Page 496

She took Xue Jing's words as just to comfort her, but she also understood that Xue Jing probably didn't mean to blame her, which made her secretly relieved.

She really didn't know what to do if her junior brother disliked her because of this.

“I was born in the capital city of the first metropolitan area, and I am a direct descendant of the Zhu family’s ‘main branch in the capital.’ Besides our ‘main branch,’ the Zhu family also has a ‘minor branch’ in the capital that is also a direct descendant…”

Zhu Shanying began to recount his family background and the reasons why Xue Jing had encountered hostility from the Zhu family along the way.

Previously, shortly after Xue Jing departed for Fengcheng to participate in the U19 knockout tournament, Zhu Shanying was recalled by his family in Beijing.

There are two reasons for the recall.

One of the reasons was that she was too close to Xue Jing at the time... Two teenagers of the same age, the girl would bring the boy to her home every day, and no one would believe that there was no problem.

Her family would not allow her to get involved with a wild boy from the countryside outside the city.

The second reason is quite classic.

Within large families, intermarriage is common for various reasons, such as matching social status and preventing the outflow of bloodlines.

The Zhu family's main branch and secondary branch in the capital were two direct descendants who separated long ago. Their blood ties had long since exceeded three generations, making intermarriage possible... or rather, the main branch and secondary branch had no more suitable marriage partners than each other.

To ensure that the relationship between the two families does not drift apart, it is perfectly normal to arrange a marriage every now and then.

After returning home, Takeyama Ei received a notice that she was likely to be married off to Takeshiro Akira, the third son of the Kobo family.

She was not in control of her own destiny in this matter... but she was fortunate to have a loving grandfather.

Despite Takeyama Hide's strong opposition, Takekyo, the grandfather who was the previous head of the family and still held great prestige, spoke up and postponed the family's decision to arrange a marriage.

"I see. So the Zhu family's side thinks that the reason you resisted the marriage alliance lies entirely with me."

Xue Jing nodded, having roughly understood what had happened.

"That's why Zhu Xuanli withheld my reward within the Sixth Agency, Zhu Daizhao had Zhou Yinglin try to kill me on the arena, and he even hired 'White Emperor' Lu Shenliu to come to Yuan City. Before that, during the joint exam, he even sent someone to use [GOD-287] to try to ambush me..."

Xue Jing began to plan his accounting, officially recording several troubles with unclear causes in the accounts of the Zhu family's small branch in the capital.

Zhushan Ying blinked, then realized that Xue Jing had encountered so much trouble because of her, and coughed awkwardly.

"There are some other issues..."

Xue Jing spoke up.

"Was it you who selected me to participate in the martial arts exam as a young examiner?" Senior Sister Zhu asked.

Takeyama Ei shook his head and then nodded, saying, "It must have been my grandfather who did it... I talked to him a lot about you, and he seemed very interested in you."

"Then what about this thing?" Xue Jing reached out and pulled it from thin air.

He pulled out an ancient, massive sword taller than a man.

Takeyama Ei's eyes lit up: "The Forgotten Greatsword... This is my grandfather's collection."

"And this too?"

Xue Jing once again took out a beautiful nine-foot-long spear, entirely dark blue, from the void.

"Night-cut ice... is also one of Grandpa's collectibles."

For some reason, Takeyama Ei looked rather excited, his eyebrows dancing with joy.

"So Grandpa listened to what I said... He seems to like you quite a bit, junior brother."

Takeyama Hide removed the red nose from her face and said with a smile.

……

Chapter 368 As long as you shout loud enough, the floor master will challenge you. Once the Crimson One is activated, guess the combat power! (4K)

Upon hearing Zhushan Ying say that her grandfather quite liked him, Xue Jing thought to himself, "That's not necessarily true."

The Forgotten Greatsword and the Night-Cutting Ice are indeed top-tier treasures for martial artists, and this Grandpa Bamboo was quite generous in his offer.

But this doesn't mean the other person likes him.

Previously, when Xue Jing was about to step onto the arena to face Zhou Yinglin, in addition to sending him the Forgotten Greatsword, Grandpa Zhu also arranged for Wei Junwu of the Phoenix Cry Stream to provide him with various strange forms of assistance.

It revealed Zhou Yinglin's purpose in wanting to kill him on the arena, and also directly hinted that the powerful and heavy Forgotten Greatsword was the way to break the Flawless Stance.

Although it seemed like they were helping him on the surface, Xue Jing felt something was off; it felt more like they were forcing him to prove himself.

Any young person with a bit of ambition would feel uncomfortable with this kind of 'pre-arranged victory'.

If he truly wanted to help him, Xue Jing found it hard to believe that someone who had once led a large family through an era would be so sloppy in his actions.

Whether this was a test or a form of malice towards him, Xue Jing was still unclear.

However, it is certain that the feelings this Grandpa Zhu had for him were not simply admiration or liking.

"By the way, Senior Sister Zhu, there's something else I need to apologize to you about."

Xue Jing suddenly remembered something and spoke up.

"The 'Futu' sword you gave me is gone..."

Xue Jing explained the reason why Futu shattered.

After listening, Takeyama Hide nodded, his eyes sparkling.

"I see. So that 'Full Moon Cherry Blossom' was the ultimate sword technique that Futo transformed into after his martyrdom..."

"So it seems you didn't lose Futu after all. Junior Brother, there's no need to apologize. On the contrary, I'm quite happy."

"To be able to transform into such a beautiful move and stay by your side forever, Futu must be very happy."

Xue Jing nodded: "I'm glad you don't mind, Senior Sister."

"I've been keeping an eye on you, junior brother. Even though you were brought back to Beijing, I haven't missed a single live stream of your matches or any other news. Oh, and I even joined your fan club. The club president's ID is 【My Foolish Little Brother】..."

Zhushan Ying chatted happily with Xue Jing, and time passed silently.

Thirty minutes passed quickly.

Xue Jing accompanied her downstairs to the hotel entrance.

Several bodyguards who had been knocked unconscious by Xue Jing had regained consciousness, as he hadn't hit them hard enough. They seemed to be making phone calls to report their young mistress's disappearance, their faces filled with panic.

After seeing Zhushan Ying come out of the hotel, the group breathed a sigh of relief, then turned their attention to Xue Jing, who was accompanying them, looking wary and sweating profusely.

This young man... is truly terrifying. No wonder he caused such a stir at the Extreme Martial Arts Ascension Palace recently.

That kind of rural area on the outer ring road... could it really be some kind of 'land of origin' where an unknown little sect could produce such a genius?

"Time flies so fast, it feels like it's over in the blink of an eye."

Takeyama Hide muttered a complaint.

"But it's so great to be able to see my junior brother. I worked so hard to get this opportunity."

The two walked naturally to the black luxury car of unknown brand. Although the bodyguards kept their eyes on Xue Jing warily, they did not dare to make any other moves.

One of the female bodyguards opened the back seat of the car and let Takeyama Hide sit down.

"Junior brother, wait a moment."

Takeyama Hide rummaged through the spacious car and quickly took out a weapon that resembled both a spear and an arrow.

The weapon, resembling both a spear and an arrow, is about 1.3 meters long, with a golden luster that shimmers with a faint glow, exuding a sacred and solemn aura.

Zhu Shanying handed it to Xue Jing with a smile, saying:

"Junior brother, this is for you. I stole it from my grandfather's collection room. It should be very useful to you."

Xue Jing's eyes flickered slightly as he reached out and took the 'gun and arrow' that looked like it was cast in gold.

As expected, a prompt immediately popped up on the panel.

[Divine matter detected; absorbing divinity...]

It is a relic of the gods.

“I don’t know the specifics, but I heard my grandfather mention it a long time ago. It’s called ‘Soul Transcendence’… It’s said to be something many people dream of, something that can be used to break through bottlenecks and limits… But he also said it’s very dangerous to use, so junior brother, you should be careful if you use it.”

Takeyama Ei spoke up.

Upon hearing this, Xue Jing's heart stirred, and his eyes narrowed slightly: "I understand, thank you, Senior Sister Zhu."

He had already recognized what it was.

GOD-251·Transcendent Soul.

The top 300 divine relics in the sequence.

This is indeed a great gift... its effects are incredible.

Takeyama Ei sat in the car, the door open, silent, her expression softening.

After a long silence, she finally spoke softly:

"Junior brother, if one day I am imprisoned and cry out loudly, will you be able to hear me and come to my rescue?"

Upon hearing this, Xue Jing smiled and said:

"As long as you shout loud enough."

Takeyama Ei paused for a moment, then laughed happily; her clear, youthful voice was incredibly charming.

She laughed for a while before saying:

Goodbye, junior brother.

……

Xue Jing didn't feel much about what Sister Zhu said before she left.

Although she clearly had a lot of worries, concerning her own freedom, the marriage alliance between the main branch and the secondary branch of the Zhu family, etc... and these were all issues that Xue Jing had originally intended to resolve.

The Zhu family's branch held a grudge against him for obstructing his path. As long as he grew to a certain level in the future, or if he had the opportunity along the way, Xue Jing would surely destroy them completely.

Another problem is that it's now very difficult for Senior Sister Zhu to even see him, and even when they do meet, there's a 30-minute time limit. This level of restriction is beyond what Xue Jing considers the normal management and restrictions of a parent.

As long as it is within his ability to resolve the issue, he will not allow his relatives and friends to be treated this way.

This is also a problem he will inevitably have to solve in the future.