Chapter 3

Suddenly, Marty lost control and plummeted from the Ninth Heaven. At the same time, the damp aura around us suddenly pulled on the clansmen’s spirit power.

The sky in the mortal realm instantly turned into blazing sunlight.

Leigh struggled desperately, wanting to try again. However, a bolt of heavenly thunder struck her down, slamming her heavily onto the rain altar.

“Impossible! I’m clearly the one most qualified to bring rain and ascend!”

Furious, Leigh pointed at me and cursed. “It’s you! You tampered with it, didn’t you?”

Father’s heart ached as he pulled Leigh into his arms, his face stern as he looked at me.

“Chloe, Leigh is your elder sister. How could you plot against her?”

The clansmen, their spirit power drained, turned on me as well.

“Princess Chloe, even if you’re jealous of Princess Leigh, you should think of the greater good.”

“That’s right. If this rain fails, who in the Rain Clan will be able to ascend and protect our clan?”

I crossed my arms and looked coldly at Father. “Are you really going to twist black into white? Don’t you know why Leigh failed?”

Father always favored Leigh.

Every spell I found growing up, she always got to choose first, while I endured harsh training within the clan.

Only my aunt cared for me, and before my death, she told me the truth.

I was not the murderer of my mother and brother.

“That day, when Mother and a mortal woman both went into labor, the mortal woman began to hemorrhage. It was you, Father, that unleashed the water beast in order to save the mortal woman.

“Mother fought the water beast during childbirth. While she was at her weakest, you drew her divine bone to save the mortal woman, your long-lost love. Because of that, I was nearly never born, and my brother died in the womb.”

Father tried to seal my lips, but his divine power had no effect on me.

“Had Leigh’s mother endured the burden of the divine and survived childbirth, would you not have married her instead?

“To cover up the truth, you carried me out and publicly declared me a cursed star, saying I was the one who killed my mother and brother. From then on, you forced me to bear that crime and trained me mercilessly.

“I used to be so naïve, thinking that if I one day succeeded in bringing rain, you would finally recognize me. I wanted to protect the Rain Clan and make up for the harm I supposedly caused.

“It wasn’t until Mother’s death anniversary, when I saw you at Carefree Mountain, at a nameless grave. You admitted then the real reason you trained me. Leigh, born of half-mortal blood, was frail and sickly. You planned to strip my divine bone so she could ascend in my place.

“All those years I fed Leigh with my heart’s blood, it was only to help her adapt to my divine bone bit by bit so her body wouldn’t reject it.”

“Enough!” Father clenched his fists, glaring coldly at me. “I don’t know where you heard such nonsense. Considering your youth, I won’t punish you today. Return to your Water Moon Cave and reflect.”

I lifted my skirt and walked onto the rain altar, standing tall at the center.

“Father, I think I’ve done more than enough. Now, the mortal emperor is praying for rain. If the rain doesn’t fall today, aren’t you afraid the Ninth Heaven will demand an explanation?”

The clansmen, still drained of power, began to doubt. Now that they knew Leigh carried impure blood, their eyes shifted toward me.

“Lucas, let Chloe try. Otherwise, how will we answer to the Ninth Heaven?”

My aunt pressed at the right moment, forcing Father to agree reluctantly.

I reached out and pulled Evan onto the rain altar. He instantly felt the crushing weight of its spirit power, barely able to stand straight.

I pricked my finger and offered him my blood, but he shook his head.

“If I don’t have the strength on my own, then I’m not worthy to be your spirit beast. Please, Princess, let me try myself.”

“You talk too much. We’re about to form a bond. You are my partner now, and partners share both hardship and joy.”

“Princess Chloe, he’s just a green snake. If you insist on contracting with him, I fear he doesn’t have the strength to carry you and summon the rain.” Marty folded his arms, sneering.

I flicked a finger, blasting him a hundred feet away from the rain altar.

I continued to channel my power.

Evan’s head throbbed with pain, but horns sprouted on his head, and his scales shone a brilliant green light.

From a distance, he looked no different from a green dragon.

With a roar, he lifted me high into the skies.

“No matter how much he looks like a dragon, he’s not one! Green dragons are the strongest among dragons. A green snake can’t possibly be one. It’s just an illusion!”

Marty ground his teeth in hatred, deliberately mocking Evan.

The other clan leaders grew worried, too, urging me not to risk ruining the ceremony out of pride.

However, just as they were ready to leave in disappointment, the plants around the rain altar suddenly flourished, vibrant and lush.

Spirit power overflowed, filling every clansman with warm, healing strength.

In the crystal orb, storm clouds once again gathered over the mortal world. The emperor’s face lit up with joy.

“Rain! The Goddess has brought rain!”

The mortals below cheered, kneeling in front of the Rain Goddess Temple.

“Thank you, Goddess, for bringing the blessed rain!”

“Thank you for bringing us the blessed rain!”