Chapter 158

The great battle between Chen Yi He and the Young Palace Master lasted for over an hour.

The Young Palace Master suppressed the shock in her heart and fought Chen Yi He. She never expected Chen Yi He's progress to be so great! In just half a year, Chen Yi He could already match her. If another three to five years passed, would she still be his opponent?

This thought kept lingering in the Young Palace Master's mind, and instead it restrained her, allowing Chen Yi He to gain the upper hand.

The Palace Master was both astonished and vexed—she had raised her daughter for nearly twenty years, yet someone could fight her to a stalemate! The people of the Five Absolutes Palace are always superior; not just one level above, but being three or four levels above is quite normal.

The Young Palace Master stepped back more than ten paces, opened her stance, lifted one foot, touched the ground with the other, spread her arms, and lightning power coiled around her slender arms!

"Five Absolutes Eight Wilds!" Ruan Shu exclaimed in shock!

Chen Yi He froze, his sword still suspended in midair, when a powerful force flung him away.

Five streams of true qi again surged on the Young Palace Master's body, coming from all directions, gathering on her, then flowing through her and rushing wildly toward Chen Yi He.

In the moderately sized Five Absolutes Hall, nothing but the Young Palace Master's true qi filled the space—everywhere was she, everywhere was her fiery, vivid presence, like blossoming roses spreading across heaven and earth.

Chen Yi He panicked, knowing the Young Palace Master was about to go all out. He gripped his sword with both hands again and rose to his feet despite the immense pressure.

The Purple Tempered Sword's purplish-white blade continually gathered its sword qi, drawing it all into itself.

"Kill!" Chen Yi He roared angrily.

"Go die!" the Young Palace Master shouted.

Drawing the sword and swinging the palm happened in an instant.

The Palace Master had to intervene again, otherwise her Five Absolutes Hall would be destroyed under these two forces. Her heart felt relieved seeing the Young Palace Master not follow her old path, yet it was equally painful—if the Young Palace Master truly left the Five Absolutes Palace, what could be done?

"Boom!!!"

Ruan Shu's true qi barrier was shattered directly; had the Palace Master not intervened, she would surely have been flung away!

Chen Yi He's body was blasted straight away, slamming into the wall. Even with the Palace Master's seal, the wall still bore a human-shaped indentation.

The Young Palace Master knelt on one knee, her snow-white, slender legs exposed, the hem of her long skirt torn—no one had ever been able to wound her! Not to mention her beloved long skirt. She breathed lightly, "huff… huff…", head raised, gazing at Chen Yi He in the distance.

Chen Yi He could exert no strength at all; the intense pain nearly made him faint, but he endured! He looked at Dongfang Xing lying on the ground, still unharmed, feeling a surge of luck, yet a sorrow followed that overwhelmed that luck.

He had lost!

This was Chen Yi He's own choice. At the critical moment of their exchange, those two mighty forces were unrestrained; Dongfang Xing lay there safely, still asleep, utterly unaware that she was about to be engulfed.

If not stopped, she would be smashed to pieces!

How could Chen Yi He let his beloved be destroyed? At the last moment, he hurled the Purple Tempered Sword above Dongfang Xing's body, directing all his sword qi toward her; the Purple Tempered Sword shielded her from everything, ensuring she came to no harm.

For a moment, Chen Yi He lost track of one thing while attending to another!

Dongfang Xing was like a lone sail on the sea, drifting with the waves in the storm; no matter how huge the waves or how fierce the tsunami, she suffered no harm.

Chen Yi He was her protective umbrella in the endless sea.

All of this was seen by the other three. Had Chen Yi He not been protecting Dongfang Xing, he might not have lost to the Young Palace Master, for earlier he had shown a faint tendency to surpass her.

After Chen Yi He's sword qi crushed the Young Palace Master's 'Five Absolutes' qi into powder, it remained sharp—yet regrettably, at the crucial moment he expended all his sword qi to shield Dongfang Xing.

The Young Palace Master looked at her hands, still as pure and delicate as ever, and finally she had defeated Chen Yi He. She took a few breaths, then said to the Palace Master, "Mother, I want freedom."

She forgot that her victory was not honorable.

But in the martial world, what is absolutely fair?

The Palace Master propped herself on the platform and slowly rose to her feet. She threw the wooden box containing the millennium ginseng to Chen Yi He.

"Pa." Chen Yi He no longer had the strength to catch the box; it fell to the ground, the millennium ginseng inside spilling out, its fragrance wafting forth again.

Chen Yi He hurriedly lay prone on the ground, using his body to shield the millennium ginseng there, fearing someone else might snatch it away.

The Young Palace Master was astonished that the Palace Master would make such a choice, yet clearly she had won; she pointed at Chen Yi He and said, "Mother, I won! Why did you give the millennium ginseng to him?"

"Chen Yi He wasn't doing it for Dongfang Xing; the one who just lost was you." The Palace Master said coldly to the Young Palace Master.

"Impossible!"

"You fought him with too many distractions in your heart; he prevailed through unwavering resolve!"

"But I'm the one who won!" the Young Palace Master shouted furiously, her years of reserve vanishing completely last night and today. "Do you distinguish so much on the battlefield? You've told me since childhood that only the victor can stand tall; in this world only victory and loss are distinguished—why look at so much else?"

Chen Yi He cupped the millennium ginseng in both hands; severely wounded, he could not rise, so he crawled forward on the ground, inch by inch, until he reached Dongfang Xing's side.

"Dongfang… Dongfang…" Chen Yi He trembled with excitement, not just his hands shaking but his entire body quivering!

As long as Dongfang Xing awakens, he would be willing even to die.

The sleeping porcelain doll will eventually awaken, awakening amidst destruction and silence.

"Go on, the Five Absolutes Palace cannot keep you!" the Palace Master told the Young Palace Master, beneath her red veil showing every expression—ruthless, angry, hateful… she wished nothing more than to kill the Young Palace Master, this betrayer of herself.

The Young Palace Master would not miss this chance; she turned around and hurried toward the broken wooden door without looking back.

The Palace Master's palm gathered the power of the Five Absolutes, her gaze fixed on the Young Palace Master's back.

Anyone who betrays the Five Absolutes Palace cannot be allowed to live—not even one's own biological daughter!

"Palace Master!" Ruan Shu stepped forward, clutching the Palace Master's arm, pleading, "Let her go!"

In the end, the Palace Master could not bring herself to be ruthless.

Finally, the Young Palace Master pushed open the wooden door and strode away.

Mother and daughter finally severed ties.