Although he had successfully forced out the Sword Qi and saved his life, Yue Qingshan's heart reeled from a far deeper wound.
He had clung to the belief that Yue Ming remained trapped at Ye Qian's side against her will. But what he'd just witnessed shattered that delusion entirely—she stayed because she wanted to.
Every desperate act of devotion, every foolish gesture of heroism, had been nothing more than his own pathetic fantasy. She had never intended to accept his feelings, not from the very beginning.
The realization carved through him like a blade. His beloved had looked at him with such cold dismissal, and the memory burned.
Whenever he closed his eyes, the intimate scenes between Ye Qian and Yue Ming replayed in vivid, agonizing detail—her body pressed against his rival's, her eyes filled with warmth that would never be directed at him.
The images tortured him, an inhuman torment that threatened to break his mind apart.
Cough... cough!
The faint, rattling sound yanked Yue Qingshan back from the edge of his spiral.
"Master?"
The voice that emerged from the ring was barely a whisper, weak as autumn wind through dying leaves.
Panic seized him immediately. Yue Ming no longer mattered—couldn't matter. She'd made her choice clear enough. But his master... without his master, he had nothing.
"Master! How are you? Tell me you didn't just—!"
The memory struck him then: that cool sensation that had flooded through his meridians while he'd been circulating his cultivation technique, forcefully suppressing the rage threatening to consume him.
He'd been too distracted to understand it at the time, but now the truth crystallized. His master had intervened, had used precious energy to prevent him from falling into Qi Deviation.
Gratitude and guilt warred in his chest as the remnant soul slowly materialized through the ring.
The spectral form looked devastated—translucent to the point of near-invisibility, flickering like a candle in its final moments.
The price his master had paid to save him was written in every fading wisp of spiritual essence.
The remnant soul gazed at him with an expression that mingled relief and resignation. When it spoke, each word seemed to cost it dearly.
"Qingshan... to help you calm the fury assailing your heart, I expended power I could not afford to lose.
Now, I fear... I can hardly maintain consciousness. That was the only way I could save you from yourself.
For now, I cannot help you further—I must enter deep recuperation within the ring."
Tears spilled down Yue Qingshan's cheeks before he could stop them. His master had sacrificed so much, had paid such a devastating price, all to pull him back from the brink.
"Master! Forgive me—if I hadn't been so stubborn, if I'd only listened to you, none of this would have happened!
I threw everything away to save Yue Ming, and that woman..."
His voice cracked.
"She looked at me like I was nothing. I was such a fool to think she needed me."
The bitter lesson had carved itself into his bones now. Yue Ming didn't need saving. She'd never wanted his rescue in the first place.
"Enough, Qingshan." The remnant soul's form wavered, growing even more insubstantial.
"Take this—follow the directions marked upon it, and you'll find a set of Ancient Ruins."
A scroll map materialized from thin air, drifting down toward Yue Qingshan's trembling hands.
"These ruins are profoundly secret.
I obtained this map through chance long ago, but never had the opportunity to explore them myself.
Besides this map, no record of their location exists anywhere in this world."
The remnant soul's voice grew fainter with each word.
"The ruins contain tremendous power, Qingshan. But you must exercise extreme caution—"
Before Yue Qingshan could respond, the spectral form dissolved back into the ring.
"Master! Master!"
He called out desperately, his voice echoing through the empty chamber, but silence was his only answer. His master had entered slumber, leaving him to face the world alone.
The weight of that solitude pressed down on him like a mountain.
He knelt and retrieved the scroll map with shaking hands, carefully unrolling it to study the detailed markings inked across the ancient parchment. His eyes widened as recognition dawned.
Ashen Orchid State?
The location was unmistakable. Ashen Orchid State sat at the furthest border of the Ye Family's territorial control—a lawless frontier where power meant everything and order barely existed.
The chaos that reigned there might actually work in his favor. With the map in his possession alone, with no one else aware these ruins even existed, he could slip in unnoticed.
Heat flooded his chest, burning away the lingering despair.
He didn't know which ancient powerhouse had left these ruins behind, but they would surely contain treasures beyond imagination—techniques, artifacts, resources that could accelerate his cultivation to unprecedented heights.
Perhaps he'd even encounter opportunities that would let him surge past Ye Qian in a single explosive leap.
Then Yue Ming would see. Then she'd realize what she'd thrown away.
Decision crystallized into action.
He would leave immediately—tonight, before dawn broke. The longer he delayed, the greater the chance that variables would emerge to complicate matters.
And if the Yue Family discovered he'd challenged the Young Master, the consequences would be severe.
Better to disappear now, before they could mete out punishment.
…
Meanwhile, in the serene back gardens of the Ye estate, Ye Qian reclined in leisurely contemplation.
The duel had concluded in his favor, another Samsara Artifact now rested in his possession, and Yue Qingshan had fled with his tail between his legs.
But the protagonist still had substantial Luck Value left—far too much to simply ignore. Letting him slip away without extracting maximum benefit would be wasteful.
He snapped his fingers, the sharp sound carrying effortlessly across the courtyard.
A gust of wind answered, and a figure materialized before him—black clothes, black mask, movements precise and soundless. The figure knelt on one knee, hands positioned respectfully at chest level.
"Young Master, what are your orders?"
The voice was unmistakably feminine—smooth and cultured, yet held in professional restraint.
This particular shadow had been personally assigned by his mother, Yun Yao, after the previous Qi Deviation incident. One of her most trusted operatives, she had been trained from childhood in both protection and execution.
Her orders were absolute: guard Ye Qian with her life, and fulfill any command he issued without hesitation.