Unknown Background

“Wh...what dragon?”

Chun Jiangtu looked at Leng San and gave him a nod. Leng San then stepped forward to stand beside Chun Jiangtu, cupped his hands, and bowed to Xiaolin Lun.

“With respect, sir. My name is Leng San. Yesterday, Elder Chun Jiangtu kindly took me under his wings as a gardener for the east and the west garden. I’ve heard from Elder Chun Jiangtu that you are looking for a young participant, not over the age of eighteen, to participate in the festival at the Indigo Cloud City. I just turned fifteen years old, so I hope that I would be able to participate as well.”

Xiaolin Lun is quite interested in Leng San’s personality and his body that has been trained in martial arts for quite a long time. However, after inspecting the boy’s qi, he immediately frowned, shook his head, and glared at Chun Jiangtu.

“Chun Jiangtu!! Is this your dragon? Middle-level violet qi? And he just reached the middle level not long ago!!”

Chun Jiangtu immediately turned to Leng San.

‘This kid raised his qi to the middle level of the violet stage within half a day.’

Chun Jiangtu proudly smiled.

“As you’ve said, Leng San’s qi is still weak, but…”

“But what?”

“I lost to him.”

Surprised, Xiaolin Lun stood up and stared at Chun Jiangtu, and then at Leng San, back and forth.

“Y...you said that you lost to the boy!!”

“You’re correct, I accept that I lost to him.”

“Impossible, his qi is only at the fourth level of the violet stage, but your qi is at the fifth level of the indigo stage. It’s impossible for someone to lose to an opponent that has a qi that is more than one whole stage lower!!”

Chun Jiangtu smiled with the corner of his lips and slightly bowed.

“Our confrontation was rather unconventional, in a sense. The boy challenged me to attack him three times, where he would stand still to receive the attacks. For the first two attacks, I didn’t use one hundred percent of my qi as I was afraid I would injure the boy. But on the third attack. I used my full-powered indigo qi to attack him. Even so, he was able to withstand the attack safely without any injuries.”

Xiaolin Lun plopped down to his chair and pointed his trembling finger at Chun Jiangtu.

“Is this the truth!!”

“Yes, I would not dare lie to you, sir. If you don’t believe me, you can see it for yourself by giving him a test.”

Xiaolin Lun turned to Leng San and frowned a little. Chun Jiangtu, his right hand, had been with him for decades. However, the things he said just seemed too far-fetched. He didn’t say anything to Leng San but directed his attention to Chun Jiangtu.

“Chun Jiangtu, send someone to call Li Xun’s son.”

Chun Jiangtu slightly bowed and walked to the guard at the entrance of the residence.

“Father, Leng San’s background is still unknown to us. I do not believe it’s a good choice to let him represent our village.”

Xiaolin Yue advised her father while monitoring Leng San’s reaction. However, Leng San’s expression was worry-free with a bit of a smile, to which the girl frowned in wonder.

“His background is unknown?” Xiaolin Lun repeated.

“Father, he told Li Xun that he and his family reached this village while they were escaping from thieves in the woods. However, according to Elder Chun’s statement, I do not believe that it is possible for thieves to do him harm.”

Xiaolin Lun slightly nodded in agreement. His brows knitted together as he looked at Leng San, waiting for a plausible explanation. Leng San then cupped his hands and answered.

“Please forgive me for hiding the truth from Elder Li Xun. However, I could not disclose my situation to other people, in general,” his expression was calm as if he couldn’t care less.

“What kind of reason? If your reasoning doesn’t hold its weight, not only I will not allow you to participate, but I will also punish you and kick you out of the village immediately!!”

Bang!!

Xiaolin Lun slammed his palm onto the chair’s arm to create a loud noise. Even so, the boy did not let even the hair of his brow move, as proof that this kind of threatening wouldn’t work on him before continuing to speak…

“Actually, I am an orphan and a core disciple of the Mount Taizhu Institute.”

“Mount Taizhu Institute?” Xiaolin Lun curiously repeated his words.

“Mount Taizhu Institute stands on top of Mount Taizhu, located to the southern border of the Black Tortoise Continent. However, misfortune visited our institute after several hundred years. Our institute was attacked by a larger institute from the south with the aim to take over an ore mine within Mount Taizhu. However, that mine was a forbidden location for our institute. Within the mine lies the cemetery of the founder of our institute and the rest of the seven generations of institute leaders.

My institute chose to confront them, however, the difference in power between our institute and the larger institute was overwhelming. All members of my institute were slain!! I was the only survivor. I was severely wounded to the point that I lost all of my cultivated qi. So I had to recultivate from the first level of the violet stage. I’ve escaped from the pursuers while trying to hide my identity, by traveling from the southern tip of the continent, which took six months, to the northern part of the Black Tortoise Continent.”

During the storytelling, Leng San’s face remained grim. His sorrowful eyes masterfully complemented the act.

‘Hmph!! From the bottom of my heart, your ability as a conman is that of a prodigy, just like your martial arts,’ Freya sarcastically commented.