Abandoned

Upon awakening, Ye Fei found herself lying on the streets of a destitute area in the eastern part of Maple Town, far away from her own Ye Family.

Her eyes were met with the sight of a dimly lit alley, its road covered in mud, and a group of children who appeared to be around her age. Their frail frames were a stark reflection of their malnourished state.

It was the first time she had ever encountered children so weak and vulnerable. At that moment, she realized for the first time that her own life was comparatively privileged. A wave of genuine sympathy washed over her as she felt a deep sorrow for these unfortunate children.

Initially disoriented by her unfamiliar surroundings, Ye Fei soon comprehended her aunt's intentions. Ye Ling feared the consequences of her meeting with the family patriarch. If Ye Fei were to encounter him, all of their deceitful schemes, embezzlement, and wrongdoings would be exposed to the entire Ye Family.

Desperate to prevent this, Ye Ling resorted to violence to keep Ye Fei away from her grandfather. By subjecting her to the harsh realities of the outside world, Ye Ling aimed to traumatize Ye Fei and force her into submission, so that they could seize her possessions and manipulate her like a puppet.

Ye Ling despises Ye Fei's confident and composed demeanor. Ye Fei always speaks to her as if she can see through their plans. Ye Ling is constantly fearful of her maturity, which surpasses her age.

As a result, she desires Ye Fei to suffer enough to break her spirit and beg for mercy.

Ye Ling scoffs at her aunt's naive thoughts with pure disgust.

"What a simple and foolish woman! Does she really think that nobody will report this to the family head? Does she believe that the world revolves around her? I have always heard stories about the family head's cunningness and wisdom when dealing with family and external matters. I refuse to believe that he hasn't placed any trusted servants as spies in each branch."

"I just need to stay here for a few days until this news reaches his ears. Then he will come to find me. Let's see who will have the last laugh."

After she made up her mind she took a look at her surroundings, the first thing she had to do was find a way to earn money.

***

Ye Fei found herself in a difficult situation and desperately sought out job opportunities from nearby shops to meet her daily needs.

However, her worn-out clothes and unkempt appearance led people to suspect her of being a thief, causing them to chase her away without a second thought.

Despite facing rejection from everyone, she persevered and continued to search for work.

As the days turned into a month, she fought hard to avoid returning to the Ye family, but her hope of being found by the family's servants began to waver. Hunger drove her to join a group of children who stole money from passersby, and she gradually learned the art of pickpocketing in the bustling market area.

Over time, she transformed into a full-fledged thief and even started providing food for younger children as she honed her skills.

However, one fateful day, she was caught off guard by a cultivator who mercilessly beat her for her thieving ways.

In the corner of the road, she lay there, barely breathing, thrown aside once again. Her resilient body had saved her yet again.

It had been three long months since Ye Ling's servants had discarded her, and no one had come to find her. All her hopes had faded away. She couldn't believe that the family head's people would take this long to locate her, and she doubted that Ye Ling and her husband could keep this news from reaching the family head. Though it was difficult, she had come to realize that her grandfather didn't care about her.

The words echoed in her mind, 'Who do you think you are? You filthy wrench... Do you think the family head will be concerned about you? Don't get too full of yourself!... For him, your existence itself is a disgrace to Ye's family. Even if you died right now, no one would care about you. Do you want to see it?'

Struggling to breathe, she remembered Ye Ling's harsh words. Every breath was agonizing, her body wracked with pain. 'So it's not a bluff. It's... the truth... *pant* No one is going to help me, huh? It's not her, but I am the one who thought this world revolved around me?!... Haha, ironically, it hurts... *pant*..." She questioned herself, "Am I truly a failure?... Is there no way for me to become powerful?... I hate it. I can't accept the fact that I was still hoping for someone to save me.' Once again, she realized how pathetic she had become. She wanted to rise, but her body refused to respond to her will.

'I hate myself for my incapability to be self-sufficient... I want to be strong.... enough to be free from all of this bullshit... But can I become powerful with my trash spiritual root... haha that's... simply impossible...'

Immense anguish arose from the condition of her current state.

Before Ye Fei's spiritual root was tested, her uncle's family treated her at least as a human being, but now she was treated like dirt due to her poor-quality spiritual root.

What are the spiritual roots?

Spiritual roots are essential things for us, humans to absorb spiritual energy Qi from heaven and earth. By analyzing spiritual roots one can determine their talent for cultivation. Quality of spiritual root was sorted out as Damaged, Poor, Inferior, Primal, Normal, Advanced, and Superior from lowest to highest quality.

Spiritual roots can be divided into five categories: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.

Spiritual energy absorbed by spiritual roots can be varied depending on the type of spiritual root. For example, someone with wood spiritual root can only absorb wood Qi on their dantian. Cultivating another type of Qi from your spiritual root attribute might damage the cultivation base, and sometimes it may result in crippling your whole cultivation path.