This Time I Must Achieve a Happy Ending with the Empress - Episode 2

Zhao Li abruptly opened her eyes.

She found herself lying on a familiar bed, staring at the familiar ceiling and the familiar walls of her boudoir, as well as the tear-streaked face of her most familiar maid, who was sobbing uncontrollably by her bedside. She let out a sigh of relief.

…She was back.

She had made a deal with the God of a Foreign Star, asking to be sent back to the moment in her past life when she was fifteen. When she had failed to break through the 10th-level barrier, her spiritual roots destroyed, teetering on the brink of death.

At this point in her past life, her spiritual roots had shattered, nearly killing her.

It was her poor old father who had exhausted half the family fortune, scouring the land for rare spiritual treasures, to save her.

—Or so she had thought in her past life.

But it wasn’t until she reincarnated as a member of the Flower Clan and read their historical records, plundered from the annihilated Asura Clan that Zhao Li learned the truth: it was Empress Yelan who had secretly intervened to save her.

Her father’s rare treasures? Utterly useless. All they did was make her gain weight.

Twenty pounds, to be exact.

And in her past life, Zhao Li had never known, instead constantly opposing Yelan, even giving her the cold shoulder.

What a piece of trash I was.

Zhao Li heaved a heavy sigh.

It wasn’t until she sighed that her maid, Xiao Xiuer, realized she was awake.

“Princess! Princess, you’re finally awake, wuuu…”

Zhao Li glanced at her tear-streaked face and sighed even more deeply.

How is it that you didn’t notice me opening my eyes, but only realized I was awake when I made a sound?

Now she finally understood why she had been so foolish in her past life.

Birds of a feather flock together.

Surrounded by such naive and simple-minded people, how could she have learned anything good?

“Stop crying already.”

Xiao Xiuer suddenly choked on her sobs, her watery eyes glistening with tears as she stared at Zhao Li, both confused and frightened.

…Right. In her past life, she had been even more delicate (and dim-witted) than Xiao Xiuer—a pitiful, weak, and helpless fox standing alone. When had she ever spoken in such a harsh tone?

But after reincarnating into the Flower Clan, facing the descendants of her enemies every day, she had developed this violent, irritable temper and a mouth full of vulgarity.

“Xiao Xiuer, help me up. …Wait! Wipe your snot first—don’t get it on me!”

“O-okay…” Xiao Xiuer smeared her snot and tears all over her own clothes before reaching out to help Zhao Li up.

Zhao Li: …

“On second thought, I’ll get up myself. Go wash your face and change out of those filthy clothes. And tell my father I’m awake.”

“Princess, are you really okay? Are you sure you’re not in pain anywhere? Does anything hurt?” Despite Zhao Li’s sharp words, Xiao Xiuer’s loyalty remained unwavering. Her voice was full of concern.

Touched, Zhao Li softened her tone. “I’m fine. I feel perfectly fine now. Go wash your face! You look like a mess.”

“Princess, you’re mistaken. You should say I look like a flower fox. The Cat Clan is the worst! I’d never want to be one of them. If you can’t even tell whether I’m a Medicine Fox or a Spirit Cat, does that mean you’re not really better yet?”

Zhao Li: …

She barely stopped herself from snapping, “Get the hell out of here.”

Rubbing her temples, Zhao Li said, “I really am fine. Go tell my father. He’s probably even more anxious than you are. His fur’s already thinning. No need to stress him bald.”

Foxes prized their appearance above all else. Going bald? A disgrace to the entire clan. As the leader of the Nine-Tailed Celestial Foxes, the ruler of a hundred foxes, the scandal would be unimaginable.

Moreover, Empress Yelan had used a secret treasure of the Asura clan to help her reshape her spiritual roots. How could they not be perfect?

In the Wuji Realm, spiritual roots are divided into two types: Heavenly Spiritual Roots and Earthly Spiritual Roots. The Heavenly ones are superior to the Earthly.

Just like cultivation levels, spiritual roots also have grades, ranked from highest to lowest as follows:

Supreme Grade
First Grade
Second Grade
Common Grade
↓↓↓
Defective Grade

And Zhao Li’s original spiritual roots were of this Defective Grade.

Just seeing these three words was enough to make her feel terrible.

Couldn’t they have just called it “Subpar”? Did they really have to add “Defective,” like “brain-defective”?

But Defective Grade spiritual roots, just like Supreme Grade ones, were once-in-a-millennium rarities.

There were only three Spirit Emperors above level 90 in the Wuji Realm, and Yelan was the only one at the peak of level 99. Her spiritual roots? Supreme Grade Heavenly Spiritual Roots.

A complete opposite of Zhao Li’s Defective Grade Earthly Spiritual Roots.

For spirit practitioners, every five levels marked a minor bottleneck, and every ten levels, a major one.

Most spirit practitioners wouldn’t damage their spiritual roots even if they failed to break through a bottleneck. But Defective Grade? Yeah, those couldn’t handle the impact at all.

Zhao Li was utterly speechless. I can’t even handle breaking through to level 10?

Oh, for fuck’s sake.

But now, with the help of Yelan’s secret treasure, her reshaped spiritual roots were First Grade Heavenly Spiritual Roots.

It was precisely because her spiritual roots had been completely reborn, combined with the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan’s cultivation techniques, that she later became the target of Qing Tong’s envy. Ultimately being used as fertilizer for Qing Tong’s breakthrough from level 86 to 89.

After Xiao Xiuer left, Zhao Li sat cross-legged and immediately began cultivating, determined to reach level 10 first.

In her past life, after obtaining First Grade Heavenly Spiritual Roots, she hadn’t immediately broken through to level 10.

Her comprehension had indeed been a major hurdle.

But the current Zhao Li’s soul not only retained all of Yelan’s cultivation from her past life but had also mastered the Flower Clan’s secret cultivation techniques.

In other words, after reincarnating once, not only was her intelligence maxed out, but she also possessed cultivation that originally didn’t belong to her past self’s body. She could draw upon the cultivation Yelan had left in her soul or the cultivation she had attained during her life as a Flower Clan member.

By the time she was sent to the Alien Star God, she had already reached level 65 as a Flower Clan member.

Now, add the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox Clan’s inherently overpowered secret techniques to the mix. Forget just breaking through to level 10. She could easily push straight to level 70 in one go.

Cheating was just this satisfying.

However, she didn’t want to tap into Yelan’s cultivation. That was something she would eventually have to return to her.

Yelan was already at the peak of level 99. If she also gave her the cultivation from her past life, Yelan might even ascend to godhood.

Having a god as my backer in the future? That would be beyond amazing. Absolutely exhilarating!

So for now, she was drawing upon her own cultivation.

There was no need to jump straight to level 65, that would be too flashy. Qing Tong was probably in her forties right now. Matching her level would be enough.

Controlling her spiritual energy, Zhao Li pushed her spiritual roots to level 40.

This gave her strength on par with Qing Tong’s current level.

She had specifically made a deal with the Alien Star God to return at this point in time. Half because it was the perfect moment for her to enhance her strength, and half because only this juncture wouldn’t cause too much disruption to the timeline, allowing her to return smoothly.

The same timeline couldn’t accommodate two identical individuals.

Meaning, her return equated to the past Zhao Li’s death.

—At least, that’s what Zhao Li believed.

Logically speaking, if her past self had died, her current self should have vanished as well, since their souls shared the same origin.

It seemed the Alien God was indeed formidable, capable of defying the laws of causality.

As for that foolish version of herself from before—good riddance. She didn’t feel the slightest bit of pity.

Someone that stupid didn’t deserve to live, wasting precious air.

Zhao Li had no qualms about being this harsh on herself.

Before long, her father, Zhao Wu, came rushing in, panting heavily.

Zhao Li had just broken through the bottleneck to Level 40, dispersing her spiritual energy as she opened her eyes to look at him.

“Hey, Dad! Long-time no see,” Zhao Li waved.

Zhao Wu froze in place, just like little Xiuer had earlier, staring at her with wide eyes.

It was as if he were looking at a gorilla dancing in a grass skirt.

Rubbing his eyes, he rushed to her bedside and blurted, “Lier, are you still unwell? Did the fever fry your brain too?”

Zhao Li rolled her eyes. “Dad, I’m fine—better than fine. I’ve never felt this good in my life.”

“You—”

As a Level 69 Spirit Venerable, Zhao Wu could immediately sense that his daughter had already reached the strength of a Level 40 Spirit Lord.

“Lier, how… how are you already a Spirit Lord?” His face was a picture of disbelief.

In the Wuji Realm, as long as one’s spiritual root even a defective one could awaken and provide spiritual energy, they could become a Spirit Master.

The cultivation ranks for Spirit Masters were divided as follows:

Levels 1-9: Novice Spirit Master
Levels 10-19: Initiate Spirit Master
Levels 20-29: Transcendent Spirit Master
Levels 30-39: Superior Spirit Master
Levels 40-49: Spirit Lord
Levels 50-59: Spirit Ancestor
Levels 60-69: Spirit Venerable
Levels 70-79: Spirit King
Levels 80-89: Spirit Sage
Levels 90-99: Spirit Emperor (male: Emperor; female: Empress)

At Level 100, one would ascend to godhood, earning the title of Divine Sovereign.

Legend had it that beyond Level 100, one could possess abilities akin to the Alien God—leaping across universes, traversing worlds, unbound by the rules of other realms.

However, since ancient times, not a single Divine Sovereign had ever emerged in the Wuji Realm. So, whether such power truly existed remained a mystery.

Incidentally, the Alien God was an existence far beyond even a Divine Sovereign.

Thus, in the Wuji Realm, a Spirit Emperor was essentially the pinnacle of power.

The Asura Clan, Dragon Clan, and Human Clan held their lofty positions precisely because each had a Spirit Emperor-level powerhouse among them.

For an ordinary Spirit Master to cultivate to the level of a Spirit Emperor? That was nothing short of a pipe dream.

A Spirit Emperor was a once-in-a-millennium, one-in-ten-thousand existence.

Over countless millennia, only three such powerhouses had ever appeared in the entire Wuji Realm.

And forget the Spirit Emperor level—even reaching Spirit Sage wasn’t easy.

First, one had to possess a first-grade Heavenly Spiritual Root to even have a chance. Then, they’d need to pile on heavenly and earthly treasures. Maybe then, they might succeed.

But true heavenly and earthly treasures were far from easy to come by.

Only the wealthy and powerful major clans could afford to nurture such talents.

The so-called “heavenly and earthly treasures” Zhao Wu had fed Zhao Li were actually just slightly rare spiritual items, nowhere near the real deal.

Her foolish father had probably been swindled.

“It seems foolishness runs in our family. So maybe the way I treated Yelan in my past life wasn’t entirely my fault?”

Zhao Li consoled herself with this thought.

But now wasn’t the time for honesty. Her father’s heart was fragile and easily wounded.

Moreover, since Yelan had secretly healed her injuries rather than making an official visit, it was clear she didn’t want others to know she had helped.

So, Zhao Li played along, smiling brightly. “Father, it’s all thanks to your heavenly treasures that I’ve reached level 40 and ascended to Spirit Lord! Thank you, Father. It must have cost you a fortune, didn’t it?”

“As long as you’re well, what does money matter?” Zhao Wu hugged his daughter tightly, his relief spilling over into tears.

Zhao Li returned the embrace, gently patting his back.

Her father was truly a kind-hearted fox.

Such a good father. She would protect him in this life, no matter what.

And her innocent, pure-hearted clansmen too.

Zhao Li swore this silently in her heart.

“Father, I’ll find a way to earn back the money for you,” she declared firmly.

“Just a few measly coins, don’t trouble yourself over them. Your recovery is worth more than anything.”

Warmth bloomed in Zhao Li’s chest at his words.

“Ah, right.”

Zhao Wu wiped his tears, not wanting his daughter to see him in such a state. Once composed, he released her and met her gaze.

“Now that you’re a Spirit Lord, you can openly be with Princess Qing Tong. Though she’s still five levels above you, the level suppression isn’t as severe within the Spirit Lord realm. You won’t be much weaker than her. That should shut up those foul-mouthed Spirit Cat clansmen who claimed you were unworthy of her.”

Zhao Li’s eyes darkened.

The Spirit Cat clan… Ah, she had truly forgotten about those wretched cats.

When the Shadow Realm’s rift tore open, the Spirit Cat clan was annihilated. They hadn’t survived long enough for her to remember them in her past life.

Long gone from her mind.

“Speaking of which, wasn’t the Spirit Cat prince always infatuated with Qing Tong?”

Qing Tong?

Zhao Wu blinked in surprise.

Hadn’t his daughter always affectionately called her “Tongtong” before?

But he didn’t dwell on the sudden change, nodding instead. “Yes. That foul-mouthed brat was just jealous of you, spreading rumors everywhere! When in truth, you two were deeply in love!”

Zhao Li: …

The phrase “deeply in love” grated on her ears now.

If it weren’t her father speaking, she might have kicked him already.

“No, no—I just realized that wretched cat and that delicate flower are truly a match made in heaven! Perfect for each other, hahaha!”

Zhao Wu blinked again, increasingly convinced his daughter wasn’t quite right.

“Father, to change our fox clan’s fate of being bullied by outsiders, you were planning to arrange marriages with stronger clans, weren’t you?”

The Nine-Tailed Celestial Foxes were the highest-ranking and most powerful among the fox clans. Just look at Zhao Li—even as a flawed specimen, she was formidable. It went without saying how much weaker the lower fox clans—Demon Foxes, Medicine Foxes, Spirit Foxes must be.

Many of their clansmen might not even awaken their spiritual roots.

For a weak clan like theirs, clinging to stronger races was the only way to avoid oppression.

And arranged marriages were the best method. At least the in-laws would show some respect.

The worst approach is to submit as a subordinate and be at someone’s beck and call. That would truly strip away all dignity.

Zhao Wu sighed helplessly and said, “Father doesn’t want to push you out as a bargaining chip to secure the fox clan’s safety. If you and Princess Qing Tong weren’t in love, I would never sacrifice you.”

“Don’t! Father, I think sacrificing me isn’t too much to ask. I’m the Heavenly Fox Princess, the future leader of the fox clan. Sacrificing for my people is only right and proper!”

Zhao Wu blinked again. Since when did my daughter become so sensible?

Do heavenly treasures have this kind of effect?

“From the sound of it, you don’t want to marry Qing Tong anymore?” Zhao Wu froze for a moment before suddenly catching on.

“Mhm,” Zhao Li affirmed.

“What happened? Did the two of you have a falling out?”

Ha! What a falling out it was.

“I just suddenly came to my senses.”

“Came to your senses? What do you mean?”

“It means I was blind before, a complete idiot. But with my spiritual root in turmoil, hey, it suddenly shook me awake.”

Zhao Wu: “…”

Zhao Li grinned. “Father, actually, if we’re looking for a powerful ally, we have a better option than the Flower Clan.”

“Who?”

“The Asura Clan—Empress Yelan!”