The room was silent, save for the tea leaves unfurling lazily in the cup of hot water, swirling in slow circles.
"Second Young Miss, please prepare yourself. We're here to take you to meet your father. The only reason you weren't brought home sooner was due to your mother's objections. It wasn't until recently that your father learned you were living alone, so he sent us to fetch you immediately."
Jian Dan remained expressionless, her gaze cool as it rested on the Zhao family's steward and his assistant. In their eyes, she caught the faintest flicker of condescension—barely masked.
With practiced politeness, she smiled slightly and nodded. "Understood. I do have questions for my father—about my mother. Book the tickets and come collect me when it's time."
Then she stood, gesturing toward the door in clear dismissal.
The two men stiffened. After that prolonged silence, they'd expected pleading, nervousness—not this detached command, as if they were mere servants. The assistant's face darkened with humiliation, but Steward Zhao remained unreadable. "Of course, Second Young Miss. I'll contact you once the flight is arranged. We'll escort you to the airport in advance. For now, we won't disturb your preparations."
He turned and left without another word.
The moment they exited the apartment complex, the assistant exploded: "Uncle, did you see her attitude? Acting like some proper Zhao heiress! She's just an illegitimate child kept outside—if not for the Young Master's—"
"Silence!" Steward Zhao snapped. "The Zhao family's affairs are not yours to discuss. Know your place. If you weren't my nephew, I wouldn't have brought you at all. How many times must I say it? Watch, listen, and obey. Her status may be low, but she's still Zhao blood—something we'll never be. The family may scorn her; we cannot. Am I clear?"
"Y-Yes, Uncle. It won't happen again," the assistant mumbled, chastised.
From her window, Jian Dan watched them leave, their conversation ringing in her ears. She turned away and retreated to her bedroom.
"So it's the same as last time." To them, she was just a vessel—a living tool. But this life, she wouldn't comply so easily. "Some things... I'll take back myself."
With a flicker of her consciousness, she entered her spatial realm. This would be her first true cultivation session since purging her marrow. She couldn't afford carelessness. Inside the bamboo hut, she settled onto the meditation mat.
Her breathing slowed, each inhale and exhale falling into rhythm. Gradually, multicolored spiritual energy gathered around her, weaving into a luminous cocoon. The energy seeped into her skin, threading through her meridians like liquid light before pooling in her dantian. When the reservoir filled, a tremor ran through her—boom—as the energy stabilized. The simple process of drawing energy into the body was completed.
After cleansing the grime from her body, she returned to the mat and immersed herself in the Primordial Chaos Technique's Qi Refining chapter:
"All creation sprang from chaos, birthing the five elements. Through endless cycles, life flourishes..."
Having grasped the essence, she began true cultivation.
The Qi Refining stage was foundational—not just unblocking primary meridians but expanding even the tiniest branches to store more energy. The more robust one's foundation, the longer they could sustain combat.
Jian Dan reveled in the process, guiding the five-colored energy through every pathway. With successive pops, breakthroughs rippled through her:
Qi Refining, Layer 1... 2... 3...
She surged straight to the sixth layer before halting. Further advancement required consolidation.
Next, she dredged up memories of the Jade Bone Demon Physique Art—a body-tempering technique serendipitously obtained in the Green Maple Secret Realm. Dual cultivation of body and spirit would forge an unshakable foundation.
By the time she emerged, night had fallen, the full moon hanging heavy. Jian Dan exhaled. "No repeating past mistakes."
Dawn found her cross-legged before the rising sun, drawing in the faint but potent violet solar energy. At precisely 8 AM, knocks echoed at her door.
Towing her suitcase, Jian Dan took a final glance at the apartment—her home for over a decade in her past life. Every keepsake was already safe in her spatial pouch; only furniture remained.
Steward Zhao and his assistant waited outside. "Second Young Miss, we're here for you. Our flight departs at ten—we should allow time for security."
She nodded, locked the door, and slid the key beneath the doormat without explanation. The steward wisely didn't pry. This time, the assistant held his tongue, merely hefting her suspiciously heavy luggage into the waiting Buick.
The journey was seamless—meals served before boarding, a smooth two-hour flight during which Jian Dan slept, indifferent to the impending reunion.
Steward Zhao observed her closely. "An eighteen-year-old girl, meeting a father she's never known, yet no nerves, no questions..." His estimation of her rose.
By noon, they landed in Jingdu. A black sedan glided to meet them, carrying them toward the city's gilded elite—where the Zhao family's mansion awaited.