Chapter 4
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Chapter 4: Title
“Ye Qingshang…”
“Ye Qingshang, wake up…”
“I beg you…”
“Ye Qingshang…”
A low, choked voice echoed, distant yet near.
Ye Qingshang’s eyes snapped open. Gasping like a drowning fish, she scanned her surroundings. Not a soul in sight. Who had just called her?
No—someone *was* there. Lying right beside her…
Ye Qingshang: “Mu Huaiyun! Wake up!”
“Hmm…” Tao Zhi’s voice drifted from the void. “How did *he* get in?”
Ye Qingshang nearly laughed at the absurdity. *Do you not know?*
“What’s happening? Tao Zhi, what are you trying to do?”
“Merely inspecting your inner core. This is the Void Emptiness technique. Where you stand now *is* your inner core. By rights, no outsider should enter. Unless…” Tao Zhi’s tone turned sly. “This person shares an intimate bond with you? Is he… your lover?”
“Cough! Cough! Cough!” Mu Huaiyun awoke just in time to hear this, choking on air.
“Shameless old creature!” Ye Qingshang shot a furious glare upward.
Unfazed, Tao Zhi continued, “Look behind you. See that entrance? Take your… *lover*… inside.”
“What is that—” Ye Qingshang’s voice cut off abruptly.
Tao Zhi had silenced her. A sideways glance confirmed Mu Huaiyun suffered the same spell. Resigned, she led him toward the entrance as instructed.
Truly, she’d never heard of this Void Emptiness technique. Like a caught fish, she could only submit.
“Closer,” Tao Zhi commanded. “Raise your hands.”
They obeyed.
The nearness to the entrance prickled Ye Qingshang with unease. Before the feeling faded, a soft whisper seeped from the threshold—a hypnotic hum winding through her mind, her heart…
The same sobbing voice returned.
The scene dissolved. Ye Qingshang stood in shadowed gloom, deep within a cavern.
Crimson blood soaked the earth. Its source blurred into view: a woman, utterly lifeless, cradled in a man’s arms.
Spiritual power flowed ceaselessly from the man’s palm into her still form. Yet death held her fast. No matter how desperately he poured his energy into her, nothing stirred.
Ye Qingshang suddenly felt a wave of panic and moved closer, wanting to advise the man not to waste his efforts. But she had forgotten she was silenced, her words now slurred and unclear.
The man seemed to sense something and looked up, calling, "Ye Qingshang…"
That voice sounded so familiar…
Qiu Huayi: "A’shang!"
The surroundings abruptly brightened. Ye Qingshang snapped awake as if from a dream, staring dazedly at the person before her.
Only then did she realize there was no cave and no Tao Zhi. She was clearly outside the Illusionary Battle Arena, standing beside someone else.
Gazing at the white-robed figure with flowing sleeves, his expression as solemn as a snow-capped lotus, she choked back tears. "M-Master…"
*
"Ye Qingshang!" Anger simmered beneath Ning Jiwei’s voice.
"What did I tell you before entering the arena? I clearly said I didn’t care about winning. Your priority was gaining combat experience. That Tao Zhi has lingered in these matches for ages—it’s practically sentient! Exchanging blows would’ve been one thing, but why show him your inner energy?!"
"Master…"
Ye Qingshang replied meekly, "This disciple was wrong. I just… wanted to bring honor to you and our Frostbite Sect."
"Your intention is noted. Just don’t overextend yourself next time." Ning Jiwei’s expression softened slightly. "Tao Zhi used the Void-Seeing technique—it clouds the mind. Did you witness anything unusual?"
"Nothing." Just disjointed scenes even she couldn’t place. "But Master, what exactly is the Void-Seeing technique?"
"It was originally used to test one’s character and memories. But this art has been lost for generations. Whether it has other effects… I cannot say."
Ning Jiwei seemed to recall something. He seized Ye Qingshang’s wrist, channeling spiritual power to examine her.
Her eyes widened as she remembered her earlier spiritual power failure. She tried pulling her hand back but couldn’t break free.
Ye Qingshang thought: Oh no. Please don’t let Master discover anything.
Ning Jiwei released her hand, frowning. "Your spiritual power… shows no irregularities. Then why couldn’t you perform basic blocking spells in the Illusionary Battle Arena?"
Ye Qingshang stammered, "You… saw that. It was just a slip-up. I muddled the spell incantation. Everything worked fine afterward, Master. Please don’t worry."
Doubt lingered in Ning Jiwei’s eyes. "Truly?"
Ye Qingshang forced herself to answer, "Of course, Master. How would I dare deceive you?"
"Good. Remember this, Qingshang: I teach you not for fleeting glory. What matters is advancing your cultivation, broadening your insight, and upholding integrity."
Ye Qingshang bowed. "This disciple will remember."
Only after leaving and reaching a secluded spot did she exhale deeply.
Orphaned at ten, she’d been saved by her master and brought into the Frostbite Sect. Grief-stricken back then, she’d shut herself away for days. Patiently, her master had guided her through the shadows of loss until she regained her footing.
Others claimed Elder Ning ruled his disciples with stern discipline—that following him meant hardship.
But Ye Qingshang knew the truth: her master had always treated her with utmost kindness.
Even his strictest teachings focused solely on urging her cultivation forward.
With her past life’s death still unexplained and the situation uncertain… Those events in the arena, Tao Zhi’s talk of "dual spiritual energies"—she dismissed it as nonsense. Since she could manage it alone, why trouble her master?
"A’shang." Qiu Huayi’s voice cut through the air.
Ye Qingshang stumbled backward half a step. When had this girl appeared? Not a single rustle. Had her spiritual power really weakened this much?
“Oh dear,” Qiu Huayi linked her arm with Ye Qingshang’s, “You were just too lost in thought, A’shang! I called your name several times, and you didn’t hear me. Were you okay? I didn’t scare you, did I?”
After a pause, Qiu Huayi added, “Our A’shang was really impressive today! You finished the competition in the Illusionary Battle Arena early and secured first place. The other disciples admired you so much!”
“What? First place?” Was she being serious?
Ye Qingshang remembered that she had been affected by the Void Emptiness technique and had been in a daze when her master captured Tao Zhi and took her out of the Illusionary Battle Arena. Since she had left early, she thought that the first place would not be awarded to her.
After all, Mu Huaiyun was still inside!
Qiu Huayi narrowed her eyes. “A’shang, you didn’t believe it? Just go look at the leaderboard!”
When they reached the leaderboard, Ye Qingshang realized that Qiu Huayi was telling the truth. In big, golden letters, her name was right at the top, and alongside hers was another name—Mu Huaiyun.
She and Mu Huaiyun had both captured the same number of monsters—40—thereby sharing first place.
This was eerily similar to her past life, and Ye Qingshang found herself briefly confused.
“I told you, the first place must be our young master. Did you see it now?”
“What was there to be proud of? He wasn’t the only one in first place. I heard that Ye Qingshang from the Frostbite Sect even dared to challenge Tao Zhi and left the arena early. How could our young master compare?”
“Pfft, she only challenged Tao Zhi, and it didn’t mean she succeeded. Besides, I saw it all from outside; when Ye Qingshang left early, our young master had already matched her in capturing monsters. They must have run out of monsters to catch; otherwise, our young master would have beaten her.”
“What did you mean, ran out of monsters? That was clearly an excuse…”
A disciple from Yunshan Sect was arguing with disciples from other sects. Perhaps Mu Huaiyun’s image was so firmly established that even this watching disciple regarded him as number one.
Ye Qingshang shook her head slightly and accidentally caught sight of a figure under the shade of a tree, dressed in light blue.
Just as she thought, she walked slowly over.
It was just like when Mu Huaiyun approached her in her past life.
At that moment, Mu Huaiyun was lost in his thoughts.
He really couldn’t understand why he could have taken Ye Qingshang’s first-place position and made her second, yet after she left early, that voice in his mind echoed once more.
It said, “Stop.”
Before he could comprehend its meaning, a familiar pain shot through him from deep within his soul, and he fell to his knees, ultimately gritting his teeth and asking, “Why? You told me to protect Ye Qingshang, and I did exactly that.” Why did he still have to strike him?
The voice replied, “I told you that Ye Qingshang would win first place in the Illusionary Battle Arena at fifteen. Did you still remember that?”
Mu Huaiyun: “…So? I couldn’t take the first-place position?”
“Exactly.”
Mu Huaiyun: “You might as well say that everything she had was given to her by you! What kind of being were you to be so biased towards Ye Qingshang?!”
“It wasn’t bias; it was destiny. All of this was originally hers, and you did not need to covet it.”
Mu Huaiyun sneered.
A thunderclap struck deep in his soul.
Mu Huaiyun: …You were ruthless!
At some point, a figure appeared before him, and he snapped out of his thoughts to look up.
The light and shadows under the tree obscured the person’s features somewhat, but their delicate appearance remained unaffected. The person’s phoenix eyes slightly lowered, and their long eyelashes fluttered, presenting a cool demeanor.
No matter how he looked, he found them utterly irritating.
She stared fixedly at Mu Huaiyun. In the atmosphere, she softly spoke, somehow inexplicably uttering: "Don’t you want to fight me?"
Mu Huaiyun: …Had Ye Qingshang lost her mind?
