The power of Demonic Cultivators is born from all kinds of negative emotions.
They refuse to suffer themselves, so they force others to suffer in their place.
But the moment a Demonic Cultivator begins to suffer personally, drawing strength from their own pain, their power skyrockets once again.
Two thousand percent.
The current "Qin Rushui" was now beyond the suppression of even ordinary Immortals.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAA—!!!"
"Qin Rushui" roared, his heart overflowing with endless rage, jealousy, and hatred.
As the price for gaining this power, he had completely lost his sanity. All he wanted now was to destroy everything in front of him.
He would not stop until his strength was exhausted, unless someone stopped him first.
"Shut up!"
A slap descended from the sky, smashing "Qin Rushui's" head straight into the ground.
Still…
He really had grown stronger.
Even "Ye Ling" could no longer deal any truly effective damage to the current "Qin Rushui." The situation had become troublesome.
It wasn't that the Avatar didn't want to end things quickly. The problem was that "Qin Rushui" was like an unkillable cockroach, only growing fiercer the longer the fight dragged on.
Ye Ling's body had its limits. If this continued, it would very likely collapse from overload.
Right now, it felt like fighting an Immortal with nothing but a sheet of paper. Of course it was uncomfortable… No, it was more that she had too many constraints.
Ye Ling had suggested risking injury to land one ruthless blow on "Qin Rushui," but the Avatar refused.
If the attack was too strong, Ye Ling's body might be ruined outright. If it was too weak, it would be no better than what she was already doing.
If not for that, she wouldn't have bothered humiliating "Qin Rushui," hoping he might lose control and end himself.
"AAAAAAAH!"
Buried in the ground, "Qin Rushui" erupted with overwhelming Baleful Qi. His twin bodies braced and shot forward, slamming toward "Ye Ling."
"Get lost!"
"Ye Ling" didn't take the hit head-on. Instead, she executed a clean sequence of "Receive, Transform, Release," redirecting "Qin Rushui" straight into the neighboring mountain peak.
BOOM!!!
The entire peak shattered on impact.
The next instant, through the thick clouds of dust, "Qin Rushui" charged at "Ye Ling" again.
"Does this ever end?!"
"Ye Ling" was truly irritated now. This time, she didn't bother receiving the attack. She shot into the sky and began drawing Talismans.
Reluctant as she was to admit it, things had reached the point where the Avatar had to use some real skill.
Originally, she had planned to handle this fight in a playful mood, leaving a good impression on her excellent Grand-Disciple.
But "Qin Rushui" refused to cooperate, powering up again and again until she had no choice but to get serious.
Ten thousand meters in the air, "Ye Ling" wrote and drew without pause.
Behind her, "Qin Rushui" clung tightly to her trail. Perhaps because he had lost his mind, every time he was about to reach her, he would miss by a hair.
Physical attacks only required coating the body with a layer of True Essence.
But if the Avatar wanted to use spells, she had to channel them through Ye Ling's body. The process was far more complicated.
It was like forcing the water of a massive dam through a thin pipe. If you didn't want the pipe to burst, you had to let the water in slowly.
At "Qin Rushui's" current level, with Ye Ling's narrow "pipe," it naturally took time.
One minute.
The Avatar drew for a full minute.
She swore that in her entire life, she had never spent this long drawing Talismans against an enemy.
With this alone, "Qin Rushui" had more than enough to brag about. He was hardly inferior to that Immortal.
When "Ye Ling" finished the final stroke, the entire world seemed to freeze. He could clearly feel everything around him slowing down.
At that moment, "Qin Rushui" was less than half a meter away from him, yet he was completely motionless.
It wasn't that his perception had sped up. The world itself seemed to have stopped.
"What are you thinking? We're the ones who got faster!"
"Ye Ling" said.
"???"
"Is it that hard to understand?"
"Please enlighten me, Grandmaster."
"If we're faster, doesn't that mean everyone else is slower?"
"…"
The Nine Heavens Relativity Art. Truly terrifying.
"Alright. Time to finish this guy."
"Ye Ling" drew out the Small Formless Sword, a trace of emotion flashing across his face.
Soon, the Small Formless Sword began to glow. Ye Ling's True Qi was finally sufficient to activate it.
"You've only cultivated the Talisman Dao, so your body is only compatible with this one qi circulation path. Otherwise, I could've taught you the Sword Dao."
As "Ye Ling" explained this to Ye Ling, he stepped forward like an ordinary mortal and thrust the blade toward "Qin Rushui's" brow.
The Avatar was only controlling Ye Ling's body, not possessing him completely.
It was like playing a game. You could control the character to perform preset actions, but you couldn't execute moves beyond what the system allowed.
Clang!
Even though "Qin Rushui" couldn't move, the Baleful Qi surging from his body was enough to block the sharp edge of the Small Formless Sword.
After all, this was Immortal-level power. A high-grade Spirit Artifact was no longer impressive at that level.
Still…
"Ye Ling" wasn't weak. He was only limited in output, not lacking strength.
Bit by bit, the Small Formless Sword pierced through "Qin Rushui's" protective Baleful Qi.
"Tch… killing a rookie is this much trouble."
"Ye Ling" muttered in dissatisfaction.
The Avatar swore she would never bring him along for a fight like this again.
Being this restricted felt awful.
Of course, she didn't want a one-sided stomp either. That would be boring.
What she truly wanted was a fierce, evenly matched battle.
Otherwise, she could have just suppressed her cultivation and fought normally.
This kind of self-binding fight was no fun at all.
"Not good!"
Just as "Ye Ling" finally pierced through "Qin Rushui's" protective Demonic Qi, he sensed a familiar aura racing toward them at incredible speed from afar.
It was Yueli.
The Avatar reacted instantly and withdrew all her power in a split second.
"Hey… ahhh!!!"
Ye Ling, who had been on the verge of victory, immediately plummeted from ten thousand meters in the air.
The Avatar wasn't abandoning him. Just before he hit the ground, she released a trace of power to cushion him.
But "Qin Rushui" in the sky followed him down.
"Erasure!"
Just as "Qin Rushui's" hand was about to touch Ye Ling, layers of profound incantations suddenly appeared. The distance between them became infinite.
Starting from his feet, an invisible force devoured "Qin Rushui," wiping him away cleanly, as if erased by an enormous eraser.
Before Ye Ling could react, Ai Yueli appeared in front of him.
"Are you alright?"
Ai Yueli's face was slightly pale. She was not a Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden. Erasing Immortal-level power came at a cost.
Still, the strain was within what she could bear. She carefully examined Ye Ling's body, her beautiful golden eyes filled with concern.
"I'm fine."
Warmth spread through Ye Ling's chest. He smiled and took Ai Yueli's hands.
"Fourth Master came just in time. I'm perfectly fine."
To be honest, too much had happened in that instant. Even he needed a moment to process it.
By then, Ai Yueli had already finished checking him over.
"As long as you're alright."
Ai Yueli let out a soft breath. She didn't pull her hands away and gently asked, "What happened here?"
Ai Yueli didn't think much of it, but Ye Ling had to be careful. The Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden's Avatar was still watching.
If she realized he had any improper thoughts toward his Master, he would be doomed.
After confirming Ai Yueli wasn't about to act, he quickly let go of her hands and began explaining what had happened.
When it came to his final battle with "Qin Rushui," he used an excuse.
"Fourth Master, I was born into the Ye Clan. It's reasonable for me to have some means of self-defense, right?"
Ye Ling looked at Ai Yueli nervously. He deliberately said only "Ye Clan," without any additional qualifiers, hoping she would fill in the rest herself.
The Cultivation World was vast. There were surely many Ye Clans. "Ye" wasn't a rare surname.
Besides, it had already been proven that as long as his Masters deemed something "reasonable," the System would arrange a fitting background for him. It would be a waste not to use such a benefit.
Sure, that might mean suddenly acquiring parents he didn't recognize. But right now, this was the only way to explain himself.
"So you really are that true dragon of the Ye Clan, the one with prophetic dreams."
Ai Yueli's expression showed that she had expected this.
She had never investigated Ye Ling's background. She trusted him enough, and she didn't care about his origins. She had already accepted him. Even if he were from the Demonic Sect, she would still guide him back to the right path.
With talent like his, why would he waste it on the Demonic Sect instead of cultivating properly with her?
"Since this is the Ye Clan's method, I won't ask further."
Ye Ling felt quite satisfied with her understanding attitude.
What surprised him, however, was that the System showed no sign of upgrading.
???
What was going on?
System, System… are you lagging?
Ye Ling couldn't figure it out, and the System gave no notification.
After all, when he had previously broken off his engagement, his identity had already been established. There was no need for the System to confirm it again.
"Fourth Master, let's head into the city first."
Since no upgrade was coming, Ye Ling wasn't going to stand around waiting.
"Mm."
Ai Yueli nodded.
Notably, in just that short time, her complexion had already returned to normal.
On the way back to Tianqiong City Square, Ye Ling told Ai Yueli about something amusing that had happened earlier.
"Fourth Master, when I just stepped off the teleportation array, a little girl called me Dad… Daddy…"
Suddenly, Ye Ling froze.
Where's my Eve?
...
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