Chapter 433: Gentle Grace and Orchid Heart? No, A Heart of Boundless Ambition! (II)

On Danxia Peak, the atmosphere buzzed with life. Cultivators bustled back and forth, their faces glowing with joy and excitement.

The Luo Tian Society had won yet another battle! Although this battle had dragged on longer than their past extermination campaigns, no one doubted the president’s strength. This time, they had not crushed a broken remnant but an entire sect still at full power!

Their enemy had a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator holding the fort, a second-tier defensive formation, and even enlisted two-late stage Foundation Establishment experts and one sixth-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator as reinforcements. Yet even under such conditions, the president had chewed through this hard bone by sheer force.

Such a feat was nothing short of inspiring. This victory left the members of the Luo Tian Society both proud and emboldened. From now on, they could hold their heads high wherever they went.

They could proudly say, "The Luo Tian Society doesn’t just make spirit stones; we never back down from a fight!”

Amid the energetic flow of people, a lone figure moved upstream, against the tide. Wherever he passed, cultivators paused to bow respectfully.

"Greetings, Hall Leader Sima!”

"Hall Leader, thank you for your efforts.”

Sima Xian returned each greeting with a polite nod, hiding the urgency that burned in his chest. At last, he arrived at Huixin Hall.

Upon entering, he saw at least five high-ranked members queued up to report to Sima Huiniang. Even Duan Feng, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, waited among them. Seeing this, Sima Xian swallowed his impatience and stood quietly at the back.

Finally, after two hours and the crowd dispersed, he stepped forward, unable to hold back any longer.

"Hall Leader Sima, is there something you need?”

Sima Huiniang always addressed Sima Xian and Sima Wenjie by their titles rather than by family name, even in private.

This time, however, Sima Xian looked at her with raw concern etched into his features. “Second Sister, you’ve only just reached Foundation Establishment. Why aren’t you stabilizing your cultivation? Why plunge back into work so soon?”

At his worried tone, Sima Huiniang brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and smiled faintly. “Big Brother, you came all this way just to say that?”

“This is no small matter,” Sima Xian said sharply. “This concerns your path of cultivation!”

“My path?” she echoed softly. Then, to his surprise, she laughed. "Big Brother, you give me too much credit. Do you really think I have a shot at higher realms? Golden Core? Nascent Soul? With my aptitude?”

This series of rhetorical questions made Sima Xian fall silent.

Sima Huiniang paused her work and slowly rose from behind her desk. Having only just reached Foundation Establishment, waves of unstable spirit power occasionally rippled from her body. But even that faint pressure made Sima Xian instinctively step back, awed by the gulf that now separated them.

She gave him an apologetic smile before descending from the dais and walking toward the exit of Huixin Hall.

“Sometimes, we have to be realistic,” she said softly. “The fact that I reached Foundation Establishment at all is already a blessing from the President. In such circumstances, how could I dare ask for more?”

Sima Xian followed close behind, his steps light but heavy with worry. He could not hold his words back. “But still—”

"There’s no room for ‘buts,’” Sima Huiniang cut him off.

Clad in a flowing Daoist robe and with her hair coiled neatly atop her head, she carried an air of solemn grace. She’d always been beautiful, but her features now also bore the indefinable yet distinct authority that came with years of leading the Luo Tian Society. And having reached Foundation Establishment, that aura had only deepened, becoming even more noble and commanding.

"Sometimes,” she said calmly, "we must know our limits. Wang Yuan pursues the Great Dao, so he can cast aside status and focus entirely on cultivation. Min Longyu asks for nothing beyond the way of formations. But what about me?”

Sima Huiniang paused at the entrance of Huixin Hall, her eyes scanning the landscape below before slowly moving to the Luo Tian Society’s Grand Hall perched even higher above.

She continued, "My talent is average. Perhaps I’ll never reach late-stage Foundation Establishment in this lifetime. So why waste so much time on cultivation? With the President’s favor, I’ve succeeded in breaking through and gained two hundred extra years of life. That’s a tremendous fortune. Which means, I should spend these two hundred years doing something more meaningful.”

Sima Xian couldn’t understand.

As cultivators, isn’t the Great Dao our only pursuit? Even if the odds are against us, shouldn’t we still strive for it? And besides—

"But these ‘meaningful things’... they’re just trivial chores, aren’t they?” he asked, bewildered.

Sima Huiniang shot him a look. “They may seem trivial to you, but make no mistake: They are important. If I hadn’t devoted myself to them, do you think I could have reached Foundation Establishment so quickly? Could I have reached it at all, for that matter?”

Sima Xian was struck speechless once again. He had no retort.

Indeed, if Sima Huiniang had not proven her competence in managing the Luo Tian Society with such precision on Luo Chen's behalf, then, given her background as a latecomer, how could she possibly have received Foundation Establishment resources ahead of others? One must remember, even Gu Caiyi and Qin Liangchen, both of whom had a closer bond with Luo Chen, had yet to receive a Foundation Establishment pill!

"My worth to the President,” she said firmly, "is in those very details you call trivial. He’s someone whose heart is set on the Great Dao, and whose will is unshakable. These tasks would only burden his cultivation. It is my duty, my responsibility, to take care of all this for him."

Duty? Responsibility?

Sima Xian grew thoughtful.

She was still repaying the debt from that long-ago rescue. Luo Chen had never brought it up, but she had never forgotten. Her unwavering service to the society was as much from gratitude as it was out of loyalty.

Back when she and Duan Feng were still in the same realm, she had held the higher cultivation. But while Duan Feng devoted himself to cultivation, she poured herself into managing the Luo Tian Society. As a result, she fell behind, reaching Perfected Mastery of Qi Refinement late and breaking through to Foundation Establishment years after him. Yet she had never uttered a single complaint!

"Besides, Big Brother, your concern over whether I’ve stabilized my cultivation is truly unnecessary."

Sima Huiniang understood her brother’s concern. A rare, gentle smile appeared on her face for the family. “Whether or not my cultivation is stable, what does that change in the grand scheme? Do you really think the Director of the Luo Tian Society should be the one charging at the front lines?”

Sima Xian opened his mouth but found no words in reply.

The truth was plain. He would take the battlefield long before she ever needed to. In fact, if a truly overwhelming enemy appeared, many within the Luo Tian Society would fall before Sima Huiniang was ever forced to fight.

As he stood there silent, Sima Huiniang suddenly spoke, "Let me be honest! I never intended to go into seclusion for half a year to stabilize my cultivation. The Luo Tian Society is now entering the most critical era in its history! You're not in my position, so you can’t truly grasp just how pivotal this time is. All those resources, all those industries, any one of them could elevate a family into prominence. If the Luo Tian Society can absorb them all, we’ll rise to a whole new tier! Given time, I even have confidence that I can grow the Luo Tian Society into the foremost power in Tianlan Immortal City, second only to the Golden Core sects! Even looking across the entire Jade Cauldron Domain, we will stand among the top Foundation Establishment-tier powers!"

As she spoke, a hint of fervor lit her face. A fire called ambition blazed brightly in her black eyes.

Sima Xian’s jaw dropped. He had never seen such an expression on his younger sister. It was the look of a true leader, a towering ambition that belonged to those who seized power by their own two hands. The little sister who used to travel with them across the lands, so meticulous and calculating, had undergone a sudden and shocking transformation.

The realization sent a shiver through him.

Was it really sudden, though?

No! He had simply chosen to ignore it all this time. Ever since she became the Director of the Luo Tian Society, she'd been changing. It was only his sudden insistence on her cultivation that finally made him notice.

"Alright, alright. Big Brother, really, you don’t need to worry about me anymore." Sima Huiniang’s expression returned to calm serenity. "Stabilizing my cultivation? I’ll take time here and there; it’ll come with persistence. I have plenty of work to do, so I won’t keep entertaining you."

Just before entering the hall again, she seemed to recall something.

She turned, her expression stern. "Hall Leader Sima, submit the list of Battle Hall cultivators who made contributions or mistakes during this battle as soon as possible. I’ll be reviewing it with Hall Leader Murong to determine rewards and penalties accordingly."

Sima Xian’s face froze.

Alright then! It seems nothing has changed at all; she’s exactly the same as before. When it comes to business, even her own family members are worth nothing more than any other subordinate.