Chapter 1

Shen Liuyi slowly opened her heavy eyes, still dazed and unable to recover from the agony of having her tendons and bones ripped out. The final heart-wrenching cry she had uttered in her previous life seemed to still echo in her mind. Her voice had been hoarse from screaming, every word dripping with blood and tears. “Jun Qingyi, if I ever get another chance at life, I will never be your disciple again!” Her entire life had been filled with suffering, and she had died without even a complete corpse. To her surprise, the moment she opened her eyes, she had returned to the day she became someone's disciple. But... “Since you have accepted this jade pendant, from this day forward, you are my disciple.” The man standing before her had a cold, handsome face and wore white robes as pure as snow. He looked like an immortal who had descended from the heavens. He was none other than Jun Qingyi, the Ruthless Sword Venerable. At that moment, he looked down at her from above. Shen Liuyi was staring straight at him, just like the female cultivators who had admired him in the past. Jun Qingyi's brows furrowed slightly, and a trace of disgust appeared in his eyes. “Since you have already decided to become my disciple, you should devote yourself wholeheartedly to the Dao. Do not entertain any other thoughts.” Shen Liuyi had no other thoughts. Her mind was currently in complete chaos, and after countless pieces of information swirled together, only two things became clear. The good news: She had been reborn. The bad news: She had already become his disciple. The moment she heard Jun Qingyi's voice, cold and indifferent as snow, Shen Liuyi's heart clenched violently. She gripped the jade pendant in her hand tightly. In her previous life, she had treasured it as if it were a priceless gem, afraid that even the slightest damage might befall it. She continued squeezing until the jade pendant could no longer withstand the pressure. With a loud crack, it shattered into pieces, finally jolting her back to her senses. The jade pendant had broken. Shen Liuyi stared at the fragments embedded in her palm. Blood flowed freely from her hand, yet she was overjoyed. The pain was real. This was not a dream. Not a dream! She had returned. She had been reborn before her reputation was ruined and before everyone turned against and abandoned her. Compared to Shen Liuyi's joy, the shock of everyone else was beyond words. Shen Liuyi had actually crushed the jade pendant during the disciple-acceptance ceremony! What was she doing? Hadn't she dreamed of becoming the disciple of the Ruthless Sword Venerable? After receiving the jade pendant, shouldn't she have carefully and reverently put it away, treasuring it above all else? Why had she simply crushed it instead? Jun Qingyi's brows furrowed even more deeply. As a disciple, publicly destroying a gift bestowed by one's master on the very day of the apprenticeship ceremony was considered a grave act of disrespect. Even Jun Qingyi, who had always been indifferent to such formalities and as cold as snow, felt displeased. However, before he could reprimand her, Shen Liuyi was already staring at her bleeding palm, tears spilling from her eyes. She was exceptionally beautiful by nature. Throughout her life, she had been strong-willed and proud, never once showing weakness, let alone shedding tears in front of a crowd. The entire venue fell silent in an instant. “Junior Sister, please don't cry.” A delicate-looking woman playfully peeked her head out from behind Jun Qingyi and flashed Shen Liuyi a sweet smile. Her voice was clear and melodious, pleasant to the ears. “Didn't you always want to become Master's disciple? This time, you managed to defeat me in the competition. Although it was only because I got injured while cultivating...” The more the young woman spoke, the more dejected she became. By the end, her eyes had even reddened, yet she stubbornly held back her tears, presenting herself as a fragile but resilient girl. “Still, congratulations, Junior Sister.” “I'm so happy—” Tears streamed down the young woman's face, rolling down her fair cheeks. Her voice choked with sobs, yet she still managed to maintain a smile. “...to see you.” The disciples who had initially been somewhat moved immediately turned hostile glares toward Shen Liuyi. Seriously! It was one thing for Junior Sister Liu Qing to be like this, but how could Shen Liuyi even have the nerve to cry? She had already gotten what she wanted, yet she was still acting aggrieved! If not for Junior Sister Liu Qing's injury, how could she possibly have won? It was a victory gained through unfair means. How utterly despicable! When Shen Liuyi saw her, she froze for a moment. Then her gaze flickered, and an intense wave of hatred surged in her heart. It was directed at Liu Qing, but even more so at Jun Qingyi. Only after Shen Liuyi died did she discover that the world she lived in was actually a novel, with Jun Qingyi and Liu Qing as its main characters. It was a story about a forbidden romance between master and disciple, an epic love story in which the Ruthless Sword Venerable nearly slaughtered all living beings for the woman he loved. The Ruthless Sword Venerable doted on the female lead beyond measure. However, later on, it seemed that many readers complained that his love had come too easily and that the plot was too bland, boring, and repetitive. Then came the twist. The reason the Ruthless Sword Venerable loved the female lead was that she resembled his own master. Just like that, the universally adored female lead became nothing more than a substitute! How could she possibly accept such a truth? In a fit of anger, she ran away with one of the men who admired her. Yet, despite being physically in one place, her heart remained elsewhere. Even when faced with a male supporting character who treated her with the utmost tenderness and had eyes only for her, the female lead ultimately apologized to him. “I'm sorry. You're a good person, but the one I love is him.” And so, countless male supporting characters loved Liu Qing, while Liu Qing loved Jun Qingyi. In the end, one after another, those men threw themselves into danger to save the female lead, sacrificing their lives for the sake of their love until not a single one remained. Only when Liu Qing watched the last person fall before her did she finally decide to let go of Jun Qingyi. Then, after Liu Qing left him, Jun Qingyi suddenly began to feel lonely and miserable. No matter where he went, he seemed to see Liu Qing's shadow everywhere. Only then did he realize that, without even knowing it, he had already fallen in love with his own disciple. After an entire chapter of desperately chasing after his wife and trying to win her back, the two finally reunited and lived happily ever after. And Shen Liuyi? She was nothing more than a vicious female supporting character who appeared halfway through the story. Jun Qingyi had clearly stated that Liu Qing would be his only disciple in this lifetime. However, the competition offered one available position: the winner could choose any elder of the Qingzhao Ancient Sect as their master. Shen Liuyi was a prodigy who didn't know her place. She rejected invitations from other factions and resolutely joined the Qingzhao Ancient Sect. Her target was none other than Jun Qingyi, the strongest sword cultivator of the current era! She then faced Liu Qing, who had also fought her way to the final round of the competition. The two had originally been evenly matched. However, the night before the competition, Liu Qing had been so preoccupied with thoughts of her beloved master that she was bewitched by inner demons during cultivation and suffered a cultivation deviation. Although Jun Qingyi managed to save her, she was still injured. As a result, she lost the competition the following day. And so, everyone looked down on Shen Liuyi and sympathized with Liu Qing instead. According to the original novel, Shen Liuyi had gone to such lengths to become Jun Qingyi's disciple because she had fallen in love with him. Out of jealousy, she then schemed against Liu Qing, only to be repeatedly sabotaged by Liu Qing's admirers. In the end, she died at the hands of the very man she loved most: Jun Qingyi. To make her atone for her sins, after her death, Jun Qingyi dug out her inner core and gave it to Liu Qing, whose own inner core had been destroyed after Jun Qingyi grievously injured her during a cultivation deviation. Incidentally, Liu Qing was largely responsible for Jun Qingyi's cultivation deviation in the first place. If she hadn't disrupted his Ruthless Sword Dao, none of the subsequent events would have happened. After absorbing Shen Liuyi's inner core, Liu Qing's cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds. She broke through into the Spirit Venerable realm and remained together with Jun Qingyi forever. What kind of utter bullshit was that?! Who the hell liked him?! Shen Liuyi asked herself honestly. There was absolutely no way she would fall for someone who cultivated the Ruthless Dao. Wouldn't that just be asking for misery? If she really did like someone like that, she would stay as far away from him as possible. Knowing full well that he cultivated the Ruthless Dao and still expecting him to love her in return—how could that possibly be love? Even deep-seated hatred couldn't compare! What, was she afraid he wouldn't die quickly enough or something?