CHAPTER 915: I FIGHT THE BATTLES I CAN WIN

"It matters. Your origin is unclear. We will not tolerate hidden threats among us," Bai Hu’s voice was icy.

"You have two choices," Qing Long declared, his draconic aura pressing down like a mountain. "Sever your bond with Qing Luan or reveal your true self. Otherwise, this land will never be yours."

Zhu Que nodded sharply, flames flickering at her fingertips.

Qing Luan opened her mouth to intervene, then hesitated. She had acted rashly. In her desperation, she’d brought a stranger into their sanctuary. What if this girl was more than she seemed?

"Do you also see me as a disaster, Fairy Qing Luan?" Shenlian Yingyue’s question was quiet, her gaze fixed not on the furious deities but on the woman who’d given her everything.

"I believe in you." Qing Luan didn’t falter.

"Then do you regret choosing me?"

"Never." The answer came instantly, without doubt.

A golden light erupted as Shenlian Yingyue raised her hand, her voice ringing with celestial weight. "By the heavens, I swear I will never wield Qing Luan’s gifts to harm the innocent or sow chaos. But if others strike first, I will show no mercy." The vow seared into the air, a divine glow etching itself into her brow.

The four deities stiffened. This mortal, no, this enigma had just bound herself to a heavenly oath. Yet she still refused to answer them.

"Since they distrust me," Shenlian Yingyue continued calmly, "I will take only what you gave me. The rest of the sacred land’s treasures, I leave them untouched."

Zhu Que’s flames flared. In a ripple of power, her avian form shifted into a towering woman clad in crimson, her hair like liquid fire, eyes burning with ancient fury. "Explain yourself," she demanded. "What game are you playing?"

The others watched, tension coiling like a storm.

"I’ve accepted my senior’s legacy," Shenlian Yingyue said, unwavering. "Her final wish was for me to honor her life’s work, to protect what she cherished and use her power for good. I will not fail her. Whether you believe me or not, that is my truth." She met each of their gazes.

"Without knowing my past, she judged me by my character alone. Yet you four fixate on my origins. I understand your caution, but to treat me as both a lurking disaster and a worthless insect? That, I cannot accept," Shenlian Yingyue said, her voice unwavering.

"Every step I’ve taken was earned through blood and sweat. I climbed this far so no one could look down on me, least of all by forcing my hand with threats." Her gaze never flickered.

A stunned silence followed. Even the wind seemed to still.

"I respect your strength, your histories, the weight of your years," she continued. "Your pride is earned, and I take no offense at your disdain. But if you believe your power grants you the right to dictate my choices..." A steel edge entered her tone. "That, I will never tolerate."

Qing Luan’s chest tightened. This girl, defying four primordial deities without a tremor, was either brilliantly bold or utterly reckless.

"This land isn’t mine to claim. I’ll take only what my senior entrusted to me," Shenlian Yingyue declared.

"Child, don’t," Qing Luan interjected, torn between pride and despair. Her personal treasures paled next to the sacred land’s boundless riches: the ancient artifacts, the life-extending springs, the forests bearing fruit that could elevate a mortal to immortality. How could she walk away?

"Do you comprehend what you’re refusing?" Xuan Wu stirred, his low voice like shifting tectonic plates.

In human form, he resembled a monastic sage. His robes were dark as abyssal waters, his hair equally dark, and his golden eyes held the patience of eroded mountains.

"I do," she said simply.

"You expect us to believe you’d spurn such wealth?" Zhu Que barked a laugh, her crimson sleeves flaring like wings.

"Wealth without belonging is a curse." Shenlian Yingyue met her scorn head-on. "Yes, I’m weak before you. Crushing me would cost less effort than breathing. I desire power, but not at the price of my dignity or my life."

Her clarity was disarming. No artifice, no hidden agenda, just unshakable resolve.

"You..." Zhu Que was at a loss for words. When someone spoke with such calm reason, she found nothing to throw back. The girl didn’t seem to be pretending and even if she was, none of them were fools.

They had lived through too much. What waves hadn’t they weathered? What storms hadn’t they survived? They had existed for countless eons, endured betrayals, wars, and the rise and fall of entire realms. They had tasted every flavor of deceit and sincerity alike. How could they not know she was telling the truth?

But accepting it was another matter entirely.

This girl showed no desire for this sacred land. How could that be?

For what being, mortal or immortal, could gaze upon the glories of this sacred land and feel no hunger? What creature of flesh and spirit could turn away from such power and wealth without even a backward glance? The very impossibility of her indifference made it harder to accept than any grand deception.

Qing Luan gave a small nod of approval. Calm and composed, neither arrogant nor self-effacing. The girl wasn’t blinded by greed, and she understood when to retreat without shame, not out of weakness, but unshakable principle. That kind of clarity was rarer than talent.

"Are you certain?" Qing Long sneered. "What if you regret this later and tell the world we’re here?" His tone dripped disbelief.

"I swear by Heaven, by my real name," Shenlian Yingyue said clearly, lifting her hand, "that if I ever reveal that the Four Deities, Qing Long, Bai Hu, Xuan Wu, Zhu Que, and the soul of the Musical Fairy Qing Luan dwell here out of selfish greed, may thunder scatter my soul and deny me reincarnation."

As her words fell, golden light pierced her brow again, brighter than before.

She knew the Ethereal Small World was no lesser realm. And even without it, she wouldn’t risk her life fighting for this land. As she had said, she cherished her life.

Silence returned, heavier than before.

No one spoke. She hadn’t argued. She hadn’t pleaded. She simply acted.

What doubt could remain?

"How can you swear your life away so easily?" Qing Long’s voice cracked, not with anger, but with disbelief. Emotions surged, and he shifted back into human form.

He stood in robes of flowing turquoise, long teal hair trailing to his waist. His jade eyes, usually deep and calm, burned with unrest. His composure, carved over countless lifetimes, had slipped.

"My companions are waiting outside. If there’s nothing more, please allow me to take my leave." Shenlian Yingyue didn’t answer his question and bowed politely.

"Stop." A tall, broad-shouldered figure appeared in her path, Bai Hu, in human form. His long, snowy white hair framed a face carved from resolve. Icy gray eyes locked onto her like frost meeting flame.

"Anything else, Divine Ones?" she asked, voice still calm.

"You swore not to reveal us, but not the land itself. What stops you from leading others here?" he said, voice steady but edged with suspicion.

It wasn’t accusation. It was vigilance.

Bai Hu had lived through too many near-fatal oversights to ignore the smallest cracks. He would never allow a single mistake to endanger everything again.

"Deities, I have more important things to do," she said evenly. "Why would I waste time running back and forth, dragging my companions here only to see them hurt over a piece of land?" Her tone held neither defiance nor arrogance, just clear, pragmatic intent. "My path leads elsewhere. Rather than waste time scheming for what I cannot hold, or worse, dragging my companions into a battle we cannot win, I choose to fight only for what lies within my grasp."

She wasn’t foolish. She knew their strength was comparable to gods. There was no sense in risking the people she cared about for something that wasn’t meant to be hers.

"Besides," she added, tilting her head slightly, "don’t you wish for a quiet place to cultivate in peace, Divine Ones?"