A gentle breeze was blowing as a flying boat sailed through the air, heading straight for Siyue Gate.

An Zhengzheng was practicing diligently at the bow of the ship, holding a dark blue longsword.

Her swordplay was fluid and graceful, each swing causing strands of hair to fall around her ears. Her white skirt billowed with her movements, like a white pine tree swaying in the wind.

An Zhengzheng's eyes were sharp. Although her sword energy was as cold as snow, it was so sharp that it almost shattered into sparks when she swung it, which showed how much force she used and how fast her moves were.

After a series of moves, the clanging of swords ceased a moment later. An Zhengzheng sheathed his sword and stood at the bow of the ship.

"Truly a precious sword made of Xuan Tian Han Shi." She weighed the sword in her hand, feeling deeply moved.

The sword that she was forced to give to a man back then eventually returned to her hands.

Recalling the deal she made with her father in the study, An Zhengzheng could not hide her excitement.

The third branch of the An family, one of the four great families of cultivators, will be inherited by the young lady of the mansion.

This matter will soon spread from the father's mouth.

The cultivation world will see its first female cultivator who inherits her family business.

This is An Zhengzheng's first step.

"Young Miss's move was truly impressive."

The steward was talking to several servants around him.

He had lived in Anjia for so many years and had never seen anyone wield a sword so steadily and move so ruthlessly.

Even the gentleman of that age back then couldn't smoothly execute one of the movements.

An Zhengzheng had excellent hearing; even from the bow of the ship, she heard the steward's words.

A slight smile played at the corners of her lips.

They soon arrived at Siyue Gate. When An Zhengzheng disembarked, An Yirou was already waiting at the gate.

"Please be careful in everything, Miss." The steward spoke with great respect when seeing An Zhengzheng off.

When the master came out of his study, he gave the order that from now on, the two young ladies of the An family should be treated equally and raised as heirs.

In other words, there will be no young master in the manor from now on, and the person in front of us is very likely to be the future head of the family.

Although the servants were not convinced that the woman was in charge of the household, the master was still alive, so they still had to maintain appearances.

An Zhengzheng nodded goodbye and walked towards An Yirou with her sword in hand.

"Sister, you're finally back!" An Yirou happily came over and took An Zhengzheng's arm. "How is Grandmother's health? Is she alright?"

An Zhengzheng was overjoyed, and her tone was also a little excited as she replied, "It's all over now."

An Yirou was innocent and naive, so her parents naturally wouldn't tell her many things about her family.

As for the matter of the ancestral hall, the clan members all felt it was a family disgrace, so they naturally pretended it never happened once they left the ancestral hall.

"Sister, don't take those rumors outside seriously." An Yirou felt annoyed thinking about all the gossip that had been circulating since An Zhengzheng left three days ago.

An Zhengzheng remembered that her father had specifically asked this question in the study, so she opened the jade slip and saw many posts.

It turned out that during the three days that An Zhengzheng returned home, the Siyuemen Forum was in an uproar.

"She's going to cultivate the Path of Ruthlessness? I'm afraid she's trying to take advantage of Zhou Xu. After all, everyone knows that the Zhou family has a genius who's suited to cultivate the Path of Ruthlessness."

"No wonder she didn't go to the Joyful Union Sect. I knew it... I heard she was going to have a magical duel with Zhou Xu. Being close to the source, she'd have the advantage. And before she knew it, she'd marry into a wealthy and powerful family..."

"The An family has fallen on hard times, yet they still managed to come up with this kind of method. Taking the imperial examination to become the top scholar is probably just a way to attract attention..."

Countless speculations were rampant on the forum, and even some novice cultivators who were unaware of the situation were gossiping about the cultivation families.

An Yirou said cautiously, "Sister, don't look. They all talk so meanly."

An Zhengzheng naturally didn't take it to heart; she smiled wryly.

She and Zhou Xu were equally outstanding in appearance, both cultivated the ruthless path, and both took the sword as their lifeblood. In terms of strength, she was even a step ahead of him.

Because Zhou Xu is male, he is someone people admire. With his strength and talent, he is praised wherever he goes.

An Zhengzheng is female, so all her efforts are aimed at finding a rich husband.

No one would say that Zhou Xu was working so hard to gain a woman's appreciation.

Is it funny?

It's not funny.

An Zhengzheng knew this path would be difficult.

"Have the rumors outside affected you?" An Zhengzheng herself didn't care, but she was afraid that An Yirou would be dragged into the mess for no reason.

An Yirou said somewhat angrily, "Some people, the moment they see me, they look down on my cultivation level. It's so annoying."

These past few days, many people have been pointing fingers at her.

An Zhengzheng took off the jade pendant from her waist and handed it to An Yirou, saying, "This jade pendant can help you conceal your cultivation level; those below the Golden Core stage cannot detect you."

"But what about you, sister?"

“I’m not afraid of these things.” An Zhengzheng helped her tie it up and then handed An Yirou a magic bag.

It contained many things, all of which could help An Yirou with self-defense and cultivation.

"The new disciple trial is in half a month, so it's good for you to keep it for self-defense."

An Yirou said happily, "Thank you, sister. I was just worried about not being able to pass the new disciple trial period."

If you fail the new student trial, you cannot practice advanced techniques.

The two sisters chatted as they walked, and they ran into Zhou Xu along the way.

Zhou Xu waited for An Zhengzheng for three days, and finally she returned. He waited for her on her usual route.

He appeared in front of An Zhengzheng with an indifferent look in his eyes, attracting the attention of many people on the street.

An Zhengzheng glanced at An Yirou subconsciously. Her younger sister's eyes were fixed on Zhou Xu, and she dared not move an inch.

As for her complexion, it was as red as before.

"You promised me before, a magical duel."

Zhou Xu was used to being a genius, but this was the first time he had lost to someone in the Qi Refining stage.

"Sure," An Zhengzheng readily agreed. "Now?"

Zhou Xu nodded, then subconsciously glanced at An Zhengzheng again.

This time, An Zhengzheng was no longer able to conceal her cultivation level with the jade pendant, and was immediately spotted.

Zhou Xu suddenly stopped, his previously calm expression turning stiff: "You're only at the fifth level of Qi Refining?"

An Zhengzheng nodded. On the night she was punished to kneel, she ate all the pills and broke through to the fourth level of Qi Refining.

Zhou Xu pursed his lips, a moment of surprise followed by a strange feeling.

He is emotionally detached and doesn't yet realize that this feeling is one of regret and loss.

He frowned and said, "According to the rules of the martial arts world, duels must be fought within the third level; otherwise, it would be considered that a higher level cultivator is bullying a lower level cultivator."

"I'm already at the ninth level of Qi Refining. If nothing unexpected happens, I'll advance to the Foundation Establishment stage within six months."

“Miss An, it seems we cannot have a contest of magic today.”

An Zhengzheng looked at him and saw that he looked calm.

An Zhengzheng turned to look at An Yirou, who was blushing, and the conversation between herself and An Yirou came to mind.

"Do you remember that we came to Siyue Gate to cultivate immortality?"

"Yes, we are here to cultivate immortality... but if we could marry Zhou Xu, we wouldn't have to go through all this trouble."

"Didn't the Zhou family have a daughter like that before? She married the Master, and when the Master attained godhood, her entire maternal clan also ascended to heaven..."

"Why should we women work so hard... We can't compare to male cultivators, sister..."