Chapter 066

Chapter 66: Growing Estrangement

Wei Yun Qing had never been so humiliated. Worse yet, it was her own Wei family siblings, whose cultivations were lower than hers, who had brought this shame upon her. It felt as if her dignity had been tossed onto the ground and trampled by them, something she absolutely could not tolerate.

After smashing everything breakable in her room, she sat cross-legged on the floor, her expression stormy as she began recalling every detail of the incident.

Half an hour later, Wei Yun Qing took a deep breath. [This time, I was reckless,] she admitted inwardly. Her significant breakthrough in cultivation had made her arrogant. She had assumed her fellow Wei family disciples would naturally follow her lead, forgetting that jealousy was part of human nature. [They envy me, and that’s why they treated me this way.]

If the other Wei family disciples knew what she was thinking, they’d surely scoff at her. Winning respect wasn’t as simple as having a higher cultivation. From the moment she was knocked off the arena, it was clear to everyone that her strength didn’t match her inflated cultivation—it was clearly built on shaky foundations.

Moreover, she was only six years old, with practically no life experience, making it even harder for others to trust her leadership. Her absurd actions dragged the Wei family disciples into a pointless battle. If it had been anyone else, Wei Yun Ting would have taught them a lesson long ago; it was only Yun Qing’s impressive potential that spared her from harsher criticism.

From this incident alone, anyone could see that Wei Yun Qing was extremely selfish. Whenever she faced trouble, she always blamed others instead of reflecting on herself.

Losing the wooden space plaque had undermined her confidence this lifetime, and her mediocre performance in the sect’s entrance tests had further shaken her. Missing out on the Heaven Mending Pill, which could have improved her natural aptitude, caused her to fall further and further behind. Feeling cornered, she grew increasingly petty and distanced herself from her fellow disciples.

Today’s disturbance in the Outer Three Peaks had further damaged her already poor reputation among Outer Sect disciples. Knowing she couldn’t quickly change their impression of her, Wei Yun Qing decided to keep a low profile for now and solidify her cultivation at the eighth level of Qi Refining.

She planned to reside permanently at the sect’s Alchemy Peak, building a good relationship with Senior Brother Ye. One day, she believed, she’d enter the Inner Sect’s Alchemy Peak. At that time, surely the Wei disciples would willingly seek her favor.

Seeing Wei Yun Qing finally quiet down, the Wei family disciples breathed a collective sigh of relief. They busied themselves raising their cultivation and completing sect missions. Nobody wanted to clean up Yun Qing’s messes, yet they couldn’t completely abandon her—she was still part of the Wei family. Now that she’d learned to behave modestly, they considered it the best possible outcome.

After returning to her quarters, Wei Yun Xi went into closed-door cultivation for three days, digesting the lessons learned from her recent arena battle. Afterward, she resumed her disciplined routine, shuttling between the Disciple Peak, Cultivation Hall, Lecture Hall, and the dining hall. Without Wei Yun Qing constantly buzzing around her like an irritating fly, Yun Xi finally enjoyed the peaceful days of cultivation.

One month later, good news arrived: Wei Yun Ting and Wei Zong Han both broke through to the seventh level of Qi Refining. They sent messages to the other Wei disciples, proposing a gathering to ease tensions from their previous conflicts, mainly hoping to help Yun Qing reintegrate into the family group.

Unfortunately, no one responded positively. Wei Yun Ying hung a sign announcing her closed-door cultivation immediately after receiving the message. Wei Yun Xi followed suit, retreating to the Cultivation Hall, claiming she was attempting to break through to the seventh level herself.

Wei Zong Jin, Wei Zong Yu, and Wei Zong Hao accepted a sect mission that took them to the sect’s back mountain. Wei Zong Hao sent back a polite message explaining their situation: their mission wasn’t completed yet, and they couldn’t return immediately.

Upon receiving these polite refusals from her younger siblings, Wei Yun Ting felt helpless. She went to Wei Zong Han to discuss the matter.

Wei Zong Han sighed lightly, saying, “Yun Ting, your desire for family harmony is good and your intentions are right, but you overlooked one important issue.”

“What issue?” Yun Ting asked.

“It’s Wei Yun Qing’s own arrogance that caused her to look down upon the rest of our family disciples, not the other way around. They aren’t rejecting her out of jealousy of her higher cultivation—they simply don’t appreciate her attitude.”

“But that’s exactly why I wanted to smooth things over,” Yun Ting replied earnestly.

“But by doing so, aren’t we indirectly telling everyone that Yun Qing did nothing wrong? Wouldn’t it appear as if we’re giving her special treatment?” Brother Wei pointed out. “We didn’t think this through enough. After seeing everyone’s responses, you should realize it too. Let’s just drop this matter.”

Wei Yun Ting sighed again. What else could she do? She couldn’t force her younger siblings to come. The matter quietly came to an end. Thankfully, they hadn’t notified Yun Qing of the gathering in advance, or she would’ve thrown another fit.

When Wei Yun Xi said she was cultivating to break through to the seventh level of Qi Refining, it wasn’t just to avoid the meaningless gathering. She genuinely intended to advance her cultivation so she could take on more challenging missions. After earning enough sect points, she planned to exchange them at the Technique Pavilion for a cultivation technique better suited to her spirit root.

Before she proceeded, however, she logged into her Space Chat Group. Without a master, all her cultivation knowledge came from lectures and books, and some things remained unclear. She needed guidance from more experienced cultivators.

Upon logging into the group, the quiet interface brightened, notifying everyone that “Passing Clouds” had returned.

Tribe Warrior was the first to greet her warmly, sending a message immediately:

“Little Cloud, you’re finally back! Have you been very busy lately?”

Passing Clouds: “Yes. I took a sect mission and battled demon beasts, earning spirit stones and real combat experience, so I had to cultivate in seclusion for a few days. Then an irresponsible clan sister caused trouble, and I was forced onto the arena. It’s been a while since I’ve had the chance to log in.”

Tribe Warrior: “It sounds like you’ve been incredibly busy.”

Passing Clouds: “Warrior, has your tribe safely passed the Cold Season? Were there any significant losses?”

Tribe Warrior: “Thanks to everyone’s help, my tribe successfully endured both the Cold Season and the Thaw Season. All our cubs survived. I’ve been waiting for you to come online so I could send you the milk fruits.”

Just as Yun Xi finished reading the message, the chat interface alerted her to items awaiting acceptance. After clicking “accept,” ten large vine baskets filled with milk fruits appeared in her personal space.

Passing Clouds immediately messaged back: “Warrior, this is too generous! This far exceeds the value of what I provided you.”

Tribe Warrior replied frankly: “I actually think it’s still too little. Without your pills, our tribe’s warriors couldn’t have maintained their beast forms to hunt, and our losses would’ve been tremendous. All I know is that you needed milk fruits to strengthen your body, so I prepared these as a token of my gratitude. You must accept them. If you ever need anything else, just ask.”

Yun Xi wasn’t bothered by Tribe Warrior’s direct manner. It showed his honesty and gratitude, far preferable to those who discarded others after getting what they wanted. From this alone, she knew Tribe Warrior was straightforward and trustworthy.

Passing Clouds: “Alright, I’ll shamelessly accept them. But from now on, let’s stick to fair exchanges—I wouldn’t want you to lose out.”