Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 72 - 63: Lost Something Precious Forever

War is cruel.

After a great battle, there is often no real winner. Whether losing or winning, one will be immersed in the emptiness and pain of licking their wounds for a very, very long time.

Shen Qingming now deeply understood the calls of those pacifists.

War is truly destined for mutual destruction.

Looking at Zhang Zhixi in front of her, whose face was ashen, Shen Qingming could feel no sense of victory at all, because the gazes gathered around were already like knives, spears, swords, halberds, axes, clubs, hooks, and forks, piercing through her sense of shame, making her wish she could explode on the spot.

Cat ears, cat paws, cat tail belt, and sweet, charming meows.

At the last moment, she still used that Spirit Cat Swordsmanship that she had originally planned to seal away forever.

The effect was surprisingly good. A move called Cat Snake successfully split into four illusions, causing Zhang Zhixi, who was then in the lead, to completely lose her target and, caught off guard, hand over the chance of victory.

At that time, Shen Qingming was actually also at her limit, having fought for 3 rounds and meeting the former Wind-Rising Realm peak genius girl Zhang Zhixi who did her utmost in the last round... After an intense fight, her True Essence was long gone, her body was also extremely exhausted, and the last Cat Snake move was almost impossible to perform completely. After the four illusions, Shen Qingming originally intended to use the Sword Qi Light Wave to directly sweep Zhang Zhixi out of the circle, but when the True Essence was circulating, she became dizzy, and had no choice but to use the least True Essence-consuming, but also the most embarrassingly explosive last move of Spirit Cat Swordsmanship, which specifically targeted Divine Sense... the Cat Cat Meow.

To ensure success, Shen Qingming went all out, instantly donning the entire Spirit Cat Swordsmanship set with extremely fast hand movements: cat ear headpiece, cat paw gloves, and cat tail belt. Accompanied by a sweet, charming meow, Shen Qingming felt she had lost something important forever...

"Well done, the first time in actual combat you managed to perform at over 57% efficiency. Given your natural talent, that’s an extraordinary performance and deserves praise."

Wang Jiu’s sincere compliment came just in time. Shen Qingming only twitched her mouth slightly, then asked, "Wang Jiu, is there a way to erase everyone’s memory on site?"

"Not currently, but..."

"Alright, never mind, I don’t need you after all."

Meanwhile, a chorus of joyous chatter that made one’s gums ache began to rise around. There were men and women, old and young, yet without exception, it was brimming with climactic tremors.

"Oh, oh~ my god, my god! What did I just see, tell me I’m not seeing things, not an illusion, right?"

"What was that!? So cute! Is that a cat? It must be a cat!"

"Those furry ears and paws, and that charming little face, clearly a hundred times, a thousand times cuter than a real cat!! I’m not going to make it, I’m going to faint..."

"Does anyone have a handkerchief? Someone, please! My nosebleed is kind of unstoppable!"

"Don’t close your eyes, no matter how sour they get, you absolutely cannot close them. You must imprint all of this in your eyeballs forever, and when I die, these eyes must become a Magical Treasure passed down through generations..."

"What just happened, I didn’t see everything, only heard a sound that made my heart and spirit flutter."

"You might as well die then, to miss such a rare sight in the world!"

"Fellow Daoists, don’t rush, according to the club’s rules, the Grade-Three’s grading test requires full video recording as documentation, to ensure fairness and justice. The Talisman is right next to me, allow me to fetch it for live playback."

A moment later, the tall, sturdy, and mature-looking middle-aged instructor sword cultivator brought over the Talisman from the side of the field, activated it with True Essence, and played the footage inside.

"Skip the front, don’t watch it, just watch the last part. We only need to see the last segment!"

So the earlier exciting segments of Shen Qingming overcoming Zhang Zhixi with the Eight Gates Sword Power, Zhang Zhixi countering Shen Qingming with a dual-sword attack were all discarded like worn shoes, and the footage came to the final moment, where Shen Qingming swayed her body, created four illusions, and took this opportunity to fully equip the Spirit Cat Suit, then...

"Meow~"

Accompanied by that familiar Spirit Cat sound, the dozens of people present collectively let out a sigh of relief akin to eating frozen watermelon in the dog days of summer, and then...

"Replay it quickly!"

"And let me make a copy, I also have a few Fixed Image Talismans..."

"Sell me a copy, I want one too!"

"Me too, me too!"

In no time, this Spirit Cat commotion not only did not subside but grew even fiercer, and even shortly afterward, mischievous outsiders came running from outside the hall to watch. As soon as they entered, they saw that cat-eared girl in the third replay, hearing that sweet, heart-melting Cat Cat Meow.

The next moment, those curious bystanders felt their knees go weak, their hearts ache, and then let out screams akin to moaning, "So cute~," attracting more gentlemen and comrades to appreciate.

As for Shen Qingming, surrounded in the very center, she was still wearing the complete Spirit Cat Suit, head held high, as if an isolated sage from this world, completely apart from all the clamor around, interpreting the alternative ostrich spirit with a look of utter desolation.

"Alright, quiet down!"

In the end, it was an unexpected figure who spoke up and subdued the scene.

Qian Yu, the third master of the Qian Family, fully operated his True Essence. With the augmentation of the Celestial Fortune Set, he successfully attracted everyone’s attention as this wealthy young master declared righteously, "The test is over, shouldn’t there be a result at least?" 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

The middle-aged instructor, who was holding a Talisman, suddenly realized: "Yes, yes, there should be a result. Fellow Daoist Shen Qingming won three consecutive matches, so of course, she passes smoothly. I’ll report the procedures when I return, and the certificate will be mailed to your residence by tomorrow at the latest. Okay, today’s test is all over, if there’s nothing else, everyone can go home."

After a pause, the middle-aged instructor gave a particularly "simple and honest" smile and said, "As for those who are interested, you can stay and watch the fifth replay with me!"

"I’m interested!"

"Me too!"

"Only an idiot would go back, right?!"

As the commotion seemed to start again, Qian Yu operated his True Essence, using the Heart Speech Technique to roar and quiet the entire hall.

"Everyone, stop!"

Taking advantage of the moment when everyone was intimidated, Qian Yu sternly said, "What on earth are you doing? Don’t you feel ashamed? Is a ranking test Talisman something you can freely display and replay? If it continues like this, who would dare to participate in your ranking test in the future? Isn’t rebroadcasting one’s special skills publicly making it known to all the world?!"

The middle-aged instructor, questioned by Qian Yu several times, had no words to respond. His tall figure suddenly curled up, turning his head away pretending not to see.

Qian Yu then looked at the others: "And you few who are causing a scene and making a ruckus, especially those who copied images with their Talismans, don’t you know you’re breaking the law?"

"Wh-what law? We just copied the images... We’ve already seen it, what’s the big deal."

Qian Yu sternly said, "Would you dare record images and sounds of a play or storytelling? Aren’t you afraid of being beaten up for it?!"

After a moment of silence, several people who had copied the images, unwillingly took out their Talismans and cleared them one by one.

Qian Yu nodded: "Very good, the beautiful scenes can be remembered and savored in your mind, but remember, it is limited to your mind. Representing it in any way without authorization is an infringement! Do you understand?!"

A few weary voices responded from opposite.

This commotion finally ended in a rough manner under Qian Yu’s sudden sternness.

As the crowd dispersed, Qian Yu carefully adjusted his attire while clearing his throat, especially locking his Qi Blood seriously to avoid blushing and showing an ugly look, then...

Then he found that the crucial figure he had been waiting for, Shen Qingming, had already packed up and was leaving with Wang Jiu.

"Wait, wait, wait!"

Qian Yu hurriedly called the two to stop.

"What do you want?!"

Shen Qingming, full of vigilance, though the blush on her face had not completely faded, became completely alert inside.

Regarding this young master of the Qian Family, because they had never interacted before, she didn’t particularly dislike him, but thinking of his past appearance with Li Xinyu, the ugly fatty, bidding for an Erotic Painting, she couldn’t harbor any goodwill. Seeing him approach now, she instinctively placed him in the category of perverts, considering that no matter what he said, she would refuse with a cold attitude, and then return to Shen Garden with Wang Jiu as quickly as possible, to silently lick her mental wounds of the day.

However, the next moment...

Qian Yu earnestly said, "Interested in making a fortune?"

Shen Qingming instinctively showed a moved expression but quickly restrained it, snorting coldly, "Not interested."

The young woman turned around and walked away after speaking, while Qian Yu, unhurried, said slowly behind her, "I don’t know what you saw just now, maybe a group of perverts, maybe an embarrassing farce, but in my eyes, in the eyes of someone from the Qian Family, what I see is a huge business opportunity! Although I just stopped the frenzy, please imagine what kind of high price those recorded Talismans could sell for? There were only twenty people in the hall who were so enthusiastic, what if there were two hundred or two thousand? QingCyan Cloud yun City has two million people, how big is this market?!"

As Qian Yu talked, Shen Qingming kept walking forward without looking back.

"Please trust my sincerity! Although we indeed had some contradictions before, nothing cannot be put aside in the face of money! Let’s cooperate, I can represent my family to provide financial and manpower support!"

Shen Qingming covered her ears tightly, resisting temptation with great effort, and walked quickly. Qian Yu, undeterred, explained his grand scheme of making money from behind.

On the other side, in an unnoticed corner of the hall.

Zhang Zhixi watched her boyfriend-to-be eagerly following behind the archenemy and leaving, only feeling that her fourteen years of life were utterly meaningless, even the emotion of hatred could not be stirred up at the moment.

Yet at this time, suddenly someone asked from behind.

"I notice you have a very unique life fate, are you interested in cooperating to utilize your special skills?"