Chapter 34: Despair and Delusion

Over the past five years, the Demonic Sect had gradually emerged from its slump. They had nurtured a large number of young experts, and their influence expanded continuously, drawing the attention of the Eight Great Sects.

Recently, the Eight Great Sects had been making frequent moves, leading to numerous clashes with the Demonic Sect. The faint scent of a brewing war could already be detected in the air.

Just as his beloved disciple was on the verge of completing his training, Ji Wushuang dedicated two hours each day to practical combat training. This was to ensure his disciple would remain unharmed in the upcoming conflicts.

“As your master, I am your enemy now! Do you wish to die by holding back against an enemy?!” In the vast, empty training grounds, Ji Wushuang relentlessly struck at his disciple, his voice sharp with reprimand.

Shui Jingxuan was forced to retreat repeatedly, appearing quite disheveled. Hearing his master’s scolding, his phoenix eyes narrowed, and he swiftly withdrew from the attack range.

He channeled powerful internal energy into his palms, his eyes blazing with renewed fighting spirit.

“If that is the case, then your disciple shall be disrespectful!” The words had barely left his lips when he launched himself at Ji Wushuang, unleashing dozens of strikes in quick succession. Each palm strike was imbued with fierce power and delivered from a cunning angle.

“Good, excellent offense!” Ji Wushuang praised loudly, evading the sharp palm winds like a phantom as he engaged his disciple in battle.

Ji Wushuang held nothing back in his attacks, essentially overwhelming his disciple with brute force. He understood that being ruthless with his disciple now was not heartless; it was a form of protection.

Shui Jingxuan’s ink-black hair was soaked with sweat, and his clothes were somewhat disheveled, making him appear rather unkempt.

Yet, his narrow, upturned phoenix eyes shone even brighter, and a contented smile lingered on his lips throughout.

He relished battling Ji Wushuang. His master was undoubtedly one of the peak powerhouses in this world, and the closer he got to Ji Wushuang, the more his blood boiled.

His jade-white cheeks were flushed crimson from the intense excitement.

Initially, Ji Wushuang could focus entirely on sparring with his disciple.

However, as he watched his disciple fight with increasing ferocity, his delicate jade-like face gleaming with radiance, and his own reflection mirrored in those phoenix eyes, a sudden sense of dizziness and enchantment overcame him.

His gaze involuntarily drifted towards his disciple’s face with every move, utterly beyond his control.

Seeing his disciple relentlessly attacking him, a faint yet intoxicating smile gracing his lips, Ji Wushuang’s heart pounded wildly.

As if possessed, he suddenly halted his movements, standing rooted to the spot, extending his arms, waiting for his disciple to rush into them.

“Damn it!” Seeing Ji Wushuang completely drop his guard, Shui Jingxuan cursed under his breath. He barely managed to retract his internal energy just as his palm strike was about to connect with his master’s chest.

The powerful inertia sent him hurtling violently into Ji Wushuang’s broad, strong embrace.

As soon as he was in his arms, Ji Wushuang let out a low, satisfied sigh. His hands tightly clasped his disciple’s lean, resilient waist, unwilling to let go.

“Master, what are you doing? Do you know I almost killed you just now!” Unable to extricate himself from Ji Wushuang’s embrace, Shui Jingxuan’s jade-like face flushed crimson as he reprimanded him without ceremony.

“Junior brother, have you lost your mind?” Ji Wushuang’s twin sister also felt a lingering fear.

“Heh~ killed me?” Ji Wushuang was amused by his disciple’s blunt choice of words. His laughter was deep and resonant, incredibly seductive, causing Shui Jingxuan, who was nestled in his arms, to feel a tremor in his ear tips.

Ji Wushuang lowered his head, affectionately rubbing his chin against his disciple’s hair. After a long moment, he spoke in a husky voice,

“When palm techniques are practiced to their extreme, one can retract and unleash them at will. Your master merely wanted to see how well you’ve mastered that control.” It was an excuse, yet without it, Ji Wushuang himself couldn’t explain that momentary loss of control.

“What if my control isn’t perfected yet?” Shui Jingxuan felt a wave of lingering fear.

If that palm strike had landed, Ji Wushuang would undoubtedly have been severely injured, requiring at least two or three months of recovery. What would happen to the plot he was supposed to follow then?

“How could that be? Your master trusts his disciple.” Ji Wushuang lowered his head, lightly inhaling the unique fragrance emanating from his beloved disciple, his expression intoxicated, his eyes filled with infatuation.

“Is that so?” Shui Jingxuan gritted his teeth. “But I can’t even trust myself.” With that, he hardened his face, cast a deep, sidelong glance at Ji Wushuang, pushed out of his embrace, and strode away.

Ji Wushuang was pushed away, standing rooted to the spot, a little bewildered. Without that resilient, warm body in his arms, his heart felt empty, cold, and immensely uncomfortable.

“The boy is angry!” Ji Wushuang’s twin sister sighed, watching Shui Jingxuan’s receding figure. “After so many years, this is the first time I’ve seen him angry.”

Ji Wushuang’s brows were deeply furrowed, his heart even more flustered.

“Indeed, when one is emotional, one becomes muddled. Even someone as composed as the boy can lose their composure. You truly scared him this time.” Ji Wushuang’s twin sister glared at her brother, complaining.

Just as his heart was about to sink into despair, his sister’s words rescued him. Ji Wushuang’s brows unfurrowed, and he was overjoyed. Muddled when emotional? He repeatedly chewed on the phrase, savoring its unusually subtle taste.

“Heh~” Unable to suppress his burgeoning good mood, he chuckled softly and turned to his sister, saying,

“Once my disciple’s anger subsides, I’ll go apologize to him. First, I’ll go back and see if there’s anything good I can give him as compensation. My disciple seemed to really like that white tiger pelt Elder Miao offered last time.”

Ji Wushuang’s twin sister nodded, feeling somewhat helpless towards her fickle brother, and strongly wished to cover her face and sigh with exasperation.

***

Shui Jingxuan’s emotions were chaotic as he walked with a stern face.

In that split second, just as his palm was about to strike Ji Wushuang’s heart, he felt a flicker of emotion. Not just in this life, but even in his previous one, he had felt a self-loathing, desperately suppressing that momentary weakness deep within his heart.

All the plans he had meticulously laid out for Ji Wushuang would be shattered, something his intensely controlling nature could not tolerate.

Just then, Wolf Girl suddenly blocked his path. Her eyes flashed when she saw him, and she directly whipped her lash fiercely at his feet.

“Junior brother, I wish to fight you,” she declared in a low voice, her beautiful face uplifted. ‘Just how strong is Junior Brother? How much hope does Zhuo Yihang have against Junior Brother?’ She desperately wanted to know.

“Senior sister, I’m not in the mood to play with you,” Shui Jingxuan replied coldly, his lips pursed. He was already incredibly irritable, and seeing Wolf Girl, who immediately attacked without reason, his patience was rapidly running out.

“I’m not playing with you. Attack!” Wolf Girl snapped her whip again, this time infusing it with internal energy. The tip of the whip struck the ground, forcefully tearing a deep crack in the hard rock, sending dust scattering.

“Don’t force me!” Shui Jingxuan took a step back, his hands behind his back, a surge of malevolence churning in his dark pupils.

“Enough talk.” Wolf Girl’s patience also ran out. She directly brandished her long whip and attacked him, adopting a stance that suggested she wouldn’t stop until she forced him to retaliate.

Shui Jingxuan’s thin lips curled into a smile, a sinister charm mixed with a strong murderous aura. Since someone had delivered themselves for him to vent on, why should he be reserved? He would simply accept!

He soared directly towards Wolf Girl’s long whip, which was imbued with powerful internal energy. Extending his right arm, he grabbed the whip with his bare hand. His internal qi circulated, channeling into the whip’s body.

The whip could not withstand such formidable internal energy and instantly shattered inch by inch. Wolf Girl also couldn’t endure the powerful internal force transmitted from the whip.

Her wrist pulsed with sharp pain, and after releasing the whip, she was sent flying several yards away.

While Wolf Girl was still spinning in the air, Shui Jingxuan had already reached her, seizing her by the throat. Upon landing, he increased the pressure, lifting her effortlessly.

The gruesome ‘crack’ of her cervical vertebrae, unable to bear the strain, echoed repeatedly, sending shivers down one’s spine.

Just as she was about to suffocate, Shui Jingxuan suddenly loosened his grip. He casually tossed her onto the ground like a broken rag doll and slowly spoke, “Senior sister, are you satisfied now?”

Wolf Girl lay on the ground, coughing incessantly, too weak to reply. Yet, her heart was filled with extreme horror. She had underestimated her junior brother.

She had initially thought that although she couldn’t defeat him, she wouldn’t be far behind. She never imagined she would be defeated in less than two moves at his hands.

Such a disparity could only be described as a world of difference.

If Zhuo Yihang were to face his junior brother, he would absolutely not survive five moves. Wolf Girl closed her eyes, her heart clenching repeatedly, daring not to think further.

It was only because Wolf Girl still had some use to him that Shui Jingxuan had stopped. Otherwise, she would now be a cold corpse.

Seeing her disheveled and easily defeated, Shui Jingxuan found it rather uninteresting. His irritable mood had already settled, and without waiting for her reply, he simply cast a cold glance at her and strolled away.

After his junior brother left, Wolf Girl struggled to her feet after a long while, then headed towards Ji Wushuang’s courtyard.

Since she couldn’t defeat her junior brother no matter what, she would go to her master and volunteer to kill Zhuo Yihang herself. Zhuo Yihang falling into her hands was a hundred times better than falling into her junior brother’s.

That even the simple and straightforward Wolf Girl could conceive such a cunning thought only proved that a woman in love possesses infinite potential.

At the same time, Ji Wushuang and his twin sister were sitting cross-legged in a secret chamber, cultivating their demonic arts.

Ji Wushuang’s twin sister’s eyes were slightly closed, her face serene.

In contrast, Ji Wushuang’s brows were deeply furrowed, his forehead slick with sweat. His mind was constantly flashing with his disciple’s various expressions and postures.

Those sinister phoenix eyes, those alluring thin red lips, that warm, resilient body… Everything about his disciple was tempting him, making his body burn, unable to control himself.

Even as he desperately circulated his cultivation art, he couldn’t suppress the increasingly intense yearning.

“Junior brother, you’re becoming demon-possessed! Quick, quickly stop circulating your art!” Ji Wushuang’s twin sister perceived her brother’s abnormality, her expression filled with terror, and she shrieked a warning.

Unfortunately, her warning came too late. Ji Wushuang opened his eyes, suddenly spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood. His face was flushed crimson, and his eyes were hazy, clearly having succumbed to demonic delusion.

His expression was twisted and savage. Standing up, he thrashed wildly, repeatedly smashing the walls of the secret chamber, as if venting or searching for an exit. He incessantly roared, “Where are they? Where is my disciple? Where is my disciple?”

Fortunately, the walls of the secret chamber were carved from thousand-jin boulders, making them incredibly durable. Otherwise, they would have long turned to dust under Ji Wushuang’s palms.

Even so, within a short while, the entire secret chamber was riddled with holes, rendered unusable.

Ji Wushuang’s twin sister was forcibly dragged around by him, feeling quite dizzy and disoriented.

Hearing his roars, she instantly became alert and used her internal energy to command the servants guarding outside the secret chamber, “Quick, quickly summon the Left and Right Protectors!”

Ji Wushuang’s twin sister listened intently, hearing the servants’ footsteps fade into the distance. Her taut heart relaxed slightly, and she secretly prayed for the boy and Wolf Girl to arrive quickly.

With their combined efforts, they might be able to subdue her brother and restore his sanity.

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