Volume One, Chapter Fourteen: The Boy's Promise

Gu Mingxi raised her thumb in admiration at Gu Mingyue. “Mingyue, you truly have a gift for cooking. This mushroom soup smells absolutely divine!”

Gu Mingyue nodded proudly and said to Gu Mingxi, “You should serve yourself a bowl of mushroom soup first, and then enjoy the roast meat.”

As Gu Mingxi sipped the mushroom soup and savored the roast meat, she couldn’t help but sigh, “This life feels like heaven.”

After they had eaten their fill, Gu Mingxi and Gu Mingyue lay on the grass, gazing up at the distant sky, savoring the rare tranquility.

Turning to Gu Mingyue, Gu Mingxi said, “Mingyue, if we ever run out of money in the future, you should open a small restaurant. It would definitely be profitable.”

Gu Mingyue looked puzzled. “How could we ever be short of money? We’re the daughters of the Gu family. Unless the entire Gu family falls, there’s no way we’d ever be in that kind of situation.”

Seeing Gu Mingyue’s dismissive expression, Gu Mingxi smiled to herself. Indeed, in this lifetime, as direct heirs of the Gu family, such a scenario seemed impossible.

But one should never speak too confidently. The firmer the assertion today, the more amusing it will be to recall it in times of hardship.

...

Gu Mingxi and Gu Mingyue then discussed their future cultivation plans. Gu Mingyue asked, “Mingxi, do you plan to join a sect to cultivate?”

Looking at the bright stars in the sky, Gu Mingxi replied cheerfully, “Yes, I want to enter a sect for cultivation. You know I have the Thunder Spirit Root, and there are no senior relatives in our family with the same spirit root. But the Tianyan Sect has powerful masters with the same spirit root as mine. I can become their disciple and cultivate more effectively there. What about you? What are your thoughts?”

Gu Mingyue looked somewhat troubled and said, “I’m not sure. I discussed this with our parents before. They said they would respect my wishes and suggested I join a sect as well, but I don’t want to leave Father and Mother.”

Gu Mingxi thought to herself, “Isn’t this just typical homesickness?”

Turning to Gu Mingyue with a serious expression, Gu Mingxi said, “There are benefits to being in a sect and benefits to staying in the family. The sects are powerful, but our Gu family is also strong—no less than any sect. If we cultivate in a sect, we actually have an advantage because we can access resources from both the sect and our family. This way, we maximize our resources, which is better for cultivation.”

After Gu Mingxi finished speaking, she noticed Gu Mingyue still looked downcast and realized that she understood all these principles but simply didn’t want to leave home.

Gently ruffling Gu Mingyue’s hair, Gu Mingxi patiently said, “I’ve looked into it. Once we join a sect, we can quickly advance to foundation establishment. After that, we can leave the sect whenever we want. You can return home or go on adventures; the sect won’t restrict us.”

Gu Mingyue was not a naive girl. With Gu Mingxi’s encouragement, she soon made up her mind.

She looked at Gu Mingxi earnestly and said, “Mingxi, Father once told me that the leaders of this generation of the Gu family would be us two, so we are destined to be together. I was just being stubborn before. Thank you.”

“From now on, we will support each other and never abandon one another.”

Gu Mingxi nodded seriously. “The path of cultivation is long. Having you by my side makes it even better. Let’s promise to support each other and never give up.”

Gu Mingyue nodded firmly. Under the glow of the moonlight, the two young girls made this vow.

And as they had promised that night, they would never abandon each other in the days to come.

When the others in their team felt it was time to conclude, they sent a communication talisman to Gu Mingxi and Gu Mingyue. Only then did the two end their rigorous training and return to the Gu family together.

Back at the Gu residence, as team captain, Gu Mingxi submitted their mission report and collected their rewards.

“To everyone,” Gu Mingxi announced, “this time we each receive one hundred lower-grade spirit stones and one bottle of medium-grade Qi Gathering Pill.”

The Qi Gathering Pill helps cultivators gather spiritual energy more efficiently during cultivation.

Gu Silin examined the rewards in surprise. “It seems we got quite a lot this time.”

Gu Mingxi nodded. “This mission was more than just a task. The rewards also reflect the elders’ recognition of us, so our rewards are better than most.”

Gu Mingyue thoughtfully nodded. “I didn’t know there was such a reason. No one ever told us before we started the mission.”

Gu Qingfeng looked at the rewards in his hand and said, “This must be an unspoken understanding among the elders. Their goal is to test us young cultivators who have just started.”

Gu Mingxi confirmed, “Exactly. Everyone else in the Gu family knows this except us newcomers.”

...

In this cultivation world, how many resources you obtain truly depends on your own ability. Take this mission, for example: simply completing it would fulfill the task but not meet the elders’ expectations. The elders want to determine who is capable and who is not.

This is the law of the jungle—survival of the fittest. If you lack strength, you won’t receive abundant resources. But if you have talent and skill, the cultivation resources will pile up for you. Over time, the gap only widens.

Fortunately, Gu Mingxi and her companions were intelligent and gifted. Even without reminders, they intentionally honed themselves to improve, earning the elders’ approval.

In this environment, Gu Mingxi had long abandoned the peaceful ways of her past life and fully embraced the survival-of-the-fittest reality. After all, if you are soft-hearted, in the end, the one who suffers is either yourself or your loved ones.

Moreover, in this world, those who strive and ascend can truly transcend to the Immortal Realm. If you keep climbing without pause, perhaps you can even achieve eternal life.

Living forever—wasn’t that the pursuit of those ancient sages?

Who would want to live only a few decades?

On the very first day of her cultivation journey, Gu Mingxi had promised herself she would reach the highest peak and live well—joyfully, freely, and unbound by any constraints.