Thirteen years later, Sora returned home.
The expected cold reception arrived, as expected.
A woman with a strong personality wouldn't have tolerated such humiliation.
She'd either walk away or cause a scene!
At least she'd vent her Ella!
Sora wasn't like that.
She prioritized the greater good over her personal honor and disgrace.
For the shared hopes of over three thousand villagers, for a chance to see her daughter again...
She endured these humiliations silently.
She could endure it, but Alan couldn't.
For Sora's sake, he decided to wait two more days.
If the Case family continued to ignore him, he'd be furious!
He might as well make a scene and teach these naive people a lesson!
Alan wasn't one for impulsiveness, and he hadn't wasted his time at Case Manor these past two days.
He actively made small advances with the servants, offering them small gifts and extracting valuable intelligence.
The Case family, to put it bluntly, has been declining with each generation!
Especially since Sora's departure, the family has declined dramatically over the past decade.
The strongest member of the family, Sora's mother, has only reached the late third stage of cultivation.
If the mistress is at this level, one can imagine the situation for the rest of the family.
In this period of transition, it's no wonder the mistress took a special liking to Ella, a gifted young woman.
The hopes of the Case family's rise rested on her.
However, Ella was still young.
No matter how gifted a person is, they still need a process of learning and growth.
Even worse was the problem...
The Case family simply couldn't find a suitable teacher for Ella !
She was a rare hybrid of cat and bee, so what kind of meditation should she use?
Should she focus on developing her martial arts skills or her spellcasting abilities?
The Case family had no idea!
For years, they had trained her as nothing more than an ordinary catwoman sorcerer.
The result was a waste of this uncut gem.
It was said that Ella's current cultivation level was at the late second stage.
For a fifteen-year-old girl with such a high level of cultivation, it wasn't an exaggeration to call her a genius.
But Allen knew that this was simply stifling Ella's talent!
She awakened a rare bloodline at the age of two, and now she was only at this level?
Allen found it amusing, but dared not laugh out loud.
If Teacher Sora knew why he was laughing, she would probably be deeply saddened.
On the third day of arriving at Case Manor, Allen and Sora were finally received by the mistress.
The current matriarch of the Case family, a woman over sixty years old.
Alan could tell that the old lady wasn't in good health, as if she'd been recovering from a serious illness.
Beside the old lady stood a graceful and pretty young woman.
Her figure and features bore a resemblance to Sora's.
It was obvious without question that this girl was Ella.
"Ella, Mom's back to see you..."
Sora looked at her now-beautiful daughter, tears welling in her eyes. It was hard to tell whether she was feeling sad or relieved.
Ella, however, treated her with a cold expression.
Raised by her grandmother, Ella barely remembered Sora.
The elders in the family, including her grandmother herself, never had a kind word to say about her biological mother, Sora.
They even distorted the facts, claiming Sora had abandoned her daughter, pursuing pleasure and wandering off on her own, refusing to fulfill her responsibility to raise her.
For over a decade, she hadn't even returned to see her daughter!
Growing up in this environment, influenced by her elders, Anqi inevitably felt deeply ashamed of having such a selfish and cold-hearted mother.
At this point, she naturally despised her biological mother, who had come to live with her, and even refused to call her "Mom."
"Are you Sora? You don't look that great!"
The girl sized up her biological mother, undisguised in her disdain.
"I'm fifteen, already in the late Second Stage. You're thirty, how come you're only in the early Second Stage?"
"You didn't work hard when you were young, and now you're old, you're coming back to your parents' home to make a living. How shameless!"
Sora was stunned and speechless, tears welling in her eyes...
She had never expected her daughter to treat her like this.
"Ella, don't be so rude," the mistress said calmly. "That woman is your mother after all. Be polite to her."
Ella, as if her rebellious nature had been aroused, sneered, her words becoming increasingly sarcastic.
"You gave birth to me, but you didn't raise me. You're so heartless and disloyal. You're not worthy of being my mother!"
"Ella, it's not what you think..."
Sora choked up as she explained to her daughter.
She wanted to raise her daughter, too.
It was only because of her lack of strength and her inability to awaken her beastly bloodline that she was forced to give up raising her daughter. After hearing what she said, Ella's pretty face flickered with emotion.
It was clear that she sympathized with her mother's plight, but her long-held prejudice wouldn't allow her to admit it.
"Okay, I take it back. You're not heartless, but a cowardly and incompetent woman!"
"Your weakness is your original sin!"
"You're old, and your cultivation isn't even as high as mine. Calling you incompetent isn't an exaggeration, is it?"
"You weren't even afraid to fight back when the bad guys raped you. Calling you cowardly isn't an exaggeration, is it?"
"If I were bullied by the bad guys, you'd just hide and tremble! What's the point of having someone as incompetent as you as my mother?!"
"Hmph! Just pretend you don't have me. I won't acknowledge you as my mother, to save myself the embarrassment—"
Slap!
Before she could finish her words, she was interrupted by a resounding slap.
Ella clutched her swollen cheek, stunned.
Madam Keith and Sora were also stunned.
At some point, Allen appeared across from Ella.
With lightning speed, he slapped her across the face.
"You, you, you—how dare you—" Ella stammered incoherently.
"What do you mean by 'you'?" Allen interrupted. "Slapping an unfilial daughter like you is a crime that smears my hands!"
"I—" Ella's lips trembled with anger.
"What do you mean by 'I'?" Allen continued to retort. "If I had known you were so heartless, Sora-sensei should never have given birth to you!"
"Don't interrupt!" Ella screamed, stamping her feet in anger. "It's all your fault. You keep talking, and I haven't even said anything yet! I'm so pissed!"
Alen had originally disliked this girl, but seeing her furious, foolish look, he felt less disgusted.
"Unfilial daughter, what do you want to say? I'll give you a chance to speak."
Alen crossed his arms over his chest, a cynical smile playing on his lips.
Ella's hands rested on her perfectly wasp waist, her full breasts heaving violently.
"Where did you come from, brat?"
"I don't even know you. What gives you the right to hit me?"
"Who the hell do you think you are? What qualifications do you have to teach me?!"
Her barrage of angry questions had no effect on Allen.
He replied casually, nearly irritating Ella to the point of vomiting blood!
"I'm not interested in teaching you, I just want to beat you up."
"You rude country boy, unreasonable!" Ella screamed in anger. "You hit a woman, how shameless!"
"What's wrong with being a woman? You deserve a beating because you're ill-mannered, not because you're a man or a woman." Allen sneered. "If you'd been with your mother since childhood, you wouldn't have become so uneducated!"
His words, while ostensibly a rebuke to Ella, actually included a rebuke of Ella's guardian.
Madam Case, listening nearby, frowned, her patience with this rude young man at its limit!
She disdained to speak directly to Allen. With a light cough, she asked Sora coldly, "Don't you care about your students?"
Sora finally had her chance to speak.
Now that Allen had leapt forward and flipped the table, as a teacher, she could no longer back down. At the very least, she couldn't let her students fall behind!
Taking a deep breath, she faced her dignified mother and responded in a manner neither humble nor arrogant:
"Mother! Allen's cultivation is at the late Second Stage, surpassing even my teacher, yet he remains respectful to me."
"So, I think his criticism of Ella is justified. I have nothing to add."
"Late Second Stage?"
Madam Keith raised an eyebrow, a hint of interest in her eyes.
"Sora, what is the child's bloodline and aptitude?"
"Food—"
Sora was about to answer when she heard Allen coughing beside her.
Suddenly remembering what Allen had said to her earlier, she quickly changed her tone.
"Mother, Alan has awakened the bloodline of the Demonic Leopard Man, a supreme talent!"
"The Demonic Leopard Man... I've never heard of him!" The mistress frowned, muttering to herself, "A branch of the Leopard Man bloodline?"
"A mixed bloodline of the Leopard Man and the Ogre."
Sora followed Alan's prompt and replied calmly.
Master and disciple had come to the Case family this time with a request, and they had to offer something significant to win the family's support and allocate more resources.
Alan's true bloodline, the Poisonous Demonic Leopard Man, was unprecedented!
Exposing it would be too sensational and would undoubtedly cause trouble.
However, he could use his venom glands to conceal the Poisonous Demon bloodline, revealing only the characteristics of the Black Panther Man and the Ogre Man bloodline.
The fusion of the two would create the so-called Demonic Leopard Man.
While rare, it was not without precedent.
"He's also of mixed blood!" The mistress's eyes lit up. "Isn't that similar to Ella?!"
"Sora, you're so lucky! Not only did you give birth to a wonderful daughter, but you also have a wonderful apprentice!"
Ella, standing nearby, couldn't help but feel a little jealous when she heard her grandmother praising Allen.
"You're bragging! I've never heard of a demonic leopard man!"
Alan glared at her coldly, "You're young and inexperienced. Don't butt in!"
Ella, hands on her hips, glared, her face filled with dissatisfaction.
"Big man! How old are you?"
"I don't deserve that. I've wasted sixteen years."
"Ah? You... you're only one year older than me!" Ella was at a loss for words. "Why are you pretending to be such a senior? Humph! That's hilarious!"
"Being one year older is enough for me to be your teacher and teach you some grown-up principles," Allen said flatly.
"You kid, you're getting more and more outrageous!" Ella puffed up her rosy cheeks. "Today I just don't believe it. I have to have a good debate with you to make it clear who's being unreasonable!"
Alan smiled magnanimously.
"Little girl, what's your twisted logic?"
"You're full of twisted logic! I'm younger than you, but my cultivation is just as good as yours. Isn't that true?" Ella asked seriously.
"It's true."
"I'm younger than you, but my cultivation is just as good as yours. That shows my talent and wisdom are both superior to yours!"
"There's no order of learning; the most accomplished are the teachers! How dare you speak so arrogantly if you don't treat me with respect?"
Alan waved his hand, interrupting her.
"No matter how high your cultivation level is, if you can't fight, it's useless!"
"True strength comes from actual combat!"
"Little girl, do you dare to challenge me to a real fight? Whoever loses will become my disciple?"
"I'd love to teach you a lesson, you lunatic, but unfortunately, I'm afraid Grandma won't agree!"
Ella glanced at the Matron, then returned her gaze to Alan, a hint of resentment in her eyes.
"Even if I could defeat a nobody like you, it wouldn't be a great honor for me, or for our Case family! Why would I bother to argue with you?"
"No, I agree!" Matron Keith suddenly said.
"Ah! What...? Grandma, what... are you trying to do?"
Ella was bewildered.
Matron Keith smiled kindly.
"Ella, aren't you curious about the Leopard Man bloodline?"
"Oh my God! That kid's just bragging! He's lying!"
"What if, I mean what if, he's telling the truth?"
Mrs. Keith narrowed her eyes, like an old cat.
"So what?"
Ella hadn't yet grasped the gravity of the situation.
Grandmother sighed, beckoned her granddaughter over, lowered her voice, and patiently asked:
"Ella, do you consider yourself a genius?"
"Everyone says that, but I personally think... it's just okay!"
Ella scratched her head, looking a little embarrassed.
"You're a hybrid of cat-man and bee-man, possessing both beast and insectoid traits. This is a rare gift."
"If that Allen is a hybrid of leopard-man and ogre, then his talent is probably no less than yours."
"Hmm... he seems to have some potential," Ella pondered.
"A young man like this, without the backing of a large family, is like a mutant that emerged from a crack in the rock."
Mrs. Keith caressed her granddaughter's hair and asked softly, "Ella, do you know what this means?"
Ella wasn't stupid; she figured it out in the blink of an eye.
"Grandma... do you think that boy is talented and worth recruiting?"
Mrs. Keith sighed softly and laid out her worries.
"The Case family's bloodline is degenerating, each generation declining... Of the younger generation, you're the only one who can be considered capable."
"However, you alone can't carry the family."
"Ella, you're still too young to understand the difficulties of being the head of a family..."
"Anyway, go test Alan Panthers. If he truly has potential..."
"So what?" Ella pressed unconvinced.
"Then from now on, you'll have to call Sora "Mom" and show her some respect."
Mrs. Case replied calmly.
"Bah! I won't listen to that woman!"
Ella had been taught by her elders to disparage her biological mother since she was a child. Thirteen years of this subtle influence had already formed a deep-seated prejudice against her.
Now, her grandmother had suddenly changed her attitude, demanding she respect a woman she had previously relegated to the dust.
How could she possibly change her mind so quickly?
"Grandma, I'm sorry, I'm afraid your joy is in vain!"
Ella gnashed her teeth, her resentment directed at Allen.
"I'll expose that brat's boasts right now!"
Ever since learning that Ella had awakened her special bloodline, Allen had been curious about his teacher's daughter and wanted to see Ella in her atavistic form.
Now, his curiosity was satisfied.
The spacious hall was perfect for a sparring match.
Ella held a deep grudge against him, and immediately unleashed her true power!
Immediately unleashing a second-stage atavism!
She transformed into... a quirky cat-eared bee girl.