The moment Qun Yushu said this, everyone was stunned.
Who was Qun Yushu?
The Qun Family head was his second uncle, while his father was the governor of Jiang Ling and commanded the Jing Xiang military garrison. At such a young age, he had already achieved his Second Class Advancement and had the potential to reach the legendary Foundation Establishment tier within his lifetime. The women who wanted to marry him could have formed a line stretching from Jiangnan all the way to Yang Zhou.
But in theory, Qun Yushu's wife could only be a noble daughter from a family of equal standing. Even a young lady from a prominent clan would not qualify. At the very least, she had to come from one of the Vermillion Gate Four Surnames.
Marrying Qun Yushu was no different from rising to heaven in a single step. There was no need to mention such minor matters as a life of comfort, wealth, and glory. Even if the woman aspired to pursue the Dao Path of the Messenger, the Qun Family only needed to leak out a little of its resources to guarantee her Second Class Advancement. As long as she had sufficient talent, securing her advancement to the third class would not be a problem.
But he wanted to marry a black-belt woman with no family background?
Still, after everyone saw Jiang Shi's face, they felt that they could understand Qun Yushu's impulsiveness. Many of them even showed regret, lamenting that they had not made their move yesterday and had missed out on such a beauty.
Shang Xin Lei and the others also said nothing. Although they had planned to recruit Jiang Shi as well, if Qun Yushu used the position of principal wife as a bargaining chip... they truly could not offer anything better than that.
Five seconds passed. Thirty seconds passed. A minute passed.
Jiang Shi said nothing and simply continued practicing her blade.
Had she not heard him, or had she heard him and chosen not to answer?
The atmosphere became extraordinarily awkward, especially with Qun Yushu still kneeling on the ground. He slowly stood up and silently stared at Jiang Shi. In such a situation, even an ordinary person, let alone a scion of an aristocratic family, would probably become enraged from embarrassment after being ignored like this. Thus, Jie Yuanshao stepped forward, ready to stop Qun Yushu from suddenly exploding.
"Impossible. She's simply too beautiful." Qun Yushu suddenly sighed. "I was a little angry at first, but looking at this face, I just can't get angry. I still can't marry her, though. Otherwise, if she kept making me angry while I couldn't bring myself to be angry with her, I'd surely end up torturing myself to death."
Qian Gongyu nodded repeatedly behind him. Jiang Shi was truly infuriating, but unfortunately, there was simply no way to get angry at her!
"Jiang Shi." Chen Lincuan called out loudly, "I represent the Chen Family and would like to speak with you. Could you come over for a moment?"
Jiang Shi said nothing and simply continued practicing her blade.
Chen Lincuan was not a playboy like Qun Yushu. He cared greatly about his own and his family's dignity. Jiang Shi's attitude immediately darkened his expression, forcing Jie Zilong to step slightly forward and block the space between him and Jiang Shi.
The guests behind them were all incredulous. She actually dared to ignore the young master of the Qun Family and the Chen Family Elder in public? This, this, this... Was she courting death? But quite a few people also took pleasure in her misfortune. They had long been displeased with Jiang Shi, this "madwoman" who used her black-belt status to place herself above everyone else.
People from the lower classes should obediently remain servants. Why leap up and get in everyone's way?
Just as the atmosphere gradually became tense, Jiang Shi suddenly stopped training.
She seemed to have just woken from a dream and glanced at everyone. "You were looking for me?"
"Yes." Qun Yushu praised her, "I was fortunate enough to witness this beauty dance with her blade. It was truly like light clouds veiling the moon, like drifting wind whirling snow..."
"If there's nothing important, I'll continue training."
"Quickly reveal the secret method for the Wandering Star Forest!" someone suddenly shouted from within the crowd. "Everyone here needs your secret method to conquer the secret realm. If you hide it and keep it to yourself, you'll be offending every aristocratic family and prominent clan here!"
Qian Gongyu did not even need to look. She knew at once that it was Luo Weijin stirring things up. But Luo Weijin's words were merely the spark. The others immediately followed, chiming in one after another—
"Exactly, exactly. Anyone can enter the Wandering Star Forest anyway. Sharing the secret method won't cost you anything."
"The higher everyone's scores, the better the rewards, which means Liang's strength will increase. You can't obstruct Liang's development for your own selfish reasons. Jiang Shi, you need to consider the bigger picture."
"We're not asking for it for free. We can compensate you."
"Surely the Jie Family and Shang Family won't prevent us from making progress just because they got the benefits?"
Although she had anticipated this, faced with such a furious tide of public opinion, Shang Xin Lei was still somewhat caught off guard.
It was not merely because the other side had more people. More importantly, the Wandering Star Forest was simply too special—it was open for a limited time each year, but imposed no limit on the number of entrants. Thus, no one could monopolize this secret realm, and the more people who conquered it, the better.
If one hundred people entered the secret realm, they could obtain one hundred sets of rewards. If one hundred thousand people entered, they could obtain one hundred thousand sets of rewards!
It was only natural that Qun Yushu and Chen Lincuan placed such importance on Jiang Shi. If Jiang Shi truly possessed the secret method, she would be equivalent to a strategic national treasure, capable of obtaining vast, immeasurable resources from the Wandering Star Forest every year!
This is troublesome... Shang Xin Lei thought. Even if Jiang Shi claims that she doesn't have a secret method, they definitely won't believe her. They'll surround and hunt her like vultures until they cut open her heart and take a look inside.
If their positions were reversed, Shang Xin Lei did not know how she would break out of this predicament. No, if she possessed the secret method, she would never have participated in the Wandering Star Forest so brazenly from the start. She would have waited until she reached at least the third class before coming. Better yet, she would have recruited the other three third-class experts and formed a team to farm points in the Wandering Star Forest. By then, even if Liang was home to dozens of aristocratic families and prominent clans, what could they do to her?
But Jiang Shi had come to participate in the Wandering Star Forest without even reaching the first class. Her strength was so weak, and she had neither friends nor a family background. It would have been strange if no one coveted what she had.
She truly could not understand why Jiang Shi possessed such talent yet did not know how to conceal her abilities and bide her time. Wouldn't it be better to develop quietly? Why take such a dangerous path?
Forget it. Although she had not yet received a letter from her family, she would protect Jiang Shi for now.
The Jie Family would not stand by either. At least until the Wandering Star Forest ended, they were all on the same side.
"I refuse."
Jiang Shi gently pushed against the blade and tightened her grip on the hilt. She stepped forward, emerging from the shadows and into the light.
"If you want to fight, come on."
The uproar abruptly fell silent. Then, like a compressed spring, the crowd erupted with ten times the previous volume. Curses, mockery, insults, and furious denunciations wove together into a torrent, as if they intended to curse Jiang Shi to death.
Jiang Shi said nothing. She simply took another step forward, and the White Iron Straight Blade had already been drawn a little—
"Anyone who dares speak again is declaring themselves an enemy of the Qun Family!"
Qun Yushu's furious roar instantly brought the scene under control. Shang Xin Lei and Jie Yuanshao also stepped in front of Jiang Shi, stopping her from taking any further action.
"Finally, it's quiet. It's quite something— I was clearly speaking with Jiang Shi just now, yet you people interrupted my conversation with the beauty. I'm very petty about such things." Qun Yushu spread his hands and sighed, immediately easing the tumult that had filled the heavens and earth. He turned to Jiang Shi. "Jiang Shi, you don't like pointless talk, so I'll keep it simple—I represent the Qun Family in inviting you to become a Qun Family Offering."
"The Qun Family Offering receives a monthly stipend of three thousand spirit jades, five tokens for self-defense, access to the Qun Family's internal secret vault, and a Qun Family Token that allows passage through eighteen secret realms in Liang. I won't go into the benefits involving food, clothing, housing, and transportation. I'll mention only one thing: the Qun Family's sole requirement for its offerings is that they give their all to reach the third class."
"The Qun Family will not require you to hand over your secret method, and after you become a Qun Family Offering, no one will force you to surrender it either. Jiang Shi, what do you think?"
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