Marriage and I Want You

When Zhao Sheng unfolded the paper and looked at it, his heart immediately sank. What was written on it was almost identical to the one in his hand.

The Perfume Workshop had clearly been exposed to the Wang Family's notice long ago, yet he had known nothing about it.

In the Cultivation World, one must never underestimate any Cultivation Family—especially those that had once been glorious but had now fallen into decline, such as the Wang Family of Fragrant Swallow Valley.

Zhao Sheng had long known that the coachman, Wang Si, was the Wang Family's spy.

Wang Si would not betray the Wang sisters, but that did not mean he would not secretly report information back to the Wang Family.

Zhao Sheng had already been mentally prepared for all this. He had simply never imagined the Wang Family would be so shameless.

Seeing Zhao Sheng remain silent, Wang Zonghai asked with a smile, "Young man, there shouldn't be any Loopholes in what's written here, should there?!"

Zhao Sheng did not question him. There was no point in doing so, and questioning him would only be a sign of incompetence.

Faced with this predicament, his mind raced as he continuously searched for a solution.

There was no need to mention the Zhao Family and the Perfume Workshop. As the overlord of Ganzhou, the Cultivation Wang Family's hidden influence was surely far greater than the Zhao Family's.

"What other bargaining chips do I have?"

Just as he was deep in thought, a flash of inspiration suddenly struck him.

Since the Wang Family had long ago seen through the movements of the three of them, why had they chosen to watch from the shadows rather than intervene directly?

Looking at the smile that had reappeared on the Wang Family head's face, a bold idea suddenly formed in Zhao Sheng's mind.

The Wang Family's strange conduct was likely all thanks to the man before him.

Once he understood this, Zhao Sheng raised the prescription in his hand and said confidently, "I remember someone once saying, 'Interest is the driving force behind all human action.' You went to such lengths to create this situation. Surely it wasn't merely to toy with a junior like me, was it? If you have any demands, please state them plainly."

At this, Wang Zonghai suddenly burst into hearty laughter. This time, it came from the bottom of his heart.

"Excellent! If the younger generation of my family possessed even half your intelligence in dealing with people and affairs, then I could die without regrets."

The moment Zhao Sheng heard that, his heart skipped a beat. No way! Could this dead old man really want me to marry into the Wang Family?

A true man stands tall between heaven and earth—how could he marry into another family and live off a woman!

Zhao Sheng immediately reminded him, "Old Master Wang, my family line has been passed down through only one son for three generations."

"If I recall correctly, you rank ninth among the Zhao Family's generation." Wang Zonghai immediately exposed his lie.

"My parents are both dead. Every year, I must burn incense and make offerings to them."

"As long as you have the will, you can do the same in Fragrant Swallow Valley."

"Uh!"

Zhao Sheng was momentarily left speechless and unable to retort. He could only lay his cards on the table. "Old Master, I cannot possibly marry into the Wang Family."

Only then did the Wang Family members understand the riddle the old man and young man had been speaking in.

In an instant, everyone was dumbfounded.

Wang Zonghai's face sank. "You don't want to marry my granddaughter?"

"I do. But this junior can never forsake his ancestors and forget his roots," Zhao Sheng said.

What a joke! I'm the Zhao Family's founding ancestor. How could I possibly betray myself?

No matter how Wang Zonghai threatened or tempted him afterward, Zhao Sheng kept shaking his head and standing firm.

In the end, Wang Zonghai could not prevail against him and had no choice but to take a step back. "Then let us make a gentleman's agreement. If you can advance to the Innate realm within three years, then everything will be as you wish. If you cannot, you will marry into my Wang Family. In addition, among the descendants of you and Yuqi, those without spiritual roots may take their father's surname, but those with spiritual roots must bear the Wang surname."

Just listen to the way he put it.

This dead old man clearly knew everything, yet he had deliberately pretended to be ignorant from the start.

Upon hearing Wang Zonghai say this, Zhao Sheng immediately nodded. "Fine. It's a deal."

He was certain to win! By his calculations, he would need no more than two years to advance to the Innate realm.

Wang Zonghai thought he had the upper hand, never realizing that Zhao Sheng was a man with a cheat.

Name: Zhao Zhiqin (Zhao Sheng)

Lifespan: 18/120

Realm: First-Class Martial Artist

Physique: Hundred-Year Body (Mortal Grade), Light as a Swallow (Mortal Grade)

Talent: Dynamic Vision (Mortal Grade)

Skills: Floating Light Swordplay (Peak Mastery), Azure Sea Tide Rising Art (Great Completion), Cloud Dragon Three Transformations (Unprecedented), Wind Chasing Archery (Transcendent)

After that day, Zhao Sheng left Fragrant Swallow Valley alone.

Three days later, he returned to Zhao Family Fortress. After separately speaking twice with Family Head He Xing and the clan-protecting elder Zhao Taizhen, he began a long period of secluded cultivation.

At the same time, a large number of martial arts experts suddenly appeared in Zhao Family Fortress, led by a burly man with a tiger's back and a bear's waist.

The moment they arrived, they took complete control of the Perfume Workshop and expanded its scale tenfold in one stroke.

Meanwhile, with the support of some mysterious force, the Zhao Family rapidly annexed several gangs operating along the roads of Ganzhou.

This set Ganzhou's Jianghu on edge, crying out one after another that the wolf had come.

A year later, inside a cultivation chamber in Zhao Family Fortress, Zhao Sheng sat cross-legged with his eyes shut, faint wisps of clear qi rising from above his head.

A porcelain pill bottle lay on the floor before him, utterly empty inside.

Half an hour earlier, Zhao Sheng had taken the last Essence Qi Pill and formally begun his attempt to break through to the Innate realm.

With his prior experience of advancing to the Innate realm, he smoothly converted all the Azure Sea True Qi within his body into Innate True Qi.

About the time it took an incense stick to burn later, Zhao Sheng's entire body suddenly shuddered. His body abruptly rose three feet off the ground, then drifted lightly back down.

Slowly opening his eyes, Zhao Sheng revealed an excited expression.

With the aid of the Essence Qi Pill, he had actually advanced to the Innate realm a year ahead of schedule.

The power of pills was terrifying indeed!

Six months later, on the day the Zhao Family's Ninth Young Master married, all of Nanyang City was shaken.

The people of Nanyang City had never seen anyone marry off with a dowry procession stretching twenty li.

The Zhao Family was equally lavish in its spending, laying out over a thousand tables of open banquet feasts for an entire month.

Over that month, even the skinniest beggars in Nanyang City gained more than ten jin.

This grand wedding remained the talk of Nanyang's people for nearly a hundred years.

A year later, Zhao Sheng had his first son, but regrettably, the child had No Spiritual Root.

The following year, an adorable daughter came crying into the world, still with No Spiritual Root.

Zhao Sheng was not discouraged. He continued hiding away in Zhao Family Fortress to pursue his great undertaking.

One night in the third year, Wang Yuyan, whose features had grown ever more elegant and refined, suddenly came to find Zhao Sheng.

The first thing she said upon seeing him was, "I'm getting married!"

Zhao Sheng fell silent for a moment, then said, "Congratulations!"

"A Rogue Cultivator at Qi Refining Level Six is willing to marry into the Wang Family. My father agreed. We'll marry next month on an auspicious day."

Wang Yuyan stared brightly at the man across from her, yet her tone was strangely calm, as if she were speaking of someone else.

"...Congratulations!" Zhao Sheng did not know what to say, so he could only repeat himself.

"Hmph, what a spineless man!"

With that, Wang Yuyan suddenly leaped forward and pounced Zhao Sheng to the ground.

Yes, a dignified Innate Grandmaster was effortlessly tackled to the floor.

"I want you!"