Xuanyin glanced toward Regen and spoke arrogantly
"Be thankful i called you, i could've just killed these insects for touching my things"
Regen was aware she was a late stage nascent with no sect or allegiance
Making her a wild card, she could attack and not feel any pressure since they was no way for them to get back at her
Afterall If your in a sect, they can attack the sect if you are too difficult to fight; this prevents many nascent cultivators from running wild
But It seemed as though touching the small dragon, and or the people in charge of watching him is a quick way to provoke her
Regen nodded his head lightly before speaking, "thank you for stopping the the situation before it got out of hand"
he lifted his hand towards his disciples, they all exploded into balls of blood that quickly flew into his mouths
Xuanyin and Arc faces changed immediately, Arc's face was one of fear since he just killed members of his own sect without a word
Xunayin expression was one of disgust, that blood smelled gross, full of impurities yet he ate it happily
"I was unaware that spies had infiltrated our sect, this was almost a great tragedy"
"Thankfully you were here to stop it; Xuanyin here is a gift for your aid"
Regen spoke calmly as he placed a spirit ring within Xuanyin's hand
He was shifting the blame to someone else and had given a "reward" to Xuanyin,
this would effectively stop the argument, without having to admit to their schemes
Should Xuanyin attempt to make this an issue it would look bad since she accepted his gift and he already dealt with the "spies"
Knowing this Xuanyin snorted lightly before grabbing Arc by the arm and flying away
As soon as they arrived to the room Xuanyin sent ink-star back to the servant's rooms so he wouldn't see her began fuming, this caused Arc to laugh slightly
She looked over at him as she spoke
"You're the one who told me not to suppress my emotions so shut it or I will kick your teeth in"
He nodded gently, Arc then sat down and patted his lap, Xuanyin mumbled quietly as her face turned red; she then walked over and sat in his lap,
Arc wrapped his arms around her waist as he grew closer kissing her neck gently,
She felt him kiss her all over the neck, he gently bit her ear, as his hands caressed her entirely
She leaned forward and began to kiss him, their tongues exploring each others mouths, Arc's hands grasped her entirely, making her feel warm and safe
After a while they separate their lips, Arc patted Xuanyin head lightly before speaking
"Are you feeling better now?"
She mumbled softly, "as if i would answer that you idiot"
She then stood up her expression turing back to normal, before speaking
"I'm heading back to the conference; Regen pissed me off so im gonna try to help Aurora and your sect master get a better deal"
Arc's face froze slightly hearing that as he watched Xuanyin leave, he felt a wave of guilt come over him
Aurora was out there working hard to keep the sect together and he was here with Xuanyin
The emotions he has for Xuanyin weren't something he had ever expected,
When Arc was bit, he felt her unimaginable emptiness; Xuanyin put a proud face and acted like everything was alright all while she was suffered in silence
Arc and Xuanyin both have a connection with ink-star, after being bitten several times that connection grow stronger;
added with the fact he is sensitive to souls it reached a point where he felt Xuanyin's feelings, and her emotions, temporarily
Xuanyin carried so much pain, and loss; she also felt as though she wasn't even capable of releasing her pain
The abyss would amplify them making her harm everyone around including herself
When he saw Xuanyin in such pain he wanted to make her happy, she didn't deserve that
This sharing of emotions wasn't
a one way connection, Xuanyin felt it as well;
Xuanyin knew how she treated Arc with blatant disrespect, completely disregarding him as a person; only seeing him as a snack and caretaker for ink-start
Yet in that moment she felt how Arc truly wanted to help her be happy even at the cost of her killing him;
This caused a change in Xuanyin, she felt something she didn't understand, and so she opened herself to that feeling
Now Arc is conflicted because loves Aurora, yet he couldn't get get Xuanyin out of his mind; he sat silently without moving, not even breathing
Arc remained lost in thought; wondering what he should do, no option felt right,
he cared about both of them; and he was also aware that Aurora hated Xuanyin
While Xuanyin felt superior to Aurora and would love to stomp on her pride, just for a quick laugh
This was a ticking time bomb and it was entirely Arc's fault, he should've have gone about it the way he did
Xuanyin wasn't in a stable mental space, his actions helped her expel most of her trapped emotions yet it may cause her more pain in the future
Arc sighed heavily feeling guilt and regret over his actions; Aurora and Xuanyin didn't deserve what he had done
Aurora raised her head slightly upon sensing Xuanyin's return, they met eyes for a moment
The second their eyes met, Xuanyin's expression turned smug; the same expression she held when she beat Aurora in their fight
This caused Aurora to grit her teeth in rage, so far she has been trying to keep her cool
Yet for some reason Xuanyin's attitude had changed before she was arrogant and would'nt even place Aurora in her sight
Yet now she would lock eyes with Aurora provoking her,
'Look at you, your so weak you couldn't even keep Arc, he is mine now'
Xuanyin thought to herself as she looked at Aurora
The sect master looking at Xuanyin; sighed gently as he realized that Arc had brought trouble he couldn't help but think
'Why didn't he just give the formation flag away'
Xuanyin sat down and immediately went to business, a stark change from her previous lackluster attitude;
This caused an immediate change that allowed the black mountain sect took over the "leadership" role in the debate
This caused sect master thoughts immediately changed
"Good job Arc I always knew I could rely on you, never had a doubt!'
Arc remained lost in thought for a long period of time, he was unable to find a solution to his problem
He sighed gently before he inhaled; beginning to cultivate, the endless spirit qi began to flood his body; the energy ripped him apart
Every cell of his being was severed and stitched back together; it was slow, and brutal painful
This was unlike his normal cultivation routine, Arc was more brutal and ruthless than ever
Arc felt his eyes become bloodshot as his bones got grinded to dust, his dantain began to bloat outwards
The energy within immediately started condensing, soon the energy within the dantain began forming the singularity learned from ink-star
This caused his body to begin having a gravitational pull, it tried ripping his body apart
while the electromagnetic field burned his body from the inside out
with each new crack his body grew closer to collapse
Arc filled it with spirit energy and world energy fixing it before it reached that point approaching collapse,he didn't actively stop it from doing so
Ink-star who was playing with the servants in a different room felt this change in Arc, at first he thought Arc was just cultivating
Yet the pressure grew greater, a pressure he already considered deadly was not even close to what Arc was doing to himself
He rushed over, the formation flag in hand, and he coiled himself around Arc; while activating the three points cycle
This time he was acting as a filter, as to prevent Arc from absorbing so much energy; forcing him to calm down before he killed himself
Arc seeing's ink-star's efforts froze slightly, he sighed before decreasing his energy absorption to its normal level
Dying wouldn't change anything and it wouldn't help anyone, all it would do is hurt the people around him
This caused ink-star to sigh in relief, yet this moment was burned into his mind
He didn't know why it had happened, but his mind rushed to find a possible solution
At that moment he was forced to change his attention as Arc's energy began expanding outwards;
this extreme pressure had caused his realm to increase to stage three, Arc exhaled before slowingly
disabling his energy absorption
As soon as he fished Arc looked towards the now kneeling servants who had followed ink-star,
their bodies were unable to stand due to the changes in gravity, and with a quick scan he found they had all broken bones
He sighed gently before pulling out a few healing pill's from his pocket and telling them to eat it
Arc left with nothing but doubt in his mind just went to bed, and decided to tell Xuanyin when she came
If she killed him than fine, but he won't lie to either of them; he cares about them both
While Arc was sleeping, the negotiators were concluded; much quicker than initially expected
With everyone finishing Aurora started heading toward Arc's room, closely behind
This caused Aurora to stop in place assuming Xuanyin was provoking her on purpose
"Stop following me"
She spoke with blatant hostility
Xuanyin's face curved into a smug smile as she spoke clearly mocking Aurora
"I'm not following you, I'm just going to my boyfriend's room; don't you know him? Oh yeah isn't he your student?"
Aurora's face froze upon hearing Xuanyin, she then spoke with hatred
"He is mine, if you lay a hand on him them i will kill you"
Xuanyin laughed lightly "you couldn't kill me even if you tried, you are too weak so i took him from you"
Aurora felt her body shaking in rage at Xuanyin's words, She can't just come out of nowhere and take away her dao companion
Aurora tried putting out her weapon, suddenly she felt a hand on her neck it was covered in scales;
she looked to see that Xuanyin had already lined up her energy attack,
'with a single move she could kill me' Aurora mind flew as she realized the gap in power was too much
She can't even fight back against such an immense power; Aurora felt tears welling in her eyes
Xuanyin seeing this smiled lightly as disabled the attack before patting Aurora's head as she spoke
"Listen, pet or you will die today"
Xuanyin's face lost its smug smile for the first time as she spoke seriously
"I want to kill you, i want Arc all to myself so that no one could ever get close to him"
"But i felt Arc's emotions, i felt what he felt, he is a foolish person who couldn't help but love us both"
Xuanyin's grip tightened, as she spoke
"I won't kill you, but i tell you here and now Arc is mine"
"You can continue acting as a teacher but no longer his lover; he is mine and mine alone"
Xuanyin released Aurora before walking away happily towards Arc's room
Aurora held her throat as the conversation bounced around in her mind
She walked into her assigned room tears falling down her face as she realized that Arc wasn't going to be with her
Xuanyin made it clear she wasn't going to take no for an answer, should she go and speak to Arc it might cause the dragon to go crazy killing Arc
She stayed in her room crying until she heard a knock, with her senses she saw that… it was Arc
She opened the door to find him out of breathe and with tears in his eyes, upon seeing Aurora he jumped into her arms
Aurora felt relief and joy in that moment, she grabbed him tightly and wouldn't let go
Arc couldn't speak as he cried in Aurora's chest, suddenly they both felt a pressure
Xuanyin was right behind them, her eyes a dark red; her body covered in draconic scales
She had an emotionless expression though it was clear to see her eyes had been stained by tears
Aurora tried to speak but was cut off by Xuanyin
"Arc get away from her, I already told you; she won't get in our way"
Arc spoke softly between his tears
" Xuanyin please don't do this, Don't hurt Aurora"
Her expression turned stern
"You chose her, you played me!; NO!; you don't get to just walk all over me and run back to her!"
Xuanyin's words because angerer the longer she spoke
Aurora placed Arc behind her, as her hand shook in fear; Xuanyin was the most threatening opponent she had ever faced
Xuanyin upon seeing Aurora rush to defend Arc even after the threats and warnings froze slightly
She felt her tears began to flow once more, Arc loved her; but he loved Aurora first
She would never be Arc's choice, in that moment she began to cry, yet something happened
Arc rushed out from behind Aurora catching them both off guard as she hugged Xuanyin
He placed her head onto his shoulders as she cried, his soul reaching out to her's
The last time they relied upon ink-star to form a connection together;
this time he bypassed that entirely due to his sensitivity to souls and already recognizing her's
Xuanyin in Arc arms felt the warmth she wanted, and she felt the love he had for her; he truly was in pain watching her being put through this
Yet she felt it, Arc loved Aurora; he would never stop loving Aurora.
Then she heard him speak
"Please I don't want to see you like this, please don't take it out on Aurora its my fault kill me instead"
These words echoed in the air, as Xuanyin low crying turned Audible; her scales went away and turned into her clothes
she wrapped her legs and tail around Arc as she cried, Arc comforted her knowing that this was all his fault
The connection never broke during all of this; as for Aurora she felt pain watching this,
the woman just wanted to kill her and she was now in the arms of the man she loves, crying because she longs for him
Aurora reached out grabbing Arc on the arm not knowing the reason for the change
Suddenly she felt the emotions of Arc, and Xuanyin; as her soul had long been memorized by Arc allowing him to add her to the "conversation"
The three of them felt what the other felt, Xuanyin saw the love that Aurora had for Arc,
Aurora saw the fear, loneliness and doubt in Xuanyin; this fear was pushed back by Arc
Arc saw the overflowing pride that caused Xuanyin to target Aurora, and he saw Aurora's burning hatred to the one who tried to take Arc from her
What they were completely unaware of was that Quince had been watching this at a distance
As they weren't exactly being quiet it caught his attention, and upon seeing two nascent soul cultivators fighting over the same qi condensation cultivator
He felt invested in the story and became Arc's number one fan
'This kid is terrifying, i need him to give me advice'
Quince thought to himself as he masked his energy hoping he could see the end before they realize he was watching
Aurora and Xuanyin then felt something strange, this strangeness originated from Arc, then doubts entered their minds as the question formed, how did they fall for him so quickly?
Xuanyin stopped crying as the words escaped her mouth
"Your a thessalyr"
This was a foreigner term to Aurora and Arc who didn't understand what she had meant by that
She stood up calming herself,
"you have a physique that increases your charm, and lowers the defenses of others towards you"
This caused Arc to freeze suddenly
"There is no way, that doesn't make sense"
Xuanyin wiping her tears spoke softly "what doesn't make sense is me a being who has lived eaons falling in love with someone after only knowing them less than a month"
"Your seems to have mutated in some form and causes you to develop feelings in the same manner"
Aurora and Arc stood there stunned, what did that mean of them? were their feelings for each other born from his abilities
The three of them remained silent, not sure how to proceed; since they were all aware that it was a very complicated situation
"So does that mean this was all fake, and you both were victims to my physique"
Arc spoke his voice shaking, seemingly disappointed with himself
Xuanyin sighed gently before speaking
"It's not fake it's accelerated, we truly love you but for love blossom it should have taken years, it's not something that happened in a few days like it did with us"
"I should have noticed earlier there were signs but i didn't want to, i wanted to feel happy and you could make me so"
Xuanyin spoke softly rubbing her arm slightly
Aurora sighed gently feeling as though everything since meeting Arc had changed significantly and this might have been the reason why
She looked at Arc he next words barely escaping her mouth
"Archean, let's keep our distance; i don't know what to trust, i don't know if my feelings for you were mine"
The moment she finished the sentence it was as if she lost all her strength, she didn't want to do this; yet cultivator long for freedom above all else
If her feelings weren't her's, then it doesn't matter if they were better than being alone
Arc felt tears running down his face, he had never felt so much hatred; he hated himself,
Suddenly he felt arms wrapped around him, he turned to see Xuanyin hugging him gently
She looked towards him and spoke with a sad smile
"I like this, i'm okay with it; I don't want to spend another thousand years alone"
She then laughed self-deprecatingly before speaking once more,
"And it's not like i could avoid you even if i wanted to; since ink-star is your son"
Quince jumped in his "seat" at this revelation he felt awe and respect for Arc,
Arc nodded to Xuanyin his tears slowing down as he turned towards Aurora and spoke
"I understand, i'm sorry i failed you, neither you you deserved this"