You promised yourself to be a caged bird, but you became the supreme young master?

"I expected this," Lu Heng said calmly.

Neither of them seemed inclined to discuss the topic further.

As a branch family member, there is nothing wrong with discussing the main family behind their backs, but in a place like the martial arts arena, if someone overhears and reports it, it could be problematic.

So it's obvious that neither of them will be able to get away with this.

"Alright, where were we?" Lu Jinnian resumed his usual playful and smiling demeanor.

"Foundation Building is just the beginning," Lu Heng replied earnestly.

"That's right. For us, the branch family, we are not willing to live like this forever. So, Foundation Establishment is just the beginning."

But first and foremost, the time required for foundation building is a hurdle.

After we establish our foundation, we, the young members of the branch family, will be assigned to the outer courtyard of the clan.

However, upon entering the outer academy, the initial treatment is based on the time it took to reach the Foundation Establishment stage.

"If I had known you had such exceptional talent and comprehension, Ah Heng, I should have invested in you much earlier. Having you establish your foundation within fifteen days versus after fifteen days is a completely different experience."

Lu Jinnian said with some regret, and then spoke with a rather resentful tone.

"Aheng, I originally thought you were absolutely confident that you could establish your foundation in a month."

You have good talent for cultivation, but who knew you weren't? You actually have superior comprehension talent.

This is truly eye-opening!

That's why he misjudged the situation.

Otherwise, given his personality, he would invest in someone without hesitation if he thought highly of them.

Whether it's adding flowers to brocade or providing charcoal in snowy weather.

And after realizing his misjudgment, he, who had just entered the outer courtyard, returned to the training ground without hesitation and offered to help.

It may seem like a loan, but in reality, for most ordinary teenagers who are going through a family breakup, the act of lending money could even make them risk their lives for it.

After all, if one month isn't enough to establish a foundation or even begin to learn, then everything will be for nothing!

Saying it was a loan was also to protect my friend's self-esteem.

"Jin Nian, you don't owe me anything, so there's no need to blame yourself."

Lu Heng remained remarkably calm about this, or rather, indifferent.

In reality, it's perfectly normal for plans to fall short of changes.

If he's depressed because of this, then he shouldn't be living.

"But isn't the reason I invested in you to make you, a guy who looks so promising, owe me something?"

"Never mind." Lu Jinnian was still a little disappointed despite being very frustrated.

Lu Heng simply smiled and remained silent in response.

"Well, it's a bit of a pity, but fortunately, the treatment can be improved."

Improving one's salary can be very difficult, but it can also be very easy.

What can be improved is unnecessary, and what needs to be improved cannot be improved.

I was wondering why this rule existed in the first place.

Now that I think about it, it's probably not because of your exceptional talent for understanding, Ah Heng.

At this point, Lu Jinnian sighed and then continued.

"As for the treatment? I'd better not tell you now, Ah Heng."

It's better to leave some room for anticipation.

However, while the compensation may increase, it may also decrease.

If one continues to decline to the point of being eliminated, they will be expelled from the outer courtyard and reduced to a menial servant in the family.

Yes, that's the clansman you saw guiding our Qi and blood, Ah Heng.

Being reduced to a household servant means, to the family, that means becoming mere consumables…

and so…

Ah Heng, we must not let ourselves fall to that point! Lu Jinnian said calmly.

His words revealed a hint of unspoken determination.

Lu Heng nodded.

How to determine the status of a family's outer courtyard?

Ah Heng, I think I should say something.

It's very simple. After reaching the foundation stage, for us cultivators, it all comes down to cultivation itself.

The realm of Body Refining Secret Realm, the progress of the Basic Body Refining Method, and the cultivation of Body Refining Combat Techniques.

These ratings are given to A, B, C, and D, with D being unqualified, C being qualified, B being excellent, and A being outstanding.

The evaluation is conducted every three months, and those who fail three times will be directly eliminated from the department.

The rating standards are raised each time.

Those who pass are allowed to remain in the outer courtyard.

Three "Excellent" awards can lead to a one-level promotion in benefits.

One instance of excellence can lead to a promotion.

The compensation is also divided into A, B, C, and D categories.

"Okay, that's all. I'm exhausted." Lu Jinnian sighed helplessly after talking so much without even having a drink of water.

"Simple as expected," Lu Heng commented.

"Otherwise what? How complicated can it get? Are you going to make it so mysterious that no one can understand it?"

Lu Jinnian rolled her eyes and replied somewhat speechlessly.

"That's true," Lu Heng agreed.

"I'm leaving now."

"I hope that when we meet again, Ah Heng, you will have already reached the Foundation Establishment stage." Lu Jinnian took his leave first.

"Take care, I won't see you off," Lu Heng said casually.

"You bastard." Lu Jinnian staggered as he left, turning back to say this.

………………

In the late night, the candlelight still flickered in the room.

"This world not only has cultivators, but also demons." Lu Heng found it quite interesting as he flipped through the book of strange tales he had borrowed from the library.

This world not only has extraordinary cultivators, but also demons who are born extraordinary through bloodline inheritance.

Of course, "demon race" is just a general term. Even the carnivorous demon race would not consider the vegetarian demon race to be the same race as themselves.

In fact, in the eyes of some demon races, humans are just a part of the demon race. It is only because they are too powerful, like the true dragon and the true phoenix races, that they are able to break away from the demon race and become their own race.

However, compared to the vast majority of demon races, the human race's starting point is too low.

Unless one can transcend the ordinary through cultivation, in this world, one would probably only become food for the demon race.

The demon race is inexhaustible, or rather, any ordinary beast could awaken its bloodline and become a demon.

Unless the world is destroyed, the demon race cannot be wiped out.

Some demons are even artificially domesticated and forced to reproduce because of the exploitable resources they possess.

Looking at the information about the demon race recorded in the book, Lu Heng felt that his eyes had been opened.

Compared to the demon race, where everything can be passed down through bloodlines, for the human race, books are the medium for information transmission most of the time.

Soon, Lu Heng finished reading the part about the demon race in the book and turned his attention to the next part.

The reason why "Strange Tales and Amazing Things" is called "Strange Tales and Amazing Things" instead of "Tales of the Demon Clan" is that this book is not just about the demon clan.

The demon race is only one part of what this book is about.

The book is divided into four chapters.

Demons and monsters.

The demon race has the most chapters.

Decrease sequentially.

"Yao" corresponds to the demon race, "mo" corresponds to the demonic path, "gui" corresponds to the ghost, and "guai" is the only one in the four chapters that does not actually exist.

It corresponds to a strange place where the world is upside down and abnormal.

It is said to be four chapters, but apart from demons and monsters, ghosts and monsters are rarely mentioned in the chapters.

The strange thing is that it's only described in a few words.

Anything that is abnormal is considered strange.