Chapter 3

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Chapter 3: Title

\"A… A\’shang?\" Qiu Huayi snapped out of it first. From her angle, she saw Ye Qingshang cast a spell on instinct, but something went wrong. The block spell had turned into a swap spell, and what appeared…

Qiu Huayi smiled awkwardly, \"The spells are similar; it\’s easy to mix them up. I mess up too sometimes. A\’shang, did you recall the wrong spell? Did you cast swap by mistake?\"

Impossible. The swap and block spells were totally different. Even dreaming, Ye Qingshang wouldn\’t confuse them. Plus, she\’d been a master in her past life—how could she forget such a basic spell?

She gathered her spiritual power and cast the barrier again. This time, wind howled like a storm was coming. She lifted her chin proudly: See? I didn\’t misremember; that was a fluke.

Then, the carrot vanished, leaving nothing. No barrier, no other object—just empty air.

Ye Qingshang, Mu Huaiyun, and Qiu Huayi: …

This is it? Master Ning\’s disciple? Hailed as incredible? Mu Huaiyun scoffed inside.

He\’d backed off ten meters after locking eyes with her, fearing she\’d strike by accident.

Now, it seemed pointless.

Faced with this, Ye Qingshang was stunned. After rebirth, she\’d thought nothing changed, but she couldn\’t even control her spiritual power. Falling from heaven\’s favorite to ordinary was crushing.

Qiu Huayi comforted, \"A\’shang, don\’t look like that. Maybe you\’re worn out prepping for the contest, so you slipped up. It\’s okay; if danger comes, I\’ll guard you.\"

Qiu Huayi spoke earnestly, but Ye Qingshang was lost in thought and heard nothing. Suddenly, a hiss came from the side. Instinctively, she struck first, turning a leaf into a blade. The dry leaf, filled with spiritual power, pierced the monster\’s weak spot, killing it instantly. It vanished like smoke.

It was a cricket snake—a low-level demon that hadn\’t mastered shapeshifting, or it wouldn\’t have died so fast.

Ye Qingshang\’s spiritual ring chimed; the kill counted for her score.

She paused, then felt a surge of joy.

Her spiritual power was back!

\"A\’shang.\" Qiu Huayi looked at her, feeling a huge weight had finally lifted. Luckily, Ye Qingshang\’s spiritual power had recovered; otherwise, she wouldn\’t have been able to protect her.

Mu Huaiyun looked at her in disbelief: \"Just a low-level monster, why is she so excited?\"

Only then did Ye Qingshang shift her focus and notice Mu Huaiyun, who had somehow appeared beside her.

His timing was off, Ye Qingshang thought immediately.

She remembered that in her past life, Mu Huaiyun had never accompanied her, and they hadn\’t even met in the Illusionary Battle Arena. She took a remote path straight to Tao Zhi, so she had no chance of running into anyone.

Ye Qingshang: \"Why are you here?\"

\"I saw a monster here earlier, look, didn\’t you catch it?\" Mu Huaiyun said calmly, his face unflushed as he easily hid his real reason for pretending to hunt the monster: to protect Ye Qingshang.

Ye Qingshang looked around, confusion clear on her face: Something was wrong, very wrong. In this second life, some things weren\’t happening as in her past life, like her spiritual power and her two meetings with Mu Huaiyun.

She had a bold idea.

Ye Qingshang: \"Mu Huaiyun, move back to your original position.\"

Huh? Mu Huaiyun, puzzled, did as told and stepped back ten meters away.

She steadied her mind, silently reciting the spell. As expected, everything went quiet, with no sign of magic.

She walked over to Mu Huaiyun.

Reciting the spell again, a barrier suddenly formed, covering them both.

Ye Qingshang: …Sure enough, she knew something was off; it turned out to be tied to Mu Huaiyun!

She tested it several more times and finally concluded: It wasn\’t poor control of her spiritual power, but that her spiritual power only worked near Mu Huaiyun.

Range: three meters.

If she went beyond three meters from him, her spiritual power faded or even failed.

Ye Qingshang felt like banging her head against a wall, her mind in total chaos.

So why? She was reborn, but why was she bound to Mu Huaiyun? That Mu Huaiyun, he was a villain! One who opposed her at every turn!

*

\"Ye Qingshang, how long will this last?\" Mu Huaiyun finally snapped.

For the past three hours, since Ye Qingshang\’s strange actions started, she dragged him along whenever a monster appeared. Hunting monsters together was fine, but she had plenty of spiritual power and strong skills; she didn\’t need his help! Instead, he felt blinded by her spells.

Yes, he was forced to protect Ye Qingshang, but he didn\’t want this close guarding!

Now at Tao Zhi\’s lair, it was worse; she made him wait outside and not wander far?

She was challenging Tao Zhi, so why was he just standing guard?

Meanwhile, Qiu Huayi had avoided the fight; now, he could only see a tiny figure in the distance.

Just then, the voice in his head stayed silent.

Mu Huaiyun: \"What does Ye Qingshang mean by this?\"

The voice replied: \"Unknown.\"

Mu Huaiyun retorted: \"Can\’t you recite her profile backward? What does this mean? How can you not know?!\"

The voice didn\’t answer.

Mu Huaiyun: …

Tao Zhi was aquatic by nature and inhabited a small body of water. The Pearl Retrieval task was a solo challenge; unless Tao Zhi permitted it, the formation\’s core would vanish immediately if more than one person entered the waters.

For this reason, Ye Qingshang had no choice but to leave Mu Huaiyun guarding outside.

After all, without him, she couldn’t even properly wield her spiritual power.

She casually soothed Mu Huaiyun\’s impatience before lightly tapping her toes and leaping forward, landing steadily at the water\’s center. Ripples spread beneath her feet as a dragon burst from the depths.

The creature\’s entire body was blue-green, scales shimmering, yet its horns gleamed snow-white. Its compact frame lacked a true dragon\’s majesty, appearing almost comically counterfeit instead.

After a brief scrutiny, the dragon hovered mere inches from Ye Qingshang, speaking human words: \"Little girl, you wish to challenge me?\"

Ye Qingshang frowned and raised her hand, casting a barrier spell. Once separated from Tao Zhi, she exhaled softly, immediately feeling relief.

This dragon likely reeked from prolonged submersion—the stench was overwhelming.

In her past life, Ye Qingshang had clashed with Tao Zhi upon entering the water. The frenzy of spiritual power had masked the odor then. Now, inexplicably, the dragon had politely inquired about fighting.

Its breath carried a nauseating fish-rot stench. That she’d only raised a barrier instead of vomiting outright was already showing restraint.

Ye Qingshang\’s silent action enraged Tao Zhi. Abandoning conversation, it dove underwater and resurfaced moments later clutching the luminous pearl.

The dragon’s body expanded severalfold, dominating the entire water body. Waves churned violently as the surface rose into a swirling vortex, encasing both Ye Qingshang and Tao Zhi within a watery curtain.

\"Little girl, you possess remarkable courage,\" the voice echoed in her mind. \"But I’m old now and won’t flaunt seniority. Endure ten strikes without falling, and the pearl is yours.\"

*Ten strikes? I could withstand twenty*, Ye Qingshang thought.

Spiritual power coalesced at her fingertips, materializing into a longsword. Its radiant glow sharpened the frost in her eyes.

She lifted her right hand, the blade slicing through emptiness as it thrust straight at Tao Zhi’s scaled form…

\"Manifesting matter from spiritual power?\" Beyond the Illusionary Battle Arena, Yu Songshang rose from the high platform, weathered face etched with astonishment. \"Jiwei, it seems your disciple’s cultivation is extraordinary.\"

Ning Jiwei replied impassively, \"The sect leader flatters her. Given her innate talent, this level is expected.\"

Yu Songshang stroked his beard. \"You underestimate her, Jiwei. Not even the elders’ top disciples wield such advanced spells effortlessly. So young, yet she may one day surpass us old…\"

\"Wait—what’s happening?\"

The crystal sphere, previously displaying their duel, plunged into darkness. External spiritual power proved futile against the sudden obscurity.

Meanwhile, confusion gripped Ye Qingshang. \"Ten strikes passed. Do you renege?\"

Tao Zhi inexplicably refused to yield the pearl after her defense. Instead, it fixed her with a stare, murky eyes swirling with unreadable emotion.

Ye Qingshang squirmed under its gaze: *What ails this dragon? It stares as if I’m the monster here!*

\"Little girl,\" Tao Zhi’s conflicted voice pierced her thoughts, \"why does another’s spiritual power merge with yours? So seamlessly blended… Have you cultivated another sect’s techniques?\" It shook its head. \"Impossible. Even foreign techniques would channel your own power. Dual spiritual energies coexisting… Unprecedented. A unique cultivation? No… That can’t be…\"

The mental barrage worsened Ye Qingshang’s headache. Watching the dragon’s bewildered self-debate, a single thought formed: *Is this creature simple-minded?*

Finally, Tao Zhi resolved itself. \"Little girl, I’ve reconsidered. Show me your inner core, and the pearl is yours.\"

\"Sworn?\" For cultivators, the inner core anchored their practice—its strength dictated their potential. Though housed within the heart, experts could shield it. Allowing inspection was feasible… if Tao Zhi kept its word.

Tao Zhi nodded. \"I swear.\"

Having its oath, Ye Qingshang agreed.

Ye Qingshang never expected that when she withdrew her spiritual power to let Tao Zhi examine her inner core, the barrier within the water domain would suddenly shift, covering the surface with densely packed spells. A crushing pressure surged forth before she could even utter a question. Darkness swallowed her vision as she fainted.

Ye Qingshang: …After all, I was too naive.

Beyond the water domain, the watery veil obscured all view of the interior.

Unable to restrain his curiosity, Mu Huaiyun focused his gaze intently.

The water veil abruptly shimmered with silver light. In an instant, it yanked him into the watery realm.