Heavenly Grade Aptitude.
When Shen Lingxi passed through the Saintess Gate, everyone was shocked to see the words appearing on it.
The Great Elder of Saintess Mountain, who usually lived in seclusion and rarely participated in aptitude assessments, rushed over in a flurry upon hearing the news. He was so excited that he was beyond words. He tried to pick up Shen Lingxi in his arms, but she dodged him.
Not only did she avoid his touch, but she also looked at him with extreme wariness. She no longer trusted anyone.
‘Heavenly Grade Aptitude?’
She didn’t know what it represented. However, she would never trust this group of people again.
The Great Elder didn’t mind her reaction and proceeded to celebrate Shen Lingxi’s achievement with great fanfare. Below the stage, however, Senior Brother Han was far from happy. He had already offended Shen Lingxi previously. Fearing her retaliation, he lost his composure for a moment.
‘Last time, someone with Half-step Heavenly Grade Aptitude didn’t even become the Saintess,’ he thought, trying to comfort himself. ‘So it must be the same this time.’
Even so, he wanted to do his best to mend the situation. After all, she possessed Heavenly Grade Aptitude.
Shen Lingxi’s fate shifted from that moment on. She received all the resources Saintess Mountain had to offer. She lived in a spacious, bright courtyard, and three meals were delivered to her every day. Others took care of her bathing and laundry. In short, she didn’t have to do anything. She was only required to spend her time comprehending the Saintess Sutra to prepare for receiving the inheritance later.
However, she tossed the Saintess Sutra aside and spent every day in the courtyard staring blankly at nothing. When the Great Elder learned of this, he wasn’t angry. Since she had Heavenly Grade Aptitude, it wouldn’t matter much whether she used the Saintess Sutra for tempering or not.
One day, Shen Lingxi missed her parents and tried to go out, but she was stopped. At that moment, her heart grew cold. She no longer harbored any hope.
During her time in the courtyard, Elder Li, Senior Brother Han, and Senior Sister Liu all visited her with gifts, hoping to repair their relationships with the future Saintess. However, she threw them all out. She had come to view this courtyard as her entire world. She couldn’t leave, and she wouldn’t let anyone else in.
***
Then, one day, a boy about her age climbed over the courtyard wall.
“Oh, you must be that future Saintess the Great Elder keeps talking about. Hello, I’m Gu Ming.”
“The Great Elder is so stingy; he won’t even let people see you.”
Shen Lingxi felt the same intense hostility toward him. She threw the Saintess Sutra that was beside her at him, but Gu Ming dodged it.
“Hey, why are you like this!”
As soon as Gu Ming finished complaining, Shen Lingxi retreated directly into her room. Their first meeting ended abruptly.
The next day, while Shen Lingxi was sitting in the courtyard soaking up the sun, Gu Ming climbed over the wall and entered directly.
“Look, what did I bring for you?”
“…”
“Hey, why are you closing the door and going inside? You don’t like rouge and powder? Damn it, that vendor lied to me. He said all girls like it.”
On the third day, Gu Ming brought pastries. Shen Lingxi kept her door closed to the guest.
On the fourth day, Gu Ming brought a kite. He was met with a closed door once again.
The fifth day…
The sixth day…
…
Finally, one month later, Shen Lingxi reached her limit and questioned him. “What on earth do you want? You come here every day — don’t you find it annoying?”
“I want to see you.”
“See me?”
“Yeah. I fell in love with you at first sight, so I want to see you.”
Shen Lingxi felt that Gu Ming was being unreasonable and even suspected everything he said was a lie. He had to be just like Elder Li and Senior Brother Han. A cynical sneer played on her lips. “And then what? You bring me these worthless little toys every day? I don’t need any of that.”
“Then what do you need?”
“I miss my parents! I want to leave, I want to go home! I don’t want to be here, and I don’t want to be some Saintess! Can you do that? Can you give me that?”
Her rapid-fire questions left Gu Ming stunned in place, unable to answer for a moment. Seeing this, Shen Lingxi simply shut the door on him.
But as soon as the door closed, a hint of regret touched her heart. Peering through a crack in the door, she saw Gu Ming looking dejected as he climbed back over the wall and left. Her regret deepened. It hadn’t been easy for someone her age to enter her isolated little courtyard, and she had chased him away in a fit of anger.
Still, she stubbornly believed she hadn’t done anything wrong.
The following day, Shen Lingxi waited in the courtyard all day, but Gu Ming didn’t come. ‘Fine, if he doesn’t come, then he doesn’t come. Who cares?’ she thought, trying to comfort herself.
On the second day, Shen Lingxi waited again, but Gu Ming was still a no-show. ‘Stupid Gu Ming,’ she thought, her brow furrowing with irritation. ‘He said he fell in love at first sight and liked me, but he stopped coming just because I yelled at him once? How useless.’
On the third day, Shen Lingxi waited all day again, yet Gu Ming still didn’t appear. She finally began to reflect on her actions, feeling that she had indeed gone too far.
On the fourth day, Gu Ming remained absent. Shen Lingxi started to miss the boy who had tried every possible way to make her happy.
On the fifth day, Gu Ming didn’t come. Shen Lingxi’s heart felt empty.
On the sixth and seventh days, her hope of seeing Gu Ming gradually faded.
On the eighth day, the long-absent Gu Ming finally appeared. This time, however, he didn’t climb over the wall. He walked through the main gate of the courtyard.
As soon as she saw Gu Ming, Shen Lingxi could no longer suppress her emotions. She rushed over and hugged him.
“Where did you go? Why didn’t you come to see me? I hate you, I really hate you,” Shen Lingxi sobbed.
Gu Ming was momentarily stunned, surprised by her reaction. He gently comforted her. “Didn’t you say you wanted to leave this place and go home to see your parents? It took some time, but I went to convince the Great Elder.”
“But how did you get to see the Great Elder?” Shen Lingxi asked, her eyes wide with wonder.
“Because my brother is the Alliance Leader!” Gu Ming laughed, but then his face fell. “However, the Great Elder refused to give up on you being the Saintess no matter what. He wouldn’t even agree when I offered to be the Saintess in your place.”
Shen Lingxi couldn’t help but let out a light laugh. “How could a boy be a Saintess?”
“That’s true.” Gu Ming scratched his head.
“Will you come to see me in the future?” Shen Lingxi looked at him.
“Of course,” Gu Ming said with a smile. “Come on, I’ll take you home.”
“Mhm.”
“By the way, Elder Li and Senior Brother Han have been dealt with. Elder Li was executed, and Senior Brother Han had his cultivation base stripped. He was kicked out along with that girl, Liu-whatever.”
“Oh.”
“That’s what they get for bullying you.” The boy brandished his fist. “I had to make them pay the price.”
“But how did you manage that?” the girl asked, her eyes blinking in disbelief.
“Because my brother is the Alliance Leader.”