High Martial Arts: Gains one point of health per second, sweeping across the heavens.

Although Su Jie was improving the academic qualifications of those female disciples, his eyes were slightly narrowed.

His tenth-level primordial spirit silently enveloped the entire Great Luo Sword Embryo, and Jiang Yue'er's every move was within his perception.

He saw every single detail of her movements.

Su Jie's lips curled up slightly. It was done.

He knew all too well what Jiang Yue'er was thinking.

I'm unwilling to accept it, I can't bear to part with it, I can't let it go.

The humiliation, torment, and repeated beatings of the past ninety years have transformed her from a high and mighty Daoist of the Heavenly Maiden Temple into a woman who depends on his emotions, cares about his attitude, and fears being abandoned by him.

She's now stubbornly insisting she's "unwilling," but deep down she doesn't feel that way at all.

She just didn't want to admit it, didn't want to face the fact that she couldn't live without him.

Su Jie chuckled to himself.

What revenge for Jiang Rou'er? He's not stupid; he's never had any real feelings for Bai Zhi.

In his heart, Bai Zhi held a negligible position, at most being a compliant and cooperative tool.

He went to so much trouble and tormented Jiang Yue'er for over ninety years, not to avenge anyone at all.

It was to subdue her.

In order to make her willingly stay by his side, to make her a pawn in his game, and to control the entire Celestial Maiden Temple through her.

Now, it's almost done.

After Su Jie finished improving the academic qualifications of the last female disciple, he clapped his hands and turned around.

More than two hundred female disciples lay sprawled on the sword, some rubbing their waists, some pounding their legs, and some simply lying on the sword pretending to be dead.

Bai Zhi, whom Su Jie hadn't seen in a long time, was so badly upset that she fainted, her eyes rolling back like a goldfish that had been tormented to the point of oxygen deprivation.

Su Jie's gaze swept past the scattered figures and landed on the moon-white figure at the end of the sword.

Jiang Yue'er was still sitting there, her back to him, looking at the gray-white void in the distance, lost in thought.

Su Jie walked over, his steps slower than usual, with a hint of unusual hesitation.

He stopped behind her, remained silent for a moment, and then spoke, his voice tinged with feigned embarrassment: "Yue'er..."

Jiang Yue'er's body stiffened slightly, but she did not turn around.

Su Jie scratched the back of his head, his tone carrying a hint of embarrassment that he rarely showed:

"They're so useless, they're all like dead fish. I can't do without you..."

He paused, then lowered his voice even further: "I'm used to finishing things up with you. Look at how useless they all are, it makes me feel stifled."

As he spoke, he squatted down and naturally placed his hand on her shoulder.

Jiang Yue'er's body tensed up suddenly. She was about to say, "Didn't you say you wouldn't touch me?", but before she could finish speaking, Su Jie's hand had already slid off her shoulder.

Her body acted faster than her mind.

Over ninety years of "spot checks" training has given her body muscle memory.

By the time she realized what was happening, she was already facing away from him, and he had skillfully positioned her in the right position.

Su Jie's voice came from behind her, tinged with a triumphant smile:

"See, I told you we're used to it, and you're used to it too. The body is the most honest thing; it can't lie."

Jiang Yue'er bit her lip, her face flushed red, and her voice squeezed out from between her teeth:

"You...you bastard! Didn't you say you wouldn't touch me? Didn't you say you'd set me free?"

Su Jie's voice carried a hint of roguish self-righteousness:

"I meant I'm setting you free. But this isn't forcing you, and you didn't resist, did you?"

Jiang Yue'er opened her mouth, wanting to refute, but found that she did not resist.

Her body was even more cooperative than her mind.

She hated her useless body.

She gritted her teeth, her voice a mixture of shame and anger: "You...you go to hell!"

Su Jie's voice carried a hint of long-suppressed satisfaction: "Yue'er, you really are the best."

Jiang Yue'er's mind went blank, and she let him do as he pleased.

She cursed him countless times in her heart: You dog of a man, go to hell, go to hell, go to hell.

After a very long time, the sound of the Great Luo Sword's tail finally subsided.

Su Jie hugged Jiang Yue'er from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. He was still breathing slightly out of breath, but his breathing had mostly calmed down.

She was like a crumpled piece of moon-white silk, softly leaning against his chest.

Su Jie lowered his head and gently kissed her forehead.

The movements were very light, with a rare gentleness.

Jiang Yue'er kept her eyes closed, her eyelashes trembled, but she didn't dodge.

Su Jie's lips pressed against her forehead, lingering for two breaths before moving away, his voice husky and earnest with a hint of satisfaction:

"Moon, will you really be my Daoist partner from now on?"

Jiang Yue'er's body stiffened slightly.

Su Jie tightened his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder again, as if talking to himself:

"These female disciples are nothing but ordinary beauties compared to you, only good for amusement. I play with them purely because I'm bored."

He paused, his voice lowered, and with a sincerity that even he himself almost believed: "Only you are my true love."

Jiang Yue'er remained silent for a long time.

He gave her a way out, a reason, an excuse to deceive herself.

She opened her eyes, gazing at the distant, greyish-white void, and asked softly, "Have you ever said this to other women?"

Su Jie paused for a moment, then laughed, a somewhat helpless laugh: "I haven't told anyone else. You're the first."

Jiang Yue'er did not respond.

She simply turned her head slightly, buried her face in the crook of his neck, closed her eyes, and whispered, "...If you dare to lie to me, I'll castrate you."

Su Jie looked down at her profile, which was buried in the crook of his neck, and slowly a smile spread across his face.

It became.

He lowered his head and placed a very light kiss on the top of her head, his tone carrying just the right amount of doting affection:

"Are you stupid? Why would I lie to you? You are my only Daoist partner."

Jiang Yue'er didn't look up, but her hands around his waist gripped his robe tightly, while her mind was filled with indescribable thoughts.

Yes, it seems I really can't live without him.

Ninety-odd years—not a long time, not a short time—yet her body, her habits, and her trained muscle memory all bear the marks of this man.

She couldn't refuse him at all; the moment he touched her hand, she went limp.

She couldn't control him either; he was stronger than her, and he manipulated her with a smile.

What else can she do?

I might as well become his Daoist partner.

Anyway, she wouldn't be interested in other men anymore. After being tormented by such a person for over ninety years, what difference was there between other men and roadside stones in her eyes?