Xi Youran POV
The cold wind whipped through the mountains as Xi Youran perched atop a jagged cliff, her gaze piercing the distance. Her mother's death still haunted her heart, a cruel weight of regret and fury that refused to fade.
"Mom… I swear upon my life, I will find whoever made you die in such a cruel, lonely way," Xi Youran whispered, her eyes glowing with the faint essence of Hui's core. "I will make sure each of them faces a punishment far worse than yours."
Before anyone could react, she vanished into the air, moving faster than the eye could follow. Her presence was gone, but the lingering stench of battle and her fierce aura remained—enough to make even seasoned soldiers uneasy.
"Little lady?" A guard who had been searching for her gasped. The Xi Youran before him had vanished; in her place was someone colder, sharper, and lethal.
Jiang Youen, arriving at the scene, looked around nervously. "Did you feel it just now? There's a very strong killing intent… and the lingering stench of blood." His guilt weighed heavily; work and duty had kept him from protecting his family.
The Empress Dowager arrived shortly after, her face pale with concern. "Where is your first daughter?" she asked Jiang Youen, who looked down at the floor with grief etched in his features.
"She… is missing. Mysteriously," Jiang Youen admitted, his voice barely audible.
Xi Yue and Jiang Feng exchanged determined glances, their young faces set with resolve.
"Brother… do you think…?" Xi Yue whispered, hope and fear mixing in her voice.
"We have to find her. I still believe she's alive," Jiang Feng replied, his fists clenched.
Training Under Fire
Far away, deep in the wilderness, Xi Youran faced a new threat. The Soul Clan had dispatched multiple scouts, dark Qi radiating from them in waves that made the trees shiver.
One leapt from the shadows—a swift, agile assassin trained in forbidden techniques. Xi Youran's reflexes, honed by her intense alchemy training and Hui's lingering essence, kicked in. She sidestepped and unleashed a small, Qi-infused explosive alchemy concoction that forced him back.
Another scout appeared, this one wielding a shadow blade that could slice through stone. Xi Youran's body moved as if guided by Hui himself. The beast core's energy surged, manifesting in a new technique she hadn't consciously used before: a Qi ripple that amplified her strikes and stabilized her unstable energy, letting her channel her alchemy into physical attacks.
The scouts, realizing they were facing something far beyond a simple human, attacked in coordinated waves. Xi Youran responded with precision—combining alchemy, Qi strikes, and Hui's hidden techniques.
Each encounter revealed a new facet of Hui's legacy. Tiny glowing sigils appeared around her, remnants of his divine power. Xi Youran discovered she could combine her alchemical explosions with Qi-infused combat, turning unstable energy into controlled force.
By the end of the battle, the Soul Clan scouts had retreated, leaving behind blackened footprints and shattered illusions. Xi Youran, exhausted but alive, collapsed to the ground.
"This… this is only the beginning," she whispered, feeling both the thrill of victory and the weight of responsibility.
JianZi's Investigation
Meanwhile, JianZi worked tirelessly in the capital. TianZi's reckless actions and the Soul Clan's sudden activity had created a dangerous tangle of intrigue, and the false Yuan Princess was weaving herself deeper into the court's politics.
Reports from Cai Xiao indicated suspicious maneuvers by the princess and unusual activity near the palace gates. JianZi's eyes narrowed as he read the latest scrolls.
"She is not who she claims to be," JianZi muttered, tracing her movements and cross-referencing them with intelligence on the Soul Clan. "And TianZi… he's being manipulated—or he's complicit."
Every lead pointed toward a larger conspiracy, one that threatened not only Xi Youran but the entire capital. JianZi prepared countermeasures, dispatching spies and setting subtle traps to uncover the truth behind the princess's deception.
The Calm Before the Storm
That evening, Xi Youran returned to her small clearing, the sunlight fading into a crimson horizon. Her body ached, her soul still unstable, but her resolve was sharper than ever.
She gazed at the golden scroll she had yet to fully understand, its edges glowing faintly as if urging her forward. Hui's essence flickered in response, a silent promise of guidance even in his absence.
"I will master this… I will grow stronger. No one will harm my family, and I will survive to see justice done," she murmured.
Above her, storm clouds gathered—a warning, perhaps, of the battles to come. Somewhere beyond the mountains, the Soul Clan prepared their next strike, TianZi's interference grew bolder, and the Yuan Princess's deception threatened to tip the scales.
Xi Youran clenched her fists, her eyes burning with determination. The path ahead was deadly, but she would walk it. And she would not walk it alone—Hui's legacy, her master's teachings, and her own indomitable will would carry her through the coming storm