Cohabitation with Sword Spirit

Chapter 372 - 109: Brothers at Odds

March 8, 2018

Wang Jincheng’s heartfelt words were astonishing, refreshing the perspectives of the young Li Family members. For love, he was willing to temporarily give up his ability to reproduce. What kind of perverted love was this!?

Humans, even cultivators, are shaped by their emotions and desires, which are not innate but have evolved to meet environmental needs, to seek benefit and avoid harm. Family affection and friendship maintain human sociality, while joy and anger are the most direct manifestations of personal gain or loss. As for love, without the need for human reproduction, such intimate emotions naturally would not exist.

However, now Wang Jincheng was willing to forgo reproduction for love. Such a backward action was even more severe than a pedophile’s affliction!

On the other hand, a person who had become so perverted made it difficult for others to criticize or question him harshly, so for a moment, the young Li Family members were at a loss for words.

Seizing the opportunity, Wang Jincheng continued, "I think you’re not really opposing me, but the marriage itself. It’s just that Grandfather... City Lord Shen Ruoshi’s power is too strong for you to shake, so you’ve targeted me, the relatively weaker link. The eldest son of Golden Jade City always carries a Golden Jade Talisman, which can save one’s life and teleport back to the city in crucial moments. So even if you kill me, it won’t lead to an unresolvable vendetta with Golden Jade City, but rather transfer this hatred to Shen City. Isn’t this the plan you’re aiming for?"

Pausing briefly, Wang Jincheng candidly said, "Calculating it this way is wrong. I don’t really matter, but Grandfather’s Heart Demon is deep-seated, and his obsession with his children’s affairs is deeply rooted. Even if you dismember me, he would still seek out Wang Jincheng, Zhang Jincheng, Li... oh, not someone from the Li Family; anyway, his control over Qingming won’t wane because of my death. So what is the point of targeting me? To buy time? Yes, if you send me back to Golden Jade City, even if Grandfather is anxious, it will take time to find a second suitable match. And you want to use this time to garner family support, correct? But have you considered that by the time comes, it might lead to a war between two or even three families, perhaps even a full-scale war? Even with the Saint Sect mediating, avoiding a large-scale conflict, the friendship among the three families would disintegrate, which benefits none of them."

"Is marrying you beneficial?" Li Chaolu asked indignantly.

"At least it is not the worst choice," Wang Jincheng replied, "I can at least assure that I will treat Qingming with utmost respect after marriage and will not be even slightly disrespectful without her permission. If she truly cannot bear it, I can endure the pain of separation, at least granting you a buffer period. So, why target me?"

After this question was posed, even the usually resolute Li Chaolu hesitated.

Indeed, previously deciding to strike at Wang Jincheng largely stemmed from perceiving him as a perverted pedophile, and fearing that Qingming would be in extreme danger if she were to come into contact with him. But now, it seemed, although Wang Jincheng’s perversion was higher than expected, the threat to Qingming did not appear as severe as imagined?

As doubts settled in the hearts of the crowd and the situation began to lean towards Wang Jincheng, Wang Jiu spoke up.

"With utmost respect, is ’respect’ an adjective or a verb?"

"!?" Upon hearing this, Wang Jincheng’s eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at Wang Jiu.

Wang Jiu continued to ask, "You said not to be even slightly disrespectful without permission. So, as long as you find a way for her to slightly change her stance, you can be as disrespectful as desired. And after enduring the pain of separation, you could enjoy the pleasures of an extramarital affair or infidelity. Ultimately, the pre-marital agreements, if faced with inevitable violations due to unforeseen circumstances, can be excused. Marrying first would not be wrong, isn’t that right?"

Once the words landed, Wang Jincheng was left speechless, and after full ten seconds of stunned silence, he stammered out two words: "...Senior brother?"

If it weren’t for the City Lord’s sister having taken on another True Disciple at some point, Wang Jincheng couldn’t understand why Wang Jiu could grasp the teachings of the Zhao Family’s true legacy so thoroughly!

Of course, Wang Jiu wasn’t any true disciple; he was just an old friend who, after a drink, confessed the Zhao Family’s true legacy word for word, which Wang Jiu, with his excellent memory, remembered flawlessly.

That’s all there was to it.

Listening to Wang Jincheng recount the Zhao Family’s true teachings from back then invoked a sense of nostalgia for the passage of time. Even Wang Jincheng’s square face appeared more amiable.

However, regardless of any fondness Wang Jiu felt for the person, today’s battle was unavoidable.

The reason was simple: Qingming was unwilling.

No matter how eloquently Wang Jincheng spoke and offered countless benefits, if Qingming herself was unwilling to marry, there was no room for negotiation.

In fact, from the start, this matter wasn’t about benefits or drawbacks. The benefits Wang Jincheng mentioned might be beyond the thinking of someone like Li Chaolu, but how could someone with an Intelligence Index of 9, unbeaten at Five-in-a-Row like Wang Jiu not think of it?

Even if he had thought of it, it held no significance, because Qingming was unwilling.

As a qualified master, in the absence of explicit orders, one should fully respect the subjective freedom of their steed. Wang Jiu hadn’t considered finding a suitable mating and reproduction partner for Shen Qingming, so naturally, it should be Shen Qingming’s decision alone. Outside of Shen Qingming herself, anyone else’s opinions were insignificant.

If there’s truly any benefit, with a master like the Celestial Divine Sword, is there any benefit that cannot be enjoyed? Sacrificing subjective will for so-called benefits is the greatest disadvantage.

So, after clarifying the Zhao Family’s true teachings, Wang Jiu raised the White Sword in his hand: "Again."

Wang Jincheng was taken aback, unable to comprehend the other’s choice. With the reasoning so clear and evident that they were all one family, why resort to hostilities? Zhao Family members don’t fight Zhao Family members, a principle even his sister endorsed, unless...

In an instant, Wang Jincheng recalled his sister’s teachings.

Members of the Zhao Family do not fight among themselves, unless under one of two circumstances. Firstly, if the other party is too foolish to be rescued, then force must be used for intelligence correction. Secondly, due to a rival in love.

Zhao Jincheng admitted he was far from being as smart as his sister, but certainly not to the extent of being incurably foolish. Even someone as proud as his sister never found his intelligence too low; the person before him shouldn’t use this reason to attack him either.

There was only one possibility left.

Thinking of this, Zhao Jincheng’s expression suddenly became serious.

The eldest son of Golden Jade City was known for his generosity. He could even choose to forgive those who attempted to kill him, but there was only one situation he would never forgive.

A rival in love must be killed without mercy!

"Come."

In an instant, Zhao Jincheng’s gaze turned as sharp as a knife, with all feelings of kinship for his brother-in-law vanishing, even transforming into a more intense hostility.

In romantic relationships, this sort of sibling affection theoretically poses the least threat. Long-term close contact that stays at the sibling level greatly diminishes passion in a relationship, transforming into more approachable family affection. However, there are exceptions to everything. Once this relationship is broken through and sibling affection transforms into more forbidden feelings, it immediately becomes an uncontrollable wildfire.

Such a dangerous enemy must be eliminated at all costs to prevent endless trouble!

Once Zhao Jincheng throws himself fully into the fight, everyone present feels a breathtaking pressure.

It’s even more intense than when he tears through distorted space and walks on air.

The power Zhao Jincheng unleashes in confronting a rival in love is even more potent than when he faces danger himself.

Li Chaolu and Li Xinyu were the first to falter, nearly instantly feeling ruptures in their organs, hastily crushing a talisman each and withdrawing ten miles to the rear.

With their strength, they were unable to engage in any direct combat. Since there was no place to intervene in front, they calmly settled into supporting roles in the rear.

After the two beams of light illuminated, Li Chaolu and Li Xinyu somewhat awkwardly descended from mid-air into a valley ten miles away. Not far from their feet was a clear spring and a withered tree. Once they landed, one went to the spring, the other stood under the tree, silently circulating True Essence and infusing it into them.

This was a geo-node Wang Jiu had long planned, directly connected to two spatial distortion arrays further away, each meant to trap two teams of Zhao Jincheng’s companions. Since activation and maintenance relied primarily on the earth’s own power, only minimal strength was needed to temporarily maintain the spatial distortions, ensuring the teams couldn’t escape and providing time for Wang Jiu.

The crux of the matter lay in whether Wang Jiu could hold down Zhao Jincheng.

——

On the front battlefield, Wang Jiu was already engaged with Zhao Jincheng in a battle of life and death.

Without surprise, Wang Jiu had seized an overwhelming advantage. Amidst the sky, sword light flickered, the Celestial Divine Sword, using faint power, stirred the Heaven and Earth Spirit Wind, unleashing Sword Qi of extraordinarily lethal force. Meanwhile, the sounds of magical treasures shattering on Zhao Jincheng kept echoing, those priceless treasures shattering into pieces and falling from above like rain, mixed with fragments of blood and flesh.

Initially domineering and powerful, Zhao Jincheng, in the blink of an eye, was completely suppressed by Wang Jiu, becoming nothing but a punching bag in the air. The speed of the reversal was utterly astonishing.

However, compared to this one-sided situation, the expressions on both faces seemed to tell a different scene.

Wang Jiu’s calm demeanor was expected. Yet Zhao Jincheng, while struggling to endure, gradually surfaced with an incomprehensible smile.

From absolute advantage instantaneously reduced to a punching bag, an ordinary person would find it hard to react, but Zhao Jincheng not only wasn’t frightened by this dramatic discrepancy, but rather keenly found a glimmer of hope.

"I see, powerful burst yet lacking endurance... If so, let’s see who lasts longer!"

In the next moment, the torrential True Essence within Zhao Jincheng began to vaguely congeal, while he himself glowed with a layer of golden light, his skin turning into something akin to a thick city wall, imbued with astonishing defense.

Simultaneously, his right hand reached into the storage bag at his waist and retrieved his backup gear.

In an instant, the shattered protective magical treasures that had just been swept away by Wang Jiu’s various Sword Qi were replaced by brand new backups.

For most cultivators, obtaining even one magical treasure in a lifetime is rare, yet Zhao Jincheng not only easily assembled a full set, but also had spares!