ETR | Chapter 36

Among the Nine Pavilions of the Inner Sect, the Pavilion Masters of Ji Yun Pavilion, Pill Pavilion, and Artifact Pavilion were all former members of Xiao Xueman’s old Silver Eagle team. The other four Pavilion Masters, led by Star-Plucking Pavilion, were Qin Lou’s trusted confidants. These seven people had all helped establish the sect from the ground up—they were veterans. Xiao Xueman knew them all.

But the remaining two Pavilion Masters had only joined after Wangtian Immortal Sect became the number one sect. Compared to the veterans, they were basically “newbies,” since they hadn’t participated in building the sect from scratch. Naturally, among the other pavilions, they tended to be at a disadvantage.

A spirit god’s lifespan was very long, but in reality, cultivation had its golden period.

Take the lowest level spirit practitioner as an example. In places like Seventeenth Heaven, if you didn’t break through before adulthood, then it was pretty much game over—no matter how long you lived, even if you made it to eighty, cultivation wouldn’t make much of a difference anymore.

As cultivation progressed, lifespan would extend, and so would the golden period. For top-level spirit gods, their golden period could last around three hundred years. After that, cultivation would stabilize, and it’d be hard to make any big breakthroughs, though combat experience could still accumulate.

So even though high-level cultivators lived long, the Spirit Realm Continent still saw rapid turnover in power and people.

Qin Lou had already reached Spirit God Tier 9 before the great battle, and he wasn’t even a hundred years old then—something almost unheard of on the continent. Even now, he was still at his peak, totally unmatched.

That said, across the whole Spirit Realm Continent, the number of spirit gods, even counting the demon clans, was less than a thousand. There were about a hundred thousand spirit lords. Sounds like a lot, but the First Heaven region was huge, with tens of millions of people. The real backbone of society was still mostly spirit venerables or even the lower spirit saint class.

In over a hundred years, it was more than enough time for a new generation to rise—and enough time for the top sect to cycle out some of its blood.

The recent mission to send a team to the Lower Realm—other than Lin Yuan from Ji Yun Pavilion being in closed-door cultivation and the half-witted vice-pavilion master taking it upon himself to make decisions—wasn’t interfered with by the seven veteran Pavilion Masters. They all knew Qin Lou’s temper.

Only the two newer factions, Fuhai and Chenchuan Pavilions, sent people down first.

These new forces were so eager to prove themselves that they risked everything just to show off. A lot of people just couldn’t keep their ambitions in check anymore.

Qin Lou wasn’t blind to all these little political plays. He was just thinking about Xiao Xueman and didn’t feel like dealing with them. In his eyes, no matter how wild those Pavilion Masters got, they couldn’t stir up any real waves. His Spirit God Tier 9 strength completely crushed them. Even if all Nine Pavilions and the Elder Council teamed up, they still wouldn’t be able to beat him.

But Qin Lou had been in power too long. Naturally, he’d lost sight of how the shadows grew beneath.

When the Wangtian Immortal Sect had just started, everyone worked hard and cautiously. Back then, both Xiao Xueman and Qin Lou managed things with strict discipline.

There were fewer people, and it was easier to keep things clear and under control. No one dared to let bad actors drag down the sect’s reputation. But now… it wasn’t just the people who had changed—their hearts had, too.

The title of “Number One Sect” was far too useful. Just showing it off made you look cool and powerful. But using it to throw your weight around and bully others? That was something else entirely.

Xiao Xueman had even used the Tian Shu Institute, which he hated with a passion, as a comparison. That alone made Qin Lou feel utterly ashamed.

The more he thought about it, the more cold sweat broke out on his back.

“You’re the leader of the Number One Sect, Qin Lou. You shouldn’t be left with nothing but romance,” Xiao Xueman sighed. “Everything’s already in the past. Qin Lou, accept the truth. Live in the present. That’s the proper path.

“What happened with Ning Ling, once was enough. I don’t want to see a second time.”

What he said made sense. But Qin Lou, willing to reorganize the sect until it met Xiao Xueman’s standards, still couldn’t bring himself to agree to the deeper meaning behind those words.

He couldn’t accept a present that didn’t have Xiao Xueman in it.

“I won’t let Wangtian Immortal Sect follow in Tian Shu Institute’s footsteps,” he said. “And I’m not Yuan Shu. Xueman, I’ll change everything you said. Can’t we… can’t we just…?”

“No.”

Xiao Xueman cut him off. Then after a moment, added, “Qin Lou, we’re only suitable for making deals.”

Qin Lou just couldn’t accept it—how could everything between them be reduced to just a “deal”? Who would sacrifice so much for just a deal?

Maybe Xiao Xueman saw what he was thinking and said:

“Qin Lou, killing Yuan Shu and destroying Tian Shu Institute was my life’s obsession. It came before everything else.
During that final battle, when Tian Shu launched their sneak attack, I stepped in to stop them.

Honestly? It wasn’t because I was worried about you being on the front lines.

I was afraid—afraid of missing the moment, afraid the formation would collapse, afraid Yuan Shu would escape.

I protected you, trained you, even kept you emotionally close—because I knew only your rare talent could pull it off.

I always knew: only you could kill him.

From beginning to end, it was all a deal. A means to an end.

Do you get it now?”

“No. No, it wasn’t.”

Qin Lou couldn’t help but deny it. It was like something had been stabbed straight through him—his eyes turned red in an instant.

He knew Xiao Xueman was saying these things just to hurt him. On one hand, he was using the responsibilities of the sect to get him to take things seriously and stop wasting time searching for him in the Lower Realm. On the other, he was outright denying all their past feelings—just to make him give up.

Qin Lou knew all this. But Xiao Xueman looked at him so coldly, so indifferently, that no matter how much he told himself it was a lie, he still couldn’t stop the heartbreak.

Xiao Xueman knew him too well—he knew exactly what to say to wound him the most.

Besides, it wasn’t without basis. Back when things between them had gone completely off the rails, Qin Lou had really believed it.

He wasn’t unaware that Tian Shu Institute had been provoking them. But the thing was—they always struck right at his most sensitive points. Qin Lou cared too much about Xiao Xueman. Anyone else who touched that spot—dead. But the truth was, he never really learned how to love someone.

He’d lost his parents young. His mother was a mysterious woman who never even officially entered the Qin family. Qin Lou’s identity had always been awkward—a bastard child, and that label stuck.

Add on the fact that he had a strange seal inside him that made his talent seem terrible, and the main Qin family basically despised him. His seal acted up often, making his body look weird and scary.

Over time, people started calling him cursed—that he’d brought misfortune, even killed his own parents.

Because of this, he wandered all the way to Sixteenth Heaven, his personality growing darker and darker. Family rejected him. He had no friends. Before adulthood, he barely managed to reach the spirit practitioner level. He scraped by, living off selling beast hides. He thought his life would just continue on like that—bleak and lonely.

Then he met Xiao Xueman.

Calling Xiao Xueman “the light in his life” felt way too shallow. This was the man who broke the seal on his body, awakened his true strength, stayed by his side day and night, and genuinely treated him with kindness. Compared to that, the three drops of heart’s blood Qin Lou gave him felt like nothing at all.

That might’ve been the root of Qin Lou’s constant insecurity. He needed Xiao Xueman so badly that if he disappeared for even a little while, Qin Lou would panic until he saw him again.

But Xiao Xueman… didn’t seem to need him at all.

The first time Qin Lou met him, Xiao Xueman was already amazing—even though he still had injuries then. Once those healed, he never lost a single fight.

Take the time they got the Eternal Heart Lotus. They had just ascended to the Upper Realm, and the sect was still taking shape. Xiao Xueman said, “You still need a natal spirit instrument. Give me three days.” Then he left. Three days later, right on time, he came back and stared at him until Qin Lou formed a contract with the Eternal Heart Lotus.

Back then, Qin Lou listened to whatever he said. If Xiao Xueman had told him to stab himself with a knife, he would’ve done it—no questions asked. He didn’t even know what the Eternal Heart Lotus was or whether it suited him. He just sat down and signed a permanent, irreversible contract.

Only later did he find out it was a fire-type treasure, and Xiao Xueman had stolen it from a group of spirit gods in the Taixu Secret Realm.

Of course he was touched—but it also made him push himself even harder, almost masochistically. When he bonded with the Eternal Heart Lotus, he was only a spirit venerable. The gap between him and Xiao Xueman was too wide.

Qin Lou’s feelings were full of contradictions. On one hand, he had this painfully humble, suppressed love for Xiao Xueman. He didn’t dare confess until the sect rose to First Heaven and he reached spirit god level. Only then did he ask Xiao Xueman to be with him.

On the other hand, his feelings bordered on animalistic possessiveness. No one could touch Xiao Xueman. He’d panic if someone even looked at him too much.

This intense insecurity wasn’t something Xiao Xueman’s kindness could fix. In fact, the better Xiao Xueman treated him, the more Qin Lou felt unworthy.

Even after reaching the spirit god stage, he felt like Xiao Xueman still didn’t need anything from him.

Destroying Tian Shu Institute had become the sect’s natural trajectory, not something that could balance the scales in Qin Lou’s heart.

Then came Tian Shu Institute’s provocation. Even though he kept telling himself it was fake, that Xiao Xueman loved him, that he wouldn’t leave—he still broke down. And he did something he’d regret for life.

That black iron chain he locked on his star map—a Nine-Star spirit instrument—was specially made for Xueman, so he’d never be able to escape.

To be honest, when he actually used it, he felt this twisted sense of satisfaction. Like it finally eased the fear that had haunted him.

That was right before the final battle. Qin Lou had already reached Spirit God Tier 9. He still clearly remembered what he said while holding the chained-up Xiao Xueman:

“I’ll kill Yuan Shu. I’ll become number one in the world. Our deal—it’s almost fulfilled,” he murmured. “But Xueman, once the deal ends, even if you’re done using me, you’ll never be able to leave.”

Xiao Xueman had never been so furious. He didn’t tolerate it like he used to. He didn’t say a word—just stared at Qin Lou coldly, with a mix of rage and disappointment that said their road had come to an end.

That gaze hurt Qin Lou so badly, he covered Xiao Xueman’s eyes—but still didn’t undo the chain.

What he didn’t expect was Tian Shu Institute launching such a strong sneak attack on the rear.

Back then, Yin Ying still had another member—Yu Zhengrong, a newly advanced metal-type spirit god, who was the main commander defending the rear. He instantly felt something was wrong and instinctively went to find Xiao Xueman for help.

After some effort, he found Xiao Xueman still chained up. As a metal-type spirit god, he used every ounce of strength to break the chain, and with Xiao Xueman’s help, they finally succeeded.

That chain wasn’t something that broke easily. Xiao Xueman went into battle with backlash wounds. His true strength wasn’t any lower than a Tier 9 spirit god. Even injured, he crushed most opponents. He fought with everything, even his life, and barely kept the rear from falling.

Because of Yu Zhengrong’s sharp instincts and Xiao Xueman’s timely appearance, they were able to delay all of Tian Shu Institute’s spirit gods, so much so that most defenders didn’t even realize the rear battle had been fiercer than the front lines.

He protected everyone at the front.

After the battle, Xiao Xueman was on the verge of collapse. His final instructions were for Yu Zhengrong—and Yu Zhengrong followed every single one.

When Qin Lou returned in triumph after killing Yuan Shu, he had no idea how brutal the rear battle had been. He didn’t know Xiao Xueman had risked his life to protect Wangtian Immortal Sect—and him.

Yu Zhengrong told everyone that Xiao Xueman had escaped, that the chain hadn’t held him. That the moment Qin Lou left, he ran away.

So at the time, Qin Lou was still busy preparing the victory ceremony, thinking once he was officially crowned, he could find Xiao Xueman faster, chain him up again, and never let him go.

Until… too many things started to not add up. When Yu Zhengrong left Wangtian Immortal Sect, knowing he couldn’t keep it hidden anymore, he finally spilled everything.

“Earth-shattering” didn’t even come close to describing how Qin Lou felt then.

Author’s Note:

Gong: Tried to go full yandere. Failed.