Chapter 30: The Price of Reality

Zhou Xiaoyue, due to her awakened Spirit Body, was guaranteed to become an elite disciple, even without securing the championship in the minor competition. It was a foregone conclusion.

Furthermore, she had only just broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage. It was only due to the unique properties of her Myriad Flames Physique that she could so easily defeat Wang Changtian, who was already in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

However, at this very moment, Zhou Xiaoyue’s mood was profoundly low.

Witnessing the person she had long adored being snatched away by another, she felt utterly helpless.

After all, strictly speaking, she and Ye Cha shared no intimate connection, merely a past as fellow outer disciples. It was perfectly normal for Ye Cha to like someone else.

Yet, her heart was filled with an unbearable reluctance.

During the two days Ye Cha had secluded himself, the rampant rumors about him and the Sect Master had left Zhou Xiaoyue riddled with anxiety, terrified that the person she liked would be taken from her.

Consequently, her anxiety mounting day by day, Zhou Xiaoyue decided to venture into the Savage Beast Territory in search of rare heavenly treasures, hoping to win Ye Cha’s favor.

However, she found no treasures. Instead, at the brink of death, she awakened her long-dormant Spirit Body, narrowly escaping with her life.

It was precisely this brush with death that jolted Zhou Xiaoyue into realization. She understood that her desperate attempts to please Ye Cha were nothing more than an inability to accept reality.

In truth, she had already sensed something amiss the moment she saw Sect Master Shen Ruotong looking at Ye Cha.

That particular gaze, imbued with a hidden curiosity, was one Zhou Xiaoyue had encountered before.

It was the way Ye Cha had once looked at her.

Ye Cha was like a colorless, odorless poison; initially, one felt nothing upon contact, but with time, it would inevitably lead to addiction.

Even now, though Zhou Xiaoyue had come to terms with reality, the thought of Ye Cha smiling at another woman made her heart ache so fiercely she could barely breathe.

****

Ye Cha and Shen Ruotong did not engage in a lively conversation, primarily due to their current surroundings, and secondly, because they were genuinely unfamiliar with each other.

Although one’s heart harbored curiosity and the other contemplated how to ensnare them, some matters were best not rushed. The correct approach was to slowly savor the process.

Thus, after a brief exchange, they both turned their attention back to the ongoing arena matches.

When Zhou Xiaoyue stepped onto the stage, revealed her Spirit Body, and subsequently defeated her opponent, Ye Cha’s expression remained unchanged, as gentle and harmless as ever.

Even when Zhou Xiaoyue cast a complex gaze toward him, Ye Cha remained perfectly composed, even offering her a faint smile before swiftly averting his eyes.

Initially, Ye Cha had only tacitly allowed Zhou Xiaoyue’s proximity to establish himself more quickly among the outer disciples.

However, their connection had halted there.

Any suggestions from Zhou Xiaoyue to help him advance his cultivation, even if offered freely, were decisively rejected by Ye Cha.

If possible, Ye Cha longed to revert to his true self, not the one currently wearing a mask of pretense.

Yet, cruel reality offered no such luxury, forcing Ye Cha to continue his path with blinders on.

The only thing Ye Cha could still control was his own free heart.

He would not fall for any woman.

Under these circumstances, Ye Cha’s objective was clear: find an exceptionally powerful female cultivator. He would invest his time and energy to masquerade as the type of person she desired, and in return, she would provide him with cultivation resources to help him elevate his realm and suppress the Heavenly Net Profound Poison.

Lost in thought, Ye Cha turned his head to glance at Shen Ruotong, who sat beside him. Coincidentally, she was looking back at him.

Ye Cha paused, then a slight smile curved his lips.

It seemed his prey, Shen Ruotong, was about to take the bait…