Chapter 8: The Spiritual Entity is a Jellyfish

Qin Min’s pale blue eyes were devoid of any emotion, cold as ice.

"Madam, I do not know you. Please move your spacecraft away as soon as possible; we need to enter the testing center."

His indifferent tone caused Su Nianwei’s face to pale.

[The merman is just too cold, isn’t he? Don’t cry, heroine, wait until the merman is soothed by you later; he will surely apologize humbly.]

[The merman’s attitude is understandable. I don’t know why the villainess didn’t strip his scales or whip him this time, causing his contamination levels to skyrocket. Since Su Nianwei didn’t have the chance to treat or soothe him, naturally, his attitude wouldn't change.]

[That makes the villainess seem so strange. She didn't cut the dragon horns, didn't strip the merman’s scales, and now she’s being cold toward the peacock. With that sharp tongue of hers, I really can’t see any sign that she likes the peacock.]

[Maybe she’s just jealous that the peacock gave the heroine a spacecraft?]

Seeing the text floating before his eyes, Qin Min’s expression darkened. Based on these words, he understood that they knew something, and he realized that the "heroine" they spoke of was Su Nianwei, while the "villainess" was Yun Fu.

But was Yun Fu’s coldness toward that peacock really just a tantrum born of jealousy? Once her anger subsided, would she still peel off his scales with her own hands to give to Qing Ze?

Qin Min’s fingers curled. That was it, wasn’t it? Yun Fu’s soothing was merely to make his scales healthier and more brilliant. Only more beautiful scales would be worthy of being gifted to someone else.

Qin Min’s eyes were shrouded in a deep, dark gloom, and his aura turned heavy.

"That’s right, hurry up. Unlike you, we aren't so idle that we’d fly around recklessly just because we don't know how to pilot." Yun Fu gripped Qin Min’s hand, her ruby-red lips curled upward.

Her touch instantly mollified the merman, who had been brooding in the shadows. He lifted his eyelids, his pale blue eyes more dazzling than the magnificent deep sea.

Su Nianwei gritted her teeth. She didn’t know what had happened to make Qin Min, who usually couldn’t wait to stay as far away from Yun Fu as possible, speak up for her and even allow her to hold his hand. But thinking of how Yun Fu possessed no spiritual power and could only rely on her status as a female to oppress her four beast-husbands, Su Nianwei assumed Qin Min was being forced. She gave him a gentle smile and nudged Qing Ze beside her.

"Go move the spacecraft and park it further away. I’m worried it makes Yun Fu uncomfortable."

Qing Ze, still simmering with rage, seemed to have an epiphany upon hearing this. "Yun Fu, you’re only saying this because you’re jealous that I gave a spacecraft to Weiwei, right?" He added, "I’m sure you only came here because you followed us. Otherwise, why would you be at the Spiritual Power Testing Center? You don’t even have any spiritual power."

Seeing the two of them acting as if they understood everything, Yun Fu felt disgusted. She rolled her eyes at the pair who couldn't seem to understand plain speech and called over a staff member from the testing center. With someone watching, Qing Ze’s face turned livid; he stopped stalling and moved the spacecraft away.

***

Yun Fu and Qin Min entered the Spiritual Power Testing Center and followed the prompts to draw blood for the test. While they waited, Su Nianwei and her group entered as well. Seeing that Yun Fu was actually going through with the test, Qing Ze couldn't help but glance in her direction, his mouth moving as he tried to attract her attention, much like a peacock fanning its tail.

"Yun Fu, you have no spiritual power. Why are you mimicking Weiwei and taking the test?"

"Weiwei felt a breakthrough and came to see if her spiritual rank increased. You’re just adding to the testing center’s workload."

Su Nianwei pretended to stop him from continuing. "Don't say that. It’s already hard enough for Yun Fu not to have awakened her spiritual power; there’s no harm in her checking a few more times."

Yun Fu was speechless. "You two are singing in harmony, but in reality, does your combined spiritual power even equal that of Qin Min alone?"

[The villainess is really going for the kill.]

[She’s not wrong, though. Plus, the heroine hasn't soothed the black dragon or the merman, so her spiritual power likely hasn't changed; it’s still Rank A. It’s true that their combined power doesn't even match one of the villainess’s beast-husbands.]

Qing Ze and Su Nianwei’s expressions froze. Sensing their shattered composure, Yun Fu held her head high, looking haughty. "And as for me, so what if I don’t have spiritual power? I have four 3S-rank beast-husbands like this one!"

The two of them went completely silent. Su Nianwei looked at Yun Fu with a mix of jealousy and hatred, regretting that she hadn't just killed her earlier. And why, as the female with the highest spiritual power in the Empire, did the beasts she matched with only reach Rank S at best, like Qing Ze, while the others were all Rank A? How could a waste of a female like Yun Fu be matched with 3S-rank beasts? A failure who hadn't even awakened her spiritual power after a second differentiation—what right did she have?

However, she consoled herself: even if Qin Min had changed his opinion of Yun Fu, the other three beast-husbands hated her just as much and were dying to dissolve their matches. If anything happened to Yun Fu and their bonds were severed, they would certainly choose her—they wouldn't be stupid enough not to. This time, with her own significant transformation and popularity among males, Gu Lin and the others would never be as heartless as they were in her past life. Su Nianwei’s eyes filled with resolve.

Before long, Yun Fu and Su Nianwei were called to the machines to place their hands inside and check their results. Su Nianwei looked at the screen with anticipation, but the result remained Rank A, causing a moment of disappointment for her and her beast-husbands. But seeing the machine flickering for Yun Fu, who hadn't received her result yet, Su Nianwei’s confidence returned. Compared to a Yun Fu with no spiritual power, she was far superior.

***

Su Nianwei looked toward Qin Min, but seeing the man’s eyes fixed solely on Yun Fu without a hint of distraction, she clenched her palms. Just as she was about to offer some consoling words, the screen in front of Yun Fu flickered and finally displayed the data.

[Subject: Yun Fu]
[Spiritual Power Rank: Rank F]
[Spiritual Entity: Jellyfish]

Su Nianwei felt a momentary tremor of anxiety, but upon seeing that Yun Fu’s rank was only F, the corners of her mouth curled up again.

"Yun Fu, don't be sad. Even though it’s Rank F, you finally have spiritual power."

Qing Ze sneered, "Hmph, even with spiritual power, you’re still no match for Weiwei."

[What is going on? Why is the plot different? The villainess actually has spiritual power!]

[Maybe the novel was converted into a holographic projection and it automatically rationalized the content? Regardless, a Rank F spiritual power doesn't affect the plot; it doesn't change the fact that the villainess is a useless female.]

Yun Fu ignored them both. She blinked, staring intently at the screen. She hadn't expected to actually have spiritual power, and a jellyfish at that. Was it because she had shocked two beast-husbands a few times that it reflected the jellyfish’s characteristics?

Yun Fu speculated, not at all disappointed by her low rank. Having it was better than not, and she could always upgrade it anyway. She happily pulled Qin Min back to the villa, learned how to use her spiritual power to soothe, and just as she was about to experiment, she received a notification from her AI.

One of her beast-husbands, the fox Lu Shiling, had been injured by a broodmother while trying to rescue a female. His contamination levels had spiked, his spiritual power had collapsed, and he had been locked in the isolation ward of the detention center.

Yun Fu and Qin Min immediately rushed over. Upon learning that suppressants were completely ineffective on Lu Shiling and that he required soothing from a female, Yun Fu wanted to try. However, Lu Shiling’s condition prevented anyone from getting close; his spiritual riot made his fire-elemental abilities uncontrollable, turning the area into an inferno that would reduce anyone who approached to ash.

Valen, a guard at the detention center, wiped the cold sweat from his brow and looked at Yun Fu with hope. "Miss Yun, you are Officer Lu’s female. Please try to awaken his reason and soothe him. Otherwise, we will have no choice but to keep him forcibly restrained."

Valen, who possessed S-rank spiritual power, could sense the peaceful, pleasant aura radiating from Yun Fu. He felt that this female might truly be able to soothe Lu Shiling.

Yun Fu looked at the isolation ward, where flames continued to dance, but she did not share Valen’s optimism.

"She can't. She just awakened her spiritual power; she is completely unable to soothe Lu Shiling." Qin Min gripped Yun Fu’s hand tightly, terrified that she might impulsively rush in to try.