While the entirety of Glory City had already fallen asleep, with only a few guards still awake patrolling the streets, two children within the private residence of the Divine Family mansion remained wide awake.

  Drowsiness refused to visit them, all because of the absurd actions of one of the two,

  Actions that only sharpened their minds and left them more alert than they had ever been before.

  This was not the first time the master-and-attendant duo had spent the night awake.

  Owing largely to Chen Linlin’s nearly nonexistent sleep schedule, the two often found themselves passing the night together, waiting for drowsiness to finally claim her.

  Walking out of the bath for the second time that night, Xue Hui had just finished washing away the sweat and grime accumulated during the pill-refining process earlier.

  Stepping into the room, Xue Hui found his young miss lying on her bed on her stomach.

  Her head tilted cutely from bobbing side to side as her small fingers curiously played with the three emerald pills resting on her palm.

  She was utterly fascinated by the pills her friend had created.

  Even with her withered Soul Realm, she could still sense faint wisps of energy emanating from them, prickling against her small palm.

  Before the illness that ruined her Soul Realm, Chen Linlin had consumed many kinds of spiritual pills and elixirs of varying grades and effects. As such, she was no stranger to handling so-called high-grade pills.

  And yet, the three emerald pills in her palm completely surpassed anything she had ever encountered before.

  Their appearance, fragrance, and the subtle aura they released were all in a league of their own, utterly incomparable to the pills she once held.

  She had never even known that spiritual pills were capable of releasing an aura.

  Tempted, she nearly swallowed one just to experience what it felt like to consume such a pill, but with her withered Soul Realm, she knew she would never receive their full effects, and would most likely only waste them.

  “Go on, keep the two pills with the lighter green hue. Once I rebuild your Soul Realm, you’ll be able to use them to break through to the Silver Rank in no time,” Xue Hui said as he walked toward her.

  Hearing Xue Hui’s words, Chen Linlin’s eyes glinted as realization struck her.

  She truly had a chance to cultivate again, with Xue Hui’s help.

  “Hui-hui, how long will it take before you can heal me?” she asked softly, anticipation filling her heart.

  The more Xue Hui revealed his talent before her, the more excited she became.

  After all, he had said earlier that she would be able to reclaim her life.

  With everything she had witnessed so far, the doubts in her heart vanished, replaced by hope and anticipation.

  She could hardly wait for Xue Hui to heal her illness and to once more experience the freedom she had lost.

  “That depends on how the Lord Patriarch reacts to my words,” Xue Hui replied. “If he believes what I tell him and is willing to work with me, then it may take at least one or two years to fully heal your illness.”

  Xue Hui sat on the edge of her bed and carefully helped Chen Linlin lie on her back.

  “If not, and your father grows suspicious of me, it may take three to four years before I can help heal you. With my current strength, traveling the outside world would be difficult,” Xue Hui said as he tucked the little girl into her bed.

  Xue Hui smiled when Chen Linlin simply nodded at his words, fully understanding the situation without losing the glint of newfound hope in her eyes.

  “No matter what happens, you’ll be able to stand on your own again before the time comes to enter the Holy Orchid Institute.”

  Hearing this, Chen Linlin’s lips curled into a wide smile.

  Her eyes glimmered as she imagined the day she could walk through the gates of the Holy Orchid Institute and begin her journey as a demon spiritualist.

  “So keep these pills. They will help you greatly in the future.”

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  Xue Hui took one of the pills and stored the other two in Chen Linlin’s interspatial ring.

  “This pill is called the Penta Soul Enrichment Pill. Besides increasing your cultivation by leaps and bounds, it will also remove all impurities from your Soul Realm, greatly enhancing your ability to absorb spiritual energy.”

  After his explanation, Xue Hui popped the Penta Soul Enrichment Pill into his mouth and rose from Chen Linlin’s bed.

  “Get some rest, Linlin. I still need to cultivate. Once I reach the Bronze Rank, I’ll go and speak with the Lord Patriarch,” he said softly.

  As he spoke, Xue Hui released faint wisps of his spiritual energy, guiding them gently into Chen Linlin’s mind.

  The soothing flow made drowsiness quickly wash over the little girl.

  “Stay in my room, Hui-hui… don’t leave me, okay?” she murmured through a yawn, struggling to keep her eyes open as her eyelids grew heavier with each passing second.

  “Mm. Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere. Go on and rest,” Xue Hui replied as he watched her breathing gradually slow, and before long, Chen Linlin slipped into sleep.

  Xue Hui stretched his body.

  Although it was extremely late, there was still plenty of time before dawn.

  If he was lucky, he might even break through to the Bronze Rank before the sun rose.

  Moving to the corner of the room, Xue Hui sat down cross-legged on the floor and began reciting the first chapter of the [Creation Origin Ancestral Canon], allowing the surrounding spiritual energy to flow into his Soul Realm.

  Within his body, the Penta Soul Enrichment Pill released gentle yet rapid waves of spiritual energy.

  Had he not already removed most of his impurities during his first cultivation of the [Creation Origin Ancestral Canon], the pill would have cleansed them by now without question.

  As the massive flow of spiritual energy circulated through his body, Xue Hui could feel his Soul Realm steadily expanding, accompanied by a sharp increase in his soul force.

  Ten soul force…

  Sixteen…

  Twenty-four…

  Thirty-eight…

  Forty-three.

  Sensing that he was on the verge of breaking through to One-Star Bronze Rank, Xue Hui immediately began reciting the second verse of the [Creation Origin Ancestral Canon].

  The soul force within his Soul Realm started to compress, shrinking inward as it created space for even more soul force to accumulate.

  His goal was not merely to break through to the Bronze Rank, but to lay down an unshakable foundation for his cultivation.

  Time continued to pass as the darkness of night slowly faded, replaced by the light of dawn.

  Inside Chen Linlin’s residence.

  BOOM!

  Xue Hui slowly opened his eyes after sensing the tremendous explosion echoing within his mind.

  He had succeeded.

  After fully exhausting the spiritual energy contained within the Penta Soul Enrichment Pill, he had finally reached One-Star Bronze Rank.

  Under normal circumstances, a cultivator at the threshold of the Bronze Rank realm could raise their strength to at least Three-Star Bronze Rank, or even One-Star Silver Rank, with the help of a Penta Soul Enrichment Pill.

  Yet Xue Hui had only reached One-Star Bronze Rank, all because of his unique cultivation technique, one that sacrificed short-term gains in exchange for an incomparably solid foundation.

  The cultivation technique he was using was undeniably far too resource-consuming.

  To increase his strength, he would need cultivation resources not just ten times greater, but perhaps even a hundred times greater than those of ordinary practitioners.

  Even so, Xue Hui was not the least bit worried.

  He was fully confident in the outcome of his cultivation.

  In terms of soul strength alone, he was already no weaker than a Silver Rank demon spiritualist.

  With his current physical strength, he could even defend himself with ease in a direct confrontation.

  And that was without having forged his body yet.

  Rising to his feet, Xue Hui stretched and shook off the stiffness that had built up from sitting for so long.

  His gaze drifted to Chen Linlin, who was still asleep atop her bed.

  It was then that he noticed a subtle change in her aura.

  Compared to yesterday, the Chen Linlin before him now wore a faint smile, something she had long forgotten how to do because of her condition.

  Seeing that slight upward curve on her lips, Xue Hui couldn’t stop himself from smiling as well.

  As the sun was about to fully rise, Xue Hui went about his morning duties. He swept the courtyard, cleaned the room, gathered medicinal pills from the medicine pavilion, reported Chen Linlin’s current health condition to the Divine Family’s resident doctor, and prepared a hot bath along with a fresh change of clothes for her.

  During all of this.

  Inside Chen Linlin’s room, the little girl stirred on her bed, slowly opening her eyes as she looked around.

  Suddenly, as a thought crossed her mind, she hastily pushed herself upright.

  Panic surged through her heart when she saw no trace of what had happened the night before. Everything looked exactly as it always had.

  Doubt flooded her mind. Was everything from last night real… or was it just a dream?

  The idea that it had all been nothing more than a dream nearly shattered Chen Linlin’s heart.

  Overcome by panic, she cried out frantically,

  “Hui-hui! Hui-hui!”

  Hearing her distressed calls, Xue Hui rushed out from the bathing area and hurried to her side, gently pulling her into his arms.

  “It’s okay. It’s okay, I’m here,” he said softly, gently patting her small back. “Take a deep breath… slowly.”

  Wrapped in his embrace and soothed by his gentle voice, Chen Linlin gradually began to calm down.

  “S-sorry… I don’t know what came over me. I just woke up and thought that everything that happened last night was only a dream, and… and…”

  Before she could continue, Xue Hui sat beside her and gently took her hand.

  “Don’t worry, Linlin. None of it was a dream, it was all real. Everything will be alright from now on, so you don’t have to be afraid, okay?”

  Chen Linlin nodded at his words.

  The two of them remained where they were, quietly holding each other’s hands.

  “So… hungry?” Xue Hui asked, breaking the silence with a small smile.

  “Mhm! I’m starving. I want to eat a lot today. If you’re going to heal me, I need to stay healthy, right?”

  Hearing her words, Xue Hui smiled and nodded.

  “Yep. The healthier you are, the better.”

  Nodding back, Chen Linlin finally let go of his hand, feeling much better than before.

  Xue Hui rose from the bed to prepare her breakfast, but before leaving, he reminded her of what he had said the night before.

  “So, like I told you last night, keep everything a secret between us for now, okay? I’ll find the right time to speak with your father, and hopefully he’ll believe everything I tell him.”

  Despite being young, Chen Linlin fully understood the need for caution.

  From now on, she would keep her mouth shut and say nothing to anyone, not even her parents or her grandfather.

  Seeing that she remembered their agreement, Xue Hui returned to his duties as Chen Linlin’s attendant.

  “Now, wait here while I get your breakfast. After that, you’ll take a bath. I’ve already prepared clean clothes for you,” Xue Hui said as he stepped out of the room and headed to the kitchen.

  As he spoke, he failed to notice that the moment he mentioned the bath, Chen Linlin’s expression shifted rapidly through several emotions.

  “NO!”

  Xue Hui jumped in surprise at her sudden shout and quickly turned back to her.

  He immediately noticed two things.

  First, Chen Linlin’s entire face had flushed bright red.

  Second, her expression kept shifting between horror and bashfulness.

  Curious and confused, he asked,

  “What do you mean, no?”

  “NO! YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED TO GIVE ME A BATH ANYMORE!” Chen Linlin screeched, grabbing a pillow and hiding her face behind it.

  “But I’ve always helped you when you bathe. You even insisted to your parents that you didn’t need any other servant, so~”

  Unable to handle the embarrassment any longer, Chen Linlin hurled the pillow straight at Xue Hui’s face, then buried her own face into the bed as she muffled her shout.

  “I DON’T CARE! YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED ANYMORE!”

  Only then did it truly sink in. Why she had ever been okay with him assisting her before, she didn’t know.

  But now,

  things had changed, there was no way she could allow him to see her bathing or doing anything private ever again.

  Just thinking about it made her heart pound so hard she felt like it might explode from embarrassment.

  With a sigh, Xue Hui chose not to argue further.

  He left the room to inform her parents about the bathing arrangement and to get her breakfast.

  “I’ll go get your breakfast. And remember, don’t mention anything abou

  t my awakening, okay?”

  Hearing her muffled agreement from the bed, Xue Hui merely shook his head before leaving the room.

  He still needed to prepare himself for a private conversation with the Lord Patriarch.

  End of chapter 10