Considering Yao Niang's talent, achievements and potential, she had the right to be named the heir of the kingdom. But due to being born a woman, she was cheated of what was rightfully hers. If she wanted to be king, she had to put in many times effort as her brothers, nevertheless; her position would still be unstable.

Fighting against everything was tiring, and sometimes she wondered if she was in the right to resist her customs.

Xue Yueliang noticed her doubts and comforted her, "We cultivators fight against the heavens. We should not allow people's narrow-mindedness to affect our resolve. At the end, who's right will be decided by who's fist is mightier."

The princess smiled at her words and did not pay them any head. She could not harm the foolish people back at the palace. Even if she had that power, that would only weaken the kingdom's overall strength and benefit her enemies - something she could not afford to do.

Although Xue Yueliang's words were impractical, she could at least get a different perspective from her, so she asked, "What do you think I should do?"

Xue Yueliang thought carefully over her words. "You will always be seen as nothing but a pretty girl if you don't show people another side of yourself. Though you have never hidden the fact you are talented, you should make it so that others do not dare mention your name due to fear; only then would people not oppose you."

"And how would I do that? I can't harm them."

Xue Yueliang let out a sinister smile, "There's more than one way to get people to fear you. Like the classic, killing the chicken to warn the monkey. " Xue Yueliang completed her tea and got up to leave. She did not wish to involve herself too much in her troubles. Everyone had their own path to walk. "Best of luck in future endeavours, princess." She said, lightly bowing and turning away.

Her master soon followed behind her as he still held the cup of tea, seemingly not realising that the cup did not belong to him. She sent a spiritual message to her master, reminding him, so he turned to Yao Niang.

"Young Lady, can I buy this cup for three top-grade spirit stones?" He asked.

"Consider it a gift." She smiled, showing the consideration accorded to the older generation.

"How respectful, " he smiled and then waved his hands, releasing a blaze of the Berserk Dragon Flame and handing it to the princess, surprising both girls.

"Congratulations on acquiring the Berserk Dragon Flame, Yao Niang." Xue Yueliang said, not hiding the happiness she felt in her eyes. If Yao Ming was not familiar with her nature, he would believe that she was actually happy for the princess, and he could not help but admire her acting abilities.

When they finally exited the mystical realm, Xue Yueliang stared at her master, "Are you trying to strengthen my potential enemies?"

"Aren't you and the princess friends?" He said while inwardly sighing in relief. The princess had not broken his disciple, well, not yet.

"For now. Who knows, one day, I might end up making enemies with the entire Qinxia Kingdom; whose side do you think she will choose then?"

She absolutely detested relationships that were not within her complete control. Even her relationship with her master depended on her getting more powerful, helping him and his sect, and her helping him revive. It was all her.

"Do not think you can fool me with those words," her master teased, "Seeing that rosy atmosphere between you two, I will not be surprised if you end up wife and wife."

Xue Yueliang's face reddened at those words, though she knew her master was open-minded; this was too much. Besides, the princess would choose this kingdom against her spouse unless she felt they had deeply betrayed her, and even then, it was only a maybe. There will always be tension regardless. So she retorted, "Don't speak nonsense."

"Master, what do I do about being targeted by the heavens? I do not want to die of electrocution a third time. "

Xue Yueliang asked, hoping to find a proper answer from her master.

Although according to general knowledge, someone targeted by the heavens had no choice but to roll over and die. She believed that was not true; otherwise, how could demonic cultivators who killed millions of people and refined their souls ever advance?

"How did you even attract the Soul-Extinguishing Heavenly Tribulation?" Her master asked, his gaze filled with the intent to dissect his disciple's past life.

"If I only knew. In both lives, I have only directly ended a few hundred lives." "How about indirectly?" Her master asked, causing Xue Yueliang to gulp. "Does it include everyone affected by my victim's death?"

"Yes." Xue Yueliang bitterly smiled, "Then I do not know. It's an uncountable number." She had always assumed that it counted to how many people she directly killed.

For example, - according to her master - if she killed a train operator, she would not be charged for only his murder but the murder of a few hundred passengers. Of course, the fact that she had done this before did not help her.

"Don't worry. I have a method to help you escape your fate, " her master comforted after seeing her expression that looked like she had swallowed a fly. "I'll tell you when it's the right time." Yao Ming had no intention of letting the heavens take back his talented disciple.

Xue Yueliang smiled in relief and continued walking. After walking for a while, Xue Yueliang noticed a figure she did not expect, and she could not help but observe him.

A young man sat there cultivating, releasing the pressure of someone in the second level of the Foundation Establishment Realm.

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He was about two heads taller than Xue Yueliang and sat with an upright back. His hair flowed down to his shoulders, silky black, seemingly like the dark of the sky, capable of absorbing all light.

His eyes were closed in meditation, and his lips were thin and had a little sternness, which he covered with his gentlemanly smile. Although his features were not considered the most attractive, he had a particular heroic bearing; enough to charm many ladies.

He wore light green robes; they were plain but did not detract from his temperament. His previous sabre was swapped for a grand greatsword, which felt slightly mismatched, considering his slender frame. But all this wasn't enough to attract Xue Yueliang's attention.

She noticed a terrible scar crisscrossing his neck. It appeared like a venomous snake wrapped itself around its neck, strangling him as it attempted to take his life. Although the wound had already scabbed, and the scab had fallen off, it didn't hide what a terrifying injury it was. This must have been caused by his fight with Sha Ren.

Noticing her gaze on him, he opened his eyes and smiled at her, "Sister Xue, it's been a while."

"You are not wrong, Brother Lei, and it seems like you had a fortuitous encounter, congratulations." She said but did not mention or ask about his scar.

Although the wounds healed, the mental scar might have not and it was best to leave such things until the concerned party mentioned it.

And if Xue Yueliang was honest, she hated that he had already reached the Foundation Establishment Realm.

It was impossible for her to feel satisfied with her strength if the people around her improve at a similar pace, but maybe she needed this pressure.

She had to weasel her way into a spar to settle these ill feelings in her heart and improve on the Invincible Sword Art.

As soon as he thanked her, she followed with, "How about we spar, Brother Lei, to test our gains."

Though she was one level higher than him, she could just suppress it, and she did not plan on using all her cards, just practising her sword arts. "If you insist," he smiled and retrieved his greatsword, readying his stance.

His greatsword was a dull grey, appearing like an ancient fossil and radiated overwhelming strength. From what Xue Yueliang could discern from his movements, this greatsword should at least weigh twice the weight of her own sword. Her face turned serious as she held her sword in her left hand, she embedded her feet into the earth, and her body soon disappeared from Lei Jian's view.

So fast.

He suddenly lifted his greatsword above him, blocking her attack from above him. Xue Yueliang flashed a smile and used his sword to propel herself behind him, seemingly trying to attack him from behind. He hurriedly turned backwards, but she had somehow assailed him from his side.

Thankfully he dodged in time, rolling on the dirt until he was a safe distance from her, "Quick reactions." She said and waited for him to attack.

This was a spar, not a death battle, so she could not just corner him. Lei Jian strengthened his greatsword with his Qi, it was the same colour as his sword as he readied an attack.

It must be due to his cultivation technique. His gentlemanly appearance was replaced by a reckless confident aura as he swung his greatsword toward her.

"Greatsword Asura!" This technique relied on unbeatable strength and momentum, and like a wild boar, it crushed everything in its sight. Xue Yueliang prepared herself to parry his sword when her master's voice sounded in her head, "If you are invincible, then why defend?"

"Do you want me to take this head-on?" She asked, surprised by his sudden question.

Seeing as the master did not reply, she took this as a yes, and began to prepare her attack. Since his attack relied on overwhelming strength, she opted not to use the Invincible Dao Sword Arts and instead used the arts paired with her sword.

Overwhelming power can be defeated by extreme softness, making it feel like their attack hit cotton and simply dissipated.

"Blood Moon Waves!"

Xue Yueliang swept her sword in a long wave and directly met Lei Jian's sword, causing it to lose more than half of its momentum and making it much easier to deal with.

Before she could even feel happy, her master's voice sounded in her head, "Being invincible doesn't only mean being undefeatable.

It also means being able to defeat others in their area of expertise." Xue Yueliang forced a smile and asked, "Again."

Lei Jian's smiled and repeated his actions, and rather than waiting for him to charge first, Xue Yueliang held her sword with both hands as he readied his stance. This time, his attack was slightly different. It seemed to carry some of her speed and the softness of her previous attacks.

His art was an ever-evolving one, taking what it deemed practical and getting rid of things that were useless, approaching perfection with every change, a marvellous technique.

"Sword Wrecks the Heavens."

Xue Yueliang recited and came to a direct clash of strength with him. When it came to physical prowess alone, she was very confident in her abilities. But she noticed that Lei Jian was not even pushed behind. He was holding his ground against her, and their power was almost equal.

They repelled each other, and both ended up taking three steps backwards. There was no clear winner, and their powers were evenly matched.

"You are not invincible." Her master laughed, irking her, but she was not so easy to trick. The more they fought, the more he improved, and if she was stuck using the same moves, this would not only get her anywhere. It would also offend Lei Jian.

"You have great skills, Brother Lei. It seems like I can't win today." She laughed.

"My skills are not worth mentioning." He replied humbly, his overbearing aura completely gone, returning to his previous gentlemanly charm.

"I apologise if I overstepped my bounds, but I had already killed Sha Ren." She did not believe he was waiting for her here, and the only person she knew of who could get him to prepare himself for a battle was the man who caused his scar.

"I'm sure you had your reasons." He said almost indifferently, but the slight disappointment in his voice showed that he was itching to battle him.

If Xue Yueliang knew of this, she would not have taken his prey, and although she wasn't aware of Lei Jian's depths, she knew he was more than enough to get rid of a crafty soft-bellied snake.

After all, defeating Lei Jian would take her more than one move, unlike Sha Ren, who died instantly.

"He should travel with you." Yao Ming suddenly said.

"Master, he does not approve of my methods, and our last travel together did not end on a good note." She reminded.

"I'm not so old that I need you to remind me of what happened, " he snorted. "Travelling with him has many benefits for you. Just agree with his requests."

Xue Yueliang sighed inwardly, "Brother Lei, I am thinking of travelling outside the kingdom; do you wish to come along with me?"

Lei Jian was surprised by her words but was quick to decline, "Though you will always remain my friend, we have differing ideologies, and I think it is best for us to travel separately."

He saw her excitement toward killing strangers, her indifference when faced with torture and her extreme change since he last saw her in the Qin Clan.

Though he was sure she was the same person, he felt discomfort being with her, as if something about her had changed forever.

"If Brother Lei wishes, I will not stop you from fighting evildoers."

"But I have no intention of fighting you." He said with a hint of mirth in his eyes.

Xue Yueliang rolled her eyes and said: "If brother Lei wants, I promise to not harm innocents and protect them if I get the chance. That is as long as they are within my fighting ability."

Harming innocents at this point would not bring her any benefit, and defending the weak would allow her to practice her sword. Since her master insisted on bringing him, she would naturally make concessions with him - as long as those concessions cost her nothing.

If he still refused to travel with her, there was not much she could do.

"If Sister Xue insists, it would be rude of me to reject twice." He conceded, and the words Xue Yueliang was waiting for were finally heard.