Chapter Twenty-Two: True and False Heavenly Pride

Whether a member of the human race possessed a spiritual root could be ascertained not only by using a spirit-testing disk at the age of five, but also—albeit less reliably—by observing one’s features or the omens at birth.

Yet judging by appearance or birth omens was far from accurate. Qu Yiqiu herself was a living example. When she was born, there were no grand omens to shake heaven and earth; it was simply that her features were so strikingly beautiful, people immediately declared her a prodigy. Before her fifth year, those days before her spirit was tested, were her most glorious. Everyone who laid eyes on her fawned and flattered, treating her as a phoenix-child, beloved by the heavens.

Qu Yiqiu, swept up in the honeyed words of sycophants, lost herself. She fancied that fate had let her cross into this world precisely to dominate, to stand at the pinnacle of the cultivation world! With her protagonist’s halo, she outshone even the clan leader’s daughter, Qu Youyou, from the moment of her birth.

Qu Youyou had been born half a year earlier, but in the radiance of Qu Yiqiu, she became a transparent, insignificant presence within the family. This was the spark that ignited their rivalry.

Qu Xiangwei, head of the Qu clan, was an ambitious man devoted to the Dao. He had not chosen his wife for love or beauty, but with a single-minded desire to produce a child of exceptional talent. Qu Youyou was the masterpiece created after careful selection—a child born of a mortal woman with the rare Innate Spirit Body.

Qu Yiqiu remembered well her mother Zhao Yuexuan’s sighs at the time. The mortal woman was only passably pretty, and after giving birth to Qu Youyou, she passed away, remaining nameless and unacknowledged in the clan until Qu Youyou’s fifth year. Only when Qu Youyou’s spirit test revealed a water root of perfect purity was her mother’s name finally entered in the clan register.

From these events, one could see how much hope Qu Xiangwei had placed in Qu Youyou, expecting her to become the brightest star in the family.

But then Qu Yiqiu, an anomaly, came along. At first sight, the world believed she would have a rare mutated spiritual root or some unique constitution for cultivation. After Qu Youyou enjoyed six months of affection and attention, Qu Yiqiu shattered her status and stole away all her glory. This was something Qu Xiangwei could not accept.

The following four and a half years were hardly easy for Qu Youyou, who never gained her father’s love. While secretly envying Qu Yiqiu, she amassed a great deal of resentment.

Living in the world of her own protagonist fantasy, Qu Yiqiu never paid heed to the jealous gazes around her, convinced that every heroine must suffer such trials—there was always some inconspicuous, wicked rival to trip her up and spur her growth.

But such glory ended all too abruptly.

Qu Yiqiu had no desire to recall the scene of her spirit test on her fifth birthday. Members of the Qu clan and representatives of every major sect and power gazed up at her from the spirit-testing dais.

And the result?

Before the expectant eyes of the crowd, she was revealed to have the most abysmal cultivation aptitude—a five-element spiritual root, none of whose purities exceeded twenty-five percent! The shock of that moment was indescribable. Staring at the stunned faces surrounding her, she nearly fainted.

She knew then: her protagonist’s dream had shattered!

That year, she became the greatest laughingstock in the cultivation world.

Afterward, her clan and parents all suspected the testing apparatus, dragging her from place to place to repeat the test, tormenting her spirit again and again.

After enduring ninety-nine spirit tests, Qu Yiqiu accepted her fate. Perhaps she was destined to be cannon fodder—maybe Qu Youyou was the true heroine, and her very existence served only to highlight Qu Youyou’s brilliance.

Thus perished the era of the false prodigy.

Fortunately, Qu Yiqiu, in her second life, was not truly a five-year-old child at heart. She quickly pulled herself together. Next came being noticed by Su Xichen, though she ultimately chose Mo Qingli as her master.

After joining Little Flat Peak, she learned of Mo Qingli’s own glorious past, and couldn’t help feeling a kinship of misfortune. Though she was a false prodigy, she had lived five years brainwashed as a true one. She understood all too well the agony of plummeting from a pedestal into the abyss. It seemed that Mo Qingli had chosen her as his first disciple out of similar sentiment.

He treated her well. So, when Qu Yiqiu discovered the all-realm Cultivation Mall’s golden finger at the moment of drawing spiritual energy into her body, her first thought was to save him.

Fortunately, her efforts were not wasted—she managed to acquire a Vein-Restoring Soul-Preserving Pill at last.

During her ten years of arduous cultivation on Little Flat Peak, her rivalry with Qu Youyou never ceased, whether open or hidden. Especially whenever the sect’s competitions began, Qu Youyou would go out of her way to cross paths with her, swapping match numbers, using every trick to suppress her on the arena stage. Qu Yiqiu suffered much at her hands in those years.

If not for her more mature mentality and the golden finger in her grasp, which promised eventual revenge, she would never have endured so long.

Now, as Qu Youyou grew older and stronger, her tactics had become far more sophisticated.

Qu Yiqiu looked at Zhao Wen and Huang Lan, a fleeting chill flashing in her eyes.

Mu Yunjin blinked, suddenly sensing a wave of coldness. It seemed his senior sister disliked these two! Then he would dislike them as well! These two outer-disciples were no match for Brother Zhou.

“What are you staring at? If you keep dawdling, do you really think you’ll have this spirit field plowed by nightfall?” Qu Yiqiu had no fondness for them. For them to dare such things, Qu Youyou’s support was surely behind it. She would let them go this time. As she’d said, the days ahead were long—she had plenty of time to grow stronger.

Zhao Wen and Huang Lan shot her venomous glares, biting their lips as they reluctantly took up their spirit hoes.

Though Zhou Chen dared not speak out, watching them suffer filled him with secret satisfaction. He had poured his heart into this spirit field, hauling water each morning, tending insects and weeds, shielding it from the harsh sun. Qu Yiqiu herself did not cherish it as deeply as he. Thus, seeing Zhao Wen and Huang Lan punished, he was happier than anyone.

Qu Yiqiu watched their sluggish efforts, feeling as if ants were crawling over her heart. If they thought they could loaf for three months, they were mistaken! Tomorrow, she would find a whip to supervise them.

“Hurry up! If this field isn’t restored by nightfall, don’t even think of resting!” Qu Yiqiu barked out orders with all the severity of a harsh landlady.

Huang Lan, frightened, quickened her pace, shoulders trembling. Zhao Wen hung his head low, hands moving much faster now.

As Zhou Chen rejoiced, he couldn’t help worrying about what might happen in three months’ time. These two were both elite disciples of Nine Sword Peak, never having suffered such hardship—who knew how they would retaliate against Senior Sister Qu afterward?