Chapter 47

"Tell me, what do you need to believe me?"

Zhen Qingchun was almost at his wits' end. What kind of world was this, where he had to beg someone to be his disciple? Was this some kind of punishment from heaven? Besides, where did he look lecherous? At most, he just had a unique appearance.

"Unless you make me a Spirit Talisman Master first, I won’t believe you," Du Shaofu said.

"Hmph, you little brat, you’re quite calculating. If you don’t become my disciple, why should I teach you?"

Zhen Qingchun was unwilling. He knew this kid was sharper than a thief. If he didn’t become his disciple, there was no way he would teach him. Once he taught him, the kid would definitely deny it. So, he couldn’t let this kid lead him around by the nose. Old ginger is always spicier, and he didn’t believe he couldn’t handle a mere kid.

Du Shaofu shrugged and looked at Zhen Qingchun, saying, "If you want me to become your disciple, you need to show some sincerity. What if I fall for your trick?"

"You…"

Zhen Qingchun felt extremely frustrated, really frustrated.

Taking a deep breath, Zhen Qingchun suppressed his anger and said, "Fine, I’ll make you a Spirit Talisman Master first. But you have to agree to one condition. My soul is currently very weak, so you need to give me some mystic qi. Don’t worry, it won’t harm you. You can recover it after a night’s rest. Otherwise, I won’t have the strength to teach you. If you don’t agree, find someone else. We can part ways if you want."

Du Shaofu hesitated. Mentioning mystic qi made him somewhat distrust Zhen Qingchun.

But to be honest, Du Shaofu really wanted to become a Spirit Talisman Master. He pondered for a moment, still uncertain.

"Fine, I agree."

Du Shaofu gave in. At this point, he could only take a gamble. After all, he really wanted to become a Spirit Talisman Master.

"Hmph!"

Zhen Qingchun snorted, glaring at Du Shaofu. He felt he had lost out today. As the saying goes, old ginger is spicier, but today he didn’t gain any advantage. He felt like he had been a lifelong eagle hunter, only to be pecked by a little bird. As Zhen Qingchun said, he indeed only needed Du Shaofu’s mystic qi. Following Zhen Qingchun’s instructions, Du Shaofu directly injected his mystic qi into the small tower. The small tower then emitted a brilliant light, exuding an ancient aura.

Du Shaofu was surprised. He remembered trying to inject mystic qi into the small tower before, but it had shown no reaction.

When Du Shaofu felt his mystic qi was almost depleted, Zhen Qingchun, who had entered the small tower again, spoke, "The mystic qi in this kid is purer and more abundant than I imagined. That’s enough. If you continue, it will harm your future cultivation. I need three days to recover. After three days, I’ll teach you to become a Spirit Talisman Master. In these three days, prepare some materials. Remember, don’t let anyone know about my existence, not even your closest family."

Then, Zhen Qingchun gave Du Shaofu a long list of names of spirit medicines, many of which Du Shaofu had never even heard of.

Zhen Qingchun had taken a lot of mystic qi, and Du Shaofu needed to recover. After memorizing the list, he sat cross-legged on the bed and began to meditate, using the cultivation method of the Golden-winged Great Peng Bird to recover.

The next morning, as the sun rose and the morning mist enveloped the city, the Stone City came to life.

Outside the Du family residence, it was bustling. The city lord of Stone City, Ye Baolin, personally visited the Du family, accompanied by his beloved daughter, to thank the Du family’s young master, Du Shaofu, for saving his daughter, Ye Zijin, in the Fog Capital Mountains.

The news spread quickly throughout the entire Stone City. As a resident of Stone City, no one was unaware of the Ye family.

Mentioning the five major families of Stone City, no matter how many open and hidden conflicts the other families had, no one believed any family could surpass the Ye family, not even the increasingly prominent Du family.

The reason was that the Ye family had controlled Stone City for five generations. Five consecutive city lords had been from the Ye family. This alone was enough to explain everything. The Ye family had always been the unshakable first family among the five major families.

It was said that in about a month, the triennial competition among the young generations of the five major families would take place. At this time, the city lord personally visiting the Du family, and even to see a Du family’s junior, made some people speculate.

In the morning, when Du Shaofu stopped meditating, he immediately sensed someone outside the courtyard.

Du Shaofu walked out of the courtyard, and a young servant greeted him.

The young man was very respectful to Du Shaofu. He introduced himself, saying that the rear courtyard manager, Du Hai, had been punished severely by the front courtyard chief manager for his incompetence and embezzlement. From now on, he would be the rear courtyard manager, ready to serve Du Shaofu at any time.

Du Shaofu nodded. He had met this person before, the son of an old servant of the Du family, who had lived in the Du family since childhood, but he had no particular impression of him. However, he admired Lin Bo’s efficiency and personnel management. It was indeed fitting for an old servant of the Du family. His uncle had also placed a low-profile person as the rear courtyard manager, likely due to his own reasons.

From the young man, Du Shaofu learned about the city lord’s visit. After understanding the reason, he frowned.

His drunk father wasn’t in the room. After washing up, Du Shaofu went to the main hall.

When Du Shaofu entered the main hall, he saw that it was already filled with people. At the head of the table, he saw his uncle Du Zhenwu, his second uncle Du Zhixiong, and several elders of the Du family he rarely saw.

These elders of the Du family rarely appeared, but they held high status, sometimes even surpassing the clan leader.

Below his uncles, many elders were seated, along with many outstanding young members of the clan, including Du Yu and Du Xue.

However, Du Shaofu didn’t see Du Hao and Du Yan, probably because they were still recovering from their injuries. Otherwise, they would have attended such an important occasion.

As soon as Du Shaofu entered the main hall, he immediately felt many unfriendly gazes. It seemed that many of the Du family’s elders were glaring at him with gritted teeth, but they could only suppress their anger.

On the other side of the hall, Du Shaofu saw many unfamiliar people. The first one was a middle-aged man in his forties, dressed in a long robe, with a smile on his face, exuding a charismatic aura.

"He is very powerful."

This was Du Shaofu’s impression of the middle-aged man. From him, Du Shaofu sensed a different aura from his uncle Du Zhenwu. This aura was not as strong as his uncle’s, but it was more relaxed and calm.

However, his intuition told him that this calm and composed aura was even stronger than his uncle’s.

"This must be the city lord of Stone City, Ye Baolin."

Du Shaofu looked up at the middle-aged man. He had heard of the city lord of Stone City, Ye Baolin, but had never met him. Since the city lord was visiting, it was clear that the person sitting at the head of the table was the city lord.

When he was very young, under the guidance of his private tutor in the Du family, Du Shaofu had read many books and heard a lot about the outside world. Stone City was just a border city of the empire, above which was a county, and above the county was a prefecture, which was directly under the jurisdiction of the empire. It was rumored that the prefecture governor was a marquis or a king, a renowned strong figure.

Of course, there were many empires on this continent, and they often went to war, causing countless casualties. Fortunately, Stone City was a border city, not bordering any other empire, and rarely saw the battles of imperial armies, making it a secluded paradise.

When his gaze fell on a girl beside the middle-aged man, Du Shaofu’s eyes flickered. He was surprised; when had he saved the city lord’s daughter? It turned out she was the city lord’s daughter.

Du Shaofu then carefully examined the girl. She was indeed very beautiful, not inferior to Zhu Xue of the Spirit Talisman Sect, and could even be compared to the fierce woman who had robbed him.

However, if they were to be compared, their auras were different. The fierce woman was tall and noble, while this girl had a cold and elegant aura.

"Greetings, Uncle, Second Uncle, and all the clan elders."

Du Shaofu’s examination was just a quick glance. It seemed that the Ye family’s visitors had been chatting with his uncles for some time. He quickly approached his uncles and the clan elders and bowed. As for the other elders of the Du family, he ignored them.

"Shaofu, let me introduce you. This is City Lord Ye. Go ahead and greet him. As for Miss Ye Zijin, I believe you’ve already met her," Du Zhenwu introduced with a smile.

"Greetings, City Lord Ye." Du Shaofu bowed, confirming his guess that the middle-aged man was indeed the city lord of Stone City, Ye Baolin.

"Nephew, no need for formalities. Just call me Uncle Ye. I came here specifically to thank you. If it weren’t for you, Zijin might have been in danger. You are truly a young hero, and a remarkable talent of our Stone City."

Ye Baolin smiled at Du Shaofu, clearly showing his gratitude. He then waved his hand, and a man in armor stepped forward, handing Du Shaofu a brocade box about three feet long.

Ye Baolin smiled at Du Shaofu, indicating he should take the box, and said, "Nephew Shaofu, please accept this. It’s the ‘Ink Spirit Sword’ from my family’s collection. Although it can’t fully express the value of Zijin to me, it’s a small token of my appreciation."