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After hearing Ye Zhenzhen's thoughts, Ye Ruheng and Xie Jingshu exchanged looks, disbelief written across both their faces.

But hardly anyone knew that Cloudsky Mountain's seal was weakening and the Evil Drought Demon would soon revive. How could Zhenzhen know? And how could she predict whether the rest of them would live or die?

Daddy, don't think about that now. Hurry to the forbidden grounds on Back Mountain! My stupid, wicked martial uncle Ye Rufeng is breaking the Barrier around an ancient ferocious beast!

If you're too late, Taowu will escape. You'll fight until you're both badly hurt, and we'll lose the sect's divine Artifact, the Seven-Colored Heaven-Mending Stone!

The chain of events that would destroy Cloudsky Sect began on the day Ye Zhenzhen was born. Used by a schemer, her martial uncle Ye Rufeng had taken advantage of Ye Ruheng's absence while he attended to his wife and newborn daughter. He had slipped into the forbidden grounds on Back Mountain and released Taowu.

If they could stop Ye Rufeng from releasing Taowu, perhaps everything could still change.

Mother, my dear mother, please tell Daddy to go to Back Mountain! Something terrible really will happen if he doesn't! Ye Zhenzhen grew frantic, kicking both legs without pause. Daddy didn't seem to believe her; he was still standing there, hesitating.

"Ruheng, come here." Weakened from childbirth, Xie Jingshu beckoned him closer and whispered in his ear, "You heard our daughter's voice just now too, didn't you?"

"I think we're hearing her thoughts."

"Her thoughts?" Ye Ruheng's pupils contracted slightly.

Xie Jingshu paused, then went on. "Zhenzhen was born extraordinary. Auspicious signs descended from the heavens, and she can share her thoughts with us. She must be a good child chosen by heaven to save us. Go to the forbidden grounds on Back Mountain and see what's happening, just as she said."

Yes, yes! Hurry and look, or it'll be too late!

"All right." Ye Ruheng hesitated no longer. He summoned his Azure Luan mount and raced toward the forbidden grounds on Back Mountain.

Azure Luans were Spirit Birds native to Cloudsky Mountain. Their feathers were blue-green from head to tail, glowing softly like mysterious gemstones. They flew so fast they could cross from one peak to another in an instant.

Once he had gone, Ye Zhenzhen finally breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Daddy stopped her martial uncle from releasing the ancient ferocious beast in time, everything that followed might change. She guzzled her fill of milk beside her mother, played with her tiny hands and feet for a while, then soon fell quietly asleep.

While the little Glutinous Rice Ball slept soundly on the bed, a storm erupted at the forbidden grounds on Back Mountain, whipping up great waves of dust and sand. Spiritual power visibly rippled across the Barrier, but the disciples guarding it had vanished.

Something was wrong, just as she had said.

Following the ripples of spiritual power, Ye Ruheng tracked them to the eastern side of the Barrier. There, one fiery-red beam after another struck its formation. Someone was attacking the Barrier and had forced a crack through it!

Sensing the disturbance, Taowu, the ancient ferocious beast sealed within, grew restless. It roared and growled, struggling to break free.

This was bad!

Ye Ruheng drew his sword and dove. A sharp arc of icy-blue Sword Qi split the dawn light and struck the person attacking the Barrier.

The man coughed up a mouthful of blood and fell. His white robes bore subtle blue cloud patterns—the uniform of Cloudsky Sect.

"Junior brother, why is it you?" Ye Ruheng could scarcely believe his eyes.

He remembered his daughter's thought: My stupid, wicked martial uncle is breaking the Barrier around an ancient ferocious beast! Zhenzhen's prediction had been true. Ye Rufeng had come to destroy the Barrier!

Caught in the act, Ye Rufeng was startled too. He used his sword to push himself upright, then offered a solemn-sounding excuse. "Senior brother, I noticed a disturbance in the Barrier just now. I was worried Taowu might seize the chance to escape, so I hurried here to repair it."

"You sensed something wrong with the Barrier too, didn't you?"

Repair the Barrier? By swinging his sword over and over until he forced a crack through it? He was lying through his teeth.

"In that case, let's reinforce the Barrier with several more layers together."

With that, Ye Ruheng took out the Primordial One Ancient Cauldron and flew above the Barrier. He inscribed intricate, precise Runes while he and Ye Rufeng drew on the true qi within them, releasing powerful, pure energy to reinforce the Barrier layer by layer.

Ye Ruheng recited the incantation with unwavering focus. Ye Rufeng, meanwhile, struggled to suppress his anger.

After swinging his sword thousands of times and straining with all his might, he had finally pried open a crack so small it was almost invisible. Now he had to make the Barrier even stronger. Wouldn't opening it later be harder still?

The thought made Ye Rufeng's arm ache. "Senior brother, how many layers are we adding?"

"Not many. Ten."

Ye Rufeng: "..."

His arm hurt even more. By the end of the night, it would probably be useless. He was exhausted. Let the world end.

By the time they finished reinforcing the Barrier, dawn was breaking. Ye Ruheng hurried back to his wife and daughter, eager to see them. Zhenzhen was curled up like a little gas cylinder, sleeping obediently against her mother. The sight washed away a whole night's exhaustion.

How could a human baby be so adorable? He reached out and pinched Ye Zhenzhen's soft, squishy little cheek, as tender as a peach, then couldn't resist kissing it.

Ye Zhenzhen woke just then. She stretched her little legs against the bed in comfort, made a few sleepy noises, and looked up at her daddy with wide, round eyes.

Thank goodness, Daddy! You came back safe and sound!

Ye Ruheng looked a little tired, but he bore no wounds from fighting. It seemed the first crisis had passed.

"Zhenzhen, how did you know your martial uncle would go to Back Mountain and damage the Barrier?" he asked. There was something unusual about his daughter, something that delighted him as much as it worried him.

Because the Heavenly Dao protects me, Fortune is on my side, and I can foresee the future. Didn't you see the auspicious signs when I was born? I'm a little angel sent from heaven to save you and the whole sect.

Ye Zhenzhen revealed the

System's

mission for her to save the sect. She even stuck out her tiny tongue with pride, looking bright-eyed and adorable.