Hey, hey, what are you waiting for Don't hesitate Junior sister, I'm begging you

Su Jiu's delicate face showed visible hesitation.

"You mean..."

"The two of us, right here...?"

"Mhm."

Su Ji lowered his voice.

He then began analyzing the situation for his junior sister: "The most dangerous place is the safest."

"Right now, all the cultivators are focused on the arena."

"And the owner of this cave has activated three arenas simultaneously—that must be her limit. She can't spare any attention to watch us."

He pointed to the thick stone pillar beside them. "Plus, this spot is obscured. If you're still worried, just cast an illusion spell. At this distance, who could possibly see through it?"

Su Jiu was swayed by his reasoning.

But...

She still felt somewhat...

Seeing her hesitation, Su Ji's tone turned pained.

"Junior Sister, don’t tell me you think I’m some despicable scoundrel who takes advantage of others?"

"Do you think I want this?"

"Use your—ahem—brain and think about it."

"What tangible benefit do I get from helping you break through?"

"None, right?"

"And I’m only at Qi Refining—you’re already at Foundation Establishment!"

His words grew faster, almost accusatory.

"You’ve seen it yourself. I only have two Heavenly Gifts—one for foreseeing danger, the other for enhancing spear techniques. Both are high-grade, but neither can save us now."

"And you? You don’t have a way out either. Are we really betting on that woman’s mercy?"

"If we want to live, we have to rely on ourselves!"

This wasn’t entirely baseless.

In the [Heavenly Vision] Su Ji had glimpsed, Su Jiu and that mysterious woman fought to a stalemate.

Meaning the woman wasn’t overwhelmingly stronger.

If Su Jiu could break through again, she’d surely gain the upper hand.

Noticing her internal struggle, Su Ji pressed on.

"Remember when I said I was the young master of an upper-realm clan? This is my family’s secret technique—no lies!"

"Every time I use it, it drains my spirit and essence. The cost is immense!"

"If not for survival, I’d never do this!"

His voice grew impassioned, as if wronged beyond measure.

"To be blunt, if I really had ulterior motives, I could spread the word and have countless saintesses lining up for me. Junior Sister, you don’t actually think you’re the most beautiful woman in Great Xia, do you?"

Su Jiu: "..."

His words sounded convincing, but she still couldn’t cross that mental barrier.

Last time in the bath, it was due to the blood oath and Elder Liu waiting outside—getting caught would’ve been disastrous.

Under those extreme circumstances, she had no choice.

(Not to mention Su Ji kept pushing her head down—she didn’t dare resist too hard, afraid the noise would break the illusion.)

This time, she couldn’t justify it to herself.

"But..."

Su Ji: ???

After all that, she’s still refusing?

Since when was Su Jiu this indecisive?

With a sigh, he played his final card.

"Junior Sister, I shouldn’t reveal this, but you don’t trust me—and I just want to live."

His voice turned solemn, laced with despair.

"That woman is Great Xia’s last Nascent Soul cultivator."

"In the future I saw, you’d ask her, ‘Didn’t you ascend?’ Then you’d say, ‘If even you couldn’t break free, then Great Xia is truly doomed...’"

"She’d call you both failures, demand to know why you got a second chance."

"Then... she’d possess you. You’d die."

Su Jiu’s breath hitched. Her eyes darted toward the distant arena.

"...Her?"

She pieced it together.

It made sense.

Even with ideal conditions, a Nascent Soul’s remnant soul couldn’t linger indefinitely.

By now, even Great Xia’s last Nascent Soul would be at her limit...

She believed him completely.

Su Ji had voiced her private grief over Great Xia’s cultivation decline—and her own self-loathing as a "failure."

Only someone who’d glimpsed the unseen could know such things.

"Junior Sister, I rushed three hundred miles without rest to bring you this warning."

"Will you really let me die here because of your pride?"

"I misjudged you!"

"I regret coming!"

Su Jiu had to admit—Su Ji’s silver tongue was unmatched.

His relentless rhetoric left her defenseless, guilt flooding her heart.

"Then I—"

Before she could agree, he cut her off, exasperated.

"Still hesitating?"

"Can’t say it? Then use your hands!"

"Can’t speak? Then gesture!"

"Will hands work?!"

He backed her into a corner, offering one concession after another. Clearly, survival was his only goal.

"Then... then—"

But before "okay" could escape her lips, he interrupted again.

"Enough stalling!"

"Junior Sister, I’m begging you!"

The next moment, Su Ji abruptly bent down and seized the very thing the Heavenly Gifts had scored 99 points.

"To survive, I’ll endure any humiliation!"

"Surely you can accept this?!"

With his plea laid bare, refusal now would brand her heartless...

Her lashes fluttered as she shut her eyes.

"...Fine."