Chapter 246: You Have a Story? Hey, I Have Wine! (II)

Unknowingly, the two had already arrived at Duan Feng’s room.

Luo Chen followed him inside and found that, despite its small size, the room was impeccably organized. Teacups sat on the table, clothes were neatly stored in the cabinet. A few rare winter plants were placed by the sunlit window. Faintly, the aroma of cooked food wafted from the kitchen.

This hardly looked like the residence of a solitary man. At the very least, Luo Chen’s stone house was far more austere.

Seeing Luo Chen sniffing the air, Duan Feng awkwardly explained, "Sister Xia made some food before leaving, for my lunch."

"Oh..."

The drawn-out response made a rare flush creep up Duan Feng’s face. Hurriedly, he went into the kitchen and brought out a few side dishes.

Braised beef, stir-fried vegetables, and...

"Skip the rice! We're drinking, Big Brother."

Embarrassed, Duan Feng placed the wooden rice bucket back into the pot, letting the steam keep it warm.

By the time he returned, Luo Chen had already taken out a slightly yellowed gourd.

He poured him a cup of pale golden, glistening wine.

"This is Xiaoyue's pineapple wine, isn’t it?"

Mm.

Luo Chen nodded, his face darkening with sorrow.

With the inner city turning into a ghost city, Xiaoyue's grandfather had vanished without a trace. Thinking of how the old man had been disabled, Luo Chen feared that in the chaos of that upheaval, he had likely become just another of the thousands of wandering ghosts in the Dahe Market.

Each cup of this pineapple wine drank was one less in existence.

Earlier, Luo Chen had lightened the mood with jokes and banter, but now, a wave of sorrow once again plunged the atmosphere into melancholy.

At the same time, Duan Feng’s voice, tinged with nostalgia, broke the silence.

"My story... isn’t really that complicated."

***

As he spoke, Luo Chen gradually came to understand everything Duan Feng had experienced in the Duan family.

In truth, he had already gleaned bits and pieces from Duan Feng and Feng Xia before.

Now, hearing it directly from Duan Feng himself, he was able to piece everything together.

As the oldest cultivation family in Dahe Market, the Duan family’s growth had always been steady but unremarkable. They had consistently produced Foundation Establishment cultivators, and over the past few centuries, including the current Grand Elder Duan Qiankun, they had produced three Foundation Establishment Initiates.

There had been attempts to expand their influence beyond their territory, but due to various factors, they had ultimately remained confined to one place.

Although Dahe Market officially had no recognized second-tier spirit land, the Duan family had long controlled the Ice-Fire Spirit Spring. Using special secret techniques, they could temporarily convert it into second-tier spirit land, making it suitable for Foundation Establishment cultivators to train.

Their reluctance to expand their influence elsewhere wasn’t just about external limitations, it was also because they were unwilling to give up the spirit spring.

As one of the dominant forces in the region, the Duan family still held considerable influence in Dahe Market. Because of this, their family cultivators often regarded themselves as superior. Even their marriages rarely involved outsiders, as they mostly married within the clan.

Duan Feng’s father had once made a great name for himself. He had even joined the Luoyun Sect as an inner disciple.

Unfortunately, he had failed to reach Foundation Establishment and had been relegated to an outer disciple.

With his cultivation path seemingly cut off, he had split his time between working for Luoyun Sect and returning to support the Duan family. During this time, he had married a highly talented woman from the clan, and together, they had a son—Duan Feng.

"Unfortunately, my father later died in a conflict between the Duan family and a cultivation clan from Glowing Stream Market, leaving just my mother and me to fend for ourselves."

"Fend for yourselves?" Luo Chen was puzzled. "As far as I know, your lineage still had other relatives, didn’t it?"

"Yes, but later, that lineage produced a genius."

"A genius?"

"Mm. My cousin, Duan Rui." At the mention of this name, a look of dissatisfaction clearly flashed across Duan Feng’s face.

Oh, that one!

Luo Chen suddenly understood, he had heard of this name before.

He is a Perfected Mastery Qi-Refining cultivator! But because he hailed from a cultivation family, he was rarely mentioned alongside rogue cultivators like Han Dang and Fu Xiuxiu. After all, he wasn’t from the same circle of rogue cultivators.

"After my father died, our connection with Luoyun Sect was severed.

"As for me, I was particularly passionate about artifact forging back then," Duan Feng said with a wry smile. "After all, it's a craft passed down in our family.

"Besides, one of the conditions for becoming patriarch was to have exceptional artifact forging skills. At the time, my choice seemed like the right one. Given enough time, I could have restored my father’s reputation and even inherited the position of Duan family patriarch.

"However, at some point, the clan stopped valuing artifact forging and started prioritizing cultivation realm instead."

Through Duan Feng’s account, Luo Chen finally understood why his branch of the family had gradually distanced itself from him.

Instead, they had poured all their cultivation resources into his cousin, Duan Rui.

Duan Rui—dual spirit roots of water and fire!

Originally, he should have been sent to a major sect, just like Duan Feng’s father. But because he had dual water-fire spirit roots and the clan possessed the Ice-Fire Spirit Spring, it was an ideal place for his cultivation. The Duan family’s Grand Elder had even sought out a dual water-fire cultivation technique specifically for him.

So, for both the family’s and his own benefit, Duan Rui had remained within the clan.

Through relentless training, he had eventually surpassed Duan Feng, reaching Perfected Mastery in Qi-Refining at an early stage.

"Perhaps it also has to do with your Grand Elder’s dwindling lifespan," Luo Chen remarked, clicking his tongue.

Duan Feng downed the entire cup of pear wine.

Thud!

The cup slammed onto the table as he took a deep breath and said, "That's exactly right!

"But back then, I had no idea!

"That old dog always kept his lifespan a secret. My mother and I were far removed from the family’s upper ranks, so we never knew the truth.

"It was only later that I learned the real reason they placed so much emphasis on Duan Rui—it was all to help him reach Foundation Establishment as quickly as possible, so he could extend the Duan family’s so-called glory."

Luo Chen twitched his lips.

A mere Foundation Establishment Family talking about ‘glory’?

Fine, as someone without a family, he couldn’t quite understand the mindset of family cultivators.

But what does this have to do with your mother's grudge? At most, it was just an unfair distribution of resources.

Oh, considering that Duan Feng’s father had died in battle for the family, yet his orphaned wife and son were treated unfairly...

That was indeed disappointing.

Duan Feng wasn’t just disappointed—he was furious.

"He failed!

"Duan Rui failed to break through to Foundation Establishment!

"That old dog spent a fortune on resources for him and even used the Foundation Establishment pill my father had exchanged his lifetime contributions at Luoyun Sect for! Even with everything prepared, he still failed to establish his foundation."

Luo Chen was shocked. "Your father used his merit to exchange for a Foundation Establishment pill?"

"Yes, it was supposed to be left for me. That old dog had been holding onto it all this time."

Luo Chen shook his head.

This was outright destroying someone’s cultivation path!

Duan Feng wasn’t untalented in cultivation—it had simply been overshadowed by his gift for artifact forging in his early years. Given enough time, he would have undoubtedly reached Perfected Mastery in Qi-Refining.

In other words, he was guaranteed to use that Foundation Establishment pill.

However, if he put himself in Duan Qiankun’s position—with his own lifespan running out and the clan lacking promising successors—he might have made the same decision. He would have probably chosen to give the Foundation Establishment pll to the most promising candidate, Duan Rui, as well!

From the perspective of the family, it wasn't about right or wrong.

In fact, it was the absolutely correct choice.

Only if Duan Rui successfully established his foundation could the Duan family continue to hold their ground in Dahe Market—rather than declining like the Chen family or being wiped out overnight like the Fu family by Luo Tian Society.

A Foundation Establishment family without high-end battle prowess was nothing more than a juicy morsel that everyone wanted a bite of. Their situation wouldn’t be much better than Luo Chen’s, despite his proficiency in alchemy.

But for this to happen to an orphan and widow like Duan Feng and his mother...

That was simply too cruel.

And yet Duan Rui had failed!

How ironic.