Chapter 9 The Most Genuine Side of Humanity

The owner of the arm was a broad-faced Great Han with a tiger's back and a bear's waist, bearing some resemblance to Wang Yigong.

The broad-faced Great Han looked at Zhao Sheng ferociously and arrogantly said, "Kid, you're not from the Wang family. You can't go in!"

Zhao Sheng, seeing this, knew that the Wang family's trial had begun.

He remained calm and slightly raised his voice, saying, "This junior has come today out of respect for your reputation, and I have not failed in courtesy. Yet, you would not let me enter. Could it be that this is the way the Wang family treats its guests?"

"In our Wang family, we exchange pleasantries with cultivators, and no ordinary people come and go. You, boy, want to enter my family's gate? Hmph, you're not qualified!"

The broad-faced Great Han was called Wang Yitao, the third in rank among his peers, and although he had no Spirit Root and couldn't undergo cultivation, he was also an Innate Grandmaster.

In his view, it was sheer folly for a mere mortal pretty boy to think of marrying the Bright Pearl of their family.

So, with Wang Yitao standing guard, this pretty boy shouldn't even dream of getting past the first test.

Zhao Sheng didn't get angry, but instead asked earnestly, "Uncle, what qualifications are needed to go inside?"

Wang Yitao was suddenly stumped by the question; he had thought that the young pretty boy, being hot-headed, wouldn't stand the insult for long and would retreat knowing the difficulty. Yet, here was this young man, keeping his cool.

It was said that this kid came from a Martial Arts Family, apparently, he had some skills.

With this in mind, Wang Yitao dropped the useless tricks and began the formal test.

He laid down a round of tough talk, saying, "As long as you can break through my challenge. That's when you'll be qualified."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Sheng's eyes showed a trace of a smile, thinking to himself that it was the same old routine, nothing new.

Bowing with hands clasped, Zhao Sheng confidently said, "Excuse me!"

Before his words fell, his figure suddenly vanished, and in the blink of an eye, he appeared on the far left of the gate.

"So fast!"

The moment Wang Yitao inwardly expressed his surprise, his outstretched right arm suddenly bent and pushed out, creating a row of solid invisible walls in an instant, rolling directly towards the left side of the gate.

As an Innate Grandmaster, Wang Yitao clearly intended to bully with strength.

Although Zhao Sheng moved swiftly, he couldn't evade Wang Yitao's spiritual sense.

Just as the Qi wall that filled the air was about to touch his body, Zhao Sheng's feet tapped the ground, and he leaped three yards high, easily dodging the Qi wall.

His body leaning to the side, he stood on the eaves with his feet, walking as if on level ground, taking four steps and dodging four Innate Qi Swords shot rapidly at him.

"Impressive Qinggong!"

Wang Yitao silently praised in his heart.

His feet stayed planted at the doorway, not moving an inch, but his hands were unsparing. Relying on his vast and potent Innate True Qi, he relentlessly released streams of Innate Qi Swords, forming a net of swords that gradually closed in to limit Zhao Sheng's space to evade.

The elders had already instructed him earlier that as long as no one died, he could play however he wanted.

After dodging sixteen Innate Qi Swords in succession, Zhao Sheng secretly thought, "That's about enough."

Thinking this, a Divine Light burst in his eyes, and those incredibly fast Qi Swords suddenly slowed many times over.

Under the Dynamic Vision, the previously tightly-defended sword net suddenly revealed many flaws and openings. Zhao Sheng moved like a fish, easily passing through the sword net, his body clinging close to the eaves, racing beyond the threshold.

"Not good!"

At that moment, Wang Yitao realized he had fallen for an opponent's trick.

As he progressively narrowed the enclosure, it was inevitable that he would leave a large gaping space behind.

But by the time he wanted to make a move to stop it, it was too late. Zhao Sheng had already flown past the line of the doorway, his body landing inside the great hall.

In the great hall, Wang Yuqi, who witnessed this scene, was so thrilled she nearly shouted out.

On the contrary, the expressions of the Wang family elders turned even darker.

"Humph, next time, I won't be so careless!"

Seeing the unwilling expression on his opponent's face, Zhao Sheng smiled without saying a word.

He turned around and walked straight to the center of the hall with dignity.

At this moment, seated at the highest position of the hall was an unremarkable little old man.

He wasn't tall, his hair partially gray, and his face bore a slight smile as his eyes sized up Zhao Sheng from top to bottom.

Zhao Sheng knew at a glance that this person was the Wang family's authority, Wang Yu Yan's grandfather, Wang Zonghai, a Qi Refining Ninth Layer Cultivator at Great Perfection.

On the surface, Wang Zonghai seemed the most amiable, but Zhao Sheng felt least certain about him.

As the saying goes, the older the ginger, the spicier it gets!

No one knew what kind of schemes were hidden beneath Wang Zonghai's smiling demeanor.

At this time, the atmosphere in the hall was extremely tense, yet Zhao Sheng appeared calm and composed, saluting with his fists humbly but confidently: "Junior Zhao Zhiqin pays respects to the elders of the Wang family."

Once he finished speaking, there was no response.

As the situation grew somewhat awkward, Wang Yuqi became anxious, about to speak out, but was quickly silenced by Wang Yu Yan's hand covering her mouth.

A moment later, Wang Zonghai, still wearing a smile, suddenly asked, "Young man, what brings you to the Wang family today?"

Without any hesitation, Zhao Sheng stated his purpose: "Junior has fallen in love at first sight with Sister Qi, and our feelings are mutual. I came to Fragrant Swallow Valley today to ask for her hand in marriage."

"Insolence!" Wang Yigong slammed the table and rose, his beard bristling with anger. He absolutely disagreed with his daughter marrying a mortal.

"Sit down!"

Wang Zonghai's face darkened as he scolded Wang Yigong: "Cultivation is about cultivating the mind! Decades old and still so impatient. Tomorrow you will go to the quiet room on the back mountain for closed-door cultivation; do not emerge until you've reached the Sixth Level of Qi Refining."

"But Father—"

"Sit down!"

"...Yes!"

Seeing his father's anger, Wang Yigong could only sit down huffily, his eyes fiercely fixed on Zhao Sheng.

After admonishing his son, Wang Zonghai turned back to Zhao Sheng and said, "Young man, my Wang family has stood for over nine hundred years. There have been many attempts like yours in our family's history. Some succeeded, but most failed. Do you know why?"

"I would like to hear the details," replied Zhao Sheng, unmoved.

"Because of benefits. Marrying a mortal brings far less benefit than an alliance with a Cultivation Family. Can you bring greater benefits to my Wang family?"

For some reason, the Wang family's authority was uncharacteristically candid with Zhao Sheng, openly revealing the most real aspect of human nature in front of his clan.

Zhao Sheng fell silent for a moment, then answered firmly, "I can!"

"Empty promises. Where's the evidence?" Wang Zonghai scoffed. At this moment, he had transformed into the purest form of a creature motivated by interest, devoid of any sentiment.

Perhaps individuals like Wang Zonghai truly qualified as heads of Cultivation Families, but for some inexplicable reason, Zhao Sheng didn't like him at all.

Zhao Sheng took out a Storage Talisman, indicating: "I have five hundred Spirit Stones in here, is that enough?"

"Not enough!" Wang Zonghai shook his head without hesitation.

In contrast, the other Wang family members seemed pleased, for five hundred Spirit Stones amounted to nearly half the family's annual income.

Zhao Sheng then pulled out a stack of papers from his chest and announced, "These papers detail the complete process for crafting perfumes, along with recipes for twelve kinds of perfumes, including three new types that have not yet appeared in the marketplace."

Suddenly, Wang Zonghai laughed oddly and also took out a stack of papers from his Storage Bag.

With a gentle push, the papers flew towards Zhao Sheng as if they had eyes, and he caught them in one swift motion.