Rise from a Poor Family: My Martial Arts Counterattack

Chapter 485 The Beautiful Woman Zhu Ru

The source of quenching sand.

Lin Chen squinted at Lu Feng. This time, the auction house was auctioning off a total of one dou of tempering sand.

A bucket of tempering sand can sell for several thousand Flame Coins, and the source of the tempering sand is definitely worth more than six thousand Flame Coins.

Quenching sand is a special substance that is found in mountain rocks. If it is found in one place, there will definitely be more than just one bushel.

"If Young Master Lu knew the source of this tempering sand, he wouldn't have needed to go to such lengths for just one bushel of it."

Lin Chen slowly spoke, "If Lu Feng knew the source of the tempering sand, he could easily produce another bushel for auction, unless there are special circumstances surrounding the source of the tempering sand."

"How should I address you?" Lu Feng asked again.

"Fang Zhan."

"Brother Fang, I'm sure you've already guessed the reason, so I'll be frank. The source of this tempering sand is quite special; it's in a stone cave deep in the sea, surrounded by many demonic beasts. Moreover, the cave is fraught with danger. It's truly fortunate that the person who auctioned the tempering sand was able to return alive."

Lu Feng was quite frank. A second-stage Innate Realm expert, and one of the best among them, would not be believed without a reasonable explanation.

"Since Young Master Lu has already said that this place is fraught with danger, why would he ask me to spend six thousand Flame Coins to buy such a piece of information?"

"Brother Fang is joking. The six thousand Flame Coins was just a joke. Judging from your offer, you must be at the peak of the Second Realm and urgently need tempering sand to liquefy the Innate Crystal. In that case, why don't we cooperate?"

For Lu Feng, the auction house not only handled the auction of the tempering sand, but he also learned about the source of the tempering sand from the person who brought it. The person did not disclose the specific address, but wanted to cooperate with the auction house to go to the deep sea to obtain more tempering sand.

He originally planned to wait until the auction was over before seeking cooperation with several experts at the second level of the Innate Realm, and Fang Zhan in front of him was a suitable candidate.

He didn't plan to tell his master about this. If his master were to take action, the chances of success would be several times higher. But if he did tell his master, most of the quenching sand would probably end up in his master's hands.

In the martial arts world, not all masters prepare everything for their disciples. The reason his master accepted him as a disciple was because he was a member of the Lu family. He had given his master a considerable gift when he became a disciple, and in return, he was able to learn his master's unique martial arts techniques.

Their master-disciple relationship was more like a transaction, and such transactional master-disciple relationships were not uncommon in the Yan Dynasty.

Become an apprentice, borrow the master's reputation, and pay him enough money.

Become an apprentice, learn martial arts techniques, and be paid enough money.

The master earns money, and the disciple learns skills and receives protection.

Many powerful figures may have dozens of disciples in their lifetime, but they will only seriously cultivate two or three of them. It's like a miniature martial arts school; anyone with money can get in, but whether they can learn anything depends on themselves.

"Brother Fang, what do you think?"

Lin Chen glanced at Lu Feng and asked, "If we find tempering sand, how should we distribute it?"

"This time I'm only inviting five people. No matter how much tempering sand there is, we'll divide it equally."

"can."

Lin Chen didn't hesitate any longer. If the quenching sand didn't exist, it must have grown, and it would be at least ten dou (a unit of volume). This deal was worth doing.

"Alright, it's settled then. After the auction, Brother Fang can stay at my Lu family's restaurant. I'll let you know once we've gathered everyone."

"No need, I'll be staying at the Kaiyuan Restaurant in the city. Just let me know when the time comes."

After reaching an agreement with Lu Feng, Lin Chen didn't stay in the hall any longer. He got up, left the bronze door, and headed towards the private room, with Yu Jin quickly following behind.

"Lord Fang... please save my life."

Yu Jin kept her head down the whole way down the corridor until Lin Chen reached the door of the private room. Only then did Yu Jin raise her head and muster up the courage to speak.

"what for?"

Lin Chen looked at Yu Jin, who quickly said, "I... I just overheard what you and the boss were saying in the hall. The boss has already handed me over to you. If you just leave like this, the boss will definitely not let me leave."

Regarding the great secret of the quenching sand, the owner told her in front of her because she thought this Lord Fang would take her away and bring her into his household. But she knew that Lord Fang had no such intention. Once Lord Fang left, the owner would prevent the news from leaking out...

Lin Chen suddenly realized that this woman was quite clever, able to think of so much. Judging from Lu Feng's style of doing things, it was indeed possible.

“Lord Fang… I can serve you. If you don’t like me, then I can be your maid.”

"I'm not used to having maids around me."

林晨直接拒绝，看到余妗绝望的脸庞，继续道：“我会带你“”

Upon hearing Lin Chen's words, Yu Jin's face lit up with the joy of surviving a disaster, and she said excitedly, "Don't worry, sir, I will definitely take good care of Miss."

She didn't know the relationship between the little girl in the private room and this Lord Fang, but they shouldn't be father and daughter; they were probably relatives or younger family members.

Back in the private room, Lin Chen called Yin Yue and they also left the auction house. After watching the auction for a while, the initial novelty wore off, and Yin Yue also lost interest.

"Lin Chen, are you really going to take in a maid?"

In the courtyard of the restaurant, Yu Jin went to the front hall to arrange the dishes, and Yin Yue looked at Lin Chen curiously and asked.

“This woman knows some secrets. If I don’t take her with me, I’m afraid she will be silenced. I just can’t bear to see an innocent person die because of this. Besides, I’m going with Lu Feng to find the tempering sand, so I can’t take you with me. I’ll leave her here to take care of you.”

"Alright." Yin Yue nodded, then added, "If you really have feelings for this woman, you don't need to worry about me."

Lin Chen: ...

Soon, Yu Jin brought the dishes she had prepared into the courtyard. All the dishes she had arranged were specialties from Jiushan Island.

"Are your family members in Guangwu City?"

Since Lin Chen planned to have Yu Jin take care of Yin Yue here, he naturally wanted to find out about Yu Jin's background.

"Yes, the maid's whole family has moved to Guangwu City."

Although this official did not accept her as a maid, Yu Jin still referred to herself as a maid.

"The whole family?"

Lin Chen frowned. He had originally thought that Yu Jin was a woman trained by the Lu family to entertain the innate martial artists who came to the auction. He did not expect that Yu Jin was actually the result of her entire family moving here.

Aren't you afraid of being scolded by your elders if they find out what you do?
A mid-level martial artist in their early twenties—this isn't some impoverished person who sold their children to survive. To reach the mid-level realm in one's early twenties, even if one has decent talent, still requires family support to provide cultivation resources.

Throughout the entire Yan Dynasty, apart from the Great Liang on Canglan Island, Lin Chen hadn't found any other ruler who would train martial artists for free. Seeing Lin Chen's furrowed brow and puzzled expression, Yu Jin guessed what was troubling him, and her expression immediately darkened: "Going to the auction house was my own choice; my family didn't know."

"With your looks and qualifications, finding a good husband shouldn't be a problem. Why choose this path?"

"This servant wants to go further in martial arts, and also wants my family to be able to settle down in Guangwu City and not suffer from the bullying of other families."

Yu Jin had no intention of hiding anything from Lord Fang, and said truthfully, "To be honest, my ancestors were not from Jiushan Island, but from Canglan Island."

"Canglan Island?"

Lin Chen raised his voice slightly, while Yin Yue looked at Yu Jin with curiosity.

"Lord Fang must have heard of Canglan Island. Our island has produced a prodigy martial artist, Lin Chen of the Canglan Sect."

"Yes, I have heard of it."

"Before Lord Lin left Canglan Island, there were several countries on our Canglan Island. The Great Liang, where Lord Lin was, was the second strongest country on Canglan Island, while the Han Kingdom, where my family was, was the strongest country on Canglan Island. There had always been friction between the two countries. However, as Lord Lin's reputation rose in the Yan Dynasty, Canglan Island is now dominated by the Great Liang, and the Han Kingdom has chosen to submit to the Great Liang."

"But not all the nobles of Han Kingdom could accept this outcome. My grandfather was one of them. After Canglan Island established contact with the outside world, his whole family left Canglan Island. They first went to Kongming City on Jiushan Island, but they were unable to settle down in Kongming City. Finally, they went to Guangwu City."

Seeing Lin Chen's pensive expression, Yu Jin added, "But please rest assured, my lord, there is no grudge between my family and that Lord Lin, nor is there any grudge between my family and Daliang. The reason for choosing to relocate is simply because my grandfather was too stubborn, and also because the elders felt that relocating to an island with stronger martial arts would be more beneficial to the development of the family."

Yu Jin explained that they fled because they were afraid the official would misunderstand and think that their family had offended Lord Lin or had a grudge against the Liang dynasty and were afraid of being purged.

Although Lord Fang is an outstanding individual in the second realm of the Innate Realm and is stronger than Lin Chen, the key is that Lin Chen is very young and has the backing of the Canglan Sect, a powerful and influential sect, with unlimited potential for the future. It is likely that Lord Fang would absolutely not want to offend Lin Chen.

"I understand. You may go home now and come back tomorrow."

"This maid takes her leave."

Yu Jin left respectfully, and Lin Chen used his divine sense to follow her. No matter what Yu Jin said, he wanted to see if she really wouldn't tell her family about this, or if she was telling the truth.

"If she knew that the culprit who caused her family to move was sitting right in front of her, I wonder what she would think."

After Yu Jin left, Yin Yue spoke with a smile. In recent times, her facial expressions have become much richer than before, but Yin Yue herself did not realize it.

"What do you mean by culprit? It wasn't me who forced her family to move."

Lin Chen was helpless. He believed that Yu Jin would not lie. Her family should not have any grudges with Daliang. However, a family that could move the whole family must be a large family in Han Kingdom. After all, moving to another island and being able to purchase resources to support Yu Jin's cultivation to the middle level is not something that an ordinary family can do.

"You stay here, I'm going out for a bit."

When his divine sense had reached its limit, Lin Chen and Yin Yue said goodbye and left the courtyard, following the direction Yin Yu Jin was going home, keeping Yu Jin within his divine sense's perception at all times.

An hour later, Yu Jin entered an alley in Guangwu City. The courtyard in this alley was not luxurious compared to other courtyards in the city, which also proved Yu Jin's words that her family had indeed lived a mediocre life after moving to Guangwu City.

Yu Jin returned home and met with her elders. She did not tell them about the auction house, but only said that she would be going out in a few days and had informed her elders in advance.

Having confirmed that Yu Jin would not reveal the secret, Lin Chen withdrew his divine sense and turned back to the restaurant.

……

……

Three days later.

Lu Feng's men finally all came to the restaurant.

Lin Chen gave Yin Yue a few instructions and then headed to the dock.

The meeting place for Lu Fengyue was on a boat at the dock.

"Brother Fang has arrived."

On the ship's deck, Lu Fengzhen waited for Lin Chen with a smile and personally led Lin Chen into the cabin, where there were four other people.

Two middle-aged men, a young man about the same age as Lu Feng, and a beautiful woman.

While Lin Chen was sizing up the four people, they were also sizing him up. The three men's expressions didn't change much, but the beautiful woman smiled slightly at Lin Chen.

"Brother Fang, this is different from what we originally agreed on. There's one more person. I hope you don't mind."

"I'm OK."

It doesn't make much difference whether there's one more person or one less person; the main thing is the quantity of quenching sand ore.

"Alright, let's set off then."

Lu Feng clapped his hands, and his men waiting outside began to announce the departure of the ship.

"Young Master Lu, shouldn't you explain things to us?" The middle-aged man on the left frowned as he saw Lu Feng start the boat.

"You will all know our destination when we arrive. As for your identities, I believe you should have learned enough during our time on the ship. There's no need to rush."

Lu Feng smiled slightly, and Lin Chen understood. These people, like himself, did not know their final destination.

It was clear that Lu Feng did not intend to inform them of the destination in advance, and it seemed that the place was still some distance away.

"I trust Young Master Lu. Anyone invited by Young Master Lu is a reliable person."

The beautiful woman smiled brightly, and as she stretched slightly, her charm still undiminished: "However, let me introduce myself first. I am Zhu Ru, an elder of the Pingxiang Sect."

"Pingxiang Sect?"

Lin Chen noticed that after Zhu Ru introduced herself, the middle-aged man on the left blinked almost imperceptibly, a hint of apprehension flashing across his eyes.

It seems that the Pingxiang Sect is not simple.

In Lin Chen's spiritual perception, the middle-aged man on the left gave him the strongest feeling, already possessing the strength of the peak of the second innate realm. The fact that he could be wary of him was enough to show that Zhu Ru, or rather the Pingxiang Sect, was extraordinary.

However, there was no introduction to the Pingxiang Sect in the jade slip given to him by his master.

The jade slip given by the master only contained introductions to other super sects and a few forces that were second only to the super sects. In the eyes of the master and his group, the other sects were not worth mentioning at all.

(End of this chapter)