Su Yueli took a deep breath, her heart racing.
Since her transmigration, she had possessed absolutely nothing. This was her chance to change her destiny against the heavens.
She stepped into the center of the pillar of light. One second, two seconds passed—complete silence.
The array did not fluctuate in the slightest.
“A mortal body with no Bone Talent. Next,” the cultivator's voice rang out, cold and indifferent, striking her like a physical blow.
Su Yueli's mind instantly went blank.
What?
No reaction... I can't even touch the threshold of cultivation?!
“Impossible! That's absolutely impossible!”
At that moment, a rejected youth rushed out from the crowd, shouting like a madman, “My mother said it was storming on the day I was born—a natural phenomenon! I must be a peerless genius! Immortal Master, let me test again! This array must be broken!”
The cultivator didn't even bother to look at him.
Bang!
A blast of air erupted, and the youth was sent flying thirty feet as if struck by lightning. He crashed against a dirt wall, spitting blood, his fate unknown.
“An ant dares to question an immortal array? If not for the sect's orders, you would already be dead.”
The villagers instantly fell silent, thoroughly intimidated by this display of power.
“Next!”
The cultivator spoke again, his tone growing increasingly impatient.
They had been testing in this backwater village for so long, yet everyone was just a mortal with no Bone Talent.
Seeing it was his turn, Shen Huai'an glanced at the dejected Su Yueli, took a deep breath, and stepped forward.
A moment later, a pillar of green light shot into the sky, piercing through the clouds, while the ground cracked under the tremor of this spiritual energy.
The green light shone brilliantly.
The entire mountain village, and even everything within a ten-mile radius, was bathed in a vibrant shade of jade green.
Terrified by this sudden miracle, the villagers trembled and prostrated themselves, not daring to look up.
The previously impatient cultivator's pupils dilated at the sight. “A Heavenly Bone... It's actually a one-in-a-million Supreme Heavenly Bone!”
The cultivator's voice began to tremble. His previously aloof expression, as he looked at Shen Huai'an, was filled with a touch of flattery alongside the shock.
For a genius of this caliber entering the sect, his future path of cultivation would be limitless. Showing goodwill now might bring immense benefits in the future.
Meanwhile, Shen Qing'an looked at his younger brother in the center of the light. His clenched fists relaxed, and the heavy stone in his heart finally dropped.
Huai'an had made it. He wouldn't have to live a bitter, struggling life like him anymore.
However, standing in that dazzling immortal light, Shen Huai'an's heart was filled with mixed emotions.
His gaze swept past the villagers and landed on Su Yueli.
Entering the immortal sect meant leaving, severing his ties to the mortal world. He didn't want to leave his older brother, and he certainly didn't want to leave Su Yueli.
But this was a Heavenly Bone—the finest aptitude for cultivation. From now on, he would be the darling of the sect, standing above tens of thousands.
He would also have many beautiful companions and fellow cultivators, but he had made a promise with Shen Qing'an...
In his line of sight, Su Yueli still stood in the shadows, staring at the immortal light that illuminated the entire village.
The light was too bright, so bright that she could barely open her eyes.
Shouldn't this kind of top-tier cultivation talent belong to her, the transmigrator?
What a joke. Did she transmigrate for nothing?
An inescapable sense of exhaustion and sorrow welled up in her heart.
“Good, good, good! You will come with me and return to the sect immediately!”
The cultivator was incredibly excited now. He stepped forward and grabbed Shen Huai'an's shoulder. “Your mortal ties are severed. Bid your farewells quickly!”
Shen Huai'an took a deep breath and walked over to Shen Qing'an.
Gritting his teeth, he lowered his voice. “Brother, we had a deal... If Yueli had Bone Talent, whoever had talent would protect her.”
“If she didn't, then whoever didn't have talent would stay and guard her. I have to go now. Yueli... guard her well for me.”
“Don't worry,” Shen Qing'an said, his expression firm. “Go, and don't look back.”
Shen Huai'an let go, turning to walk toward Su Yueli.
He wanted to hold her hand, but his hand fell limply in mid-air.
“Yueli, wait for me.”
Hen Huai'an stared at her face, as if trying to engrave it into his bones. “Once I cultivate great divine abilities, I will come back for you. I will... I will definitely come back for you.”
Su Yueli recovered slightly. Looking at Shen Huai'an, she felt a sense of helplessness.
She actually wanted to tell him that between mortals and immortals, there was no such thing as “waiting.”
“Focus on your cultivation.”
Seeing that Shen Huai'an had finished his farewells, the cultivator pointed at the other four who had tested positive for Bone Talent. “The three Mortal Bones will enter the sect as chores disciples, and the Low-grade Bone will enter the outer sect. This is your relocation allowance. Sever your mortal ties and come with me.”
He casually tossed a heavy purse at the village chief's feet.
The five youths were swept up by an invisible force, landing directly onto the flying vessel.
With a sharp whistle, the flying vessel transformed into a streak of light, instantly vanishing into the clouds.
At the village entrance, the villagers all ran after it, as if wishing they could follow.
Only Su Yueli stood in place, the cold wind brushing against her cheeks, utterly dazed.
No Bone Talent.
She had waited for three years and tried every method. She had thought it was just because the time hadn't come yet—after all, which transmigrator ended up like this?
Just moments ago, she had been full of confidence, believing she could change her destiny against the heavens, only to be told she didn't even have the qualifications to be a chores disciple.
Su Yueli's vision went dark.
Her world had collapsed.
...
Night fell, and the evening breeze was slightly chilly.
Su Yueli lay on the thatched roof, staring blankly at the cold moon in the night sky.
No Bone Talent.
Those words were like a knife twisting in her mind, shattering her resolve.
Was she really going to spend her entire life as a commoner in this backwater village, growing old, falling ill, and dying like wild grass in the fields?
Su Yueli refused to accept this. In her previous life, she had worked like a beast of burden for her boss, grinding through the 996 schedule every day. Having finally obtained a second chance at life in a world with spiritual energy and cultivation...
She had thought she would finally get a script to defy heaven and change her fate, but what was the result?
She was still just an ant at the very bottom!
In this world without laws, where only the strong preyed on the weak and might made right, mortals didn't even have the right to control their own life and death.
Just like her parents...
She had transmigrated into the womb. Although her parents were mortals, their life had been warm and fulfilling.
Even though she spent every day messing around trying to cultivate, her mother would only smile, stroke her head, and praise her. Her father would leave early and return late, often bringing back trinkets that little girls liked.
Although Su Yueli wasn't interested in those things, the warmth of family and the love of her parents had truly flowed through her heart.
Until a few years ago, when a few cultivators happened to pass by and noticed her. They wanted to take her by force, and with a casual wave of their hands, they slaughtered her parents.
Fortunately, an elder seemed to have followed them afterward. To preserve the reputation of the Cangyun Sect, the elder reprimanded them, allowing her to escape with her life and wander until she reached this place.
From that moment on, Su Yueli became even more determined to cultivate.
To immortals, mortals were like ants. If they didn't care about their reputation, enslaving them would be of no consequence.
The villager from earlier today, who was casually sent flying and spitting blood just for speaking out of turn, was the perfect example.
An hour ago, he had succumbed to his severe injuries and died.
Perhaps that was a microcosm of her own future.
“The wind is strong up there. Come down before you catch a cold.”
A familiar male voice suddenly echoed from the courtyard, interrupting Su Yueli's self-pity.
Shen Qing'an leaned against the shadow of the courtyard wall, looking up at the corner of her clothes hanging over the edge of the roof.
“Being an immortal... isn't that easy either.”
Shen Qing'an comforted her softly. “Except for Huai'an, the others on that flying vessel today will only be chores disciples at the lowest level of the sect. Who knows when they might be casually killed by a high-level cultivator? There's nothing wrong with being a commoner and living a peaceful, stable life until you're old.”
Hearing this, a bitter smile tugged at the corner of Su Yueli's lips.
“Stable?”
She muttered to herself, “When even a passing low-level demon beast can treat us as food, and an immortal can wipe out an entire village with a single sneeze, leaving our lives to the whims of others' moods... is that what you call stable?”
Everyone has their pride, and we all strive for something more.
Born in a cultivation world, how could one peacefully accept being a mere mortal?
If she couldn't cultivate, perhaps she could become a martial artist to gain power.
But even martial arts required a way to start. She had nothing and knew nothing, completely isolated in an information vacuum.
Shen Qing'an fell silent.
By the cold moonlight, he looked at the dejected girl on the roof. A sudden tightness gripped his chest, and a wave of sadness washed over him.
Clenching his fists, he tilted his head back, his dark eyes locked onto her. “Do you... really want to cultivate that badly?”
Su Yueli didn't look at him, only nodding toward the high moon.
“Yes. Even in my dreams.”
Shen Qing'an's tense shoulders slowly relaxed. Looking at Su Yueli, he suddenly smiled.
“Don't be discouraged,” Shen Qing'an said softly, his tone exceptionally firm. “You will become an immortal.”
Before Su Yueli could ask what he meant, Shen Qing'an had already turned around. “It's late. Go to sleep early. We still have to work the fields tomorrow.”
His footsteps gradually faded until the wooden door closed with a creak.
Su Yueli rolled over, looking at the empty courtyard, and curled her lips in self-mockery.
Become an immortal? The empty promises Shen Qing'an made were even more ridiculous than her own.
In this cultivation world where classes were outrageously rigid, without Bone Talent, one couldn't even gather qi.
To embark on the path of cultivation out of nothing, unless one had dumb luck and encountered a legendary, top-tier opportunity that could change destiny and cleanse one's bones and marrow...
But which of those grand opportunities wasn't accompanied by mountains of corpses and seas of blood? Why would it fall upon a mortal like her, who couldn't even sense qi?
It was pure fantasy.
Sighing at her thoughts, Su Yueli closed her eyes.
...
“A-Achoo!”
In the morning, Su Yueli was woken by the cold, letting out a sneeze.
With her mind in such a mess last night, she had actually fallen asleep on the roof.
Rubbing her stiff neck, she climbed down.
The courtyard was completely quiet. She noticed a letter weighed down on the stone table in the center, next to two buns that still held some warmth. The sender seemed to have left not long ago.
She walked over and pulled out the letter. The handwriting was bold and forceful, written by Shen Qing'an.
“I'm leaving.
“This morning, my father sent a message. Now that our enemies have been dealt with, it's time for me to head to Fengling City to take over the family business. Don't be so gloomy.
“If you don't have Bone Talent, just accept your fate and stop struggling blindly. Remember to eat the buns on the table—you shouldn't skip breakfast.
“Oh, by the way, there's also a sacred healing pill inside. My dad bought it from an immortal at a high price a few days ago, fearing I might run into trouble on the road. I've left it for you.
“Once I strike it rich in Fengling City and become a grand manager, if I'm in a good mood, I'll buy you a bone-cleansing elixir to eat like candy.
“You're a bit simple-minded, so don't go getting eaten by some demon beast, and don't freeze to death either. Keep yourself alive, and wait for me to return and collect my debt.”
The letter was short, without any of the clinginess of a farewell, filled instead with concern and the smell of money.
Looking at the paper, Su Yueli couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.
She muttered under her breath, “A merchant's nature through and through.”
Last night, this kid had confidently declared that she would become an immortal. It turned out he was planning to do business and make a fortune just to buy her an elixir?
Fengling City was famous for its scenery and thriving commerce. It wasn't hard for a mortal to make money there, but wanting to buy an elixir was nothing short of a pipe dream.
Rumor had it that the Bone-Cleansing Elixir, which could allow those without Bone Talent to cultivate, was a Grade Five elixir.
Sects with slightly weaker foundations didn't even possess such elixirs, let alone sell them.
Su Yueli shook her head and didn't take his words to heart. She carefully folded the letter and tucked it into her breast pocket.
She then picked up a bun from the table and took a bite. As the coarse dough and meager meat filling went down, food in her stomach finally brought a hint of warmth to her body.
After eating, Su Yueli walked to the center of the courtyard. Staring at her fair hands, completely devoid of calluses, her gaze gradually grew focused.
Rate on N.U.
