If You’re Not Dia Wu…

Snow Cherry was already flying as fast as possible, but after chasing for so long, she still couldn’t close the gap between them. Evidently, the Lightning Falcon was just as fast as Snow Cherry. Ling Chen stopped calling out and forced himself to calm down. He instantly thought of something and took out the Twilight Spear while using [Moment of Elegance] to charge forwards.

Swish!!

“Ding… the Libra Orb’s effects have been activated, [Moment of Elegance]’s cooldown time has been reset.”

Like a bolt of lightning, Ling Chen flashed 15 metres forwards.

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[Moment of Elegance] instantaneously shot him forwards, and because Ling Chen was already travelling at high speeds, he closed the gap between the Sword Emperor and himself by 10 or so metres. Ling Chen didn’t hesitate to use [Moment of Elegance] again, once again closing the gap.

[Moment of Elegance]’s cooldown time was only 10 seconds, and adding on the Libra Orb’s continuous activation, Ling Chen had used it more than 10 times in less than a minute, placing him around 10 metres behind the Sword Emperor… the grey-cloaked figure standing on the Lightning Falcon was right in front of him, and with one more [Moment of Elegance], he would be able to catch up to her.

“Dia Wu! Please stop!! If you’re determined to leave, can you at least give me a reason?” Ling Chen yelled at the Sword Emperor’s back.

Upon hearing this, the Sword Emperor finally reacted. Her right hand, wrapped with grey cloth, swept behind her as a silver light shot out towards Ling Chen’s head.

The piercing light grew larger within Ling Chen’s eyes, and he subconsciously turned his head, the icy sword light passing by his throat. Following this, he felt strange ripples behind him as he looked back and saw that the sword that had just passed by him turned around, piercing towards his back.

This was… Sword Manipulation!

Ling Chen was dumbfounded… when he was younger he had heard Xuanyuan Dia Wu mention that the highest level of the Xuanyuan sword arts was Sword Manipulation. Sword Manipulation was not some sci-fi or fantasy idea, and it truly existed within the Xuanyuan family’s sword arts. When one’s sword intent reached a certain level, they would be able to manifest it to control a sword to the point that they could use it to kill an enemy thousands of miles away.

It was difficult to find a genius who could accomplish this even once in a hundred years. For the rare ones who could accomplish this, they were already old in age by the time they achieved it. Xuanyuan Dia Wu was the same age as he was, and yet she could already use Sword Manipulation!

Ling Chen was utterly shocked, but this was not the time to dwell upon such things. He tilted his body, avoiding the sword that pierced towards him from behind as he locked on to where the Sword Emperor and released another [Moment of Elegance]. His body turned into a ray of light, coming behind the Sword Emperor in an instant. He was now only a palm away from her.

Without thinking about it, Ling Chen let go of the Twilight Spear and Shadissika as he spread out his arms and hugged the Sword Emperor tightly from behind.

“Dia Wu… you can’t run anymore.”

The Sword Emperor stiffened as if she had been struck by lightning. The sword that had been flying in the air lost its sword intent and powerlessly fell down. Everything fell silent for 3 seconds before the Sword Emperor started to vigorously struggle. 4 silver swords chaotically rose into the air around her, stabbing towards Ling Chen from different directions.

Although the Sword Emperor’s attack power couldn’t compare to Ling Chen’s, it was still quite terrifying. On the battlefield, not even the Shield Bearers could avoid being insta-killed by her. Although Ling Chen couldn’t be killed so easily, if he was hit by these 4 swords… the first 2 would be blocked by the Evil God’s Mask, but he would be killed by the next 2.

However, it was as if Ling Chen hadn’t noticed these swords. Despite the swords flying closer and the Sword Emperor’s struggling, he continued to hug her tightly, unwilling to let go. He pressed his chest against her back as he softly spoke into her ears, “Dia Wu… Dia Wu… I never thought that I would be able to hug you again in my life…”

The 4 swords stopped right before they pierced into Ling Chen, seeming as if they simply couldn’t stab into him. When Ling Chen’s words sounded in her ears and the warmth spread throughout her body, she felt as if all of the strength had left her body, making her feel incredibly weak and causing the swords to fall.

“Let me go!”

The Sword Emperor spoke. The Sword Emperor, who never spoke, actually said something. It was a man’s voice, and it was incredibly hoarse and dry, sounding even worse than an old man’s voice.

“I’m not the Dia Wu you’re talking about… let me go! Otherwise… I’ll kill you!”

Anyone who heard this voice would feel incredibly uncomfortable and imagine a withered demon in their mind. However, Ling Chen smiled and hugged her tighter as he closed her eyes and smelled her, warmly speaking…

“If you’re not Dia Wu, why did your swords stop just then?”

“If you’re not Dia Wu, why don’t you use the system’s lightning to smite me to death for hugging you like this?”

“If you’re not Dia Wu, why would you be able to use [Heaven’s Edge, Butterfly’s Dance] that day?”

“If you’re not Dia Wu, why would you desperately save me that night, betraying the Long family and Xuanyuan family?”

“If you’re not Dia Wu, why would your heart be beating so quickly?”

“If you’re not Dia Wu, why would you have Dia Wu’s smell? Although we’ve separated for more than 10 years and Dia Wu has grown up, I’ll never forget Dia Wu’s smell.”

“If you’re not Dia Wu, why would I feel so at peace while hugging you?”

“If you’re not Dia Wu… why would you be secretly crying?”

Ling Chen’s hands touched the Sword Emperor’s face, feeling a trace of wetness on the cloak.

Ling Chen’s questions caused the Sword Emperor’s tears to fall. She bit her lips and desperately shook her head, forcing back her sobs. However, she was unable to say anything.

“Dia Wu…” Ling Chen softly spoke, “I know I can’t be forgiven – you gave up so much for me, and despite recognising you back then, I chose to retreat and didn’t go to find you. Instead, I was with another girl…” After taking a deep breath, boundless guilt filled Ling Chen’s chest as he continued, “However, at least give me a chance to make it up to you, alright…”

“I swear to the heavens that over these years I’ve never forgotten about Dia Wu… that night, I was taken by people and buried alive in a remote place. I thought I died, but I was unexpectedly taken by someone to an incredibly terrifying place. There, they cured me of the Isrock Disease, but used my body to do cruel experiments…”

Upon hearing this, the Sword Emperor’s body violently trembled. Just these few sentences caused her to think of a place scarier than hell. She didn’t dare to imagine just what sort of pain and suffering the man behind her had experienced over the years.

“During those years I saw many people die, but I continued to struggle to keep living because I wanted to take revenge… and because I couldn’t let you go. I still wanted to meet you again… 7 years later, I finally escaped from there. After returning to China, the first thing I did was search for you, but I was told that 7 years ago you fasted to death… back then, I went crazy… I charged into the Long family and killed everyone I saw because I wanted to take revenge for my Dia Wu…”

Ling Chen’s hands slightly tightened. After suddenly receiving news that Dia Wu had died, the pain and despair he felt made him do the craziest thing… thinking back, whenever he had gone mad, he had attacked the Long family. Once was because of Dia Wu, and the other was because of Shui Ruo.

The Sword Emperor’s body completely froze as she mumbled, “6 years ago, that person was you… and you did it because…”

“Fate really played a cruel joke on us. You thought I was dead, and I thought you were dead. Although we lived near each other for so many years, we didn’t know the other person was still alive. However, these years have been more painful for you. After escaping from the Long family that year, I met a girl called Ruo Ruo. She was like an angel given to me by the heavens who was able to heal my soul. She gave me a new life and a true home.

“During those years, while bearing the pain of losing you, I stayed with her and vowed that I would protect her for the rest of my life so that I wouldn’t lose her like I lost you… half a year ago after I fought with you, I saw you use our [Heaven’s Edge, Butterfly’s Dance]. It made me realise that you were my long-lost Dia Wi… I was delirious with joy, but I also felt afraid… if that wasn’t you, the pain after feeling hope would rip apart my heart again. However, if it was you, I wouldn’t know how to face you… because if you were my Dia Wu, I would want to hug you tightly for the rest of my life, but I also made a promise to stay with Shui Ruo forever…”

“No one will ever see my eyes again; no one will ever hear my voice…”

When he realised that Sword Emperor could be Xuanyuan Dia Wu, her attire made her think of the words she had said while crying that night…

She thought that he had died, and had sealed herself off. She didn’t allow anyone to see her eyes, nor hear her voice… when Ling Chen realised this, he felt like his heart was torn apart. These years, he had been with another girl… Dia Wu’s feelings for him had never changed, and yet he had fallen in love with another girl. As such, he felt that there was no way for him to face Dia Wu and love her again.