Chapter 2: Do You Want Power?

That night, the moonlight was cold and clear.

Feeling the warmth of the girl in his arms, Lin Que stood frozen in place.

After all, a sect wasn’t like the schools of his past life where one could come and go at will. The sect provided cultivation techniques and resources, while disciples, in turn, owed it their loyalty.

The higher one climbed, the more deeply they became tied to the sect. Naturally, breaking away became even more difficult.

If it were just an outer sect disciple, it would be one thing. They could leave simply by submitting a request and paying a certain amount of spirit stones.

But someone like Qin Wanyuan who had been personally accepted by an elder had already been exposed to the sect’s core secrets. Her case was a different matter entirely.

If she truly wished to leave, the best-case scenario would be being crippled—her cultivation destroyed and her memory wiped, rendering her no better than a hollow shell of her former self.

As for escaping the sect? That would be considered outright betrayal and an act of defection. It would trigger endless pursuit from the sect’s forces.

After all, if the sect didn’t make an example out of defectors, what would happen if a real crisis ever occurred? Wouldn’t everyone consider running?

Lin Que couldn’t quite understand why Qin Wanyuan wanted to flee the sect. While the Sword-Seeking Sect wasn’t top-tier, it was still solidly upper-mid level. If he compared it to his past life university rankings, it was comparable to a reputable first-tier school.

Moreover, the sect hadn’t mistreated Qin Wanyuan in any way. It wasn’t facing any serious crisis either….in fact, it was even showing signs of ascension, with a promising future ahead.

However—

The fact that Qin Wanyuan was so resolute in her desire to escape meant she must have had her own reasons.

Lin Que didn’t rush to deny or argue with his dao companion. He simply looked at her quietly, then spoke gently:

“Wanyuan, why do you want to escape the sect? Is there something you’re not telling me?”

Seeing the warmth and patience in Lin Que’s eyes, Qin Wanyuan’s own eyes grew even redder.

She nodded and responded to the person she loved most.

“Because I…”

Have regressed.

She never got the chance to finish the sentence. Before the second half of her words could leave her lips, she suddenly felt as though her throat had been seized. She was unable to utter even the faintest sound.

A wave of unprecedented terror surged through her body. It felt as though an invisible hand had clutched her heart tightly, making it impossible to breathe.

The scene before her eyes turned black and white. Everything froze in place. Lin Que remained in the same posture as before, as if caught in a still frame.

At the same time, a cold, emotionless female voice rang in her mind without warning.

[Host has violated the First Law of Rebirth. This is your first warning. Please note: Three violations will result in elimination.]

Law of Reincarnation? Violation? Elimination?

Qin Wanyuan’s mind was full of confusion. Before she could think further, the black-and-white scene rapidly faded. At the same time, it felt as if all the strength had been drained from her body, and she collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

Lin Que quickly stepped forward and caught the weakened Qin Wanyuan in his arms, his face full of worry.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, frowning with concern.

“I’m fine… I’ve just overexerted myself during my recent closed-door cultivation… I just need a bit of rest.” Qin Wanyuan shook her head.

“And what were you going to say just now…?”

Before Lin Que could finish his question, Qin Wanyuan cut him off. “Sorry, I’m all sweaty. I’ll go bathe first. Let’s talk about this later, alright?”

“…Alright.”

With that, Qin Wanyuan turned and hurried off toward the bathhouse.

Watching the girl’s retreating figure, Lin Que narrowed his eyes slightly and a thoughtful look appeared on his face.

***

Inside the bathhouse, Qin Wanyuan had already removed her clothes and sunk into the water. Her entire body submerged in the bath only her beautiful face remained visible above the surface.

“What exactly happened just now?”

Recalling that eerie moment, Qin Wanyuan still felt a lingering fear. A bead of cold sweat rolled down from her temple.

In both her previous life and after regressing, this was the first time she had encountered something so bizarre and heard that cold, emotionless voice.

That’s right. Qin Wanyuan was a regressor.

In her past life, just like now, she had become a personal disciple of an elder, become a dao companion with Lin Que, and pledged herself to him for life. Everything had seemed blissful and perfect.

However—

Two years later, the Sword-Seeking Sect was attacked by a mysterious group of demonic cultivators and was nearly wiped out.

The attack came when the sect’s strongest forces were away from home, during a period of vulnerability.

In theory, the sect’s protective formation should have been enough to hold off the invaders until reinforcements arrived. But… there was a traitor inside the sect. Someone who deactivated the protective barrier.

The Sword-Seeking Sect was immediately surrounded on all sides and plunged into a dire crisis.

The remaining high-level elders tried their best to resist, but they were no match for the enemy. The demonic cultivators had clearly sent superior forces.

It was a premeditated strike. The enemy had detailed knowledge of the sect’s defenses. It was clear they had come with the intent to wipe the Sword-Seeking Sect from existence.

Qin Wanyuan, Lin Que, and Qin Qian’er had joined forces with a few close disciples to fight their way out through rivers of blood. In the end, all those disciples were killed, and both Qin Wanyuan and Qin Qian’er who were weaker in cultivation were severely wounded.

Only Lin Que was still able to fight.

In order to cover their escape, Lin Que stayed behind alone.

Qin Wanyuan didn’t want to leave him. She wanted to stay and fight alongside him. But Lin Que knocked her unconscious and entrusted Qin Qian’er with taking her away.

Just before she lost consciousness, Qin Wanyuan caught a hazy glimpse of his back.

That slightly slender figure now stood like a mountain. And in front of him were several demonic cultivators, each stronger than him in cultivation, grinning with bloodthirsty menace.

“Don’t worry. I’ll survive…and I’ll reunite with you both.”

Lin Que’s gentle voice echoed in her ears, though a trace of weakness could be heard beneath his calm tone.

That was the last thing Qin Wanyuan heard from him.

It was also the last time she ever saw him.

When she awoke, Qin Qian’er had already brought her to safety. Time and again, she tried to return to find Lin Que, but her younger sister held her back.

Qin Qian’er said, “Brother-in-law is so strong….he’ll definitely be fine. Sister, just focus on healing. Once you’ve recovered, then you can go look for him.”

It was the first time Qin Qian’er had ever called Lin Que “brother-in-law”.

And so, Qin Wanyuan could only place her trust in her sister’s words. She believed that Lin Que would be safe, that just like he promised, he would survive and reunite with them in the end.

She waited—

For two months.

But what Qin Wanyuan eventually received was not Lin Que’s return…

But news of his death.

Or more precisely….news that Lin Que was missing in action.

But in a situation as dire as that, “missing” was no different from “dead”. Some even said Lin Que had died so tragically that his body was unrecognizable, which was why he had been officially listed as “missing”.

At the moment she learned the news, Qin Wanyuan ignored her younger sister’s objections and returned to the ruins of the Sword Seeking Sect.

The sect that had once been so prosperous and grand was now nothing but rubble, and even the mountain where Lin Que had last been seen had been leveled to the ground.

The instant she saw that devastation and thought of Lin Que’s face again, it felt as though Qin Wanyuan’s entire world shattered and crumbled before her eyes.

She raised her sword to her neck, ready to follow him in death, but Qin Qian’er desperately stopped her.

Looking at her younger sister crying before her like a pear blossom in the rain, Qin Wanyuan froze for a moment. Then she understood; she couldn’t die yet. At least… not until she had secured her sister’s safety and learned the truth about Lin Que’s fate.

And so—

With her younger sister at her side, Qin Wanyuan searched for a safe haven in the chaos of the world while also investigating any news about Lin Que.

But alas, once Lin Que had been declared missing, every lead about him vanished without a trace, as though he had ceased to exist entirely.

The longer time passed, the more faint and fragile the flame of hope in Qin Wanyuan’s heart became, as if it might go out at any moment.

If not for the stubborn will to find a place of refuge for her sister, she might have collapsed long ago.

At last, in a place like a paradise untouched by the world, Qin Wanyuan encountered an old friend of Lin Que. He was a gentle and kind immortal who took the sisters in and offered them shelter.

Everything seemed to be moving in a better direction.

However—

One day, Qin Wanyuan saw a memorial tablet for Lin Que placed in the immortal’s home, with a letter laid out in front of it.

The message read: “Lin Que fought desperately against the demonic cultivators for half a day, and died from exhaustion.”

In that moment, the heart that had long been suspended in numbness suddenly ached with a sharp, stabbing pain.

At last… it crashed heavily to the ground….shattered beyond repair.

Her spirit was completely broken.

That very night, before Lin Que’s memorial tablet, Qin Wanyuan took up her sword and ended her own life, following him in death.

But what she didn’t expect was that after taking her own life, she would be reborn and return to two years before the calamity took place. Once again… she was by his side.

The first thing Qin Wanyuan thought of was changing everything. In the month since her rebirth, she had worked hard to improve her cultivation and sought to uncover the traitor within the sect.

However… she found nothing about the traitor, and her progress in cultivation was extremely limited. Without some kind of fortuitous encounter, achieving a major breakthrough in such a short time was next to impossible.

So, Qin Wanyuan gave up. All she wanted was for Lin Que to leave this place of strife and survive in peace. But just as she was preparing to tell him everything, something stopped her.

That voice… what is it?

Qin Wanyuan stared at the beautiful face reflected on the surface of the bathwater and at the faintly visible fair-skinned body beneath the water. She seemed momentarily entranced.

The next second, a blue square frame suddenly appeared before her eyes, and that emotionless female voice echoed in her mind once again.

[Detected host’s confusion. System will now respond: This system is the Supreme Dao Companion Cultivation System.]

“Supreme Dao Companion… Cultivation System?” Qin Wanyuan frowned slightly in confusion.

Before she could grasp its meaning, the system’s voice rang out once more.

[Host… do you want power?]