A Heavenly Pride Daughter Comes of Age

When hazy, intermittent sounds reached her ears once more, the consciousness returning to her body gradually began to gather.

Deep within the Shennong Mountain Range, the phenomenon that had blanketed the heavens was gradually fading away.

Fortunately, their clan resided within a small plane created by their ancestors. Though the phenomenon had occurred, it would not leak outside and cause any unnecessary unrest.

"Clan Leader, you've come."

"It's nothing. I merely came to see the child."

"Where is the child who caused the phenomenon within our clan?"

"It is Wan'er. It is our Wan'er."

Upon hearing the confirming voices, the Clan Leader, who had taken time out of his busy schedule to come and investigate, could not help but be astonished by the newborn infant.

The clan's crest was reflected upon the baby girl's forehead. The old man froze for a moment and subconsciously wanted to raise a hand to touch her forehead, to sense the agitation buried deep within her bloodline. Yet before he could act, the crest swiftly faded away.

"...She truly is a little girl blessed with extraordinary talent."

The white-haired, long-bearded elder sighed.

Then he saw the baby girl in his arms slowly open her eyes and stare straight at him. She neither cried nor fussed.

The old man seemed to have noticed something. He narrowed his still-sharp eyes, wanting to confirm it.

Yet before he could verify it himself, an invisible ripple spread outward from the baby girl in his arms, distorting everything before their eyes.

The Yao Clan Leader's eyes widened at once. This—this was—

If the phenomenon at the infant's birth had merely stirred the Dou Qi within the Medicine Realm, then this tiny baby was now stirring the soul itself.

"This is... the fluctuation of a Heavenly Soul. This child..."

The Yao Clan elders who had arrived a step later than Clan Leader Yao Dan all sensed this entirely different soul fluctuation. They could not help looking at one another, only to find their fellow clansmen's eyes filled with the same shock.

There were only four major realms of the soul in this world: Mortal, Spiritual, Heavenly, and Emperor. Setting aside the Emperor Realm Soul, which was so distant that perhaps no one in the present age could attain it, the Heavenly Soul was already the reachable pinnacle of soul cultivation.

But what had they seen?

A child whose Soul Power had been at the Heavenly realm from birth?

"Born with a Heavenly Soul... Our ancestors' spirits are watching over us, blessing the Yao Clan—"

Holding Yao Wan in his arms, Yao Dan could not help throwing back his head in a long cry. His aged voice echoed over the entire Medicine Realm, filled with both joy and tears.

Only after a long while did Yao Dan come back to himself. Looking at the baby girl in his arms, who seemed to have only just woken up, he saw that she was not afraid despite being held by an old man.

Merely being watched by this child, who seemed sculpted from flawless jade, made Yao Dan feel as though his heart were melting. Like an ordinary old man seeing his granddaughter for the first time, he chuckled foolishly and muttered to himself.

"Hehehe... Good child, good child."

"Clan Leader, regarding this girl..."

The others only watched and did not dare speak. Only Yao Wan Huo bowed slightly and asked.

"...From this day onward, Yao Wan of our clan shall be personally taught by me."

Yao Dan spoke only after a moment of silence.

"..."

The elders before him exchanged looks, unsure how to respond.

Among the elders who had followed Yao Dan in, some looked at one another. They were clearly somewhat surprised by the Clan Leader's unconventional decision.

"What? Do you still have objections?"

Yao Dan's white brows shot upward as he flew into a rage. "Wan'er is a genius born with a Heavenly Soul. Shouldn't she receive special treatment? If you have objections, then find me another person in the clan who was born with a Heavenly Soul!"

The Yao Clan elders were scolded so thoroughly that they repeatedly voiced their agreement, making those nearby even less willing to say anything further.

There was nothing to be done about it. Even Yao Tian, the clan's genius from past years, had merely stood out in Dou Qi cultivation. His soul cultivation was still ordinary. How could he compare to Yao Wan, who had been born with a Heavenly Soul?

Within the entire Yao Clan, Yao Wan, born with a Heavenly Soul, would undoubtedly receive even more attention than Yao Tian. The reason was simple: anyone could cultivate Dou Qi, but clansmen born with powerful Soul Power were far too rare.

Moreover, the Heavenly Soul was a necessary path toward becoming a Ninth-grade Alchemist. Being born with a Heavenly Soul meant that the Yao Clan had gained another Ninth-grade Alchemist. How could its significance compare to that of an ordinary person?

Yao Dan himself did not care about any of this. At that moment, he merely focused on looking after the baby girl in his arms, gently swaying her as he walked.

Since the Clan Leader had already made his decision, continuing to oppose him would only invite ridicule.

The crowd looked at one another. Though they had some complaints in their hearts, they said nothing more.

Time passed quickly. Within the Medicine Realm, a gifted newborn became the personal disciple of the Yao Clan's Clan Leader. She spent every day at his side, learning cultivation and the principles of alchemy. For a time, her splendor knew no bounds.

Some said that the Clan Leader was paving the way for this girl to ascend to the top of the Yao Clan.

Others even spread rumors that the Yao Clan's upper ranks had once paid a great price to obtain from Old Man Shennong a spark of the Living Flame, the Heavenly Flame ranked fifth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking, and entrusted it to her life veins for nurturing.

Most people envied the good fortune of that Heavenly Pride Daughter, who had gathered countless favors upon herself, and could only look up at her overwhelming talent of being born with a Heavenly Soul.

Yet such rumors never reached the ears of the person involved.

The Yao Clan members had only heard that, aside from the famed young geniuses of the Yao Clan, there was also a Young Miss who never left the estate, following the Clan Leader all day long and shrouded in mystery.

Within a secret realm of the Medicine Realm, Yao Wan paused her cultivation and slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.

Though the small dwelling was modest in size, it lacked none of the essentials.

Within the dwelling carefully arranged according to the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams, an incomparably beautiful woman in plain white robes sat cross-legged upon a lotus platform at its center, breathing in and out as she circulated Dou Qi. After a moment, she slowly opened her starry eyes.

"A one-star Dou Wang. I've made it."

As Yao Wan murmured to herself, her aura stabilized before gradually returning to calm.

Although she had cultivated day and night with exceptional diligence ever since stepping into the ranks of Dou Zhe, now that she had entered the Dou Wang realm, she had more or less reached her current bottleneck.

If she continued recklessly charging toward a higher realm, the losses would outweigh the gains.

"The path of cultivation truly cannot be accomplished in a single stroke."

Yao Wan subconsciously raised her slender fingertips. With a flick of her fingers, a wisp of Dou Qi wound around them and lingered without dispersing.

Ever since realizing that she had transmigrated into the Battle Through the Heavens World, and had even become a new-generation genius of the Yao Clan, one of the ancient Eight Clans, Yao Wan's initial excitement had been replaced by the harsh reality of the future.

After all, according to her memories, in roughly ten or twenty years, Hun Tiandi of the Hun Clan would give the Dou Qi Continent a little taste of his madness.

Driven by her worries about the future, Yao Wan had always cultivated diligently. Though she was a pampered Young Miss favored by the Clan Leader and clothed in fine silks and fed with delicacies, she spent every day and night cultivating within her own Dou Qi-rich dwelling. She could hardly be called spoiled.

But sometimes, effort was destined to fall just a little short of the results she wanted.

After all these years, even with the Yao Clan's extravagant resources, among the finest on the Dou Qi Continent, and despite devoting herself wholeheartedly to cultivation, she was only a mere Dou Wang. Although this was partly because she had deliberately suppressed her level to stabilize her realm, she was still far too distant from her goal of becoming a Dou Di.

There was no helping it. She had to cultivate her soul realm while also cultivating Dou Qi. Yao Wan could not split herself in half and become two people.

The result was that she had improved in both aspects, but compared with the time available to her, it was still far too slow.

Forget becoming a Dou Di. At this rate, advancing to Dou Emperor might still be easy enough, but reaching Dou Zong afterward would take a considerable amount of time, not to mention the two greater realms beyond that: Dou Zun and Dou Sheng.

By Yao Wan's own estimate, reaching the peak of Dou Sheng while breaking through the shackles of the Heavenly Soul to attain an Emperor Realm Soul would take at least a hundred years.

Was that fast? It truly was, but it was obviously nowhere near enough.

"Ugh, only after cultivating myself do I realize just how absurd Xiao Yan's cultivation speed was."

Yao Wan sighed softly. Still, complaining was useless.

Just as her thoughts stirred, Yao Wan suddenly heard the Clan Leader's voice transmission.

"Wan'er, are you in your dwelling?"

Yao Wan paused before opening the restrictions around her dwelling and letting the Clan Leader enter.

A moment later, the kind old man with white hair and a gray beard entered the dwelling. A touch of softness appeared on Yao Wan's lovely face.

"Greetings, Clan Leader."

"Enough. You and I are master and disciple, as close as grandfather and granddaughter. Why be so rigid about formalities?"

Yao Dan, the current Clan Leader of the Yao Clan, smiled.

After speaking, Yao Dan looked Yao Wan up and down as she stood gracefully before him, then nodded gently. "Mm, a Dou Wang. Not bad. And you did not rush ahead. You remain humble and steady. Very good. As expected of Wan'er."

"You flatter me, Clan Leader."

Yao Wan lightly dipped her head. She showed no pride in the face of her elder's praise, making Yao Dan even more satisfied.

Over these past ten-odd years, the more he taught Yao Wan, the more satisfied he became. Yet the more satisfied he was, the harder it became to suppress the regret and sighs in his heart.

Wan'er was naturally outstanding. In talent, diligence, and temperament, she was an ideal candidate to inherit the Yao Clan's great legacy. It was only a pity...

A pity she was a girl.

One day, she would have to marry.

Even if the family's wealth did not flow into outsiders' hands and she married some foolish boy from the Yao Clan, it would still somewhat bury Wan'er's talent and ability.

At this thought, Yao Dan could not help sighing. How wonderful it would have been if Wan'er had been born a boy...

How could Yao Wan not know what the Clan Leader was thinking? Yet such a matter was not something she could decide for herself.

Having lived as a girl for nearly fifteen years, she had more or less grown accustomed to such a life.

Still, she had little interest in what the Clan Leader had in mind.

Among those of her generation in the clan, no one could compare to her in the slightest. Naturally, there was no one she could take a liking to.

...Compared to that, Yao Wan's beautiful eyes shifted back to the Clan Leader.

"Clan Leader, there is something I want to tell you."