Stealing Luck from the Heavenly Dao's Favorite

When Wei Lingyue heard the question, his hand holding the teacup stiffened for a brief moment. How was he supposed to admit he hadn't prepared anything at all? But faced with his daughter's hopeful eyes, he found himself unable to speak the truth.

Wei Yunxi didn't even need to think—of course this scumbag of a father hadn't prepared a gift for her. Still, that didn't stop her from angling for one. She purposely sounded disappointed as she said,

"Father, you didn't forget my birthday gift, did you? When it was Sister Yunqing's birthday, you gave her such a pretty red ribbon. She wouldn't even let me touch it."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Wei Yunxi began to gather tears in her eyes. If her scummy father dared say he hadn't prepared anything, she was going to cry on the spot. After all, she was still a child—it was perfectly within her rights to throw a tantrum.

Wei Lingyue sensed trouble and immediately reached into his storage pouch. After fumbling for a moment, he pulled out an egg. It was about the size of a chicken egg, its white shell speckled with irregular black spots. It looked like a quail egg, only twice the size.

"Yunxi, this is a spirit beast egg I obtained during my travels. Once you begin cultivating, carry it with you to nourish it. When it hatches, the beast inside will recognize you as its master and be loyal to you alone."

Wei Yunxi rolled her eyes internally. Nice try—she could tell at a glance that this was just something he pulled out to brush her off. It was probably a dead egg. If it were truly valuable, he wouldn't have handed it over so casually.

Still, Wei Yunxi knew when to take what she could get. She beamed as she accepted the flashy egg, gently tucked it into her storage pouch, and happily made her way back to Zhuóhuá Courtyard.

With the younger daughter dealt with, Wei Lingyue returned to Haitang Courtyard, where Du Ruolan was waiting for him.

That night, Wei Yunxi slept soundly. The next morning, Chunyu dragged her out of bed bright and early. After washing up and eating a light breakfast, she was carried to the Wei family's ancestral hall.

By the time Wei Yunxi arrived with Chunyu, the ancestral hall was already crowded. Each adult had one or two children over the age of five beside them. These were the direct and collateral descendants of the Wei clan, all here to undergo the spirit root test that would determine their future paths.

At the very front stood Wei Yunqing, the legitimate daughter. She clung confidently to her mother's side, her gaze drifting around the hall until it landed on Wei Yunxi.

With a small sneer, she curled her lip at Wei Yunxi, then looked away—as if her little sister wasn't even worth noticing.

Wei Yunxi rubbed her round little chin and smiled outwardly. Internally, though, she was already sizing things up. Wei Yunqing was still too young, not yet the scheming person she'd become in the future. Right now, her petty thoughts were still plain as day—easy enough to handle.

That said, with Du Ruolan guiding her, confronting them head-on wouldn't do her any good. Especially after today, when her spirit root would be revealed as a mediocre three-root aptitude. There was no point clashing with them for now.

"Silence," the clan elder's voice rang out. "We will now begin spirit root testing. Starting with the collateral branch. Children whose names are called, step forward."

The elder began reading names aloud.

"Wei Zinan!"

"Here."

The first to be called was a little boy. Nervous, he walked stiffly up to the elder and placed his small hand on the spirit-testing sphere. A moment passed. No reaction.

"No spirit root! Next—Wei Congshan!"

Wei Zinan, clearly disheartened, slunk back to his father's side for comfort.

The second child, Wei Congshan, was revealed to have four spirit roots: water, wood, metal, and fire. However, the root values were uneven—ranging from thirty-five to fifty. None of them surpassed sixty, placing him in the lower-mid tier.

Still, Wei Congshan was thrilled to have any aptitude at all. He could cultivate, and that was enough to make him happy.

An hour passed. The collateral branch's testing concluded. Most had four or five spirit roots. Only three children had the rarer three-root combination.

Now it was time for the direct line to be tested.

Wei Yunqing stepped up first, as expected. Her results showed dual roots: water and wood, each with a root value of eighty-five—upper-mid tier aptitude.

Both she and Du Ruolan were visibly pleased with the result.

The clan elder smiled and patted her head."Yunqing, your aptitude is quite good. Make sure to cultivate diligently."

"Yes, Yunqing will work hard and not bring shame to the Wei family."

"Excellent, excellent!"

The elder was clearly satisfied with her response.

As Wei Yunqing returned to her place, she gave Wei Yunxi a smug, taunting look.

Wei Yunxi rolled her eyes inwardly, then deliberately put on a nervous act. She shuffled up to the sphere, rubbed her palms together, then placed her tiny hands on the orb. After a brief moment, three lights flared.

The clan elder's smile faded slightly, though he still called out clearly,

"Wei Yunxi. Water, wood, and fire—three spirit roots. All root values are sixty-five."

Only then did Wei Yunxi breathe a quiet sigh of relief. It looked like the Feng family had successfully masked her true aptitude.

She tilted her head and asked with innocent confusion, "Clan Elder Grandpa, is Yunxi's spirit root bad?"

The elder was patient with the children and kindly explained, "Yunxi, though you have three roots, don't be discouraged. Your roots are mutually supportive, which is better than conflicting ones. And your combination is particularly suited for alchemy. You can follow in your mother's footsteps."

His words were fair and sincere, focused on what was best for her.

A smile blossomed on Wei Yunxi's face. It seemed not everyone in the Wei family was trash—at least this elder was genuinely concerned for the younger generation's growth.

"Thank you for the guidance, Clan Elder Grandpa. I'll work hard to cultivate and master the art of alchemy."

She bowed respectfully, then returned to Chunyu's side.

Chunyu felt a weight lift from her heart. While her young mistress didn't have the best aptitude, it was still decent. And with her natural affinity for alchemy, the path ahead wouldn't be too difficult.

Du Ruolan, on the other hand, visibly relaxed when she heard that Wei Yunxi had three roots. Even with the elder's encouragement, she paid it no mind. Everyone knew that dual roots cultivated faster than triple roots. It was entirely possible that Wei Yunxi would never make it past the Golden Core stage.

After all, the Feng family's ancestor was also a Golden Core cultivator built up through pills. He'd stopped there permanently, and only then focused on alchemy. Wei Yunxi would probably end up the same—just a pill maker to supply the clan and support her daughter's cultivation.

Just the thought of it made Du Ruolan happy.

The elder of the family had also mentioned that once testing concluded, the Wei clan would determine which children to send to train at Haoran Sect. With her daughter's aptitude, Du Ruolan was confident she'd be on the list. She needed to discuss it with her husband. Her own future was set, but her daughter deserved the best start possible.

Meanwhile, Wei Lingyue was weighing the paths ahead for both his daughters.

His eldest had dual roots. As long as nothing went wrong, she would have no problem reaching the Nascent Soul stage. She absolutely had to be sent to Haoran Sect.

As for the younger one, he was hesitant. Honestly, he was leaning toward keeping her in the clan. The elder's words had reminded him—her spirit roots were ideal for studying alchemy.

The Feng family had refused to teach the core of their alchemy arts to the Wei clan. But if Yunxi pursued the path of alchemy, they might no longer have a reason to refuse.