Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 257 - 217: The Only One I Owe

Shen Ziyu's body was trembling.

The conflict within his heart was clearly reflected on his body, as different thoughts clashed fiercely. He couldn't perfectly control his Sand Gathering Divine Skill, and half of his body began to gradually turn to sand and drift away, while the other half hardened like rock.

It looked somewhat like a yin-yang person.

Of course, Shen Ziyu was aware of what Li Fengyun had mentioned.

As Shen Yue'e's brother, he had always held his sister in high regard, so he naturally understood her thoughts well.

Even when Shen Yue'e was still alive, she often demonstrated her unconventional behavior. Despite possessing some of the best talents among her peers, she had no interest in the conventional path of cultivation. She often shut herself in her study, engrossed in calculations that no one but herself could understand. In her deep immersion, she once, without saying a word, retreated to a remote mountain cave for half a year. As she went missing for too long, her family mistakenly thought she had been kidnapped by a rival faction and frantically searched for her. When she was found, she was on the verge of death due to severe malnutrition, yet she continued to scribble on her draft paper, developing her new algorithm.

This independent and unconventional attitude made Shen Yue'e's position in Shen City very delicate. As a Shen Family member fiercely enthusiastic about battles far and wide, instead of honing her cultivation to enhance combat prowess, she indulged in theoretical calculations like a powerless scholar. Such rebellious behavior would have been enough to cause a family rift and even lead to an honor killing in an indescribable religious context.

Of course, this was a civilized era, and the indescribable religious context had disappeared long ago. Shen Yue'e wouldn't be publicly executed by her family, but she would have to endure daily nagging and occasional outbursts of quarrels.

Just from Shen Ziyu's memories, it's countless how many times Shen Yue'e quarreled with their father Shen Ruoshi, escalating at times into physical confrontations—though Shen Ruoshi, being a dignified figure, wouldn't overpower the weak, always using a weaker avatar to spar with Shen Yue'e. Both sides saw victories and defeats over a dozen years, always turning the household upside down.

Back then, Shen Ziyu couldn't understand why his sister would squander her talent this way. If she'd committed to her cultivation, she would've had a good chance to inherit Shen Ruoshi's legacy, possibly even surpass him—after all, her innate talent was on par with his, and she clearly had an intellectual advantage. Yet she chose to indulge in academic issues during the prime years of her immortal cultivation.

Shen Ziyu often thought that if no unexpected events occurred, his sister might continue living as Shen Ruoshi's eccentric daughter, doing as she pleased.

With Shen Yue'e's intelligence, she could surely establish a renowned reputation in academia, and perhaps, when the time came, she'd find her true love—most likely an unassuming scholar, marry and have children, and then fall into disputes with Shen Ruoshi over their upbringing.

Alternatively, Shen Yue'e might use her brilliance to forge a unique path of the Immortal Dao, breaking through the constraints that had shackled the Shen Family for thousands of years.

However, things did not unfold as Shen Ziyu had anticipated.

A cultivator named Li Fengyun came to travel in Shen City and defeated many in his generation with his sword, even defeating several of Shen Ruoshi's children. Finally, it escalated to a point where various senior masters discreetly guided young cultivators of Shen City to challenge Li Fengyun, almost rallying two generations' efforts against one person, yet still unable to win a single duel against him.

Ironically, each sparring session benefited Shen City, but Li Fengyun gained even more. The flaws in his swordsmanship painstakingly found by these senior masters seemed to serve as meticulous guidance, rapidly advancing his skills in actual combat...

Just as Shen City was about to lose face, Shen Yue'e suddenly stepped forward, expressing her willingness to fight Li Fengyun. People were astounded because Shen Yue'e had always clearly expressed disdain for such violent activities, often mocking those passionate about combat as excesses of civilization's progress.

Yet here she was, suddenly declaring she'd battle the invincible Li Fengyun?

At that time, Shen Ruoshi was moved to tears, believing that the Shen bloodline had awoken, and his rebellious daughter had finally outgrown her rebellious phase, ready to live like a real Shen Family member...

So, despite most people doubting Shen Yue'e's odds, they still sent her to the ring with a blessing.

Unsurprisingly, Shen Yue'e lost; however, surprisingly, she lost more than the match—she lost herself.

"Dad, I'm planning to marry Li Fengyun."

To this day, Shen Ziyu can't forget that dinner when, with a joyful smile, the defeated Shen Yue'e announced the news to the family, causing everyone to choke on tea, soup, and rice.

What followed was a series of unending family conflicts.

Though Shen Yue'e argued her case, listing a hundred benefits of marrying Li Fengyun, she ultimately couldn't convince her stubborn father to agree, so she chose to elope decisively.

It seemed, perhaps deliberately against her father's unreasonable stance, she insisted on entering Li Family as a concubine. Shen Ruoshi, of course, couldn't accept his daughter marrying into the Li Family as a concubine and angrily declared a severance of father-daughter ties.

A family tragedy thus drew to a close.

At the time, Shen Ziyu experienced the entire ordeal. He didn't want to point out who was truly at fault, but at the very least, his sister sacrificed everything and gave up everything to choose Li Fengyun. Li Fengyun was supposed to make her happy.

However, what Li Fengyun gave her was an untimely death.

And this became an indelible pain in Shen Ziyu's heart. Even if he understood some reasons, he could never forgive Li Fengyun emotionally. That's why he poured all his effort into cultivating, relying on unparalleled dedication, to join the Saint Sect, obtaining the finest resources in the world, and growing to the point where he was confident he wouldn't lose to the once peerless Sword Dao genius.

Yet to his surprise, after a ridiculous battle, the gap between him and Li Fengyun seemed even greater than before. So, had all these years of effort become a joke?

"In fact, this is quite a normal thing." Li Fengyun said, "If one could become invincible through innate talent and focused cultivation, then Yue'e's lifetime of effort would have been in vain. Her greatest wish before she died was to perfect the Wind and Cloud Divinity Transformation Technique with me, breaking through the limitations of current inadequate Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, to get as close as possible to the cultivators of the Primordial Era. Now, at least I've taken the first step."

Shen Ziyu opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but faced with the Sword God Body before him, all words seemed powerless.

He truly wanted to berate Li Fengyun, even wishing he could kill him, but... if his sister were still alive, she would definitely side with Li Fengyun and mock his shallowness, just as she mocked their father Shen Ruoshi back then.

Reflecting on this, Shen Ziyu felt entirely drained, the anger brewing in his chest for twenty years gradually settled down, no longer surging forth.

After a long while, Shen Ziyu sighed and bowed to Li Fengyun: "Congratulations on the Great Success of the Wind and Cloud Divinity Transformation Technique, if my sister knew, she would be comforted. And you have partially repaid what you owed her."

Upon hearing this, Li Fengyun frowned and said, "Owe? I never felt I owed Yue'e anything."

"What did you say!?"

"Even if my Wind and Cloud Divinity Transformation Technique never produces practical results, even if our guesses and experiments were all wrong, I don't believe these efforts are in vain, nor do I believe Yue'e chose me by mistake. I provided her with a platform to fully realize her talents—the Wind and Cloud Divinity Transformation Technique. We inspired and encouraged each other, and those years of marriage unleashed far more creativity than either of us alone. Though brief, it was undoubtedly the happiest time of our lives. If I felt indebted to Yue'e, that would tarnish her wisdom and her contributions."

"You..."

Li Fengyun continued, "If I must speak of debt, my greatest debt is to Qingming."

Shen Qingming was taken aback: "Eh, me?"

Li Fengyun explained, "When Yue'e was pregnant with you, she knew her time was limited. While exploring and deducing with me, she harmed her own health, so she wished to leave a legacy before her condition worsened. But even this was too much of a strain, so... I'm sorry. Our selfishness didn't allow you to inherit your parents' strengths perfectly. But being a bit dull isn't necessarily bad, living to a ripe old age can also be a blessing."

"..." Shen Qingming remained silent, but her fists clenched tighter.

After a moment, the girl asked, "I only have one question: why did Lu Xin fall for an idiot like you!?"

"??"

Seeing yet another father-daughter conflict about to erupt, Shen Ziyu interrupted with a hint of schadenfreude: "Li Fengyun, did you come to my cave estate today just to show off your Sword God Body?"

Li Fengyun said, "No, I was merely curious as to how you managed to open the door to the cave in front of the Wind and Cloud Tower without the owner's permission, without triggering the array's alarms. I've never seen this technique before, so I wanted to ask about the specific principles."

Looking at Li Fengyun's earnest inquiry, Shen Ziyu found himself speechless for a long time.

Although his features had aged, he was already a far cry from the once high-spirited and dashing Li Fengyun of yesteryear.

But this eager and inquisitive expression was just as obnoxious as it was twenty years ago.