Chapter 15 — One More Person Who Loathes the Chu Family

As soon as eldest sister Chu Wanling made her proposal, Chu Lingtian and Chu Xiao’er’s eyes lit up simultaneously—they both thought it was a great idea.

“Eldest sister is right!”

Chu Xiao’er immediately agreed:

“The eldest daughter of the Nangong family has picky taste. If she didn’t like Chu Li, fine—but how could she not like someone like Ming?”

As she said this, Chu Xiao’er and Chu Wanling reached a complete agreement, as if in their eyes, every girl should naturally like Chu Ming.

Hearing this, Chu Lingtian was overjoyed too and nodded repeatedly.

“Exactly. Having Ming replace Chu Li in the marriage alliance with the Nangong family is an excellent idea.”

“Since Chu Li himself left the Chu family, then naturally, the man in the marriage contract is no longer him.”

“In every way, Ming is much better than Chu Li. The young lady of the Nangong family will surely be pleased.”

Everyone was in cheerful agreement, except for Chu Ruyan, who frowned slightly, feeling something was very off.

The marriage alliance with the Nangong family had originally been proposed by the Chu family to ease tensions—why were they now talking as if the Nangong family was the one in need?

Moreover, as far as she knew, the Nangong family’s eldest daughter had a poor impression of the entire Chu family; it wasn’t really just about Chu Li.

Most importantly, Nangong Shi truly was the Nangong family’s legitimate young lady. Although Chu Ming was favored in the Chu family, he was ultimately an adopted son with no Chu bloodline.

Although it felt harsh to say, would the Nangong family really agree to marry their eldest daughter to an adopted son of the Chu family?

The more she thought about it, the more Chu Ruyan worried about the Nangong family’s response. She could only gather her courage and say:

“Father, I heard that Nangong Shi is a martial genius who admires the strong above all. But Ming is only at the late Postnatal stage right now—shouldn’t we slow this down a bit?”

“Hmph, what’s there to worry about?” Chu Lingtian retorted disdainfully. “With all the resources our Chu family has, do you think Ming’s future achievements will be lacking?”

“Exactly! And Ming has so many other good qualities—it’ll be fine.”

Chu Xiao’er chimed in, treating Chu Ming like a precious treasure.

Just then, Chu Ming spoke up.

“Father, sisters… is the Nangong family really that powerful? Do they truly need to marry into the Chu family?”

“Of course the Nangong family is powerful. They’re the greatest force behind the Demon-Slaying Division.”

“Demon-Slaying Division?”

Hearing this, Chu Ming’s eyes widened, his gaze flickering with interest. He continued asking:

“What does their young lady look like? I heard she’s a warrior—could she look scary?”

“Not at all. Their young lady, Nangong Shi, is actually a famous beauty in the capital. She has countless admirers at the academy.”

“Really!?” Chu Ming exclaimed with delight. “Then I’m willing to take brother Chu Li’s place and marry into the Nangong family!”

Hearing this, Chu Lingtian burst into hearty laughter.

“Hahaha! Good! Then I’ll get started on the arrangements right away and try to make it happen as soon as possible!”

And just like that, a major matter concerning the relationship between the two families was decided. In the past, Chu Ruyan had always been the strategist of the Chu family, but now she couldn’t get a single word in.

Clearly, because of the situation with Chu Li, she now had a slight rift with the rest of the family—and if she spoke up again, it would likely backfire.

Thinking of this, Chu Ruyan couldn’t help but sigh softly, as a sudden premonition rose in her heart:

From now on, the Chu family’s path might not go as smoothly as they imagined.

At the same time as the Chu family meeting, inside the inner courtyard of the Imperial Capital Martial Academy, Chu Li was visiting an elderly man.

The old man had white hair and beard, wore plain clothes, dressed in an unrestrained fashion, and held a wine gourd, occasionally taking a sip.

Not far away, a large alchemy furnace stood in the center of the courtyard, wafting fragrant scents of medicinal pills that refreshed the mind.

No one knew the old man’s real name, but within the academy, everyone knew of him. He was called Old Mu, one of the vice deans of the Imperial Capital Martial Academy.

Nearly all the academy’s supply of high-grade medicinal pills for martial artists came from his hands, so he was held in great esteem—second only to the dean.

Most importantly, he had once helped Chu Li.

Back when Chu Li first entered the academy, he lacked cultivation resources and pushed himself too hard, suffering frequent injuries—this was how he met Old Mu.

But to his surprise, instead of being dismissed as a reckless student, Old Mu not only healed him but also gave him some pills to nurture his body.

It was thanks to those pills that Chu Li’s health stabilized for a long time, allowing him to shine in the academy competition and win many rewards.

In front of someone like this, Chu Li didn’t dare be careless. He removed his bamboo hat and bowed deeply.

“Old Mu, long time no see. I’ve come to trouble you again.”

“Hmm, looks like you’ve just come back from a demon-slaying mission… burned quite a bit of blood and energy… Wait, hmm?”

Midway through speaking, Old Mu suddenly straightened up, scrutinized Chu Li closely, and then showed a look of surprise.

“Good lad! You’re already at the late stage of the Postnatal realm? That’s quite some progress!”

“Yes, I’ve indeed made some progress lately,” Chu Li replied modestly.

“But your complexion has worsened. Didn’t I tell you? Your body is frail and your qi is weak—you must not let yourself be consumed by sorrow.”

Staring intently at Chu Li’s face, Old Mu warned him sternly. Hearing this, Chu Li didn’t respond—he simply bowed again.

Previously, Old Mu had repeatedly reminded him: no matter what happened, he must not let himself grieve too deeply, or it would greatly harm his body.

Precisely because of that, even when he suffered countless injustices at the Chu family, he always forced himself to smile and let things go.

But this time, he truly couldn’t.

That day, when he saw with his own eyes how his father, Chu Lingtian, and his three sisters openly sided with Chu Ming—saying that he deserved to die and even taking his Martial God Bone to give to Chu Ming—grief and rage surged uncontrollably in his heart, and his body grew even weaker.

Yet gain comes with loss, and sorrow only exists when you still care.

After that day, his heart had died.

From then on, the word “family” in his heart referred to only one person: his deceased mother.

And after severing ties with the Chu family, they could no longer truly hurt him—because Chu Li no longer cared about them. Proof of that was how he reacted to Chu Ruyan earlier.

In the past, every time Chu Ruyan called him, he would rush to her side, afraid to keep his sister waiting even a moment.

But now, Chu Ruyan’s words passed by like the wind, unable to stir any emotion in him.

“Old Mu, actually, there’s something I wanted to tell you: I’ve already cut ties with the Chu family.”

“Oh? I see.”

Hearing this, Old Mu let out a slow sigh and didn’t press further.

He had examined Chu Li’s body before, so he knew that Chu Li was a member of the Chu family. What he didn’t expect was that the boy would truly sever ties with them.

You must know, though the Martial Academy appeared large, its cultivation resources were still far inferior to those of the Sacred Martial Academy. As someone from the Chu family, Chu Li should have had a place at the Sacred Martial Academy.

Yet he chose to abandon everything just to leave the Chu family. And at this age, his body actually lacked the Martial God Bone.

“It seems the Chu family must have treated him extremely harshly!”

Thinking of this, Old Mu’s gaze turned cold, and his already low opinion of the Chu family sank even further.