After Wangshu awakened her talent, her family began comprehensive, tailored cultivation for her. Their strategy had only one goal—spare no expense to rapidly boost her early-stage strength, so that when she contended against other prodigies, she would have sufficient combat capital.
First, her original once-a-month Spirit Seed Infusion was increased to twice a month.
However, due to the scarcity of Pure Spirit Base Fluid, the additional session for Wangshu was switched to Clear Spirit Base Fluid. It was said to be a more affordable substitute for Pure Spirit Base Fluid, sourced through the family's own channels at great expense.
Notably, this portion of Clear Spirit Base Fluid was reserved exclusively for Wangshu. On this point, both the Grand Elder and Qinghe had no objections.
Qinghe went without saying—she was always yelling about latching onto Wangshu's coattails, and privately “skimping and saving” to invest in Wangshu, practically wishing Wangshu would grow by blowing air. There was no way she would object.
As for the Grand Elder… having heard Qinghe grumble day after day, “I’m not cut out to be the family pillar—Wangshu is. You should be cultivating her instead,” she gradually seemed to be somewhat persuaded.
Whether she acknowledged Wangshu personally, that was another matter.
But on the point that “Qinghe is not cut out to be the family pillar,” she had come to a thorough and profound realization.
And so, this tilt of resources toward Wangshu drew no discordant voices; it was carried out as if it were only natural.
Secondly, all the elders of the Chu family took the field, each offering their own specialty skills, determined to forge Wangshu into a well-rounded talent who could hold her own before others.
Wangshu was quite displeased when she heard this.
“What do you mean, ‘hold her own’?”
Third Elder Chu Jingyuan watched Wangshu’s small face tighten into a frown and chuckled: “Well, you said it yourself—you’re a late-game talent. So in the early game, we have to lay low, play it safe.”
A casual remark Wangshu had made about being a “late-game” talent had been picked up by the elders, who all found the phrase utterly vivid. Now they said things like “survive the early game” and “compete in the late game” even more naturally than Wangshu did.
That said, Third Elder was admittedly a bit lacking when it came to arming Wangshu. His own innate divine ability was tied to spiritual plant cultivation—what Wangshu, in her previous life, would have called “innate wood spirit root at max level” and “the hand of a farming savant.”
Chu Jingyuan was perfectly willing to teach Wangshu farming, and Wangshu was genuinely interested herself, but the rest of the Chu family weren’t having it.
A talent this top-tier, just wasted day in and day out in the fields, fussing over flowers and grass?
What a crying shame!
Chu Jingyuan was voted down unanimously and could only stand off to the side, hands tucked in his sleeves, watching the show.
Besides Third Elder, Second Elder and Fourth Elder were also vetoed for similar reasons—their specialties simply didn’t match.
This time, Wangshu finally learned why Second Elder was able to live in such extravagant splendor. It turned out her talent lay in locating mineral veins!
She was adept at probing the earth’s meridians, knowing exactly where fine spirit stone mines could be found.
A true bonafide elite rich lady who literally owned mines!
As for Fourth Elder, his talent was “silver-tongued eloquence.” Such a talent could shine exceptionally in the realm of commerce, but it was hard to apply to Wangshu’s training.
Qinghe, however, was quite interested in Fourth Elder’s talent and wanted to become his disciple. She eventually gave up, however, after the Grand Elder pulled out her ruler.
In the end, the main forces arming Wangshu came down to the Grand Elder, Fifth Elder, and the head of the Chu clan, Chu Daixi.
In the plum garden, petals fell like scattered snowflakes. The Grand Elder held a cup of clear tea and spoke to Wangshu of her own talent.
“My talent is called Everlasting Vitality. It is a comprehensive cultivation manual that combines a breathing method, a cultivation technique, and combat skills.”
“With this breathing method, your breath becomes supple and enduring, condensed rather than scattered. Combined with the technique, it allows your spiritual energy to flow without end during battle—never ceasing, ever regenerating.”
“Hey,” Chu Qinghe couldn’t help muttering halfway through, “it’s really just a turtle tactic, sis, you get it, right? No matter how you fight, it stays steady as a rock. Sure, it lasts forever, but the way to win is just to grind until your opponent gets annoyed and surrenders.”
Wangshu blinked. Basically, no matter how much you get hit, your health bar just doesn’t drop.
That did sound annoying.
But it was also extremely impressive.
She caught a glimpse of the Grand Elder’s temple vein pulsing and her hand tightening around the porcelain cup, and couldn’t help but sweat for her dear sister. She quickly changed the subject.
“Grand Elder, from what you’ve said, this technique has a very steady and measured style. But suppose my own cultivation path clashes with that style—would there be any issue?”
Wangshu glanced sideways at Chu Qinghe and offered an example: “Say, for instance, sister uses a spear. Her spear technique is swift and fierce—would that kind of technique not suit this style?”
Chu Qinghe straightened up at once, her eyes bright as lanterns.
Oh, child, you’re practically the worm in my heart.
She clenched both fists on the table and muttered to herself: “I was just thinking, my thrusts haven’t been fast enough lately—maybe it’s because…”
“Ow—Grandma!”
The moment Chu Qinghe yelped and jumped up, the Grand Elder had just retracted her ruler.
With a deeply grave expression, she said flatly: “Your thrusts aren’t fast enough precisely because your breath is unstable. If your qi cannot gather, how can it break through?”
Wangshu silently lowered her head.
Sis… I was actually trying to give you an escape hatch here…
She wisely dropped that thread of conversation. Fluttering her lashes, she asked, “And what about Mother? Eighteen Immortal Swords—does it mean she summons eighteen swords?”
She had thought the name of her mother’s talent sounded both dashing and impressive, fully on par with gold-tier spirit seeds.
Chu Daixi smiled faintly, carrying a quiet pride hidden like mountains within water: “The Eighteen Immortal Swords—that so-called ‘immortal sword’ refers to the spiritual manifestations of swords. Once a manifestation forms, it’s as if I’ve gained an extra sword that moves with my intent, obeying me like my own arm. Moreover, each sword comes with its own set of sword techniques, each one unique.”
“So how many manifestations have you condensed so far, Mother?”
This sounded exactly like the powerful combat-type talent she wanted.
“Nine.” Chu Daixi paused almost imperceptibly before giving the number.
Wangshu raised her head and caught that tiny hesitation, but she did not intend to press the matter for now.
She curved up the corners of her lips. “Mother, I want to learn the sword.”
“Only, since I don’t have your talent, can I still condense manifestations?”
“Naturally not.” Before Wangshu could show her disappointment, Chu Daixi gave a faint lift of her lip. “But Mother can teach you the sword techniques—the techniques that each sword manifestation carries with it.”
That meant Wangshu, at the very start of her sword path, would have a top-tier sword master teaching her personally, with no secrets held back, plus a free bonus powerful moves.
“In addition to me, there’s also your Fifth Elder. Her talent is called ‘Mastery of All Weapons.’”
Wangshu knew this one. Fifth Elder was somewhat of an all-rounder when it came to weapons. Whatever weapon fell into her hands, she could grasp its use in a single touch—and even master it.
Wangshu had personally witnessed Fifth Elder draw her bow and shoot down a wild goose from ten li away, piercing it clean through the eye, the goose’s body otherwise unmarred.
Fifth Elder was also her sister’s current teacher. She taught Chu Qinghe spear techniques, and now she would also be teaching Wangshu the sword.
From this, the plan for Wangshu’s early-stage training had begun to take shape. For cultivation technique, she would learn the Grand Elder’s Everlasting Vitality. For martial skills, she would set foot on the sword path, personally instructed by her mother, Chu Daixi.
And through this opportunity, Wangshu also got to know every elder of the Chu family’s talents.
She realized something: the spirit-seed talents her family possessed were also part of the family's foundation. If she had not been born into the Seal-Sealing hereditary clan, she would never have had so many top-tier instructors teaching her.
Though the divine peculiarities inherent to a talent could not be passed down, the technical aspects could be transmitted from generation to generation.
Wangshu lifted her gaze. A pale pink plum petal drifted downward before her eyes, and she reached out to catch it in her palm.
She thought of the Chu family.
The Chu family was indeed a towering tree, its branches and leaves appearing lush and thriving on the surface—yet she could smell the damp rain beneath it.
Her mother had never spoken to her of the Chu family's troubles, but that didn't mean she couldn't perceive them—the fact that a portion of her monthly Spirits of Resonance base elixirs had been replaced with Purifying Spirits base elixirs; the ecstatic expressions on the elders' faces after she awakened her talent.
Legend on the Tianheng Continent spoke of the Divine Maiden Wangshu, who rode the moon, bringing light and guidance to humans dwelling in darkness.
The Chu family, too, probably needed a Wangshu.
Good thing. I am Wangshu.
-
【You are the daughter of the clan leader of the Yingzhou Seal-Sealing Hereditary Clan, the Chu family—one-half of the family's upheld hope. The nurturing you received in infancy has reaped a small reward: you have awakened a talent concerning the very essence of creation, becoming the Chu family's undisputed genius.】
【Yet you also realize that the family is at once large and small. A genius of the Chu family does not represent a true genius. Ahead lies a long road, with countless stepping-stones waiting to be trampled underfoot.】
【The Dao Palace is the next dungeon your family has reserved for you. There lies the true battlefield for geniuses—where blades are drawn without blood, where prodigies rise each day, and prodigies fall from their peaks.】
【The talent that cannot yet be converted into combat power has ignited your fear of insufficient firepower. You still crave strength, wishing you could grow up in an instant.】
【Your genius points for the Chu house stage have been fully accumulated. Will you use these genius points to exchange for a direct, tangible combat capability?】
【Your choices are:
【A: Fame favors the early. I shall advance a rank immediately.
At eight years old, advancing a rank will smash this continent's record for advancement. The name Chu Wangshu of the Chu clan will spread across all the top powers of Tianheng. You will become a true genius, with concrete proof to back it.】
【B: Combat power is everything. I want a sword-path talent that can be put into practice.
With a sword-path talent, you will perfectly inherit the combat talent of your mother, the clan leader. You will possess a sword spirit, and in the future, summon the Eighteen Immortal Swords.】
【C: Keep accumulating. I am the ultimate endurance queen.
You want to use your fine steel on the blade's edge. You are not certain how many Dao-rhythm spirit seeds are needed to advance. You intend to keep enduring, stockpiling precious power for your future spirit-seed breakthrough.】
Hearing the voice in her head, hearing these three choices, Wangshu gently curved the corners of her lips.
This choice was not a choice for her at all.
Advance a rank? Within two years, I will inevitably advance a rank. Why bother shattering a record to earn a title of prodigy that doesn't truly fit? One must remember that the pinnacle of child prodigies often ends in childhood. Rather than being hoisted up too early by fame, I would rather play the pig to eat the tiger—lie low and develop in the shadows.
As for sword-path talent—Mother's path is her path. As for me, I have my own path.
Wielding a sword is my means, not my road.
The final choice, C, was the one that suited her heart. I simply want to disguise myself as a genius—since I've even awakened a talent like Genius Force, which can allow spirit seeds to advance, why should I abandon myself in favor of other options?
Wangshu thought lightly to herself: A purple-grade spirit seed still doesn't sound impressive enough, doesn't sound genius enough.
I want a golden spirit seed.
I want the very best.
-
Winter turned to summer, and the flowers in the plum garden bloomed without end. Yet outside the garden, ten springs and autumns had passed.
Today, a small battle was taking place within the plum garden—a fight between two of the Chu family's upheld hopes.
One-half upheld hope, against one-half pushed hope.
A girl in crimson robes gripped a flaming spear taller than herself, her brows arched with spirit: "Little sister, here I come!"
Wind carried petals along, gently brushing the hem of another girl's skirt. She stood gracefully, like jade and glass, casually twirling her sword into a flourish before smiling calmly at her opponent: "If you're coming, don't tell me in advance~ You'll get countered."
Her reply was a fierce spear tip already thrusting toward her face. The girl tilted her head aside, her dark eyes unmoving, as she calmly parried.
The crimson girl's spear was sweeping and domineering. She gave her opponent no chance to breathe, going all out from the very start. With the saying that "an inch longer means an inch stronger" holding true in weapons, the sword-wielding girl seemed forced onto the back foot, barely able to respond. She only defended, never struck back.
But she was steady. From beginning to end, that slender sword of hers deflected every fierce thrust of the spear with stability, her wielding hand never trembling by even a hair.
Her breathing was long and even, her steps advancing and retreating with a kind of rhythm.
The crimson girl noticed her spear growing heavier and heavier. She had been drawn into a slow, unhurried tempo—and that did not suit her style.
She pondered for a moment, then swung the spear in a full arc, as if to wind down, only to suddenly halt when the spear tip came to the front. Momentum carried the shaft forward, and at the tail, she pushed it out with all her strength, channeling energy through her palm.
This thrust was unstoppable.
Powerful air currents sent petals swirling. The sword-wielding girl bent low at the waist, her sword spinning in her hand as she used its flexible force to redirect the spear's swift power, reversing the shaft's momentum into a spin.
The crimson girl frowned, about to grip her spear and counter, when she realized that, at some point, those swirling petals had become wrapped in sharp sword intent. They arranged themselves crosswise, like blades, pressing against her throat.
The Grand Elder beside her let out a sigh: "Qinghe, you've lost."
Wangshu casually twirled her sword in a closing flourish. The razor-sharp petals suddenly softened, brushing past Chu Qinghe's face before drifting downward.
"Elder sister, you yield," Wangshu said with a smile.
Chu Daixi walked over, a single fist pressed to her lips. She wanted to say something, worried that Qinghe might take the loss badly.
But Chu Qinghe clanged her spear to the ground, yanked up her sleeve to wipe the sweat from her brow: "Finally over. Honestly, halfway through I almost felt like slacking off and just surrendering, but then I thought—if I did, you wouldn't have absorbed the Dao-rhythm effectively. Then all my work would've been for nothing."
"So? Did it work?" she looked at Wangshu.
Wangshu curved her lips, granting an "mm."
Just now, she had clearly felt a strand of Dao-rhythm enter her body, feeding back into her spirit seed, instantly dissolving her battle fatigue. The effect was even better than a single infusion of Spirits of Resonance base elixir into her spirit seed.
Chu Qinghe exhaled in great relief: "Good, good, good. I do not want to be your opponent." She'd be played so badly she wouldn't even know how she died.
Wangshu smiled lightly. "Of course. I'm your big sister's thigh."
The Grand Elder frowned, approaching to point out to Qinghe just how she had lost, but was interrupted by Chu Mingyan entering the plum garden.
She carried a red-lacquered wooden tray, bearing news for all present: the Dao Palace had issued a summons, calling students from all lands to enter the palace. They had sent two invitation letters to the Chu family.
Unveiling the silk cloth atop the tray, resting quietly within were two bronze bells.
Disciples of the Dao Palace wore bells. The palace was divided into four courts—Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow. Yellow-court disciples wore bronze bells; Black-court wore silver bells; Earth-court wore gold bells; Heaven-court wore jade bells.
All disciples newly entering the palace began in the Yellow Court. Thus, the two palace bells sent to the Chu family were made of bronze.
Chu Qinghe picked up her spear, dusted it off, and curiously stepped forward. "So this bell is the invitation? That's a bit shabby."
The eldest Miss Chu thought to herself, shouldn't it at least be a golden bell?
Wangshu, however, reached out and lifted one of the palace bells, holding it before her eyes and giving it a gentle shake.
A clear ring sounded.
The bell had a stone inside; remove it, and it would fall silent.
Wangshu recalled the red tassel her master had gifted her, feeling that the moment was right. She took out the red tassel and hung it upon the palace bell.
She lifted her face, her pink lips curving slightly upward, her pupils calm as still water, with a touch of brilliant gold at the center of her brow.
It was time to set out.
That day would be the true battlefield, the very heart where winds and clouds converged.
