master in the blink of an eye?
Ye Han had no idea that Gu Lingxiao had frozen time.
Gu Lingxiao had enjoyed several hours, yet in Ye Han’s eyes, it had only been a single instant.
Ye Han stared at Lingyue, demanding an answer.
“If he does not believe it, then help him face reality, Lingyue,” Gu Lingxiao said as he lightly patted her from behind, making her blush again.
Lingyue was sensible. After bowing to Gu Lingxiao, she looked at Ye Han with cold eyes.
“Yes. The Heavenly Supreme Sword has acknowledged Master as its master.”
“Wait! What did you call him?”
Ye Han could hardly believe his ears.
“Master. Since the Heavenly Supreme Sword has acknowledged its master, as the Heavenly Supreme Sword Spirit, I naturally follow Master as well.”
Lingyue felt a stabbing pain in her heart, yet her face remained expressionless.
“You… why… why would you acknowledge this bastard as your master?”
“Ye Han, mind your words! If you dare show disrespect to Master, as the Heavenly Supreme Sword Spirit, I will kill you!”
With a wave of her hand, the Heavenly Supreme Sword appeared in Lingyue’s grasp.
She held the sword hilt tightly, its cold blade pointing straight at Ye Han.
Her stern expression convinced even the surrounding Elders that she would truly act for Gu Lingxiao.
Gu Lingxiao was extremely satisfied with Lingyue’s performance.
He gently stroked Lingyue’s head. Her cold face instantly softened into one of enjoyment as she rubbed her small head against his palm.
The adorable little girl’s cute gesture would move anyone’s heart.
But in Ye Han’s eyes, it was unbearable.
This was naked betrayal.
Ye Han had long harbored feelings for Lingyue. He sensed that she had feelings for him as well and had already regarded her as his possession.
After spending so long together, he had never seen Lingyue behave so intimately with him.
Yet in such a short time, she had grown so close to Gu Lingxiao and even called him “Master.”
Ye Han could not accept it. His face flushed crimson.
“You… you… you! I truly misjudged you, Lingyue!”
“So what? Why should I care about your thoughts? Master’s happiness is the only thing that matters to Lingyue.”
“Good… very good…”
Ye Han felt weak and staggered back two steps.
His heart throbbed in waves, as if the entire world had betrayed him.
Gu Lingxiao watched Ye Han’s state and nodded in satisfaction.
Seeing Gu Lingxiao’s approval, Lingyue seemed even more spirited.
“In the past, I had no choice but to rely on your power and nourish the Heavenly Supreme Sword with your Soul Power. Now that I have Master, do you really think I would still follow you?”
“Ye Han, you should understand that treasures always belong to the capable. Before, compared to others, you were the capable one. Now, you are not.”
“Take a good look at reality. You and Master are like heaven and earth. There is no comparison at all.”
Killing the body and destroying the heart.
Lingyue’s words completely plunged Ye Han into despair.
“Gu Lingxiao, I want you dead!”
“Insolence! How dare you show disrespect to Master!”
Lingyue immediately acted. A powerful force burst from the Heavenly Supreme Sword, sending Ye Han flying out of the Grand Hall.
The vast sword qi surged like ocean waves. Ye Han was not only blasted out of the Grand Hall, but directly out of the Azure Sovereign Holy Land.
“I am sorry… only this way can your life be spared.”
Lingyue thought this to herself and secretly glanced at Gu Lingxiao. Seeing no displeasure on his face, she finally let out a slight sigh of relief.
“The troublesome one has finally left. You did well.”
“Thank you for your praise, Master.”
Lingyue immediately revealed a crescent-shaped smile, innocent and adorable.
“Oh right, there is something I forgot to tell you.”
“Please speak, Master.”
“I saw those little gestures you made to Ye Han just now.”
“W-What gestures…”
Lingyue instantly grew tense, as if falling into an icy abyss.
While saying those cruel words earlier, the hand not holding the sword had been frantically making signals toward Ye Han, hoping he would understand that she had no choice.
“No? I clearly saw your hand making gestures.”
“Of course not. That was… that was just an unconscious movement.”
Lingyue hurriedly explained.
“So it was not to pass information to Ye Han?”
“Absolutely not!”
“I see. Then it is fortunate that I cast a small illusion earlier, preventing Ye Han from seeing your gestures.”
Lingyue’s expression froze.
Before she could say anything, Gu Lingxiao continued.
“And earlier, you truly intended to strike for me, correct? It was not to make Ye Han leave quickly to avoid angering me further?”
“N-No…”
With both of her small schemes exposed, Lingyue grew flustered.
“Good. When you made your move just now, I also added a little force. It only shattered all of his meridians.”
Lingyue’s expression stiffened again.
Seeing her face, Gu Lingxiao stepped closer and patted her shoulder, whispering into her ear, “Actually, I am looking forward to the next time you try to be clever. Smart as you are, why not guess how many times I can tolerate it before wiping out the bloodlines of both clans?”
After speaking, he gave her a smile.
“I am sorry, Master. I was wrong. Please forgive me…”
Lingyue had just formed the thought of kneeling when Gu Lingxiao lifted her up.
“I do not want to see you crying here. If others see it, they might think I cannot control my subordinates.”
With that, Gu Lingxiao tore open the space before him with one hand.
A portal appeared in front of him. He stepped forward, and Lingyue hurriedly followed closely behind.
She knew that next, she would have to fulfill certain duties again.
What she did not know was that when she had spoken those cruel words earlier, Gu Lingxiao had infused them with a trace of power.
They had become even more piercing, even more capable of destroying the heart.