Mu Clan settlement. . .

Mu Zhihao sat on his wooden chair in the Clan Hall, accompanied by his two eldest sons, Mu Zhong and Jun, who were sorting through scrolls for him.

“I heard Yang Wei has returned from his year-long seclusion. It’s like he’s formed a golden core; perhaps that’ll increase our chances of success in the Sect Resource-Allocation Trial,” the man remarked.

Mu Zhong nodded in agreement, adding, “Yes, Father. If we weren’t so occupied with these few assignments the matriarchs gave us, I’d have paid him a visit at Grand Elder Peak.”

Mu Zhihao gently stroked his beard, “Grand Elder Peak, huh? It was about time he was given his own mountain. After all, someone as outstanding as him shouldn’t be squatting in another peak chief’s domain.”

Mu Jun smiled as he scanned through the scrolls, his eyes bouncing back and forth.

“I haven’t seen this Yang Wei myself, but he seems like an interesting personality. Now that I’ve returned from the Southern Haven, I’m sure I’ll get an opportunity to talk with him and get to know more about him.”

All three of them nodded approvingly.

Mu Zhihao relaxed in his chair and let out a heavy sigh that almost sounded like a grunt. “I’m sure my sweet Lin has already gone to pay him a visit,” he said, his hardened face showing a hint of worry. “I hope he doesn’t reject her…”

Mu Zhong couldn’t hide the fairly distraught look on his face. Although he was usually composed, the thought of his little sister being used and dumped by a man saddened him.

“Indeed, I hope so too…”

The only one lost here was Mu Jun.

“Hmm?”

Having just returned from the Southern Continent, also known as the Southern Haven, he didn’t know much about what had happened in the sect for the past 10 years. The main reason he came back was because of the news that their sect was going to host a reunification ceremony, which came as a great shock to him.

Moreover, hearing that the savior of the Azure Tree was from their sect made him even more excited to return.

However, he couldn’t make it on time due to severe traffic across the Mashyan World, and traveling the vast sea of the Southern Continent was as difficult as a fish climbing a mountain.

“I don’t follow, why would this Yang Wei reject her? Didn’t Father say they both loved each other very much?”

Mu Jun was eager to know the truth.

Mu Zhong rolled up the scroll he was holding and set it aside before picking up another one.

“I’ve seen the way he relates to our little sister; he loves her very much. But while Wei was gone and you hadn’t yet returned, Mu Lin decided it was best for her to form a golden core before the man she loved returned… maybe to impress him.”

Mu Jun’s eyebrow raised higher the more his elder brother spoke, and soon he commented, “But I’ve seen our LinLin… she’s not a Golden Core expert.”

Both Mu Zhihao and Zhong nodded as they said, “Mhm!”

Then, the Father let Mu Zhong continue.

“Our Lin tried to form a golden core, and she received a severe backlash from failing to break through, and now her cultivation has stagnated.”

“St-, stagnated…?” Mu Jun dreadfully repeated.

“Her cultivation base is dried up… she’ll never be able to experience a breakthrough again.”

“No…”

While everyone felt bad, the one person who felt devastated was Mu Zhihao.

I’m a horrible father. All this is my fault, the reason Lin has to suffer in incompetence… all that is my fault. I couldn’t stop Suyin from snatching her cultivation potential, and now she can’t even enjoy the benefits of becoming a Golden Core expert. What kind of father wants to live longer than their child? She doesn’t deserve this at all──?!

Curse you, Suyin!

Tapping his father on the shoulder several times, Mu Zhong repeated called, “Father… Father…!”

Finally, Mu Zhihao snapped out of it. “Y-, yes?!”

“You spaced out for a moment,” said Mu Jun.

His two sons looked very concerned about him.

“Oh, I, uh, I’m sorry…”

The man hadn’t told them the real truth of what their heartless mother had done, and how Mu Lin suffered more than anyone simply because her mother saw her as a “defective” child.

…

Grand Elder Peak. . .

Yang Wei and Mu Lin sat on a large boulder under a huge tree, finding shade from the blazing sun. The dense Qi around them made everything feel cool and comfortable for their serious discussion. The only inconvenience was that they weren’t having a casual chat.

On Mu Lin’s lap rested a lively Tianyi, purring and barking with excitement as she scratched his belly. He didn’t know what was happening; all he could focus on was the sensation of his swollen belly being rubbed.

“I’ve always had slow cultivation growth. But when you decided to leave and cultivate in seclusion for some time, I wanted to get stronger too so I could keep being your companion. After all, I’m painfully weaker than my sister, and my cultivation is inferior to Aunt Huo’s, who’s a Nascent Soul expert, and Yue’er, who’s already in the Spirit Gathering Realm and cultivating at a remarkable pace.”

Everything Mu Lin said, she said sadly.

While her slender fingers still stroked Tianyi’s belly, the little dragon didn’t feel as satisfied because he had to look at the sad face of such a pretty lady.

Yang Wei didn’t know what to say.

She’d given him the rundown on everything that had happened, but there was no solution coming to mind. Aside from that, there wasn’t a proper word of comfort to tell a cultivator who had stagnated.

“Lin’er, I…”

Without urgency, Mu Lin cut him short. “It’s fine, Wei. You’re not obligated to tell me anything to make me feel better… I only have myself to blame.”

Yang Wei held out his storage pouch for Mu Lin. “Mu Lin!”

Finally meeting his gaze, she saw the storage pouch he was showing her, but she couldn’t figure out where he was going with it.

Now that he had her attention, Yang Wei continued. . .

“I wouldn’t have been able to cultivate as well as I have if you hadn’t supported me and shared your tips. All the treasures and cultivation resources you’ve given me, I’ve kept them with me whether or not I need them, because I want our kids to know how their mother helped me…”

Mu Lin’s brown eyes sparkled with emotion.

She was completely dazed by his words.

Every feeling in her body disappeared, even the stinging pain of the spirit wound on her side. It was the first time Yang Wei talked about their future together, and even if it didn’t seem like the ideal time, it made his words much more meaningful.

She didn’t know how to react. “Wei…” she mumbled.

Yang Wei cleared his throat loudly and continued, “Also… the Qi here is dense, and the place feels lonely… so, why don’t you join me so we can stay together and, well, figure out how to cure this spirit wound of yours?”

Mu Lin remained silent.

Yang Wei kept his eyes on her, and she looked back at him, but her mind felt completely detached from her body at that point.

I understand her more now… she’s more scared of me abandoning her than her cultivation becoming stagnant. That needs to stop.

He put a hand on her head and concluded, “Furthermore, you need to stop worrying about me abandoning you. The only day we won’t be together anymore is if one of us is dead, and I assure you, even death won’t dare get in the way of what we have.”

Tears started to appear in Mu Lin’s eyes, and soon, she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. The moment she had something precious to hold on to all her emotions came gushing out as tears that streamed down her cheeks.

“Honey, I… *sob* I love you!”

Mu Lin kept crying and Yang Wei just gently rubbed her back.

Even though I chose this path myself… am I truly deserving of him? Back then, I endured all sorts of challenges just to become a cultivator, hoping to measure up to my sister and not be seen as a worthless daughter.

Whenever people saw us together, they’d always praise my sister for resembling our mother, but they never had anything to say to me… I was invisible to them, and all my efforts felt futile.

I spent a lot of time and energy improving myself during that time──avoiding unnecessary interactions and always believing that I, too, could become something of worth. Yet, when I first met Wei, I thought his cultivation was as lacking as mine, which reminded me of my own struggles.

A beauty with no talent…

Seeing his pleasant face and powerful dual cultivation physique, I decided to cultivate a relationship with him, thinking it would benefit both our paths, and somewhere along the line I completely fell in love with him…

Little did I know, the moment I questioned my own worth, he soared to the top… a place I may never reach.

I don’t really grasp what it means to be talented, and constantly comparing myself to others just messes with my head.

But there’s someone right in front of me setting an example, and I really need to figure out why I feel so inadequate and fix whatever’s wrong with me.

I have to push myself harder to improve, not just for my own sake but for his too. If I keep going like this, I’ll never be able to become deserving of Yang Wei.

Mu Lin hugged him tighter and cried louder.

With a solemn face, Yang Wei just continued to console her.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep