Li Shuang's gaze remained calm. She suddenly stepped forward.
Sheng Yuan flinched instinctively.
But she didn't strike him. She simply reached out and removed the tassel from his sword.
"Senior Sister!" Sheng Yuan shouted, stunned.
Li Shuang's tone was even. "I searched far and wide to find the materials for your Shenshui Sword. I also found this tassel in the market—it has a calming effect over time. Sheng Yuan, I won't ask you to return the materials. But since you now look down on me, I assume you also look down on this tassel. I'm taking back what's mine."
She closed her hand around the tassel—and it crumbled into powder.
Sheng Yuan's heart trembled.
That tassel… it was the birthday gift she had given him. He'd once complained his sword looked too plain, so she scoured the entire market to find that tassel just for him.
Now, she had destroyed it with her own hand.
He looked at Li Shuang.
Her expression remained utterly composed, as if she had crushed something insignificant.
But Sheng Yuan couldn't help but wonder—
By taking it back… did she mean the tassel?Or everything between them?
His hand shook.
He didn't understand. She was the one in the wrong—why did she seem so self-assured?
Why did it feel like she was the one abandoning him?
Li Shuang didn't look at him again. She instead glanced at the progress bar of the Heaven and Earth Furnace in her consciousness—it had reached 1%. A faint, nearly imperceptible smile tugged at her lips.
The tassel hadn't been a powerful artifact, but she hadn't truly destroyed it. She had pretended to crush it, then slipped it into the furnace instead.
Even a small item like that could contribute to the furnace's progress.
From the sidelines, Ye Zhaozhao watched carefully. Her eyes narrowed slightly.
She whispered to herself, "System, check the current negative emotion value."
No one knew this—but Ye Zhaozhao wasn't from this world.
She was a transmigrator, bound to a parasitic system.
Once she bound herself to a "host," the system would absorb that person's negative emotions—converting them into cultivation energy for her. The stronger the emotions, the more power she gained. Even better, over time she could steal that person's luck and talent.
And Li Shuang… was the perfect host.
According to the system, Li Shuang had sky-high destiny, near-max luck, and peerless talent. She was, by all definitions, a Heaven's chosen heroine.
But Ye Zhaozhao was the accident that would rewrite her fate.
She had latched onto Li Shuang without hesitation—slandering her, isolating her, manipulating everyone around her.
As Li Shuang fell deeper into despair, Zhaozhao's cultivation soared.
And now, if Li Shuang were to die… she would absorb all of her luck and fully replace her.
Though Li Shuang had returned alive from the snow mountain, Zhaozhao wasn't worried.
She had plenty of time to keep harvesting negativity.
Sheng Yuan's accusations should've been enough to trigger a new emotional surge in Li Shuang.
She checked the system interface again, expecting a nice harvest.
But then—her expression froze.
"Negative Emotion Value: 0."
What?!
Zero?!
She had drained all previous negativity before. She had been waiting for this very moment to collect more!
But Li Shuang hadn't generated even a single point?
This couldn't be!
How could that useless Sheng Yuan fail to stir her up?
Ye Zhaozhao gritted her teeth and stepped forward.
She said softly, "Senior Sister, I don't blame you. That day on the mountain, there were too many snow monsters. It was normal to be afraid. I remember Long Yan calling you to save me, and you shouted at him. The sword spirit couldn't disobey its master, so he had no choice but to leave with you. Senior Sister, Long Yan didn't mean to defy you—he just wanted to protect me. Don't be mad at him, okay?"
She smiled slightly in triumph.
After all, she had convinced Long Yan to strike the killing blow. Surely that betrayal would wound Li Shuang deeply.
Surely… that would crack her heart.
Even Sheng Yuan added fuel to the fire. "A sword spirit like Long Yan was wasted on you!"
But Li Shuang only smiled.
She held out her hand—and the Longyin Sword appeared in it.
Ye Zhaozhao's eyes lit up with greed.
There were many sword embryos in the Sword Pavilion. All disciples received one at random upon joining. After that, how powerful the sword became depended on the user's effort and fate.
Li Shuang, with her immense luck, had forged the Dragon Roar Sword into a top-tier weapon.
Ye Zhaozhao, by contrast, had received a weak sword embryo. Despite her efforts, she had never managed to awaken its spirit. She had long since tossed it aside.
That sword was nothing compared to Dragon Roar.
And yet…
Due to sect rules, she couldn't just take Li Shuang's sword—even if Long Yan had betrayed his master. But if Li Shuang died…
Then she could "rightfully" claim the sword.
She had counted on that outcome.
But now…
Li Shuang gazed at her coldly. "You really are something, Ye Zhaozhao. You even convinced my sword spirit to betray me."
Zhaozhao put on an innocent expression. "Senior Sister, what are you talking about? Long Yan only wanted to save me. How is that betrayal?"
A smirk formed at the corner of Li Shuang's lips. "A sword that turns against its master—I wouldn't dare use it again. I don't want the Dragon Roar Sword anymore."