"What? You're also taught by that old geezer Qing Tian? Damn, then I don't want to be your teacher at all! The entire family tree will be messed up!!"
Staring at the young man in front of her, a lady of ethereal beauty couldn't help but speak in a melodious voice, her loud, rough tone making the image of a completely virtuous and gentle woman collapse like it was never there at all.
"You're also Old Qing's student?"
Hearing the words from the lady, a black-haired swordsman bearing the name that said teacher granted him, Xing Yuandao, couldn't help but ask in quite a surprise, thinking that despite the grandness of the cultivation world's scale, said world is still an all too small of a place.
"What do you think?? How the fuck am I supposed to know about that old man's Pure Heaven True Circulation Art then??"
It was the start of a relationship that would last all the way until the other half's death at the end of the lady, and by extension, also the young man's enemies, putting an end to a millennial companionship that pushes the young man to strive to be even just a little bit better than he was the day before.
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"Call me elder sister!!"
The lady will often nag him whenever they travel together, sometimes making the young man all the more annoyed as she would often demand this even in the most precarious of situations they find themselves in.
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"Come on, Yuandao, call me elder sister, it's only right, isn't it? I was taught by that old geezer first, after all."
Even in their peaceful days, where they just enjoy their daily lives every once in a while, she will still nag him about how he addresses her, often with a pouting mouth, using her dainty fingers to poke at his body as if to get his attention, such audacity carrying over their time together, even when his strength is already far beyond hers.
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"Hey, hey, I know you won't call me elder sister, but since it's your birthday, I think it's fine, and I will let it go for now."
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"Is it the day of Uncle's death? What bullshit? Why should you remember your father on the day he dies?? Celebrate his birthday, you idiot!! Celebrate the days he was happiest!!"
"His death is a glorious one."
"So what?? Do you think he chose this glorious death, huh? Do you think he will choose that death over taking care of you more if he has the choice??"
"It is exactly because of that glorious death that I am alive right now."
"Then all the more reason for you to celebrate his greatness in life!!! Not his glorious death, you idiot, martial brother!!"
Those were their exchange when they fought for the first time, and although he's aware of the reason now, by then, he didn't know why is it that she became so angry when he recalled his father during the day of his death.
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"You're… an extreme enigma, martial brother… hehehe, even this elder sister of yours thinks it's extremely hard to understand the way you think."
"Although it doesn't really matter to me anymore, you're my martial brother, not by the discipleship we share from that old geezer Qing Tian, but because I feel alive, no, I feel great whenever I travel with you, hehehe."
Those were words she shared with him, perhaps a genuine, heartfelt emotion that she just wants to let out, or perhaps it is just a drunk maiden's rambling; he will never know.
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Standing amidst mountains of corpses and rivers of blood, the rumored demonic swordsman, a black-haired man sporting a youthful, handsome look, walks down this throne of slaughter, carrying in his arms the weak body of a gravely wounded, yet nevertheless still ethereally beautiful lady, the smile on her gorgeous face and the burning light in her eyes making it seems like despite the grievous injuries, there wouldn't be any problem at all.
"Elder sister, don't talk too much, conserve your energy. I'll do something about your injuries; it will be patched up as if nothing happened at all."
For the first time in his thousands of years of life, for the first time since the thousands of years that the two of them have known each other, he finally uttered the words she wanted to hear the most, the warm, yet nevertheless shivering voice that he calls her with, making the smile bloom all the more beautifully on her face.
"You finally… called me elder sister huh…"
Weakly lifting her fair arms towards his face, she muttered in a faint voice, tears, not from pain but rather from joy dripping from the corner of her eyes as she attempts to speak once more, only for her complexion to darken as she feels something sticky clamping her throat, forcing her to cough heavily, spewing out darkened, clotting blood that drips from the corners of her crimson lips.
"Elder sister… I…"
Before he could even speak again, he was stopped by the same dainty hand caressing his cheeks, the lady now putting said hand on his lips, forcing him not to speak as she started slowly speaking once more.
"Shhh… Yuandao, I… I know myself, there's not much time… my meridians are shattered, hell, even my soul is starting to dissipate as a drawback from my trump card, not to mention my physique is completely ruined from my previous rampage s-so shut the fuck up a-and listen to me…"
She said, a prideful smile still on her face, paired with her signature smug look that doesn't fit all too well, considering that her beautiful face is now pale white, drained of all her healthy color.
"I… I thought I would… feel really great when I finally get you to call me that, but… I-I realized… I no longer want you to… c-call me like that…"
She was cut by her violent coughing once again, making the swordsman, who is usually calm and composed, panic in a severe manner, his senses frantically scanning the spatial ring on his fingers to ease the suffering the lady is feeling right now at the very least, only for his efforts to be stopped as he was forced to pay attention to her words once more.
"Yuandao, no, Leon, d-do you want to hear something funny?? We've known each other for a long time that… things changed… a-and… being an elder sister is no longer e…enough for me…"
She pauses for a while, seemingly thinking of something to say, but is stopped as now, it is the young man's turn to silence her, knowing what she wants to hear.
"Meixue… My wife…"
He mutters as he gulps down to force the emotions surging from his heart, his breathing ragged and his eyes watery as if he's about to cry, the grasp he has on this ethereal beauty's body far tighter than it ever was before, as if he doesn't want to let her go at all.
And hearing his words, that smile on her face turned into a blushing, maidenly one, the tinge of shyness in her eyes making her all the more attractive even despite all the scars and wounds brought to her by her hard, no, grueling fight.
Right at this time, the dark clouds opened as trumpets seemingly signifying someone's arrival completely ruined the final moment between these two lovers that just realized their feelings for each other on the verge of separation, making not only the still powerful swordsman, but also his lady, walk on the edge of death, feel a seething rage from the depth of their being.
"The Crown Prince of the Great Flame Eternal Empire, Huo Lingchen, declares a duel against the First Princess of the Jade Heaven Empire, Yu Meixue… the winner will have the loser's body for themselves to treat it however they like."
"This duel is sanctioned and approved by the Great Heaven Divine Court, and no amount of rejection will be accepted."
As the person reading said things from the scroll he's holding bowed with a mocking smile on his face, looking down on the ground where the swordsman and his maiden is, another figure descend, his eyes greedily looking at the lady who is just waiting for death right now, before eyeing the young man holding his trophy, the figure's gaze filled with malice as he looks at the swordsman.
"Fufufu~~~ since you… called me elder sister… as one… perhaps I should teach… my junior brother…a good lesson…"
Seeing the smug look on the newly arriving young man's face, the maiden smiles and laughs as she gathers all her strength, lifting her frail body and bringing her face close to her beloved.
It was fleeting, short at most, but the swordsman definitely felt it, that loving caress of her lips as it touches his, shivering in the fear of death despite her brave front, taking as much time as she can, as if she doesn't want to be separated from him anymore.
But time is cruel, and she knows that, hence why she gathers her remaining will to force herself away from this comfort, to leave this thousand-year companion, and now, husband, a word that he will carry in the future.
"It won't be a lie if I just told you that I truly want you to just be happy, but to be happy, you must also be safe, my dear husband, so in duels, be sure to give your very best especially if the opponent says so… as for people like this one, well, you need to be merciless towards them, after eliminating the immediate problem, destroy the other sources down to the roots…"
With the last of her words leaving her lips, she also draws her last breath, her eyes now closed and her face still sporting that loving smile, as in her last breath, she gazes upon the person she has come to love the most, the very same person who will be known after this day as a destroyer of realms, a lone swordsman who burned down several eternal empires' millions of years of heritage to dust overnight.