Chapter 42: What is there to fear?

The weather was clear, with not a cloud in the sky.

A gentle breeze drifted through the window, bringing a trace of coolness.

Ye Chen sat cross-legged on the meditation mat.

A night of breathing exercises had healed much of his internal injuries.

He was just about to get up and begin a new day of cultivation when a knock sounded at the door, sudden and unexpected.

Tok, tok, tok.

The sound carried a certain rhythm.

Ye Chen was slightly surprised.

At this hour, who could it be?

He stood up and opened the door.

Standing there was a familiar, flame-like red figure.

Yan Hongxiu.

She stood outside, the morning light outlining her dignified profile.

The playfulness from yesterday was gone from her expression, replaced by a rare seriousness and solemnity.

“Junior Brother Ye Chen.”

She nodded slightly.

“Senior Sister Yan?”

Ye Chen was a bit puzzled.

“Is something wrong?”

“May I… come in and talk?”

She didn’t beat around the bush, her gaze meeting his directly, clear and resolute.

Though doubtful, Ye Chen stepped aside and let her into the room.

As the door closed, the morning light and clamor of the outside world were shut out.

Yan Hongxiu turned around and, facing Ye Chen, bowed deeply.

“I ask that Junior Brother Ye Chen guide Hongxiu on the path of cultivation!”

Her voice wasn’t loud, but it struck with undeniable force.

Every word was filled with strength.

Ye Chen’s brow furrowed slightly, almost imperceptibly.

He stepped back half a pace, avoiding her deep bow.

His voice was calm.

“Senior Sister Yan, I thought I made myself clear yesterday at the lakeside pavilion.”

“No.”

Yan Hongxiu straightened, her eyes blazing as she looked at him.

“Your words yesterday did not come from your true heart.”

She stepped forward, closing the distance, her sharp aura pressing in.

“Junior Sister Xiaoxiao was present at the time. You didn’t speak sincerely. I could see that.”

She took a deep breath, a trace of pleading entering her tone.

“The Dao Stone at Wenda Lake does not lie. To reach two thousand feet at the Qi Refining Realm cannot be explained by ‘technique restraint’ alone.”

“Your understanding of the Dao far surpasses ours. Hongxiu… desperately needs to grow stronger. I’m willing to pay any price, as long as you can help me find clarity!”

Ye Chen looked at her in silence.

His sword heart—the instinct that saw through all things as the ‘Primordial Sword Sovereign’—clearly reflected the woman’s heart before him.

No lies, no concealment.

Only an almost obsessive desire for power.

Behind this craving, some heavy and powerful force seemed to drive her, compelling her to grasp at the straw before her.

He had no desire to probe into others’ pasts.

Offering a bit of guidance was a small matter.

However, the small face of Junior Sister Xiaoxiao—those teary, anxious eyes filled with unease and possessiveness—rose unbidden in his mind.

The resentful gaze from the lakeside pavilion yesterday, almost scorching through his arm, remained vivid in his memory.

He didn’t want to see her like that again.

A momentary appreciation for talent was quickly crushed beneath the tangled web of Causal Bonds.

Enough.

Ye Chen made up his mind and was about to refuse.

Yan Hongxiu seemed to see through the source of his hesitation.

She suddenly gave a self-mocking smile.

“What exactly are you afraid of, Junior Brother? That I’ll cling to you?”

Her tone sharpened.

“I have no interest in romance. If Junior Sister Xiaoxiao is your Dao Companion, so what? Dao Companions are fellow seekers on the path. Can that stop others from seeking the truth from you?”

She stared at Ye Chen, her gaze turning aggressive, speaking each word with force:

“What Hongxiu seeks is only the Dao, nothing else. Or… is it that you lack confidence in yourself, afraid that spending time with a pure seeker like me will make you develop other feelings?”

Her words were bold, direct, even a bit provocative.

Ye Chen was taken aback.

Looking at this woman, the ‘human’ emotional ripples within him were shattered by her words.

Yes… this was the kind of seeker he admired.

Single-mindedly pursuing the Dao, undistracted, unburdened by mundane attachments.

Compared to Xiaoxiao, who pinned all her hopes and feelings on one person, Yan Hongxiu embodied the ideal state a true cultivator should possess.

That appreciation for talent surged once more.

But… what about Xiaoxiao…

He had to resolve Xiaoxiao’s Causal Bonds first.

At the very least, he couldn’t upset her further.

Ye Chen sighed inwardly, about to shake his head again—

Boom!

A searing pain exploded in his soul without warning!

Everything before his eyes turned pale, as if steel needles pierced his mind.

The pain was swift and intense, yet vanished as quickly as it came.

Immediately after, a vast, boundless, emotionless Divine Will surged into his consciousness like a tidal wave.

[Jade in the Rough must be carved.]

[Guide her.]

[Hone her.]

[Forge her into a usable blade.]

It was the divine obsession of the ‘Primordial Sword Sovereign’—the instinctive urge to shape superior material, the inherent drive to move all pieces upon the board of heaven and earth.

This Will was so powerful, so natural, it instantly crushed Ye Chen’s insignificant human doubts.

When he instinctively recalled the name ‘Xiaoxiao’ again, another wave of faint pain flickered, and the memories of her tearful, aggrieved face from yesterday blurred, as if seen through frosted glass.

Those heavy emotional bonds seemed to be stripped away at that moment.

All hesitation and struggle in his eyes faded, replaced by calm indifference.

He lifted his gaze, looking at Yan Hongxiu once more, and spoke quietly:

“You are right.”

“Between you and me, there is only the pursuit of the Dao—what is there to fear?”

Yan Hongxiu could hardly believe her ears.

She had been prepared for utter rejection.

She had felt, just a moment ago, that Ye Chen had resolved to say ‘no’.

Despair had already begun to grip her.

Was it truly so difficult to escape a predetermined fate?

Yet, in a twist of fortune, he agreed.

A surge of overwhelming joy shattered all her defenses.

“Junior Brother… you…”

“Come here at this time tomorrow.”

Ye Chen interrupted, his tone calm but brooking no argument.

“Only once. Prepare your questions.”

Yan Hongxiu’s heart trembled.

The flood of joy quickly settled into solemn gratitude.

She said nothing more, only bowed deeply to Ye Chen once again—this time, with utmost respect.

Ye Chen did not evade her this time.