In his past life, Ye Chu had pursued many immortal maidens, and without exception, he failed every time.
The cultivation world had no place for love, so Ye Chu made up his mind and found a way home.
Unfortunately, a mortal enemy refused to let him go, swearing to grind his bones to dust and scatter his ashes.
Even his fellow losers—romantic rivals—joined the fray, thinking that if they killed him, the fairies would change their minds.
Even a Mist Beast passed by and fucking took a bite out of him.
After he had taken them all down, Ye Chu himself was on his last legs.
He was only one step away from going home.
Ye Chu, living once more, declared that this time he would never chase after any immortal maiden again.
As for taking revenge on romantic rivals and mortal enemies, that was just a side affair.
If they didn’t get in his way, he wouldn’t bother to hunt them down.
If they did, then this time he would shake the egg yolks for miles around until they were scrambled, and split earthworms in half lengthwise.
All those people ganging up on him might not have been a loss if they managed to take him down.
But the reborn Ye Chu would certainly come out ahead.
In this life, he was going home no matter what.
Even if his soul had been reborn into a useless beautiful girl…
…
“Qi Refining, third layer!”
The testing spirit stone’s surface erupted with blinding white light, casting Ye Qingyi’s pale face into an even more translucent pallor.
She pressed her lips tightly together, her expression filled with self-mockery and bitterness.
Her nails dug deep into her palms, allowing her to maintain the last shred of composure and not break down in shame before so many eyes.
“Ye Qingyi, Qi Refining, third layer!! Grade: Low!”
Beside the spirit stone, the middle-aged man in charge of announcing the results read it out in a flat, emotionless tone.
As the words fell, the Ye clan members below showed varied expressions.
“Third layer? Hah, just as expected. The great genius young lady has been stuck in the same place again!”
A sharp, thin female voice was deliberately raised, cutting through the surrounding noise and landing precisely in Ye Qingyi’s ears.
“She’s brought shame to the family…”
Someone shook his head and sighed in feigned disappointment, but the gleeful schadenfreude in his eyes betrayed him.
“If the clan head weren’t her father, trash like this would have been married off long ago, instead of staying in the family and wasting resources.”
“Sigh, the once-famous genius girl of Qingyun City has fallen to such a state?”
“Who knows? Maybe all those past talents were faked using some unknown method, and this is her real level.”
Countless sneers and taunts not only humiliated her but also subtly undermined her father’s authority as clan head.
Ye Qingyi’s body trembled slightly, yet she forced herself to stand straight.
Summits attract false admirers; twilight reveals true believers.
Her disappointment and self-mockery weren’t entirely due to their cold words.
Qi Refining third layer, or even lower… if her whole life were to be shackled to this ridiculous level.
If she couldn’t even touch the threshold of Foundation Establishment.
Then the so-called dream of going home and reuniting with her parents.
Wouldn’t it be nothing but a complete delusion?
She would be forever trapped in the small world of Qingyun City.
She needed power, urgently.
Ye Qingyi didn’t understand—why?
Why did it have to be her?
She had already worked so hard… she started cultivating before dawn every day.
While others rested, she cultivated; while others had fun, she still cultivated.
Yet instead of increasing, her cultivation base kept decreasing.
Was it because she hadn’t worked hard enough?
Or was she really trash now?
No… that wasn’t right.
She had reached Qi Refining tenth layer at fifteen.
Back then, everyone said she was a genius not seen in a thousand years.
Her talent couldn’t have vanished out of thin air.
Something must be wrong.
What if she could find a way to recover?
What if she could… but… it had been three years.
Her condition was getting worse, and there was no hope in sight.
At this thought, Ye Qingyi turned around dejectedly and walked toward the most inconspicuous spot in the crowd.
Even if she couldn’t find a way, even if she was trapped at Qi Refining third layer for life…
She couldn’t fall here.
At least, at least she had to maintain the appearance of dignity.
She couldn’t let those people make a joke of her father.
She couldn’t let her father lose face because of her.
But… it was so tiring.
Every day she had to pretend not to care, pretend that the gossip didn’t hurt her.
But how could she not care?
She also wanted to grow stronger, to break through to Foundation Establishment, to… go home.
Could she still return to Blue Star?
Were Mom and Dad still waiting for her?
She hadn’t seen them in eighteen years… Did they think she was already dead?
Had they already… forgotten her?… No, she couldn’t think about that anymore.
If she kept thinking, she would really cry here.
She couldn’t cry.
She couldn’t let those people see her tears.
Ye Qingyi took a deep breath, suppressing the surging emotions deep in her heart, and quickened her pace toward the corner.
…
Ye Chu, who had just awakened, witnessed all of this through Ye Qingyi’s eyes.
An intense sense of déjà vu washed over him.
He checked his current situation and found his soul residing inside the girl’s body.
Ye Chu understood.
“Oh! Isn’t this the classic story of ‘thirty years east, thirty years west, don’t bully a youth for being poor’?”
“So I’m the old grandpa cheat for this girl?”
“Right, my cultivation in my past life reached the absolute peak, my combat skills are top-notch, and I’m even proficient in artifact refining. I’m more than qualified to be a beginner’s old grandpa.”
“Let me think… The original story has an old grandpa and a young boy, but I’m a young man in my prime, and the host is a pitiful young girl!”
“In my past life, many bad women betrayed my feelings and deceived my body.”
“Reborn and turning the tables, am I about to reap a sweet love?”
“Even if I can’t gain a touching love, raising a delicate little white flower soaked in heavy rain into a supreme powerhouse—that would still be very fulfilling.”
“Character development—sai kou!”
Ye Chu was lost in fantasies of a perfect start and a strategy to raise the beautiful girl host.
He completely forgot about his resolution before dying in his past life—to never pursue any immortal maiden again, and only wanting to go home.
But then again… this girl’s inner thoughts were way too heavy, weren’t they?
Missing home, afraid of shaming her father…
Tch.
Bearing so much at such a young age—no wonder her cultivation was regressing.
When the mind collapses, spiritual energy naturally scatters.
But Ye Chu couldn’t yet determine the real reason for her regression.
He needed to observe more.
Jumping out too soon to play life coach would likely backfire.
At the same time, deep within the Zhao family residence in Qingyun City, inside a secret chamber filled with dense spiritual energy and furnished with antiques, a girl in a light purple training uniform—with a straight nose bridge and pale cherry-colored lips—slowly opened her eyes.
She murmured softly, her voice filled with melancholy and anticipation.
“Ye Chu, ten thousand years later, you’ve finally awakened…”
“I wonder, when we meet again, will I still be in your heart…”
Then, the corners of her lips curled up slightly, her smile containing a gentle determination.
“But it doesn’t matter… we will once again… grow to love each other through time.”
She walked out of the secret chamber and said to the maidservant waiting outside.
“I’m going to the Ye residence.”
“Also, tell the clan head that my elder brother’s marriage to Sister Qingyi should be put on the agenda.”