Whether It Was the Second or the Third, Both Had Remarkable Perseverance. Only the Eldest...

As for his eldest grandson...

To be honest, Qian Daoliu was deeply frustrated by his failure to live up to his potential.

The boy had such extraordinary talent, yet he was unbelievably lazy. All he did was sleep and play with the maids.

Qian Daoliu and Qian Xunji had tried more than once to urge him to cultivate properly.

Qian Renchuan had smiled and agreed to everything they said.

But the moment they turned around, he went right back to sleep. It left them at a loss.

As time went on,

they could only let him be.

Cultivation was his own affair, after all. They could hardly force him to do it—and even if they tried, it would not work.

"The eldest's temperament really gives me a headache."

"Twin Martial Souls and Innate Soul Power at level twenty-five. What kind of heaven-defying talent is that?"

"If he put his mind to cultivation, even with only half the effort the second puts in, Spirit Hall could rest easy for the next hundred years."

"But look at him now. He spends every day lying in the courtyard, basking in the sun. He won't even meditate to cultivate his Soul Power."

"What a monstrous waste of a gift! It makes this old man's blood boil!"

Hearing Grand Priest Qian Daoliu's words, Golden Crocodile Douluo sighed as well, full of regret.

"The Grand Priest is right."

"The Eldest Young Master does have a rather peculiar temperament."

"Fortunately, we still have Miss Xue."

"Miss Xue has been pushing herself to the limit on the Back Mountain these past few days. It pains me just to watch."

"A six-year-old girl running mountain paths with so much pig iron on her back. Even when she falls and scrapes her skin, she doesn't make a sound."

"With Miss Xue here, Spirit Hall is bound to flourish."

Qian Daoliu's expression eased a little, but he still could not help shaking his head.

"The second is excellent, certainly. But the eldest is the firstborn grandson. He represents the Qian Family's reputation."

Then Qian Daoliu seemed to remember something. He turned to Golden Crocodile Douluo and asked,

"By the way."

"What about the third?"

"Why haven't I heard anything from him these past few days?"

Golden Crocodile Douluo promptly answered,

"I haven't seen the Third Young Master."

"But according to his maids, he's shut himself in his room for several days."

"He won't see anyone. He even eats in there."

"When the maids bring his meals, they can only leave them outside the door. The Third Young Master takes them in himself, then pushes the empty bowls back out when he's done."

"And every so often, the sound of hammering comes from his room. I have no idea what he's doing in there."

At this, Qian Daoliu let out another long sigh.

"The third... Ah..."

In his view, Huo Yuhao must have been devastated by his poor awakening. He had awakened only a useless eye Martial Soul, and his Innate Soul Power was a mere level ten. His pride must have taken a blow.

He was only a child...

His elder brother and Second Sister were both supreme geniuses.

But he himself was ordinary. Of course he would have trouble getting past that.

In the end, Qian Daoliu stroked his beard and summed it up.

"All in all, both the second and the third have remarkable perseverance."

"The second trains her body relentlessly. The third has suffered a blow, but at least he knows to shut himself away and reflect."

"Only the eldest, Qian Renchuan, has supreme talent, yet he..."

"Ah. In all my long years, I've never seen such a lazy Soul Master..."

Little did they know.

At that very moment,

inside the Riverside Courtyard,

the sun shone brightly, and the breeze was gentle.

Qian Renchuan had stopped playing hide-and-seek with the maids.

He was once again lying in the large rocking chair at the center of the courtyard, basking in the sun.

The maid in blue on his left carefully peeled an ice-crystal grape from the Star Luo Royal Family and placed it in his mouth.

The maid in pink on his right held a large palm-leaf fan.

With precise control, she fanned him stroke by stroke, driving away the summer heat.

Qian Renchuan chewed the grape, thoroughly satisfied.

Work hard?

Strive?

What kind of joke was that?

When he had people working for him, why would the boss do the striving himself?

[Ding—]

[Bonded target "Qian Renxue" has completed an extreme cross-country run carrying fifty jin of Dark Iron. Tenfold returns triggered!]

[Physical Body Enhancement +1 +1 +1...]

A warm current seemed to flow through Qian Renchuan's body, making him feel even better.

And it was not over.

The system's voice rang out again.

[Ding—]

[Bonded target "Huo Yuhao" has performed sustained, high-intensity metal forging. After exhausting his Spiritual Power, he broke through his limits and emerged stronger. Tenfold returns triggered!]

[Spiritual Power +1 +1 +1...]

Buzz!

Qian Renchuan's sea of consciousness trembled once more.

His Spiritual Power, which had already far surpassed that of others his age, grew stronger still.

"Ah, this is the life..."

Qian Renchuan settled in even more comfortably.

Second Sister, little brother, whatever you do, don't stop.

If the grind won't kill you, grind yourselves half to death.

Whether your big brother can become invincible soon while lying back and enjoying the rewards depends entirely on you two chosen workers!

Seeing their Eldest Young Master like this, the two maids exchanged a glance. They felt helpless too.

They had always been Qian Renchuan's personal maids.

They had cared for him since he was one or two years old.

In their hearts, they truly regarded the handsome, good-tempered Eldest Young Master as their own little brother.

That was precisely why it hurt them even more to watch him squander his supreme talent.

For the past few days, rumors had been spreading outside.

People said the Eldest Young Master had Twin Martial Souls, yet was a good-for-nothing who did not even know how to cultivate.

They heard it all, and it made them anxious.

So as they worked, the two maids began chatting softly to each other.

"Xiao Qing."

"Have you heard?"

"Miss Xue has been training her body on the Back Mountain behind the Worship Hall."

"I hear she climbs the mountain every day with dozens of jin of pig iron on her back. She works so hard."

The maid in blue immediately caught on and played along.

"Doesn't she?"

"I heard Miss Xue trains until she's drenched in sweat every day. You could wring water from her clothes."

"And it isn't just Miss Xue. The grandsons of several other elders in the Worship Hall have been cultivating like mad lately."

"I heard one elder's grandson broke through to level ten last night. They were so happy, firecrackers went off all across their courtyard."

The maid in pink sighed and stole a glance at Qian Renchuan in the rocking chair.

"That's right. Everyone's working hard."

"Our Eldest Young Master has such wonderful talent. Twin Martial Souls! Most people wouldn't dare dream of such a thing."

"If the Eldest Young Master worked just a tiny bit harder, he'd surely be stronger than all of them."

"Then let's see who would still dare gossip behind his back."

The two played off each other.

Everything they said was about how hard other people were cultivating.

They only wanted to give Qian Renchuan a hint and make him feel a little urgency.

To their minds, the Eldest Young Master was still a child. Once he heard how impressive others his age were, his competitive spirit would surely awaken.

They had not expected

that Qian Renchuan would not fall for it at all.

He did not even open his eyes. In an even tone, he said,

"If you think Second Sister's place would be better for you,"

"I can speak to her and have you sent over."

At those words,

the courtyard fell silent.

The two maids' faces changed. Neither had imagined the Eldest Young Master would say such a thing.

A moment later,

they both trembled.

Their knees gave way, and they hurriedly knelt, kowtowing again and again as they apologized.

"Eldest Young Master, we were wrong!"

"We shouldn't have spoken out of turn! We won't dare do it again!"

"Please don't send us away!"

The maid in pink was frantic, her eyes red.

"Eldest Young Master, we've served you since you were little. We truly think of you as family."

"We only heard the awful things people outside were saying and grew anxious. We just wanted to persuade you."

"We would never look down on you, and we don't want to go to Miss Xue's side!"

The maid in blue kowtowed desperately too, her forehead striking the stone slabs with dull thuds.

"Eldest Young Master, please, for the sake of all these years, forgive us this once."

"From now on, we'll just attend to you. We promise we won't say another word."