The mother and daughter were sipping tea leisurely when, as expected, Tang Wenhua arrived. Chunlan had wasted no time tattling. The City Lord didn't mince words and directly asked, "Yingrou, Chunlan has served you for many years. How could you send her to the Outer Sect's Clothing Bureau?"
Tang Yue's eyes welled with tears at the sight of him, as if she hadn't seen her father in years. She exclaimed emotionally, "Father, you've finally come. I haven't seen you since I was injured!"
Tang Wenhua coughed awkwardly. He had indeed forgotten about this daughter lately. But in his view, her injury was her own fault and a bit of suffering would do her good. Still, he couldn't voice that aloud and instead lightly rebuked, "I'm discussing important matters with your mother. Don't interrupt."
"Father, are you here because of Chunlan?" Tang Yue asked, sweet and sorrowful. "I thought she had a talent for tailoring, and you always say how difficult life is for city cultivators, not even having decent clothes. I thought letting her help you this way would also show my filial piety. Was I wrong?"
As she spoke, a tear slipped down her cheek—perfectly timed and heart-wrenching.
Seeing her daughter cry, Madam Shui grew anxious and glared angrily at the City Lord. "Unbelievable. My own daughter not only doesn't get your support, but even her attempts at filial piety are considered wrong? Seems like there's no place for us in Kunwu City!"
Tang Wenhua hadn't expected things to escalate like this. He quickly tried to de-escalate. "I was just asking. Chunlan has served you for years—it's not about merit, but loyalty. How can we send her to suffer in the Outer Sect?"
Funny how he now viewed the Outer Sect as hardship. He hadn't thought that way when mandating all his children live simply like outer disciples.
Tang Yue dabbed at her eyes. Ever since she began cultivating inner energy, she could make tears fall at will—this would be such a convenient acting skill in the modern world. She was performing quite well now too.
"Father, you've always taught us to live simply, like the Outer Sect disciples, so we can understand their hardships and cultivate with humility. As a servant disciple of the City Lord's household, how is Chunlan suffering by working for the Outer Sect?"
That line had originally been a money-saving excuse from Tang Wenhua to avoid buying her anything, and now it had come back to bite him.
He could only relent. "Fine. Let Chunlan do her duty on behalf of the City Lord's estate. It's within her responsibilities."
Madam Shui's expression finally eased. If she couldn't even deal with a scheming servant girl, what was the point of being the City Lord's wife?
She reflected on the past and began wondering if she had been too easily dismissed by others. For the first time, the love she once saw in Tang Wenhua began to seem questionable.
Tang Wenhua, unaware of his wife's shifting thoughts, just felt frustrated that his mission had failed. He decided to stir trouble elsewhere. Turning to Tang Yue, he said, "You're not young anymore, yet you idle around your mother all day and haven't even inducted Qi yet. Starting tomorrow, you're not allowed to leave your room until you succeed."
Before Madam Shui could protest, Tang Yue beat her to it. "Alright, Father. I'll induct Qi into my body right now to prove my filial piety."
With that, she sat cross-legged in her chair, formed hand seals, and began circulating spiritual energy. In moments, she achieved Qi induction, sensing the internal and external flow of Qi connecting—successfully entering the Qi Refining Stage.
She had planned to induct Qi that very night anyway—her preparations were complete.
Madam Shui was overjoyed. She had worried about her daughter's cultivation for days. Clasping Tang Yue's hands, she exclaimed, "Yue'er, you did it! I knew you could!"
Tang Wenhua, however, wasn't as pleased. He felt his authority had been challenged and grew more annoyed with her. He said curtly, "It's good you've inducted Qi, but you're still late to Qi Refining. From tomorrow, you'll join the others in practicing the Seven-Star Sword at the main hall."
The Seven-Star Sword was Kunwu City's foundational sword technique. All disciples—whether inner or outer sect—practiced it to strengthen mind and body. It could also be used for defense and had demonic-repelling properties.
Tang Yue knew when to stop provoking. She nodded obediently. "Yes, Father. I will."
The City Lord responded indifferently and stayed for dinner—reluctantly. He had always disliked Madam Shui's pride and preferred the gentler, more obedient Zhuang Qiaohui. He felt he had sacrificed much for the sake of Kunwu City through their political marriage and thus avoided Madam Shui's quarters whenever possible. This meal felt tasteless, especially since he had long practiced fasting and only ate now for entertainment. He was certainly not entertained.
Seeing his discomfort, Tang Yue found herself perversely satisfied. She insisted he stay late into the night under the pretext of bonding. Only when he looked like he was about to lose his temper did she finally let him leave. As he walked out, she added, "Father, tomorrow we're all going to Duobao Pavilion. You'll definitely buy me and Elder Sister beautiful defensive artifacts, right?"
Tang Wenhua's mood soured further at the thought of spending money. "Artifacts should be practical, not just pretty."
Tang Yue acted as if she didn't hear and chirped innocently, "Of course! Since you love us so much, I'm sure you'll buy us something very expensive!"
The City Lord didn't reply. He simply ordered the two women not to see him out and briskly left. That stingy figure—what had Madam Shui ever seen in him?
In truth, Tang Wenhua wasn't entirely to blame. Kunwu City was in its development phase, and funds were tight. He lived frugally himself. But when appearances mattered, he was willing to spend—like when he forged the precious Scarlet Dawn Sword for Chu Tianshu. Using precious materials for a "waste" like Tang Yue felt like a total waste to him.
The next day, Madam Shui woke Tang Yue early to prepare for the Duobao Pavilion trip. After all, she had dug this hole herself—now it was time for the City Lord to fall into it.
At the main gate, they found more than just the City Lord's family waiting—Chu Tianshu, the male lead of the original story, was also there. Clearly, Tang Wenhua already regarded this brilliant cultivation prodigy as part of his household.
Seeing Tang Yue, Chu Tianshu showed little emotion and greeted her lightly, "Junior Sister, it's been a while."
Tang Yue returned the greeting just as coolly, "It has," then climbed into her carriage.
This surprised Chu Tianshu. She used to be clingy—he could never shake her off. Was she bitter from her injury? He made a mental note to warn Wan'er not to provoke her.
At this point, he didn't harbor any romantic feelings for Tang Wan. He simply thought the gentle and cute concubine-born girl likely suffered in a household ruled by a noble and domineering legitimate wife and daughter. So he looked after his master's eldest daughter a bit more.
Soon, Tang Wan climbed into the carriage and asked carefully, "Sister, are you feeling better now?"
Tang Yue felt something was off. Her memories didn't recall them being this distant. She didn't realize the male lead had spoken ill of her. She replied politely, "Thank you for your concern, Sister. I'm much better."
Tang Wan recalled hearing that Tang Yue had achieved Qi induction. But her master had said that with triple spiritual roots, it should take three to five years. Just how many precious resources had Madam Shui used? She asked, "Sister, is it true you've inducted Qi?"
Tang Yue was deep in thought, mulling over texts she had recently read, and replied absently, "Yes."
Tang Wan wanted to dig further. "Did you use any special methods? Maybe share them with me so I can learn too?"
That broke Tang Yue out of her thoughts. This "sister" talk was starting to sound too fake. So she joined the act, sighing dramatically and speaking as if she'd aged ten years:
"Sister, you don't know my pain…"
"You remember, that day when I foolishly followed you into the Spirit Beast Courtyard—after that, Father… I realized then that I had to protect myself. So I inducted Qi."
Tang Wan's expression darkened. She was being framed. It had been her fault Tang Yue was hurt, but now Tang Yue was implying favoritism from Father. And she had no evidence to defend herself. After the beast attack, Father had indeed saved her first, and Tang Yue—still a mortal—had been badly injured.
She could only offer hollow comfort. "Don't be upset, Sister. Father just couldn't save both of us at once."
Tang Yue ended the conversation with a classic line: "You don't have to comfort me. I understand." She gazed out the window, looking world-weary. Tang Wan couldn't say anything more—being passed over by one's own father was a heavy blow.
The carriage finally fell silent.
Tang Yue didn't feel like talking to Tang Wan. She didn't hate her particularly, but their mothers had conflicting interests. Keeping their distance was best.
Duobao Pavilion was located in an octagonal building at the city center. Since flying was forbidden in the city, they traveled in a signature City Lord's carriage to showcase harmony in the household.
The Pavilion Master greeted them at the door and led them to the top-floor VIP suite so they wouldn't have to mingle with the common crowd below.
Commerce in the cultivation world was thriving. Every population center had an auction house. Duobao specialized in local specialties like high-quality Kunwu Sword Stones. Unless pre-ordered, the only way to get one was at the auction.
Auctions proceeded from lower-value to high-value items. The early lots weren't interesting to those in the VIP suite, but Madam Shui still explained them to Tang Yue in a low voice to help her learn. On the other side, Chu Tianshu was doing the same for Tang Wan.
At just 15, Chu Tianshu was close to forming his Golden Core and had traveled extensively. With his ancient compass artifact—a treasure-seeking cheat—he could identify items and their functions instantly.
Soon, he urged Tang Wan to bid on a defensive artifact: the "Hundred Birds Phoenix Skirt," a mysterious-grade item. Tang Yue remembered from the novel that this skirt saved Tang Wan many times and eventually evolved into a top-tier treasure.
She didn't try to compete for it. Her own mother had plenty of superior items, including Earth-grade and even Celestial-grade treasures. Anything below Earth-grade didn't interest her anymore. She was the City Lord's daughter, after all. And her mother came from Wuji Mountain—one of the top three sects on Liuzhou Continent. In a mortal kingdom, she'd be considered royalty.
Next came the auction of cultivation manuals. Some clans and sects auctioned their external teachings to help spread cultivation and benefit others. Sometimes even rare manuals could show up.
The current item was called "Furong Body-Tempering Technique", a mid-to-high-grade manual glowing faintly green. It was from Huayue City and usable up to the Golden Core stage. Starting bid: 100 high-grade spirit stones.
But it wasn't powerful or fast for cultivation. It simply had beauty-enhancing effects. If practiced before age 16—before one's bone structure settled—it would make the practitioner more beautiful than they would've been otherwise.
For most cultivators, this was useless. Those with good roots and talent were naturally attractive, and their looks only improved with cultivation. Those without talent couldn't even start cultivating before 16, so they couldn't use it in time.
But for someone like Tang Yue—who wanted to be prettier and had induced Qi at age 8 thanks to medicine—it was perfect. She immediately turned to Madam Shui. "Mother, I want that manual!"
Tang Wenhua heard this and immediately scolded, "Nonsense! Cultivators should focus on a clear heart and firm Dao. How can you waste time on appearances?"
Tang Yue thought to herself, Because my life depends on this face! She let tears pool in her eyes and looked pitifully at Madam Shui.
Madam Shui disliked how Tang Wenhua acted strict without showing a hint of affection. She snapped, "It's just a manual. If Yue'er likes it, let her have it. Why make a fuss?"
She ordered a servant to bid.
Tang Wenhua could only sigh, "You're going to spoil her."
Madam Shui shot back, "She's my only daughter—not like you, with two daughters and a prized disciple. If I don't spoil her, who should I spoil?"
Tang Wenhua had no comeback. He forced a smile and dropped the topic, preserving their appearance of harmony.
Only one other female cultivator was bidding, but once she saw it was the City Lord's box bidding, she backed off. Madam Shui won the manual for 150 high-grade spirit stones—not a bad deal.
Next up was a token for the Kunwu Heaven-Round Secret Realm, a mystic realm open to Foundation Establishment cultivators. It held treasures, spirit beasts, and most importantly—Kunwu Sword Stones, even rare top-tier ones. All major sects competed for entry.
Tang Wenhua explained, "This year, the main bidders are Yang Gulan from Xuanyuan Mountain and Ji Chongguang from Shangqing Palace. Both are young elites with great responsibilities. After the auction, you younger ones should meet them—you'll see them often in the future."
Tang Yue figured this was mainly for Chu Tianshu's benefit. He really was the prototypical male lead—building connections early.
She also recalled that Yang Gulan would become Tang Wan's close friend, fighting side by side in future adventures. Today's meeting would lay the groundwork.
Tang Yue knew it was important to make an appearance, but had no intention of joining the protagonists' team. Self-preservation came first. Keeping a polite distance was key.
Still, Tang Wan had come fully prepared, offering gifts to both Ji and Yang. Yang Gulan took a liking to her immediately. Ji Chongguang remained polite but distant.
Tang Yue's casually chosen gifts were still high-quality—no embarrassment there. Combined with a few polite words, she handled the social exchange just fine.