Zi Lingling watched with cold indifference as Zi Wenchang, engulfed in flames and kneeling on the ground, kowtowed repeatedly. She let out a laugh.
Her laughter was ironic, sorrowful, and filled with disdain for the world.
If you haven't experienced another's suffering, don't judge their actions.
Why do some people never understand such a simple truth?
The suffering Zi Wenchang endured now was not even a tenth of what the original owner had gone through.
If this was considered heartless, then the original owner would have been the most wronged person in history.
The ignorant masses always preached repaying kindness with kindness, but they forgot the unspoken corollary: how then to repay kindness?
The four elders were shamed by her laughter, as if their very souls were being interrogated.
They all lowered their heads in shame, not daring to utter another word.
Under the scorching flames, Zi Wenchang’s consciousness had already become blurred, rendering him unable to control his continuous kowtowing.
He curled up on the ground like a black maggot, squirming gently.
Zi Jitian closed his eyes in pain. With a thought, the Zhan Yue blade was in his hand.
"Patriarch, I apologize!"
With that, the blade descended, and blood splattered.
Then, without looking back, he left the council hall, leaving behind a figure who appeared much older.
Zi Lingling's eyes held a momentary complexity, but it quickly returned to normal.
She knew it was the residual soul emotions of the original owner.
It was likely due to the great fire when she was six years old, which was etched into the original owner's memory, making that sliver of hope she saw in despair so precious.
Although, all that remained in the original owner's memory of that sliver of hope was an eagle-like gaze.
But, one glance, a lifetime.
Therefore, seeing Zi Jitian's figure in extreme grief, the original owner's emotions unhesitatingly surged out to influence her.
Thus, a mixture of pity, compassion, and perhaps some inexplicable feeling coalesced, making it hard to articulate.
A relieved expression, akin to a faint smile, appeared on Zi Wenchang's blackened face.
His corpse, along with the blood flowing from his chest, was quickly consumed by the flames.
Moments later, only a pile of black ash remained on the ground.
A peculiar scent permeated the council hall, causing the four elders to frown.
From this moment on, their hearts held a true sense of awe for this family head, who was only twelve years old.
They finally understood that although the young girl before them was only twelve, she possessed her own convictions and methods of handling affairs.
Of course, she also had the decisiveness, ruthlessness, and coldness of a true leader.
From then on, when they acted, they were more inclined to offer constructive suggestions rather than attempt to alter Zi Lingling's decisions.
It was precisely because of this that the Zi family's future began to shine brightly from this moment on.
Of course, this brilliance would not be without its trepidation and bloody battles, but it would elevate the Zi family to unprecedented heights.
This, however, is a story for another time.
After dealing with Zi Wenchang, Zi Lingling imprisoned Madam Wang and then returned to the Purple Gold Pavilion.
Yes, on the second day of her becoming the Zi family head, the Purple Gold Pavilion, which traditionally symbolized the family head's status, had already been cleaned and prepared for her.
Zi Lingling initially did not want to move. Moving was too troublesome, and this was her second move in less than two months.
Although, the first move was "facilitated" by Madam Wang, arranging and organizing things was still no easy task.
Therefore, Zi Lingling, who always disliked trouble, had intended to continue living in the Purple Heart Pavilion.
But she couldn't resist the soft persuasion of the four old fogies and Xue Ying!
The four ancient elders were, naturally, acting according to the rules.
They used excuses like the Purple Gold Pavilion being the center of power, a symbol of the family head's status, and a rule left by the Zi family's ancestors, to try and convince her in turns.
This allowed Zi Lingling to truly experience what it was like for old scholars to hold a debate – a battle of wits against a multitude of learned men!
Adding to this was Xue Ying's overwhelming joy, which led her to constantly whisper persuasive words.
She assured Zi Lingling that she didn't need to worry about anything; she only had to move in.
Her ears were worn out by their constant nagging, and Zi Lingling finally relented, agreeing to move back to the Purple Gold Pavilion, which finally brought her peace.
Of course, the troublesome family head simply washed her hands of the matter.
Only when Xue Ying informed her that it was time to move did she finally shift her residence.
Fortunately, the divine physician did not have a habit of being picky about beds, otherwise she would have to endure the torment of sleepless nights again.
Ever since Zi Wenchang's death, Zi Lingling had once again immersed herself in the Divine Maiden Hall, focusing on alchemy.
Despite possessing the Nine Extremes Qiankun Cauldron and the Fire Phoenix Robe, two super cheat items, Zi Lingling still meticulously employed the ancient alchemy techniques.
Slowly, she discovered that whether she used spiritual energy for alchemy or let the Phoenix Robe and Nine Extremes Cauldron work autonomously, the results were not significant.
However, the ancient alchemy techniques, while requiring a considerable amount of time, could rapidly increase her divine sense.
Upon realizing this, Zi Lingling became engrossed in the ancient alchemy techniques, unable to extricate herself.
Thus, days turned into weeks, and the number and variety of elixirs in the Nine Spirit Ring grew.
Concurrently, Zi Lingling's divine sense also grew rapidly.
Early stage of Emperor Realm!
Mid stage of Emperor Realm!
Late stage of Emperor Realm!
By the time Zi Lingling had refined one-fifth of the ten-thousand-year-old medicinal herbs stored in the Divine Maiden Hall, her divine sense had stabilized at the late stage of Emperor Realm.
After that, no matter how much she refined, her sea of consciousness would not expand further, and her divine sense would not increase.
Zi Lingling knew this was because her physical cultivation and spiritual energy were lagging behind her divine sense.
Therefore, she stopped alchemy and attempted to cultivate her spiritual energy.
However, no matter what, she could not touch the Yuan Transformation Realm.
The barrier above the peak of the Spirit Gathering Realm was as solid as iron and cast in bronze.
Zi Lingling, helpless, had to withdraw from her cultivation state.
At this point, only half a month remained until her decisive battle with Mo Qingcheng.
Zi Lingling was utterly speechless.
She had spent one month cultivating her spiritual energy from that of an ordinary person to above the peak of the Spirit Gathering Realm.
But afterwards, she had spent another month and a half unable to make any further progress in her spiritual cultivation. What was going on?
Could it be that she was truly going to be stuck at this inexplicable realm above the peak of the Spirit Gathering Realm?
No, no!
She must be doing something wrong!
But what exactly was wrong?
Zi Lingling gave up on cultivating for the moment and sat by the window, lost in thought.
Spiritual energy, divine sense, how could these two reach a state of balance?
A balanced state?
Yes! The problem lay here.
Since it was a balanced state, there must be a fulcrum to balance them.
What, then, was this fulcrum?
Zi Lingling's eyes flashed, and a nascent inspiration stirred in her mind.
What was it?
That inspiration was both clear and vague.
Clear, because Zi Lingling could feel that the point was real.
Vague, because it seemed impossible to grasp.
What exactly was happening?