Chapter 13
Chapter 13: I Have an Elder Brother? (2)
Leng Ruoxue closed her eyes and slowly searched through the memories of the Silly Ruoxue.
And… it turned out to have something to do with the seventh prince again. In addition to a grandfather who loved her, she also had a very protective elder brother who loved her. Because she was always bullied by the seventh prince, her brother sought revenge and beat him up. But somehow, the Silly Ruoxue found out and refused to recognize this brother anymore.
“Xue’er, Xue’er.”
While Leng Ruoxue was looking through her memories, she heard her grandfather calling her. She immediately opened her eyes and saw him walking in.
“Grandpa, my big brother…” Leng Ruoxue looked at her grandfather without blinking.
“Xue’er, are you still mad at Ruohan? He has always been good to you,” Leng Qingtian probed her tentatively since she asked. Although he loved both grandchildren, he adored Ruoxue more. Moreover, his granddaughter had lost part of her memory because of her injury, so he felt even more concern for her.
“Grandpa, Xue’er used to be ignorant and couldn’t appreciate Big Brother’s painstaking care. But now I am clear-headed, so how could I be angry with him anymore!” Leng Ruoxue was touched. Although foolish, the Silly Ruoxue was really fortunate to have these loving family members! This was probably a blessing for someone unfortunate. After becoming this Ruoxue, she was also blessed and could finally feel the love that she had always desired, so she would definitely cherish it.
“Grandpa, Xue’er can’t remember many things. Please tell me about my big brother,” Leng Ruoxue pleaded.
“Alright. Xue’er, your brother ranks second on the Genius Rankings. He’s the pride of our Leng family. Now, he’s studying at the Heavenly Phoenix Academy, and he is the last disciple of the principal, who is that old fellow just you saw,” Leng Qingtian explained.
No wonder that old man doesn’t like me.?Leng Ruoxue could understand why.?His genius disciple isn’t as cared for at home as much as a simpleton girl. No wonder he’s angry as a master.
“The Genius Rankings?” Leng Ruoxue looked at her grandfather in puzzlement.
“Erm… it’s the ranking for the top fifty genius youths who are thirty years old and below on the Ling Feng Continent,” Leng Qingtian explained.
“Oh.” Leng Ruoxue didn’t expect the rankings to be for the entire Ling Feng Continent.?My brother is the second on the entire continent. He must be a stunning and exceptional genius!
“Grandpa, who’s first then?” Leng Ruoxue was curious about who was even better than her brother.
“Huo Qing, the genius young master of the Huo Family, the first of the Five Great Families.”
1
“Is his aptitude better than my brother’s?”
“Both of them have superior-grade spiritual power affinity, but his spiritual power has one more attribute than Ruohan’s.” The Genius Rankings first compared spiritual power affinity and then spiritual power attributes. If both were the same, there would be a tie.
“Grandpa, I want to visit my brother tomorrow,” Leng Ruoxue suddenly said. After hearing about him, she was very curious about this talented brother who loved his sister.
“Good! Uh… Xue’er, there’s actually something else,” Leng Qingtian said hesitantly.
“What is it, Grandpa?” Leng Ruoxue was puzzled. It was rare to see her grandfather hesitating.
Leng Qingtian thought for a moment, and then he took out the imperial edict, handed it Xue’er, and gestured for her to see for herself.
Leng Ruoxue opened the edict in bewilderment. “Ye Chen? Who is that?”
Leng Qingtian was relieved that his precious granddaughter didn’t seem to be as angry as he thought she would.
“Ye Chen is from one of the Five Great Families. He’s the second son from a side branch of the Ye family. His mother is the seventh prince’s aunt, Noble Consort Fang’s biological sister. But… he was born frail and sickly.”
2
After listening to her grandfather’s explanation, Leng Rouxue understood now.?It’s that seventh prince again. The emperor evidently has a scheme regarding Grandfather. Why is the seventh prince like a lingering ghost always haunting me? Hmph! Better not let me meet him, or else he will get it!
“Grandpa, just ignore the imperial edict. Getting married or not is up to me!” Leng Ruoxue said somewhat arrogantly. She didn’t have a good impression of the imperial family, so she didn’t want to get involved with them, albeit Ye Chen was not that closely related. As long as she pretended to be intellectually disabled, she was sure the emperor couldn’t do much to her. She was a ‘simpleton’ after all!
Although this was a world that respected the strong, before becoming a powerhouse above imperial power, imperial power was still supreme. So she didn’t want to cause trouble for her grandfather. Although her grandfather was at peak Spiritual Sovereign and the first person under Spiritual Supremacy, he was still not a Spiritual Supremacy-level powerhouse. In this world, only by becoming a Spiritual Supremacy would you be qualified to stand on equal footing with imperial power. And only by becoming a Spiritual Deity could you truly stand above imperial power. This was her goal.
“Of course! I will fight with my life on the line against anyone who tries to force my precious granddaughter to do anything she doesn’t like!” Leng Qingtian said dotingly. He didn’t really care about the imperial edict bestowing marriage. He was just worried that she would be angry. But seeing that Xue’er didn’t take it seriously at all, he was relieved.
“Xue’er, this is for you.” Leng Qingtian handed her a golden badge.
Leng Ruoxue took the badge in confusion. On the front, there were only the two words, ‘Heavenly Phoenix’, while the back was blank.
“You are now a student of the Heavenly Phoenix Academy. This badge shows your identity. Don’t lose it, or the academy won’t let you in!” Leng Qingtian reminded her.
“Grandpa, don’t you need to pass an entrance test to enter the Heavenly Phoenix Academy?” Leng Ruoxue asked. From what she knew, the Heavenly Phoenix Academy was one of the three top academies on the Ling Feng Continent, and the entrance test was very strict. Anyone who could enroll in it was a genius or at least an elite.
Chapter 14: Sibling Reunion
“It’s alright. Grandpa has been friends with that old man for a long time. Besides, he is Ruohan’s master. Shouldn’t he give me this face? Moreover, he should feel honored that my darling granddaughter is willing to study at his academy,” Leng Qingtian said proudly.
Upon hearing her grandfather’s narcissistic comment, Leng Ruoxue was at a loss for words. However, in order to keep her talent from being discovered, she really had to go through the backdoor. With this in consideration, she couldn’t help being moved by her grandfather’s carefulness.
The next day, she greeted her grandfather before heading to the Heavenly Phoenix Academy with Lü Tao.
The Heavenly Phoenix Academy was located in the northernmost region of Phoenix City, and because it was so remote, they rode a flying spirit beast called ‘falcon’. Falcons were low-level spirit beasts resembling eagles. Although they were not very fast, they were docile and had undergone training. They were one of the more commonly used means of transportation on the Ling Feng Continent. Due to being big, having soft and fluffy feathers, and providing a smooth flight, falcons were very popular with people.
Lying on the falcon, Leng Ruoxue watched the scenery while listening to Lü Tao talk about her brother.
“Young Master really dotes on Miss. He will definitely not let anyone who bullies Miss off the hook, and suffering a beating is already considered a light penalty. He almost beat the seventh prince to death previously.”
“During the few days when Miss was injured and unconscious, Young Master came to see Miss every day.”
As Leng Ruoxue listened to Lü Tao talk about her brother, she was green with envy of the Silly Ruoxue. But since these relatives were hers now, she needed to take care of this familial affection that didn’t come easily.
“Miss, we’ve arrived. The academy doesn’t allow spirit beasts on the premises, so we have to go on foot,” Lü Tao explained.
“Ok.”
The two of them dismounted and walked toward the entrance to the academy. When they reached the entrance, they were stopped by the gatekeeper. Leng Ruoxue simply flashed the badge and walked directly into the academy under the gatekeeper’s surprised and dumbfounded gaze.
“Which family does that young lady come from? How does she have that badge… Could she be the Shui family’s eldest young lady? No wonder she’s so beautiful…” Even a long time after regaining his composure, the gatekeeper was still murmuring to himself.
Leng Ruoxue followed Lü Tao to her brother’s residence, but he was still in class, and only his servant, Ming An, was in the dormitory. Leng Ruoxue carefully looked around her brother’s residence. The environment was quiet, simple, and refined, actually somewhat similar to her brother’s character. Although her memories of her brother were a little hazy, she could still see her brother’s refined makings. It was hard to imagine that a brother like this would actually beat someone to the verge of death.
“Xue’er.” A soft voice broke Leng Ruoxue’s train of thought.
Leng Ruoxue turned around to see an elegant and beautiful immortal-like man at the door.?He’s my brother? He’s more outstanding than I remember.?She had seen many handsome men, but it was the first time she had seen someone so clean, clear, and untainted like an immortal. His facial features were more exquisite and perfect than a woman’s, enough to make any woman ashamed. She even felt that her brother’s beauty was ineffable.
While Leng Ruoxue was looking at her brother, Leng Ruohan was also looking at her.
This is Xue’er? Xue’er after becoming clear-headed? She really resembles Mother but is more beautiful than Mother.?Even though Leng Ruohan had already heard from his grandfather that his darling younger sister had already regained her mental facilities and was prepared to see her like this, seeing her with his own eyes excited him.
“Big Brother,” Leng Ruoxue anxiously called out.
Spurred by his emotions, Leng Ruohan embraced Leng Ruoxue warmly. “Xue’er.”
His beloved sister was finally clear-headed, leaving him overjoyed. Personally seeing his sister better now truly put him at ease.
“Xue’er, you don’t blame Big Brother any more?” Leng Ruohan asked uncertainly.
“Big Brother, Xue’er was ignorant before and didn’t know that you did everything for my own good. But now I understand, so how can I blame you! I should be apologizing instead for saddening you in the past. From now on, Xue’er will definitely be a younger sister who makes you proud!” Leng Ruoxue said earnestly. She said this to let her brother know that the ignorant Xue’er was now the past and that she would be a whole new person from now on.
“You are my dearest sister, so how could I ever blame you?! My greatest wish is for you to live happily forever. I’ll never let anyone who dares to bully you get away with it!” After Leng Ruohan said this, a hint of fierceness that was inconsistent with his makings crept up on his clear, elegant, and beautiful face.
“Xue’er will also never let anyone bully Big Brother. Only I can bully you,” Leng Ruoxue said mischievously while looking at her beautiful brother.?Alas, with a man like this around, how can women live!
“Ok, Big Brother will only let Xue’er bully me.” Leng Ruohan’s face was brimming with love.
“Xue’er, this is for you.” Leng Ruohan looked at the little beast sleeping soundly on his sister’s shoulder, took out a white egg about the size of two adult palms from his storage ring, and gave it to Leng Ruoxue.
“This is…”
“The egg of a blazing flame lion,” Leng Ruohan explained.
Spirit beasts were also divided by aptitude. If the innate aptitude was good, then the odds of becoming a holy beast or even a divine beast were much higher. The blazing flame lion was born an advanced spirit beast, and as it matured, it would grow into a holy beast. So the blazing flame lion egg was extremely valuable.
“Big Brother, keep this for yourself. I don’t need it now,” Leng Ruoxue said, afraid that her brother would be unwilling to use it himself. He only wanted to give good things to her, so she chose to turn him down.
“Big Brother already has a spirit beast. This egg was a reward from the academy competition. I always intended to give it to Xue’er,” Leng Ruohan explained. How could he not know that Xue’er thoughts? After explaining, he directly condensed a needle with spiritual power and pierced Leng Ruoxue’s finger. Then a drop of blood fell onto the egg, which the egg absorbed rapidly. Following which, the eggshell cracked, and a wet fiery-red little beast the size of a palm emerged. The little beast shook its wet fur, and when it was dry, it pounced into Leng Ruoxue’s arms and began rubbing against her to show its affection. And then it proceeded to eat its eggshell.
Chapter 15: Where Am I?
The contract methods for spirit beasts were mainly two types: the equal contract and the master-slave contract. But these two contracts applied only to mature spirit beasts, and a beast trainer had to tame them before forming a contract. For spirit beast eggs, the process was not as troublesome. Just dripping a drop of blood on an egg was all it took to recognize a master. Furthermore, contracts established this way led to better tacit understanding between the spirit beast and the owner than ones formed with mature spirit beasts. Therefore, some top families would give their geniuses the eggs of high-level spirit beast for them to nurture from birth. But raising spirit beasts from infancy was very time-consuming and resource-intensive, whereas mature spirit beasts could be utilized directly. So many preferred to spend a lot of money to employ a beast trainer to tame a mature spirit beast rather than waiting for a high-level spirit beast cub to mature because it took too long.
“I’ll call you ‘Blaze’!” Leng Ruoxue’s long and slender fingers gently teased the little beast, which was still gnawing on his eggshell. Surprisingly, this little thing was already a level eight spirit beast from birth.
“Senior Brother Leng, who is this woman?” The siblings were chatting happily when a somewhat sharp voice suddenly interrupted them.
Leng Ruoxue’s beautiful eyes looked up with displeasure at the source of the voice, only to see a woman staring at her with a face full of envy. The scowl on the woman’s face ruined her originally pretty looks. And the way she looked at her big brother was as though he was her property and she couldn’t wait to swallow him all for herself. As she looked at Leng Ruoxue, her fiery-red eyes were flashing with vicious hatred.?Did I offend her somehow??Leng Ruoxue speechlessly turned her gaze to her too beautiful brother, this source of calamity. Jealous women were unreasonable, but blindly jealous women were dreadful! In particular, her jealous glare made it seem as though someone had murdered her entire family!
“Who let you enter?” Leng Ruohan’s voice was cold and indifferent.?What’s wrong with Ming An? Didn’t I tell him not to let anyone disturb me?
“Senior Brother Leng, who is this woman?” Fu Mingzhu questioned as if she didn’t hear the indifference and displeasure in Leng Ruohan’s voice. She was the most beloved eldest young lady of the Fu family and the number one beauty in the Eastern Lagoon Empire. She had long believed that Senior Brother Leng would belong to her sooner or later. But now, a woman he was treating special appeared, and this woman was even more beautiful than her, making a fire of jealousy blaze in her heart. She hated the fact that there even existed women who were more beautiful than her, not to mention this one who came to snatch Senior Brother Leng away from her. Furthermore, she had always wanted that blazing flame lion egg, yet he actually gave it to this woman. As she looked at that cute little lion gnawing on the eggshell, the flames of jealousy in her heart burned even more violently.
“Get out!” Leng Ruohan couldn’t even bother with her.
“Senior Brother Leng, we are about to become engaged. How can you treat me like this?” Fu Mingzhu said with grief as tears began to well up in her eyes, making her look extremely pitiful, to the point where she was tugging at other’s heartstrings.
Looking at how this overbearing woman suddenly turned into a delicate woman who seemed to have suffered bullying in the blink of an eye, Leng Ruoxue couldn’t help be wide-eyed.?Her change was so fast. Why doesn’t she go into acting? She’s definitely at the level of an award-winning actress.?She then looked at her brother with some sympathy.?This woman isn’t blackmailing him somehow, right? Otherwise, why would he become engaged to her??I didn’t hear Grandpa mention this…?Or even Grandpa doesn’t know??Leng Ruoxue’s beautiful eyes darted about as she made all sorts of wild guesses.
“Get out!” Leng Ruohan came to the end of his patience. If she weren’t his good friend’s sister, he would have thrown her out.
“Wuwuwu…” Fu Mingzhu sobbed bitterly as she ran away. She was going to find her big brother to complain. She would not let that woman go.
“Big Brother…”
“Don’t bother about her. She’s just my good friend’s sister,” Leng Ruohan said casually.
The siblings weren’t really bothered by this sudden incident and continued chatting for a while. Seeing that it was getting late, Leng Ruoxue was afraid that grandfather would be worried, so she left the academy under the reluctant gaze of her brother. Before leaving, she gave her brother a bottle of crystal honey from her grandfather. Crystal honey had the effect of improving spiritual power, which he needed right now.
“Miss, you’re back.” As Leng Ruoxue entered Listening Snow Pavilion, Cui Zhu welcomed her back.
“Grandpa!”
“Xue’er is back. Ah? This little blazing flame lion…” Leng Qingtian, who had been waiting for his granddaughter to return in Listening Snow Pavilion, looked at the little lion lying in Xue’er’s arms. This little fellow was actually already a level eight spirit beast.
“His name is ‘Blaze’, a gift from Big Brother,” Leng Ruoxue said helplessly. When Baby woke up and saw this little lion, he began to throw a temper tantrum at her!
“Grandpa also has something for you.” Leng Qingtian took out a purple bracelet and handed it to her.
Leng Ruoxue took the bracelet. The transparent bracelet looked a bit like a piece of glass-like purple jade.?How exquisite! Is it a piece of jewelry? Storage bracelets don’t seem this beautiful.
“This is the Leng family’s family heirloom. It’s a storage bracelet. However, we’ve never had anyone in the family who could become its owner. Grandpa is giving it to you now,” Leng Qingtian explained.
“Couldn’t become its owner?” After her grandpa left, Leng Ruoxue murmured while looking at the purple bracelet on her snow-white wrist.
After thinking about it, Leng Ruoxue condensed spiritual energy into a needle and pierced a fingertip to drip a drop of blood onto the bracelet.
“Where am I? Baby?”
“Big Sister!” Baby cried with his puerile voice.
With Baby in her arms, Leng Ruoxue calmed down and began to observe the surrounding scenery. Overhead was a cloudless blue sky. The spiritual energy in the air was exceptionally rich. Not far away, there was a forest with trees full of fruits, and opposite the forest was a house made of purple bamboo. On the left side of the house were a few fields full of all kinds of flowers and plants, most of which she didn’t know, and one field with nothing planted in it. Not far away from the fields was a small pond constructed of white jade. In the pond was a spring with water flowing out, but the spring water was milky white and exuded an exotic fragrance.?Can this even be considered spring water??On the right side of the house were several larger ponds, similarly made of white jade, with all sorts of fish and crustaceans thriving within. About a kilometer behind the house was a waterfall with water continuously flowing into the pool below, in which were some white transparent fish swimming around leisurely. Surrounding these spectacular sights was a curtain of thick mist preventing her from seeing beyond.?Where am I??Leng Ruoxue was puzzled and had a multitude of questions.