Ye Shaohua had never seen her mother since birth. Her only connection to her mother was this fifth-rank magical beast core.
She knew how precious a fifth-rank core was—it was worth more than the entire Ye family.
When she was exiled to the wasteland, Ye Shaohua knew she couldn’t protect the core with her own abilities, so she left it in her courtyard. In her previous life, she never saw it again before her death.
She hadn’t expected it to be given to Ye Jin so early.
Ye Shaohua felt the intense emotional fluctuations of the original host. She frowned. Although she didn’t understand magic yet, after experiencing so many worlds, her physical skills were unparalleled.
No one saw how she moved, not even Ye Jin. By the time Ye Jin realized what had happened, the core around her neck was already in Ye Shaohua’s hand.
“Did you take it?” Ye Shaohua held the core in one hand and clenched her other fist, raising her eyes slightly to question the elder.
Her voice was cold, and her dark eyes sent a chill through the elders.
Suddenly, a chant of a magic spell echoed in the hall.
“Whoosh!”
Five water arrows materialized in front of the golden-haired boy beside Ye Jin and shot mercilessly toward Ye Shaohua.
“Third-rank magic?” Everyone in the hall exclaimed in shock.
No one had expected that the boy, who was about the same age as Ye Jin, was a third-rank mage—on par with Duke Ye!
In other worlds, Ye Shaohua had limitations, but in this world where strength was everything, she didn’t hold back. Her explosive mental power and reflexes allowed her body to instinctively adjust, dodging the water arrows.
At the same time, Duke Ye summoned an earthen wall in front of Ye Shaohua.
Everyone thought it was the earthen wall that had blocked the golden-haired boy’s water arrows.
“Forget it, Brother Gu Hong,” Ye Jin shook her head slightly and then looked at Duke Ye. “Since Shaohua likes it, let her have the fifth-rank core.”
She took off the core and handed it back to Duke Ye.
After all, it would eventually find its way back to her.
Hearing Ye Jin’s voice, everyone in the hall turned their attention to the golden-haired boy.
“So that’s Gu Hong, the prince of the Wolf Empire and a student of the prestigious Rhine Academy!”
“It’s really him! The genius most likely to break through to the seventh rank in the Wolf Empire! Ranked 36th on the Magical Continent’s leaderboard!”
“…”
Whispers of awe filled the room.
Everyone looked at Ye Jin with admiration, but there was no jealousy. Her talent was so extraordinary that they couldn’t even bring themselves to envy her.
Ye Jin basked in the attention, while Gu Hong looked down on the people of this small city with disdain.
A fifth-rank core? They treated it like a treasure. He sneered.
Duke Ye took the core Ye Jin had returned and called Ye Shaohua into his study alone.
Ye Shaohua pulled out a chair and sat across from him, lazily playing with the core.
“Shaohua, do you know why I called you back?” Duke Ye rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on as he watched his daughter’s indifferent demeanor. “The core is your mother’s keepsake, but it’s useless to you. Giving it to Ye Jin is the best choice. You can use this to build a good relationship with her. With her achievements, she can protect you in the future. Shaohua, I can’t protect you forever. There will come a day when I have to leave you. I promised your mother I would keep you safe.”
Hearing this, Ye Shaohua clenched the core in her hand.
“Father, why do I need Ye Jin’s protection? I can protect myself,” she said, tapping the table.
“Yourself?” Duke Ye shook his head. “You’re not even an apprentice mage. How can you protect yourself? Ye Jin has A-rank spiritual power. She’ll at least become a fifth-rank mage in the future. Even in the Wolf Empire, she’ll be revered. With her around, you’ll be safe.”
He wasn’t belittling Ye Shaohua, but spiritual power was innate.
F-rank spiritual power was practically useless. Duke Ye had lost sleep over this matter.
“Is A-rank spiritual power really that impressive?” Ye Shaohua narrowed her eyes.
“What do you think?” Duke Ye felt like his daughter had lost her mind. “Do you know who Gu Hong is? He has A-rank spiritual power, is a third-rank mage, and a student at Rhine Academy. Most people on the Magical Continent have F-rank spiritual power. Only those with D-rank or higher can truly learn magic. B-rank spiritual power is rare, let alone A-rank. As for S-rank, in all these years, only the Holy Son of the Light Temple has achieved it. So, do you understand how extraordinary A-rank is now?”
Ye Shaohua just raised an eyebrow and said nothing.
A-rank spiritual power?
She really didn’t think it was that impressive. The spiritual power levels on the Magical Continent, from lowest to highest, were F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, and SSS. This was common knowledge.
Ye Jin and Gu Hong both had A-rank talent.
When Ye Shaohua first sorted out the situation in this world, she had the system test her spiritual power. After experiencing so many worlds, her spiritual power had reached the unparalleled level of SSS-rank!
Ye Jin was A-rank.
Ye Shaohua was SSS-rank—three whole levels above.
So, Ye Shaohua truly didn’t think A-rank was anything special.