Chapter 21: Secrets behind the Fiance
"You should head to the library to practice some combat arts and enhance your combat strength. Remember, you practice verdant blade art with wood attribute qi, which has the lowest attack power," Lu Ying advised her son as he held the box.
"Yes, Mother," Lu Zhen replied respectfully. However, he didn't immediately leave; his facial expression reflected his confusion as a question lingered in his mind.
Sensing his confusion, Lu Ying guessed something was bothering him. "Son, do you have a question?" she inquired.
"Yes, Mother. I wonder about the engagement..." Lu Zhen was about to ask, but his words were interrupted by Lu Ying's response.
"Oh, the engagement was arranged because they discovered something that could potentially elevate their status to that of a major family. However, fortunate or not, this news got leaked and all the factions in Phoenix City are now aware of it."
"From that moment, almost every family has been targeting the Jiangs. This onslaught has not only forced them to close their shops but also pushed them to the brink of survival. They need external assistance desperately, which is why they're seeking an alliance to alleviate the mounting pressure. Due to their existing friendship with us, they've turned to us for support."
"As for what 'that' is, I won't disclose it to you. You must attain at least the third stage of a martial artist's strength to be qualified to learn about it."
When Lu Zhen heard this, he felt a little indignation. After all, in terms of raw strength, he was technically a peak third stage martial artist, even though his qi level was that of a martial trainee.
However, a sense of relief also washed over him, as it seemed she was unaware of his true abilities even though she might have guessed that he has some secrets and from the memories he got Lu Ying has always cared for him so she shouldn't have thoughts towards his secrets from the looks of it.
Lu Huang sneered as he chimed in, "The Jiang family is quite ignorant and arrogant; they think that just by marrying their daughter to us, they can gain our support to help them relieve some of their pressure."
"Even if we want to help them, we can't do so. After all, we aren't the only major family in this city. There are still three others who have been eyeing the Jiang family for a long time. There is no way we will fight the entire city just for them. They have really overestimated us," Lu Huang said as he chuckled.
"The most beneficial thing for the family to do is to drain them of benefits before letting them barely survive by making some agreements with the other families."
Lu Zhen now understood this whole shenanigans of finance. It looks like a silent politics had occurred for just this marriage. And from the looks of it, the family he was in now was evil, or should he say that the world itself is evil.
Even in his previous world where combined strength mattered, there was always a food chain where people at the top exploited people at the bottom, making them work like slaves.
In this world, where individual strength surpassed collective power, the cruelty was even more colder. It wasn't much different from Lu Zhen's previous world, but the exploitation was even bigger and much harsher – cruel enough to make people's lives feel like grass, casually cut by the strong at their whims. It was the survival of the fittest taken to the extreme.
Looking at it from this perspective though his family might just be a little tiny bit kinder after all they at least left a path for survival for the Jiang family. If it was any other family they might have left with all the benefits and suck them dry too marking their total destruction.
Thinking about it he felt it was natural and didn't feel much emotion about it as if he "adapted" to this world.
"Then I will take my leave, father and mother," Lu Zhen said decisively, leaving the palace as he headed towards the library, with little Lily closely following.
"Looks like my son has really grown up," Lu Ying said proudly.
"Did you give Lu Zhen our core cultivation technique?" Lu Huang asked.
"Yes, I gave it. Do you have any problem with it?" Lu Ying said, her gaze fixed on Lu Huang.
Seeing Lu Ying's stern stare, sweat began to form on Lu Huang's back. He held back from saying anything. The Verdant Blade Art was the primary inheritance of the Lu family, reserved solely for direct descendants who had made significant contributions to the family. It was a strict family rule, yet now Lu Zhen had obtained the martial arts technique seemingly without any effort.
"Forget it," Lu Huang thought as he let out a sigh.
As Lu Zhen was walking towards the library, he heard a familiar voice filled with respect.
"We greet cousin," they chimed in unison.
Lu Zhen turned to look at the boy and the girl who were twins.
"Oh, it's you two. What do you want?" Lu Zhen asked them as he noticed their almost identical faces.
The only difference was that the young girl had a more feminine appearance and was slightly leaner, while the young boy had a more masculine face and was somewhat plumper.
They both had blue eyes and green hair and looked identical to each other.
They were even dressed in nearly identical white robes.
Based on his memories, the twins held a very low status in the family due to their mother's early death. Although their living conditions were better than those of most average people, they didn't receive much importance within the family.
They seemed noticeably nervous as they responded to him.
"Cousin, we need your assistance with something. Can you help us? I will give you the monkey wine in return," the boy, also known as Lu Zhi, spoke with respect.
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