Yan Sea was incredulous. He never imagined Su Yue would forgive him. He had already betrayed her deep feelings for ten years—was he to betray them yet again?

His hands trembled as he slowly wrapped his arms around Su Yue.

"I’m sorry... I..."

Before he could finish, Su Yue cut him off, her voice gentle yet firm.

"If you’re going to that battlefield to die, I’ll go with you, avenge you, and then collect your body. I’m also at the peak of the Gang Qi Realm now. But before all that, you owe me a wedding. You’ve owed me for ten years."

Su Yue understood the man before her. She knew exactly what choice he would make.

"You..." 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Yan Sea’s throat felt raw, and countless words caught there, unspoken.

Without waiting for Yan Sea to collect his thoughts, Su Yue pressed on:

"Yan Sea, I need an explanation. Not an explanation for me, but about what really happened after that great battle back then. Why did you leave without a word, and what is your situation now?

Yu Fei is safe here with me. We have plenty of time. You’re my fiancé; I have both the duty and the right to know these things."

Su Yue knew this stubborn man in front of her would only bottle everything up and shoulder it all alone. If she missed this chance today, and he went back and got some crazy idea in his head, running off to the battlefield overnight, there would be no turning back.

Yan Sea looked at Su Yue, his eyes filled with guilt and tenderness. After a moment of thought, he slowly began to speak.

"That incident back then... I’ve always had my doubts. Everything was too much of a coincidence...

After I was rescued from the battlefield, I was severely injured and just wanted to die. But Master told me to find a successor for the Tribulation Sword lineage. In a daze, I returned to my old high school, Nanguan Second Middle School...

I originally planned to pass the task of finding a successor to my teacher, Mr. Liu Ming, but he was unwilling. He could see I had a death wish and insisted I find the successor myself...

I failed twice. I was ready to give up the search and just go have one last, good fight on the battlefield. But perhaps fate smiled upon me, and I met Yu Fei. That kid is a perfect match for the foundational Cultivation Technique of the Tribulation Sword lineage...

Recently, Yu Fei encountered a third-realm cultist. The kid did me proud and beheaded him with a single sword strike."

Hearing this, Su Yue’s eyes lit up. She instinctively glanced toward Yu Fei’s training room, even though she couldn’t see anything.

A first-realm killing a third-realm—such an event is a rarity in the long history of martial arts. A first-realm Martial Artist simply has too few methods available to them. And you can’t just say that Illuminati cultists are all bark and no bite. No matter how weak the opponent was, he was still third-realm. You can’t fake that level of Qi Blood.

The difference between the two was as absurd as a five-year-old child knocking down an adult in a direct confrontation, even if the adult was on the scrawny side.

Yan Sea’s story was coming to an end.

"To this day, while I can’t let go of the deaths of my master and friends, I can accept the reality of it. But my master’s last wish is the one thing that gives me no peace, day or night."

The dead can’t be brought back to life, but he couldn’t just watch the Tribulation Sword lineage fade away.

Yan Sea’s master probably never imagined that the absurd request he made on his deathbed—meant to stop Yan Sea from taking the enemy down with him—would instead become a flaw in his disciple’s spirit.

Hearing this, Su Yue suddenly understood why Yan Sea was so invested in Yu Fei.

Yu Fei was the key to the Tribulation Sword lineage’s continuation. She knew a bit about the lineage herself. Yan Sea’s master had been the most famous ascetic master of his time, causing a huge sensation when he rose from humble origins to the rank of Grandmaster.

When the Tribulation Sword lineage was first revealed to the world, a Martial Saint had commented, "This is one of the world’s supreme techniques. None can master it without great perseverance and great wisdom."

The Cultivation Technique of the Tribulation Sword lineage was simply too difficult; even the most prodigious Martial Artists struggled to get their foot in the door. At the time, would-be followers were as common as grass, but those who actually succeeded in learning it could be counted on one hand.

Understanding the full story, Su Yue now realized that if Yu Fei could successfully establish the Tribulation Sword Dao Foundation, the flaw in Yan Sea’s spirit would likely be mended, giving him a chance to advance further.

If Yan Sea could become a Grandmaster and gain that power, he would once again have the possibility of reinvestigating the past incident or avenging his master in the future.

This way, her big idiot wouldn’t go seeking his own death.

Su Yue mused to herself.

’I guess I’ll have to thank Yu Fei properly. If it weren’t for him, even if I’d managed to catch Yan Sea today, it’s hard to say how things would have ended. But...’

She suddenly gave a mischievous smile, stared at Yan Sea, and asked, "Who’s more important, me or Yu Fei?"

Yan Sea’s expression stiffened. He slowly lowered his head and said nothing.

A sad look crossed Su Yue’s face, then she thumped Yan Sea on the chest with a delicate fist.

"You big idiot, couldn’t you have just lied to me for once?"

Yan Sea slowly raised his head and said in a hoarse voice, as if he had just made some momentous decision.

"I will train Yu Fei, regardless of whether he can establish the Tribulation Sword Dao Foundation... After that, I won’t go to the battlefield to die. For the rest of my life, I am at your command."

Su Yue’s heart warmed. She knew the weight of this man’s promises. Once he agreed to something, he would do everything in his power to see it through.

"Instead of being ’at my command,’ can’t you just be ’with me’?"

Yan Sea sighed deeply. "I have already failed you too much. I am in no position to speak of being with you."

Su Yue rolled her eyes at him. "So you *do* know you’ve failed me. I don’t want you at my command. After this is all over, if you want to go die, then go find your master. After all, your debt to your master is as heavy as a mountain, so no one else matters, right?"

Yan Sea was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Okay."

Su Yue exploded, "Okay my ass! Can’t you tell when someone is just saying things out of anger? This old lady has been waiting for you for all these years, and if you dare die, I’ll scatter your damn ashes!"

Yan Sea looked bewildered. As far as he could remember, this was the first time he had ever seen Su Yue so angry. ’Did I say something wrong?’

Su Yue turned, sat down, poured herself a cup of tea, and took a small sip, her dignified and graceful demeanor returning.

’There’s no point in getting angry with a dense, emotionally clueless man like him. If I were in his shoes, I would never have secretly run back to my hometown, and if I couldn’t find a suitable successor, just single-mindedly go off to a battlefield to die.

Seriously, even though Mr. Lanren unfortunately passed away, his old connections still exist. Besides, Yan Sea made a name for himself in the army as the Bloodthirsty Dragon General. His old brothers-in-arms are still around.

With those kinds of connections and resources, he could have even asked the Research Institute for help. How could he possibly not find a suitable disciple?

Oh well. Luckily, heaven was watching out for him, and Yu Fei appeared out of nowhere to stop this big idiot from throwing his life away.’

Speaking of Yu Fei, Su Yue quickly asked, "What are the chances of your disciple successfully establishing the Tribulation Sword Dao Foundation?"

Yan Sea’s expression immediately became animated. Seeing him like this, Su Yue felt another wave of frustration.

"Yu Fei’s talent is exceptional. He has already cultivated the Sword Nurturing Skill to the Minor Success Realm. He has a ten percent chance of forging the Tribulation Sword Dao Foundation."

Su Yue was stunned. "Only ten percent?"

Yan Sea was confused. "According to the notes in the Cultivation Technique, the Minor Success Realm only has a ten percent success rate. At the Great Success Realm, the success rate is fifty percent. Yu Fei’s talent is excellent; it’s very likely he can advance the Sword Nurturing Skill to the Great Success Realm."

Su Yue’s voice shot up an octave. "Likely? Fifty percent?"

"...Yes."