Cheng Lixue had remained stuck at a critical juncture because she could not understand Fu Hua's departure. She clearly possessed extraordinary talent for cultivation and the crucial pure heart of a child, yet the emptiness within her left her sword heart flawed, keeping her forever at the threshold of an S-rank Valkyrie.
Even as the strongest A-rank Valkyrie, Cheng Lixue still fell short of S-rank.
This was the result of master and disciple failing to understand one another, each unaware of the other's circumstances.
The emptiness in Fu Hua's heart was the pain of being betrayed by seven traitorous disciples.
The thorn in Cheng Lixue's heart was the pain of being "abandoned" by her master—the pain of believing she was unimportant in her master's heart.
But was that really the case?
At this final parting, because she had burned away her memories, Fu Hua could no longer remember much about Cheng Lixue.
Yet, in the moment before she lost consciousness, upon seeing Cheng Lixue, she instinctively told her to leave quickly and said, "Although I no longer remember you, I can feel that you are someone very important to me."
Those words alone made Cheng Lixue's eyes widen as she stood there in a daze.
Then, the Valkyrie who had worn an almost perpetually cold expression since her appearance smiled.
Her smile was gentle, her smile joyful.
Because the thorn in Cheng Lixue's heart—the knot within it—was finally pulled out and untangled at that moment.
The girl understood now that she had never been someone unimportant to her master. She had been someone exceedingly important.
So, when her master had left back then, it had not been because she hated her. There had been other reasons.
At that moment, her long-incomplete sword heart was made whole.
Cheng Lixue's path of