[A/N: There were supposed to be two chapters. But I combined them into one. I can't guarantee that a new chapter will come out tomorrow, so enjoy reading]
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The soft morning light filtered into the room through the half-open curtains, casting a faint glow over the rumpled sheets.
Ye Qingtian gradually awakened from his meditative state, feeling the freshness of the air and the presence of someone nearby. His gaze lifted, and he saw her there, sitting at the edge of the bed.
Ye Ziyun.
She was turned away from him, legs crossed, her torso straight in a meditative posture. She wore only a light, thin pajama, almost translucent in the light, revealing the delicate contours of her silhouette. Her hair fell loose down to the middle of her back, the violet strands seeming to float lightly, as if the energy around her was continuously gathering in motion.
Slowly, Ye Ziyun's body began to emit traces of a cyan glow, while Ye Qingtian remained still, silently watching her.
The air around her seemed to twist with the intensity of the Soul Force, cold and pure. A bluish aura began to form around Ye Ziyun's body, enveloping her like an ethereal mist. Small snow particles swirled around her, drawn to her as if her body had its own gravity.
Suddenly, her violet hair shone intensely and, for a moment, turned ice-blue, emanating a dense and cold aura.
"It's now…" he murmured, more to himself.
At that moment, a strong wave of cold, freezing spiritual energy spread through the room. "Boom!" The transition was smooth but clear. Her level had risen! Ye Ziyun had finally broken through the barrier and smoothly advanced to the Bronze Rank Realm.
Ye Qingtian slowly got up, avoiding the cold moisture around her and spreading over the bed.
Five minutes later, she slowly opened her eyes.
Her eyes shone with a vivid color, the pupils still tinted with the blue from the recent breakthrough before returning to their usual hue. A smile appeared on her lips as she saw her brother awake, looking at her calmly and approvingly.
"Congratulations, Yun'er," he said, his voice low but firm, filled with palpable tenderness. "You made it."
Ye Ziyun didn't hesitate.
With a light and lively smile, she threw herself on him, clinging like a cat over Ye Qingtian's body, wrapping her arms around his neck. The thin fabric of her pajamas stuck against his warm skin, and he felt her heart beating fast with excitement, along with the chill of her body.
"I did it, Qing-ge!" she exclaimed, her eyes shining with joy. "It was all thanks to the technique you gave me. It's truly amazing!"
Ye Qingtian laughed softly, wrapping his arms around her waist to keep her from slipping. Her body was still a bit cold due to the high affinity with the ice element of the technique.
"You looked beautiful when you advanced," he said. "It seems you're really growing, Ziyun." He smiled. For a moment, he just admired the girl in his arms.
Ye Ziyun rested her chin on his chest, with a shy but full-of-happiness smile.
__
After she stabilized her strength, the two went down together for breakfast. Ye Zhiqian was already at the table, while Ye Zhong was nowhere to be seen.
Ye Qingtian imagined he must be investigating the case between the Winged Dragon Family and the Sacred Family. If that was the case, it seemed he would need to return to finish the conversation from the previous night with Yang Xin.
Remembering last night, Ye Qingtian's body reacted involuntarily.
"What am I thinking about so early?" Ye Qingtian laughed and forced himself to calm down.
Ye Ziyun was still talking with Ye Zhiqian, who seemed very happy to hear that his daughter had finally reached Bronze rank.
While the two were talking, Ye Qingtian took a small book from his interspatial ring. The book was new, seeming to have been written recently.
The book's cover was entirely leather, shining slightly with a small and detailed inscription of Wind and Ice. On the cover was a beautiful nine-tailed white fox. Above it, the name: [Ancestral Manual of the Celestial Fox.]
This was the technique he had prepared for Ye Zhiqian. She had a green soul realm, and her Soul Form was a Nine-Tailed Fox with Wind and Ice attributes.
Cough! Cough!
Ye Qingtian coughed twice to get her attention, then with a gentle gesture, he extended the Ancestral Manual of the Celestial Fox.
"Mother, this is for you," he said, his voice a little softer than usual, eyes fixed on her.
Ye Zhiqian stopped talking, her eyes first turning to him, then down to the book in front of her, examining it curiously.
The leather cover, the detailed wind and ice pattern, the nine-tailed fox – all of it screamed that this was no ordinary book. A flash of surprise crossed her face.
"For me? What is this, Qingtian?" she asked, taking the manual with delicate hands as if it were a fragile treasure. She looked at her son with a curious expression.
"It's a cultivation technique I specially prepared for you. I believe it will be much better than your current technique," Ye Qingtian explained, his eyes shining with certainty that she would love it.
Ye Zhiqian held and opened the book, her eyes scanning the pages eagerly. For her, it would be hard to find a better technique than what she was already using. But since it was given by her son, she did not hesitate to study it seriously.
"Hm?"
As she read the first lines, her expression changed from curiosity to admiration and finally to contained excitement. It was as if the energy of her soul realm began to circulate on its own just by reading the first words of the book.
"Oh, Qingtian, this is… amazing!" she exclaimed, her voice rising an octave. "It seems perfect for my Nine-Tailed Fox Soul Form! And the wind and ice affinity… Did you really manage this on your own?!"
She didn't wait to test it afterward.
Right there at the breakfast table, she closed her eyes and began to experiment with the effects of this new technique.
Suddenly, a soft and translucent aura began to emanate from her body, mixing with the wind and ice attributes. It was subtle, almost imperceptible to a common observer, but for Ye Qingtian, who had keen perception, the difference was notable.
In moments, Ye Zhiqian's aura intensified. A sensation of cold, cutting power filled the environment. The technique seemed connected to the essence of her soul.
"I feel… I feel my cultivation has accelerated a lot!" she whispered, still with eyes closed, a dazzling smile forming on her lips. The energy around her slowly calmed, but the sensation that something had changed inside her body remained.
That feeling was none other than the sensation that the barrier to her next cultivation breakthrough had been broken. Now, she only needed some isolated time to complete the advancement.
Opening her eyes, Ye Zhiqian looked at Ye Qingtian.
And just as Ye Ziyun did in the morning…
Without hesitation, she leaned over the table and pulled her son into a tight hug, almost suffocating him between her ample breasts.
"My son! You're the best! I love you, I love you, I love you to death!" she exclaimed, the words bubbling from her mouth as she squeezed him fervently.
"Again!?" Ye Qingtian smiled.
---
A few minutes later, Ye Qingtian and Ye Ziyun left the house. Both still had to attend the Institute, and Ye Zhiqian needed some time alone at home to make her breakthrough.
By the time the two returned from the Institute, she would probably already be a Four-Star Black-Gold Demon Spiritualist!
…
This time, the two did not draw as much attention when they arrived at the Institute. Ye Qingtian sat down and Ye Ziyun followed, preparing to begin a few more hours of boring classes.
---
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
In those three days, Ye Qingtian not only visited the Alchemist Association to finish his conversation with Yang Xin, but also set some limits on pill sales by family. He had no problem if other families bought more, but that could not be said for the Sacred Family! Future traitors like them could not be allowed to grow stronger.
Besides that, during this time Ye Qingtian and Yang Xin's relationship began to grow increasingly ambiguous.
Meanwhile, Ye Zhong, the family patriarch, made worrying discoveries about the recent actions of the Sacred Family.
To his surprise, his son Ye Qingtian's suspicions were correct.
The Sacred Family really controlled more than 80% of the Winged Dragon family's business. Moreover, he noticed a strange movement: individuals with a dark aura, who did not seem native to Glory City, entering and leaving the Sacred Family residence.
The aura of those people immediately reminded him of the Dark Guild.
This made him raise his guard against them immediately. But cautiously, he chose to keep this knowledge to himself for now. He did not know if other families were involved or even if the Sacred Family was being held hostage by those people. So he decided to give it more time to investigate.
However, he knew that either way, this would not be an easy issue to resolve. He should try to take this step and advance to Legendary Rank, or wait for his father, Ye Mo, to return before making a decision.
---
While Ye Zhong was dealing with the immediate problems of Glory City, Ye Qingtian stood in the training field, facing Xiao Ning'er.
The young girl was devastated, her cheeks soaked with tears, her eyes red, and her shoulders trembling. The emotional blow she had suffered that day was greater than all the pain she had endured throughout the years. For the first time, Xiao Ning'er broke down, crying like a little girl.
"Big Brother Qingtian, since you know what kind of illness I have, you should know how to treat it, right?" she asked, with a thread of hope in her voice. "Can you help me?"
Ye Qingtian nodded, pulling her into a comforting hug, slowly rubbing her back to calm her down. He could feel her body trembling under his. "Of course I can. Why do you think I only came to speak with you now?"
He smiled, pulling back slightly and using his thumbs to gently wipe her tear-streaked face.
"Here, hold this," he said, handing her a small vial.
Feeling the warm touch of Ye Qingtian's hands, Xiao Ning'er involuntarily shivered, but quickly calmed down. She looked at the vial and noticed it contained two unusual pills, unlike anything she had ever seen. "What is this, Big Brother Qingtian?"
Ye Qingtian smiled, showing his clean white teeth.
"Don't you remember how I'm a genius alchemist? These are special pills I prepared just for you." He smiled, watching her expression slowly return to normal. "Their name is San Yin Dan. Or rather, Yin Dispersing Pill."
"With these pills, instead of wasting all that energy trapped in your body as bruises, they'll help you refine it, and possibly give you a big boost in your cultivation." He said, watching her closely.
It was similar to what he had done with Ye Zhiqian in the past. But the difference was that Xiao Ning'er's accumulation had lasted for several months. It wouldn't be impossible for her to break through directly to the Bronze rank, or maybe even higher.
"What? Are you serious?" Xiao Ning'er's eyes widened in shock.
Her hands trembled, and her clenched fists revealed her emotions. Tears streamed down again, but this time, they were tears of joy. If those words had come from anyone else, she would never believe them. But the one making that promise was Ye Qingtian, someone she deeply trusted. If he said it was possible, then she didn't need to doubt it. That was the level of trust she had in him.
It was also for that reason that she had distanced herself from the two of them in the past. She knew how kind they were and that they would try to help her in every way. But she didn't want that. She didn't want to show weakness. Yet at that moment, all her pride and coldness had vanished. Now, she just wanted to make up for the time she had lost by their side. Especially by the side of her Big Brother Qingtian, who had also been her childhood crush.
---
While Ye Zhong was dealing with the immediate problems of Glory City, Ye Qingtian stood in the training field, facing Xiao Ning'er.
The young girl was devastated, her cheeks soaked with tears, her eyes red, and her shoulders trembling. The emotional blow she had suffered that day was greater than all the pain she had endured throughout the years. For the first time, Xiao Ning'er broke down, crying like a little girl.
"Big Brother Qingtian, since you know what kind of illness I have, you should know how to treat it, right?" she asked, with a thread of hope in her voice. "Can you help me?"
Ye Qingtian nodded, pulling her into a comforting hug, slowly rubbing her back to calm her down. He could feel her body trembling under his. "Of course I can. Why do you think I only came to speak with you now?"
He smiled, pulling back slightly and using his thumbs to gently wipe her tear-streaked face.
"Here, hold this," he said, handing her a small vial.
Feeling the warm touch of Ye Qingtian's hands, Xiao Ning'er involuntarily shivered, but quickly calmed down. She looked at the vial and noticed it contained two unusual pills, unlike anything she had ever seen. "What is this, Big Brother Qingtian?"
Ye Qingtian smiled, showing his clean white teeth.
"Don't you remember how I'm a genius alchemist? These are special pills I prepared just for you." He smiled, watching her expression slowly return to normal. "Their name is San Yin Dan. Or rather, Yin Dispersing Pill."
"With these pills, instead of wasting all that energy trapped in your body as bruises, they'll help you refine it, and possibly give you a big boost in your cultivation." He said, watching her closely.
It was similar to what he had done with Ye Zhiqian in the past. But the difference was that Xiao Ning'er's accumulation had lasted for several months. It wouldn't be impossible for her to break through directly to the Bronze rank, or maybe even higher.
"What? Are you serious?" Xiao Ning'er's eyes widened in shock.
Her hands trembled, and her clenched fists revealed her emotions. Tears streamed down again, but this time, they were tears of joy. If those words had come from anyone else, she would never believe them. But the one making that promise was Ye Qingtian, someone she deeply trusted. If he said it was possible, then she didn't need to doubt it.
That was the level of trust she had in him.
It was also for that reason that she had distanced herself from the two of them in the past. She knew how kind they were and that they would try to help her in every way. But she didn't want that. She didn't want to show weakness. Yet at that moment, all her pride and coldness had vanished. Now, she just wanted to make up for the time she had lost by their side. Especially by the side of her Big Brother Qingtian, who had also been her childhood crush.