Her killing intent was directed at the one person who made her current life a living hell - a person she did not usually dare hate.

She felt a chilling aura hone on her, but she did not acknowledge it as she was wrapped in her own painful memories.

"Be suppressed." A familiar old voice sounded, and her increasing killing intent disappeared without a trace.

The aura that was locking in on her had seemingly lost its target and also dissipated, allowing Yao Ming to sigh a breath of relief.

"It's one thing to hate someone," he commented, "But another to announce it to the world." He looked at her worriedly, but neither his tone nor words indicated that.

He was the type to stand by you silently and protect you, even without anyone knowing. In other words, he was, perhaps, the closest thing to a father she would ever have.

The calmer Xue Yueliang rested, closing her eyes, and whispered, "Sorry, I didn't believe I would be this stupid." Then she laughed sullenly, "Isn't it funny that I can't even hate him without endangering myself."

"You have the rest of your life to mature, but for now, it would've been better if he didn't know you were alive." Her master comforted her.

"He always knew I was alive." She said, a complicated gaze in her eyes.

Regardless of how she thought of it, that had to be the case. Otherwise, there were too many coincidences she could not account for.

"Right. Well, now he knows where you are."

It did not matter to Yao Ming what the Qin patriarch knew. All he wished was that Xue Yueliang could become powerful enough and not die, ever.

"What cultivation level do you think he's at?" Xue Yueliang asked.

Though he was her father, she did not know his true realm. He had always kept it a secret, and even relative to other people with his level of status, it was not clear where he stood. His position as a patriarch could possibly be due to his cunning or fist, but that was a matter unknown to most - including his family.

"A level you cannot even think of beating for now. You should only focus on your own strength."

Xue Yueliang was upset by his vagueness but did not press him any further. She understood his considerations. He was afraid it would crush her confidence.

"Who's that girl?" Xue Yueliang asked in return. She was someone who was always in control of herself and her emotions. Although she could not say she was always level-headed, it was not like her to lose control. How could a look from someone she did not know get her to feel a murderous rage she had never acknowledged?

"You're expecting too much from me." Her master said, rolling his eyes.

"Shouldn't you know her? She's someone from your servant clan."

"You have servants? Because last I checked, you were a wandering ghost." She said, distancing herself from the Qin Clan.

"Don't be cheeky with me," he laughed. "If she's someone you need to know, you will naturally meet her again. I suggest you shouldn't worry about it and, for our sake, activate your veil. It's not a useless piece of fabric."

"I doubt it could have blocked it all off, anyway." Xue Yueliang grumbled but was met with her master's retort: "It wouldn't have harmed!"

"Thank you, master." She smiled.

"Wow, you can even thank me without my reminder." Yao Ming teased, but there was also a smile in his eyes. After all this travel, they had grown on each other, fully setting any misgivings behind them.

"Being quiet and half asleep is boring," Yao Ming began, "So how about I actually train you?"

"Master, your strength is limited." She shook her head, "It's better to wait until we can be assured of your continued, err- ghostiness?"

"Can you stop calling me a ghost?" Yao Ming suddenly snapped, annoyed by this, "I'm a spirit! A spirit! You hear?!"

Xue Yueliang looked at his angry floating visage and curiously asked: "Is there really a difference? Isn't it all the same thing?"

"Of course there is!" But recalling she was from another world, he calmed down. "A ghost is a remnant, a detached piece of someone's soul, but a spirit is a complete soul."

"So, if you're a complete soul, can't you seize someone else's body? And why would you dissipate?"

"It's not that easy. If I try to take over someone else's body, I will have to merge with their soul, and that's not a good idea. For example, there's a good chance you were never the Qin Yao of the Qin Clan, but after possessing her soul, you two became one. That would also explain your erratic behaviour because the Qin Yao from your previous life wouldn't care enough to avenge her mother. After all, you didn't even try to avenge your sister."

Xue Yueliang was shocked by his words but still decided to think them through. It was true that in her past life she did not avenge her sister, but that was because she knew that would not bring her back. As for her mother from this life, she did not have plans of avenging her in the first place, but after finding out her father had been manipulating her life, she changed her plans. The emotions she felt in both lives, what she did, and how she reacted; were all the same.

"Both lives were me, and my essence had never once changed." She stated.

She wished to add that dead people were not worth avenging but decided against it. He was a dying man and she did not want him to think she would betray her promise.

Thinking about it more, she could not get her master's point.

"You have a powerful soul, so whoever you possess will have no choice but be suppressed. Any change will be minimal. I don't see your point."

"You don't understand," Yao Ming smiled.

"I'd rather not be me than be dead." She reminded, "What about a recently dead corpse?"

"If I were to possess a dead body, it would have to be perfectly compatible with my soul. Otherwise, it would remain stiff, and I will always be in a weakened state. Other than my destroyed corpse, I doubt anything else in this world that could work. Besides, an incompatible body would wear my soul down, which means that I would never be able to reincarnate. In addition, the next time my body is destroyed will be the time I die."

Ignoring the Heavenly Dao was never a good idea because all those who disobeyed it would face its wrath, whether in this life or death. At that point, it would be best for him to obediently dissipate.

"You can reincarnate?"

"I'm not an evildoer like you."

"You harmed more people than I ever could have."

"Yet I've never attracted a Soul-Extinguishing Heavenly Tribulation." He retorted, shutting her up.

Perhaps, these things are subjective. She thought, not understanding how the heavens worked.

"So, if I find a body perfectly compatible for you, you will have your full strength back and would be able to reincarnate if you die?" She asked, then added: "Of course, it's best if you don't die."

"Yes, but that would be almost impossible to do."

"So is my entire existence." She grinned, and almost reckless arrogance exuded from her.

She had been able to achieve many things in her short twenty-eight years of life, and now that she had a lifespan of a thousand years, there was no way she would have difficulty finding a corpse.

"It's good to be confident but not arrogant," Yao Ming reminded. "Besides, you can't even beat Sun Wei."

Her self-confidence instantly retreated, but she swallowed down the excuses she wanted to make.

"With master's tutoring, it would not be hard to defeat him the next time you meet him." She answered, accepting his earlier offer.

"You have a glib tongue," he smiled, "If only it was there when you were with Yao Niang."

Xue Yueliang's lips twitched as she unsheathed her sword, "I'll get there eventually. How about you train me until then?"

She couldn't be good at everything, but knowing him, he would just reply that she should be invincible in every regard.

"During the whole time you had gained my inheritance, you had only learnt one of my techniques and not even mastered it," he said solemnly. "Why don't you display it?"

"Yes," Xue Yueliang assented, holding her sword with both hands and channelling her Qi.

As her crimson Qi turned into bright white light as it covered the black body of her blade, she swung in front of her. An overwhelming amount of sword Qi rolled out of her blade right after she declared: "Invincible Sword Cuts All!" The sword Qi landed on multiple parts of the tree in front of her, causing it to explode and the surviving creatures on it to scatter. She looked satisfied with her and smiled toward her master, but he only directed a faint look at her: "Are you happy with your attack?" He questioned.

"Yes? It serves its purpose well." She was confused by this question and answered honestly.

"What's its purpose?"

"Destroy everything that gets in my way."

"Is that all that cultivation is to you?" He asked disapprovingly, making her tongue-tied.

"Why do you think this is the only Invincible Sword Art you had managed to unleash?"

The Invincible Sword Arts were separated into nine levels, each having three techniques that complemented each other. One of the techniques was considered easy, another medium and the last hard. Invincible Sword Cuts All was the latter, and oddly, the only when she mastered.

Seeing her deep in thought, he smiled.

"Try that again, this time, concentrating your sword Qi and not unleashing it until you think you know exactly where it will land."

It was up to her to find the answer alone, he could only guide her in this.

Xue Yueliang knit her brows in concentration, repeating the same movements as before. This time she tried suppressing it so that white light did not completely hide her blade and aimed toward the centre of a different tree. She swung her sword again, landing on various parts of the tree again, but it did not shatter like last time. It was, instead, cut into three separate pieces, and although the cut was far from clean, it was much better than last time. To her surprise, her sword Qi did not stop there. It headed to the trees behind it, cutting through another and leaving a small scar on the last.

Her master smiled at this sight, and stroking his beard, he said: "Some techniques were created for mass destruction, and others are meant for specific targets. The Invincible Sword Cuts all is of the latter, and it would not be able to show off its true power if it's not used the way it's intended."

Xue Yueliang gulped. If she could have released such a concentrated attack when fighting Fu Mei, she would not have had to rely on her getting beaten by a centipede; she could have crushed herself.

"It's much too early to think about crushing anyone," he smiled, "You should practice it some more."

Xue Yueliang nodded and fixed her grip on her sword, unleashing miniature versions of her previous attack to practice her control. She was absorbed in her own training and did not notice the passage of time or the sweat that soaked her clothes. She swung her sword again and again, with Yao Ming standing by her side, correcting her whenever needed. Her posture grew more refined, her attack appeared more modest, and its sharpness successfully increased.

The sun quickly set, and the moon hung brightly in the sky before Yao Ming felt it was about time he woke her from her zeal.

"You should rest," he said, a smiling tint in his voice.

Xue Yueliang finally sheathed her sword and felt her fatigue overwhelm her.

She sat down and smiled, "I really overdid it today."

"It's the first of many days."

"I hope so. I would never say no to being more powerful."

It took her dying twice to reach her current status. If mere exhaustion could help her in her path, then it was definitely a better alternative.

"Do you have an answer yet?"

"I felt it was similar to Blood Moon Techniques." She answered.

She had never tried to study it as a standalone technique. Because of that, she could only unleash the most versatile one incorrectly.

She felt drowsiness rush over her, but she forcefully kept her eyes open and entered a meditative position.

Ever since the incident in Flower City, she decided she would not sleep unless she was guaranteed her own safety. Although she was not the type to be paranoid, she preferred not to make the same mistake twice.

Circulating her cultivation sutra, she felt her exhaustion wipe away a little, helping clear her mind. She decided to spend the rest of the night this way and begin travelling tomorrow when the sun had risen.

Yao Ming watched her fight her sleepiness as tried to cultivate a bitter look that appeared on his face. He knew plenty of suffering awaited her, and much of it would be his fault, but they had chosen their path. He sighed and returned to the ring; there was not much he could change.

A soothing calm appeared in the forest, and not even the usual beasts growled during the night, creating a serene sight. However, during this silent night, a feeling of unease swept through humans and beasts alike, warning them that this was only the peace before the storm but how far the storm would reach was unknown.