“Okay, so what happened? Tell me everything!” Xue Le stood in front of Fu Chen with her hands on her waist and asked with an angry expression.

“What do you mean? What do you want to know?” Fu Chen gave her a confused stare and asked.

“Don’t play dumb with me! Why are you trying to avoid me?” Xue Le gritted her teeth and angrily shouted at him.

“I am not avoiding you. If I was avoiding you, I wouldn’t be here. Are you sure you are alright? You should probably take the rest.” Fu Chen shrugged his shoulders and answered.

This made Xue Le clench her fist. Fu Chen got frightened as he backed off and asked “Miss Xue, if you find any problem, please tell me. There is no need to be violent.”

“See! See, this is exactly what’s happening. I told you already not to call me Miss Xue. You can call me Xue Le. I already told you five times. But, you still keep calling me Miss Xue.”

“For these four days, you have been just trying to avoid me. You don’t ask anything like before. You don’t make any conversation and even try to end the conversation. And, you never even look at my eyes while talking.”

“What is going on? Why are you trying to avoid me? Did I do something wrong?” Xue Le stomped her foot in frustration and asked. Her eyes were turning red but she wasn’t crying. She was holding her tears.

Seeing her condition, Fu Chen felt even more guilty for everything he has been doing for four days. He knows he has to do this. But, he still doesn’t want to make her unhappy.

“Can you please tell me what happened? Are you perhaps bothered by those rumors? Is that why you are avoiding me?” Xue Le looked very sensitive at this moment. She couldn’t bear it anymore.

For four days, he has been ignoring her as if he was angry with her. And, she doesn’t know why.

Seeing him not reply to anything, Xue Le continued “Look, there is no need to believe in those rumors. Yes, I was trying to include you in my faction but I never wanted to do it forcefully.”

“I already told you before. I will do as you wish. I won’t force you for anything at all. So, please don’t avoid me!”

When she said that, Xue Le didn’t realize that it was her first time saying something like this to a boy.

Finally, Fu Chen couldn’t bear it. He placed his hand on his eyes and said “Miss Xue, both of us are from two different worlds. You are a princess while I am a commoner. You live in a mansion while I live in a wooden house. You have everything at your fingertip while I have to struggle even for two times food.”

When he said that, Xue Le felt like the ground disappeared beneath her. But, Fu Chen didn’t stop. He continued.

“Do you know why your friend suicide? Do you think a human who is afraid of death would do suicide because she lost her virginity to someone or because she was insulted by people?”

“No, she didn’t suicide because of those reasons. She suicide because she couldn’t fight back. Her enemy was a member of the royal family. No matter how talented she might be, she couldn’t fight back.”

“She didn’t ask for your help. Do you know why? Who would you choose between your family and her? She might be your best friend but is she comparable to your mother, the person who held you inside her for nine months and took care of you while you grew up?”

“No, she wasn’t and she knew this very well. She was afraid of dragging you in the mess. She was afraid that she will face a situation that you have never imagined. She didn’t say anything just for your sake.”

“Do you know how much courage she had to pull in order to kill herself? I am the same as her. The only difference is that I am a man and those same things won’t work on me.”

“He is not just the threat that I need to think about. Do you really think your family would accept this? You and I both know where this is going. You can’t stop it, Miss Xue.”

“Everyone works in dark, not letting you know anything and when you do know, everything is too late. I don’t mind being caught at that moment but I don’t want my parents to be caught at it.”

“Do you know what I plan to do as soon as I become the Outer-Door Disciple? I plan to visit my family. Every single morning, I wake up with the nightmare of my parents dying.”

“And, it wasn’t just because of that man. It was because we were together, not even as lovers, just as junior brother and senior sister. But, I still suffered. You don’t understand this.”

“Being together with you will only make my life a nightmare. I am grateful for what you have done. And, I will do everything to repay it. But, I can’t continue this.”

“The only reason I am standing in front of you is because of my parents. And, if I lose them, what would I have left? Please understand me, Miss Xue. You are a princess while I am just a commoner.”

Saying so, Fu Chen turned around and left the room. Xue Le was frozen inside. Not before long, tears dropped in her eyes as she fell to her knees.

Sob! Sob! Sob!

For the first time in her life, Xue Le cried like never before. She always didn’t want to admit it before but now she faced the reality in a harsh way.

As for Fu Chen, he was running towards his house. He wasn’t even aware that he was using the Storm Steps. As soon as he reached the door, he closed the door and fell onto the bed.

He put his hand on his eyes and two drops of tears fell down his cheeks.

“Host, you went too far this time. Don’t you have any consideration about woman’s feelings?”

Ysla came out of his forehead and shouted at him but she quickly realized that it wasn’t just hard for Xue Le. She slowly floated near him and pulled down his hands.

At this moment, his eyes were red, filled with tears.

“It hurts, Ysla!”

He never thought by ignoring her, he would start falling for her even more. And, the same thing happened to her. The more he ignored her, the more she fell for him.

But, in the end, he had to stop it.

“Of course, it will hurt. It always hurt to leave someone you love.” Ysla finally sat on his chest and mumbled. She felt like she couldn’t scold him for saying those harsh words to Xue Le.

“That’s why I had to end that. I can’t lose my parents, especially after all they have done for me. I am going to cultivate. I am going to crush every one of them in the competition and finish the quest.”

Fu Chen wiped his eyes and sat on the bed. His eyes were filled with frustration and anger for being weak. He took a deep breath and released his Martial Spirit. For a moment, his eyes changed blue and his pupil elongate up and down.

But, it only lasted for a second. The next moment, his Martial Spirit returned back to his body and he started absorbing the Spiritual Qi from the surrounding.

He had already finished all of the Qi Condensed Pill that Xue Le gave him and reached the High-Tier. He was ready to break into Peak-Tier as long as he accumulates enough Spiritual Qi in his dantian.

But, without any cultivation technique or resources, he can’t do it. Even so, he continues his cultivation for the entire night.

Tomorrow was the Competition Day!

He was waiting to face off against his opponents. Like that, the entire night passed and the new day arrived. Fu Chen walked out of his house and washed his face.

Then, he finished his rice balls and finally left his house. As he walked, he noticed hundreds of disciples being ready for the competition. It was held in the middle of the sect.

He walked up to the line where he had registered his name. The line was long and as he stood at the last, he soon got a lot of company. More and more were joining.

There was one specific person he noticed in the line as well. Zhu Tan seemed quite ahead of him. After registering his name, Zhu Tan went to the side and while he was looking around, he also saw Fu Chen.

Both of them stared at each other for a moment. Zhu Tan clenched his fist tightly upon seeing Fu Chen. He still remembers his grandfather’s warning.

‘Unless you reach the Second Stage, don’t fight Fu Chen’ This is what his grandfather told him.

But, soon he loosened his fist and a mocking smile appeared on his lips.

Yes, he was finally at the second stage. Since he reached it near the competition, he could still participate.

Seeing that smile, Fu Chen immediately detected the threat he pose. But, this time he wasn’t going down that easily. Soon, it was his turn. He registered his name and cultivation.

It was checked by the elder so he couldn’t lie there. After getting his symbol number, he walked away. As he walked, he saw a figure standing in front of him.

This figure was none other than Xue Le. Seeing Fu Chen, she raised her hand and smiled. Fu Chen also walked toward her. When he did that, her smile just widened.

But, just when they reached near, Fu Chen passed by her.

A strong pain stung Xue Le’s heart. Her smile disappeared as if it was never there. All the courage that she gathered just to face him. All the seconds that she spent thinking about him were all for naught.

Whoosh!

….

Xue Le and Fu Chen are going through hard times. They need your support. Give them powerstones so that they can continue what they must.