Chapter 1. The Beginning
The Zhu clan estate was bustling with activity: an important event was taking place today—another daughter of the clan head was undergoing spirit awakening. For some, it was merely a convenient excuse for at least some kind of celebration in such a cold family, but those were in the minority. Most of those present had come to find out what kind of potential they should expect from the future fiancée of the younger prince.
He did possess extremely high talent and a ninth-level innate spirit power, but unfortunately, he had been born too late. A seven-year gap was far too difficult to make up for, even with talent. And in the case of the young lady of the Zhu clan, things were even worse: she was three years younger than her fiancé, and the same seven years younger than her sister, the fiancée of the crown prince. According to the laws of the country, the two princes would inevitably clash in a battle for the throne, and in most cases, the losers would be killed.
In truth, despite the fact that the younger prince's talent surpassed that of the elder, many did not believe in his chances and therefore supported the crown prince. However, there were also those who were prepared, depending on the younger sister's talent, to stake their future on the younger and more promising couple.
A six-year-old girl named Zhu Zhuqing walked through the hall under the intent gazes of numerous people. Yet, despite her age, she looked surprisingly calm. She walked forward with purpose until she finally stopped in front of the elder entrusted with the duty of awakening her spirit.
For everyone present—everyone except the heroine herself—what was happening was nothing out of the ordinary. As expected, the daughter of the main family awakened the Hell Civet spirit. However, almost no one noticed the slight twitch in the girl's calm mask at the moment of awakening. She could feel that her spirit was by no means a simple Hell Civet: in addition to the basic attributes inherent to that type, the awakened spirit contained a faint inclination toward the space attribute. But even that was not what truly affected her emotions.
The main thing was that her spiritual power had clearly been trying to form a second spirit, which would have automatically placed her potential at the very pinnacle of this continent. Yet halfway through, something went wrong, and all that remained inside was a cloud of spiritual energy that had never managed to fully take shape.
"Place your hand on the orb," the elder ordered, extending the mentioned item toward her.
The girl obeyed, and soon the room was lit by a bright glow.
"Innate full spirit power!" someone exclaimed excitedly.
From that moment on, the girl truly felt piercing stares for the first time, and many of them were far from friendly. Leaving aside the supporters of the first prince—most of the negativity was coming from the royal family.
There were many congratulations, as well as a gift from her father—a spatial-type spirit tool in the form of a ring. But more than anything at that moment, the girl simply wanted to finally find herself in silence, away from all those eyes wishing for her death. So at the first opportunity, she returned to her room.
"My carefree days are over now," I sighed, clenching the ring I'd received in my palm.
What no one knew was that I, the young lady of the Zhu clan, was not living my first life. In my previous life, I had been a twenty-six-year-old man. I hadn't been blessed with good health and died rather early. When my memories awakened in this life, I was already three years old.
I still remember that time. No, I didn't panic over the change of sex or over becoming Zhu Zhuqing. For someone who had been sick for many years and constantly tormented by numerous ailments, reincarnating into a healthy body with enormous potential was happiness in itself. I was only a little disappointed that there was no "system" or any obvious cheat. The only thing was that I could sense the spiritual energy around me far too clearly.
In the end, this helped me begin absorbing spiritual energy even before my spirit awakening. But even so, I only managed to sense my meridians half a year before my sixth birthday, which perhaps was the reason I obtained full innate spirit power. And perhaps because I discovered them so late, the second spirit had been unable to fully form.
But what can you do. In a way, the Combat Continent's world of cultivation, compared to many others, looks both backward and advanced at the same time. Backward—because, with the exception of the main character Tang San, who knew cultivation techniques from his previous life, everyone else in this world simply absorbed energy into their bodies, and thus their cultivation speed depended entirely on innate talent.
But on the other hand, even without cultivation techniques, people in this world are capable of attaining godhood. And the only development I can recall that, roughly ten thousand years from now, will accelerate progress at the Titled Douluo level (rank 91–99) is the creation of spirit souls, which will passively draw spiritual energy into the body like a vortex. But at earlier stages, without special conditions, this is almost impossible due to the danger it poses to the meridians.
And the most absurd thing is that no one even tried deliberately circulating spiritual energy through the meridians to gradually widen and strengthen them—aside from Tang San and some followers of the Tang Sect. Everyone without exception focused on regular meditation according to the principle: "If it works, don't touch it."
"Why are there so few experimenters in this world?" I sighed, summoning my spirit and trying to understand what exactly the Hell Civet had mutated into.
Mastering the spirit went by uneventfully. Just like the other members of the Zhu family, my hair lifted slightly on my head, imitating cat ears, and my nails darkened and elongated, becoming as sharp as razors.
"I've thought so many times about how Zhu Zhuqing's ring configuration could be changed so she wouldn't end up as a banal supplementary tool for martial spirit fusion with Dai Mubai. And now for me, that's a necessity," I ran my finger along the claw which, while sharp at the tip, was still useless against enemies with high defense.
"Sooner or later, my sister will probably try to restrain or kill me… I can't follow the same path as in the canon. I need to become stronger. And I also need to lower everyone's guard…"
"I can do this!" I encouraged myself, drawing up a plan for the near future. Especially since I clearly disliked the ring configuration the Zhu clan used. Far too many offensive abilities without any armor-piercing effect, far too few speed-enhancing skills, and a complete lack of life-saving abilities. I refuse to accept such pathetic nonsense.
The plan formed quickly. As someone with innate full spirit power, I was supposed to be assigned a spirit ring soon, and most likely they would take me to the Dai family's private preserve, which for generations had raised beasts "suitable" for the royal family and for brides from the Zhu clan. But I still had some time and, more importantly, I could help myself with my sister's own hands, while she believed she was ruining her rival's future. The main thing was that none of the elders more knowledgeable about spirit beasts interfered.
The crux of the idea was this: absorb a ring from a Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear younger than fifty years. Yes, a white ring, from any spirit master's point of view, is a complete waste of talent. But Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bears have a couple of extremely important traits. Their claws can tear even dragon scales, and they possess an extremely tyrannical energy, making such rings five to ten times harder to absorb; thus, a white ring from such a beast is on par with a hundred-year one. However, very few people know this, and I only know it because of my previous life. On top of that, a beast that young would most likely be much easier to find and transport, even directly to the palace. The main thing was persuading my sister.
It was decided that I'd start with my reputation, which I would have to sacrifice for this. I spoke with various elders and tried to portray as naturally as possible my fear of exploding from absorbing too old a ring. As a result, in this nest of spiders, by evening people were already talking about how weak-willed I was. And when I ran into my sister briefly, a joyful smile appeared on her face.
"Dear little sister, you can just come to me, and I promise that the beast they find for you won't be able to hurt you," her feigned concern, dripping with malice, was sickening. But that was exactly what I wanted, so I replied cheerfully, "Really? You'll really help me, Sister?"
"Of course. Just tell me what kind of beast you want, and I'll find you one that's no older than a hundred years. That's what you wanted, right?"
"Mm‑hmm," I immediately nodded quickly, hearing someone nearby sigh helplessly, apparently finally disappointed in me.
"Then go to the library, and afterward tell your sister what beast you want, and your sister will get it for you."
"Thank you, you're the best," I quickly hugged the girl, then ran off, not paying attention to how the cordial smile on my sister's face turned into a truly predatory grin.
As she'd said, I ran to the library, since I at least needed to make it look like I hadn't known in advance which beast I wanted. Besides, I did actually need to find the book, and I had to act quickly so that Father wouldn't have time to interfere.
Unfortunately, contrary to my expectations, searching for information about the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear took much longer than I would have liked. So long, in fact, that Zhu Zhuyun—apparently just as afraid of interference as I was—eventually came to check on me. But I still managed to find the necessary information and immediately showed it to her.
"Here, I want this kind of bear, but a fifty-year-old."
Looking at the beast I pointed to, as well as the description of its abilities, Zhu Zhuyun couldn't help but sense something was off. However, deciding that it was still just a white ring and not even halfway to a hundred years, she concluded it was worth it.
"I'll help you, but just don't tell Father, all right?"
"All right, I promise," I answered obediently.
"Good girl," Zhu Zhuyun said with a satisfied smile, patting me on the head before turning and leaving.
"Good girl… We'll see how 'good' you still think I am when I'm slitting the throats of your lackeys," I frowned, staring at the back of my self-satisfied sister.
The next day for me began with the elder coming to get me and taking me to the training grounds. Of course, I was going to be trained anyway, but after yesterday they decided it was better to start as soon as possible instead of waiting until the first ring in order to temper my character.
As one would expect from one of the most important clans of the Star Luo Empire, among those who supervised the youngsters' training there were support‑type spirit masters with healing abilities. Because of that, I was immediately assured I didn't need to be afraid of injuries, before they paired me with a boy who, though a year older, had not yet obtained his first ring and was also at the 10th rank.
"Zhu Min, rank 10, spirit: Hell Civet," the boy introduced himself first, summoning his spirit.
"Zhu Zhuqing, rank 10, spirit: Hell Civet," I introduced myself in the same way, summoning my spirit. My senses instantly sharpened, my muscles strengthened, and an almost imperceptible feline grace appeared in my movements.
The match began suddenly. The boy, like a coiled spring released, leaped straight at me, arms with claws extended forward. It resembled a beast's pounce. He clearly intended to knock his inexperienced and, by rumor, weak‑willed opponent to the ground and gain an easy victory. Only I had no intention of just standing there and waiting. And my reaction speed now was by no means as slow as it had been at the end of my previous life. Shifting to the side, I, not feeling the slightest pity for my opponent, was going to slash his exposed flank, but because my body couldn't keep up with my thoughts, I was just a bit too slow and instead of his side I only managed to rake his shin, leaving several deep, bloody gashes.
"Ah!" The boy, not expecting resistance, ended up rolling across the ground, leaving a bloody trail, and howled in pain.
"That's enough," the elder immediately stepped forward and began scolding the boy, summoning his own spirit at the same time. It looked like a sunflower. Seven rings appeared around him in the configuration known as the ideal age distribution (yellow, y, purple, p, black, b, b). Obviously, he was a Spirit Saint (71–80). Then one of the purple spirit rings around him lit up, and the wounds on the boy's leg began to heal before my very eyes. "Zhu Min, remember this lesson. This is what happens when you underestimate your opponent."
"I'll remember, Elder Mu," the boy replied.
"Good. Stand up, again!"
We stood facing each other once more, but now there was serious concentration in the boy's eyes. It was clear that this time he wouldn't make such a foolish jump. He raised his hands in front of his chest, ready to use his claws.
"Begin!" the elder ordered. Once again, the boy made the first move. He lunged forward sharply and tried to slash me with his claws, and I immediately jumped back, trying at the same time to catch his arm with my own claws, but I was still not quite fast enough.
He advanced several more times like that, seemingly testing me, and I retreated each time, attempting to counterattack as I did so. Before long, a smile appeared on his previously cautious face.
"Just like they said, you're too timid," he sneered, and in the next instant lunged forward again. I jumped back as before, preparing to counterattack, but he didn't stop and forced an even closer engagement. The claws of my right hand dug into his wrist, drawing a groan of pain, but he didn't stop and slashed with his other hand toward my chest.
"Stupid boy," I swore inwardly, barely managing with my other hand to grab his wrist and prevent the blow from landing. The next moment, I saw stars dance before my eyes. He had slammed his forehead into my nose, making me reel back. In the next instant I couldn't hold back a cry of pain as his sharp claws sank into my shoulders.
"Surrender," I heard the boy's voice. At the same time, he pressed harder on the wound; his claws dug even deeper into my flesh, intensifying the pain.
"Surrender? Admit defeat to some ordinary seven‑year‑old?" A true rage began flaring up inside me—the kind where you couldn't care less about the pain and only wanted to make your opponent hurt.
Perhaps he managed to catch something of that emotion in my eyes, but it was already too late. Ignoring the pain as his claws began tearing at the meat and skin of my arms, I suddenly lunged forward, driving the claws of my left hand into his collarbone, while the claws of my right hand almost pierced his throat—I only barely managed to stop at the very last instant.
My heart pounded furiously in my chest. Anger tempted me to rip open his throat right then and there, helping me forget the pain, but rational thought wouldn't allow it. Real horror shone in the boy's eyes, and the next moment I felt a truly irresistible force. We were flung apart like tufts of fluff.
"A good start," I heard a male voice above me, and then I saw the elder, who was looking at me with a faint interest in the depths of his eyes. Only then did the almost unbearable pain in my arms finally begin to register.
I literally hissed when he touched the edge of the wound.
"Remember this pain, girl. The path of spirit masters is full of pain, tears, and blood. You'll have to get used to it, or you'll die." As he spoke, he summoned his spirit again, and a thousand‑year spirit ring around him lit up. My wounds began to heal.
"Thank you for the guidance, elder," I offered my thanks, as was proper in such situations.
"Get up. You're not done for today."
That was how I first truly realized the difficulty of battles in this world. A sword has no eyes. And most spirit masters have their own ways of attacking. Some, like me, use claws; others use the sword itself. All of this also, in a way, explains why everyone strives so hard to acquire as many offensive skills as possible, since it's far from rare for those skills to be such that there's no need to let the enemy get too close. Even so, this didn't change my plans; I was still convinced that Zhu Zhuqing's original ring configuration had been poor.
The next week for me passed in the same daily routine: breakfast, sparring, lunch, physical training during which I also tried to circulate spirit energy through my meridians—so far it was barely working, but there was some small progress—then dinner, and finally cultivation in a quiet setting until midnight, after which, in order not to overload my mind, I still went to sleep. To be honest, with each passing day I grew more worried. Since I couldn't allow myself to slack off during training, everyone had already forgotten about the incident when I pretended to be overly timid. I was only glad that my sister was not permanently at the clan estate, as she was studying at the imperial academy together with her fiancé. I was anxious that they might drag me off to obtain a so‑called optimal ring. And although I could admit that the first skill was quite useful thanks to its brief explosive burst of speed and follow‑up strike, and in the future I would even look for a similar beast for my third or fourth ring, I had completely different plans for my first two rings. Those plans would likely leave me lagging behind at the Spirit Master level (11–20), but if I could succeed, then starting from the level of Spirit Grandmaster I would very likely become deadly to almost all Spirit Grandmasters (21–30), and perhaps even to those on a higher level.
Fortunately, my worries were unfounded: before anyone even brought up obtaining my first ring, one evening my sister came to my room accompanied by two servants carrying a cage. Inside was a bear cub with dark‑gold fur and rather long claws that sank deeply into the metal, clearly having cut through it like a hot knife through butter. It was immobilized and, judging by the look of it, unconscious. As soon as the door closed behind them, my sister spoke:
"As I promised, here is your first ring." She handed me a sharp dagger, then added, a little impatiently, "Hurry up."
"Thank you, Sister," I said, quite sincerely grateful, as I took the weapon in hand. As soon as they opened the cage door, I unhesitatingly drove the dagger into the bear cub's closed eye, plunging it in to the hilt. The beast's body twitched for only a moment before going still. Then, right above it, energy began to gather and formed a milky‑white ring.
I didn't wait. I immediately sat down on the floor in front of the beast and pulled the ring toward myself. As soon as it touched my body, I felt aggressive spirit energy begin to pour into me. This was nothing like the harmless level I dealt with during cultivation; this energy wanted to harm me, carrying the resentment of the slain creature. I even suspected that this bear cub hadn't been fifty years old but somewhat older, yet I had my own ideas even for that case.
As is known, dynamic systems can withstand far greater loads than static ones, so I had to move this flow of energy along a single path, to distribute the strain. It began at a focal point slightly below my navel, then ran down the inner side of my left leg to the very foot, and from there up along the outer side of the leg to the groin area, then through the torso to the right armpit, then along the arm to the fingertips, then back up along the outer side of the arm to the shoulder and from there to the base of the neck, then to the left shoulder and down the outer side of the arm to the fingertips, and from there along the inner side of the arm back to the armpit and from there to the solar plexus in the chest. From the chest the flow went down the outer side of the right leg to the foot and returned along the inner side of the right leg to the abdomen. Then from the abdomen it went up the spine to the crown of my head, then down through the face to the source—thus closing the circuit. I continued to guide the energy along this path until it finally fused with my body. And the ring fused with my spirit, sending information about its capabilities to me through it.
When I opened my eyes, I couldn't hold back a joyful smile, because my plan had worked. Not only had my theory of absorbing the energy by the principle of a dynamic system—which had accidentally turned out to resemble a five‑pointed star—succeeded, but the ring also gave me exactly what I wanted, while at the same time raising my rank to 11, marking my advancement to Spirit Master (11–20).
"Well, what ability did you get?" my sister asked with a clear smirk on her face.
"As long as my first ring is active, my claws become sharper and a bit longer." Without hiding my smile, I activated the ring's ability, and my claws immediately changed color, becoming like a dark‑gold metallic alloy, exactly like the bear cub's, and reached ten centimeters in length.
Watching the effect of my first skill, it seemed Zhu Zhuyun could no longer hold herself back. At first barely audible giggles came from her, and then she finally burst out and laughed aloud.
"Ha‑ha‑ha! Born with full innate spirit power and yet with a ten‑year ring! That's hilarious!"
"Miss, you really should have at least waited until we left," one of the attendants said helplessly.
"What difference does it make? Even if she had thrice full innate spirit power, now no one will support her anyway. Thank you, little sister, for being such a useless coward. Ha‑ha‑ha."
Even after she left my room and the servants were cleaning up the mess, I could still hear her laughter from the hallway. But it didn't bother me at all. Instead, not wanting to waste time, I sat on my bed and cultivated. Time wasn't on my side, and besides, my plans for my second ring before my escape were truly grand. I needed a thousand‑year beast that could give me a teleportation ability similar to that of the Soft‑Boned Rabbit.
A strike capable of cutting through almost anything, even if limited in range, plus teleportation, even over short distances and with some cooldown—yes, that was exactly what I needed to get started.