Chapter 118: Outgoing Concern

Once upon a time, there was a girl who pursued me wherever I went. Be it the gorges, mountains, oceans, and skies, she was always there, trying to catch up to me. She never left me whenever I went but I never paid attention to her. She was always weaker than me and she was never a genius. What would I gain by paying attention to her?

And yet, no matter how much I denied and rejected her, she would always try to come back with the same desirous and gentle look in her eyes. I don’t have the faintest idea what goes on in her head but she was always trying to get my attention. I could still remember when she would randomly challenge me to a duel, or she would show me her new skill. She had the fire element and she was extremely proficient at it… but still, she was leagues below me and I never perceived her in a romantic way.

Whenever I get hurt or whenever I get injured, she would be the first one to come running. Although my cultivation was higher than hers, I never considered myself a genius. That’s why I was always jealous of how she worked so hard. I mean, I also work hard but she does twice as much as I do… and she never seemed to get tired. Back to the topic, she would always be the first one to worry about me every single time I get injured. No one in the Sect paid attention to me… except for her.

But the moment of change happened drastically. My hard work had finally paid off and I left everyone by the dust. And because of that, I forgot about that girl. I still clearly recall the date when she stopped visiting me in my quarters. Her homemade mochi always tasted good. That’s why, on that day, I went to the city to buy a couple of mochi but none of them seemed to suit my taste.

Then the inevitable happened. Our Sect Master died and there was chaos in the Sect. Since I was chosen as the next Sect Master, everyone who was jealous of me opposed me to no end. And they even went as far as to threaten and maim my close acquaintances. I’ve never had any close friends and I never had a romantic partner. If I were to state the name of the person who was closest to me, I’d say it would be that girl.

But because of the chaos, that girl was forced to leave my Sect. And after that, it took me at least more than a year to reform the guild, rooting out the traitors and disciplining those who disobey the core rules of the Sect. It was hard and painstaking work but it was worth it. At last, there was peace over Tang Sect and it was all because of me. However, I can’t turn back time. What happened in the past will always remain in the past and there’s no way of changing it.

They say that once you lost something, its value will forever be realized. And I guess it was the same for me. That girl was genuinely caring towards me and yet I pushed her off. Now that I’ve died and my cultivation was reset, I realized one thing absolute strength doesn’t always matter. I once experienced dying alone and even though I was watching the sun through someone’s stomach, dying alone was a sad way to die.

Why did I realize it too late?

I didn’t see that girl for two years. I did hear rumors that she joined another Sect but as to what it was, I never knew. Back then, I never really cared about her but after I died… I realized that meeting those who would genuinely care for your well-being is a privilege and a blessing from the heavens.

And that very same thought came to mind when I woke up from being a mindless zombie. That’s why I’ve decided that I would gather allies that would care for me and in turn, I will take care of them. Of course, I never hoped to meet that girl again. Who knows where she could be…

Well, right now she’s in front of me.

Shi Meili stared at me and I stared at her. If there was a contest on who could do the best poker face, I guess I would have won by a landslide right now.

When I first saw her at the beginning of the qualifying rounds of the Red Sea Tournament, I pretended not to know her. Furthermore, I also didn’t want to think about her since my expression would’ve been a dead giveaway. Honestly speaking, I missed her to my very core. For seven years, I never saw her. And yes, she was the first person to ever treat me as an equal.

Additionally, the reason why I didn’t want her to recognize me was because I felt guilty about what I did before. I acted indifferently towards her without even taking into account everything she did for me. The least I could do was sincerely offer my gratitude towards her, right?

A heavy atmosphere hung around the arena as I stared towards Shi Meili, releasing a bit of killing intent just so she wouldn’t notice the guilt and overwhelming emotions I was feeling right now. Her eyes widened in surprise as she tried to keep herself from standing up. As much as I wanted to tell her everything I wanted to tell her before, I couldn’t do it. My pride just won’t let me. And also, we’re in the middle of a fight right now. The least I could do at this very moment is to take her seriously.

In the past, she treated me as an equal. It’s my turn to do it for her.

Boom!

Suddenly, a crater formed just beside the arena where Shi Meili and I were. There, Shen Rong stood in front of us, grinning from ear to ear. He was the one who caused the crater when he jumped down from the platform above the coliseum.

For some reason, I’m getting the feeling that Shen Rong staged everything and he purposefully pitted me against Shi Meili.

“Since this year’s Red Sea Tournament is a cause for celebration, I would like to personally oversee the match.” Shen Rong announced. “This generation’s cultivators are promising. And with the current Rush Hour eliminated, we have more time and resources to further their growth. I hope that next year, we can have another Red Sea Tournament with twice as many shelters participating. With that, may I ask the two participants to please ready yourselves? On my signal, the first Red Sea Tournament match will commence. Ready… “

“Go!” 

Swish!

A gust of wind blew from where Shi Meili was standing and a hundredth of a second later, she was already right in front of me with daggers at the ready. There was no hesitation of murder in her eyes that for a moment, I thought she was really willing to kill me. Fortunately, I’m quite confident with my speed as well and I managed to dodge her by the skin of the teeth.

“Are you really in the Immortal Realm?! How fast can you move?!” I exclaimed as I dodged and stood where Shi Meili was standing a moment ago.

“AMAZING! In a hundredth of a second, the two of them managed to attack each other and exchange places. What crazy moments! They may as well be in the Ancient Realm!!!”

Apparently, Shen Rong even went as far as to hire a commentator for the Red Sea Tournament. I couldn’t help but think that the commentator’s cultivation was on par or higher than Ancient Realm since he could easily observe our movements. That, or he has a special skill that makes him see through anyone’s movements no matter how fast they moved. Does he have the time element? I could only wonder.

“You’re slower compared to him.” Shi Meili simply commented as she unleashed another attack. I could detect a little bit of bitterness and sadness in her voice but I didn’t take it to heart. There was a lot going on in my mind right now that I don’t have the leisure to ponder on every word she said.

This time, Shi Meili managed to attack me before the hundredth of a second even occurred. Tens of her afterimages could briefly be seen before I experienced my right arm being cut off from where it was.

‘And here I was, thinking that I could let my guard down when fighting against Immortal Realm Cultivators. Why are they so strong? Technically I’m in the Ancient Realm right now, right?’ I told myself. Albeit it’s hard to believe that Shi Meili managed to land a hit on me, and she was even able to cut my arm off, it already happened and there was no way I could bring it back.

Sigh~ she really is a handful, just like before.

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