Although Qian Susu was a descendant of the Prince of Chu’s Residence, she was born of a servant and was illegitimate. She had never been treated well since childhood. If not for sheer luck, she would’ve died long ago.
When her mother was still alive, her life was slightly better—at least she had a place to stay and food to eat.
But after her mother passed away, the princess who managed the inner courtyard reclaimed the residence where her mother had lived and forced her to move into an old, run-down courtyard. That place was barely any better than the servants’ quarters.
Qian Susu had no one to rely on.
Not only did her peers from the Prince of Chu’s Residence bully her, even the servants looked down on her.
Other than her mother, no one had ever treated her well.
Qin Yun was the first.
Ancestor Xuantian stood to the side silently, watching without a word.
He understood better than anyone the fate of illegitimate children.
Qian Susu was already considered lucky to have survived. Many others died not long after birth, most without clear reason.
Qin Yun felt a pang of sadness and immediately said, “Since you’ve chosen to follow me, then rest assured—as long as I’m around, no one will be allowed to bully you.”
“Thank you, Brother Qin Yun…” Qian Susu was overwhelmed with emotion. Suddenly, a faint, special mark flashed across her forehead.
At that moment, Qin Yun felt the temperature around them drop sharply.
What’s going on?
Why did it suddenly become so cold?
“She’s about to awaken her Saint bloodline. That mark was triggered by emotional upheaval, which caused a bit of the Saint bloodline’s power to emerge,” the silver-haired woman said to Qin Yun. “She has Saint bloodline. You can cultivate her. Using the power of her Saint bloodline will speed up the recovery of the Primordial God-Sealing Hall.”
“As long as she’s cultivated properly, the more power she releases, the faster the Primordial God-Sealing Hall will recover. It won’t take long to reconstruct the second part of the Supreme Divine Physique.”
Qin Yun had personally experienced the might of the Swallowing Heaven Divine Veins. The second part of the Supreme Divine Physique was surely not weaker than that.
Of course, he wanted to restore it as soon as possible.
However, he still had some concerns. The way the silver-haired woman described “cultivating” her sounded like turning Qian Susu into a dual cultivation cauldron.
Qian Susu had already suffered enough. Qin Yun really couldn’t bring himself to exploit her Saint bloodline like that.
The silver-haired woman saw through his thoughts and snorted, “The Primordial God-Sealing Hall isn’t what you think. It doesn’t need to drain her Saint bloodline at all.”
“It uses the Saint bloodline as a kind of spark—like kindling to ignite a flame. Then it draws from the flame’s energy to recover.”
“Do you think the Primordial God-Sealing Hall would even care about that meager Saint bloodline of hers?” Her tone was filled with disdain.
With that, Qin Yun felt reassured.
“I’ll teach you the method to awaken the Saint bloodline now. You can pass it on to her later—it’ll help speed up her awakening,” the silver-haired woman said.
The silver-haired woman transmitted the method to him.
“Senior, between the Saint bloodline and my Swallowing Heaven Divine Veins, which one is stronger?” Qin Yun couldn’t help but ask.
“A mere Saint bloodline isn’t even qualified to compare with the Swallowing Heaven Divine Veins. Not just her descendant’s bloodline—even a true Saint standing here wouldn’t be worthy of comparison,” the silver-haired woman replied with undisguised contempt.
“Senior…” Qin Yun tried to ask again.
“You’ve asked enough questions,” the silver-haired woman cut him off.
Knowing her temper, Qin Yun didn’t ask further.
Afterward, he walked over and asked Qian Susu, “Susu, do you want to become stronger?”
“Of course I do!” Qian Susu nodded quickly.
“I have a very special cultivation method that can help you get stronger. But you must promise me one thing—you can’t tell anyone that I taught it to you,” Qin Yun warned.
“Don’t worry, Brother Qin Yun. I won’t tell anyone. I swear!” Qian Susu said.
After getting to know Qin Yun better, she wasn’t as nervous anymore, and her speech was smoother too.
Qin Yun passed on the method to awaken the Saint bloodline.
Qian Susu silently memorized it.
“Try cultivating it,” Qin Yun said.
“Okay.” Qian Susu nodded and began operating the method.
Immediately, she felt a strong, mysterious power surge from within her. As it circulated through her body, her cultivation level began to rise.
“Brother Qin Yun, my cultivation is improving so fast…” she said excitedly.
“Seems like it works,” Qin Yun nodded.
The Saint bloodline awakening method wasn’t meant to fully activate it at once. It was a gradual process. Qian Susu’s cultivation was too low—triggering it all at once would destroy her body.
Even though only a trace of the Saint bloodline had been awakened, it already allowed her cultivation to improve several times faster than before.
Ancestor Xuantian looked at her in surprise. He hadn’t expected the technique Qin Yun gave her would cause such rapid improvement.
Still, he didn’t question where Qin Yun got it from.
The Young Master was extraordinary.
Naturally, he couldn’t be judged by common sense.
Looking at Qian Susu, Ancestor Xuantian nodded slightly.
She was fortunate.
By latching onto Qin Yun, she had secured a great opportunity. As long as she remained loyal to Qin Yun in the future, her rewards would be even greater.
While Qian Susu cultivated, Qin Yun also began to absorb the spiritual medicines he had collected.
Five days passed.
After consuming them all, his cultivation reached the 9th stage of the Heavenly Meridian Realm.
Ancestor Xuantian had been watching him the entire time. At first, Qin Yun’s rapid growth shocked him, but by now, he was used to it.
Then Qin Yun took out an Innate Pill.
“Young Master, you just reached the 9th stage of the Heavenly Meridian Realm and you’re already trying to break through to the Innate Realm? I’m afraid your meridians won’t be able to take it,” Ancestor Xuantian said with concern.
“No need to worry, Ancestor. My meridians can handle it.” Without waiting, Qin Yun swallowed the Innate Pill.
The medicinal power surged.
The true qi in his body rapidly transformed, condensing and thickening like liquid—this was the sign of true qi liquefaction, marking entry into the Innate Realm.
Once he fully entered the Innate Realm, his true qi would condense tenfold, and its power would far surpass what it was before.
His cultivation broke through to the Innate Realm.
Innate aura surged around Qin Yun, forming a qi barrier around his body—an innate qi shield, a defensive ability unique to cultivators of the Innate Realm.
“Brother Qin Yun, did you reach the Innate Realm?” Qian Susu asked immediately.
“Just broke through,” Qin Yun nodded.
“That’s amazing!” Qian Susu was thrilled, even more excited than if she had broken through herself.
“You’ll reach the Innate Realm too,” Qin Yun said, ruffling her hair.
“I don’t know how long that will take,” she said softly.
“Three days ago, you were only at the 3rd stage of the Qi Refining Realm. Now you’re already at the 6th stage. At this pace, it won’t take long for you to reach the Heavenly Meridian Realm.”
“And beyond that is the Innate Realm.”
“Brother Qin Yun, I understand. I’ll work hard,” Qian Susu nodded earnestly.
Aside from her cultivation progress, she had changed in other ways too.
Now that a sliver of her Saint bloodline had been awakened, her once thin and frail frame had grown fuller, her skin became smooth and fair, and her beauty had become even more striking.