5: Gift of Dan

In the backyard of the Ling Family Residence.

Before a heavily guarded courtyard gate.

Ling Feng finally arrived here about a quarter of an hour later.

Those responsible for guarding here were all direct descendants of the Family. One of the middle-aged men, seeing Ling Feng approach from a distance, immediately led the others in a respectful bow, saying,

“We respectfully greet the Clan Chief.”

“No need for formalities. I’m here to see my father.”

Ling Feng replied to the bowing individuals.

“Yes, Clan Chief.”

“Please, this way.”

The guards all stepped aside, making way for Ling Feng to pass.

“Mm.”

Ling Feng then quickly walked into the courtyard.

“Knock, knock…”

Ling Feng arrived at the door and gently knocked a few times. Soon after, a man in black tight-fitting attire slowly opened the door. Seeing that it was Ling Feng, he respectfully bowed to Ling Feng, saying,

“Your subordinate greets the Young Lord.”

“No need for formalities.”

Ling Feng was filled with confusion, as he had never seen this person before, nor had he heard his father mention him.

“Feng’er, since you’re here, come in.”

At this moment, Ling Wuji’s voice came from inside the room, pulling Ling Feng’s thoughts back. He then quickly walked towards the bed in the room.

“Your son greets Father.”

Ling Feng came to the window and respectfully bowed to Ling Wuji.

“You rascal!”

Ling Wuji couldn’t help but laugh and scold him.

“How did the Clan Chief succession ceremony go? Was everything smooth?”

“With the help of Second Uncle and Third Uncle, it went quite smoothly.”

“That’s good. Let me introduce someone to you.”

“Ling Ying!”

The man in tight-fitting attire who had just opened the door instantly appeared in the room and respectfully called out to Ling Wuji,

“Clan Chief.”

“Feng’er, Ling Ying is the Ling Family’s secret guard. Only successive Clan Chiefs are qualified to know of their existence. Now that you have taken over as Clan Chief, this secret guard should also be handed over to you.”

“Ling Ying, now that Feng’er has become the new Clan Chief of our Ling Family, from now on, you will follow his command.”

“Yes, Clan Chief.”

“Your subordinate Ling Ying greets the Clan Chief.”

Ling Ying turned and respectfully bowed to Ling Feng.

“No need for formalities. I have just taken over Family affairs, and I will need your help a lot in the future.”

“Uncle Ying, I have something to discuss with my father, so I must trouble you to guard the door. No one is allowed in without my command.”

“Yes, Clan Chief.”

Only after Ling Feng saw Ling Ying leave did he speak to Ling Wuji.

“Father, I came today first to see how your injuries are, and second to bring you a few Medicinal Pills.”

“Oh, Medicinal Pills?”

“What kind of Medicinal Pills?”

“Here, these are them. One Heaven-Grade top-tier Dragon Blood Medicinal Pill and three Yellow-Grade top-tier Violet Extreme Medicinal Pills.”

Ling Feng said as he took out two porcelain bottles from his spatial ring and handed them to Ling Wuji.

“What? Heaven-Grade Medicinal Pills?”

“Feng’er, where did you get such precious Medicinal Pills?”

Ling Wuji said, utterly shocked and incoherent.

Seeing this, Ling Feng once again brought up his ethereal, fabricated Master.

After listening, Ling Wuji was completely shocked, never expecting his child to have such a great Opportunity in just a day or two.

“Father, with the help of these Medicinal Pills, it’s possible you’ll have unexpected gains after you’ve recuperated and taken them.”

“Mm, with the help of these Medicinal Pills, the time I need to spend in seclusion for healing and recuperation will be greatly shortened.”

“Feng’er, you are thoughtful.”

“Feng’er, take this time to properly learn Family affairs. You don’t need to come to your father’s place anymore. I will recuperate for two days and then go into seclusion to heal my injuries.”

“Yes, Father.”

“Your son takes his leave.”

Ling Wuji looked at his son, who had been frail since childhood, as if he had grown up considerably in that instant.

Ling Feng exited the room and saw Ling Ying silently guarding the door, unmoving.

Seeing this, Ling Feng couldn’t help but say,

“Uncle Ying, my father’s safety is temporarily entrusted to you. I don’t need your help for now.”

“Yes, Clan Chief.”

Ling Ying was slightly surprised at first, then responded to Ling Feng with firm resolve.

Seeing this, Ling Feng turned and left the courtyard, walking towards his own courtyard… At the same time.

Inside the Ling Family Residence.

Within a clean and tidy small courtyard’s Cultivation secret chamber.

A young man, about eighteen or nineteen years old, was inside. He sat cross-legged, eyes closed, with a few Spirit Stones on the ground. The Spiritual Qi from the Spirit Stones and the Spiritual Qi in the air continuously entered his body with his breathing and exhalation.

Spiritual Qi flowed around the young man’s body, truly wondrous.

Suddenly, the young man’s body trembled. The previously immense Aura gradually disappeared without a trace. Soon after, he slowly opened his eyes, and a sharp gleam flashed within them.

The young man’s face, mixed with a bit of sweat, was full of excitement. He then touched the pendant on his neck and said joyfully,

“Revered Master, Disciple has finally broken through to Body Tempering Realm ninth-level! The Cultivation Technique you taught Disciple is too powerful!”

“If I continue to Cultivate at this speed, I believe I will soon be able to Breakthrough to Yellow Martial Realm. However, this Cultivation also consumes too many resources.”

“Just now, after Cultivating for such a short while, the hundreds of Spirit Stones I painstakingly got from my dad are all gone.”

As soon as the young man finished speaking, the pendant he was touching flashed with a white light. Immediately, a white old man’s phantom appeared in front of him. He then spoke to the young man with extreme arrogance,

“You ignorant brat!”

“Of course! You don’t even look at who your Master is! I was once Venerable Tianhuo, a formidable Venerable Martial Realm expert who commanded respect. How could anything I produce be ordinary?”

This young man was none other than Ling Zifan, the son of Ling Feng’s second uncle, Ling Buyi, and his own cousin.

Ling Zifan was not surprised by the old phantom that appeared out of thin air; he had long since grown accustomed to it.

Clearly, Ling Zifan had completely resolved the reason for his Cultivation regressing instead of advancing, and he had even turned misfortune into a blessing, successfully becoming a Disciple to the Soul of this former Venerable Martial Realm expert.

He also learned that he had inadvertently bought a pendant in town, which contained the remnant Soul of a Venerable Martial Realm expert. This was also the reason his Cultivation had regressed; this remnant Soul had secretly been absorbing Ling Zifan’s internal Spiritual Qi every day. After three years of accumulation, it finally awakened from its slumber some time ago.

When Ling Zifan first learned everything, he was extremely angry.

However, as Venerable Tianhuo produced more and more precious items as compensation, Ling Zifan ultimately couldn’t escape the ‘true fragrance’ law.

After this period of constant interaction, the relationship between Ling Zifan and Venerable Tianhuo evolved from being at odds and having a love-hate dynamic when they first met, to gradually becoming harmonious.

Venerable Tianhuo also did not treat Ling Zifan perfunctorily but took him seriously, guiding him in Cultivation and answering almost every question. He truly considered Ling Zifan his successor.

Ling Zifan truly turned misfortune into a blessing, obtaining an Opportunity that many people could never achieve in their entire lives, an Opportunity capable of defying the heavens and changing fate.

Venerable Tianhuo and Ling Zifan chatted for a while, then he disappeared back into the pendant on his neck.

Ling Zifan slowly rose and walked out of the Cultivation secret chamber. He looked up at the bright full moon in the sky, and an incomparably sharp Aura emanated from his eyes. He then mumbled softly,

“Xuanji Sect!”

“Feng Family!”

“Feng Yuyan!”

“Hmph! We’ll see about that!”

…