Chapter 40: Thorough Awakening

The crisis is over, but Chen Qiye has fallen into a coma…

"Chen Qiye won't be in trouble, right? After all, that gray light sphere, even we can't deal with it!" Looking at the comatose Su Yu, Huo Yuhao began to feel nervous.

"Tianmeng Ge, Bing Di, why don't you say something? What exactly happened to Chen Qiye?"

The silence of Tianmeng Bingcan and Bing Di threw Huo Yuhao into complete panic.

Because the earlier revival of Yi Laikesi had nearly overwhelmed Huo Yuhao's Sea of Spirit, if it weren't for the support of Bing Di and Tianmeng Bingcan, his Sea of Spirit would have truly collapsed.

Now that his own crisis is resolved, the greatest danger has shifted onto Chen Qiye, and that makes Huo Yuhao unable not to worry!

"Yuhao, don't be hasty. Right now we have no way to help your friend. This crisis we survived precisely because of your classmate's help, so now we can only wait. Moreover, you mustn't tell your teachers if you don't want to become an experimental specimen."

Tianmeng Bingcan's words were blunt, and Bing Di said little else.

Now everything can only rely on Chen Qiye himself to get through it; either Huo Yuhao tells the academy teachers and gets seized for research, sacrificing himself and Chen Qiye—only one choice.

In the end, Huo Yuhao fell silent…

"Being bound here, without those three guys' harassment, I can finally rest properly."

At that moment, the sound of high heels suddenly echoed.

"Let this round of moonlight shine through all rivers!" Jingliu's mad voice rang out,

"Who is it? No, his Sea of Spirit still has someone."

Sword qi poured down like raindrops, exaggerated strands of icy sword qi slashed from the 'Ice Sword' in his hand.

The frost moved as fast as lightning; no matter how Yi Laikesi tried to dodge, he couldn't evade the dense sword qi.

Yi Laikesi instantly felt humiliated; even if he were to die, he couldn't die so resentfully! With that thought, he turned to counter, and the dozens‑metre‑long sword scars slashed his own body.

One, two… the icy sword qi Jingliu wielded all slashed Yi Laikesi's body. That originally frail form endured forces it shouldn't have.

The already feeble consciousness completely dissipated, and the remaining spiritual power merged entirely into Chen Qiye's Sea of Spirit…

Yi Laikesi died beyond death, leaving no corpse behind.

Ice seemed to freeze time itself, Jingliu's madness, Chen Qiye's astonishment… and Yi Laikesi's scattering with the wind.

The sword qi exploded on impact, countless ice particles scattering within the Sea of Spirit.

"Sssha~ Sssha~" Chen Qiye could clearly hear Jingliu's heavy breathing.

Jingliu trembled, causing both Chen Qiye himself and the entire Sea of Spirit to quiver.

"Master, that person is dead; should we sheath the sword?"

Although Chen Qiye didn't know why Jingliu attacked Yi Laikesi, seeing Jingliu's current state, Chen Qiye could no longer care about that much…

Jingliu clutched the 'Ice Sword' tightly, her tone frantic: "No, we can't stop, we can't stop."

In the midst of speech, Chen Qiye noticed the flamboyant red glint in Jingliu's pupils flickering unusually.

"Swish, swish, swish~"

In a flash, Jingliu actually grabbed Chen Qiye, lifted his arm, and swung sword after sword.

This place was originally Chen Qiye's Sea of Spirit.

However, because the suddenly maddened Jingliu kept slashing, this spot instantly turned into an icy hell.

Countless splashes rose, yet for some reason Chen Qiye's spiritual power was not greatly threatened. Meanwhile, the bead he chewed in his toad‑mouth outside now glittered.

Time in the Douluo world seemed frozen, leaves hung mid‑air, the splashing waves were suspended in the sky…

Jingliu's breathing grew more rapid beside Chen Qiye's ear, and his arm became coated with a layer of frost from her power.

"Master, stop quickly, are you going to destroy my Sea of Spirit?" Chen Qiye kept urging.

Several shouts proved useless; Chen Qiye went all out, twisting his head back to plant a kiss on Jingliu's pale cheek.

A kiss alone wasn't enough; he even bit Jingliu's face with his teeth.

Her face was soft and slick, icy cold, and a hard bite felt like biting a bouncy ice jelly.

The slight pain seemed to stimulate Jingliu; her movement suddenly halted, and the other hand, half‑holding Chen Qiye, pushed forward forcefully.

Chen Qiye and Jingliu separated, the surrounding icy sword qi still spreading wildly, making the scene unusually awkward.

"Master." Chen Qiye glanced at Jingliu's blood‑red eyes, a little hesitant to meet her gaze, and lowered his head slightly.

Jingliu's crimson eyes stared at Chen Qiye, the wild frenzy slowly fading, replaced by an indescribable meaning.

Chen Qiye felt a bit cold.

"You kissed me?" Jingliu asked coldly.

Chen Qiye averted his gaze, blushing, and said, "Master, I bit you."

That answer left Jingliu speechless.

The earlier kiss‑and‑bite, saying there was no desire at all, even Chen Qiye didn't believe himself.

"Master, I was wrong." Chen Qiye lowered his head to admit his fault.

Jingliu's eyes were again veiled by black silk, her tone considerably calmer: "You're not wrong."

"Those who fall into demonic shadows invert the six dust, humanity is lost. You stopping me is correct."

She paused for two seconds, then continued: "The swords just now were forced upon you; you must truly experience them."

"Yes, Master." Chen Qiye nodded earnestly; whether it was the moonlight shining through all rivers or the hurried sword count after landing, both gave him a tremendous shock.

What he produced could not be compared at all; it was on a completely different level…

………

When Chen Qiye revived, Xuan Lao had already returned; it's incomprehensible why the original work lets a titled Douluo fail to capture a Soul King just to let the protagonist go to extremes to show off.

The severely injured inner‑court trainees had already been gathered together; the worst cases were Yao Haoxuan, Gongyang Mo, and Chen Zifeng. The three lay on the ground, blood‑soaked and unconscious.

Although Xi Xi was also comatose, her injuries were slightly lighter than theirs.

Chen Zifeng managed to keep both legs thanks to Chen Qiye's soul‑guided armor; Yao Haoxuan's survival was a miracle—though his chest was a mess of blood and flesh, at least his limbs were intact, his life saved! Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, and Ling Luocheng also suffered heavy mouth‑nose bleeding but remained conscious.

Compared with the inner‑court's seven disciples' carnage, the outer‑court disciples were unscathed. They already had Huo Yuhao's spirit‑detection sharing assistance, were farther from the explosion core, and reacted instantly when something felt off.

The only one who was somewhat out of the ordinary was Chen Qiye; although he had suffered a bit of the explosion's shockwave, his mental state at the moment was very poor, and Huo Yuhao kept silent about it.

Because he didn't dare to say it!

(End of chapter)