Mu Lan took a deep breath. Then another.
He really wanted to strike Yun Jin dead on the spot.
And honestly, he could do it without the slightest effort.
But...
He couldn't.
All Mu Lan could do was curse endlessly in his heart. Then, with a dark expression, he took out several porcelain bottles and handed them to Yu Songnian.
"These pills should help with your injuries," Mu Lan said stiffly. "Seven days. That should be enough time for you to recover."
He didn't want to waste even a single moment. All he wanted was for Yun Jin to die as soon as possible. Even if these pills were valuable, it no longer mattered. As long as her death came sooner, it would all be worth it.
Yu Songnian wasn't polite about it either. He smiled and accepted the bottles. "Then I'll thank Elder Mu in advance."
Mu Lan's expression was so sour it could curdle milk. He couldn't even be bothered to reply.
Yun Jin let out a cheeky laugh, clearly at ease. "Alright, I'll leave my Third Senior Brother in your care, Elder Mu. I'm heading into seclusion for a few days. Seven days should be enough for me to break through to the Nascent Soul stage. Oh, by the way, Elder Mu, do you have any pills that boost cultivation? Give me a few. Just in case I hit a bottleneck. I wouldn't want to waste everyone's time."
Mu Lan: "..."
He had just one question.
Was it allowed to hit people?
Was it?
No?
Then fine.
Gritting his teeth, Mu Lan handed over another bottle of pills.
Yun Jin looked genuinely moved. "Thank you, Elder. I'll come to you next time I need something."
Mu Lan clenched his jaw so hard he thought he might shatter his own teeth.
"Please don't come again!"
Yun Jin happily carried her new pills off to begin her closed-door cultivation.
The truth was…
She'd already prepared plenty of pills for herself beforehand. But there was just something special about getting them for free. The scent seemed richer. The satisfaction, deeper!
Mu Lan watched her practically skipping away, full of joy. He could barely stop himself from grinding his teeth to powder.
He kept telling himself:
Seven days. Just seven more days.
If he could survive that long, Yun Jin would finally get what was coming to her.
Yun Jin, for her part, hadn't lied. After returning, she truly did enter seclusion.
Over these past days, she had built up a significant amount of Emotional Value. Glancing at the system panel, she saw her total had already surpassed one hundred thousand.
Converted into high-tier draws, that was a thousand uses.
Once the hidden vault opened, that number was bound to come in handy.
With the constant stream of pills she'd consumed lately, her spiritual energy had reached its peak. On top of that, her soul realm was already far beyond the Nascent Soul stage. This breakthrough should come naturally.
The only missing piece was the Mystic Codex for Nascent Soul. Deriving a Nascent Soul-stage Mystic Codex required a certain amount of Emotional Value. But that wasn't an issue for Yun Jin. She was practically rolling in the stuff.
Just as she was finishing her preparations for the breakthrough—
The Tian Po Sword's voice rang out, tinged with concern. "Young Master, are you really planning to break through now?"
"What's wrong?" Yun Jin asked.
Tian Po said, "The hidden vault of the Wushuang Sect holds a complete set of Mystic Codex manuals. If you wait until we open it, you won't have to reconstruct a technique from scratch."
He assumed she was attempting to switch cultivation paths.
But Yun Jin smiled. "Rebuild? Why bother? I'll just evolve my own Mystic Codex for the Nascent Soul stage. It's not a big deal."
Tian Po Sword: "???"
Did he just hear that right?
Did she really say she'd just… evolve it herself?
The Mystic Codex was a profound and complex system of cultivation. The techniques handed down through generations were refined over countless years by cultivators far stronger than most people alive today. If anyone could casually come up with their own version...
As he was internally ranting, something suddenly occurred to him.
His expression shifted. "Young Master, the Mystic Codex you used outside—it should only reach the peak of the Qi Refining stage. But you're already in the Golden Core realm. The Mystic Codex you're using for that is..."
"I evolve it myself," Yun Jin answered matter-of-factly.
Tian Po Sword fell silent.
He remembered watching her trial and noticing that her Mystic Codex seemed entirely different from what her predecessor had used. So she really had developed it herself?
This Young Master... her talent was terrifying.
Even while reeling from the shock, Tian Po Sword couldn't help but try one last time. "Young Master, even if your previous two derivations were successful, creating your own Mystic Codex is always incredibly risky. One small mistake could lead to irreversible damage. Wouldn't it be safer to wait until we obtain the official manual?"
Yun Jin raised an eyebrow and said in a sage-like tone, "Tian Po, your name has 'Po' in it, but your blade lacks any real spirit. Failure? That word doesn't exist in your Young Master's vocabulary. Just sit tight and watch."
Without another word, she swallowed a pill and started her breakthrough.
Tian Po Sword: "???"
He had once followed the Wan Dao Sage. That sage valued calm and steadiness, so over time, Tian Po had become just as stable.
When he finally found his new mistress, he was worried she might not be able to handle his true nature.
But now...
Her personality made him look tame.
"Master, oh Master," Tian Po Sword sighed quietly. "I'm only following the trial path you designed. This Young Master is practically your hand-picked heir. If you can see this from the afterlife, please don't blame me."
Then, Tian Po manifested his sword form and stood guard.
Evolving a Mystic Codex on one's own was an incredibly dangerous task.
But since his mistress insisted, there was nothing more he could say. The best he could do was protect her with everything he had. If something went wrong, he'd intervene immediately.
Yun Jin's cultivation was just a sliver away from the threshold.
Grabbing another handful of pills, she sent her golden core spinning wildly, refining the medicinal energy at a breakneck pace.
Tian Po didn't dare interrupt. He simply watched with trembling anxiety.
So much medicine at once—and she was absorbing it without issue?
Her dantian must be forged from pure iron!
Inside the cultivation chamber, Yun Jin entered a deep, immersive state.
Meanwhile, Yue Zhao and the others were still hurrying on their journey.
In Lin City, Yu Songnian—thanks to Mu Lan's begrudging generosity—had begun a sweeping reform of the Yu Clan.
First, he revised the family rules, adjusting penalties based on the severity of misconduct and formalizing them in a newly modified version of the household laws.
Then, he opened the clan's gates to the public, allowing ordinary citizens to come forward with their grievances.
Those who had suffered injustice or abuse only needed to report it, and he would immediately send someone to investigate.
Even if he couldn't uncover the truth himself, the people from the Yuehua Sect certainly could.
Their cultivations were sky-high. As long as they had a lead, they could trace it back to the source and uncover the facts.
At first, the common folk didn't dare come.
Until a familiar face—the same man who had once spoken to Yun Jin—was the first to step forward.
He once again told Yu Songnian about how his daughter had died unjustly. Yu Songnian had already investigated the case and was simply waiting for the victim's family to arrive.
As soon as the man reported it, Yu Songnian captured the Yu clan disciple responsible and publicly executed him.
The man wept uncontrollably, repeating, "Xiao Yu, Father has finally avenged you."
Yu Songnian also offered compensation on behalf of the Yu Clan. The sum was enough to guarantee a life of ease for the man's remaining years.
That was all it took.
The people no longer hesitated. They came in droves to file complaints.
When they saw that the Yuehua Sect cultivators were helping investigate the truth, their admiration for Yu Songnian soared.
What kind of person could command the aid of Yuehua Sect disciples?
Within five days, the Yu Clan's front gates were nearly trampled flat. The clan's disciples were exposed one by one—some guilty of small offenses, others far more serious. Yu Songnian enforced justice publicly and without mercy.
In just a few days, the Yu Clan's infamous reputation evaporated.
Yu Songnian himself had firmly etched his name into the hearts of the people.
As his reforms drew to a close—
Yun Jin's spiritual energy finally reached its peak.
The next step…
Was her breakthrough to the Nascent Soul realm.