My Celestial Ascension

Chapter 504: Little Zoe Starts Her Training

The next morning, just as they sat at the dining table for breakfast, Little Zoe came running from outside with an excited look on her face.

"Big Sister Lily, are you going to teach me how to fight monsters now?" Little Zoe immediately asked with an eager tone as she approached Lily.

"Not now. We are about to have breakfast. Once we finish, I'll teach you how to use a sword," Lily said, poking the little girl's cheek with a smile.

"Oh, I see…then I'll wait for you in the backyard. Don't keep me waiting, okay?!"

"Don't worry. Since I've told you that I'll teach you, I will. I'll be there right after breakfast."

"I understand."

With an excited and anticipatory look on her face, Little Zoe left the dining hall, looking forward to the training Lily had promised to give her to make her strong.

Yuan and his wives chuckled at the excited look on Little Zoe's face as she exited the dining hall. They then looked at Lily, who was smiling.

After that, Miss Zara quickly brought their breakfast and placed it on the table. The aroma of the freshly cooked food filled the entire dining hall, making the other tenants turn their heads towards Yuan and his wives' table.

"That little girl couldn't sleep last night, knowing that you will train her today. I hope you will train her properly, Lily," Miss Zara said while serving the food to everyone, paying extra attention to Lily.

"Don't worry, Sister Zara. Little Zoe is like my own little sister. I will make sure that she learns everything properly," Lily replied with a reassuring smile, making Miss Zara sigh in relief, knowing that her beloved daughter was in good hands.

Anna Grace noticed the sadness in Miss Zara's eyes, just like yesterday. She looked concerned about something and occasionally sighed.

"Miss Zara, you look worried about something. What is it?" Anna Grace asked. She didn't get to ask yesterday, so she asked today, and with Little Zoe not around, it was a good time.

Miss Zara looked at Anna Grace for a moment and sighed, saying, "It seems that I can't hide anything from your eyes, Miss Anna Grace… You have sharp eyes."

"Well, it's too easy for me." Anna Grace smiled. "Then, what's the matter? Why do you look sad, Miss Zara? From the look of it, you are concerned about something."

Miss Zara took a deep breath, sat close to Anna Grace, and said, "Well, I've been worried about my daughter's future. There are many things on my mind concerning her future…"

After taking a deep breath, Miss Zara began to tell Yuan and his wives about her concerns regarding her daughter. Little Zoe was her only family, so she didn't want her daughter to be sad after knowing that she couldn't achieve her dreams no matter how hard she tried.

They were commoners with the lowest bloodline possible. Though Miss Zara herself possessed two magic attributes—Wind and Fire—she didn't have enough mana to cast even a rank 2 magic spell. No matter how hard she tried to increase the capacity of her mana by trying to form the second circle in her heart, she couldn't, as she didn't have the necessary talent.

After listening to Miss Zara's explanation, Yuan and his wives felt pity for Miss Zara and Little Zoe. Despite having big dreams, they didn't have the talent to achieve them. It was as though the world was keeping them bound with thick and strong shackles, preventing them from becoming strong and spreading their wings.

"I see… No wonder you looked so worried, Miss Zara. As a mother myself, I can understand how you feel…" Anna Grace placed her hand on Zara's shoulder, making her feel a bit at ease.

Then she let out a soft smile and said, "Although you two may not be talented enough, don't lose hope. We will think of something to make both of you stronger."

"Huh? Make us strong? But how…?" Miss Zara looked at Anna Grace with a dumbfounded expression, feeling extremely confused about Anna Grace's intention.

Yuan also raised his brows, wondering what his mother was thinking and how she planned to make both mother and daughter strong. However, he didn't think much about it and began eating his breakfast.

Seeing that Yuan had started eating, everyone else also began to eat, especially Xi Meili, who couldn't hold herself back from stuffing her face with food.

A couple of minutes later, Miss Zara led them to the spacious backyard of the inn. Upon arriving, Yuan and his wives were surprised by the size of the yard—it was massive!

"Big Sister Lily, you've arrived!" Little Zoe exclaimed excitedly upon noticing their arrival, unable to contain her excitement to learn from Lily.

"I promised you, didn't I?" Lily chuckled and quickly took out two wooden swords from her spatial ring. "Here, take this sword. This will be your training sword." Lily handed the sword to Little Zoe with a smile, looking forward to training her.

Little Zoe looked at the wooden sword, and a wide smile appeared on her face before she took it from Lily's hand and tightly gripped the handle.

'This is her first time holding a sword, yet she's gripping it properly… this little girl has a talent for the sword.' Lily smiled upon seeing Little Zoe's posture and couldn't help but feel a little surprised.

'Would you look at that… she's holding the sword as if it were natural for her. This is truly unexpected.' Yuan smirked upon seeing Little Zoe holding the sword with both hands.

Little Zoe looked at Lily with an innocent smile and asked, "Am I holding it properly?"

"You're holding it how you're supposed to. Now I'll show you how to swing a sword, and you follow my movements, okay?" Lily said, holding her sword in both hands, ready to demonstrate.

"Okay," Little Zoe nodded with an excited and anticipatory look on her face, her hands tingling with excitement to swing the sword.

Shortly, Lily began to teach Little Zoe the basics of swordsmanship, and Little Zoe copied her movements, though she struggled at first.

Seeing her daughter struggling to copy Lily's movements, Miss Zara became a little worried, but Anna Grace reassured her once again.

"Don't worry, Little Zoe is doing fine. She can't learn everything in one day; it will take some time for her body to become acquainted with the sword," Anna Grace said with a small smile.

"I see… well, I believe in my daughter. She can learn swordsmanship from Lily, and I also believe she will become strong one day," Miss Zara said, nodding with a dazed smile.

Lily watched Little Zoe's practice and felt very happy to see her practicing so diligently. It warmed her heart and made her feel proud of herself for being such an amazing teacher.

"You're doing well, Little Zoe. Keep it up, and I'll reward you at the end of our training session," Lily said, trying to further motivate Little Zoe.

"A gift?! What kind of gift, Big Sis?" Little Zoe's eyes began to sparkle, and she asked excitedly.

"Keep training, and after the session ends, you'll find out what kind of gift it will be," Lily chuckled, seeing her excitement.

"I understand!" As if a new power had awakened inside her, Little Zoe practiced her sword moves even more diligently, despite feeling exhausted.

Seeing the determined look on her face, Yuan and his wives couldn't help but smile. It seemed that this little girl was not only mischievous but also hardworking and exceptionally talented with the sword.

Sometime later, Little Zoe was completely exhausted, her clothes drenched with sweat, and she didn't have the strength to continue training.

Seeing this, Lily decided to end Little Zoe's training for the day. "Let's end today's training here. You can't train anymore; your body has reached its limit. Any more training would put too much strain on you."

"Now go and take a bath. After that, all of us will go to the 'Upper Realm' for shopping. I've heard there are some of the finest shops that sell high-quality dresses. I'd love to purchase a few for myself," Lily said with a smile.

"Am I also going to the 'Upper Realm' with you, Sister Lily?" Little Zoe asked excitedly.

"Indeed. After all, I promised you a gift, didn't I?" Lily chuckled.

"I see… then I'll go quickly take a bath and get ready!" Little Zoe exclaimed excitedly and immediately headed toward the bathroom.

After Little Zoe left the yard, Lily approached Miss Zara and said, "Sister Zara, I have to say, Little Zoe is quite talented with the sword… She will become a powerful sword master one day, I'm sure of it."

Miss Zara looked at Lily and the others with a dumbfounded expression, unable to believe what she had heard.

"W-What?! A S-Sword Master, my adorable daughter?" Miss Zara mumbled in disbelief.

"Indeed. Little Zoe truly has the potential to become one," Yuan said, nodding his head, which only added to Miss Zara's surprise.

Miss Zara never in her wildest dreams thought that her daughter would be so talented. If the world knew about this, powerful aristocratic families would do anything to take her daughter from her.

Seeing the worried look on her face, Anna Grace placed her hand on Zara's shoulder and said, "Don't worry. No one will separate your daughter from you, and we won't let that happen. Moreover, to the people of this world, your daughter's talent is nothing, and they have no way of knowing it."

"So rest assured, nothing will happen to Little Zoe," Anna Grace said with a smile, and Miss Zara felt relieved after hearing this.

"Now, about the shopping, how about you come with us as well, Miss Zara?" Anna Grace invited her to the 'Upper Realm' where the nobles live.

"Is it really okay for me to tag along?"

"Why not? It will be fun."

At that moment, they heard a familiar voice from behind that drew everyone's attention immediately.

"A shopping trip to the 'Upper Realm'… How about we tag along as well?" Sylvia said with a wide grin as she arrived at the backyard.