《Path of the Lilies》 1. Talent Test Chen Kingdom Capital, Central Hall ¡°Dad, what¡¯s that?¡± a young girl around six years old tugged on her father¡¯s clothes. Her dark black hair fluttered along with the wind. Even though her clothes were disheveled and looked rather worn out, one look was all they needed to see that this young girl was really cute. A man stood beside the girl, protecting the girl carefully. He has similar features with the girl except his eyes was blue-green rather than green like the girl. The man patted the girl¡¯s head tenderly. ¡°Jiao¡¯er, that¡¯s the place for the test.¡± The young girl, Ye Jiao, looked at her father with a worried expression. ¡°But Dad¡­¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry,¡± The man picked up his daughter carefully and let her rest on his arm. He smiled tenderly. ¡°Whatever happens, you have my back.¡± Ye Jiao¡¯s brows knitted in worry, but she nodded her head. Snuggled in her father¡¯s embrace, she hid her cute face from other people¡¯s line of sight. Her small hand clutched her father¡¯s clothes closely. The man, Ye Xiao, patted his daughter¡¯s back. Even though he didn¡¯t like this arrangement, every six-years-old-child has to undergo the test. It was the rule for their country to determine who has the talent or not. Slowly, he made his way to the hall where numerous children and their parents were already inside. The test was relatively easy as it was hard for children to do anything complicated. All they have to do is put their hand on the surface of the large stone in the middle of the room. It would naturally calculate the talent they have and show it based on the color. It started from red, orange, yellow, green, light blue, blue, and purple, with purple being the best. Ye Xiao stopped near the circle. Parents were not allowed to get inside and aid their children because it was all up to their children. ¡°Ye Xiao, you¡¯ve finally showed up.¡± The voice made Ye Xiao instinctively hold his daughter tighter. Even though Ye Jiao didn¡¯t know what happened, she could feel her father¡¯s body tensed up. Her small hands clutched her father¡¯s clothes tighter, trying to tell her father that she would be fine. Ye Xiao turned his glance to the side. He saw a man in his mid-thirties standing not far from him. The man has natural disposition of a leader. He had a good appearance with a long beard under his chin, which he caressed slowly using his finger. His large built and specially made clothes made people understand that this was not a man they could offend. He held a high position in this kingdom. He forced his emotions to calm down. ¡°It has been some time, General Wei Shang.¡± We Shang smiled, yet there was no mirth in his eyes. ¡°Your daughter has just turned 6 years old? What a coincidence, my daughter too.¡± The mockery in Wei Shang¡¯s tone was exceptionally clear. He completely disregarded Ye Xiao because he knew that this man didn¡¯t have the qualification to defeat him. Be it power or influence, Wei Shang was far above Ye Xiao.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°I see,¡± Ye Xiao replied in an unhurried tone. Wei Shang¡¯s gaze turned to look at the young girl in Ye Xiao¡¯s arms. ¡°Is there any need to test her again? Everyone here knows that she¡¯s just a cripple, a trash that will never be able to learn the arts.¡± ¡°Watch what you say!¡± Ye Xiao blurted out. He glared back at Wei Shang as ripples started to appear around his body, indicating that he was close to using his power. Wei Shang sneered. ¡°Ye Xiao, Ye Xiao, you might have been a great genius seven years ago, but now you¡¯re nothing more than a weakling. You have wasted your time and potential. The current you is not worth anything.¡± Ye Xiao didn¡¯t reply anymore. He put Ye Jiao down with his back facing Wei Shang. Someone like this disgusted him too much that he didn¡¯t want to taint his daughter¡¯s eyes. It would be better for her to never see him. ¡°Ye Jiao, just do your best.¡± The young girl noticed her father¡¯s worry in her. Ye Jiao stretched up her arm and put on a bright smile on her face. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Dad. I will return back soon.¡± With that, Ye Jiao turned around and headed to the circle. She lined up at the very back of the line, allowing the other children to have their tests before her. Her eyes were looking at her arm with hope that this test would change her fate. Wei Shang shook his head. ¡°You should just kill that girl. Because of her, your wife left you. A genius producing a trash, what a disgrace.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t spout nonsense, Wei Shang,¡± Ye Xiao¡¯s eyes glinted with ruthlessness. Even if he was weaker than this man, he didn¡¯t want to back down. No matter what other people said, he would never abandon his daughter. ¡°You don¡¯t have the qualification to call my name directly, Ye Xiao,¡± Wei Shang¡¯s aura grew fiercer. His eyes locked straight onto the insolent man in front of him. ¡°I¡¯ll let you go this time because you¡¯re my disgusting brother-in-law, but if you dare to say my name directly again, I¡¯ll cut off your tongue.¡± Ye Xiao harrumphed and looked at the children. A young girl with cute features was standing in the middle, getting ready to be tested. Her dark brown hair fluttered along as she walked to the center. Her small hand was placed on the stone while the man by the side waited for the reaction. ¡°That¡¯s my daughter,¡± Wei Shang grinned. Hearing the man¡¯s claim, Ye Xiao frowned. His eyes didn¡¯t move as he watched the stone started to shine in blue, a very familiar color to him. The blue color looked exceptionally beautiful as it enveloped the entire hall with its color, showing the large potential she has. ¡°Oh, she¡¯s just slightly lower than you,¡± Wei Shang rubbed his chin. ¡°But as expected of my children, they¡¯re all amazing unlike a certain someone who produces someone even worse than him.¡± ¡°Amazing!¡± one of the people exclaimed. His friend nodded. ¡°It seems that the Wei Family has produced another genius.¡± ¡°It¡¯s expected, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡± Many people gave compliments to the young girl. Other children were also looking at the girl with admiration. It was rare for them to produce such a good result, so they knew that this girl must have great potential. Ye Xiao ignored the man beside him as other children started being tested. The majority of them only have orange or yellow color. Occasionally green color would appear, but those who could reach light blue or blue color like Wei Shang¡¯s daughter was exceptionally rare. At the back, Ye Jiao waited patiently for the students to end their test. Some of them had gone home while some others were watching the children testing their potential one by one. ¡°Next.¡± Ye Jiao noticed that she was the last one. Her hand trembled a bit as she placed it on the stone, which felt a bit cold at touch. Faint energy was emitted from the stone. Ye Jiao¡¯s eyes watched as the energy in the stone entered her body bit by bit, but there was no change in the stone. No light emitted at all. It was known that if the stone didn¡¯t give any reaction, it meant that the kid couldn¡¯t use the energy at all, or in other words: trash. 2. You’re a Trash! Ye Jiao stared at the stone before her with desperation. Just a bit. Even a little bit was fine. She doesn¡¯t mind even if it was the lowest one as long as there was a reaction, it meant that there was hope for her to practice arts. Without any reaction from the stone whatsoever, it had sealed her fate. ¡°Even after 6 years, the result is still the same, Ye Xiao!¡± Wei Shang roared with laughter. ¡°There¡¯s no use in testing her anymore.¡± ¡°You!¡± Ye Xiao glared at the man with hatred. Good families would send people to test their children¡¯s potential once they were born. Although the test was only an estimation, it could predict the children¡¯s future. When Ye Jiao was born, they had tested her and deemed her to be a trash. It was rare for trash to appear from a good family, but it was even rarer that she came from a family with good genes. Wei Shang laughed without restrain as he turned around. His daughter was with his first wife, cuddling happily at the result that everyone knew she would have. It was not a surprise for children from noble families to have good results. Other people could only look at them from afar without the chance to get jealous at all. ¡°Sir, this?¡± Ye Jiao raised her head, looking at the examiner. The examiner could see that the girl felt desperate. In this world where practitioner could be found everywhere, being a trash would surely bring her numerous painful experiences. And here, only the strong could survive. He shook his head lightly, trying to not look too dejected. ¡°Unfortunately, the device didn¡¯t detect any potential in your body, young girl.¡± No potential. The two words slammed the girl¡¯s heart and shattered it to pieces. She had prayed to bring hope from this test, but it instead brought her despair. Her eyes stared at the stone before her as tears welled up. ¡°I¡­ I see.¡± Ye Jiao stayed still in her place for several second as she tried to calm down. She shouldn¡¯t make her father worry about her anymore. Her small legs slowly brought her back to her father, who was looking at her with a warm smile as always. He reached out his hand and caressed the girl¡¯s head slowly. ¡°Daddy¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, Jiao¡¯er, you did great,¡± Ye Xiao pulled the girl up from the ground and carried her in his embrace. Other people termed his daughter as trash without any potential, but he would never give up on her. Even if the chance was slim, he would train her by himself. Ye Jiao might not be able to see her father¡¯s disappointment, but she could hear the sad tone her father had. She clutched her small hand to grip her father¡¯s clothes. ¡°Dad, I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Why are you apologizing? It¡¯s not your fault, not at all,¡± Ye Xiao caressed Ye Jiao¡¯s head tenderly as he walked out of the hall.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Ye Jiao buried her face in her father¡¯s embrace. Even though her father never told her directly, she had heard that her mother left because of her trash potential. She couldn¡¯t stand the thought of being a mother of a trash, so she left the two of them. In this world, only martial artists can survive. Each child would be tested since young to determine their talent and growth because different talents gave different speed for their improvement. The energy they used in this world was called Eon Energy. It was not known since when the energy existed, but humanity started to learn how to use them a few centuries ago. Ever since then, the use of Eon Energy became part of their daily life. It was similar to that of magic, but it could be produced naturally by nature. Not only for fulfilling their daily necessities, Eon Energy could also be used to strengthen one¡¯s body. This was the reason they tested the talent. It would determine how far they could advance and the amount of Eon Energy that could possibly be stored in their body. The higher, the better. Every step and improvement in Eon Energy meant a huge leapt of power. The first step was to form the core in their body by absorbing the Eon Energy in their surroundings. The amount of Eon Energy they could absorb at a time depended on their talent. For those who had purple grade, they should be able to form the core by the time they reached the age of 10 while those lower should be able to form one by the time they were 11 to 13 years old. The lowest one, red grade would only be able to form when they were 14 to 15 years old. However, this was only the estimation because the environment and resources were also important. Forming their core would mean that they had started their path to become a master. It was a slow process and during this time, the children have to learn many other things aside from martial arts. The knowledge of this world was simply too vast as there are still a lot of mysteries around. ¡°Elder, Ye Xiao will be leaving first,¡± Ye Xiao said when he reached the door. He didn¡¯t stop or try to talk anymore as he carried his daughter in his embrace. As the two of them left the hall, several figures appeared from the shadows. They were experts that watched the test because Wei Shang¡¯s daughter would be tested today. Those who achieved the rank light blue or above would have their name recorded because they were the most talented ones in this world with the ability to reach higher rank. ¡°As expected of Ye Xiao, his sense is still as high as before,¡± one of the elders commented. ¡°He¡¯s not a genius for nothing. Even though he¡¯s stuck in rank 3 and unable to proceed further, even those rank 4 might have trouble facing him.¡± The elder who spoke first snorted. ¡°How could that be? Between rank 3 and 4, there¡¯s a huge disparity. No matter how much of a genius that Ye Xiao is, he won¡¯t be able to defeat the rank 4.¡± ¡°I just say that he can give them trouble.¡± While they were squabbling, one of the elders walked to the testing stone. He put his hand on the surface of the stone as his brows furrowed. ¡°What is it? The stone won¡¯t be able to test your power anymore after you form the core,¡± another elder reminded. ¡°Not that.¡± The elder flicked his finger, straight on the stone. In that instant, the stone was shattered to pieces. Not even a single one of them stayed intact in its original place. Silence descended on the room. As the elders of this kingdom, they knew very well how sturdy this stone was. There shouldn¡¯t be any way for the stone to break like this. Even with their power, a flick of their finger wouldn¡¯t be able to cause this much damage. ¡°It seems something is wrong,¡± the elder who flicked his finger frowned. ¡°I think things are not so simple.¡± ¡°But Wei Shang wouldn¡¯t dare to do anything to the stone.¡± ¡°It might not be him. Ask people to investigate whoever stayed here at this time,¡± the elder stared at the stone with a frown on his face. He was watching it from afar, so he could sense that there was something wrong. From the moment Ye Jiao touched it, the stone seemed to lose all of its power. It was too weird. ¡®Is it that girl?¡¯ Looking at his comrades, the elder shook his head. It would be ridiculous for a young girl to destroy this stone when not even masters could do it. He should not think too much. 3. Eon Energy After the test, Ye Xiao returned back to his residence. The capital city was big, but his residence didn¡¯t take up that much area. It was located on the edge of the city, outside the wall with nothing but nature surrounding them. If he wanted to obtain resources, he would have to walk to the market. Ye Jiao opened her eyes slightly as she scanned the scenery. The familiar abundant nature brought a smile to her lips. No matter what, she loved nature the most. ¡°Daddy, I can walk,¡± Ye Jiao pulled her father¡¯s clothes to remind him. ¡°Ah, ok,¡± Ye Xiao put his daughter down. His movement was done with extreme care as he was afraid to hurt his little daughter. ¡°Be careful when walking. There might be rocks.¡± ¡°Yes, Daddy.¡± The coquettish sound from his daughter let Ye Xiao be at ease. He watched as his daughter ran here and there. He didn¡¯t understand why but his daughter loved nature the most. It was good that their house was surrounded by plants as it meant Ye Jiao could spend her time playing around a lot. Looking at his daughter, Ye Xiao sighed to himself. Once a child reached the age of 6, they would be sent to the academy and taught the method to absorb Eon Energy from their surroundings. He could teach his daughter as there were no rules that restricted him, but he knew that he was not a good teacher. Being a genius doesn¡¯t mean that he was a great teacher as well. ¡®There should be no problem to teach her the basic.¡¯ If it was only teaching the basic technique, he didn¡¯t have any problem. Besides, children were not allowed to learn any other techniques until they formed their core because it would harm their body. Until Ye Jiao formed her core, he should be able to be her teacher. Formed her core. People without any talent should never be able to form the core, but Ye Xiao wanted to hope. He hoped that his daughter would be able to protect herself. ¡°Daddy, the air is fresher today,¡± Ye Jiao said as she watched her surroundings. Ye Xiao arched his eyebrows. His senses are sharp, so he knew that the air was fresh because there was rain not far from this location. However, someone like Ye Jiao shouldn¡¯t be able to know it. Could it be that she still has some ability to absorb Eon Energy? ¡®Perhaps, I should try.¡¯ ¡°Jiao¡¯er, do you want to train too?¡± Ye Jiao stopped running around. Her arm, which was stretched to the side just now, moved down slowly. Her large green eyes stared back at her father with a hopeful expression. It was as if asking ¡®is it possible?¡¯If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Jiao¡¯er?¡± Ye Xiao asked once again with a gentle tone. Ye Jiao stared back at her father. ¡°Can I train, Daddy?¡± Can I train? It was a simple question, the most basic question. Ye Xiao could feel his back drenched in sweat as he stared at his daughter. It was common knowledge that people without talent couldn¡¯t train. His daughter is smart, so he knew that this little girl had realized that too. But he didn¡¯t want to let this girl lose all hope. ¡°Why not?¡± Ye Xiao smiled. ¡°We can at least try, right? If you want, I¡¯ll train you. But if you don¡¯t want, I¡¯ll protect you for my entire life.¡± Ye Jiao gazed at her father, smiling brightly at her. There was no trace of hatred in her father¡¯s eyes. Even though the girl knew that her father should have be able to live a better life, he abandoned everything to raise her. He didn¡¯t tell her, but she knew that much. She didn¡¯t want to disappoint her father. Even if there was only 1% chance, she would try. ¡°I want to train, Dad,¡± Ye Jiao replied excitedly. ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Ye Xiao smiled happily. He patted his daughter¡¯s head tenderly. ¡°Let¡¯s talk as we walk home. What do you know about Eon Energy?¡± Ye Jiao knitted her brow. ¡°Eon Energy is the most basic energy in the world. It¡¯s the one that form everything and can be produced by transforming other energy back to its source. Eon Energy was first discovered a few centuries ago and known to be the most efficient energy to use, so people started to develop them bit by bit. And now, can also use them to strengthen themselves.¡± ¡°You¡¯re correct,¡± Ye Xiao pondered. ¡°Did you sneak in to read my book again?¡± ¡°Well, you won¡¯t let me read if I don¡¯t,¡± Ye Jiao admitted. She scratched her head in embarrassment. Ye Xiao smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t mind if you read them, but you should know that some knowledge is not suitable for children to learn.¡± Even though he said this, he knew better that some children already learned them since young. Some children were forced to mature early on because of their circumstances, especially those who came from renowned families or those who were born at the very bottom of the ladder. They were faced with real life difficult circumstances that they should have never faced before. ¡°I¡¯m just curious,¡± Ye Jiao replied. ¡°It¡¯s fine, and your knowledge is not complete. Eon Energy is not only used to strengthen our body, but also to help us do something that we never could have imagine before. Watch this.¡± Ye Xiao gathered Eon Energy into his palm, forming a small ball filled with energy. Using the slightest bit of movement, he spun them around. He glanced to the side and pressed his palm on the tree, the small ball immediately crushed the outer layer of the tree, allowing them to see a small crater. ¡°Wow!¡± Ye Jiao¡¯s eyes shone brightly as she looked at the mark on the tree. Her small index finger pointed at the mark. ¡°Dad, that¡¯s because of Eon Energy?¡± Ye Xiao smiled proudly. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the basic use of Eon Energy once you reach second rank.¡± ¡°Second rank?¡± When it landed on Ye Jiao¡¯s ear, it sounded to be extremely far away. Unless if they were genius, they would already grow up before they could reach second rank. After all, it was not easy to reach that rank. ¡°You can only use Eon Energy outside your body if you reach second rank,¡± Ye Xiao laughed as he tousled Ye Jiao¡¯s hair. ¡°Oh,¡± Ye Jiao¡¯s eyes were fixated on the mark on the tree. Someday¡­. Someday, she will surely be able to do the same as her father. No, not only the same, she will aim to become even better. ¡°Now, I¡¯ll teach you how to absorb Eon Energy.¡± 4. Start of the Training ¡°After you reach the age of 6, you can start absorbing the Eon Energy in your surroundings,¡± Ye Xiao started his teaching. ¡°First, you have to sense the energy in your surroundings and pull them bit by bit into your body. This process takes time as you can¡¯t master them at once.¡± ¡°How do I know that it¡¯s Eon Energy?¡± Ye Jiao was confused. Ye Xiao scratched his cheek. ¡°Um, you will know? It feels warm and comfortable. It always exists around you, so you should be able to sense them after a while.¡± Ye Jiao looked back at her father blankly. Honestly, she didn¡¯t have any idea what her father was teaching her. There was nothing around her that she could sense or see. All that existed was only air that she breathes in every single minute plus other natures. Looking around her, Ye Jiao knitted her brows. She wondered what her father was talking about earlier. Ye Xiao scratched his head. He was not a good teacher. Other children might have already asked him numerous questions, but Ye Jiao chose to ponder the matter by herself. It was good to be independent, but asking question should be done if she didn¡¯t understand. Well, even if she did, he might not be able to answer them. He looked around him as he continued walking with Ye Jiao beside him. When he first learned it, he could feel the surroundings easily because his talent was one of the best in this world. Just by relying on his keen sense and more talented body, he could train with ease. Trying to explain what he felt with words were clearly not his forte. ¡°We¡¯ve arrived at home,¡± Ye Xiao called when they approached a small hut. It was a small house around three meters square made of woods. There was only one door and one window visible from outside. Even though the condition of the house could only be associated with the word ¡®terrible,¡¯ it was their house where they have been living for years. ¡°Is it my turn to cook?¡± Ye Jiao pointed to herself. After she learned how to talk, she also learned how to cook with her father to lessen his burden. ¡°There¡¯s no need,¡± Ye Xiao shook his head. ¡°You can spend the time to try sensing Eon Energy in your surroundings. I¡¯ll cook today.¡± ¡°Okay, Daddy.¡± Ye Jiao sat down on the grass as her father walked into the small house. Her eyes wandered around, trying to see what her father mentioned to her just now. It made no sense for her that they could sense something that they couldn¡¯t see. After all, everything she knew so far was those that she could see.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Stretching her hand, Ye Jiao tried to focus everything on her skin, but there was nothing around her. Focusing her attention to her surroundings didn¡¯t help either as she could not see their difference. ¡®Ugh, I don¡¯t understand!¡¯ Flop! Lying on the grass, Ye Jiao stared at the sky. It was cloudy that day, making the sky look white rather than blue. Relaxing on the grass, Ye Jiao enjoyed the scenery. Asking a six years old little girl to keep her focus for hours was clearly impossible. After satisfying herself, Ye Jiao closed her eyes and tried to feel everything around her. She could sense the wind breeze and the faint warmth from the sun. As she tried to sense them, Ye Jiao had the feeling that there were numerous lights around her body, circling around. ¡®It¡¯s warm.¡¯ The light felt so warm and comfortable. Slowly, Ye Jiao tried to control them. Extending her mind to reach these lights around her, she tried to move them according to her will. The light moved a bit then stopped. ¡®Move.¡¯ Bit by bit, the light moved closer. The moment they touched Ye Jiao¡¯s skin, she could feel the warmth coming to her. It was so comfortable. The warmth spread to her entire body with most of them lingering in her abdomen. Feeling exhilarated, Ye Jiao started to attempt it again and again. Every single dot required a long time for her to move, but once they entered her body, the warmth was extremely comfortable that she wanted more and more. The sensation couldn¡¯t be compared with anything else she had before. ¡°Jiao¡¯er!¡± Ye Xiao called the girl. ¡°Dad?¡± Ye Jiao rubbed her eyes. It was so comfortable that she felt sleepy. Ye Xiao smiled when he saw his little daughter. He didn¡¯t really expect her to succeed in her training, but having her sleep outside was clearly not an option. ¡°You little brat, why are you sleeping outside?¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Ye Jiao was stunned. She glanced at the sky and realized that it was already night time. When they returned back from the test, it was still afternoon. Did she really spend that long lying on the grass? The time she took to pull those warm light around didn¡¯t feel that long. At most, they should only be one hour. Seeing Ye Jiao scratching her head with confusion, Ye Xiao shook his head lightly. ¡°Don¡¯t sleep outside when it¡¯s night. The chilly wind will make you sick.¡± ¡°Yes, Dad.¡± Ye Jiao stood up and dusted her body. She felt that something was clearly different from herself as she still could feel the warm sensation from before. However, there was nothing visible in her body that could let her have any clue. ¡°Dinner is ready. Let¡¯s go eat.¡± ¡°What¡¯s for dinner today, Dad?¡± Ye Jiao¡¯s eyes shone when she heard the word ¡®dinner.¡¯ Ye Xiao pointed to the table. ¡°There are soup and some rice.¡± Running slightly to the table, Ye Jiao climbed the chair and positioned herself near the table. Even though she was already 6 years old, her body was still rather small as they barely had enough for their meal every day. The soup was mostly filled with water, but they tasted the best for Ye Jiao. Scooping some of them for her and her father, Ye Jiao grinned. ¡°Daddy should eat more because you use Eon Energy.¡± Ye Xiao was stunned. He barely used his Eon Energy. Besides, forming a small ball like what he did in front of Ye Jiao could be done with using less than 0,1% of his overall energy. No, even using 0.01% was still too much. It didn¡¯t expend his energy at all. However, seeing the bright smile on his daughter¡¯s face, Ye Xiao just accepted it. ¡°Alright, but you should eat more too. I cooked a lot for you, little lass.¡± ¡°Yes, Daddy!¡± With that, the two of them proceeded to have a noisy dinner. 5. They’re The Real Trashes ¡°How has your practice been lately, Jiao¡¯er?¡± Ye Xiao asked. It has been several weeks since he tested his daughter¡¯s talent. Even though the result was not too good, Ye Jiao spent most of her days sitting around to sense Eon Energy in the surroundings. Given by the way she usually behaved, he always found her sleeping at the end of it. Ye Jiao tilted her head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure myself, Dad.¡± Ye Xiao scratched his head. He wanted to test Ye Jiao to find out about her progress, but he himself didn¡¯t know how to do that. Internally, he sighed to himself as he really needed to find a teacher if he wanted his daughter to progress further. ¡°We¡¯re going to the city today, Jiao¡¯er. Are you ready?¡± Ye Xiao crouched down in front of his daughter. Going to the city? Ye Jiao could clearly remember the last time she went to the city because her father wanted to sell some animals that he hunted. Many children were pointing at her, mocking her for her uselessness and motherlessness. The story of how her mother heartlessly left her father was famous in the capital city. Almost everyone knew about them. Walking around in the city was clearly not something she liked to do. Staying in the forest and enjoying the warmth nature gave her was the thing that she loved to do the most. ¡°Why are we going to the city, Dad?¡± Ye Jiao asked curiously. ¡°Yesterday is the school admission for new children. I want to try letting you go to school,¡± Ye Xiao replied. Even though he didn¡¯t have any confidence of succeeding, he wanted to give it a try. As an ex-genius, he used to have close relationship with the principal. He would find a way to let them accept Ye Jiao even if it was only to teach her the knowledge of this world. Ye Jiao looked at her father worriedly. With her current condition, it was close to impossible for the school to accept her. They only accepted people with talent even if it was a poor one because it was important to have the knowledge in this world if they wanted to stay alive. ¡°I can just study here, Dad.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not enough,¡± Ye Xiao shook his head. He also wanted to do the same, but he wished for his daughter to receive the best treatment possible. His knowledge was extremely limited because he got married when he was still quite young. The time he got a child was actually the best time to develop his talent. But he never regretted it. Ye Jiao was hesitant, but she nodded her head. ¡°Ok, Dad.¡± ¡°Good girl, change your clothes. We¡¯re going to go.¡± ¡°Yes, Dad.¡±Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Changing her clothes, Ye Jiao used a long dress that her father bought for her. It was green in color, perfectly suited with her green iris. After she had finished, she walked out of their room. The small house has three rooms, one was the bathroom, one was their bedroom, and the last one was their living room plus kitchen. It was a bit cramped because of the size, but for two people, it was already enough. Ye Jiao glanced at her father. Different than usual, her father wore his clothes neatly. His blue robe, which represented his identity as Eon Energy Master Rank 3, looked more dazzling than usual. Even though his appearance didn¡¯t change much, he looked a bit older when he dressed up like this. ¡°How¡¯s your Dad, Jiao¡¯er?¡± Ye Xiao grinned. ¡°I¡¯m the most handsome man out there, right?¡± Ye Jiao giggled. ¡°Dad just looks older like this.¡± ¡°Well,¡± Ye Xiao scratched his head. He did intend to make himself look older because he was still in his early twenties, but hearing it from his daughter made him feel old. ¡°Dad is just slightly older than you.¡± ¡°Dad is already 23,¡± Ye Jiao grinned. Uh, he can¡¯t fool his daughter. He should have hidden his real age from her in the past if he knew she would just blurt it out like that. Ye Xiao sighed. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Grabbing her father¡¯s hand, Ye Jiao nodded her head. The two of them walked in the forest as they headed to the city. Hearing the bustling talking people, Ye Jiao knitted her brow. She never liked the crowd because of their intense gaze that they directed at her. Ye Xiao could sense his daughter¡¯s body tense up. He was quite surprised because it was slightly earlier than usual. Usually, Ye Jiao would only start hearing when they were already near the city, but today, she heard it around half a meter earlier. The distance might not change much, but it meant that Ye Jiao¡¯s sense grew keener. ¡®Is it because she slept too much lately?¡¯ Before Ye Xiao could ponder on the matter, he could feel Ye Jiao tugging at the hem of his clothes. ¡°Dad, can you carry me?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Carefully, Ye Xiao picked his daughter up and let her stay in his embrace comfortably. He made sure that he covered her ear with one of his arms before continuing their walk. Rather than listening to the nonsenses these people spouted out, it would be better for her to not listen to anything. The moment he entered the city from the gate, the guard glanced at him for a moment before letting him pass. They already knew that Ye Xiao lived on the outskirts, not far from the gate of the city. Although this man could stay inside the city, he preferred to stay outside the city. ¡°That man has come again,¡± a man remarked when he saw Ye Xiao entered the city. ¡°He doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯s here to sell animal¡¯s body again.¡± ¡°Maybe it¡¯s for the school. Children below the age of 12 and above the age of six will receive basic education in the schools in this city.¡± The man sneered. ¡°Heh, that trash wants to study? Dream on!¡± ¡°Yeah, the school is not a place for trashes like that girl to study.¡± ¡°Tsk, it¡¯s really a shame that a genius like him has a pitiful descendant like that. It seems that the Heaven hates him so much.¡± Ye Xiao ignored the chatter around him. Ever since Ye Jiao¡¯s birth, he has been surrounded by this kind of noises no matter where he went. Those who flattered him from head to toe in the past turned their back and taunted him with their words. They would only suck up to the strong and trample on the weak. To these kinds of people, Ye Xiao didn¡¯t care in the slightest. He didn¡¯t want to waste his time with them, so he used their mocking to train his temper. Even though he is already a father, he is still considered to be young. Normal people his age would still be fooling around and training their body to the fullest. At this time, Ye Jiao moved her small hand and gripped her father¡¯s hand. Her firm movement seemed to tell her father that she was fine and he shouldn¡¯t be too concerned in the matter. ¡®Yeah. They¡¯re the real trash and not you,¡¯ Ye Xiao smiled in his mind as he continued to walk in an unhurried pace. 6. Bullying It didn¡¯t take long for them to arrive at the largest elementary school in the capital. The name of the school was Chen Elementary School. It was named after the Imperial Family because of their influence and history. In this school, the students were not only taught basic knowledge but also basic combat. The vast knowledge that was accumulated ever since the kingdom was built was stored in Chen School. There were also Chen Academy to study after the elementary school, which was the place they put most of their knowledge into. The elementary was mostly on the basic ones, which was more important for children to study. ¡°It¡¯s large,¡± Ye Jiao murmured. The school was extremely large in her eyes. She couldn¡¯t see the end of the wall easily. Besides, the large building in front of her should be at least several hundred meters¡¯ heights. Well, in her opinion. Ye Xiao had a complicated smile on his face. Even though he was happy to return here again, he knew that it would not be the same as in the past. He was no longer the same aspiring genius as before. Right now, his power might be rare, but not as much as before. Many people caught up to him and surpassed him. Now, he was left in the dust, unable to return back to the frontline where he should be. ¡°Daddy will go and meet someone, so you wait in the courtyard, ok?¡± Ye Xiao looked at his daughter. Ye Jiao looked up and put on a reassuring smile on her face. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, Daddy. There¡¯s no need for you to worry so much.¡± Ye Xiao nodded his head and put down his daughter. He patted the girl¡¯s head before walking into the large building. The guards around didn¡¯t bother trying to stop him because they recognized him as someone who graduated from this school. Besides, his name has become famous in this city. While her father took his time inside, Ye Jiao scanned her surroundings. There were a lot of students walking around. They were wearing proper uniform and played around with their friends, laughing and fooling around. Her grip tightened. She never had a friend. No one dared to come close to her because she is a trash, the lowest existence in this world. ¡°Hey, there¡¯s an outsider here.¡± ¡°Where?¡± ¡°Ah, you¡¯re right.¡± Most of the students bypassed her, but several of them seemed to take notice of her. Ye Jiao raised her head and saw two people looking at her curiously. The two of them have brown hair with neat clothes. Although their clothes looked the same because they all wore uniforms, the two of them seemed to have the air of a noble. Not only that, there was some disposition that was rarely visible on ordinary people. ¡°Brother Liao, are there any new students?¡± the girl asked. The boy shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, Wei Mi.¡± Wei? Ye Jiao¡¯s heart tightened when she heard this surname. Her eyes landed on the girl¡¯s face. She felt that this girl was somewhat familiar to her and now she understood why. This was the same girl that let the stone emitted blue light in the test. They were tested on the same day with Wei Mi¡¯s result being the best and her being the worst.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Wei Mi scanned Ye Jiao up and down. ¡°Green eyes. If I¡¯m not wrong, she must be Ye Jiao, right?¡± ¡°Ye Jiao?¡± Wei Liao, the boy, had the tone of disdain as he uttered her name. For the Wei Family, the name of this trash was something that they hated the most. Ye Jiao stared at the two of them without any intention to answer their inquiry. There was no need for her to talk back as she didn¡¯t really have any grounds to talk to them. Her mind spun hard as she tried to recall their identities. Wei Family is one of the two noble families in this kingdom. Their current head, Wei Shang, was the great general who held control of the entire army in this kingdom. He had five children. Wei Liao is the second son and also the third child. He is two years older than Ye Jiao and has started to study in the school from a long time ago. Even though his talent was not the best, he still got the light blue. Wei Mi is the second daughter and the fourth child. She was the same age with Ye Jiao and has one of the best talents among the four children. The youngest one still has not been tested yet, so it was still unknown. ¡°A trash like you hopes to study in school?¡± Wei Mi¡¯s tone was filled with derision. ¡°You should just hope that you don¡¯t get kicked out of the city rather than studying in school.¡± Even though the girl was merely six-years-old, her words were filled with poison. Every single word carried a sharp knife, ready to strike whoever heard it. ¡°If you think that you can still go to school, you should think twice,¡± Wei Liao laughed. Wei Mi nodded her head. ¡°If you want to blame someone, blame your father for offending every single powerful force in this kingdom, including my father. You know, it¡¯s easy to kick you out of the city with my father¡¯s influence.¡± Hearing their words, Ye Jiao¡¯s hand was trembling hard. She wanted to punch the two of them and make them pay for their words, but she couldn¡¯t do that. If she fought with these two, she would invite more trouble to her father. There was no way Wei Shang wouldn¡¯t use the chance to eliminate her father. Endure¡­ She has to endure. Wei Mi giggled. ¡°If I report your father to my father, I¡¯m sure that he won¡¯t be able to stay in this city anymore. Or even worse, his sister will be in deep trouble.¡± Ye Jiao¡¯s hand trembled even worse when they mentioned her aunt. Wei Shang married her aunt when she was young. She didn¡¯t know the detail, but it was a forced marriage with her aunt¡¯s status being a mere a concubine, unworthy of anything. Her eyes glared at the two children in front of her. No, they were not children, they were demons. Tears started to form in her eyes as she suppressed her feelings. She didn¡¯t have any other choice but to control her emotion because she was nothing right now. Trying to fight back would only bring trouble to her¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s ask the guard to kick this eyesore out,¡± Wei Liao sneered. Ye Jiao¡¯s eyes reddened. Why? Why are they this ruthless? She didn¡¯t understand why they always had to treat her so differently. Really, she hated having any connections whatsoever with these people. They were exceptionally annoying and hateful. ¡°Wei Liao, Wei Mi, what are you doing in front of the building?¡± The cold voice caused both Wei Liao and Wei Mi to fix their postures immediately. They quickly turned their bodies around and bowed slightly in polite manner. ¡°Wei Liao (Mi) greets Senior Mu.¡± Ye Jiao raised her head. What she saw stunned her because the one standing in front of her was a beautiful young lady. Appearance-wise, this person should be only several years older than her, but she has the disposition of a queen, an ice queen at that. Her blue hair and eyes were staring back at her while her expression remained motionless. ¡°Don¡¯t create trouble. Go back to your class.¡± ¡°Yes, Senior Mu!¡± The two of Wei quickly turned their body and headed straight to the building. Wei Mi turned around and looked at Ye Jiao. She mouthed out. ¡®Consider yourself lucky this time.¡¯ Ye Jiao paid no heed to the two Weis as she bowed slightly to the girl in front of her. ¡°Ye Jiao greets Senior Mu.¡± She didn¡¯t know who this person was as she only knew the name from the two Weis. Seeing that Senior Mu only looked at her coldly, she didn¡¯t know what to do. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t stay here. They¡¯ll bully you again.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Ye Jiao noticed that several students seemed to realize her identity. She knew that they would surely come to mock her again. It was not physical bullying, but for a six years old kid, psychological bullying would leave a greater scar in their heart compared to facing the pain of being beaten up. ¡°I¡¯ll be more careful. Many thanks for Senior Mu¡¯s help.¡± Senior Mu didn¡¯t say anything again. She walked in a different direction, leaving Ye Jiao alone. Ye Jiao heaved a sigh of relief. She could feel the invisible pressure coming from Senior Mu¡¯s body. Right now, she was glad that she didn¡¯t have to face that senior again. She did feel thankful, but the pressure was too much for her weak body. ¡®There are still good people around.¡¯ But she was glad because this was the first time she saw someone standing up for her except for her father. 7. It’s Impossible Ye Xiao made his way to the principal¡¯s office. The familiar route made him felt somewhat melancholic, but he didn¡¯t dwell on his feelings for too long. It would only be a brief meeting with his old teacher. Knock! Knock! ¡°Xiao, you know that you don¡¯t have to knock.¡± Hearing that familiar voice, Ye Xiao¡¯s hand trembled a bit. He pushed the door open and walked inside as his eyes landed on the old man behind the desk. The old man has white hair, but his eyes still looked as sharp as ever. ¡°Principal,¡± Ye Xiao called. The old man, the principal of Chen Elementary School, raised his head. Looking at the young man before him, he sighed deeply. ¡°You have finally come to see me, Ye Xiao.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Principal.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not your fault,¡± the Principal waved his hand. ¡°I have not seen you for more than one decade. How are you?¡± Ye Xiao smiled. ¡°I¡¯m good.¡± The principal sighed. ¡°You¡¯ve come to talk about your daughter, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Tapping his fingers on the table, the principal sighed once again. He took out a paper and handed it to Ye Xiao. ¡°I already received the report regarding your daughter¡¯s condition. Here¡¯s what the elders concluded.¡± Normally, important documents like that should never fall into the hands of someone like Ye Xiao. However, the principal didn¡¯t really care about that. Even if those men wanted to create trouble, it would be hard because he didn¡¯t really break any written rules. Ye Xiao¡¯s eyes landed on the paper. Aside from the talent to use Eon Energy, there were elders that watched the children from the shadows. They would make conclusions regarding the child¡¯s mentality and aptitude to learn. The paper was written as such: Ye Jiao Talent: G- Mentality: weak She¡¯s showing her emotion without any restrain and unable to withstand the result of the test. Reading the result of the test made Ye Xiao rather angry. He had seen for himself how his daughter held her feelings in because that girl didn¡¯t want to make him worry. Besides, what kind of child would be able to stay calm when they find out that they didn¡¯t have any talent?This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Only adults with mature mind would be able to think much further into the future. As for the talent, G was the lowest with the color of red. If there was another minus sign, it would show that they didn¡¯t have any aptitude at all. This kind of result was the lowest without any chance to study in the future. ¡°Principal, this¡­¡± ¡°They give this to every school in the capital,¡± the Principal cut off Ye Xiao¡¯s words. ¡°It¡¯s not my decision, but I¡¯m unable to accept your daughter into the school.¡± Ye Xiao¡¯s face contorted a bit. ¡°Can¡¯t you make any leeway of rules? Even the lowest class is fine as long as she can learn the basic knowledge. There¡¯s no need for you to teach her Eon Energy.¡± ¡°Ye Xiao,¡± The Principal sighed. ¡°I really want to help, but I can¡¯t.¡± The two men descended into silence. Looking at each other, Ye Xiao tried to think of ways to get his daughter proper education. Learning under him alone would never be enough for her. He didn¡¯t want his daughter to lack in terms of knowledge. ¡°Is it because of them?¡± finally, Ye Xiao opened his mouth. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Seeing the despondent Ye Xiao, the Principal could only sigh. He really wanted to help this young man, but he was unable to do anything more. ¡°If you¡¯re just an ordinary man, I might be able to help you out, Ye Xiao. Unfortunately, you¡¯re a former genius with numerous people who want you to suffer and die. There are too many people you have offended during your time of glory,¡± the Principal explained. Even without the explanation, Ye Xiao knew all of them very well. The thought of running away from this place with his sister and daughter crossed his mind numerous times, but he was not strong enough. If he tried to make a move, they would surely kill him and everyone around him. He could only stay low and wait for the chance. As a genius in his youth, he always acted according to his will. In this kingdom, there was not even a single one of them who could defeat him in terms of talent and battle under rank 3. Among the youths, he was the best. But his recklessness and arrogance pulled him into a deep pit and dragged down everyone around him. ¡°I¡¯m really thankful for all of your help, Principal.¡± The Principal nodded his head. ¡°That woman¡¯s family wrote a letter to me again not long ago. They made inquiries of your progress in Eon Energy.¡± Ye Xiao¡¯s eyebrows arched. That woman the principal talked about was his ex-wife. His ¡®ex-wife¡¯ came from a different country, a beautiful and talented young genius. The only one who has higher talent than that woman was him. She came to him and seduced him, which resulted in a relationship that didn¡¯t last long. From the moment Ye Jiao was born, he understood that that woman only came to him because of his talent. They didn¡¯t even want him as they only hoped to destroy him, leaving him with nothing. ¡°She has reached rank 5?¡± ¡°No, not yet,¡± the Principal shook his head. ¡°She¡¯s not that good, Ye Xiao. If only you can reach rank 4, you will be able to chase after her.¡± Rank 4 Ye Xiao had longed for that rank for a long time, but the incident with his ex-wife seemed to have created a knot in his heart. Even after 7 years, he was unable to solve it. ¡°Thank you for the information, Principal. I¡¯ll be going now.¡± The Principal watched Ye Xiao for a moment before throwing a key to the young man. *Catch* ¡°Principal?¡± Ye Xiao was stunned to see the key in his hand. He was extremely familiar with this key because of his exceptional performance in the past. The Principal smiled kindly. ¡°That¡¯s my last gift to you. Make a visit to that place for a while and try to calm your mind. You can take Ye Jiao along if you want.¡± Ye Xiao¡¯s hand clenched around the key tightly. He knew that this was the kindness the principal showed him. He bowed down. ¡°Thank you very much, Principal!¡± 8. Breakthrough Ye Jiao smiled widely when she saw her father walking out of the building. After that annoying Wei brother and sister, she didn¡¯t meet anyone who bothered her anymore. ¡°Daddy,¡± Ye Jiao ran to her father and hugged the latter. Ye Xiao ruffled up his daughter¡¯s hair. ¡°Did you wait for long?¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t. Are we going back now?¡± ¡°Not yet, there¡¯s a place that I want to show you,¡± Ye Xiao replied. He took his daughter¡¯s hand before guiding her to the other side of the school. Ye Jiao watched her surrounding with curiosity. As classes have started, there weren¡¯t any students around. She felt more at ease without anyone looking at her. Their gazes always looked extremely annoying in her opinion. Behind the large building of the school, there was another smaller building. It was a round building with blue color on the outside. There was no window visible. ¡°It¡¯s really big,¡± Ye Jiao murmured. Apparently, she was not used to see large buildings one after another. When they headed to the market, most of the buildings were only two floors. Some of them even just one, so tall building like this seemed unordinary for her. Ye Xiao chuckled. ¡°Let¡¯s get in.¡± Taking out the key he got from the principal, Ye Xiao unlocked the door. Pushing it lightly, he allowed Ye Jiao to come in first before he came inside and locked the door again. This place was not accessible for everyone, so he had to make sure that no one would come to disturb them. Inside the building was a large machine in the middle with a pond surrounding it. Light shone from above, allowing them to see the room clearly. Aside from the blue-colored pond, there was nothing else around them. Ye Jiao looked around in confusion. ¡°What are we doing here, Dad?¡± ¡°Take a closer look at the pond.¡± Ye Jiao didn¡¯t understand, but she followed after her father¡¯s instruction. Her small feet brought her to the pond. Upon looking at the pond, her eyes glimmered. It seemed as if the pond was not made of water. The surface was exceptionally clear and glittered under the light. ¡°It¡¯s amazing,¡± Ye Jiao exclaimed excitedly. It was really beautiful. Ye Xiao laughed. ¡°The pond is filled with pure Eon Energy. Also, this room has the formation that will help you guide Eon Energy into your body.¡± ¡°Really? That¡¯s really cool!¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°This is one of the best training places to train your Eon Energy,¡± Ye Xiao laughed. ¡°Just sit down and try to absorb the Eon Energy like what I taught you, but don¡¯t fall asleep again.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sleeping,¡± Ye Jiao pouted. Well, she might fall asleep because they were exceptionally warm and comfortable, but she didn¡¯t want to admit it. Ye Xiao arched his eyebrows. ¡°Oh? Are you sure about that?¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± Ye Jiao didn¡¯t know what to reply. ¡°Come and try absorbing them. Even if you just get a little bit, it doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Ye Xiao pointed to the pond as he played with the key. Come to think of it, the principal didn¡¯t tell him to return the key back so quick, he might be able to use this place for a long time. After all, students were not allowed to use this place when they had just started school. ¡°Okay, Dad,¡± Ye Jiao sat down near the pond and closed her eyes. Focusing her attention to her surrounding, she could ¡®see¡¯ the light around her. There were a lot of them, so much more compared with the forest. Slowly, she urged them to come to her. The light started to move in her direction. This was far easier than what she had experienced before. It was no wonder that her father said this was one of the best places to train. The amount and speed far surpassed anything that she ever knew. While Ye Jiao was sitting and training, Ye Xiao initiated his Eon Energy and walked to the pond. Without disturbing his daughter, he started to walk on top of the water. If Ye Jiao saw this, she would have exclaimed loudly and made a ruckus at how amazing her father is. Ye Xiao walked straight to the machine in the middle. It was the one that produced Eon Energy, so the nearer they came to the machine, the more Eon Energy they could absorb. ¡®I already have enough to break through, but I can always use it to strengthen my core further.¡¯ With that in mind, Ye Xiao started to absorb the Eon Energy at a much faster rate. This place might have abundant Eon Energy, but for a rank 3 like Ye Xiao, he could absorb all of them within days because of his large pool and greater absorption ability. Time passed swiftly. The two of them didn¡¯t move from their place at all. After an unknown amount of time, Ye Xiao opened his eyes. He could feel that his core has been strengthened further, but it would not really help him much. Among the rank 3, no one could possibly defeat him even before this. ¡®Well, it¡¯s better than nothing.¡¯ Looking at his daughter, Ye Xiao¡¯s eyes suddenly widened. He could see the Eon Energy moving at a fast rate into his daughter¡¯s body. It was a scene he was familiar with because his teacher always praised him for his fast absorption rate. Ye Jiao didn¡¯t have any problem to absorb Eon Energy. No, not only that, she was even faster than most children her age. Even him, the acclaimed genius in his youth, couldn¡¯t compare with the speed Ye Jiao is showing right now. That¡¯s a trash? If that¡¯s a trash, then he must have been even worse than trash in his youth. Ye Xiao laughed as tears streamed down from the corner of his eyes. His daughter is not a trash! She¡¯s a genius! He wanted to yell that sentence loudly to the world. The relief upon finding out that his daughter was talented must have greatly overwhelmed him. ¡®It¡¯s great, Jiao¡¯er. It¡¯s really great.¡¯ As his tears dropped to the lake below him, the thin layer that blocked him all this time was shattered. The feeling he harnessed all this time was directed to his daughter. Because of his worry, he could never attempt to reach the higher rank and was stuck in rank 3. Eon Energy spun around him in large number as they entered his body violently, filling his newly advanced core. Ye Xiao could feel that his body was brimming with newfound power along with sharpened sense. The world before him no longer looked the same as before. ¡®So, this is rank 4.¡¯ After staying in rank 3 for seven years, Ye Xiao finally advanced to rank 4. 9. I Have to Stay Low Ye Jiao¡¯s eyes fluttered open. She could sense the light around her seemed to be getting sucked away. Upon opening her eyes, she could see her father was standing near the large machine with light circulating around him. His majestic sight looked exceptionally beautiful. It lasted for a few seconds before the light returned back to normal. However, Ye Jiao noticed that the number of ball light in this place have decreased by a significant amount. In addition, there seemed to be some dent on the machine not far from her father. ¡°Daddy.¡± ¡°Ah, Jiao¡¯er,¡± Ye Xiao completely forgot that his daughter was also training there. He quickly ran on the water to her side. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Upon breaking through, he would release some shockwave that might destroy things around him. As he was standing near the machine, it bore the brunt of some damage while the rest was directed to the wall around him. Seeing that Ye Jiao was fine, he felt exceptionally glad. ¡°Dad looks so cool!¡± Ye Jiao immediately praised her father with sparkling eyes. Her view of her father changed considerably because of what she saw just now. ¡°Of course, your dad is the best!¡± ¡°Yes, Daddy is the best.¡± Ye Xiao laughed as he ruffled the girl¡¯s hair. ¡°Let me check your progress.¡± ¡°Ah, you can do that, Dad?¡± He inspected Ye Jiao¡¯s body as his daughter looked back curiously. The trace of Eon Energy in Ye Jiao¡¯s body was very visible, but they were scattered around in her body without any clear direction. Their movement to the abdomen was exceptionally slow, but there was no trace of them leaving her body at all. ¡®Her body is really suitable for containing Eon Energy, maybe that¡¯s why the stone couldn¡¯t detect her talent.¡¯ The stone determined the amount of Eon Energy that was transferred back to the stone after they sent a sliver to circle the child¡¯s body. The lesser the energy that was returned meant that the child¡¯s talent was better because they could absorb the Eon Energy. But in Ye Jiao¡¯s case, her body contained them all. The stone couldn¡¯t give any reaction for what it didn¡¯t receive.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡®But even me back then still has a bit leaking out. Is there any greater talent after purple?¡¯ ¡°Jiao¡¯er, you should direct Eon Energy in your body to your abdomen to form your core,¡± Ye Xiao said to his daughter tenderly. Ye Jiao¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°You never told me that before, Dad.¡± Ye Xiao smiled wryly. It seemed that he forgot to tell that to her because he didn¡¯t expect her to have so much of them inside her body. They were accumulated, and it would take some time before they could reach her abdomen. Thankfully, her body was able to contain them all. ¡°Oh right, do you feel uncomfortable?¡± ¡°Not at all,¡± Ye Jiao tilted her head. If anything, her body felt comfortable with her absorbing so many light-uh Eon Energy. It was only now that she realized that the light she had seen every day must be the Eon Energy that her father meant. Ye Xiao¡¯s mouth twitched. The greater the talent, the more Eon Energy they could contain in their body. Even though the number would naturally increase as they developed their core, it should only be focused on the core and not body. A case like Ye Jiao seemed to be special. ¡°You can continue to absorb the Eon Energy in this room. After you feel that that is enough, just tell me.¡± ¡°Ok, Dad.¡± Ye Jiao sat down and started to absorb the Eon Energy again. On the other hand, Ye Xiao attempted to absorb when he came near Ye Jiao, but stopped them before they entered his body. This action allowed a lot of Eon Energy to gather around Ye Jiao¡¯s body. ¡®This should be enough.¡¯ After he had finished with the arrangement, Ye Xiao walked to the door and opened it. In front of the door, the Principal was standing with a wide smile. Ye Xiao knew that the principal must have sensed it when he broke through because of the Eon Energy¡¯s violent reaction. ¡°Principal,¡± Ye Xiao called. The Principal smiled. ¡°Xiao¡¯er, congratulation!¡± Ye Xiao smiled back warmly. ¡°Many thanks to you, Principal. Without you, I would have never been able to break through to rank 4.¡± ¡°What are you saying, it¡¯s all your hard work,¡± The Principal was happy. Even though he could guess that the condition of the room would be bad because of the shockwave, they were not important. ¡°Rank 4 is the start of specialization. It¡¯ll be good if you can attend a sect or academy to learn them.¡± Ye Xiao smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll think about that, Principal.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good, Xiao¡¯er.¡± ¡°Principal, can you hide the news of my breakthrough for the time being? I don¡¯t want them to know that I have reached rank 4,¡± Ye Xiao asked. ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry. I¡¯ll never tell them,¡± the Principal harrumphed. He cared for Ye Xiao just like his own son, so he would never do anything that could possibly harm Ye Xiao. ¡°Many thanks, Principal.¡± ¡°Good. Do you still want to use the room?¡± the Principal pointed to the room behind Ye Xiao. Ye Xiao nodded. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll return the key after I have finished. Thank you very much, Principal.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, I only helped a bit,¡± The Principal traded a few more words with Ye Xiao before he watched the young man entered the room again. Internally, he was glad that Ye Xiao had finally broken through. As long as Ye Xiao worked hard, it would be possible to reclaim the genius title he once had. The Principal gazed at the sky. He wished that he would still be alive to see this genius return to his peak and reclaimed back his position that he once lost. But not now. He had to stay low before he could become strong enough because there were a lot of people who wanted him to die. 10. I Promise Ye Xiao entered the room and waited for his daughter. He was not sure how many hours have passed before Ye Jiao opened her eyes and walked to him with a weird expression. ¡°What is it, Jiao¡¯er?¡± Ye Xiao asked worriedly. Ye Jiao looked back at her father. ¡°The light, I mean, Eon Energy feels warm and comfortable for me. But it feels like there¡¯s no space anymore. I¡¯m so full even though I didn¡¯t eat anything, Dad.¡± Hearing his daughter¡¯s explanation, Ye Xiao laughed. ¡°That means that you¡¯re reaching the limit of your body. Don¡¯t worry, as long as you direct them to your abdomen, you won¡¯t feel that way anymore.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Ye Jiao nodded her head in understanding. She looked at her hand for a few seconds. ¡°Is there anything wrong, Jiao¡¯er?¡± ¡°Dad, I can absorb Eon Energy, so it means that I¡¯m not a trash,¡± Ye Jiao raised her head. ¡°If I¡¯m not a trash, will mom come back to Daddy?¡± Ye Xiao felt that his heart has been slammed with a hammer when he heard his daughter¡¯s question. He really wanted to say ¡®yes¡¯ because he knew that his daughter longed for a mother¡¯s affection. However, it was impossible. After all, he understood perfectly that they never wanted him or his child. Their real purpose was to destroy him. She never cared for them. And they succeeded. ¡°Jiao¡¯er, she¡¯ll never return back. Even if you turn into a genius that only appear once in a millennium, she¡¯ll never return back.¡± Ye Jiao furrowed her brows. She extended her arm and touched her father¡¯s check with her small palm. ¡°But Dad miss her.¡± He misses her? Ye Xiao raised his hand and cupped his daughter¡¯s hand. He did miss her in the past, but once he found out of her devilish scheme, he had thrown her out of his mind. However, at that time, his heart was shattered with nothing left anymore. If he didn¡¯t have Ye Jiao and his sister that he cared so much, he would never be able to keep living. Right now, he had gotten over her as he understood that he still had two people whom he cared so much and cared for him. They were already more than enough than that ungrateful woman. ¡°I don¡¯t miss her anymore,¡± Ye Xiao chuckled. ¡°Besides¡­¡± she¡¯s not your¡­. ¡°Besides?¡±Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± Ye Xiao decided not to tell anything more to his daughter. She was still too young to know the complicated matter of adults. Ye Jiao knitted her brows. ¡°What is it, Dad?¡± ¡°Jiao¡¯er, I want you to promise me one thing,¡± Ye Xiao changed the conversation abruptly. ¡°What is it, Dad?¡± ¡°I want you to promise me that you¡¯ll never show to anyone that you can absorb Eon Energy.¡± Ye Jiao¡¯s eyes widened. Her father wanted her to stay as the trash that everyone knew as? Why? She didn¡¯t like being treated as trash every single day. It was so painful. ¡°Why?¡± Ye Xiao¡¯s eyes showed pained expression. ¡°Because there¡¯ll be a lot of people who want to go after you. Being a genius is not always good.¡± He had lived a life where he was treated as a genius. Everyone tried to get into his good side and flattered him to the end of the world. However, many people came to hate him because of the abundant attention he got. They wished to drag him down to the bottom layer. But their power couldn¡¯t contend with him in the past. Now that he had already stayed at the bottom layer, stuck at rank 3 for a long time, they trampled on him however they wished. They didn¡¯t see him as a threat because they knew that he would never be able to pass rank 3 after the incident they forced him to go through. With Ye Jiao known as a trash, they didn¡¯t bother pursuing him and his daughter anymore. But Ye Xiao knew very well that they would surely come to find him if they found out Ye Jiao¡¯s true ability. If this girl became strong, their position would be in danger, so they would want to eliminate her as soon as possible. He didn¡¯t want that to happen. ¡°There are a lot of people who want your father to die. If they catch wind of your real ability, they¡¯ll chase after you, Jiao¡¯er.¡± Ye Jiao watched her father¡¯s expression change rapidly one time after another. She didn¡¯t have the knowledge of the entire world, but she knew that her father was worried about her. Even though she was only 6 years old little girl, she had learned to understand her father better. She nodded her head. ¡°I understand, Dad.¡± ¡°Sorry, Jiao¡¯er,¡± Ye Xiao hugged his daughter. He didn¡¯t want to pull her into this mess, but he didn¡¯t have the power to protect her completely. Ye Jiao hugged her father back. She knew that she would have to endure the mocking and jeer from children around her age because they termed her as a trash. It was not something she liked. Not at all. However, if it was her father¡¯s request, she would do it. She didn¡¯t want to place her father in a greater worry than what he already has. If by staying as a trash she could protect her father, she would do it. She wanted her father to be happy. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, Dad.¡± Ye Jiao smiled brightly, trying to ease her father¡¯s worry. ¡°Once you have strong power, you can show them to other people,¡± Ye Xiao added. He didn¡¯t want his daughter to live as a trash forever. Once she has enough power to protect herself, he wanted her to shine by herself and claimed back all the honor she should have. ¡°How strong do I need to get, Dad?¡± ¡°Rank 3, no rank 4,¡± Ye Xiao answered. Even though rank 3 could be considered as powerful, they were nothing in front of rank 4. After experiencing the power as a rank 4, he understood this far better. If she wanted to stay safe, it would be better to aim for rank 4. In this kingdom, the highest rank was only peak rank 4. If she could reach rank 4, he believed that no one would be able to defeat his daughter. ¡°Rank 4,¡± Ye Jiao murmured. It was hard but not impossible. She closed her eyes for a moment as she understood that her path would be filled with hardship. ¡°I understand, I¡¯ll wait until I rank 4, Dad.¡± ¡°Good daughter,¡± Ye Xiao caressed the girl¡¯s hair. ¡°Let¡¯s go. Starting tomorrow you¡¯ll focus on moving the Eon Energy inside your body to your abdomen and circulate them in your body properly.¡± ¡°Yes, Dad!¡± 11. New Year Celebration For the next few months, Ye Jiao focused on pushing Eon Energy to her abdomen to form her core. At the same time, she would try to absorb Eon Energy from the outside into her body and if possible, directly to her core. The practice took some time, but she got the hang of it after enough trial and error. ¡°Dad, will we celebrate the New Year with Aunty again?¡± Ye Jiao asked with sparkling eyes. She had longed to meet with her aunt and played with the latter again. Ye Xiao nodded his head. ¡°Yes. We¡¯re going to meet with your aunt. Have you prepared the soup?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Ye Jiao could cook several dishes, but she could cook soup the best. There were plenty of vegetables in the forest that they could use for soup, so she didn¡¯t need to take a long time. ¡°Should I taste it first?¡± Ye Xiao grinned. ¡°No! It¡¯s for Aunty,¡± Ye Jiao turned her body around, her small arms were hugging the pot that they had. The size of the pot was not that big, but it looked like a large bucket for the small Ye Jiao. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡± Taking her father¡¯s hand to hers, Ye Jiao followed after her father happily. Even though they would visit the city again, the place that she disliked a lot, she was happy to meet with her aunt again. Her aunt married Wei Shang when Ye Jiao was one-year-old. At that time, her father was pressured by Wei Shang and others, so he had to give his sister to them. Ye Jiao didn¡¯t know the detail, but she had heard that story numerous times in the past. Both her father and her aunt were exceptionally famous in the capital city. But not in a good way. As they got closer to the gate, Ye Jiao tightened her grip. After the practice to absorb Eon Energy to her body for the past few months, her senses have grown sharper. Hearing things like this was not of a problem to her at all and the distance has grown even larger. Ye Xiao also sensed his daughter¡¯s nervousness, so he stopped in his track. ¡°Do you want to be carried again, Jiao¡¯er?¡± ¡°No,¡± Ye Jiao shook her head. She had to deal with this for a long time in the future. If she had to rely on her father forever, she wouldn¡¯t be able to grow strong. He would worry for her and unable to focus in his practice. ¡°Ye Jiao has become stronger, so I can walk by myself.¡± Ye Xiao smiled and patted his daughter¡¯s head. ¡°Ok, but if you feel overwhelmed, you can always tell me, okay?¡± ¡°Yes!¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The two of them started to walk into the city. As they entered the gate, Ye Jiao could hear the people¡¯s voices even clearer. Her grip tightened slightly, but she forced her face to remain calm. As they walked inside, she could perfectly hear the people talked about her. ¡°Ah, that trash come again.¡± ¡°They¡¯re really disgrace of this kingdom. Really, I don¡¯t understand why the king hadn¡¯t killed them.¡± ¡°Well, he¡¯s a ¡®former¡¯ genius after all.¡± Their talk, which she was unable to hear clearly before, entered her ear perfectly. Even though only those that was close enough to her that she could hear, their words were clearly painful. Her eyes captured their disdain and jeer directed at the two of them as she walked. ¡®I¡¯m okay.¡¯ Ye Jiao chanted internally as she circulated the Eon Energy in her body. Trying to focus her attention to the Eon Energy inside her body, she did her best to ignore their taunting words and obvious provocation. Even though she felt sad and angry, she pushed them down and focused her attention to train her body. There was no use caring for them. Before long, the two of them stopped before a large residence. The sign of ¡®Wei¡¯ word was placed right at the front of the gate with several guards guarding the area. They looked at Ye Xiao with derision. ¡°You come again, little genius?¡± one of the guards asked with mocking tone. Ye Xiao kept his calm as he pointed to the door. ¡°Is there celebration?¡± ¡°Our General Wei is eating dinner with his family. Your sister is at the back, you can enter through the side gate,¡± the guard pointed to the side carelessly. ¡°I see.¡± Ye Jiao felt her father pulled her hand as she followed after him. From behind her, she could hear the guards mocked her father. Her body tensed up slightly, but she didn¡¯t say anything. After having keener sense, she had just understood what her father have gone through all these years. He had to face their mock and all for the past seven years. With her father martial arts, it was clear that this man would be able to hear much more and saw their mocking gaze even clearer. Compared to her, he must have heard much more. It didn¡¯t take long for them to reach the side door. The guard looked at Ye Xiao and snorted before opening the door. ¡°You have time until midnight.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Ye Xiao replied shortly before guiding Ye Jiao inside. The location looked like a small forest as it was not tended. The stone road was filled with grass here and there with some broken stones. The girl watched her father walked in unhurried pace as she wondered how he could withstand all of those treatment. It was hard for her to ignore them all. ¡°Jiao¡¯er.¡± ¡°Yes, Daddy?¡± Ye Jiao replied in quivering voice. She was stunned to hear her own voice cracked. Even though she didn¡¯t cry or anything, her voice sounded as if she was crying. Ye Xiao sighed. He didn¡¯t wish for his daughter to see them all because he knew that what she could hear and experience has become much more than before. Stopping on his step, he turned around and crouched down, putting his eyes at the same level with his daughter. ¡°You did great, Jiao¡¯er,¡± his finger caressed the girl¡¯s cheek, trying to calm her down. Ye Jiao stared at her father as she nodded her head in a slow movement. It seemed that her subconsciousness was not as calm as her consciousness. Even though she forced herself to stay calm and composed, her inner self was shaken terribly. ¡°Jiao¡¯er is already seven, so of course, Jiao¡¯er is strong,¡± Ye Jiao replied as she forced a smile on her face. By the end of her sentence, her voice had returned back to normal. ¡°Yes, you¡¯re strong,¡± Ye Xiao smiled back and caressed his daughter¡¯s head. He felt complicated. On one side, he didn¡¯t wish to put his daughter in this difficult position. On the other side, he was proud to see that his daughter could keep on smiling and faced what he used to be unable to. She is strong, much stronger than what he thought. ¡°I want to meet with Aunty,¡± Ye Jiao raised the pot in her hand higher. She wanted to let her aunt taste the soup she had specifically made. ¡°Yes, let¡¯s meet with your Aunt.¡± 12. Ye Ai Xia Ye Xiao and Ye Jiao continue walking inside the small forest. Before long, they could see a small house in the middle of the small forest. The house itself looked far better than their own hut in the forest outside the city. There were some cracks on the wooden wall. The window was partially broken. The area was clean, but this was the only clean place. In front of the house, a young woman was sitting on a chair. She has brown hair and green eyes. Her facial expression didn¡¯t resemble Ye Xiao, but one could definitely tell that she was a really beautiful lady. Her body was thin because of lack of nutrition, yet it didn¡¯t diminish her beauty in the slightest. ¡°Aunt Ai Xia!¡± Ye Jiao yelled as she waved her hand excitedly. The young woman, Ye Ai Xia, smiled brightly when she saw the two of them. ¡°Xiao Ge*, Jiao¡¯er, you have come.¡± Despite wearing a long dress, Ye Ai Xia ran to the two of them and hugged Ye Xiao tightly. Ye Xiao was also smiling brightly as he caressed his sister¡¯s hair. By the side, Ye Jiao waited patiently for her aunt to release her father. ¡°Ai Xia, you have become thinner,¡± Ye Xiao frowned. Ye Ai Xia released her grip and frowned. ¡°What are you talking about? I¡¯m still the same as before. Moreover, the one become thinner is this little girl.¡± She crouched down and hugged Ye Jiao before lifting the girl. Despite having a petite frame, she didn¡¯t have any problem to carry Ye Jiao in her embrace. Ye Xiao rolled his eyes. ¡°Stop showing off your strength, you lass.¡± ¡°What?¡± Ye Ai Xia smiled cheekily. ¡°You¡¯re not the only one who can grow stronger. It seems that you have become far stronger, Xiao Ge. I can¡¯t gauge your strength anymore.¡± Seeing the frown on Ye Ai Xia¡¯s face, Ye Xiao grinned. Ye Ai Xia has slightly lower talent than him, so this woman had reached rank 3 a few years ago. Although it didn¡¯t seem that Ye Ai Xia would be able to reach rank 4 with her lazy personality, she was already quite strong. ¡°Guess.¡± Ye Ai Xia furrowed her brows. A thought crossed her mind as she saw the smug smile on her brother¡¯s face. It was the same smile full of confidence that her brother never showed again for the past few years. ¡°Xiao Ge, don¡¯t tell me that you have reached rank 4?¡± Seeing that Ye Xiao only smiled, Ye Ai Xia was filled with happiness. She used her other arm to hug her brother, nearly squishing Ye Jiao who still stay in her embrace. ¡°I can¡¯t believe that you manage to reach rank 4! This is really amazing,¡± Ye Ai Xia genuinely felt happy. The gap between rank 3 and 4 were not something that could be crossed with only hard work. They have to reach realization of their path in martial arts before they could make a breakthrough.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. With the pain Ye Xiao had suffered, it has almost closed all chance for him to get promoted. ¡°Yes, I have found my path,¡± Ye Xiao nodded his head. He patted Ye Jiao¡¯s head. ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to you and her. Without you two, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to find my path again.¡± Ye Ai Xia was stunned before a beautiful smile made its way to her face. ¡°That¡¯s really great. I¡¯m glad that I can be of help.¡± ¡°Dad is amazing!¡± Ye Jiao added. ¡°Yes, Dad is awesome,¡± Ye Xiao praised himself. Ye Jiao nodded her head in agreement. ¡°Dad is the best!¡± Ye Ai Xia rolled her eyes when she saw the smug smile on her brother¡¯s face. These shameless pairs. She could not believe that her brother would praise himself to the high sky. ¡°What are you teaching her to make her praise you like that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the truth,¡± Ye Xiao replied with a grin on his face. Ye Ai Xia shook her head. She could guess that her brother must be showing off in front of Ye Jiao not long ago. Well, she didn¡¯t mind this side of her brother, though. It was far better to see him full of confidence and energy rather than depressed all day because of the misfortune. ¡°Aunt Ai Xia, this is for you,¡± Ye Jiao raised the pot that she has been holding all this time. Thankfully, her father sealed the cup with his Eon Energy. If he did not, the content would have been spilled all over because of the bumpy road. ¡°Ah, you cook soup for me. Jiao¡¯er is really the best!¡± Ye Ai Xia smiled happily. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Aunty has prepared dishes for you to eat.¡± ¡°Hey, what about me?¡± ¡°You should reflect first,¡± Ye Ai Xia harrumphed. ¡°Before you learn your mistake, you will not get any of them.¡± ¡°Ack, you¡¯re really ruthless Ai Xia,¡± Ye Xiao scratched his head. He watched as Ye Ai Xia put Ye Jiao down and set up the table for them. There were only a few small dishes such as stir-fry vegetables and some fruits. In this residence, Ye Ai Xia didn¡¯t really get preferential treatment, which made her unable to eat too much. ¡°They look good, Aunty,¡± Ye Jiao¡¯s eyes sparkled when she saw them all. ¡°Aunt is a better cook than Dad.¡± ¡°Of course, your Aunt is the best,¡± Ye Ai Xia replied unashamedly. Hearing his sister copied him, Ye Xiao rolled his eyes. Even though Ye Ai Xia teased him of his shameless praise of himself, she herself always did that in front of Ye Jiao. In the end, the two of them were really similar to each other. ¡°Ai Xia, you can praise yourself but I can¡¯t?¡± ¡°I have special privilege,¡± Ye Ai Xia smiled brightly. ¡°While you don¡¯t, Ge ge*.¡± Ye Xiao sighed. ¡°Fine, I won¡¯t praise myself in front of you again. Now, can I eat?¡± ¡°Hmph! You only promise because you want to eat.¡± ¡°Aww, come on Ai Xia, don¡¯t be childish.¡± Ye Jiao giggled as she watched the two of them bantered with one another. This was how they spent their time most of the time because Ye Ai Xia loved to tease her big brother. ¡°Dad, let¡¯s eat.¡± ¡°My good daughter,¡± Ye Xiao sprinted closer. ¡°Let me taste the cabbage that your aunt makes.¡± ¡°Okay, here¡¯s for you, Dad.¡± Ye Ai Xia clicked her tongue. ¡°You¡¯re cheating! You make use of your daughter to eat the food!¡± Ye Xiao grinned as he munched on the vegetables. ¡°This is my privilege, so I can bypass your rule with the help of my daughter.¡± ¡°Hmph! I won¡¯t cook again for you, then.¡± ¡°Ack, Ai Xia, don¡¯t be like that, I won¡¯t do it again!¡± Ye Jiao laughed as she watched her father and aunt joked around. The two of them looked like a pair of children when they bantered with one another. If one didn¡¯t know better, they wouldn¡¯t think that the two of them were 24 and 23 years old. While the two of them were busy arguing, her hand picked up another piece of cabbage. 13. Brother and Sister (?) The eventful dinner ended after the food was cleaned up. All of them entered the three¡¯s stomach, which has become quite full. ¡°Jiao¡¯er, what have you been doing for the past year?¡± Ye Ai Xia pulled the girl to her lap tenderly. Her eyes were watching the little girl with affection. Ye Jiao tilted her head. ¡°I¡¯m learning how to climb a tree from Dad to pick fruit.¡± ¡°Climb a tree?¡± Ye Ai Xia shot a dagger to Ye Xiao. Seeing the gaze full of accusation, Ye Xiao raised his hand with a smile on his face. He did let the girl train to climb tree, but it was not to the extreme because he knew full well that it might endanger the girl. ¡°Yes. There are a lot of fruits on the tree, so Dad teach me how to get them,¡± Ye Jiao replied excitedly. At first, it was hard for her to climb, but she soon learned how to do them correctly. In her opinion, it was really fun as she could get a lot of fruits. ¡°I see. Remember to be careful, okay?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Ye Ai Xia caressed the girl¡¯s hair. ¡°Is there anything else?¡± ¡°I have the test for my talent,¡± Ye Jiao furrowed her brows as she recalled that experience. ¡°The stone didn¡¯t light up at all.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Ye Ai Xia¡¯s hand stopped for a moment. As Eon Energy master herself, she knew perfectly what it meant to have the stone didn¡¯t light up. ¡°It¡¯s fine, Jiao¡¯er.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Ye Jiao was about to continue when she felt warm energy flashed from not far from her. Her eyes glanced to her father, which was sitting nonchalantly beside Ye Ai Xia. From his gesture, one might not realize that this man has just used his Eon Energy to create a barrier. Ye Ai Xia looked at Ye Xiao with a frown on her face. ¡°What¡¯s that for?¡± ¡°That¡¯s to prevent anyone from hearing our conversation,¡± Ye Xiao replied. ¡°Except rank 4 masters, no one can break the barrier.¡± Ye Ai Xia rolled her eyes. In this kingdom alone, the number of masters that had reached rank 4 could be counted with fingers. The barrier between rank 3 and 4 was simply too huge. Even those with high talent might not necessarily able to cross the barrier. ¡°So, that¡¯s the barrier,¡± Ye Jiao looked at the faint light barrier around them. In her eyes, they looked exceptionally beautiful. Hearing Ye Jiao¡¯s comment, Ye Ai Xia¡¯s eyes narrowed. People without talent should have never been able to sense Eon Energy, much less seeing them. But from the way Ye Jiao said it, it sounded as if she could see them clearly, something that she herself was unable to do.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Xiao Ge, tell me that I didn¡¯t hear it wrong.¡± Ye Xiao smiled. ¡°You didn¡¯t hear it wrong, Xia¡¯er.¡± ¡°She can practice.¡± ¡°Yes, even better than me.¡± ¡°Better than you?¡± Ye Ai Xia¡¯s eyes widened as she glanced at her brother. ¡°You¡¯re a genius who has the purple colored talent, reach the rank 3 by the age of 16, but you say that she¡¯s better than you?¡± ¡°Hey, do you forget that the purple looks slightly blue?¡± Ye Xiao chuckled. ¡°If it¡¯s really purple, I should have crossed the barrier by the age of 15 or even faster.¡± ¡°15? Are you a monster?¡± ¡°I might not have reached the qualification to be one,¡± Ye Xiao¡¯s gaze landed on his daughter. He used sound transmission to tell his next words to his sister. ¡°But she might become one.¡± Ye Ai Xia¡¯s eyes widened. If Ye Jiao truly did become a rare genius, no one would be able to look down at them anymore. The title and privilege that should have been Ye Xiao¡¯s would be returned back and those who schemed at them would have to pay the price. But, Ye Jiao has to grow up first. And the process would be extremely long and arduous. ¡°I see, you¡¯re really great, Jiao¡¯er,¡± Ye Ai Xia hugged the girl tightly. ¡°But more than anything, I want you to stay safe.¡± ¡°I¡¯m okay, Aunt Ai Xia,¡± Ye Jiao smiled brightly. Ye Ai Xia smiled wryly. ¡°This child. Come on, Aunty will read you a story.¡± ¡°I want the story of how Dad won in the competition!¡± ¡°Ah, story of him again?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Uh, Xiao Ge, what are you feeding her all these times?¡± Ye Xiao didn¡¯t answer as he dragged his feet to clean up the table. While he was cleaning, he could hear his sister bragged to his daughter of his prowess. ¡®Geez, you didn¡¯t want me to brag, but your story is praising me to the sky, Xia¡¯er.¡¯ Ye Jiao listened to the story Ye Ai Xia told her with enthusiasm. This was the routine when she stayed here because she loved to stay in Ye Ai Xia¡¯s embrace and listened to the story that her aunt would tell her. After the fifth story, Ye Jiao¡¯s eyelids become heavy, and she rested her head to Ye Ai Xia¡¯s shoulder. In the next few seconds, she fell asleep. ¡°She becomes more and more like you, Xiao Ge,¡± Ye Ai Xia commented when she saw Ye Xiao walked out with two fruits in his hand. He must have sensed that Ye Jiao had fallen asleep. Ye Xiao. ¡°She¡¯s my daughter, so it¡¯s obvious that she becomes like me.¡± Ye Ai Xia lowered her gaze. ¡°She¡¯s also my daughter, dummy.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Ye Xiao¡¯s gaze softened as he sat down beside his sister. On the outside, they were only a pair of brother and sister, but they were not actually brother and sister. They didn¡¯t have any blood relation because they were childhood friends from different family. When Ye Ai Xia lost her family, his father took her in and added their family surname to the woman. Eight years ago, there was a hidden scheme that he never realized until everything was too late. He thought that his so-called ¡®wife¡¯ was the one who has his daughter. It was only later that he realized that it was actually his little sister. It was no wonder that that woman tossed him off right after Ye Jiao was born. The foolish him was blinded by love and tried all means to win her over. At first, he thought that it was because of Ye Jiao¡¯s poor constitution. But it was not that at all. In the first place, what that woman was to crush his heart and his hope. The coincidence that they couldn¡¯t sense Ye Jiao¡¯s talent only added fuel to the fire. In the end, they truly succeeded as they crushed his spirit, nearly sending him straight to his death. 14. Martial Path ¡°You¡¯re really an idiot, Xiao Ge,¡± Ye Ai Xia murmured. Her hand softly caressed Ye Jiao¡¯s hair who was sleeping peacefully in her embrace. Ye Xiao patted Ye Ai Xia¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Yeah, this idiot is the most foolish man in the world. How¡¯s your condition in this place, Xia¡¯er?¡± ¡°They still give me meal, so it¡¯s good.¡± ¡°That man didn¡¯t come to you, right?¡± ¡°If he dares, I¡¯ll cut off his little brother,¡± Ye Ai Xia¡¯s eyes glinted with ruthlessness. Hearing her claim, Ye Xiao felt a bit chilly at his lower half. He coughed a bit as he balled his fist in frustration. ¡°I still can¡¯t take you away from here. I haven¡¯t chosen my specialization, so I¡¯m not a match against Wei Shang.¡± Once they reached rank 4, they would be able to make a specialization in their Eon Energy mastery. Before they entered their specialization, they were only at the lowest bottom of rank 4. Even though Ye Xiao would be able to make things difficult for Wei Shang with his power, there would be someone else at rank 4 who would stop him from taking Ye Ai Xia away from this place. At that time, it would be the end of them. The arranged marriage that Wei Shang did was because he wanted his sister, and also because they wanted to entrap him in this kingdom forever. Without Ye Ai Xia, Ye Xiao wouldn¡¯t be able to leave the kingdom peacefully as he cared for his sister a lot. Moreover, finding out that his real wife was his sister made him treasure her even more. ¡°It¡¯s fine, Xiao Ge. I know that you can do it,¡± Ye Ai Xia put her hand on top of Ye Xiao¡¯s hand. ¡°No matter how long, I¡¯ll be waiting for you.¡± ¡°I know, you¡¯re the best sister in the past. And now you¡¯re the best wife I have, Xia¡¯er.¡± Ye Xiao gazed on the sky. When he felt relief on the fact that Ye Jiao has great talent on her own and able to practice, he also realized his martial path. The path that he once lost has returned. ¡°Is there anything I can help, Xiao Ge?¡± ¡°In a few months¡¯ time, I have to go,¡± Ye Xiao said slowly. ¡°My martial path is to be carefree and become strong. With the watchful eyes of those guys, I won¡¯t be able to train my specialization.¡± Once they found out that he had reached rank 4, they would do everything they could to suppress him and kill him. It wouldn¡¯t be beneficial to him, so he wanted to leave the city. However, leaving the city meant that he had to leave both Ye Ai Xia and Ye Jiao.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Ye Ai Xia sighed as she listened to her husband¡¯s rambling. ¡°You¡¯re always like that. Being a martial arts maniac, you always think of training and training all the time.¡± Ye Xiao could only smile wryly. When they were young, his sight has always been about training and reaching the higher rank. As for other things, he barely paid any attention because he wanted to become strong. With his talent and aptitude, it didn¡¯t take long for him to raise even stronger. On the other hand, Ye Ai Xia loved to play around. She has good talent, not far from him, but she didn¡¯t really like training and all. She wanted to enjoy her life to the fullest with her friends and brother, so she rarely practiced too much. Still, in terms of progress, she was far better than her peers. ¡°But I¡¯m not going to go against it,¡± Ye Ai Xia smiled. ¡°You should pursue the sky, Xiao Ge for it¡¯s your fate. I¡¯m unable to advance any further, so I¡¯ll support you from behind.¡± ¡°You¡¯re already rank 3, so you still have the chance to advance,¡± Ye Xiao furrowed his brows. Ye Ai Xia shook her head. ¡°In terms of Eon Energy, I do have more than enough, but do you really think that I still can advance? I don¡¯t like training, and I hate violence. The path of martial art is not suitable for me. I could never cross the barrier for rank 3 and 4.¡± There were two barriers to reach rank 4. The first barrier was talent barrier, which only those who has talent green color or above could possibly cross. The second barrier was their mental barrier, which meant that they needed to have the heart to follow through the path. Not everyone has it, and Ye Ai Xia knew that she didn¡¯t have the second one. ¡°You really should think this through,¡± Ye Xiao sighed. Ye Ai Xia laughed. ¡°I have thought about this numerous time, Xiao Ge, and my answer will stay the same. As for Jiao¡¯er, you can trust her with me. I¡¯ll protect her with everything I have.¡± ¡°Xia¡¯er¡­.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Ye Ai Xia raised her head. Her green eyes reflected the man before her. ¡°I¡¯m not a weak woman, Xiao Ge. Pursue your dream and attain the highest rank possible. We¡¯ll be waiting to hear your success.¡± Ye Xiao smiled. The one who understood him the most was really Ye Ai Xia and no one else. Even though they only met a few times each year, she still could guess what was inside his mind the most. He leaned in and gave a kiss to the woman¡¯s cheek. ¡°I understand. When the times come, I¡¯ll entrust Jiao¡¯er to you.¡± ¡°Do your best, Xiao Ge,¡± Ye Ai Xia smiled. At this time, Ye Jiao stirred a bit. Her eyes fluttered open and looked at the two of them. ¡°I¡¯m sleepy.¡± ¡°You can continue to sleep. It¡¯s almost midnight,¡± Ye Xiao laughed. He picked Ye Jiao carefully as he looked back at Ye Ai Xia. ¡°I¡¯ll come to visit you again. Please take care of yourself.¡± ¡°You too, Xiao Ge.¡± Ye Jiao watched as the two of them looked at one another. She rubbed her eyes as she felt sleepy and rested her head to her father¡¯s chest again. After a few seconds, Ye Xiao walked to the gate. This time, his steps were firmer than before. He had come to the conclusion of what he was going to do and his plan in the future. He hoped that the two of them would be fine when he left because they were the only family he had left. As her father left the Wei Residence, Ye Jiao opened her eyes slightly. The moment it reached midnight people started to light up the fireworks to celebrate the new year. Many of them celebrated it with their family happily and laughing with one another. Her eyes watched the fireworks behind her father. They were beautiful as they light up the dark sky. At this time, she recalled her father¡¯s words to her. ¡®Even in the darkest moment, there will be hope. Just like fireworks in the sky. They¡¯re able to shine so brightly.¡¯ Ye Jiao believed those words. Her days were filled with hardship, but every day with her father was really fun. Someday, she would be able to become far stronger. This was only the beginning of her path. 15. Provocation In the next few weeks, Ye Jiao spent her time practicing in her house. However, Ye Xiao didn¡¯t feel satisfied with her only training Eon Energy, so she had to train her physical body too. Her practice every day would be running, push-up, sit-up, and climbing trees aside from absorbing Eon Energy. ¡°Won¡¯t it slow down my progress, Dad?¡± ¡°Not at all,¡± Ye Xiao shook his head. ¡°After forming the core, the next step is to strengthen your body, so having a good foundation is a must.¡± As her father said, with better physical ability, Ye Jiao found out that it become easier to absorb the warm Eon Energy to her body. Because of that, she didn¡¯t hesitate any longer and continued to practice harder as much as her small body allowed it. ¡°Jiao¡¯er, look at this,¡± Ye Xiao called his daughter. ¡°What is it, Dad?¡± Ye Jiao jogged over. She saw that her father had drawn a human on the surface of the tree. As it was based on an adult, her height alone was barely reaching the hips. Ye Xiao pointed to the drawing he made. ¡°I¡¯ll be teaching you about the weakness in human¡¯s body using this tonight.¡± ¡°But the arm looks weird, Dad.¡± ¡°Ignore that one¡­¡± Ye Xiao scratched his head. Drawing was not his forte, so he could only make do with his limited capabilities. At the very least, he wanted to teach his daughter about the important weak point in human¡¯s body. Ye Jiao giggled when she saw her dad looked embarrassed. She scrutinized the picture in front of her as she tried to reach up. ¡°Dad, with my height, I won¡¯t be able to hit the higher one.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you can try to aim at their feet. Fingers are very sensitives, including those in your feet, so if you aim for that, you¡¯ll be able to inflict higher damage to them,¡± Ye Xiao explained with a wicked smile. He was recalling his youth as he made use of this knowledge to play around with the elders because he was annoyed. ¡°I see,¡± Ye Jiao looked at the feet. She should be able to stomp on their feet if she got close enough. Ye Xiao watched his daughter as he scratched his head. He hoped that this was not too early for him to teach a young girl how to fight. Well, he learned how to fight not long after entering elementary school, so this should be fine. Besides, she would learn this sooner or later. He turned his head to the gate¡¯s direction. ¡°There¡¯s a guest. Jiao¡¯er, you should stay behind me.¡± ¡°Yes, Dad.¡± Ye Xiao stayed still in his place as his eyes looked straight to the front. Not long after that, two people appeared in his view. His pupil contracted slightly at this sight. A woman and a girl were coming in his direction. ¡°Senior Su Lian,¡± Ye Xiao called. The woman has dark yellow hair, fluttering along with the wind. Her sharp eyebrows showed that she had hard disposition. She was wearing dark purple dress adorned with numerous accessories that signified her high position. Her blue iris stared deep at Ye Xiao.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°You¡¯re still living here, Ye Xiao,¡± Su Lian snorted. ¡°Truly befitting for a fallen genius.¡± On his side, the young girl has brown hair with similar features with Su Lian. Her pink dress was moving along as she moved gracefully. This place might be forest, but the little girl didn¡¯t forget her manner. ¡°What do you want?¡± Ye Xiao¡¯s eyes were watching the little girl, Wei Mi, carefully. This woman, Su Lian was his senior back in school and also Wei Shang¡¯s legal wife. In this world, it was normal for men to have numerous wives, especially for people who have higher position such as Wei Shang. ¡°I¡¯m just walking around with my daughter,¡± Su Lian replied while waving her hand. ¡°It¡¯s just a coincidence that I come here.¡± Even Ye Jiao knew that this woman was lying. Their residence was located in the place that people normally didn¡¯t pass. There was nothing around this place aside from thick forest, so it was not really a popular spot to visit. This woman must have come here purposely. Ye Xiao¡¯s expression remained icy. ¡°I see.¡± Su Lian sneered. ¡°I have consolidated my power as a rank 3. In the hunt next week, I¡¯ll defeat you, Ye Xiao!¡± A few weeks after New Year, there would be a hunting session to determine their talent and resources in this kingdom. Usually, Ye Xiao would participate and gained a rather good position, which allowed him to receive some resources every year to practice Eon Energy. ¡°I won¡¯t participate this year,¡± Ye Xiao said in flat tone. ¡°What?¡± Su Lian was stunned. All these years, Ye Xiao still participated in the hunt because this man wanted to gain more experience, but this time, he refused? Ye Xiao shrugged. ¡°Just flaunt all you want, Su Lian. Forever and ever, you¡¯re just a yellow grade and you will never be able to reach rank 4.¡± Yellow grade. Su Lian¡¯s face turned ashen. She always hated Ye Xiao because this man always taunted her for her low constitution. The reason she could marry Wei Shang was only because of her family background. ¡°I might not be able to reach rank 4, but my son and daughter will surely surpass you, Ye Xiao. You¡¯re just a trash after being unable to breakthrough!¡± Ye Xiao¡¯s gaze landed on Wei Mi. It was only nearing one year since he first saw the young girl in the test, but there was already some trace of Eon Energy in her body. The Wei Family seemed to be adamant on nurturing another young genius as Wei Shang have three children that reached blue color, including Wei Mi. However, the amount of Eon Energy in Wei Mi¡¯s body was far lacking compared with Ye Jiao. He sneered internally. If it was one year ago, he would feel hurt because of her remark, but now, it was nothing but a wind that passed through. ¡°Relying on other people, you¡¯re the trash one, Senior Su Lian. You¡¯re 7 years older, but your progress is slower than the so-called ¡®trash,¡¯¡± Ye Xiao didn¡¯t hold back as he retorted back. In front of Wei Shang, he might not be able to do much, but if it was only Su Lian, he didn¡¯t mind cursing her for an entire day. ¡°You!¡± ¡°What? I¡¯m just saying the truth, leech,¡± Ye Xiao replied. Su Lian¡¯s face turned red in anger. She pulled her daughter¡¯s hand. Originally, she wanted to provoke Ye Xiao using her daughter, but it turned out that she was the one being provoked instead. ¡°Just you wait until I report to Wei Shang!¡± ¡°Whatever you say.¡± Wei Mi watched her mother expression as she pulled her hand and tried to soothe her mother. Whenever it was the matter concerning Ye Xiao and his family, her mother always looked so distraught. ¡°Wei Mi, you have to work harder,¡± Su Lian said in a grave tone. ¡°You have to make me proud.¡± ¡°Yes, Mother,¡± Wei Mi replied solemnly. Everything her mother said, she would abide completely. Ye Xiao watched the two of them departed without worry. He knew that Wei Shang wouldn¡¯t listen to Su Lian. That man was a general with prestige. If he tried to battle him, it would only reflect bad on him. After all, there was no one that saw him cursed Su Lian. If this was in the market with numerous people, he might not be this outrageous. ¡°Dad, you¡¯re awesome!¡± Ye Jiao¡¯s eyes sparkled. Seeing his daughter¡¯s reaction, Ye Xiao smiled wryly. ¡°Don¡¯t copy me.¡± It would be a problem if she decided to copy his action rashly. There should be some calculation before deciding to do something like this. ¡°Ok, Dad.¡± Ye Xiao rubbed his nose. Well, that did feel rather satisfying. Venting his anger to that woman did feel really good. 16. Watch and Learn (1) ¡°Dad, where are we going?¡± Ye Jiao asked curiously. It has been several days since the meeting with Su Lian and Wei Mi. Ye Xiao looked at Ye Jiao. ¡°Have you finished the training?¡± ¡°Yes, I did the set 5 times.¡± ¡°Can your body keep up?¡± Ye Jiao scratched her cheek. Aside from feeling exceptionally tired because of pushing her body to the limit, she was mostly fine. However, she didn¡¯t really understand her father¡¯s inquiry. Ye Xiao changed his question. ¡°I mean, can you still move after 5 set?¡± ¡°I can, a bit.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good enough,¡± Ye Xiao nodded his head and packed the fruits and some dried meat he had prepared before. ¡°We¡¯re going to the forest.¡± Ye Jiao tilted her head. ¡°But Dad, isn¡¯t the forest dangerous?¡± The capital was surrounded by wall for several reasons. One of them was to prevent the beasts around the capital to come inside. There were a lot of beasts in the forest, and majority of the areas in this place was still pure forest. Even inside the city, there were many residences that have forest like garden. ¡°It is dangerous, especially for someone like you,¡± Ye Xiao pointed to Ye Jiao. Listening to her father annoying remark, Ye Jiao tilted her head to the side. ¡°If it¡¯s dangerous, why do you want to bring me there?¡± ¡°It¡¯s dangerous for you but not for me,¡± Ye Xiao laughed. Most of the beasts in the area only has the strength of rank 3 Eon Energy master. Back then, he was already undefeatable among the rank 3, including the beast. After advancing to rank 4, it was obvious that they wouldn¡¯t be his match too. ¡°What am I going to do there, Dad?¡± ¡°Watch and learn,¡± Ye Xiao¡¯s tone turned somber. ¡°You couldn¡¯t fight and should never fight. All you have to do is staying behind me and watch me fight. This shall be the last lesson I give to you. Last lesson? The two words struck Ye Jiao hard. She stared at her father with her large green eyes. ¡°Dad, you¡¯re going to leave?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave in a few weeks,¡± Ye Xiao patted Ye Jiao¡¯s head. Before he left, he wanted to give his daughter the best training and memory possible. He didn¡¯t know when he would return, or how much Ye Jiao would have grown by the time he returned. Anything could happen, and he wanted to prepare for the worst. ¡°I see,¡± Ye Jiao¡¯s tone was sad. She wanted to stay with her father for a long time. Every day with her father was fun and gave her sense of comfort. He would protect her and stayed with her, comforting her even with the slightest presence he had.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Ye Xiao patted his daughter¡¯s head. ¡°Don¡¯t look so down. Come on, Dad will show you how Eon Energy Master fights.¡± Ye Jiao¡¯s eyes shone when she heard it. She didn¡¯t know when she would become an Eon Energy Master, but she believed that she would become one soon. With her father known as a former genius in Chen Kingdom, she was sure that he could show her the best way of fighting. This was the privilege she had because of her father¡¯s identity. ¡°Ok!¡± After cleaning up, Ye Jiao excitedly followed after her father into the forest. Their house was located at the edge of the forest, which made it took a long time to venture deeper. Before this, Ye Jiao has never visited the forest. Her father warned her of the danger, so she didn¡¯t try to get closer. As for hunting, her father did everything by himself because he couldn¡¯t possibly bring Ye Jiao inside if he was not confident that he could protect her. ¡°Dad, can all Eon Energy Master fight well?¡± Ye Xiao shook his head. ¡°Nope, not all Eon Energy Master train to become strong in fight. Those who know that they won¡¯t be able to reach higher rank focus their mastery in using Eon Energy to help them become proficient in their future jobs.¡± ¡°Future jobs?¡± ¡°Yes. For example, a farmer¡¯s son is going to study. He didn¡¯t have high talent, only yellow or orange. He will not try to pursue learning how to fight the most. Rather, he will try to study how to make use of his Eon Energy better for farming to inherit his father¡¯s business.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Ye Jiao nodded in understanding. Ye Xiao looked at his daughter. ¡°Have you thought what do you want to be when you grow up?¡± Looking at her father, Ye Jiao was at lost. Her father is a hunter, which primary job was to hunt beasts around the capital city and others. It was a good paying job, plus they could eat by themselves. However, for one to become a hunter, they have to reach rank 2. Rank 1 would only court death if they try to become a hunter. It was not impossible for her to become a hunter, but it meant that she would have to wait until she has become far stronger. Even though she might take shorter time than most people, it might not be for much. ¡°I don¡¯t know, Dad,¡± Ye Jiao replied in honestly. Ye Xiao chuckled. He didn¡¯t hope for her to answer that she knew what she wanted to be. He himself never wanted to become a hunter, but this was the only work available for him if he wanted to survive. Other kinds of work would never let him live sufficiently. ¡°You should think well of what you want to do, but before reaching the necessary strength to pursue your dream, it¡¯ll be good for you to learn many things. Knowledge is priceless,¡± Ye Xiao reminded Ye Jiao. By this time, the two of them have walked for quite some time into the forest. He stayed alert as he didn¡¯t want to be caught off guard. ¡°What do you think I should learn, Dad?¡± ¡°It¡¯s really up to you,¡± Ye Xiao scratched his head. So far, he had taught the little girl how to cook, basic farming, and basic physical training. He himself was not one to learn many things in the past because his attention was focused on physical training to become stronger. If it was not because of his previous family condition, he would have never learnt the other two. Ye Jiao looked at her father with confusion. She truly didn¡¯t know what she had to learn. Everything she saw and knew depended on what her father had taught her so far. ¡°I won¡¯t decide for you,¡± Ye Xiao sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll give you the review of jobs that¡¯s available in the city. Of course, if you don¡¯t want to pick any of them, I¡¯ll not force you.¡± ¡°I understand, Dad.¡± Ye Xiao thought to himself regarding the use of Eon Energy. As they were the basic form of energy, people have developed Eon Energy to help in their daily needs. It could be used for many things and soon, he was sure that they would completely envelope every area. As for himself, he only used a small device that would produce light if given Eon Energy. Being an Eon Energy Master, it was easy for him to use it. ¡®I guess, I¡¯ll just leave her basic knowledge lesson to her mother.¡¯ Compared to him, Ye Ai Xia used more tools with Eon Energy. Even though tools without Eon Energy existed, their number has lessened. Aside from children without complete mastery of Eon Energy, there were almost no one who still used them. As he was pondering, Ye Xiao detected the presence of a beast not far from them. He smiled brightly. ¡°Jiao¡¯er, watch and learn.¡± 17. Watch and Learn (2) ¡°Jiao¡¯er, watch and learn.¡± Ye Jiao stayed still in her place as she watched her father walked forward. Even from the back, she could sense that her father looked different than before. It was as if Ye Xiao was enveloped in a layer of energy, looking all powerful. ¡°Jiao¡¯er, can you see the difference in me?¡± ¡°Dad looks more powerful,¡± Ye Jiao replied. ¡°I initiate Eon Energy to cover up my entire body,¡± Ye Xiao explained. ¡°This is the second use of Eon Energy. Once you can use Eon Energy to spread into your entire body, it means you have reached rank 2.¡± Hearing her father¡¯s explanation, Ye Jiao¡¯s eyes shone. It might be only the basic use of Eon Energy because the three first rank could be attained by more than half the entire population in Chen Kingdom. But for someone like her, it was simply amazing. Looking at the faint light layer around her father, Ye Jiao was astounded. The light looked beautiful as they protected her father completely. It was thin, yet at the same time, it gave off the vibe of being strong and capable enough to protect him. As Ye Xiao talked, a large tiger appeared from the forest. Ye Xiao¡¯s brows arched. It was unusual for tigers to reach this near to the capital. He evaded the tiger¡¯s claw when it jumped as he moved to the side. In the next second, he punched forward, straight to the tiger¡¯s stomach. It was just a simple punch, but the force generated was enough to push the tiger to the back. ¡°This is the basic use of Eon Energy in rank 1,¡± Ye Xiao spoke up. ¡°After forming your core, you have to focus on strengthening your body, which will allow you to become far stronger. This beast over here is just rank 2, so it¡¯s possible for you to defeat it when you¡¯re only rank 1.¡± It was possible, but their body might get hurt because of the hard skin the beast had. Rank 2 beasts couldn¡¯t use Eon Energy, but they have far stronger body than rank 1. In addition, their movement was faster and concise. They might be beast, but if human didn¡¯t be careful, they would have to pay enormous price. ¡°Dad, it¡¯s coming again!¡± Ye Jiao noticed that the tiger had stood up again and roared in anger. Ye Xiao chuckled. ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry so much.¡± He clenched his fingers into a fist as Eon Energy flowed to his hand. Different than the one protecting him all over his body, the one in his hand was circulated so that it would give impact. As the tiger pounced on Ye Xiao, he lowered his body and evaded to the side before punching the tiger. This time, it was sent backwards much further with blood splattered around. That one punch had instantly crushed the tiger¡¯s defense.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Ye Jiao¡¯s jaw was opened wide. She was astounded by the strength her father showed to her. ¡°Dad, that¡¯s amazing!¡± ¡°That¡¯s the power of peak rank 2,¡± Ye Xiao remarked nonchalantly. ¡°Second rank will allow you to have free control of Eon Energy outside your body. It wouldn¡¯t be too far, but you can use them for many things. I just strengthen my hand and add some Eon Energy surrounding it. If it hit anything, it would move them in circular movement.¡± Ye Jiao blinked a few times. ¡°Circular movement?¡± ¡°Um,¡± Ye Xiao scratched the back of his head. It was hard to explain things that he only did subconsciously. For him, controlling Eon Energy was extremely easy, so he always tried to use them in numerous different ways. One of them was by controlling it around his body. ¡°Dad?¡± ¡°Do you know how to spin egg?¡± Ye Jiao nodded her head. After boiling egg, the content of the egg would turn hard, making it easy for egg to rotate. Sometimes, she would play with them and compete with her father to see who lasted longer. Of course, knowing her father, he would add a bit of Eon Energy to win. Well, he hated to lose. Even if it was against his own daughter. (A/N: shameless father) ¡°If you spin it really hard and touch it suddenly, what do you feel?¡± ¡°It hurts,¡± Ye Jiao only recalled that it would feel painful. She tried to stop her father¡¯s spinning egg before because he added Eon Energy, but the spin made her hand felt a bit hurt when she touched it. She could stop it, but she knew that her palm would turn red. ¡°The principle in this is the same, but the one that rotate is Eon Energy. I make them rotate all over my palm, protecting it and at the same time, harming whoever try to get close because it¡¯ll cause pain if they touch it,¡± Ye Xiao explained. Honestly, he wanted to just say that it was because of friction and fast movement. But if he said that, Ye Jiao would never understand. He sighed internally. Teaching a little kid was really difficult. Right now, he truly admired the elementary school teachers. ¡°So with the spin of Eon Energy, it can protect and harm at the same time?¡± Ye Jiao asked. Ye Xiao nodded his head. ¡°Yes. Let¡¯s see the tiger and you¡¯ll understand it.¡± He walked to the tiger¡¯s corpse, which now had a large hole in its stomach. Blood was flowing out from the wound, dying the grasses red with blood. Thankfully, there was only blood that was visible, or Ye Xiao might not be able to explain things because Ye Jiao might not be able to withstand the sight. Even now, Ye Jiao was trying to not think too much as she looked at the wound on the tiger¡¯s body. The blood made her felt nausea, but she didn¡¯t say anything. Her eyes were locked on the torn skin, which has the circle mark around the wounds. ¡°Is this mark come from your punch, Dad?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Ye Xiao nodded his head. ¡°My strength coupled with the destructive feature of Eon Energy produce this result.¡± ¡°It¡¯s amazing,¡± Ye Jiao muttered. ¡°It¡¯s not that good. Anyway, let¡¯s bring it back home to eat and you should start to practice the basic physical exercise again.¡± ¡°Ah, we just hunt one?¡± Ye Xiao laughed. ¡°Of course, we only hunt one. Normally, you have to venture deeper to find one, so we¡¯re lucky that it ends this quick. Starting tomorrow, I¡¯ll take you along to the hunt, but you should never participate in the fight.¡± ¡°Ok, Dad,¡± Ye Jiao nodded excitedly. Watching her father fight was really cool. ¡°What if there¡¯s rank 3 beasts around?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Most of the beast around here are rank 2,¡± Ye Xiao said with ease. He had exterminated most of the rank 3 when he ventured into the forest for the past few years. Now, rank 3 became extremely scarce. ¡°I see.¡± 18. Departing The days of watching her father hunt lasted for several weeks. At first, Ye Jiao didn¡¯t feel well whenever she saw the beasts¡¯ corpses, but she got better gradually. Afterwards, she also helped her father to skin them and take the meat for their meal. In the past, Ye Xiao only hunt once a week because he didn¡¯t dare to leave Ye Jiao alone. Now, he hunted every single day, so they have excess of meat and food in overall. Aside from that, he also built a small hut inside the forest for hunting. It was located quite deep, but because of the position, it was quite hidden and normal people wouldn¡¯t be able to find it. This was the place where Ye Jiao spent most of her time to train while her father hunted the monster in front of her before skinning them. ¡°Jiao¡¯er, have you packed all the meat?¡± Ye Xiao¡¯s head appeared on the door. Ye Jiao smiled. Behind her were several large bundles full of meat. It was the result of the past few days of hunts as her father didn¡¯t sell them. They had had enough money from the hunt from the previous weeks that Ye Xiao sold for his journey expense. ¡°Everything is ready, Dad.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Ye Xiao took out a bracelet. In the next second, all the meat had disappeared. Ye Jiao was stunned. She looked around but didn¡¯t find any trace of the meat. ¡°Dad, all of the meat disappears!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t panic, they¡¯re all here,¡± Ye Xiao played with the bracelet on his hand. He had just bought a small storage bracelet to store the food. The difference in the time flow would make the meat last longer, so he decided to buy one. ¡°What¡¯s that, Dad?¡± ¡°It¡¯s called storage bracelet. Just give it to your aunt later, she can show you how it works,¡± Ye Xiao didn¡¯t want to try explaining things to Ye Jiao again. The last time he tried, it ended badly because he had to find an example that was easy to understand for kids. Rather than racking his brain further, he would just give the task to Ye Ai Xia. ¡°Ok.¡± ¡°Now, let¡¯s go.¡± Holding her father¡¯s hands, Ye Jiao followed after her father into the city. After several times visiting the city to accompany her father sold the beast¡¯ corpse, she had gotten used with the differential treatment the people gave to her. Compared with before, she could control her emotion better, albeit the fact that it was still rather hard for her. Towards the jeer and mocking gaze they gave, Ye Jiao paid no heed and followed after her father quietly. The journey that used to be unbearable for her became something ordinary for her.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°I want to visit my sister,¡± Ye Xiao told the guard calmly. The guard arched his eyebrows. ¡°This is not the time for a festival or anything.¡± ¡°I can visit her three times a year. I have only used one,¡± Ye Xiao replied calmly. It was the agreement that he made with Wei Shang, he would visit Ye Ai Xia three times in a year. The guard clicked his tongue as he stepped to the side, giving the way to the two of them. Without waiting any further, Ye Xiao walked inside. The condition of the road still looked as bad as before, but he didn¡¯t pay any attention to that. Before long, the two of them arrived by the small residence. Ye Ai Xia was sweeping the ground with ease and took a few seconds to realize that her brother has arrived. ¡°Xiao Ge,¡± Ye Ai Xia smiled brightly. ¡°Jiao¡¯er!¡± ¡°Aunty!¡± Ye Jiao released her hand from her father¡¯s grip before running to Ye Ai Xia. She hugged the other party tightly. ¡°You seem well, Xia¡¯er,¡± Ye Xiao smiled warmly. Ye Ai Xia giggled. ¡°I don¡¯t really have much to do here. I really don¡¯t expect you two to come here today.¡± Normally, Ye Xiao would visit Ye Ai Xia when it was the New Year and some other festivals. At that time, the city was bustling with celebration and Ye Xiao would celebrate them with Ye Ai Xia and Ye Jiao here. Because of that, Ye Ai Xia only prepared more dishes when it was the time for festival as there was chance that Ye Xiao would come to visit. ¡°I come to bid farewell, Xia¡¯er,¡± Ye Xiao said solemnly. His normal prideful and playful tone has disappeared. It was replaced with serious tone. Ye Ai Xia¡¯s eyes shook slightly. ¡°You¡¯re going to start your journey? Why are you in a hurry?¡± ¡°She will reach rank 5 soon with the help of her elder.¡± When Ye Ai Xia heard that, her heart felt like dropping to the bottom. The only woman that Ye Xiao paid attention to was only one, his ex-wife. Other than that person, there was no one else around that Ye Xiao would care about. Ye Ai Xia raised her head. ¡°Can you catch up?¡± Ye Xiao smirked. ¡°Who do you think I am? Of course, I¡¯ll catch up and surpass her. Even if I¡¯m at the lower rank, I¡¯ll find a way to defeat her.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Ye Jiao listened to their conversation with confusion. Who were they talking about? Ye Ai Xia patted Ye Jiao¡¯s head. ¡°How¡¯s the little one¡¯s progress in training?¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Ye Xiao smirked. He was astounded by Ye Jiao¡¯s result so far and knew that her progress rate was faster than most children. More importantly, she didn¡¯t slack off and always did her best in training because of their family condition. This made him exceptionally proud of her. ¡°She¡¯s progressing really quickly, and I have made the arrangement for her training¡­¡± Smack! ¡°Do you want to make her to be a training maniac like you?¡± Ye Ai Xia glared at Ye Xiao. This husband of hers used to be famous as a training and fighting maniac. She should have expected no less from him being Ye Jiao¡¯s teacher. Ye Xiao laughed. ¡°She¡¯s far more earnest than you. Isn¡¯t that right, Jiao¡¯er?¡± Ye Jiao didn¡¯t really understand what her father meant, but she nodded her head enthusiastically. ¡°Yes, Jiao¡¯er wants to become stronger faster.¡± ¡°Oh, is that so?¡± Ye Ai Xia turned her head to Ye Xiao as she balled her fist together. She should have known that this man didn¡¯t know what a girl should learn. ¡°You¡¯re really an idiot.¡± Smack! ¡°AH! Xia¡¯er, forgive me!¡± Smack!¡± ¡°Xia¡¯er! Not in front of Jiao¡¯er! She won¡¯t be able to handle the sight!¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sure you have brought her to hunt.¡± Ye Xiao¡¯s face paled. Ye Ai Xia¡¯s guess was spot on. Seeing the chance in Ye Xiao¡¯s face, Ye Ai Xia knew that it was true. She could feel her blood boil again. Bringing a seven-year-old kid to hunt¡­ Smack! ¡°Ah! Help me!¡± 19. Farewell ¡°Sheesh, do you have to beat me up on the day I¡¯m going to go?¡± Ye Xiao asked. Ye Ai Xia finally stopped hitting him, but it didn¡¯t mean that his body didn¡¯t feel hurt. Thankfully, he has strong body, or he might have to delay his journey because of injury. It was also a good thing that Ye Ai Xia didn¡¯t add Eon Energy to her slap since it caused more damages. Ye Ai Xia harrumphed. ¡°That¡¯s for treating Jiao¡¯er like a boy.¡± Ye Xiao scratched his head. That was all he could teach Ye Jiao as he was not sure. Besides, Ye Jiao accepted them all without any complaint, so he thought that it would be fine. ¡°Dad, are you alright?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry Jiao¡¯er,¡± Ye Xiao laughed as he patted Ye Jiao¡¯s head. ¡°She¡¯s just angry because I don¡¯t teach you properly. With her, you have to learn a lot, alright?¡± Ye Jiao nodded her head seriously. She would train even harder and become stronger to help out her father. ¡°Yes, Dad, Jiao¡¯er promises.¡± ¡°Also, until you become strong enough, you have to stay low and endure. It¡¯s not going to be easy, but Daddy believes that you can.¡± Ye Jiao thought about the harsh treatment of the people in the city. After this, she had to face them alone without her father by her side to protect her anymore. It wouldn¡¯t be easy for her, but she knew that she had to do it. ¡°Yes!¡± Eyes full of determination, high fighting spirit, and the willingness to bear the hardship. Ye Ai Xia smiled as she watched her little daughter. This girl was truly similar, similar to her hot-blooded father in many ways. But really, he should have taught her to be a little bit feminine. Ye Xiao shifted his gaze to Ye Ai Xia. ¡°Xia¡¯er, I¡¯m going.¡± ¡°En, be careful Xiao Ge.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be honest, this journey is not going to be easy,¡± Ye Xiao started. He knew that there were a lot of people who wanted him to die because of his past potential and achievement. Right now, he was still rather young, so they might set their eyes on him. However, he would not back down just because of that. ¡°But I promise you that I¡¯ll surely return back to the two of you and at that time, everything will be different,¡± Ye Xiao smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll take back everything that should have been mine and reach the greater heights.¡±¡¯This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°I believe you can do it, Xiao Ge.¡± Ye Jiao watched the two of them stared at one another. Longing feeling and suppressed desire were apparent in their eyes. She knew that her father cared for her aunt very much, so the decision to leave this place so suddenly shouldn¡¯t be easy. ¡°Take care, Xia¡¯er and Jiao¡¯er. I¡¯ll be back.¡± Ye Xiao gave a hug to the two of them before departing. He didn¡¯t turn back anymore because he knew that the sight of Ye Ai Xia and Ye Jiao might waver his determination. Before he could take them out of this place, he would not return. He had to be strong. Step by step, he left the place. Ye Ai Xia watched her husband¡¯s back as tears trickled down from the corner of her eyes. From the past until now, she always saw his back. Hopefully, he would return soon enough. ¡°Jiao¡¯er.¡± ¡°Yes, Aunt Ai Xia?¡± Ye Ai Xia pointed to the house. ¡°This is going to be your house from now. It¡¯s not much, but we can live sufficiently here.¡± The Wei Family might will not give enough for two people to eat, though. She should find a way to search for additional food for the two of them. ¡°Aunt Ai Xia, this is a present from Dad,¡± Ye Jiao showed the bracelet that her father gave her not long ago. The content was only meat, but their size alone was enough to feed them for months. After that, they might need to find other ways to find meals to eat. Ye Ai Xia took the bracelet. Her eyes widened when she saw the content. They were so many meats inside. As she had expected, that annoying man must have brought Ye Jiao to the forest to hunt. Really, he should learn how to treat children better. They were not mature yet! ¡°Jiao¡¯er, your father is really excessive,¡± Ye Ai Xia sighed. ¡°But this is going to be enough for our meal for the next year. Can you clean meat and cook them?¡± ¡°I can,¡± Ye Jiao nodded her head with confidence. Ye Ai Xia messed up Ye Jiao¡¯s hair. ¡°That¡¯s good. I¡¯ll be needing your assistance to help with cooking. For now, I want to hear what you have been doing with Xiao Ge, your father, for the past few months.¡± As she said that, she used up her Eon Energy and made a barrier around the two of them. Compared with her brother, her Eon Energy was smaller in amount, so she could barely make barrier enough to not allow people hear their conversation at close distance. ¡°Dad allows me to watch him hunt the beasts,¡± Ye Jiao said excitedly. ¡°When he¡¯s fighting, he¡¯s really cool. Within seconds, he can finish them so easily¡­¡± Hearing the flood of praises from Ye Jiao¡¯s mouth, Ye Ai Xia didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry. In this little girl¡¯s eyes, that man must have been the most powerful man in the world. Ye Jiao recounted the hunt that she experienced with her father before reaching to the memories when they visited the stores. ¡°Dad brought me a pendant,¡± Ye Jiao took out the small pendant on her neck. At the point of it, it looked like a tear. ¡°I¡¯m the one choosing the color because it matches my eyes.¡± Ye Ai Xia stared at the pendant for a few seconds. It was an item to hide one¡¯s progress. Unless they were above rank 3, they wouldn¡¯t be able to see her strength. It seemed that Ye Xiao had prepared the worst possible situation for the girl. ¡°Jiao¡¯er, you should never take off the pendant, understand?¡± Ye Jiao was surprised to hear the solemn tone. Before this, her father also warned her the same thing, so she nodded her head. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll never take this off.¡± ¡°Good, now, let¡¯s prepare the lunch.¡± ¡°Ok, Aunt Ai Xia.¡± ¡°You can continue the story too. I want to know more about Xiao Ge.¡± Ye Jiao giggled as she recounted more stories of her father during the past few months. 20. Disparity in Strength Living in Ye Ai Xia¡¯s residence was not that bad at all. Ye Jiao spent her day to do the physical exercise that her father taught her and learned the knowledge that Ye Ai Xia gave her from books. Aside from servants who came occasionally to give foods, no one else came to the secluded residence. ¡°¡­., 97, 98, 99, 100.¡± Ye Jiao laid down on the ground after she had finished 100 push-ups. Her father told her to do these exercises every day to make sure that her physical strength matched up with the increase of Eon Energy in her body. ¡®But it¡¯s really slow.¡¯ After more than one year since she first learnt how to absorb Eon Energy, Ye Jiao realized that her progress was quite slow. The core would still take a long time to make. With the insane amount of Eon Energy she absorbed every day, Ye Jiao thought that she would be able to form the core soon. But it was just her dream. ¡°It¡¯s already evening. Seems like I¡¯m training too long today,¡± Ye Jiao scratched the back of her head. She had just finished the fourth set for the day, but she spent a long time to finish them all. ¡®Hm? There¡¯s someone?¡¯ Her keen sense caught someone walking in her direction. No, it was not just one, but two people. Ye Jiao furrowed her brows as she stood up and cleaned the dust on her clothes. There was rarely anyone who would visit this place because of the secluded location, but it didn¡¯t mean there was none at all. At times, she could hear the voices of other people not far from the residence. Most of them just passed through to go to other places, but today, it was different. Two people entered her field of vision. One of them was a young man around the age of 13 years old. He has dark brown hair with sharp features. His eyes and eyebrows made him looked rather scary for a boy his age. The clothes he wore was rather good, bright red robe with a long sword hanging on his hips. As for the other one, Ye Jiao was familiar with her. She is Wei Mi, the second miss of Wei Residence and also the fourth child. In the past, she clashed with this little girl a few times. Their encounter might be brief, but all of them left a bad impression. ¡°Brother Cheng, this is the trash that I told you before,¡± Wei Mi jeered as she looked at Ye Jiao.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Brother Cheng? Wei Cheng? Ye Jiao¡¯s mind spun hard as she tried to remember the name. The first son of Wei Residence has the name Wei Cheng. He was known to be talented and has recently formed his core. Formed his core? Ye Jiao¡¯s instinct told her that she shouldn¡¯t stay here any longer. If they wanted to create trouble and beat her up, her measly power wouldn¡¯t be able to contend against someone who had formed his core. Forming one¡¯s core didn¡¯t mean that he has become Eon Master, but he has stepped into the path to become one. Without the core, they wouldn¡¯t be able to become a master. ¡°This is the trash?¡± Wei Cheng looked at Ye Jiao with disinterest. What he saw was only a small young girl at the age of seven standing in front of him. Without any talent or whatsoever, there was no way this girl could match against him. ¡°Yes,¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t greeted you for coming here before, have I?¡± Wei Chang glanced for a moment before activating his core. He had just formed it recently, so his control was not too good. However, for ordinary people, it was enough to give them pressure to their body because of the impact. ¡°Don¡¯t you know that you have to kneel down when meeting with the masters in Wei Family?¡± the boy asked in cold voice. Ye Jiao gritted her teeth as she endured the sudden pressure. Compared with the killing intent from the beasts, this was nothing much. Internally, she circulated her own Eon Energy to withstand the pressure as it would surely make her fall down. ¡°Brother Cheng, can you restrain your power a bit?¡± Wei Mi felt that it was hard to breathe all of the sudden. Wei Cheng frowned. He really should learn how to control his power better. ¡°Sorry, Mi¡¯er. I just want to teach this trash a lesson.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Wei Mi smiled sweetly. Ye Jiao really wished to kick this pair of brother and sister. She had heard from Ye Ai Xia that Wei Cheng and Wei Mi were the children of Su Lian, the legal wife. The two of them have higher status compared with other children, so they acted more arrogant than the others. Wei Cheng turned his attention back to Ye Jiao. ¡°Why are you still standing like that? This is Wei Residence and here, you have to follow our rules!¡± Wei Mi sneered. ¡°She might be a mute, Cheng Ge.¡± ¡°Oh? Really?¡± Ye Jiao noticed that Wei Cheng had extended his arm towards her. She wanted to move her body, but her limbs felt all heavy. It seemed as if her body was sealed off. Gritting her teeth, she focused her attention to her feet and forced it to move. The sudden movement caused her body to become unstable, and she fell to the ground in sitting position. ¡°How weak,¡± Wei Mi giggled, clearly forgotten that she herself also unable to withstand the pressure coming from her brother. Wei Cheng snorted. ¡°Trashes like them should just be ignored. Scram and don¡¯t come to the outer layer anymore.¡± Ye Jiao didn¡¯t move from her position as she watched the two of them laughing. Her hand was gripping the ground as they were trembling in anger. If only it was possible, she wished to smack the two of them right in the face. Wei Cheng noticed her trembling arm. He thought that the girl was scared, so she was unable to move. ¡°In front of absolute power, a trash like you can¡¯t do anything. Let¡¯s go, Mi¡¯er.¡± ¡°Yes, Cheng Ge,¡± Wei Mi replied coquettishly and hugged her brother¡¯s arm. She sneered as she felt happy to see Ye Jiao being pushed around like that. After the incident in the academy, she had longed to see Ye Jiao got what she deserved as trash. Now, she felt truly elated. ¡®A trash should know their place.¡¯ 21. Determination ¡°¡­Wei Family really loves to bully the weak people,¡± Ye Jiao murmured after she had calmed down. She didn¡¯t have any confidence in her self-control, so she didn¡¯t try to speak or fight back when the two siblings came to her. If she decided to fight them, the Wei Family would make things hard for Ye Ai Xia because they were staying in Wei Family Residence. Ye Jiao stared at her dirty hand. She sighed to herself. At least, she didn¡¯t try to punch them for real because they were acting really arrogantly and annoying. Slowly, she made her way back to the residence where Ye Ai Xia was busy cooking their next meal. ¡°Jiao¡¯er, you have returned?¡± Ye Ai Xia asked without turning around. As Eon Energy Master rank 3, Ye Ai Xia has sharper sense compared with ordinary people, so she could sense it when Ye Jiao came closer. ¡°Yes, Aunt Ai Xia.¡± ¡°Can you help me cook?¡± ¡°Ah, I¡¯m a bit dirty after practicing, so I¡¯ll take a bath first,¡± Ye Jiao gave her excuse. Without waiting for an answer, she dashed to the room and headed straight to the bathroom. She undressed before jumping into the large bathtub filled with warm water. Ye Ai Xia always prepared water when it was afternoon because Ye Jiao finished her practice at around this time every single day for the past few days. Splash! ¡°It feels really good,¡± Ye Jiao smiled to herself. Looking at her hand, she started to rub them together in the water to clean up the dirt and all. At the same time, her mind was thinking of her encounter with the two of them again. Splash! Splash! Ye Jiao slammed her hand into the water two times as tears streamed out of the corner of her eyes. This was the first time someone used their overpowering strength to suppress her. Before this, they only mocked her or sent her jeering gaze. The fact that she could do nothing but hid everything in her heart made her angry and sad. This frustrated her. The weak has no say in this world and the strong treated the weak as dirt. No, not all the strong, but the Wei Family.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡®A family of a general yet they bully the weak. Truly a great general.¡¯ Ye Jiao buried her face in the water as she forced herself to stop crying. There was no use to cry. She just has to become stronger faster so that no one would bully her anymore. ¡°Jiao¡¯er.¡± Sensing the sudden hug from behind, Ye Jiao was stunned. ¡°Aunt Ai Xia, I¡¯m still bathing.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Ye Ai Xia noticed that this girl was clearly holding back her feeling. It was unusual for Ye Jiao to head directly to the bath, so she could guess that something must be wrong. Seeing her action, she could faintly guess what had happened. ¡°Aunt Ai Xia, I¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Ye Ai Xia said in soothing tone. She caressed Ye Jiao¡¯s hair tenderly. ¡°You¡¯re doing great, Jiao¡¯er. Everything is fine.¡± Ye Jiao could feel the comfortable warmth that Ye Ai Xia provided to her. Tears welled up in her ears again. She buried her face in Ye Ai Xia¡¯s embrace. ¡°I¡¯m so weak, Aunt¡­ I can¡¯t do anything!¡± ¡°Shh, sweetheart, it¡¯s fine, you¡¯re doing great,¡± Ye Ai Xia said to Ye Jiao in soft tone. Ye Jiao cried in Ye Ai Xia¡¯s embrace as she vented up her frustration. The feeling of holding back her own talent and hiding from the others were not something a seven-year-old girl capable to do. Everything was simply too much for her. She didn¡¯t know how long it took for her to calm down, but Ye Ai Xia continued to accompany her and stroked her tenderly. ¡°Have you calmed down?¡± Ye Ai Xia asked. Ye Jiao nodded her head. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sorry for crying like that, Aunt Ai Xia.¡± ¡°It¡¯s normal for girls to cry,¡± Ye Ai Xia sighed. ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to hold back every single time. If it feels hard, you can come to me.¡± Listening to Ye Ai Xia¡¯s words, Ye Jiao nodded her head once more. She used to rely on her father because he would protect her from every danger around them. After he had left, she forgot that she had Ye Ai Xia caring for her. ¡°I¡¯ll train even harder,¡± Ye Jiao said. ¡°That way, I can surpass them and reach higher rank than before.¡± Ye Ai Xia smiled. ¡°Jiao¡¯er, what¡¯s your martial path?¡± Martial path? ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the reason for you to pursue the path to be Eon Energy Master. This reason is the one that will bring you to a greater height and let you walk down your path,¡± Ye Ai Xia explained. Ye Jiao recalled that her father once asked her the same question in the past. She never gave it much thought before because she didn¡¯t know herself why she wanted to become strong. Was it because she wanted to gain revenge? Was it because she wanted to gain the recognition? Was it because she wanted to be praised and hailed as the genius? Her eyes flickered as she recalled the cold expression her father had when he faced against those from Wei Family. After that, her memory brought her to remember the time she spent with her father. All the joy and fun times she had with them flashed through her mind in that split second. Why did she want to become strong? ¡°Jiao¡¯er?¡± Ye Ai Xia noticed that Ye Jiao seemed to fall into a contemplation. This question was hard to answer for children, and many of them usually provided with weird and funny answers. Ye Jiao looked up and smiled brightly. ¡°I know my martial path.¡± ¡°Yes? What is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s to protect!¡± 22. Call Me ‘Mother’ Protect. One simple word, yet it could give a lot of different meaning. At the same time, it would not be an easy path because trying to protect someone was harder than to fight freely. Ye Ai Xia looked at Ye Jiao with astonishment. ¡°W-what do you mean by protect, Jiao¡¯er?¡± Her words were cracked for she didn¡¯t expect to hear that word from Ye Jiao. From numerous reasons for one to practice martial arts, she had to pick this one. Ye Jiao didn¡¯t seem to realize as she opened her mouth to explain her answer. ¡°I¡¯m always being protected by Daddy, but I also want to be the one to protect him because I don¡¯t want to lose him.¡± Ye Ai Xia smiled. It was simple, yet it was genuine. ¡°I see, you¡¯ll have to train hard, then,¡± she messed up her daughter¡¯s hair. ¡°But remember that you have to take care of your body. Training a lot is good, but paying attention to your own health is still extremely important, understand?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Ye Jiao answered. She enjoyed the repeated tender stroke Ye Ai Xia gave. ¡°Let¡¯s go to eat,¡± Ye Ai Xia stood up. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re hungry.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Ye Jiao exclaimed happily. She looked at Ye AI Xia before remarking. ¡°Aunt Ai Xia, it¡¯ll be great if you can be my mother.¡± Her careless words caused Ye Ai Xia to be stunned. She watched as Ye Jiao ran out of the bathroom to prepare the table as tears welled up in her eyes. Mother ¡®I¡¯m really your mother, little girl.¡¯ She was glad that Ye Jiao said that, but at the same time, she was sad because she couldn¡¯t tell the girl the truth. Because of the promise with those people, she was unable to tell her that she was her mother. All she could do was staying as her ¡®aunt¡¯ to stay around Ye Jiao. ¡°Aunt Ai Xia, let¡¯s eat!¡± ¡°Wait for me, little girl,¡± Ye Ai Xia wiped her tears before walking out of the room. A smile made its way to her lips as she watched her cute little daughter. Yeah, this was enough. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡­. The next day, Ye Jiao woke up early and saw Ye Ai Xia was practicing Eon Energy. She rarely saw her aunt practiced martial arts even when she woke up early, so this was quite a surprise. ¡°Jiao¡¯er?¡± ¡°Ah, Aunt Ai Xia, did I disturb you?¡± Ye Jiao asked hesitantly. It was not her intention to disturb her aunt. She has just woken up and about to help preparing their breakfast. Ye Ai Xia chuckled and shook her head. ¡°Not at all. You wake up even earlier than usual.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Looking outside the window, Ye Jiao realized that she woke up before dawn. It seemed that she had had enough of sleep, so her body automatically pushed her to wake up. Ye Ai Xia pulled the girl closer. ¡°You¡¯re sleeping even less now, Brat.¡± ¡°Aunt also didn¡¯t sleep for long.¡± When their Eon Energy reached certain amount in their body, their strength would be replenished with only circulating them. As a result, she didn¡¯t really need a long sleep and could do with just training all night. However, Ye Jiao was still far away from that stage. ¡°Don¡¯t compare yourself with me,¡± Ye Ai Xia remarked. He patted the girl¡¯s hand. ¡°I have a story. Do you want to hear it?¡± ¡°What story, Aunt Ai Xia?¡± ¡°It¡¯s about a little girl that lost her parents and being bullied because she didn¡¯t have any parents,¡± Ye Ai Xia noticed that she had caught Ye Jiao¡¯s attention. ¡°There¡¯s this one little girl, she lost her parents because of war. Her parents are exceptional geniuses, so they¡¯re fighting for the kingdom, yet the two of them lost their lives because of war. As the result, the girl is left alone. She has exceptional talent, but after losing her parents, her progress stagnated. People around her started to bully her because she doesn¡¯t improve anymore and terms her as useless.¡± Ye Jiao frowned. Even though the situation was fairly different with her, there was some similarities. She really hated the people in the story who bullied the girl. ¡°Why did they bully her when they know that she has better talent?¡± ¡°Because of jealousy,¡± Ye Ai Xia smiled wryly. ¡°The biggest enemy is not the enemy that comes to your door with a sword ready, but human heart because you don¡¯t know what is inside their heart. Now, continuing the story. The girl tried to fight back, but she¡¯s not as strong as them. At that time, a young boy came and protected her. He beat up the bullies and treated the girl¡¯s wound. Even though the girl was known to be broken because of the lost, he didn¡¯t care and still treat her the same. Thanks to him, the girl could recover and train again wholeheartedly.¡± ¡°That¡¯s really sweet!¡± Ye Jiao¡¯s eyes glimmered. ¡°He¡¯s really cool!¡± ¡°Yep.¡± Ye Jiao leaned back to Ye Ai Xia in a relaxed manner. ¡°Thank you for telling me this story, Aunt Ai Xia.¡± Ye Ai Xia smiled and caressed Ye Jiao¡¯s hair. ¡°Don¡¯t be depressed with your condition. There will be friends who will care for you regardless of your talent. They¡¯ll care because it¡¯s you.¡± ¡°En,¡± Ye Jiao nodded her head. A true friend that cared for her? She really wished she could meet with them. ¡°Now, you should learn to tone your training down a bit and don¡¯t push yourself too hard.¡± ¡°No! I don¡¯t want to always be protected by other people. I want to become strong as myself,¡± Ye Jiao replied back strongly. ¡°You brat!¡± Ye Ai Xia messed up the girl¡¯s hair. That declaration truly reminded her of Ye Xiao. That man was also extremely stubborn, which resulted in their teacher gave him the worst possible training. Ye Jiao laughed freely. After finished teasing up the girl¡¯s hair, Ye Ai Xia moved down from the bed. ¡°Jiao¡¯er, I have a request.¡± ¡°What is it, Aunt Ai Xia?¡± ¡°Can you call me mother?¡± 23. Sneaking Out Ye Jiao stared at Ye Ai Xia as her mind was spinning hard. From people around them, she had heard that her mother has left her when she was born because she was deemed to be useless. Her father had told her that she would never come back, so she should never try to hope. At the same time, she had never experienced the feeling of having a mother. The only ones who cared for her were her father, Ye Xiao and Ye Ai Xia. Her silence caused Ye Ai Xia to be nervous. Even though she couldn¡¯t tell the truth to Ye Jiao, she hoped that her daughter could call her as ¡®mother.¡¯ ¡°Ok, Mom,¡± Ye Jiao smiled brightly. Ye Ai Xia had taken care for her just like what a mother did. Rather than thinking of how to get the woman that left her father years ago back, it would be better to have a different mother. A mother who genuinely cared for her. And that woman is Ye Ai Xia. ¡°Good child,¡± Ye Ai Xia smiled brightly, happiness was evident in her facial expression. ¡°Let¡¯s eat some meat for breakfast today. I¡¯ll make the best meal ever!¡± Ye Jiao¡¯s eyes sparked. ¡°Thank you, Mom!¡± The breakfast was much livelier than usual. Both Ye Ai Xia and Ye Jiao were happy by their decision. Even though their mind thought different things, they were happy with one another. ¡°Mom, I¡¯m going to practice again,¡± Ye Jiao told her mother. Ye Ai Xia nodded her head. ¡°Be careful and don¡¯t go too far. Those young masters and misses from Wei Family won¡¯t like it.¡± Ye Jiao recalled the incident yesterday as she nodded her head in understanding. She had experienced it firsthand how these people didn¡¯t like her appearance at all. Rather than blatantly searched for trouble, it would be better for her to stay low and didn¡¯t approach the border again. ¡°Yes, Mom. Oh yeah, Mom, can you teach me basic self-defense?¡± Ye Ai Xia flashed an apologetic smile. ¡°I¡¯m never good at close combat. When you form your core, I can only teach you how to use them.¡± ¡°I see, thanks Mom.¡± Roaming in the small forest, Ye Jiao looked around her. The size of the forest was pretty big, but she couldn¡¯t go too far from her mother¡¯s residence because other people from Wei Family would surely stop her. ¡®It¡¯s troublesome.¡¯ Ye Jiao decided to head the other way and encountered the wall not far from there. Wei Family Residence was protected by walls around three to five meters height. She was not sure of their real height because for her, they looked extremely tall.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Her eyes landed on the trees around her. They were not close enough to the wall, so they couldn¡¯t be used to climb up. Well, even if she tried to get out, what was the benefit? She couldn¡¯t live alone outside. With her measly strength, it would be a miracle to stay alive out there. Her small legs continued to walk near the wall. This was still the area for her mother¡¯s residence, so she didn¡¯t have any problem to walk around. No one would try to stop her. After walking for a while, she heard the sound of people yelling. ¡°LINE UP!¡± ¡°DON¡¯T SLOW DOWN! ARE YOU ALL LADIES?¡± Ye Jiao raised her head to the side. Her eyes blinked several times. They sounded like soldiers in training, but there shouldn¡¯t be any soldier nearby, right? Ah, Wei Family is a general family. She had completely forgotten about it. Wei Shang is the great general in Chen Kingdom. He has the firm control over the entire military power in this kingdom. With his words, every soldier would move without any hesitation. Whoever offended him have to be ready to face against the entire army of Chen Kingdom. Which unfortunately, her father did. Even though so, Ye Xiao managed to stay alive. Ye Jiao glanced at the wall. From the sound of it, there should be a nearby training camp not far from this house. It was not really weird considering that Wei Shang might want to supervise their training for himself. Besides, it was good for his children to learn martial arts from military. ¡®I want to see.¡¯ Chen Kingdom might be a small kingdom in the map from what she saw in the books, but it has good military power because of the other three kingdoms nearby. The four kingdoms were not in a good relationship, so there were constant wars. Added with the beasts around the area, they needed excellent military power if they wanted to survive. Glancing around, Ye Jiao strode and made her way to find the closest tree to the wall. Her small legs brought her near the exit of the forest when she saw a tree with part of its branch reached the top the wall. ¡®Yes!¡¯ Her small limbs quickly moved to the tree. Using the skill that her father taught her, she climbed the tree agilely. She was glad that her father forced her to climb up and down tree for at least 100 times every day. Now, she could easily climb them even with her small hands and legs. ¡®Whoa!¡¯ The wall looked even taller after she climbed the tree. Slowly, she walked closer on top of the branch to the wall before reaching the wall. She was glad that the top of the wall was not sharp, which allowed her to stand on top of them. Well, upon seeing the large field in front of her, she understood why the guards around here were lazing around. This wall directly separated Wei Family Residence to the largest military training camp in Chen Kingdom Capital. Her eyes landed to the small group not far from her. The soldiers¡¯ built were exceptionally good. They were all carrying large rock on top of their head using their hand as they ran with one particularly large person leading them all. Sweat poured down on their body. ¡°Cool,¡± Ye Jiao murmured. She quickly glanced around to find ways to get down and watched their practice. If she stood here for too long, they would surely realize her presence. Her eyes sparkled when she saw the tree not far from them. Thankfully, there were trees both outside and inside the residence that was located near the wall. With light movement, she climbed down the tree at the same time the soldiers finished running. They slammed the rocks down, causing the earth to quake. ¡°Now, spar with your partner!¡± ¡°YES, SIR!¡± Following their ear-piercing yell, each of the soldier started to form partner and dueled with one another. Using their legs and fists, they traded blows with one another. ¡®Amazing,¡¯ Ye Jiao thought in her mind. This was the first time she saw the soldiers training and she had to say that she was amazed. They were simply astounding. Tep! ¡°Who are you? What are you doing here?¡± 24. If I can Endure, I want to Watch The cold voice filled with killing intent jolted Ye Jiao awake from her daydream. She glanced up only to see the leader was staring at her. The boundless energy around him signified that this man was at the peak of rank 3. She was already familiar with rank 3 aura thanks to her father, so she recognized it easily. ¡°I¡­¡± The leader furrowed his brows. ¡°Answer my question!¡± ¡°I¡¯m Ye Jiao!¡± Ye Jiao answered in an instant. The force from the man made her replied his question quicker than what she thought. Ye Jiao? Not only him, even his subordinates were stunned to hear this young girl said that name. In the entire capital of Chen Kingdom, who didn¡¯t know that Ye Jiao is the name of the useless trash that came from a talented genius. What made them even more confused was the fact that Ye Jiao appeared in their training ground. Normal people shouldn¡¯t¡¯ be able to come here, much less someone without talent. However, this place was right in the middle of the training ground, which made it hard for people to sneak inside deeper. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°I-I just want to take a look,¡± Ye Jiao replied after thinking for a bit. It was partially true because she came here to look at them and learnt their technique if possible. Of course, without getting found out. ¡°General Mu, shall I kick this insolent kid?¡± one of the soldiers approached their leader. His face showed disgust and annoyance. He didn¡¯t like the trash and moreover, someone as brave as Ye Jiao. This girl clearly didn¡¯t know her place. Their leader, General Mu, glanced at his subordinates. ¡°Continue practicing.¡± ¡°Sir!¡± the soldier corrected his posture and returned back to practice. The cold tone that General Mu used was exceptionally indifferent tinged with threat for him to do it immediately. Ye Jiao looked at the person before her. General Mu? There was only one person came to her mind when she heard this name. Mu Hong, a general at peak rank 3. In terms of strength, only Ye Xiao was above him among the rank 3, which granted him a high position in military.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Under Wei Shang, no one else could beat this man in terms of position. ¡°Ye Jiao, you violate military law.¡± ¡°What military law, General Mu?¡± Ye Jiao asked with confusion. She didn¡¯t know there was any law of that kind in this place. After all, both her parents were not military people, so they never told her. ¡°Unauthorized personnel are not allowed to step into the training grounds, or you¡¯ll be punished heavily,¡± Mu Hong clearly looked annoyed. He was busy training his men, but this girl appeared suddenly. He noticed this girl when she climbed down the tree thanks to his high perception. At that time, he ordered his men to start sparring with one another before approaching the young girl. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that.¡± ¡°Do you think that your ¡®I didn¡¯t know¡¯ will help you escape punishment?¡± Mu Hong asked coldly. Ye Jiao knew that she had met someone who followed after the rules so strictly. She blamed herself for not being careful enough. If only she didn¡¯t act rash, they wouldn¡¯t have found out her presence in this place. Well, she didn¡¯t really have any confidence to fool a rank 3 Eon Energy Master, though. ¡°You can choose to be kicked out or walk out by yourself,¡± Mu Hong gave her the choices. Some soldiers were secretly scoffing to themselves. Their leader was too soft with these people. If it was them, they would have kicked out Ye Jiao without listened to the girl¡¯s explanation. In their eyes, trash would always be trash. Ye Jiao¡¯s heart sunk. She knew that this man would never allow her to come here again in the future. But she wanted to learn more. Just training her physical body was not enough. She needed the experience and training to learn basic self-defense, much more than what her father had taught her. ¡°Please wait, what¡¯s the punishment for trespassing?¡± Mu Hong furrowed his brows. ¡°It¡¯s beaten up with the military rod 30 times. Don¡¯t waste my time, little girl.¡± ¡°I have one proposal!¡± Ye Jiao hurriedly said. ¡°If I can endure the punishment, please let me stay here to watch the practice.¡± Mu Hong listened to Ye Jiao¡¯s words as if he was listening to an idiot. This brat clearly didn¡¯t have any Eon Energy in her body as he couldn¡¯t sense any. If she decided to be beaten up by the military rod, she would surely die because of the power behind each strike. Even the soldiers were thinking that this brat has gone insane. They themselves never wanted to be punished with the military rod because of how hard they were. Being beaten up was not a small matter. ¡°Little girl, don¡¯t waste my time.¡± ¡°I¡¯m serious!¡± Ye Jiao replied strongly, her gaze was filled with determination. Looking at the stubborn little girl in front of him, Mu Hong was feeling slightly astounded. Even among the soldiers, there were not many people who would willingly take the punishment just because they wanted to ¡®see¡¯ the training. However, her gaze told him everything. This girl is desperate. Even though Ye Ai Xia could teach her martial arts, it would be completely different than the military because Ye Ai Xia was not good at physical combat. The only place she could try to study martial arts would be the military training camp, but it wouldn¡¯t be easy to gain the approval. Because she has the tag of useless on her head. Mu Hong had seen a lot of soldiers. He knew that the more desperate someone, the more they would force themselves forward. ¡°Alright, brat, you¡¯re the one who ask for it.¡± 25. Punishment and Promise The soldiers were dumbfounded when they heard their leader agreed to the terms that Ye Jiao proposed. Does their leader want to kill a young child? Seeing the serious expression on Mu Hong¡¯s face, no one dared to speak up. They focused on their opponent and continued their spar with one another. Their leader has the highest authority after Wei Shang, so no one wanted to offend him. Ye Jiao beamed when she heard that Mu Hong had agreed to her ridiculous request. She herself knew that it wouldn¡¯t be easy, but him agreeing with her request would mean that he gave her the chance. ¡°Ye Jiao is grateful to General Mu.¡± Mu Hong didn¡¯t reply. His piercing gaze was looking straight at Ye Jiao as he wanted to know how she felt. However, other than genuine relief and wariness, there was no trace of fear or anything like that. For a seven years old girl, she has outstanding mental perseverance. ¡°Bring me the military rod.¡± ¡°Yes, Sir!¡± One of the soldiers immediately ran to the storage house and returned with a large rod in his hand. Ye Jiao¡¯s eyes widened when she saw the large rod with several bumps all around. The size alone was already more than half of her body. Mu Hong pointed to the girl. ¡°You go and hit her 30 times according to the military law.¡± ¡°Sir!¡± the soldier looked at the rod in his hand as hesitation flashed in his eyes. Truthfully, he was not sure that the girl would be able to stay alive if he had to beat her up using this rod. But military order has to be done. Ye Jiao stood firmly on her place as she closed her eyes. Her body started to initiate Eon Energy to protect her body. Even if the soldier tried to not hit her too hard, it would still feel hurt. ¡°Start!¡± Mu Hong yelled. The soldier gritted his teeth and clenched his hand that grabbed the rod. Whatever happens, it is not his fault! Pak! The first hit reached her butt. Ye Jiao¡¯s body shook when the rod hit her body as sweat started to pour out of her forehead. It was painful. Her small body was not used with the pain as she has never gotten hit with a large rod before. Pak!This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. As the second hit reached her legs, the pain intensified and her legs trembled slightly, threatening to bring her down. Ye Jiao gritted her teeth as she focused on Eon Energy regulation in her body. No matter what, she had to endure the punishment. Pak! Pak! Pak! Just like that, the soldier continued to hit her. Even though he purposely didn¡¯t use a lot of power and maintained it in moderate amount, the pain was still much more than what ordinary children normally experienced. Ye Jiao gritted her teeth as she forced her legs to stay firm. It would do her no good if she fell down even if it might lessen the impact slightly. ¡°Is she a monster?¡± ¡°Her physical strength must be great.¡± ¡°Maybe a trash without Eon Energy has better physical body.¡± The soldiers secretly chatted to one another while continuing their practice. Mu Hong could hear them, but he was not in the mood to reprimand them. His eyes were completely focused on the young girl who was enduring the numerous hits. ¡®She¡¯s not a strong person, but she endures everything.¡¯ From the expression that Ye Jiao showed, Mu Hong knew that this girl was enduring the hit with everything she got. No matter how painful it was, she forced her feet to stood straight in place and received the numerous punishments. Endurance, perseverance, and determination. With these three fueled her will, Ye Jiao stood straight under the beating of the military rod. By the time the last strike landed on her body, her legs couldn¡¯t hold it any longer as she fell to the ground in sitting position. Ye Jiao gritted her teeth. She could feel her legs and butt were throbbing really hard after the numerous hits. It was so painful that she didn¡¯t want to stand up anymore. Right now, the one who felt immense astonishment was the soldier who hit her. He knew that even after lowering his strength, his hit would make the girl felt painful. However, seeing how the girl still stood straight after the numerous beatings, he didn¡¯t have any word left. She is trash? So what? Most of the talented people couldn¡¯t even bear to have their hand scratched. They would be noisy making ruckus here and there, telling the world how weak they were, yet they were proud of it. Compared to this young girl, the soldier felt that this girl was worthy of admiration more than those geniuses. Ye Jiao raised her head to look at Mu Hong. ¡°General Mu, I have finished the punishment. Now, can you let me stay here?¡± Mu Hong could see the determination in the girl¡¯s eyes. Most children her age would be pampered to no end by their parents coupled with a lot of training according to their potential. Yet this girl decided to go on her way and made decision like this. If he had to say, this girl would surely become someone great in the future if she continued to preserve in her way and action. The Wei Family might have created a terrifying enemy. But of course, that was only if she could grow up. Mu Hong nodded his head. ¡°You can stay near that tree and watch our practice. Jun, you help her reach the tree.¡± ¡°Yes, Sir!¡± Ye Jiao struggled to stand up as the soldier beside her, whom Mu Hong called as Jun, helped her. She gave a smile to the man. ¡°Thank you, Um-Soldier?¡± The man smiled wryly. ¡°I¡¯m Wang Jun, Miss.¡± ¡°Thank you, Soldier Wang Jun.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing, Miss,¡± as Wang Jun helped Ye Jiao reached the tree, he realized how weak this girl was after the beating. This made him understood that she didn¡¯t withstand the 30 blows without taking any damage. Only after making sure Ye Jiao was fine did Wang Jun returned back to his teammates. 26. My Decision Ye Jiao circulated Eon Energy in her body according to what her father taught her. It helped eased her pain and at the same time, pushing them to her core little by little. Going by the progress in her body, it would take a long time for her to form the core. ¡°Line up!¡± Mu Hong yelled. ¡°All of you, do the set 100 times!¡± ¡°Yes, Sir!¡± The soldiers started to move in accordance to what Mu Hong said. Punch, kick, twist, and many other moves. These were the basic movement for martial art in Chen Kingdom and also the one that most soldier practiced. They were not really a secret, but children wouldn¡¯t learn them if they didn¡¯t attend the academy once they were 12 years old. Seeing that Mu Hong purposely asked them to do the set, Ye Jiao was elated. She could guess that Mu Hong wanted her to see their technique just as he promised. ¡®One step to the left, twist your body¡­.¡¯ Ye Jiao murmured the steps as the soldiers repeated the same set over and over. Their body was bathed in sweat, but they moved in sync without anyone left out. For this alone, Ye Jiao was surprised because the discipline in the military seemed to be stricter than other places. Time passed with Ye Jiao continued to watch their practice. Even though she didn¡¯t see much, they were already more than enough for her. After all, most children don¡¯t have the privilege to see them except if they have good family background. ¡°Brat, it¡¯s nearing night. If you don¡¯t go home soon, your parents will be worried,¡± Mu Hong remarked suddenly. Ye Jiao was startled and glanced at the general before her. She used her hand to held the tree as she struggled to stand up. The pain on her feet made her unable to move properly. ¡°Ye Jiao is grateful for General Mu¡¯s benevolence. Ye Jiao will return back now.¡± Mu Hong scrutinized Ye Jiao¡¯s body. After hours of sitting in the same place, there was not much progress in her condition. It didn¡¯t seem like she would be able to go home properly like this. ¡°Wang Jun.¡± ¡°Yes, Sir!¡± in split second, Wang Jun have moved from his group to greet his leader. Mu Hong pointed at Ye Jiao using his thumb. ¡°Take her back to her home and make sure you see her parents. It¡¯s across this wall.¡± Across this wall? Wang Jun was surprised. Every soldier in this place knew that the place behind this wall was Wei Family Residence. After all, this place was built close to the place to make sure that General Wei could come and supervise them occasionally.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°I can go home alone,¡± Ye Jiao refused the offer. If her mother saw her going home in tattered condition, she was not sure what her mother would do. ¡°Wang Jun will help you.¡± The firm tone Mu Hong used made Ye Jiao flinched. It was full of authoritative order, which made her unable to refuse. Without any other option, Ye Jiao could only accept Mu Hong¡¯s arrangement. Inside her head, she was thinking of reasons to give her mother. Wang Jun kneeled in one knee near Ye Jiao, bringing his eyes on the same height as Ye Jiao. He smiled reassuringly. ¡°Miss, let me help you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a ¡®miss.¡¯¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t really matter. Pardon me for the intrusion,¡± Wang Jun held Ye Jiao¡¯s back gently before lifting her feet, carrying the girl in bridal style. Given Ye Jiao¡¯s legs, he was pretty sure that the girl wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand for a long time. Ye Jiao knitted her brows, but no word of complaint came out of her mouth. She had endured a long beating, what was this slight pain compared to that? Wang Jun looked at the wall before he jumped up. His legs moved once more as he landed on the ground in Wei Residence. The sudden movement of the man astonished Ye Jiao. She spent some time to climb the tree and reached the other side, but this man took less than one second. ¡°Soldier Wang Jun, are you Eon Energy Master?¡± ¡°Yes, I am,¡± Wang Jun replied. ¡°Miss, there¡¯s no need with the formalities. You can just call my name directly without the need to worry.¡± Ye Jiao frowned. ¡°But that¡¯s impolite.¡± Wang Jun chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m not someone from noble family, so you don¡¯t have to worry, Miss.¡± ¡°Hmm, ok, I¡¯ll call you Brother Wang, is that good?¡± Ye Jiao asked. ¡°Brother Jun will be better,¡± Wang Jun suggested. Rather than being called using his surname, it would be better to just use his name. It was not like he had titles either as he was mere soldier. Well, they were actually not that close to be called brother like that, but he didn¡¯t really mind. ¡°I understand, Brother Jun.¡± ¡°By the way, which way is your residence?¡± ¡°Over there.¡± As Ye Jiao directed the way for them, her eyes were scanning the young man before her. Even though Wang Jun didn¡¯t really use Eon Energy, but his physical strength suggested that he must have good foundation and perhaps, already reached quite a high level. She wondered whether this soldier was second rank or third rank. Wang Jun dashed in the small forest until they reached a small residence. His pupil contracted when he saw the condition of the house because it was simply so bad. Even some poor people in the capital might have better house compared to her. ¡°This is my house. Put me down.¡± ¡°Ah, but¡­¡± ¡°I want to walk by myself,¡± Ye Jiao said again. Wang Jun didn¡¯t know how to refute, so he put the girl down. Albeit staggering a bit because of the pain, Ye Jiao straightened her body and walked slowly to the house. Her cover was not entirely perfect but ordinary people wouldn¡¯t think that this girl was hurt. ¡°Mom, I¡¯m home,¡± Ye Jiao called softly. Ye Ai Xia already detected the two of them as she walked out of the residence. Her eyes were scanning the young man with suspicion. ¡°Who are you?¡± Wang Jun bowed down. ¡°I¡¯m soldier Wang Jun from the first division.¡± Soldier? Ye Ai Xia was stunned to hear that someone from the military has come with her daughter. She eyed Ye Jiao sharply while the girl tried to avert her eyes. It seemed that the two of them would need to have a good talk with one another. ¡°Thank you for bringing my daughter back, Wang Jun.¡± ¡°It¡¯s my duty, Madam. I¡¯ll excuse myself.¡± Wang Jun could sense that his presence was not welcomed with how Ye Ai Xia kept on giving a dagger in her glare. With Ye Ai Xia being an Eon Energy Master rank 3, her gaze alone might give pressure to other people around her. ¡°Please leave.¡± Ye Jiao watched as Wang Jun disappeared from his place as quick as his dash before. Her eyes moved back to her mother. ¡°Mom¡­¡± ¡°Jiao¡¯er, I think I need to know what you¡¯re doing for the past few hours,¡± Ye Ai Xia crossed her arm. This daughter of hers truly made her worried. ¡°Uh, ok, Mom.¡± 27. Gardening ¡°I went to see the soldier¡¯s training and get into a bit of argument with the leader, but finally, he allowed me to watch,¡± Ye Jiao gave the simplest explanation she could think of. There were a lot of missing points from her explanation, making it extremely general. Ye Ai Xia arched her eyebrows. ¡°What kind of argument is that?¡± ¡°Um, it¡¯s regarding military law that normal civilians are not allowed to watch the training or something like that.¡± ¡°Jiao¡¯er, did you learn about the laws?¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t,¡± Ye Jiao replied honestly. She truly wanted to learn after this, though. If that general tried to use the law to punish her again, she might not be able to answer anything without prior knowledge. Ye Ai Xia sighed as she massaged her temple. Her Eon Energy moved to inspect Ye Jiao¡¯s body. Upon seeing the bruises, her brows knitted further as deadly aura emerged from her body. ¡°They hit you?¡± ¡°Mom?¡± Ye Jiao could sense the murderous intent from her mother. It was not directed at her, but the thick bloodlust still affected her as she was standing not far from her mother. Ye Ai Xia looked at Ye Jiao and tried to calm her temper. ¡°Did they hit you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the promise,¡± Ye Jiao mumbled. ¡°If I can withstand the punishment, I can stay to watch their practice.¡± ¡°Jiao¡¯er, you know that you can ask me if you want to know their practice, right?¡± ¡°But Mom said that you didn¡¯t know many physical skills.¡± Ye Ai Xia wanted to refute, but found no words to say. Well, she specialized in using her Eon Energy because Ye Xiao always protected her back in her childhood. Besides, as a beauty and genius, there was no one who dared to challenge her after she had recovered her mental thoughts. As a result, she didn¡¯t have much battling experience. ¡°Fine, but you better not come home in this condition again. You¡¯re going to send me to my early grave,¡± Ye Ai Xia sighed. Ye Jiao was scared. ¡°Mom, you¡¯re not going to die, right?¡± Ye Ai Xia was stunned for a second. She forgot that she was talking with a young child who was still unable to differentiate between sentence with real meaning and those that was only said for figurative meaning. Looking at the trembling girl, she put on an amused smile.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Silly girl, I¡¯m not going to die that soon. I¡¯m still young.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good, Mom,¡± Ye Ai Xia chuckled before hugged the girl and carried her up. ¡°Now, let¡¯s wash you up and tend to your wound. I don¡¯t want your skin to be filled with bruise all over. It¡¯s not good for girls.¡± ¡°Ok, Mom.¡± With gentle movement, Ye Ai Xia helped Ye Jiao to take a bath and applied the ointment. Seeing her bruised skin, she remembered her husband again. Every single day, Ye Xiao would come home filled with wounds here and there. It was her role to reprimand that reckless man and tended his wounds. ¡°Jiao¡¯er, you¡¯re becoming more and more like Xiao Ge,¡± Ye Ai Xia sighed. Ye Jiao raised her head. ¡°I want to become like my dad. He¡¯s very cool.¡± ¡°Oh no, you shouldn¡¯t become like him.¡± If this girl became similar to that reckless, idiot, and stupid husband of hers, she would have to take care of two annoying people. One was already more than enough. Having two of them would just mean more workloads for her. ¡°But Dad is really cool and amazing,¡± Ye Jiao defended. In her eyes, the greatest person she ever knew must be her father. Kind, dependable, and of course, a bit shameless and proud at times. Ye Ai Xia rolled her eyes. ¡®Xiao Ge, what in the world did you feed her with?¡¯ After applying the ointment, Ye Ai Xia sighed and pointed to the backyard. ¡°I have just bought some flower seeds. With your condition, I won¡¯t allow you to train, so you should help me to plant them all.¡± Ye Jiao looked at her legs. Indeed, she wouldn¡¯t be able to climb the trees in this condition. She had to wait for her legs to heal before sneaking out to see the training of the soldiers again. For the time being, she had to use her time to study other things. ¡°What flowers, Mom?¡± ¡°Lilies,¡± Ye Ai Xia replied. ¡°I specifically order them because they¡¯re beautiful. Their seeds are pretty rare in this kingdom.¡± Ye Jiao didn¡¯t have much knowledge over plants or anything like that, but her mother loved them. There were a lot of flowers in the backyard as Ye Ai Xia spent her time to tend them all. As for Ye Jiao, she only visited the place occasionally. Lilies. ¡°Is that the kind of flower that has a lot of meaning, Mom?¡± Ye Jiao¡¯s eyes sparkled with interest. Ye Ai Xia nodded her head. ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll tell you all about them later. Now, can you stand up?¡± Ye Jiao moved her legs slowly to the edge of the bed before climbing down. The moment her feet touched the ground, she could feel a bit of pain. As she put pressure on her feet, the pain increased as she felt as if her muscle was torn apart. Hurriedly, she circulated her Eon Energy and used them to withstand the pain. ¡°Come on, little girl,¡± Ye Ai Xia smiled and put her hand on Ye Jiao¡¯s shoulder, using the slightest bit of Eon Energy to help propping the girl. Ye Jiao nodded her head and stepped forward bit by bit. The distance to the backyard were only several meters, but it took a long time for Ye Jiao to arrive due to her special condition. Her eyes watched the beautiful backyard, filled with flowers and other plants. Ye Ai Xia helped Ye Jiao to sit down on top of a tree stump before taking out a pouch of seeds. She moved to the side and started to plant them with gentle movement. ¡®This place is beautiful.¡¯ The scene of the garden made her felt comfortable. Ye Jiao slowly closed her eyes as she absorbed Eon Energy from outside and circulate it in her body before pushing it to her abdomen to form her core. This way, she would still nourish her body bit by bit in her practice every day. The two of them spent the rest of the day peacefully as Ye Ai Xia enjoyed gardening and Ye Jiao enjoyed the warm Eon Energy that continued to flow into her body. 28. You Shouldn’t be Here It took several days for Ye Jiao to heal completely and started to do physical exercise again. Only after she could finish them without much trouble did she decided to try copy the move that she watched from the soldiers in Chen Kingdom. ¡°The martial art movement from the military is not that good,¡± Ye Ai Xia commented as she watched Ye Jiao moved around in the courtyard. This time, Ye Jiao didn¡¯t go to the forest because her mother wanted to see the movement. Ye Jiao finished her move and caught up her breath as she looked at her mother. ¡°Isn¡¯t it because I still can¡¯t do it right?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not that,¡± Ye Ai Xia chuckled. ¡°The martial arts in this kingdom is not really that good. People mostly only train their Eon Energy to make sure that they can do their job. Those who really need martial arts are people who can bypass rank 3.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re only a real master if you can pass rank 3,¡± Ye Ai Xia smiled. To reach rank 3, except people with red or orange talent, they only needed to work hard and practice every day for years. Eventually, they would surely reach it. But rank 4 was completely different. ¡°But they call rank 1 to be Eon Energy Master,¡± Ye Jiao tilted her head. Ye Ai Xia nodded. ¡°It¡¯s because once they reach rank 1, they can use Eon Energy. To make it sound cooler, they¡¯re termed as Master in this kingdom. But if you go out of this place, you¡¯ll know that rank 3 is just the lowest beginning.¡± ¡°Really? They seem really far from me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because you have just started learning,¡± Ye Ai Xia chuckled. ¡°How do you know all of that, Mom?¡± Ye Ai Xia recalled Ye Xiao and others that happened in the past. When Ye Xiao reached rank 3, he was told about the vastness of the world and the higher ranks that existed. But in this kingdom, it was hard to find them because most of them couldn¡¯t breakthrough despite their immense talent. To reach the higher rank, it was not only Eon Energy that mattered, but also many other qualitative things that she also didn¡¯t know. Just like Ye Xiao unable to breakthrough because of his heart, many other people also reached a bottleneck because they couldn¡¯t come in terms with their mind and situation. If this was the problem, no one would be able to help if it was not from the person himself. ¡°I¡¯m lucky to have proper knowledge and all,¡± Ye Ai Xia replied softly. Ye Jiao furrowed her brows. ¡°But they say it¡¯s hard to make a breakthrough from rank 3, why is that, Mom?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know once you reach rank 3, Jiao¡¯er. For now, you should just focus on forming your core and remember, in front of rank 4 Eon Energy Master, you should never initiate your Eon Energy at all,¡± Ye Ai Xia warned. The necklace wouldn¡¯t be able to hide her in front of rank 4 if she still circulated her Eon Energy.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°Yes, Mom.¡± ¡°Now, you should have some rest. It¡¯s already late.¡± ¡°Mom, I want to visit the training camp again,¡± Ye Jiao uttered her intention. She had remembered all of the move from what she saw before. Even though her movement was still sluggish, she wanted to learn much more. Ye Ai Xia rubbed her forehead. ¡°I know that you want to learn a lot, but there are reasons why only after children reach the age of 12 that they¡¯re allowed to practice martial arts¡¯ movement. Your body won¡¯t be able to hold on without the core.¡± ¡°But Dad starts to learn martial arts when he¡¯s 10 and a half,¡± Ye Jiao remarked. Her father had bragged it to her before, so she still remembered. Ye Ai Xia smiled wryly. At that time, Ye Xiao managed to form his core much to the surprise of many people. This was the greatest advantage of having purple color talent, or A talent. They would have a much faster head start compared to other children. As for her, she only formed one when she was 12, which was slightly above the average age of 13 in this kingdom. ¡°He has formed his core.¡± ¡°I want to beat his record.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± according to your potential that Ye Xiao mentioned, it was possible. Ye Ai Xia recalled the story that their teacher loved to tell. ¡°In the entire world, the youngest person to form their core is 9 years old plus several days. If you train hard, you should be able to form it sooner.¡± Ye Jiao was astounded. She was only seven and a half years old. It has been around one and a half year since she started training but the core inside her body hasn¡¯t even reached half. It would be impossible for her to beat that record. ¡°How much of your core have you formed?¡± ¡°Around 40%,¡± Ye Jiao replied. Ye Ai Xia calculated internally. To her surprise, based on this speed, Ye Jiao should be able to form her core by the age of 10 or even less. It was faster than Ye Xiao albeit slower than the record. This daughter of hers is really a genius. ¡°Then, you should focus on forming your core. Don¡¯t think too much of other things.¡± ¡°I still want to watch.¡± ¡°You!¡± After a long debate with Ye Ai Xia, Ye Jiao finally gained the permission to sneak out again. Despite worried of Ye Jiao¡¯s safety, Ye Ai Xia couldn¡¯t venture as deep as the girl. Her position was always monitored every single day, so she had to stay near her residence except when she came to take the food, which the servants delivered right outside her residence. Using the same way as before, Ye Jiao climbed the trees and headed to the training camp. Her eyes lit up when she saw Mu Hong and his soldier not far from the wall again. ¡°General, that kid is here again.¡± Mu Hong paid no heed to the soldier¡¯s information. He had seen that girl climbed down and then hid behind the tree. Seeing how agile she moved, he could guess that she must have healed completely from the wounds she sustained before. ¡°Continue your practice!¡± ¡°Yes, Sir!¡± He made his way to the girl with complicated feeling. Looking her hopeful gaze, he knew that she wanted to stay here to study. ¡°Girl, you have seen the one before. It should be enough to practice the basic. Rather than focusing on martial arts, kids like you should just focus on studying.¡± ¡°I want to become stronger,¡± Ye Jiao replied. Mu Hong pointed to the soldiers behind him. ¡°They¡¯re all Eon Energy Master. The lowest among them is rank 2, so they can train martial art. The only one you can train is the first one that I let you see. Other martial art requires Eon Energy if you want to practice them.¡± Ye Jiao peered to the back. ¡°Is there really nothing?¡± ¡°Listen here, little girl, you can watch the training as I have promised you before. However, it won¡¯t be beneficial for you because your body hasn¡¯t formed a core.¡± Ye Jiao glanced up to the general before nodding her small head. Her mother also told her the same thing, she had to focus on forming her own core rather than worrying about fighting. ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll return back.¡± ¡°Good.¡± With that, Ye Jiao turned around with the intention to go back. However, it was at this time that she heard a familiar infuriating voice. ¡°Hey! What is that trash doing here? She shouldn¡¯t be here.¡± 29. You are Not Qualified Two people walked into the training camp, one young man and one little girl. The soldiers quickly salute the two of them when they passed while Mu Hong only nodded his head slightly. As a general with high position, he didn¡¯t have to bow down or saluted this young master and young miss. The one who shouted was the girl, Wei Mi. ¡°General Mu, what¡¯s this trash doing here?¡± ¡°Young Miss of Wei Family, she sneaks inside just now,¡± Mu Hong replied truthfully. His face remained stoic without any ripple of emotion. ¡°Oh,¡± the young man with gray robe, Wei Cheng, arched his eyebrow. ¡°It seems that this place has severe lack in security for even a trash can get in.¡± ¡°You should discuss it with your father,¡± Mu Hong replied somberly. Wei Cheng harrumphed in annoyance. He didn¡¯t really like Mu Hong because of how this general behaves. However, as one of the most accomplished general after his father in this kingdom, Mu Hong has high position that even the King respected. He had no choice but to keep his real feeling under warp when meeting with Mu Hong. Ye Jiao watched the two of them warily. She still remembered her last encounter with them. Wei Cheng used his power to severely restrain her because he had formed his core. Now, several weeks after that incident, she was pretty sure that Wei Cheng had started to consolidate his power. Should she run? But if she used the same way to return back, they would know how she could come here. If they cut down the tree, she would never be able to come here again in the future and would forever be confined in that suffocating residence. ¡°May I ask what is Young Master of Wei Family¡¯s intention in coming here?¡± Mu Hong asked in polite yet not really tone. Wei Cheng patted his sword on his hips. ¡°I have consolidated most part of my core, so it¡¯s time for me to start training on how to use my sword. My father wants me to come training in the training camp starting today.¡± ¡°If you want to train, you should go to the youth division and not here. I don¡¯t accept children.¡± Even though Wei Cheng came here with the purpose of asking Mu Hong to train him, he didn¡¯t really have much hope. His father had told him that Mu Hong was someone with a lot of pride and strict discipline to follow the rule. Accepting children below the age of 15 was out of the question, which was the reason his soldiers mostly formed of second rank to third rank. However, not all of them were training in this training camp. Only the elites trained under Mu Hong directly while the rest was handled by his subordinates. ¡°I see,¡± Wei Cheng put on a smile on his face yet his eyes showed no mirth. ¡°I understand, General Mu. I¡¯ll come to the youth division after I finish dealing with this trash.¡±The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Mu Hong noticed the hostile tone that Wei Cheng used whenever he mentioned Ye Jiao. He was not sure of their relationship, but one glance was what he needed to tell that they didn¡¯t have good relationship. If they tried to fight right here, he would stop them because the rule prohibited real fight if it was not a spar. But if Wei Cheng just used his power to suppress Ye Jiao, he couldn¡¯t do anything. Protecting this little girl was clearly out of the question because he didn¡¯t want to delve into more troubles because of the bad relationship between Ye and Wei Family. ¡°I won¡¯t stop you, but you have to abide the rules.¡± Wei Cheng smiled. It was just like what his father said, Mu Hong was a stuck-up general who followed after rules strictly. Of course, if it was real war, there was no such thing called rule. All is fair in the war. ¡°Trash, did you forget what I tell you not long ago?¡± Wei Cheng asked in an arrogant tone. Ye Jiao gritted her teeth. She didn¡¯t forget. This young man had purposely come to find her just to tell her that she didn¡¯t have any position in Wei Family. Because of her so-called low position, she had to bow down in front of them. But she didn¡¯t want to. Why should she bow down in front of this annoying young man and girl? Just because of her low position, it meant that she could be bullied every single time? ¡°Ge ge,¡± Wei Mi called. ¡°She¡¯s not just a trash, but also very stupid. It seems that you have to remind her again.¡± Wei Cheng shrugged. In the next second, he emitted out his Eon Energy. Although his control was exceptionally bad, it was more than enough to put pressure. Still, this was not really a good practice for someone who had just formed his core because it would require excessive amount, which meant that he couldn¡¯t hold out for long. Ye Jiao¡¯s body felt like it was hammered down to the ground. She gritted her teeth as she realized that the pressure from Wei Cheng was much higher than before. It felt as if he wanted to crush her bone. ¡°Kneel down!¡± Wei Cheng ordered. Even under the pressure, Ye Jiao didn¡¯t wish to kneel in front of this young man. Pushing her body¡¯s strength to the limit by circulating her Eon Energy, she stood there. Her legs were shaking, but her eyes showed nothing but determination. From the side, Mu Hong watched everything in silence. As Eon Energy Master rank 3, he has sharper sense than these children. He could sense the faint sense of threat coming from Ye Jiao¡¯s eyes. Her eyes seemed to be filled with resolution and unwillingness, much more than before. ¡®There¡¯s a sense of chills coming from her.¡¯ This level of threat wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything to him, but he really didn¡¯t understand. How come a young girl who hadn¡¯t formed her core was able to emit pressure that sent fear? It was faint, but it was clearly there. ¡°She¡¯s stubborn, Ge,¡± Wei Mi frowned. Wei Cheng nodded and added more power. His back has started to be filled with sweat because he had used up a lot of Eon Energy just to try suppressing the girl. This time, Ye Jiao¡¯s body was unable to hold on. Her legs trembled before she fell down to the ground. Her two hands propped her body from slamming down to the ground as the pressure seemed to increase on her back. We Cheng harrumphed. ¡°That¡¯s far better.¡± Ye Jiao gnashed her teeth as she looked to the ground. She was unwilling to be in this position, being pressure by others without the ability to fight back. It was so infuriating. ¡°Kick her out,¡± Wei Cheng said as he retracted his Eon Energy. His core has used up more than half of his Eon Energy. As he had just recently formed his core, he couldn¡¯t use it properly other than pushing it out recklessly in the form of aura. ¡°A trash like her is not qualified to be here.¡± With that, the two siblings walked away to find the youth division. 30. Mu Xin Ye Jiao moved her body to a sitting position once they have left. Her breath was in disorder because she had to use all of the power inside her body to withstand the pressure. However, her eyes didn¡¯t show any trace of weakness whatsoever. All that she showed was eyes filled with determination. ¡°Wang Jun,¡± Mu Hong called. ¡°Yes, Sir,¡± Wang Jun appeared before Mu Hong swiftly. He looked quite angry at the treatment that Ye Jiao received, but he was not in the position to interfere. If he dared to do anything, Wei Shang would be glad to kick him out of the army. His position was simply too low. ¡°Take her to here,¡± Mu Hong handed a paper to Wang Jun. Seeing the content of the paper, Wang Jun was stunned. It was a place that he didn¡¯t expect Mu Hong to allow Ye Jiao to come to. However, he wouldn¡¯t ask this general for his reason. There was no need to dig his early grave on his own. Wang Jun approached Ye Jiao. ¡°Miss, please pardon me.¡± ¡°I can walk just fine.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a place that General Mu wants you to see.¡± ¡°What?¡± Ye Jiao was suspicious, but before she could react, Wang Jun have scooped her up and dashed through the training camp. This time, Wang Jun used his Eon Energy to speed up his movement, making him moved even faster than before. Ye Jiao was annoyed. With this person¡¯s strength, she wouldn¡¯t be able to get out of his grip. And in this speed, she might die if she fell down to the ground. Because of that, she focused her attention to the power that Wang Jun exerted. ¡®This should be slightly weaker than Dad, so perhaps, rank 2?¡¯ She assessed the power of this young soldier as she scrutinized his face. This man was quite young, around 17 or 18 of age. With the power he showed, he should have a rather good talent, which around blue or light blue. After all, to be able to reach rank 2 before the age of 20 could only come from light blue or above talent. Her train of thoughts stopped when Wang Jun stopped his movement. By then, the two of them have arrived before a large residence. The wall was painted in bright cream and red color. With the numerous plants around them, it gave off the feeling of peace and at the same time, spirit. ¡°Jun Ge, what are you doing here?¡± The female voice caused Ye Jiao to turn her head around. She could see a young girl around the age of 11 with blue hair standing not far from her. The icy aura around the person caused Ye Jiao to recall a girl that she met more than a year ago.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Senior Mu?¡± The girl, Mu Xin, looked at Ye Jiao. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Ah, I¡¯m Ye Jiao,¡± Ye Jiao replied. Wang Jun had placed her back on the ground as the girl stared at the young girl before her. ¡°Ye Jiao as in that famous name?¡± Mu Xin arched her eyebrows. Ye Jiao nodded her head. She was thankful that Mu Xin didn¡¯t blatantly said the word ¡®trash¡¯ because that was how people termed her most of the time. ¡°Yes.¡± Mu Xin glanced at Ye Jiao up and down. There was nothing special in this girl before her, but her father would never let just anyone come to their residence. ¡°Have we met before?¡± ¡°Senior Mu helped me when I came to visit the academy around a year ago,¡± Ye Jiao answered. Mu Xin furrowed her brows slightly. She could not remember that time at all. There were a lot of things that occurred in the school every single day, making her unable to remember the detail for each and every one of them. ¡°Miss Xin, your father left this message for you,¡± Wang Jun showed the piece of paper that Mu Hong gave to him not long ago. Mu Xin read the content before returning it back to Wang Jun. ¡°Tell father that I understand. You can leave now, Jun Ge.¡± ¡°Yes, Miss.¡± Ye Jiao watched Wang Jun disappeared before turning her head to Mu Xin once again, clearly didn¡¯t understand what was going on. Mu Xin pointed to the house behind them. ¡°Follow me inside. I¡¯ll tell you.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The house was big from the outside, but seeing it from inside made it seemed to be much bigger than from outside. There were not many items around, but they were placed in a way that would make one felt comfortable. Ye Jiao followed after Mu Xin through several corridors before they arrived by a large room. Her eyes widened when she sensed the massive amount of Eon Energy in the room. In the next second, her attention was placed on the several wooden weapons and pillars in the middle of the room. ¡°This is my training room,¡± Mu Xin said. ¡°My Father wants you to practice with me, but I don¡¯t like to practice with other people.¡± She wouldn¡¯t look down at Ye Jiao because of her infamous name. It was just part of her nature that she disliked to train with other people. There were a lot of people who tried to get close to her because of her talent. She was fed up with them. What she wanted was to train to become stronger and even stronger. Those people who only knew how to bootlick people made her disgusted. ¡°Practice with you?¡± Ye Jiao¡¯s eyes widened. She didn¡¯t expect that general to make such an arrangement to her. From the way she saw that general before, he seemed to be someone who followed after the rule strictly and hated children. He even rejected training Wei Cheng despite the latter came to him personally. ¡°Yes,¡± Mu Xin said in flat tone. Ye Jiao glanced around for a few seconds. ¡°General Mu tells me that children shouldn¡¯t practice martial arts before forming their core, but you practice them.¡± ¡°I only learn the basic plus basic combat,¡± Mu Xin answered. ¡°Spar with me. If you can win, I won¡¯t bother you anymore.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t do,¡± Ye Jiao didn¡¯t want to lose the chance to practice with Mu Xin. From the way Wei Liao and Wei Mi behaved around this girl before, she could guess that Mu Xin was quite powerful herself. The chance to come and practice with this cold girl didn¡¯t come that easy. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°I want to practice together with you,¡± Ye Jiao replied. Mu Xin frowned. ¡°If you hinder my practice, I¡¯ll still kick you out. Is that clear?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s start.¡± 31. Training Partner After saying that, Mu Xin¡¯s disposition changed greatly. Her eyes were locked straight to Ye Jiao before she rushed to the girl. Her fingers formed a fist before punching straight to Ye Jiao¡¯s stomach. Ye Jiao¡¯s eyes could follow Mu Xin¡¯s speed, but her body couldn¡¯t. The strike landed on her stomach as she forced her body to withstand the impact. She shifted her weight to the left before lifting her right legs, sending a kick to Mu Xin¡¯s stomach. Pak! Mu Xin used her hand to block the kick. Her right hand swung to make a slap while Ye Jiao forcefully jumped to the back using one legs. Her small body could clearly feel the burden, so she swiftly circulated the Eon Energy inside her body to help her ease the strain. ¡°You¡¯re not bad,¡± Mu Xin commented. ¡°But this is only the beginning.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t lose,¡± Ye Jiao replied back. ¡°Is that so?¡± Mu Xin charged straight to Ye Jiao once again, sending a punch and a kick to her direction. As Ye Jiao barely learned martial art, her blocks and attack were all over the place. Numerous hits reached her body as she just forcefully withstood the pain. ¡®It hurts.¡¯ Ye Jiao raised her arm and blocked the punch from Mu Xin. She pushed her hand back and send a punch back to the girl. However, Mu Xin moved to the side and used one arm to move her trajectory. At the same time, her other hand formed a fist and punched straight to Ye Jiao¡¯s stomach. *cough* *cough* Being pushed to the back, Ye Jiao felt that her inner organs were screaming because of that clean punch. The punch hit her right in her weak spot, churning her inside because of the force. ¡°You alright?¡± Mu Xin asked. Ye Jiao nodded her head as she continued to circulate Eon Energy in her body. She struggled to stand up as Mu Xin looked at the young girl before her. It was clear that Ye Jiao was unable to fight any longer, but this girl struggled to stand up again. ¡°It¡¯s still not finished, right?¡± Ye Jiao readied her stance again, yet her legs were already shaking.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Mu Xin shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t want to fight against you again. You don¡¯t have any strength to block my punch again.¡± ¡°Ah, but¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you can practice with me,¡± Mu Xin cut off Ye Jiao¡¯s words. ¡°Sit down there, I¡¯ll take the ointment for you.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± After Mu Xin walked out of the room, Ye Jiao sat down on the ground as she inspected her body. Mu Xin¡¯s strength was clearly abnormal. That girl hadn¡¯t formed her core, but Mu Xin had managed to make her body felt pain all over. Slowly, she absorbed Eon Energy from the surroundings. At first, she did it slowly then faster and faster, straight to the place for her core. Ye Jiao was pleasantly surprised because it seemed that she could absorb them much faster. In addition, her muscle would become stronger with the nourishment of Eon Energy. ¡®Wait, did it mean I have to be beaten up every single time?¡¯ Ye Jiao¡¯s lips twitched when she thought of getting beaten up for practice. That was clearly a big no. The pain was not a joke, but the speed at which she absorbed Eon Energy seemed to increase and made her muscle stronger. Now, she was in a dilemma. Mu Xin pushed open the door as she carried a box in her hand. She sat down near Ye Jiao. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there are a lot of good medicine here.¡± ¡°Ah, thank you, Senior Mu.¡± ¡°Here, let me help you.¡± ¡°I can do it by myself.¡± ¡°I insist.¡± The way Mu Xin talked made her remember that general. These two had somewhat authoritative tone in their voice, making it hard for her to refuse them. In the end, Ye Jiao allowed Mu Xin to help her applied the ointment. ¡°How about your body, Senior Mu?¡± ¡°I¡¯m good,¡± Mu Xin replied shortly. ¡°Your attack is too weak to give me wounds or anything.¡± Ye Jiao smiled wryly. She looked at Mu Xin curiously. ¡°Have you formed your core?¡± ¡°Not yet. My progress slows down because my father wants me to practice my physical body,¡± Mu Xin said calmly. ¡°But this will make me reach rank 1 faster after I form my core.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Ye Jiao was astounded. Mu Xin nodded her head. ¡°Rank 1 Eon Energy Master are those who are capable of controlling their Eon Energy to their entire body even to the cell. With training my body, I also practiced how to control them to my muscle little by little. It¡¯ll make me stronger and at the same time, learning how to control them.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Ye Jiao understood. Still, she was unable to control it deeper to her body. Just controlling it to form her core was already taxing enough, so she had to do it step by step. After all, it was not too late to learn them after reaching rank 1 in the future. ¡°You¡¯re weird, Ye Jiao,¡± Mu Xin commented as she watched Ye Jiao fell into deep contemplation. Most children around her would just say that it was a useless practice. It was easier to form their core first before worrying about the higher rank. After all, trying to move their Eon Energy to other place than their core took a lot of effort. Ye Jiao tilted her head. ¡°Really? I think I¡¯m quite normal.¡± Mu Xin didn¡¯t answer again. She put the box to the side before siting cross legged. ¡°I¡¯ll train my Eon Energy to restore my strength. You¡¯re free to do anything you want here.¡± After she said that, Mu Xin focused her attention completely to absorb the Eon Energy and used them to form her core and strengthen her muscle. By the side, Ye Jiao chose to sit down and did the same. She didn¡¯t want to slack off. 32. Arrangement Ye Jiao didn¡¯t know how many hours passed when she heard the sound of the door opened. Her eyes fluttered open as she stared at the door where Mu Hong was standing with stoic face. ¡°Father,¡± Mu Xin greeted. ¡°General Mu,¡± Ye Jiao quickly followed suit. Mu Hong nodded and came closer. His eyes scrutinized Mu Xin¡¯s body. ¡°How¡¯s the training with Ye Jiao today?¡± ¡°I spar with her once.¡± ¡°Do you want to practice with her again?¡± Mu Xin furrowed her brows. ¡°She¡¯s too far from my level, Father. I feel like bullying a little kid when I spar with her.¡± Ye Jiao smiled embarrassedly. There was a gap of four years between her and Mu Xin. It was obvious that she was lacking far behind Mu Xin in many aspects. Asking her to have the same strength as this girl was clearly impossible. Mu Hong nodded his head. He also knew that. ¡°I know, but I don¡¯t ask her to be your practice partner because she has sufficient skill. Rather, I want you to learn how to control your power.¡± Control her power? Mu Xin looked back at her father. ¡°Father, what do you mean?¡± ¡°Most of the time, you¡¯re always using your full power when you¡¯re fighting. It¡¯s indeed necessary when your opponent is strong. But if you¡¯re fighting against someone far weaker than you, you¡¯ll have to limit your strength unless you want to kill that person.¡± Kill. This one word sent chills to the two girls. Even though Ye Jiao had seen numerous beasts killed by her father before, not a single one of them was human. The thought of killing other people terrified her a bit as her young age made her knowledge rather limited. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t want that, would you?¡± Mu Hong was satisfied when he saw the two¡¯s reaction. ¡°There are a lot of ways to learn how to control your strength. One of them is by purposely sparing with someone weaker. Of course, you¡¯ll still spar with me from time to time to make sure that your skill wouldn¡¯t get rusty. Do you understand, Xin¡¯er?¡± Mu Xin nodded her head. All these times, she always thought of fighting using her entire strength even against far weaker people. There were already a lot of them whom she sent to hospital because of her excessive strength. What she needed to do was to learn how to control her strength and gauge opponent¡¯s strength correctly.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°I understand, Father.¡± ¡°Good. I also want you to start training your skill against someone else. You don¡¯t like fighting with other students your age, but what about her?¡± Mu Xin glanced at Ye Jiao. The fight with Ye Jiao didn¡¯t last long, but it was full of unexpected situations. Besides, the determination in Ye Jiao¡¯s eyes made it clear that this girl didn¡¯t have any other intention other than training. ¡°She¡¯s not that bad,¡± Mu Xin admitted. Internally, Mu Hong was smiling. He knew that only someone who was equally stubborn as his daughter could possibly make this cold girl to acknowledge. Other people who only got close to her because of her talent was clearly out of the question. They only wanted connection and not training partner. ¡°Do you have any objection for my arrangement?¡± ¡°None, Father.¡± ¡°Good,¡° Mu Hong pointed to the door. ¡°It¡¯s nearly time for dinner. You should take a bath and go to the dining room.¡± ¡°Yes, Father.¡± Ye Jiao listened to their conversation attentively. This was the first time she knew that there was a method of training like this. Her eyes were locked on Mu Hong before she bowed. ¡°Thank you for this chance, General Mu.¡± Mu Hong looked at Ye Jiao. Actually, there was no need for him to purposely ask this little girl to come here and helped his daughter. After all, he only planned on teaching this thing to Mu Xin a year after this because at that time, his daughter would have formed her core. However, the stubbornness and faint sense of threat he received from Ye Jiao made him realized that this girl might have a bright future. This was just an instinct, so he decided to give it a try. Seeing that Mu Xin didn¡¯t have a lot of rejection to Ye Jiao meant that it was possible for him to make the two of them got close. ¡°You have to train hard too, little girl.¡± ¡°Yes, General,¡± Ye Jiao looked back at Mu Hong timidly. ¡°May I ask something?¡± ¡°Ask away.¡± ¡°Why do you help me, General Mu? There shouldn¡¯t be any benefit, right?¡± Mu Hong stared back at Ye Jiao. The girl was staring back at him with her large eyes filled with confusion. Normal people would think the same way because there was no reason for him to take this girl in. ¡°You can help Mu Xin practice. Besides, that stubbornness you show saying that you want to get strong when you¡¯re this weak,¡± Mu Hong stopped for a moment. ¡°I don¡¯t dislike it.¡± Ye Jiao could detect melancholic tone from the general before her. Even though she didn¡¯t know why, she was sure that the topic made the general remembered something in his past. This tone made her felt rather uncomfortable. ¡°Ye Jiao thanks General Mu for your help.¡± ¡°Train hard. Mu Xin will be a great sparring partner for you,¡± Mu Hong said calmly. ¡°Also, remember that you have to start gauge your own strength better if you want to become stronger.¡± ¡°Yes, General,¡± Ye Jiao was not sure what this general meant by gauging her strength. She had to do some test one way or another to find out her real strength. But it might be for the future as the current her was still extremely weak without any remarkable traits. ¡°Wang Jun.¡± ¡°Sir!¡± ¡°Take Ye Jiao home.¡± ¡°Yes, Sir.¡± With that, Ye Jiao was escorted home using a peculiar transportation means. 33. I Want You to Stay Safe Ye Jiao arrived home pretty quickly. She couldn¡¯t see the way that Wang Jun used because he was simply too fast for her to detect. By the time she realized, they had arrived in front of her residence. ¡°Miss, we have arrived.¡± ¡°Thank you, Jun Ge,¡± Ye Jiao stepped on the ground and turned around to look at Wang Jun. She smiled brightly. Wang Jun nodded his head. ¡°It¡¯s my duty.¡± ¡°Jiao¡¯er, can you explain to me why you¡¯re being escorted home again?¡± The two of them were surprised to hear the sudden voice from behind them. Ye Ai Xia was standing with her arm crossed. Even though it was already night time, the two of them could see Ye Ai Xia¡¯s angry expression. It was clear that she felt pissed off to see Ye Jiao returned back home while being escorted. ¡°Mom, I have new friend today,¡± Ye Jiao waved her hand, trying to distract her mother in fear that she really erupted. Her mother is Eon Energy Master Ran 3. If she tried to battle Wang Jun, it wouldn¡¯t be easy for him to get away unscathed. ¡°New friend?¡± Ye Ai Xia¡¯s gaze lingered on Wang Jun. Honestly, Wang Jun really wanted to run away as fast as possible. However, he knew better than anyone that the woman in front of him was far stronger than him. Before he could go more than two meters, Ye Ai Xia would have captured him back. ¡°Yes, her name is Mu Xin. I¡¯ll tell you everything later, Mom,¡± Ye Jiao said again. Mu Xin? Ye Ai Xia might be someone who stayed in the residence all the time, but it didn¡¯t mean that she didn¡¯t have any knowledge over the people in the capital. She didn¡¯t know Mu Xin, but she knew Mu Hong. Based on the surname alone, it was clear that Mu Xin must be Mu Hong¡¯s daughter. The next question remained was, how in the world Ye Jiao got acquaintance with them? ¡°You mean Mu Hong¡¯s daughter?¡± Ye Ai Xia turned her gaze to Wang Jun. ¡°You must be a soldier from the first division.¡± ¡°Yes, Madam,¡± Wang Jun bowed down. Ye Ai Xia crossed her arm. ¡°Tell me, what is it that General Mu wants from my daughter?¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°General Mu wishes for Miss Ye Jiao to accompany Miss Mu Xin in her training and train together in their place every two days.¡± Two days? Ye Jiao looked at her bruised arm. Well, it was good that she didn¡¯t have to come every day. If she had to spar against Mu Xin every single day, she would be beaten up black and blue every day. It was not something she wanted. ¡°How old is Mu Xin?¡± ¡°Miss Mu Xin is 11 years old.¡± Ye Ai Xia arched her eyebrows, killing intent permeated out from her body. ¡°Are you kidding with me? Mu Xin is already close to forming her core while Ye Jiao is still far away.¡± ¡°They¡¯re not training their core,¡± Wang Jun tried to explain. He didn¡¯t understand why Ye Ai Xia would think about this matter since from what he knew, Ye Jiao was a trash without ability to absorb Eon Energy. ¡°It¡¯s martial arts training to enhance their strength and basic combat.¡± ¡°Will Mu Xin bully Ye Jiao?¡± ¡°No, General Mu wants Miss Mu Xin to train her strength.¡± Ye Ai Xia knew that the training after forming one¡¯s core was to train their strength and used it appropriately. What she didn¡¯t expect was Mu Hong wished for Mu Xin to learn it much faster than other children. ¡®That general is quite harsh in his teaching.¡¯ ¡°I understand. Tell Mu Hong that if he dares to bully Ye Jiao, I don¡¯t mind snatching his title as the current strongest rank 3,¡± Ye Ai Xia harrumphed as she released a part of her power, crushing Wang Jun¡¯s body with immense pressure. Compared with Wei Cheng, Ye Ai Xia has complete control of her power. It was easy for her to direct it to give pressure to one person and didn¡¯t affect Ye Jiao in the slightest. Wang Jun¡¯s back was filled with sweat. He could sense that the strength Ye Ai Xia gave off was clearly stronger than their general. From what he heard; Ye Ai Xia¡¯s strength was only somewhat in the middle as she didn¡¯t have the right mindset to breakthrough to rank 4. But this power¡­ It was clearly someone who was already close to breaking through rank 4. If the two of them clashed, it would be a grand clash of two people at the peak of rank 3. Neither one of them seemed to have the chance to breakthrough because of their mental condition, but their battle would surely be big. ¡°Yes, Madam.¡± The pressure disappeared after he replied. Without waiting for another second, Wang Jun fled for his life. He worried that Ye Ai Xia would change her decision and decided to beat him up black and blue. With his Eon Energy at rank 2, he was not her match at all. Ye Jiao was amazed when she heard her mother¡¯s declaration. Warm feeling filled her chest as she made her way to her mother. ¡°You¡¯re amazing, Mom.¡± ¡°You¡¯re really making me worried, Jiao¡¯er,¡± Ye Ai Xia sighed and reached out to Ye Jiao before hugging the girl in her embrace tightly. Scanning this little girl¡¯s body made her noticed that she must be wounded hard. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mom.¡± ¡°You little idiot,¡± Ye Ai Xia sighed. ¡°You can train all you want and practice hard using different kind of means. I don¡¯t mind them at all. As long as you can stay safe and return back home in one piece, I don¡¯t mind. Mom wants you to stay safe.¡± The warmth from her mother¡¯s embrace and words touched Ye Jiao¡¯s heart. She knew that she had made her mother worried sick because of her reckless attitude. However, she wanted to get stronger and even stronger. ¡°Jiao¡¯er, promise me that you¡¯ll keep yourself safe. That¡¯s all I ask.¡± ¡°Yes, Mom,¡± Ye Jiao replied. ¡°I¡¯ll not do anything dangerous when I¡¯m training right now.¡± ¡°Right now? Do you mean you¡¯ll when you¡¯re stronger?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Jiao¡¯er!¡± 34. I Still Have a Long Way to Go Ye Jiao looked down. She knew that in the future, she would have to train fighting with beasts and many others. At that time, she might get hurt and wounded badly. Trying to keep herself safe all the time was impossible. Ye Ai Xia sighed as she caressed Ye Jiao¡¯s face. ¡°Jiao¡¯er, look at Mom.¡± Slowly, Ye Jiao raised her head. Her eyes were staring back at her mother¡¯s green iris. ¡°Mom.¡± ¡°Even though the world outside will be dangerous, you have to prioritize your life. Don¡¯t be greedy in front of treasure, but you shouldn¡¯t back down when you¡¯re being treated unfairly. Different condition calls for different solution.¡± Ye Jiao looked back at her mother with confusion. The little her couldn¡¯t understand what her mother meant as she was still too small. Ye Ai Xia sighed. ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s go and treat your wounds.¡± ¡°Senior Mu has treated them. I already use ointment,¡± Ye Jiao explained to her mother. Afterwards, she continued to tell the story of her training that day and many others, including her suspicion that her training speed seemed to increase. Listening to Ye Jiao¡¯s story, Ye Ai Xia came to the conclusion that Mu Hong and Mu Xin truly wanted Ye Jiao to train with them. They didn¡¯t train her poorly and let her came to the room filled with Eon Energy albeit they didn¡¯t know that Ye Jiao could absorb them. ¡°Mom, could it be that if I get beaten up, I can train much faster?¡± Pfft! Ye Ai Xia laughed freely. The conclusion that Ye Jiao came after training in that place seemed to be extremely outstanding. She shook her head as she wiped her tears that came out because of her laugh. ¡°Hahaha, it¡¯s not that at all, Jiao¡¯er. Your training become faster because of the amount of Eon Energy in that room is much more than outside. After you have reached a certain stage, you will need place with denser Eon Energy if you want to progress faster,¡± Ye Ai Xia explained. Every place contained Eon Energy in the air, but it was different in every place. After reaching 30-40% in the core forming, children¡¯s speed would slow down in normal condition. They would need a place that has dense Eon Energy gathered, like the place where Ye Xiao brought Ye Jiao back when the little girl started learning. ¡°It means that my progress is faster because I¡¯m in that room filled with Eon Energy?¡± Ye Jiao asked. She thought that it was because she got beaten up. Thankfully, it was not that. Ye Ai Xia nodded her head as she stifled her laugh. ¡°Mu Xin should have formed around 80-90% of her core. She will need a place with denser Eon Energy to form her core.¡±This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Besides, the Mu Family was known to have larger strength than ordinary people. If they used their Eon Energy to train their muscle too, their speed of progress would slow down in forming their core. Even with the help of the special place, it was entirely possible for them to become slower than what their talent suggested. At this time, Ye Ai Xia looked at her daughter. Ye Xiao had told her that he asked Ye Jiao to train her physical body too. Even though with stronger body they would be able to absorb more Eon Energy, it would slow down her progress in forming her core because many of them were directed at her muscle and not her abdomen. ¡®But her progress is already 45%.¡¯ Could it be that if she focuses entirely in forming her core, she could reach 50% or even more? Ye Ai Xia shook her head slightly. That kind of talent would be too much to think of. Both her and Ye Xiao didn¡¯t have that much talent to begin with. ¡®I shouldn¡¯t think too much. It might just be because of the Eon Energy that she absorbs from that place when she¡¯s six.¡¯ ¡°Mom, I¡¯ll be training in Mu Residence every two days, so it meant that I will still train at home,¡± Ye Jiao looked at her mother. ¡°Can mother teaches me knowledge too?¡± Ye Ai Xia nodded her head. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll teach you basic knowledge.¡± ¡°What is the basic knowledge, Mom?¡± ¡°Mathematic, geography, history, physics, laws, arts,¡­¡± Hearing her mother listed out a lot of things to learn, Ye Jiao felt like fainting. There were so many! Little did she know that part of them were actually things that only children over the age of 12 learned after they formed their core. But of course, Ye Ai Xia would not care about them and decided to just teach everything to Ye Jiao. ¡°I¡¯ll take a bath first, Mom.¡± ¡°Ok, I have readied the water.¡± Ye Jiao dashed to the bathroom as she tried not to think too much. She has learned a lot because of the books she read all these years. However, they were still lacking compared with the number of lessons her mother uttered just now. ¡®I still have a long way to go.¡¯ After bath and dinner, Ye Ai Xia started teaching Ye Jiao the knowledge regarding geography. Thanks to Ye Jiao¡¯s prior knowledge after helping out in farming, she could understand the basic better. However, Ye Ai Xia would move up the lesson right after Ye Jiao grasped the basic. In the end, their lesson lasted until it was bed time for Ye Jiao. ¡°Jiao¡¯er?¡± Ye Ai Xia noticed that Ye Jiao didn¡¯t answer anymore. She looked over her book and noticed that the girl had put her head on the table. She smiled slightly. ¡°Am I too harsh? Come on, Jiao¡¯er, you have to sleep on the bed.¡± With that, Ye Ai Xia carried her daughter to the bedroom. With gentle movement, she placed her daughter on top of the bed before pulling the blanket to cover up the little girl. Afterward, she leaned in and planted a kiss on the girl¡¯s forehead. ¡°Sweet dream.¡± Ye Ai Xia walked out of the room and cleaned up the books on the table before walking to the garden behind the house. Her eyes caught the sight of the newly planted flower that she planted not long ago. It has started to show the bud. She smiled slightly before standing in the middle and started to absorb the Eon Energy around her. Near the nature, there will be much more Eon Energy existed. ¡®I¡¯ll also grow stronger, Jiao¡¯er.¡¯ After seeing her daughter was so determined to grow stronger and Ye Xiao leaving them, Ye Ai Xia felt a sense of crisis. She started to be more diligent and trained her Eon Energy. Even though she might not pass the requirement to breakthrough, she would become the strongest Eon Energy Master Rank 3. If something happened to Ye Xiao, she would be the only one left to protect Ye Jiao. Before Ye Jiao could become strong enough to protect herself, she too has to become even stronger. She didn¡¯t want to lose the two of them. 35. Know Your Place! By morning, Ye Ai Xia had finished her practice. She noticed that Ye Jiao had woken up, so she quickly returned back home. ¡°Good morning, Mom,¡± Ye Jiao smiled brightly. ¡°Good morning, Sweetheart. How¡¯s your sleep last night?¡± Ye Jiao snuggled in her mother¡¯s embrace. It was so warm. ¡°I sleep deeply, Mom. There didn¡¯t seem to be anything that bother me during my sleep at all. Also, it feels as if this place has become warmer, Mom.¡± ¡°Warmer?¡± Ye Ai Xia was perplexed. There was nothing different in this place than before. Ye Jiao nodded her head. Her eyes scanned the surrounding. ¡°There are much more Eon Energy around here than before.¡± Ah. Ye Ai Xia recalled the garden behind the residence. She had planted much more flowers and other plants there. As plants could provide much more Eon Energy rather than cities, it made the concentration of Eon Energy in this place thicker than before. However, she clearly didn¡¯t feel the Eon Energy to be warm. At most, it would make her feel comfortable. ¡°Eon Energy makes you feel warm?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Ye Jiao nodded her head. ¡°It¡¯s warm and so comfortable.¡± Ye Ai Xia looked at her daughter with suspicion. She walked to the kitchen and beckoned for the young girl to follow after her. Ye Jiao followed after her mother curiously and saw that her mother was standing right beside the stove. With slight movement, Ye Ai Xia started the fire. ¡°Jiao¡¯er, come over here and stay near the fire.¡± Ye Jiao looked at her mother with confusion. It was not winter and even in winter, their place didn¡¯t have snow because the four kingdoms were located at the south area. Except for the slightly lower temperature, there was not much chance during winter than now. She stood before the stove obediently as her eyes looked at the fire curiously. There were a lot of Eon Energy around the fire, which she slowly absorbed into her body. Rather than scorching hot, all she felt was that the Eon Energy was slightly hotter than the usual warmth she felt. ¡°It¡¯s a bit hotter.¡± ¡°¡­Compared to the one you used to absorb?¡± Ye Jiao nodded her head. ¡°Yes.¡± Ye Ai Xia frowned. If it was not fire, then what? As she was pondering, she noticed that the servants have come to deliver the food to them. ¡°I¡¯ll take the food. You stay here and practice, Jiao¡¯er.¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Yes, Mom,¡± Ye Jiao sat near the stove and started to practice. She could distinctively sense that there seemed to be two different feeling from the Eon Energy she absorbed that day. Even though it was not too clear, she knew that it must be there. Ye Ai Xia walked out of the house and saw two servants walked with a basket in their hand. Her brows knitted when she saw the size of the basket. It had grown smaller. ¡°Here¡¯s your share today,¡± one of them said sarcastically. As they turned around to leave, Ye Ai Xia looked below the small blanket. Her blood boiled in rage when she saw the content. ¡°Hold it right there!¡± ¡°What? We have¡­.¡± The two servants were about to disregard Ye Ai Xia when they sensed immense pressure coming towards them. The two of them were Eon Energy Master rank 1 because Wei Shang would only accept servant who had Eon Energy power. However, the two of them were unable to move under the pressure that Ye Ai Xia emitted. ¡°Who told you to cut off the food to my residence?¡± Ye Ai Xia asked with a loud voice filled with coldness. The two servants were terrified when they sensed the immense pressure. They could feel their bones cracking because of the power this woman emitted. All these times, they treated her without care because Ye Ai Xia didn¡¯t really have any power here, but this time it seemed that this woman had grown angry. ¡°Answer!¡± Ye Ai Xia yelled. ¡°It¡¯s master!¡± Ye Ai Xia arched her eyebrows. ¡°Oh, Wei Shang you say? Are you sure that you¡¯re telling me the truth?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± the two of them answered in unison. Seeing their action, Ye Ai Xia snorted. She moved closer before using her Eon Energy to bind the two of them. ¡°In that case, let¡¯s pay a visit to that man.¡± The two servants¡¯ faces were pale in fear. However, they were unable to do anything as Ye Ai Xia dashed through the small forest straight to Wei Shang¡¯s residence. The guards that watched over her were unable to catch up as she reached the residence faster than any of them. Bang! ¡°Wei Shang, you better give me explanation,¡± Ye Ai Xia kicked the door open. There was no trace of her usual gentle and soft manner. Inside the room, Wei Shang was sitting on his chair with an annoyed expression. He is a rank 4, so he could sense that Ye Ai Xia had come to his direction. His guards were too slow in response, despite the fact that Ye Ai Xia came here while bringing two servants with her. ¡°What is it?¡± Wei Shang asked. Ye Ai Xia crossed her arm. ¡°They¡¯re giving me less food than usual today. Tell me, do you want to starve me to death?¡± ¡°If I want you to die, I¡¯ll kill you right here and right now.¡± ¡°Oh? Can you do it? She instructs you to keep me alive, doesn''t she?¡± Ye Ai Xia asked in unbridled manner. Wei Shang frowned. Recalling his promise to that woman, he knew that he had to keep Ye Ai Xia alive in his residence as a little prisoner. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°I just want enough food and not this trash,¡± Ye Ai Xia pointed to the basket that she had placed on the floor. Seeing how the basket looked well, Wei Shang could guess that Ye Ai Xia had grown stronger again. Even though there was a barrier that this girl would never be able to pass, this girl has become too much of a hassle to him. ¡°What if I say no?¡± ¡°Oh? Do you know why I decide to stay quiet in your residence? Do you think you can stop me just because you¡¯re Rank 4? Let me tell you, if I run to the beast¡¯s nest, do you dare to chase after me?¡± Ye Ai Xia asked loudly. Wei Shang¡¯s expression sunk. He knew very well that he could defeat Ye Ai Xia with his current power, but if she ran to their nest in the forest, he would be the one courting death. In their nest, there was rank 4 or even rank 5 beasts. If he tried to go there, he would die without any doubts. With the speed that Ye Ai Xia showed today he knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to chase after her. Even in the past, Ye Ai Xia¡¯s specialization has been utilizing Eon Energy to make her move faster, making her speed to be unmatched. However, going to the beast¡¯s nest was a bet for the two of them. If not cornered, Ye Ai Xia would never want to pick that option, but if she was forced to do it, she would do it. The two of them stayed still in their place, locked in a stalemate. 36. The Answer ¡°You won¡¯t be able to do it,¡± Wei Shang broke the silence between the two of them. His eyes were looking straight to Ye Ai Xia. ¡°If you go there, you¡¯ll die along with your daughter.¡± Ye Ai Xia arched her eyebrows. ¡°Do you want to try?¡± Do you want to try? It was clearly a provocation, but Wei Shang didn¡¯t dare to try that. Ye Xiao was still out there, out of their supervision. One way or another, that man managed to get out of their range and roam freely. If something happened to Ye Ai Xia, he would surely return back or perhaps, return back years later to get his revenge. In addition, there was still the promise that he made with that woman. That woman wanted Ye Ai Xia to stay alive and watched her from afar without the chance to catch up. If that woman heard that Ye Ai Xia had died, she might send an army from her family to exterminate his own family. He was not that woman¡¯s match. Even if all experts in the kingdoms gathered, they wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat that woman and her family. The gap was simply too big. ¡°Fine, it¡¯s just food, right?¡± Wei Shang relented. If a dispute happened because of a small portion of food, he would shame the entire Wei Residence. She just wanted more food, so he would give it to her. ¡°Yes.¡± We Shang waved his hand, and a servant appeared before him. ¡°Tell the kitchen servant to increase Ye Ai Xia¡¯s food portion to twice from what she gets previously.¡± ¡°Yes, Master.¡± Ye Ai Xia watched the man walked away before turning her gaze back to Wei Shang. ¡°You better not lie. I¡¯ll be waiting for my food.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Wei Shang replied coolly. As Ye Ai Xia left the place, the atmosphere turned several folds colder. The two servants that Ye Ai Xia brought with her were still kneeling on the ground. They didn¡¯t expect to hear something so outrageous in this place. However, they also knew that they would be silenced to make sure that the news never leaked out. Wei Shang swept his glance to his guards. ¡°All of you should head to the training camp and train again.¡± ¡°Yes, Master!¡± The guards were ashamed. Neither one of them managed to stop Ye Ai Xia before that woman reached Wei Shang¡¯s residence. This was a huge shame in their place. ¡°You¡¯ll endure 100 beating from the military rod and next week, all of you will spar with me one by one.¡± ¡°Yes, Master!¡± ¡°Any objection?¡±This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°No, Master! Master is the most benevolent man in the world!¡± ¡°Good,¡± Wei Shang said shortly. ¡°You¡¯re dismissed. And feed these two to the beasts.¡± As the guards disappeared back to do their punishment, Wei Shang tapped the table with annoyance. In his family, he was the absolute strongest one while the rest was only middle rank 3 at most. There were not many elites in this kingdom that he managed to pull to his side. It seemed that it was already the time for him to develop more elites for himself. At the same time, Ye Ai Xia returned back to her residence. Her heart was pacing quickly as she has truly acted outrageous just now. However, she needed to do this, or their treatment to the two of them would become worse. ¡®One or two more years and I¡¯ll be able to leave.¡¯ If Ye Jiao managed to form her core before the age of 10, the two of them would have a chance to leave this place by relying on the large school that would be interested in her talent. For a child to form their core below the age of 11, they would be treated extremely well because of how rare they were. Out of thousands, only one child would be able to have enough talent to reach it. Ye Ai Xia entered the room and saw that Ye Jiao was still sitting in front of the stove. Seeing how the girl didn¡¯t seem to feel the hot too much, her brow creased. ¡®Did she have natural affinity with fire? But if that¡¯s the case, she shouldn¡¯t feel the heat at all.¡¯ As she pondered, Ye Jiao was focusing on the Eon Energy around her. She could feel that the Eon Energy that was formed from the fire in the stove was easier to absorb compared with the one that she used to absorb. She didn¡¯t really understand the reason, but since it made her training easier, she didn¡¯t move even one step from this place. ¡®Oh, they come.¡¯ Ye Ai Xia walked out to see another servant had come. In her hand was a large basket, filled with food to the brim. Seeing the food, Ye Ai Xia was satisfied. ¡°Madam, this is your food for today.¡± ¡°Ok, you can leave,¡± Ye Ai Xia picked the basket and returned back to the room. Her hand was busy looking at the food in the basket. Coupled with the meat that her husband had left behind, they should have enough food to eat for the next year. Not only enough, they might be able to eat to their fill. ¡°Jiao¡¯er.¡± Ye Jiao opened her eyes and turned around. ¡°Mom.¡± ¡°How¡¯s the training?¡± ¡°It¡¯s amazing,¡± Ye Jiao replied. ¡°The Eon Energy become easier to collect compared with usual.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Ye Ai Xia caressed the girl¡¯s hair tenderly. Her mind was thinking hard to find out the result. Unfortunately, she didn¡¯t have the sufficient knowledge to know the reason. As she thought, Ye Jiao needed a proper teacher to teach her this kind of matter. ¡°Mom, is it weird?¡± Ye Jiao asked. Ye Ai Xia shook her head. ¡°You might have some special condition that Mom also doesn¡¯t understand. Do you want a proper teacher, Jiao¡¯er?¡± Ye Jiao dropped her eyelids. From what she saw, it was indeed possible for her to get a proper teacher, but doing so would mean revealing her talent to other people. When that happened, her mother and father¡¯s enemies would come here. There was no one around here who could possibly protect her from them. ¡°Ye Jiao will become stronger first, Mom,¡± Ye Jiao replied. Her hand touched the necklace that her father gave to her before he left. ¡°Dad says that I have to become stronger and only then I could protect myself, mom, and dad.¡± Ye Ai Xia smiled slightly. ¡°If that¡¯s your decision, I understand.¡± Ye Jiao looked at her mother with complicated expression. ¡°Mom, do you want me to get a proper teacher?¡± ¡°I feel that I didn¡¯t do you right because I can¡¯t teach you everything,¡± Ye Ai Xia replied. She was not a teacher and her knowledge was extremely limited. Ye Jiao shook her head rapidly. ¡°No, Mom is a good teacher. Besides, I only need to learn the basics. When I become strong, we can search for a different teacher, Mom.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Ye Ai Xia nodded her head. It shouldn¡¯t be too late for Ye Jiao to search for a teacher after forming her core or even reached rank 1. She believed that her daughter would be able to achieve them even while still young. Ye Jiao smiled. ¡°Shall I prepare breakfast, Mom?¡± ¡°Come and help me.¡± ¡°Yes, Mom!¡± 37. Learning to Multitask ¡°Jiao¡¯er, can you circulate your Eon Energy while doing chores?¡± Ye Ai Xia asked. Ye Jiao nearly dropped the cloth that she held in her hand when she heard her mother¡¯s question. Her eyes blinked a few times. ¡°Mom, isn¡¯t that impossible?¡± She required great concentration to pull Eon Energy to her body and core. If she had to do chores on top of absorbing them, she wouldn¡¯t be able to do the two of them well. It was simply too hard. Ye Ai Xia chuckled. ¡°There¡¯s someone you know that managed to do it.¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°Who do you think?¡± Ye Ai Xia winked. Ye Jiao beamed. ¡°Dad?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Dad is really awesome!¡± Ye Ai Xia laughed. ¡°He told me that it was indeed possible to pull the Eon Energy while doing something else, but it¡¯s not directed to your core. All he does is just circulating Eon Energy to strengthen his body because he was too lazy.¡± ¡°Dad is lazy?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Ye Ai Xia laughed. ¡°There¡¯s a time when he¡¯s so lazy that he chooses to train while doing chores. This way, he didn¡¯t have to specifically pick time to train and could spend the time to play with the others. The teachers are angry, but they couldn¡¯t do anything because he still progresses faster than most children here.¡± Ye Jiao followed after her mother and laughed too. ¡°Is that before Dad formed his core?¡± ¡°He had formed his core. It¡¯s when he¡¯s about to reach rank 1.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Ye Jiao recalled that reaching the first rank required them to train their Eon Energy freely inside their body. It was no wonder that her father trained to do it while doing chores and other things. ¡°Do you want to try?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± As Ye Jiao continued to clean up the window, she tried to circulate the Eon Energy in her body. However, her coordination turned into a mess as she had to focus to two things. In the end, she took twice the time she used to clean the window. Ye Ai Xia shook her head. ¡°Try to do it while sweeping the floor. It¡¯ll require less thinking.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Ok, Mom.¡± With that, Ye Jiao did chores for the entire morning while training the circulation that Ye Ai Xia mentioned. Even though her movement was extremely awkward at times, she continued to train the double practice to train her Eon Energy and did chores. ¡°It¡¯s afternoon, let¡¯s start our lesson today,¡± Ye Ai Xia called the girl. Ye Jiao jogged to the house. Her eyes scanned the book on the table curiously. ¡°What are we going to study today, Mom?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll teach you geography, or to be exact, regarding Chen Kingdom,¡± Ye Ai Xia replied. ¡°What do you know regarding Chen Kingdom and its size.¡± ¡°It¡¯s really large,¡± Ye Jiao replied. ¡°There are numerous cities and villages and the capital is the largest city in this kingdom. As for the terrain¡­ um, there are a lot of varieties?¡± ¡°I can see that you don¡¯t know anything.¡± ¡°Sorry, Mom,¡± Ye Jiao scratched her head. She did learn geography but only the general. What she remembered was only the types of plant that grew in what season and the likes. As for the Chen Kingdom in specific, she was not too sure. Ye Ai Xia took out a map and spread it on the table. ¡°This area is Chen Kingdom. There are indeed a lot of different terrains, but Chen Kingdom is mostly covered in forests. This is why there are a lot of beasts around. The forests are their habitat.¡± ¡°The shape looks like a chicken.¡± Pfft! ¡°Why are you thinking of that?¡± Ye Jiao grinned. ¡°Here, it looks like its head and down there look like the tail and feet.¡± Upon listening to Ye Jiao¡¯s explanation, Ye Ai Xia didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or not. It was true that the shape looked like chicken because of the newest expansion at the north, but should that be her first remark? ¡°Mom, Chen Kingdom is bordering two kingdoms?¡± ¡°Yes, at the east, there¡¯s Cao Kingdom while the west is Chi Kingdom,¡± Ye Ai Xia pointed. ¡°This map didn¡¯t give the detail area, but it should be around the same size with Chen Kingdom.¡± ¡°But without the chicken shape?¡± ¡°Yes¡­ are you hungry?¡± Ye Jiao tilted her head. ¡°No, why Mom?¡± ¡°Because you keep on mentioning chicken,¡± Ye Ai Xia giggled. ¡°Anyway, at the northwest of Chen Kingdom, in the area near the chicken head, it¡¯s a mountain¡¯s range.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Ye Jiao studied the map. The four kingdoms seemed to face the same mountain range because their shape at the northwest looked like a straight line with slight bumps here and there. ¡°What¡¯s in that mountain range, Mom?¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­.¡± Ye Ai Xia wanted to answer, but she decided to not do it. It was her destination once they were unable to live in this place anymore. There was something in that place that would be able to protect the two of them. But it was only a plan. Ye Jiao noticed that her mother seemed strange. ¡°Mom?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± Ye Ai Xia coughed. ¡°Now, let¡¯s move to another topic. What do you know regarding the division of power in Chen Kingdom?¡± ¡°There are three prominent families,¡± Ye Jiao raised three of her fingers. ¡°First is the Imperial family, Chen Family. Second is the military family, Wei Family. Third is scholarly family, Lu Family.¡± ¡°You¡¯re correct, do you know the three of them?¡± ¡°I only know Wei Family.¡± Both mother and daughter smiled wryly. Ye Jiao only knew Wei Family because they were living here. It was easy for her to gain the information of the Wei Family. ¡°What do you know regarding the five children of Wei Shang?¡± ¡°Two of them come from the main wife while the other three comes from the concubines,¡± Ye Jiao replied. ¡°How many concubines he has?¡± ¡°A lot.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not number.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know the exact number.¡± The two of them continued their question and answer for a long time. 38. Training with an Unforgiving Senior Sister Ye Jiao continued her training at night by absorbing Eon Energy in her surroundings as they had finished their lesson in the knowledge matters. Ye Ai Xia noticed that Ye Jiao opened her eyes. ¡°What is it, Jiao¡¯er?¡± ¡°Mom, is there usually any difference when practicing at day and night?¡± ¡°No, there shouldn¡¯t be any difference,¡± Ye Ai Xia replied. ¡°Do you feel that there¡¯s something different in your training?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then you should continue.¡± ¡°Yes, Mom.¡± Ye Ai Xia waited until Ye Jiao had finished training before doing training on her own at the backyard. A lot of Eon Energy entered her body as she expanded her core and strengthened her body. However, the progress was extremely slow as she had reached rank 3. By morning, Ye Ai Xia noticed that Wang Jun had come over to their residence. ¡°Are you the one who will escort Ye Jiao?¡± Ye Ai Xia walked to the front door and gave an indifferent look at the young man before her. Wang Jun bowed down polite. ¡°Greeting Madam. I¡¯ll wait here for Miss Ye Jiao.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t disturb us.¡± ¡°Yes, Madam.¡± Internally, Wang Jun was screaming loudly. Everyone always told him how Ye Ai Xia was known to be a beautiful and gentle lady. However, all he saw from this woman was how fierce she was. If only he knew this, he would not accept the task of escorting Ye Jiao from the general. Thankfully for him, Ye Jiao woke up early every day. After breakfast with her mother, she came along with Wang Jun to Mu Family Residence. ¡°Jun Ge, is there no other way to come aside from this?¡± Ye Jiao asked. Wang Jun shook his head. ¡°The distance between Wei Family residence and Mu Family residence is quite far. It¡¯ll take a long time for you to travel every day if I don¡¯t come to escort you.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± ¡°Do you feel uncomfortable?¡± Ye Jiao thought about it as she glanced at the young man. Not really since this person seemed to be only slightly younger than her father. She could just assume that he was her big brother and kind of, father like? That sound pretty good.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. It didn¡¯t take long for them to arrive in Mu Family Residence. This time, Mu Xin didn¡¯t appear in the front door. ¡°Miss Mu Xin is in the training room.¡± ¡°Ok, I understand,¡± Ye Jiao made a beeline to the training room. After visiting them once yesterday, she partially remembered the layout of the path to the training room. Even though she still stopped here and there to see if she took the wrong way, she finally arrived at the training room. Inside the room, a young girl with blue hair was standing with a wooden sword in her hand. The girl, Mu Xin, turned her head when she heard the door opened. Her indifferent expression didn¡¯t change in the slightest as she pointed her sword to Ye Jiao. ¡°You¡¯re late.¡± ¡°This is still early,¡± Ye Jiao was speechless. Did this girl want her to come here by dawn? Mu Xin picked up another wooden sword and threw it to Ye Jiao. The girl caught it and was surprised by the weight. It was far heavier than most ordinary swords. ¡°What are we going to do today?¡± ¡°Swing them 500 times after stretching out by yourself,¡± Mu Xin replied indifferently. Ye Jiao stared at the sword on her hand. 500 times? She was not sure that her hand would be able to stay intact by the time she finished training. Seeing Mu Xin had started, Ye Jiao followed suit and copied Mu Xin¡¯s movement to stretch before swinging the sword. The heavy wooden sword moved slowly as she tried to swing it as hard as possible. Her arm muscles felt like breaking by the time she reached 500. It was really hard to finish the training that Mu Xin arranged. However, Ye Jiao persevered and swung the sword over and over. ¡®240, 241,¡­¡± By the time Mu Xin finished hers, Ye Jiao was still struggling around 300 or so. ¡°You should focus on balancing your stance when you¡¯re swinging your sword too,¡± Mu Xin commented when she saw Ye Jiao¡¯s bad posture. ¡°If you do it like this, I can knock you down very easily.¡± ¡°What?¡± Tak! Mu Xin swung her sword in Ye Jiao¡¯s direction and knocked against the latter¡¯s wooden sword. The force was not big, but Ye Jiao could feel that her legs were weak. The moment the sword connected with each other, she shifted her weight to her other leg, which was in unstable position. The end result was clear: Bruck! ¡°That hurts,¡± Ye Jiao complained. Her eyes stared at her legs with confusion. The one she used to practice was her hand, but even her legs were feeling weak when there was an impact given to her. Mu Xin pointed to Ye Jiao with her wooden sword. ¡°You have to fix your stance, or you¡¯ll fall to the floor in every attack.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to attack me when I swing the sword?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the quickest way to make you learn the importance of your stance,¡± Mu Xin replied. She stood in front of Ye Jiao, ready to strike her wooden sword every time Ye Jiao made mistake or something like that. Ye Jiao smiled wryly. ¡°Can you spare me a bit?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°¡­Ok,¡± Ye Jiao stood up again and tried to recall how Mu Xin stood up not long ago. One legs at the front while the other one at the back. Their distance from each other were not far, just around their shoulder¡¯s length. Her finger gripped the sword tighter as she focused her attention to her feet¡¯s position. Even though her muscle felt hurt because of the repeated movement, she still made sure that she swung the sword in full power. Right when the sword was in the middle, Mu Xin stepped forward and clashed her sword with Ye Jiao¡¯s. This time, Ye Jiao could feel the impact very well. It started from her hand to her legs, which she forcefully held by positioning her center of gravity lower. Mu Xin looked a bit surprised. ¡°You catch on rather quick.¡± ¡°I just copy your movement.¡± ¡°Continue. I¡¯ll strike occasionally.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± The meaning of occasionally was almost every swing. Ye Jiao had to make sure that her legs were able to withstand the burden as Mu Xin was very unforgiving. She fell back several times and other times, she could stay standing in her place. 39. You Can Use Tricks One way or another, Ye Jiao managed to survive that one hellish training in the morning. Her arm felt numb and by the time they finished, lunch time has long passed. ¡°We¡¯re going to eat. Do you want to come along?¡± Mu Xin asked as she pointed outside. ¡°Yes.¡± Mu Xin placed her sword on the side carefully while Ye Jiao followed behind Mu Xin. Their dining room was located quite far in the back, so Ye Jiao had to pass several corridors and rooms before they could reach the dining room. There were no one inside the room, but a lot of food was already prepared on the table. ¡°You can eat all you want,¡± Mu Xin pointed to the table. ¡°Make sure to eat a lot because our training hasn¡¯t finished.¡± ¡°Ok, then I¡¯ll eat a lot.¡± With that, Ye Jiao pulled one of the chairs and sat down. She was stunned to see that the position of the chair was quite low for her, making it hard to reach the table. Standing up on the chair, she picked up several dishes to her plate first before sitting down again. Her eyes sparkled at the sight of numerous food in front of her. Mu Xin watched Ye Jiao¡¯s action amusedly. This table was not designed for children and with Ye Jiao¡¯s current height, it was hard for the girl to reach the plate. She couldn¡¯t help thinking that Ye Jiao was cute when she saw how the little girl ate. The speed at which Ye Jiao ate made it seem like the girl wanted to gobble up the food all in one go. It was funny yet at the same time, it meant she had to eat faster if she wanted to have some food. ¡°They¡¯re really good,¡± Ye Jiao said with satisfaction. This was one of the rare times when she could eat a lot of food without any restraint. Mu Xin nodded her head. ¡°You can eat lunch here every single day. After this, we¡¯re going to practice again.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the next part?¡± ¡°Sparring.¡± Ye Jiao smiled wryly. Her arm was not in the condition to spar against Mu Xin. ¡°Do we have to start right away?¡± ¡°No, you should digest your food first,¡± Mu Xin replied. Ye Jiao nodded her head and scanned the room for the first time. Before this, her attention was solely focused on the food. Now that she looked around, she realized that the dining room was large. The wall was painted in cream color and there were numerous paintings there.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°Senior Mu, do you learn about geography?¡± Mu Xin arched her eyebrows. ¡°I do. It¡¯s one of the basic subjects in school.¡± ¡°Then, do you know what¡¯s on the north of Chen Kingdom? I mean, is there anything in the mountain¡¯s range?¡± ¡°Mountain range?¡± Mu Xin nodded her head. ¡°There¡¯s an academy over there.¡± ¡°Academy?¡± in that secluded place? ¡°It¡¯s a special academy unaffiliated to the four kingdoms in this area. Only geniuses of the four kingdoms can reach the academy, so it¡¯s like a dream for all of us.¡± ¡°Do you want to go there?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Ye Jiao thought about herself. ¡°Is the academy really powerful that everyone wants to get inside there?¡± ¡°Yes, they¡¯re much more powerful than the four kingdoms. In fact, just one of those academies is enough to flatten the entire kingdom.¡± Hearing that, Ye Jiao was speechless. Come to think about it, most of the experts around here were only rank 4 at most. Based on talent alone, they should be able to reach rank 5 or even above it. But so far, none of them could reach it. If those academies could destroy an entire kingdom, it was clear that there must be those at higher rank over there. Maybe rank 5, 6, or even 7? ¡°Wait, you say they? There is more than one academy?¡± Mu Xin nodded. ¡°My Father tells me that it¡¯s enough to know that there are powerful academies at the north which only accept rare geniuses in this world. He didn¡¯t tell me the exact number, but yes, there is more than one academy.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the requirement?¡± ¡°The lowest requirement is reaching rank 3 before the age of 20 for some better academies,¡± Mu Xin replied. Rank 3 before the age of 20? Ye Jiao was startled to hear such a high barrier. It was known that only those who possessed light blue or above talent could possibly reach rank 3 before the age of 20. Even light blue color didn¡¯t mean that they would be able to do it if they didn¡¯t work hard enough. ¡°That means, they only accept rank 3 students or above?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Ye Jiao furrowed her brows. It would take a long time for her to reach rank 3. Even though she was confident that she could reach it before the age of 20, it might be hard to hide in front of Wei Shang and the others. After all, her mother told her that the necklace wouldn¡¯t be able to protect her if there was a rank 4 who tried to probe deeper. Could she last one decade in this place? She was totally unsure. Mu Xin studied Ye Jiao¡¯s face. Seeing the troubled look, she assumed that Ye Jiao was thinking that it would be hard to get in. After all, she had heard about Ye Jiao¡¯s poor constitution and all from her father. If one should say, this girl has the lowest talent of them all. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so down. Everyone has their own path and way,¡± Mu Xin said. ¡°Even people without Eon Energy might be able to survive int his world.¡± ¡°What?¡± Ye Jiao raised her head in surprise. This was the first time she heard someone said that to her. Most of the time, they would look at her with the look of pity or disgust because of her identity and talent. After all, it was known that they wouldn¡¯t be able to survive if they didn¡¯t have good enough talent to protect themselves. Mu Xin nodded her head. ¡°It¡¯s true. There are ways for people without Eon Energy to win against powerful people. Even though it¡¯s not easy, it¡¯s not impossible.¡± It¡¯s not impossible. The sentence seemed to stick deeply in Ye Jiao¡¯s mind as she stared at Mu Xin. In her opinion, it was hard for people without Eon Energy to survive because she had experienced for herself the discrimination they held to people without Eon Energy. Well, her case was rather special because of her background. ¡°How?¡± ¡°Do you know the word ¡®tricks?¡¯¡± 40. Weak People Have Their Own Means Tricks? Ye Jiao¡¯s mind tried to work hard as she processed the word. It should mean that she used some underhanded means to win, right? Mu Xin leaned back on her chair. ¡°There are several ways to fight. You can use poison, secret weapon, assassination, and many others. Why do you think there are covert ways to do things? It¡¯s because there are a lot of people who want to challenge those far stronger than them. Without these, they won¡¯t be able to win.¡± Ye Jiao listened to Mu Xin¡¯s explanation attentively. She had heard some of those words, but as a seven-year-old kid, her vocabulary was quite limited. ¡°Can you explain more, Senior Mu?¡± ¡°Ok. Poison is substance that can be dangerous to human¡¯s body. Some people use this to fight in order to weaken their enemy because they¡¯re far weaker than the other party. Some poison can even directly kill even a powerful Eon Master,¡± Mu Xin explained in her limited knowledge too. She didn¡¯t have that vast knowledge and only some of the basics. Ye Jiao blinked. ¡°There are things like that?¡± ¡°Yes. Just like medicine can cure sickness, poison can do the opposite,¡± Mu Xin replied. ¡°How about secret weapon? Is that the weapon that you keep in secret?¡± ¡°No, it means hidden weapon that you don¡¯t show to other people. If you usually fight with sword and when your opponent drops his guard, you stab him with a knife that you hide somewhere, it means that you¡¯re using a secret weapon,¡± Mu Xin explained. Ye Jiao was speechless. Did normal eleven years old girl would talk about killing someone in their fight? It was no wonder that Mu Xin is the daughter of General Mu. Even her knowledge has some relation with fight one way or another. ¡°As for assassination, it¡¯s simple. You¡¯re paying other people to kill your enemy.¡± ¡°Can you do that?¡± Mu Xin nodded her head. ¡°There are some assassin organizations in this kingdom, but I don¡¯t know their name. If you have money, you can use their service to kill someone. Of course, the higher the person you want to kill, the higher the money you have to prepare.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Ye Jiao didn¡¯t expect Mu Xin to know their name. She herself rarely traveled on the street because she disliked the gaze people always gave her and lately, she was confined in Wei Family Residence. She couldn¡¯t get out of the residence easily as there were a lot of guards around except if she wanted to go to the training field again.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Which she would not do because Wei Cheng, Wei Family first son, stayed there to practice. As for money and hiring assassin, that would be a far etched dream. She didn¡¯t even have any means to earn money right now. Hunting might earn her some money, but rank 1 beast didn¡¯t have much value because many people could hunt by themselves. They were only hunted for food or just for practice for children who recently formed their core or reached rank 1. ¡°Time to practice again,¡± Mu Xin stood up. ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to think of killing other people. There are a lot of ways to make people suffer without killing them.¡± Ye Jiao: ¡°¡­¡± you¡¯re the one thinking about them, Senior Mu. She was just asking because of curiosity. Seeing that Mu Xin had stood up and prepared for practice, Ye Jiao also followed suit. Her mind was still thinking regarding the things that Mu Xin said to her. She didn¡¯t have any plan on killing anyone. That thought was simply too unreasonable for a seven-year-old kid. All she wanted was to have some ways to make sure that they wouldn¡¯t disturb her. How to make them stay away from her mother¡¯s residence? That was something she needed to think about. ¡°Are you ready?¡± Mu Xin had readied her stance once more. Ye Jiao nodded her head. For now, she should just focus on training with Mu Xin. Hopefully, her arm would not be in brutal condition after this. Their spar didn¡¯t last long because Mu Xin also felt sore. Apparently, her sword was much heavier, and she had to swing the sword for 1000 times at higher rate. Well, that was more than twice hers, but Mu Xin still looked better. Her arm was completely sore with abrasion here and there. Mu Xin helped her to apply the medicine before sitting down and absorbed the Eon Energy around her. Ye Jiao decided to do the same as she sat down and started to pull Eon Energy in her surroundings. Little by little, they entered her body. This time, she also focused them to her hand, nourishing her muscle to the fullest. It was a slow process, but Ye Jiao enjoyed watching the progress as she tried to control the Eon Energy. It slowly healed her muscle, allowing the sore muscle to feel much better than before. Compared to the previous day, her speed had increased again, albeit only a little bit. ¡®If I can increase the speed of absorption, I should be able to form the core faster.¡¯ With that in mind, Ye Jiao spent the rest of her time to form her core until Mu Hong returned home and called the two of them. ¡°How¡¯s the practice today, Mu Xin?¡± ¡°It¡¯s going well, Father. We swing the sword per your instruction. 500 for Ye Jiao, 1000 for me. We ate¡­.¡± Hearing the detailed report from Mu Xin, Ye Jiao¡¯s mind blanked. She felt as if she was facing a military meeting because of how detailed Mu Xin¡¯s explanation was. This made her wonder if Mu Xin truly calculated everything and memorized everything that they did. After Mu Xin had finished, Mu Hong turned his head to Ye Jiao. ¡°It¡¯s good to practice memorization little by little. Wang Jun will send you back, little girl.¡± ¡°Thank you very much for your care, General Mu,¡± Ye Jiao bowed down formally. Her movement was a bit clumsy, but it was still the expected form. She turned her body to face Mu Xin. ¡°Let¡¯s practice again in two days, Senior Mu.¡± Mu Xin nodded her head. ¡°Take care of yourself.¡± In the next second, Wang Jun appeared in the room. Ye Jiao really wanted to know if this man was truly a soldier because of how he could appear. She would need to sharpen her sense further if she wanted to be able to know more. ¡°Miss, pardon my intrusion.¡± The journey home went without a hitch and Wang Jun dropped Ye Jiao in front of her residence. 41. Little Plan ¡°Miss, shall I come again in two days?¡± Wang Jun asked. Ye Jiao looked at Wang Jun with confusion. ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°I understand. Good night, Miss,¡± Wang Jun was relieved when he heard Ye Jiao¡¯s answer. Most of the girls that practiced with Mu Xin couldn¡¯t stand Mu Xin¡¯s cold and overbearing attitude. They would stop coming to practice because of that. This was the reason he felt worried regarding Ye Jiao¡¯s answer. On the other hand, Ye Jiao has never even thought of leaving the training midway. It was fun albeit the pain in her arm seemed to intensify further. Looking at the departing back of Wang Jun, Ye Jiao shrugged and turned around. It didn¡¯t concern her. Probably, that man only asked that question because he was unsure that she wanted to go with him since she asked that question this morning. ¡°Jiao¡¯er, have you returned?¡± The familiar gentle tone entered her ear. Ye Jiao instinctively turned around and saw Ye Ai Xia walked out of the residence. Her eyes were scanning her daughter carefully, worried that something might have happened to her. Looking at Ye Jiao¡¯s arm, Ye Ai Xia¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°Mom!¡± ¡°Jiao¡¯er, why is your arm wounded badly?¡± ¡°Ah, this is from practice,¡± Ye Jiao scratched the back of her head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mom. It¡¯s almost healed.¡± ¡°I worry.¡± ¡°Mom¡­.¡± Ye Ai Xia sighed. ¡°Come inside, I have prepared dinner for you. It¡¯s braised meat tonight.¡± ¡°Yay!¡± Ye Jiao¡¯s eyes lit up when she heard their dinner menu. She exclaimed happily before running into the residence, impatient to eat the food. Ye Ai Xia shook her head lightly when she saw Ye Jiao¡¯s behavior. Her little girl was really cute. Before long, the two of them had started their dinner and enjoyed the night meal. After eating, Ye Jiao headed off to read some books while Ye Ai Xia cleaned up the house. ¡®What should I do to make sure that those people from Wei Family won¡¯t come here?¡¯ She knew that they would still come here to bully her just like what they did not long after she came. Although they hadn¡¯t come here again, there was no guarantee that they wouldn¡¯t come again. Ye Jiao didn¡¯t really like facing against them as she just wanted peace.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Also, what if they found out that she went missing every two days to practice? Ye Jiao moved her body around on the bed as she pondered. She truly wanted to ask her mother for advice, but she was not sure about her mother¡¯s position in this residence. Her mother barely talked about herself except occasional story regarding two children that she often spoke out of. Some of the stories sounded weird to her because of her limited knowledge, but she still loved them all. ¡°Jiao¡¯er, you¡¯re still awake?¡± ¡°Ah, Mom,¡± Ye Jiao sat down and pushed the book on her hand to the side. She smiled sheepishly. ¡°I just want to have some reading time.¡± Ye Ai Xia glanced at the title of the book. It was an ordinary book about gardening that she placed on their room to study how to cultivate those flowers. She sighed. ¡°Do you want to learn gardening?¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± Ye Jiao replied with hesitation. She was not sure what she had to learn because there were so many interesting things that she wanted to know including gardening. Ye Ai Xia smiled and sat down near Ye Jiao. ¡°Let¡¯s go to sleep, you can think of it later. If you want to learn gardening, Mom will guide you.¡± ¡°Ok, Mom,¡± Ye Jiao put the book away. She lied down on the bed and pulled her blanket as Ye Ai Xia stayed not far from her. Her eyes watched her mother¡¯s movement curiously. ¡°What is it, Jiao¡¯er?¡± ¡°Do Mom and Dad love gardening?¡± She recalled that her father taught her how to plant the seeds and watered them then wait for the plants to grow. Seeing how her mother spent a long time in the garden, the thought that they loved gardening crossed her mind. Ye Ai Xia laughed. ¡°It¡¯s not like I really love gardening, but that¡¯s something I have done ever since I was young. You see, sometimes meat can¡¯t fulfill all the nutrition you need, so you have to fill them with fruits and vegetables.¡± Ye Jiao blinked. Nutrition? ¡°In short, it means that every different food has a different component¡­.¡± Ye Ai Xia chose to stop talking. What was in her mind to use such difficult language in front of a young girl? There would be no way Ye Jiao could understand. ¡°Mom?¡± ¡°Well, it is just to have a variety of food because it¡¯s unhealthy to eat meat all the time.¡± Ye Ai Xia finally picked the shortest explanation that she could think of. Internally, she apologized to her daughter because she didn¡¯t have the talent to be a teacher. Ye Jiao made an ¡®oh¡¯ sound. ¡°So, that¡¯s why Mom and Dad learned how to plant vegetables?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Between Mom and Dad, who¡¯s better?¡± ¡°Xiao Ge, I mean, your father,¡± Ye Ai Xia replied. ¡°He doesn¡¯t like to lose against me, so he gives his best effort. We made a bet one time to cultivate the same flower, and he won, so I have to bear with the punishment.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the punishment?¡± Ye Ai Xia¡¯s face darkened. It was not a memory she wanted to visit again. ¡°I had to hold onto crickets, caterpillars, worms, and some others with my hand.¡± The thought of touching them made her shiver. She didn¡¯t mind with just a few of them, but Ye Xiao just had to pick up a basket full of these insects. Pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind, she patted Ye Jiao¡¯s head. ¡°Now, you should go to sleep.¡± ¡°Ok, Mom.¡± Ye Ai Xia didn¡¯t realize it, but when she talked about her experience, Ye Jiao¡¯s eyes shone for a split second. Right now, this girl just had gotten an idea of how to make sure that the Wei young masters and misses didn¡¯t come to visit her. 42. Bugs, Insect, and Bugs Again The next day, Ye Jiao headed to the garden in the backyard after breakfast with a bucket in her hand. Ye Ai Xia was busying herself with other things, so Ye Jiao was basically alone. Looking at the numerous new plants, Ye Jiao was astonished. ¡®Mom plants more flowers recently. This place is filled with them all.¡¯ However, her task was not to enjoy the scenery. Ye Jiao crouched down as her hand rummaged the leaves around here. There were a lot of insects around here; cricket, beetle, worm, centipede, and many others. Her small fingers captured them one by one and placed them inside the bucket. Thanks to her experience of gardening with her father, she didn¡¯t really mind touching them. Well, but if they crawled on her body, that would be a different story. After one place, Ye Jiao moved to another and did the same thing. Her hand was busy collecting every insect she could find. There were a lot of them, filling the bucket until it was nearly full. ¡°Jiao¡¯er, what are you doing?¡± Ye Ai Xia noticed that Ye Jiao hadn¡¯t moved from the garden since morning, so she went to take a look. Her body froze when she saw the bucket filled with numerous insects. The memory of Ye Xiao scooping them up near her resurfaced. ¡°Ah, Mom,¡± Ye Jiao was startled to see Ye Ai Xia. Her eyes landed on the bucket beside her. She was planning on keeping this a secret from her mother, but the latter had found out even when she hadn¡¯t done anything. Ye Ai Xia pointed to the basket. ¡°Jiao¡¯er, tell me, why are you collecting them?¡± She hoped that Ye Jiao didn¡¯t like insect too. If she had to keep them inside her house, she would prefer building another room for Ye Jiao. She loved her daughter, but she doesn¡¯t want to stay in the same place as those insects. What if they crawl up to her bed when she was sleeping? She quickly shook those thoughts from her mind as she focused on the young girl in front of her, hoping for an explanation. ¡°I¡¯m thinking of putting them at the entrance of our residence. The one that¡¯s directed to Wei Family,¡± Ye Jiao admitted. Her train of thoughts were simple: those young misses wouldn¡¯t dare to step inside if they saw numerous insects. ¡°I just want to make sure that the Wei won¡¯t come to disturb us unless it¡¯s necessary.¡± Ye Ai Xia¡¯s mind blanked for a moment. Her eyes stared at the bucket for a few seconds. Internally, she didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry at her daughter¡¯s little scheme. As a woman herself, she knew how much little girl hated insect, especially those coming from well off family.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Even though the boys didn¡¯t necessarily hate them, if it was this much, they wouldn¡¯t want to get close either. Those people had never even played in the dirt because they were young masters. Still, it was easy to kill those insects once they become Eon Energy Master because they could just deploy Eon Energy to squash them. But the young masters in Wei Family haven¡¯t grown up yet. ¡°You¡¯re really a devious little girl,¡± Ye Ai Xia had to admit that she never thought of that before. In the first place, she wouldn¡¯t have the courage to collect these many insects. She was not her brother. Ye Jiao smirked. ¡°Can I do it, Mom?¡± ¡°Sure, but I won¡¯t help you.¡± Hearing the firm tone Ye Ai Xia used, Ye Jiao knew that she wouldn¡¯t be able to persuade her mother to come along with her to put the bugs and insects on the road. ¡°Ok, Mom.¡± ¡°You should finish your little plan before lunch. I want to see you clean after this, understand?¡± ¡°Yes, Mom,¡± Ye Jiao nodded her head repeatedly. ¡°I won¡¯t take long.¡± The bucket size wouldn¡¯t be enough if she wanted to put more insects anymore. It would be better if she just headed to the street right now and spread the bugs around. After Ye Jiao had run off, Ye Ai Xia glanced to one direction. After her performance in front of Wei Shang, it seemed that the man had sent more powerful people to watch over her. Unfortunately, they were still not her match. Swish! Ye Ai Xia appeared in front of one of the men. The man was wearing green clothes, blending himself among the leaves as he watched over the two of them from afar. It was only a split second ago that Ye Ai Xia was still dozens of meters away from him, but this woman had suddenly appeared before him. ¡°You¡¯re the new guard?¡± Ye Ai Xia asked in a menacing tone. The man could feel cold sweat pouring down his back. He nodded his head repeatedly. ¡°I¡¯m here under General Wei¡¯s order.¡± ¡°Good, then tell that man to stop worrying. If I want to get out, I¡¯ll surely give him a head up with a personal visit,¡± Ye Ai Xia said coldly before disappearing once again, returning back to her garden in split second. The guard could feel his heart was thumping madly because of fear. The movement that Ye Ai Xia showed him had told him their disparity in strength very clearly. He had heard that Ye Ai Xia specialized her training in speed, but this insane speed was clearly out of the norm. There was no way he could match her. On the other hand, Ye Ai Xia was secretly adjusting her state. Even though that movement looked powerful, she was unable to do them continuously. It used up a lot of her Eon Energy just for a single movement. ¡®Too weak and they¡¯ll target me often. Too strong and they¡¯ll wary of me.¡¯ Ye Ai Xia sighed to herself as she calculated how much power she had to show to make sure that they wouldn¡¯t treat her as a complete weakling. She didn¡¯t want them to create trouble for her daughter in this place. But at the same time, he didn¡¯t want them to see her as a threat and eliminated her first. These two conflicting thoughts clashed with one another as Ye Ai Xia stayed silent in her place, contemplating what her next action would be. ¡®Should I visit Jiao¡¯er?¡¯ On the second thought, she decided to not go. She didn¡¯t want to see a lot of insects in the same place again. Just once in the past was already more than enough. ¡®I¡¯ll just prepare the food.¡¯ 43. Get Caught (?) Ye Jiao brought the basket filled with bugs to the road in the small forest. The size of the forest for her mother was not too big, making it easy for her to reach the entrance. From her position, she could see the house where the servants stayed. Her eyes locked on the rock path not far from her as she smiled deviously. It might not be in good condition because of the weeds and grasses around them, but it was still passable. At this time, her mind was conjuring another idea. ¡®What if I make it harder for them to pass?¡¯ Crouching on the ground, Ye Jiao put the bucket on the side before her hand started to pull one of the rocks. Her hand was holding onto the rock as she pulled them up. She was surprised when she found out that it was hard to move them. ¡°I thought that it¡¯s going to be easy,¡± Ye Jiao sighed as she stared at her fingers, which was covered in bruises because of her attempt. Looking at how the weeds managed to grow well, she thought that the rocks were not properly placed. However, her mind thought of a different idea. ¡°I¡¯ll ask Mom for some weed seed. Grasses can easily grow anywhere in a matter of weeks. If I spread the seed here, they¡¯ll be able to make the path harder to walk,¡± Ye Jiao smiled to herself. Without even the need of someone teaching her, her mind could come up with some simple plans. After thinking that, Ye Jiao¡¯s attention returned back to the bucket. She picked it up and threw the content out by swinging the bucket as hard as possible. Numerous insects fell to the ground. They quickly crawled all around, trying to find better place after being stacked up for a long time. Ye Jiao hit the bottom of the bucket, pushing the leftover insects to come out. Looking at the scene before her, she really wanted to know if one would dare to come closer when they saw the scene. One side, there were worms, beetles, and crickets. Looking to the other side, there were a tangle of worms and centipedes. As for the different side, there were several other bugs that she didn¡¯t know the name. ¡®I guess, I also don¡¯t want to pass through this place.¡¯ Even she herself wouldn¡¯t want to walk through a place filled with numerous insects like this. Ye Jiao put the bucket on her back as she climbed the nearby tree, wanting to know how it looked like from above. Her lips curled up when she saw what a mess it was under the tree. The bugs would surely roam around as they had to find suitable place to live. However, Ye Jiao was pretty sure that they wouldn¡¯t be too far from here. She could also move the insects from the garden to here again. Because of the vegetable and flowers her mother planted, numerous insects came.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡®How about bees?¡¯ Ye Jiao thought to herself. ¡®I think no.¡¯ She had to make sure that she has the capabilities to capture one first without harming her. These were only normal bugs that one could find in garden and forest. Bees were also normal, but Ye Jiao didn¡¯t have the confidence to capture one. She might get stung. ¡°Maybe spider will do, but I haven¡¯t seen one around here.¡± Ye Jiao thought hard as she sat down on the branch. Suddenly, her ear heard the sound of footsteps coming to her place. With a swift movement, she climbed further and hid herself in the stack of leaves and branches. Thankfully, it was summer so the trees still had their leaves. ¡®Who is it?¡¯ From the direction of Wei Family houses, two people came to her sight. One of them was a boy around the age of 13 years old. From the dark brown hair and the boy¡¯s tall stature, Ye Jiao could easily recognize him as Wei Cheng. As for the other one was a young girl at the age of seven. Her long and brown hair fluttered along with her silk dress, following along with the wind. ¡®Wei Cheng and Wei Mi.¡¯ The two of them had visited her in the past, so Ye Jiao was not surprised that they would come to visit her again. ¡°Cheng Ge,¡± Wei Mi opened her mouth as she held her brother¡¯s arm affectionally. ¡°The servants start to act annoying and didn¡¯t follow your order anymore.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Wei Cheng replied coolly. Wei Mi pouted. ¡°Is there nothing you can do? If they no longer listen to you, we¡¯re just going to stay silent all the time?¡± ¡°Of course not,¡± Wei Cheng¡¯s eyes glinted. ¡°This is why we¡¯re going to make a short visit today. If I can¡¯t make her starve, at least, I can press her.¡± ¡°Cheng Ge has reached perfect control over the Eon Energy?¡± Wei Mi¡¯s eyes sparkled. If her brother could master it so quickly, he would become a truly acclaimed genius in this kingdom. No one would be able to surpass him. Wei Cheng chuckled. ¡°How could it be that fast? I have just started to learn how to control my Eon Energy, so you might have to stay away from me later.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a big problem,¡± Wei Mi raised her thumb, showing that she understood. ¡°Good girl.¡± On the tree, Ye Jiao was listening to their conversation with anger. She could guess that they were trying to make the servants send less food to this place because they mentioned the word ¡®starve.¡¯ Thankfully, their plan was thwarted as she remembered that the two of them had enough food to eat every day. As the two of them walked closer, Wei Cheng¡¯s sense told him that there was someone else nearby. His eyes narrowed. ¡°Cheng Ge?¡± Wei Mi asked. She didn¡¯t understand why her brother would stop so suddenly. ¡°Wait a minute,¡± Wei Cheng replied. His eyes were scanning the surrounding carefully. When one trained in Eon Energy, their sense would be sharper such as hearing and vision. Even though he couldn¡¯t see anyone, he could hear rustling movement not far from him. Wei Mi tilted her head in confusion. ¡°Cheng Ge, we can¡¯t stay here for long. Mom says that we only have a short break before continuing our study.¡± The one who supervised their training was their mother because Wei Shang was a busy man. He rarely had any time to spare, so their education was left to the school and their mother. If they were talented, he might give some special permission, but that was all there was. Wei Cheng nodded his head. ¡°I know. Just a moment.¡± He walked forward a few steps as he tried to scan the surroundings. Suddenly, he raised his head to look at the trees. 44. Close Call Wei Cheng walked forward a few steps as he tried to scan the surroundings. Suddenly, he raised his head to look at the trees. The trees have lots of leaves. It was the perfect place to hide someone because people without high Eon Energy would have limited vision. Only after reaching a certain stage would they be able to sense other people¡¯s presence and not only because of vision or hearing. ¡°What is it, Cheng Ge?¡± Wei Mi jogged to her brother side. ¡°There might be¡­.¡± Before Wei Cheng could finish his word, he could hear loud scream coming from the girl behind him. He quickly turned around and saw Wei Mi jumped to him. His hands were stretched out as he caught the young girl in his arm. ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH! Worm! Worm! Worm!¡± Wei Mi screamed loudly in fear. ¡°What?¡± Wei Cheng was trying to figure out what this girl was screaming about when he saw a worm not far from them. His brows furrowed in disgust as he didn¡¯t like insects. Still, it was not a good move to show it in front of Wei Mi as he had a ¡®great¡¯ older brother image that he had to maintain. If he was caught acting shamefully because of an insect, he wouldn¡¯t be able to keep his face. ¡°It¡¯s just one worm, Mi¡¯er. There¡¯s nothing to worry about.¡± Wei Cheng completely forgot about the person he wanted to find. His attention was fully focused on the little girl in his arms. Given Wei Mi¡¯s age, he didn¡¯t really feel surprised that she hated worms. ¡°But it¡¯s disgusting! Yuck!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it won¡¯t reach you,¡± Wei Cheng soothed his sister. Wei Mi clung onto Wei Cheng¡¯s arm as if it was her lifeline. Out of everything that she had seen in her entire life, the one thing she hated the most was insects. Seeing one of them over here made her panic and rely on her brother completely. ¡°Tell it to go away, Ge.¡± ¡°I will.¡± Wei Cheng used his legs to kick the nearby worm as he reminded himself to threw the shoes away after this. His eyes instinctively followed after the trajectory of his kick. The place where the worm landed was right at the top of several other worms.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. His face turned slightly green in disgust. He turned his head away, but the next sight nearly caused him to release his grip on Wei Mi¡¯s arm. He could see several centipedes and a cricket were crawling and jumping around not far from him. The cricket seemed to notice his gaze as it switched direction suddenly and landed not far from Wei Cheng¡¯s feet. Stomp! By this time, Wei Cheng¡¯s face had turned completely green. He must be extremely unlucky to come right when there were a lot of insects around this place. If only he knew about this, he wouldn¡¯t come here. The thought of having them near his skin gave him goosebumps. ¡®I need to take a bath.¡¯ ¡°Ge?¡± Wei Mi¡¯s soft voice was heard once more. ¡°Let¡¯s go back,¡± Wei Cheng was not in the mood to make trouble anymore. He was too disgust with what he saw just now to think about other things. Rather than staying here, he would be better off to finish his studies. ¡°Ah, we¡¯re going back, Cheng Ge?¡± Wei Mi was surprised. Wei Cheng nodded his head. ¡°We¡¯ll return at other time when there¡¯s no bugs around. Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t forget to make her life miserable. Mother¡¯s task, I¡¯ll surely complete it.¡± ¡°Ge, can you help me walk?¡± ¡°There aren¡¯t any insect over here, come here.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°Come over here, Wei Mi.¡± ¡°Ok¡­¡± On the tree, Ye Jiao was sweating a lot. She feared that Wei Cheng would find out that she was here because his strength was far stronger than her. Prior to this, she had never learned any skill to erase her presence, making it easy for others to spot her if she was not hidden enough. ¡®I have to be careful. People who have formed their core have greater senses.¡¯ Ye Jiao stayed still in her place as she analyzed what she heard from the two of them. Apparently, there must be some kind of grudge between her mother or father with Su Lian, Wei Cheng and Wei Mi¡¯s mother. As she had never seen the other party, she was not totally sure what kind of grudge they were, but it was surely not something light. After making sure that they had left, Ye Jiao moved to another tree using the branch as the bridge. Her small body quickly moved from her hiding place back to her residence. ¡°The bugs plan is a big success,¡± Ye Jiao giggled to herself. She could guess that Wei Mi would be terrified, but didn¡¯t expect that it would have an effect on Wei Cheng too. After all, that boy was far older than her, and he didn¡¯t look like one that would fear bugs. Well not fear, it was disgust. Ye Jiao stopped at a the tree just several meters away from her residence. Her eyes were looking at her mother, who was busy taking water from the well. ¡°Dad, I¡¯ll surely become stronger. Far stronger than what I am, so when you return, you¡¯ll be proud of me,¡± Ye Jiao vowed solemnly. There was still a long path ahead of her, and she would use her time to the fullest to train herself and reached the peak. The peak¡­ Ye Jiao¡¯s lips curled up. She wondered what it would be to reach the highest rank in Eon Energy. Surely, it would be a very exciting goal. As she thought that, Ye Jiao went down the tree and ran to her mother. ¡°Mom, I have returned.¡± ¡°Ah, Jiao¡¯er, help me prepare the plates.¡± ¡°Yes, Mom!¡± 45. The Progress Time progressed swiftly and a year soon passed. There was nothing special that happened over the past year as Ye Jiao spent her time training with Mu Xin and her mother. She also spared some of her time to put more bugs on the road, effectively blocking the annoying siblings from coming to bother her. But the peace didn¡¯t last for long. ¡°Senior Mu, you¡¯re going to fully form your core soon?¡± Ye Jiao was surprised when she heard that Mu Xin wanted to form her core. Mu Xin nodded her head. Over the past year, the two of them have gotten used with each other and spent their time training a lot. Both of them have progressed a lot in their training as in terms of basic combat, they could spar for hours now. Forming one¡¯s core didn¡¯t only mean that they gathered Eon Energy to their abdomen. After reaching the necessary amount of Eon Energy, they had to compress it and form the core. The process to compress it alone might take hours or even days depending on their capabilities and core¡¯s size. The size of their core would differ from one person to another. It usually depended on their talent, in which higher talent has larger core because if that was not the case, they would have been able to form their core much earlier. ¡°Congratulation, Senior Mu,¡± Ye Jiao said happily. She was genuinely glad that Mu Xin could form her core at the age of 12, despite the fact that the two of them had spent a long time to train their bodies and practice control. Mu Xin nodded her head. ¡°When I start to form my core, I won¡¯t be able to have any practice with you because I don¡¯t know how long it will take to form my core.¡± Their speed to form their core varied and no longer depended on their talent, but rather perseverance. It was known that forming one¡¯s core would give their body a lot of pressure and sometimes, pain. There was no one who could say for sure what kind of core they would form until it was formed. Most children would require their parent¡¯s help to form their core because the control of Eon Energy in their body would be much harder. Some children might attempt it themselves if they had higher confidence and control, but not many dared to try this. Even though they knew that forming it themselves would result in much better core, for safety measure, they would ask for help. Some children might even die because they couldn¡¯t withstand the pressure. Unless they were absolutely confident in their ability, no one dared to form their core themselves. Unfortunately or fortunately, those at blue color talent or higher were tasked to form their core by themselves and only granted help if they needed it during the process. ¡°Senior Mu will form it yourself?¡±The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Yes, my father will supervise me in case there¡¯s any mishap,¡± Mu Xin replied. ¡°But I¡¯ll have to do it myself.¡± The girl patted her stomach lightly, feeling rather nervous. She could sense that her abdomen was already full of Eon Energy, so it was already the time to condense it into a core. Still, she was afraid of the process because it might not be so easy. Ye Jiao hugged Mu Xin¡¯s from the back. Her small height made her head only reached Mu Xin¡¯s chest and her hand touched the latter¡¯s hand. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m sure you can do it, Senior Mu.¡± Mu Xin smiled back. Over the past year, Ye Jiao found out that Mu Xin was not as cold as she appeared on the outside. Despite the cold aura that this girl emitted most of the time, Mu Xin was a rather sweet and capable girl. If not for the fact that her mind was completely filled with training and training again, many people would surely want to be her friend. ¡°Do you know Summer Festival will be held in two days?¡± Mu Xin recalled the festival. Ye Jiao nodded her head. ¡°I know, but I¡¯m not allowed to go out.¡± In order to see the festival before, she had to sneak out of the residence and watched from the wall. She didn¡¯t dare to go out since she worried that she might get lost, so watching from the wall was the only option she could pick. ¡°Let¡¯s go there. I¡¯ll ask Jun Ge to pick you up, and we¡¯re going to have some fun,¡± Mu Xin suggested. ¡°After all, I might not be able to practice with you anymore in the future.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Ye Jiao tilted her head. It should be only a few days break, right? Mu Xin sat down on the wooden floor. ¡°My father says that once I form my core, I¡¯ll have to focus on learning how to use it or in other words, gaining experience. Every child who has just formed their core or reached rank 1 will make a group to learn how to hunt rank 1 beasts.¡± ¡°It means, we can¡¯t train together anymore?¡± Ye Jiao¡¯s eyes widened. Even though she knew that their training wouldn¡¯t last forever because they termed her as someone unable to absorb Eon Energy, it was still too quick. For the past year, she enjoyed the time she spent with Mu Xin very much. Mu Xin sighed. She didn¡¯t want this too, but it was not like she could stay to just practice the basic with Ye Jiao forever. The path she wanted to take was different than the other girl. ¡°Maybe.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll miss you,¡± Ye Jiao muttered. Mu Xin stood up. She patted Ye Jiao¡¯s head tenderly. ¡°That¡¯s why, we should spend the festival day together. I¡¯m sure that it¡¯s going to be fun with you.¡± ¡°What do they usually do during summer festival?¡± Ye Jiao asked curiously. ¡°It¡¯s usually also called Fifth Month Festival. I¡¯m not entirely sure the reason for the festival, but there are a lot of dumplings they make.¡± Mu Xin¡¯s mouth watered as she recalled the dumplings she ate last year. They were all very delicious. ¡°Dumplings?¡± Ye Jiao¡¯s eyes lit up. She really wanted to taste them. Mu Xin nodded her head. ¡°How is it? Will you come? I¡¯ll pay for the food.¡± Free food? Who would want to reject such generous offer? Ye Jiao immediately nodded her head repeatedly. She didn¡¯t want to miss the opportunity to eat a lot. ¡°Now, it¡¯s time to practice again,¡± Mu Xin picked up her wooden sword. She smiled brightly. ¡°This time, let¡¯s practice basic swordsmanship. I¡¯m sure you can use the sword well now?¡± Ye Jiao could only smile wryly. She could barely do any movement correctly because of her small body and posture. If it just swung the sword, she could do it, but sparing was out of the question. However, there was no way she could refuse Mu Xin¡¯s request. ¡°Ok.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t go easy on you. This will be the last memorable practice for you,¡± Mu Xin showed a smile, a smile that was filled with mischievousness. Ye Jiao gulped. ¡°Please be kind to me.¡± ¡°Not a chance!¡± 46. Ye Jiao’s Condition In the end, Ye Jiao had to make sure that she didn¡¯t lose out against Mu Xin. The two of them spared for hours, to the point that they were completely drenched in sweat. However, the winner of their little spar hadn¡¯t appeared even then. ¡°Misses, it¡¯s almost dinner time,¡± Wang Jun said as he sighed. He entered the training room not long ago to remind Mu Xin about dinner. However, the two of them were still in the middle of training their bodies. ¡°Later.¡± ¡°Wait a minute.¡± The two girls stepped forward; one swung the wooden sword from below while the other one swung the sword from above. The two swords clashed with one another. Tak! Mu Xin and Ye Jiao both retreated to the back. Before long, they already dashed forward once again. Their wooden swords were ready to clash with one another. Tep! ¡°This should be enough.¡± Wang Jun caught both of their swords. His movement was far swifter and faster than the two of them combined. ¡°You need to rest, Miss Mu Xin and Miss Ye Jiao.¡± Mu Xin frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t disturb me, Wang Jun. You should just practice so you can enter the third rank faster.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t do that, Miss,¡± Wang Jun smiled. ¡°My task is to monitor you and help out in your practice.¡± ¡°You¡¯re annoying,¡± Mu Xin was still dissatisfied with the lack of training she had. However, she was not a match against Wang Jun, especially because this man had reached the peak of second rank. It would take a few more months for this man to enter the third rank. Ye Jiao lowered her sword obediently. Near the dinner time, she found out that Wang Jun would always appear here to escort her back and reminded Mu Xin for her dinner. At first, she thought that it was weird, but Mu Xin told her that Wang Jun was partially her father¡¯s servant. Her father asked this man to monitor her after dinner time to make sure that she didn¡¯t overwork. Originally, Mu Xin hated the arrangement, but she didn¡¯t have any other choice. Sneaking out to train was clearly impossible, so she had to obediently sleep and wait until it was morning to train again. ¡°It¡¯s part of my nature,¡± Wang Jun smiled. Mu Xin turned around. ¡°You¡¯re wasting your talent if you¡¯re just watching me. It¡¯ll be better to train. You¡¯re a genius that reach rank 2 at the age of 16.¡±This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°If that age is considered as genius, I wonder what word would be suitable for you, Miss.¡± Mu Xin¡¯s talent was slightly higher than Wang Jun, allowing her to advance faster than this man if one tried to count their age. She didn¡¯t look at the young man again as she patted Ye Jiao¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t forget to come two days later. We¡¯re going to have fun in the festival.¡± ¡°Ok,¡± Ye Jiao smiled. Mu Xin flicked a glance to Wang Jun. ¡°I¡¯m going to eat dinner first. You should hurry if you want to eat.¡± ¡°I understand, Miss,¡± Wang Jun replied politely. He turned around to Ye Jiao. ¡°Miss, if you please?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± As usual, Wang Jun escorted Ye Jiao back to her residence swiftly. The time it took for their journey lessened greatly as Ye Jiao could feel that this man must be nearing the breakthrough point. If he could become a rank 3 within a year, he would be one among several talented students in this kingdom. ¡°We¡¯ve arrived.¡± Ye Jiao jumped down. She smiled sweetly. ¡°Thank you very much for escorting me, Jun Ge.¡± ¡°Rest well,¡± Wang Jun bid his farewell before disappearing into the darkness once again. Ye Jiao had become used to the man¡¯s attitude after being escorted for an entire year. She wished that she could travel by herself, but after looking at the map, she chose not to attempt it. Wei Family Residence was located at the west of the capital city while Mu Family Residence was located at the south. If she tried to walk, she might take more than an hour with her small feet. It would be better to just leave it to the expert. Ye Jiao lowered her gaze to her arm and abdomen. When she heard that Mu Xin would start forming her core, Ye Jiao also yearned to form hers. However, she hadn¡¯t felt full yet. Even though the amount of Eon Energy in her abdomen had filled the entire space from a month ago thanks to the training room¡¯s abundant energy and the stoves in her room. Her speed when she used them was doubled compared when she was still living with her father and only absorbed from nature. Even though there was a time when she absorbed the Eon Energy from the special room in school, it took a long time to pull them into her abdomen because she has just started learning. ¡®it¡¯s already full, yet I still can pull more Eon Energy.¡¯ She didn¡¯t understand why, but even if she tried to pull more Eon Energy, her stomach accepted more. There shouldn¡¯t be any room left, yet her abdomen kept on pulling more in. There was just one thing that she was certain of, the Eon Energy was being compressed little by little with her attempt. Mu Xin told her that the best time for them to form their core was when their abdomen refused to add more Eon Energy. Ye Jiao tried to push it to the back of her mind as she intended to ask her mother about it. Her small legs brought her inside, and she saw her mother sitting on the stairs, waiting patiently. ¡°Mom!¡± Ye Jiao called cheerfully. ¡°Jiao¡¯er,¡± Ye Ai Xia smiled back. She beckoned for her daughter to come closer. Without waiting, Ye Jiao jumped into her mother¡¯s embrace. ¡°How¡¯s the training today?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fun. Senior Mu is going to form her core, so we¡¯re going to spend Summer Festival together, Mom,¡± Ye Jiao shared the gist. Ye Ai Xia arched her eyebrows. ¡°I see. You have to be careful when you go out, understand?¡± ¡°Yes, Mom.¡± Ye Ai Xia ruffled her daughter¡¯s hair affectionally. The next second, her eyes turned sharp. ¡°Jiao¡¯er, I would like to listen to your story later, but now, you should go inside the house.¡± ¡°Mom?¡± ¡°We have a guest,¡± Ye Ai Xia replied. ¡°Ok.¡± 47. Su Lian’s Hatred Ye Jiao followed after her mother¡¯s request and she hid herself in their bedroom. Her small body moved straight to the window as she pulled the curtain slightly. She was curious as to who could possibly bypass her small barrier of bugs. Not long afterward, a woman came with several guards by her side. Her long dark yellow hair fluttered along with the wind. She was wearing a dark blue dress adorned with numerous accessories that signified her high position. Right now, her face that was covered with make up looked rather strained. Her eyebrows were furrowed deeply, but her face color remained normal because of the thick makeup. ¡°Ye. Ai. Xia,¡± the woman, Su Lian, Wei Shang¡¯s legal wife and also the mother of Wei Cheng and Wei Mi, spat out Ye Ai Xia¡¯s name per syllable. Her tone was deep and filled with hatred. Ye Ai Xia arched her eyebrows. ¡°What do you want, Su Lian? Are you missing me after not visiting my place for years?¡± ¡°Who would miss a rotten woman like you.¡± ¡°Oh? I¡¯m flattered that a dignified and arrogant woman like you would still spare time to look at something rotten. I guess, your eyes must be really bad,¡± Ye Ai Xia shook her head lightly. In front of Su Lian, she would never spare this woman any glance. She might be Wei Shang¡¯s wife, but this woman didn¡¯t really have anything good. She was lazy, depended on her family¡¯s background to marry Wei Shang, and lastly, had zero knowledge and only knew how to use her fist rather than brain. This kind of woman was exceptionally annoying. Su Lian¡¯s face darkened. There might be no apparent changes thanks to her thick makeup, but the atmosphere around her turned bad. ¡°You should do something about the bugs on the way. They¡¯re terribly disgusting just like you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m too lazy,¡± Ye Ai Xia said nonchalantly. ¡°I don¡¯t even use the road. Why should I care about what¡¯s there?¡± ¡°You!¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Insolent! You don¡¯t even know how to take care of your house? What a good woman you are,¡± Su Lian controlled her anger and spat out. Ye Ai Xia arched her eyebrows. ¡°First of all, this is not my house. This is just a house that your dearest husband lends out to me. Secondly, why do you even come here when it¡¯s clearly not the time to visit each other? Do you miss me so much?¡±This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Hmph! As if I¡¯ll miss you,¡± Su Lian snorted angrily. She glanced to the guard, who gave a scroll to the woman. ¡°I come here to deliver message from my husband. He asks you to come to the racing competition in two days.¡± As she said that, she threw the scroll to Ye Ai Xia, who caught it with ease. Opening the scroll, her eyes narrowed at the seal at the bottom. It was the imperial family seal. ¡®I see, so they want me to come this year.¡¯ It was just a normal racing competition that they held every Summer Festival. Originally, they held the competition on water in other kingdoms, but in this kingdom, it was a simple race of circling the entire city outside. There will be trees marked to let them knew which ones they should pass and not. The winner would get a prize from the Imperial family. Every year, the prize would be different, and they were unable to join in consecutive years. As Ye Ai Xia hadn¡¯t joined for the past few years, she could join this year. Normally, they would sign up by themselves if they wanted to join. However, there was also cases when the imperial family summoned them to join. Sometimes it was because the said person was remarkable or it could also because they wanted to humiliate them. Ye Ai Xia clicked her tongue. It would be very bothersome. ¡°Then I¡¯ll say thanks,¡± Ye Ai Xia rolled the parchment again. She looked at Su Lian once more for she felt that this woman hadn¡¯t finished. Indeed, Su Lian wouldn¡¯t want to come here if she didn¡¯t have to. However, Wei Shang asked her to come personally to deliver this message as the show of honor. No matter how much Su Lian didn¡¯t want to do it, she couldn¡¯t possibly reject Wei Shang¡¯s order. In this residence, his order is absolute. She couldn¡¯t reject, but she could use this time to her advantage. Su Lian smiled. ¡°I have something that I want to do.¡± As she said that, her disposition changed and the guard moved back several steps. Violent Eon Energy emerged from Su Lian¡¯s body in that split second as the woman launched herself to Ye Ai Xia¡¯s direction. Her fist, filled with Eon Energy, punched forward. Bang! Tep. Ye Ai Xia swiftly evaded the attack. Looking at the cracked ground, she clicked her tongue. ¡°You¡¯re still as rough as ever, Ape Woman.¡± ¡°What in the world are you saying, you Slippery Eel,¡± Su Lian snorted. Her arm, which was usually covered by her clothes was visible when she punched out, showing her well-built muscle. If one didn¡¯t know better, one would not think that this belonged to woman. ¡°At least, I look gentler than you,¡± Ye Ai Xia said nonchalantly. Su Lian¡¯s face darkened once again. Thanks to the art she practiced and the limit of her talent, she had to work harder to make her body stronger. As the result, she has more muscle than normal woman, which made her looked rather manly. She hated it, so she always hid it under her long sleeves. ¡°You rotten b*tch!¡± With that, Su Lian chased after Ye Ai Xia, throwing her fist here and there. Unfortunately, Ye Ai Xia had much higher speed and agility, allowing her to move around without restraint. Her gentle fighting skill made Su Lian looked like a brute. From the window, Ye Jiao was watching their fight with astonishment. Her mother¡¯s movements were so graceful that she felt her mother was dancing. Moving here and there along with the wind¡¯s movement, Ye Ai Xia looked exceptional. In her heart, now she had another idol that she wanted to pursue. 48. Adult Conflict ¡°Stop running, you slippery b*tch! Face me head on if you¡¯re a woman!¡± ¡°I¡¯m already a woman since I was born. Why should I follow your request?¡± Ye Ai Xia replied nonchalantly. She twisted her body and evaded the next attack. Her agile movement agitated the angry Su Lian further. Su Lian snorted and jumped up, before smashing the ground with her two fists. The ground shook badly, but Ye Ai Xia was able to escape with ease. Her eyes followed Su Lian¡¯s movements carefully, making sure that the woman¡¯s fist won¡¯t hit her. This ape woman¡¯s power was much higher than a normal person. As Su Lian trained her Eon Energy to support her massive strength, she became a full-fledged tank. For Ye Ai Xia, getting hit by Su Lian might be her end because her strength was barely 10% of this woman¡¯s. ¡°Come back here, you b*tch!¡± ¡°I¡¯m over here,¡± Ye Ai Xia sighed in annoyance. She attempted her skill and appeared right behind Su Lian. Her hand was enveloped in Eon Energy as she slapped the woman¡¯s head from the back. Right after she had done that, she disappeared from her place once more. The back of a human¡¯s neck was pretty fragile. When her head got hit, Su Lian couldn¡¯t think of anything as she twisted her body and punched her fist forward as fast as possible. Unfortunately, she only hit thin air as Ye Ai Xia had returned back to her position. ¡°You!¡± Ye Ai Xia smiled gently. ¡°Yes?¡± Su Lian¡¯s breathing had started to become irregular thanks to the fight and after a series of vigorous movements to attack Ye Ai Xia, she didn¡¯t have any strength left. She glanced to her guard. ¡°Be thankful that you¡¯re still alive. I¡¯ll come here again in the future.¡± ¡°Just come,¡± Ye Ai Xia replied indifferently. ¡°I¡¯m not going to stop you, but I¡¯ll welcome you like this every single time you come here.¡± Su Lian harrumphed. ¡°We shall see how you can escape from this, Ai Xia.¡± ¡°Whatever it is, it¡¯s not your problem,¡± Ye Ai Xia replied indifferently. Turning around, Su Lian walked away from the path. Her eyes were filled with deep hatred. She came to humiliate Ye Ai Xia, but she didn¡¯t expect that this woman still grew stronger again. In the past, she lost numerous times because she was lower in terms of rank compared with Ye Ai Xia. Now, she had reached rank 3, yet Ye Ai Xia still could defeat her. Even though they should be on par because they were in the same rank, Ye Ai Xia seemed like she dealt with the others in ease.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Ye Ai Xia stood still in her place before turning to one side. She could feel faint presence of someone watching her. Her lips curled up and she mouthed out. ¡®Wei Shang, did you have fun?¡¯ Afterwards, Ye Ai Xia turned to the house and slammed the door shut. Several dozen meters away from Ye Ai Xia¡¯s position, right in the direction where she looked at just now, Wei Shang stood still. He wanted to see what would happen. He thought that Su Lian would be able to overpower Ye Ai Xia after giving some treasure. Unfortunately, that woman was still worthless. ¡°Wei Cheng, what¡¯s your opinion of their fight?¡± ¡°Father, I think that mom is too agitated,¡± beside Wei Shang, Wei Chang was standing calmly. His irises were looking forward, clearly, he was in deep contemplation. ¡°Normally speaking, Ye Ai Xia is not as strong as mom, but mom didn¡¯t use her brain, so she attacks violently. The result is destruction, but not on the target.¡± ¡°Very well, how about Ye Ai Xia?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Wei Cheng frowned. ¡°Based on the speed that I manage to see, she must have attempted numerous skills to escape from mom¡¯s attack. After all, mom¡¯s speed is not that bad. Probably, she¡¯s exhausted, but she hides it.¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± Wei Shang¡¯s eyes were locked on the residence for several seconds. ¡°You shall go back and write the report to me. I want you to analyze everything.¡± ¡°Yes, Father.¡± As the two figures disappeared, Ye Ai Xia returned to her room. She saw Ye Jiao sitting on their bed, her eyes were looking back with sparkles. ¡°Mom, you¡¯re awesome!¡± Ye Jiao raised two of her thumbs. Seeing Ye Jiao¡¯s action, Ye Ai Xia had a feeling about how Ye Xiao managed to make their daughter idolize him. He must have showed off in front of Ye Jiao numerous times. ¡°It¡¯s good that I can vent out a bit, but Ye Jiao, you shouldn¡¯t follow my lead, okay?¡± Ye Ai Xia might be fine to deal with Su Lian. However, Ye Jiao¡¯s small and fragile body wouldn¡¯t be able to deal with the massive strength that Su Lian had. Just one punch might kill this girl. Ye Jiao nodded her head. ¡°When I become stronger, can I fight her?¡± ¡°Only if you become stronger.¡± ¡°Yes, Mom,¡± Ye Jiao nodded her head obediently. She looked straight to her mother in curiosity. ¡°Mom, why does that woman want to create trouble for you?¡± ¡°That¡­.¡± Ye Ai Xia didn¡¯t know how to explain this to her daughter. Years ago, Wei Shang had a crush on her when she was still 14 years old. However, she rejected him badly because Wei Shang already had wives, sons and daughters. She also only liked her brother, who was clearly a big idiot because he never realized it. She got into conflict with Wei Shang because of her refusal. At that time, Su Lian was angry because she rejected Wei Shang and caused the Wei Family to be in chaos. She was not sure what did Wei Shang did for Su Lian to hate her so much, even to the point of creating countless troubles for her. Even though Su Lian was far older, Su Lian¡¯s strength was rather low, so Ye Ai Xia still could defeat the other party with ease. Only after Wei Shang had restrained that woman was Ye Ai Xia able to have peace. Ye Ai Xia looked at her daughter. It was actually a simple conflict, but it was kind of an adult thing. There was no way she wanted to let Ye Jiao know about such things at the tender age of eight. ¡°Mom?¡± ¡°I had some conflict with her in the past,¡± Ye Ai Xia replied. Ye Jiao blinked. ¡°But she¡¯s already an old woman. Why would she create trouble for you, Mom?¡± Pfft! Ye Ai Xia almost laughed out loud. If Su Lian knew that she was called an old woman, that woman would surely be enraged. Still, it was rather true because Wei Shang was a decade older than her while Su Lian was seven years older than her. In a way, they were old people, right? Thinking like this made Ye Ai Xia content as she smirked. ¡°That¡¯s because they¡¯re petty people.¡± ¡°They¡¯re so annoying.¡± ¡°Your mom agrees and now, you should take a bath.¡± ¡°Yes, Mom.¡± 49. You Can’t Run Away Wei Family Residence ¡°General, there¡¯s a report.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Sitting on his chair as usual, Wei Shang was looking at the man before him with disinterest. There were so many things that occurred in the kingdom that he barely had any time to rest. He only wished that he would be able to take a break, even a little bit is fine. ¡°There¡¯s a case of sudden fire in a small city not far from the capital. It destroyed the entire city.¡± ¡°If there¡¯s fire, you can just put it out. There¡¯s no need to report it here,¡± Wei Shang waved his hand as if it was nothing important. The man was feeling nervous. The reason why he brought this report was because there was something unusual that they reported. However, he didn¡¯t know how to report this to the man before him. ¡°General, it¡¯s not ordinary fire.¡± ¡°Not ordinary?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ They say that the fire is started by a single individual¡­¡± ¡°One person?¡± Wei Shang¡¯s eyes narrowed sharply. He knew that it was possible to cause a fire, but from the report that he received, the fire caused the entire place to be destroyed. It should be hard to do that. Unless the one who did it was Eon Energy Master rank 4. ¡°Tell His Majesty, I¡¯m going over there to check.¡± ¡°Yes, General!¡± Wei Shang stood up and got out of his residence. He didn¡¯t care for anything as he took a horse and paced it to the designated city. Looking at the smoke that still lingered in the sky, he used it as the guide for him to reach the specific city. Bam! Bang! ¡°I see, it¡¯s you, Ye Xiao.¡± ¡°Guh, Wei Shang!¡± Standing not far from him, Wei Shang could see the proud genius Ye Xiao. The man was wearing tattered clothes because he had just gotten into a fight not long ago. His blue green pupils were dilated at the sight of Wei Shang.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Ye Xiao knew that he was not a match against Wei Shang when he was in this battered condition. ¡°Do you really think that it¡¯s possible for you to hide and gather your strength without us noticing?¡± Wei Shang¡¯s tone was filled with mockery. He looked at Ye Xiao with contempt visible in his eyes. ¡°What do you want?¡± Ye Xiao asked as he tried to recover his breath. No matter what, he couldn¡¯t let this man kill him. Wei Shang looked at Ye Xiao with a glint in his eyes. ¡°You should know what I want, Ye Xiao. I want your life!¡± If only Ye Xiao was still stuck in rank 3, he would not pay any attention to this man. However, the Ye Xiao who stood before him was clearly already rank 4. This only meant that with time, he would be the one lagging behind. Ye Xiao would surely never let him off for destroying his life. Bang! Fire burst out of Ye Xiao¡¯s palm, directed straight to Wei Shang. However, a wall made of earth quickly blocked it. ¡°You¡¯re still very weak, Ye Xiao,¡± Wei Shang looked at the young man before him with contempt. If only this man didn¡¯t exist¡­ Ye Ai Xia would never reject him. What did she see in this man to make her fully trust him? He hated this man very much. ¡°Hmph, you come at the wrong timing,¡± Ye Xiao grunted. He gathered more Eon Energy as he blasted his surroundings with Eon Energy filled with fire. It didn¡¯t take long for the entire forest to be filled with fire. ¡°Do you really think that you can stop me like this?¡± Bang! Bam! The force between two completely different elements filled the area. At the same time, Ye Xiao kept on retreating. He knew that it was not an advantageous place for him to stay because Wei Shang could practically control the earth. He had to find a rocky place because it would be harder for Wei Shang to make use of his capabilities. *pant* *pant* With his Eon Energy already depleted, Ye Xiao ran away. He stopped when he saw the swamp before him. It was dark and murky. His heart dropped for he realized that this was already the border with Cao Kingdom. Because he was located slightly at the north, this place was known to be a death trap. It was because the swamp in this area was known to be bottomless and anyone who entered would never be able to get out again. ¡®I have to¡­¡¯ Before he could turn again, Ye Xiao sensed tremendous pressure coming at him. Gritting his teeth, he looked to the side, where the king was riding on top of a large water ball below him. There was nothing visible that maintained the ball in that shape, but Ye Xiao knew that this man was controlling his Eon Energy. ¡°Wei Shang, didn¡¯t you tell me that he¡¯s still rank 3?¡± ¡°It seems that he made a breakthrough when we weren¡¯t paying any attention.¡± Wei Shang¡¯s tone was flat. ¡°Let¡¯s finish this, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± With a wave of his hand, large wave of water came flooding. Ye Xiao¡¯s face turned sour as he dashed into the swamp. Right now, he couldn¡¯t think of anything but finding a way to survive. Splash! Splash! Splash! Water swept over everything. The king could sense that there was no one that was within his water anymore. Ye Xiao must have fallen into the bottomless depths inside this swamp. ¡°Good job tiring him out.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal, Your Majesty,¡± Wei Shang¡¯s attention landed on a small flower necklace on the ground. It was a necklace that he was familiar with. When they were still in school, Ye Ai Xia gave that necklace to Ye Xiao. ¡°Let¡¯s return.¡± As the king returned back nonchalantly, Wei Shang picked up the necklace on the ground. Afterwards, he silently followed after the king. 50. Preparation for Summer Festival (1) Ye Ai Xia¡¯s place ¡°Mom, what do people do during Summer Festival?¡± Ye Jiao asked curiously. She only knew that there would be a race and from Mu Xin, she heard that there will be a lot of dumplings. Ye Ai Xia patted the bed, calling the girl to go up before she answered. ¡°Summer Festival is the time for family to gather together and make rice dumpling. Aside from that, there¡¯s also the race around the city. The fastest will receive reward from the imperial family.¡± ¡°Reward?¡± Ye Jiao¡¯s eyes sparkled. Ye Ai Xia nodded her head. She had participated in the race a couple of times in the past. As her specialization was her speed, she could win the race. After all, the contestants were limited to rank 3 at most. Those at rank 4 couldn¡¯t participate. In the first place, those at rank 4 were the guardians of the capital city. There would be no way they wanted to participate in this kind of race. ¡°The reward will be different each year. Come to think about it. I haven¡¯t checked it,¡± Ye Ai Xia took the parchment and opened it up. She glanced at the lines telling the reward. First place: Spring and Youth Pill Second place: Eon Energy Pill rank 3 Third place: Eon Energy Pill rank 2 Ye Jiao peered at the paper. Thanks to her mother¡¯s teaching, she could read the letters that were written inside. ¡°Mom, what is a pill?¡± ¡°A pill is some kind of medicine in the shape of a small ball,¡± Ye Ai Xia replied. She raised her hand and used her Eon energy to form a small ball. ¡°The shape is like this, but each type of Eon Energy is different with one another. They can be either formed by using pure Eon Energy or a mix of various medicine that¡¯s squished together.¡± Ye Jiao¡¯s eyes shone. ¡°Can you make one, Mom?¡± ¡°I can condense my Eon Energy to form an Eon Energy pill,¡± Ye Ai Xia admitted, ¡°But it¡¯s going to deplete my Eon Energy a lot as it wastes a lot of power and I have to compress it to make sure that it¡¯s completely pure.¡± ¡°it sounds difficult.¡± ¡°It is,¡± Ye Ai Xia nodded her head. ¡°As for pills made using plants and such, I can¡¯t make them. I have never learned the technique before, so it¡¯s impossible for me to make one.¡± ¡°It needs study?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Ye Ai Xia pointed to the first one. ¡°This is a pill that is said to be able to restore one¡¯s youth. Many women would surely aim for that.¡± Ye Jiao tilted her head. ¡°It sounds like this competition is targeted to women.¡± ¡°It¡¯s possible.¡± ¡°Can you use Eon Energy Pills, Mom?¡± ¡°I can,¡± Ye Ai Xia eyes moved to the reward. ¡°But it¡¯s not going to be of much use to me.¡±If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. For Eon Energy Master Rank 3, Eon Energy Pill rank 2 wouldn¡¯t help them too much. It would only increase the amount of their Eon Energy slightly without much change in the overall condition. If they wanted to improve a lot, they would need Eon Energy Pill rank 3, which was far rarer in this Kingdom. Besides, Ye Ai Xia had almost reached her limit in rank 3, so she couldn¡¯t absorb too much at once anymore. She could only use Eon Energy to strengthen her body bit by bit. Those people must have done this on purpose. They knew that she didn¡¯t have much use for the rewards this time, but still gave them out anyway. As for the first reward, she didn¡¯t really care for it as she was still young. Besides, Eon Energy Master could make themselves look a bit younger than their real age. ¡°This year race is truly a joke,¡± Ye Ai Xia sighed to herself. ¡°Mom?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just prepare for the Summer Festival. Jiao¡¯er, tomorrow you should go to the kitchen and asks for some rice, pork, egg, and some other ingredient. We¡¯re going to make dumplings.¡± ¡°Why rice, Mom?¡± ¡°In the festival, it¡¯s the tradition to make rice dumplings,¡± Ye Ai Xia replied. As for why it was rice¡­* she had forgotten. History¡¯s lessons were not her forte, so why should she bother remembering them? ¡°I¡¯ll make them with you, Mom?¡± Ye Jiao¡¯s eyes sparkled. ¡°Yes, now go to sleep, little lady.¡± ¡°Yes, Mom.¡± Ye Jiao snuggled into her bed before pulling the blanket up. She waited until Ye Ai Xia had left before sitting up on her bed. A few months ago, she found out that her training speed remained the same even if she practiced at night, making it convenient for her. As she wanted to become stronger quicker, she spent the night training again until she fell asleep. By the time it was morning, Ye Jiao found herself on her bed. Her blanket was not placed properly due to her sleeping during her training. Ye Jiao jumped down the bed and called out to her mother. ¡°Mom, I¡¯ll go get the rice first.¡± Ye Ai Xia walked to the house from the backyard. She nodded her head. ¡°Be careful. If the servants don¡¯t want to give, just tell them to replace today¡¯s meal with raw ingredients such as rice, egg, pork, and the others that I told you before.¡± ¡°Ok, Mom!¡± With that instruction, Ye Jiao ran out of the house and headed to the stone path. She could see that there were a lot of wrecked stones near the entrance with the bugs were nowhere to be found. It seemed that the guards killed them all along with destroying part of the path when they came through here yesterady. Ye Jiao clicked her tongue. It was such a shame that a lot of them died. She didn¡¯t really have much interest to collect them again from the garden. Right now, she had to focus on her training. ¡°Excuse me,¡± Ye Jiao stopped by the entrance. Several servants were standing in front of her, busy working to prepare the breakfast for their young masters and misses. The servants sent a glare to her. They recognized her as the young girl that stayed with Ye Ai Xia. Even though no one dared to make trouble for her because of what happened to the two servants before, they wouldn¡¯t treat her politely. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°I want to ask for some rice, pork, egg¡­¡± The servant frowned at the list Ye Jiao mentioned. ¡°There¡¯s no such thing in the kitchen. Just go, and we¡¯re going to deliver your usual meal to you.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t do,¡± Ye Jiao replied. ¡°How about if you just change the meal to these ingredients?¡± ¡°Do you want to create trouble for us?¡± The servant asked back. If they didn¡¯t deliver the food per their master¡¯s instruction, they wouldn¡¯t be able to make any excuse. Last time, two of their friends had died because of changing the menu. Now, did this girl want to do the same thing? ¡°No, this is what Aunt Ai Xia wants,¡± Ye Jiao recalled that her mother asked her to call her aunt in front of others. There were times when she almost forgot, but this time, she managed to hold her tongue from spouting off that word. The servants looked at one another. They didn¡¯t really want to deal with this little girl because it would be annoying. ¡°Go away, we¡¯re not going to receive order from you.¡± They would prefer to receive orders straight from their master than obeying this woman and plunging themselves into trouble. They were not stupid. Ye Jiao frowned. Her eyes were looking at the servants with annoyance. She didn¡¯t want to create trouble, but shouldn¡¯t the servant agree to what her mother asked? This would make it hard for them to celebrate the Summer Festival. As she was pondering what she should say, a light and elegant voice entered her ear. ¡°What are you doing loitering here?¡± 51. Preparation for Summer Festival (2) ¡°What are you doing loitering around here?¡± The sound was light and melodious, creating ease to whoever heard it. However, the sharp tone tinged with displeasure made them aware that the owner was not in a good mood. Ye Jiao turned her head and saw a young girl around the age of 13 standing not too far from her. Her long dark brown hair fluttered along with the wind. Her sharp gaze told others that she was not someone to be trifled with, yet her beautiful face would surely attract others to her. Just standing in front of this girl caused a sense of pressure in Ye Jiao¡¯s body. Her brows furrowed slightly. She could see that this girl looked slightly younger than Wei Cheng, but her disposition and power didn¡¯t seem to be lacking in the slightest compared to him. ¡°Miss Wei Yin,¡± the servants quickly bowed down. Hearing the name, Ye Jiao realized who this woman was. She was Wei Shang¡¯s first daughter and also the second child in this family. Wei Yin was only a year younger than Wei Cheng, but the two of them reached rank 1 almost at the same time not long ago. That achievement confirmed further that this Wei Yin has greater talent than Wei Cheng. Wei Yin nodded her head. Her eyes held no emotion as she glanced to Ye Jiao. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°My name is Ye Jiao, Miss Wei Yin,¡± Ye Jiao replied somberly. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Wei Yin had heard Ye Jiao¡¯s name a few times, especially from the annoying duo. From them, she knew that Ye Jiao should have stayed in Ye Ai Xia¡¯s residence most of the time and was unable to get out if it was unnecessary. Ye Jiao pointed to the kitchen. ¡°I want to ask for our meal today to be exchanged for some ingredients.¡± Wei Yin remembered that tomorrow would be the Summer Festival. She could guess that this little girl wanted the ingredients because she wanted to celebrate it with Ye Ai Xia. ¡°Just give it to her and don¡¯t create a commotion. It¡¯s time for breakfast,¡± Wei Yin said coldly. The servants hurriedly nodded their heads. ¡°We¡¯ll do as you say, Miss.¡± As they scampered to fetch the food and other items, Wei Yin was not bothered in the slightest. She turned around and left without glancing at the others at all. In her eyes, they seemed to be nonexistent. ¡°Many thanks for your help, Miss Wei Yin.¡± However, Wei Yin didn¡¯t even glance in Ye Jiao¡¯s direction anymore as if she didn¡¯t hear it. Ye Jiao knew that the other party heard it, but she took no offense. For someone as high as Wei Yin, her existence must be nothing worth of her time.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡®So, that¡¯s what it feels to face a rank 1 who hadn¡¯t controlled their strength well,¡± Ye Jiao could remember the faint pressure she felt. It was not unbearable, but it made her looked up at the girl a bit because of her young age and disposition. Because of her power and ability, no one dared to slight her in the slightest. Ye Jiao shook her head and tried not to think too much. Even though that girl kind of helping her, she has never even met with Wei Yin before. This might just be a little coincidence and unintended act on the other party¡¯s part. Still, she would surely remember the kindness Wei Yin gave to her. Turning her body around, Ye Jiao strode on the road back to her residence. She wanted to tell her mother first. ¡°Mom, I manage to ask them to change the meal,¡± Ye Jiao reported right after she arrived by the door. Her eyes widened when she saw her mother was already busy cooking. ¡°That¡¯s good, Jiao¡¯er.¡± ¡°Mom, where does this food come from?¡± Ye Ai Xia smiled brightly. ¡°It comes from yesterday¡¯s meal and some meat that your father left for us before. There are still some of them left, so we¡¯re going to eat this today.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll prepare the plates first, then,¡± Ye Jiao moved to the counter. ¡°Be careful, Jiao¡¯er.¡± ¡°Yes, Mom.¡± ¡­ After breakfast, Ye Jiao spent the rest of her time studying and practicing. Thanks to her training with Mu Xin, her body has grown far stronger compared with ordinary people. This would surely be a great help for her if she wanted to reach rank 1. ¡°My progress feels slow,¡± Ye Jiao sighed to herself. She glanced at her own arm. ¡°Well, I guess I¡¯m the one who¡¯s impatient.¡± If other people found out how she has filled the place for her core full with Eon Energy, they would surely think of her as a monster. Unfortunately, Ye Jiao doesn¡¯t feel satisfied. She still could pull more Eon Energy into her core, pushing it together in her abdomen. Until she couldn¡¯t pull more Eon Energy, she wouldn¡¯t be able to form her core. Without the core, she couldn¡¯t start training Eon Energy. Ye Jiao sighed to herself as she lay on the grass. Right now, she was staying inside the small forest, not far from the residence. This forest was filled with nature that she loved so much. Beads of sweat from her training stained her shirt. ¡°Let¡¯s just pull more Eon Energy here.¡± Not willing to move from her position, Ye Jiao closed her eyes and started to feel her surroundings. It has been a long time since the last time she practiced pulling Eon Energy to her body while she was lying down. After all, her mother forced her to do it when she was sitting to make it more stable. The warm light around her entered her body bit by bit as Ye Jiao sped up her power. It was as warm as she could remember and before long, she fell asleep again. ¡°Jiao¡¯er,¡± Ye Ai Xia sighed when she saw her daughter sleep on the grass again. She wondered what Ye Xiao taught this girl to make her love to sleep outside. ¡°Mhm,¡± Ye Jiao¡¯s body stirred. Her eyelashes fluttered open as she saw her mother¡¯s face right in front of her. ¡°Mom.¡± ¡°What did I say about sleeping outside?¡± ¡°Uh, I¡¯ll catch a cold if I do it too often,¡± Ye Jiao scratched her head. Ye Ai Xia crossed her arm. ¡°It¡¯s good that you remember. Let¡¯s go home and have an early dinner. You need to sleep early because tomorrow we¡¯re going to wake up early.¡± ¡°Why early, Mom?¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to make the dumplings in the morning,¡± Ye Ai Xia explained. ¡°But because I have competition in the morning, we have to push the schedule up even earlier.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t we do it after the competition, Mom?¡± Ye Jiao asked with hopeful expression. She doubted that she could fall asleep again after sleeping for a long time. Ye Ai Xia shook her head. She also wanted to have their time together at night, but she was worried that those people would pull some trick on her. If she got wounded or anything, she might not be able to accompany Ye Jiao. ¡°No, we¡¯re going to do it in the morning.¡± ¡°Awww,¡± Ye Jiao muttered. ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll wake up very early for you, Mom.¡± ¡°Good girl.¡± ¡°Hehe.¡± 52. Making Rice Dumplings At night, Ye Ai Xia washed some leaves to use for the wrap for the rice dumpling. She made sure that they were soaked before looking at her daughter and pointing at the pork meat. ¡°Cut them into 1 to 2 inches chunks, Jiao¡¯er,¡± Ye Ai Xia instructed. ¡°Yes, Mom,¡± Ye Jiao picked up the knife and started to cut them down while her mother prepared other ingredients. Her small hand, which had become accustomed to using a sword, could move agilely. ¡°I have finished, Mom.¡± ¡°Good, you can rest now,¡± Ye Ai Xia smiled. ¡°The rest can be done tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°Ok, Mom.¡± Ye Jiao sprinted to her bedroom while Ye Ai Xia prepared other ingredients. She made sure that they were all ready before heading to the backyard to practice. The next morning, Ye Ai Xia came into the house early. She headed straight to their bedroom and woke Ye Jiao up. The little girl was excited as she jumped off the bed right after she woke up. ¡°Come on, Mom. We¡¯re going to make the best rice dumpling ever!¡± ¡°Wait for me, little brat. And wash your body first.¡± ¡°Ok, Mom.¡± After cleaning herself up, Ye Jiao dashed to the kitchen. She looked excitedly as her mother put the rice and beans out. She instructed her to wash them before they start to make the rice dumplings. Making the rice dumpling itself was not that hard. Ye Ai Xia washed off the leaves and cut the coarse edge before bending them to make cone shape. After that, it would be filled with rice, bean, meat, eggs, mushroom, bean again, and lastly rice again. Afterwards, she closed the leaf, pressed it lightly to make sure the shape was right and used bamboo twine to tie it up. ¡°Here you go, the first rice dumpling,¡± Ye Ai Xia handed it to Ye Jiao after she had tied it up. Ye Jiao looked at the rice dumpling excitedly. ¡°What are we going to do next, Mom?¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to make a few more before boiling them for six hours,¡± Ye Ai Xia replied. ¡°You have to make sure that the water submerges them from time to time until the time is up. Can I trust you to keep watch?¡± ¡°Yes, you can, Mom,¡± Ye Jiao smiled. ¡°We¡¯re going to enjoy them together at night.¡± ¡°Yes, now let¡¯s make another one.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± The two of them spent the rest of the morning making the rice dumplings before Ye Ai Xia put them into the pot. For the first few hours, she stayed at home and helped Ye Jiao to dress up to go out with Mu Xin. The two of them had promised to play together for this festival.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Ye Jiao wore a light red dress. Her skirt was long but loose, making it easy to move around. Ye Ai Xia had purposely picked one where the girl would be able to run because she knew that Ye Jiao didn¡¯t like to stay in one place for a long time. The edge of the dress was embroidered with flower patterned embroidery in purple color, giving it an elegant feel. ¡°You look good, Jiao¡¯er,¡± Ye Ai Xia nodded with satisfaction when she saw Ye Jiao¡¯s image in the mirror. ¡°Mom, will you dress up too?¡± ¡°Me? I¡¯ll just wear my sports dress,¡± Ye Ai Xia replied. She didn¡¯t really want to look good in front of those annoying men. She was pretty sure that each of them would be present when she appeared. ¡°Can I see it?¡± ¡°Why not? Wait here for a bit.¡± Ye Ai Xia went to the bathroom for a moment before walking out with green dress and long green pants. The bright green color was similar to her eyes. The dress had long sleeves which were quite large at the end, making it easy to move around. The design was as such that it exuded the image of a refined woman. Ye Ai Xia smiled. ¡°How do I look?¡± ¡°You look amazing, Mom! Even a goddess might not be as beautiful as you,¡± Ye Jiao praised with sparkling eyes. ¡°You brat,¡± Ye Ai Xia poked her daughter¡¯s forehead. ¡°Mom will be going now. Take care of the house, ok?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± After her mother left, Ye Jiao waited in the living room patiently. There were still another three hours before she could leave the house, so she spent the time practicing near the fireplace while checking the water from time to time. After an unknown amount of time passed, Ye Jiao sensed that Wang Jun has arrived behind her. ¡°Miss Ye Jiao,¡± Wang Jun called softly. It was impolite to disturb someone when they were practicing, so he did it with caution. After all, one didn¡¯t know whether the other person was in deep training or just a light one. Ye Jiao opened her eyes slowly. Her bright green iris stared back at Wang Jun with questions all over her face. ¡°Is it the time to meet with Senior Mu Xin?¡± ¡°Yes, she has finished making her rice dumpling, so she wants you to come over,¡± Wang Jun replied. ¡°I can¡¯t. I still have to wait for another hour for the rice dumpling to finish,¡± Ye Jiao pointed to the pot before her. Wang Jun stared at the pot for a moment before turning around. ¡°Wait here.¡± ¡°Jun Ge?¡± At that moment, Wang Jun had disappeared from the place without any trace. Ye Jiao could never understand how this man managed to erase his presence perfectly every single time. It was as if this man was a ghost, which would be totally absurd. It took several minutes for Wang Jun to return back, this time he brought Mu Xin with him. ¡°Senior Mu,¡± Ye Jiao was stunned to see the girl came here. She quickly stood up from her place and walked to the other party. Mu Xin was wearing a blue long dress, which was light and easy to move in. Her face was starting to show the trace of maturity. Albeit faint, but the light makeup she wore today made it more visible. ¡°You take longer to make them,¡± Mu Xin pointed to the pot. Ye Jiao scratched her head. ¡°I can¡¯t help it, it¡¯s not like I can speed them up.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Ye Jiao¡¯s eyes caught the basket in Mu Xin¡¯s arm. It was surely the rice dumpling that Mu Xin made with her father. Her eyes sparkled with interest as she had never eaten them before. ¡°Do you want some? I brought it here with me to wait for your rice dumpling. Jun Ge, you can also eat some if you want,¡± Mu Xin remarked. ¡°Yes, thank you!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll not reject your offer, Miss,¡± Wang Jun replied as he took the rice dumpling and opened it. His eyes widened when he saw the rather messy shape. Mu Xin took one of the rice dumplings. ¡°Some of them might not have good shape because I¡¯m the one who put them in.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t see the difference,¡± Ye Jiao munched on the rice dumpling. The sweetness from the meat and sticky rice made her smile. ¡°Eat more, I¡¯ll eat yours too later.¡± ¡°Good idea.¡± While the two girls chatted happily, Wang Jun ate the dumpling quietly by the side. He didn¡¯t have any intention to disturb the two of them. 53. The Competition After departing from her house, Ye Ai Xia headed outside. This time, the guards didn¡¯t stop her because they knew that she would participate in the competition. If they tried to hinder her path, they would have to face the consequences. Walking to the gate, Ye Ai Xia could see that there were a lot of people there. Most of them were women, but some men were present. It seemed that the Spring and Youth Pill succeeded in attracting numerous female participants. Well, what would one expect from a pill that can help restore one¡¯s youth? Ye Ai Xia stopped right in front of the gate as numerous pairs of eyes were looking at her. She has gotten used to their stares. Many were looking at her with astonishment while others with lust or envy. As one of the most beautiful women in the capital, she knew how common this treatment was. ¡°I can see that you still love to show off, Ye Ai Xia,¡± the familiar voice entered her ears. Ye Ai Xia glanced to the side where she could see a dark yellow haired woman standing not far from her. The majestic bright red color of her clothes made her look quite eye catching among the crowd as the woman sneered. ¡°So it¡¯s you, Su Lian,¡± Ye Ai Xia remarked indifferently. ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s unwise for an old woman like you to wear such bright color?¡± Su Lian¡¯s face darkened the moment she heard the word ¡®old.¡¯ In the entire world, the word that women hated the most was old and that would certainly include Su Lian. ¡°I might have grown older, but I don¡¯t look old at all.¡± ¡°Really? With all those wrinkles on your face, I¡¯ll wonder what other people will say,¡± Ye Ai Xia replied sarcastically. In front of Su Lian, she dared to talk however she wished. After all, their clashes have been known since a long time ago. ¡°You-!¡± ¡°Senior Sister, I think it¡¯s unwise to quarrel with someone like her,¡± the woman from behind Su Lian warned. The woman had a similar hair color, which was dark yellow. However, this woman looked far more beautiful when compared with Su Lian and looked far more refined in her manner. ¡°Su Daji,¡± Ye Ai Xia murmured. This woman was one of the concubines that Wei Shang has. Although Su Daji herself has great talent, her son, Wei Liao, was rather lacking. Su Lian furrowed her brows. ¡°Indeed, this is not the place for us to start our quarrel. I¡¯m going to defeat you in the competition, Ye Ai Xia.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re not qualified,¡± Ye Ai Xia laughed freely. Her eyes landed on Su Daji. It would be a different case for this woman as she knew herself that Su Daji also specialized in speed and the two of them have similar rank right now. If they compete with speed, no one can say for sure who would win. Su Daji smiled sweetly. ¡°His Highness has come. The competition will soon start, so you better prepare yourself, Ye Ai Xia.¡±Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Ye Ai Xia nodded her head. ¡°Many thanks for your reminder.¡± As the two Su left, Ye Ai Xia turned her head to the direction of the imperial family. Her eyes glinted with maliciousness when she saw them. Her hatred towards them was on par or even much more when compared with her hatred of Wei Shang. If not for the Imperial Family, she would never succumb to this horrible fate. Closing her eyes, Ye Ai Xia calmed her heart. Whatever happened would happen. She would just focus on the competition and do what she could. ¡­ Wei Family Residence In the small courtyard, Ye Jiao smiled brightly when she realized that the time was up. The rice dumplings had been cooked perfectly. Slowly, she picked them out of the pot and placed them on the table. ¡°Can I take one?¡± Mu Xin asked with interest. She wanted to compare the two rice dumplings. ¡°Sure, just take one,¡± Ye Jiao nodded her head as she picked up one for herself. Opening up the twine, she could see the perfectly made rice dumplings. Slowly, she ate them and savored the sweet taste. ¡°It¡¯s really good,¡± Mu Xin commented. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s delicious!¡± The two girls chatted as they ate the rice dumplings. Mu Xin only brought a few of them, so now her basket was empty. She glanced at Wang Jun. ¡°Jun Ge, carry us out of this place.¡± Wang Jun blinked several times. ¡°Miss, it¡¯s going to be hard hiding the presence of three people at once even with the treasure that your father lends to me. It¡¯ll be safer if I take you out one by one.¡± ¡°Why bother?¡± Mu Xin crossed her arm in annoyance. ¡°Those people are only here to watch over Madam Ye Ai Xia and not Ye Jiao. There¡¯s no way they¡¯re still around here when she has left.¡± Wang Jun smiled bitterly. It was easy for Mu Xin to say that, but he knew better. There were still some of them left to watch over the residence. It might not be directed straight to Ye Jiao, but it wouldn¡¯t be easy for him to get out unnoticed if he brought two girls with him at once. Seeing their hopeful gazes, he sighed to himself. ¡°Fine, get on.¡± ¡°Yes! You¡¯re the best, Jun Ge.¡± ¡°Thank you, Jun Ge.¡± ¡°Save your praise for later,¡± Wang Jun said jokingly before he departed with the two of them out of the residence. Within minutes, the three of them reached the wall, at the border of the city. Slowly and carefully, Wang Jun put the two girls down as they inched closer to the wall, trying to see what was down there. Seeing numerous Eon Energy Masters running around, their eyes sparkled with interest. ¡°This is the first time I see numerous Eon Energy Masters using their power all at once,¡± Mu Xin exclaimed in surprise. ¡°Me too.¡± ¡°What kind of race is this, Jun Ge?¡± Wang Jun turned his head to see the two girls. He smiled kindly. ¡°This is the race to circle the city once. But it¡¯s not just an ordinary circling the entire city as there are numerous obstacles that they placed. First of all, you have to be careful with the beasts surroundings the capital city. Secondly, there might be some traps that they prepared.¡± ¡°Traps?¡± Ye Jiao¡¯s interest was piqued up. ¡°Yes, there might be some traps. This part of the wall is for the beginning of the race. If you want to see the end, it¡¯s over there, but I doubt that there¡¯s anyone who has reached the finish line this quickly,¡± Wang Jun recalled that the race had just started around an hour ago. Considering the traps and beasts, even the fastest person might need two hours to circle the city if they used their power as rank 3 moderately. ¡°We can try to walk over there while talking,¡± Ye Jiao suggested. For the two of them, the distance was quite long. The time they needed to head to the other wall might be the same time needed for the Eon Energy Masters to reach the finish line. ¡°That¡¯s a great idea,¡± Mu Xin agreed without much thought. Ye Jiao grinned. ¡°Then, what are you waiting for? Let¡¯s go!¡± 54. The Two Big Families in the Chen Kingdom ¡°Senior Mu, there are a lot of people over there,¡± Ye Jiao commented when the two of them have walked for quite some time. The side of the wall near the finish line was extremely crowded with people. Those who hadn¡¯t reached Rank 1 would stay on the wall in fear that they would get attacked. Mu Xin nodded her head. ¡°They can¡¯t watch from below, so they¡¯re also using this place to watch.¡± ¡°Can we get pass them?¡± Ye Jiao asked worriedly. It would be hard to look from there with numerous people blocking their way. Added with their height as children, it would be close to impossible to see from behind them. ¡°I can secure a place easily,¡± Mu Xin shrugged. ¡°What?¡± When they reached near the wall, a soldier approached the two of them. He recognized Mu Xin immediately as their general¡¯s daughter. ¡°Miss Mu Xin,¡± the soldier bowed down. ¡°I want to take a look,¡± Mu Xin said in an indifferent tone. Her warm expression was replaced back to her cold and aloof face, showing a large contrast to how this girl behaved in front of Ye Jiao. ¡°I¡¯ll take you there, Miss,¡± the soldier glanced at Wang Jun and Ye Jiao, unsure if he should bring them along. ¡°They¡¯re my friends, so they¡¯re coming with me.¡± ¡°I understand, Miss.¡± As the soldier guided them, Ye Jiao was watching the soldier¡¯s expression. From the way he behaved, it didn¡¯t seem he liked the notion of taking the two of them along with Mu Xin. Well, the two of them didn¡¯t have high status, so it was to be expected that the soldier wouldn¡¯t give them preferential treatment. The soldier brought them to the post tower. In the city wall, there will be some parts that were rather large. It was usually called as their post and also the place for their leader to lead during war or battle. This time, the place was used by children of influential families to rest. Because of their parents or other family members, they were allowed to stay there to watch. Compared to the crowded wall, this place only had several children staying. Some of them brought their friends, but there were not many. ¡°It¡¯s pretty large,¡± Ye Jiao commented in awe. She didn¡¯t know that they could stay here. Mu Xin nodded her head. ¡°It¡¯s to be expected that this place is pretty large. This is the post for the generals or other people such as the strategists.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Walking to the wall, Ye Jiao looked to the ground. Her eyes were astonished when she saw the height. The wall in Wei Family residence could never be compared with the mighty height of this wall. It was simply too awesome.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. The people outside looked extremely small from this position. Ye Jiao admired the people around her then turned her head to the side. She could see a young boy leaning on the wall leisurely. His relaxed attitude was in contrast to the excited children around him, but no one dared to get close to the young boy. ¡°Senior Mu, do you know who that is?¡± Ye Jiao pointed using her chin. Mu Xin furrowed her brows. ¡°It¡¯s Lu Wan.¡± ¡°Lu Wan?¡± Ye Jiao tilted her head. From the corner of her eyes, she secretly watched that green haired boy with curiosity. ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard about him?¡± Mu Xin smiled wryly. ¡°Just recently, he came out of his training hall as Eon Energy Master Rank 1.¡± Eon Energy Master Rank 1? Ye Jiao was astonished. From the figure the boy had, she guessed that he should be around 11 to 12 years old. Most children that age have just formed their core, but this Lu Wan has reached rank 1? ¡°You know that Lu Family is the second largest family in this kingdom, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Chen Kingdom was formed with two factions supporting it. One of them was Wei Family, which was the holder of the military of this kingdom. The other one was Lu Family, who was known for their strict rules and extreme understanding of politics and law. Above the two families, only the Imperial family stood higher. Mu Xin pointed to the boy. ¡°Lu Wan is the second son in Lu Family and also the genius of this generation.¡± ¡°Is it not Wei Cheng or Wei Yin?¡± Ye Jiao recalled that the two of them were pretty good themselves. If they claimed themselves to be the genius, many people would surely agree with them. ¡°Nope, they¡¯re nearing the word ¡®genius,¡¯ but they¡¯re mostly only slightly talented,¡± Mu Xin shook her head. ¡°Only slightly talented?¡± The standard to be called as a genius was really high in this place. Mu Xin smiled as she watched Ye Jiao¡¯s reaction. ¡°Do you remember their color during the test? Or at least, have you heard about it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s blue with slight purple color in Wei Mi,¡± Ye Jiao replied. ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Mu Xin nodded her head. She pointed her chin to Lu Wan. ¡°On the other hand, this young boy reached purple color back then, making him the one with the highest talent so far.¡± Purple color! It was known that purple was the peak of their talent in this world. Whoever could reach purple color would be destined for greatness because they have the possibility to achieve the highest stage in Eon Energy. ¡°That¡¯s amazing!¡± Ye Jiao exclaimed. Mu Xin nodded her head. ¡°In this kingdom, there are only two people who reach pure purple color in this generation. I mean, among the people around our age.¡± ¡°So little!¡± ¡°Of course, do you think it¡¯s common to reach purple color?¡± Mu Xin laughed. If it was that easy to find one with that talent color, the entire world would be filled with geniuses all over the place. Ye Jiao could sense the longing tone that Mu Xin used when she spoke. It was clear that Mu Xin also hoped that she could have purple color talent because it was the only chance she could reach higher rank. ¡°Senior Mu,¡± Ye Jiao tugged the girl¡¯s sleeves. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m sure that you¡¯ll be able to reach a high rank in the future too.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Mu Xin smiled. Her talent might not be the best among them all, but she would not give up that easily. Her path would be much harder if she wanted to reach the same rank as them all, but it was not like all hope was lost. Their path has just begun. There will be many things that happened in the future that might change their fate. Ye Jiao turned her head to the other side and her body stiffened when she saw the four siblings from Wei Family. In total, Wei Family has five children, but so far, she has only met with four of them. Right now, the four of them are staying in this post tower. Her eyes met with Wei Mi¡¯s eyes, who widened in surprise and disgust. ¡°You! What is trash like you doing here?¡± 55. Confrontation Ye Jiao¡¯s body stood rooted in place as she watched the four siblings from the Wei Family. Even though she wanted to run away because she didn¡¯t want to deal with them, it would be hard for her to move when they had taken notice of her. Four pairs of eyes looked in her direction. ¡°It¡¯s that trash again,¡± Wei Mi scrunched her face in disgust. The thought of staying in the same place with Ye Jiao made her annoyed. Wei Cheng¡¯s reaction was not any better. He arched his eyebrows in annoyance. ¡°What in the world would someone like you do to stay in this place?¡± ¡°Trash!¡± Wei Liao also added. On the other hand, Wei Yin stayed silent. She was not interested in their childish dispute as she moved away from her place and picked a comfortable place to sit. Her brothers and sisters from different mothers were annoying in her eyes. ¡°Hey, are you still a mute?¡± Wei Mi approached Ye Jiao. Her hand was raised up, about to slap the girl¡¯s face but Mu Xin stopped her movements. With Mu Xin trained in martial arts every single day, her physical body was far stronger than ordinary people. ¡°Senior Mu!¡± Ye Jiao was startled. ¡°Trying to hit a girl in public, are you not aware of your position as the general¡¯s legal daughter?¡± Mu Xin asked in a menacing tone. Her disposition has been cold most of the time and when she got angry, her tone turned even icier. ¡°You!¡± Wei Mi tried her best to pull her hand back, but she could feel that Mu Xin was holding her firmly. It was not to the point of pain, but she was unable to free herself from the girl¡¯s grip. ¡°Release my sister!¡± Wei Cheng stepped in. Mu Xin glanced at Wei Cheng and released Wei Mi¡¯s arm right when the girl was trying to pull back. Her action caused the girl to stumble to the back and crashed right to Wei Liao, who was standing not far from her. ¡°Be careful,¡± Wei Liao murmured. Wei Mi¡¯s eyes reddened. As the pampered daughter of Wei Family, she has never been slighted in any way. This was the first time for her to receive such a treatment. With the help of Wei Cheng, she struggled to stand up. All these times, Mu Xin stood indifferently. She didn¡¯t care about their difference in status. Even though her father might be under Wei Mi¡¯s father, she couldn¡¯t just let them go when they tried to bully Ye Jiao. It was too much. The girl was only eight years old, but they always made things difficult for her. At least, when they were outside, she would step in. ¡°Miss,¡± Wang Jun reminded from the back to not act rashly. Even though Mu Hong would be able to deal with the matter cleanly, it would be better to not create any trouble with the Wei Family.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡°I know, Jun Ge,¡± Mu Xin replied calmly. Wei Cheng was already angry at Mu Xin¡¯s indifferent attitude. When he heard how Mu Xin called Wang Jun, he sneered. ¡°Even a lowly servant can become your brother, Mu Xin. It seems that the standard of Mu Family has gone down.¡± ¡°It¡¯s called polite, Wei Cheng. I¡¯m not like the Wei Family who can¡¯t act appropriately when they¡¯re outside,¡± Mu Xin said solemnly. ¡°You!¡± Wei Mi was about to lash out when Wei Yin held the girl from the back. Even though Wei Yin didn¡¯t have any interest in stepping in, she knew that they would get into trouble if they made a scene in this place right now. ¡°Wei Mi, we¡¯re outside,¡± Wei Yin warned the young girl. ¡°My apologies for bothering the two of you. We¡¯re going to go now.¡± ¡°You! Don¡¯t restrain me!¡± Wei Mi struggled. She would not feel satisfied before she could push Ye Jiao back. The humiliation she felt after falling down to the ground and crashing against Wei Liao wouldn¡¯t disappear just like that. ¡°Wei Mi!¡± ¡°Mi¡¯er,¡± Wei Cheng also spoke up. ¡°Don¡¯t create trouble here.¡± He could see that the other influential family children were also looking at them with inquiry. Clearly, the little ruckus that Wei Mi started made them aware that there were disputes here. As the participants haven¡¯t reached nearing the finish line, the children were mostly talking with each other or relaxing. ¡°But, Cheng Ge¡­¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± The loud yell caused the children to startle. Some of them even jumped in place due to the surprise. Numerous pairs of eyes were looking in one direction, which was the green haired boy. Right now, his posture was still as relaxed as ever, but his expression showed his displeasure. Wei Cheng quickly corrected his posture. ¡°We¡¯re sorry¡­.¡± ¡°Just shut up and watch if you want to stay here or scram outside if you want to create trouble. Listening to your gibberish makes me want to puke,¡± Lu Wan said harshly, not caring how his words entered the other¡¯s ears. Ye Jiao was utterly stunned when she heard how Lu Wan berated the others harshly. Wasn¡¯t the Lu Family known for their scholarly attitude? This boy¡­ no, this brat has just cursed them all and told them to scram. If she didn¡¯t hear it by herself, she would not believe such a person came from Lu Family. The way he behaved was too similar to that of a rogue. Even though there were truths inside his words, they were extraordinarily harsh. Lu Wan swept his gaze once before turning his gaze back to the outside. The people would reach the finish line soon and he wanted to see them. Wei Cheng glanced at Ye Jiao as he mouthed out. ¡®This is not over yet, brat!¡¯ Looking at the Wei children moved back, Ye Jiao was secretly astonished. Even though the brat named Lu Wan was harsh with his mouth, he could directly order other people to move back easily. It seemed that his position in this kingdom was not that simple at all. But before that. ¡°Senior Mu, is the Lu Family really famous as a scholarly family?¡± Mu Xin smiled wryly. ¡°Yes, but Lu Wan is an oddball. He doesn¡¯t follow any rules and tends to act according to his will. But because of his talent, no one force him to study law and politics and let him do whatever he wants. Right now, he has become Eon Energy Master rank 1.¡± ¡°How old is he?¡± ¡°He should be 11 years old,¡± Mu Xin replied. 11 years old¡­ he was even younger than what Ye Jiao expected. Ye Jiao turned her body in the direction outside the city once more. The tense atmosphere has eased up as the children started to talk with one another bit by bit. The content of their conversation might differ from one another, but several of them must be talking about Lu Wan. ¡°Those with purple talent are really amazing,¡± Ye Jiao sighed. Mu Xin giggled. ¡°In the previous generation, there are only two people with purple talent too.¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°Ye Xiao and Ai Xia.¡± 56. Conclusion of the Competition ¡°Dad and¡­¡± Ye Jiao¡¯s eyes widened in astonishment. She knew that her father was awesome, but she didn¡¯t expect that it would be this great. Mu Xin nodded her head. ¡°However, the two of them fail to reach rank 3 before the age of 15 because of different reasons.¡± ¡°Wait, who¡¯s Ai Xia?¡± ¡°It¡¯s your aunt, dummy,¡± Mu Xin laughed. ¡°Madam Ai Xia was adopted by Ye Family, but she refused to change her surname. Because of that, they kindly allow her to use her surname while adding Ye surname.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Ye Jiao never realized that her mother¡¯s real surname was Ai. She always thought that her mother had replaced it from young and at the same time, her name was Ai Xia. But it turned out that it was coming from her mother¡¯s past name. ¡°I thought that there are more people with purple talent.¡± ¡°Yes, from other places,¡± Mu Xin admitted. ¡°Occasionally, there will be students exchange with students from other places. It usually occurs every five years, but it¡¯s only applicable in Academy and not Elementary School.¡± ¡°Is it going to happen soon?¡± ¡°I think no? I don¡¯t know either,¡± Mu Xin replied embarrassedly. ¡°I¡¯m still in Elementary School this year, so I don¡¯t pay much attention.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Ye Jiao thought to herself. If there were only two people with purple talent in this kingdom, it meant that her father¡¯s wife must have come from a different kingdom. Was it among the four kingdoms or outside the four kingdoms? She was not sure herself. ¡°The participants are rushing in!¡± The shout from another student brought Ye Jiao¡¯s attention back to the competition. She could see two women were leading at the front with someone else at their back, trailing not far from them. ¡°It¡¯s Su Daji,¡± Mu Xin pointed to one of the women at the front. Right now, the aloof and respectable madam from Wei Family looked rather horrible. She was drenched in mud all over her body, but she still forced her Eon Energy to propel her forward. The other woman was Ye Ai Xia. Compared with Su Daji, Ye Ai Xia¡¯s condition was far better. Her clothes were a bit unkempt because of running madly at high speed, but she was not dirty at all. If anything, her movements still had a trace of elegance. ¡°They¡¯re almost reaching the finish line,¡± Ye Jiao said excitedly.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°The brutal war will start here,¡± Mu Xin commented. Right after she said that, Su Daji suddenly attacked the other two women using her Eon Energy. It was forming a line and pushed the two of them. Ye Ai Xia was prepared as she blocked it by making an Eon Energy barrier, but the other woman fell to the ground. Still, that woman didn¡¯t give up and stood up again. For Eon Energy Master Rank 3, that small damage was nothing much. With that, the three of them were closing to the finish line even faster and faster. Su Daji continued to spare some time to attack, but the other two were already prepared for her attack, allowing them to escape. However, their action of escaping made Su Daji reach first. ¡°This is the first time I see battle between rank 3 masters,¡± Mu Xin didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry seeing their pitiful battle. Compared with her imagination, their battle looked hilarious. Ye Jiao laughed. ¡°But it¡¯s not easy to control the Eon Energy.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s just, the way they control it makes it funny,¡± Mu Xin replied. Her eyes glanced to the back as she saw two other women were already dashing madly to the finish line. Their eyes contained despair as they saw how close the three in the lead were to the finish line. ¡°The fastest ones are all women.¡± ¡°The reward is more suitable for women,¡± Mu Xin shrugged. Ye Jiao watched intently as she saw Su Daji crossed the finish line followed by her mother. Her eyes contained slight disappointment, but she was proud that her mother could reach the finish line pretty quick to have the second place. ¡°It has ended, do you want to return back or watch the ceremony?¡± Mu Xin asked. She didn¡¯t really have any interest in watching them. Ye Jiao eyed the four siblings. ¡°I think it¡¯s better if I return back.¡± ¡°Ah, are they bullying you?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not that,¡± Ye Jiao frowned. She just has the feeling that they would try to report her for getting out of Wei Family Residence to Wei Shang. At that time, it was her mother who would get into trouble. Mu Xin studied Ye Jiao¡¯s expression and took out a bottle of medicine. ¡°This can help you cure the outer layer of wounds quickly. Let¡¯s meet again after I finish forming my core.¡± ¡°Ok, Senior Mu,¡± Ye Jiao agreed directly. Mu Xin turned to Wang Jun. ¡°Jun Ge, please escort Ye Jiao back.¡± ¡°Yes, Miss.¡± The two of them looked at one another for a moment before Ye Jiao turned around and got out of the place. Once they were among the crowd, Wang Jun picked her up and departed from the place. It didn¡¯t take long for them to arrive in Wei Family Residence. ¡°Thank you, Jun Ge,¡± Ye Jiao gave her thanks. Wang Jun nodded his head. He watched the girl for a few seconds. ¡°Please be careful during your stay here, Miss Ye. Wei Family is filled with malicious people.¡± ¡°I know. Thank you for your reminder.¡± Seeing the reassuring smile on Ye Jiao¡¯s face, Wang Jun felt a bit guilty for leaving this young girl in this kind of place. If it was possible, it would be great to take her out of the city. However, he would never be able to do that under the watch of those rank 4. With a heavy feeling, he turned around and left without knowing that it would take him months before meeting the young girl again. Ye Jiao stood in her place for the next few minutes. She focused on controlling the Eon Energy around her and absorbed them slowly but steadily. Her core hadn¡¯t shows any sign that it would be full, so she could absorb a lot of Eon Energy with ease. ¡®They come.¡¯ In front of her, she saw Wei Mi and Wei Liao walking closer. Their faces contained disgust when they saw the young girl. ¡°It seems that you know how to return back early, brat,¡± Wei Mi crossed her arm. ¡°Wei Liao, call our father here.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± Ye Jiao watched the two of them with a bad premonition. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°What do I want?¡± Wei Mi arched her eyebrow. ¡°I want to crush you.¡± 57. Wei Family Maliciousness ¡°What do I want?¡± Wei Mi arched her eyebrow. ¡°I want to crush you.¡± Ye Jiao frowned. What was this girl saying? Her eyes showed trace of confusion as she looked back at Wei Mi. The two of them were of the same age, yet it seemed as if Wei Mi¡¯s mind was filled with malicious thoughts. ¡°You¡¯re just a trash that should have never been born. If not because of that annoying woman, my mother will never receive ridicule from other people!¡± Wei Mi yelled angrily. She found out that some people would look at her mother with disdain and ridicule, which was weird considering Su Lian¡¯s position. As the legal wife of a great general, she should have been respected wherever she went. Even though they didn¡¯t treat her that badly, she hated it when they looked at her with pity because of her mother. Why? Wei Mi heard from others that Su Lian confronted Ye Ai Xia numerous times in the past and never won even once. Even in the competition just now, they never considered her mother to win the race. This made her angry and annoyed. In her mind, if she could get rid of Ye Jiao, she would be able to help her mother regain some face. After all, if Ye Jiao lost face because of her, it would attribute that her mother was greater than Ye Ai Xia. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Ye Jiao didn¡¯t understand at all. Wei Mi sneered. ¡°You will never understand, you b*tch!¡± She stepped forward and swung her arm right to Ye Jiao¡¯s face. Instinctively, Ye Jiao evaded to the side, making Wei Mi¡¯s attack fall short. Even though Wei Mi lost her balance for a moment, Ye Jiao didn¡¯t take the initiative to attack. Her eyes were watching the girl as she calculated her movements in her mind. If she dared to attack, Wei Shang would surely blame her for misconduct. Harming a general¡¯s daughter would merit a lot of beatings as punishment. Wei Mi stabilized herself and launched several punches, which came from the basic martial art in the military. As the daughter of the general himself, it was not weird that she came to learn them. After all, Wei Mi¡¯s talent was known to be the best among the five siblings in Wei Family. Ye Jiao dodged several of them as she stepped back. ¡°Why are you attacking me?¡± ¡°Why? I want to beat you up!¡± Wei Mi replied angrily. She would not feel calm until she saw Ye Jiao wounded. Seeing that Wei Mi was about to begin another barrage of attack, Ye Jiao prepared herself. Her keen senses told her that the others were coming in her direction.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Her body moved to the side, evaded the attack in large movements. At the same time, she made sure that there was a large distance between her and Wei Mi. She glanced at the side where Wei Shang had appeared with Wei Cheng and Wei Liao. As for Su Lian, that woman was nowhere to see. Probably, they were having debate with other women over the competition. ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± Wei Shang asked with annoyance. The voice and pressure coming from Wei Shang sent shiver down Ye Jiao¡¯s body. She hurriedly stopped every movements of Eon Energy in her body as her palm was clenched into a fist. Just a gaze from Wei Shang felt like piercing her body, scanning at her directly without any ability to resist. It was scary. She felt as if she couldn¡¯t hide anything in front of this man. ¡°Daddy!¡± Wei Mi wailed. ¡°Dad, she¡¯s cursing me.¡± Cursing? Ye Jiao snapped back to the real world when she heard Wei Mi¡¯s accusation. Where in the world did Wei Mi hear her curse? She barely spoke out any word at all during the time Wei Mi was here. This girl¡­. ¡°Is that true?¡± Wei Shang frowned. He disliked Ye Jiao, but he didn¡¯t really want to make any trouble for the girl more than what he had. If anything, he didn¡¯t want to have any interaction with Ye Jiao because she would make him remember Ye Xiao. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s true! She was cursing Wei Mi even before I went go to call you, Dad!¡± Wei Liao supported Wei Mi¡¯s words. Ye Jiao stared at the young man with a frown on her forehead. Just how far did they want to slight her? ¡°Are you sure you didn¡¯t mishear?¡± Wei Shang felt rather suspicious. If that was true, the two of them wouldn¡¯t just stay silent and do nothing. They would surely retaliate to Ye Jiao considering how proud they were. ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Yes, Daddy!¡± Wei Mi pleaded, using her sweetest voice. Wei Cheng stepped forward. ¡°Father, she¡¯s an insolent girl that doesn¡¯t know her place. You should give a lesson to her!¡± ¡°Yes, Dad! You have to punish her!¡± Wei Mi asked while crying. Wei Shang was put in a pinch. He came here because Wei Liao told him that Wei Mi and Ye Jiao were in the middle of a fight. But from what he saw, the two of them didn¡¯t seem to be hurt at all. If it was verbal bullying, he couldn¡¯t confirm the truth as he sent the guards to watch at faraway location. ¡°Dad, are you siding with this bit¡­ brat?¡± Wei Mi sobbed. The girl¡¯s soft tone and pleading voice melted Wei Shang¡¯s heart. He sighed as he waved his hand. ¡°Just do as you wish. Just remember to return in a few minutes. Your mothers will return soon.¡± ¡°Thank you, Father,¡± Wei Cheng bowed politely, but underneath his notion, a wicked smile was formed on his lips. As Wei Shang moved away, Ye Jiao was considering whether she should run or not. Wei Cheng has reached rank 1. If he wanted to beat her up, it would be extremely easy because their gap in strength was too much. ¡°Father has left,¡± Wei Liao informed. Wei Mi smirked. ¡°I also bring a whip this time around. Now, help me capture her, Cheng Ge, Liao Ge!¡± Ye Jiao¡¯s body jerked to the back as Wei Liao sprinted forward suddenly to reach her. She twisted her body to the side, agilely evaded the grip. Afterwards, Ye Jiao jumped back. Wei Cheng was reaching to her side at higher speed, so she moved away once more. As she had been training with Mu Xin, her reaction speed was rather fast. Even Wei Cheng would be unable to catch her if he was alone. As the two younger ones blocked her way, Wei Cheng reached to her back. His fist hit her back fiercely and before Ye Jiao could escape, the pain made her fall to the ground. Beads of sweat trailed down on her face as she could faintly see the smirk on Wei Cheng¡¯s smug face. Before long, all she could see was a barrage of fist and kick plus the whip that Wei Mi used. 58. Silence ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± Wei Cheng remarked. ¡°We have to go back before our mother returns.¡± ¡°I¡¯m still not satisfied,¡± Wei Liao complained. He was one of the weakest one here as Wei Mi has started to catch up with him. It was rare for him to be able to vent out his feelings outside, so he wanted to use this chance to the fullest. Wei Mi nodded her head. Her small arms were tired because of the whip¡¯s weight, but she hadn¡¯t had enough of using them. ¡°Just a bit more, Cheng Ge.¡± ¡°We can come here again in a few days. The experts have cleared up all the bugs,¡± Wei Cheng said in an authoritative tone. ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Wei Mi reluctantly moved. Wei Liao took the chance to deliver one more kick before following after the other two. The three of them chatted merrily as if nothing had happened. On the ground, Ye Jiao was crouching down with her hand protecting her head. Her Eon Energy was working at full speed to protect her body from the beating she took just now. Many of her muscles were slightly swollen, but the Eon Energy prevented her from taking too much damage. Still, it didn¡¯t mean that she was not bleeding as Wei Mi kept on hitting her using that large whip. When she heard that they had left, Ye Jiao raised her head slowly. She felt frustrated at how weak she was as she dragged her painful body into the house. She couldn¡¯t fight back at all. Even though she tried her best to escape from the three of them and bought time, they still caught her easily. The beating that took place after that was vivid in her mind as Ye Jiao stood up slowly. Her hand reached to her pocket and took out the medicine that Mu Xin gave her not long ago. ¡®I¡¯ll be using this first.¡¯ Ye Jiao headed to the bathroom, ignoring all the pain in her muscles. She poured out the medicine to the bath before getting inside. The medicine water felt scorching on her skin, it was painful but Ye Jiao didn¡¯t say anything. Quietly, she absorbed the Eon Energy from the medicine and directed them to her muscles. With visible speed, the pain started to subside, leaving only some marks on her skin. Ye Jiao didn¡¯t stop and continued to absorb the medicine and circulated it thorough her body. After a long time had passed, she started to feel much more comfortable. Raising her small hand, Ye Jiao scrutinized her skin. ¡°At least, it makes me grow stronger¡­¡± As she spoke up, tears dropped from the corner of her eyes to the water. Ye Jiao blinked a few times. ¡°Huh? That¡¯s weird¡­ Why am I crying?¡± The tears streamed out even harder. Ye Jiao sat there silently as tears continued to pour out. She was sad and frustrated by her condition. Continuously at the bottom level with them beating her up even though she has much better talent caused her to be frustrated. For a young girl, the mental torture was not something she could treat as passing wind so easily.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it It hurts. Ye Jiao stared at her own fist. All she has was nothing but a better start in training, but right now, she was nothing much in front of them. She could only bide her time slowly and trained to become stronger. It took some time before Ye Jiao could stop crying and stepped out of the bathtub. Her mother hadn¡¯t returned yet, so she headed straight to the kitchen and prepared the rice dumpling they had cooked earlier. As her body no longer felt hurt and there were no visible wounds left, she didn¡¯t have any trouble. ¡®The medicine Senior Mu gives is really good.¡¯ Ye Jiao couldn¡¯t wait to tell Mu Xin how thankful she was. However, she would have to wait until Mu Xin had finished her training to form her core. Forming one¡¯s core was the very first step to become an Eon Energy Master, so it was always placed in great importance. That one process could change the kid¡¯s fate forever. ¡°Jiao¡¯er, Mom¡¯s home!¡± The cheerful voice from her mother brightened her mood instantly. Ye Jiao ran to the door and saw her mother waving to her. She sprinted from her position and jumped straight to her mother¡¯s embrace. ¡°Mom! Welcome back!¡± ¡°I¡¯m back, Little Brat,¡± Ye Ai Xia smiled as she messed up Ye Jiao¡¯s hair. ¡°Did you finish the rice dumpling?¡± ¡°Of course! I already prepared everything on the table, let¡¯s go eat, Mom!¡± ¡°Hey, be patient a bit, you naughty brat!¡± The two of them laughed and bantered with one another as they spent the dinner in warm mood. Ye Ai Xia didn¡¯t seem to be bothered with her loss at all while Ye Jiao didn¡¯t want to let the incident affect her dinner. The two of them just focused on whatever matter in front of them rather than worrying about other things. ¡°There are still a lot of rice dumplings left,¡± Ye Ai Xia said after she felt full. She made a bit too much. ¡°We can eat them tomorrow again, Mom,¡± Ye Jiao suggested. ¡°They¡¯re really good.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep them in the ring. Now, I have something for you, Jiao¡¯er.¡± As she said that, Ye Ai Xia took out the Eon Energy Pill Rank 3 that she got from the competition. Originally, they didn¡¯t even want to give it to her, but after a long debate, they didn¡¯t have any choice. After all, she challenged them in front of the masses. Ye Jiao¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Mom, what¡¯s that?¡± ¡°This is Eon Energy Pill Rank 3,¡± Ye Ai Xia replied. The size of the white ball was similar to that of an egg but the color was bright white and yellow. ¡°You can easily differentiate each rank based on their size. Rank 2 is around half of this while rank 1 is just the size of a pea.¡± Ye Jiao was astonished. ¡°There are large differences between them.¡± ¡°Yes, now, eat this, Jiao¡¯er.¡± ¡°Eat?¡± Ye Jiao stared at the bright white yellowish ball in front of her with hesitation. The size alone was already enough to make her doubt whether she could eat it or not. Added with the fact that she was not sure what she should do after eating it, she felt utterly confused. Ye Ai Xia stared at the ball before laughing. ¡°Wait a minute, I¡¯ll compress it.¡± ¡°You can compress it, Mom?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Ye Ai Xia nodded her head. She started to pour her Eon Energy to the ball as it spun around. ¡°When one reach peak rank 3, they¡¯ll be able to control their Eon Energy much better and use it for this. If I compress it, it¡¯ll became purer and smaller.¡± She sighed internally as she could guess that they were giving her subpar Eon Energy Pill Rank 3. Even though they knew that she didn¡¯t have any use, they didn¡¯t want to give her anything good. She was glad that she had great control of her Eon Energy to the point that compressing Eon Energy pills became easier. In front of Ye Ai Xia, Ye Jiao watched the process patiently. She could see that the ball turned brighter and brighter while at the same time, the size turned even smaller. It took Ye Ai Xia a long time before she could finish compressing the pill. Right now, the size was around half of the previous one. ¡°Here, Jiao¡¯er.¡± ¡°Are you sure about it, Mom?¡± Ye Jiao asked hesitantly. Now the size became much more plausible for her to directly swallow. Ye Ai Xia nodded her head. ¡°I don¡¯t have any use of it, so you should just eat it.¡± Ye Jiao stared at the bright ball for a moment before putting it inside her mouth and swallowed it. 59. Absorbing and Training ¡°Good,¡± Ye Ai Xia smiled. ¡°Guide the ball into your abdomen, right at the place for your core.¡± Ye Jiao blanked for a moment. Couldn¡¯t her mother give her a much better instruction? She tried to sense the ball position as she pushed it down her stomach into her abdomen. It felt weird when the ball seemed to bypass her organs, but Ye Jiao didn¡¯t think too much of it. Once it came inside her abdomen, she could sense that the ball started to spin and gave warm Eon Energy to her abdomen. Her eyes showed astonishment. ¡°Mom, I feel that there is a lot of Eon Energy coming into my abdomen. With this, I¡¯ll be able to form my core faster.¡± ¡°It¡¯s good that there is a lot of Eon Energy, but you have to control the pill¡¯s movements to make sure that it doesn¡¯t release too much at once,¡± Ye Ai Xia reminded. ¡°There¡¯s a limit to your body, so make sure that you find the right pace.¡± Ye Jiao frowned before closing her eyes and sat down. Her attention was fully focused on her abdomen where she tried to control the pill. The warm Eon Energy was pulled out of her abdomen as she tried to spread it to her entire body. Sweat trickled down her forehead. She didn¡¯t understand why but it was much harder to pull the energy out from her abdomen compared to drawing it in. Little did she know that this was the norm for children because it allowed them to form their core faster. Only after they form the core would the restriction be lifted by their own body. However, Ye Ai Xia didn¡¯t tell Ye Jiao this as she let her daughter train by herself. It would be better for the girl to learn the hard part first rather than the easy part. Time passed swiftly. Ye Jiao couldn¡¯t get used to the pill in her abdomen as she had to put most of her concentration there to make sure that it didn¡¯t give out too much energy at once. However, saying was easier than doing it. ¡°Jiao¡¯er, stop sitting around all day. Go and do some training,¡± Ye Ai Xia laughed when she saw Ye Jiao kept on sitting after breakfast. ¡°But Mom, it¡¯s hard to control the pill,¡± Ye Jiao admitted. Ye Ai Xia smiled. ¡°I know, but you have to do it because the gap to rank 3 is large. If you don¡¯t control it, you might harm yourself.¡±This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Mom¡­ you¡¯re not planning on killing me, right?¡± ¡°I will never do that,¡± Ye Ai Xia stroked Ye Jiao¡¯s head. ¡°If you need help, I¡¯ll try to help you control it. But for the time being, you should learn how to control it yourself.¡± ¡°Yes, Mom¡­¡± Ye Jiao replied. ¡°Mom, is it hard to make an Eon Energy Pill?¡± Ye Ai Xia pondered and shook her head. ¡°If you just want to create an Eon Energy Pill rank 1, all you have to do is condensate your Eon Energy. Every master could do it, but it takes one week to one month if they didn¡¯t train.¡± ¡°How about rank 2 and rank 3?¡± Ye Jiao asked curiously. ¡°I¡¯m not too sure, but they say that you need to be proficient in medicine before you can make an Eon Energy Pill rank 2,¡± Ye Ai Xia shrugged. She was not talented in the art of medicine or pill making, so all she knew was based on the books she had read. ¡°Do you want to learn them, Jiao¡¯er?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Ye Jiao stared at her abdomen. ¡°I just think that it¡¯s really cool to be able to absorb Eon Energy directly like this.¡± Ye Ai Xia laughed dryly. Other parents would never dare to give an Eon Energy Pill Rank 3 to their children like her. After all, the amount of Eon Energy stored in the pill far surpassed what Rank 1 or even lower needed. If one didn¡¯t stay careful, one might die because of the insane amount. However, she didn¡¯t really have any other choice. When forming one¡¯s core, one would need a lot of Eon Energy. At that time, Ye Jiao would have to pull a lot of Eon Energy from the air, creating a disturbance for an unknown radius. Ye Ai Xia didn¡¯t have the confidence that she could protect Ye Jiao when the girl formed her core. Because of that, she decided to participate in the competition and got the Eon Energy Pill Rank 3. At the very least, the pill would replace the Eon Energy Ye Jiao needed for forming her core. ¡®This is still a bit risky, though.¡¯ She didn¡¯t know how much Eon Energy Ye Jiao needed to form her core. In the past, Ye Xiao absorbed nearly the same amount an ordinary rank 2 Eon Energy master would need. It was such an insane amount that it was hard to believe. At the same time, Ye Jiao has greater talent than Ye Xiao. Then, how much of Eon Energy would she need? Ye Ai Xia was not sure, so she just aimed for the third rank. Whatever happened later, she would have to protect Ye Jiao as much as possible. ¡°How¡¯s the release now?¡± ¡°It¡¯s slow,¡± Ye Jiao smiled. She controlled it so that it wouldn¡¯t overwhelm her, but it really required a lot of concentration or the pill would start pouring out a large amount all at once. Her abdomen might become too full too quick before she could know it. She wanted to form her core faster but not without her ability to control it. Ye Ai Xia nodded her head. ¡°You should just focus on making sure that you can control the pill. When you can control it freely, fill your abdomen with Eon Energy until it¡¯s full and we¡¯re going to start forming your core.¡± Forming your core. Ye Jiao¡¯s lips curled up when she heard that word. Finally, she would form her core soon. Even though it wouldn¡¯t change her condition much on the outside, she would be able to start a lot of training. The journey to become a genuine Eon Energy Master has just begun this way. ¡°You seem happy, little brat,¡± Ye Ai Xia messed up the girl¡¯s hair. Ye Jiao grinned. ¡°Of course, I¡¯m happy, Mom. I¡¯ll grow up stronger even faster and someday, I¡¯ll be the one to protect you and Dad.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be waiting for that.¡± ¡°Hehe.¡± ¡°Now, get out and start your physical training. It¡¯s important to have a stronger body when you have a lot of Eon Energy in your body.¡± ¡°Yes, Mom!¡± 60. He Has Died Wei Family Residence Wei Shang played with his communication jade as he pondered. It was a tool used to communicate with other people with the help of Eon Energy. Right now, he was pondering about something. ¡°Wei Shang.¡± The cold and deep voice jolted him awake from his thought. He put the communication jade closer. ¡°Your Majesty, you¡¯ve finally replied.¡± ¡°What is the matter?¡± ¡°It¡¯s about Ye Ai Xia¡­.¡± The moment he uttered the name, Wei Shang could feel that the temperature coming from the other side of the line has dropped several degrees. This name was rather taboo for them because of several reasons. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you to kill her if she makes trouble?¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t create any trouble,¡± Wei Shang replied. ¡°I just need your permission to tell her about Ye Xiao¡¯s death.¡± ¡°You¡¯re still trying to get her?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Wei Shang admitted. The person on the other side of the line stayed silent for a moment. ¡°Fine, but if you fail and that woman turns crazy, I¡¯ll come there personally to kill her. This time, I¡¯ll not accept any foolish suggestion from you again.¡± ¡°This shall be the last time,¡± Wei Shang promised. ¡°Before that, give me a reason why you turn impatient.¡± Wei Shang didn¡¯t immediately answer. When he saw the woman back in the competition a few days before, he was enraptured once again. The beauty that Ye Ai Xia possessed didn¡¯t diminish in the slightest. Even though the trace of warmth that used to fill her entire being had disappeared, replaced with coldness, he couldn¡¯t forget that sight at all. He couldn¡¯t wait anymore. ¡°I guess, I just reached my limit.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± the tone didn¡¯t seem to believe him in the slightest. ¡°Do what you want, I¡¯ll watch from afar.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± As Wei Shang cut off the communication, he tapped his table. This shall be his last resort. He turned his head to the servant. ¡°Call Su Lian here.¡± ¡°Yes, General.¡± ¡­. Ye Jiao spent the time in the backyard as she leisurely laid down on the grass while enjoying nature. It was so comfortable that she didn¡¯t want to move from her place at all. Their place was rather far from the outside world, so she was not bothered by anyone in the slightest.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°Jiao¡¯er, just stay here if you want. Mom needs to go out for a moment,¡± Ye Ai Xia informed. ¡°Is there a guest, Mom?¡± ¡°Yes, but you shouldn¡¯t concern yourself, ok?¡± Ye Jiao furrowed her brows. From the tone her mother used, she could guess that the guest didn¡¯t come with friendly intention. Well, there were rarely anyone who would show them any kind gesture in this city, so it was common. Still, she was worried about her mother. ¡°I¡¯ll stay behind, Mom,¡± Ye Jiao replied. She didn¡¯t really like dealing with the guests too. Many of them would only come to inflict wounds on her, which she disliked very much. Ye Ai Xia smiled. ¡°Good girl. Mom will return soon.¡± After making sure that Ye Jiao was still in the backyard, Ye Ai Xia made her way to the front. Her gentle expression was replaced with her cold attitude as she stood silently near the gate. Not long after that, two women came to her sight. They were dressed lavishly, showing off their high status in the residence. ¡°What can this lowly one can do to help the high and noble Su Lian?¡± Ye Ai Xia asked in a mocking tone. Su Lian smiled. ¡°I come with my sister. Don¡¯t you need to greet her too?¡± Hearing the word ¡®sister,¡¯ Ye Ai Xia really wanted to scoff. Su Lian and Su Daji¡¯s relationship has never been good because each one of them wished for the other party¡¯s fall. Su Lian came from a high ranking family, but she didn¡¯t have good martial talent. On the other hand, Su Daji came from the lower position in Su Family with good martial talent and face. They wished to have what other party had but they didn¡¯t. The only reason they came in terms today was because they wanted to create trouble on her doorstep. ¡°Congratulations on getting first place, Su Daji,¡± Ye Ai Xia said sarcastically. Su Daji smiled sweetly. The Spring and Youth Pill she consumed made her look a few years younger. Despite already in her thirties, she looked no different from those who were in their mid-twenties. ¡°Many thanks for giving way for me.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Ye Ai Xia replied back with an uncaring tone. Su Lian sneered. She could see that Ye Ai Xia was displeased. Her mind was thinking that it should be related to the competition. Little did she know that Ye Ai Xia never had any good feelings about the two of them, so she would always treat them coldly and as rudely as possible. ¡°Are you thinking of using that pill, Ye Ai Xia?¡± Su Lian asked. Ye Ai Xia shrugged, not intending to answer. Even an idiot knew that she doesn¡¯t need it because it was only useful for someone who had only reached the third rank and hadn¡¯t stabilized themselves yet. ¡°Maybe she¡¯s thinking of giving the pill to Ye Jiao,¡± Su Daji smiled sweetly. ¡°Perhaps, a pill can change someone¡¯s talent.¡± ¡°Ah, I forgot about that,¡± Su Lian laughed. ¡°That¡¯s truly befitting of you.¡± Ye Ai Xia watched the two of them laughed with indifferent expression. She was not polite at all as she crossed her arm. ¡°Have you finished?¡± ¡°No, not yet.¡± ¡°Yes, we have beautiful news for you,¡± Su Lian laughed. ¡°What news?¡± Ye Ai Xia arched her eyebrows. It was only a few days ago that the competition ended, but there was already another thing happening in the city. It sure was lively lately. Su Lian nodded her head, her smile showed that she was genuinely happy. ¡°Ye Xiao has died.¡± Ye Xiao has died¡­. Ye Xiao has¡­ He has died? Ye Ai Xia¡¯s aura turned hostile at that very moment. The two women were caught off guard, but they were already prepared for her violent reaction as they used their Eon Energy to guard themselves. At the same time, several guards appeared to protect them from Ye Ai Xia. ¡°Hahaha, how violent, Ye Ai Xia!¡± Su Lian laughed maniacally. Ye Ai Xia glared at the woman with a heated gaze. If possible, she wished to shred this woman into pieces and throw them into the wilderness. Her eyes were filled with both rage and disbelief. ¡°I dare you to repeat that once more.¡± Su Lian laughed eerily. ¡°I¡¯ll repeat it no matter how many times you ask me. YE XIAO HAS DIED! Your beloved husband has died.¡± 61. Raging Ye Ai Xia Ye Ai Xia stared at the two women in front of her as she yelled. ¡°LIES! Ye Xiao must be alive!¡± Su Daji laughed hollowly. ¡°This is the news that Wei Shang delivered himself. There¡¯s no way that it can¡¯t be true.¡± ¡°You¡¯re lying!¡± ¡°Wei Shang and His Highness ambushed Ye Xiao together. Do you think he would be able to survive after facing the attack of two peak Eon Energy Master Rank 4?¡± Su Lian asked again. Her tone was clearly delighted. When Wei Shang asked her to deliver the news to Ye Ai Xia, she accepted the task with elation. Finally, she would be able to see the mighty Ye Ai Xia fall into despair. After being beaten up numerous times, this was the first time she saw Ye Ai Xia looked like this. Ye Ai Xia¡¯s blood boiled with rage. Ye Xiao had reached rank 4 a year ago. Even though he was still not a match against Wei Shang and that man, there would be no way her husband could die so easily. She refused to believe this! ¡°Don¡¯t think that you can fool me, Su Lian,¡± Ye Ai Xia disappeared from her place as she appeared right before Su Lian. Her hand swung as hard as possible, slapping the insolent woman in her face. ¡°You!¡± Su Daji swiftly moved to chase after Ye Ai Xia, but the latter had disappeared and returned back to her position. Su Lian smirked. ¡°You b*tch! Do you think I would lie to you about this? I¡¯m genuinely happy when Wei Shang asks me to tell you this news. Now, you can definitely know how it feels to lose someone important to you.¡± Wei Shang asks me to tell you this news¡­ That one sentence made Ye Ai Xia¡¯s blood boil again. That damnable Wei Shang dared to hide such news from her. She always stayed here to wait for Ye Xiao¡¯s return. All these times, she believed that her husband would return, and they could stay together again. But what she got was the news of his death. ¡®Xiao Ge, you¡¯re a big fat liar.¡¯ ¡°Let¡¯s hear the news directly from him, then,¡± Ye Ai Xia used her Eon Energy and grabbed the back collar of Su Lian before flying straight to Wei Shang¡¯s residence. The speed which she used nearly caused Su Lian to be suffocated as the pressure was large. The guards were chasing after her, but Su Daji didn¡¯t even bother to do that. She turned her head to the residence that Ye Ai Xia left. ¡°Now, let me kill that little girl too.¡± With a large smile on her face, Su Daji entered the residence. At high speed, Ye Ai Xia entered Wei Shang¡¯s residence. Her aura was exceptionally scary as she barged into the place. In front of her, Wei Shang was standing calmly without any intention to run away.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°You¡¯re quicker than before,¡± Wei Shang remarked. Ye Ai Xia glared. ¡°Where¡¯s my husband?¡± She tossed Su Lian to the side. At this time, Su Lian couldn¡¯t use her strength that she was always proud of in the past. Her body felt hurt as she was assigned to great pressure when travelling at the speed she was unable to handle. ¡°He has died,¡± Wei Shang replied. ¡°I worked together with His Highness to set a trap on him and attack him directly.¡± ¡°Lies! You can¡¯t possibly defeat him!¡± Ye Ai Xia yelled. Wei Shang arched his eyebrows. ¡°Do you really think that someone who has just reached rank 4 can defeat two people who had stayed stuck in this stage for years? He¡¯s nothing but a child in front of us.¡± Rank 4¡­ They knew that Ye Xiao had reached rank 4. Ye Ai Xia stared blankly as anger was boiling inside her body. Right now, she felt mad and annoyed at the realization that she never thought that Ye Xiao would die in their hand. ¡°Lies, you¡¯re lying!¡± Ye Ai Xia said again. She didn¡¯t want to believe that her husband had died, but she didn¡¯t have any choice but to believe. ¡°You can repeat that no matter how many times you want, but you won¡¯t be able to change the fact,¡± Wei Shang said calmly. ¡°You-!¡± ¡°Here,¡± Wei Shang threw something in Ye Ai Xia¡¯s direction. ¡°You might not be able to believe me, but this is all that¡¯s left from him.¡± In the woman¡¯s hand was a beautiful necklace made of cheap embroidery. Ye Ai Xia perfectly remembered this particular necklace because she was the one who made it when they were young. It was her gift for Ye Xiao and that man would never take it off because he promised her. Wei Shang looked at Ye Ai Xia and calmly persuaded her once more. ¡°Just give up, Ai Xia. If you stay with me, I¡¯ll protect you and Ye Jiao.¡± Ye Ai Xia didn¡¯t reply. She felt nothing but disgust when she talked with Wei Shang. Over the time he chased after her, he always used different kinds of means to win her over. Not even once she felt moved by his action. Did he think that by killing her husband, he would get her? He must be dreaming. That annoying king hated Ye Xiao because of the latter¡¯s talent, so he always found all kinds of means to hinder Ye Xiao. And when he succeeded, he didn¡¯t stop there and continued to put all kind of pressure to the man, breaking down her husband terribly. When they wanted to leave, he just had to appear and stop them. This Wei Shang¡¯s proposal allowed them to stay alive because he wanted her, and he was very patient. But it seemed that the time had reached the limit. They couldn¡¯t tolerate Ye Xiao¡¯s existence anymore. ¡®Too bright and you¡¯ll have many enemies chasing after you. Too low and you¡¯ll have many people pushing you around.¡¯ Ye Ai Xia mocked herself as she laughed dryly. How she wished that the two of them could have just been ordinary Eon Energy Masters and lived a normal life. If that was the case, there would be no need for them to experience this kind of thing. ¡®Xiao Ge, I¡¯m sorry¡­.¡¯ Rather than being this man¡¯s woman, she would rather die. She only accepted the proposal to stay in his residence and gave him time because they would allow Ye Jiao to stay alive. But now, she didn¡¯t have any reason to stay here anymore. Would they even allow her daughter to live while treating her harshly just like what they had done so far? ¡®Jiao¡¯er, Mother is sorry¡­¡¯ Ye Ai Xia started to initiate her Eon Energy inside her body. To reach rank 4, they must come in term with their path in martial arts and have a vision for their future. If they tried to hastily reach it after reaching peak rank 3, they would be stuck in that rank forever, unable to advance. Or worse, they would die not long after they reached the rank because of the price they gave for the power. She could never come in terms with her own path and condition. But right now, all of that didn¡¯t matter. Within the next moment, she forced herself to the next rank, blasting her surroundings with a powerful Eon Energy wave. 62. Destroy Everything Ye Ai Xia could feel the Eon Energy entered her body at rapid speed. At the same time, the condition of Wei Shang¡¯s residence has become a complete mess. The shockwave that she caused destroyed a lot of things, including the buildings. Slowly, Ye Ai Xia opened her eyes. She could sense that everything around her had changed. Things that she was unable to sense before become awfully clear in her eyes and mind. Her eyes landed on Su Lian. That woman was not far from her when she advanced, causing the woman to be badly wounded. ¡°You-!¡± Su Lian was terrified. It was rank 4! Rank 4! She felt deep envy and hatred at this woman. Why was it that everyone around her always had better talent than her? She could never defeat them and always subjected to the lower rank! It was unfair! Ye Ai Xia looked at Su Lian indifferently before stretching out her hand. ¡°Su Lian, do you know what¡¯s worse than death?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°It¡¯s this,¡± Ye Ai Xia used her Eon Energy, making numerous formless wind blades. In split second, they pierced straight to Su Lian, destroying the woman¡¯s core. The supposedly durable core of a rank 3 was destroyed just like that! Eon Energy rushed out madly from her core, which Ye Ai Xia conveniently absorbed. ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!¡± Su Lian screamed loudly. It was painful and when she saw the Eon Energy leaked out of her stomach, despair enveloped her. ¡°No! NO! YOU B*TCH!¡± Ye Ai Xia ignored Su Lian as she swung her hand once again, cutting the guards around them in two, right in their abdomen. Eon Energy filled the surroundings and Ye Ai Xia pulled it into her own body to nourish her advancement. At this time, Wei Shang was dumbstruck. The scene where Ye Ai Xia reached rank 4 cleanly and then killed the others was exceptionally beautiful in his eyes. Right now, he couldn¡¯t see anything but this woman before him. ¡°Ye Ai Xia,¡± he called. Ye Ai Xia turned her head, but she didn¡¯t stop her action of absorbing the massive Eon Energy in her surroundings. Her gaze was cold and indifferent as she looked back at Wei Shang. ¡°I will never accept your proposal.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll accept it,¡± Wei Shang licked his lips. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure that you do.¡± ¡°No, you won¡¯t,¡± Ye Ai Xia smiled mirthlessly. Eon Energy formed in her hand as wind element started to gather around her. In the next second, she punched forward, straight in Wei Shang¡¯s direction. ¡°You will never have the chance, Wei Shang.¡±This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Wei Shang was not worried as he kicked the ground. Eon Energy extended from the tip of his feet as it was absorbed and then formed a large wall right in front of him. ¡°I¡¯m earth elemental, so you¡¯re pretty weak against me, Ye Ai Xia,¡± Wei Shang chuckled. ¡°But it¡¯s really something amazing. I didn¡¯t expect someone like you to directly use the power of the element when you advanced to rank 4.¡± Ye Ai Xia didn¡¯t reply. She just focused her attention to her Eon Energy before she started to attack Wei Shang brutally without any care of the situation at all. Wei Shang also welcomed her with a smile. He was rather happy that he could fight against Ye Ai Xia once again. The two of them completely ignored the dead guard and Su Lian, who was still in the midst of despair because of her core. Once their core was shattered, they would have to start from the beginning again. But with her age and talent, she knew that forming another core would be nothing but a dream. ¡®Ye Ai Xia! I¡¯ll kill you!¡¯ She screamed inside her mind as despair filled her entire body. She wished for nothing but killing them all. They had turned her into a waste in mere second. The fight blasted everything around them. Wind and earth element shook the entire surrounding, crushing numerous buildings in Wei Family Residence. The people ran out of the fighting area in fear of getting involved. ¡°Ye Ai Xia, you won¡¯t be able to last long. Just give up and be mine,¡± Wei Shang licked his lips. ¡°I¡¯m already patient enough to wait this long.¡± Ye Ai Xia¡¯s face scrunched a bit in disgust. ¡°In your dream!¡± With that, their Eon Energy clashed once more. ¡­ When they were making large ruckus in the main residence, Su Daji headed into the residence and searched for the young girl. Her brows furrowed when she couldn¡¯t sense the little girl despite being Eon Energy Master Rank 3. Little did she know that Ye Jiao had left the residence long ago. From the moment her mother released her anger, Ye Jiao ran to the forest. She knew that her mother might not pay any attention to anything else when she was angry, so her only option was to escape and hide as far as possible. Her small legs brought her to the edge of the forest where she could see the large scale destruction of the buildings in front of her. A lot of people were running here and there, trying to avoid the center of the fight. If they get caught up in the middle of that storm, they might lose their life. Ye Jiao stopped right at the entrance of the forest. Her eyes looked at the servants around her as she realized that she might be in danger if they found her. If they used her as a hostage for her mother, she wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything. The current her was still very weak, and she didn¡¯t have any trick under her sleeves except basic combat. ¡°She¡¯s there!¡± The familiar sound of a boy sent chill to the back of Ye Jiao¡¯s body. From the corner of her eyes, she could see Wei Cheng and Wei Liao running in her direction. Wei Cheng was grinning widely as if he had just won a lottery. ¡°Catch her, Wei Liao!¡± ¡°Yes, Brother!¡± As Wei Liao dashed, Ye Jiao turned around to run too. The movements that Wei Liao used were from one of the basic martial arts among the soldiers. It seemed that the boy broke the rules to learn it quicker than he should have. Ye Jiao noticed that her speed was far lacking compared with Wei Liao. Within seconds, the boy would catch up to her. ¡®What should I do?¡¯ In the midst of her chaotic mind, Ye Jiao¡¯s eyes noticed a branch that was hanging slightly lower than the others. She sprinted to the tree and used her legs to kick the tree, using it as the foundation for her to jump upward. Her small arm grabbed the branch, allowing her to hang there. ¡°Come here!¡± Wei Liao tried to catch her feet, but Ye Jiao swung her body backward. Her body was bending enough to escape Wei Liao¡¯s hand. The poor boy stumbled on the ground as he was unable to catch her. Ye Jiao let the gravity pulled her down as she sped it up with a slight rotation in her palm. Her feet crashed on Wei Liao¡¯s back, pushing the boy¡¯s body and face to the ground. Seeing that, Ye Jiao grinned happily. ¡®Eat that, you annoying boy!¡¯ ¡°Ye Jiao!¡± Wei Cheng yelled angrily as he also dashed forward. 63. Path of No Return Soldier¡¯s Training Hall When Wei Family Residence experienced sudden destruction, the soldiers were busy training in the training hall. Every single one of them readied themselves the moment they heard the loud explosion followed with numerous buildings collapsed. They didn¡¯t know what had happened, but they had to be prepared for the battle that was to come. ¡°General Mu, what¡¯s your order?¡± one of the higher ranked soldiers kneeled and asked respectfully. Mu Hong, General Mu, was looking at the direction of the residence with furrowed brows. It was obvious that there was someone who attacked Wei Shang right now. Based on the fighting prowess alone, that person must be someone of rank 4. He smiled bitterly. ¡°We¡¯ll wait.¡± ¡°But General¡­¡± ¡°Even if we go there, we¡¯re just going to head to our death,¡± Mu Hong said firmly. Against a rank 4, rank 3 wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything. The specialization ability that they could develop once reaching rank 4 was not something to belittle with. He didn¡¯t have any means to contend against them except running away. Even though they might be able to stay together in a formation, he would be sending a lot of them to their death door. Besides¡­ ¡°There¡¯s only one person who could come to Wei Family Residence unscathed and create trouble for Great General Wei,¡± Mu Hong murmured to himself. It was Ye Ai Xia. It must be her. ¡°General, what if the Imperial family asks us to be responsible for not dealing with this incident properly?¡± one of the adjutants asked worriedly. Mu Hong waved his hand. ¡°If there¡¯s anything wrong, just tell them that it¡¯s all my order. If they want to blame someone, they should blame me.¡± ¡°General!¡± ¡°This is my decision,¡± Mu Hong said firmly. He turned his head to Wang Jun. ¡°Wang Jun, you should go relay my order for soldiers to not move from their post. Tell them that General Wei has everything under his control.¡± ¡°Yes, General!¡± Wang Jun saluted before departing swiftly.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Behind them, the other officials were doubtful. They didn¡¯t understand why General Mu didn¡¯t want to deal with the intruder cleanly like what they usually did. Right now, they could only stay silent as the general only told them to be wary and prepared for every order he might give. Mu Hong looked to the palace. He could faintly sense an incoming pressure from that place as his face turned pale. ¡®Ye Ai Xia, you better leave. Once His Majesty arrives in Wei Family Residence, you will never be able to run away.¡¯ He couldn¡¯t help them much, but it was better than nothing. As for the punishment, he would think about them later and designed several excuses. It should be able to safe his life with some physical punishment or probably a demotion. For him, it was a price that was worth it if he could save those two lives. ¡­. Wei Family Residence Ye Ai Xia could sense that the air pressure around her started to change. The immense pressure coming to her told her clearly that someone of great figure would come soon enough. ¡®He¡¯ll be here soon.¡¯ ¡°Ye Ai Xia, give up!¡± Wei Shang yelled. He initiated his Eon Energy and pushed the ground up, making sharp cones directed to Ye Ai Xia. ¡°I won¡¯t be able to plead for your life anymore once he arrives.¡± ¡°Give up and be yours? You must be dreaming, Wei Shang!¡± Ye Ai Xia yelled. ¡°How many times should I repeat it to you that I will never be yours?¡± With slight movement, she evaded the attack and moved to the back. Spreading her sense, she searched for Ye Jiao¡¯s location. There was no place for them in this kingdom anymore. They have to leave. Wei Shang looked at Ye Ai Xia with a complicated gaze. ¡°Why can¡¯t you just give up? He¡¯s already dead, your husband won¡¯t be able to return back and help you anymore.¡± ¡°So what?¡± Ye Ai Xia gathered Eon Energy in her arm as it made a small tornado around her. Her smile was beautiful yet it was filled with resolve of this destructive path. ¡°Life and death, I¡¯ll be with him. There was nothing that could separate us!¡± ¡°You¡¯re crazy!¡± Wei Shang evaded the numerous tornados directed at him as it destroyed the residence around him. Right now, he couldn¡¯t care about his residence and people around him. The only person that he saw was only Ye Ai Xia. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m crazy,¡± Ye Ai Xia smiled sweetly. ¡°I just want to stay with him, but you all have to intervene. If it¡¯s for him¡­ I don¡¯t mind becoming crazy,¡± Her tone was melancholic despite the ruthless glint in her eyes. She stretched out her arm and collected a massive amount of Eon Energy to her. Seeing her action, Wei Shang¡¯s face paled. He turned to escape, but Ye Ai Xia had directed numerous air blades to him. It cut off everything around him with some of it hitting his clothes, tearing them. Wei Shang pulled the earth to protect him as he stood firmly, waiting for the cut to end. It was at this time he realized that he was being pushed to the back. After a few more steps, he crashed against a building¡¯s wall. His expression changed when he saw the building collapsed on top of him. ¡°Ye Ai Xia!¡± Seeing that he blocked her attack blindly, Ye Ai Xia was relieved. She had seen that the building was still standing despite being partially destroyed. All she had to do was cut off the support one by one and it would fall. She turned her head to her residence as she disappeared from her place. ¡®Ye Jiao, please be safe.¡¯ 64. Learning the Truth While her mother was busy destroying everything, Ye Jiao was still busy evading the two brothers. She climbed the tree and moved to another tree when Wei Cheng hit the tree with his fist, making it shake so badly. ¡°You! Come over here!¡± Wei Cheng yelled as he punched the next tree. Ye Jiao didn¡¯t pay any heed to the man¡¯s threat as she jumped to another tree and ran on the branches. Her small body was capable of staying stable even with the slippery surface of the tree. With agile movement, she kept on moving from one tree to another tree while Wei Cheng chased after her from below. Thankfully, the boy¡¯s strength was not enough to cut the tree down or she would be in much bigger trouble. Behind Wei Cheng, Wei Liao was trying to catch up. His face and clothes were filled with dirt because of Ye Jiao¡¯s kick before, yet he didn¡¯t have any intention to clean them up. Bang! The massive destruction of a building not far from them shook the ground badly. Ye Jiao clung to the branch, preventing herself from falling down. ¡°Ahh!¡± Wei Liao stumbled on the ground once again, hitting a tree beside him in the process. His landing was so funny that if Ye Jiao was not in a pinch, she would take the time to laugh at him. ¡°I got you!¡± Wei Cheng forcefully stabilized himself as he punched the tree where Ye Jiao was staying. The tree shook badly, nearly pushing Ye Jiao to let go of her grip to the branch. ¡®I have to move!¡¯ Ye Jiao twisted her arm and pushed herself up when the tree stabilized slightly. She ran to the edge of the branch and jumped to another branch right at the time Wei Cheng punched the tree once more. Her feet landed on the next branch safely. Wei Cheng frowned and chased after the girl once more, hitting the next tree where Ye Jiao was at. Unfortunately, their speed was almost the same, allowing Ye Jiao to move to another tree before he could hit it. Their cat and mouse chase lasted until there was a large blast coming from the forest. ¡°Mother!¡± Wei Liao yelled. He was almost running out of breath from running here and there. Seeing his mother blasting everything around her with Eon Energy, he was elated. Su Daji glanced at the three of them. She smirked devilishly. ¡°So, this is where you¡¯re at, Ye Jiao.¡± ¡®This is bad.¡¯ Ye Jiao turned around and tried to run to another tree when she felt that the trees were blasted by powerful Eon Energy wave. Her legs lost its support as the trees were falling on top of each other. Ye Jiao firmly gripped the branch above her and used it to twist her body upwards. By the time the tree reached the ground, the branch protected her from direct impact with the ground.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°Che, she¡¯s quite agile,¡± Su Daji clicked her tongue. ¡°But not for long.¡± Stretching out her Eon Energy, she enveloped the entire place. Seeing this woman¡¯s action, Wei Cheng tactically moved to the back. He didn¡¯t want to get the repercussions for being the third party in this battle. The competition between his mother and Su Daji might not be too apparent on the surface, but he knew that the two of them clashed with one another in secret. If word came out that he was wounded accidentally when Su Daji chased after Ye Jiao, he knew that there would be no one to help him. Because it was only an ¡°accident.¡± Knowing Su Daji, Wei Cheng knew how possible it was for this woman to scheme like that. He swiftly moved to the back as Su Daji continued to destroyed the trees, throwing them away with her Eon Energy, revealing the young girl in the middle. ¡°I¡¯ve got you, little girl.¡± Right when her arm was nearing Ye Jiao, a wind blade appeared to block her advance. It nearly cut off her arm if not for her quick reflex. ¡°Ye Ai Xia!¡± Su Daji hissed. Ye Ai Xia appeared in front of Su Daji and swung her arm, which was filled with wind element. The moment it was swung forward, it created several wind blades. Su Daji swiftly retreated, yet the wind still cut off part of her outer layer, showing her thin inner clothes. ¡°You¡¯re not touching my daughter, Su Daji,¡± Ye Ai Xia said coldly. ¡°You b*tch!¡± Su Daji yelled. Ye Ai Xia arched her eyebrows. One of her arms picked Ye Jiao up while the other one controlled the wind around her using Eon Energy and attacked Su Daji violently. Even though it was not enough to kill the woman, it would be enough to wound her badly and ripped her clothes. Right now, she was glad that she could use this power to humiliate this annoying woman a bit. It was just too bad that only some servants around them would be able to watch. ¡°Mother!¡± Wei Liao¡¯s face paled when he saw his mother¡¯s condition. He rushed forward, trying to cover his mother¡¯s body. Su Daji¡¯s face was beet red as she could feel sharp pain all over her body. She glared at Ye Ai Xia. ¡°You won¡¯t be able to get away, Ye Ai Xia!¡± ¡°Whether I can get away or not, it¡¯s not your business.¡± Ye Ai Xia didn¡¯t try to attack anymore as she gathered her power and dashed to the wall. However, the moment she reached the southern wall of Wei Family Residence, a wall of water blocked her way. ¡°Mom, be careful!¡± Ye Jiao said as she clutched her mother¡¯s clothes tightly. Her eyes showed trace of worry. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Jiao¡¯er. Everything is going to be alright.¡± Turning her body around, Ye Ai Xia could see a man standing behind her. He was wearing a purple robe embedded with golden embroidery around the edge. His tall stature seemed as if blocking the sunlight as he stood on top of massive amount of water. ¡°Ye Ai Xia, how dare you tell her the truth!¡± the man bellowed angrily. Ye Ai Xia stood firmly on top of the wall. Her eyes didn¡¯t show any trace of fear as she glared back at the man. ¡°The truth? I never tell her. I, Ye Ai Xia, will not break my promise!¡± ¡°She calls you mother!¡± the man accused again. ¡°You must have told her that you¡¯re her real mother!¡± Real mother? When Ye Jiao heard the phrase, her eyes widened in surprise. It was shocking and moreover, it was something that she had longed for a long time. Her eyes glanced up, right to her mother¡¯s face. Her small hand was stretched out to touch her face slightly. All her live, she longed to see her mother to stay with her and experienced the warmth just like what she had with Ye Ai Xia. Now, she knew that she had it all these times. The one staying beside her was no other than her mother. Slowly, she leaned her head closer to her mother¡¯s chest. Right now, she didn¡¯t care about anything else as she savored the delightful feeling that sprout out from her body. ¡®Mother¡­ I have a mother who cares for me.¡¯ ¡°Mom¡­¡± Ye Jiao whispered softly, her tone extremely tender and full of affection plus happiness. 65. Getting Out tightened her grip around the girl as she smiled brightly to the man. ¡°You did, just now.¡± ¡°What are you¡­¡± ¡°Chen Tian, do you really think that everyone is as stupid as you?¡± Ye Ai Xia gathered her Eon Energy in the form of wind around her. ¡°Scheming against other people, sabotaging someone more talented than you, you can¡¯t do anything other than scheming behind people¡¯s back.¡± ¡°Watch your mouth, Ye Ai Xia!¡± the man, Chen Tian, warned angrily. He is the king and also the ruler of Chen Kingdom. Everyone should obey him and not go against him. Ye Ai Xia smirked. ¡°Out of envy, you always put the two of us at disadvantages. Putting up numerous excuses and tricks before trying to kill us. I¡¯m thankful that Wei Shang was patient enough with me and enraptured by my beauty to the extent that I could bide my time here. You never thought that I can exceed the rank, did you?¡± Chen Tian frowned. Reaching rank 4 always meant as an accomplishment because it was not easy to pass the rank. However, out of all the people in the entire world, the ones he didn¡¯t want to pass this rank would be these two. Ye Xiao and Ye Ai Xia. The two of them have great talent and the fact that Ye Ai Xia could use elemental power right after she advanced just showed how much her talent that was buried because of his intervention. He hated this. Only the Imperial Family should be the strongest! ¡°You¡¯re just a pest, Ye Ai Xia. And you¡¯ll forever be one!¡± As Chen Tian said that, the massive wall behind Ye Jiao fell down right to the woman. Ye Ai Xia¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change. ¡°Jiao¡¯er, hold tight.¡± ¡°Yes, Mom.¡± Wordlessly, Ye Ai Xia used her arm to gather the Eon Energy around her, forming a wind shield that protected the two of them. She could sense that her core was strained due to the battle she had with Wei Shang. The gap between newly advanced rank 4 and peak rank 4 was simply too big. It was not easy for her to bypass the gap so easily. The water splashed everywhere, flooding Wei Family Residence. Many people died because of the side effects, but not a single one of them cared about it. When people of higher rank battled, it was capable of destroying a city literally. ¡°I have to admit, you¡¯re really talented,¡± Chen Tian commented when he saw the water dispersed, revealing the unscathed Ye Ai Xia and Ye Jiao in her arm. ¡°But, how long can your Eon Energy last against me?¡±This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Even among the rank 4, Chen Tian was undoubtedly could be categorized as the strongest one. Not like Wei Shang who was stuck at this layer because of his disturbed path, Chen Tian was stuck because he failed his advancement. Failing reaching the rank would push them back to stay in the same rank yet stronger than before. However, trying to advance once more would be harder, so those who had failed would not try to advance again unless they were awfully confident. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that,¡± Ye Ai Xia replied calmly as she gathered Eon Energy from her surroundings. Her core was almost empty, signaling that she wouldn¡¯t be able to fight anymore. ¡°You¡¯ll kill yourself, Ye Ai Xia,¡± Chen Tian smirked. ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure that it would be nice sending both husband and wife to their death.¡± Ye Ai Xia¡¯s hand trembled slightly at the mention of Ye Xiao. Her eyes were filled with grief at the thought of her deceased husband. Indeed, her husband had died in the hand of this man and Wei Shang. The two of them would never let her go before her death. But she would not make it easy for them. ¡°I see,¡± Ye Ai Xia raised her arm and commanded a massive amount of whirlwind around her to attack Chen Tian. At the same time, Chen Tian used the water to block, which caused water to splash everywhere. The street was flooded heavily as many people tried to run away from the center of the battle. ¡°Ye Ai Xia!¡± Wei Shang has released himself from the building that collapsed on top of him just now. He looked at the woman with a heated gaze. ¡°You¡¯re not getting away!¡± ¡°Now, all players are here,¡± Ye Ai Xia smiled sweetly. Despite being cornered, there was no trace of fear in her face. It was as if everything was under her control. ¡°Mom?¡± The soft call from her daughter tinged her heart, yet Ye Ai Xia couldn¡¯t look at her daughter. If she did, she would hesitate from using this forbidden move. ¡°Eon Energy is the basic energy of everything, including blood,¡± Ye Ai Xia said calmly. ¡°You should know about this, right?¡± ¡°What are¡­?¡± At the same time that they wanted to ask, Ye Ai Xia had started a barrage of attacks against the two of them. Numerous wind blades appeared right at the same time. Given Ye Ai Xia¡¯s current power, it was hard to believe that she still has this much under her sleeves. Slash! Both Chen Tian and Wei Shang did their best to use their elemental energy to block the attack from Ye Ai Xia. They could feel the intensity of the attack grew much before that they were forced to move back. At the same time, they also launched their attack towards Ye Ai Xia. Water splashed through Ye Ai Xia¡¯s body, but she was unharmed by them. Her eyes were looking back as calm as ever. ¡°You¡¯re good, Ye Ai Xia,¡± Wei Shang commented. Ye Ai Xia smiled. ¡°Thank you for your praise. Now, you two have firmly broken the blood contract you signed before.¡± Chen Tian frowned. ¡°What are you talking about? The blood contract only states that we should never touch Ye Jiao¡­¡± At that moment, both Wei Shang and Chen Tian¡¯s face paled considerably. They could see that Ye Jiao has gotten wet. In that last massive attack, Ye Ai Xia only erased the force movement, making it like ordinary water. Yet, it still caused Ye Jiao to be wet. If something happened to her, they would have to face the repercussions. ¡°You-!¡± ¡°B*tch!¡± Ye Ai Xia paid no heed to the two cursing words as she burned off her last strength and created massive tornadoes around her and set them off. The tornados were going wildly to every single place as she disappeared from her place. 66. Out of Capital City Bang! Chen Tian smashed his hand to the wall in front of him with rage. The single fact that Ye Ai Xia managed to make them harm the little girl ¡®unintentionally¡¯ made him terribly angry. ¡°Your Majesty,¡± Wei Shang knew that he had signed the contract too, but his punishment wouldn¡¯t be as bad as this man. Chen Tian shot a glare to the general. ¡°This is all your fault! If you hadn¡¯t tried to obtain that sl*t because of your lust, this would have never happened. A contract of bloodline. I was really foolish to sign that contract back then.¡± As Chen Tian was cursing out loudly here and there, Wei Shang didn¡¯t reply. He still remembered very much the time when they cornered the couple. It was easy to defeat the two of them because both Wei Shang and Chen Tian were stronger. But they couldn¡¯t get away unscathed. In that heavy battle, the only option available for them was to give in and compromise. The two sides reached a conclusion and signed a contract that would bind them for the rest of their lives. Now, the contract was broken. Nothing tied up both Ye Ai Xi and Ye Jiao anymore. ¡°A true diamond will maintain its shine even though it¡¯s under heavy pressure,¡± Wei Shang muttered. Chen Tian glared at Wei Shang. ¡°What are you saying?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a phrase that my master loved to say before.¡± Wei Shang coughed. ¡°Now, let¡¯s find a way to cure the repercussions.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no such thing you dumbass! You want to repair it? Say that to your children that you put on the stake!¡± Chen Tian yelled angrily. He rubbed his forehead in annoyance. It was clear that Ye Ai Xia used this chance to make sure that they paid the price. Wei Shang didn¡¯t retort. ¡°Since we¡¯ve broken the contract first, Ye Ai Xia won¡¯t have any trouble leaving the city anymore.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Chen Tian replied. With speed as Ye Ai Xia¡¯s specialization and the fact that the girl obtained wind specialization, he knew that it was close to impossible for them to chase after Ye Ai Xia anymore. He gnashed his teeth in anger. ¡°Next time I see someone with surname ¡®Ye,¡¯ I¡¯ll skin them alive and send them to be beasts¡¯ food!¡± While Chen Tian roared here and there in anger, Wei Shang turned his attention back to his residence. He could see Wei Cheng helped Su Lian and the woman was crying loudly. Wei Mi was also with them, bawling her eyes out. Some other concubines died while the others could barely survive. His children were all save, but they looked shocked.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Wei Shang didn¡¯t really want to let Ye Ai Xia go, but if he didn¡¯t have any other choice, he would stop pursuing that woman. ¡®Well, at least, this will show my children how harsh the real world for Eon Energy Master is.¡¯ He waited patiently for Chen Tian to finish the latter¡¯s rambling as he scanned the surroundings. He would need to work harder if he wanted to rebuild his house. At least, a few months would be needed. ¡®Sigh¡­¡¯ As for the consequences on his end? He would never tell it to his children and let them be in the dark forever. ¡­. While Chen Tian and Wei Shang were angry, Ye Ai Xia used the chance to run far away from the capital city. As the soldiers were stationed at their posts, Ye Ai Xia used a place without many guards to escape out of the city. Using her wind element, it was easy for her to fly through the air. ¡°Mom, you¡¯re really amazing!¡± Ye Jiao exclaimed excitedly as the two of them entered the forest. Ye Ai Xia smiled slightly. Her face had turned pale as she had overexerted herself in the battle she had just now. Normal people who had just recently advanced to rank 4 would need a long time to stabilize themselves. Massive amount of Eon Energy would be needed if they wanted to survive. It was a completely new realm, not something one could just easily use. ¡°Jiao¡¯er, is there any other house aside from the one near the gate?¡± Ye Ai Xia asked, her voice was slightly softer. Ye Jiao nodded her head. ¡°There¡¯s another one. Dad made it when we went hunting in the past to make the journey shorter. It¡¯s a small hut but located in a secluded place to make it safe from the beasts.¡± ¡°Can you take us there?¡± ¡°Yes! It¡¯s not far from here, Mom!¡± Ye Ai Xia followed after Ye Jiao as the two of them entered the forest deeper. She had taken the two of them away from the city, which was now located quite far behind them. However, there was no telling how many soldiers Chen Tian and Wei Shang would send to chase after them. They might not feel satisfied with only letting her go. ¡°Mom, what¡¯s blood contract?¡± Ye Jiao asked as she walked into the forest. ¡°It¡¯s a very serious contract that you can only use when it¡¯s really important. Basically, you use your own blood for the contract to seal it. Once you have signed the contract, you will never be able to break it forever,¡± Ye Ai Xia explained. Ye Jiao made an ¡®oh¡¯ mouth. ¡°Then mom, what¡¯s the contract that you make with General Wei?¡± The contract she made? Ye Ai Xia smiled wryly. It was a contract that stated that she would not leave the city by more than two kilometers while they kept their hands off of Ye Jiao. If either one of them broke it, their offspring would be cursed forever and whoever broke the contract first would make it nullify for the other party. She had purposely made the two of them brake the contract in order to allow her escape more than two kilometers away from the capital city. ¡°It¡¯s nothing, Jiao¡¯er.¡± ¡°Mhm,¡± Ye Jiao looked at her mother with furrowed brows. She decided not to think too much as she moved her attention back to the road. Her eyes recognized the trees around them before she stopped near one of them and pointed to the front. ¡°It¡¯s over there, Mom. The hut that Dad makes is there!¡± Even without Ye Jiao telling her, Ye Ai Xia could see the hut from her position. With her sharper sense, she could see the small hut that Ye Xiao had built before. The location was protected by trees and rocky areas, making it perfect for a small hideout. ¡°Xiao Ge¡­¡± ¡°Mom?¡± Ye Jiao noticed that her mother didn¡¯t move at all. She was staring at the direction of the hut as tears started to fall down. ¡°Are you alright, Mom?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing, Jiao¡¯er. Let¡¯s go there¡­¡± 67. First Path of the Lilies: Death and Rebirth (1) The two of them headed to the hut. Ye Ai Xia¡¯s steps were slow and it became even slower to the point that she stopped a few steps away from the hut. ¡°Mom?¡± Ye Jiao looked at her mother worriedly. ¡°Is there anything wrong? Can Ye Jiao do something?¡± ¡°No,¡± Ye Ai Xia raised her hand and messed up the girl¡¯s hair. She could feel the turmoil inside her body was getting stronger. There would be nothing that she could anymore. Turning her head to the ground, she spotted a beautiful white flower not far from them. Her hand was stretched out and plucked the flower before putting it on Ye Jiao¡¯s ear. The little girl¡¯s eyes widened as she looked at her mother with confusion. ¡°Mom?¡± ¡°The lily flower looks good on you,¡± Ye Ai Xia said slowly. She took out the embroidery necklace that she brought with her. It belonged to Ye Xiao, but now that he had gone, she would just give it to her daughter. Slowly, she put it around her neck and patted it lightly. ¡°This is for you. Take care of it well.¡± ¡°This,¡± Ye Jiao caressed the center of the necklace. The embroidery was flower shaped, but it had changed its shape due to the time. The thread had turned soft over the time as the color started to fade. ¡°Mom, this is dad¡¯s, right?¡± ¡°Yes, it was his. So, you have to take care of it well, ok?¡± ¡°Jiao¡¯er understands,¡± Ye Jiao nodded her head firmly. Her small hand was holding the necklace tightly. She propped her body and continued to walk towards the hut. Her limbs felt heavy, but she continued until she reached the small hut. The floor was made of mud, so she could partially drag her body inside. Ye Ai Xia leaned on the wall as she caressed Ye Jiao¡¯s face. ¡°Why did you start crying?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Ye Jiao touched her face as she realized that she was crying. She didn¡¯t understand why, but she felt that she would lose something precious from her right now. Her eyes stared back at her mother. ¡°Mom will leave me¡­¡± Ye Ai Xia¡¯s eyes widened. She smiled wryly. The Heavens were kind to her that they gave her a talented and caring daughter. Unfortunately, she wouldn¡¯t be here to see her daughter¡¯s growth. ¡°Jiao¡¯er, Mom is sorry. Mother won¡¯t be able to accompany you again,¡± Ye Ai Xia smiled with sadness. Her strength had started to leave her body as the result of forcing herself to break into rank 4 even when she had no qualification. ¡°Listen to me, well.¡± ¡°No! Mom, don¡¯t leave Jiao¡¯er!¡± Ye Jiao clutched her mother¡¯s clothes tightly. Her eyes turned red as she stared at her mother with a despairing expression. She didn¡¯t want to lose her mother. Ye Ai Xia patted the girl¡¯s head. ¡°Don¡¯t be so sad. Mom is just going to your father¡¯s place ahead of you. You can only stay here for a short time. This might be a safe place, but you can¡¯t stay here forever. Once you form your core¡­you should leave.¡± ¡°But Mom¡­¡± ¡°Sshh,¡± Ye Ai Xia stroked the girl¡¯s cheek. ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. Any other places are safer than the capital city. Mom believes that¡­ you will be able to become a great figure in the future.¡± Ye Jiao cried hard as she listened to her mother¡¯s words. She would train hard, but she didn¡¯t want to lose her mother. ¡°Mom, don¡¯t leave me¡­ please¡­¡± Ye Ai Xia smiled wryly as her eyes watered. She also didn¡¯t want to leave her daughter alone. This girl was only eight and a half years old. The world was simply too big and dangerous. She didn¡¯t want to leave her daughter alone to face the cruelty and harshness of this world. Alas, it was impossible.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! It was her decision to pick this path. There might be a better future for her if she accepted Wei Shang¡¯s proposal, but she doubted it. This is her path and she had to face the consequences of her own action. Her strength has almost left her body as she put her hand on top of Ye Jiao¡¯s hand. ¡°Mother will watch over you¡­ in Heaven¡­.¡± After she said that, Ye Ai Xia¡¯s breathing turned extremely faint. She had reached her limit a long time ago because of her attempt to fight right after her breakthrough. Now, she couldn¡¯t do anything to prolong her life anymore. A smile never disappeared from her face as she looked at her daughter with a tender gaze. She really wanted to see her daughter¡¯s growth and protect her, but she couldn¡¯t. Ye Jiao would have to face them all alone without anyone to protect her. ¡®I¡¯m sorry, Jiao¡¯er. I can never become a proper mother for you.¡¯ ¡®I hope, you can find genuine friends who will care for you and accompany you on your path.¡¯ ¡®It won¡¯t be easy, but I hope that you can have a much better end than me.¡¯ Slowly, Ye Ai Xia couldn¡¯t feel anything anymore. Ye Jiao looked at her mother with a tear stained face. Her eyes were red as tears continue to flow out just like a river. The moment her mother breathed her last, she screamed loudly to vent out her sadness. ¡°Mooooooooommmmmmm!!!¡± In the forest filled with beasts, the scream of a young girl rang loudly. Beating the sound of the beasts, Ye Jiao continued to cry and scream loudly, bawling her eyes out. The pain of losing both of her parents hit her hard. Ye Xiao was her idol, a figure she hoped to pursue because he was invincible in her eyes. No one could defeat her father. He gave her a sense of comfort and safety. Ye Ai Xia was a motherly figure to her, an excellent woman that she hoped to be her real mother. And she did, but the joy she felt was short lived. Her mother left her as soon as Ye Jiao found out the truth, taking away the warmth and comfort she always gave her in the past. In this world, she only had two people who cared for her more than anything in the world, and she lost the two of them in a single day. ¡°Mom, don¡¯t... leave me...¡± Ye Jiao sobbed between her tears. She didn¡¯t want to cry anymore, but her tears couldn¡¯t stop as they poured out just like a waterfall. Please¡­ don¡¯t¡­. No matter how many times she screamed and begged inside her mind, she knew that it could never bring her mother back. But she just couldn¡¯t stop herself. The pain slowly ate up her body, giving her endless torment both mentally and physically. With raging emotion, her body shook. The Eon Energy that she accumulated in her body moved violently. The Eon Energy pill in her abdomen started to rotate at much higher speed, releasing a large amount of Eon Energy at once. Ye Jiao''s cry stopped. The pain in her body jolted her away from her sadness, throwing her straight to the middle of a stormy sea of violent energy. Pain permeated every part of her body. With great struggle, Ye Jiao moved away from her mother¡¯s body. She had lost control of the Eon Energy Pill in her body. Considering that it was worth a rank 3 Eon Energy Master, her body might shatter because of the burden. She had to find a safe place to control the energy. It was filling up her abdomen with Eon Energy at the rate which her body couldn¡¯t handle. With no other choice, Ye Jiao moved from her position and headed out of the hut. Her vision became exceptionally sharp, yet her head was ringing with pain. There was no beast nearby for the time being, so Ye Jiao dragged her body to a nearby tree and sat down. Her back was facing the tree as she controlled Eon Energy inside her body, determined to make sure that she could absorb it all. In a few minutes, her abdomen felt full. Ye Jiao¡¯s heart sank, for she understood perfectly that it meant she was ready to form her core, stepping onto the first path for becoming Eon Energy Master. ¡®The pill is still spewing up too much energy.¡¯ She had allocated some of them to her body¡¯s parts, but she couldn¡¯t drag them out. Pulling out Eon Energy from her body out of her will proved to be hard. ''I have to form my core now...¡¯ Ye Jiao¡¯s back was filled with sweat as she weighed her choice. Her body might explode if she couldn¡¯t control the energy, but forming a core without the supervision of adults would be the same as courting death. Should something go wrong, it would be the end. ¡®I don¡¯t have a choice, do I?¡¯ The first step to becoming an Eon Energy Master was the hardest of them all. If she failed, she might die. Gritting her teeth, Ye Jiao refocused her attention to her body and pulled the fragments of Eon Energy in her body to her abdomen. Her full abdomen was forced to receive much more energy than what it could handle. Under extreme pressure, the Eon Energy inside her abdomen started to condense together, forming the first part of the core alongside with enough pain to nearly cause her to pass out. ¡®Persevere!¡¯ Ye Jiao yelled in her mind as she pushed through again, forming the second part of her core. At the same time, she could feel the pain spreading to every fiber of her body. And when she formed the third part, the pain became unbearable. Her body swayed as it slammed into the tree behind her. Tears poured out of her eyes once again, staining her soft cheeks. ¡®I can¡¯t do this anymore...¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s so painful...¡¯ ¡®Mom... Dad... Help me....¡¯ 68. First Path of the Lilies: Death and Rebirth (2) As the pain continued to assault her body, Ye Jiao could faintly hear a sound of footsteps not far from her. Her consciousness was hazy and she was unable to fully comprehend what was happening near her. All she could think about was her current condition and the fact that her body hurt. ''Should I just give up?¡¯ There was no one else who cared for her in this world. The two of them have left to the other world ahead of her, a much more beautiful world than this rotten place. It would be better for her to follow after them, right? No! Her mother sacrificed herself to bring her out of that corrupted kingdom. Her father had protected her ever since she was born. If she gave up now, she would waste their efforts that they have given to her. Everything would become a waste if she gave up. Ye Jiao collected herself as she steadied her body. With the tree supporting her weight, she continued to form the next piece of her core. As the fourth part was formed, her body felt unimaginable pain once more. However, Ye Jiao had made her resolve, so she gnashed her teeth and continued the process. The pieces were formed one after another, becoming one as she pressed them together. The pain continued to envelope her body, but Ye Jiao endured and proceeded with forming the next piece. Over time, the pain dulled. Ye Jiao couldn¡¯t feel the pain anymore when her core was almost completely formed. She didn¡¯t count the number of pieces that she made anymore. All she knew was that the core would finish and she wouldn¡¯t feel the pain in a few more pieces. Patiently, Ye Jiao continued to control the Eon Energy in her abdomen to form the pieces. By now, the Eon Energy Pill in her abdomen had changed shape as only a third of it was left, the rest having been used by Ye Jiao to form her core. Last part. Condensing the Eon Energy, Ye Jiao finally closed down her core. The long and exhausting process was over. The moment her core was formed, she could feel her newly formed core absorb a massive amount of Eon Energy from the pill and outside her body. Warmth enveloped her entire body and filled her core. It was comfortable. At that very moment, Ye Jiao had just become the youngest person in the kingdom to form her core and started her path as Eon Energy Master! Ye Jiao felt as if she had just had a full course of meal. Her body was filled with boundless energy. She was glad and happy that she had succeeded. Slowly, Ye Jiao opened her eyes.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡­ Not far from Ye Jiao, two men were travelling across the forest. One of them was already at an old age while the other one was the green haired boy that Ye Jiao met a few days before. The old man, Zhan Jing, was only travelling around when he sensed the movements of Eon Energy in the air. He was very familiar with these movements as he stopped his own path. ¡°Master, what is it?¡± Lu Wan, the green haired boy, asked with confusion. Zhan Jing pointed to the side. ¡°There¡¯s something interesting over there.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Zhan Jing didn¡¯t answer. He directly changed his decision and dashed away. Lu Wan cursed under his breath before pushing himself forward to follow after the man. His master didn¡¯t even bother to wait for him. It didn¡¯t take long for them to arrive before a rather secluded hut. In front of the hut, a young girl was sitting. Tears streamed out of her eyes, staining her delicate face. ¡°Ma-!¡± ¡°Ssh,¡± Zhan Jing put his finger in front of his lips. ¡°She¡¯s forming her core.¡± Lu Wan was dumbstruck when he heard his master¡¯s words. She¡¯s forming her core? Looking at her tender figure and small stature, anyone would be able to tell that she must be very young. Probably 8 or 9 years old. What kind of talent would allow them to form their core at that tender age? Also, why in the world would she form her core in the forest like this? It is very dangerous! ¡°Master,¡± Lu Wan lowered his voice. ¡°Don¡¯t you need to help her?¡± He had experienced it by himself before. Forming one¡¯s core below the age of 12 would give strain to their body. At the same time, the pain they experienced would be much bigger compared with ordinary children. It was not easy for him to form his own core a year ago. Zhan Jing shook his head. ¡°She¡¯s a very interesting girl. If she¡¯s about to break down, I¡¯ll help her, but...¡± As he said that, he could sense the girl started to pull herself together. Eon Energy gathered from outside slightly as she formed the next piece of her core. ¡°Right now, she¡¯s still struggling,¡± Zhan Jing replied. Lu Wan clicked his tongue. ¡°It means that I have to work harder. Even a girl younger than me can endure this devilish treatment.¡± Zhan Jing didn¡¯t reply right away. He scrutinized the girl¡¯s body and their surroundings before locked his gaze on the hut. There were traces of powerful Eon Energy coming from inside. With a swift movement, he arrived by the hut''s window. He peered inside and saw a young beautiful woman inside. ¡°Lu Wan, come over here,¡± Zhan Jing sent sound transmission using his Eon Energy. Lu Wan arched his eyebrows before jogging to his master¡¯s side. The window position was not too high as it was designed for children. Peering inside, Lu Wan''s eyes widened when he saw the familiar face. ¡°That¡¯s Madam Ye Ai Xia,¡± he said with astonishment. ¡°Wait, that means she¡¯s Ye Jiao?¡± Lu Wan turned his head to Ye Jiao. The age of the young girl was suited to the rumors that he heard. However, wasn¡¯t Ye Jiao known to be a waste? Zhan Jing looked at the woman inside for a moment. ¡°Does she have any relationship with Ye Xiao?¡± ¡°Master, you know Ye Xiao?¡± Lu Wan was surprised. After all, his master didn¡¯t come from this kingdom. Zhan Jing flicked his finger on the boy''s forehead. ¡°I¡¯m an assassin and Ye Xiao''s name has appeared numerous times on the list in the past.¡± ¡°Fine, Ye Ai Xia is his stepsister and the imperial family recently announced that she¡¯s Ye Xiao¡¯s wife.¡± Lu Wan rubbed his forehead with indignation. He was glad that his father delivered the news very quickly or it would be impossible for him to know. Not long ago, there was a massive battle in Wei Family Residence and that king announced this. Zhen Jing pointed to Ye Jiao. ¡°Why did I never hear of her name before?¡± ¡°Because she¡¯s trash.¡± ¡°Trash?¡± ¡°The stone didn¡¯t light up when it¡¯s her turn, so she¡¯s known as the famous trash in this city.¡± Zhan Jing listened attentively to Lu Wan''s explanation. His lips curled up when he heard that the stone didn¡¯t light up. Hearing the rest of the sentence, he laughed so hard yet blocked his voice from reaching the struggling young girl. ¡°What a stupid kingdom.¡± Lu Wan nearly tripped to the ground when he heard his master¡¯s words. His lips twitched a bit. Has his master gone crazy? 69. First Path of the Lilies: Death and Rebirth (3) Lu Wan looked at his master with a dumbfounded expression. ¡°Master, why are you laughing?¡± ¡°I really want to thank the foolish Chen Kingdom for leaving out a genius like this to me,¡± Zhan Jing rubbed his chin. ¡°Master?¡± Lu Wan asked hesitantly. He didn¡¯t understand what made his master so happy. Zhan Jing leaned on the wall. ¡°Do you know the normal age for people with purple colored talent to form their core?¡± ¡°It should be 10 years old.¡± ¡°Right, but the record for the earliest age to form their core is 9 years old,¡± Zhan Jing said calmly. ¡°It shows that above purple talent, there¡¯s still one more rank.¡± ¡°Why one?¡± ¡°Because that¡¯s already the upper limit. People who had this talent will look like trash on their test with the stone because they can¡¯t light it up. However, there¡¯s one significant difference. The stone will be the one to get destroyed,¡± Zhan Jing smirked, showing a scary smile. ¡°D-destroyed?¡± ¡°Yes, the testing stone will give out Eon Energy to your body in order to test the children. It¡¯s only a sliver, but it contains the core of the stone. Purple talent will return the core back without any Eon Energy while Red talent will return the core along with all the Eon Energy that it brought out. This talent above purple talent didn¡¯t even let that core get out,¡± Zhan Jing laughed. ¡°Hence, the stone will be destroyed. This talent is always known to be a stone destroyer because of this peculiarity!¡± Lu Wan opened his mouth and closed it again. Come to think about it, his father argued with the people from academy because they wanted to replace the stone. They said that the stone was so old that it broke. And that day was the very same day Ye Jiao went to test her talent! Could it be...? Zhan Jing could guess that he must have mentioned the truth. ¡°The normal age for people with this special talent, let¡¯s call it talent s, to form their core is 9 to 10 years old.¡± Lu Wan arched his eyebrows. ¡°But I formed my core when I was 10 years old!¡± ¡°10 and a half,¡± Zhan Jing corrected him. ¡°There¡¯s still one more factor for you to lower the age again. You must have innate specialization talent.¡± ¡°Innate specialization talent? What¡¯s that, Master? I never heard it,¡± Lu Wan frowned. ¡°Small people like you will never hear it. This Chen Country is too small to have that much knowledge.¡± ¡°Master....¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to know what that is for now,¡± Zhan Jing replied. ¡°It¡¯s useless below rank 4 and only has the purpose to lower the possible age limit for you to reach higher rank. If you want to know more, reach rank 4.¡± Lu Wan: ¡°....¡± let me strangle you, Master. I might take one decade to reach that rank!If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. As Lu Wan was still grumbling, Zhan Jing was watching the young girl attentively. It might not concern him, but he wanted this young girl to be his disciple. To have someone with s talent to be his disciple, who wouldn¡¯t want it? The Chen Kingdom has thrown a treasure right out their front door. Let him be the one to pick her up and polished the small jade. It would be extremely interesting to see the growth of a genius. Zhan Jing scrutinized Ye Jiao¡¯s process of forming her core with interest. This was the first time he saw someone so young form their core, but he knew that those who have higher talent would experience more pain when they form their core. It was as if Heaven couldn¡¯t bear to see their existence. They have to bear with increased pain to receive better results. That was the price for having better talent and for having started their path earlier than ordinary people. ¡°She¡¯s opening her eyes,¡± Lu Wan murmured. At this time, Ye Jiao opened her eyes slowly. Her pupil grew larger when she saw the two of them standing not far from the hut. In an instant, she jumped up and readied her stance. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Lu Wan,¡± Lu Wan replied. Ye Jiao looked at the green haired boy as she recalled her own meeting with that boy. He looked more docile compared to the one that yelled at to other children back then. Her eyes turned to Zhan Jing with cautiousness. ¡°I¡¯m his master,¡± Zhan Jing pointed to Lu Wan carelessly. ¡°Little girl, what are you doing forming your core in the middle of the forest?¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Ye Jiao didn¡¯t know whether to answer or not. Should she tell this man her secret? But she felt that he already knew about her talent and ability, much more than what she herself knew. Zhan Jing could sense her hesitation. He released a bit of his power, sending pressure to the girl. ¡°Even if you don¡¯t want to answer, I can make you answer, little girl.¡± The power that Zhan Jing showed to her told her that this man must be at least rank 4. With her has just formed her core, there would be no way for her to match up against this man. Even running away would be impossible if he didn¡¯t allow her. Since he was with Lu Wan, he shouldn¡¯t be Wei Family¡¯s friend. Lu Family and Wei Family have been in discord with one another for a long time. She had to place her bet on that fact. ¡°I¡­¡± Ye Jiao opened her mouth. ¡°My mother gave me Eon Energy Pill rank 3, but I failed to control it towards the end, so I had to start forming my core.¡± Hearing her words, Lu Wan¡¯s lips twitched. Giving a rank 3 pill to a young girl, did that woman want this girl to die? It was good that she could withstand the power inside the pill or she would have died a long time ago. ¡°Oh?¡± Zhang Jing¡¯s eyebrows shot up when he heard the girl¡¯s words. He scanned her body for a moment as he noticed that there was still around a quarter of the pill left inside her body. It meant that she had much more Eon Energy inside her body than other ordinary people. ¡®A genius is really different. And this is no pampered one.¡¯ Most geniuses would receive preferential treatment from the moment they were born, but it was different with this young girl. She experienced the opposite for a long period of time. No one wanted to care for a ¡®trash.¡¯ ¡°In normal times, you¡¯ll have died numerous times because of beasts,¡± Lu Wan shook his head. The beasts ran away when they sensed his master, so this place was safe. ¡°Ah,¡± Ye Jiao didn¡¯t think about that. She bowed down to Zhan Jing. ¡°Many thanks for Revered Elder¡¯s help.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal. I didn¡¯t do anything.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°The presence of your mother, Eon Energy Master rank 4 is enough to scare away the beasts, so I didn¡¯t have to do anything.¡± Ye Jiao was stunned. She turned to look at her house in surprise as she didn¡¯t expect that her mother¡¯s presence alone was enough to scare away the beasts. In normal times, it was impossible, but Ye Ai Xia had purposely leaked out her presence before her death. This would surely scare away the beasts from this place as they knew the strength of Eon Energy Master rank 4 was not to be trifled with. Zhan Jing looked at the young girl before him. If he didn¡¯t guess it wrongly, her mother must have the inkling that her daughter would form her core soon. Even though this place would be safe from beasts, the amount of food was scarce. She must have prepared enough food in a storage bracelet for her daughter. Once Ye Jiao reached rank 1, she would have access to the bracelet, allowing her to have enough food. It was the best preparation she could give to her daughter to ensure the girl¡¯s safety. ¡®She¡¯s quite meticulous and remarkable.¡¯ Zhan Jing didn¡¯t usually like to meddle in other people¡¯s business, but this girl would the exception. ¡°Little girl, your name is Ye Jiao, right? Do you want to be my disciple?¡± 70. First Path of the Lilies: Death and Rebirth (4) + announcement ¡°Disciple?¡± Ye Jiao was stunned to hear the word from the man. She looked at the man strangely. She didn¡¯t even know him and anything, but he wanted her to be his disciple. ¡°Revered Elder, I¡¯m afraid that I¡¯ll only bring trouble for you.¡± ¡°Ye Jiao will be hunted down by the Imperial Family and Wei Family,¡± Lu Wan elaborated. ¡°The two of them hate her father very much, so they will not spare his daughter on top of killing those two.¡± Zhan Jing shook his head lightly. He had heard about Ye Xiao and Ye Ai Xia numerous times back in the past. The brilliance that the two of them showed was something that no ordinary person was capable off. Yet, the brightest light was crushed by other people to smithereens because of envy and jealousy. ¡°It¡¯s only Chen Kingdom, isn¡¯t it? There¡¯s no need to worry, they can¡¯t do anything to me,¡± Zhan Jing said haughtily. Lu Wan jeered to his master. ¡°That¡¯s what you said to me back then, but you didn¡¯t do anything to help me.¡± Flick! ¡°Your debt should be collected by no other than yourself,¡± Zhang Jing replied calmly. ¡°I can assassinate them easily, but why should I do that when you¡¯re the one creating trouble?¡± ¡°Che, you¡¯re a stingy master,¡± Lu Wan complained as he rubbed his forehead. His master really loved to flick his forehead whenever he made a thoughtless remark. Ye Jiao blinked her eyes when she saw their relationship. She thought that the man was a powerful and unapproachable man just like the two rank 4 that she saw. However, this man looked no different than ordinary people. If not for the fact that he showed her that pressure before, she might not believe that this man was truly a rank 4. ¡°Who are you, Revered Elder?¡± Ye Jiao could help but ask. Zhan Jing crossed his arm. ¡°I¡¯ll only tell you if you become my disciple.¡± Disciple¡­ Ye Jiao didn¡¯t have any strength right now. Even though she had formed her core, she had no idea how to use the Eon Energy properly. Rather than stumbling around trying by herself, it would be better to get a master that would help her. Besides, she wouldn¡¯t be able to get out of the forest with her power alone. Making up her mind, Ye Jiao stood up and walked to Zhan Jing¡¯s direction. She stopped two meters away from the man and kowtowed to him. ¡°Disciple Ye Jiao greets Master.¡± Zhan Jing laughed. ¡°Good, that¡¯s good.¡± He threw a bracelet to Ye Jiao, which the girl caught. Her eyes widened when she saw the beautiful light brown color on the bracelet. ¡°Master, this is?¡± ¡°This is my first gift as your master. It¡¯s a storage tool that you can use. Just drop your blood on top of it to own it and then you can use it as you wish,¡± Zhan Jing replied with ease.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Ye Jiao beamed. ¡°Thank you, Master.¡± She bit the tip of her finger before dropping a blood right on top of the bracelet. At that moment, she could feel that there was some kind of connection with it. She put it on before picking up a rock and tried to think of putting it in. When it truly came in, her eyes widened in delight. ¡°She¡¯s truly peculiar,¡± Lu Wan commented when he watched the girl experimented on putting the rock out again. When he first got his storage tool, he asked his master how to use it, yet this girl could figure it out by herself. Zhan Jing nodded his head. ¡°Ye Jiao, now I want you to listen to me.¡± ¡°Yes, Master,¡± Ye Jiao stopped playing with the bracelet as she turned to see her master. Her expression turned solemn. ¡°I come from Bao Fu. Have you ever heard of it?¡± ¡°Revenge*?¡± Ye Jiao blinked her eyes several times. Zhan Jing shook his head. ¡°Bao Fu is an assassin organization, the largest one in the four kingdoms. I¡¯m a hidden elder there and my mission is to do every covert assassination that should be kept secret. My achievement is always kept hidden there.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why they always treat you to be an odd member.¡± Flick! ¡°Master!¡± ¡°Ignore this brat,¡± Zhan Jing said calmly. ¡°By being my disciple, I have two paths that you can pick. You can either train outside the organization, which mean that I¡¯ll personally make training for you or you can participate in the newbie training in the organization. Before you decide, let me explain them one by one. If you want me to do personal training, I¡¯ll put you in Lu Wan¡¯s place because you don¡¯t have any residence and it¡¯s dangerous out here. I¡¯ll only check on you once in a while. If you want to participate in the newbie training, I¡¯ll register you and you have to stay in that place until you reach rank 1. Once you reach that rank, you¡¯ll be given your first task as an assassin and then they will return you back to me because I¡¯m your master.¡± Ye Jiao furrowed her brows. ¡°Why rank 1, Master?¡± ¡°That¡¯s because there are a lot of ways of training after reaching rank 1,¡± Zhan Jing replied. ¡°It takes longer from rank 1 to rank 2 rather than forming one¡¯s core to rank 1. There¡¯s training for that, but if you join it, you¡¯ll be bound in the organization for the rest of your life.¡± The thought that she had to work in an assassin organization for her entire life didn¡¯t sound too good for Ye Jiao. After being confined for a long time, what she longed for the most was freedom. She wanted to explore the vast world and experience many things that she couldn¡¯t before. ¡°Master, will I be given time to bury my Mom?¡± Ye Jiao asked first. Zhan Jing nodded. ¡°We¡¯re not in a hurry. If you have made your decision, tell me.¡± ¡°I have made my decision, Master. I¡­¡± ¡­. Ye Jiao dug the dirt not far from the house and buried her mother silently. She refused the help from Zhan Jing and Lu Wan because she wanted to do it by herself. Her finger trembled as she put the rock on the edge and started to carve it. Ye AI Xia Her finger traced the engraving she made as her eyes were filled with resolution. She didn¡¯t have anyone else in this world, but this was only the beginning. The path to be a martial art has just opened. ¡°Mom, Jiao¡¯er will return one day and at that time, I¡¯ll be much stronger than now.¡± She picked up the white lily flower that her mother plucked before. When she dragged her body out of the hut, the flower fell to her mother¡¯s side. This time, she put the flower right in front of the stone. ¡°Mom, in funeral white lily signifies that the soul of the deceased has returned to the peaceful state. Mom can be at ease because Jiao¡¯er will be fine and Jiao¡¯er will surely grow even stronger.¡± Ye Jiao stared at the flower as the wind blew around them. The petal moved along in the rhythm, which made it look like dancing. She closed her eyes before turning her gaze to the sky. ¡°I have lost everything; you can¡¯t take anything else from me. But I will gain much from this in my path as Eon Energy Master---I¡¯ll not give up and someday, I¡¯ll reach the peak.¡± Slowly, Ye Jiao stood up from her place and bowed to the grave once more before turning her body around. This would be the start of a new path for her. It might be hard because she will be alone, but she would not give up. Her eyes were filled with determination as she looked at her master. ¡°Master, I¡¯m ready.¡±