One day had passed since the battle against Zi Moyan. The group had decided to remain in the village—they'd spent too long searching for Zi Moyan's lair.

  During the search, Qing Xuanling learned several things. For instance, Zi Moyan hadn't been the only demonic cultivator in the village. Four others had been present—two had faced Qing Linxi, and the remaining pair had confronted Qing Wan and Qing Chu.

  At first, the situation struck her as strange. Why hadn't any demonic cultivators appeared when she and Qing Ziyi were together?

  The answer was simple. Qing Ziyi shrugged while inspecting items recovered from Zi Moyan's hideout and those of the other four demonic cultivators.

  "Talisman masters are known for our unpredictability—and we possess a wide array of techniques highly effective against demonic cultivators. They likely didn't want me interfering in Zi Moyan's battle with Elder Brother Huan. We were given the option to evacuate mortals for that purpose."

  "In the end—even though I is not harmed by the puppet children—we still made that choice because it was the best option available. That left Elder Brother Huan alone… with only a third-layer cultivator for backup."

  Qing Ziyi picked up a bloodstained leather-bound book and continued. "Unfortunately, they didn't account for the low-stage cultivator they ignored being so formidable."

  Qing Wan snorted. "Their plans collapsed completely. Heh—I bet they were thrilled when they saw Elder Brother Huan arrive. What a pity for them. Though…"

  His expression darkened. He still felt something deeper lurked beneath all this. Everyone shared that unease. Sensing the tense atmosphere, Qing Xuanling changed the subject.

  "Why did you say they'd be thrilled to see Instructor Huan arrive? Do demonic cultivators hate him?"

  Everyone looked at her with mild surprise—even Qing Ziyi, who'd been intently reading the leather book. Qing Linxi laughed.

  "I forgot we're with a novice~" She immediately launched into an explanation. "This isn't discussed much anymore—it's been nearly twenty years—but back then, our clan went to war with an ancient power from Ziyu City."

  Her eyes grew nostalgic, as if recalling something magical. "It was a brutal battle. Many of our brothers fell. In fact, the clan nearly faced annihilation. The enemy also had nine Foundation Establishment cultivators—equal to our number."

  "Everything was evenly matched—until suddenly, five mysterious figures appeared. When the entire clan sensed their Foundation Establishment cultivation, we thought destruction was inevitable. In that moment of despair, Elder Brother Huan stepped forward and used a forbidden technique—forcibly breaking through to the Foundation Establishment realm!"

  Everyone's eyes burned as they listened to Qing Linxi's words. They had all witnessed that scene.

  "Elder Brother Huan—in armor of crimson aura—faced those five attackers alone and fought for over an hour! In the end, they had no choice but to retreat after he slew two of them! In everyone's eyes, he became a symbol of what it means to be a Qing!" Qing Linxi's eyes shone brightly.

  Qing Xuanling didn't blame her—Her eyes also shone as she looked at Instructor Huan.

  Instructor Huan smiled wryly. "That's all in the past. I achieved that only thanks to the clan's support in my youth. Besides—I was half-crippled afterward. I'll never reach Foundation Establishment in this lifetime. Stop poisoning the mind of a future clan pillar and return to the main topic…"

  "Don't say that again, Elder Brother!" Qing Linxi gritted her teeth. "The clan is still searching for ways to heal you even after all these years! You'll surely reach the next great realm!"

  Instructor Huan avoided Qing Linxi's furious gaze.

  The atmosphere in the borrowed village house grew uncomfortable.

  Fortunately, someone sufficiently thick-skinned was present to break the tension.

  "Setting that aside—Zi Moyan's cultivation technique is rather… interesting." Qing Ziyi spoke suddenly, her face full of disgust. "I haven't seen anything like it in years."

  Everyone's interest was immediately piqued. They quickly snatched the bloodstained leather book and took turns reading it. Their expressions darkened in turn.

  Art of Holy Praise.

  They looked at the title with disgust.

  "Hah…" Qing Wan covered his face. "Who the hell created something like this? This is something that simply shouldn't exist…"

  The others nodded. Zi Moyan's cultivation technique involved harvesting the natal Qi children possessed from birth until age fourteen to rapidly advance one's cultivation.

  This natal Qi was exceptionally pure and highly nourishing to the body—this was because it was the fertilizer with which the spiritual roots grew.

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  For that reason, techniques manipulating natal Qi were taboo. The amount within a child's body was limited and never regenerated—once lost, the child lost all hope of ever awakening spiritual roots.

  But Zi Moyan's method involved torturing children to near-death, fusing the resentment generated by their suffering with their natal Qi, and transforming them into puppets. Worse still, the children remained conscious—their thoughts intact—they simply lost control of their bodies.

  The next step required the children to devour their own relatives, maximizing their resentment before Zi Moyan absorbed the contaminated natal Qi. His monstrous transformation resulted from recklessly absorbing this tainted energy.

  'Even so… according to this, had we left him alone, he would have eventually regained sanity and transformed back into a human—not only more powerful, but also with greater talent…!'

  Qing Xuanling paled. It was an utterly malevolent art. Simultaneously, she couldn't help but think of the girl who'd begged her to save her brother—and that it had been her little brother who killed her.

  "…What a cruel world."

  "Yes—chillingly cruel." Instructor Huan smiled bitterly. "That's precisely why we must always strive to grow stronger. Only then can we protect ourselves and prevent such vile things from happening. Don't you agree?"

  Qing Xuanling considered this for a moment. She had to admit he was right.

  "Really? You want to lecture me about continuing to try harder, right now?" She smirked ironically.

  Instructor Huan scratched his cheek, slightly embarrassed. "That obvious? I thought I'd been more subtle…"

  The group continued bantering for quite a while—so long that Qing Xuanling wondered why things felt so pleasant.

  'Ah right—Qing Chu is still unconscious…'

  She smiled happily at the thought.

  Soon, everyone went to meditate or sleep. Tomorrow they would return to the clan. Each still pondered today's events and the conspiracy behind it.

  But perhaps none were as acutely aware of the situation as Qing Xuanling.

  'I suppose the turbulence caused by the secret realm has begun… Faster than I expected. Sigh… These next two years will be difficult for the clan.'

  Qing Xuanling was certain of this. Today's events wouldn't even be the tip of the iceberg of problems the clan would face because of the secret realm.

  She fell asleep with these thoughts swirling in her mind.

  * * *

  It was the next day—but they still hadn't departed. Qing Xuanling wanted to visit one place first.

  "Tsk—seriously, why must we wait at the grave of some mere mortal?!" Qing Chu, freshly recovered, shouted irritably. "And why does everyone do what that brat wants?! We're the elders here!"

  Qing Chu remained as foul-mouthed as ever. But things had shifted slightly.

  "Qing Chu—please refrain from offensive remarks." Instructor Huan frowned. "What Ling'er or we choose to do isn't your concern. Besides—it's just a five-minute stop. Can't you be patient?"

  "Yes, yes! At least you can't consider yourself senior to little Xuanling anymore! Not after fainting from fighting a single cultivator and being less useful than her!" Qing Linxi's words were honest but devastating.

  Qing Xuanling smiled faintly as she stood before two of the dozens of graves. She was at the village's edge—in the burial ground for deceased villagers.

  The gravestones were just two sticks in the shape of a cross.

  'In retrospect—we only exchanged glances for a moment. I didn't even know their names. So why does it matter so much to me? I'm no saint or heroine—in fact, I can be quite cruel and petty… So, why can't I forget that girl's face?'

  Qing Xuanling smiled bitterly as she gazed at the graves of the two siblings whose fates had been miserably twisted by a demonic cultivator.

  Truthfully, she didn't feel sad or regretful. She had always been someone who saw situations with clarity. She had done her absolute best at every moment. Failing to save the siblings wasn't her fault.

  She was merely a young cultivator who had just begun her path to immortality. To think it was her responsibility to save two children from a far stronger demonic cultivator than her would be arrogance.

  In reality, the idea of saving the siblings had only ever been a whim for Qing Xuanling—something she'd do if the opportunity arose.

  'But it was a whim I wanted to fulfill.'

  Anger.

  That was what she felt now. Not sadness for the dead siblings, not hatred for the damned demonic cultivators—but a burning fury at her own weakness.

  Wouldn't things have been different if she were far stronger? Couldn't she have defeated Zi Moyan instantly had she reached late-stage Qi Refinement? Might't she have found a way to save the little brother had she attained Foundation Establishment?

  All those things would have remained mere whims had she truly reached that cultivation level. The lives of those two siblings would have been insignificant whims to her… But if so, those two lives—reduced to mere whims in her eyes—would have been saved.

  Qing Xuanling gazed at the sky, wondering.

  'Am I doing the same thing as that bastard Qing Chu? Am I treating these mortals' lives as casually as my own whims…?'

  She felt nauseous thinking her personality might be approaching Qing Chu's. But she quickly shook her head.

  "It's not that their lives are a whim… It's that I want to become strong enough for their lives to be just a whim to me." She murmured with closed eyes. "For saving their lives to be as effortless as picking up a coin from the ground."

  She wasn't a saint or a hero—but she disliked suffering, her own and that of others. She wouldn't risk her life to save stranger's—but…

  'I would undoubtedly save a life if doing so were merely a whim to me.'

  Qing Xuanling's heart beat powerfully. Her determination—always great but previously scattered—was converging into a single idea, slowly transforming into something greater. Into conviction.

  'I will grow stronger. So strong that if I ever face a similar situation—where I wish to save two mere children—I need only move a single finger.'

  A new conviction—both noble and horrifying—blossomed for the first time within Qing Xuanling.

  She clenched her fists, prayed for the souls of the two siblings, then turned and returned to the group.

  "Better?" Instructor Huan asked with a smile.

  "No." Qing Xuanling shook her head. "After calmly reflecting on everything… I feel terrible. I want to grow stronger. I want to accomplish everything I set out to do—even if it's just a small whim, like saving a mortal's life. I hate myself for being so weak."

  Instructor Huan nodded with a smile but said nothing.

  'A unique thought—but common nonetheless. We all came to think something like this at the beginning. Having the strength to protect whoever we wish… Pity the world isn't so simple. I wonder how long she'll think this way.'

  Of course, Instructor Huan didn't know the conviction growing deep within Qing Xuanling's soul was far more sensible—and terrifying—than he imagined. Still, it remained to be seen whether Qing Xuanling's conviction would flourish in the cruel world of immortal cultivation.

  Could she maintain that fantastical notion—of attaining strength where life itself became mere whim?

  Qing Xuanling herself wondered this. But for now—she would advance step by step. At the very least, she wanted to reach the strength where saving those two siblings' lives would require only minimal effort.

  Qing Xuanling's steps were firmer as they returned to Qing Clan territory.