The Almighty Dominance (by Sunshine) novel Chapter 605

Alex had hoped—truly hoped—that he would lose this fight.

He didn’t want to become the Dao partner of Hou Mei… or Li Qingxue.

Either path was a trap.

His plan had been simple—force Li Qingxue into the spotlight as a Core Disciple, stir enough pressure and tension that Hou Mei would have no choice but to step back on her own.

Clean. Controlled. Effective.

But Li Qingxue…

She had no intention of helping him.

Not even a little.

If anything, she seemed determined to do the exact opposite—crushing his plan without hesitation, leaving him trapped in the very situation he was trying to escape.

“Jun Jiu,” Li Qingxue said coldly, “keep your delusions to yourself. You are not worthy to be my Dao partner. Give up.”

Before Alex could respond, Hou Mei stepped forward, her tone soft but pressing, almost eager. “Jun Jiu, you heard Miss Li Qingxue. Why not stop struggling? Come with me instead. Be my Dao partner.”

Her voice dropped slightly, more intimate now.

“We can even start now. I promise… I’ll make you happy. Forever.”

Alex would never let that happen.

Not under any circumstances.

The entire plan had been built on a fragile illusion—that he and Li Qingxue shared some kind of connection. Just enough to create pressure. Just enough to make Hou Mei hesitate… and step back.

It was never meant to be real.

But right now, Li Qingxue was tearing that illusion apart without hesitation, rejecting him so coldly that there was nothing left to stand on.

So he had no choice.

If she refused to play along… then he would make it real himself.

Or at least—

Make it look real.

No matter the cost.

He drew a slow breath, then lifted his gaze toward her.

“Miss Li Qingxue,” he said, “no matter how many times you reject me… I am still a man who made a vow the moment I first saw you.”

“I swore to the heavens that I would love only you for the rest of my life… and become someone worthy of standing beside you.”

A ripple of murmurs spread through the crowd.

Even now, under her cold stare, he continued.

“Even if you reject me today… I will not stop loving you.”

Then he turned slightly and bowed toward Hou Mei, his expression calm, but firm.

“Miss Hou, I’m truly sorry. But I am not the right person for you. My heart already belongs to someone… and I will never betray it.”

“Jun Jiu!” Li Qingxue’s voice rang out, sharp and furious. “I told you already—I will never accept you as my Dao partner! Get rid of that ridiculous thought!”

Alex—Jun Jiu—met her gaze head-on, right there in front of everyone.

“Li Qingxue!” he shouted back, his voice no longer restrained. “You may not have me in your heart—but it is impossible for me to not have you in mine!”

The crowd fell silent.

“This is my life,” he continued, every word heavy with resolve. “And I’ve already chosen. You are the only one who will ever be in my heart. Even when I grow old… even if I never become your Dao partner… I will die with you still in my heart.”

Li Qingxue stood there, unmoved on the surface—but her presence alone seemed to freeze the air.

She was known to all—beautiful beyond compare, yet colder than winter itself. Countless people had fallen for her, only to be met with that same unfeeling gaze. That was why they called her the Pure Snow Sword Maiden.

And now, that icy gaze sharpened.

“I don’t like people like you liking me,” she said, her voice low, dangerous. “Take it back… or I will kill you.”

The threat hung in the air like a drawn blade.

Alex stood still, his emotions twisting into something tangled and unreadable.

This had never been about love.

Not really.

He had only wanted an escape.

Only wanted to push Li Qingxue forward as a shield—to create enough distance between himself and Hou Mei so he could walk away.

But now…

Everything had spiraled far beyond his control.

“Can you just accept it and say yes?” Alex shouted, his voice raw, almost breaking.

But inside—

He had already sworn the opposite.

He would never chase Li Qingxue. Never disturb that cold, distant woman. Not now. Not ever.

This wasn’t love.

It was a performance.

A carefully constructed illusion—one meant to show just how far he was willing to go, how deep his “feelings” ran, how impossible it would be to shake him off.

Because only something that intense…

Could force Hou Mei to step back.

Hou Mei stepped in quickly, her tone soft but urgent, as if trying to pull him back from the edge. “Jun Jiu. Please, just forget Miss Li Qingxue. She’s far beyond your reach. Her standards are too high for you. Choose me instead… it’s more realistic.”

Alex didn’t even look at her.

He took a step forward, his eyes locking onto Li Qingxue as if the entire world had narrowed down to just her.

“If you can not let me love you. Then kill me,” he said quietly.

The shift in his voice made it worse.

Because it wasn’t loud anymore.

It was certain.

“Because if I can’t love you… then this life has no more meaning for me.”

A wave of shock rippled through the surrounding disciples. Murmurs died in their throats. No one spoke. No one moved.

All eyes turned to Li Qingxue.

Waiting.

Watching.

Inside, Alex was screaming.

Please… just forget me. I’m not going to chase you. I don’t want any of this.

But none of that showed on his face.

He had to make it real.

The deeper, the stronger, the more desperate his “love” looked… the faster Hou Mei would let go.

Li Qingxue’s expression darkened, her cold beauty hardening into something dangerous.

“You really want to die,” she said flatly.

In the next instant, her sword was already in her hand.

A flash of steel.

A streak of white.

She moved like a gust of winter wind—fast, precise, and merciless.

And then—

She stabbed.

The blade drove straight into Alex’s chest.

Gasps exploded across the arena.

No one had expected her to actually do it.

Blood surged out immediately, dark and thick, staining his clothes as the sword pierced through him—so deep that the tip pushed out from his back.

And yet…

Alex didn’t move.

Didn’t flinch.

Didn’t even look down.

His eyes never left hers.

Li Qingxue had controlled the strike with terrifying precision. The blade missed his vital points by the smallest margin—enough to hurt, enough to threaten… but not enough to kill.

Not yet.

“Take back your words,” she said, her voice colder than the blade in his chest. “Or next time, I won’t stop.”

Alex stared at her, his face pale but steady.

“You can kill me,” he said, each word slow, deliberate, unshaken. “But you’ll never be able to kill my love for you… even after I die.”

Their gazes locked.

Cold against cold.

Neither of them yielding.

Then—

“Jun Jiu!” Hou Mei’s voice broke through as she rushed forward, panic finally tearing through her composure. “You can’t die!”

But Alex had already moved.

With the last of his strength, his fingers flicked.

Thin, nearly invisible needles shot out from his sleeve—fast, silent.

They struck Hou Mei before she could react.

Her body froze mid-step.

Her eyes widened.

Then the strength drained out of her completely as she collapsed, falling into a deep, unnatural sleep.

The crowd gasped again, stunned by the sudden turn.

Alex slowly raised his hand toward Li Qingxue, his palm open, as if inviting something inevitable.

“Come,” he said softly, almost gently.

“Finish it.”

Blood dripped steadily from his chest, soaking into the ground beneath him.

“I’m willing to die by your sword.”

His voice didn’t waver.

“Because living… without being able to love you…”

“…is the worst kind of life.”

He looked straight into her eyes.

“So now… you can take my life.”

Alex was gambling.

Gaia had already analyzed everything—the smallest shifts in Li Qingxue’s breathing, the angle of her shoulders, the tension in her grip. From every micro-movement and fragment of body language, the conclusion had been clear: she had never intended to truly kill him. The strike had been meant to scare him. To force him to retreat.

But human emotion was never that simple.

Push too far… and even someone like Li Qingxue might snap.

And if she snapped—

He would die.

So he chose to gamble.

Li Qingxue studied him in silence, her cold eyes sharp, searching, as if trying to peel him apart layer by layer.

“Do you know,” she said at last, her voice low and cutting, “that men are all the same? Betrayers. Unfaithful. Weak.”

Alex met her gaze without hesitation.

“Maybe many men are like that,” he said calmly. “But I’m not.”

“My love for you will be eternal. It will never end.”

Inside, his mind moved rapidly.

Gaia fed him possibilities—countless answers, countless outcomes. Words, tones, expressions. Each one calculated. Each one measured against her reactions.

He chose the one with the highest emotional impact.

“There’s no such thing as eternal love,” Li Qingxue replied, her expression unmoved.

“There is,” Alex said.

He took a step closer, ignoring the pain tearing through his chest.

“There is eternal love. Like mine for you.”

“If you die… I die with you. I’d follow you into the afterlife—and I would still love you there. Because what I feel… what we have… is unbreakable. Not even death can end it.”

For a brief moment, even he hesitated.

Was that too much?

Did I push too far?

Li Qingxue’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Of course!” someone shouted. “That kind of devotion—who could refuse?!”

More voices piled in.

“You’re the most loyal man in the sect!”

“A man among men!”

“A real cultivator!”

Each word hit harder than the last.

Because none of them were true.

Alex’s hand trembled faintly.

“I…” he started—

Then stopped.

Because there was nothing he could say.

If he denied it—

Everything would collapse.

If he accepted it—

He would be trapped.

A slow, hollow realization crept in.

“…I can’t get out anymore,” he whispered.

No one heard him.

They were still cheering.

Still worshipping.

Still turning him into something he was never meant to be.

And for the first time—

Alex felt something worse than fear.

He felt stuck.

The cheers crashed like waves, overwhelming, deafening. People shouted his name over and over, their voices filled with excitement, disbelief, and awe.

But what none of them saw—

Was Li Qingxue, far above and far away, her cold expression finally breaking.

A faint blush touched her cheeks.

And for the briefest moment—

She smiled.

Back in the arena, the referee stepped forward, his voice cutting through the chaos.

“The winner of the top-ranked outer disciple match… is Jun Jiu!”

Another wave of cheers erupted.

“Jun Jiu!”

“Jun Jiu!”

But not everyone celebrated.

A group of disciples—especially Hou Mei’s supporters—pushed forward, anger burning in their eyes.

“This isn’t fair!” one of them shouted. “The winner should be Hou Mei!”

“Exactly!” another snapped. “Jun Jiu already surrendered! He didn’t even dare to enter the bed match with Hou Mei. That means he lost!”

“No,” someone else shot back immediately. “The winner is Jun Jiu! Hou Mei is already down!”

Voices clashed.

Arguments ignited.

Tension snapped.

“How dare you talk like that?” one disciple barked, shoving another. “You think I’m afraid of you?”

“You’re just Hou Mei’s lapdogs!” the other fired back, his voice rising into a snarl. “We stand with a real man! You think we’re afraid of you?!”

The insult hit harder than any fist.

For a heartbeat, everything held.

Then—

Someone swung.

The first punch cracked across a jaw with a sickening snap.

Blood sprayed.

Another fist followed—then another—then a knee drove into someone’s ribs hard enough to fold him in half. A body slammed into the stone floor. Someone screamed. Someone laughed.

And then it broke.

Completely.

The argument didn’t just turn into a fight—it exploded.

Disciples lunged at each other from every direction. Robes tore. Bones collided. Elbows smashed into faces. A kick sent one man crashing into a row of others, knocking them down like collapsing pillars. Someone grabbed a fistful of hair and slammed a head into the ground again and again until the screams turned wet and choked.

More joined.

More fell.

The sound became unbearable—shouting, roaring, the dull thud of flesh against flesh, the crack of impact, the chaos of bodies surging and colliding without control.

Techniques flared.

Energy burst loose.

One disciple was thrown through the air, crashing into a stone pillar hard enough to fracture it. Another was dragged down by three others, disappearing beneath a pile of fists and boots.

No sides.

No rules.

No restraint.

It wasn’t a match anymore.

It was a riot.

What had begun as cheers for a victory—

Had twisted into something savage.

Something violent.

Something completely out of control.