"Yiyi, you're back!"

When Zhang Tongtong saw Zhang Yiyi, she welcomed her with a smile, showing no signs of impatience from waiting.

"Why is my elder cousin here? Is there something you need from me?"Zhang Yiyi asked knowingly, thinking to herself how quickly this person had arrived.

It had only been two days since she entered the inner sect, the busiest time, yet her cousin was already eager to find her. It was clear how much she coveted Yiyi's belongings. Unfortunately, she was still too late.

Thinking about how Zhang Tongtong could no longer use the Ancient God's blood to achieve bodily sanctification, and how she would never have endless spirit stones, Zhang Yiyi felt particularly satisfied.

"Yiyi, it's nothing important. I just wanted to check if you've been adjusting well these past two days," Zhang Tongtong replied, noticing her cousin seemed in good spirits. She couldn't help but think how impressive her cousin's mindset was, being so happy even as an outer sect disciple.

However, the recent test of the Path of the Heart had left her feeling uneasy. Her cousin, who had always been inferior to her, had somehow outperformed her on the test. The thought made Zhang Tongtong feel a lump in her throat.

If it weren't for her strong desire to learn what magical item her cousin had drawn that day, she wouldn't want to see her at all.

"I've been doing well, thank you for your concern," Zhang Yiyi responded, not intending to invite her cousin in. "As the sect's most promising disciple, you must be very busy. In the future, if there's nothing important, you don't need to visit me personally. I would feel guilty if I distracted you from your cultivation."

Her words were polite, but the message to leave was clear to anyone with ears.

Zhang Tongtong had never been dismissed like this before. Though her anger boiled inside, she had to pretend nothing was wrong. The feeling was unbearable.

"You're joking, Yiyi," Zhang Tongtong said with a faint smile. She quickly moved on to her real purpose, casually asking, "By the way, I haven't seen you wearing that storage ring. Haven't you bonded with it yet?"

"Storage ring?" Zhang Yiyi thought, as expected, she had done her homework and already found out what reward I received. "Oh, you mean the magical item the sect leader gave me? It's gone."

With a light "It's gone," her expression naturally showed a mix of heartache and disappointment. She knew how to act, though whether it was convincing or not was another matter.

"Gone? How could it be gone?"Zhang Tongtong reacted intensely, instinctively grabbing Zhang Yiyi's arm, forgetting all about her usual "good sister" act.

Zhang Yiyi felt uncomfortable being grabbed and immediately pulled her hand away, frowning, "Cousin, you seem well-informed. Haven't you heard that I was almost killed by a mountain-guarding beast on my way to Outer Nine Peaks?"

"That happened? But what does that have to do with the missing magical item?"

Realizing she had overreacted, Zhang Tongtong quickly stepped back, though her face remained displeased.

She had heard about the incident but hadn't realized it involved Zhang Yiyi. Of course, even knowing now didn't change her indifference.

Standing quietly nearby, Pan Xinyue, who had been listening, was also surprised. She hadn't expected the victim of the recent rampaging mountain beast to be the new junior sister, Zhang Yiyi.No wonder the girl had stayed inside for two whole days to recover.

Tsk tsk, she thought, To almost lose your life and not even mention it... she's got some self-control. No wonder she managed to climb 729 steps on the Path of the Heart.

Most disciples on Outer Nine Peaks had some background, and even if their aptitude wasn't great, they enjoyed better treatment than regular outer sect disciples. As a new disciple personally assigned by the sect leader to Outer Nine Peaks, the attention on Zhang Yiyi was clearly not something even the rest of them could compare to.

Pan Xinyue had always had a good impression of Zhang Yiyi, and now, seeing how her cousin treated her, she felt even more compelled to befriend her. Naturally, she found Zhang Tongtong more and more unpleasant.

"Junior Sister Zhang has been recovering from her injuries for two days. I just brought her out to eat something. You're her cousin, yet you don't seem to care about her injuries—only about that magical item?" Pan Xinyue's sharp words cut straight to Zhang Tongtong's intentions.

The so-called sisterly affection was too shallow, and even a bystander like her could see that the real motive was about the magical item.

"You misunderstand, Senior Sister..."Zhang Tongtong's face flushed red from the sudden confrontation. After all, she was only fourteen or fifteen, and being called out so openly made it impossible for her to remain calm.

"That storage ring really is gone. I only realized it after I barely escaped. As for how I lost it, even I don't know. Believe me or don't, it's up to you." Zhang Yiyi calmly interrupted, then asked, "Is there something special about that ring? Why else would you care so much?"

"No, you're overthinking it. I was just asking. If it's lost, then it's lost. As long as you're safe, that's what matters."

Zhang Tongtong felt as though her heart was bleeding, a sense of losing something incredibly precious. She knew that whether her cousin's words were true or not, she would never get her hands on that item now.

With that, Zhang Tongtong lost all interest in staying any longer. She mumbled a few pleasantries and hurried off.

"Tsk, your cousin became a direct disciple, but she didn't even leave you a communication talisman," Pan Xinyue joked as she watched Zhang Tongtong leave. "Even though you're young, don't let people take advantage of you."

"She's just a cousin I barely know," Zhang Yiyi smiled. "The ring is really gone, and even if it weren't, I wouldn't have given it to her."

Seeing that Zhang Yiyi understood her point, Pan Xinyue stopped worrying and shook her head with a sigh, "You've got terrible luck, losing a mid-grade magical item just like that. You've got a good attitude though. If it were me, I'd be sulking for days."

She didn't doubt Zhang Yiyi's story. Fate was unpredictable, and this only made her feel more impressed with the composed and sharp junior sister before her.

As for Zhang Yiyi, she felt refreshed and completely at ease. She didn't care whether Zhang Tongtong would still shine brightly in the future and ascend smoothly, as described in the original novel.

Perhaps her future would be slightly more mundane, or perhaps the heavens would compensate with better opportunities.

Either way, Zhang Yiyi couldn't care less. As long as no one crossed her path, she was happy to live and let live.

...

Time flew by in cultivation, and in the blink of an eye, four years had passed.

Aside from two mandatory teaching sessions every month, all outer sect disciples were left to cultivate on their own.

Zhang Yiyi rather liked this self-directed approach. After all, she had her own secrets, and her primary cultivation technique wasn't even one taught by the sect...