The day the youngest daughter of Chen Zhenlong was born, Glory City fell into an uproar.
The news of her birth spread like wildfire. Within just a few days, every citizen of Glory City knew about it, and people were excited to learn more about the little princess of the Divine Family.
It didn't take long before Chen Zhenlong and his second wife, Chen Yinying, personally confirmed the news to the masses.
Because of this, the citizens of Glory City fell into a frenzy. Everyone was happy for the patriarch and his second wife upon hearing this wonderful news.
Especially when Chen Zhenlong generously announced that all the restaurants under the Divine Family's businesses would be serving free meals to every customer for an entire week in celebration of his youngest daughter's birth.
All the noble families also sent their congratulations, along with numerous gifts, to the little princess. Everyone was delighted to welcome her into the world.
The following year, another piece of great news shocked Chen Zhenlong and the Divine Family.
The little princess of the Divine Family, Chen Linlin, possessed an extremely rare physique.
The Nine Crystal Yin Physique.
This news brought another uproar throughout Glory City.
The Nine Crystal Yin Physique was something many experts were familiar with.
This kind of physique had only been recorded once in the city's history.
And it belonged to one of Glory City's great ancestors.
Lady Yueliang Nushen.
One of the ancestral founders who led the survivors to the st Ancestral Mountain and helped build Glory City. She was a Legend Rank expert who protected the city during the Ages of Darkness.
She was also known by another title.
The youngest Legend Rank Demon Spiritualist.
Lady Yueliang Nushen reached a realm that many experts considered attainable, and she did so at the young age of twenty-five.
This made her not only the youngest Legend Rank Demon Spiritualist in history but also the most beautiful goddess ever recorded.
Her godly appearance was immortalized through countless literary works and portraits spread throughout the city. Although she had passed away many years ago, her heaven-defying beauty continued to captivate the hearts of countless citizens even to this day.
All of this was thanks to her unique physique.
The Nine Crystal Yin Physique.
This heaven-defying physique allowed her innate potential to soar by leaps and bounds.
And now, that same physique, which many considered nothing more than a myth, had appeared once again in the body of a little girl a thousand years later.
This news alone caused a huge commotion, enough to place the entirety of Glory City in high spirits.
Because if the rumors about the Nine Crystal Yin Physique's extraordinary potential were true,
it was only a matter of time before everyone witnessed the birth of another Legend Rank Demon Spiritualist.
Making Glory City a much safer place to live.
As long as no tragedy befell the little princess of the Divine Family during her formative years,
she would surely reach unimaginable heights, just like her predecessor before her.
As long as no tragedy happened to her.
-SMACK! WOOSH! CRACK!-
"Elder Brother, calm yourself down! Those are just children. They didn't know what they were saying. Please be magnanimous and forgive their offense. I will personally lecture those children and make sure this incident never happens again."
A bead of sweat streamed down Chen Fe's face. A worried expression appeared on him as he watched his eldest brother furiously hurl his desk against the wall, shattering it into pieces.
Enraged, Chen Zhenlong paced back and forth across his office, huffing angrily as he struggled to rein in his fury.
"CHEN FE! DO YOU THINK I'M A FOOL?! OF COURSE I'M NOT GOING TO HARM THOSE BRATS! THEY'RE STILL PART OF OUR DIVINE FAMILY, EVEN IF THEY HAVE SHARP TONGUES!"
Although Chen Zhenlong said those words, Chen Fe couldn't fully believe him.
The look on his elder brother's face was anything but calm. Chen Fe was certain the only reason his brother remained in his office was because he was tempted to throw those children into the sky.
The reason for Chen Zhenlong's fury was simple.
Among the children who had been playing with Chen Linlin earlier, one had mentioned the taboo words in front of her. Worse, the other children copied him and began calling Chen Linlin the Withered Princess.
To say that Chen Linlin was heartbroken upon hearing those words would be an understatement.
It had been days since that incident happened, yet Chen Linlin still refused to come out of her room.
Chen Fe sighed inwardly.
What happened to his little niece was truly a tragedy.
One moment, everyone was excited about the news of her heaven-defying talent.
Then, as if someone had flipped a switch, everything came crashing down.
At first, she was struck by an unknown illness.
The illness was so severe that it nearly took her life. Fortunately, the symptoms disappeared after an entire week of treatment, and they managed to preserve her life.
But the tragedy didn't end there.
After she woke from her coma, everyone discovered that Chen Linlin could no longer feel any sensation in the lower half of her body.
This news nearly broke her parents.
Their beloved daughter had become crippled at such a young age.
The revelation almost caused her parents, both powerful Demon Spiritualists, to collapse from sheer heartbreak.
Not only that, but the very physique the family had been so proud of was destroyed by the illness.
The Great Elder personally examined her condition and discovered that her soul realm had completely withered.
Forget reaching Legend Rank.
Chen Linlin wouldn't even be able to reach Bronze Rank with her withered soul realm.
Combined with her physical condition, all chances of living a normal life had disappeared.
The once-promising Princess of Glory City, hailed by many as the second coming of Lady Yueliang Nushen, had been reduced to the title of the Withered Princess.
Chen Zhenlong continued pacing inside his office while trying to suppress his anger.
Although he knew children could be careless with their words, he couldn't help being furious about what had happened.
Ever since his beloved daughter woke from her coma, she had refused to go outside or allow anyone to see her.
Other than him and her mother, she wouldn't permit anyone to enter her room.
For many days, Chen Zhenlong and Chen Yinying tried to convince their daughter that it was fine for her to go outside and that she had nothing to be ashamed of.
It took a great deal of persuasion, but eventually Chen Linlin agreed to at least leave her room and stay within her courtyard, enjoying some fresh air and the warmth of the sun.
Over the following week, she even met a few people, though only close family members.
Chen Zhenlong had laid down strict rules for anyone Chen Linlin was willing to meet, all to avoid causing his daughter any further grief.
But someone had to ruin it.
Before the situation could even begin to improve.
Thanks to a brat's careless remark, Chen Zhenlong was right back where he started.
No, scratch that.
The situation was even worse than before.
Because now, not only was Chen Linlin unwilling to leave her room, she wouldn't even speak to anyone, including him.
This had been going on for several days, and Chen Zhenlong worried that the longer it continued, the worse her condition would become.
His thoughts raced wildly.
He needed to find something, or someone, who could reach his daughter and pull her out of her shell.
Then an idea struck him.
And that was how Chen Zhenlong found himself visiting an orphanage in search of a very specific kind of person.
While there, his attention was drawn to a beautifully drawn portrait of a hunter carrying his prey on his back.
The painting was exquisite and perfectly captured the emotions of its subject.
Captivated by the artwork, Chen Zhenlong asked the director about the person who had created it.
He was deeply impressed when he learned that the artist was one of the children living in the orphanage.
Then Chen Zhenlong's eyes flashed with realization after hearing that the boy who created the artwork possessed the worst innate talent the director had ever seen.
One soul force.
And a red soul realm at that.
Zhenlong hadn't even known such a thing was possible.
Normally, the minimum soul force a person could possess was five, and that already represented the worst possible talent.
To have only a single soul force was practically unheard of.
The boy was perfect for his plan.
And after seeing the portrait, he became even more convinced.
Combined with the director's praise regarding the boy's character, Chen Zhenlong began to think his idea might actually work.
He might have found someone his daughter could relate to.
"I want to see the boy for myself."
And that was how Xue Hui found himself standing in the corner of a room, holding a tray of food while looking at the little girl who had supposedly become his master.
She hadn't touched her meal again.
This was the third time since yesterday.
She simply lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling.
Xue Hui was tempted to leave the room and return the food to the kitchen, but something stopped him.
Perhaps it was how defeated she looked.
Or how she spent all day lying in bed doing absolutely nothing.
Almost as if she had already given up on everything.
He must have stared for too long because she shifted on her bed and looked at him disdainfully.
His entire body shook when he realized what he had been doing.
"Aren't you leaving yet?!"
Her tone was anything but friendly.
This was the first time Xue Hui had ever heard her speak.
He was about to apologize and leave when she continued.
"Why are you even here?! Did you come here just to become my servant?! You really have simple dreams, huh?!"
Xue Hui looked at her curiously.
A confused expression appeared on his face as he tried to understand what she meant.
"Becoming a servant at such a young age... what's wrong with you?! And you even chose to serve someone like me! Don't you know I'm going to be stuck like this for the rest of my life?! Do you want to be stuck too?! Attending to me forever?!"
Whether she noticed it or not, her voice grew louder and louder.
"WHY DID YOU EVEN CHOOSE TO BE MY ATTENDANT?! YOU COULD BE ANYTHING YOU WANT! HAVE YOU HEARD OF DEMON SPIRITUALISTS?! IF YOU WORK HARD ENOUGH, YOU MIGHT BECOME ONE! UNLIKE ME, WHO'S TRAPPED IN THIS BED! EVERYONE WILL MOVE TOWARD THEIR DREAMS WHILE I'M STUCK HERE, UNABLE TO DO ANYTHING! I'LL BE LEFT BEHIND BY EVERYONE!"
Her voice became ragged as tears streamed down her delicate cheeks.
Grunting with effort, she pushed herself upright and sat on the bed.
Then she looked at Xue Hui with tear-filled eyes.
Xue Hui remained standing where he was, still holding the tray with both hands.
Silently, he watched the little girl cry her heart out and pour all of her pain into the open.
After taking a deep breath, Xue Hui steeled himself and spoke.
"I don't mind being stuck with you."
Chen Linlin's sobbing stopped instantly.
Slowly, she lifted her head and stared at him.
Her watery eyes widened.
With a wobbly smile, Xue Hui continued.
"I can't become a Demon Spiritualist anyway. My talent is too poor for cultivation. Even Lord Patriarch checked my talent after we arrived at the mansion, and he confirmed that my soul realm is too strange and can't be trained."
Xue Hui let out an awkward laugh while scratching the back of one leg with the other.
"So I don't mind being stuck with you. After all, who wants to be alone when everyone leaves us behind, r-right?"
Chen Linlin stared at him in complete astonishment.
She searched his face, wanting to know whether he was serious.
The scrutiny made Xue Hui gulp nervously.
Then an idea suddenly entered his mind.
Standing straight, he placed his right hand over his chest and declared,
"I, Xue Hui, promise Chen Linlin that I will always stay by her side, no matter what. If I break this promise, may I be struck by lightning and chased by Demon Beasts for the rest of my life."
After he spoke, the room fell into complete silence.
Chen Linlin didn't respond.
She simply stared at him in surprise.
Xue Hui's confidence gradually began to fade.
Just as he was about to leave, Chen Linlin finally spoke.
"P-Promise... you won't leave me alone?"
Xue Hui stopped and turned back toward her.
Looking at her with utmost sincerity, he nodded.
"I promise."
Under the witness of the moonlight, the two forged an unbreakable bond that night.
Unbeknownst to them, Chen Zhenlong and Chen Yinying had been listening outside the room.
They had rushed over after hearing Chen Linlin's raised voice and wanted to see what was happening.
After hearing the entire exchange, both parents could only hope that Xue Hui would never break his promise and never abandon their daughter in the future.
Peeking into the room, they saw Chen Linlin eating her meal once more while the boy stood beside her holding a glass of water.
Seeing this, both parents sighed in relief.
At least for now, things had improved, even if only a little.
True to his promise, Xue Hui never left Chen Linlin's side, even as her illness worsened over time.
He never abandoned her.
Not even when she asked him to.
Even at the very end.
ROOOAAARRR!!!
End of Chapter 3