Cohabitation with Sword Spirit

Chapter 486 - 71: Internal Conflict

May 4, 2018

To defeat your opponent, first you must know yourself and your opponent, and analyze each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

What weapons does Shen Qingming possess that can rival Qian Yue?

Combat ability?

Indeed, under Wang Jiu’s personal guidance, Shen Qingming, who has now reached the mid-stage of the Cloud Surge Realm in terms of True Essence, possesses a strength far exceeding that of cultivators in the same realm. Especially with the tempered Immovable Tyrant Body, she brims with endless vitality in her small frame, giving her a significant advantage in actual battles. Overall, she absolutely outclasses Qian Yue, who is barely holding onto her realm thanks to the Light Bulb Pill.

But this combat ability doesn’t help her stand tall in front of Qian Yue.

Having the Celestial Divine Sword at her aid, it’s entirely normal for her to lead in immortal cultivation. Even if it were anyone else, even a pig, after being tutored hand-in-hand by the Celestial Divine Sword for several years, could certainly become someone like Marshal Tianpeng. Moreover, this is an era of peace and order; people don’t just recklessly engage in brawls like those from Shen City.

Aside from combat ability, Shen Qingming doesn’t have many strengths.

In terms of looks, a 15-year-old girl does indeed possess a beauty that would make 99.9% of women feel ashamed, although her physical development severely lags behind her age. However, her delicate and extraordinary face, along with the steadfast and indomitable spirit always reflected there, compensates for her body’s shortcomings. Meanwhile, with Xiangzhou’s highly developed civilization and diversified aesthetics, certain niche groups do appreciate her youthful physique.

On the other hand, Qian Yue also boasts a comparable level of beauty, with virtually no gap between her and Shen Qingming, and she unambiguously triumphs in the physique department...

So, beauty cannot be counted as a winning weapon.

As for intelligence, there’s no need to elaborate; the gap between them is even more glaring than with their physiques. Qian Yue’s clever and mischievous nature, combined with innate intelligence, has become increasingly difficult to handle as the years pass. Nowadays, the Azure Cloud Qian Family almost seems to belong not to Qian Long, but to Qian Yue. Her growth trajectory resembles a watered-down version of Zhao Chenlu. Compared to such a person, the 14-year-old Shen Qingming who was once bullied by her stepmother in the Shen Garden seems indeed questionable in intellect.

So, what does Shen Qingming rely on to compete with Qian Yue?

Li Chaolu was the first to advise: "Thinking it over, the only thing left is probably your thick skin? You might be useless in everything else, but your shamelessness is quite impressive. As long as you keep shamelessly clinging to them, Qian Yue will be disgusted into retreat sooner or later."

Shen Qingming directly ignored such unconstructive opinions.

However, Li Wanqing slightly nodded: "Though the words sound extreme, the reasoning isn’t wrong. In emotional disputes, a sense of shame is always an important factor. Especially when the weaker side challenges the stronger, worrying about face and dignity leaves you with no chance of winning and will only lead to self-humiliation. Instead, discarding needless vanity and seeking victory by any means can potentially bring true glory."

Shen Qingming felt deeply impressed by Sister Wanqing’s level after listening to her.

Despite seemingly saying similar things to Li Chaolu, she managed to present them with such sophistication that it didn’t offend anyone. No wonder she once managed to live a joyfully infamous life in Qingyun City.

"Of course, we don’t mean to imply that aside from a sense of shame, you’re completely useless. Moreover, with Qian Yue’s temperament, if things really heat up, she won’t consider face at all. So, we need to find victory from other avenues, such as relationships."

"Relationships?" Shen Qingming was slightly puzzled, "What kind of relationships?"

Li Wanqing explained: "Naturally, interpersonal relationships. Compared to Qian Yue, your biggest advantage is having known Mr. Wang Jiu long ago and having developed an inseparable bond with him. And Mr. Wang Jiu treats you differently than anyone else. Even for unreasonable things, if you ask, he might still do it for you. It’s almost like..."

Li Chaolu added: "The way a master spoils a cat or dog."

"Hm, that’s not an entirely impossible way to view it, considering standard romantic relationships don’t work on him," Li Wanqing said with a bitter smile. "But having this connection is better than not. Qingming, what you need to do now is to leverage your relationship with Wang Jiu."

Shen Qingming asked, "Are you telling me to act like a powerless main wife getting bullied by a mistress and go complain to a man for justice?!"

Li Wanqing said, "That’s a pretty good summary."

"Impossible!" Shen Qingming said firmly, "It’s too embarrassing!"

"Which is why we mentioned earlier that in the struggle for emotions, focusing too much on pride is pointless," Li Wanqing said. "Wouldn’t being crushed and humiliated be more embarrassing? Your closer relationship with Wang Jiu is your greatest advantage. Why abandon your advantages and attack his strengths with your weaknesses? Just because most people view leveraging relationships as dishonorable? Is everything supposed to be measured by so-called hard strength? But the so-called hard strength between you and Qian Yue is almost entirely a difference in innate quality, unrelated to subsequent effort and struggle. Your scores in the Inner Sect’s cultural courses have already proven your dedication. How are you supposed to work harder in other areas? Is it a gap that can be filled through effort? Are you supposed to surrender just because of a natural gap at birth? Is that kind of defeatism honorable?"

Li Wanqing’s endless discourse successfully unsettled Shen Qingming’s mind.

Actually, the girl didn’t fully understand what Li Wanqing was saying, yet she inexplicably found it quite reasonable, even though it completely contradicted her usual beliefs. But this wasn’t the time to be willful either.

After a long period of contemplation, Shen Qingming finally spoke again, "So, what exactly should I do?"

Li Wanqing said, "The simplest way would be to go directly to Wang Jiu and ask him to kick Qian Yue as far away as possible."

Shen Qingming said, "Ah Jiu would never agree to such an unreasonable request. He’ll just talk a bunch of logic I can’t quite comprehend, then mock my Intelligence Index."

Li Chaolu said, "Exactly, which is why after you get mocked, you need to stubbornly stand your ground, express your mortal enmity towards Qian Yue, saying there’s no way to coexist, reject any explanation or persuasion, and if he doesn’t agree, threaten to eat dirt and kill yourself."

"...Isn’t this just shameless beyond belief!"

Li Wanqing sighed and said, "But Wang Jiu will probably agree to it. After all, no matter how unreasonable you are, you’re his number one mount. So why not think of it this way, even if your request is a bit spoiled, it’s your privilege after all."

This explanation made Shen Qingming feel much better, considering all the times she was so angry she nearly burst a blood vessel since knowing Wang Jiu, having a bit of privilege seemed perfectly justified!

"I, I understand now. I’ll go find Wang Jiu and make him send Qian Yue back to Cyan Cloud City!"

----

Half an hour later, Shen Qingming, full of confidence, arrived at the Golden Jade City Lord’s Mansion and found Wang Jiu.

"Ah Jiu, I have a request." The girl seriously looked into the clear eyes of the Sword Spirit, suddenly feeling a bit guilty about her upcoming request, given its rather disgraceful nature.

But this is war. The battlefield isn’t filled with dazzling fairy tales, only bloody life-and-death struggles!

"What is it?"

Shen Qingming said, "Can you promise me first, then I’ll say?"

"Your request is pointless." Wang Jiu decisively pointed out Shen Qingming’s foolishness, "Without specifying the exact request, my promise would mean granting you unlimited wish rights, which seriously violates the unreasonable terms of our Master-Servant Contract. Based on the contract..."

Shen Qingming quickly interrupted, "I understand, then I’ll say it directly. Please send Qian Yue back to Cyan Cloud City and stop her from bothering us."

Wang Jiu asked curiously, "Why?"

"Because..." Shen Qingming gritted her teeth, "because I don’t like her! And we have a conflict!"

Wang Jiu said, "So now I should find a way to make you like her?"

"Can’t you just listen to me once and make her leave quietly?" Shen Qingming exclaimed angrily, "The current situation is either me or her. If you don’t make her leave, I’ll... I’ll poison myself!"

As she spoke, Shen Qingming took out a porcelain bottle, trembling as she said, "I’m serious."

After saying this, the girl felt a part of her inner self had completely died...

Wang Jiu observed Shen Qingming for a while and found that the girl indeed had a death wish, though it seemed somewhat similar to human shame and despair, but nonetheless he couldn’t watch his mount die. Comparatively, sending Qian Yue home once didn’t seem much.

However, just as Wang Jiu was about to call Qian Yue over to send her away...

"Dear, don’t be deceived, she won’t really kill herself anyway."

While speaking, Zhao Chenlu walked over with a faint smile.

Shen Qingming’s heart sank instantly.

Why is she coming over!? It’s none of her business!

"I came over because it seemed fun, hmm, clever of you, using your closeness with him to forcibly push the opponent out of the competition while he’s not yet stable. This probably wasn’t your idea, right?"

Shen Qingming looked at Zhao Chenlu and suddenly realized something.

"Why are you helping her?"

Zhao Chenlu said, "Because she reminds me of an old friend."

Shen Qingming scoffed at this, "Probably an old nemesis, right?"

"Oh, you know?" Zhao Chenlu was a bit surprised, "Indeed, when Shang Lanfei was alive, she and I were mortal enemies, everyone knew."

Shen Qingming was even more confused, "Then why are you helping her?"

"Brothers may struggle inside the house, but face outsiders unitedly," Zhao Chenlu said, "No matter how bad things were between me and Shang Lanfei, when facing Shen Kaishan, our stance was consistent."

Pausing, Zhao Chenlu added, "We are just high intelligence group’s internal conflicts."