Xuanjian: I am the tenth son of Zhenchi, and I plot to seize the throne from Zhenlong.

Three months later…

"On the fourth day of the fourth month, my destiny was sealed, and my progress in cultivating the fire path was extremely rapid. I broke through to the second level of Qi Refining in three months by exchanging the spiritual energy from the cultivation technique given to me by that slut, which caused a stir in the clan."

"On the seventh day of the fourth month, under that bitch's persistent pleading, Su Yunji couldn't resist her pillow talk and suggested to the clan that I be sent out for training."

"Our ancestor is currently in seclusion, breaking through the critical hurdle of Foundation Establishment. The morale of the clan is low. Some elders have accepted bribes from that scoundrel and are eager to curry favor with her powerful backers, so they have no choice but to comply."

"In April... she will... harm me. Be careful!"

Su Ming slowly opened his eyes, exhaled a breath of stale air, and a gray-red light flashed in his eyes as he pondered to himself.

This situation of incomplete information has occurred several times before. He guessed that his future self was being interfered with by something, and that as he kept changing his current situation, he was also being given hints. It was normal for the information to be incomplete.

Silent all night.

The next day, as expected, an order came down from the clan to send him and the son of an elder out of the clan. It was because unidentified cultivators had been frequently spying on the area around a relatively important spiritual fruit field of the Su family recently, and the two of them were sent to investigate.

Before leaving, the woman, unusually, came to Su Yunji's courtyard with him. She stood to the side and didn't say much, only letting Su Yunji hand her a bottle of pills.

Su Ming watched coldly to himself, sneering inwardly. This bitch really acted out this awkward situation perfectly; no wonder she had her father completely under her thumb.

Su Yunji patted the woman's hand, and then seriously pulled him aside, stuffing the pill into his arms: "Ming'er, this is a pill that your mother specially gave you, specifically for healing injuries. She was too embarrassed to say it, but you must remember this kindness."

"This mission assigned by the clan will inevitably involve fighting with others. Listen to your clansmen's advice and be careful."

Seeing that Su Ming thanked him honestly, Su Yunji's face also lit up with joy. He said earnestly, "This mission... was actually specially requested by your father for you. I know you have resentment in your heart, so you can take this opportunity to go out and have some fun."

Su Ming hadn't expected Su Yunji to lay his cards on the table so directly. After a moment's thought, he decided to play along, feigning indignation, and spoke in a slightly lowered voice:

"I've only just broken through, and haven't even had time to learn any spells to protect myself. Father has truly done a good deed! Let's see who wants me..."

Su Yunji understood what he meant, and his face instantly filled with anger. He quickly interrupted, "You beast, what are you saying? Isn't this all because of your careless words that day!"

Su Ming flung the middle-aged man's hand away, his tone curt: "Oh? I wonder what trouble I've gotten myself into?"

Su Yunji's face twisted for a moment. If it weren't for the fact that this beast's talent was truly astonishing, he would have loved to slap him to death. But for now, he could only try to control his anger.

Without speaking, he conveyed his thoughts through spiritual communication: "Our ancestor went into seclusion and narrowly escaped death nine times. My family has expanded too rapidly in recent years and has become somewhat powerful, which may cause trouble. That's why the clan decided to arrange a marriage between her family and mine. Otherwise, do you think I would even look at such a slut?"

Su Ming glanced at the man beside him suspiciously, a look of surprise flashing in his eyes.

"The best course of action now is to keep her calm. If the ancestor succeeds in breaking through, everything will be fine. If... things don't go as planned, we'll cede some benefits to her family in exchange for their protection."

A hint of humiliation flashed across Su Yunji's face as he continued to transmit his thoughts through his spiritual sense: "This woman acts promiscuously, causing... men in the clan to... create some scandals with her in advance. And with this marriage alliance, her family shouldn't behave too badly."

"All of this is for the sake of the clan, do you understand!"

Su Ming opened his mouth in a daze, speechless for a long time, shocked: Could it be that his father was really such a person who endured humiliation and all that was just an act, and he had misunderstood him?

Jiang Shi's spiritual sense was strong, so he could clearly hear the two Qi Refining cultivators' voice transmissions. He stood aside, dumbfounded: Could it be that he really had his own rhythm?

Su Ming remained silent for a long time before finally grasping the key point. He then asked with his spiritual sense:

"Then... with my talent, shouldn't I stay in the clan and cultivate diligently? Sending me out so early, given our incompatibility, aren't you afraid that woman will harm me?"

Su Yunji's eyes darted around, and he quickly praised Su Ming for his quick wit, becoming even more affectionate.

"Alas, it's all my fault for being useless and unable to protect you. Her family is powerful, and this time she tried to make peace with you, but you didn't practice the cultivation technique she gave you, so she used that as an excuse to cause trouble. The clan had no choice but to..."

"Ming'er, I hope you understand that family matters are of utmost importance. However, my family is not made of clay. This... will not take your life, but you will inevitably suffer some humiliation..."

Su Yunji patted Su Ming on the shoulder: "My son, you are exceptionally talented. Bear with it for now. Her Foundation Establishment ancestor is nearing the end of his life. There will be a time for them to get their revenge! Uprightness is easily broken, do you understand?"

After saying this, Su Yunji left with a meaningful look, then turned and walked away with the woman who was already showing signs of impatience, leaving Su Ming standing there dumbfounded, his expression uncertain.

"What is real, and what is fake?"

Su Ming thought for a long time, and his head started to ache again. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he felt refreshed:

"Since that's the case, I'll just become a Foundation Establishment cultivator! Then, who would dare to lie to me? Who could possibly lie to me?"

After figuring this out, Su Ming immediately felt his spiritual energy become more active. He was overjoyed, realizing that the words in his mind had indeed not lied to him. Moreover, with the path of fire, his cultivation would be twice as effective with half the effort!

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Southern Xinjiang…

"May I ask which mountain this young lady comes from?"

Minghua, holding a bamboo sword, looked at the strangely shaped little demons kneeling in front of him with a strange expression, and was at a loss for words.

After eating the monkey demon, she wandered around the waters of the Southern Frontier for a long time. No demon that flew in the sky or swam in the water could escape her calculations. She rarely made a mistake. Two days ago, she successfully broke through to the fourth level of Qi Refining.

Minghua only now fully understands the extraordinary nature of this body. She was able to successfully transform into human form with only four levels of cultivation, but there are still faint scale patterns on her body, which makes it clear that she is a demon.

Minghua's scales transformed into a dark dress, her appearance resembling her previous life by about 80%. However, a few subtle differences in the curves of her face made her even more beautiful. There was a blue mark between her brows, and two fine scales grew on her forehead.

Her aura was completely concealed, making it clear that she was a demon at the Qi Refining level.

She had only recently taken human form when Ye Shidi's insights into swordsmanship suddenly came to mind. She immediately understood the feedback he had mentioned in her dream, so she casually made a bamboo sword and was able to unleash its sword light with a little practice.

Overjoyed, he thought that having hands and feet would make it easier to find spiritual resources and monsters, but unexpectedly, he ran into these little demons as soon as he entered the mountain.

She thought there would be a fierce battle and she would have to take advantage of the chaos to escape, but to her surprise, the little demons knelt down in front of her in a panic when they saw her like this.

She quickly composed herself and began to lie: "The mountain stronghold? You lot... you dare to kneel before me without even knowing who I am?"