Rise from a Low-class Family to Martial Artist

”This woman knows some secrets. If I don’t take her with me, I’m afraid they’ll silence her. I just can’t bear to see an innocent die because of this. And since I’m following Lu Feng to look for Quenching Crystal Sand, I can’t bring you along, so I’m leaving her here to take care of you.”

”Alright then.” Yin Yue nodded, then added, ”If you really have thoughts about this woman, you don’t need to worry about me.”

Lin Chen: ...

Very soon, Yu Jin finished arranging the dishes and came into the courtyard. All the dishes she’d prepared were specialties from Nine Mountains Island.

”Your family is in Guangwu City?”

Since he planned to have Yu Jin stay here to look after Yin Yue, Lin Chen naturally needed to get clear on Yu Jin’s background.

”Yes, my whole family has moved to Guangwu City.”

Although this Lord hadn’t officially taken her in as a maid, Yu Jin still referred to herself as a maidservant.

”Your whole family?”

Lin Chen frowned slightly. He had originally thought a woman like Yu Jin was raised by the Lu Family specifically to receive Innate Martial Artists who came for the auction. He hadn’t expected Yu Jin to have migrated with her entire clan.

Weren’t they afraid their elders would learn what kind of work she was doing and curse her for it?

A Middle Grade Martial Artist in her early twenties was obviously not from some destitute commoner family that sells sons and daughters just to survive. To reach the Middle Grade Realm in her twenties, even if her talent wasn’t bad, she still needed her family to provide cultivation resources.

Across the whole Flame Dynasty, aside from Liang on Canglan Island, Lin Chen had yet to find any ruling power that would cultivate Martial Artists for free.

Seeing Lin Chen’s frown and puzzlement, Yu Jin also guessed what this Lord was wondering. Her expression dimmed. ”Going to work at the auction house was my own choice. My family doesn’t know.”

”With your looks and aptitude, finding a decent husband shouldn’t be a problem. Why choose this path?”

”This maidservant wants to go further on the Martial Path, and I also want my family to truly settle down in Guangwu City and no longer suffer bullying from other clans.”

Yu Jin hadn’t planned to hide anything from this Lord Fang, and spoke honestly. ”To be frank, my Lord, my ancestors are not from Nine Mountains Island. My ancestors came from Canglan Island.”

”Canglan Island?”

Lin Chen’s voice rose slightly, and beside him Yin Yue also looked at Yu Jin with curiosity.

”Lord Fang should have heard of Canglan Island. Our island produced a Celestial Pride Martial Artist, Lin Chen of the Canglan Sect.”

”Mm, I have heard of him.”

”Before that Lord Lin left Canglan Island, our island also had several nations. The Liang he was from was the second strongest nation on Canglan Island, while my clan’s Han Kingdom was the strongest nation there. The two countries had constant friction. But as Lord Lin rose to fame in the Flame Dynasty, Canglan Island is now essentially led by Liang, and the Han Kingdom chose to submit to Liang.”

”However, not all Han Kingdom nobles could accept this outcome. My grandfather was one of them. Once Canglan Island established contact with the outside world, he moved the entire clan off Canglan Island. We first went to Kongming City on Nine Mountains Island, but failed to settle there, and only later came to Guangwu City.”

Seeing Lin Chen’s thoughtful expression, Yu Jin added, ”But please rest assured, my Lord, my family has no grudge with that Lord Lin, nor any feud with Liang. We migrated only because Grandfather is too stubborn, and also because the elders felt that moving to an island where the Martial Path is stronger would be more beneficial to the clan’s development.”

Yu Jin’s explanation was to prevent this Lord from misunderstanding, thinking her family had offended Lord Lin or become enemies with Liang, and was fleeing with the whole clan out of fear of being purged.

This Lord Fang might be outstanding among those in the Innate Second Realm, stronger than Lin Chen for the moment. But the key was that Lin Chen was very young, and stood behind the towering tree that was the Canglan Sect, with limitless future potential. Lord Fang would absolutely not want to offend Lin Chen.

”I understand. Go home for now and come again tomorrow.”

”This maidservant takes her leave.”

Yu Jin departed respectfully, and Lin Chen sent out a strand of Divine Thought to follow her. No matter what Yu Jin said, he still had to see whether she truly wouldn’t reveal this matter to her family, and whether what she’d said was the truth.

”If she knew the culprit who forced her whole clan to move is sitting right in front of her, I wonder how she would feel.”

After Yu Jin left, Yin Yue spoke with a smiling squint. Over this period, the expressions on her face had become much richer than before, though Yin Yue herself hadn’t noticed.

”What do you mean, ’culprit’? It’s not like I forced her family to migrate with the whole clan.”

Lin Chen was helpless. He believed Yu Jin didn’t dare lie. Her family probably had no grudge with Liang. But for a clan that could migrate with everyone out of the Han Kingdom, they had to be a major family there. After all, moving to another island and still being able to purchase resources for Yu Jin to cultivate to the Middle Grade Realm was not something an ordinary clan could manage.

”Stay here for now. I’m going out for a bit.”

Once his Divine Thought had reached its Limit, Lin Chen greeted Yin Yue with a word, left the courtyard, and followed along the direction Yu Jin was heading home, keeping her always within his Divine Soul Perception.

After a two-hour, Yu Jin entered an alley in Guangwu City. The courtyards in this alley were not luxurious compared to others in the city, which indirectly proved Yu Jin’s words—that her clan’s life after migrating to Guangwu City was fairly modest.

Yu Jin returned home and met with her elders. She did not mention the auction house, only said that she would be going out for a trip in a few days, and gave her elders advance notice.

After confirming that Yu Jin wouldn’t reveal his secret, Lin Chen finally withdrew his Divine Thought and turned back to the inn.

...

...

Three days later.

Lu Feng’s people finally arrived at the inn.

After giving Yin Yue a few instructions, Lin Chen headed for the docks.

Lu Feng had arranged to meet on a ship at the pier.

”Brother Fang, you’re here.”

On the deck, Lu Feng was waiting for Lin Chen with a genuine smile. He personally led Lin Chen into the cabin, where four others were already present.

Two middle-aged men, a young man about the same age as Lu Feng, and a beautiful married woman.

While Lin Chen sized up these four people, they were also sizing him up. The three men’s expressions didn’t change much, but that beautiful woman gave Lin Chen a slight smile.

”Brother Fang, this is a bit different from what we agreed—there’s one more person. Brother Fang shouldn’t mind, right?”

”I don’t mind.”

One more person or one fewer didn’t make much difference. What mattered was how much Quenching Crystal Sand the mine held.

”Good, then let’s set off.”

Lu Feng clapped his hands, and the subordinates waiting outside began to give the order to depart.

”Young Master Lu, shouldn’t you make things clear to us first?” Seeing Lu Feng directly have the ship set sail, the middle-aged man on the left frowned slightly.

”You’ll know our destination once we arrive. As for everyone’s identities, I believe the time we’ll spend together on the ship will be enough for us to get acquainted. There’s no need to rush in the first moment.”

Lu Feng smiled faintly, and Lin Chen understood. These people, like him, didn’t know the final destination.

Clearly Lu Feng had no intention of revealing it beforehand, and from the looks of it, the place they were headed to was not nearby.

”I trust Young Master Lu. Anyone he invites must be reliable.”

The beautiful woman smiled brightly and lightly stretched her body, still full of mature allure. ”But I’ll introduce myself first. I am Zhu Ru, an Elder of the Pingxiang Sect.”

”Pingxiang Sect?”

Lin Chen noticed that after Zhu Ru reported her affiliation, the middle-aged man on the left blinked his eyes almost imperceptibly a few times, a trace of dread flashing through them.

It seemed this Pingxiang Sect was not simple.

In Lin Chen’s Divine Soul Perception, that middle-aged man on the left felt the strongest to him, already at the Peak of Innate Second Realm. If someone like him felt wary, that was enough to show how unusual this Zhu Ru—or rather, the Pingxiang Sect—was.

It was just that in the Jade Scroll his master had given him, there was no introduction to this Pingxiang Sect.

The Jade Scroll from his master only contained introductions to other Super Sects and a few powers just under the Super Sects. In his master’s eyes, other sects weren’t even worth mentioning.