Chapter 2. Zhu Yan
Lin Lu had a medium 3rd grade martial talent, which was a small grade higher than Lin Yang's.
Although a medium 3rd grade talent is nothing too extraordinary, when her gender was considered Lin Lu still had a rather high political value to the family, so she also received martial arts education just like Lin Yang.
Putting aside Lin Lu's average martial talent grade, her fighting talent and dexterity were all top-notch. She also always diligently cultivated and her cultivation wasn't any less inferior to Lin Yang.
Lin Yang knew that Lin Lu's enthusiasm toward martial arts was very likely because of his example. In fact, the chances of Lin Lu passing the entrance assessment for the Seven Profound Martial House at this time were also quite low. She came to the Sky Fortune City with him mainly because of him to support him.
Lin Yang's eyes lingered on Lin Lu's figure for a while as she was cultivating q quietly.
Lin Lu was certainly an attractive girl. Even if she was not as beautiful as Lan Yunyue, he had grown to adore her far more than Lan Yunyue…
After having this random thought, Lin Yang turned away his head and was about to begin cultivating when a fat youngster came into view.
This fat youngster was carrying a long sword at his waist. Seeing Lin Yang, he grinned in a lewd manner and said, "My dear cousins, today is the registration day for the entrance assessment of the Seven Profound Martial House. Could it be that you two have forgotten about it? Why are you still practicing here?"
This youngster's name is Lin Xiaodong, he is a few months younger than Lin Yang and Lin Lu. Growing up and attending school together, he became the two siblings' close friend.
Lin Xiaodong is a direct descendant of the Lin Family, but his standing is still quite low. As for his parents, they are merchants and have a close relationship with Lin Yang's parents.
In the original novel Lin Xiaodong was also the Protagonist's Lin Ming's 'fatty friend'.
Lin Lu opened her eyes at this time and faintly nodded in agreement.
"Damn it, you people won't even let go of this small amount of time. Do you really have to go that far?" Lin Xiaodong spoke out loud in an exaggerated manner and walked up to Lin Yang. He said, "Brother Yang, with your strength you shouldn't be far from reaching the Second Stage of Body Transformation. You should be careful and not overtax your body by overtraining. In the future it would only cause you problems."
Without the use of medicinal herbs it was easy to accumulate internal injury by overtraining. Lin Xiaodong knew how much of a training freak Lin Yang always was, so that's why he said that.
Lin Yang shrugged his shoulders. "Even if I reach Second Stage in the next 3 months, just passing is not enough."
With an inferior 3rd grade martial talent and a commoner background, being able to advance to 2nd Stage at fifteen years of age was definitely a very amazing achievement. Any other person with his talent would be incredibly jealous of someone else able to accomplish it.
But Lin Yang was not content with such a mediocre result. With his martial talent grade, just reaching Pulse Condensation Stage as a middle-aged man would be extremely hard, but he desired to reach far higher than that.
If he did not work hard now, he would only be left behind by others more and more, and lose the opportunities that youth represents. Whether he acquires the Magic Cube in the future or not, he still has to make the best use of his time while he's still young.
The sad truth is that even when he showed off his 'outstanding intellect', he didn't receive any proper resources because of his ultimately poor talent and status as an outsider. His cultivation progress was probably not much better than Lin Ming's in the novel. It was as if the world was mocking his efforts.
He is already fifteen years old, but he's still stuck in the 1st Stage of Body Transformation, not yet reaching the minimal requirements of being admitted into the Seven Profound Martial House.
However, during his youth he had at the very least learned a lot about the world and mastered many sword and spear moves, so his combat strength and ability was certainly higher than that of Lin Ming in the novel. If he now acquires the Magic Cube that would help him overcome his weak talent, then that would be perfect.
Lin Xiaodong gave a sigh and pulled out a bundle from his bosom. He unfurled the bundle layer by layer and said, "Brother Yang, this is for you."
Lin Yang slightly raised his eyebrows as he found a bloody crimson coloured ginseng lying upon the cloth bundle. Judging from its appearance, this strain of blood ginseng is at least a hundred years old. It is a high-grade medicine used for mending wounds and nourishing blood. A thin slice is enough for each use. In addition, the powerful healing properties of this blood ginseng are very gentle.
This Blood Ginseng should be worth at least 150 gold taels, the equivalent of Lin Yang and Lin Lu's parents' annual income.
Lin Lu was slightly surprised. Lin Xiaodong's position within the Lin Family is very low. He must have exhausted most of his savings just to buy this Blood Ginseng, yet he still gave it to Lin Yang.
Lin Yang seemed to hesitate for a while, but Lin Xiaodong gave him no chance to speak, forcibly pushed the Blood Ginseng onto him and said, "I bought this Blood Ginseng for you so you could train hard before the entrance exam without holding back. You guys know how I train, I fish every three days and dry the fishing nets every two days*. My body's injuries are no more than a fart's worth. Using this would be a waste."
"If you refuse, then I would have bought this for nothing. I do not have much ambition in life. I only want to continue holding on to my position as a direct descendant of the Lin Family. As long as I do not end up losing this position and my next generation could also successfully maintain their place in the Lin Family, that is enough for me."
Lin Yang stayed silent for a moment before he nodded, kept the Blood Ginseng and said, "Xiaodong, thank you."
He knew that Lin Xiaodong was not only helping him out of good will, but was also doing it to help himself. Because Lin Xiaodong was way too lazy to cultivate, he instead helped the poor Lin Yang so that he might use his power to have an easy life in the future.
Because of this Lin Yang didn't mind accepting the blood ginseng.
Lin Xiaodong smiled and said, "Enough, stop this. This is too much for me. I am not someone who pursues much in life. Brother Yang, Sister Lu, I am optimistic about you two. After you become masters in the future, you must help cover my ass a bit, hahaha."
Lin Yang faintly smiled and said, "Sure. If I really become a master, I'll make you the king of Sky Fortune Kingdom, how about that?"
Lin Xiaodong laughed. "A king? Haha, that sounds like it's a lot of work, but fine!... Hehehe, Brother Yang, you really have a strange sense of humor."
Lin Xiaodong continued laughing for a while, unaware that Lin Yang was ironically serious.
Lin Lu also smiled at the side, her smile was both shy and charming.
After noticing Lin Lu's expression, Lin Xiaodong suddenly smiled lewdly and quietly said to Lin Yang, "Brother Yang, I say forget about that slut Lan Yunyue. You and Sister Lu are a much better pair, hahaha!"
Hearing Lin Xiadong's words, Lin Lu's complexion heated up in embarrassment and she averted her gaze. Whether it was in the family or among the two siblings, it was never a secret that Lin Yang and her are not real siblings. Several times their parents were even open about convincing them both to marry in the future.
Meanwhile, Lin Yang also felt somewhat embarrassed. Although he had very warm feelings toward Lin Lu, in order to stick to the events from the novel, he restrained himself from being too open about them. In addition, Lin Lu was also very young in the past. He coughed, smiled and said, "Lulu is certainly the best, but Xiaodong, don't talk about this embarrassing stuff. Mm, I'm going to keep cultivating."
Lin Yang closed his eyes and began reciting a heart chant of a cultivation technique in his mind.
Upon hearing Lin Yang's words, Lin Lu glanced at Lin Yang and looked even more embarrassed. It was unknown what she was thinking. After noticing that Lin Xiaodong was actually staring at her with a meaningful look, she quickly turned her head and also closed her eyes, resuming her practice.
…
At the foot of the Great Mountain Zhou lies a stretch of buildings extending up to 10 km in length. This is the area of operations for the Seven Profound Martial House and the Sky Fortune Martial House, and today is the day of registration for those who wish to take the Seven Profound Martial House's entrance assessment.
A crowd was gathered on the field before the Seven Profound Martial House.
Even though Lin Yang, Lin Lu and Lin Xiaodong had deliberately chosen to arrive late, there were still many applicants who hadn't registered themselves yet.
The people present were all lined up in three lines, with each line extending up to several meters in length. Judging by the current queue, a whole one hour would be needed before registration could be completed.
"We'll have to wait," Lin Yang said expressionlessly as he stood in line, an ordinary iron spear flung over his left shoulder.
"Mhm." Lin Lu nodded his head.
Lin Xiaodong sighed helplessly. He then pointed toward a small gate nearby. "Hey, there are very few people there."
The gate that Lin Xiaodong pointed out had few people and the ground was also paved with a red carpet.
"That place is only for nobles…" Lin Lu noticed the writings on the sign.
Since the Seven Profound Martial House was built upon the grounds, buildings and resources of Sky Fortune Kingdom, it was only natural for them to give some face to the elite classes of the kingdom. In fact, many of the martial house's affairs would be handed over to the elites to manage. One such example would be today's registration for entrance assessment.
"Damn it," Lin Xiaodong muttered in discontent. Nobility was something that only the Imperial Family could grant and could be inherited. Even though the Lin Family is a wealthy family, it is not a noble family.
Lin Xiaodong was cursing off at the nobles while consoling himself when the doors of the gate opened.
Two young males strode out from the gate; one of them was wearing blue clothes with a long sword attached to his waist. His hair was tied up into a gold coloured headgear and had a handsome appearance.
Seeing the appearance of this man caused ripples in Lin Yang's heart. This was none other than Zhu Yan.
The Zhu Family's daughter had married into the Imperial Family and had become the Eldest Prince's favored concubine. With the Eldest Prince's position in the royal family, the Zhu Family soared to become the number one family within Green Mulberry City. Moreover, they were also granted the rank of nobility, thus allowing Zhu Yan to ensure Lan Yunyue's admittance into the Seven Profound Martial House.
For a great family such as the Zhu Family, their prerequisite in selecting future wives lay not in terms of appearances, but rather their martial talent. A highly talented wife would have a higher chance of giving birth to a martial genius. Although Lan Yunyue's family is only average, her Superior Grade Three Martial Talent is very good considering her gender. In addition, Lan Yunyue herself is a beauty with an outstanding temperament. It was only natural that Zhu Yan would fall for her.
For Lan Yunyue, the difference between the Sky Fortune Martial House and Seven Profound Martial House is simply too great. The opportunities, the honor, glory, and potential accomplishments that both could be able to provide are simply incomparable. This is especially true regarding the extension of life that could be gained after one successfully reaches the Pulse Condensing Stage. Such a kind of temptation is simply irresistible for girls.
Faced with such appealing prospects, most females would have chosen to go with Zhu Yan as well. After all, Zhu Yan himself possesses handsome features; his family background and future are both far better compared to Lin Yang's.
Lin Yang understood this and did not blame Lan Yunyue. After all, he had initially even gotten close to her only to imitate the events from the novel. It would be hypocritical if he blamed her.
After seeing Zhu Yan at this moment, Lin Yang's only thoughts were of how he should respond with his own best interests in mind. Although he had moved on and did not care about Lan Yunyue anymore, it did not mean that Zhu Yan would care about it - if nothing changed, Zhu Yan would still not want him to join the Seven Profound Martial House just like in the novel.
At this time Zhu Yan was walking side by side with the other young man. A few other nobles waiting outside then chose to follow the two of them. It would appear that Zhu Yan had just brought the other young man to register.
They continued walking forward. At this rate, it was inevitable that Zhu Yan would bump into Lin Yang's group.
With Lin Yang's current position and strength, it was possible that he would end up suffering badly if they were to bump into one another.
Lin Lu knew this, so she pulled down Lin Yang by his sleeve with a worried expression, trying to have him look away and hide from Zhu Yan, but she found out that Lin Yang ignored her and kept looking forward in a calm manner.
Zhu Yan's pace was disrupted after catching sight of Lin Yang. His first reaction was that of shock. After that, he frowned. Seeing Lin Yang's face made him feel uncomfortable. Although he had snatched away Lan Yunyue, she had refused to engage in any acts of intimacy before their wedding. Clearly, Lin Yang still exists within her heart, not to mention her feelings of guilt. The only reason she had chosen Zhu Yan was due to the Seven Profound Martial House.
As a man, Zhu Yan was unable to tolerate the fact that his future wife's heart remained within the palms of another man. "You are Lin Yang, am I right? How unexpected, you would actually follow us all the way here. With a cultivation at the First Stage of Body Cultivation, you want to take the entrance assessment of the Seven Profound Martial House?"
The meaning behind Zhu Yue's sarcastic words was obvious. He would never allow Lin Yang to enter the Seven Profound Martial House. Even though Lin Yang's strength was of no threat to him, his existence within the Seven Profound Martial House would make it impossible for Lan Yunyue to forget him.
"Whether I pass or not is my own problem. I am not here because I was following you. I only came here due to my pursuit of Martial Arts," Lin Yang replied.
"Martial Arts? A barely average talent like you dares to say that you're pursuing martial arts? What a shameless statement!" Having said that, Zhu Yan's knuckles let out a light sound; after that, his long sword shot out from its sheath as if it had a mind of its own.
Zhu Yan grasped onto the sword and slashed the air, releasing an intense sword energy, which created an air splitting sound.
A barely visible wave flew outwards, directly cutting down half the crown of a large tree not far away. With a rustling sound, a large number of branches and leaves fell to the ground.
The people around all opened their eyes wide. After all, most of them were no more than a few years younger than Zhu Yan, but Zhu Yan's accomplishment in martial arts had already left them far behind.
The reason Zhu Yan unleashed this sword slash was to give Lin Yang a mental blow and to show him the gap between them. He said, "I have a superior Fourth Grade Martial Talent. I began training in martial arts at the age of twelve, and had consumed countless medicinal pills in the process. Now I entered the Heavenly Abode's Sword Sect within the Seven Profound Martial House. I am currently at the pinnacle of the Third Stage of Body Transformation, even so, I have only touched upon the beginning threshold of martial arts. How could you, someone at the First Stage of Body Transformation, dare to talk about martial arts!"
Zhu Yan's manner of speech was so arrogant, it caused Lin Lu to become enraged. "Zhu Yan! You are only someone who's older and who has taken more medicinal pills growing up, what are you so proud of? My brother has been training in martial arts ever since he was four! When you were still learning how to count to ten, he was already doing complex math. When he was thirteen, he even managed to improve a human-step cultivation manual. In the future, it's just unknown who would have higher achievements!"
Lin Lu had grown up together with Lin Yang and had attended martial arts school with him. To her, Lin Yang was always an unfathomable existence and a peerless genius, even if his martial talent was lacking.
Lin Yang was slightly taken aback. He didn't expect Lin Lu to be the one to react so violently. In the novel it was Lin Xiaodong who talked back to Zhu Yan, but here he was only angrily glaring at Zhu Yan.
Zhu Yan turned to coldly look at Lin Lu. He said, "Right, you must be Lin Lu. Hmph! Your medium Third Grade Talent and looks are barely satisfactory, but so what if this kid had some little intellect growing up? What matters most in this world is strength!"
Lin Lu squeezed her fists in annoyance. Barely satisfactory looks? What is wrong with her looks?
Zhu Yan indifferently turned to Lin Yang and slowly continued, "Lin Yang, I will give you this advice, a man must know his own limits, Lan Yunyue is not someone you can match up to."
A female with a Superior 3rd Grade Martial Talent, beautiful appearance and good bearing is rare within Green Mulberry City. Most of them would only appear in great families.
However, considering the conflicts of interest between the great families, they would never allow their talented females to be married off into other families, leading to the strengthening of their rivals' bloodline. Thus, most great families would request that the male side marry into their family. This is the reason why Zhu Yan had said that.
"A thousand gold taels, I don't want to see your face from now on!" Zhu Yan said as he pulled out a stack of gold bills from his sleeves.
The people around were stunned. A thousand gold taels was an extremely exaggerated amount, enough for a martial artist in the Body Transformation Stage to purchase high-grade herbs needed for two to three years of training.
"A thousand gold taels? Do you think my brother would give up on martial arts for a mere thousand gold taels?" Lin Lu pushed back the stack of gold bills. Truth be told, she was simply pretending to be rich. A thousand gold taels was a huge sum of wealth.
Zhu Yan slapped Lin Lu's hand away. He then looked at Lin Yang, awaiting his answer.
"Zhu Yan…" Lin Yang said and closed his eyes as he made a brief pause, seeming to contemplate, before he opened them once again and said, "One thousand gold taels… is not enough for me to give up on joining the Seven Profound Martial House, but if you gave me two thousand, I will consider it."