Two sides of one coin

Seth had continued to venture in deeper into the cavern, when his stomach began to grumble in disagreement. Only the grand feast that Lee Chun Hua's family called their 'breakfast' had kept him till now, but like all types of fuel, it eventually had to run out. He had specially trained his stomach to cope with long periods of hunger, but he had noticed that he was more hungry than usual in the past two days. Such that he even managed to finish his rather large serving first, excused himself, and got the hell out of the Blazing Valor sect.

'Why am I so hungry these days though.'

The only reasonable answer was that his food was being used for something, and his only guess was...

"Healing! The system doesn't really charge anything to heal me, and that's very suspicious..."

Even if he had no proof that his system had become an intestinal parasite, it was still a good theory. Anyways, he had to find something to eat, else hunger would kill him long before the beasts could. But where would he get food? He was dirt poor, homeless, and generally in worse condition than he was on earth, only with a cool system to boot. Shrugging, Seth left the cavern and soon found himself in the outskirts of the Sectdom. Come to think of it, he hadn't really been anywhere else except the now destroyed city centre, an the Blazing Valor sect grounds. A normal person would first throw a tantrum, cry, or freak out for a few hours at most, were they to suddenly transmigrate to a completely different world, then they would start exploring their surroundings to see just which kind of world they had transmigrated to. But in his case, he had woken up here, gotten excited since he had finally transmigrated like the MCs he read about, faced a beast attack, an hunted beasts. Sure, hunting beasts would make him stronger, but he should also create connections and make acquaintances that would come in handy later on.

'But who'd want to make an alliance with a noodle guy?'

Anyways, he still continued to advance forward, until he spotted some kind of merchant carriage being driven by horses out in the distance.

"Well, it's never too late to start hitch hiking."

***

Lee Chun Hua stood before an endless void of pure white, a vast landscape stretching as far as she could see, even with Qi enhancing her eyesight, and even farther still. In the middle of the entire thing, a smooth golden ball hovered a few metres from the ground. This was actually her soul, and the yellow ball was her Qi. Currently the surface formerly smooth ball was rough and rippled, like a thousand seas raging within it. The surface wavered and undulated independently, then it splashed within itself, looking like miniature golden waves. Soon, the entire thing became as still as a statue once again, and the young woman sighed in relief. She had just advanced yet another stage into the Qi manipulation tier.

"Phew. Now I have to leave before..."

"Hello, me."

'Curses.'

Lee Chun Hua slowly turned around the face the figure addressing her. It was a pretty youth with waist length black hair and a slender waist. Not to forget the pretty pink hand fan strapped to her waist. However, she had golden shackles around her hands, waist and feet. This was the personification of the other side of Chun Hua. The deeper, darker side that no one knew about.

Each and every time she delved into her soul to cultivate, she ran into herself. She could not really trust this other side of her, either.

"Hello, me." She replied back with a sigh.

The other Chun Hua pulled a malicious smirk and walked forward, an enormously high amount of pressure emanating from her very being. Even being sealed away for over sixty seasons did nothing to lower her strength.

"I can tell that the Imperial Sky Emperor's trial is coming up soon, isn't it?"

"What do you want."

Chun Hua frowned and crossed her arms around her chest. She did not have the time to converse with her alter ego and had to swiftly get back to training.

The other side of her chuckled lightly as she smiled.

"You always weren't one to lenghten a conversion, were you? Anyways, I know that the Imperial Sky Emperor's trial is coming up soon, and if we want to survive, then you have to break these chains. You have to let me out! You remember the stories Ancestor Lee used to tell us, about the harrowing terrors he faced in the second Imperial Sky Emperor's trial. Of even a quarter is true, then your measly strength isn't half enough to make sure we survive. They have built you into what they want you to be. A perfect daughter, a perfect future sect head, but you have chained me up here and forgotten who you really are. We used to be one, I am you, and you are me. Set me free! Unleash our inner potential! And we... we shall survive this and emerge victorious!"

"Enough!..." Chun Hua closed her ears and tightened her eyes.

"Yes, we used to be the same, I you, and you me. But you've changed, me. You have great power, sure. You have more battle clarity, sure. But you know what I have that you don't? A heart. I have a freaking heart! They may have restrained my power by putting chains on my soul, but they have taught me that there is something other than power. Something to live for. If I let you out, if I let you take control, then the Blazing Valor sect would be burned to the ground in days. Chaos and ruin are bound to follow you everywhere you go. You know why? Its because you lust for power more than Senior sister Xin lusts for men! Power is vain and destructive, because no matter how much of it you may have, there is always someone out there who is stronger, someone out there is bett..."

"Then I'll kill them. I'll kill them all! A dead man cannot grow stronger, can they? I will surpass them all and have the world at my feet. And when I do..." The other Chun Hua narrowed her eyes into slits and glared spitefully at Chun Hua.

"... I will put you in chains, just like you have chained me. You know deep within yourself, that despite being broken apart, we are still one. What I want, you also want, deep down inside your pretentious heart."

Lee Chun Hua shook her head slowly as she began to leave her soul realm.

"And that's why I cannot let you be a part of me again."