Whatever the process, the result was clear: Xiao Meier had broken through repeatedly, and Xiao Fenghua couldn't help feeling jealous.
Xiao Fenghua had no shortage of talent or resources. But if she wanted to reach the Innate realm by steadily advancing, she would need decades of hard work at the very least—and face countless dangers and unknowns along the way.
But right before her eyes was a shortcut.
Xiao Meier was living proof.
From the middle stage of the Subordinate Sixth Rank to the middle stage of the Eighth Rank, she had nearly bridged that enormous gap in cultivation after going through the process just a few more times.
How terrifyingly fast was that?
What an unbelievable stroke of fortune!
In an instant, Xiao Fenghua's gaze grew utterly resolute, even taking on the desperate determination of someone wagering everything.
The last traces of shame and hesitation in her heart were crushed beneath her thirst for power and her fear of falling behind.
She stopped looking at Xiao Meier's smug smile, spun around, and strode straight toward Zhang Yu's cell.
Xiao Meier couldn't help but freeze. She asked without thinking, "Huh? Where are you going?"
Xiao Fenghua halted, but didn't turn around. She said coldly,
"To boost my cultivation!"
The words came out firm and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.
Xiao Meier was taken aback. Then she burst out laughing, her laughter full of teasing amusement.
She hadn't expected her "dear older sister," who was always so aloof and self-important, to be goaded into lowering her pride and offering herself up.
"Well, well, my dear sister. Finally come around, have you?"
With a sway of her sinuous waist, Xiao Meier stepped up beside Xiao Fenghua and looked her over, taking in her deliberately icy face and the bright red tips of