Taking Over the Shop

After bidding farewell to Zhou Ping and Zhou Yu, Zhou Yang went to the second floor to pay a visit to his twelfth aunt, Qian Hongyu. Then, he went up to the third floor to meet his seventh uncle, Zhou Xuanlin, the current person in charge of Yuquan Pavilion.

Zhou Xuanlin had only reached Qi Refinement Level 9 at the age of ninety. When Zhou Yang saw him, Zhou Xuanlin was sitting leisurely while sipping tea and listening to a song. He looked like an old rich man among the mortals.

Though the song sounded like it was being sung live by a singer, it was actually being played by a Grade 1 magical artifact called the Sound Retaining Bead.

Zhou Xuanlin was so immersed in the moment that he almost did not notice the sound of Zhou Yang coming up the stairs. 

"Oh, Zhou Yang. Aren't you supposed to be cultivating in Yuquan Peak? What are you doing here?" The former put down his teacup and stood up from his seat in surprise.

As one of the elders who had joined the battle at Haoyang Cave, he knew that Zhou Yang had been in Closed Door Cultivation there all these years. He was not expecting Zhou Yang to show up so suddenly.

"Greetings, Seventh Uncle."

Zhou Yang first respectfully saluted as a junior before lightly smiling. "As you know, my father has successfully entered the realm of Foundation Establishment. Now that the family is preparing to hold a celebratory ceremony, the clan leader has asked me to take your place at Yuquan Pavilion so that you, Zhou Xiong, Zhou Ping, Zhou Yu, and the others can return to the clan and participate in this ceremony."

"What? Your father is now in the realm of Foundation Establishment?"

Zhou Xuanlin was shocked by the news brought by Zhou Yang.

Of course, he knew that Zhou Xuanhao had gone back to the clan to break through to the realm of Foundation Establishment. However, he didn't expect Zhou Xuanhao to succeed. In fact, he was expecting Zhou Yang to be delivering the news of Zhou Xuanhao's death from failure and for them to return to pay their final respects!

"Wow, never would I have thought that he would be able to succeed!"

He muttered to himself with a face full of disbelief.

Almost all of the Zhou clan members had expected Zhou Yang to be the next Foundation Establishment cultivator of the clan. No one had expected Zhou Xuanhao - who was almost a hundred years old and had seemingly almost no hope of reaching the realm of Foundation Establishment - to succeed before his son.

Zhou Xuanhao was able to succeed with just a slight increase in breakthrough success rate! How lucky of him!

But Zhou Xuanlin refused to believe that luck was all Zhou Xuanhao needed. The former was already almost ninety years old and had to rely on the power of pills to cultivate to Qi Refinement Level 9. 'Could it be that apart from restoring the vitality of Qi Refining cultivators, the Spiritual Milk of Earth Essence can also increase the success rate of breaking through to the realm of Foundation Establishment?'

Zhou Xuanlin was more willing to believe that Zhou Xuanhao's success was mainly due to the Grade 3 Spiritual Milk of Earth Essence having an unexpected and additional effect on reaching the realm of Foundation Establishment

If that was really the case, could he also request permission from the clan to use the remaining portion of Spiritual Milk of Earth Essence to break through to the realm of Foundation Establishment?

However, as soon as this idea popped up in his mind, he immediately smiled bitterly and put it out of his head.

So what if the Spiritual Milk of Earth Essence had an additional effect on breaking through to the realm of Foundation Establishment?

Zhou Xuanhao dared to take the risk because he already had an intermediate spiritual root and a genius for a successor. Even if he failed, he would be able to die without regrets.

But what about him, Zhou Xuanlin?

He had a lower spiritual root and would only have a 30% success rate in reaching the realm of Foundation Establishment even with the Foundation Establishment Pill. How could he take such a risk?

Unlike Zhou Xuanhao who didn't have to worry too much about his family if he failed, Zhou Xuanlin had descendants who didn't have spiritual roots.

"Everything is fated, in the end!"

Zhou Xuanlin let out a long sigh filled with bitterness.

Mortal beggars could end up wearing noble robes and cultivators with lower spiritual roots could become Nascent Soul cultivators. But the number of people who could change their fate was low.

99% of mortals and immortal cultivators had their fates sealed from the moment they were born.

Mortals born to wealthy families lived a life of luxury and immortal cultivators with advanced spiritual roots would almost always succeed in reaching the realm of Foundation Establishment.

And the opposite was true too. Ordinary mortals born to a commoner's family might not be guaranteed a life of luxury despite their hard work, and cultivators with lower spiritual roots would only go as far as being Qi Refinement cultivators.

Zhou Xuanlin had lived for more than ninety years and had witnessed such fates. Therefore, after painstakingly cultivating to Qi Refinement Level 9, he had basically given up on the illusion of reaching the realm of Foundation Establishment. He only wanted to spend his remaining twenty to thirty years enjoying life to its fullest with no regrets.

Zhou Xuanlin finally came back to reality and saw Zhou Yang looking at him strangely. Only then did he remember that his words earlier had seemed a bit inappropriate. "Ah, I misspoke just now. Zhou Yang, please don't misunderstand. I am sincerely happy for Zhou Xuanhao and the clan on his achievement of becoming a new Foundation Establishment cultivator of the clan. I do not have any intentions to slander him, I swear!"

How could Zhou Xuanlin dare to say otherwise? Zhou Xuanhao had now become the second Foundation Establishment cultivator of the clan, which meant that he had a new and higher status.

If there were rumors of him, a clan elder younger than Zhou Xuanhao, being jealous of the new Foundation Establishment cultivator, Zhou Minghan would probably demote him from his elder position in a fit of anger and the other cultivators of the same generation would probably severe ties with him too. Those repercussions would be worse than dying in Zhou Xuanlin's perspective.

The reassurance by Zhou Xuanlin relaxed Zhou Yang and the latter finally smiled. "Seventh Uncle, don't be so agitated. The clan leader and my father know of your loyalty to the clan. The Zhou clan cultivators have always been united. Of course, I believe that you won't slander my father. Please, relax!"

"Gosh, Zhou Yang. I'm glad you understand. Thank you."

Zhou Xuanlin carefully looked at Zhou Yang. When he saw that the smile on his face did not seem to be fake, only then did he let out a sigh of relief and stop worrying.

Now that the tensions had eased, Zhou Yang and Zhou Xuanlin engaged in a long conversation that lasted for more than half a day. It was mainly Zhou Xuanlin introducing the business of Yuquan Pavilion to Zhou Yang, including their connections in the marketplace and how to quickly contact the clan if there was an emergency.

The person in charge of Yuquan Pavilion was the representative of the Zhou clan in Jinsha Square City, responsible for handling all affairs of the Zhou clan in the marketplace.

Before Zhou Yang arrived, the person in charge had always been an elder of the Zhou clan.

Zhou Xuanlin had been staying at the marketplace for more than ten years before he was assigned to take over. However, the person in charge there had always been Zhou Xuanhao, an elder of the Zhou clan.

After completing the handover of Yuquan Pavilion with Zhou Xuanlin, Zhou Yang went to Drunken Immortal Restaurant.

Drunken Immortal Restaurant used to be managed by Zhou Yang's mother, Lin Yuting. After his mother accompanied his father back to the clan, Zhou Xuanlin's wife, Luo Meiwei, took over as the manager while three female cultivators of the Yuan generation in the Zhou clan - Zhou Yuanchun, Zhou Yuanxia, and Zhou Yuanzhen - served as waitresses and cooks.

Zhou Yuanchun was ranked sixth among her peers and was the only cultivator with spiritual roots among Zhou Xuanyu's three children. She was also the disciple of Lin Yuting, inheriting his mother's unique profession as a winemaker.

Zhou Yuanxia and Zhou Yuanzhen were ranked seventh and twelfth respectively. The two female cultivators were mortals of the Zhou clan. Their spiritual roots were the same as Zhou Yuanchun's and they would probably cultivate no further than the realm of Qi Refinement.

Zhou Yang was a handsome young man with an extraordinary background, reputation, and set of achievements. His cultivation was also far higher than his peers. When he appeared in Drunken Immortal Restaurant, the beautiful eyes of Zhou Yuanchun and the other female cultivators of the Zhou clan lit up.

He was simply the ideal partner for female immortal cultivators such as Zhou Yuanchun and the others.

"Hey, Zhou Yang. Should I still call you Ninth Brother or Little Yang?" Zhou Yuanchun teased Zhou Yang with a smile.

"Sister Yuanchun, stop teasing me. You can just call me Zhou Yang." Zhou Yang smiled awkwardly.

"Little Yang is quite a strange name, after all!

Then, he smiled at Zhou Yuanxia and Zhou Yuanzhen, who were also looking at him eagerly. "Hello, Zhou Yuanxia, Zhou Yuanzhen. After not seeing each other for so many years, it seems that you girls have become even more beautiful. I have always heard from Mother that your suitors have already lined up from Drunken Immortal Restaurant to Yuquan Pavilion. I did not believe it before, but now that I have seen you with my own eyes, I know Mother's words are not false."

The three girls immediately beamed with joy when they heard Zhou Yang's compliment.

Zhou Yuanzhen's age was the closest to Zhou Yang's, and she was also the youngest. She started to act a little flirtatiously and said, "Zhou Yang, you're spouting nonsense. Aunt Yuting would never say that. I don't have any suitors anyway. Those people are here to pursue Sister Yuanchun and Sister Yuanxia. It has nothing to do with me."

Zhou Yuanxia was quite a reserved and shy person. As such, when she heard Yuanzhen say such words, Zhou Yuanxia said, "Yuanzhen, your ability to lie with your eyes wide open has been growing recently. If what you say is true, then what's with that uncle from the Liu family? Why does he come to Drunken Immortal Restaurant a few times every month, and you always accompany him every time?"

"Yuanxia, you have the nerve to criticize me? Aren't you the one who taught me how to drink and chat with guests and make them feel at home in Drunken Immortal Restaurant? I was so pure when I first came here. It was you who led me astray!"

Zhou Yuanzhen snorted in embarrassment and annoyance. She was a little angry at Zhou Yuanxia's words.

However, Zhou Yuanchun revealed a mischievous smile and started to laugh. "Yuanzhen, you are mistaken. According to what I know, the words you said, including the water-sleeved dress you are wearing now, were all courtesy of Zhou Yang. Even the spiritual stones that we received as a commission were only agreed to by the clan because of Zhou Yang's suggestion!"

Zhou Yang immediately felt embarrassed as he awkwardly stood there and had his secrets revealed. He did not dare to look at the shocked and embarrassed Zhou Yuanxia and Zhou Yuanzhen.

Back when he heard his mother complain about the restaurant's business, he thought of this solution. Lin Yuting, out of trust in her precious son, had asked Zhou Yuanchun to try it out and found out that his solution was really effective.

Soon, all employees of Drunken Immortal Restaurant were replaced with women such as the young, beautiful, and pure-looking Zhou Yuanzhen who was transferred over at the age of twenty. Not long after her arrival, she was given the title of the restaurant's Gold-Medal Waitress.