My Celestial Ascension

While Rose was learning how to fly using the flying sword, Lily was training with her sword, honing her understanding and practicing her technique, trying to increase her mastery.

After practicing for almost an hour, Lily suddenly entered a state of enlightenment. The atmosphere around her body changed, and she felt incredibly calm as her breathing synchronized with nature.

Xi Meili and Yuan immediately noticed this and ordered everyone to stay silent to avoid disturbing Lily's enlightenment. Only a few destined cultivators experience enlightenment in their entire lives.

"What happened to Lily? Why is she like that?" Anna Grace approached Yuan, concern etched on her face as she worried about her daughter.

"She is receiving enlightenment in her sword technique…" Before Yuan could respond, Xi Meili, surprised, added, "She's quite fortunate to experience enlightenment at such a young age. Once she awakens, her strength will increase severalfold."

"I wonder how long it will take her to wake up… I hope nothing bad happens to her," Emma mumbled softly, her voice full of concern for Lily.

"Don't worry, nothing bad will happen. She'll become stronger from this." Yuan hugged her from behind, nuzzling his nose into her neck with a reassuring smile.

Julie then looked at Xi Meili and asked curiously, "Do you think I can also receive enlightenment in the future?"

"Well, if it's your fate, you will. A person can receive enlightenment multiple times, but it depends on their destiny and talent." Xi Meili replied calmly, as if she had vast experience in such matters.

After hearing Xi Meili's explanation, Yuan's wives began to understand how mysterious and rare enlightenment is, and how fortunate one must be to experience it.

Meanwhile, Little Zoe, who had been practicing with her wooden sword for nearly an hour without stopping, noticed Lily's state and saw Yuan and his wives discussing something nearby.

She immediately stopped her practice and approached them, her face puzzled and worried, wondering why Lily was like that.

"Big Brother Yuan, what's happening to Big Sister Lily? Why is she standing like that?" she asked, looking concerned.

She didn't want anything bad to happen to her big sister, who always spoiled her. Besides, if something happened to Lily, who would teach her swordsmanship?

Yuan patted the little girl with a smile and said, "Nothing bad is happening to your big sister. She's just focusing on something very important. Don't disturb her, or she might stop teaching you swordsmanship."

"Oh, I see… I won't disturb her then," Little Zoe nodded, understanding. After all, she didn't want Lily to stop teaching her, or she wouldn't be able to become strong and fight monsters.

"You should practice a little longer before ending your training for today and take some rest. Remember, we have to attend the grand banquet in the evening." Yuan smiled, patting her head gently, which the little girl loved.

Anna Grace couldn't help but chuckle inwardly, pleased to see how well Yuan was getting along with Little Zoe. She couldn't be happier.

Little Zoe nodded excitedly and resumed her practice. She continued for almost half an hour before calling it a day.

Meanwhile, Miss Zara was busy with new guests trying to book rooms in her inn. Since today was a big day, many people had arrived in the city, and most inns were fully booked.

"What a busy start to the day! Only a single-bedroom is left, and all the others are booked. I made a huge profit today."

Miss Zara calculated her earnings, realizing she had made over six hundred gold coins from the new guests. With so many people coming to the city, she had increased the price of each room by two gold coins.

"Tomorrow, I'll buy something nice for Zoe. She'll be so happy to get a surprise present from her mother. Fufu~" Miss Zara giggled, imagining her daughter's joyful reaction.

"Excuse me, miss, do you have any unoccupied rooms available? I'd like to book one for tonight."

Just as she was picturing Zoe's smile, a new customer walked in, asking about any vacant rooms as the other inns were fully booked.

"Welcome, dear guest. You're quite lucky—only one room is left. If you were just a little later, you might've had to sleep on the street." Miss Zara greeted the guest with a smile.

"Thank goodness! There's a room available…" The guest sighed in relief, visibly calming down.

"Seven gold coins for the night, including a lavish meal. Take it or leave it."

"S-Seven? Wasn't it five gold coins before?"

The man looked at Miss Zara in surprise, shocked at the sudden price hike.

Miss Zara took a deep breath and explained, "A lot of guests arrived in the city this morning for the grand banquet, and there aren't many rooms left at any inn. That's why the price has gone up."

"If you don't want to stay here, then leave. Someone else will take the room in a few minutes," she added, her tone turning harsh as she had no intention of lowering the price.

In the end, the man gave in and decided to book the room for seven gold coins. Miss Zara handed him the key, the room number engraved on it.

The man looked at the key and sighed before heading to his room, exhausted from his search for lodging in the city before stumbling upon this inn.

Meanwhile, Little Zoe finished her sword practice and noticed that her big sister Lily was still in the same state, which made her really worried.

Anna Grace noticed that Little Zoe had finished her training and asked with a sweet smile, "Zoe dear, did you finish your session?"

"That's right. And now I'm going to take a bath. Mom must have already started preparing our lunch." Little Zoe replied, a happy smile on her face.

Then Little Zoe asked, "By the way, how long will it take for Big Sister Lily to wake up? She's been like this for almost an hour now."

"Don't worry, dear. She can wake up at any time, but we don't know exactly when… She might wake up when you come out of the bath or before lunch," Anna Grace replied after thinking for a moment.

She then added with a smile, "You know, your big sister Lily loves dishes made with meat… She might wake up just from the smell of your mother's cooking."

"Alright, I'll tell Mommy to prepare something delicious for Big Sister Lily," Little Zoe said, excitement lighting up her face as she turned to leave the yard.

Just then, she was stopped by Yuan's voice, saying, "Little Zoe, tell your mother to come here and collect the special meat to prepare our lunch."

"Alright, Big Brother Yuan," Little Zoe nodded before heading inside.

A few moments later, Miss Zara came out with a happy smile on her face.

Anna Grace raised her brows, noticing the obvious grin and wondering what could have made her so excited. Something good must've happened; there was no way she'd be this happy for no reason.

"Well, what happened? You look so happy today, Miss Zara," Anna Grace asked with a playful smile.

"Nothing, I just made some profit today," Miss Zara replied, still smiling, before approaching Yuan.

Yuan quickly handed her the boar meat and told her to cook some extra food, as he wanted Little Zoe and her to join them for lunch.

After receiving the meat, Miss Zara quickly left.

Shortly after Miss Zara left, Lily began showing signs of waking from her enlightenment, her eyes starting to move. A few seconds later, she opened her eyes wide, surprised to find everyone staring at her as if she were some kind of exotic animal in a cage.

"W-What happened? Why are you guys looking at me like that?" Lily asked, a very confused look on her face as she tried to make sense of what just happened.

"Congratulations! You've completed your enlightenment!"

Yuan's excited voice suddenly rang out, making Lily realize that what she had experienced was enlightenment. She noticed that her mastery of the sword technique had increased by two levels—a significant improvement.

"Enlightenment? So that's what it's called, huh? No wonder I feel so strong after coming out of that state… it makes sense now," Lily mumbled, surprised that in just a few hours, her mastery had increased so significantly.

—

"I can't believe Rose is able to fly using the sword now… it seems we've been left behind because we've been slacking off on our cultivation," Julie complained as she cleaned herself in the bathtub.

Ava nodded with a serious look before saying, "Indeed. Starting tomorrow, we'd better focus on increasing our cultivation, or we'll be left behind by Leah and the others too."

"We won't slack off in our cultivation from now on!" Julie declared, her eyes burning with determination.

They resumed cleaning their bodies, helping each other wash their long, silky hair.

Later, they arrived at the dining hall and saw Miss Zara serving food to the other guests. As soon as they entered, all the new guests' eyes were drawn to them.

"Wow! So beautiful and handsome… are they royalty?"

"Why are so many beautiful women following him? How envious…!"

"Why is it him and not me? It seems a handsome appearance always wins a beauty's heart… truly envious!"

'Disgusting bunch of goons…!' Lily thought, annoyed, as she cast a murderous gaze at those staring.

As soon as they noticed the cold, murderous look in Lily's eyes, everyone quickly averted their gazes, swallowing nervously, feeling as though they might die if they continued staring.

Soon, Miss Zara brought their food to the table, served them, and also arranged plates for herself and her daughter.

A couple of minutes later, Little Zoe entered the dining hall with an excited look and sat beside Lily, bombarding her with questions about what had just happened in the backyard.

Lily had no choice but to answer them one by one—Little Zoe was too cute to ignore.

After finishing Little Zoe's questions, Lily began to stuff her face with the delicious food Miss Zara had prepared.

Yuan and his other wives had started eating long before, not waiting as the food was getting cold. Lily felt a bit annoyed by this, but her anger quickly vanished as the flavors of the meat exploded in her mouth.

—

The sky had taken on a red and orange hue, signaling the approach of nightfall and the imminent start of the banquet. The streets of the city were brightly lit, and people were out on walks, enjoying the festive atmosphere. Everyone had smiles on their faces, but among the cheerful expressions, a few looked gloomy.

Numerous street foods were being prepared, and the delicious aromas filled the air, attracting the attention of people both young and old.

Inside the room, Yuan was changing into the new attire he had bought from Lady Natasha's shop for the banquet. He had only put on his trousers, yet he already looked incredibly handsome.

Anna Grace entered the room gracefully, wearing a gorgeous dress that perfectly complemented her looks. Yuan was momentarily speechless at her beauty, his movements halting as he took her in.

"Fufu~ From your reaction, I can tell you like my dress a lot and think I look very beautiful," Anna Grace said with a playful smile.

"Come, let me help you with your shirt—you'd look even more handsome if I helped with your hair as well." She moved closer, taking the shirt in her hands.