Chapter 25 Qin Ruoxue compromised
"Senior Sister Qingyan!"
Long Ling'er called out urgently, her eyes filled with pleading and worry.
She was afraid that Qin Ruoxue would leave decisively, cutting off their chance, and she was even more afraid... even more afraid that Zhou Tian would be displeased and might even resort to force.
Qin Ruoxue did not stop walking.
Just as her fingertips were about to touch the stone gate's restriction, Zhou Tian's voice sounded softly from behind her.
It wasn't loud, but it reached her ears clearly:
"Senior Sister Qin."
"Could it be that you're really willing to... just be a useless piece of trash?"
Qin Ruoxue's figure suddenly froze.
The word "trash" was like an ice-cold dagger, piercing through all her carefully constructed pride and defenses with perfect precision.
She stopped in front of the door, her back to Zhou Tian and Long Ling'er, her shoulders trembling almost imperceptibly.
Yeah...useless.
The wound to the soul penetrates to the very core.
If nothing unexpected happens, Qin Ruoxue will only become a useless person in the future.
Once a favored daughter of heaven, the seventh senior sister of the Tai Xuan Sword Sect.
Now he can only watch helplessly as his fellow disciples, and even his junior sisters who were once inferior to him, break through and surpass him one by one.
But he could only linger in the same place, slowly being left behind by everyone else.
This feeling is worse than death.
"I am not..."
"I am not a piece of trash."
Her voice was hoarse, with a barely perceptible sob, yet she stubbornly refused to turn around.
"Perhaps not yet."
"But what about three months from now? The protective mountain array will break, and the demonic path will return. At that time, how many moves can a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator withstand from a Golden Core demonic cultivator? And who can they protect?"
"Senior Sister Liu and Senior Sister Zi are qualified to enter the Golden Core battlefield. Ling'er's bloodline has awakened, making her exceptionally powerful. Senior Sister Zhao's swordsmanship has also improved, giving her the ability to protect herself. And you, Senior Sister Qin?"
Zhou Tian's voice remained calm, even ruthlessly dissecting the situation.
Every word struck Qin Ruoxue's most vulnerable spot.
Her hands, which she placed on the stone gate, were clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
Zhou Tian took a few steps forward and stopped about ten feet away from her back.
"Cultivating with me is the fastest and only way for you to break through this predicament. It will not only heal your hidden injuries to your soul, but also greatly increase your cultivation level, allowing you to directly enter the Golden Core stage."
"Is it better to cling to that pride and wait to die, or to seize the opportunity for a phoenix-like rebirth?"
His voice softened slightly, but it still carried an undeniable force.
The cave fell silent once again.
The only sounds were the gentle lapping of the hot spring water and Qin Ruoxue's barely audible, suppressed breathing.
a long time.
Qin Ruoxue slowly turned around.
Her tear tracks had dried, leaving only a pale calm and an unfathomable complexity in her eyes.
That gentle temperament vanished without a trace, replaced by a resolute determination that was forcibly pieced back together after being on the verge of collapse.
Her gaze swept over Long Ling'er, whose face was full of worry, and finally settled on Zhou Tian's face.
"They...have all cultivated with you?"
"Senior Sister Liu, Junior Sister Zi, Junior Sister Zhao, and Ling'er?"
She asked, her voice eerily calm.
"Yes."
"As you sensed, their cultivation has all benefited from this."
Zhou Tian continued.
Qin Ruoxue closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them again, the last trace of struggle in her eyes had vanished.
"it is good."
She uttered a single word.
Long Ling'er breathed a sigh of relief, but then felt a strange pang of sadness.
Qin Ruoxue looked at Zhou Tian and said, word by word, "I promise you. But..."
She turned her gaze to Long Ling'er, her tone leaving no room for argument: "Ling'er, you go out first. I... I'm like a person."
Long Ling'er was stunned and looked at Zhou Tian.
Zhou Tian nodded slightly.
Long Ling'er bit her lip and whispered, "Then... Senior Sister, Junior Brother, I'll go and keep watch outside first."
After saying that, she gave Qin Ruoxue a deep look, then turned and silently walked out of the cave.
The stone gate closed again.
Inside the vast Ice and Fire Cave, only Zhou Tian and Qin Ruoxue, who seemed to have used all her strength to stand, remained.
She looked at Zhou Tian, her face devoid of any gentleness, only a desolate calm remained, and deep in her eyes was a lingering sense of humiliation and resolve.
"Zhou Tian,"
"Remember your promise."
It was the first time she had called him by his name, and her voice was very soft.
Zhou Tian walked towards her with steady steps.
"Senior sister, of course I wouldn't lie to you."
He reached out and touched her cold cheek with his fingertips.
Qin Ruoxue's body trembled violently, but she did not dodge. She simply closed her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling violently like butterfly wings.
A single tear eventually slid down from the corner of her eye and disappeared into her hair.
Inside the cave, the air was thick with moisture.
Qin Ruoxue closed her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling like butterfly wings, and a single tear slid down from the corner of her eye.
She seemed to have completely let go of all her strength, letting the warmth of Zhou Tian's fingertips seep through her cool cheeks.
Zhou Tian's fingers slowly moved down, stroking her slender neck, and lingered on the overlapping neckline of her plain white dress.
With a slight movement of the fingertips, the first button quietly came undone.
Qin Ruoxue's body tensed up suddenly, and her breathing became rapid.
He still didn't open his eyes; his tightly pursed lips had lost all color and turned slightly pale.
"Senior sister,"
"Relax."
Zhou Tian leaned down, his breath brushing against her ear.
His voice carried a strange soothing quality, and his other hand was already wrapped around her incredibly slender waist.
Even through her clothes, I could clearly feel the slight trembling and stiffness in her body.
"If you continue like this, how can you cultivate together?"
Zhou Tian whispered, his fingertips deftly unfastening the second and third buttons one by one.