Something was wrong.
Liu Mei stood in the inner sect courtyard, her slender fingers clenched tightly around the jade sword at her waist. The morning air was calm, spiritual qi flowing smoothly through the surroundings—yet her heart refused to settle.
It had been like this since earlier.
A strange, suffocating feeling pressed against her chest, as if something invisible were tugging at her soul.
Annoyance flickered in her beautiful eyes.
"What is this?" she muttered.
She was Liu Mei—inner sect disciple, rising genius, admired by countless outer disciples and even some elders. Her future was bright, her path clear.
There was no reason for unease.
And yet—
Lin Chen's face surfaced in her mind.
Alive.
Standing straight.
Calm.
Her grip tightened.
"That's impossible," she said coldly. "He should be dead."
She remembered it clearly.
How she had looked down at him with disgust.How she had told Zhao Feng that Lin Chen was holding her back.How she had handed over that jade slip without hesitation.
At the time, she had felt relief.
Relief that she had cut away useless baggage.
So why did her chest feel tight now?
"Senior Sister Liu!"
A female disciple hurried over, eyes shining with excitement.
"Did you hear? Something huge happened in the outer sect!"
Liu Mei frowned. "What is it?"
"The challenge arena!" the disciple said breathlessly. "Zhao Feng—Senior Brother Zhao—was crippled!"
The world tilted.
"…What?" Liu Mei asked slowly.
The disciple nodded vigorously. "It's true! One punch! The one who did it was—"
She hesitated.
Liu Mei's heart slammed violently.
"Who?" she demanded.
The disciple swallowed. "…Lin Chen."
Boom.
The name exploded in Liu Mei's mind like thunder.
Her vision blurred for a split second.
"Impossible," Liu Mei said sharply. "You're lying."
"I swear!" the disciple said hurriedly. "Everyone saw it! Senior Brother Zhao was sent flying with a single punch! Elder Huang was there too!"
Liu Mei staggered back half a step before she could stop herself.
Lin Chen.
Not crippled.
Not dead.
But strong enough to destroy Zhao Feng in public.
Her breathing turned uneven.
"No… that can't be right," she whispered.
She had seen Zhao Feng's strength with her own eyes. Qi Condensation, Fifth Layer. A true genius of the outer sect.
Lin Chen had been a broken waste.
She had made sure of it.
Then—
A sharp pain pierced her chest.
Liu Mei gasped, clutching her heart as her knees weakened. An overwhelming flood of emotions surged without warning—shock, disbelief, regret, fear… and something far more dangerous.
Longing.
"What… is happening to me?" she whispered.
Her spiritual sense trembled wildly.
Deep within her soul, an invisible thread quivered—tightening.
Pulling.
Toward Lin Chen.
"No!" Liu Mei bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. "This is nonsense!"
She closed her eyes, trying to circulate her qi.
It failed.
Her thoughts were in chaos.
Memories surfaced uninvited.
Lin Chen standing in the rain, handing her spirit stones with a shy smile.Lin Chen cultivating late into the night, injured yet silent.Lin Chen shielding her from a spirit beast during a trial, taking the wound himself.
At the time, she had called him foolish.
Now—
Her chest hurt.
Why had she never noticed?
"Senior Sister Liu?" the disciple asked nervously. "Are you alright?"
Liu Mei snapped her eyes open.
"Leave," she said coldly.
The disciple flinched and fled.
Left alone, Liu Mei slowly straightened. Her face regained its composure, but her eyes were no longer calm.
She walked.
Without realizing it, her feet carried her toward the outer sect.
Each step made the strange pulling sensation stronger.
When she finally reached the edge of the outer sect grounds, she stopped.
The challenge arena was in ruins.
Shattered stone. Bloodstains. Disciples whispering in fear.
And at the center—
Zhao Feng.
Broken.
Crippled.
Reality hit her like a blade.
Lin Chen had done this.
Her chest tightened violently.
She turned abruptly and fled.
That night, Liu Mei could not cultivate.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw him.
Calm. Indifferent. Looking at Zhao Feng the way one looked at trash.
Looking the way she once looked at him.
Her heart twisted.
"…Why didn't you die?" she whispered into the darkness.
No answer came.
But the pulling sensation remained.
Stronger now.
Insistent.
By midnight, she finally whispered the name she had refused to think.
"Lin Chen…"
The moment she spoke it—
Her soul trembled.
Far away, Lin Chen opened his eyes.
[Destiny resonance threshold reached.][Target: Liu Mei.][Emotional state: Regret → fixation.][Destiny Bond available for activation.]
Lin Chen's lips curved slightly.
"So you finally feel it," he murmured.
Night draped the outer sect in silence.
Lin Chen sat cross-legged inside his small wooden residence, eyes closed, breathing steady. Spiritual qi flowed naturally into his body, smoother than it ever had before, circulating through his newly reforged meridians like a gentle tide.
He wasn't cultivating seriously.
He was waiting.
A faint ripple stirred in the air outside.
Lin Chen's eyes opened.
"She's here."
The wooden door creaked.
A familiar figure stepped inside.
Liu Mei.
Moonlight spilled through the doorway, illuminating her pale face and tightly clenched hands. Her usually cold, composed expression was fractured—eyes filled with turmoil she could no longer hide.
The door closed behind her.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
The silence was suffocating.
Finally, Liu Mei broke it.
"…You're alive."
Lin Chen looked at her calmly.
"Disappointed?"
Her lips trembled.
"No," she said quickly, then stopped. Her voice lowered. "I… I didn't know you would survive."
Lin Chen chuckled softly.
"That much is true."
The sound made her flinch.
She took a step forward, then another, stopping a few paces away. Her gaze swept over him—unbroken posture, calm aura, eyes deeper than before.
Different.
Completely different.
"You…" Liu Mei swallowed. "What happened to you?"
Lin Chen stood.
The simple action made Liu Mei's heart tighten.
"What happened?" he repeated softly. "You really don't know?"
She opened her mouth.
No words came out.
Lin Chen walked past her, stopping at the window, looking out at the darkened sect grounds.
"I trusted you," he said quietly. "I gave you everything I had. My resources. My future. My method."
Liu Mei's nails dug into her palms.
"I thought…" she whispered. "I thought you had reached your limit."
Lin Chen turned back to her.
"And Zhao Feng hadn't?"
Her face paled.
"You gave him my cultivation method," Lin Chen continued. "Did you ever think about what would happen to me after that?"
Tears welled in her eyes.
"I didn't think he would go that far," she said shakily. "I never told him to destroy your meridians."
Lin Chen smiled.
A cold, distant smile.
"But you knew he would deal with me."
Silence.
That was answer enough.
Liu Mei's shoulders slumped.
"I was wrong," she said quietly. "I see that now."
She bowed.
Deeply.
"I regret it."
The words hung in the air.
Lin Chen studied her for a long moment.
Three years ago, those words would have shattered his heart.
Now?
They felt… late.
"You regret it," he said slowly, "because I survived."
Liu Mei looked up sharply.
"If I had died," Lin Chen continued, "you wouldn't be standing here."
Her lips parted.
She couldn't deny it.
Her heart ached.
"I don't expect forgiveness," Liu Mei said, voice trembling. "But… give me a chance. Let me make it right."
The pull between them intensified violently.
Liu Mei's breathing quickened.
Her soul burned.
She took another step forward without realizing it.
"Lin Chen… I can feel it," she whispered. "Something is connecting us. I don't understand it, but I can't stop thinking about you."
Lin Chen felt it too.
The destiny thread throbbed, glowing brighter with every heartbeat.
[Destiny Bond conditions satisfied.][Target: Liu Mei.][Emotional resonance: Regret, fixation, desire.][Confirm Destiny Bond?]
Lin Chen looked into her eyes.
Once, those eyes had looked at him with disdain.
Now they were filled with need.
He reached out—
And lifted her chin with two fingers.
Liu Mei's breath caught.
"You want to make it right?" Lin Chen asked softly.
She nodded instantly.
"Yes."
"Then accept this."
He released her.
"Bind."
The world shook.
Golden light erupted between them, invisible to the naked eye yet overwhelming in its presence. A glowing thread surged from Liu Mei's chest, wrapping around Lin Chen's soul.
Liu Mei cried out softly as warmth flooded her body.
Her cultivation surged uncontrollably.
[Destiny Bond established.][Partner: Liu Mei.][Cultivation: Qi Condensation, Sixth Layer.]
At the same moment—
Lin Chen's aura exploded.
Qi roared through his meridians like a dragon breaking free.
Boom!
The floor cracked beneath his feet.
[Shared Cultivation activated.][Reverse Growth triggered.][Host breakthrough imminent.]
Lin Chen's cultivation skyrocketed.
Body Refinement shattered.
Qi flooded his dantian.
Once.Twice.Three times.
[Breakthrough!][Cultivation Realm: Qi Condensation, Third Layer.]
The room trembled.
Liu Mei stared at him in shock.
"You… you broke through just now?"
Lin Chen exhaled slowly, power settling into his body.
"Yes," he said calmly. "Because of you."
Her heart pounded violently.
Fear.
Awe.
And something dangerously close to devotion.
"What… am I to you now?" she whispered.
Lin Chen met her gaze.
"A beginning," he replied.
"And a reminder."
Her fate was no longer her own.