Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 138 - 111: Seizing Love with a Drawn Blade

October 15, 2017

"These days are really... so hard to get through."

In the morning, Qian Ye looked at his distressing dark circles in the bright mirror and deeply envied his younger sister.

That little girl who was resting comfortably in seclusion on the Golden Silver Mountain.

If possible, I'd really like to switch places with her...

As he was thinking, he heard a cold snort from outside.

"How late do you want to sleep in? Can sleeping help you win the championship? Can it increase your Cultivation!? Are you cultivating the Great Dream Heart Sutra!"

Qian Ye was speechless, beginning to search the room for tea, thinking to himself that if he splashed the tea on his face later, maybe he could end this miserable life.

——

However, Qian Ye's troubles were far from over.

In the afternoon, after exhausting himself to complete the enhanced special training plan set by Qian Long, Qian Ye finally secured himself a half-day of rest.

"Hmm, let's go back and have a good sleep, then continue tomorrow morning."

Qian Ye forced a bitter smile and responded weakly, "Do you think, after doing the Spirit Gathering Circulation twenty times in a row, it's still possible for someone to fall asleep? I'm so awake now my brain is starting to swell."

Qian Long waved dismissively, "Since you're so awake, go take a look at the data on the Li and Lu families, know your enemy as well as yourself, and you'll emerge from a hundred battles unscathed."

"...Dad, when you participated in the Cyan Cloud Grand Competition, was your training also this inhuman?"

Qian Long was stunned, thinking that back then, he was a prodigious talent, unaware that the Lu Family had a dark horse; he was confident and assured before the competition. How could he be like this fool, practicing until his brain turned to mush? The day before the Cyan Cloud Grand Competition, he was still at the Drunken Immortal Tower flirting with young ladies...

But naturally, he wasn't foolish enough to say such things to his son. Qian Long merely kept a stern face and said, "Even tougher than now!"

"And yet didn't win the championship."

"..."

Qian Ye said, "It seems that blindly training hard doesn't guarantee a championship; it might even be counterproductive. I think moderate rest is..."

Qian Long's face turned livid and he said, "It might also be that my training intensity wasn't sufficient, so unless you want your training to double, shut your mouth!"

——

Drunken Immortal Tower

The afternoon sun shone through the glass window into the top-floor room, slightly soothing Qian Ye's throbbing temples.

Twenty Spirit Gathering Circulations... it's a wonder the old man came up with that. Even a vegetable would become more energetic than a lunatic... Every part of his body was exhausted, yet he couldn't sleep or meditate. Besides lying in the room basking in the sun, Qian Ye really didn't want to do anything else.

But the more it was like this, the more people came to disturb him.

Knock, knock.

After two knocks, the door to the room opened, and a charming and lovely girl walked in, pouted, sat lightly next to Qian Ye, and nudged him.

"Hey, I've been waiting for you for a long time."

Qian Ye stared blankly at the girl who walked in. His highly stimulated nerves made him involuntarily take in every detail of her, yet his exhausted state made it impossible for him to process the scene in his mind. For a moment, Qian Ye felt that her hair, eyes, skin... every part was so familiar yet so unfamiliar.

"I waited for you from noon until now, and you were just here sleeping... don't you think you should say something?"

"...What?" Qian Ye dumbly asked, and then saw the girl's brows furrow. She stood up and was about to leave.

Even though his mind was a mess, Qian Ye instinctively felt something was wrong and quickly stood up to stop her.

"Wait, wait... Yu'er, hang on a moment, I'm... my head's a bit unclear right now, just wait for me to calm down."

With that, Qian Ye took a deep breath and did a Spirit Gathering Circulation, and this time, two streams of nosebleed spurted out—yet at the same time, the girl's identity finally clearly emerged in his mind.

Zhou Yu, 17 years old, the only daughter of the Celestial Fragrance Pavilion Master Zhou Yujin, innocent and gentle, a rare gem of a girl. Also, she's been his girlfriend for a year.

"Yu'er, um, is there something you need?"

Zhou Yu turned around with some disbelief: "Is there something I need... didn't we agree before to have lunch together at noon today, and you..."

Qian Ye said, "Lunch? Oh, right... are you hungry? I'll order some food right away."

"I'm not hungry!" Zhou Yu had just said that when her stomach let out a soft growl, causing the girl to blush, but she quickly became angry again, "I've been waiting for you, but you didn't even send me a message!"

"Sorry, I probably forgot," Qian Ye said, "Lately, my dad suddenly got it in his head to give me special training, it's been exhausting."

"Hmph, so you let me roast under the sun for an hour?"

"Sorry, sorry... Tea?"

Seeing Qian Ye's truly off appearance, with his nose still bleeding, Zhou Yu suppressed her dissatisfaction and asked with concern, "Are you okay?"

"If you consider only sleeping two hours every three days, exhausting yourself to the limit with Spirit Gathering Circulation when tired, and being harshly criticized for the slightest lapse during training, to be okay, then I'm fine..."

"It's so tough... How long does this have to last?"

Qian Ye gave a wry smile, "At least until the end of December, for the Cyan Cloud Grand Competition. If I win the championship, that's fine; if I don't, this misery will never end..."

Zhou Yu looked a bit forlorn, "Then, what about the 20th? Will you get a break?"

Qian Ye said, "If my father can't quickly suffer from a stroke, heart attack, or a heavenly tribulation before the end of this week, then pretty much don't count on me resting this month, next month, or the month after that."

"..."

"And even if I can manage to get a bit of rest, I won't have the energy to play with you. I just want to lie in a quiet place, soak up the sun, to cope with the training the next day... or simply be struck by a thunderbolt from a clear sky and end this long, painful life."

"..."

Qian Ye sighed and said to Zhou Yu, "I don't know what plans you have for the 20th, but to be honest, I really don't have the energy to accompany you."

Zhou Yu was somewhat surprised, but more so disappointed, "You... don't know what plans there are on the 20th?"

"Uh... is Celestial Fragrance Pavilion having a sale?"

"That day is my 18th birthday."

"..."

"We had agreed to travel together on our swords, climb mountains, see the sea, and cook a nice meal for each other, so..."

Qian Ye was silent for a while, "So, um..."

Zhou Yu forced a smile, "If there's really no time, just forget it. After all... the Cyan Cloud competition is more important."

Qian Ye wanted to say something, but a wave of deep exhaustion flooded over him, leaving him unable to speak.

"Hmm, thanks... I think I want to rest a little longer."

Zhou Yu's smile became even more forced, and she nodded, "Then... I won't disturb you."

——

October 20, 2017

Qian Ye's mood had become extremely bad, his whole body filled with anxiety.

No matter how thick-skinned and optimistic he usually was, being tormented by his father Qian Long for a week straight, he was now on the brink of collapse.

Especially when left alone to "study" by Qian Long, unable to alleviate stress by cultivating while arguing with his father, Qian Ye became increasingly furious, and even while practicing Qiankun Throw, his True Essence was infused with raging fire.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh...

Three glistening, blue Spirit Stones were flung out like lightning and exploded mid-air, igniting three cobalt-blue fireballs. However, the fireballs quickly extinguished, leaving behind a few ash-white remnants on the ground.

"Damn it!"

Qian Ye angrily punched the ground, shaking the surrounding area for dozens of feet. This Qiankun Throw requires fully burning the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy within the Spirit Stones to unleash impressive power in an instant, but his recent three-strike combo only burned at most half of the Spiritual Energy.

Additionally, the Qiankun Throw differs from low-end techniques like Flower Rain, as it can create resonance between multiple Spirit Stones when burned consecutively, drastically increasing explosive power. Generally, this resonance probability is very small, about one percent, making it hard to control. Therefore, a large number of Spirit Stones must be thrown simultaneously to achieve the resonance explosion. However, during the past week's training, Qian Ye had proven to be a rare Kunlun Slave in this world... after throwing tens of thousands of Spirit Stones, resonance occurred only a few times, truly inhumane.

Aiming for a miracle with a single throw, Qian Ye once again hurled three Spirit Stones, but not only did they fail to resonate, they couldn't even burn properly, frustrating him even more.

Just when Qian Ye was about to explode from frustration, he heard footsteps approaching from afar. Without bothering to discern, he instinctively roared, "Damn it, can't you just let me be alone for a moment!"

"Ah, s-sorry..."

A slender voice like a frightened little animal finally brought Qian Ye back to his senses.

"Ah sorry, I didn't know it was you, I thought it was that old man..." Qian Ye said, becoming more annoyed, "Sorry, I'm in a really bad mood today, I can't play with you... you should go back."

Zhou Yu was startled by his words, "But, but today is..."

"I know today is your birthday!" Qian Ye scratched his head anxiously, "But I've been under intense training with my father for days, haven't had time to get you a gift, nor in the mood for sightseeing with you, what do you want me to do? Sever our father-son relationship?!"

"I didn't..."

"Then please go back! I really don't have time today!"

Zhou Yu was spoken to tears, "I just wanted to have a meal with you... I made snacks you like in the morning, and you..."

Seeing his girlfriend cry, Qian Ye felt guilty, but the guilt quickly turned into more irritation, leaving him unable to say comforting words.

"I'm sorry but I'm not in the mood to eat."

"But..."

"I said I'm not in the mood!"

After shouting this, Qian Ye felt darkness overtaking his vision. Damn it, why was he yelling at his girlfriend for no reason? Was he sick?

However, it was too late to take it back. Zhou Yu couldn't hold back anymore, cried out, and turned to leave with her delicate food box.

Qian Ye tried several times to ask her to stay, to apologize, but he couldn't get any words out. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

He could only... watch with eyes wide open as the gentle girl, like autumn rain, left with a heart full of hurt.

As Zhou Yu's silhouette became more distant, and Qian Ye started to feel cold in his heart.

Suddenly, a sarcastic laugh reached his ears.

"A true scumbag of the highest order!"

Qian Ye turned his head in shock, and in the distance among the trees, he saw someone standing there, covered in heavy armor, with a voice thick with metallic resonance.