"Yes, I am fine, Chen. I am fine now.", Jian Li tiredly said.

Jian Chen looked at her with concern, but he did not insist. He knew that Jian Li was just drained and needed some rest, so he left her alone.

The rest of the trip to Jian Li's room went in silence as none of them spoke.

Jian Chen carried her all the way to her bed, and then he proceeded to sit down on the floor to meditate.

"I'll be staying here for a while, make sure to not use your Art until Ye returns and just rest.", Jian Chen hesitated as he continued,

"Li, are you sure you're fine?"

"I'm fine. Just tired", Jian Li sharply replied.

Jian Chen did not speak further.

He could tell that Jian Li was still thinking about something, so he decided to keep quiet and began to meditate.

Jian Li lowered her gaze, her mind lost in a world of her own. She did not know how much time had passed, but gradually the fatigue in her body started to dissipate, and her mind started to clear.

'I wonder why I suddenly lost control of my Art.', she thought to herself.

Jian Chen was meditating and concentrating on his breathing when something caught his attention. He looked up and noticed Jian Li sitting quietly with a sombre expression on her face.

"What's on your mind, Li?" Jian Chen asked, breaking the silence.

"I couldn't control my new greatsword. It felt like it did whatever it wanted. It sucked my soul energy.", Jian Li explained, keeping her gaze down.

"Don't worry, Li. We can only do so much in a short amount of time. It might take time for you to fully control it. Just focus on your training. I'm sure you'll get the hang of it soon. Ye and the others will definitely know what to do.", Jian Chen

"Yeah. I will. Thanks", Jian Li said, still not looking up.

She continued to sit quietly, but her mind was still preoccupied with what happened earlier.

As she thought about what she felt was slightly familiar earlier, she got reminded of the attack back in Qianye Village.

She remembered the shrill screams of the villagers and the chilling coldness of the air.

In mere seconds, people were turned into mounds of flesh on the ground by a single man.

She remembered how helpless she felt as she stood in the soul-sucking darkness, unable to do a thing as her father almost died in front of her eyes trying to protect her.

She quickly snapped out of it and ground her teeth, as she crudely got reminded of her main reason for cultivating in the first place.

"I'll figure out how to fix this, no matter what. I'll never let that happen again.", Jian Li silently mumbled to herself.

Jian Chen knew that Jian Li was thinking about the incident, so he decided to not say anything else.

He knew what happened at Qianye Village was not something that Jian Li liked to talk about, and he knew that Jian Li probably did not want to talk about what happened earlier either. He chose to just keep quiet, and just meditate to calm himself until their eldest sister arrived.

As the sun started to set, a sudden knock on the door interrupted both of their thoughts.

"Come in, it's unlocked.", Jian Chen said.

The door swung open, and Jian Ye walked in. Jian Chen and Jian Li quickly stood up to greet her.

"Ye, you're here!", Jian Chen said.

"I told you I would be back here soon, didn't I?", Jian Ye said as she sat down on the bed.

"Yeah, but we didn't know when though, usually you're gone for longer!" Jian Chen said.

"And how has your day been so far? Have you two seen the sparring arena yet?" Jian Ye teasingly asked.

When Jian Ye turned to look at Jian Li, she instantly noticed the lack of expressions on Jian Li's face and her smile faded away.

In response, Jian Li did not put on a smile or try to hide her emotions.

"What's wrong, Li? Is something bothering you?", Jian Ye asked.

Jian Li did not answer, but Jian Chen quickly spoke up.

"Li summoned her soul weapon earlier, but it ended up sucking up her soul energy instead. Even her veins turned black, and she couldn't even move.", he said. Jian Ye's eyes widened, and she gave Jian Li a concerned look.

"After we made her unsummon her sword, everything turned back to normal again.", Jian Chen added.

"What? Li, are you alright? Do you feel any discomfort?", Jian Ye asked. Jian Li shook her head.

"No, I'm fine.", Jian Li answered.

Jian Chen spoke up again,

"But what's the issue with her?"

"I'm not too sure, but I can take a guess. Try summoning it again Li. I'll be here this time", Jian Ye asked.

Hesitatingly, Jian Li nodded.

She took a deep breath and concentrated. Suddenly, a mist appeared around Jian Li's body, and the mist quickly condensed into the shape of a greatsword, which then flew into Jian Li's hands.

The moment Jian Li felt the weight of her greatsword as she expected something to happen again.

For a brief moment, she felt safe, but then the sharp pain hit her.

Jian Li's eyes opened wide in shock, and her breathing became heavy. Her eyes turned into an almost black shade of purple. She tightened her grip on the weapon, and her hand started to tremble. Her veins began to stand out, turning black like ink.

"Ye, what's wrong? Li, what's wrong?!", Jian Chen called out.

Jian Li did not answer. Her hand started to shake even more violently, and her face turned pale.

"Now. Unsummon it.", Jian Ye calmly said. Her words had a calming effect as Jian Chen became less agitated.

Jian Li's body was shaking wildly and as she released her grip on the greatsword, the greatsword turned into a black mist that quickly disappeared.

Jian Ye's eyes and palms began to glow with white light, and a few seconds later, a blinding white light shot out from her palms. It grew and enveloped Jian Li as she started to visibly recover.

"What's wrong?" Jian Chen asked when he saw Jian Li's condition.

Jian Ye fell silent for a while, but Jian Chen could tell that something was wrong. After waiting for a response, the light surrounding Jian Li faded away and Jian Ye finally spoke.

"It's really strange, but not impossible. Every time she forms her greatsword from her soul, it somehow decides to suck the rest of her soul too. It's way too risky to fully summon it at this stage as it would destroy her soul. It's way too overbearing.", Jian Ye said.

Jian Li just stared ahead as she reimagined the awful feeling of her soul being sucked away.

"The only way I see her ever using it safely is probably when her soul strength increases enough to suppress the soul-sucking effect. Until then, forcibly summoning it to from her inner world is a deathwish." Jian Ye sadly continued.

"You won't be able to summon your sword, but at least you can still practice the Family Art and focus even more on body cultivation. Remember, we're at the True Sword Sect. There's definitely a fitting body Art for you.", Jian Chen comforted and Jian Ye nodded to him.

"It's only a minor setback Li, but you'll be stronger for it in ways you won't even know yet."