Boundless Peak moved fast. At dawn the next day, while cultivating Spirit Energy like breathing dew, Nana Toki received a bamboo tube from Li Qian and the others. Inside, neat lines carved like frost spelled out the rules for a sect tournament seven days from now, and who each side would send.

Nana didn’t dawdle. She signed—swift as a blade flick—her own name, Blue Magpie’s, and the damn System’s, then waved them off like morning mist.

Ha, best-of-three. She’d long guessed Boundless Peak wouldn’t trust a fair one-on-one; their schemes were foxes rustling in brush. It didn’t matter. Her System wore a human shell this time, a straw man in the field that saved her trouble. Otherwise, in these few days, where would she find time to hunt a third participant?

Her mood rippled first, tightened second. “Think of it as testing the waters. Trash System, be straight with me. Your human body—what level of cultivator can it handle?” After sending off Boundless Peak’s disciples, she headed to Majestic Peak’s back mountain, where the System was poking an ant nest with Blue Magpie, twigs tapping damp earth like kids after rain.

The System’s voice drifted like dry leaves. “Power... not that strong, I guess.” Arms folded, eyes shut, it mulled for a while, then offered a cautious line. “Anyone below Nascent Soul, I can slaughter without much trouble.”

Nana’s silence was a cold lake. ‘Slaughtering everything below Nascent Soul is “not strong”? In this plane, the System’s true level must be above the common thresholds.’

The System laughed like wind in bamboo. “Host, think. I’m a System. I oversee these planes myself—how could I be weak? Plus, my Master upgraded me. Power’s a grip I hold tight.” As if mind-reading, it skewered the curse in Nana’s chest. “Relax. I won’t spoil your delightful experience in this plane. If it’s your turn to act, I won’t interfere~.”

Nana’s mood thudded like a stone. ‘I’d rather you steamroll everything and let me go god-mode—kill the male lead too, while you’re at it.’

Her tone softened like dusk light. “By the way, what I asked yesterday—did you do it? Is the Nesting Phoenix of this plane suitable for cultivation?” With the tourney handled, Nana turned to the future of herself and Blue Magpie.

Her little sister didn’t like cultivating; Nana wouldn’t force a flower to bloom out of season. But in this vast Immortal Realm, walking without strength is walking a cliff’s edge. Past Nascent Soul, even a battle’s stray shock a hundred meters away crushes ordinary folk. If Blue Magpie’s body allowed it, Nana wanted to raise her power, so no one could seize that fatal weakness later.

The System’s words came like a tangled skein. “Hard to say. I checked Blue Magpie’s meridians and Spirit Energy flow yesterday. She’s different from every cultivator in this plane. Call it messy—it isn’t; call it clear—it isn’t either. She can cultivate, but the usual ‘drawing Spirit Energy into the body’ won’t work. She’ll need another path.”

Nana’s thoughts fogged like a steamed window. Messy, not messy; clear, not clear.

Her frustration flashed like flint. “Since forever—even in stories—cultivators train one way. If she can’t use that, what else is there? You expect Blue Magpie to invent a whole new method on her own?”

The System’s face pinched like a cricket in a jar. “Uh... in theory, yeah. I haven’t cultivated, don’t know how. I can’t help here. It has to be you or Blue Magpie’s own effort.”

Nana’s mind snapped like a brittle twig. ‘No. This is beyond effort. You expect a child with cognitive troubles to wander mountains and somehow comprehend a brand-new cultivation method? That’s bullshit.’

“Sis, look!” The call rang like a bell in a valley.

She was lecturing the System when Blue Magpie, crouched to her right, suddenly squealed with delight, a sparrow finding sun. Nana snapped her head up, heart leaping like a startled deer. It was just a huge ant nest, its mouth dug open by her sister’s twig. Inside, a dense river of ants flowed, black beads scurrying back and forth.

Nana let out a slow breath, mist leaving pine. Her smile was helpless and fond; children find joy in the oddest sparks. She shelved cultivation woes, crouched on a bare patch near Blue Magpie, and cupped her cheeks in her hands. She watched the girl beam, twig raised, silly and bright. She loved seeing the Nesting Phoenix wear that smile, and never tired of the sight.

Whoosh—

Joy warmed her like sunlight; she was soaking in this plane’s Nesting Phoenix energy. Then—everything hitched. The Spirit Energy on Majestic Peak’s back mountain paused, a lake gone still. Before she could think, the thin aura rushed toward her sister at an impossible speed, like streams racing downhill.

Next, Nana felt it clear as a bell. In Blue Magpie’s body—laughing, clutching her twig—a strange current stirred. It was the telltale sign: Spirit Energy had been drawn into her body.

“Holy hell, she’s got a cheat toggled.” It came out of nowhere, thunder under clear sky.

This wasn’t the end. The Spirit Energy around Blue Magpie kept rising, mist thickening to rain. The mass swelled until it blanketed the entire back mountain of Majestic Peak. Her aura climbed with it, a kite tugging higher on a fresh wind.

Qi Refining, Stage Two. Stage Three. Stage Four... More and more Spirit Energy poured toward the back mountain. In Blue Magpie’s dantian, a tiny vortex spun into being, a moonlit whirlpool. It turned on its own, greedily drinking in the aura sweeping from all directions of Majestic Peak. After about ten minutes, the vortex stuttered. The surrounding energy reacted, scattering like startled birds, then streaking back as white, crystalline threads, all racing to dive into that spinning core.

Foundation Establishment, first tier—at the peak...?

Is this girl a prodigy... or an idiot touched by heaven?

Nana stared as Blue Magpie’s aura settled, eyes glazing like frost. From first breath of energy to Qi Refining, then Foundation Establishment—less than an hour. For others, that’s three to ten years, at least.

How was it like play? A little twig, a poked anthill—as if destiny hid under the mound—and done?

“Sis... s-sis...?” Her voice fluttered like a torn leaf.

Like she’d weathered some unseen trial, the lively Blue Magpie deflated like a pricked balloon. Even the twig in her hand trembled. Nana moved fast, hawk-quick, and caught her before she fell.

“What was that?” Her question bit like winter wind.

She carried her sister back to Majestic Peak, settled her in their room, then dragged the System outside. “Didn’t you say Blue Magpie couldn’t use the traditional method?” The words fell like stones.

“Yeah.” The reply was dry as sand.

“Then what just happened?” Her suspicion flickered like a torch. “Don’t tell me some ancient powerhouse hid inside her, siphoning her energy. I’m not buying that. The original plot never had that arc.”

The System fell silent, a blank sky.

“I... can’t explain it.” Still clutching the twig Blue Magpie had used, the System looked dazed, a moth in lamplight. “From my view, she just kept poking the ant nest, and reached Qi Refining, then Foundation Establishment!”

Nana’s breath came thin, smoke through teeth. ‘That’s seeing a ghost.’

“Host, do you think Blue Magpie just created her own cultivation method?” The System leaned in, twig in hand, jittery as a squirrel. “People say fools have luck. Could this be one of those?”

“Have you ever seen, in cultivation history, a fool poke ants and poke their way to Foundation Establishment?” Her words cut like a clean blade.

“Uh... no.” Even stories don’t dare write that, a thought flat as a calm pond.

“Forget it. We’ll ask Blue Magpie tomorrow.” The decision settled like dust.

Nana glanced back at Blue Magpie, fast asleep on the bed, breath soft as cattail fluff. “Gaining strength is good. I just fear what strings pull behind this method.”

Thinking of what Trollop told her in the last plane, irritation rose, a swarm of gnats under her skin.

Being moved like a chess piece, toyed at someone’s whim—it was loathsome, a bitter taste on the tongue.

...

When Blue Magpie woke, it was near noon the next day. Fresh from training outside, Nana saw her sister sitting on the bed, drowsy and adorable, a kitten blinking at sun. First thing, she checked her head to toe, a full circle with no blind spots. After confirming she was fine, she slowly asked about yesterday.

“Blue Magpie, do you remember what happened on the back mountain yesterday afternoon?” Her voice was warm as tea.

Blue Magpie seemed adrift, mind still foggy from yesterday. She looked at Nana, shook her head, then suddenly remembered, nodding fast. “I remember.” Her words were soft as falling petals.

“Then tell me—how did you draw Spirit Energy into your body?” Nana’s gaze steadied like a calm lake.

“Draw Spirit Energy into the body?” Blue Magpie tilted her head, puzzled, eyes wide like moonlit ponds. Big sis always said hard-to-understand things.

“The little whirlpool you formed.” Nana gestured toward Blue Magpie’s dantian, fingers sketching circles like wind spirals.

Blue Magpie stared for a while, then understood. “Just like usual—a bang, then a whoosh, and it’s done.” Her smile was simple as sunrise.