["I hope you can forge a marriage alliance with our Zhang Family..."]
*?* These words caught Mu Xingqi completely off guard.
No way, such a good thing actually exists?
No, no, no, how can I say that? It makes me look so cheap.
He was not that kind of casual person.
Let's see how I decide in the simulation...
[You ponder this for a moment and decide that, for now, this matter holds no real loss for you. However, you aren't certain if the Zhang Family Ancestor truly values only your talent, or if she has ulterior motives.]
[Just as you are still hesitating, your grandfather instead bursts out laughing: "Ancestor Zhang plays a fine game of chess, but if you want your Zhang Family to wed into my good grandson, I, old man, must add a condition."]
["What condition?" Ancestor Zhang asks calmly, as if she will agree to any condition your grandfather raises as long as it isn't too outrageous, displaying great patience.]
[Your grandfather speaks leisurely: "Zhang Yutong!"]
[Even though your grandfather only says a name, every single member of the Zhang Family present sinks into a gloomy expression upon hearing it, and even Ancestor Zhang's normally serene face twitches involuntarily.]
[Before Ancestor Zhang can speak, the middle-aged man in the primary seat behind her stands up directly, points at Li Bushan, and demands: "Ancestor, do you really feel at ease handing Yutong over to such an unfamiliar brat?!"]
[You awkwardly scratch your nose to ease the tension, feeling that after your grandfather opens his mouth, this negotiation is no longer something you can muscle into.]
[You also want to cry without tears. Uncle, can you blame me? I haven't even met Zhang Yutong! Besides, I wasn't the one who brought up the name Zhang Yutong, alright?]
[Through a heated back-and-forth between your grandfather and Ancestor Zhang, much like haggling over vegetables in a market, you—the person at the center of the controversy—not only lack the qualification to speak, but instead reap malicious glares from the Zhang Family elders, especially the middle-aged man who just questioned you.]
[You surmise that this middle-aged uncle is likely Zhang Yutong's father; otherwise, why would he glare at you with such ferocious intensity?]
[In the end, your grandfather and Ancestor Zhang reach a verdict: Ancestor Zhang agrees to your proposal, barring the Wang Family Ancestor from heading to the secret realm. The condition is that you must wed Zhang Yutong, who must take the position of primary wife. She is permitted to return home once a year, and you must accompany her. Furthermore, since the two of you are still young, the engagement is set for two years from now, with the official marriage to be discussed later.]
[What more can you say? Even if he has a hundred reservations right now, what can he do? This matter concerns him, yet it doesn't—it resembles a chain of interests linking their two lineages together more than anything else.]
[After your grandfather chats idly with Ancestor Zhang for a while longer about cultivation insights, he takes you away.]
[Ancestor Zhang even comes out specifically to bid you farewell, as if your two great lineages have truly become in-laws.]
[Along the way, your grandfather perceives your confusion and speaks first: "Are you curious why Grandfather agreed to Ancestor Zhang's marriage request? And why I insisted on Zhang Yutong marrying you?"]
[You nod and say: "Ancestor Zhang wanting to wed Grandson must be because she values Grandson's talent. As for Grandfather agreeing, you also wish to use this to strengthen the ties between the two families... As to why Grandfather specifically named Zhang Yutong, Grandson remains in the dark about that."]
["Hahaha." Your grandfather laughs first. "You rascal are indeed clever, unlike your old man, who is both stubborn and inflexible." Your grandfather first affirms your answer.]
[Then he continues: "Me naming Zhang Yutong is actually quite simple, because Zhang Yutong is currently the person with the greatest talent in the Zhang Family—a congenital Dual Spiritual Root!"]
["A Dual Spiritual Root!" Hearing this, you are greatly astonished. You must know that while Triple Spiritual Roots are common among your generation in the lineage, there isn't a single Dual Spiritual Root to be found!]
[A Triple Spiritual Root is a foundation, but a Dual Spiritual Root is no longer merely foundational!]
[No wonder Grandfather called out Zhang Yutong by name directly, and no wonder the Zhang Family elders wore such heavy expressions. Now everything is explained.]
["But... with talent as high as Zhang Yutong's, she won't even have any bottlenecks breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm in the future. Why would Ancestor Zhang still agree?" You speak without thinking, blurting out the question deep in your heart.]
[Your grandfather smiles and answers: "That's simply because the talent displayed by my good grandson is too astonishing."]
["That Zhang Yutong is a year older than you, yet she has only just broken through to the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining, while you, brat, are not far from the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining... So I don't need to spell it out; your talent is only stronger than that of the Dual Spiritual Root Zhang Yutong! Ancestor Zhang has taken a fancy precisely to this point..."]
[Only those in the Foundation Establishment Realm understand that the further one goes in cultivation, the more crucial talent becomes. A Dual Spiritual Root talent breaks through to the Foundation Establishment Realm without any bottlenecks, but what about the Golden Core? Yet his good grandson's talent is even stronger than a Dual Spiritual Root; breaking through to the Golden Core in the future is not entirely impossible. And Ancestor Zhang thinks just as he does—she agrees as a gamble as well, gambling that Mu Xingqi can break through to the Golden Core!]
Ah? Isn't this getting something for nothing? In reality, Mu Xingqi leaps up.
No one knows what his talent actually looks like better than he does. Someone like him, who needs to charge through ten bottlenecks just to break through to the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining, wouldn't know how many monkey years and horse months it would take to reach Foundation Establishment, let alone dream of that out-of-reach Golden Core Stage.
Therefore, isn't he literally getting something for nothing here?
Ancestor Zhang fancies his heaven-defying talent, little knowing that the talent she has her eyes on is complete dogshit.
Instead, she even sacrifices the lineage's future Golden Core seed. Though a Dual Spiritual Root breaking through to the Golden Core has bottlenecks, with a bit of luck, hope isn't entirely lost.
This truly is fresh flowers stuck in cow dung—though of course, he means in terms of their talents; as for appearance, he considers himself quite handsome.
He is only a fraction behind the handsome men and gorgeous women in front of the screen.
He continues looking at the simulation panel.
[The next day, your grandfather convenes a lineage assembly to announce the marriage alliance between you and Zhang Yutong of the Zhang Family.]
[Your parents are initially worried on your behalf. After all, their son has both talent and good looks; by marrying into the Zhang Family, aren't they getting the short end of the stick?]
[However, the moment they hear that the marriage partner is Zhang Yutong, the words they were about to use to object are swallowed right back down. Zhang Yutong is the Zhang Family's foremost proud daughter, known to everyone far and wide across Jinzhou County. Because of Zhang Yutong, the forces seeking marriage alliances with the Zhang Family have beaten down their threshold, and it is even said that forces from Lin Prefecture come here harboring admiration for her.]
[Now she has become their prospective daughter-in-law, leaving the two of them in a daze.]
[The remaining Mu Family elders likewise cast looks of envy, though they are mostly overjoyed. This is because your marriage alliance with Zhang Yutong not only strengthens the ties between the Mu and Zhang Families, but also gifts the Mu Family a Foundation Establishment Seed for free—a proud daughter of heaven who, with good luck, even has a chance at the Golden Core.]
[As for you at this moment, you have a massive headache, because there is one person at home who definitely won't agree...]
Before you continue