Then, the voices became intermittent and indistinct again.
Presumably, both of them had deliberately emphasized their words earlier.
So... how did the discussion downstairs go?
Would they fail to reach an agreement and start fighting?
Yun Huang felt as if a kitten were scratching at her heart.
So itchy...
So desperate for... freedom.
Her fingers unconsciously twisted together, her knuckles turning white from the tension.
Freedom...
That word echoed in her mind, teasing her soul, which yearned to break free from its cage.
Just then, footsteps suddenly approached from a distance.
Yun Huang's heart clenched. She quickly closed her eyes, pretending to be deep in cultivation.
But her ears perked up, straining to catch every faint sound.
"They're coming up," she murmured inwardly.
Her heartbeat quickened, as if it might leap out of her chest.
Was it anticipation or fear?
Soon after, the heavy door of the cultivation chamber creaked open slowly.
Su Qi walked in, followed by his younger sister and that woman.
"Huang Huang," Yun Ting spoke, her voice softer than usual.
"Is this your friend?"
"We just had a long discussion... about your future, and the Yun Family's future."
Yun Huang feigned indifference, but her shifting gaze between that woman and Su Qi betrayed her.
"So... how did it go?"
A flicker of complex emotion passed through Yun Ting's eyes. "Huang Huang, it's not that Mom doesn't trust you or your friend. But the world is complicated, and I just don’t want you to get hurt. Still, since you’ve made your choice, I’ll respect your decision."
Yun Huang had no idea what kind of sweet talk Su Qi had fed this woman.
But she wouldn’t believe a single word of it—not even a punctuation mark.
Whenever outsiders were present, this woman would put on a sickeningly sweet act of being the doting mother.
"Mom will always give you the best."
Yun Huang felt something being pressed into her hand—a card.
[Card Name: I Wander Through Wind, Flowers, Snow, and Moon, Never Asking Heaven]
[Type: Consumable · Source]
[Rarity: Legendary]
[Energy Level: ??????? (7th Tier)]
[Description: If even after attaining immortality, one must still scheme day and night, with no time to pause for the scenery they love, then perhaps immortality isn’t worth seeking.]
[Special Effect ①: Pinnacle of Martial Arts]
[Pinnacle of Martial Arts: Follow the wind and clouds, wander freely, and pause for the scenery you love. After seven days, your martial cultivation will inevitably break through once. (Maximum breakthrough limited to the 7th Tier.)]
This was the real reason Yun Ting had compromised.
Remember the masterful scheme Su Qi had faced before leaving?
"Then, will Yuan wear pretty things for Brother to admire every day?"
Su Qi knew answering wouldn’t guarantee anything—might even earn him mockery from his foolish little sister.
Yet he couldn’t resist replying with a single word: "Yes."
That had given Su Qi a revelation.
Some things, some people, even when you know it’s a trap—you just can’t refuse.
Did Yun Ting really not see through Su Qi’s ploy?
If she accepted this card, it would mean letting Yun Huang slip from her control for seven days.
But...
So what?
Yun Ting wanted this card too badly.
She had nearly lost control and tried to snatch it earlier.
Once Yun Huang used it, she would undoubtedly reach the 7th Tier!
Even if it was only in martial cultivation.
But with the foundation of 7th-tier martial prowess, breaking through in spiritual and soul power would follow naturally.
As Su Qi had threatened, she didn’t want Yun Huang to fail to shine during the martial exams.
Truth be told...
Yun Huang’s reputation as a "Pathseeker" was something Yun Ting had fabricated with massive resource investments...
There was a precedent from the previous era—an author nicknamed "Sugar Umbrella Sister," whose writing was mediocre but somehow attracted endless readers.
Even when everyone criticized her, even after hiring ghostwriters, her readership remained sky-high.
The conclusion? Marketing was everything.
Yun Ting felt an inexplicable kinship with "Sugar Umbrella Sister," transcending time itself.
Under the barrage of relentless promotion, Yun Huang had effortlessly become a "Pathseeker."
Of course...
This reputation was limited to Jiangxia.
Spreading it across all of Great Xia? Even the Yun Family at its peak would struggle.
But lies always collapse eventually.
Yun Huang’s potential had been squeezed to its limit.
In the early stages, the lower the tier, the more obvious the rewards of hard work...
But from the 7th Tier onward, effort alone often wasn’t enough.
Yun Huang had lingered at the 6th Tier for too long...
If this dragged on, doubts would start to surface.
She urgently needed Yun Huang to break through to the 7th Tier—to silence all skepticism.
To stride into the martial exams with overwhelming 7th-tier dominance...
By then...
Who could tell truth from fiction?
...
After handing the card to Yun Huang, Yun Ting removed all monitoring devices from her.
Before leaving, she maintained her saccharine maternal act. "Huang Huang, take a good rest this week."
Watching Yun Ting’s retreating figure, Yun Huang felt no joy.
Only a surreal disbelief.
Dazed for a few seconds, she finally turned to Su Qi. "Thank you."
"Don’t mention it. It’s a paid service—30 million."
A 7th-tier legendary card’s market price in Great Xia was around 8 million.
Printing one on the spot was nothing difficult for Su Qi.
It had cost him a full [50 points of Radiance].
But this was a seller’s market.
A steep markup wasn’t unreasonable.
A perfect sucker.
Why not fleece her?
Yun Huang: "..."
Why did half her gratitude vanish in an instant?
Was this guy obsessed with money or something?
Then, Su Qi nudged Liu Yuan with his elbow.
"Come on, Yuan. Be a good girl—call her sister-in-law."
【Prologue: The Beginning of It All – Use holy water to heal the saintess tainted by demonic energy, then converse with her.】 Shen Nian stared at his older sister sipping yogurt, lost in thought. So you’re telling me my sister is the saintess, and yogurt is the holy water? 【Main Quest 1: Brave Youth, Become an Adventurer! Reward: Rookie Adventurer Title.】 【Side Quest 1: Find the Adorable Kitty! Reward: 1000 Gold Coins.】 Shen Nian: "Wait, I’m a high school senior here—did some guy who got isekai’d accidentally bind his system to me?" Hold on, completing quests gives gold rewards? Titles even boost stats? Is this for real? (A lighthearted, absurd campus comedy—not a revenge power fantasy.)
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
