Wolves fought over food on the platform.
Just as Shen Zhou was preparing to let loose and fight, a booming shout suddenly rang out from the distant sky. "How dare you! Who dares try to steal the Qin Family Ancestral Divine Weapon?"
As the words rang out, two figures crashed down from the sky. Before anyone could make out their faces, a violent surge of Origin Power swept in every direction like a tidal wave.
The crowd rushing toward Shen Zhou bore the brunt of it and was sent reeling backward.
Once everyone had steadied themselves, they saw two old men in blue robes standing on the platform. Their hair and brows were white, their eyes sharp as lightning, and they scanned the surroundings with murderous intent.
"They're Qin Yihu and Qin Changfeng, the Qin Family elders! Both are powerful cultivators of the Transformation Yuan Eighth Realm!"
Someone below the platform recognized them and cried out in surprise.
The people on the platform immediately hesitated, not daring to make another move.
Seeing this, Shen Zhou glanced regretfully at the Taixuan Sword in his hand. "Sigh... Looks like I'll have to find another chance to test this sword."
In an instant, the scene fell quiet.
Qin Yihu was as his name suggested: tall and burly, with a rugged appearance. After intimidating the crowd, he rolled up his sleeves and swept his gaze over the surrounding martial artists, speaking with force. "Which one of you was trying to snatch it by force just now? Come on, step forward. I'd like to see how much bear's heart and leopard's gall you've eaten to dare cause trouble on Qin Family turf. Do you really think the Qin Family has no one left?"
At his shout, Scarface, Buddha, and the others, who had been making such a racket moments earlier, became like mice before a cat. They didn't dare so much as squeak.
The strong ruled!
These people had some ability, but they were no match for the elders of a great family.
When no one stepped forward, Qin Yihu sneered. "Since none of you dares come out, then don't let me see you around here again. Otherwise, I'll beat every last one of you I see. Get lost!"
Scarface, Buddha, and the others slunk away.
Watching from behind, Shen Zhou clicked his tongue in amazement. "As expected of great-family elders. Even with the family in decline, they're still this imposing!"
Once everything was settled, the two Qin elders turned around. Both of their gazes immediately fell on the Taixuan Sword in Shen Zhou's hand.
Seeing their ancestor's Divine Weapon emerge, they were both delighted and deeply moved.
They exchanged a knowing glance.
"Never thought we'd live to see our ancestor's Divine Weapon appear again. Now, even if we died, we'd have no regrets."
"That's right. 'When the Taixuan Sword appears, the Qin Family will rise again.' I only hope our ancestor's spirit above will bless the Qin Family and let us truly rise once more!"
Only after their excitement had passed did they turn their attention to Shen Zhou.
Seeing that the one who had drawn the sword was a young man, Qin Yihu frowned without realizing it, feeling somewhat disappointed.
Given the Qin Family's current situation, he didn't believe a mere youth could shoulder the burden of the family.
Fortunately, Qin Changfeng was more steady and honest by nature. He stepped forward with a genial smile and greeted Shen Zhou. "Young friend, since you've drawn our Qin Family's ancestral Divine Weapon, you're an honored guest of the Qin Family. Why not come sit with us for a while?"
Shen Zhou considered it for a moment.
He thought that he'd just arrived in Flying Bird City, didn't know anyone, and didn't even have a place to stay. Going to the Qin Family first didn't seem like a bad idea.
Besides, he was about to start learning martial arts and was short on everything. The Qin Family might no longer be what it once was, but surely they could scrape together a couple of cultivation manuals. And failing that, getting an elder to give him some pointers would be better than looking for a martial arts school himself, right?
Of course, he wasn't planning to take anything from them for free.
He'd taken the Qin Family's sword, so he owed them. If the Qin Family really had some trouble, lending a hand along the way wouldn't be a big deal.
As for the "most beautiful woman in Flying Bird City" and the like, Shen Zhou wasn't considering that for now.
He'd crossed over into this world of profound martial arts, and now he had a cheat like Sword Invincible. Naturally, he had to set his sights higher. Reaching the peak of the martial path was secondary; his ultimate goal was to see if he could achieve eternal life or something along those lines.
With that in mind, Shen Zhou made up his mind. "Sure. I'll come sit with you."
With that settled, Shen Zhou led the Three Little Ones and followed the two Qin elders to the Qin Family.
Word that someone had finally drawn the Qin Family Ancestral Divine Weapon spread quickly through Flying Bird City, passed from mouth to mouth among those below the platform. The whole city was soon in an uproar, and people talked about it without end.
The Qin Family.
After receiving news from the platform, the Qin Family members sprang into action.
Apart from the family's great-aunt, who had reached the Celestial Firmament Realm but was too old to concern herself with worldly affairs, only the family head, Qin Yuanshan, was absent.
Qin Yuanshan was in seclusion, trying to break through his bottleneck. He hoped to give the family another Celestial Firmament powerhouse and ease the pressure on them. As a result, the family's affairs were currently being handled by the four great elders.
At that moment, inside the Council Hall.
The Qin Family's First Elder, Qin Changlin; Second Elder, Qin Changfeng; Third Elder, Qin Yihu; and Fourth Elder, Qin Suyun sat at the head of the hall. A dozen or so core family disciples stood on either side below them, their gazes fixed on the four youths in the hall.
No—to be more precise, they were fixed on the young man at the front, Shen Zhou.
When Qin Changfeng and Qin Yihu had brought Shen Zhou and the Three Little Ones back earlier, the Qin Family members had been baffled. The two elders had gone to fetch the one who'd drawn the sword, so why had they come back with four young people?
When they learned that Shen Zhou was the one who'd drawn the sword, the hall fell silent.
If Qin Family members could send messages through the air, the space above the Council Hall would have been full of question marks.
"What's going on? This guy drew the sword? Did they get the wrong person?"
"He doesn't have even the slightest hint of vital energy about him. He must be an ordinary person. How could he have drawn the Taixuan Sword?"
"This kid has nothing going for him except a decent face. Maybe he just got lucky."
After a moment of silence, the younger generation of the Qin Family finally couldn't hold back their complaints. Their faces showed either contempt or scorn, and they made no effort to keep their words from Shen Zhou.
Hearing them, the Three Little Ones immediately tensed up.
They'd been nervous and uneasy ever since entering the Qin Family. Now, seeing the family members acting so hostile, they felt even more unsettled.
A Dai even tugged at Shen Zhou's sleeve, then motioned with his eyes for Shen Zhou to be careful around the Qin Family.
Shen Zhou turned back and smiled at the Three Little Ones, giving them a reassuring look.
Ever since he'd gotten his cheat, Shen Zhou had stopped bothering to overthink things. He did as he pleased, following his whims, but that didn't mean he was clueless.
He'd come to the Qin Family intending to find a place to stay and help them out in return for their "gift" of the sword. But from the looks of it, the Qin Family seemed to think he was just a lucky nobody who'd drawn their Divine Weapon by chance and now wanted to cling to them.
That made Shen Zhou want to laugh.
Truly, they couldn't recognize a hidden master if he swept their floors!
Still, this might be for the best. If the Qin Family turned against him, he could use that as an excuse to cut ties and sever all connection with them. Then, if anything happened to the Qin Family in the future, he could watch from the sidelines with a clear conscience.
After all, it would be their own choice.
With that thought, Shen Zhou's expression grew even more relaxed and unrestrained. In the Qin Family's eyes, however, he looked crude, common, and utterly lacking in promise.
The Qin Family members grew even more repulsed by him.
After repeatedly confirming with Qin Changfeng and Qin Yihu that Shen Zhou was indeed the one who'd drawn the sword, First Elder Qin Changlin had kept his brow furrowed. After a moment's thought, he rose from his seat and turned to Shen Zhou with a polite question. "Since you've drawn our Qin Family's ancestral Divine Weapon, young hero, you're an honored guest of the Qin Family. May I ask your name and where you're from?"
He was probing Shen Zhou's background.
The young man himself might be unimpressive, but if he came from a powerful family, helping the Qin Family might still be an option.
Shen Zhou saw right through his intentions, so he answered bluntly. "My name is Shen Zhou. I'm from White Sheep County. I have no parents, only the two brothers and one younger sister behind me. The four of us used to survive by begging on the streets. So, do you think someone like me still qualifies as an honored guest of the Qin Family?"
Shen Zhou's words left First Elder Qin speechless.
He wasn't from a great family.
And he didn't know martial arts.
Even if the Qin Family was willing to honor its promise and spare no effort to cultivate him, could this young man really help the family rise again?
And even if he could, how long would it take?
Could the Qin Family afford to wait until he'd grown strong?
But he'd drawn the ancestral Divine Weapon. Surely there had to be something special about him?
One concern after another flashed through Qin Changlin's mind. But as First Elder of the Qin Family, he still had to keep up appearances. "Young Hero Shen, you jest. Since the Qin Family has made a promise, we will never go back on our word. However, we'll need to discuss how best to receive our honored guest before we can decide."
With that, Qin Changlin gave the other three a look, and the four of them hurried out of the Council Hall together.
As soon as they reached the back, Qin Yihu couldn't hold back. "Big brother, that kid's a nobody. Why do we need to keep him here? We might as well kick him out of the Qin Family and be done with it."
Qin Suyun frowned and chimed in. "Big brother, you're not actually going to honor the promise, are you? You'd let that good-for-nothing marry Mingyue and spend the whole family's resources helping him cultivate?"
Qin Changfeng also looked puzzled, but he said nothing. He trusted that his big brother had his reasons.
After the third and fourth elders had both spoken, Qin Changlin thought it over before replying. "Third brother, fourth sister, don't rush to judgment. Don't forget, that young man really did draw our ancestor's Divine Weapon. If he's truly useless, how could he have drawn the Taixuan Sword?"
(The Taixuan Sword: I didn't want this either, sob...)
Qin Yihu and Qin Suyun were taken aback.
First Elder Qin continued, "In other words, even if that young man really is good for nothing, we can't just kick him out. Otherwise, the Qin Family will earn a reputation for going back on its word and having no integrity. If that happens, who in Flying Bird City will dare deal with us in the future?
"So, we have to handle this carefully."
After hearing his big brother's words, Qin Yihu finally realized the matter wasn't so simple. He furrowed his brow. "Then what should we do next?"
First Elder Qin's expression suddenly relaxed. Stroking his beard, he said, "Don't rush. Haven't you noticed that the younger members of the Qin Family are unhappy with that young man too? Good. Let them stir things up. That way, we can see whether that young man is a rotten log or a piece of jade hidden beneath the rough."
Qin Yihu's eyes lit up. "So you brought us to the back just to give the youngsters a chance to make a move!"
Qin Suyun immediately brightened.
Qin Changfeng nodded and praised him. "Big brother, you really are clever!"
If Shen Zhou had been there, he would have said, "You really are a sly dog!"
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