Chapter 38 - 13: Paying the Due Price

Chang Le’an saw Li Shuang from a distance, a flash of disgust involuntarily passing through his eyes. Little Junior Sister had already suffered so miserably because of her, and now that she had finally recovered a little, what did Li Shuang want now?

Hadn’t she bullied Little Junior Sister enough?

Seeing Li Shuang approaching, Chang Le’an was about to voice a few mocking remarks when his expression suddenly stiffened. Li Shuang had no intention of speaking to them at all. Instead, she walked right past them and entered the Disciple Hall!

Chang Le’an gritted his teeth as he stared at Li Shuang’s cold back. He wondered, "What is this Li Shuang pretending for? What business could she possibly have at the Disciple Hall now? Isn’t she here just to deliberately bump into us and mock Little Junior Sister?"

"Third Senior Brother, what is Senior Sister Li doing here?" Ye Zhaozhao put on a pitiful expression. "Is she going to play some underhanded tricks behind our backs again? I am genuinely so afraid of Senior Sister Li now."

"Don’t be afraid!" Chang Le’an immediately puffed out his chest. "I’m going to see what kind of tricks she wants to play this time."

Chang Le’an pulled Ye Zhaozhao along and marched over aggressively. Then, he heard Li Shuang’s cold, clear voice.

"I’m here to register."

Chang Le’an’s pupils shrank sharply, and he couldn’t help but rub his ears. He thought in disbelief, "Li Shuang? Register? I must have misheard!"

The disciple of the Disciple Hall subconsciously took her token to input her information. Then, he paused, his voice suddenly rising in pitch.

"Li Shuang, Qi Cultivation Stage?! Are you sure you’re here to register?" He looked up, staring at Li Shuang in shock.

Li Shuang nodded affirmatively. "Yes, to register!"

"Senior Sister Li!" Ye Zhaozhao’s eyes flickered as she spoke in a soft, gentle voice. "Are you sure you want to register for the Langya Secret Realm selection tournament? Inside the Langya Secret Realm, every disciple’s cultivation is suppressed to the Foundation Establishment Stage. Therefore, generally, only disciples at or above the Foundation Establishment Stage will sign up for the selection. During the tournament, all disciples also compete using Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation. Given your current cultivation... I’m afraid you fall a bit short."

Li Shuang frowned. She turned directly to the Disciple Hall disciple and asked, "Do the registration rules state that disciples below the Foundation Establishment Stage are not allowed to participate?"

The disciple wiped the fine sweat from his forehead. "Well, no. But..." He thought to himself, "But there is an entire major realm of difference between the Qi Cultivation Stage and the Foundation Establishment Stage. How can she even compete?"

Before the disciple could finish his thought, Li Shuang stated calmly, "Then put my name down."

The disciple could only agree and wrote Li Shuang’s name down. "Senior Sister Li, the first match will be in three days."

Li Shuang took her token back and nodded. "I will be there on time."

Ignoring Ye Zhaozhao and Chang Le’an, she turned and left.

Chang Le’an’s expression changed, and he couldn’t stop himself from chasing after her. He forcibly blocked Li Shuang’s path, looking at her with disdain, and said with a hint of mockery, "Li Shuang, don’t tell me you still think you’re the Eldest Senior Sister of Lingxu Peak? Right now, you’re probably not much different from a newly admitted disciple. The harvest from the Langya Secret Realm concerns the face of the sect. Only the sect’s elite disciples can enter the secret realm!

"What does the current you have to do with the word ’elite’?"

Previously, he was at the Golden Core Stage, while Li Shuang was at the Nascent Soul Stage. He had to give this Eldest Senior Sister some face. But now? Li Shuang was the one who had torn away all pretenses with them first, so there was no need for him to save her any face!

"Third Senior Brother, please don’t say that," Ye Zhaozhao hurriedly advised. "Senior Sister Li didn’t want to fall into such a state either."

As she spoke, a glimmer flashed through Ye Zhaozhao’s eyes. She thought, "What Supreme Forget Emotion Technique? No one has been able to even grasp its basics for so many years; who knows if it’s even real! Just losing a tiny shred of my cultivation these past few days was excruciating enough. Yet Li Shuang lost all her cultivation overnight. Despite her calm facade, she must be suffering immensely inside. Since Li Shuang made me lose all my wealth, I will poke right at her sore spots!"

"She completely deserves it!" Chang Le’an said coldly. "If she hadn’t abandoned you on the Snow Mountain, she would have returned to the sect with us long ago. None of this would have happened! Li Shuang, let me tell you this: I will find out the truth about what happened on the Snow Mountain one day. I will make you suffer a thousand times, ten thousand times over for the whipping punishment Little Junior Sister had to endure!"

Li Shuang looked at him indifferently. "I’ll be waiting for you to uncover the truth."

Seeing her demeanor, Chang Le’an felt she was acting utterly unrepentant and fearless, which only infuriated him further.

Just as he was about to press the matter, Ye Zhaozhao hastily tugged at his hand. "Third Senior Brother, say no more. I’ve already told you, I don’t want to dwell on that incident anymore!"

In truth, Ye Zhaozhao was the one who most wanted the truth of the Snow Mountain to remain buried forever.

Chang Le’an immediately looked at Ye Zhaozhao with pity. "Zhaozhao, you are just too kind-hearted, which is why you were bullied into such a state! You might want to let her off, but when has she ever wanted to let you off? Don’t worry, once the Langya Secret Realm matters are settled, I will definitely bring the truth to light for you. I will definitely make Li Shuang pay the price she deserves!"

Chang Le’an spoke with resolute conviction, but Ye Zhaozhao couldn’t bring herself to feel moved. She could only say gently, "Third Senior Brother, let’s not talk about this for now."

She turned to Li Shuang. "Senior Sister Li, Third Senior Brother and I have also registered. If you participate in the selection tournament, you will definitely run into us. When that time comes..."

Chang Le’an interjected viciously, "When that time comes, I absolutely will not show any mercy! Little Junior Sister, stop wasting your breath on her. Let’s go!"

Chang Le’an pulled Ye Zhaozhao along and turned to leave.

Ye Zhaozhao glanced back at Li Shuang, a hint of regret at the bottom of her eyes.

Truthfully, she really hoped Li Shuang could make it into the fifty-person team. After all, if Li Shuang stayed in the Sword Sect, it would be difficult for her to make a move. Entering the secret realm, however, would be a different story entirely. The secret realm was incredibly vast; it would be far too easy to have someone die without anyone ever finding out.

It was just a pity that the current Li Shuang was simply too weak. It was entirely impossible for her to enter the top fifty. She figured Li Shuang just couldn’t accept the massive drop in her cultivation, to the point that she was desperately grasping at straws.

Li Shuang expressionlessly watched Chang Le’an and Ye Zhaozhao put on their little two-man show and then inexplicably walk away. Her heart remained completely placid.

These two could no longer stir any emotional fluctuations within her. The fact that they had also registered for the Langya Secret Realm had absolutely no impact on Li Shuang’s plans.

She was participating in the selection tournament and going to the Langya Secret Realm purely for her own sake. She needed to restore her cultivation and find materials for Foundation Establishment. She was walking her own path.

As for those people from Lingxu Peak, the grievances between them had already been settled. She wouldn’t go out of her way to seek revenge, but she wouldn’t allow them to obstruct her path either!

Li Shuang’s expression was calm, a trace of determination hidden in the depths of her eyes.

The path she intended to walk was the invincible path of a sword cultivator. Her world was infinitely vast; it wasn’t meant to be spent endlessly entangled with these people.

At Lingxu Peak.

Chang Le’an and Ye Zhaozhao had returned.

"Eldest Senior Brother, guess who we saw when we registered?" Chang Le’an immediately opened with mockery. "That Li Shuang actually overestimated her capabilities and dared to register for the selection tournament. If I run into her during the matches, I’ll definitely..."

As soon as Chang Le’an finished speaking, a somewhat weak voice rang out. "Third Junior Brother, who did you say registered?"