Cohabitation with Sword Spirit

Chapter 497 - 82: Courage to Face Every Challenge

May 6, 2018

"So, you agreed to their terms, and put yourself on their gambling table as a stake?"

Lu Xin looked at his stubborn-faced daughter, feeling a pang of heartache.

"Why do you put yourself through this?"

Shen Qingming said, "At first, I felt a bit upset, but once I thought it through, it didn’t seem so bad. As a tiny and insignificant person, being able to stand on the gambling table of the Celestial Divine Sword and City Lord Golden Jade, what more could I ask for? Although I’ve been made into a stake, that person Ah Jiu, he never treated himself as human either, maybe not being seen as human by him is, in fact, a kind of high regard."

Lu Xin said, "You’re Li Family’s daughter, definitely not just a tiny and insignificant person, you have the qualification to be compared with anyone."

Shen Qingming, upon hearing this, immediately showed a very painful expression. She looked at Lu Xin: "Do you believe that yourself?"

Lu Xin seriously said, "Of course, I’ve always had unwavering faith in your potential."

"Then why did you kick me out of the Inner Sect and send me to Shen Garden back then!?"

"Back then it was just..." Lu Xin blushed slightly, "It was for your own good! Because I deeply trusted in your potential, that’s why I believed you could strongly rebound under heavy pressure! Moreover, if you hadn’t gone to Shen Garden, would you have met Mr. Wang Jiu!"

"Was that your doing? Also, that guy Wang Jiu tested my intelligence index and it’s 3.3!"

"You’re still young, your body is still developing, and your intelligence index will grow too!"

Shen Qingming’s expression grew even more woeful: "Honestly, being comforted with such obvious nonsense feels worse than being insulted."

Lu Xin was startled: "You feel that way too?"

At this moment, the young lady of the Cyan Cloud Lu Family couldn’t help but recall her own adolescence.

Back then, due to limited cultivation aptitude and progress failing to meet the standards of the Lu Family, her mental state was extremely depressed. Especially when everyone around her was using unbelievable nonsense to encourage her, the pressure only worsened.

For instance...

"Xin’Er, it’s not that your aptitude is poor, it’s just that your cultivation aptitude is of the late-bloomer type, the initial stage is just a bit slow!"

"A late bloomer? How late?"

"Within ten years for sure, you’ll reach the Cloud Flipping Realm!"

"In ten years I’ll be almost 30 years old! What’s the difference between being a 30-year-old in the Cloud Flipping Realm and being disabled?"

"Don’t look down on being 30 years old in the Cloud Flipping Realm! Do you know the average age for breaking through in the Cloud Flipping Realm cultivators from Xiangzhou?"

"Are you comparing me, a Lu Family member, to the average from Xiangzhou? Are you belittling me?! And what’s the average from Xiangzhou? Just say it!"

"Three... no, 75 years old!"

"Nonsense! I’ve just looked at the immortal cultivation guide from Saint Sect for Xiangzhou, the average is only around 36 years old! This includes many Independent Cultivators who lacked skilled mentorship and medical resources!"

"Those guides are all released by the Saint Sect to cover things up, can you actually believe official statistics? Saint Sect’s data is the least reliable, those people have ruled Xiangzhou for two thousand years, what couldn’t they do?"

"Are you blackening Saint Sect just to comfort me?!"

"In short, you’re just a late bloomer. Your type of aptitude accelerates as you advance, as long as you stay patient, you’ll definitely become a Great Cultivator deserving of the Lu Family in the end."

"...Do you think I would believe such rubbish?"

"Sometimes, believing in nonsense can make your life a bit easier."

—

Recalling her adolescence, Lu Xin was lost in thought, then looking at the stubborn-faced Shen Qingming again, found it hard to advise further.

"Since you’ve already chosen your path, from now on, just move forward without hesitation."

"Hmph, of course." Shen Qingming snorted, then said softly, "Remembering your story, I certainly have no reason to give up halfway."

"What?"

"Nothing! By the way, when are you going back to QingCyan Cloud yun City? Li Jinglun’s complaint letters urging you to return have piled up into a mountain here!"

"That guy doesn’t stick to work, yet he dares to slack off by writing complaint letters to you?!" Lu Xin was furious, "Seems like the weight on his shoulders isn’t heavy enough, since that’s the case, let him write the speech for next week’s Fengyun regular meeting then!"

—

On the other side, in the City Lord’s Mansion at Golden Jade City, Zhao Chenlu finally cleared up the last of his tasks at Golden Jade City.

The woman handed over thirty richly recorded talismans and a jade seal to a trembling Zhao Jincheng.

As the newly appointed City Lord in a whirlwind of changes, Zhao Jincheng still finds the turn of events surreal and unbelievable.

Zhao Jincheng never dared to hope that he could truly sit on the City Lord’s throne. Although during Zhao Chenlu’s term, everyone called him young master and saw him as a successor, objectively speaking, with Zhao Chenlu’s imperious nature, she wouldn’t hand over power to anyone as long as she was alive. Furthermore, Zhao Jincheng couldn’t possibly outlive Zhao Chenlu—their relationship was that of siblings, not mother and daughter, with less than a ten-year age gap. In terms of their aptitude for Immortal Cultivation, Zhao Chenlu was undoubtedly at the top tier in Xiangzhou. In ten or twenty years, she might surpass the Sect Leader of the Saint Sect and become the unmatched first person outside the Saint Sect, with a lifespan not less than 400, if not 500, years. Zhao Jincheng, however, could at best reach the Peak of the Mountain-Overturning Realm, unlikely to surpass the threshold of the Sea Overturning Realm, with a lifespan hardly exceeding 250 years. Just based on this lifespan difference, it was ultimately destined that Zhao Chenlu would be "sending white-haired people off," and it was impossible for Zhao Jincheng to inherit her legacy.

But now, the throne of the City Lord was beckoning to him.

Zhao Chenlu, however, seemed completely unconcerned with Zhao Jincheng’s change of heart and smiled as she spoke.

"Alright, Jincheng, I’ll leave the city to you from now on."

Zhao Jincheng felt the Jade Seal in his hand as heavy as a mountain and asked, "What is this?"

"It’s the City Lord’s Seal passed down through generations of the Zhao family," Zhao Chenlu replied, "Documents issued by the City Lord need to be stamped."

"But, I never saw you use it."

Zhao Chenlu said, "Because I really haven’t used it, it’s too ugly, so I’ve always used my own personal seal design. Sometimes, if it’s too troublesome or I forget to carry it with me, I just don’t stamp it."

"Is that allowed!?"

Zhao Chenlu curiously asked, "Why not?"

"Well, yes, after all, you are my sister..." Thinking of Zhao Chenlu’s many great achievements over the years, changing the seal was really insignificant.

"What are these talismans?" Zhao Jincheng asked again.

"These are documents sent by the Saint Sect over the years requesting study."

"...What!?" Zhao Jincheng was shocked and hurriedly opened the talismans, only to see the letters from the Saint Sect piled up like a mountain, dazzling his eyes.

"How come there are so many!?"

Zhao Chenlu shrugged, "Those people have too much time on their hands and love flooding things with documents. What’s there to be surprised about?"

"But..." Zhao Jincheng opened a few letters to read carefully and was suddenly filled with dread.

"City Lord Zhao, regarding your self-inspection report on the illegal picking of rare medicinal herbs in the nature reserve, it has been delayed by a week, please submit it as soon as possible."

"City Lord Zhao, the self-inspection report has been delayed by a month, please submit it as soon as possible!"

"City Lord Zhao, a draft for your self-inspection report has been prepared by proxy, please sign it."

"City Lord Zhao, the signature has been taken care of for you, please make sure not to offend again next time."

"City Lord Zhao, regarding your repeat violation of picking rare medicinal herbs, the self-inspection report has been delayed by a month, please submit it as soon as possible."

"City Lord Zhao, according to the covenant signed by the Saint Sect and the Seven Great Noble Families, the City Lord, as a Great Cultivator, should periodically cooperate with the Saint Sect plan to lead an expedition to the Primordial Ruins. The exploration date for the Golden Jade City team is tentatively set for next month, please arrive on time."

"City Lord Zhao, due to your tardiness, the exploration team has been detained in the Heaven-Reaching City for a week, please arrive quickly!"

"City Lord Zhao, the sick leave note has been prepared for you, please sign it quickly!"

"City Lord Zhao, according to regulations, if the exploration team skips work once, it must be compensated within three years, please provide the action time as soon as possible..."

Looking at the towering stack of official documents, Zhao Jincheng felt as if he could see the tears of blood from the contact person on the Saint Sect side.

Zhao Chenlu noticed Zhao Jincheng’s unusual expression and asked, "How is it, do you think they’re being petty and annoying to death?"

"Yes, yes, I suppose..." Zhao Jincheng replied, but at the same time, he thought of the blood debts his dear sister had accumulated over the past twenty years, which he will perhaps have to repay doubly during his term...

Even so, Zhao Jincheng had no regrets.

Because only by sitting on this throne can he be truly reborn.

Transforming from a young master sheltered by others’ wings into the City Lord Golden Jade, from now on he would stand as an equal among the world’s heroes.

And the first ally he needed to win over was the Cyan Cloud Li Family!

The reason, of course, was not personal, but for public benefit.

As one of the Seven Great Noble Families, the Li Family had been in decline over the past few years and was regarded by many as the last among the Seven Great Noble Families, but this is clearly an underestimation. Not to mention the deep heritage of the noble family, which cannot be underestimated, merely the talents and potential displayed in recent years by Li Fengyun, Li Wanqing, and Shen Qingming, already meant the Li Family was bound for a resurgence. Furthermore, they now had the assistance of Mr. Wang Jiu and had eased relations with Shen City, truly making their future limitless.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to establish good relations with the Li Family early on would greatly benefit his future governance of the Golden Jade City. He was far from having Zhao Chenlu’s methods and courage to dominate the world; securing the City Lord’s throne wouldn’t be possible by relying solely on himself; he needed external support, and the Li Family was an excellent choice.

Therefore, inviting the current decision-maker of the Li Family, who happened to be visiting Golden Jade City, to the City Lord’s Mansion for dinner in his official capacity was entirely reasonable and legitimate!

With these thoughts, Zhao Jincheng felt that the Jade Seal and talismans in his hand were no longer burdensome; instead, they transformed into motivation to drive him continually forward.

As Zhao Chenlu’s brother and the current City Lord of Golden Jade, he must never fear challenges. In this world, there is nothing he cannot achieve!