Chapter 138: Backstabbing the Empress (Third Update)

"Senior brother, senior brother, it's bad! Chu Ling is trapped in the Wasteland of Lost Souls, she's at her wit's end. You must go save her!"

Yue Hongling knocked on the door while shouting anxiously.

Her relationship with Chu Ling was quite good. Both believed they could achieve the rank of Emperor through their own strength and were skilled in combat.

Having known each other the longest, they truly had a strong bond.

"Ding ding ding, quick, let me see!"

The system immediately responded upon hearing Yue Hongling's words.

A layer of light unfolded before Lu Ye's eyes.

"Senior brother, I beg you! Chu Ling already knows she was wrong. Go save her—she’s admitted her mistake. You should give her a chance to redeem herself!"

Lu Ye ignored her, his gaze fixed on the images appearing in the light screen.

"Bang bang bang!"

"Senior brother, you can’t do this! She’s your beloved. To err is human—you’ve said it yourself! Acknowledging one’s faults and correcting them is the greatest virtue!"

"Senior brother!"

"Senior brother!"

"Lu Ye!"

"What’s wrong with you? Just because Chu Ling made one mistake, does that make her unforgivable?"

"You weren’t like this before!"

Yue Hongling’s voice was laced with urgency and fury.

Where did this anger come from?

Clearly, she blamed Lu Ye for Chu Ling’s current predicament.

Standard procedure.

Lu Ye simply paid her no mind.

"Lu Ye, I truly misjudged you. From now on, I will never beg you again—even if I die, I won’t ask you for help even once!"

Yue Hongling stormed off in anger.

Tears welled in her eyes, her entire body trembling with rage.

But if she didn’t beg Lu Ye, who else could she turn to?

Who would dare risk offending the two colossal superpowers—the Eternal Sect and the Taishang Sword Sect—to save Chu Ling?

And who even had the strength to rescue someone from the grasp of these two behemoths?

At this moment, Yue Hongling hated.

She hated herself for lacking power. She was an Emperor reborn—why was she still only at the Void Refinement stage now?

A reincarnated soul.

The master has already reached the Tribulation Realm.

Chu Ling has broken through to the Unity Dao Realm.

Senior brother, at the peak of the Unity Dao Realm, slays Tribulation Realm experts as easily as slaughtering dogs.

As for the Vermilion Bird... there has been no news of her for a long time, but she definitely won’t be doing poorly.

Even that fool Shangguan Huanling has reached the peak of the Unity Dao Realm and can step into the Tribulation Realm at any time.

And her?

Still struggling in the Void Refinement Realm.

She has been cultivating with utmost effort, but her progress is only so fast. She truly feels miserable and powerless.

This is reality.

Some things simply cannot be achieved through effort alone.

Yue Hongling’s aptitude is insufficient, and she condensed a Heavenly Pill instead of a Core.

Though her cultivation speed is already shockingly fast in the eyes of others, compared to the rest, it’s still not enough!

Far from enough!

This is reality!

A soft sigh sounded behind Yue Hongling.

Bai Qiulan appeared, clad in white robes, her skin like snow, her features as delicate as a painting.

"No, Master. You’ve only just broken through to the Tribulation Realm—it’s too dangerous," Yue Hongling immediately refused.

"Can we just stand by and watch Chu Ling perish?" Bai Qiulan said.

"Then... can you go and persuade senior brother? He’ll listen to you. He’s always been the most..."

"Hong Ling!"

Bai Qiulan’s voice grew stern.

Yue Hongling froze.

"Now... is not like before," Bai Qiulan murmured, her voice tinged with desolation as she gazed at the distant sky, her expression faintly melancholic.

At that moment, Yue Hongling felt as if something were stuck in her throat.

Large teardrops rolled down her cheeks, her body trembling.

Countless words rose to her lips, yet none could be spoken.

"Master... do you think... we can really never go back to how things were?"

Yue Hongling asked.

Bai Qiulan gently wiped the tears from Yue Hongling’s face and smiled tenderly.

"Isn’t now... just fine?"

"Is it good?"

Bai Qiulan's eyes shimmered faintly with unshed tears, her voice strained with emotion.

"Good!"

...

Lu Ye watched from the light screen as Chu Ling stood in the wasteland of shattered spirits, her body drenched in blood.

Wounds covered her everywhere.

Her injuries were severe, and the Demon Sword in her hand was chipped and scarred.

Yet her gaze remained as fierce as ever.

"Chu Ling, our Taishang Sword Sect and your Great Dao Sect were once allies. You, a disciple of the Great Dao Sect, stole our Sword Mountain while we were aiding your sect—how is that any different from the acts of demons? It is utterly despicable!"

The members of the Taishang Sword Sect roared in fury.

"Hmph! Cultivators contend with heaven for the Dao and with others for opportunities. The Sword Mountain benefits me—what does it matter if I took it?"

Lu Ye heard Chu Ling's words through the light screen, and for a moment, his thoughts drifted back to the past.

"Ling'er, the Guixu Sword Sect is our human alliance. How could you refine their Guixu Sword?"

"Young Master, the Guixu Sword was beneficial to me. I only wanted to catch up to you, so I seized every resource that could aid my cultivation."

"But your actions have angered the Guixu Sword Sect greatly."

"If they're unhappy with me, they can come find me themselves. If they have the skill, let them break my sword instead."

"You... You must come with me to apologize!"

"Young Master, the Guixu Sword Sect isn’t even that powerful. There’s no need to fear them!"

"They are our allies. What you did is unethical."

"I won’t apologize. I only acted to keep up with you—what crime is there in that?"

Lu Ye...

"Chu Ling, was it you who took the Heavenly Sword Umbrella from the Xuantian Sword Sect?"

"Young Master, I won’t lie to you—it was me!"

"The Xuantian Sword Sect is now a pillar of humanity. How many times must I tell you? Don’t betray your allies, don’t stab them in the back—why won’t you listen?"

"I need to grow stronger. Sword cultivation is a path of contention. If the Xuantian Sword Sect is displeased, let them come challenge me to a duel!"

"If I lose, I’ll return the Heavenly Sword Umbrella to them!"

"You must come with me to apologize this time."

"No. My sword path is my own. I won’t apologize."

"Then I’ll drag you back by force if I have to!"

"Then you might as well cut off my head and take it directly to the Profound Heaven Sword Sect to apologize. I just don’t understand—your strength is already among the top three in the Fourth Heaven, and the entire Profound Heaven Sword Sect is no match for you. Why are you so timid? You’re a sword cultivator too—don’t you understand the way of the sword?"

Lu Ye...

Ah, too many times—who even knows how many.

Later, Lu Ye became numb to it. Whenever she caused trouble, he’d just clean up the mess.

Lu Ye was willing to call Chu Ling the "Backstab Emperor."

A professional at stabbing her own allies in the back.

And now, she’s picked up her old trade again.

Perhaps some people—their selfishness is truly incurable.

This time, with no one to help her clean up the aftermath, he’d just see how Chu Ling handled it.

She’s bound to—

Uh...

Lu Ye recalled how he’d said this one was "bound to die," that one was "bound to die," yet up till now, only the Vermilion Bird had actually died. He couldn’t help but feel a bit sheepish.

Fine, he wouldn’t say it anymore—his face had been slapped hard enough.

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