8: Consent Contract

If Lin Luoxue wanted to terminate the Contract, killing her was definitely out of the question.

After all, setting aside the fact that Lin Luoxue had once saved his life, he couldn't possibly kill her given the High Grade Metal and Lightning Dual Spiritual Roots and the Complete Understanding of the Way of the Sword he had obtained from her.

A Spirit Tamer with Peak Aptitude and the Peak Talent of a Clear Sword Heart was not something one encountered every day.

More importantly, the Spirit Taming Contract was bound by the Soul.

Once the Contract was dissolved, Zhang Daobai's Soul would inevitably suffer damage.

Recovering and forming a new Contract with another Spirit Tamer would take at least several months, which would severely impact Zhang Daobai's cultivation plans.

“spirit taming space?”

Lin Luoxue was stunned to hear this, and she quickly thought of the mysterious Secret Realm she was in when she first woke up.

“You already know my secret, so there's no way I can let you leave,” Zhang Daobai added.

Lin Luoxue continued to ask with some confusion, “Why not just kill me directly?”

“Because you once saved my life,” Zhang Daobai answered with a mix of truth and lies.

Saved his life?

Lin Luoxue was taken aback. She stared at Zhang Daobai's face, trying hard to recall any memory of him.

But after reminiscing for a while, she still couldn't recall a single thing about Zhang Daobai.

Seeing Lin Luoxue's confused expression, Zhang Daobai had long expected this, so he didn't show the slightest hint of disappointment.

After all, how could a high-and-mighty eldest Disciple of the Sect Master and the number one Genius of the Cloud Sword Sect remember a Utility Disciple she had saved in passing?

“Three years ago, I was taken out by several Outer Sect Disciples to act as bait for a Yao Beast. Just as I was about to die, you killed the beast, gave me a healing pill, and warned those Outer Sect Disciples, allowing me to survive.”

Zhang Daobai held a wooden stick, poking at the campfire as he recounted the past.

Listening to Zhang Daobai's words, a memory finally surfaced for Lin Luoxue.

At that time, she seemed to have been out searching for a type of Spirit Medicine when she happened upon a group of Outer Sect Disciples bullying a Utility Disciple.

Naturally, Lin Luoxue couldn't stand such behavior towards a fellow sect member, so she casually saved the Utility Disciple and gave those Outer Sect Disciples a warning.

To Lin Luoxue, this was just an insignificant trifle that she forgot shortly after.

She never expected that such a small deed would actually save her life today.

After learning that Zhang Daobai had saved her to repay his debt of gratitude, the wariness in Lin Luoxue's heart decreased significantly.

After staring at the campfire and contemplating for a while, Lin Luoxue finally made a decision that would affect her entire life.

Lin Luoxue looked up, her gaze fixed on Zhang Daobai with determination, as if she would end her own life if he didn't agree.

“I agree to form a Contract with you. I can fight for you, even if it means risking my life! But! I will never become a maid or a servant who waits on others.”

This was the final pride of Lin Luoxue as a Sword Cultivator. She could die in battle, but she would never live on in humiliation and shame.

“Fine, I promise you.”

Zhang Daobai agreed immediately without a second thought.

If he wanted a beautiful and glamorous maid, there were plenty in the cultivation world; hardly any female Cultivators who cultivated normally were ugly.

Of course, a peerless beauty of Lin Luoxue's level was still rare.

However, Zhang Daobai was not the type to crave beauty or pleasure. What he needed was an assistant who could help him go further on the path of cultivation.

He didn't need a beautiful but useless vase who might even hold him back.

Seeing Zhang Daobai agree to her request without hesitation, Lin Luoxue secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

In truth, if Zhang Daobai had harbored ill intentions toward her right now, she would have had no way to resist.

The few trump cards she had were already exhausted during her escape and her confrontation with Yun Changqing.

If Zhang Daobai really laid a hand on her, all she could do was find an opportunity to take her own life.

“Since you've agreed to form a Contract with me, then from now on, we are on the same side.”

At this moment, Zhang Daobai also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, he hadn't held much hope initially that a Genius who reached Foundation Establishment Perfection at age twenty would be willing to become a Spirit Tamer for a piece of trash like him who had been expelled from the Cloud Sword Sect.

“By the way! Who was the person chasing you today? Can you tell me?”

Once the atmosphere had relaxed a bit, Zhang Daobai asked curiously.

“The Young Sect Master of the Cloud Sword Sect, the son of the current Sect Master, Yun Changqing.”

Lin Luoxue's face turned cold, her voice filled with loathing as she answered.

The Young Sect Master of the Cloud Sword Sect?

Hearing this, Zhang Daobai immediately associated many things with Yun Changqing's identity.

One had to know that Lin Luoxue was the Sect Master's Personal Disciple. Yet, as the Sect Master's son, Yun Changqing had come alone to hunt her down after she lost her cultivation. This was something that invited deep thought.

Even if Lin Luoxue's Dantian was ruptured and she had become a useless person with no cultivation, she was still the Sect Master's Disciple.

“Is there another secret behind your dantian rupture?” Zhang Daobai thought for a moment and asked his suspicion.

Lin Luoxue looked up at Zhang Daobai and then nodded. “Yes, I was plotted against.”

“The purple heart barrier-breaking pill I used for my Breakthrough was poisoned. At the most critical moment of my Breakthrough to the Purple Mansion Stage, the Spiritual Qi in my body suddenly went into a frenzy.”

“This caused my attempt to open the Purple Mansion to fail, and my Dantian was shattered as a result, causing me to lose all my spiritual power and cultivation.”

“So that's how it was.” A flash of shock crossed Zhang Daobai's eyes.

Zhang Daobai had long suspected something regarding Lin Luoxue's failed Breakthrough and subsequent dantian rupture, but he hadn't expected the truth behind it to be this.

“Was it Yun Changqing who did it?” Zhang Daobai quickly thought of something and continued to ask.

“Yes. More accurately, his father—my Revered Master—likely knew about it too, or was even part of the plan.”

Lin Luoxue tightened the blanket around her, her voice exceptionally calm.

Hearing this, Zhang Daobai looked up at Lin Luoxue with eyes full of astonishment.

Destroying someone's path of cultivation was such an evil deed that usually only mortal enemies or irredeemable villains would do it.

As Lin Luoxue's Revered Master, under what circumstances would the Sect Master of the Cloud Sword Sect do such a thing to his own Disciple?

“Why?” Zhang Daobai asked, deeply perplexed.

“To keep me in the Cloud Sword Sect forever, for the development of his Yun Family, and for the future of the Cloud Sword Sect!”

Lin Luoxue spoke each word with cold, gritted teeth.