Outrageous! The Useless Fake Young Master Is Being Forcefully Pampered by a Cold Beauty. - Chapter 15

Elder An’s full name was An Zhenguo. Thirty years ago, he was a figure whose mere footfall could make the entire city of Canglan tremble. As the youngest Major General in the Great Xia, he had performed countless meritorious deeds and earned numerous honors. Regrettably, due to defects in his cultivation technique, his body aged faster than that of an ordinary person; not yet sixty, he already appeared like an octogenarian. Ultimately, he was forced to leave the military and return to Canglan City. In the decade that followed, many families rose in Canglan City, but only three the Wang, Lin, and Tang families could be considered on par with his.

However, none of those three families were simple. Over the years, An Zhenguo had discovered many things. For instance, although the Lin family was only involved in politics and commerce, their patriarch, Lin Xiaotian, was related by marriage to the Jiang family of Yanjing. The Jiang family of Yanjing was not comparable to the four major wealthy clans of a small city like Canglan; they were a true top-tier clan that had existed since the founding of the Great Xia, boasting over a thousand years of history. Their foundation was beyond what an ordinary person could imagine. Apart from the Jiang family, there were two other families in Yanjing with equally long histories the Chu family and the Yun family, families that even the state dared not easily move against.

Although the Great Xia was a technologically advanced state governed by law where ordinary people were the majority, martial artists like them were not few in number. The higher one climbed, the more numerous the martial artists became. It was only in a small place like Canglan City that one rarely saw martial artists; in Yanjing, one could encounter Dongming Realm martial artists on every corner, and Yaoguang or Kaiyang Realm practitioners were countless.

An Zhenguo sighed and continued, “A Dongming Realm martial artist like me would only be fit to guard the gate for those great families in Yanjing. If I hadn’t entered the military back then and earned the title of Major General, which gave me some semblance of respect…”

An Zhenguo? Yun Su’s lips curled. He had heard a few things about the four great families of Canglan in the original body’s memories, and he had been suspicious when he first met An Ran. However, there were many people surnamed An in Canglan City, and plenty who were wealthy; buying a villa in Jinxiu Villa was not difficult. It wasn’t until he arrived at the gate of the An villa today that he confirmed this An family was indeed the top-tier wealthy family from the original body’s memories.

Speculation was always speculation, but now that he heard it confirmed from An Zhenguo’s own lips, Yun Su couldn’t help but twitch his lip. Is my luck a bit too good? I ran into a “碰瓷” (professional scammer) who turned out to be surnamed An, and not just any An, but a top-tier wealthy family.

Yun Su shook his head inwardly, amused, and suppressed his thoughts. Even if An Zhenguo hadn’t said it, he could have guessed: it was likely the An family had once clashed with that great family in Yanjing. Otherwise, with the status of a Major General, the Great Xia authorities would not have treated him poorly, even after he retired. At the very least, he would have been arranged a post in a provincial-level unit rather than ending up with nothing, remaining in this tiny Canglan City for over a dozen years.

However, Yun Su was a bit surprised. Spiritual energy in this world was so thin that he had assumed there wouldn’t be many martial artists, but the reality was quite different. It seemed that once he had the chance, he would have to take a trip to Yanjing.

“So, you mean to say the Wang family has someone backing them, and you suspect it’s one of the three great Yanjing clans?” Yun Su looked at An Zhenguo. If that were the case, he would have to change his method of retaliating against the Lu family. He didn’t want to get tangled in too much karma. Practitioners of immortality feared nothing more than accumulating karma; the more one had, the more difficult it became to survive the lightning tribulations. In his past life, he had been reckless and unrestrained, causing his ascension tribulation to become as intense as that of a Golden Immortal. Not only were all his dharma treasures destroyed, but his physical body was also blasted to ashes, forcing his rebirth into this world with thin spiritual energy.

Thinking of this, Yun Su felt his teeth itch with hatred for the Heavenly Dao, and he secretly raised a middle finger to it in his mind.

BOOM…

A massive clap of thunder suddenly rang out outside. Yun Su jumped in fright. No way! I can’t even insult it in my own head?

An Ran looked at the sky, which had suddenly shifted. “It’s going to rain.”

An Boyuan also glanced outside, puzzled. “It was bright and sunny just a moment ago; how did it suddenly turn into dark, heavy clouds ready for rain?”

No one answered his question. Yun Su, of course, couldn’t tell him that it was because he had secretly cursed the Heavenly Dao, angering the petty-minded entity.

An Zhenguo took a sip of tea, appearing unbothered. “Let it rain, then.” He turned to Yun Su. “Mr. Yun, may I ask what your relationship is with the Yun family of Yanjing?”

“Hmm?” Yun Su frowned, finding the question strange. “I have no relationship with them. It is merely a coincidence that we share the same surname.”

Seeing that Yun Su’s expression was not feigned, An Zhenguo dropped the topic and returned to the subject of the Wang family. “Mr. Yun is correct. The Wang family does indeed have one of the three great clans behind them, though I have yet to determine which one; they have acted very discreetly.” Ten years ago, the Wang family was merely a small clan; for them to leap to equal standing with the Lin, An, and Tang families, they must have had help from other forces. An Zhenguo could only think of the three great Yanjing clans as having such capabilities.

“Can you find out?”

An Zhenguo: “It is very difficult.”

Yun Su lowered his eyes, his finger tapping rhythmically on his teacup. After a moment, he looked up and said, “Since you cannot find out, then force them to reveal themselves.”

“Anyone who provides help to the Lu family is my enemy. When dealing with an enemy, either do not act at all, or if you do, strike to kill in a single blow.” Yun Su stood up, his eyes narrowed, the murderous intent radiating from him so tangible that those present found it hard to breathe.

Quickly, Yun Su retracted his murderous aura. “Dealing with the Lu family is not urgent; I still need time to prepare. In the meantime, you only need to help me monitor every move the Lu family makes; leave the rest to me.”

“This…” An Zhenguo looked at Yun Su, and after a moment, said, “All as Mr. Yun commands.”

Yun Su waved his hand, then proceeded to ask a few questions about the martial world and the official attitude of Great Xia toward martial artists. Great Xia had a long history of martial arts, and many cultivation techniques had been passed down, though very few remained today mostly held by wealthy families and hidden sects; ordinary people had almost no opportunity to obtain them. This was the reason for the decline of martial arts in Great Xia.

Beyond the nine realms Yun Su already knew about, An Zhenguo told him there was likely a final realm, though An Zhenguo did not know for sure. No one in all of Great Xia could reach that realm; the highest-ranked martial artist currently in the country had only just entered the Tianshu Realm. Worldwide, those who had reached the Tianshu Realm could be counted on two hands, and Great Xia possessed only one such person.

An Zhenguo gave Yun Su a rough breakdown of the strength associated with each realm, and Yun Su used this information to infer the corresponding levels of immortal cultivation. The Yinyuan Realm was equivalent to Level 1 Qi Refining, the Dongming Realm to Level 2, the Yaoguang Realm to Level 5, the Kaiyang Realm to Level 8, the Yuheng Realm to Level 12, the Tianquan Realm to the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment, the Tianji Realm to the Mid-Stage, the Tianxuan Realm to the Late Stage, and the Tianshu Realm to the Golden Core stage.

Yun Su let out a soft laugh. “So that is it.”

Afterward, An Zhenguo informed Yun Su of the official attitude of Great Xia toward the martial arts world, and Yun Su departed, satisfied.

Before leaving, Yun Su also told An Zhenguo that to fully heal his body, he would need to wait until his own cultivation reached the Yaoguang Realm, asking him to wait for a time. He also took the damaged manual An Zhenguo had been practicing, telling him he would come back to collect it in a few days.