Kong Ningyuan's warning was important, and it seemed sincere, so Lianshan Xin's advice was equally heartfelt.
"Brother Kong, I know there's some friction between you and your father, which is why you want a recommendation from the academy. Take my advice: don't be precious about it. Bow your head when you should, admit your mistakes when you should. For scions of great families, the most dangerous thing is wanting to make it on their own. There's no shame in leaning on your father with all your weight."
The Kong family could also find someone to recommend Kong Ningyuan, but he wanted one of the White Deer Grotto Academy's recommendation slots because he couldn't stand his father and wanted to make it on his own.
The worst thing a second-generation heir could do was rely on himself.
Normally, it wouldn't have mattered much, but now trouble had arisen within the White Deer Grotto Academy.
"Getting away from a hotbed of trouble matters more, Brother Kong. You're not someone who belongs in that mess."
Besides, I'm counting on you to make yourself more useful as a connection.
Raising funds isn't easy these days.
Kong Ningyuan naturally heard the sincerity in Lianshan Xin's voice. After hesitating, he nodded. "You have a point, my dear brother. I'll talk to my father."
"Don't let a woman come between you and your father. Honestly, I think the head of the Kong family did pretty well. Women will only slow down your sword draw, Brother Kong."
Kong Ningyuan had previously had a sweetheart at the academy. They spent their days together, and affection quietly blossomed between them.
Hopeless romantics often came from families of great wealth and privilege. The ancients had a point. With no worries about survival, they could devote themselves wholeheartedly to romance.
But women really could get in the way of building a career.
Kong Ningyuan's grades had noticeably declined during that period.
When the head of the Kong family discovered this, he pulled a spectacularly outrageous move-he took Kong Ningyuan's sweetheart into his own harem.
He hadn't even forced her. He had simply thrown money at her.
When Lianshan Xin heard that gossip, all he could say was, "What a pro move."
Of course, Kong Ningyuan, the person involved, didn't share Lianshan Xin's Fun-Seeker delight. Ever since that incident, he and his father had been locked in a cold war.
Lianshan Xin hadn't bothered trying to persuade him before. After all, he didn't know what Kong Ningyuan had been through. When true love was involved, advice from a friend could damage the friendship.
But the White Deer Grotto Academy was too dangerous now, and predictably, it would become even more dangerous after he joined.
Kong Ningyuan was his first successfully funded connection and angel investor. Lianshan Xin didn't want him going bankrupt; he wanted him to hold firm a little longer so he could secure more investment from him.
So Lianshan Xin's persuasion was entirely sincere. And after experiencing his sweetheart becoming his stepmother, Kong Ningyuan was clearly much less lovesick now.
"Very well. You've always been clever, my dear brother. I really should listen to your advice more often."
Kong Ningyuan took the offered way out.
Lianshan Xin could tell that this had little to do with his eloquence. Kong Ningyuan had already been thinking along those lines himself.
Everyone needed a step to climb down on.
Had this not involved Kong Ningyuan's young stepmother, someone with his bend-rather-than-break temperament would probably have admitted defeat to his father long ago.
That young stepmother was quite something. She had actually kept Kong Ningyuan holding out until now.
"Lianshan Xin, let's go."
When Qi Shiyun emerged from the room, Kong Ningyuan was just about to leave.
At the sight of Qi Shiyun, Kong Ningyuan's expression changed sharply. "Third-Place Qi? You're here too?"
"Oh, it's little Kong."
Qi Shiyun was actually only three years older than Kong Ningyuan, but her manner and tone were entirely those of an elder. "Little Kong, don't worry. Just because your teacher has a problem doesn't mean you do. I think very highly of-"
Before Qi Shiyun could finish, Kong Ningyuan interrupted her. "Third-Place Qi, this student has already decided to enter official service through a recommendation."
Hearing the fear in Kong Ningyuan's voice, Qi Shiyun's dark brows furrowed slightly. "Spineless. Take the recommendation route, and you'll never reach the first rank in this lifetime. Why are your legs shaking so much? Am I that frightening?"
Kong Ningyuan had gone pale.
He didn't dare answer Qi Shiyun directly. He merely gave Lianshan Xin a look that said he was on his own, then hurriedly said, "Third-Place Qi, I have other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave. My dear brother, you... stay safe."
With Qi Shiyun standing there, he didn't dare make himself too clear.
He didn't know much about the secrets behind the "Chosen of Heaven," but he knew that Qi Shiyun was a successor of the "Chosen of Heaven Lineage," and that this was the lineage within the "Nine Heavens" most likely to "die by suicide." Kong Ningyuan knew that much.
Even though Qi Shiyun possessed beauty that could outshine an entire nation, the sight of her only frightened him. He wanted nothing more than to keep a respectful distance.
Kong Ningyuan's behavior made Lianshan Xin realize how dangerous Qi Shiyun was.
But he didn't take it particularly to heart.
Without a good father, a person didn't even have the right to be afraid.
Especially in a feudal dynasty with underdeveloped productive forces.
There were no food-delivery platforms fighting cutthroat price wars to treat you to cheap meals.
After Kong Ningyuan disappeared from sight, Lianshan Xin covered for him. "Third-Place Qi, Brother Kong wasn't like this before. Perhaps your beauty truly topples cities and kingdoms, and it made him nervous."
Qi Shiyun gave Lianshan Xin an approving look. "If you're that good with words, say some more."
Lianshan Xin supplied them without hesitation. "This student has never seen a woman as ethereally, peerlessly beautiful as you, Third-Place Qi."
Even if he had learned that line from a picture of Little Soup Dumpling.
The source didn't matter. Flattery did.
All else being equal, a subordinate who knew how to flatter would always find promotion easier than a taciturn one.
Qi Shiyun clearly enjoyed flattery. She nodded in satisfaction. "At your age, it really would be hard to have seen a woman who surpasses me. That doesn't count as flattery."
Lianshan Xin smiled faintly.
Given how her slender branches bore such bountiful fruit, he would refrain from mocking her unremarkable yet boundless confidence.
"Let's go. To the Qu family."
Qi Shiyun hadn't forgotten their business.
Lianshan Xin asked, "Third-Place Qi, will it be just the two of us?"
"The others have already moved. You simply didn't notice. Lord Heavenly Sword will also act when the time is right, provided we really can find traces of Demon Cult fiends at the Qu family."
Lianshan Xin was very confident about that.
Because he had seen President Qu hide several Demon Cult fiends in his home.
There had been too little time, and the "Nine Heavens" investigation had been too tight. They hadn't had a chance to move them yet.
Of course, perhaps they had already been moved during his brief trip to the academy.
But that didn't matter either.
As long as they could uncover the Qu family's collusion with the Demon Cult, Lianshan Xin would win.
It was merely a question of a big win or an enormous win.
As for whether they could actually capture the Demon Cult fiends... honestly, Lianshan Xin hadn't joined the "Nine Heavens" yet, and his sense of responsibility wasn't that strong.
"I'll lead the way."
"No need. I'll fly you there."
Qi Shiyun grabbed Lianshan Xin and lifted him like a dangling accessory.
With a tap of her toes, Lianshan Xin went flying.
For the first time, he found himself in midair without boarding a plane.
Feeling the fierce wind rush against him, Lianshan Xin felt no discomfort. Instead, his eyes lit up. "Third-Place Qi, what realm of the Martial Dao must one reach to soar through the heavens and burrow through the earth like you?"
"The fifth realm. True qi transforms into astral energy, allowing you to travel through the air. It's also called the Grandmaster Realm. Those who reach it can become the grandmaster of a school in the martial world and hold sway over a region."
Lianshan Xin's tone and gaze turned admiring. "You're already a grandmaster at such a young age?"
Qi Shiyun gave Lianshan Xin a half-smiling look. "Who told you I was merely a grandmaster?"
Lianshan Xin sucked in a breath of fragrant air.
"Does having talent really let you do whatever you please?"
He was only in the first realm of the Martial Dao.
From what Qi Shiyun implied, she was at least in the sixth realm of the Martial Dao already.
And she looked only in her twenties.
"Don't be so surprised. It isn't just because of talent. You people practice martial arts. I practice Immortal Cultivation."
Lianshan Xin's breathing quickened.
The smile at the corner of Qi Shiyun's mouth began developing into a Dragon King's crooked smirk. "Want to learn?"
"Yes."
"Then you'll have to work for me."
Lianshan Xin nodded like a pestle pounding garlic. "I'll work for you."
Anyone who wouldn't is a damn grandson.
"Think it through. Working for me is extremely dangerous. You could get dragged into a life-or-death crisis at any moment."
Even without Qi Shiyun saying it, Lianshan Xin had guessed. There was no such thing as a free lunch.
Besides, Kong Ningyuan's behavior had been secretly telling him exactly that.
But that was Immortal Cultivation.
Lianshan Xin gritted his teeth. "Die beneath a peony blossom, and even as a ghost you'll be a romantic."
Qi Shiyun burst out laughing, her delighted laughter carrying through the wind. "A man with a stubborn mouth."
She knew perfectly well that, at this moment, what attracted Lianshan Xin more was undoubtedly immortal cultivation.
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