What on earth was going on?
‘I went through so much trouble to get you here, only for you to become someone else’s fiancé?!!!’
Shen Lingxi was beyond frustrated. She had planned for everything, but she never imagined someone would beat her to the punch and snatch him away.
She paced back and forth in her courtyard, biting her thumb from time to time. Her entire body was coiled with a restless energy that she couldn’t find a way to release.
Eventually, she sprinted to the Martial Arts Field of Saintess Mountain and began wreaking havoc on the equipment. She went on such a rampage that even the reinforced walls were left with several fist-sized holes.
The disciples at the Martial Arts Field stood frozen in shock, completely unable to fathom why the Saintess was acting so crazed. None of them dared to move, however, because a single stir would draw a murderous glare from her.
They could only watch helplessly as the Saintess tore the Martial Arts Field apart. It wasn’t until she stomped away in a huff that they finally breathed a collective sigh of relief.
The disciples looked at one another, confusion evident in every pair of eyes.
“What’s wrong with the Saintess?”
“No idea.”
“Maybe the Great Elder upset her.”
***
Not long after, a massive rumbling sound erupted, followed by an uncontrollable trembling of the ground.
The disciples in the Martial Arts Field were stunned at first, and a hint of panic flashed in their eyes. Fortunately, a senior disciple quickly stepped up to take charge.
“It’s an enemy attack! Everyone, follow my lead. You, go report to the Elders. The rest of you, come with me to investigate. I want to see who’s so blind that they’d dare to launch a direct attack on Saintess Mountain.”
The senior disciple sent a younger one to find the Elders and picked several strong, clever men to accompany him on the scouting mission.
Once he finished giving orders, he prepared to lead the team out, only to find that the men he had called upon hadn’t moved. They were standing there, staring blankly.
Fuming, the senior disciple barked, “Are you lot ignoring your senior brother’s words?”
“No,” a younger disciple said, pointing behind the senior. “Brother, look behind you.”
The senior disciple turned around, his pupils suddenly dilating. In the distance, a mountain peak was suspended in mid-air. Beneath the peak was a human figure. Looking closer, that silhouette was very familiar.
‘The Saintess?!!!’
‘What is she doing?’
The senior disciple was dumbfounded. Was destroying the Martial Arts Field not enough? Was she going to destroy someone else’s mountain now?
Before long, an older man approached, flying through the air. He circled around the Saintess, bowing and scraping in a subservient manner, seemingly pleading with her to set the mountain down gently.
However, the Saintess gave him no face at all. She threw it directly, and the entire mountain peak crumbled into pieces instantly.
Looking at the dust filling the sky, the Saintess clapped her hands. Leaving behind an old man with two streaks of tears running down his face, she rose into the air again toward the next peak…
Of course, while the Saintess was acting out of anger, she remained relatively restrained. Aside from the Martial Arts Field, she only destroyed the peaks of Elders who held their positions through connections, did nothing but occupy space, openly opposed her for no reason, or held sham positions just to collect a salary.
That night, she destroyed exactly three peaks belonging to such idle Elders before the anger in her heart finally subsided.
Returning to her courtyard, Shen Lingxi still felt she needed to do something. Otherwise, all her painstaking planning would end up being a total waste of effort.
“Who’s there?”
Suddenly, Shen Lingxi detected a faint, barely perceptible presence. With a predatory gaze, she looked toward the large tree in the courtyard and saw a man leaning against it.
The man had long hair draped over his shoulders, a sallow and emaciated face, a messy beard, and heavy dark circles under his eyes.
It was the Sword Fanatic, the one who had defeated Ling Yuyan.
Currently, he had his arms crossed over his chest, trying to look like a mysterious expert. But after receiving one sharp look from Shen Lingxi, his composure shattered, and he quickly held up his hands.
“It’s me, it’s me! Don’t hit me, Lingxi!”
His voice was somewhat feminine, completely mismatched with his weathered appearance.
“Oh,” Shen Lingxi said, recognizing him and drawing back her killing intent. “Drop the disguise. It’s ugly.”
“Don’t you think I look like a hidden master this way? You know, the kind who looks ordinary but is actually incredibly powerful?” the Sword Fanatic asked excitedly.
“I don’t,” Shen Lingxi replied, her eyes half-lidded with disgust. “Change back, quickly.”
“Ugh—” The Sword Fanatic felt dejected, his shoulders slumping. Yet, he remained stubborn. “I won’t. This makeup is a huge hassle to put on. Besides, I have a match tomorrow.”
“Fine.” Shen Lingxi, lacking interest, asked, “What are you doing here?”
“Hehe.” Seeing she was still angry, the Sword Fanatic didn’t get straight to the point. Instead, he tried to comfort her. “Don’t mind the Great Elder. He’s just like my father—utterly pedantic.”
“If you have something to say, say it,” Shen Lingxi said impatiently.
“Lingxi, is this how you treat a benefactor? At the very least, I tried to help you rescue your White Moonlight. Even if I didn’t succeed, I still worked hard. I held my own against the Second Heavenly King for a long time,” the Sword Fanatic grumbled, starting to ramble.
“And?” The coldness in Shen Lingxi’s eyes deepened. “So what?”
“If you keep acting like this, I’m quitting,” the Sword Fanatic threatened, seeing that a soft approach wasn’t working.
“Suit yourself.”
Shen Lingxi was about to head to her room, but her expression stiffened when the Sword Fanatic dropped his next line—
“Are you really not afraid that I’ll beat him?”
Seeing her reaction, the Sword Fanatic grew more emboldened. “Speaking of which, you want that Nameless guy to enter Saintess Mountain, don’t you?”
Shen Lingxi’s face froze. She stammered for a moment, unable to find words.
The Sword Fanatic keenly caught the awkwardness on her face and began his own analysis.
“Hmm… in previous Martial Arts Tournaments, you always told me to forfeit. But this time, not only did you forbid me from forfeiting, you even secretly changed my opponents in the brackets. You kept matching me against strong opponents. Was that to clear the path for him?”
The Sword Fanatic walked over to Shen Lingxi and began pacing around her.
“I think he looks a lot like your White Moonlight, but I can’t figure out why you aren’t trying to rescue your actual White Moonlight. Instead, you’re going through all this trouble to bring him here? So, who is he?”
“I can’t save my White Moonlight, so I want him as a Stand-in. Is that a problem?” Shen Lingxi argued stubbornly.
“If you hadn’t made me forfeit in the past, I might have actually believed your nonsense,” the Sword Fanatic said with a pout. “My intuition tells me that everything you’re doing right now is for him.”
Shen Lingxi paused, then let out a long sigh. “Fine, there’s no harm in telling you. Actually, he is…”
“He is…” The Sword Fanatic perked up his ears.
“He is my True White Moonlight. It’s just that he lost his memories, and he doesn’t remember me now,” Shen Lingxi murmured.
Upon hearing this, the Sword Fanatic’s expression gradually turned grave. “Shen Lingxi, you’re quite the schemer. You’ve even schemed against the Demon Cult Leader!”
“Naturally,” Shen Lingxi said, the corners of her mouth curling upward.
“But there’s one thing I don’t understand.” The Sword Fanatic paused. “How were you so certain that the Demon Cult would wipe your White Moonlight’s memories and send him here?”
“Hmm??” The curve of Shen Lingxi’s lips slowly faded.
“Oh, I get it. The Demon Cult must have brainwashed him to be one of theirs and sent him here to assassinate you.” The Sword Fanatic had a sudden realization, and his face paled. “Lingxi, you’re inviting a wolf into your home. This is extremely dangerous.”
Shen Lingxi’s expression gradually soured.
“But I’m still a bit confused. Wasn’t your White Moonlight a frail scholar who couldn’t even shoo away a chicken? Since when did he become so powerful? He even beat Ling Yunfeng.” The Sword Fanatic paused, talking to himself. “Oh, the Demon Cult must have used some secret technique to make him strong, right? Hey, where are you going, Lingxi?”
“To sleep.”
“Well, tell me if my analysis is right!”
“…” Shen Lingxi glanced at the Sword Fanatic, gave a helpless sigh, and walked into her room, leaving behind a very conflicted Sword Fanatic.