Chapter 57 - 32: Sword Cultivator Abandons Sword

Li Shuang still had that same cold and detached look.

But in that moment,

Long Yan suddenly remembered so much.

He wasn’t born with a physical form, either. In the beginning, he was just a tiny, slumbering Spiritual Body.

In a daze, he heard someone say that this Spiritual Body seemed inherently deficient, that it might be a Wasted Sword Spirit, and they asked Li Shuang if she wanted to give up on it.

At the time,

He didn’t have any real self-awareness yet, just a subconscious feeling of anxiety.

’I’m not a Wasted Sword Spirit!’ he wanted to say. ’If you’re patient enough to awaken me, I can become very strong!’

But back then, he couldn’t speak. He could only curl up into an anxious ball.

Back then,

How did Li Shuang respond?

Without hesitation, she said that since she was the one who brought the Dragon Roar Sword out of the Sword Pavilion, it proved they were fated to be together. From that day forward, the Dragon Roar Sword was her partner, and she would not abandon her partner.

When he heard that, his heart filled with immense joy. He thought to himself that he must train hard and become a Sword Spirit worthy of Li Shuang.

After that,

Because he was too weak, his consciousness flickered in and out. During his few lucid moments, all he remembered was that Li Shuang was very busy.

She spent long hours in the Book Collection Pavilion, searching for something unknown.

That wasn’t all.

She also went everywhere, searching the workshops for secret manuals, burying herself in piles of old tomes day and night.

Then one day,

He suddenly became fully conscious.

The first time he opened his eyes, he saw Li Shuang’s joyous expression.

She rarely smiled, but in that moment, the corners of her lips curved up slightly, just like a freshly bloomed Ice Lotus.

At that time, he was deeply grateful to Li Shuang for not giving up on him and for working so hard to awaken him.

He joined Li Shuang in her grueling training.

His Spiritual Body grew more and more solid, and his understanding of the Sword Dao gradually kept pace with hers.

In the beginning, Li Shuang was a peerless genius, and he worried constantly that he would hold her back. But she praised him again and again.

She said he was the best Sword Spirit.

She said he had unparalleled talent.

With Li Shuang’s support and praise, he slowly gained confidence and started down the path to becoming stronger.

Originally,

He thought he would be Li Shuang’s Sword Spirit for his entire life.

But...

Zhaozhao came along.

And so,

He learned that beyond the dull and tedious world of Cultivation, there were so many more new and fascinating experiences to be had.

Experiences that Li Shuang could not give him.

He was like a child discovering a dazzling new world for the first time, instantly captivated in both sight and heart.

From then on,

He grew increasingly cold toward Li Shuang, while his feelings for Ye Zhaozhao deepened step by step until he was utterly infatuated.

Long Yan had thought

that he would never regret the decision to plunge Dragon Roar into Li Shuang’s Dantian.

But now,

Listening to Ye Zhaozhao’s curses, he suddenly felt lost.

’Was everything I did really worth it?’

’If it were Li Shuang...’

’Would she have let me burn my Spiritual Body regardless of the consequences?’

’If it were Li Shuang...’

’Would she be cursing me so hysterically?’

’She wouldn’t!’

All these years, even when he had acted willfully and recklessly, she had never forced him to do a single thing.

She had still done everything in her power to nurture Dragon Roar to its current state.

’But Ye Zhaozhao...’

’Does she truly... care about me, like she says she does?’

"Long Yan, you useless piece of trash!" Ye Zhaozhao had been cursing for a while, but Long Yan didn’t react. Her expression turned grim.

Outsiders couldn’t hear the conversation between a Sword Cultivator and their Sword Spirit, but Li Shuang seemed to deduce something from Ye Zhaozhao’s vicious expression. She spoke calmly, "You don’t need to force Long Yan to act. He burned his Spiritual Body to execute that last move. He has no strength left to attack. Ye Zhaozhao, this is now a battle between you and me! The Dragon Roar Sword is in your hand. Now, let me see your Sword Dao!"

Li Shuang spoke with indifference.

The arena fell silent.

All eyes turned to Ye Zhaozhao.

Sheng Yuan and the others also wore tense expressions.

No one had ever seen their Little Junior Sister’s Swordsmanship before. Could it be that they were finally about to witness it?

Ye Zhaozhao’s face darkened. She suddenly asked, "What do you mean, ’burned his Spiritual Body’?"

Li Shuang replied calmly, "In order to summon the True Dragon Power, he forcibly used a power he shouldn’t have. His Spiritual Body is on the verge of fading away. You’d best not use the Sword Spirit’s Power for some time."

Ye Zhaozhao’s expression turned instantly ugly. She blurted out subconsciously, "Then isn’t this Sword Spirit completely useless?"

The words left her mouth without a single thought.

Long Yan’s Spiritual Body couldn’t help but tremble again, a flash of disbelief in his eyes.

Before,

He could have understood it as Zhaozhao not being clear about his situation.

But now, Li Shuang had explained it so clearly.

’Her first reaction wasn’t concern for me, but that I, her Sword Spirit, had become useless?’

Never mind Long Yan; even Li Shuang couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow upon hearing that.

’So this is the master Long Yan chose for himself? This is the person he was willing to betray me to follow?’

Li Shuang’s expression was serene. ’The relationship between these two is fracturing... faster than I expected.’

But none of this had anything to do with her.

"Draw your sword, or admit defeat," Li Shuang said, looking calmly at Ye Zhaozhao.

"Zhaozhao, don’t go easy on her! Show her what you’re made of! Just draw your sword," Chang Le’an couldn’t help but shout.

His opponent this round had been relatively weak, so his match had ended quickly. Now, he was just in time to cheer Zhaozhao on.

He had absolute confidence in Ye Zhaozhao!

’Little Junior Sister is the real peerless genius! There’s no way she’ll lose to Li Shuang!’

Ye Zhaozhao’s face twisted slightly.

’Chang Le’an!’

’That idiot!’

’Draw my sword?’

’What am I supposed to fight with?!’

Ye Zhaozhao forced a smile onto her face. "Senior Sister Li, I’d also love to have a proper match with you, but... as you said, Long Yan isn’t in a good state. I need to go back and check on him first. For this match, let’s just say I lose."

Ye Zhaozhao spoke with such sincerity it was almost moving, as if it wasn’t that she couldn’t win, but that for Long Yan’s sake, she didn’t want to get entangled with Li Shuang any further.

In the Sword Spirit Space, Long Yan, who had been in immense pain, felt a flicker of hope ignite in his eyes upon hearing her words.

’So, Zhaozhao does care about me, right? A moment ago, she was just anxious, right?’

"Referee, you can announce the result. I concede," Ye Zhaozhao said, putting on an air of magnanimity.

The referee nodded and was about to announce the result.

Li Shuang suddenly smiled. She executed a light, flourishing twirl of her sword and lunged toward Ye Zhaozhao.

If she were a normal Sword Cultivator, her first instinct would have been to raise her sword to block. Ye Zhaozhao’s reaction, however, was to let out a shriek, turn, and run. In her panic, she even dropped the Dragon Roar Sword right there on the dueling platform.

Ye Zhaozhao instantly leaped off the platform. She was just about to furiously accuse Li Shuang.

But she saw Li Shuang sheathing Black Abyss with an innocent look on her face. "Ye Zhaozhao, I was just struck by a whim and decided to practice a sword move. Why are you so scared?"

Ye Zhaozhao stared at her, speechless for a long moment.

"A Sword Cultivator abandoning their sword. So, this is your Sword Dao," Li Shuang said, her expression placid. "Referee, you may announce the result now."

After a brief silence,

The referee gave Ye Zhaozhao a meaningful look, then announced, "Round-robin, second match. The winner is: Li Shuang!"