Mid-Continent, Lingyun Immortal Sect, Sect Grand Competition.
“Second round of the Sect Grand Competition: Ji Sui’an of Qinghua Peak wins.”
The young girl stood on the arena stage, drenched in blood and leaning heavily on her sword. Her expression was unreadable.
From below the stage, sighs and murmurs rose continuously:
“She actually won that? The people from Wanyue Peak are way too weak.”
“Tsk, winning in such a pathetic state—she’s certainly not afraid of losing face.”
Ji Sui’an, however, lowered her eyes in a daze, staring at her blood-stained hands and feeling her depleted Qi Sea.
What was going on? Wasn’t she dead?
After the Demonic Cultivators attacked the Lingyun Immortal Sect, she had suffered a miserable death, her heart gouged out by one of them.
She, Ji Sui’an, was the daughter of the Lingyun Immortal Sect Leader. She had achieved Foundation Establishment at ten and Core Formation at fourteen, making her the undisputed number one genius of the Mid-Continent. Yet, she had died at the hands of a mere Qi Refining Stage Demonic Cultivator. How ridiculous.
While she was lost in memory, her father spoke up impatiently, “Ji Sui’an, the match is over. Hurry up and get down from there!”
To win against a fellow Direct Disciple in such a wretched manner—she truly didn’t care about embarrassing him!
Below the stage, her third junior brother stood up, frowning. “Senior Sister, hurry and come down!”
Supporting herself with her sword, Ji Sui’an stood up and slowly walked off the stage.
Had she been reborn?
She remembered this year. It was the Lingyun Immortal Sect’s triennial Grand Competition, and it was also the second year since Ji Yun’er had arrived at the sect.
On the high platform, a man in black robes rested his head on his hand, watching the girl as she walked off the stage, his eyes filled with contemplation.
In an instant, her aura had become like a completely different person. Interesting.
“Senior Sister!”
Just as Ji Sui’an stepped off the stage, Ji Yun’er came running over, lifting her skirts.
She was dressed in shimmering, exquisite clothes, adorned with various treasures.
The moment Ji Sui’an saw her, a boundless, surging hatred suddenly erupted in the depths of her eyes.
Her life in the Lingyun Immortal Sect had once been happy. She had a father who doted on her, a strict but kind master, and a junior brother who pampered her as his senior sister.
But ever since Ji Yun’er arrived, everything had changed.
Everyone who had once loved her shifted their favor to Ji Yun’er, while she was criticized for being narrow-minded and cold-natured.
But back then, as soon as Ji Yun’er entered the sect, she had gifted Ji Sui’an a jade bracelet left behind by her own father, pitiably claiming she was an orphan and that it was only thanks to the Sect Leader’s kindness that she was brought to the sect.
Pitying the girl who was only a few months younger than herself, Ji Sui’an had given her all the best things first.
Thinking of this, her gaze swept over the jade bracelet on her own wrist, her eyes cold.
In her previous life, she hadn’t been told the truth until right before her death, when Ji Yun’er had her expelled from the sect. It turned out the jade bracelet she had been “gifted” was actually a tool used to transfer her strength!
She possessed a Heaven-grade Water Spiritual Root. In her previous life, she had reached Core Formation by fourteen, but after Ji Yun’er entered the sect, her cultivation level and her talent for alchemy and forging began to mysteriously vanish.
She was a Water Spiritual Root user; her ability to perform alchemy had been thanks to the Exotic Fire within her body. But one day, that Exotic Fire suddenly disappeared. Instead, Ji Yun’er, who only had Three Spiritual Roots, produced an Exotic Fire overnight and refined a Grade 6 pill, becoming famous throughout the Mid-Continent.
She couldn’t help but have suspicions, but every time she raised a question, her father would berate her in a rage and throw her into the Cliff of Reflection for solitary confinement.
Later, she couldn’t even maintain the strength of the early Qi Refining Stage and was demoted to the outer sect. Shortly after she arrived there, her Single Spiritual Root unexpectedly mutated into Three Spiritual Roots, while Ji Yun’er’s transformed into a Heaven-grade Water Spiritual Root.
She gripped her sword tightly. In the end, she had even learned that stealing her spiritual root required the blood of her biological father!
The father and master she had once respected had actually helped Ji Yun’er steal her talent and strength!
It had taken only three short years to go from the golden girl of the Lingyun Immortal Sect to a lowly servant doing chores in the outer sect.
“Senior Sister?” Ji Yun’er tilted her head with a look of pure innocence.
Ji Sui’an looked at her coldly. In her previous life, during the Sect Grand Competition, her strength had already dropped to the late stage of Foundation Establishment. She had been matched against Ji Yun’er, who had only been in the sect for two years but had already cultivated to the late stage of Foundation Establishment herself.
The winner of the Sect Grand Competition could choose their primary peak. In her past life, she had fought with everything she had, using her late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation to defeat an opponent at Great Perfection, all so she could stay at Qinghua Peak.
She had fought to the death to win two rounds, her cultivation level faintly on the verge of breaking through to Great Perfection. However, in the final match against Ji Yun’er, her strength had suddenly plummeted to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, while Ji Yun’er advanced to Great Perfection in one leap.
No one believed her explanation. They only mocked her for her inferior skills.
She closed her eyes, ignoring the girl, and walked to the side to regulate her breathing.
“What kind of attitude is that?! Yun’er is worried about you!” The one speaking was her third junior brother, Luo Zhuyuan.
Ji Sui’an slowly opened her eyes, a cold light flashing within them. “Is ‘worry’ what I need? If you really cared about me, you should give me healing pills instead of just flapping your mouth.”
Luo Zhuyuan’s expression shifted, but he remained stubborn. “You are an Alchemist yourself, why would you need Junior Sister to give you pills? Stop looking for trouble where there is none.”
Listening to his words, Ji Sui’an felt the blatant favoritism in his voice, but this time she only found it laughable.
She had clearly told them that her alchemy skills had mysteriously vanished—that she, who could once easily refine Grade 6 pills, could now barely refine a Grade 1 pill even with all her effort.
Yet they acted as if they were blind and deaf. They still insisted she was an Alchemist who didn’t need the peak’s resources, while all the best pills were delivered right to Ji Yun’er.
Ji Yun’er timely produced a bottle of pills and spoke softly, “Senior Sister, your injuries are so heavy, and the next round is against me. Senior Sister, you should quickly take these pills.”
The surrounding disciples gasped in surprise. “Grade 5 pills? The healing pills used by us Direct Disciples in the Lingyun Immortal Sect are only Grade 4!”
Ji Yun’er tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled shyly. “I refined them casually recently. I just hope they’re useful.”
Luo Zhuyuan beamed. “So they were refined by Junior Sister. That explains it. Who doesn’t know our Yun’er is exceptionally gifted?”
Ji Sui’an let out a soft sneer. “A person with Water, Metal, and Lightning Three Spiritual Roots and no spiritual fire in her body can actually refine Grade 5 pills? That truly is a grand miracle of the cultivation world.”
She curled her lips into a slight smile. “Junior Sister, why don’t you go to the Yuqing Sect instead? They would surely treat you like a precious treasure. After all, their sparsely populated ranks of Alchemists might actually change because of you.”
“You!” Ji Yun’er’s face twitched for a moment, but she had no way to refute it.
Her spiritual roots indeed made it impossible for her to perform alchemy; her current ability was stolen from Ji Sui’an. But while Ji Sui’an could refine Grade 6 pills, Ji Yun’er could only manage Grade 5 even with all her effort. How could she not be angry?
Luo Zhuyuan frowned slightly. “Senior Sister, why are you speaking so harshly today?”
“Is it harsh?” Ji Sui’an crossed her arms and looked up with a smile. “I have even harsher things to say. Do you want to hear them?”
Luo Zhuyuan flicked his sleeve and pulled Ji Yun’er away. “I think she’s gone mad from her regressing strength. Junior Sister, don’t pay her any mind.”
Ji Sui’an acted as if she hadn’t heard them. In fifteen minutes, the third round of the competition would begin.
This time, she must win, and she definitely would.
Ji Sui’an touched the jade bracelet on her wrist. In her previous life, she had been blinded by past warmth, played by Ji Yun’er without even realizing it. This time, she would take back everything Ji Yun’er had stolen!