45: Chapter 45 This is definitely a template for the chosen one!

Listening to the whispered discussions of the crowd, Lin Shen looked thoughtful.

According to the plots in past vernacular novels, didn't Li Haipeng's son perfectly fit the mold of a counter-attacking Child of Luck?

At this, Lin Shen could not help paying a bit more attention.

With a curious expression, he asked the whispering person beside him: "What about Li Haipeng's son? He had his engagement annulled by the Qin Family, so he should have received some compensation, right?"

Hearing the inquiry, the person nearby spoke indifferently: "Compensation my ass. It is said that his whereabouts have been unknown for two or three years now. If you ask me, the Qin Family is already very merciful. It's already not bad that they didn't directly make Li Haipeng's son, Li Yifan, commit suicide; how could they possibly give him compensation?"

Missing for two or three years?

Pulling this disappearing act?

Lin Shen's brows furrowed even tighter, and he increasingly suspected that this Li Yifan was the Child of Luck described in those novels.

At the same time, he felt quite disappointed with the Qin Family's actions, believing that this Qin Family was destined not to go very far.

If he were a member of the Qin Family, there would never have been an engagement annulment. He would have secretly dispatched the most formidable members of the Family, disguised as bandit-Cultivators, to kill Li Haipeng and his son in secret.

In that way, they could preserve their reputation and eliminate future troubles once and for all.

After all, what if this Li Yifan, who had been missing for two or three years, suddenly returned strongly and obtained some fortuitous encounter in the wilderness?

Then I'm afraid that the past engagement annulment and the current expulsion and humiliation would cause the Li Family and the Qin Family to completely fall out, forging an irreconcilable feud.

However, that was just how Lin Shen thought. Within the entire Immortal Cultivation World, after all, he was just a single person, whereas the Qin Family had many entanglements and might think more deeply, seeing no need to push things to such extremes.

To satisfy the curiosity in his heart, or to understand whether this Li Yifan truly possessed any Luck, Lin Shen deliberately disguised his identity and inquired around for detailed information about Li Yifan.

According to the information he gathered:

This Li Yifan was indeed an ordinary Five Spiritual Roots Cultivator with extremely poor Aptitude.

It is said that when he went missing, his cultivation was merely at the humble Seventh Stage of Qi Refining Realm.

Furthermore, this was under the vigorous support of the Li Family. Otherwise, relying solely on Li Yifan's Aptitude, he probably wouldn't even have broken through to the Fourth Stage of Qi Refining.

The first half of his life was extremely ordinary, mostly spent in bitter cultivation within the Family. However, affected by his Aptitude, even with the cultivation resources bestowed upon him, his cultivation progress remained extremely slow.

Moreover, the Li Family was also plagued by internal and external troubles.

After Li Haipeng suffered severe injuries and his cultivation dropped to the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment Realm, his position as the Family Head was precarious, and he was secretly targeted by several other Elders in the Early and Middle Stages of Foundation Establishment Realm who wanted to seize the position of Family Head.

If it weren't for taking the overall situation into account and for the interests of the entire Li Family, Li Haipeng would likely have been jointly expelled by those other Elders long ago.

It was precisely amidst these various internal and external troubles that news of Li Yifan had not appeared for two or three years, as if he had vanished from the face of the earth.

A mere Seventh Stage Qi Refining Cultivator had gone missing; where could he possibly go?

Could it be that he was already secretly killed by others because of internal Family conflicts?

This left Lin Shen somewhat puzzled and disappointed.

He had actually wanted to hear recent news of Li Yifan to make it easier for him to further determine whether this Li Yifan was indeed someone with dense Luck.

Unfortunately, Li Yifan had already disappeared long ago, and his previous calculations had fallen through.

After mingling among this group of Cultivators and eavesdropping for a while longer, Lin Shen did not obtain any more useful information.

"Anyway, I'll be staying in Qingfeng County for a while longer, so there's no need to rush. I should pay more attention to news about the Li Family during this time; perhaps I might have unexpected gains."

Lin Shen shook his head, thinking no more about it.

He secretly changed his attire, passed through the crowd, and strode toward the Qin Residence.

"Is this Senior Brother a high Disciple of Chiyun Valley?"

Watching Lin Shen stride over with an extraordinary aura on his body, the Qin Family Disciples responsible for entertaining foreign guests dared not underestimate him and hurriedly spoke with smiles.

Lin Shen nodded, took out an invitation card from his Storage Pouch, handed it over, and said: "I am Lin Shen, the Personal Disciple of Elder Mo, Mo Shenggu, of the Chiyun Valley Inner Sect. Today, specially obeying my master's orders, I have come to celebrate Master Qin's birthday!"

"So it is Elder Mo's Personal Disciple, an honored guest! Please come inside, Senior Brother Lin. Our Qin Family has long prepared a courtyard for resting for our honored guests. Senior Brother Lin can just rest comfortably at our Qin Family these few days."

Hearing Lin Shen's words, that Qin Family Disciple's expression became even more respectful. He hurriedly accepted the invitation card and, with a beaming smile, led Lin Shen into the Qin Residence.

Having been specially dispatched by the Qin Family to welcome guests at the main entrance, this Qin Family Disciple naturally had a good eye and was relatively well-informed about some of his Family's Old Ancestor's friends.

According to his understanding, as early as when his Family's Old Ancestor was young, he had a very good relationship with Mo Shenggu of Chiyun Valley.

Back when his Qin Family suffered a calamity, it was precisely because of Mo Shenggu's connections and prestige in Chiyun Valley that enemies did not dare to act rashly, allowing his Qin Family to develop steadily and eventually secure a foothold in Qingfeng County.

Although his Family's Old Ancestor had now broken through to the Golden Core Realm, compared to the even more powerful Chiyun Valley, his Qin Family was still not worth mentioning.

And this was one of the reasons why this Qin Family Disciple's attitude toward Lin Shen was so respectful.

He did not dare to show any negligence at all, explaining some news about the Qin Family along the way with a beaming smile as he led Lin Shen to the courtyard used for entertaining honored guests.

This courtyard was located in the western direction of the Qin Family, and there were many courtyards of the same specification around it, with Cultivators already living in quite a few places.

"Senior Brother Lin, this is your residence!"

That Qin Family Disciple said with a beaming smile: "You will have to be wronged to temporarily stay here for these few days. When the Old Ancestor's birthday arrives, I will specially send someone to notify you."

"Mm, no problem!"

Lin Shen glanced at the relatively quiet courtyard and nodded with considerable satisfaction.

"Right, Senior Brother Lin, there are other Cultivators living around your courtyard. Among them are powerhouses at the Foundation Establishment Realm level, as well as Senior Brothers from other major Schools. If your interests align, Senior Brother Lin might be able to make friends with them."

Before leaving, that Qin Family Disciple suddenly spoke up.

He knew very well in his heart that the Disciples coming from these major Sects often didn't have a purpose as simple as celebrating a birthday.

Many people wanted to use this birthday celebration to make friends with Cultivators of the same status or with other particularly monstrous prodigies, so as to expand their personal connections.

Out of kindness and also to form a good affinity, that Qin Family Disciple still specially reminded Lin Shen, secretly informing him of the identities of the people living around him.

"Thank you, Junior Brother! What you have said, I already know. If I happen to encounter other high-ranking members of your Qin Family, I will certainly put in a good word for you, Junior Brother."

Lin Shen smiled and nodded.

However, secretly he added a trace of vigilance.

This person telling him the identities of those living around him was admittedly useful to him.

But if someone else were to move in later, and this person disclosed his information to others, that would not be a particularly good thing...

It seemed that during these few days within the Qin Family, he still had to be extra cautious and must never fall into a dangerous situation due to a momentary slip-up.