Chapter 516: Cling to Me
“No!”
Bai Zhenzhen turned to Divine Monarch Seven Emotions, her voice filled with anger and anxiety. “Teacher! How could you do this? Are you trying to kill Zhang Yu? One moment of losing control and he’s finished.”
A chilling thought flashed through her mind: “Given Yu Zi’s feelings for me and his terrifying martial dao innate talent, if he really does this… his Extreme Emotion Sword Dao will likely advance by leaps and bounds.”
It’s not just Level 10 of the Extreme Emotion Sword Dao — even Level 20 wouldn’t be impossible. The risk of losing control would only increase exponentially.
At that point, even the slightest emotional fluctuation could cause him to lose control and expose himself…
The Artifact Refinement Department of Myriad Laws University would never tolerate him then. All his years of hard work would be for nothing, forcing him to cultivate this useless Extreme Emotion Sword Dao like me.
During the loss of control, who knows how much damage he’d cause? How much compensation he’d have to pay? How much debt he’d incur?
And… the lawsuits for not having a Military Certificate would come crashing down on him. If no one at Myriad Laws University helps him, they might even confiscate his physical body…
Realizing this, Bai Zhenzhen grew even more anxious and reached out to sever her connection with Zhang Yu.
But Divine Monarch Seven Emotions snorted coldly, and streams of Sword Intent surged skyward through the Sky-Patrolling Flying Sword Network, instantly restoring and reinforcing their communication channel.
“Hmph, weren’t you always trying to secretly contact Zhang Yu before?”
“What’s this?” the Divine Monarch chuckled lightly. “Now that I’m allowing you to communicate, you suddenly don’t want to?”
Suddenly, a loud thud echoed as Bai Zhenzhen collapsed to her knees.
“Mom, please spare him, okay?” she pleaded. “Just let us cut off communication, please?”
Watching this scene, Zhang Yu’s body trembled. “Zhenzhen!” he called out.
“Don’t speak!” Bai Zhenzhen snapped. “Close your eyes! Don’t look at me, don’t think of me, and don’t let your Extreme Emotion Sword Dao level rise any further!”
She then turned to Divine Monarch Seven Emotions’ blurry figure and pleaded, “Mom, I promise I’ll cultivate the Extreme Emotion Sword Dao properly. Just don’t let Zhang Yu contact me anymore, okay? Don’t let him advance the Extreme Emotion Sword Dao’s cultivation so quickly!”
Divine Monarch Seven Emotions replied coolly, “If you’re going to cultivate the Extreme Emotion Sword Dao properly, shouldn’t you be cultivating with Zhang Yu every day?”
Bai Zhenzhen’s eyes erupted with Sword Intent as she lunged forward, ready to slam her forehead against the ground in supplication. But Divine Monarch Seven Emotions intercepted her with a surge of sword qi.
Sensing the surging power within Bai Zhenzhen, Divine Monarch Seven Emotions said approvingly, “See? Your Extreme Emotion Sword Dao has advanced again. This method of mine is clearly effective.”
“Mom! Master!” Bai Zhenzhen pleaded. “I’m begging you, I don’t want Zhang Yu to walk this path.”
Divine Monarch Seven Emotions scoffed. “I still don’t understand what’s so bad about the Extreme Emotion Sword Dao. You chose him yourself, so what’s the problem?”
“Stop putting on this useless act. If you dare kneel or kowtow again, I’ll send you to Myriad Laws University to be with Zhang Yu every day.”
“True, I can’t force Zhang Yu to come here.”
“But sending you to Myriad Laws University, straight to Zhang Yu’s room, to embrace him fiercely — that’s no problem at all. No one there will stop you.”
Hearing this, Bai Zhenzhen felt as if she had been plunged into an icy abyss. She could already envision the two of them embracing, their Extreme Emotion Sword Dao levels skyrocketing, ultimately leading to their mutual loss of control and tragic fates.
With great effort, she stood up, a bitter expression on her face as she gazed at Zhang Yu on the other side of the screen. Their future seemed to have grown impossibly bleak.
“I told you to choose someone else, but you refused,” Divine Monarch Seven Emotions said calmly. “Since that’s the case, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”
“If you insist on cultivating the Extreme Emotion Sword Dao with Zhang Yu, then go ahead.”
“At worst, when you realize he’s not your best choice and the Sword Dao backlash occurs, I’ll refine you into a flying sword and add you to my sword repository.”
As she spoke, Divine Monarch Seven Emotions had already opened a private space within the Spirit Realm, inviting both Bai Zhenzhen and Zhang Yu to enter.
“A-Zhen!” Zhang Yu exclaimed, catching sight of Bai Zhenzhen appearing before him. He tensed, then froze.
Through True Monarch Magnetic Pole’s explanation, Director Gao’s report, and the recent conversation between Bai Zhenzhen and Divine Monarch Seven Emotions, Zhang Yu now had a basic understanding of the Extreme Emotion Sword Dao.
He realized it was a military-grade swordsmanship technique fueled by emotions.
“Presumably, the stronger the emotional bond and the greater the innate talent, the faster the swordsmanship advances.”
“Given A-Zhen’s and my relationship, she should be able to make rapid progress in this sword art.”
“Judging by A-Zhen’s behavior, she seems extremely opposed to me advancing in this sword art.”
Zhang Yu recalled news reports of men murdering their wives, children, and entire families, a faint suspicion forming in his mind.
“Could it drive her mad?”
“So A-Zhen doesn’t want me to cultivate the Extreme Emotion Sword Dao? She doesn’t want my cultivation to skyrocket because of my interactions with her?”
As Zhang Yu’s thoughts raced, Divine Monarch Seven Emotions’ voice cut through his reverie. “What are you waiting for? Embrace her already.”
Watching Bai Zhenzhen struggle, the Divine Monarch said coldly, “Do you want me to send you to Zhang Yu’s bedchamber?”
At those words, Bai Zhenzhen seemed to have every bone in her body extracted, forcing her to stumble toward Zhang Yu, each step heavy with reluctance.
Seeing Bai Zhenzhen’s current state, Zhang Yu’s brow furrowed deeply, unsure how to proceed.
“Should I prove to A-Zhen that I haven’t mastered the Extreme Emotion Sword Dao?”
This had been Zhang Yu’s initial thought. After all, if he could demonstrate his lack of progress, Bai Zhenzhen wouldn’t need to worry about his potential advancement in the sword art.
But as his mind raced, another complication flashed through his mind.
“The Sword Dao backlash Divine Monarch Seven Emotions mentioned… does it refer to emotional changes?”
“Their understanding of martial dao innate talent is too narrow. What if they think I can’t cultivate the Extreme Emotion Sword Dao because I lack emotion in my heart?”
“Would it trigger the Sword Dao backlash in A-Zhen’s body?”
Watching Bai Zhenzhen struggle, Zhang Yu’s mind raced.
In the next moment, as Bai Zhenzhen embraced Zhang Yu, her body involuntarily trembled slightly.
“Hahahaha!” Divine Monarch Seven Emotions laughed. “That’s it! That’s it! How do you feel now? Can you sense the Extreme Emotion Sword Intent building within you, ready to erupt? Can you hold back no longer?”
Within Bai Zhenzhen’s body, crimson sword qi surged incessantly, like waves of violent red flames surging across her skin.
She felt that as her emotions fluctuated, the Sword Intent within her grew increasingly turbulent. Cracking sounds erupted in the surrounding air, and faint sword marks appeared on the floor and walls.
Yet while Bai Zhenzhen was experiencing these violent reactions, Zhang Yu remained utterly calm. Not even a hint of Sword Intent, sword qi, Magic Power, or Gang Qi manifested within him.
Observing this, Divine Monarch Seven Emotions said coldly, “See that, Bai Zhenzhen? Open your eyes wide and look closely. Zhang Yu before you shows no sign whatsoever of progress in the Extreme Emotion Sword Dao.”
“You, who have cultivated the Extreme Emotion Sword Dao for so long, must understand why this is happening, right?”
Gazing at Zhang Yu, who stood before her as calm as a still pond, Bai Zhenzhen’s expression flickered slightly. The sword qi within and around her surged even more violently, the tearing of the air sounding like the howls of wild beasts.
Zhang Yu’s heart sank as he witnessed this scene. Is the Extreme Emotion Sword Dao affecting A-Zhen?
Recalling Divine Monarch Seven Emotions’ earlier words about Sword Dao backlash and refining the flying sword, Zhang Yu abruptly pulled Bai Zhenzhen into a tight embrace, murmuring, “It’s okay, A-Zhen. Trust me. I can control the Extreme Emotion Sword Dao. You don’t need to worry about me.”
Zhang Yu knew that no explanation, no reason, no argument could possibly convince both Divine Monarch Seven Emotions and Bai Zhenzhen simultaneously. He couldn’t rely on logic to explain his situation — to explain why, despite his extraordinary martial dao innate talent, he couldn’t master the Extreme Emotion Sword Dao.
Thus, Zhang Yu abandoned all attempts at explanation, all rationales, all defenses.
Instead, he communicated directly through the trust between them.
Zhang Yu believed that if he spoke sincerely and with all his heart, Bai Zhenzhen would sense his sincerity and trust him implicitly.
For their trust had long transcended the need for logic, explanation, or reason…
As Zhang Yu spoke, the sword qi surrounding Bai Zhenzhen gradually stabilized.
The sword qi, which had previously surged wildly like a roaring beast, now surrounded her like layers of gentle, ethereal light, appearing incredibly smooth and refined.
Clinging tightly to Zhang Yu, she nodded slightly. “Mmm, I believe you.”
Sensing the shift in Bai Zhenzhen’s energy, Zhang Yu’s heart sank.
Though he had temporarily suppressed the adverse effects of the Extreme Emotion Sword Dao within her today, he seemed to have inadvertently pushed her further down this path, driving her deeper into its mysteries.
“Excellent, excellent,” Divine Monarch Seven Emotions chuckled. “You two are indeed suited to cultivate the Extreme Emotion Sword Dao together.”
Simultaneously, a private message from Divine Monarch Seven Emotions materialized in Zhang Yu’s Bionic Eye:
Divine Monarch Seven Emotions: “Boy, you’d better deceive her for life. Otherwise, either she’ll be forged into a flying sword by me, or she’ll cut you down.”
Zhang Yu’s heart jolted at these words. Gazing at Bai Zhenzhen in his arms, he vowed silently:
“A-Zhen, I’ll become so strong that you can never kill me — so strong that no matter how hard you try, you’ll fail. That way, even if you venture deeper into the Extreme Emotion Sword Dao, you’ll be safe.”
Feeling Zhang Yu’s heartbeat, Bai Zhenzhen thought to herself, “Yu Zi, just as I slowly adapted to my Spirit Root as a child, I will gradually adjust to and harmonize with this Extreme Emotion Sword Dao. No matter what you do in the future, my Extreme Emotion Sword Dao will never backlash against you… I will never harm you.”
Half an hour later, as the communication link severed, Bai Zhenzhen’s figure slowly faded from Zhang Yu’s sight.
In the days that followed, Zhang Yu cultivated with even greater diligence. He shuttled tirelessly between construction sites, classrooms, laboratories, and the Supreme Clarity Realm. Not only did he never rest, but the Spirit Coins in his account fluctuated endlessly, constantly circulating.
Yet despite his efforts, the construction funds remained overdue.
As April drew to a close, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but send a message: “When will the construction funds be released?”
The reply came: “Don’t let me hear you asking again. If you do, you’ll have to wait until next year.”
Zhang Yu paused, taken aback. “So arrogant? Doesn’t he know I’m Magnetic Pole’s person?”
Resisting his initial impulse, Zhang Yu first investigated the individual’s background. He learned that the person responsible for disbursing funds was True Monarch Thunder Pole, the Junior Brother of True Monarch Magnetic Pole.