Chapter 6: Lin Ningshan

Zhang Ruochen, Lin Fei, and maid Yun'er were seated in a wild antelope carriage, which was gradually making its way out of the Yunwu Royal Palace.

The wild antelope is not an ordinary horse but a unique monster with a single horn on its head. It stands over three meters tall, resembling a small elephant, and its running speed is more than five times that of an ordinary warhorse. Some strong wild antelopes can even cover a distance of three thousand miles in a day.

The carriage had traveled for an unknown distance before gradually coming to a stop.

Zhang Ruochen stepped out of the carriage and looked at the two golden-edged plaques hanging at the top of the magnificent gates not far away.上面刻着两个苍劲有力的大字:"Lin Mansion!"

His heart skipped a beat. Didn't his mother have the surname Lin?

Judging from the imposing manner of this mansion, the Lin family is not a small clan but a significant one.

If his mother's family is truly a powerful clan, why hasn't she received any support from her relatives? Instead, she has been subjected to bullying by other princesses in the royal family everywhere. There must be some underlying secrets.

Lin Fei also got out of the carriage and looked up at the familiar yet somewhat strange gates, saying, "Chen'er, you must have been longing to see Ningshan for a long time! Now that you have also awakened the Shenwu mark, I believe you have a lot to talk about with her. You must work hard!"

Up to now, Zhang Ruochen still has no idea who Ningshan is. Hearing Yun'er and Lin Fei's words, he always has a strange feeling in his heart.

Led by Lin Fei, Zhang Ruochen and Yun'er walked into the Lin Mansion together.

When a princess returns to her family, in theory, she should be greeted with great pomp. However, only an old housekeeper came forward to receive Lin Fei and Zhang Ruochen at the gate.

Lin Fei was taken to the inner mansion by the old housekeeper, while Zhang Ruochen and Yun'er stayed in the outer mansion, and only two maids were left to attend to them.

Zhang Ruochen always felt that the atmosphere was rather strange, but he didn't know how to ask. He could only remain silent.

"Nine Prince, don't you want to see Ningshan? She should be in the martial arts field at the moment. Lin Jia's young disciples are probably all practicing there." Yun'er inquired.

After being mentioned by Yun'er and Lin Fei several times, Zhang Ruochen's curiosity was even stronger. Who is this girl named "Ningshan"? It might not be a bad idea to meet her.

"Okay! Let's go to the martial arts field of the Lin family." Zhang Ruochen nodded.

...

Inside the inner mansion of the Lin family.

In a traditional and elegant hall, Lin Fengxian, the head of the Lin family, was sitting steadily on the armchair.

He looked to be about thirty years old, with two neatly trimmed beards on his lips. He turned to look at Lin Fei sitting opposite him and said, "Nine Prince is a descendant of the royal family. Even if he has awakened the Shenwu mark, he should go to the library of the royal family to select the cultivation techniques. Why did Princess Lin come to our Lin family to ask for cultivation techniques?"

Lin Fei bit her lip and said, "It's not a request. I'm begging my big brother to give Chen'er a volume of cultivation techniques because he is your nephew."

"Boom!"

Lin Fengxian snorted and slapped the table, saying, "Now you come to beg me for help? And you talk about affection now? Three years ago, when I went to the royal family to beg you, why didn't you save Chenyu, your nephew? You know that Chenyu is my legitimate son and a rare genius in our Lin family. As long as you had gone to beg the prince, you could have saved him. But you didn't..."

"Three years ago..." Lin Fei was very aggrieved and couldn't help crying. She wanted to tell the truth about three years ago.

However, Lin Fengxian interrupted her and said, "You leave! The Lin family has long severed ties with you. Don't come back anymore, Princess Lin."

"Dong!"

Lin Fei directly knelt on the ground and kept crying, sobbing, "Big brother, are you so heartless? I want to see Dad."

"Dad has gone to Tianshan Mountain and won't return for three months. You can't see him now." Lin Fengxian said indifferently, "There is another thing. Ningshan is going to get engaged to Prince Qi. Ask Nine Prince to stay away from Ningshan in the future."

Lin Fei's heart was even more desperate and said, "You know that Chen'er has always liked Ningshan. If he finds out that Ningshan is going to get engaged to Prince Qi, how sad he will be? Besides, why is it Prince Qi?"

Lin Fengxian said, "Prince Qi opened the seventh-rank Shenwu mark at the age of three. How amazing is his talent? With his current martial arts cultivation, no one in the entire Yunwu County can compare to him. Ningshan marrying Prince Qi is of great significance for the future of our Lin family."

"Nine Prince and Ningshan are cousins and good playmates when they were young. But Nine Prince's talent is mediocre. He just awakened the Shenwu mark at the age of sixteen. He won't achieve much in his life. He can at most reach the late Huangji Realm, which is no match for Prince Qi at all."

Lin Fei said, "Ningshan is also willing to get engaged to Prince Qi? For the sake of family interests, will she really be happy?"

Lin Fengxian stared at Lin Fei and said indifferently, "You're wrong. This is Ningshan's own decision!"

...

The martial arts field of the Lin family is extremely spacious, covering nearly half a football field.

A group of young disciples of the Lin family are practicing martial arts in the field, some are practicing boxing, some are practicing swords, and some are practicing knives.

They are the elites of the Lin family, and each of them has awakened the Shenwu mark and is concentrating on their cultivation. At the same time, there are also elders of the Lin family who are guiding them in the field, presenting a prosperous scene.

Zhang Ruochen nodded and thought to himself, "The Lin family is also a prominent clan in Yunwu County."

Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen's eyes fell on a slender girl and couldn't help but be slightly surprised.

The girl looked only about fourteen or fifteen years old. She was petite and graceful, with slender eyebrows like willow leaves, bright eyes like stars, and fair skin like jade. She was truly a beautiful young lady.

She was holding a sword with a faint starlight, and a light blue sword glow was emanating from it. Countless sword qi were circling around her body, following her steps. She was as graceful as a startled swan and as elegant as a graceful dragon. Her swordsmanship was extremely exquisite.

"True qi is released, and the sword follows the heart. Her martial arts cultivation has at least reached the middle stage of the Huangji Realm, which is much stronger than Prince Ba." Zhang Ruochen murmured to himself.

"Eh! Isn't that Nine Prince? He still comes to the Lin Mansion?" A young disciple of the Lin family saw Zhang Ruochen standing outside the martial arts field and showed a cold smile.

"Sure enough, he came to look for Sister Ningshan. Unfortunately, Sister Ningshan doesn't even want to see him now."

"I heard that he also awakened the Shenwu mark."

"Hehe! He just opened the Shenwu mark at the age of sixteen. What can he achieve? If he wasn't Ningshan's cousin, he might not even be able to enter the gate of our Lin Mansion."

"I heard that Sister Ningshan is going to get engaged to Prince Qi. What a perfect match!"

"Hehe! It is said that Nine Prince has always had a crush on Sister Ningshan. Guess what his expression will be when he hears that Sister Ningshan and Prince Qi are going to get engaged?"

All the young martial artists of the Lin family stopped practicing and stared at Zhang Ruochen standing outside the martial arts field, pointing and chatting, and sometimes making teasing remarks.

Lin Ningshan also stopped practicing swords and looked at Zhang Ruochen standing outside. She waved her slender jade arm, and the Xinghui sword accurately inserted into the sword sheath five meters away.

Lin Ningshan walked up to Zhang Ruochen and looked at his thin figure, saying, "Cousin, it's been a long time. I heard that you also awakened the Shenwu mark?"

When she was young, Lin Ningshan and Zhang Ruochen were good playmates and could be regarded as childhood sweethearts. However, after Lin Ningshan awakened the Shenwu mark, most of her time was spent on cultivation, and she gradually became alienated from Zhang Ruochen.

After the incident three years ago, she never went to the Yunwu Royal Palace again. Although Zhang Ruochen was often sick, he still went to the Lin family to see her. Even if he could just see her, he would feel very happy.

But the times he could see her were getting fewer and fewer. In the past six months, he hadn't seen her at all. She always sent a maid to send Zhang Ruochen away.

"So she is my cousin."

Zhang Ruochen can be said to have seen Lin Ningshan for the first time now. He doesn't have any special feelings for her, so he looks very calm and modest, saying, "It's true that I awakened the Shenwu mark. But Her Royal Highness the Queen said that it's just an ungraded Shenwu mark and naturally can't be compared with my cousin's."

Lin Ningshan nodded and raised her snow-white chin, as proud as a white swan, saying, "After all, you are already sixteen years old. It's a gift from God that you can open the Shenwu mark. You must work hard on your cultivation in the future. Although you may not become a powerful martial artist, at least you can strengthen your body and don't have to lie in bed all the time. For you... At least you can lead a normal life."

Zhang Ruochen frowned slightly and nodded, saying, "I will definitely work hard on my cultivation in the future and strive to catch up with my cousin's cultivation level."

Lin Ningshan naturally knows that Zhang Ruochen likes her. Hearing Zhang Ruochen's words, she thinks that Zhang Ruochen still hasn't given up and still wants to pursue her.

"Well! Cousin, my cultivation has reached the middle stage of the Huangji Realm, and I'm only one step away from the Great Realm. With your talent, you may not be able to reach the middle stage in your life. The most important thing for you now is to practice hard and don't blindly pursue some things that you shouldn't pursue. One should not be too ambitious, otherwise it will backfire." Lin Ningshan said with a hidden meaning.

Zhang Ruochen frowned deeper.

Lin Ningshan looked at Zhang Ruochen with some pity and said, "Cousin, there is one more thing I want to tell you. I hope you don't be too sad. In three months, when the prince comes out of seclusion, Ningshan and Prince Qi should get engaged."

"There's a good show! Hehe!"

All the young martial artists of the Lin family were very excited and stared at Zhang Ruochen, wanting to see his reaction?