Then let me fix it for you

That crimson spear, wrapped in blazing flames, smashed down right at his head.

Before the spear even arrived, its crushing momentum had already descended.

Su Ji only felt a terrifying pressure akin to a collapsing mountain falling from the sky, causing his breath to hitch.

His borrowed cultivation seemed incredibly fragile in the face of this pure, overwhelming aura.

He couldn't dodge.

And there was nowhere to hide.

Gritting his teeth, Su Ji poured every ounce of spiritual energy he could muster into the Bright Luster Spear in his hands.

Veins bulged on his arms as he raised the spear horizontally above his head, preparing to forcefully block that world-crushing strike.

Crack—

A crisp sound abruptly rang out between the two of them.

The sound wasn't loud, yet it drowned out all the howling wind and explosive roaring of the flames.

It wasn't the sound of bones breaking.

Nor was it the sound of a spiritual energy barrier shattering.

Su Ji's pupils suddenly shrank.

He watched helplessly as the Bright Luster Spear in his hands—which had broken once before and been personally repaired by his junior sister—began to give way.

Right in the center of the spear shaft, a tiny crack appeared without any warning.

Immediately after, the crack spread like a spiderweb at an unbelievable speed, instantly covering the entire weapon.

Clearly, participating in a battle of this caliber was simply asking too much of it.

The tip of the crimson spear was now less than three inches from the top of Su Ji's head.

The scorching wave of heat even singed the ends of his hair, leaving them curled and blackened.

Yet, at this hair-raising moment, that apocalyptic strike abruptly stopped.

A trace of astonishment flashed across the little red-haired girl's face.

She clearly hadn't expected the other party's weapon to be so incredibly fragile.

With a sharp flick of her wrist, she forcibly twisted the power that was already pouring out toward the side.

Boom!!!

The crimson spear tip brushed past Su Ji's body and blasted outward.

It smashed heavily into the wasteland behind him.

Centered on the point of impact, the earth within a radius of ten thousand zhang silently collapsed inward, turning into an abyss flowing with dark red magma.

Everything within that area was completely vaporized in an instant, not even leaving a single speck of dust behind.

Su Ji, realizing what had just happened, turned his body and stared blankly at that abyss.

His entire body froze in place.

Motionless.

What the hell.

You mean to say that if the spear hadn't broken, he would have had to tank that hit just now?

Are you trying to teach him or are you preparing to physically obliterate him with a single thrust?

Hey.

The little red-haired girl recalled her spear with one hand.

Then, resting it on her shoulder, she looked at him with some confusion.

Why are you spacing out?

Isn't it just a broken spear? Just change to a new one, right?

Let's continue.

To be honest.

Su Ji wasn't spacing out.

His legs were just shaking a little.

But he didn't say that.

Therefore, he simply didn't respond.

He just slowly and gently placed the Bright Luster Spear, which was on the verge of shattering, onto the ground.

His movements were as gentle as if he were laying down a newborn baby, terrified that a single careless touch would break it.

Then, he raised his head.

His eyes were completely calm at this moment.

But the calmer he seemed, the more the little red-haired girl felt a trace of oddity.

What do you mean by... just a broken spear?

Su Ji's voice was very soft, even carrying a bit of hoarseness.

He slowly stood up straight, staring dead at the little red-haired girl in front of him, speaking word by word.

Do you know what this is?

The little red-haired girl was a bit baffled by his current state, and she furrowed her pretty brows.

Isn't it just a broken spear?

A broken spear?

She couldn't understand.

A mere mortal weapon that couldn't even be considered a magical artifact—to a cultivator, how was it any different from a pebble on the side of the road?

If it broke, just throw it away.

Why would it make him reveal such... near-collapsing emotions?

As if he had heard the biggest joke in the world, Su Ji suddenly laughed.

Do you know? This was the very first weapon I obtained on my path of cultivation.

Back then, I was just a lowly handyman disciple. I didn't even have a decent storage bag.

I was bullied in the sect, looked down upon, and trampled underfoot like an ant. It was this spear that stayed by my side and got me through those hardest days.

His voice gradually grew louder, and the emotions contained within it became increasingly intense.

It helped me counter-kill a deacon who tried to rob me.

Later, when I went out and was schemed against by my fellow disciples, it fought to the very last moment before unfortunately snapping.

But even broken, it blocked a fatal strike for me. And later, with just half a spearhead, it helped me complete a counter-kill at a life-or-death moment.

I thought I would never see it again.

As Su Ji said this, his eye sockets actually reddened a bit.

But my junior sister, she... I don't know where, but she managed to find it and bring it back.

She spent a tremendous amount of effort and used the best materials to repair it with her own hands.

Every single pattern on the spear shaft was carved by her, bit by bit.

When she returned the spear to me, she even lied and said she just casually fixed it.

But I know that to repair this spear, she must have exhausted an unimaginable amount of thought and care.

The impatience on the little red-haired girl's face had completely vanished.

She listened quietly. In those crimson eyes, for the very first time, an emotion called confusion surfaced.

I thought...

Su Ji's voice carried a hint of trembling.

He reached out his hand, wanting to touch the broken spear on the ground, but stopped in mid-air, not daring to let it fall.

I thought it could accompany me for a long, long time.

Accompany me to see the scenery of this cultivation world, accompany me to the very end of the immortal path.

But in the end...

In the end, it just broke like this.

Broken amidst your light and airy word: continue.

As Su 'Best Actor' Ji reached the end of his speech, his voice already carried an uncontrollable sob.

He abruptly raised his head.

Now, do you still think it's just a broken spear?

Looking at his appearance, the little red-haired girl was completely stunned.

She had lived for a hundred thousand years, seen countless geniuses, and seen countless obsessive fools.

Some were trapped by love.

Some were blinded by profit.

Some were obsessed with the Dao.

But she had never seen a cultivator become like this... over a spear.

You...

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something.

Only to find that her heart, which had been dead silent for nearly a hundred thousand years, actually birthed a trace of unexpected sympathy that even she hadn't noticed.

Finally, she spoke up somewhat awkwardly.

Then... how about I help you fix it?