No more smiles

"Ah, what a terrible wrong!"

Shi Zhao slowly came to, her face haggard and full of sorrow.

She had not truly fallen asleep. Only her physical body had lost consciousness; her nearly solid primordial spirit had allowed her to "witness with her own eyes" the process of grafting the bone from another perspective.

Feeling the faint strangeness in her chest, she was momentarily at a loss for words.

What use did I have for this Supreme Bone?

Shi Zhao understood Shi Ziling and his wife's thinking, but that did not mean she could accept what they had done. They had never considered her own wishes at all.

"In the end, I'm still too weak..."

She murmured to herself. For the first time, she yearned for strength with such overwhelming intensity, and for the first time, she clearly understood what it meant for weakness itself to be the original sin.

Without strength, everything was empty talk. Attempts to avert disaster, warnings to stay on guard-in the end, all of it amounted to begging for someone else's charity.

She never wanted to experience this helplessness a second time!

"I can only make myself stronger!" she realized.

Only with power could she do what she wanted and take control of her own destiny.

At that thought, she unconsciously touched her chest and sighed softly. Little Shi had still failed to escape this calamity. Then her thoughts turned to the other, older Shi.

What role had Shi Yi played in all this?

"I've even taken on the enormous karmic burden of the Supreme Bone for you. Don't disappoint me."

If Shi Yi still turned selfish and ruthless, the two of them could only go their separate ways... no, she would have to beat him within an inch of his life. She would make sure to thrash him every time she saw him!

"Little Zhao, you're finally awake."

Before long, Qin Yining arrived, forcing a bitter smile onto her face.

"Mm," Shi Zhao answered flatly.

Seeing how indifferent she was, Qin Yining's face grew a few shades paler. She knew they had hurt this child as well.

Of course. She and Hao'er were so close, like a real sister and brother. How could she possibly accept a bone taken from her little brother's body with an easy heart?

"I'm sorry, Little Zhao. I was too willful, forcing you to receive the Supreme Bone..."

Shi Zhao shook her head and asked, "Why didn't you keep Little Hao safe?"

Although she found it hard to accept having the Supreme Bone grafted into her, she could still understand it. But when it came to the couple's failure to look after Little Shi, she could neither understand nor accept that at all.

All her earlier efforts had been swept away like water flowing east.

She had already done everything she could to warn them, yet they had still let someone succeed. Never mind talk of one oversight in a hundred precautions, or how no one could guard against a thief for a thousand days. Now that it had happened, those were all empty words.

At her words, Qin Yining first froze, then could no longer hold back her tears.

So what she resented was their failure to protect the child, not the unease of receiving his bone that Qin Yining had imagined. This was pure love for her little brother. She was so understanding that it made one's heart ache.

"Let me see Little Hao," Shi Zhao said with a soft sigh.

Little Shi Hao's face was pale. He coughed constantly, often shivering, his whole body icy cold.

She picked the little fellow up. Wisps of blood energy spread from her chest as she nourished him with her own vital essence, bringing a good deal of color back to his face.

"Vital essence from a closely related source works wonders, but it's still only a cup of water against a cartload of burning firewood. You've only just received the Supreme Bone. Doing this will hurt you." Fourth Grandfather was there too and could not help trying to dissuade her.

"It's fine." Shi Zhao was stubborn.

She craved power more than ever before, but she still held fast to her convictions.

"Big sister, I'm so sleepy," Little Shi called weakly as he opened his eyes.

"Go to sleep. Your big sister is here." Shi Zhao tugged at the corners of her mouth, trying to smile, but no matter what she did, she could not. She could only keep patting him gently, coaxing him to sleep.

Poor Little Shi still had to suffer this calamity.

Although he would ultimately pull through on his own, the circumstances were different now. Staying at the Martial King Manor would still hinder his growth.

Because as long as he remained alive, there would always be people unable to rest easy.

A born supreme surviving tribulation after losing his Supreme Bone was simply too shocking. At the very least, the Rain Clan and those close to Shi Yi's branch would surely make trouble in secret.

When Shi Ziling returned with an aura of slaughter surrounding him, Shi Zhao told them, "I think if we can find our clan's true Ancestral Land, we might be able to help Little Hao recover."

She knew very well that the so-called Ancestral Land was merely a village in the Great Wilderness. It was ordinary, yet also extraordinary. Not only did it preserve the Stone Kingdom's most precious Ancient Alchemy Recipes, but the Willow Deity was also undergoing rebirth there.

Only that secluded place, full of goodwill, could let Little Shi grow up in peace and become a safe harbor that sheltered him.

"We've thought about going to the Ancestral Land too, but because of our ancestral instructions, the Stone Kingdom severed contact with it long ago. In the end, even when we wanted to find it, we couldn't," Shi Ziling said with a sigh.

Fourth Grandfather noticed that Shi Zhao kept staring intently at him. He rubbed his head, somewhat bewildered, then thought it over and finally made a decision that went against his ancestors:

"I have a Fragmentary Map here. Perhaps it can help you."

Shi Ziling and his wife were overjoyed and immediately decided to search for the Shi Clan Ancestral Land.

Before they left, Shi Zhao hugged Little Shi tightly one last time and whispered in his ear, "Little Hao, you're a born supreme. You'll be all right. You'll definitely get better!"

Even knowing what the future might hold, such a farewell was still far too heartbreaking.

After making their preparations, Shi Ziling and his wife quietly set out with Little Shi. They bade farewell to the flourishing Imperial Capital, left the vast ancient kingdom behind, hurried toward the frontier, and ventured deep into the Great Wilderness...

"Child, I know that even without the Supreme Bone, you're no caged bird. But for now, we can only ask you to endure being confined to the manor," Fourth Grandfather said tenderly.

Shi Zhao shook her head without speaking and began cultivating on her own.

After this upheaval in the Martial King Manor, a group of ancestors who had not appeared in a long time emerged from seclusion. Naturally, they kept a tight watch over her.

In their eyes, an incomplete Supreme Bone was still a Supreme Bone. There was absolutely no way they would let her run around outside and stir up another upheaval.

Shi Ziling and his wife's departure also eased the atmosphere in the manor.

The Martial King finally made an appearance as well, affirming Shi Zhao's identity and standing. The manor soon split into two factions: some supported the Supreme Bone, while others staunchly backed the Double Pupils.

Shi Zhao paid no attention to those clashes in the shadows. At least no one dared act openly for now. She would take whatever benefits she could get and enjoy them first.

"The Martial King personally spoke up to let you enter the Imperial Palace Ancestral Temple and study its Bone Scriptures and Precious Techniques. This is a rare opportunity," Fourth Grandfather said with a sigh.

He had now effectively become Shi Zhao's guardian. After the lessons learned through blood and tears, he stayed beside her every day, doing his utmost to protect her.

"How long can I stay there?" Shi Zhao asked.

"Surely you don't mean to move in?" Fourth Grandfather said with a laugh. But when he saw her serious expression, he immediately lost some of his composure.

Was this child really planning to live in the Scripture Temple?

The towering Imperial Palace was grand and magnificent, like a vast complex of ancient divine temples.

Two enormous Bian crouched on guard at the gate to the palace's inner city. It was said that deep within the Imperial Palace lived another, ancient Bian. Having lived for countless years, it had become an existence akin to a Sacrificial Spirit, serving as the Imperial Clan's guardian beast.

In fact, one of the Stone Kingdom's two great Heaven-Tier State-Guarding Precious Techniques was the Bian Precious Technique!

This was also Shi Zhao's goal. The Precious Techniques of the Ten Fiends might be excellent, but first she had to get her hands on them. In the early stages, the various Precious Techniques preserved in the Stone Kingdom's collections would definitely be enough for her.

What she needed right now was power!