Chapter 119: The Princess Who Cultivated the Wrong Path

She reminded Victor of a winter rose.

Beautiful enough to make someone stop and stare.

But with thorns hidden beneath the petals.

Even from this distance, Victor could tell that she carried herself with considerable pride.

She wasn’t someone who needed to demand attention.

Her presence naturally drew it.

In terms of appearance alone, she was not inferior to Lane.

Victor continued watching her for a moment.

Then—

[Ding!]

[System detected a Heaven Blessed Child.]

[A new scanning function has been unlocked.]

Victor’s eyebrows rose.

He had never seen a notification like this before.

His curiosity immediately sharpened.

A scanning function?

What did that mean?

He focused on the notification.

The next moment, another panel appeared before his eyes.

[Viridia — Princess of the Suncloud Kingdom]

[Lifespan: 18/100]

[Race: Mortal Human]

[Spiritual Root: Thunder Sea Spiritual Root — Low-Divine Rank]

[Cultivation: 3-Star Spiritual Gathering Stage]

[Special Physique: Thunder Empress Physique — Dormant State]

[Remark: A person blessed by Heaven with unlimited potential. However, her current situation is unfavorable. She has cultivated the wrong cultivation technique, resulting in extremely slow cultivation progress.]

Victor stared at the information.

For several seconds, he didn’t say anything.

There were quite a few things that caught his attention.

First—

She was a princess.

Not just any princess, either.

She was the princess of the Suncloud Kingdom.

Victor’s gaze returned to the woman standing in the distance.

So that’s who she is...

His golden eyes narrowed slightly.

Then there was her Spiritual Root.

A Thunder Sea Spiritual Root.

Low-Divine Rank.

Victor’s expression became more serious.

Thunder was already an extremely rare elemental affinity.

Yet this woman possessed thunder as her primary element.

And that wasn’t even the most shocking part.

She also possessed a special physique.

Thunder Empress Physique.

Dormant.

Victor had no idea what kind of power that physique would eventually grant her, but the system’s description alone was enough to make him understand that it was extraordinary.

Yet there was something strange about the whole situation.

Someone with such talent was only at the 3-Star Spiritual Gathering Stage.

And according to the system, the reason was simple.

She had cultivated the wrong technique.

Victor couldn’t help but feel a little speechless.

Such terrifying potential...

And yet she was being held back by the very technique she was using to cultivate.

His eyes returned to Viridia.

The princess?

What is she doing all the way out here alone?

That question lingered in his mind.

Viridia didn’t seem to have noticed him.

She simply stood there quietly, her long purplish- green hair moving gently in the wind.

She sat down on a boulder beside the lake and slowly closed her eyes.

The boulder was smooth and flat, worn down by years of wind and water. Its surface was almost perfectly level.

It was an ideal place for meditation.

Viridia crossed her legs and began cultivating.

Victor remained nearby, watching her quietly.

It was only then that he finally understood why her cultivation had stopped progressing.

She was cultivating a water-attributed cultivation technique.

And water was her secondary element.

There were many people in the world who possessed more than one elemental affinity. Having two elements wasn’t particularly rare.

What was rare was having two elements that were equally balanced.

Viridia was not one of those people.

She possessed both thunder and water elements, but the difference between them was enormous.

Her thunder element was far stronger.

That alone wasn’t surprising.

What truly made the difference was her physique.

Viridia possessed a special physique closely related to her thunder attribute. Her body was naturally suited to lightning-based cultivation.

If she had chosen a thunder-attributed cultivation technique instead, her cultivation speed would have been astonishing.

She wouldn’t have needed to struggle like this.

Victor narrowed his eyes.

The more he observed her, the more he realized that something was wrong with her body.

Her spiritual root allowed her to absorb and cultivate water-attributed spiritual mana.

There was nothing inherently wrong with that.

The problem was that her lightning affinity was simply too dominant.

Her physique was far more compatible with lightning than water.

Under normal circumstances, this might not have caused much trouble.

But Viridia wasn’t cultivating under normal circumstances.

She was desperate to become stronger.

Her kingdom was facing a crisis, and she wanted to do something about it.

Anything.

She had probably been pushing herself far beyond what her body could safely handle.

Victor’s expression became serious.

The situation reminded him of something from his own past.

It was like trying to pump more gas into a container that was already full.

Once the container reached its limit, adding more wouldn’t make it hold more fuel.

It would only create a bigger problem.

Viridia’s body was similar.

She was forcing water-attributed spiritual mana into a body that was naturally far more compatible with lightning.

She wasn’t making herself stronger.

She was slowly damaging herself.

And if she continued down this path...

The consequences could be disastrous.

Victor knew that better than most.

His thoughts immediately returned to his former self.

Mana deviation.

He had once pushed his own cultivation too far.

And he had paid for it with his life.

Victor’s gaze sharpened.

Something was wrong.

Viridia’s aura suddenly fluctuated.

The spiritual mana surrounding her began to tremble.

At first, the change was subtle.

Then it became violent.

Her breathing became uneven.

Her delicate shoulders shook.

Victor’s expression changed.

"Viridia..."

Before he could say anything else, her aura suddenly became chaotic.

Her face lost what little color it had.

A moment later—

"Cough!"

Viridia suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

The crimson droplets splattered across the pristine grass beneath her.

The bright red stood out painfully against the fresh green.

Viridia’s body swayed.

She barely managed to keep herself from falling forward.

Victor immediately stepped closer.

But before he could reach her, Viridia lowered her head.

Her hands clenched tightly against her knees.

Her fingers trembled.

"Why?"

Her voice was barely a whisper.

She stared at the blood staining the grass.

"Why?"

Her voice cracked this time.

"Why is the progress of my cultivation so slow?"