Chapter 4: Powerful and Sinister

"Big brother, you're coming to my house? That's wonderful! Let me show you the way!" Ji Yin was so excited she could hardly contain herself. This was what people called a windfall—what was bound to come would come, and there was no escaping fate. He was destined to be devoured by her.

Ji Yin grabbed the hem of Xuan Yuanji's robe. "This way—oh, maybe not, is it this way? That doesn't seem right either, perhaps it's this way?" The notorious Ji Demon King turned out to have no sense of direction!

From the moment Xuan Yuanji touched Ji Yin, he sensed a power emanating from her. His own soul force fluctuated uncontrollably, as if about to be sucked into that force. It felt like an endless abyss, a powerful whirlpool, a gaping maw waiting to swallow everything whole.

He was certain Ji Yin herself had no trace of soul force, not even a sign of awakening, yet this power was deeply sinister.

By the time they returned to the Ji family estate, Ji Yin could already smell the aroma of wine and roasted meat; a grand banquet had been laid out in the main hall.

The head of the Ji family, Ji Yun—who was now Ji Yin's nominal father—was the Imperial Preceptor of the Scarlet Plume Kingdom, second only to the monarch himself.

Ji Yun was a prodigy, awakening his spiritual domain at the age of seven and becoming a rare spiritual cultivator. At sixteen, he reached the fourth level of the spiritual domain; now, he was a level-eight powerhouse. Even across the world, there were only a handful who had ever surpassed the eighth level. So far, no one had ever broken through to the ninth—a legend yet to be realized.

The former emperor of Scarlet Plume held Ji Yun in high esteem. In his youth, Ji Yun served as a general, fighting on many fronts to secure the kingdom. When the wars finally ended, the emperor summoned him back and appointed him as Imperial Preceptor, responsible for overseeing the awakening and cultivation of all the kingdom’s soul force talents. It could be said that Ji Yun wielded the mightiest power in Scarlet Plume.

The Ji family had six sons, each inheriting their mother’s beauty and their father’s abilities. All awakened their soul force and opened their spiritual domains at a young age.

For ordinary people, awakening soul force usually meant a surge in power—further training would lead to more breakthroughs, and with each increase, one could withstand ten opponents, a hundred, or even a thousand. A level-nine soul force master possessed strength beyond measure, capable of smashing city walls with a single punch.

But the awakening of the spiritual domain marked a fundamental difference from ordinary soul force; spiritual cultivators could fuse their strength with the forces of nature, killing without a trace.

Take Ji Yun, for instance. Alone, he could annihilate tens of thousands of ordinary soldiers with ease. Even if ten level-nine soul force masters besieged him, he could escape unharmed. It was said that he once slew four level-nine masters from the Golden Flame Kingdom at once, suffering only minor injuries.

Heaven seemed especially generous to the Ji family—seven sons were born, six of whom awakened their soul force and spiritual domains. Their prospects were limitless.

But the seventh child seemed to be a cosmic joke, born into the wrong family.

Ji Yin had not awakened at all. Compared to her six brothers, she was utterly useless!

The mouthwatering scent of food wafted closer. Ji Yin rubbed her stomach and was about to step forward when Ji Shaochen grabbed her from behind and yanked her aside. “You! Go reflect on your mistakes!”

Before Ji Yin could protest, Ji Shaochen dragged her into a special room.

From her memories, this place was all too familiar—the little dark room where she was often confined. They called it the “Shadow Chamber.”

Ji Yin sat cross-legged on a straw mat, sorting through the memories in her mind.

This world was made up of seven countries.

Her family, the Jis, belonged to the Scarlet Plume Kingdom.

No wonder it was considered a land of exile—the spiritual energy here was scarce, and awakened ones were few and far between. Compared to the Liusha Star, where people were born awakened, this place was truly wild and backward.