Chapter 324: Ranks

After contemplating for a moment, Fang Chen nodded slowly, and then with a single thought, he retracted Little Sword.

"I don’t want Xia Ji to know anything about this. Otherwise, I will come find you again." Fang Chen left these words behind as he turned to leave.

It took Lord Tiger several moments before it sank in that it was all over, and he slumped into his chair, his forehead, cheeks, neck, and back all drenched in cold sweat.

"Xia Ji has such a powerful backer. Why does he still want to come to me for help? He's asking for trouble!" Lord Tiger muttered through gritted teeth.

The servant tip-toed back into the courtyard. "Lord Tiger, a-are you alright?"

𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"Did he leave?" asked Lord Tiger coldly.

The servant nodded quickly. "Yes, he left."

Lord Tiger sneered. "If you weren't my grandson, I would have killed you for bringing him to me without a word."

His grandson immediately hung his head, like a child who had been scolded, too afraid to speak.

"Interesting. When did such a ruthless person come to the Grand Qian Empire? I knew nothing about it." Lord Tiger's eyes grew dark. "Order them to find out who this person is, where he’s from. Make sure they act very carefully, so as not to be discovered."

The servant nodded repeatedly. "Lord Tiger, please rest assured. Cultivators will overlook these ordinary mortals since they pose no threat in their eyes."

After the servant left, Lord Tiger muttered softly to himself, "This matter with Fang Lingxing must be handled delicately."

He took out a Transmission Talisman and burned it.

***

Not long after leaving Lord Tiger's manor, several young men in green shirts found Fang Chen.

"The young master is looking for you," they said respectfully. Their joints were strangely much larger than ordinary people's and they had an aura not weaker than that of the Fatal Qi Stage, the first level of the Heaven Profound Stage.

They should be martial artists in the Profound Qi Stage, the second level of the Heaven Profound Stage. Martial artists in that level are comparable to cultivators in the Qi Refining Realm, but compared to cultivators, the status of martial artists was only slightly higher than that of mortals.

"Who is your master?" asked Fang Chen casually.

"He is Elder Fang Ao from the third branch of the Fang Family," answered one of the young men in green shirts respectfully.

Fang Chen nodded lightly and followed them into the family mansion. They took many turns until they finally arrived at a courtyard.

One of the young men hurried into the courtyard, and soon after, Fang Ao walked out of the courtyard, laughing heartily.

Beside him, there was a beautiful middle-aged woman and a young girl who had a cold expression.

"Fang Chen, let me introduce you. This is my wife, and my daughter, Fang Yun," Fang Ao introduced with a smile.

The middle-aged woman nodded lightly. She was deadpanned, but there was a hint of impatience in her eyes.

Fang Yun was much more blunt than her mother. She frowned at Fang Ao, and said, "Dad, isn't he just a distant relative who's come back to the family? Why make such a big deal out of it?"

Fang Ao looked a bit embarrassed by his daughter’s direct words, but he couldn’t tell them about Fang Chen’s background. He could only give Fang Chen a slightly apologetic look.

"Dad, big brother is gambling on stones at the Immortal Origin District. I'm going to check it out," Fang Yun said before running off in a hurry.

Fang Ao sighed. "Oh, I've spoiled my daughter,” he said to Fang Chen. “It's mainly because my wife and I didn't have a child until we were a hundred years old. We let her have her way in everything."

The middle-aged woman frowned slightly. "Yun'er is our daughter, of course she should be spoiled. What are you saying?"

Fang Ao's expression stiffened, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Fang Chen didn't care about their attitude toward him. He simply asked, "Elder Fang, where will I be staying?"

"I'll take you to your residence,” Fang Ao said to Fang Chen, then told his wife, “You can attend to your own affairs."

He then took Fang Chen and left.

Fang Ao’s wife snorted coldly and turned to leave in another direction.

"Both me and my wife have reached a bottleneck in our cultivation in recent years, so we’ve decided to have a child to carry on the family bloodline,” said Fang Ao with a bitter smile as they walked. “But we've spoiled Yun'er too much.”

Fang Chen nodded lightly. "I can see that."

Even when Fang Ao went to the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, he didn't forget to buy Purple Lightning Talismans for Fang Yun to protect herself with, showing that he had already spoiled her to the extreme.

However, what was even more important was that Fang Chen gleaned more into the mindset of cultivators: only when their cultivation reached a bottleneck would they begin to think about passing on their lineage.

But it made sense, If their cultivation was smooth sailing, where would they have the time to think about having children? They would naturally go further on the path of cultivation.

Before long, the two stopped in front of a courtyard. The scenery here was beautiful, and the spiritual energy was relatively dense.

"There's a quiet room inside for cultivation, as well as a small spiritual field and a spiritual spring for your daily needs," introduced Fang Ao with a smile. “Although it may look small, it's actually highly sought after within our third branch."

Pausing for a moment, Fang Ao took out a jade token and tossed it to Fang Chen. "This is your identity token. With this token, you can move freely within the inner and outer city. If anyone stops you, just show them this."

"Thank you, Elder Fang Ao," said Fang Chen casually, accepting the jade token.

"You've only just arrived at the family, so there are many things you're not accustomed to yet. Just stay here for a while, and you'll settle in quickly. If you have any questions, you can ask them." Fang Ao pointed to the several men beside him. "They are the martial servants nurtured by our family. Although they are not cultivators, they know a lot," said Fang Ao. "They will be at your assistance from now on."

"Do all the family members experience this sort of treatment?" asked Fang Chen curiously.

"You're somewhat special, so this is the treatment you’ll be receiving. Nurturing martial artists to the Heaven Profound Stage is both easy and difficult. Other than a few core disciples, most people have three to five Heaven Profound Stage martial artists at their beck and call," explained Fang Ao with a smile. "Don't underestimate the Heaven Profound martial artists. They are trained by our family and know a lot about how to deal with cultivators. Taking them with you when you go out might just save your life in critical situations."

The several men in green shirts behind him remained silent, their expressions respectful. However, for them to be praised by Fang Ao, a Foundation Building Realm cultivator, meant that they were different from the Heaven Profound Stage martial artists of the seventh-tiered empires. They had to have much more ways to deal with cultivators than other martial artists.

"By the way, the Fang Family disciples are also divided into three ranks, and it's up to each individual to strive for them. As you've just returned, you're considered a rank three disciple. And as a rank three disciple, you can head over to the Spirit Medicine Hall each month to receive a Qi Condensing Pill. Once you're promoted to the second rank, you can receive two Qi Condensing Pills per month, along with five low-grade spirit stones," explained Fang Ao.

Qi Condensing Pill?

Fang Chen nodded slightly. These were low-grade, yellow-rank pills, each worth about five low-grade spirit stones. It was quite a good treatment for even the lowest-ranked Fang Family disciples. Compared to that, many wandering cultivators might not be able to get their hands on one or two such pills even after a year of effort.

Fang Ao fixed his gaze on Fang Chen. "However... I don’t think you value Qi Condensing Pills much anymore. I'm curious, where did those Purple Lightning Talismans come from?"

Fang Chen smiled faintly. "Some were passed down to me by my sect, and some I made myself."

Fang Ao was surprised. "You can make talismans?"

The martial artists couldn’t keep their straight faces anymore, and they turned astonished. There was even respect now in their eyes as they looked at Fang Chen.

No matter where they went, anyone who was proficient in talisman crafting would hold a lofty status!