Murim's Weakest Princess-Chapter 251: Little Secret

Yan Ping could not believe it. Anji emerged from isolated training, her golden core humming at a newly stabilised Solid Core foundation when she greeted her teacher. It felt as if the old Anji had returned. Isolation training did not simply increase Anji’s core level. Her personality had also returned to its origin, and Yan Ping would have been fooled if she did not sense a subtle, unusual grace in Anji’s words and actions. Her maturity differed from that she had previously displayed. There was a greater sense of non-attachment and unconditional acceptance of everything.

"You could have taken more time to raise your golden core level," Yan Ping sighed. "With a few more years, you could have achieved your first tribulation to becoming a real cultivator at the Enlightened Core stage."

Anji smiled politely and replied cheekily that she had emerged early after meeting the main requirement so as not to miss her upcoming ninth birthday.

"You know how my parents are," she shrugged nonchalantly. "If I take too long, the war might have concluded as well."

Honesty, it might be better if the war were concluded by the time Anji completes her training. However, Yan Ping kept that opinion to herself.

As it was, the headquarters received fewer non-emergency cases. Anji’s new suggestions proved extremely valuable in turning the tide of the war. Even with limited on-field researchers participating in the battle units, they were able to create curse-magnet talismans to mitigate the worst curses.

Things were slowly improving. However, people still get hurt and die daily. It was the reality of war, and Yan Ping wanted Anji to look past these, even if she had seen carnage worse than this. It was not good for Anji’s parents to see their daughter becoming so acclimated to death. She still had the moral responsibility of an adult to prevent a child from going down that path, even if the child had experienced several brutal life cycles. It was their little secret.

Although nobody could prepare a lavish birthday for Anji, the long visual transmission call and gifts during a period of war were considered a huge concession. Anji enjoyed her ninth birthday humbly and was grateful for the chance to reconnect with people after her long period of isolation training.

While Anji spent her time reconnecting with the world, Yan Ping had to mentally prepare herself to approve of Anji’s request to attempt the successor trial. She made final checks of the chamber of trials. Everything was ready. However, there was a formal procedure that she had to follow before she could open those doors to Anji.

Her young successor did not seem to be in a rush, so Yan Ping focused more energy on improving the provisions for the war. Thanks to Anji’s personal tweak to Elder Quan’s soldier pills, the apothecary gained new inspiration to create a new type of soldier pill with miasma immunity. Although it would take a long time for cultivators to build a high level of miasma tolerance, they could afford to look into it as an investment beyond the murim war.

There was no rush on anyone’s side to prepare for the successor trials. Anji knew about the clauses for participating. The rules were simple. Although a successor could continuously challenge the trial without limitations until they succeed, there was a ten-year waiting period after each failure for a reattempt. That is to say, if Anji makes it out alive in the first place. Even the Sect Leader is not allowed to enter the trial chamber for ten years after someone is inside. That said, there was also a disqualification clause. If a successor candidate spent ten years in the trial chamber, unable to escape and had to be rescued, they fail by default if they are alive.

"But it has never happened in the history of the Mystical Qilin Sect," Yan Ping reassured. "Nobody died, and nobody spent ten years trapped inside. The longest had to be eight years. But only because they treated it like an isolation chamber and used it to escape tribulation strikes. That was our fifth sect leader."

...

Anji knew the Mystical Qilin Sect was full of weirdoes. However, seeing how sane Yan Ping was, she forgot how even the sect leaders were not spared from insanity. Apart from Yan Ping and the first sect leader, none of the other sect leaders the Mystical Qilin Sect had could be considered sane.

"That is reassuring," Anji smiled. "But I intend to clear it in one try and before I become ten."

Yan Ping said nothing to that. The fastest person to clear that trial had to be herself. Compared to other successors, Yan Ping was born with an inherent advantage of being blind. She had always seen the world using her second sight. It took a while to see through the illusions and tricks. However, once she did, finding her way out of the maze-like trial chamber was a piece of cake. Even so, Yan Ping took two months to clear the trial chamber. Her shifu was so surprised at the speed that no preparation for her ceremonial successor’s robes had been completed by the time Yan Ping finished her trial.

While the basic requirement to attempt the successor trial was to be a Solid Core cultivator, everyone else who tried it was at least an Enlightened Core cultivator. After all, spending up to ten years in there was no mean feat. There were no restrictions on the provisions that could be taken into the trial, but many successors thought packing anything would be too troublesome. Hence, the unanimous decision was to enter empty-handed. Yan Ping did the same. The only thing she brought with her was her walking staff. Even her teacher refused to bring in anything other than scented oil that cured her constant migraines.

Anji would be the first to bring actual provisions into the trial chamber. Yan Ping heard from other elders how she had been preparing special fasting pills, talismans and medicine. There were specially imbued protective spells on her clothing, and even on luxurious items like temperature regulation and self-cleaning spells. The sect was truly pampering the youngest successor ever to attempt the trial chamber, and Yan Ping could not blame them. It was better to be safe than sorry. She had given Anji a special water gourd that purified water and transformed water vapour into something she could drink. All the provisions were calculated to last a lunar cycle, even if the trials only lasted ten years. It was better to have more than less, even if Anji’s backpack was about to explode.

Preparations for the war continued, but not as quickly and urgently as preparations for Anji’s trial. Despite the damage caused by the war, when the Rainbow Alliance heard that Anji was preparing for her successor trial, they sent many gifts and well-wishes to the Mystical Qilin Sect. With so many people rooting for her, Anji told herself that she had to succeed quickly. The news about her brother’s recent tribulation in his isolated training also reached her ears.

Determined not to be left behind, Anji wrote letters to people she would not be seeing for a while. Many things would have changed after she completed her successor trial, and the first thing she wanted to do when she emerged was to commission a new set of clothing sturdy enough to travel the murim world and participate in the war. Who better to ask for this favour than her second brother?