After My Paranoid Act to Woo My Cold Master Failed - Chapter 16

The blood-red sword light was reflected in Shen Shuheng’s pupils. Her expression remained indifferent, as if the light flying toward her was something ordinary.

Qi Yi narrowed his eyes, waiting for the exhilarating sensation of the opponent’s warm blood splattering across his face. Suddenly, Shen Shuheng’s figure blurred, and she vanished from the spot.

The spectators widened their eyes, discovering that the result was not what they had expected. She had disappeared, and their eyes could not track how she had done it. Using her bizarre footwork, she had moved behind him.

Shen Shuheng swung her sword to strike her opponent. Sensing the move, Qi Yi spun around and raised his sword to block. Shen Shuheng’s previous opponents were all from within the sect; their swordsmanship generally followed regular patterns and was easy to predict during combat.

This opponent was different. Every move he made lacked a specific form; his sword had been honed in extreme danger, each strike seeking only to precisely kill the enemy. The silver blade crashed into the blood-red one, producing a piercing metallic screech. Shen Shuheng could feel a thick murderous aura from his blade it was a weapon that had swallowed many lives.

Her opponent used a massive great sword, and every swing carried the force of moving mountains. Shen Shuheng struggled to resist; after all, there was a significant gap between their cultivation realms. Meeting him head-on with brute force was not a wise way to win.

She blurred and vanished from his sight again. When she reappeared, she greeted her opponent with stacks of talismans. A continuous stream of charms drifted toward Qi Yi and exploded against him. Bright yellow flames engulfed him. With a flash of sword light, he cleaved an exit through the fire and lunged out.

Now! Shen Shuheng seized the opportunity. A silver sword light flared, leaving a gash across his chest.

After being wounded by Shen Shuheng’s blade, the opponent laughed instead of turning angry. The laugh pulled at the scar on his face, making it look like a centipede crawling across his skin. He bared his white teeth, which were slick with saliva.

The opponent closed in to engage her in a frantic struggle. Shen Shuheng raised her sword to defend. She discovered that although his sword strikes were powerful, his speed was no match for hers, he was always one step slower. She could use this to win.

Shen Shuheng stepped back and rapidly flicked her sword, creating a flurry of sword blossoms. The light flared like a towering wave of snow, rolling toward the man. He tried desperately to block, but strands of sword light constantly slipped past his guard; several bloody gashes had already appeared on his body.

Just as Shen Shuheng thought, his sword simply couldn’t keep up with hers. He had immense power but had sacrificed speed.

The Sword Rises: A Thousand Drifting Snowdrifts. Shen Shuheng unleashed this strike repeatedly. The man could only see overwhelming waves of snow attacking him; he could block one strike, but not dozens.

Although Shen Shuheng’s realm was lower, she possessed Five Spiritual Roots. She absorbed several times more spiritual energy than a cultivator of the same level, so the actual gap between them wasn’t that massive. In the time it took for a single breath, Shen Shuheng could swing her sword ten times, while the man could only swing three.

Shen Shuheng knew the power of her individual strikes couldn’t match his, so she swung relentlessly, layering all her techniques. Quantity produced a qualitative change.

The spectators stared at Shen Shuheng’s sword-hand. They had never seen such a fast blade; only a style like this could be called “swift as lightning.” At this moment, Qi Yi looked like a mortal surrounded by snow wolves he could block one, but the others would seize the chance to bite him fiercely.

The man was forced back step by step by Shen Shuheng’s sword qi until his heels were over the edge of the arena. All of Shen Shuheng’s sword qi converged into a single strike, like a white dragon roaring as it lunged at him. The silver light pierced through Qi Yi’s abdomen, and blood gushed out like a fountain as he fell backward off the platform.

“Shen Shuheng wins!” the referee shouted.

The turn of events was so sudden that many spectators stared with wide mouths, unable to believe what they were seeing. They rubbed their eyes in disbelief. Qi Yi had actually lost—all their spirit stones were gone.

Shen Shuheng immediately spotted the snowy-white figure in the crowd. Her Master sat there like a cold moon that had fallen to the mortal realm. She sheathed her sword and ran toward her.

Fu Xueke stood up and walked toward her disciple. “Master, I won!” Shen Shuheng’s eyes sparkled brilliantly as she excitedly hugged her Master.

Fu Xueke allowed the girl’s soft body to press against her. As usual, she rested her hand on the girl’s head. The cool, soft sensation of the dark hair came from her palm as she slowly stroked her disciple’s head, a touch of tenderness appearing on her cold face.

“Master, did we earn a lot of spirit stones this time? I wonder if it’s enough for the teleportation array,” Shen Shuheng said.

“It should be enough. We can leave soon. But before we depart, I have one thing to do,” Fu Xueke said, the softness in her eyes instantly vanishing. She was going to kill Manager Ye.

Shen Shuheng nodded. She agreed with whatever her Master said.

“Come and get the winnings!” Yue Bai waved at them, signaling for them to come over. When she placed her bet, she hadn’t truly thought Shen Shuheng would win; she only did it out of guilt because she felt responsible for the match.

The Yuheng group walked over. Several small mountains of spirit stones were piled on the counter, radiating a dazzling light.

“So many…” Chu Qingshui sighed, her eyes sparkling. As a poor sword cultivator, she was truly covetous of such wealth.

“You like spirit stones?” Gu Mian noticed that Chu Qingshui’s eyes were brighter than the stones themselves.

“Of course.”

“Come home with me next time, and I’ll give you even more than this,” Gu Mian said with a smile.

Chu Qingshui happily patted her sword. “Really? Then I’ll have enough money to decorate my wife and make her pretty.”

Gu Mian’s face darkened immediately. “Since when do you have a wife?”

“Don’t you see her?” Chu Qingshui waved her sword in front of Gu Mian’s eyes. “We step on her every time we go out,” Chu Qingshui explained seriously. She wouldn’t allow Gu Mian to ignore her “wife.” “Wife, you’ve worked hard. Next time I have money, I’ll dress you up beautifully and never let you feel inferior in front of other swords.”

Gu Mian was left speechless. Shen Shuheng looked at Chu Qingshui with a complex expression. While sword cultivators often called their swords “wife,” there were times when it was better not to say it like that. Fortunately, she didn’t have that habit.

“She is the one who gave me the pill.”

The City Lord looked at the person his subordinate was pointing at. Contrary to his expectations, it was a young girl. “Where did this little Daoist obtain the Nine-Rotation Soul-Restoration Pill? Can you introduce that person to me?” he asked urgently.

Shen Shuheng was surprised. “I refined it myself.”

The City Lord froze, looking at her skeptically. “You refined it?”

“Naturally,” Shen Shuheng replied.

“My daughter desperately needs this pill to save her life. Please, if you can help, I will give you anything you desire,” the City Lord said. He suspected she was a grand expert in disguise.

“I can. How many do you need?” The Nine-Rotation Soul-Restoration Pill could bring back a stray soul or regrow a soul that wasn’t too severely damaged. Shen Shuheng didn’t know which condition the City Lord’s daughter had, but anything involving the soul was a tricky matter.

The group followed the City Lord to his mansion. “I need twenty pills. Once successful, you may take your pick from my treasure vault. Also,” the City Lord handed her a storage bag, “this contains the spirit stones you paid to enter the city, plus an extra million high-grade spirit stones.”

Shen Shuheng took the bag. The moment she touched it, she felt a surge of spiritual energy—she had never seen so many stones. “Rest assured and refine the pills. I will personally look after your companions,” the City Lord said.

Shen Shuheng nodded and turned to find her Master, wanting her company while she refined. She searched the mansion but couldn’t find her. She asked the other disciples, but they didn’t know either. Shen Shuheng had no choice but to enter the book space alone.

Meanwhile, Fu Xueke stood in the middle of the bustling street. Her divine sense swept through the city, and she immediately located Manager Ye in a tavern. In the blink of an eye, she appeared there.

Manager Ye sat at a rosewood table with several jars of wine. The City Lord wanted to cripple him and throw him out; his father had begged for mercy, but he had still lost his position. Angrily, he smashed a wine jar onto the floor. “I’d better not run into you again!”

Fu Xueke arrived just in time to see this. Manager Ye tried to pour another drink, only to find the remaining jars empty. He turned to call the waiter but saw a white-clothed woman appearing out of thin air.

His hair stood on end, and his legs began to shake. “What do you want? If you dare touch me, my father is the City Lord’s confidant, he won’t—”

“I am here for your life.” The snowy-white sword light pierced through the man’s throat. Before the blood could spray out, it was frozen solid by the icy sword qi.

The people in the tavern watched with satisfaction; this man had thrown his weight around for far too long, and today someone had finally punished him. A pale soul drifted from Manager Ye’s body, attempting to flee. Fu Xueke’s gaze was sharp; she pointed a finger, and the soul was pinned in place.

Her sword flew from her hand and circled the soul. With a flash of light, the soul transformed into a plume of green smoke and vanished from the world forever.

Shen Shuheng refined the pills alone in the space. After being apart from her Master for only a short while, she already missed her. She wanted to be with her Master every single day. She accelerated her refining pace, wanting to find her Master as soon as possible.

When Shen Shuheng finished and emerged from the space, she saw her Master waiting for her outside. A wave of warmth flowed through her heart.