Three Years After the Sword Venerable Failed to Ascend

[My take on a beautiful, strong, tragic, universally adored, emotionally distant heroine x a sickly, sweet-talking, devoted husband-type hero]

[Chapter comments are open]

Jiang Duanxue, the most promising Sword Sovereign in the cultivation world, is poisoned by her junior brother year after year, and at last fails to ascend.

As she lies in the weeds on a wild mountain, pondering her life, she vomits blood and hears someone approaching.

Someone! That means help! Help means hope!

But the person takes their time coming over.

After a lifetime of doing the right thing, Jiang Duanxue does something wicked.

To make the person save her, she uses the last of her spiritual power to bind them with a life-and-death pact.

When she wakes again, three years have passed.

Her junior brother sits securely in the sect leader's seat, a former obsessive fan has become an elder, a demon lord she once met has become king of the demons, and the male companion someone once gave her, only for her to send him away, has become a powerful demonic cultivator in his own right.

None of this seems to have anything to do with Jiang Duanxue for now, since she has lost her identity, spiritual power, and money.

And her sword.

To cure her poison, get revenge, and repay a debt of gratitude.

Jiang Duanxue drags her benefactor, Bai Ning, across the State of Ning. There she meets an ambitious princess and an abandoned disciple driven out of his sect.

Later, she passes through the demon realm and the demonic lands, finally reaching the snowy plains.

People come and go at her side, but one person never changes.

That person is Bai Ning.

Jiang Duanxue doesn't know that Bai Ning saw her long ago.

There had been a terrible drought beneath Mount Taiping. Jiang Duanxue, returning from her travels, had called upon the heavens and brought down a great rainstorm.

She stood atop the clouds, like a heavenly deity.

He stood beneath a tree with an umbrella, gazing up at her, feeling as though he had become one with the mud under his feet.

He was a withered tree dying of thirst.

She was the rain that saved it.

#My secret crush, the Sword Sovereign, suddenly forced herself on me

#How a sweet-talking man is made

The story is 70% plot and 30% romance.

Reader's guide:

1. 1v1, big sister and puppy-boy romance. The hero is pure in body and heart, and has a good reputation. Large cast, happy ending.

2. The hero starts to come into his own midway through.

3. My take on a universally adored heroine, with an overwhelming number of one-sided crushes (including a male supporting character who isn't chaste). The author is a country bumpkin who loves watching people go mad with one-sided passion for the heroine.

4. The style isn't very classical (?). It may be fairly upbeat and lighthearted, and the heroine has a bit of a dry sense of humor.

5. There are secondary couples.

6. The heroine's appeal isn't limited to romance. She also inspires familial and friendly affection, and some people want to follow her.

Six volumes in all

Prologue (✓)

Mortal Realm arc (in progress)

Demon Realm arc (not started)

Ghost Realm arc (not started)

Snowfield arc (not started)

Finale (not started)

Public displays of power ✓ Identity revealed ✓ Playing weak to catch the strong ✓

Coming soon: A Successful Cultivator of the Hehuan Sect's Fieldwork Report

Heroine from the Hehuan Sect x Hero who follows the Heartless Path

01.

Pei Hanyi, female, senior disciple of the Hehuan Sect. Rich, extremely rich. Her lovers could line up from the top of the Hehuan Sect's mountain to the bottom. She has eclectic taste, but favors young male sword cultivators.

Xie Yanshi, male, senior disciple of the Ximing Sect and an adherent of the Heartless Path. He despises the Hehuan Sect and its ilk. Though he cultivates the Heartless Path, he believes that if you love someone, you should remain chaste for her. His taste is narrow, and he especially hates rich people.

Then one day, Xie Yanshi is framed by an enemy, loses his memory, and falls at Pei Hanyi's feet.

Years ago, Pei Hanyi saw that face at the sect tournament and never forgot it. She hesitates for a second, then takes him home.

Pei Hanyi: A top-tier, secretly passionate sword cultivator has fallen right into my lap. I'm taking him!

02.

Pei Hanyi focuses on wooing the younger man, claiming they're longtime Dao partners.

Xie Yanshi believes her.

They spend six happy months together. Xie Yanshi takes up cooking and serves her like an emperor.

Pei Hanyi enjoys it immensely, announcing that the former playgirl has turned over a new leaf and sworn off other lovers, stunning her fellow disciples.

Then, on another bright and sunny afternoon, Xie Yanshi hits his head again.

He remembers everything. The wicked enchantress from the Hehuan Sect ruined his chastity, damaged his Dao heart, and toyed with his feelings. Unforgivable! The next time he sees Pei Hanyi tonight, he'll strike her down with one sword and send the wicked woman to her death!

Pei Hanyi comes back and asks Xie Yanshi to make her a bowl of soup.

Xie Yanshi thinks, Once she finishes her soup, I'll send that wicked woman to her death!

The soup is gone. Pei Hanyi tells him to hurry to bed and stop leaning by the window pretending to be melancholy.

Xie Yanshi grits his teeth as he tucks her in, thinking, Tomorrow morning, I'll send that wicked woman to her death!

The next day, Pei Hanyi asks him to go shopping with her.

Xie Yanshi laughs coldly. Once they get back, I'll send that wicked woman to her death!

Half a year passes, and the wicked woman still hasn't met her end.

As Xie Yanshi massages Pei Hanyi's shoulders, he thinks that the Hehuan Sect's methods are terrifying indeed: they have bewitched him completely.

Same world as the Sword Sovereign story, but not the same era.

The heroine isn't a virgin, but the hero is. Hehuan cultivator x sword cultivator, wicked enchantress x holy son. Extremely cheesy, vulgar, melodramatic, and Mary Sue. This is pure wish fulfillment, with romance taking up most of the story and lots of scenes featuring just the two of them. Around 100,000 words, maybe. Male rivalry ✓ universally adored heroine ✓ love triangle ✓ falling in love with her own scheming ✓. The hero is secretly passionate, secretly passionate, secretly passionate, with lots of inner monologue. The heroine is a sex fiend, an absolute sex fiend. The prose mixes literary and colloquial styles, with plenty of absurd, dry humor. The style isn't especially classical; at heart, it's a brainless little romantic confection.

Theme: Aim high and you'll at least reach the middle