Chapter 6

Zhang Ruochen, Lin Fei, and the maid Yun'er sat in an ancient chariot pulled by a gazelle horse, slowly making their way out of the Yunwu Palace.

The gazelle horse was not a real horse but a savage beast with a single horn on its head, standing over three meters tall, resembling a small elephant. Its running speed was more than five times that of an ordinary warhorse. Some of the stronger gazelle horses could even travel three thousand miles in a day.

The ancient chariot pulled by the gazelle horse eventually came to a stop.

Zhang Ruochen got out of the chariot and looked at the two magnificent golden gates not far away. He then glanced at the gilded plaque hanging atop the gates, which bore two powerful and vigorous characters: "Lin Family Manor!"

His heart stirred; his mother's surname was "Lin," wasn't it?

Judging by the grandeur of this manor, the Lin family was not a small household but a prominent clan.

If his mother's natal family was indeed a prominent clan, why did she not receive support from her family and instead suffer bullying from other concubines in the county prince's palace?

There must be some hidden reason.

Lin Fei also got out of the chariot, looked up at the familiar yet unfamiliar gates, and said, "Dust, you must have been eager to see Nanshan for a long time! Now that you have opened the Divine Martial Mark, I believe you and Nanshan have a lot to talk about. You must try your best!"

Up until now, Zhang Ruochen still did not know who Nanshan was. Hearing Yun'er and Lin Fei's words, he felt a strange sensation.

Under Lin Fei's lead, Zhang Ruochen and Yun'er entered the Lin Family Manor.

Theoretically, a concubine returning to her family should be warmly welcomed, but only an elderly steward greeted Lin Fei and Zhang Ruochen at the gate.

Lin Fei was led to the inner manor by the old steward, while Zhang Ruochen and Yun'er were left in the outer manor, attended by only two maids.

Zhang Ruochen felt that something was off but did not know how to ask, so he remained silent.

"Prince Ninth, aren't you going to see Nanshan? She should be at the training ground now, where the young disciples of the Lin family are practicing," Yun'er asked.

After being mentioned a few times by Yun'er and Lin Fei, Zhang Ruochen became even more curious about the girl named "Nanshan." It wouldn't hurt to meet her.

"Sure! Let's go to the Lin family's training ground," Zhang Ruochen nodded and said.

...

Inside the Lin Family Manor.

In an ancient and elegant hall, the head of the Lin family, Lin Fengxian, sat steadily in a grand chair.

He looked to be in his thirties, with a neatly trimmed mustache above his lips. He glanced at Lin Fei, who was sitting opposite him, and said, "Prince Ninth is a descendant of the county prince's palace. Even if he has opened the Divine Martial Mark, he should go to the county prince's palace library to choose cultivation techniques. Why did Empress Lin come to the Lin family to ask for cultivation techniques?"

Lin Fei lightly bit her lip and said, "It's not asking, but a request for my brother to consider Dust, who is your nephew, and give him a cultivation technique."

"Bang!"

Lin Fengxian coldly snorted and slapped the table, saying, "Now you come to me for help? Now you talk about family ties? Three years ago, when I went to the county prince's palace to ask for your help to save Chenyu, your nephew, why didn't you consider the family ties then? You knew Chenyu was my legitimate son and a once-in-a-century genius of the Lin family. If you had asked the county prince, you could have saved him, but you didn't..."

"Three years ago..." Lin Fei felt extremely wronged and couldn't help but shed tears, wanting to explain the truth of three years ago.

However, Lin Fengxian interrupted her, saying, "You leave! The Lin family and you have long severed ties. Don't come back again, Empress Lin."

"Thud!"

Lin Fei knelt on the ground, tears streaming down her face, and said in a choked voice, "Brother, are you so heartless? I want to see Father."

"Father has gone to the Demon Ridge and won't be back for three months. You can't see him now," Lin Fengxian said coldly. "There's one more thing: Nanshan and Prince Seventh are about to be engaged. Tell Prince Ninth to stay away from Nanshan in the future."

Lin Fei felt even more despair and said, "You know Dust has always liked Nanshan. He will be heartbroken if he learns that Nanshan is engaged to Prince Seventh. Besides, why Prince Seventh?"

Lin Fengxian said, "Prince Seventh opened the Seventh Rank Divine Martial Mark at the age of three, with astonishing talent. With his current martial cultivation, no one in the young generation of the Yunwu Kingdom can match him. Nanshan marrying Prince Seventh will bring great benefits to our Lin family."

"Although Prince Ninth and Nanshan are cousins and childhood playmates, he is mediocre in talent. He only opened the Divine Martial Mark at the age of sixteen and won't achieve much in his life. Reaching the late Yellow Extreme Realm should be his limit, which can't compare to Prince Seventh."

Lin Fei said, "Is Nanshan willing to be engaged to Prince Seventh? Will a marriage for the family's benefit truly make her happy?"

Lin Fengxian stared at Lin Fei and said coldly, "You're wrong. This is Nanshan's own decision!"

...

The Lin family's training ground was spacious, about half the size of a football field.

Young disciples of the Lin family, dressed in blue martial robes, were practicing martial arts on the training ground. Some were practicing boxing, some were practicing sword techniques, and some were practicing knife techniques.

They were the elite of the Lin family, each having opened the Divine Martial Mark and focusing on their cultivation. Elders of the Lin family were also present to guide them, creating a vibrant atmosphere.

Zhang Ruochen nodded, thinking to himself, "The Lin family is indeed a prominent clan in the Yunwu Kingdom."

Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen's gaze fell on a slender girl, and he couldn't help but be impressed.

The girl looked to be only fourteen or fifteen years old, with a petite and delicate figure, eyebrows like willow leaves, bright eyes like stars, and skin as white as jade. She was a true beauty.

She held a sword that emitted a faint starlight, with a pale green sword aura surrounding her. Countless sword qi circled her body, moving with her steps, graceful and agile, her sword technique was exquisite to the extreme.

"True Qi externalized, sword follows the heart. Her martial cultivation must have reached at least the middle Yellow Extreme Realm, far surpassing Prince Eighth," Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.

"Hey! Isn't that Prince Ninth? He actually came to the Lin family?" A young disciple of the Lin family saw Zhang Ruochen standing outside the training ground and smiled coldly.

"He must be here to see Nanshan, but unfortunately, Nanshan doesn't even bother to see him anymore."

"I heard he also opened the Divine Martial Mark."

"Hehe! Opening the Divine Martial Mark at sixteen, what can he achieve? If he weren't Nanshan's cousin, he might not even be able to enter the Lin family's gate."

"I heard Nanshan is about to be engaged to Prince Seventh. What a perfect match!"

"Hehe! I heard Prince Ninth has always had a crush on Nanshan. I wonder what his reaction will be when he hears that Nanshan is about to be engaged to Prince Seventh?"

All the young martial artists of the Lin family stopped their practice, staring at Zhang Ruochen standing outside the training ground, pointing and whispering, occasionally bursting into mocking laughter.

Lin Nanshan also stopped practicing and glanced at Zhang Ruochen standing outside the training ground. She lightly waved her slender arm, and the starlight sword in her hand accurately returned to its sheath five meters away.

Lin Nanshan walked up to Zhang Ruochen, looked at his thin figure, and said, "Cousin, it's been a long time. I heard you also opened the Divine Martial Mark?"

When they were very young, Lin Nanshan and Zhang Ruochen were good playmates, almost like childhood sweethearts. However, after Lin Nanshan opened the Divine Martial Mark, she spent most of her time practicing, becoming increasingly distant from Zhang Ruochen.

After the incident three years ago, she never went back to the Yunwu Palace. Although Zhang Ruochen was often ill, he still frequently visited the Lin family to see her, feeling quite happy just to see her once.

However, the number of times he could see her became fewer and fewer, and in the past half year, he hadn't seen her at all. She would send a maid to dismiss him.

"So she is my cousin."

This was the first time Zhang Ruochen had seen Lin Nanshan, and he didn't have any particular feelings for her, so he remained calm and humbly said, "Yes, I did open the Divine Martial Mark, but the Empress said it's an unranked Divine Martial Mark, which can't compare to Cousin's."

Lin Nanshan nodded, tilting her snow-white chin proudly like a swan, and said, "You are sixteen now, and being able to open the Divine Martial Mark is a blessing from heaven. In the future, you must work hard to cultivate. Although you may not become a martial powerhouse, at least you can strengthen your body and avoid being bedridden all year. For you... at least you can live a normal life."

Zhang Ruochen frowned slightly and nodded, saying, "I will definitely work hard to cultivate and strive to catch up with Cousin's cultivation."

Lin Nanshan naturally knew that Zhang Ruochen liked her. Hearing his words, she thought he still had not given up and wanted to continue pursuing her.

"Hey! Cousin, my cultivation has reached the middle Yellow Extreme Realm, and I am only one step away from the Great Extreme Realm. With your talent, you probably won't reach the middle Yellow Extreme Realm in your lifetime. What you should do now is focus on your cultivation and not blindly pursue things you shouldn't. Don't aim too high, or you will suffer the consequences," Lin Nanshan said with a double meaning.

Zhang Ruochen's frown deepened.

Lin Nanshan looked at Zhang Ruochen with a hint of sympathy and said, "Cousin, there's one more thing I need to tell you, and I hope you won't be too upset. In three months, when the county prince comes out of seclusion, I will be engaged to Prince Seventh."

"There will be a good show! Hehe!"

All the young martial artists of the Lin family were delighted and stared at Zhang Ruochen, eager to see his reaction.