An exquisite woman pledged to one alone

Xu Changsheng gave Qi Zhaoyue's lips a light bite, then rolled his eyes at her.

"Punishment?"

"I'd call it a reward."

Qi Zhaoyue raised her hand, her slender, delicate fingers gently stroking Xu Changsheng's cheek. "I'm sorry..."

"So, after your apology, can I refuse?"

Qi Zhaoyue shook her head, kissing Xu Changsheng's neck, her tone firm. "No!"

"The Divine Maiden Sect is very important to my future. It's one of my greatest supports in contending for the throne. No one can stop me, including you."

Xu Changsheng rolled his eyes at Qi Zhaoyue again and said irritably, "I knew it."

Xu Changsheng understood perfectly well.

Despite how utterly docile Qi Zhaoyue was toward him, like a canary, even when he made her transmit her voice to her master while...

She had only been slightly embarrassed and annoyed, and had never pursued the matter further.

But!

Once she wanted to do something, even if he...

No, even if everyone under heaven opposed it, she would not stop.

That was who she was: Qi Zhaoyue, the eldest princess of the Great Yu Dynasty!

Honestly, though, Xu Changsheng had never truly wanted to refuse.

After all, establishing the Divine Maiden Sect was an enormously good thing for him as well.

With his current cultivation speed, especially in this "incredibly demanding" cultivation environment, he would certainly have no chance in this lifetime of surpassing Qi Zhaoyue's cultivation through his own cultivation alone.

But he had a system!

As long as Accumulation over Days and Months "dropped" enough rewards, stacking all sorts of physiques and talents would give him a chance to overtake Qi Zhaoyue in cultivation.

Then, one day in the future, even in the outside world, he could rightfully become her master.

And Xu Changsheng believed...

Any women Qi Zhaoyue valued enough to bring here would absolutely be peerless beauties and outstanding prodigies.

Like Ye Luoxue from before.

Valiant, aloof, and brimming with killing intent, like the cold gleam of an unsheathed blade-she had a distinct flavor of her own.

Why wouldn't he gladly do it?

Just as countless thoughts swirled through Xu Changsheng's mind, Qi Zhaoyue suddenly placed his large hand against her cheek.

Then she asked him softly, "Do you regret it?"

Xu Changsheng came back to himself, looked at Qi Zhaoyue, and quickly understood what she meant.

She was asking whether he regretted telling her back then that he had awakened a special physique. If he had not told her, perhaps he would already have become a powerhouse in his own right.

"Regret it?"

Xu Changsheng shook his head lightly, his gaze calm and resolute:

"No."

"I'm willing to pay for my mistakes. I don't regret any of my decisions."

"The only reason things went against my wishes was that my understanding was still lacking."

"Besides..."

Xu Changsheng stroked Qi Zhaoyue's face. "No one can take the right step every time."

"I don't want to look back, nor do I want to judge who I was then. There's nothing to complain about..."

"If I could do it all over again, with the knowledge I had then and my understanding of human nature, I'd still fall into the same pit."

"I've always believed that the roads I've traveled, the people I've met, and the regrets I've been left with are all things I was meant to experience."

"Right and wrong aren't decided by what we wish. No choice is forever correct."

"To make a choice the right one, you have to believe in the choice you've made now. This road I'm walking now..."

"Is the best one!"

Qi Zhaoyue stared at Xu Changsheng in a daze. For an instant, a trace of dreamy confusion and deep attachment flashed in her eyes.

For the first time, Qi Zhaoyue discovered that Xu Changsheng possessed such a powerful heart, such clear understanding...

If I weren't here, perhaps a Xu Changsheng like this really could become someone all four worlds would have to look up to?

Qi Zhaoyue leaned gently against Xu Changsheng's chest, listening to his heartbeat, and sighed inwardly.

Xu Changsheng, you truly are outstanding!

If I were only an ordinary person, if I hadn't been born into the imperial family and didn't bear so many responsibilities, perhaps we really could sustain each other through hardship and walk hand in hand for a lifetime.

We could find somewhere with green mountains and clear waters, living ordinary days of working at sunrise and resting at sunset.

Unfortunately...

There were no ifs!

Qi Zhaoyue stopped dwelling on her sadness. She, too, did not regret her choice!

Qi Zhaoyue rose from the bath, crystal-clear droplets sliding one by one down her exquisite, flawless body. She casually picked up the white silk cloth beside her and wrapped it around herself.

"Leaving?"

Qi Zhaoyue nodded.

Looking at Qi Zhaoyue's shapely body wrapped in silk, Xu Changsheng reached out and caught her wrist, his tone carrying a hint of seriousness:

"Qi Zhaoyue, I have to warn you."

"What?" Qi Zhaoyue turned around and looked at Xu Changsheng.

"Even if you come less often in the future, you still can't let that fellow surnamed Jiang touch you. Do you hear me?"

Xu Changsheng stared into her eyes and spoke each word distinctly.

Qi Zhaoyue looked at Xu Changsheng's possessive expression and said nothing.

She merely leaned close to him again and bit down hard on his shoulder.

She held nothing back. Her teeth instantly pierced Xu Changsheng's skin, and blood welled out, staining her lips red.

"Hiss!"

Xu Changsheng sucked in a sharp breath from the pain. "Qi Zhaoyue, what kind of madness has gotten into you now?!"

He instinctively tried to push Qi Zhaoyue away, only for her to hold him tightly.

Only after a long while did Qi Zhaoyue release Xu Changsheng.

She spat out a large mouthful of blood, then pressed her bloodstained lips to Xu Changsheng's. Only after seeing his lips stained just as red did she speak:

"An exquisite woman pledges herself to one alone."

"And..."

"I won't come any less often!"

With that, she turned and walked away across the water.

"I'm sorry, all right?"

Clutching his bleeding shoulder, Xu Changsheng watched Qi Zhaoyue's retreating back and spoke irritably.

Qi Zhaoyue's steps paused.

With her back to Xu Changsheng, she stood in the middle of the lotus pond. The wind lifted her soaking hair and brushed it across her cheeks, and a rare, happy smile appeared on her face.

But she still did not answer or turn around.

A moment later, she continued forward, her figure soon disappearing from the Lotus Grotto-Heaven.

"Damn!"

Xu Changsheng was speechless. "What a lunatic. I was just reminding you, not actually looking down on you. Did you really have to bite so hard?!"

"Still."

"An exquisite woman pledges herself to one alone..."

With a smile in his eyes, Xu Changsheng said to the Cautious Dao Sainthood System, "Keep-a-Low-Profile System, check her information!"

[Name: Qi Zhaoyue]

[Sex: female]

[Cultivation: Eleventh-Realm Celestial Person]

[Identity: eldest princess of the Great Yu Dynasty, third-ranked female sword immortal under heaven on the Great Yu Dynasty's Sword Immortal Ranking, fourth-ranked beauty on the Great Yu Rouge Ranking]

[Physique: Sun and Moon Shining Together Innate Divine Dao Physique (awakening: 32%)]

[Available to copy: Sun and Moon Shining Together Innate Dao Physique (SSS rank), Lotus Sword Heart (SS), Phoenix Bone (A), Imperial Qi (A), Swordsmanship Mastery (B)...]

(Note: the detected number of intimate contacts between the target and the host has reached the required threshold, meeting the Accumulation Over Time Talent's extraction rules. The host will therefore receive one random copying opportunity.)