Family Rise: Beginning with Grandfather.

Chapter 809 Outer Disciple Yang Qinting

"Sixth Master, should we...?" The subordinate made a throat-slitting gesture.

Lian Shengqian sneered, "This man is truly hateful. Killing him directly would be too lenient. I will torture him severely, destroy his family, leave him all alone, and make him watch helplessly as his descendants die. I will show him what true torture is!"

Taking a life is the easiest punishment; the real punishment is to make the enemy suffer all the pain in the world.

Lian Shengqian would not let Yang Zhengshan off easily, so he decided to use the most despicable means to make Yang Zhengshan suffer unbearable pain.

He then wrote two letters and had his subordinates send them out.

……

In a secluded courtyard atop Lingcui Peak of the Xuanqing Sect.

The morning light, like a golden veil, bathed a handsome young man within it. His figure was as upright as a pine tree, his moon-white robe billowing in the wind, the dark cloud patterns embroidered on the hem resembling flowing celestial clouds. The long sword in his hand gleamed coldly, the ancient runes engraved on its blade faintly exuding a mysterious aura in the dim light.

The young man had bright, sparkling eyes, his gaze focused and resolute. His eyebrows were slightly raised, exuding a heroic spirit. He gently raised his sword, and with a flick of his wrist, the longsword drew a graceful arc, like a dragon swishing its tail.

In an instant, sword shadows flew, cold light flashed, and the air currents generated by the sword blades made the surrounding flowers and plants rustle.

Every movement he made was powerful yet graceful and agile, sometimes like an eagle soaring through the sky, sharp and swift; sometimes like a gentle breeze brushing across the water, soft and fluid. Sunlight shone on the sword, reflecting a dazzling light that complemented the vibrant energy emanating from the young man.

The boy's footwork was unpredictable, as if he were walking on clouds, each step creating a unique rhythm that complemented his swordplay.

After finishing practicing a set of Cloud-Piercing Sword Techniques, Yang Qinting's lips curled up slightly.

"I've reached the fourth level of the Acquired Realm. If the Ancestor knew that I've already reached the fourth level of the Acquired Realm, he would definitely be shocked!"

Yang Qinting is only twenty-one years old this year, but his cultivation level has reached the fourth level of the Acquired Realm. Such a cultivation progress has far surpassed everyone in the Spirit Source Land.

It must be said that Yang Qinting's martial arts talent is truly outstanding. Of course, more importantly, he now possesses the dual resources of the Xuanqing Sect and the Spirit Origin Land.

High talent and abundant resources are the reasons why Yang Qinting was able to reach the fourth level of the Acquired Realm in just three years.

"I wonder what our ancestor is busy with!" Yang Qinting thought to himself as he sheathed his sword.

He was homesick. He hadn't been back for the past three years and had no contact with his family except for a few exchanges.

The Xuanqing Sect also does not allow its disciples to go out at will, especially the outer disciples, who are only allowed to return home once after five years of membership.

According to the Xuanqing Sect's higher-ups, cultivation should begin early, and young people should strive to cultivate and not be entangled by worldly emotions.

But in reality, this was just the Xuanqing Sect's way of distancing its disciples from their family ties.

Disciples of a sect should be devoted to the sect; how can they be half-hearted and think about their family all day long?

After finishing his cultivation, Yang Qinting quickly washed up and went out.

He is now a senior outer disciple of the Xuanqing Sect, which means he no longer needs to live on the Sword Washing Peak and can live on the Spirit Essence Peak.

"Senior Brother Yang, are you going to the herb garden?"

As soon as Yang Qinting stepped out, he encountered a pretty young girl who smiled sweetly at him and said...

"Junior Sister Li, shall we go together?" Yang Qinting's eyes lit up when he saw the girl, and he said.

The girl's name is Li Qianqian, and she is Yang Qinting's neighbor.

Outer disciples like them all have a menial job. Yang Qinting and Li Qianqian are both herb farmers in the herb garden, and their main task is to take care of the spiritual herbs in the garden.

The two lived in adjacent courtyards and tended adjacent medicinal herb fields, so they gradually became close senior and junior brothers and sisters.

Li Qianqian looked at Yang Qinting and asked in surprise, "Senior brother, have you broken through?"

"Hmm, I just broke through, I didn't expect you to have noticed!"

The two walked toward the herb garden while talking.

"Congratulations, Senior Brother!" Li Qianqian said with a joyful expression, her curved eyebrows and eyes bringing happiness to all who saw her.

"You should be almost there too, right?" Yang Qinting asked.

"It's still early. I only recently broke through to the third level. I estimate it will take another year to reach the fourth level!" Li Qianqian said.

“That will be soon. I’m a year older than you. When you break through in a year, you’ll be exactly the same age as me now!” Yang Qinting said.

He is a genius, but the Xuanqing Sect is never short of geniuses.

Every outer disciple possesses superior physical attributes, and each outer disciple is supported by a family.

"That's still not as good as my senior brother! His swordsmanship is far superior to mine!"

The two started complimenting each other, chatting and laughing without feeling awkward at all.

Just as the two were leaving the disciples' residential area, a middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties suddenly blocked their way.

"You must be Yang Qinting!" the middle-aged man said with a smile.

Yang Qinting was slightly taken aback, but he still respectfully clasped his hands in a salute and said, "Disciple Yang Qinting greets Senior!"

"I am Lian Shengyu, and I have been appointed as a steward of the Outer Sect's Hundred Crafts Hall!" the middle-aged man said.

The Hundred Crafts Hall is the outer sect organization of the Xuanqing Sect responsible for assigning tasks to its disciples. For example, Yang Qinting's job of taking care of the medicinal fields was assigned by the Hundred Crafts Hall.

"Disciple greets Steward Lian!" Yang Qinting didn't know why this person was stopping him, but since he was a steward of the Hundred Crafts Hall, he naturally had to be respectful and courteous.

For outer disciples like him, the one they absolutely cannot offend is the steward of the Hundred Crafts Hall, because the stewards of the Hundred Crafts Hall can assign them some hard, tiring, and unprofitable work, making it impossible for them to concentrate on cultivation.

Yang Qinting's job of tending the medicinal herb fields is actually quite easy. He only needs to take care of two acres of medicinal herb fields. He goes there to check on them twice a day, each time taking less than half an hour. Then he regularly waters, weeds, and catches insects.

But if he were to take another job, he wouldn't be able to have it as easy as he does now.

Lian Shengyu smiled amicably and said, "Hehe, I've heard that Junior Nephew Yang is of good character and diligent in his studies. It just so happens that the Hundred Crafts Hall has a few tasks that require someone like Junior Nephew Yang to do!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Qinting's heart skipped a beat. It was exactly what he feared. This Steward Lian was actually going to change his mission.

Where did he offend such a high-ranking official?
Yang Qinting was puzzled, but he showed no emotion on his face and remained extremely submissive.

"May I ask what the mission is?"

Lian Shengyu said, "The weapon-making workshop needs a few diligent disciples to help out. I think Junior Nephew Yang is suitable, so I'll take on this task for him!"

As he spoke, he handed a token to Yang Qinting.

Yang Qinting frowned slightly, but still accepted the token.

The weapon forging workshop is not a good place. Although you can learn weapon forging techniques there, most of the outer disciples do hard and tiring work there.

The most grueling job was forging fine iron, which not only required a lot of time but was also extremely laborious.

This steward was clearly up to no good, but Yang Qinting was just an outer disciple and not qualified to challenge an outer disciple.

He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately accepted the offer.

"This disciple will obey the sect's orders!"

"Hehe, Junior Nephew Yang, you're quite good!" Lian Shengyu patted Yang Qinting's shoulder with a smile, then slowly walked away with his hands behind his back.

Yang Qinting watched his retreating figure, his brows furrowed. Why was this person targeting him?

Since joining the Xuanqing Sect, he has always been cautious and prudent, focusing on his own duties aside from cultivation, and has never had any conflicts with others.

At this moment, Yang Qinting had no idea that he was being dragged down by his great-grandfather.

The Xuanqing Sect has strict rules, and even the Lian family cannot act recklessly within the sect. However, it would be easy for the Lian family to make things difficult for Yang Qinting, an outer disciple.

Baigongtang changing Yang Qinting's job does not violate the rules of the sect, and even if the higher-ups investigate, Lian Shengyu will not be punished.

However, this is a considerable problem for Yang Qinting. If he cannot adapt to the new job, it may delay his cultivation.

The twenties are the golden age for martial arts training. Even a delay of three to five years can be extremely damaging to a martial artist, as it may cause them to miss the optimal period for breaking through to the Innate Realm.

In addition, the environment of the weapon-refining workshop is not as good as that of the medicine garden. The weapon-refining workshop has earth fire, and staying there for a long time will cause fire poison to be produced in people's bodies.

In particular, Yang Qinting practiced wood-attribute techniques, making the environment of the weapon-refining workshop even more unfavorable for him.

Li Qianqian watched Lian Shengyu's retreating figure, a thoughtful expression appearing on her pretty face.

"Senior brother, have you offended him?"

“No!” Yang Qinting said.

"So, who have you offended?"

"Probably not!"

"So you're blocking someone else's way? That doesn't make sense either. The herb garden is nice, but it's not worth people fighting over! Strange, then why is he targeting you?" Li Qianqian asked.

Yang Qinting thought for a moment, "Maybe it's because of home?"

"You mean your family offended the Lian family?" Li Qianqian suddenly realized. "That makes sense. This person is from the Lian family. If it's because of the Lian family, then it's reasonable!"

"But won't this have any impact on your family?"

She wasn't worried about Yang Qinting. Although the weapon-refining workshop wasn't good, it was still within the sect. Even if Lian Shengyu wanted to target Yang Qinting, he wouldn't go too far.

Besides, these outer disciples aren't exactly pitiful nobodys who go unnoticed within the sect.

They have masters to pass on their skills and teachers to instruct them.

The master who transmits the power is the one who teaches them cultivation; they are all nominal disciples of the master who transmits the power.

Their instructors were the teachers who taught them martial arts and other skills, such as the outer elders of the medicine garden.

Although they rarely saw these two people on ordinary days, they had a master-disciple relationship with them.

As long as these two can be persuaded to step in, even if Baigongtang wanted to change Yang Qinting's job, it wouldn't work.

In contrast, the Lian family is one of the twelve great families. If the Yang family of Lingxi offends the Lian family, the trouble will be even greater.

Yang Qinting couldn't think of any other reason why Lian Shengyu was targeting him. The only reason he could think of was a factor outside the sect, namely that the Yang family of Lingxi had offended the Lian family.

As for being worried, he wasn't.

Others may not know the situation of the Yang family in Lingxi, but surely he does?

"There shouldn't be any problems at my home?"

"Really?" Li Qianqian looked at Yang Qinting with bright eyes. "If you need help, senior brother, I might be able to lend a hand!"

Yang Qinting was taken aback and looked down into her eyes.

Their eyes met, and Li Qianqian's originally calm face flushed slightly.

"I didn't expect my junior sister to have such a powerful background?" Yang Qinting looked at the rosy cheeks on her face, a mischievous smile playing on his lips.

Li Qianqian said somewhat embarrassedly, "Senior brother, don't tease your little sister. We're talking about serious matters."

Yang Qinting smiled and said, "Alright, let's get down to business. Let's go to Master Li's place first. Master Li should be able to help me!"

“That’s right, Teacher Li thinks highly of you!” Li Qianqian’s expression turned serious, and she regained her previous pretty and dignified demeanor, but her slightly red ears betrayed her inner turmoil.

Afterwards, the two continued walking side by side toward the herb garden, but the atmosphere between them became somewhat ambiguous. Li Qianqian lowered her head, her eyes darting around, occasionally glancing at Yang Qinting beside her.

Although Yang Qinting stood tall and looked straight ahead, the smile on his lips betrayed his inner joy.

A moment later, the two arrived at the herb garden.

The outer sect of Xuanqing Sect has several medicinal gardens, each overseen by an outer sect elder or steward.

The outer elder above Yang Qinting and Li Qianqian was named Li Benqing, a skinny old man.

At this moment, Li Benqing was checking his precious medicinal herbs in the herb garden. The old man, dressed in a blue linen robe, squatted in the herb field, looking much like an old farmer from the countryside.

This medicinal field is located in the center of the herb garden, surrounded by a fence to separate it from other medicinal fields. On ordinary days, outer disciples would not come here, nor would they even come to disturb Li Benqing, because Li Benqing has a bad temper.

"Disciple Yang Qinting greets Master Li!" Yang Qinting and Li Qianqian stood outside the gate and bowed.

Li Benqing looked up at them and said stiffly, "What is it?"

"The Hundred Crafts Hall has assigned a new task to its disciples, but I don't want to go and wish to stay in the herb garden. I would appreciate it if Master Li could help me put in a good word!" Yang Qinting said directly without beating around the bush or hiding anything.

Because he knew Master Li's temperament, Master Li would not listen to his disciples' nonsense. If Master Li gave you a chance to speak, you had better immediately state your request. If you said something empty or pretentious, Master Li would immediately send you away.

As for whether Master Li will help you, that depends on his mood.

"I understand. Go check on those purple vines right now. If you ruin them, I'll throw you into the animal park to shovel manure tomorrow!" Li Benqing said.

Upon hearing this, Yang Qinting bowed again and said, "Yes, disciple thanks Master Li!"

"Get lost! Stop bothering me!" Li Benqing waved his hand and said.

Yang Qinting then respectfully withdrew.

Once they were far away from the fenced garden, Li Qianqian couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle.

"why are you laughing?"

"I knew Teacher Li was really good to you!"

"Hmm!" Yang Qinting did not deny it, because Li Benqing's attitude towards him was indeed different. If it were any other disciple, Li Benqing would at most say "I know" and would not say anything else.

The reason why Li Benqing treated him specially was simple: he had a great talent for cultivating medicinal herbs.

This talent comes from his practice of the "Green Wood Longevity Technique" and the "Wood Transformation Nourishing Method" since childhood. He has an inexplicable affinity for plants; to be precise, he can sense the emotions of plants.

Since Master Li had already agreed, Yang Qinting stopped paying attention to the new job Lian Shengyu had arranged for him and focused on taking care of the purple vines in his medicinal field.

However, after returning to his residence, he thought about it and decided to write a letter to Yang Zhengshan.

With Li Benqing stepping in, there will definitely be no problem with Lian Shengyu's actions against him.

However, this matter certainly cannot be kept from Yang Zhengshan.

(End of this chapter)