"Though what you two brothers have encountered may seem as overwhelming as a raging flood or savage beast, it in fact carries immense opportunity as well."
"Yet this opportunity is also like snatching chestnuts from a fire—it will not be easily gained. After all, caught in such a great tide, one careless step and you may be ground to dust and bones."
"If you two become sworn brothers with me, then should any danger arise in the future, I, Sun Qing, will naturally bear it alongside you."
"Though my cultivation is weak, I am still at the half-step Innate Realm. My combat strength is no match for ordinary riffraff; I have my own means."
"This sliver of survival lies right before your eyes."
In the great hall, Sun Qing looked at Li Chengfeng and Zhao Lie and slowly spoke:
"The authorities funding you to reach the pinnacle of the Pulse-Opening Realm, even specially permitting you to take part in the Winter Hunt and raise your cultivation to the Aperture-Condensing Realm, was a transaction. And that transaction ended once you made a name for yourselves in Shuiyang Prefecture."
"But the Third Prince's great undertaking is far from over. On the contrary, it has only just begun. And once you successfully make your names known, you will inevitably become involved in what follows."
"If the imperial court wishes to make use of you, it will certainly promise further conditions. Your chance of survival lies at that time."
As Sun Qing spoke, he looked at them earnestly:
"At that point, you can make only one demand: join the imperial court and become officials of the court, asking for not a single coin more!"
"With the merits you will earn next, there is a high chance that you can become fourth-rank officials directly!"
"So