Looking at the ambiguous smile on Zhou Fuling's pretty face, Lu Ming couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. He said helplessly, "I was forced into it; Non-Self my wish."
"So? Have you taken a fancy to her? I just met that girl; she's truly beautiful and a perfect match. If you're really interested, Junior Brother, I can help you cover for her and get closer to that noble lady from the Zhao Clan," Zhou Fuling said with a casual smile.
"It seems like they don't even like me." Lu Ming shrugged.
"Oh, so that means you've taken a fancy to someone else? It's alright, that's normal. After all, you're a noble lady from the prefectural city, so you're naturally different from Qingyuan Market. If you can successfully marry someone, it will be of great benefit to both you and Thunderfire Hall." Zhou Fuling smiled slightly, her small hand, which was playing with the blue sachet at her waist, unconsciously tightened its grip a little.
Lu Ming nodded in agreement upon hearing this.
Zhou Fuling's eyes turned cold at this, her chest heaving slightly. "You brat, you actually think that makes sense, don't you?!"
Just as the smile Zhou Fuling was trying so hard to maintain on her pretty face was fading, Lu Ming shook his head regretfully and said, "What a pity, it's all Senior Sister's fault."
Zhou Fuling coldly replied, "What's it to blame me for? What does your blind date have to do with me?"
Lu Ming said, "My senior sister has been showing off her stunning beauty in front of me every day, raising my aesthetic standards so much that even the noble lady from the Zhao Clan seems quite ordinary to me, so I don't even have the energy to deal with her."
"Tell me, if this isn't my senior's fault, whose is it?"
Zhou Fuling slowly loosened her grip on the sachet, gave a soft snort, and said disdainfully, "It's obvious that they didn't like you, yet you're still being stubborn and spouting nonsense."
But a smile unconsciously crept onto her red lips again.
Zhong Taiyue was completely bewildered by their conversation. Did young people these days really progress relationships so quickly?
"Cough."
Zhong Quan coughed awkwardly and quickly stepped forward, saying, "Grandpa, you've mistaken me for someone else. This young lady isn't a noblewoman from the Zhao Clan, but rather my cousin's... good friend from Qingyuan Market."
"Well."
Zhong Taiyue was taken aback upon hearing this. He looked Zhou Fuling up and down, then nodded in satisfaction. His grandson had excellent taste. Although this girl came from Qingyuan Market and had a poor background, her appearance and temperament were indeed far superior to the Zhao Clan girl.
"It's alright. If A-Ming likes them, we can marry them all at once. A-Ming, your talent will be no less than mine in the future, so you should have more wives and concubines than your maternal grandfather. After all, in this world, bloodline is the foundation of development. Your Lu Clan doesn't have many members, so we'll rely on you to make it stronger." Zhong Taiyue earnestly and quietly instructed Lu Ming.
Lu Ming smiled awkwardly. Why was his maternal grandfather like his paternal grandfather, always talking about having many children and strengthening the bloodline? These old people really had a deep obsession with this.
"Come, let me introduce you to our distinguished guests. If your Thunderfire Hall wants to grow stronger in the future, you'll inevitably have to deal with people from the prefectural city. Getting acquainted with these distinguished guests now will make things go more smoothly in the future."
Zhong Taiyue greeted Lu Ming, then personally led him towards the seats at the head of the banquet.
At the head of the banquet, two figures sat, clearly the most distinguished guests present. One of them, a middle-aged man, wore a purple robe, exuding an air of nobility, while his deep, unfathomable eyes gave him an air of mystery.
"That's Huo Shanhe, the lord of our Fengyang Prefecture," Zhong Quan whispered beside Lu Ming.
Lu Ming nodded, and as Zhong Taiyue stepped forward to introduce him, he clasped his hands in greeting. "This junior greets Lord Huo."
The Lord Huo nodded slightly, his expression gentle.
Zhong Taiyue then looked at the man next to Lord Huo, who was a middle-aged man in a green robe. He had a calm demeanor and possessed an air that was no less impressive than Lord Huo's.
"Hehe, A-Ming, this is a rare and distinguished guest from the ' Great Shang Imperial Domain, ' please come and pay your respects."
The middle-aged man in the green robe looked at Lu Ming with a smile in his eyes and said, "No need, we're all old acquaintances."
Lu Ming also smiled and cupped his hands in greeting, saying, "Greetings, Master of the Workshop."
This middle-aged man in the green robe was none other than Zhou Xuan.
Zhong Taiyue was stunned, clearly not quite understanding why Lu Ming was so familiar with this distinguished guest from the Great Shang Imperial Domain.
"Hehe, Master Zhong may not know, but I was dispatched to Qingyuan Market as the head of the workshop half a year ago. I have known your grandson for a long time, and he has been following me in cultivating Dao of Alchemy." Zhou Xuan said with a smile.
Zhong Taiyue stared at Lu Ming in astonishment, clearly surprised by the hidden network of connections the other party possessed.
"Fourth Uncle."
At this moment, Zhou Fuling, who was standing next to Lu Ming, also called out with a smile.
Zhou Xuan smiled and agreed.
Zhong Taiyue's lips twitched. This girl, who seemed to have an extremely good relationship with Lu Ming, was actually Zhou Xuan's niece? Did that mean she was also a noble lady from a top-tier family of supernatural powers in the " Great Shang Imperial Domain "?
He had previously felt a pang of regret, thinking that although the girl was exceptionally beautiful and had a refined air, her social status was inferior to that of the noblewoman from the Zhao Clan Fengyang Prefecture, as she was merely from Qingyuan Market. In the end, however, he himself had become the clown.
Comparing her to the noblewoman of the Zhao Clan is like comparing a pheasant to a phoenix.
Zhong Taiyue couldn't help but cast a complicated look at Lu Ming. This kid had such high standards, so his plan to keep him in the city through arranged marriage was completely doomed.
This little grandson seems quite difficult to handle.
"Hehe, I sensed earlier that this young lady possessed an air of nobility, unlike any ordinary woman. It seems this old man was mistaken. I hope you won't take offense. My little grandson is quite unruly, so please bear with him." Zhong Taiyue gave Zhou Fuling an extremely gentle smile.
Zhou Fuling smiled faintly and said gracefully, "Elder Zhong, you flatter me. Lu Ming is extremely talented in Dao of Alchemy. He has only been practicing Dao of Alchemy with my fourth uncle for a few months, and he is already almost catching up with me."
Zhong Taiyue looked at Lu Ming with some skepticism. His grandson actually possessed a rare talent for Dao of Alchemy?
"What my niece said is true. With Lu Ming's talent in Dao of Alchemy, he may become an excellent Dao of Alchemy master in a few years." Zhou Xuan smiled and gave him face.
Zhou Xuan was someone whom even Lord Huo Shanhe treated as an honored guest, so his words naturally carried great weight and were beyond question. Therefore, Zhong Taiyue was both surprised and delighted.
He knew all too well the status of Dao of Alchemy masters. In the entire Fengyang Prefecture, Dao of Alchemy masters were extremely rare. Sometimes, even Nether Spirit Master had to condescend to ask these Dao of Alchemy masters for pills.
Since its establishment, the Golden Bell Mystic Gang Hall has produced several Divine Ability Master, but in the past hundred years, the Dao of Alchemy Zhong Clan has not produced a single master of alchemy.
Could it be that this little grandson could achieve such a feat?
Upon realizing this, Zhong Taiyue couldn't help but feel regretful again. He blamed himself for being stubborn, which prevented him from discovering his grandson's talent sooner, resulting in the Lu Clan seizing the opportunity.
Frustrated, Zhong Taiyue took Lu Ming to meet some bigwigs from other forces in Fengyang Prefecture, hoping to make them acquainted with them.
After all that trouble, it took quite a bit of time, but Lu Ming knew that Zhong Taiyue meant well, so he patiently accompanied him throughout.
However, after this introduction, Lu Ming carefully noticed that there were many forces from various factions who came to offer their birthday wishes, all of which were top forces in Fengyang Prefecture, but one of the five level -Fourth-Tier Divine Ability Hall was missing.
"Big cousin, why didn't anyone from the ' Blazing Radiance Hall ' come to offer their birthday wishes? Is it because they have a grudge against our Golden Bell Mystic Gang Hall?" Lu Ming asked in a low voice.
In this kind of situation, it's not very clear who came, but it's quite obvious who didn't.
Upon hearing Lu Ming mention "our Golden Bell Mystic Gang Hall," Zhong Quan was delighted and immediately replied with a smile, "Cousin Lu Ming, you are indeed very observant. You grew up in the Thunderfire Hall, so you should know that there is always competition between these Divine Ability Hall, and the same is true for the Fourth-Tier Divine Ability Hall, especially this ' Blazing Radiance Hall,' which can be considered our Golden Bell Mystic Gang Hall's mortal enemy. Over the years, we have been engaged in open and covert struggles without end."
"But don't worry, they will come, and when they do, they'll definitely come to cause trouble."
Lu Ming was speechless. What was there to be worried about? Someone might come and cause trouble.
However, judging from Zhong Quan's behavior, it seems that disrupting birthday celebrations is a common occurrence?
"You guys didn't do that too, did you?" Lu Ming asked.
Zhong Quan said nonchalantly, "Yes, last year at the Blazing Radiance Hall's Grand Master's birthday banquet, Grandpa sent over a coffin."
"Holy crap?"
Lu Ming was shocked. Sending a coffin to someone's birthday party? Are all the Divine Ability Hall in the prefectural city this outrageous?
"It's not our fault. In the past, whenever there was a happy occasion at our Golden Bell Mystic Gang Hall, the Blazing Radiance Hall would come dressed in mourning clothes to annoy us. We're used to it," Zhong Quan said, shrugging.
Lu Ming was completely numb.
"The local gangs are really unruly."
Lu Ming sighed and said, "Can't we do something more meaningful?"
"What's meaningful?"
"Find an opportunity to wipe them out, smash their restaurant, seize their business, and eliminate any future trouble," Lu Ming said.
Zhong Quan stared wide-eyed at his younger cousin in shock. The boy's serious expression suggested he wasn't joking, but wasn't this Sha Qi a bit too strong?
"Since you've already formed a grudge, it's obviously a matter of life and death. Your relationship of sending a coffin to someone else's birthday celebration or wearing mourning clothes to someone else's wedding is completely meaningless. You should lie low and wait for an opportunity to strike decisively." Lu Ming gave his advice seriously.
Zhong Quan chuckled twice and said, "Cousin, the power struggles in the prefectural city are more complex than those in Qingyuan Market. Sometimes, brute force alone isn't enough. Moreover, the two Fourth-Tier Divine Ability Hall have deep foundations. Once they start fighting, it's not something Third-Tier Divine Ability Hall can compare to. Other parties will also intervene to stop them."
Lu Ming suddenly realized and nodded. "I understand."
Zhong Quan had just breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Lu Ming's voice again.
"If we're not strong enough, we can wait until we're strong enough, then wipe them out and raid their dojo."
Zhong Quan was also numb.
This younger cousin from out of town looks gentle and handsome, so why does he act so fiercely?