Chapter 183: The Future of Younger Cousin Jiang Yu
Having just sent the overjoyed Xue Tong on his way, Jiang Chen walked into the inner courtyard. He’d arrived in the capital for so many days now, but it had been a while since he last had a good chat with his father, Jiang Feng.
“Chen’er, I heard that you just participated in the birthday banquet of the spirit king protector of this kingdom?” Jiang Feng asked when he saw Jiang Chen in such a good mood.
“Yes. Have you also been keeping tabs on this, father?”
“Haha, I naturally pay attention to matters like these. This is the spirit king protector of the kingdom! Ai, when will I, Jiang Feng, reach such a realm in my training?” Jiang Feng asked with a look of admiration on his face.
“Nothing is impossible on the path of martial dao.” Jiang Chen smiled. He hadn’t discovered before that his father was such a martial dao-holic.
It made sense when he thought about it. Jiang Chen had been such a useless fop before. As the Duke of Jiang Han, Jiang Feng was in charge of everything, no matter how big or small. He had to take on both roles of father and mother, as well as overlook all sorts of affairs. What time would he have left to train?
Now that he wasn’t the Duke of Jiang Han and was just an ordinary person, his level of training had advanced by leaps and bounds. He was now a true qi master at the peak of eleven meridians true qi.
Upon seeing his father so mesmerized by martial dao, Jiang Chen really wanted to offer a Five Dragons Opening Heavens Pill to his father.
But as his thoughts continued down this path, he restrained this impulse. He’d never used this pill before and there was no rush.
It wouldn’t be too late to offer the pill to his father after he’d personally tried it and experienced its effects. The difference of a few days wouldn’t mean much.
Jiang Chen had already made his preparations on his way back from the Tutor Manor. He planned on going into closed door cultivation and taking the Five Dragons Opening Heavens Pill, beginning the process of transmuting true qi to spirit, comprehending the spirit realm and shaping his spirit ocean.
The requisite time could be short, or it could be long. Jiang Chen wasn’t sure either.
“Oh right, rather, there’s something I suddenly want to ask you.” Jiang Chen remembered the odd thing that had happened regarding Xue Tong just now and opened his mouth to ask a question.
“What odd thing?”
“I was speaking with Xue Tong just now and suddenly felt that his bloodline didn’t seem to have that familiar bloodline resonance with mine. Something seems a little off.”
“What’s wrong?” Jiang Feng’s expression was a bit unnatural.
“If Xue Tong’s mother is my mother’s sister, born of the same parents, then we should share a similar bloodline and there should be some resonance between us.”
“Oh. Maybe something went wrong with your perception. He’s your aunt’s brother, of that there is no doubt.” Jiang Feng chuckled. “Alright, Chen’er, your mother passed away more than ten years ago, let’s not talk of these saddening matters anymore. Your third uncle and Xiaoyu have come with us to the Skylaurel Kingdom and are rather lonely. Go visit with them if you have nothing occupying your time.”
Jiang Feng didn’t seem to speak more on this matter and changed the topic.
Jiang Chen felt that this was a bit odd, but wasn’t able to continue asking when he saw his father act in this way.
“Alright, I’ll go check in on them. Take care, father.”
Jiang Chen left Jiang Feng’s room and went to visit third uncle Jiang Tong’s. He had a good conversation with his younger cousin Jiang Yu.
“Third uncle, I feel that Xiaoyu has some potential in the area of networking and relationships. He’s not bad at business either. How about I see if I can introduce him to the Myriad Treasures Palace as a disciple or something if the opportunity arises?”
What father under the heavens wouldn’t think of his son? When he heard Jiang Chen say this, Jiang Tong was overjoyed, “Chen’er, it won’t do for Xiaoyu to sit idly everyday either. It would be wonderful if he could go to the Myriad Treasures Palace!”
“Alright, I’ll bring the matter up to Feng Yan when he visits next.”
Speaking of the devil, just as Jiang Chen was chatting with Jiang Tong and his son, someone from outside came in to report that the vice administrator of the Myriad Treasures Palace, Feng Yan, had come for a visit.
“Come, Xiaoyu, let’s go receive Feng Yan together.” Jiang Chen tugged Jiang Yu outside.
Feng Yan had been in a great mood lately. He was riding on the crest of the wave of success, having been promoted and earning great sums of money. He felt that everything in his life was very nice, and that the sun was so brilliant everyday.
He also knew that the person who had brought him all this was Jiang Chen.
Feng Yan cared a great deal about this wonderful herald of fortune. He came to visit almost everyday, in hopes of further increasing the depth of his relationship with Jiang Chen.
“Young master Chen, you’ve become the talk of the capital in the days that I haven’t seen you! Ai, some people are born to be the main character. Young master Chen is undoubtedly one of those people. This makes me, Feng Yan, quite envious.”
“Brother Feng, you’re not doing too badly these days either.” Jiang Chen laughed heartily.
“Heh heh, my little bit of accomplishment is due to the gracious person known as young master Chen.” Feng Yan’s posture was quite prim and proper. He didn’t dare call Jiang Chen brother or anything like that, but rather very respectfully called Jiang Chen, young master Chen.
This was both respectful and intimate.
“Oh right, young master Chen, I’ve heard that you used a jug of Nine Magnificence Dew Wine to win the place of the best gift on Tutor Ye’s birthday banquet.”
“It certainly seems that nothing can be hidden in the capital. How long has it been since I’ve gotten home?” Jiang Chen smiled ruefully.
“The capital has always been a place of where the winds and clouds intersect. All news travel the fastest in the capital. How about it, young master Chen? Are you interested in auctioning off a jug of the Nine Magnificence Dew Wine at the Myriad Treasures Palace? If our Myriad Treasures Palace can represent this wine, we will surely create a win-win situation.”
Jiang Chen was a bit tempted upon hearing Feng Yan’s words. He looked at Jiang Yu by his side and had an idea. He nodded, “I gifted the spirit degree Nine Magnificence Dew Wine to vice head Shi and Tutor Ye. The ingredients needed to brew this wine cost a slight bit. This wine is also unsuitable for widespread production. If it spreads throughout the market, vice head Shi may not be happy.”
Feng Yan thought that those words made a lot of sense when he pondered them more deeply. Vice head Shi was someone who loved wine. If any random person off the street could purchase the Nine Magnificence Dew Wine with money, then how could this wine still count as a precious wine?
“Here, I have a recipe for a common degree Nine Magnificence Dew Wine. Its level is lower, but it’s still absolutely a peerless brew. This can be introduced into the marketplace.”
“Oh? Such a thing like this exists? Young Chen, this means that we really do have the foundations for a partnership.” Feng Yan’s eyes also lit up.
“Mm, I plan on placing my younger cousin Jiang Yu in charge of this matter. Feng Yan, what do you think about me using the recipe of this wine to buy shares and obtain a place for my younger cousin in the Myriad Treasures Palace?”
Feng Yan started, and immediately smiled, “There would be nothing better. It’s difficult for people to enter the Myriad Treasures Palace, but there will certainly be no problem for young master Chen’s brother. I’ll go report to vice head Shi and I believe that he will absolutely not let you down.”
Feng Yan was a man of action and immediately took his leave to go back and discuss with Shi Xiaoyao.
“Xiaoyu, I’ve paved the way for you. You’re on your own once you enter the Myriad Treasures Palace.”
Jiang Yu was greatly appreciative, “Brother, I won’t let you down.”
After roughly two hours, Feng Yan rushed back with great enthusiasm.
“Young master Chen, the vice head was quite straightforward and generous. He gave Jiang Yu the title of a disciple of first rank. That’s only a level away from my rank of vice administrator.”
The disciples of the Myriad Treasures Palace all started as an intern disciple, before rising to a disciple of the ninth rank, eighth rank… all the way up until they reached first rank.
A disciple of the first rank was the highest level of existence amongst the disciples. Continuing upwards would be the middle management positions of vice administrator, administrator, senior administrator.
“Vice head Shi also said that as long as younger brother Jiang Yu performs exemplarily within the Palace, he won’t hesitate to make an exception and mentor him.” Feng Yan smiled.
Jiang Chen could feel Shi Xiaoyao’s sincerity. “Feng Yan, go back for now. I will have Jiang Yu bring the recipe for the wine tomorrow and negotiate with you guys. I won’t inquire about the details at all; it will be strictly up to Jiang Yu.”
Feng Yan smiled, “With young master Chen present, we wouldn’t dare mistreat younger brother Jiang Yu. Haha, then I’ll go back first and await younger brother Jiang Yu’s visit tomorrow.”
It could be seen that Feng Yan was quite proactive about this matter and really wanted it to succeed. If he saw this matter through, then he would undoubtedly have made a great accomplishment.
For one, it went without saying that even a common degree Nine Magnificence Dew Wine would be a hugely profitable transaction. They would also not only absorb Jiang Yu into the Myriad Treasures Palace but also further enhance their relationship with Jiang Chen at the same time.
“Xiaoyu, I’m giving you the recipe for the common degree of the Nine Magnificence Dew Wine now. Tonight, think about how you want to handle the talks. Don’t be too accommodating and lose your bottom line. Don’t be short-sighted either and only have money in sight, do you understand?”
“Brother, I will have my boundaries.” A light that itched to see action sparkled in Jiang Yu’s eyes.
Jiang Chen wrote down the recipe of the common degree wine, spoke a few more encouraging words before sending Jiang Yu on his way.
He then called for his men, left some instructions and announced that he was going into closed door cultivation.
Jiang Chen didn’t impart to the outside world the significance of this time’s closed door cultivation.
Only he knew that he was planning on officially taking the Five Dragons Opening Heavens Pill and preparing his assault on the spirit realm.
The deficiencies of his strength still left his hands and feet tied many times.
Some matters wouldn’t have be that difficult at all if he was strong enough. The feud with the Northern Palace for instance. If he’d been strong enough, he could’ve rolled right over them and slaughtered all the robbers. None of the subsequent troubles would’ve cropped up.
Jiang Chen had learned his lesson and desired to increase his strength.
With a clatter, he poured out several Five Dragons Opening Heaven Pills.
He closed his eyes and started using Boulder’s Heart to start sensing these pills. When his mental strength locked onto one of them, a magical connection caused Jiang Chen to open his eyes.
“That’s the one!”
Jiang Chen put away the other pills. For a pill like this, taking just one was enough. There was no benefit in taking more.
Jiang Chen sat down cross-legged and entered a meditative state. He went over the information regarding the Five Dragons Opening Heavens Pill in his mind once again.
He opened his mouth and swallowed this pill.
The strong medicinal effects immediately spread throughout this body.
There was as if there was a surging ocean within his body, five fierce dragons overturned the tumultuous waves and ran wildly rampant.
“Inducing the qi to become dragons, forging the body, transmuting true qi into spirit qi, coalescing the spirit ocean…”
All sorts of familiar notions flashed through Jiang Chen’s head as step by step, he began to manipulate the five surges of strength that were running around like horses that had slipped their halters.
The Five Dragons Opening Heavens Pill had absorbed the essence of the five elements. The pill that it formed encompassed all five attributes. The five forces actually formed an equilibrium with the entire heaven and world.
For a martial dao practitioner, the physical body was a small world. If a practitioner were to improve or break through to become a stronger practitioner, he would have to continuously expand and improve the small world within his body.
Similar to the greater world, attributes of the five elements were the foundation that formed the small world of the physical body. Jiang Chen’s pill was to cleave into existence a balanced, small world.
In reality, every practitioner trained the five qi within their bodies in the true qi realm. The so-called five qi corresponded to the five organs.
These five qi also corresponded to the five elements.
Except, many practitioners who ascended to the spirit realm were hemmed in by various restrictions, and their foundations weren’t solid enough with regards to the five elements.
This was why some could go far when transmuting true qi to spirit, while others always dithered around the beginning of the spirit realm.
