"She is indeed very important," Tang Jin answered without hesitation, giving the most definitive reply.

Hearing this, Tang Xi's face filled with heartache, her eyes turning red as though she were about to burst into tears. However, she managed to hold them back, refusing to let them fall. Heartbroken, she cast a glance at Tang Jin, then turned abruptly and left, unwilling to stay a moment longer.

Seeing her leave so stubbornly and sorrowfully, Tang Jin sighed helplessly and stepped forward to stop her. "Why are you so hot-tempered? You didn't even hear me out before storming off. After all these years, you still haven't learned to control your impulsive nature. Remember the time you gambled away ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones? You didn't learn your lesson then either, did you?"

Having been stopped, Tang Xi's anger subsided slightly, but her chest still felt tight with discomfort. She barely registered the main point of his words and fixated instead on the last sentence: "Gambled away ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones."

Stubbornly biting her lip, she neither responded nor looked at Tang Jin. She didn't even know what she wanted to do—leave, though reluctant, or stay, though utterly embarrassed.

Tang Xi had grown up by Tang Jin's side, and her feelings for him—who should have been called "uncle" or "master"—had developed into a nearly obsessive love.

She knew she shouldn't have fallen for someone from the same clan, even if the blood ties were distant. Such feelings were beyond what tradition or the family could accept.

Yet she couldn't bring herself to confess her emotions to Tang Jin openly. At the same time, she couldn't stand seeing other women around him. Instead, she resorted to acting unruly and unreasonable to express her displeasure repeatedly.

Tang Xi knew her mindset was wrong, but she couldn't help herself, and her actions grew more reckless each time.

Tang Jin, however, had always doted on her. No matter how she behaved, he indulged her endlessly, never truly scolding or punishing her. Instead, he either cleaned up the mess himself or had others do it for her.

His constant indulgence only deepened Tang Xi's obsession, making it harder for her to escape her inner turmoil. She didn't even know how Tang Jin truly viewed her. She longed to ask, but fear kept her silent.

She feared that his affection would vanish the moment she questioned him, that their bond would crumble, and that he would be disgusted by her feelings and never want to see her again.

Her fears grew more intense as Tang Jin began to treat Zhang Yiyi differently, giving her special attention.

Throughout her life, Tang Jin had never truly cared about anyone or anything other than her—until Zhang Yiyi appeared.

Tang Xi's unease over this surpassed even the humiliation she felt when Zhang Yiyi defeated her and embarrassed her in public.

She understood that while Zhang Yiyi might not yet hold as much importance to Tang Jin as she did, if things continued this way, her worst fears might come true.

After all, unlike herself, Zhang Yiyi shared no blood ties with Tang Jin. This was her greatest and most fatal disadvantage.

"What's wrong? You don't even want to look at me now?" Tang Jin softened at the sight of the young woman before him, her face filled with pain and inner conflict. His tone turned gentle. "She is important, yes, but not in the way you're thinking."

This time, Tang Xi finally grasped the meaning of his words. Her head shot up, and her eyes brightened as they met his indulgent gaze. "Really? How do you know what I was thinking?"

Seeing her sudden change in demeanor, like a storm turning to sunshine, Tang Jin chuckled. He reached out to pinch her nose affectionately. "How could I not know? Stop overthinking. Spend your time cultivating properly instead of letting unrelated people and things distract you."

"You think I want to? It's just that I can't stand her! You know that already, and yet you still made me come to talk to her even when we ran into her by accident."

Though Tang Xi continued to complain, her mood was visibly improved. However, her wariness and dislike for Zhang Yiyi remained undiminished. "What's so important about her? Why can't we just kill her?"

"It's not that we can't kill her—it's that we can't kill her right now," Tang Jin replied patiently, as he always did when dealing with Tang Xi.

"Not right now?" Tang Xi's eyes lit up even more. She pressed, "Then when can we?"

"I don't know," Tang Jin said after a moment of thought, not bothering to hide the truth. "In fact, as things stand, I might not even be able to kill her myself."

"What?" Tang Xi exclaimed, stunned.

Tang Xi's eyes widened in shock, unable to believe what she had just heard.

She didn't doubt Tang Jin's honesty but found his claim almost unimaginable. In the eyes of most people, Tang Jin was merely a late-stage Golden Core cultivator. No matter how capable he was, his strength had its limits. Just last month, during the medium-scale family competition, he hadn't even participated directly, instead focusing on strategic planning on behalf of the family head.

Tang Jin's significant position in the Tang family was primarily due to his intelligence rather than the cultivation level he displayed or his perceived potential.

However, only Tang Xi knew how formidable Tang Jin truly was beneath the surface. He had once effortlessly killed a Nascent Soul cultivator from the Xiao family who had sought to harm her, leaving no trace of the corpse.

The gap between Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators was more than just a single stage of progression. A Nascent Soul cultivator could, at critical moments, abandon their physical body and allow their soul to escape, searching for a new body to possess and prolong their life.

More advanced Nascent Soul cultivators could even create avatars, making them nearly impossible to eliminate completely. For this reason, Nascent Soul and higher cultivators were considered true elites, earning the title of "powerhouses." The leap in strength from Golden Core to Nascent Soul was vast and unimaginable.

While defeating or seriously injuring a Nascent Soul cultivator wasn't impossible, utterly eradicating one, body and soul, was exceedingly difficult—especially for a Golden Core cultivator.

Yet Tang Jin had done just that, and with apparent ease. Although Tang Xi didn't know the details, she was well aware that Tang Jin's true strength far exceeded the Nascent Soul stage.

But now, Tang Jin was telling her he couldn't kill a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator? Surely, that irritating Zhang Yiyi couldn't be more formidable than a Nascent Soul powerhouse, could she?

"How is that possible? She's definitely stronger than most Foundation Establishment cultivators, but you..." Tang Xi trailed off, finally certain she hadn't misunderstood or misheard. Unable to resist, she sought an answer but dared not be too direct in her words.

She knew Tang Jin's true strength, and Tang Jin knew she knew. It was a secret between the two of them. She understood this well and would never reveal it to anyone else, not even in private.

"Be good," Tang Jin said softly, stroking Tang Xi's silky hair. His eyes held a rare glimmer of anticipation. "That's exactly the secret I want to uncover from her. She carries an exceptionally strong, almost terrifying aura on her—a presence that feels like a mark or a protective barrier, but ordinary people can't detect it."

Tang Jin was different. After ten thousand years, he had finally sensed this aura again—a long-lost trace of the supreme might of a great Ascendant.

Tang Jin knew better than anyone that the world they lived in was sick, and severely so. For tens of thousands of years, ascension had been impossible. The situation had worsened, with even cultivators at the Transformation stage unable to progress further.

He had extended his lifespan through secret techniques for over ten millennia, trying countless methods but still unable to break through the world's constraints or find a path to ascension.

But now, he had finally sensed the long-lost aura of a Grand Ascendant on this seemingly ordinary female cultivator. The vitality of the aura confirmed that its true owner still existed, proving that it was possible to break the stalemate and that there was still hope for ascension.

Tang Jin had waited for far too long. Zhang Yiyi's appearance was undoubtedly the key to his ascension. She was crucial to him in every way.

He didn't explain further, but to Tang Xi, his explanation was already enough.

"Fine. If she's useful to you, then let her live for now," Tang Xi muttered, still unable to hide her dislike for Zhang Yiyi.

Tang Jin chuckled at her words, pausing as if something else occurred to him. Indulgently, he added, "Since you dislike her so much, why not find an opportunity to make her suffer a bit? Teach her a lesson, and it'll give you some satisfaction. It'll also help me test my theories about her."

Zhang Yiyi had no idea that the reason she had caught the attention of the so-called Third Master of the Tang family was tied to her master.

At this moment, she was aboard a ship headed out to sea with He Jie's team.

The ship wasn't a spiritual artifact but neither was it an ordinary vessel. It had been specially constructed, enhanced with protective formations, and was far sturdier than common ships.

The ship belonged to He Jie and Liu Song, a couple, which meant they received a larger share of the spoils from their hunts. Maintaining and repairing the ship after each expedition also incurred significant costs.

Such ordinary-grade ships were mostly used by rogue cultivators. Prominent families with wealth and influence typically used ships that were spiritual artifacts, offering greater safety at exorbitant prices.

"If only we could afford a spiritual artifact ship, we could venture deeper into the sea and hunt higher-level beasts," He Jie sighed to Zhang Yiyi aboard the ship. "But as it is, most of the spirit stones we earn go toward our cultivation. Saving enough to buy even the cheapest spiritual artifact ship is impossible."

He Jie chatted with Zhang Yiyi throughout the journey, quickly growing familiar with her. At first, she assumed Zhang Yiyi was a member of some family out for discreet training but was surprised to learn that Zhang Yiyi was also a rogue cultivator like them.

While He Jie didn't doubt Zhang Yiyi's status as a rogue cultivator, she wasn't naive enough to believe Zhang Yiyi was an ordinary one like them. After all, how could someone with no backing reach mid-stage Foundation Establishment at such a young age?

Even with exceptional talent, it seemed unlikely. Zhang Yiyi's spiritual roots weren't remarkable, either—three-spiritual roots that were arguably inferior to He Jie's own partner and younger brother.

Still, whatever the truth, it was Zhang Yiyi's private matter, and He Jie had no intention of prying. As long as Zhang Yiyi wasn't hiding anything malicious, it didn't concern them.

"Don't worry. You'll get there someday," Zhang Yiyi said casually, comforting He Jie. Then she asked, "What kind of beasts do we usually hunt at sea?"

So far, the team had encountered a few beasts, but they were all low-level—mostly first or second rank. It was clear the team wasn't targeting these weaker creatures.

Zhang Yiyi guessed they would need to venture further into the sea before they started hunting their real targets. The beasts in the Canglang Sea seemed to have territories based on their strength, with lower-ranked beasts staying closer to the outer edges and higher-ranked ones deeper in the sea.

"It depends," He Jie replied, clearly enjoying the conversation. "We usually hunt in areas where third- and fourth-rank beasts roam. It's relatively safe for us there. Even if we occasionally encounter a fifth-rank beast, we can handle it as long as we work together. Just hope we don't run into too many at once."

Zhang Yiyi nodded in agreement. It was evident that this team had a clear understanding of their strengths and targeted beasts accordingly.

Third- and fourth-rank beasts were roughly equivalent in strength to Foundation Establishment cultivators, ranging from early to late stages, and even to peak completion.

Fifth-rank beasts, on the other hand, were comparable to Golden Core cultivators, having formed their own inner cores. Their strength was naturally formidable.

While a single Foundation Establishment cultivator couldn't defeat a fifth-rank beast, the combined efforts of the team made it possible to take one down.

The team's hunting zones, primarily populated by third- and fourth-rank beasts, allowed them to fight confidently. Even if they encountered a beast horde or stronger threats, they had the option to retreat.

Fifth-rank beasts were rare in those areas and typically appeared alone if they ventured in. This strategy ensured the team's safety and explained why they hadn't suffered significant casualties in years of hunting.