"Daoist Zhu, you're really overthinking it. With your current cultivation level and the small scale of your Zhu Clan, whether you marry or not isn't up to you."
"Exactly. If you marry, you'll please so and offend others. But if you don't marry, you'll offend everyone. With your intelligence, Daoist Zhu, I'm sure you understand this simple logic without having to explain it."
Zhu Xiaosuo was completely stunned.
How did things turn out like this?
He now seed like an antique at an auction.
Many were waiting to make their bid.
And as an antique without its own thoughts, he couldn't escape, nor could he run away.
Shang Shan Qiusuo said, "Daoist Zhu, let's be honest. The family you'll marry into in the future is wealthy and powerful, they won't lack a Rebirth Pill. Why not leave it for and Daoist Chen?"
Chen Pusuo added, "Although Daoist Shang's words aren't very kind, they're true. My father has prepared a dowry of several thousand spirit stones, more than enough to buy ten Rebirth Pills. My family's dowry conditions are average, not to ntion others. Daoist Zhu indeed doesn't lack such things."
Zhu Xiaosuo felt that the two weren't really greedy for the Rebirth Pill; it was just that, given his future wealth, this amount of money was insignificant.
It might as well be given to them.
Zhu Xiaosuo asked, "If your families are so wealthy, why do you still need this Rebirth Pill?"
Shang Shan Qiusuo smiled bitterly, "Just because the family is rich doesn't an I am. I'm ranked twenty-third in my family, and my mother is just a concubine, neither the legitimate nor the eldest son, and my aptitude is only a Blue Vein. The next family head definitely won't be , so my father naturally won't invest many resources in . A Rebirth Pill is quite a bit of money for ."
Chen Pusuo said, "My situation is similar. I have over a dozen brothers above , all with status and aptitude, so good things never co my way. My father is part of the Shenwei Army, but he hasn't even taught the Wan Xiu technique."
Zhu Xiaosuo just realized that the distribution of resources among the wealthy offspring was also extrely uneven.
"Do you have any way for to temporarily avoid marriage?"
"Well..."
Chen Pusuo said, "There is a way, but it's a bit difficult to achieve."
Shang Shan Qiusuo nodded. He also thought of a way, but Daoist Zhu might not agree.
"What way?"
Chen Pusuo said, "The way I thought of is to join the army. If you enlist, you can naturally avoid marriage matters. But if you join the army, it ans you won't be able to return to the Zhu Clan for a while. The developnt of the Zhu Clan would be out of your control."
Zhu Xiaosuo shook his head, "Joining the army is definitely not an option now. The Zhu Clan is my life's work, and I'm its only support. If I enlist, who knows what will beco of the Zhu Clan."
Shang Shan Qiusuo said, "I thought of Daoist Zhu applying to stay as a servant in the Immortal Sect after passing the examination, which would also free you from the interference of the cultivator clans. The requirent for an Immortal Sect servant is to pass the first examination. However, you would need to stay in the Immortal Sect for years and couldn't return ho without permission."
"That's not an option either. It's no different from joining the army; both require to give up the Zhu Clan."
"If Daoist Zhu wants to stay with the Zhu Clan and also be independent and strong, that's indeed very difficult."
Zhu Xiaosuo knew his demands might be a bit high.
But he absolutely didn't want to live a life like the owner of the Braised Chicken Feet Shop, dependent on others and watching their faces.
It's best to have one's fate in one's own hands.
Win or lose, he would accept it.
Putting everything on soone else made it hard to ensure a smooth future.
If the wife he married grew tired of him, or if he fell out of favor, it would be difficult to even keep his life without any foundation.
The bloody lesson of over a thousand deaths in the Zhu Clan Courtyard was sothing Zhu Xiaosuo dared not forget.
But this ti, he had no solution.
"Daoist Shang, Daoist Chen, please help think of a way. If I marry into another family, we'll just be ordinary Daoist friends. If I can stay with the Zhu Clan, I might be able to provide significant support for you two in competing for the family head position."
The two were about to question Zhu Xiaosuo's bold claim.
But then they rembered what they had heard from their fathers about Zhu Xiaosuo.
A Braised Chicken Feet Shop owner who fought his way through over a dozen brothers to seize the Vein Opening Pill and beco the head of the Zhu Clan.
He rose and fell under the encirclent of the other three major families in Mountain Chicken County, ultimately carving a bloody path to make the Zhu Clan the most powerful family in the county.
He cleverly resolved two framing attempts by Mission Elder Sun Qingde, leaving Sun Qingde to take full responsibility for the Black Snow Ridge spirit collapse incident.
Each event, described in a few words, concealed countless life-and-death monts.
Zhu Xiaosuo had wisdom, talent, and great fortune.
Their brothers' strength and talent were far inferior to Sun Qingde's.
It wasn't that they didn't want to be the family head, but without status and position, no one in the clan would choose to support them.
Not to ntion gaining strong external support.
Perhaps, the Zhu Clan could be their first source of external support.
If Zhu Xiaosuo was willing to help, seizing the family head position was indeed possible.
With their own interests at stake, the two began to seriously brainstorm ways to preserve Zhu Xiaosuo and the Zhu Clan.
Chen Pusuo sighed and said, "I've only thought of one way, but it's very risky."
Shang Shan Qiusuo said, "I've also thought of one way, but it's difficult to achieve."
"At this point, we can only try anything. Daoist friends, don't hold back."
Chen Pusuo said, "The academy in the City of Seeking Immortality is recruiting instructors for a ten-year term, responsible for guiding Bone Transformation Stage cultivators to break through to the Honoring the Ancient Stage. If Daoist Zhu can pass the academy instructor examination, you can use teaching as an excuse to refuse marriage proposals."
Guiding breakthroughs to the Honoring the Ancient Stage? And there's no cultivation level restriction?
Could it be teaching how to solve the kind of practical problems Chen Qinqiu assigned?
If that's the case, becoming an academy instructor might be the way out.
"What is the risk?"
"Cultivators above the Humbling the Present Stage face no consequences if they fail the examination. Bone Transformation Stage cultivators who fail will have their cultivation abolished. Rebirth Stage cultivators who fail will be executed on the spot for 'disrupting academy order.'"
Pass or die?
"Why the different treatnt?"
"There's no choice. Too many cultivators want to beco academy instructors. To prevent many overestimating their abilities and wasting the academy's examination resources, this rule was set."
Zhu Xiaosuo nodded in acceptance.
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"Daoist Shang, what is your idea?"
"Find at least three city-level officials to jointly recomnd you as a filial and honest person in the City of Seeking Immortality. With this status, you could directly enter the capital to see the emperor, naturally ignoring the city's forced marriage."
"Why is it difficult to achieve?"
"Firstly, recomnding you ans supporting your decision not to marry, so you need to find three officials willing to offend most of the cultivator clans in the City of Seeking Immortality. Secondly, even if the city recomnds you, the provincial capital and the capital might not accept it. Historically, only twenty percent of such recomndations from the city succeed."
Zhu Xiaosuo imdiately understood the challenges.
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