Ling Fan said, "If it's just to say thank you, you didn't need to make a special trip. This is just what I should do."
Lan Xueyi bit her lip.
Ling Fan spoke calmly, but to her, his words seemed to carry a hint of resentment.
Was he complaining that she hadn't fulfilled her duties as a wife?
It had been almost a month since they were married, and they still hadn't consummated their marriage...
It wasn't surprising that Lan Xueyi would think this way; any normal man would likely have such thoughts.
"Are you blaming me?"
"Why do you say that?" Ling Fan countered.
"I... we haven't... consummated our marriage yet."
As she reached the end of her sentence, Lan Xueyi's voice became as faint and weak as a mosquito's hum. A blush spread across her face, adding a touch of allure to her already stunning beauty.
Ling Fan hadn't thought about it in that way at all.
However, he didn't say anything.
He found it somewhat amusing. He looked at Lan Xueyi with his deep eyes, a half-smile playing on his lips, a hint of teasing in his gaze. The way he looked at her made Lan Xueyi's heart pound like a startled deer.
"I'm sorry, I can't fully accept you yet..."
"It's not that you're not good enough. You are already a renowned Huang-tier weapon forging master in Jiangnan, you are more than excellent. But I... Do you know, I have been diligently cultivating, dreaming of one day achieving great freedom, great liberation! I also hope that my partner will be a strong individual, standing tall and proud, someone who can accompany me on the path of strength."
"That's why I can't convince myself to accept you yet..."
For the first time, Lan Xueyi opened her heart to Ling Fan, pouring out the words that had been hidden deep within her.
This made Ling Fan's expression turn serious.
He hadn't expected that Lan Xueyi, a seemingly delicate woman, would possess such aspirations and ambitions.
Seeing Ling Fan remain silent, Lan Xueyi thought he was angry and said with self-deprecation, "Am I being too selfish..."
Ling Fan, however, shook his head. "No, I understand your thoughts very well. In this world, mortals are born like ants. Among billions of beings, how many can break free from their restraints and transcend the heavens to achieve true great freedom? Most people live their lives in mediocrity. However, what makes a person human is ultimately the heart of a strong individual."
In his previous life, Ling Fan was the Supreme Emperor, overlooking the Ten Great Heavenly Realms and gazing down upon the eight directions of the universe. This was not only due to his powerful talent but also because of his unceasing drive and relentless pursuit of strength.
How could he be angry?
He was overjoyed that his wife possessed such insight and ambition.
"One who is born like an ant should harbor the ambition of a swan. A life as fragile as paper should possess an unyielding spirit."
Ling Fan stood with his hands behind his back, his words carrying an extraordinary aura.
Lan Xueyi's delicate body trembled violently, as if she were seeing Ling Fan anew. Her beautiful eyes were fixed on him.
She had expected Ling Fan to be resentful, confused, opposed, or mocking. She had never imagined that Ling Fan would actually agree!
Her heart warmed, and her eyes welled up with tears. Her eyelashes fluttered as she quietly turned away to wipe them.
"I... I have to go back. Thank you!"
Lan Xueyi ran away amidst a swirl of fragrance. She was already outside the door, and her shy voice drifted in.
"I will work hard to overcome my own obstacles and try to be your wife. But if, one day, you no longer wish to wait for me, that's alright too..."
Ling Fan lowered his gaze and stood silently for a while before a slow smile finally appeared on his lips.
...
In the following days.
Ling Fan was focused on opening his water-attribute meridians.
Almost all the spiritual herbs and aged medicines in half of Jiangnan City were acquired by Ling Fan.
He was not lacking money at the moment. The gifts from various prominent families alone amounted to over a million, not to mention the deposits from families commissioning him to forge spirit weapons.
In Ling Fan's room.
A simple and grand furnace, seemingly eternal, floated in the air. The essence of all the spiritual herbs and aged medicines was extracted, transforming into drops of emerald liquid.
Ling Fan opened his mouth and swallowed. The immense refined power spread within his body, opening the meridians according to the route of the Five Elements Meridian Opening Technique...
"Hoo..."
An unknown amount of time passed.
Ling Fan opened his eyes. In the dimly lit room, two beams of electric light seemed to flash.
A stream of emerald true qi appeared at Ling Fan's fingertips.
Instantly, the entire room was filled with an incredibly rich vitality, as if it had entered spring, with the aura of all things reviving.
"The twelve wood-attribute meridians have all been opened, but these spiritual herbs and aged medicines are too common. The wood-elemental essence they contain is too basic, and it cannot bring the wood-attribute meridians to perfection in one go..."
"If it continues at this pace, it will take at least another month or two to push the wood-attribute meridians to perfection, but that is too slow..."
As Ling Fan was contemplating, someone suddenly requested an audience outside.
"Master Ling, our Master Wang requests your presence at our association for an important matter."
A mid-level craftsman from the Weapon Forging Master Association said respectfully.
"What matter?"
Ling Fan asked calmly.
"I heard that Zheng Bilie, the president of the Yunmeng City Weapon Forging Master Association, has been promoted to Huang-tier High-grade weapon forging master and appointed as the Inspector of Five Cities. He will be holding a meeting in our Jiangnan City."
A sharp glint flashed in Ling Fan's eyes.
Zheng Bilie?
Isn't this the brother of the Master Zheng that the Jin family hired?
What, his brother was driven out of Jiangnan City by Ling Fan, and now this brother is coming to seek revenge?
"I'm not going."
Ling Fan said indifferently.
A mere Huang-tier High-grade weapon forging master was not someone he took seriously.
As long as he had the corresponding materials, Ling Fan was confident in forging even Xuan-tier spirit weapons. What was Huang-tier High-grade?
When Ling Fan refused, the craftsman from the Weapon Forging Association dared not force him and left dejectedly.
What Ling Fan didn't expect was that Master Wang himself came this time.
Moreover, he brought a lot of news.
Zheng Bilie had been appointed Inspector of Five Cities and had successively inspected Hongze City, Xingsha City, and Baoqing City. Jiangnan City was his last stop.
With Zheng Bilie's backing, Master Zheng's disciples and the Jin family had returned!
Master Wang found it difficult to act, as a higher official could easily suppress a lower one.
Ling Fan did not blame Master Wang.
"Zheng Bilie, along with people from several major weapon forging families in Yunmeng City, arrived in great style. He also brought several ancient spirit weapons, saying he wanted to repair and decipher them with the major cities. Whoever can repair or decipher them, he is willing to gift the ancient spirit weapons directly!"
Master Wang snorted, "I heard that none of the weapon forging masters from those three cities, including their branch presidents, could repair or decipher those ancient spirit weapons. And every time Zheng Bilie visited a city, after stumped the weapon forging masters, he would personally repair one ancient spirit weapon, thus showing off his skills."
"So, what ancient spirit weapon did he leave for our Jiangnan City?"
Ling Fan asked indifferently.
"I heard it's called the Wood King Cauldron. It's a spirit weapon made of a very special material, neither gold nor jade nor stone nor wood. It's charred black like carbon, as if struck by lightning and burned by fire!"
As Ling Fan heard Master Wang's description, his expression remained unchanged, but a sharp gleam flashed in his eyes.
Judging by this description, this was likely a congenital spiritual wood.
This kind of spiritual wood inherently contained advanced wood-elemental essence. When it reached a certain limit, it would attract heavenly lightning strikes, hence its charred black appearance.
The lightning tribulation nurtured new life and power. If this congenital spiritual wood could endure it, it would transform into a higher-grade Spiritual King Wood!
Upon thinking of this, Ling Fan immediately developed the desire to obtain the Wood King Cauldron.
As long as he obtained this Wood King Cauldron, Ling Fan's water-attribute meridians would surely be able to reach perfection quickly.