Chapter 210: Ye Zhao Protects Her Master: The Obsession of Sword Intent

Shen Yan’s fingertips were still burning, the faint green light flickering like a candle in the wind, on the verge of extinguishing. He looked down at his phone screen—still dark, unresponsive no matter how many times he pressed it. The Terminal Interface in his mind hadn’t returned either, not even a Notification Tone.

But he was no longer panicked.

The scene from moments ago was still vivid before his eyes—Ye Zhao turning around, blocking the Devil Clan mage’s killing blow with a single sword strike, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth yet standing tall and unwavering. She wasn’t fighting to win; she was taking the fatal blow meant for him.

Now, he could do nothing. The System had crashed, his Mental Power was drained, and even standing steady was a struggle. Yet she was still fighting.

The Devil Clan mage rose from the rubble, his black robe torn in large patches, his left shoulder charred black, clearly wounded by Sword Qi. He wiped his face with a hand and sneered, “A mere Sword Cultivator dares to defy heavenly magic with a mortal body?”

Before his words faded, his hands formed seals once more.

The air began to distort again, sand and stones on the ground floating upward, converging toward his palms. The dark purple Energy sphere was larger than before, and the surrounding light seemed to be devoured, forming a small, swirling vortex.

Shen Yan’s heart tightened.

If this strike landed, Ye Zhao wouldn’t hold out.

He tried to move, but his legs felt as if filled with lead. He took only one step before a sweet taste rose in his throat, blood surging up and choking him into a fit of coughing.

“Don’t move.”

Ye Zhao’s voice was as cold as ice.

She stood before him, her back straight and unwavering, her right hand still gripping her sword, her fingers pale and knuckles turning blue. Her arm had long been broken, her Meridians reversed, every movement causing excruciating pain, yet she hadn’t fallen.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

The last trace of Sword Intent within her was forcibly drawn out, flowing through her Meridians into her Lifebound Sword. The blade trembled violently, emitting a low hum. A silvery-white light spread from the hilt to the tip, as though countless ancient Runes swirled across its surface before vanishing in an instant.

Shen Yan saw it clearly.

This wasn’t ordinary Sword Qi—it was all her faith, her Obsession, her will to protect, compressed into this single strike.

“Zhaoxue, heed my command.”

She opened her eyes, her gaze sharp as a blade.

Her Lifebound Sword hovered half an inch before her, unsupported, its tip aimed directly at the Devil Clan mage.

She formed seals with both hands, her mind and spirit unified, guiding the sword with her will. This strike, once unleashed, would be a life-or-death struggle.

“You’re insane!” Shen Yan shouted. “You can’t hold on now!”

Ye Zhao didn’t look back, only saying faintly, “Then… write fewer Bugs in the future.”

The next moment, she swung her hand.

The sword light shot forth.

In that instant, time seemed to stand still.

The silver sword light cascaded like a reversed galaxy, tearing through the air with a resolute force, piercing straight into the core of the Energy sphere. There was no roar, no explosion—the moment the sword tip met the magic, space contracted violently, and then—

Boom!

A hundred-foot wave of dust surged into the sky, rubble flew in all directions, and smoke and dust blotted out the heavens. The shockwave threw Shen Yan to the ground, his ears ringing.

When he struggled to look up, he saw Ye Zhao blasted backward, crashing heavily into a broken wall, bricks and stones collapsing around her.

She didn’t move.

But her hand still clutched the sword hilt tightly, her fingers curled, blood filling the spaces beneath her nails.

The Devil Clan mage staggered back, his left shoulder completely ruined, his black robe torn to shreds. For the first time, fear showed on his face. “You… actually transformed emotional Obsession into a sword? Such a thing… shouldn’t exist within magic!”

Shen Yan crawled over, not even feeling the pain when his knees hit the ground. He knelt beside her, his voice trembling: “Are you stupid? I can’t even run my Code anymore, and you still charge forward?”

Ye Zhao leaned against the broken wall, breathing heavily, blood continuously seeping from the corners of her mouth. She looked up at him, her lips actually curling slightly: “You are… the only person I’d want to protect with my life.”

Shen Yan froze.

It felt like someone had punched him hard in the chest, suffocating him.

He remembered the first time he saw her, practicing swordplay under the moonlight, dressed in white, cold as if she weren’t alive. Later, when he used Code to modify the Sword Control Script, she scolded him for recklessness, but secretly optimized it three times herself. Then, when he was being hunted, she cleaved through the pursuers with one sword strike and carried him, sprinting ten miles.

She never spoke softly, but every time he was about to die, she was there.

Now, for him, she had thrown her life away.

“Am I not useless?” His voice was hoarse. “You keep shielding me time after time.”

Ye Zhao raised her hand, her blood-stained fingers pointing toward the Devil Clan mage in the distance: “Don’t let him… escape.”

Shen Yan stared at her for a long time, then suddenly smiled slightly: “Alright, I’ll listen to you this time.”

He slowly helped her up, letting her lean against his back. Her body was light, her breathing faint, but her warmth remained.

He stood up, carrying her on his back, facing the depths of the camp.

His phone was still black, and the Terminal hadn’t recovered in his mind. He was just an ordinary person now, unable to even cast the most basic Fireball Spell.

But he knew, as long as she was still here, he couldn’t stop.

Wind and sand swept through the ruins, stirring up ashes. The Devil Clan generals were still forming ranks in the distance, new enemies emerging from the shadows.

Shen Yan took a step forward.

Another step.

His footsteps grew steadier.

Suddenly, his fingertip twitched.

That green light flickered again.

Very faint, but not extinguished.

The Source Code Spiritual Root was still there.

He didn’t rush to adjust the System or attempt a Restart. He knew it wasn’t the right time. He just silently noted that frequency, waiting for it to naturally revive.

“Can you still walk?” he whispered to the woman on his back.

Ye Zhao closed her eyes, her voice almost imperceptible: “Yes.”

“That’s good,” he said. “If you shield me again next time, I’ll abandon you.”

“You won’t,” she coughed up blood but smiled. “You even pick up a strand of my hair and examine it for ages.”

Shen Yan paused, not refuting.

Indeed.

He was just such a coward.

Clearly wanting to protect her, yet always ending up protected by her. Code could crash, Programs could fail, but she never blamed him once.

In the dust and smoke, the Devil Clan mage clutched his injured arm, his gaze sinister: “Do you think this is over? You intruded into the camp, destroyed my spell array, killed my people… tonight, none of you will leave alive.”

Shen Yan stopped walking, turned around, carrying Ye Zhao on his back, calmly looking at him.

“You’re mistaken,” he spoke, his voice not loud but steady. “We didn’t intrude.”

He paused, a slight curve forming at the corner of his mouth.

“We came to collect debts.”

As his words fell, a commotion arose from afar.

Following that, several figures rushed out from the other side of the camp—it was Pei Yue and the others! They had discovered the imprisoned Demon Clan children and were retreating toward them.

The Devil Clan mage’s expression changed, wanting to shift his target.

But Shen Yan moved at that moment.

He didn’t charge forward; instead, he gently placed Ye Zhao on a intact stone slab, taking off his jacket to cushion her head.

“Rest for a bit,” he said. “Leave what comes next to me.”

Ye Zhao wanted to speak, but he pressed a hand on her shoulder.

“Trust me once,” he said, looking at her. “Just like you trusted me earlier.”

She stared at him and finally nodded.

Shen Yan stood up and walked toward the center of the battlefield.

He had no weapon, no magic, not even the strength to stand steadily. Yet step by step, he moved forward, his back growing straighter with each stride.

The Devil Clan mage roared, raising his only remaining right arm to gather his final spell.

Shen Yan lifted his hand, a flash of green light at the tip of his finger.

This time, he did not attempt to compile a complex program, nor did he forcibly load a defense script.

He simply tapped three words into the air—

“Restart now.”

The next second, the Source Code Spiritual Root within him trembled violently.

A faint Data Stream shot from his fingertip, burrowing into the ground’s fissures and spreading rapidly along the Earth Vein.

The entire camp’s foundation, originally controlled by the Devil Clan’s Formation, shuddered faintly.

It was the “reverse Trigger” Shen Yan had secretly planted earlier, designed to activate automatically only when the System completely crashed.

Now, it had awakened.

(End of Chapter)