445: Chapter 445 Is Di Pingjian Cao Yang's daughter?

Time flies, and three years pass in the blink of an eye. The city remains as bustling and noisy as ever, unchanged.

However, Di Pingjian has quietly grown to be three years old.

Di Pingjian has a petite build, looking just like an exquisite porcelain doll.

She wears her hair in a pair of playful twin ponytails, and her fine strands of hair are blown into a bit of a mess by the biting cold wind.

Despite the bone-chilling wind, she follows closely behind Tian Min, not daring to fall a single step behind.

Today, they did not find any abandoned babies as they usually do.

For them, this is both a good thing and a bad thing.

No babies needing rescue means they can take a short break today, but it also means those innocent little lives might be facing the torment of hunger and cold elsewhere.

Before long, the two of them return to the Shelter.

Tian Min stops, turns around, and uses his large, warm palm to gently rub Di Pingjian's small head.

He says with concern, "Pingjian, go quickly to your bed to warm up your body. Don't catch a cold."

Di Pingjian looks up, her bright, spirited eyes shining like stars in the night sky. She nods vigorously and then, like a cheerful little rabbit, turns and sprints toward Dormitory Number One.

Tian Min stands quietly in place, watching Di Pingjian's small figure recede until she disappears from sight.

His gaze is somewhat dazed, as if he has fallen into deep thought.

"Truly a child blessed by God!" Tian Min sighs softly, a gratified smile appearing on his face.

Di Pingjian has shown extraordinary traits since she was an infant.

Not only did she learn to stand, walk, and speak much earlier than other children, but she also displayed intelligence far beyond her years.

Every action she takes and every word she speaks leaves people in awe.

What amazes Tian Min even more is that Di Pingjian's health is so robust, as if she has never been troubled by any illness at all.

Take today, for instance; Di Pingjian walked with him through the biting cold wind for several hours.

Any other child would likely have fallen ill from such harsh weather, but Di Pingjian's little face was merely flushed red from the cold; other than that, her body showed no discomfort whatsoever.

One must remember, Di Pingjian is only three years old!

This is simply an unbelievable miracle!

However, Tian Min is not worried about this, because this isn't their first time going out.

They have had two such experiences before, and each time Di Pingjian was exceptionally active, with her physical condition seemingly even better than Tian Min's.

Tian Min attributes all of this to God's special favor.

He firmly believes it is precisely because of God's special love for Di Pingjian that this child possesses such a strong constitution.

As a devout believer in God, Tian Min's faith has become even more steadfast.

Inside Dormitory Number One, Di Pingjian slowly pushes open the door and steps into her own little world.

This is a private room. Although it isn't large, in the Shelter, this is already considered special treatment.

The other children live in communal dorms; only Di Pingjian, for certain reasons, received Tian Min's special care and was given this space of her own.

The room is very simply furnished: a small bed, a desk, and a chair, and that is all.

Di Pingjian walks to the bedside and sits down. Looking at her small hands, which are red from the cold, a sense of confusion wells up in her heart.

"Is this the Grandmist Divine Heart Tribulation?" she murmurs to herself, her voice somewhat muffled. "How could it be like this? To actually have me reincarnate as a girl..."

Di Pingjian thinks of her past life. Back then, she was a dignified man, but now she has become like this. It is truly difficult to accept.

She shakes her head, as if trying to toss these troubles out of her mind.

"System, System?" Di Pingjian suddenly remembers something and calls out softly.

Ever since she learned to speak, she has called out like this several times a day, hoping to receive a response from the System.

However, every time, there is only silence.

"System, where on earth are you?" Di Pingjian's voice rises slightly, but the room remains quiet, without any response.

In fact, from the moment she was born, her heart has been calling out for the System.

It is an instinct, a yearning for an unknown power.

But no matter how she calls, the System seems to have vanished, making no sound at all.

On that night she was abandoned, she lay alone in the fork of a tree in the snowy fields, the cold wind howling past as heavy snow fluttered down.

Her tiny body was covered by thick snow, as if the entire world had forgotten her.

She had originally thought she was certain to die; after all, in such a harsh environment, it would be difficult for any infant to survive.

However, just as she was in despair, a mysterious golden light suddenly descended from the sky, accurately plunging into her body like a shooting star.

This golden light seemed to be a magical power, instantly filling her body with warmth and vitality.

Her physical constitution surpassed that of many Mortals, and even in such frigid weather, she did not freeze to death.

She couldn't help but wonder: where exactly did this golden light come from? Was it the favor of the heavens? Or the intervention of some mysterious power?

She guesses it was likely the System's doing, but she is helpless to confirm it.

"In my current state, what difference is there between me and an ordinary child?" Di Pingjian murmurs, sighing with a face full of helplessness.

She was originally the high and mighty Heavenly Emperor Cao Yang, but now she has become a fragile infant. This disparity is somewhat hard for her to swallow.

In her helplessness, she can only obediently lie back on the bed, wrapping herself tightly in the quilt to try and warm her body.

"Forget it, I'll warm up first. It really is a bit cold," she says to herself.

Currently, she is no longer that omnipotent Heavenly Emperor, but a small infant in need of care.

She knows full well that if she overtaxes her body, she might not even be able to keep this tiny shell.

As soon as she was able to start walking, she had impatiently tried all the Cultivation Techniques she knew.

From the Supreme Art bestowed by the System to the Qi Refining techniques of the Moyang Sword Sect, she tried them all one by one, but the results were unsatisfactory—she simply could not Cultivate these techniques normally.

Not only that, her Divine Sense is also exceptionally weak, only equivalent to the level of an infant's, making even basic operations like projecting it outside her body difficult to accomplish.

However, this doesn't mean she is completely without options.

Actually, there is another method that could allow her to break through her current predicament: forcibly activating the Void-Devouring Yin Essence Art.

This technique was a Supreme Art specifically provided by Cao Yang for his Dao Companions to Cultivate, and its domineering nature in the early stages was on par with the main technique Cao Yang himself cultivated.

As long as one Cultivates the Void-Devouring Yin Essence Art, it can automatically devour the lowest level of energy from the surrounding Spiritual Qi without needing to be consciously driven.

But this method is not without its price. She estimates that even so, it would only allow her to Breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Stage.

More importantly, doing so would drain the energy of every living being on this planet, leading to everyone's death.

She will absolutely not choose such a cruel and inhumane path, even if it is her only hope for a Breakthrough.

As for this planet, even if Di Pingjian actively cultivated, she couldn't devour energy to Cultivate unless she forcibly drove the art, but that would instantly drain the energy from the bodies of tens of thousands of people.

And even then, it wouldn't be enough to let her step into the Qi Refining Realm, because the energy Rank here is too low and too scarce.

When Di Pingjian slowly opens her eyes, the afternoon sunlight is spilling through the window onto her face, and she realizes she has slept for a long time.

Checking the time, it is already time for the afternoon meal.

As usual, Di Pingjian slowly gets up, puts on her shoes, and heads toward the cafeteria.

The faint aroma of porridge fills the cafeteria. She walks up to the counter and says with a smile to the staff, "Please give me half a bowl of thin porridge."

The staff member is somewhat surprised because Di Pingjian is actually entitled to a full bowl of thin porridge, yet she only takes half a bowl every time.

The staff member can't help but ask, "Are you sure you only want half a bowl?"

Di Pingjian nods and replies, "Yes, half a bowl is enough, thank you."

In truth, Di Pingjian knows that the other children in the Shelter only receive a third of a bowl of thin porridge per meal.

She feels that by eating a little less, the other children can get a bit more, so that everyone can barely fill their stomachs.

The days pass like this one by one, with Di Pingjian living the same life every day.

However, as time goes on, the number of abandoned children the Shelter receives becomes fewer and fewer.

This is all thanks to Tian Min's day-after-day efforts; he has been traveling everywhere, trying to persuade more wealthy people to dedicate themselves to charity.

Eight years pass in a flash, hurrying by like flowing water.

During these long eight years, Di Pingjian consistently insisted on saving the steamed buns she received every few days to quietly go and visit her mother.

However, every time, she would only secretly leave the buns in her mother's room and depart in a hurry, not even daring to stay for a moment longer.

Sometimes, if conditions allowed, she might take the opportunity to catch a glimpse of her mother, but more often than not, she would turn and leave without hesitation.

However, as time passed, especially in the final few years, the number of times Di Pingjian went to visit her mother became fewer and fewer.

This was not because her care for her mother had diminished, but because of Tian Min's tireless efforts, more and more wealthy people began to engage in charity, causing the living conditions of the poor to improve significantly.

Now, very few people die of starvation, and things like abandoning children almost never happen anymore.

On this day, Di Pingjian is suddenly summoned by Tian Min to the main hall of the Shelter.

As she steps into the hall, a trace of unease wells up in her heart.

With a serious face, Tian Min tells Di Pingjian that once the children in the Shelter reach twelve years old, they can no longer stay there; they must rely on their own strength to go out and work to earn a living.

Hearing these words, Di Pingjian's heart is suddenly filled with a mix of emotions.

Her eyes grow moist, and tears well up, but she suppresses her sorrow and gives Tian Min a deep bow, expressing her heartfelt gratitude.

Then, she silently turns and slowly walks out of the Shelter's gates, embarking on her own path in life from then on.

Di Pingjian stands at the old gate of the Shelter, slowly turning around to gaze at the slightly dilapidated buildings of the place.

Deep in her eyes, a trace of hard-to-part attachment and reluctance shows.

The Shelter, this place that once gave her brief refuge, now feels so strange and distant.

Di Pingjian takes a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, and then resolutely turns away, taking the steps to leave the Shelter far behind.

Her hand tightly grips the recommendation letter, as if it were the last lifeline of her life.

This recommendation letter was specially sent by Tian Min, who had a staff member catch up to her just now; it recommends her to work as a server in a restaurant.

For Di Pingjian, this is undoubtedly a decent and high-paying job, an opportunity many dream of.

Di Pingjian is full of gratitude toward Tian Min, and she secretly vows in her heart to repay his kindness in the future.

This recommendation letter represents not just a job, but also Tian Min's care and help for her.

Following the address Tian Min gave her, Di Pingjian successfully finds the restaurant.

This is a luxurious and grand Advanced restaurant, a world of difference compared to the environment Di Pingjian was in before.

Di Pingjian takes a deep breath, musters her courage, and walks into the restaurant.

After an interview and training, she finally successfully becomes a server at the restaurant.

Di Pingjian's mind holds countless memories of delicious meals from her past life, but she doesn't show them too obviously at first.

She only occasionally gives a proper suggestion or two when interacting with the chefs; other than that, she has been diligently performing her duties as a restaurant server.

At the beginning, Di Pingjian needed to find a place to stay on her own, but she worked very hard, being not only serious and responsible but also having a sweet and cute appearance that everyone loved.

Combined with the fact that she could occasionally offer some novel and unique ideas, she became quite popular among the restaurant staff.

In just a few short months, Di Pingjian relied on her own hard work and talent to successfully apply for the free accommodation provided by the restaurant.

The job of a restaurant server is decent, but it is indeed very exhausting.

Every day, a large number of wealthy people come to dine and drink, and Di Pingjian and the other servers are often so busy they are overwhelmed and frantic.

They often cannot eat on time because of the rush, and they don't have much time to sleep at night.

On the surface, this job looks very respectable, but in reality, it is exceptionally tiring.

However, Di Pingjian does not give up easily, because this job is already considered a top-tier position in the city, something many dream of but have no chance of obtaining.

Moreover, Di Pingjian knows that after a while longer, she will certainly no longer be a mere server.

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