"I'll give us a proper wedding," Ashu promised, gazing into Anna's mesmerizing deep blue eyes.
A breeze blew through the window, lifting Anna's veil, and her unique silver hair fluttered gently in the wind. A satisfied smile began to bloom on Anna's face.
"We'll do it together."
...
Meanwhile, outside.
On the village path.
Carol's parents hadn't gone far. They were watching the priest walk toward the next farm, but the couple was hiding by Ashu's vegetable garden, using the vegetable racks to conceal themselves.
"I still don't believe it! Ashu is just a poor boy with no parents. Why should the Saintess want to marry him?" Carol's father muttered, suppressing his anger and jealousy.
He didn't know what rank the Saintess held, but judging from the priest's behavior, she must be above him.
Their family had scraped together every penny to serve the priest, only to earn a little bit of attention. Ashu, who had done nothing, was now receiving the Saintess's affection? How could that be?
Carol's mother chimed in, "We'll stay right here. Once they finish their little act, they'll surely slip up! We can't let our daughter be taken advantage of!"
"Yeah... Hey, doesn't the surname Kagreia sound familiar?"
"It does sound familiar." Carol's mother thought for a moment, then suddenly recalled something, "Could it be that family that disappeared more than ten years ago?"
"Hmph, so they're from our village after all. I thought they were some noble family or something."
The two of them continued to murmur for a while by the vegetable garden.
Inside, after finishing their meal and cleaning up, Ashu and Anna left together.
Anna naturally hooked her arm around Ashu's, saying, "When I came back, I passed by the Guild and took on a commission. On the way, I'll be teaching apprentices in Gorn Village. Once I get paid, we can buy furniture together."
"I'll walk you to the teaching place. It's been over ten years since you left, and you might not even recognize the village roads anymore."
"Then you should come listen too."
"I won't understand, and I'm not part of the church."
"That's fine, I'll be covering some basics, and only the second half will be about preaching for the Guild. You can just sleep through it if you want. But if you're interested, I can tutor you later tonight," Anna said as she walked with Ashu, her head tilted up, gazing at his profile.
Outside the vegetable garden, Carol's parents quickly turned around and pretended nothing was wrong, walking southward.
Ashu saw them but couldn't be bothered to respond.
Gorn Village was spread out, with each farm standing alone, unless the families were particularly close or were siblings.
The village was surrounded by vast farmlands, and the paths were overgrown with weeds.
After walking for ten minutes, they reached a large open space. In the center of the field stood a massive locust tree. The ground under its shade had long been trampled flat by the villagers of Gorn Village, turning it into a bare, hard patch of earth.
A few young boys and girls were sitting on small stools under the large locust tree, waiting for the teacher to arrive.
"We used to play here when we were kids. This tree is still the same as it was back then," Anna said nostalgically.
"This locust tree is over a hundred years old. No one dares to touch it," Ashu replied.
As soon as he finished speaking, one of the young girls stood up from the group.
She had bright orange curly hair and a few dark freckles around her nose.
The moment she spotted Ashu, she quickly ran over.
It was Carol.
"Ashu, I've been tested and I've reached the first stage of spiritual perception. You should congratulate me! What are you going to give me as a gift?"
Carol moved to grab Ashu's arm, but he forcefully pulled away from her.
In the stunned gaze of Carol, Ashu replied, "I'm not giving you anything. Also, your parents made a scene at my place. I've already made it clear that there's no relationship between us anymore, so go back and tell them that."
"What?!" Carol was incredulous. She looked at Anna, standing beside Ashu, and a feeling of inadequacy instantly flooded her heart. But soon, that feeling was drowned out by anger. "Is it because of her? Ashu, tell me, is it because of her that you changed your mind?"
"Carol?" Suddenly, Anna spoke, calling out Carol's name. "It's me, Anna. Do you remember me? Anna Kagreia."
Boom—
Hearing that name, Carol felt as if her mind had been struck by lightning, and the shadows of her childhood immediately filled her heart.
When they were kids, wherever Anna was, all the other girls, including herself, were always trailing behind, like small shadows, unable to catch up.
"You... are... Anna?"
"It's me. Carol, do you remember? I've been Ashu's wife for a long time now. If you want to be a mistress, I don't mind, but I still have to judge you and your family's character," Anna declared as she linked her arm with Ashu's, staking her claim.
After giving Carol, who was frozen in place, one last glance, Anna and Ashu turned and walked toward the teaching area.
It took a long time.
For Carol to regain her senses. She gritted her teeth and said, "I—I'm at the first stage of spiritual perception! Ashu, think this through! She's just temporarily pretty, but how long can she stay beautiful?!"
Ashu didn't respond. He found a rock to sit on.
Anna went straight to the teaching platform, nodded, and calmly responded, "Mm, got it, that's good. If you want to attend the class, come sit quickly. I'm about to start."
Upon hearing this.
Carol's heart jolted, and then, as if she realized something, her face turned bright red.
It turned out that the person teaching today was none other than Anna Kagreia!
Yes, she was at the first stage of spiritual perception, but if she could teach a class, that meant her talent had already surpassed the first stage!
Realizing this, Carol felt utterly ashamed.
Becoming a cultivator was her only chance to turn her life around. Even though the one teaching was her rival, Carol could only endure the humiliation and sit down to listen.
Soon after.
Anna began her lecture.
As she had mentioned earlier, she started by teaching some basic knowledge about cultivators. Once she finished those topics, she would then help with the preaching for the Guild.
However, despite the fact that the material was as basic as it could get, the few people in the audience were still left utterly confused.
It was like playing a violin for cows—they could hear the music, but couldn't understand the meaning behind the melody.
The other villagers didn't mind much. They had come to listen to the preaching, and for farmers, faith was simple. Whether or not they understood didn't matter as long as they found it impressive, deepened their faith, and could feel at peace with themselves.
But Carol was different.
As someone at the first stage of spiritual perception, she had the qualifications to become a cultivator, so she was desperately trying to understand and grasp the basic knowledge of cultivation.
But no matter how hard she tried to stimulate her brain, with her level of understanding, she still couldn't comprehend it.
And so.
She finally came to a conclusion.
"Anna, you're doing this on purpose! You're deliberately making it hard for me to understand, deliberately preventing me from becoming a cultivator! This is unfair! I'm going to report this to the Guild!"
Carol blamed her own lack of understanding on Anna's teaching.
At that moment.
Ashu's system gave a prompt in his mind.
[Anna Kagreia: Basic Cultivation Knowledge (Instructor's Analysis Version)]
[Critical Return! Host gains Basic Cultivation Knowledge (Instructor's Tenfold Analysis Version)]
In an instant.
A flood of basic knowledge—simple as 1+1=2—poured into Ashu's mind. He didn't need to comprehend it. He only had to follow the "foolproof method" recorded in the knowledge, and he could immediately unleash the power of a beginner apprentice cultivator.
Now…
He stretched his hand toward a nearby fallen leaf, and a light blue energy surrounded the leaf, gently lifting it and bringing it back to his hand.
Everyone watching this scene was left speechless.
This was the kind of ability only a true cultivator would have. Taking this step meant undergoing a complete transformation, shedding one's mortal limitations, and fundamentally elevating oneself!
Even Anna was slightly surprised.
When she held Ashu's hand earlier, she had secretly tested him—he was at the zero stage of spiritual perception.
There was no such thing as a zero stage of spiritual perception, meaning he had no spiritual perception at all—he was just an ordinary human.
Even so, she was still willing to spend her life with him.
But now, not only had Ashu understood the basic cultivation lecture, he had even demonstrated the results right there on the spot!
Anna's face flushed slightly from excitement and joy.
But Carol was different. Her eyes went wide, and her nostrils flared, resembling an angry yellow bull.
"Impossible! This has to be fake! I'm at the first stage of spiritual perception, and I can't do that. How could Ashu do it?!"
"Understanding it is the key to doing it," Ashu replied calmly.
The others quickly chimed in:
"Yeah, you don't understand because you weren't paying attention, were you?"
"Ashu's always been smart. That's just how it is."
"Ashu, bro, can you share your insights?"