Chapter 272

Chapter 272: Just a Mouth to Feed

There was a way. She only had to keep fighting, and she could stabilize her realm quickly. Before this, though, she did not have a place fit for real combat. Now she did: people from the Martial Alliance were not proper targets for practice, but there were plenty of wandering ghosts around the Alliance.

She made up her mind: after she found her mother’s soul, she would wander the area to train.

She steadied her thoughts, and Yu Zhi Yi began to convert the power of merit with full focus. At the start, a single thread of merit could turn into a huge surge of force in her dantian; with only a few threads, she had broken through. But now, the power she converted still took up a place in her dantian, yet it felt as tiny as a watermelon seed inside a whole watermelon.

Bit by bit, Yu Zhi Yi kept converting. Before the sky darkened, she had converted ten strands of merit, making the spiritual energy in her dantian a little fuller. At this rate, with a few more rounds, she could break through again.

Sadly, her break was too short. She had less than one month left. Otherwise, the land around the Martial Alliance would be a fine place to break through. Even if heavenly thunder came, it would not harm any common folk, because there were none within dozens of li.

Right now she was only in the early stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm; there was still a long way to the Golden Core Realm. It was said that, once at the Golden Core Realm, a person could fly like a bird, though it required swordflight. Thinking of this, she felt she should prepare a magic tool soon.

This was the life of a rogue cultivator: you prepared everything yourself. If you were in a sect, the sect handled it all for you. They even prepared tools for flying through the air once you reached Foundation Establishment, so the cultivator did not have to worry. As for her, she had a sect in name, yet lived like a rogue cultivator. She likely had to visit her sect in person to receive an artifact. Or she could study forging on her own and make a flying sword.

But that was for much later. Right now, she needed to change clothes.

She had just climbed out of bed and stretched when Li Rou called from outside: “Miss, are you awake?”

Yu Zhi Yi answered at once.

Li Rou came in, carrying a tray. On it lay several outfits. She explained: “These were sent by the Second Young Master. He said that if you like one, please wear it to the banquet. If not, he will send people to buy more.”

Yu Zhi Yi glanced at the sky. The banquet would start in less than half an hour. Mount Ming might be the Martial Alliance’s home ground and a symbol of Tian’an Commandery, but it was still quite a way from the commandery city. Half an hour was nowhere near enough for a round trip. She said: “No need. I’ll make do.”

She regretted that decision soon after. Her big brother was warm and thoughtful, but his taste was hard to praise. Of the five outfits, three were pink, one was red-and-green, and only one in a smoky shade looked normal. Normal or not, it was too luxurious. Even in the Chancellor’s Manor, she had never worn anything that fancy.

Li Rou, however, thought the smoky dress looked great. She said with a grin that it was gorgeous and grand, and if Miss wore it out tonight, the eyes of those snobs would be dazzled.

Truth be told, Li Rou did not understand where those people’s sense of superiority came from. Her Miss had skill, beauty, status, and money. If the one looking down on her had been the Martial Alliance Leader himself, Li Rou would not agree but could at least understand. But the one who kept nitpicking was only a son of the Martial Alliance Leader. He did not deserve to act like that. She could not say any of this aloud, of course. She was only an ordinary maid.

Yu Zhi Yi decided: “I’ll wear this one.” Even if she was puzzled by her big brother’s taste, she did not refuse his kindness. From the five, she chose one that looked a touch more youthful. She did remove a few decorations that did not affect the cut, such as a shiny set of pendants hanging at the waist.

At that time, inside the Martial Alliance’s Chivalry Hall, the place was already lively. It was a family banquet, yes, but the return of the Jiang clan’s missing second miss was no small matter. She had just come home, and with Jiang Yu Chuan, a father who spoiled his daughter, and the Jiang brothers, who spoiled their sister, running things, they had called over all the notable figures of Tian’an Commandery on short notice.

Their daughter had come home. They would not let her suffer any slight. At the very least, her status must be set out clearly, not hidden as if she were something shameful. Their daughter should stand in the sunlight with her head high.

Guests whispered and asked each other: “Has anyone seen Second Miss Jiang?”

Someone said: “I heard a family in the Capital adopted her, and they did not value her.”

Another replied: “That is normal. If she were a boy, they could raise him to pass on the mantle. But she’s a girl. People in the Capital are not as open-minded as us folks of the Martial World. Of course they would not value her.”

Another sighed: “What a pity for the second miss. If she had grown up in the Martial Alliance with Second Master Jiang teaching her, she might already be a famous young genius. Now she will fade into the crowd.”

Someone scoffed: “The daughter of the Mount Ming Overlord Tiger, yet just an ordinary person who knows no martial arts. What a joke.”

A different voice offered: “If you ask me, Second Master Jiang should take Miss Chen as his adopted daughter. She may not be of the Alliance’s blood, but she is gifted by nature. She is only seventeen, and she already holds a spot on the Earthly Ranking. Charging into the Heaven Ranking should not be far off!”

Another hushed them: “Shh. Don’t say that at Second Miss Jiang’s welcome banquet. Do you want to die?”

Someone cut in: “Enough talking. The Jiang family is coming.”

Entering first were several young masters and misses of the first branch.

Jiang Liu Bin looked over more than a hundred guests and curled his lip: “Second Uncle is making a fuss over nothing. That wild girl is just a regular person. Why set up such a grand scene? Do these lords have nothing better to do?”

He had never seen this many people on his own birthdays. Yet Second Uncle and Second Brother were putting on a huge show for a wild girl who had just been found.

Jiang Si Ying, who had their mother’s gentle temper, glanced at her brother and said quietly: “Second Sister drifted outside for seventeen years. We do not know how much hardship she suffered. It is normal for Second Uncle to care.”

The eldest young master, Jiang Liu Ting, added: “Do not say that again. Second Sister is home. She is family.”

The third young master, Jiang Liu Shuang, said nothing. In his view, that so-called second sister was just another mouth to feed. The Martial Alliance was rich and powerful. Feeding one more person, giving her a monthly allowance of ten taels of silver, and more than a hundred taels each quarter for clothing, was nothing. Beyond that, he had no thoughts at all.