Wuya Sect.
Halfway up Heavenly Sword Peak.
I hadn't left the house for several days. Leisurely sunbathing had become part of my daily routine.
These past few days, I'd barely used Talent Detection.
I'd already checked most of the nearby cultivators with names and reputations—all the fairies, basically. Keeping the ability active all the time put a number on everyone's forehead, and it had seriously disrupted my personal life.
From what I'd observed while using the ability, there weren't many highly talented people on Heavenly Sword Peak. Bright Moon Peak, on the other hand, had quite a few cultivators whose talent fell somewhere between one hundred and a question mark.
The most talented among them had seven plus signs after her one hundred, and she happened to have seven maxed-out spiritual roots.
A bold guess took shape in my mind.
Could one question mark represent ten times the talent of one hundred, with ten plus signs adding up to a question mark?
By the same logic, two question marks would mean ten times the talent of one question mark.
And the same went for three question marks.
That would also explain how Ye Qingxian, despite having cultivated for only a short time, could chase after and utterly crush Jian Wushuang, who had a question mark's worth of talent. The more talented someone was, the stronger they'd be at the same cultivation level.
Ye Qingxian was also widely acknowledged as the greatest prodigy under heaven, so her strength was hardly surprising.
I thought back to Ye Qingxian's densely packed talent panel, still finding it hard to believe.
She was so powerful she barely seemed human. Why not just let her take over as the Creator God while they were at it?
Who had a constitution alone that could fill ten whole pages?
And that didn't even include her spiritual roots.
A person's total talent was the sum of their constitution and spiritual roots.
I sighed. I hoped the baby would inherit more of Ye Qingxian's talent. Then, in the future, I could copy even a little of it and begin to defy fate.
The more talented Ye Qingxian was, the more excited I'd get.
It meant I'd have more wool to shear.
As a bona fide parasite, even absorbing just thirty percent of Ye Qingxian's talent would make me an unparalleled prodigy, three times as talented as Yue Wuhua.
I couldn't even imagine it. The picture was too beautiful to bear imagining.
Gurgle.
The tears of a hopeless glutton dripped from my mouth. I hurriedly took a bite of flatbread. Lately, my appetite had been surging.
I wasn't absorbing the nourishment needed for just one person to grow. Carrying a baby meant I had to grow slowly, too.
The Cultivation World beyond Wuya Sect.
In a shadowy place, a mysterious figure shrouded in blood mist knelt beneath a massive, crimson altar.
Nearby, countless blood-red cultivators knelt in neat rows, all deeply respectful.
Above them.
An old man was the first to rise.
"The Immortal Lord is about to live a second life."
"I will personally welcome the Immortal Lord's return."
"The glory that belongs to the Immortal Sect is destined to be reclaimed from the Myriad Dao Sect."
"Let us welcome the Immortal Lord's return in advance."
A chorus of cheers erupted from below.
"Immortal Lord, eternal existence!"
"Immortal Lord, the Great Dao is indestructible!"
"Immortal Lord, shake the universe!"
Wuya Sect.
I was heading out to forage. Heavenly Sword Peak was quite large, with a vast stretch of undeveloped wilderness.
I often dug up wild vegetables to eat in the primeval forest.
They tasted pretty good and were all quite nutritious.
Unusually, I wasn't hopping around. I figured I ought to show the baby some respect. Carrying a little basket and wearing a red hat, I made my way between the trees.
In the bushes in the distance.
A graceful figure lay prone in the grass, watching the little girl picking mushrooms ahead.
Yue Wuhua, who'd been dragged along against her will, wore a blank expression. Her red lips parted.
"What exactly do I have to say to make you believe me? How many times has this happened now? Ye Xiaoyao is a living, breathing person, not a cat you can take home and keep."
"And another thing!" Yue Wuhua was on the verge of breaking down. "Can you stop making me crouch in the grass with you?"
"Senior Sister, keep your voice down. You'll scare Junior Sister Xiaoyao the cat away," Shuang Yue said with complete seriousness.
A dark line appeared between Yue Wuhua's brows. "What exactly are you thinking?"
"If you like her, just go talk to her."
Shuang Yue's almond-shaped eyes drooped. "Cats and humans don't think alike. If I just walk right up to her, I'll disturb her life and make Junior Sister Xiaoyao hurry away." It was a lesson she'd learned from long experience.
"Do you know about cat-lover groups? They're full of cultivators who love cats. They'd be perfectly content to lie in the wilderness all night, as long as they got a glimpse of a cat's face. Senior Sister, you're old now. You don't understand young people like us. Just one look at a cat's adorable face is enough to keep someone happy all night. And if you get to pet one? You'd want to tell the whole world at once, and post your experience on the Cultivation World forums."
Yue Wuhua was too speechless to say a word.
She was old.
She'd deal with this girl when they got back.
Now she understood what she'd been put through for the past decade, with Shuang Yue constantly talking her ear off.
That was why, the first time she'd seen Ye Xiaoyao up close, she'd immediately said those things to her. Otherwise, she'd have to go home and listen to yet another Junior Sister complain.
Yue Wuhua dutifully looked toward the soft, pink-haired little girl ahead. She watched her skip through the forest. It was certainly a lovely sight, but she couldn't make herself see a cat.
That was obviously a person.
Seeing her Senior Sister's conflicted expression, Shuang Yue tugged Yue Wuhua's slender figure lower.
Yue Wuhua was a graceful, noble fairy, renowned throughout the outside world. She was so aloof that no one could get close to her.
And now.
Her most beloved Junior Sister had dragged her down into the grass to spy on someone.
It was a first in Yue Wuhua's life.
"Senior Sister, let me explain."
"Do you think humans are naturally born with pink-and-white hair?"
"Isn't that the best proof? It's the most common natural fur color found only in cats."
"And look at Junior Sister Xiaoyao's paws. They're completely black. Doesn't that make them look dangerous? That's another irrefutable piece of evidence."
Yue Wuhua had found Shuang Yue's earlier points somewhat convincing. But the longer she listened, the darker her face grew.
What kind of ridiculous theory was this?
Black paws meant someone was a cat? She actually had the nerve to say that.
That black wasn't just Ye Xiaoyao's manicure?
It was even her natural nail color...
Did she really think Yue Wuhua spent all her time cultivating, without knowing what other fairies liked?
"Junior Sister." Yue Wuhua forced herself to hold back her feelings. It took her a while to squeeze out a reply. "Let Senior Sister take you to get your head examined. You're so young, so how did your brain break? You've started talking nonsense."
Shuang Yue looked utterly aggrieved and hugged Yue Wuhua's arm, pleading, "I swear, Junior Sister Xiaoyao really is a cat. Why doesn't anyone believe me?"
"I think you're delusional. You see anyone cute and call them a cat."
Shuang Yue froze, then loudly protested, "No! That was when I was little. I don't do that anymore. Junior Sister Xiaoyao really is different from those people." She stumbled over her words.
Now even more flustered, she'd spent ages searching for clues before a sudden inspiration struck. "I know! Senior Sister, Senior Sister, look at Junior Sister Xiaoyao's eyes. Plenty of humans are born with heterochromatic eyes, but who else has eyes proportionally larger than normal, like hers? Look at her red eyes. Don't they have a touch of white mixed into the red? That's obviously a cat's feature..."
Yue Wuhua couldn't listen any longer. She grabbed Shuang Yue and hauled her to her feet.
Then she hoisted the struggling Shuang Yue onto her shoulder.
"That's enough. You're coming with me to get your head examined."
"Ahhh! I'm really not sick!" Shuang Yue wailed.
Yue Wuhua had finally reached her limit. Anyone who got dragged into the grass every day by her Junior Sister would've felt the same way.
If word got out that Fairy Yuehua spent every day lying in the grass like a weirdo just to sneak a look at a little girl's adorable face, her reputation would be ruined for good.
Shuang Yue still refused to give up, kicking her legs wildly in the air. "Let me go! Let me go! It took me so long to get out here! Let me look at the cat! Waaah!"
"You want to see a cat? When we get back, I'll have you see a head doctor."
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