Chapter 1: Storms on the Horizon

Blackcloud City, The Newman Family.

Night had fallen. Grace Newman, dressed in plain clothes, leaned against the windowsill, gazing blankly at the artificial hill outside.

Inside the room, the one-year-old William Newman impatiently pushed away his wet nurse, milk stains at the corners of his mouth, yet stared eagerly at Grace Newman, babbling, “Meat, want meat…”

The wet nurse Mrs. Carter looked embarrassed and said with a forced smile, “Young Miss, look…”

Grace Newman snapped out of her daze, glared at the chubby William Newman, and scolded, “This little rascal has already eaten two bowls of minced meat today. He won’t drink his milk properly, and now he wants more meat. Who knows if he can even digest it.”

“Meat, want meat…” William Newman continued to call out cheerfully.

Looking at William Newman’s ingratiating smile, Grace Newman thought of her departed younger sister, and her heart softened. She nodded gently to the wet nurse Mrs. Carter.

Mrs. Carter immediately brought out a bowl of finely chopped meat, placing it gently on the table. William Newman’s dark eyes lit up, and he picked up the silver spoon, skillfully scooping up the food, his chubby little face full of satisfaction.

Listening to the “smack smack” sounds of William Newman eating, Grace Newman felt a sudden irritation for no reason. “Xiaoyue, how many children are participating in tomorrow’s drawing of lots?” Grace Newman suddenly asked.

At the door, the maid Julia Harris hesitated for a moment before softly replying, “Young Miss, as long as they are of the The Newman Family, with the surname Nie, and around one year old, they will all participate. After all, every five years, the old immortal from Lingyun Mountain brings spiritual artifacts for this event, as a reward for the The Newman Family’s years of hard work. Any family with a one-year-old child wouldn’t want to miss this opportunity.”

The The Newman Family was a prestigious clan in Blackcloud City, but in this world, Qi Refiners reigned supreme. Mortal family powers existed mostly to serve those powerful Qi Refiners, and the The Newman Family was no exception.

The sect that the The Newman Family relied on was Lingyun Sect, located on Lingyun Mountain near Blackcloud City. The mountain’s core was rich in Firecloud Stone, a common low-grade spiritual material needed for Qi Refiners’ cultivation. The Qi Refiners of Lingyun Sect were busy cultivating year-round and unwilling to waste time mining such low-grade Firecloud Stone, so they assigned the The Newman Family clansmen to do it.

Generation after generation, the The Newman Family clansmen mined Firecloud Stone and offered it to Lingyun Sect in exchange for the sect’s protection.

Besides protecting the The Newman Family from the oppression of other family powers in Blackcloud City, the Qi Refiners of Lingyun Sect would also visit the The Newman Family every five years, bringing some low-grade spiritual artifacts and using a drawing of lots to test the cultivation talent of the The Newman Family’s young children.

Every child, after birth, would have some special attribute in their body—besides the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, some children also possessed rarer attributes like lightning, wind, cloud, or ice. Each time the Qi Refiners of Lingyun Sect came, they would bring several low-grade spiritual artifacts with various attributes.

Children and spiritual artifacts with matching attributes could sense and attract each other, thus determining the child’s innate attribute. This allowed the parents to tailor their child’s future cultivation path, making their efforts twice as effective.

The Qi Refiners of Lingyun Sect used those low-grade spiritual artifacts to win the loyalty of the The Newman Family. The artifacts presented at the drawing of lots would be given to the The Newman Family children whose attributes matched.

To the Qi Refiners of Lingyun Sect, those low-grade artifacts were of little use, but they greatly aided the The Newman Family children’s cultivation and would remain their most useful tools for a long time.

Because of this, the drawing of lots held every five years would always set the The Newman Family abuzz. Any elder of the The Newman Family with a one-year-old child would treat it as a major event in the child’s life and pursue it eagerly.

This time was no exception.

“I’m asking you, how many children are participating this time?” Grace Newman frowned.

“Seven,” Julia Harris replied softly, head lowered.

“Xiao Tian is also just one year old, and he’s a Nie too. Why hasn’t anyone informed me to let William Newman participate in this drawing of lots?” Grace Newman snorted coldly.

“Young Miss…” Julia Harris gave a bitter smile, glanced up at Grace Newman, and said weakly, “William Newman may be Second Miss’s child, but Second Miss… like you, was only a daughter. And before she passed, she never revealed who William Newman’s father was.”

“The rules of the The Newman Family are clear: only true grandsons and granddaughters are eligible to participate in the drawing of lots held every five years. Grandchildren through daughters… are not included.”

“I don’t care about those stupid rules! Father is still the head of the family. I’ll go find him and demand an explanation!” Grace Newman said angrily, and with that, she stormed out.

“Though the old master is still the head of the family, that position… is not secure!” After Grace Newman left in anger, Julia Harris wore a look of deep bitterness and muttered to herself.

A while later.

Grace Newman burst into David Newman’s pavilion, shouting angrily, “Father, William Newman is also…”