Chapter 23 Gongsun Clan’s “Young Patriarch”
The Spirit Enlightening Pill could improve one’s aptitude. It was said that it was a pill specially developed by an Alchemy Grandmaster to improve the cultivation aptitude of humans.
The Alchemy Grandmaster had spent his entire life researching and developing the (Spirit Enlightening Pill), but the outcome was still rather disappointing, because the Spirit Enlightening Pill only gave a slight improvement to those with Lower Tier Arcane Martial aptitude.
Moreover, it could only slightly improve the Arcane Martial aptitude, and the effect was not very obvious.
But even so, the Spirit Enlightenment Pill was already an extremely high-level “divine pill” for a last-rate Ninth Grade noble clan like the Wang Clan of Ping’an.
In particular, for some like Wang Shouzhe, who was First Rank, Lower Tier in Arcane Martial aptitude, this was even more practical. Everyone said that he was a young prodigy, only slightly inferior to Ancestor Longyan from back then, and bore the hope of the clan’s future.
However, Wang Shouzhe himself knew very well that while his natural aptitude were considered quite good within the region of Changning Wei, and there was hope for him to break through to the Spirit Tower Realm in the future, when looking at the entire Longzuo County, it was not worth mentioning. His overall conditions just happened to meet the requirements for enrollment in the Violet Palace Academy. Whether they accepted him or not would still depend on the next round of tests.
Fortunately, even among First Rank, Lower Tier, Wang Shouzhe could be considered one of the top, and was only a step away from Middle Tier aptitude. If he had the chance to consume the Spirit Enlightening Pill, he might be able to improve further and be ranked in the Middle Tier aptitude. That would be a completely different matter.
Ancestor Longyan, Wang Longyan, was someone with genuine Middle Tier aptitude.
Among the hundreds of thousands of people in Changning Wei, the chance of someone with Middle Tier aptitude appearing was very low. Once they appeared, even the Violet Palace Academy would actively try to get them, and focus on nurturing them as soon as they entered the academy.
However, Spirit Enlightening Pills were Class Three Spirit Pills, and their production was very low. Even when Ancestor Zhouxuan was still alive, he might not be able to guarantee that he could obtain Spirit Enlightening Pills.
Seeing the uncertainty in Wang Shouzhe’s eyes, Wang Luojing said obediently, “Fourth Brother, I will definitely work hard to get you the Spirit Enlightening Pill.” “Luojing, don’t spoil your fourth brother too much.” Gongsun Hui smiled and rubbed her head. “If you can get these Amethyst Spirit Bees to live, go ahead. If you can’t, it doesn’t matter. It’s not easy to cultivate the larvae of some Amethyst Spirit Bees into a colony. If you fail, just take it as accumulating experience. Don’t give yourself too much pressure.”
“Mother is right.” Wang Shouzhe hurriedly said, “Luojing, I originally bought this hive for you to play with. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t work. A Spirit Insect Master can’t accumulate experience overnight.”
Wang Luojing was only 12 years old. On Earth, she would still be a sixth grade student. Wang Shouzhe didn’t want to give her too much pressure.
“Fifth Aunt, Fourth Brother, I understand,” Wang Luojing replied obediently. Then, she held the Amethyst Spirit Beehive and slowly contemplated it at the side. Her gaze was extremely focused and infatuated, as if she had obtained her favorite toy.
Only then did Wang Shouzhe remember that his fifth sister seemed to be different from ordinary people. She was born obsessed with insects. Even her biological brother, Wang Shounuo, had said that Luojing squat in the yard to watch the ants for a few days and nights when she was two or three years old.
Forget it, forget it. Let her be.
Wang Shouzhe and Gongsun Hui also tactfully shut their mouths and did their best not to disturb her.
The carriage followed the official road without any bumps. After entering Shanyang Town, it was even smoother.
The Gongsun Clan of Shanyang had been operating in this territory for more than 200 years, and their foundation was already deep-rooted. As they owned some special industries that had higher requirements for roads, they spent a lot of money on roads every year.
The carriage moved on the flat, hard road. When the carriage curtains were lifted, one could see clearly the mountains with their ridges arched high in the distance.
These were the remaining mountain range of Liuping Mountain. After bypassing the outside of Ping’an Town and piercing through the An River, they were the last stretch of remaining mountain range that bulged up high. However, this section of the remaining mountain range arched up like the back of a giant dragon. Compared to the other terrains in the remaining part of Liuping Mountain, it was even steeper and more dangerous. Thus, it was called Dragon Ridge Mountain.
The northwest side of Dragon Ridge Mountain was known as Shanyin, whereas the southeast side of it was known as the Shanyang.
The Gongsun Clan dominated Shanyang, while the Liu Clan dominated Shanyin.
Wang Shouzhe and the others had passed through the Changning Crossing and entered the area of Shanyang through the official road in Jiangbei. It was to deliberately avoided the waters around the Mountain Eagle Stream. That was because it was the water territory of the Zhao Clan, another major noble clan in Ping’an.
Not more than an hour after arriving at Shanyang’s territory, they heard the sound of galloping horses. Several riders quickly came up along the main road.
One of the riders was Wang An, one of the clan guards of the Wang Clan. Wang An was the messenger who was sent to inform the Gongsun Clan of Shanyang beforehand.
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In front of Wang Shouzhe’s carriage, the two clan guards Wang Wu and Wang Yong urged their horses forward, putting a certain distance between the opposing rider and the carriage.
This was the duty of clan guards, even if riders on the other side included one of their own.
“Wang Yong, quickly report to the Patriarch.” Wang An and the other riders stopped and got off their horses. He said loudly, “The young patriarch of Gongsun Clan is here to welcome Patriarch and Madam Gongsun in person.”
His voice was very loud, and could be heard from inside Wang Shouzhe’s carriage. “It’s Big Brother.” Gongsun Hui, who had always been rather dignified, virtuous, and graceful, suddenly revealed the joyous expression of a little girl. However, at the thought that there were still two juniors, Wang Shouzhe and Wang Luojing, on the carriage, she hurriedly put on the air of an elder and said seriously, “Zhe’er, Luojing. Let’s get off the carriage to meet Eldest Uncle according to etiquette.”
It was rare for Wang Shouzhe to see his mother behaving like a little girl. He couldn’t help but smile inwardly. Only then did he realize that although his mother was usually solemn and dignified, she was only 19 years old when she married Wang Dingyue as the second wife. When she was 22 years old, her younger sister Luomiao had only been married for eight years, so she was actually only 30 years old.
If this were on Earth, in big cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, there were lots of women unmarried in their thirties, and they would usually call themselves girls.
Idle talk aside.
The two of them alighted with Gongsun Hui. At this moment, the Gongsun family’s young patriarch led two family generals to welcome them.
Gongsun Qiang was the eldest son of the main wife of the Gongsun Clan. He had a fair complexion and was beardless. He had a rather handsome and valiant appearance, and looked even more handsome and tall in his fitted martial clothes. However, Wang Shouzhe knew that this Young Patriarch, “Eldest Uncle’, was already 38 years old, and his cultivation level had reached the peak of the eighth level of the Qi Refining Realm.
“Little Sister.” Gongsun Qiang walked forward quickly and said with a smile, “It’s rare for you to return to your parents’ home. Why didn’t you inform Big Brother in advance so that I could pick you up outside Shanyang?”
Gongsun Hui was the youngest of the siblings, so she was the most doted on in the family. Gongsun Qiang also doted on her very much.
“Brother.” Gongsun Hui curtsied and said in a dignified manner, “It’s my duty to return to visit Father and Brother. How can I trouble Brother to welcome me personally? Zhe’er, come and greet Eldest Uncle quick.”
She gave Wang Shouzhe a meaningful look subtly.
Wang Shouzhe understood. He immediately cupped his hands and said, “Shouzhe greets Eldest Uncle.”
Gongsun Qiang stared at Wang Shouzhe for a long while before saying, “Shouzhe has grown up a lot. You’re valiant and talented, much better than your father.”
Although he was Gongsun Hui’s eldest brother, he did not have a good impression of Wang Shouzhe’s father. In fact, he was rather hostile towards him.
The reason was, of course, his beloved little sister. He was extremely displeased that she had to be the second wife of an old man who was even older than him.
Later on, due to their differences in personalities and a few disagreements with Wang Dingyue, he never visited the Wang Clan’s residence. Even when Wang Dingyue had passed, as his brother-in-law, he still did not visit. Instead, he sent the clan elders and a few clansmen from the direct lineages to help. Hearing this, Wang Shouzhe’s face darkened. Although he was a transmigrator, the memories of his previous self had already fused with him. He was also Wang Shouzhe.
How could he not react to such inappropriate words from Gongsun Qiang?
“Brother, don’t spout nonsense.” Gongsun Hui’s expression turned annoyed as she said angrily, “Apologize! Otherwise, I’ll return to the Wang Clan immediately.”
“Uh! All right, Big Brother was wrong.”
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Gongsun Qiang hurriedly apologized with a hollow laugh. Then, he cupped his hands at Wang Shouzhe and said, “Eldest Uncle would also like to apologize to you. I hope you don’t take offense. Your father and I just don’t get along with each other due to a clash of personalities. But thinking over it carefully, your father’s talent and achievements far exceed mine.”
There was nothing wrong with his words. By the time Wang Dingyue was 40, he had already reached the peak of the ninth level of Qi Refining Realm, and was qualified to attempt the Spirit Tower Realm.
Gongsun Qiang still had a long way to go if he wanted to reach that level.
Even though Gongsun Qiang was already 38 years old, the Young Patriarch was still the Young Patriarch after all. His emotions were all on the surface.
However, he had a straightforward personality and wasn’t a difficult person to deal with. This was Wang Shouzhe’s secret evaluation of Gongsun Qiang.