Chapter 62
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“The number one prodigy of Azure Spire in the High Sanctum of Archmagi. Burn that name into your memory. Your only goal is to leave her in the dust!” Boris’s voice was cold and relentless.
Boris’s words hammered in Marietta’s mind, over and over. “Surpass her! If you can’t do that, then you’re not my daughter”
Ever since Marietta could read a word, there was only one name he was allowed to remember, and only one goal she was ever given.
Be the prodigy everyone talked about and outshone Linda.
Everyone knew about the prodigy on Azure Spire in the High Sanctum of Archmagi. She hit the Aether–Stoking Phase at just eight years old. After only two years as an apprentice, she blew everyone’s minds and became the youngest Aether- Stoking Phase cultivator in history,
People were dying to catch a glimpse of her.
But Azure Spire kept her under tight wraps. Whether it was the Azure Spire Lord or her seniors, everyone couldn’t stop singing her praises whenever her name came up.
When Marietta first arrived at the High Sanctum of Archmagi at eight years old, every time someone mentioned the junior sister from Azure Spire, their eyes shone with pride and their voices brimmed with affection.
“That’s our junior! You seriously don’t know her? She’s adorable and talented. She’s always polite and super thoughtful. She doesn’t put on any airs, even though she’s a total prodigy!”
“Last time, the Sect Master rewarded her with an Aether–Nurturing Pill, and she immediately gave it to an injured senior brother she barely knew.”
“When she saw him kneeling at the foot of the mountain, she learned he’d been mauled by a beast, failed his mission, and was being punished by his master.”
“Then she went and interceded for him and gave him the pill to help him recover.”
“How could anyone be such a perfect junior sister?”
All those compliments kept ringing in Marietta’s ears.
In that moment, she finally got why her father was so obsessed with her outshining Linda.
She wanted to be the prodigy everyone talked about. She wanted to be the junior sister whom everyone couldn’t stop praising.
So Marietta worked hard and planned carefully, step by step, until she finally earned her place on Azure Spire. She started to get closer to Linda.
And just like everyone said, Linda was pure–hearted as a child. She never guarded herself, always open and sincere with her.
And so, bit by bit, Marietta started to realize the secret trouble that haunted the prodigy everyone admired.
After Linda broke through to the Gilded Phase, her cultivation progress came to a screeching halt.
Marietta knew that was her chance. She could finally surpass Linda.
But Marietta never expected to botch her breakthrough to the Gilded Phase. At her lowest point, she set her sights on Linda. In a contest, she outsmarted Linda and claimed the Gilded Core for herself.
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17:55 Fri, Jan 23 DDO
Chapter 62
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Still, Marietta would never forget the day Linda’s Gilded Core was ripped away. Linda met her gaze and said, “You’ll never beat me. Never.”
Just one step short. Forever just one step short.
The extra arrow before her now was just like the look Linda had given her that day. She was calm, composed, and completely devoid of resentment. It was as if losing her Gilded Core barely fazed her at all
Marietta thought things would just blow over, but two days later news spread that Linda had crippled her own cultivation.
She just couldn’t figure it out. Just like she couldn’t make sense of the girl standing before her.
Why… why does she have to humiliate me like this?‘ Marietta thought, feeling utterly humiliated.
Marietta’s eyes were bloodshot now. She didn’t care about anything else. She pushed herself to manifest another arrow, and this time, she shattered the record. Just like Linda, she managed to summon an eighth arrow.
But it was obvious to everyone that she was barely hanging on.
Marietta’s body was shaking uncontrollably. Blood began to drip from her nose.
Matthew was stunned.
Toney scrambled out of the pit, eyes wild and red, yelling, “Matthew, stop her! Marietta…”
Her Gilded Core wasn’t stable yet. Her cultivation realm hadn’t fully settled. She still hadn’t recovered from the damage she took during her last retreat.
Marietta couldn’t even bring out the real power of the Mirage Bow. If she kept forcing it like this, she would be in serious trouble.
Matthew snapped to attention at Toney’s shout and dashed forward to stop Marietta. But instead of grabbing her, he lunged straight for Linda.
‘If I can just get Linda to stop, maybe Marietta won’t lose herself completely, Matthew thought.
Everyone saw it. Linda was actually forming a ninth arrow.
She had no bottleneck at all. There was no limit to her power!
Talent like this was downright scary. None of them had ever seen anything like it before. Well, except Matthew. He’d witnessed it once, back when he had a junior sister like that.
The memory of Linda flashed through Matthew’s mind. She’d always be sitting up on the peak of Azure Spire, her white robes fluttering in the breeze. She’d turn around with that bright smile and say, “Matthew, just having a moment of insight!”
Matthew’s eyes rimmed with red, but he didn’t slow down for a second.
When Matthew made his move, it seemed to drag on forever, but really, it was over in a flash.
He was at the very peak of the Gilded Phase. Laura tried to raise her sword to block him, but Toney cut her off before she could get in the way. In that heartbeat, Matthew’s palm was already crashing down toward Linda.
Her spirit bow exploded into shards.
Linda’s gaze was steady. Her face was serene, not even a flicker of shock or panic. It was as if she’d been expecting this moment all along.
Matthew felt a jolt of unease. ‘No, something’s not right. She’s way too calm… Is this a setup?‘ he thought.
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13.55. Fri, Jan 23
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Claro, shelding Linda, was sent lying in the words, crashed through three or four tree
nk he pulled her close and took the brunt of the impact hire
He took the hit with his back.
Linda was caught off guard for a moment.
Emmett and Dermot, nestled in her arm and all geared up to sing into action, could only stare in silence
Come on, if you keep stepping in like this, when are we ever going to get a chance to prove ourselves? they both priped inwardly
Linda Rafael and Craig burst into the woods, shouting at the top of their lungs.
Laura was also panicking
The three of them rushed into the woods and found Claudio and Linda. As Claudio struggled to sit up, he spak out a mouthful of blood. Craig looked like he was about to explode.
Rafael’s eyes were rimmed with red, his voice shaking. Those bastards!
With that, he smacked himself hard, leaving a red mark.
He said, “I swear, when I get back, I’ll train like hell! No more slacking off, ever!”
Tears kept rolling down his cheeks as he spoke.
Craig was digging through his medicine pouch like a madman before he finally dug out a bottle that looked usable. “Here, eat up! Linda, you too. It’s not poisoned.”
Linda and Claudio were practically force–fed the pills. By the time they both came to their senses, Laura was already walking step by step toward Matthew, sword in hand. Energy swirled around her, but it was impossibly pure.
She fixed Matthew with a steely glare, then brought her sword down in a powerful, decisive slash
She yelled, “Get lost!”
The sword energy ripped through the sky, so savage it looked like it could tear the heavens apart. It slammed down on Matthew with such raw power that even a peak Gilded Phase cultivator like him couldn’t withstand it.
His feet were driven deep into the earth, pinned by the force.
With a wet cough, Matthew coughed up a mouthful of blood. But the sword energy still hadn’t dissipated.
Linda and Claudio could tell at a glance. This was trouble.
Even the others were stunned.
Sky–Splitting Strike!” someone shouted.
This was no mere Gilded Phase move. This was a technique reserved for the Astral Sovereign realm!
It was like the sky itself was spliting apart overhead.
In the Veil self couldn’t handle the force of Laura’s word!
