Ling Tian and Tian Xin's tangled feelings had finally reached some kind of conclusion. Ling Tian had tried to cut through the knot with a swift stroke, but his "blade" had been a little dull, and the clever Hu Yao and Tian Xin had seen through him. Still, Tian Xin didn't want to put Ling Tian in a difficult position. She took back the Butterfly Ring, making her own feelings clear.
Watching Tian Xin look as though her heart were being carved apart, Hu Yao sighed to herself and shook her head. Suddenly, she seemed to remember something. "Sister Xin, didn't you once swear that whoever defeated you could become your husband? Ling Tian that brat surrendered on purpose back then, so that doesn't count as defeating you. This year's Cultivator Assembly is full of talented people. Surely someone will manage to beat you. Then your oath would..."
"You little brat, you're making fun of me now?" Tian Xin forced a smile. She glanced in Ling Tian's direction and murmured to herself, "It's not that easy to change who you love. Even if someone can defeat me, if I don't like him..."
"Honestly, you won't get anywhere by carrying on like this with that blockhead Ling Tian." Hu Yao sighed, a trace of reproach in her voice. "Ling Tian's a good guy in every other way, but when it comes to feelings, he always hesitates and looks both ways. Lian Xin and Hua Min'er mean a great deal to him. Even if he has feelings for you, they'll never mean more to him than those two. And that brat isn't going to take all of you. In the end, if he chooses you, you'll always be... So it's better to suffer a sharp pain now than a lingering one. It