Chapter 1: No One Will Believe Her

The peak of the Snow Mountain.

Li Shuang staggered forward. Blood dripped incessantly from the many wounds on her body, staining the snow in patches of crimson.

She had been trapped on this Snow Mountain for three days.

「Three days ago.」

Her master’s Cultivation had gone awry, and he urgently needed a Heavenly Snow Lotus to stabilize his spirit. Someone had once seen a Heavenly Snow Lotus on the peak of this Snow Mountain, so she had come here with her junior martial brothers and sisters.

But climbing the Snow Mountain proved more difficult than anyone had imagined. Besides the omnipresent, biting winds, there were also Snow Monsters that could pop out at any moment.

Her youngest martial sister had made a careless move and ended up surrounded by Snow Monsters. After going through hell and back to pick the Heavenly Snow Lotus, Li Shuang saw the situation and gave the Snow Lotus to her, telling her to take it, regroup with their martial brothers, and leave immediately!

Li Shuang then charged forward to hold off the Snow Monsters for her.

She fought a desperate battle for who knows how long before finally clearing out the Snow Monsters, consuming more than half of her Power in the process. She should have retreated immediately to regroup with her juniors, but on the way, she ran into another pack of Snow Monsters drawn by the scent of the Heavenly Snow Lotus, charging toward her martial brothers and sisters’ location.

The Heavenly Snow Lotus could not be lost. Her juniors had already expended a great deal of Spiritual Power over the past few days and were injured. As the eldest martial sister, it was her duty to protect them.

Gritting her teeth, Li Shuang charged the Snow Monsters once more.

She brandished her sword, fighting alone for an unknown amount of time, accumulating countless more wounds. In the end, she barely managed to win but was swept up by the fierce winds and had been unable to find a way out ever since.

Three days had now passed, and only a needle-thin sliver of Spiritual Power remained in her Dantian.

If she remained trapped any longer, she feared she would perish here.

Li Shuang gritted her teeth. ’This is no time to be stubborn.’ Her last shred of Spiritual Power was just enough to activate one Communication Talisman.

’It’s been three days. My juniors should have brought the Snow Lotus back by now. After taking it, Master should be out of danger.’

’They haven’t come looking for me, so they probably don’t know where I am.’

Li Shuang drained the last of her Spiritual Power to activate the Communication Talisman.

The Communication Talisman activated successfully. Li Shuang hurriedly opened her mouth. "Master, I—"

The next moment, Master Lingxu’s cold voice rang out. "Wicked disciple! You still have the nerve to contact me! Zhaozhao fought the Snow Monsters to the death to get the Snow Lotus, but what about you? You clearly saw her in mortal danger, yet you just turned and ran! Li Shuang, I have raised you for so many years. I never thought I would raise such an ungrateful wretch!"

Li Shuang froze.

’What is Master talking about?’

’I don’t understand a single word.’

’When did I ever just turn and run?’

Li Shuang desperately wanted to say something, but a blast of frigid wind caught her in a massive vortex, and for a moment, she couldn’t speak.

"Master, please don’t blame her. Li Shuang... she probably just didn’t see me," Ye Zhaozhao said softly.

Li Shuang was stunned.

The cold wind scraped her face, causing waves of raw pain, but in that moment, the stabbing pain in her heart far surpassed any physical agony.

’Ye Zhaozhao... what is Ye Zhaozhao saying?!’

’Their relationship wasn’t great, but in a moment of life and death, she had never once thought of abandoning her!’

Her second martial brother, Sheng Yuan, sighed. "Zhaozhao, you’re too naive. Eldest Sister was originally the top cultivator of our generation, but after you arrived, your Cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds, and you even surpassed her not long ago. She’s narrow-minded; she must have resented you for a long time. When you were surrounded by Snow Monsters, she was just waiting for you to die. She probably never expected you to break through their encirclement and even bring back the Snow Lotus."

"Th-that’s impossible," Ye Zhaozhao said, feigning disbelief. "Even if she resents me, she should know how important the Heavenly Snow Lotus is to Master. It doesn’t matter if she dislikes me, but would she truly disregard Master’s safety as well?"

"I also never expected Eldest Sister to be so outrageous! When our youngest sister found us that day, she was gravely injured, yet the Snow Lotus in her hand was perfectly intact. That’s proof enough of how much she reveres Master," her third martial brother, Shen Yue, added accusatorially. "As for Eldest Sister, her selfishness is truly chilling!"

"If Zhaozhao hadn’t scared off those Snow Monsters, we wouldn’t have escaped so smoothly! Compared to her, Eldest Sister’s actions are simply despicable," the fourth martial brother added, his voice full of disgust.

The accusations came one after another.

Li Shuang screamed silently in her heart. ’It wasn’t like that! It wasn’t like that at all!’ After Ye Zhaozhao joined the sect, her own Cultivation had mysteriously stagnated, making it difficult to advance. But she had only redoubled her efforts in Cultivation and never blamed Ye Zhaozhao for it.

There was another reason their relationship was poor.

Ye Zhaozhao was the last to join, but she was a sweet-talker and always wore a brilliant smile, quickly winning the affection of everyone on Lingxu Peak.

Li Shuang had originally been fond of this youngest martial sister as well.

Until one day, Ye Zhaozhao claimed her Cultivation had gone awry and asked Li Shuang to take a look. Not suspecting anything, Li Shuang went to help.

However, the moment she touched Ye Zhaozhao, the younger girl let out a horrifying scream, crying, "Eldest Sister, spare me!"

Coincidentally, their master was nearby and witnessed the scene of her "bullying" Ye Zhaozhao.

Faced with Ye Zhaozhao’s tear-streaked, pitiful face, she found herself completely unable to argue!

After that, similar incidents happened again and again.

She was clumsy with words and poor at defending herself. Gradually, her master and martial brothers all came to hold a negative opinion of her, believing she was jealous of Ye Zhaozhao and targeted her at every turn.

’But even though she and Ye Zhaozhao didn’t get along, she never once wanted to harm her, let alone kill her!’

’After all these years together, did her master and brothers have not an ounce of trust in her? Could they so easily believe Ye Zhaozhao’s lies?’

Li Shuang tried to explain, "It’s not like that, I—"

"Enough." Master Lingxu’s cold voice cut in. "Li Shuang, when I first took you in as my disciple, I had high hopes for you. But you have disappointed me far too much. Ever since Zhaozhao joined, you’ve worried she would surpass you and targeted her at every turn. Yet Zhaozhao’s Talent is astonishing, and she still surpassed you despite your suppression! And because of that, you left her to face mortal danger! I, Master Lingxu, have no disciple such as you!"

With a flick of his Divine Thought, Master Lingxu directly cut off the Communication Talisman.

Li Shuang’s world once again plunged into empty silence.

Li Shuang dazedly clutched the now-dim Communication Talisman.

She had used up her last wisp of Spiritual Power; she couldn’t even activate a Communication Talisman anymore.

Li Shuang couldn’t help but wonder.

’If she told them the truth, would her master and the others believe her?’

But then, a bitter smile touched her lips.

’No. No one would believe her.’

’Scenes like this had played out far too many times.’

’No matter what their youngest martial sister said, everyone would believe her unconditionally.’

’And no matter how she explained herself, she would only be met with endless accusations.’

’She had been abandoned long ago.’

Li Shuang struggled to lift her head and looked at the Dragon Roar Sword beside her. Now, this was all she had left—the treasure sword that had accompanied her since she reached the Golden Core Stage.

She came from the Sword Sect, which specialized in cultivating Sword Spirits. Inside the Dragon Roar Sword was a Sword Spirit she herself had carefully nurtured.

Li Shuang called out softly, and the ethereal form of a Sword Spirit appeared in the air.

Li Shuang said, "Long Yan, take control of the Dragon Roar Sword. Go down the mountain and get help for me."

The Sword Spirit, Long Yan, hovered in the air, motionless.

Li Shuang paused, then repeated, "Long Yan, you—"

Before she could finish her sentence,

the Dragon Roar Sword shot into the air and suddenly plunged into her Dantian!

Li Shuang looked down at the sword tip piercing through her body, her vision blurring.