Princess Embroidered Jade suddenly wished she could lose her memory. The Fool had, with just a few words, utterly demolished Lady Simone, sending her fleeing in defeat—objectively, a good thing. But honestly, the barrage of words that had tumbled out of his mouth was no less of a shock to Embroidered Jade herself. Sure, she wasn’t his target, but she’s got thin skin—just watching the fight made her feel wounded.
It’s like being a spectator on the sidelines of a battlefield—never getting hit, but still fainting at the sight of the carnage.
The Fool’s verbal sparring with Lady Simone today—the words, the knowledge, the content—she honestly wished she could forget every last bit. She shook her head, trying to erase it all, but those things had rooted themselves in her mind, replaying over and over. Her gaze at The Fool grew strangely complicated; her mood was a mess, and even she couldn’t quite explain it.
First came embarrassment and annoyance—a kind of shame that made her want to crawl into a hole and disappear. Well, technically, she was already in a hole underground.
After embarrassment came irritation. Where did The Fool get all that knowledge? All those theories? It’s not something you could chalk up to just a good family background. To a traditionally-minded, conservative girl like her, The Fool’s behavior was like that of a mysterious bad boy—nose ring, ear studs, bleached hair, tattoos, and the kind of guy who’d smoke shirtless in class—naturally someone she’d want to avoid.
But after the irritation came curiosity. The silly, slow Fool, the steady Fool, the reassuring Fool, the sharp-tongued Fool, the mischievous Fool, the infuriating Fool—so many sides to him. Which one was the real him?
And finally, after curiosity, came a bit of joy—a kind she couldn’t hold back. The moment Lady Simone ran off in a huff, she felt a small, victorious thrill, and couldn’t help but want to praise The Fool.
Princess Embroidered Jade had been a prodigy since childhood, advancing rapidly in her cultivation and earning fame at a young age. After breaking into the innate realm, she was like an ethereal fairy untouched by the mortal world—her mind pure and cool. No matter what kind of martial arts drama she encountered, she always handled it calmly, never letting her heart waver. But today, all these tangled feelings welling up inside her were both novel and unsettling.
"It must be the aftereffects of the Second Loss of Will. Calm down, just calm down," Embroidered Jade muttered twice under her breath. She took a deep breath and tried to steady her mind, her gaze growing a bit calmer. Now wasn’t the time for wild thoughts—she needed to focus on stabilizing her internal energy and driving out the poison. But even without Lady Simone’s interference, she still couldn’t settle her mind.
Forcing herself to focus for a moment, Embroidered Jade’s eyelashes fluttered as she finally let out a sigh. Nope, her mind was still a mess—so many tangled thoughts crashing around inside her head, it actually gave her a headache. She opened her eyes and instinctively shrank back a little, because The Fool was staring right at her.
"W-what are you staring at?" Embroidered Jade felt even more flustered.
"I'm looking at your legs," The Fool replied, as honest as ever.
"Y-you pervert!" Embroidered Jade instinctively tugged at her skirt to try and cover up, but there wasn’t much fabric left—it was hopeless. "Why are you looking at my legs? Don’t you dare try anything!" She shrank back again, big eyes filled with a hint of panic.
"Because your legs are really nice," The Fool seemed to have unlocked a new trait—call it a leg connoisseur. "Long, fair, straight, and slender."
"You!" Surely this counted as harassment? To Embroidered Jade, it absolutely did. But the guy opposite her still had that clear, innocent look in his eyes. After staring at her legs for a moment, he flashed her a smile: "I really like your legs!"
"Ugh..." Embroidered Jade wanted to cover her face and scream. This guy was just too much—every word and action was a challenge to her nerves! That fleeting moment of happiness was now totally snuffed out, and she couldn’t help but grit her teeth. With her emotions in turmoil, how could she possibly calm down?
But The Fool suddenly leaned in, meeting her gaze head-on: "Embroidered Jade." It was the first time he’d ever called her by name—something no man should do with a princess. Embroidered Jade trembled slightly when she heard it. She looked up at him, meeting his eyes. In that instant, she felt just how deep and vast his gaze truly was.
His voice was nice, too: "Is something troubling you? Why can’t you calm your mind?"
"I..." He saw right through her, as if he’d peered into her very soul. Embroidered Jade hesitated for a long moment, then finally mustered her courage, took a deep breath, and asked, blushing fiercely: "Earlier, when Lady Simone talked about 'leg crossing'... I’ve done it before."
At the very bottom of her swirling thoughts, this was what troubled her most—and what was hardest to talk about. It was something she wished would rot away in her heart, something she couldn’t bear to touch. But faced with The Fool’s pure gaze, Embroidered Jade suddenly felt she could say it. Her neck and ears burned red with shame, but she still asked: "When I was very young, I did it. Does that mean I’m... not pure? Does it mean I’m actually... a cheap woman?"
Out of all the verbal sparring, this was the one fact that completely shattered her worldview. For Embroidered Jade, who put a heavy emphasis on chastity, this was like a bolt from the blue. It was on par with a wife of twenty years telling her husband, "Actually, I’ve been faking it all along." That kind of blow could leave someone devastated.
So Embroidered Jade’s voice trembled a little; she even felt a bit helpless.
But The Fool calmly said, "Don’t listen to her nonsense. It’s not true—she was just messing with you."
"Really?" She heard the answer she most wanted to hear and immediately looked up. In those eyes opposite her, there was a vastness like the sky and sea, and a sincerity that couldn’t be faked: "Really."
The Fool was truly sincere—what’s leg crossing, anyway? It’s like us old virgins: it’s bad enough being a virgin, are we not allowed to, uh, handle things ourselves? One a day keeps the doctor away~ Leg crossing isn’t even using your hands! No matter how ancient folks judged it, The Fool just didn’t see it as a big deal. So, his honesty had absolutely zero hesitation.
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"You’re actually hung up on this? You really need more education. Your guardians dropped the ball." The Fool educated her in a lofty, cool tone: "If I get the chance, I’ll give you all a proper lesson—save you from making a joke of yourselves next time."
"Who—who wants to hear about that... that nonsense!" Embroidered Jade couldn’t help but smack him, blushing.
The Fool didn’t back down, totally unyielding: "Nonsense? You almost fell for it yourself! Backward thinking like that’s dangerous—ignorance is scary."
"You—you! Knowing all this weird stuff, you’re the scary one!" But as she bickered with The Fool, Embroidered Jade suddenly felt calm. With her biggest worry gone, she even felt a sense of relief. After all the blows, comfort, confusion, and encouragement, she finally had a moment of peace.
In the midst of her newfound calm, there was a faint joy she couldn’t quite describe. Suddenly, she felt her internal energy shift—she hadn’t done anything on purpose, but her energy had returned to its proper place. Her bout of qi deviation was, in this subtle moment, completely resolved!
"Whew, finally back on track." Embroidered Jade let out a long breath and stretched her limbs. It felt great to have her strength back.
"You’re okay now?" The Fool suggested, "Then let’s break out of here."
"Well..." Embroidered Jade circulated her energy, but her expression darkened: "Not yet. The effects of the Ten Evil Soul Scatter haven’t been purged, and after the earlier qi deviation, they’re even stronger. Right now, I only have seventy years’ worth of internal energy—worse than when I fell in the water before. My quality is three levels above Lady Simone, but in terms of quantity, I’m far behind her ninety years of power."
"It’s just twenty years less—those underwear guys only had twenty years’ worth too. With me helping, we won’t lose to her."
"No, this twenty years isn’t the same—there’s a big difference." Embroidered Jade grabbed The Fool’s wrist: "The Ten Evil Soul Scatter’s poison is still there. If I act rashly, I might lose control again. First, let me heal you—after that, I’ll focus on purging the poison."
"Ten Evil Soul Scatter..." The Fool thought for a moment. "Then you should purge the poison first. The longer you wait, the worse it’ll get. I’m fine—you go ahead..." He really didn’t think he was in much danger. Sure, it looked risky, but thanks to his precise coordination, most of the energy was just fighting among itself. He could hold out for a while. Only he could manage such a miracle, staying perfectly calm.
"No need to say more!" Embroidered Jade interrupted The Fool, raising both palms and pressing them to the vital points on his chest. Crack—frost spread over The Fool’s body, and just like before, he instantly turned into an ice sculpture.
Embroidered Jade closed her eyes and focused, pouring seventy years’ worth of Bright Moon Divine Skill into The Fool’s meridians. The four entangled energies naturally went for the weakest first. Embroidered Jade flexed her arms; tiny jets of energy shot out from The Fool’s body, completely expelling the power of the resurrected Golden Fan Prince. In this contest, he was the least impressive of all.
Then, it was time for the biggest challenge.
Embroidered Jade flexed her arms again, and the icy shell on The Fool’s body shattered with a burst of ice flowers, a stream of purple energy drifting away with the frozen dust. Another flex, another icy explosion. Lady Simone’s internal energy had invaded The Fool’s meridians, but Embroidered Jade focused and drove it out bit by bit. The Fool’s skin crackled, ice dust flying everywhere.
"Whew..." Embroidered Jade had her eyes closed, already a little out of breath, but she couldn’t relax yet—she had to keep pushing! Crackle, crackle—The Fool’s chest and back erupted with shards of ice, and Lady Simone’s energy was finally expelled.
But she herself wobbled, her vision going dark. She’d poured all her energy into healing The Fool and was hit by the backlash. With her insides empty, the Ten Evil Soul Scatter, which had been quiet, surged back and deepened her negative state, leaving her mind foggy again.
"Stop!" The Fool immediately sensed something was wrong.
"It’s fine, just two energies left." Embroidered Jade shook her head, wanting to keep going. "I’ll be done soon..."
"Stop." The Fool suddenly grabbed her wrist, his warm touch making Embroidered Jade’s eyelashes flutter. He said softly, "I know very well—these last two energies aren’t so easy to drive out. Don’t hurt yourself, stop." He gently patted Embroidered Jade’s arm. She looked at him, then finally let out a long sigh and withdrew her power.
After withdrawing her energy, she couldn’t help but stumble and slowly sat down, feeling a bit dejected: "The energies from Flower Shifter and the Golden Blade King are tangled together—it’s really hard to expel them."
If it were easy, she’d have cured herself long ago. Why would it still be a problem now?
The Fool calmly asked, "Is the Golden Blade King really that strong?"
"In terms of power, he’s barely at the third innate level—actually a bit weaker than Lady Simone. But he’s a real prodigy, with a unique blade aura." Embroidered Jade explained, "Golden Blade King used to be a vanguard general for the Peng Kingdom, a fierce battlefield warrior who earned great merit. But he was simple-minded and didn’t understand political scheming. The so-called petty men are like ghosts—he was eventually ruined by court intrigue, his family destroyed. Later, he stormed his enemies’ home alone and slaughtered them all, even killed the Peng Crown Prince in a single stroke, splattering blood five steps away."
The Fool nodded, "He’s got guts, at least."
"He’s a wild card—learned all his battle skills on the field, never studied any internal energy techniques, so the martial world looks down on him. But when he killed the Peng Crown Prince, he proved his innate power through sheer force. After wiping out all the court’s scheming villains, he called himself the ‘Ghost-Slaying Blade.’ Once he was titled Golden Blade King, he renamed his blade ‘Heavenly King Ghost-Slaying Blade.’" Embroidered Jade looked at The Fool, her eyes a little apologetic. "His power may be stuck at the third innate level, and his straightforward blade style doesn’t give him much of an edge in martial arts duels, but the killing intent of the Heavenly King Ghost-Slaying Blade is truly formidable."
She sighed, "If only someone with boldness and unyielding spirit, plus pure yang internal energy, could help—that’s the real cure. But sadly, Bright Moon Divine Skill isn’t that type. Even if it could work, it’d take a long time—like trying to put out a fire with a bucket from a mile away. The Fool’s situation is like Zhang Wuji after getting hit with the Xuanming Palm—only pure yang internal energy can save him. It’s like a worm in wood: even a thousand-strong man can’t beat a woodpecker—it’s just not the right tool for the job."
This chapter isn’t finished yet~.~—please click next page to read more!
"For now, the only right move is to help you build up your internal energy." Embroidered Jade stared at The Fool, deep in thought. After a moment she finally made up her mind and solemnly said, "Today, I’ll teach you the Flower Kingdom’s sacred internal technique—the Bright Jade Technique. It’s part of the Bright Moon Divine Skill, the pre-innate chapter. If you study hard, you can reach sixty years of internal power—it’s a rare skill in the world."
Lady Simone’s hearing was exceptional, and even secret voice transmission might not be safe. Embroidered Jade couldn’t just say it aloud, so she personally guided The Fool through the energy circulation method. "You’ve got two strands of innate internal energy tangled up inside you—definitely a big obstacle, but this is the best we can do. If you could drive out the Golden Blade King’s blade aura, Flower Shifter’s energy would actually be a huge help. What a pity."
"Golden Blade King’s blade aura..." The Fool lowered his head, thinking. Suddenly his eyes lit up, "Just now you said pure yang internal energy could drive out the blade aura, right? How much power would it take?"
"No, the amount of power isn’t the main thing. There’s not that much blade aura in your meridians anyway. The real battle at the innate level is about spirit—the key is having an utterly dominant will."
"Dominance?" The Fool scratched his head. "Do I have that?"
"Heh!" Embroidered Jade pursed her lips and couldn’t help but smack The Fool lightly. "Honestly, you’ve got courage, boldness, insight, and wisdom—your fighting spirit is anything but ordinary. If anyone really thinks you’re a fool, they’re the real fool. But as for ‘dominance’... you’ve got spirit, but you’re not domineering. You’re not a tyrant."
"More than just dominance..." The Fool pinched his chin, deep in thought, as a mysterious hint echoed in his mind.
"Golden Blade King was a top general, wielding life and death, commanding respect and fear, forging his spirit in mountains of corpses and seas of bones. If you’re talking about dominance, honestly, few in this world could match him. That’s the real source of his strength."
"Few in this world..." Maybe not in this world, but in other worlds, who knows? When it comes to dominance, boldness, pure yang energy—The Fool’s mind flashed with countless fragments of memory. Suddenly, he understood what that mysterious hint meant: you can call for help from outside!
The Fool smiled. In a dimension Embroidered Jade couldn’t see, the golden profile on his left hand quietly grew to life-size, imprinting itself on his body. Meanwhile, in the secret chamber of Tianshan Spirit Vulture Palace, Jill Young suddenly sat up, legs astride like a general. Her eyes stayed closed, but a thunderous irritation flashed across her brow. Golden light surged, and the golden profile in her right hand swelled, merging with the sleeping Jill, cloaking her in a golden aura.
"Dominance?" Jill Young snorted in her sleep, her aura surging like a beast awakened: "Golden Blade King? Who does he think he is!"