Ye Mengdie, as mentioned before, was in a very dire situation. Every action she took had to be executed with utmost care and meticulousness. Her uncle was an intelligent man—if he even harbored the slightest suspicion, it would be over. Not to mention, her brother was always keeping an eye on her.
There was a saying Jingxuan often used: "Know yourself and know the enemy, and you will have a chance of success even in a dire situation."
Right now, the most important thing for her was information. Even though she had been reborn, in her past life, circumstances had left her with very little inside knowledge—aside from a few major events that had caused a huge stir.
So, the first thing she wanted to do after her rebirth was gather information. But she didn't have many people to rely on. Those she could trust lacked the means to obtain information efficiently. And she herself was constantly restricted by the watchful eyes of her traitorous brother.
Yet, she was someone who had been reborn—she had a method to gather intelligence while evading her brother's gaze, and she could acquire high-quality, insider news with remarkable efficiency.
She devised a plan. The killings weren't merely for survival—they were a means to harvest shadows as refinement material. With these shadows, she could forge a Mingji known as the Shadow-Web Mingji, designed for espionage.
This Mingji was a Rank Two Mingji that came in child–parent pairs. The child Mingji could attach directly to a target and transmit any voices it heard to the parent Mingji. There were many advantages to using this type of Mingji. The child Mingji fed on shadows themselves, so there was no need to worry about feeding it.
It was a method from the future—few techniques existed that could detect when a child Mingji had been planted. Even against upper-level wielders, it worked effectively. However, its range was limited—only about one hundred to one hundred fifty steps.
So, she gave Chen Xi the parent Mingji and attached the child Mingji to some of the palace workers and low-level wielders, allowing her to gather information efficiently.
These days, she had collected a lot of information. Some of it was obviously bad for her, and when she heard yet another piece of bad news, she wasn't surprised.
Chen Xi reported, "My lady, that bastard junxi has noticed that you've been having an easy time in the Vital Rose Fields after killing mortals these last two months. He plans to send criminal wielders and demonic wielders alongside you to the fields."
The Vital Roses were a type of Mingji material. They possessed a demonic nature, and to mature, they required the blood of living creatures. Any creature's blood could be used to help them grow, but the Ye Clan preferred human slaves. Why was that? Fierce beasts were difficult to control—they would never willingly offer their blood. Not to mention their thick hides, feeding them, and other such issues made them troublesome.
For all these reasons, the clan used human slaves instead. In this world, only Mingji wielders had value; human slaves who weren't wielders were considered inferior even to fierce beasts. Ye Mengdie and her sister's punishment was to join those human slaves.
Two months had passed since her rebirth. The last two times she'd killed mortal slaves who were sent to the fields along with her to soothe the hungry roses so they would stop draining the blood of her and her sister. At this news, her facial expression changed; anger coiled beneath her skin and a cold, murderous intent flared in her eyes. "One day I'll tear that fucker apart, piece by piece," she vowed.
This was the worst news she had heard in the past few days since planting the Mingji. If demonic wielders were sent to the Rose Field along with Mengdie, they would likely attack her and her sister to save themselves from the blood drain. If Mengdie were alone, that would be one thing—but she had to protect her sister while fighting. This was very bad news for her. She had no confidence whatsoever that she could fight while trying to protect her sister.
Mengdie asked, "Have you found out the rank of the demonic wielders who will be sent alongside us?"
Chen Xi shook her head sadly, signaling no.
Mengdie ordered, "Keep an eye out, and report immediately if you find anything."
Chen Xi bowed slightly. "I'll try my best."
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In Haoyu's dorm room, he sat in a meditative pose with his eyes closed. He looked like a scholar deep in thought, yet his Mingji hovered steadily in front of him—he had been refining it continuously for two days.
He was extremely tired; dark bags had formed under his eyes, and dizziness pressed against his focus. Sleep beckoned, but he resisted. His talent was extraordinary—it was First Grade. If he had used a few more Genesis Stones, he could have completed the refinement even faster.
Yet he hadn't asked his grandfather for any. Haoyu was determined to succeed on his own and prove his capability.
Actually, the Hao family's situation was a bit complex. Normally, even in a clan, first-grade talents were rare and highly praised. However, in Si Fanghu Town, the situation was special.
Five years ago, an extraordinary generation had been born — a batch of youths brimming with talent, shocking the entire town. It was the first time since Si Fanghu's founding that so many gifted individuals had appeared at once. After that, however, not a single first-grade talent had emerged — until this year, when they finally appeared again.
The Hao family's first young master was one of those talents from that generation. Because of that, the value of first-grade talents had diminished in the Zhou Hao family.
The first young master of the Zhou Hao clan had even become the youngest elder in the clan, and everyone hoped he would be the next clan leader. That was why Haoyu's worth in the Zhou Hao family was low — his grandfather had made his stance clear, showing everyone that the first young master was the true heir.
There was a final glow in the room; afterward, the light dimmed. Haoyu looked at the Mingji in front of him, his tired eyes shining with joy. "I finally succeeded. Now I'll show everyone who the true genius is! Hahahahaha!"
From Haoyu's perspective, his victory was certain. The Zhiwei family was dealing with their own internal troubles, so Zhiwei wasn't paying much attention to his refining. In such a situation, who could match the refining speed of a first-grade talent? Who among the students would be both foolish and wealthy enough to refine a Mingji in a single attempt and compete with him?
To compete with Hao Yu, they had to spend an enormous number of Genesis Stones. A Mingji wielder also had to feed their Mingji, and their food usually cost around fifty Genesis Fragments. Each student received seven Genesis Stones from the academy, but they would have to spend at least four just on feeding, leaving only three stones. Moreover, it wasn't even certain they would win, since they feared Hao Yu and Zhiwei.
The value of Genesis Stones was not to be underestimated.Even Hao Yu's family would think twice before lending more than ten to fifteen Genesis Stones. Not to mention, even a second-grade talent would have to spend at least fifteen stones if they wanted to compete.
Hao Yu was almost certain he would be the first to refine a Mingji.
But if only he knew Jingxuan was crazy enough to use twenty Genesis Stones for refinement — and if he made any mistakes, the cost could rise to thirty. Obviously, no one else would dare to do that. Not to mention, Hao Yu had an extra thread as a Rank One Mid Stage wielder with six rings. Who could possibly defeat him?
Unfortunately for him, Jingxuan didn't need practice — and he was mad enough to risk his Genesis Stones to refine the Mingji directly. More than anything, he had twelve threads.
Hao Yu was very happy. He had spent two whole days refining his Mingji, and now it was evening. After receiving his reward from the headmaster, he planned to visit his grandfather. He was truly delighted, already imagining his grandfather's praise and laughing to himself. "Hehehehe."
He locked the room door and went straight to the school. Near the headmaster's office, he was about to knock when he heard voices from inside — someone was already there. Ignoring it, he knocked anyway.
From inside came a voice: "Come in."
Hao Yu happily opened the door, but the moment he saw Jingxuan inside, an uneasy feeling crept into his heart. Still, he ignored it and turned to the head instructor. "Instructor Long, I've successfully refined the Mingji!"
Instructor Long was smiling as he said, "Oh, Hao Yu, my boy, you came a bit late. Jingxuan was the first to refine the Mingji.
"Anyway, good work. You've put in a lot of effort refining your Mingji. I hope you continue to do well in the future."
Hao Yu stared blankly, unable to find words. He had been so certain he would win first prize — he had been so happy in that moment — but it was Jingxuan who was first. Not Zhiwei, not Chaoyang, both talented and well-backed, but Jingxuan. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Jingxuan, noticing Hao Yu's expression, smiled and said, "Young Master Hao Yu missed the chance. My Mingji's will was weak, so I refined it quickly."
Seeing Jingxuan's smile, Hao Yu grew furious. He gritted his teeth and inwardly cursed him. The head instructor was also surprised to see Jingxuan win—it required extraordinary luck to find a Mingji whose will was so weak that a wielder could surpass first-grade refining speed. He could also see the fury in Hao Yu's eyes and felt a hint of pity.
It was hard to say whether Jingxuan's luck was truly exceptional—finding a Mingji with such an unusually weak will—or if Hao Yu's luck had simply failed him. Cases like this did occur, but they were extremely rare, less than one in ten thousand.
Hao Yu wanted to tear Jingxuan limb by limb. Because of him, he had missed the chance to show his grandfather his worth. Anger was evident in his tired eyes. Hao Yu couldn't do anything. He angrily stomped his feet as he left, but stumbled at the doorstep and fell — he was tired and furious, and still a young boy.
Jingxuan added fuel to the fire by laughing loudly. "Hahahaha, it seems Young Master is truly blessed with bad fortune."
Seeing Jingxuan's smile, Hao Yu's blood boiled. He wanted to attack him badly, but the head instructor was right there.
The head instructor reprimanded Jingxuan. "Jingxuan, you shouldn't laugh at your classmate. Go help him."
Jingxuan stopped laughing. He nodded and offered his hand to Haoyu to help him up. Hao Yu slapped it away and stormed off in anger.