Daily News: You promised yourself to be a fisherman, but you've become a martial arts god?

Ji Zheng replied without hesitation:

"The Zhang family secretly colluded with Shenyuan Village, kidnapping children and handing them over to Shenyuan Village so that Shenyuan Village could resell them to the Yue and Yan kingdoms on their behalf."

Ji Zheng had heard that several children had been kidnapped outside the city that afternoon, and he also knew earlier that the Zhang family was the mastermind behind the kidnapping case.

He doesn't care whether the children live or die; as long as the trouble doesn't come his way, that's fine.

If it doesn't concern me, I'll stay out of it.

Ji Cangshan put down his teacup and shook his head slightly, saying:

"Zheng'er, you're still too young; you're only seeing the surface."

After saying this, he released his mental energy to sense that no one was around, and then lowered his voice to say:

"The Zhang family kidnapped children to practice evil martial arts!"

"Evil martial arts?!"

Ji Zheng's brows furrowed, and he asked curiously:

"The Zhang family doesn't practice orthodox martial arts, so how can it be evil?"

"Evil techniques and malicious intentions are despised by all martial artists. Once their identities are exposed, they will be besieged by a group of heroes and suffer the cold stares and hatred of the world. So the Zhang family will naturally not say it openly."

Ji Cangshan paused for a moment, then continued:

"Moreover, this evil skill is extraordinary. Given Zhang Xiaoyue's self-restrained nature and cautious demeanor, he would not allow his own offspring to enjoy it."

"If it weren't for this evil technique, that old bastard Zhang Xiaoyue wouldn't have reached the Transformation Realm before me!"

He didn't care about the lives of those children. If he could do something to the Zhang family, he would have wanted to keep this evil skill for himself.

Ji Zheng asked curiously:

"Is it rumored that Zhang Xiaoyue broke through to the Transformation Realm by catching a Crimson Dragon Carp in the lake, and then hiring Liu Qinfeng, a pill refiner from the Hundred Herbs Sect in Qingyun Prefecture, to refine a 'Crimson Dragon Essence Pill' using the Crimson Dragon Carp as the main ingredient, and that he entered the Transformation Realm with this pill?"

"So you're young, and those elixirs are just a cover for your evil arts!"

Ji Cangshan smiled slightly.

Upon hearing this, Ji Zheng suddenly realized what was going on.

"I was too naive; I never imagined Zhang Xiaoyue was so cunning!"

As he spoke, Ji Zheng asked:

"Elder, what is the connection between the past events you mentioned and Zhang Xiaoyue's cultivation of evil arts?"

Ji Cangshan picked up his wine glass, took a sip of tea, and said slowly and deliberately:

"This evil skill did not originally belong to Zhang Xiaoyue, but originated from another person."

"This person is none other than the key figure who stirred up the conflict twenty years ago, a conflict that all the major families and powerful clans in Qianhu County avoided mentioning!"

"Once you understand what happened, you won't feel like your father abandoned you."

Upon hearing this, Ji Zheng's eyes lit up.

He wanted to know that his father hadn't ignored him, which was why he had sent him back to the barren ancestral land at such a young age.

His father was a general who guarded the west, and he had three sons.

The eldest son, Ji Yan, is the legitimate eldest son. He was personally taught by Ji Zhenyue and joined the army at an early age. He is now a captain guarding an important area.

The fourth young master, Ji Che, possesses extraordinary talent and was personally selected by the sect leader of the Tianyan Sword Sect. He is the sect leader's personal disciple, with unlimited potential.

And he was Ji Zheng, the Eighth Prince.

He was sent back to his clan's territory at the age of 18. Without the guidance of his father or the leader of a major sect, he only had Ji Cangshan, whose martial arts skills were mediocre and who had relied on elixirs, as his martial arts instructor.

He desperately wanted his father to value him!

"Please enlighten me, Elder!"

Ji Zheng clasped his hands in a deep fist salute.

Ji Cangshan didn't say it outright, but instead asked:

"The general's mansion is filled with numerous documents. You've been learning to read and write in the mansion since you were a child. Have you ever learned about 'blessed land' or 'destined children'?"

Ji Zheng didn't know why Ji Cangshan asked this, but he still answered truthfully:

"Blessed lands and grotto-heavens are mostly formed by the convergence of spiritual veins of heaven and earth, or by ancient powerful beings using great supernatural powers to open up secret realms of creation, forming their own spiritual domains."

"The destiny of a child is intertwined with the fortune of heaven and earth, and is in harmony with the fortune of a blessed land. The blessed land nurtures the foundation of their destiny, and their own life force can trigger the opportunity of a secret realm to be born. The two are linked by fate, and fortune and misfortune depend on each other."

"Those born under the destiny of the world are endowed with the purest fortune in the world, surrounded by blessings. They are protected by the heavenly way in the dark, and ordinary disasters and evil spirits can hardly approach them. They will have many opportunities and things will go smoothly. They will meet benefactors on their journey, and turn danger into opportunity. When they cultivate, spiritual energy will naturally gather, and breaking through the realm will be a matter of course."

"One's own aura influences the fortunes of those around them, subtly altering the luck of others, gathering good fortune and avoiding misfortune, receiving blessings and warding off evil, gaining the favor of Heaven, and making everything go smoothly!"

Upon hearing this, Ji Cangshan nodded in satisfaction.

Then, he took a deep breath, looked intently at Ji Zheng, and said:

"Back then, your father met a man of destiny. At that time, he was holding a position in the prefecture and was just a mediocre martial artist who had not yet opened the door to blood."

"However, your father was clever and knew how to conduct himself in society. He befriended him and eventually accompanied him into the blessed land of Zening. This led to his opportunity, which allowed him to break through the Gang Jin (罡劲) barrier and become the renowned General Zhenxi!"

As he spoke, Ji Cangshan sighed helplessly and said:

"It's a pity that the boy with the bad luck died in the blessed land; otherwise, given his relationship with your father, your father would be more than just a general now!"

Suddenly, Ji Cangshan realized he had said something wrong and quickly changed the subject:

"Actually, not long after 'Yunze Blessed Land,' there's another hidden natural blessed land in our Qianhu County!"

"Heaven has also given birth to a new destiny!"

Upon hearing this, Ji Zheng recalled for a moment, then asked in confusion:

"I've checked the county annals, and there's no mention of a blessed land being opened."

"Of course the blessed land hasn't been opened."

Ji Cangshan took a deep breath and said:

"Because that destined child died before the blessed land opened!"

"Dead? How did he die?"

"It was Zhang Xiaoyue and his gang who did it!"

A flash of anger crossed Ji Cangshan's eyes.

If that Fate Child hadn't died, with his understanding of the classics related to Fate Child, he might have learned from Ji Zhenyue and enjoyed his fortune. That way, he wouldn't have been overshadowed by Ji Zhenyue, who would have taken the position of family head and turned around to be someone else's dog!

Ji Cangshan calmed himself down and continued to recall:

"Back then, auspicious omens appeared in the sky above Qianhu, which was a sign that a blessed land had appeared in the world. However, the people in the county did not know the mystery behind it, nor did they know that a new destiny was being conceived in the county."

"At this moment, however, someone came into contact with the Fate Seed."

"Zhang Xiaoyue?"

"That's right!"

Ji Cangshan nodded and said:

"Twenty years ago, Zhang Xiaoyue, the ancestor of the Zhang family, was a distant relative of the Zhang family, separated by several generations of blood ties, and a fisherman who made a living by fishing."

"One day, when he went down to the lake, he happened to meet that person who was destined to go to the island on the other side for meditation."

"The Fate Master gave Zhang Xiaoyue a lot of silver and asked him to deliver three meals to the island every day. Over time, the two became very close and talked about everything. The Fate Master then gave him a martial arts technique and a few pills."

At this point, Ji Cangshan said in an icy tone:

"But Zhang Xiaoyue not only did not thank him, but instead harbored evil intentions and secretly colluded with Fan Xiaolie, a bandit he knew within the Sanjiang Alliance, and Ruan Tianjing, the previous head of the Ruan family."

"Zhang Xiaoyue sold the pills bestowed by the Fate Master, which led Fan Xiaolie and Ruan Tianjing to hire nearly twenty experts in both Ming and An Jin styles."

"The three were ignorant and completely unaware of the importance of the Destiny Child. They led their skilled servants to the island to ambush and kill the Destiny Child."

"Although the fate of the child was to seek good fortune and avoid misfortune, his good luck caused him to overturn the poisoned food that Zhang Xiaoyue sent, and he sensed the danger in advance and wanted to leave the island."

"But Zhang Xiaoyue was too much of a beast. Knowing that Mingshuzi was kind-hearted, he coerced several fishermen, preventing Mingshuzi from leaving the island..."