Chapter 472: Chapter 57: How Can the Male Protagonist Be So Incompetent?

People who are fond of watching dramas can definitely notice a common pattern: whenever the main villain terrorizes the entire scene to the point that everything falls into silence, a brave soul will always step forward to break the silence.

For instance, right now, when everyone is recalling the fear and humiliation instilled by Zhao Chenlu, a petite girl courageously stood up, raised her arm, and shouted, "I have a question! Whose daughter is this!?"

Zhao Chenlu unsurprisingly saw the petite yet upright figure and laughed, "Why ask when you already know the answer?"

Shen Qingming instantly fumed, "Do you have no shame! We helped you out of kindness, and you take advantage of people!"

Seeing the little girl’s exasperated look, Zhao Chenlu felt even more delighted and, ignoring the millions of onlookers, teased her, "We are all family now, what’s this talk of taking advantage?"

"Who’s family with you!"

"We already have a daughter, how are we not family?"

"You’re truly shameless!" Shen Qingming spoke through gritted teeth, her temples almost bulging with anger, which surprisingly amused Zhao Chenlu even more.

Back when Zhao Chenlu and the Shang Girl used to hurt each other, there was no such one-sided thrill of crushing the opponent.

And Shen Qingming didn’t continue to fight a losing battle, realizing such a contest did not benefit her in any way, she immediately shifted direction, "Ah Jiu, say something!"

This act of a mistress unable to argue with the legitimate wife so she seeks the man’s support amused Zhao Chenlu greatly, and she deeply felt that Xiangzhou people were indeed not as promising as those in the Jiuzhou Era.

In those days, whether it was her or Shang Lanfei, or any other alluring woman, when they clashed, they licked their wounds quietly and learned from it, never running to the Celestial Divine Sword for justice, which would have been too embarrassing.

The little girl now truly lacked perseverance.

Yet Zhao Chenlu also knew that since the opponent had brought the male protagonist into the matter, it was inappropriate for her to continue teasing her arbitrarily relying on her experience, so she waved to the others below, "If anyone else has no objections, please withdraw; don’t get in the way here."

Then with a twist of her fingers, the surrounding space distorted, engulfing Shen Qingming and transporting her back to Zhao Chenlu’s room.

Zhao Chenlu’s bedroom wasn’t the golden splendor many imagined. The floor was laid with rough green bricks, and the walls were reinforced mud, featuring only a stone bed, a wooden wardrobe, and a wooden table, so basic it was hard to believe... but after a glance, Shen Qingming guessed it must carry a special meaning.

"Ah Jiu’s old room?"

Zhao Chenlu was slightly surprised, "You could actually guess that. That’s right, during his human years, he was adopted and raised by a cultivator of the Celestial Pool Sword Sect, ranked 71st in Central Province, and lived here for about ten years."

Shen Qingming scrutinized the room closely, "So dilapidated, even for a sect ranked 71st in Central Province, the treatment for disciples is too poor."

"This isn’t for disciples; it’s a servant’s room." Zhao Chenlu chuckled, "Initially, he was treated as a servant because he was born near the Sword Pool. When he became sensible, his mind worked differently from others, often appearing dazed, so everyone in the Celestial Pool Sword Sect thought he was mentally challenged."

Hearing this, Shen Qingming couldn’t help but laugh, "You have such a day too!"

Zhao Chenlu said, "Before the age of 10, he lived the life of a servant in the Sword Sect. Besides daily necessities, only a third-rate instructor taught him to read. Naturally, no one taught him cultivation. The entire sect simply regarded him as a waste. However, at 10, some troublemaking disciples tried to bully him, and he ended up killing 2 and injuring 5 with a bamboo stick, leaving everyone in shock."

Just a few words left Shen Qingming equally shocked, "No one taught him cultivation? Then how did he manage to kill and injure so many?"

Zhao Chenlu said, "The people of the Celestial Pool Sword Sect couldn’t understand it either. The disciples who bullied him, although from the Outer Sect, at least had early-stage Cloud Surge Realm cultivation, easily capable of massacring hundreds of mortals. How could two be killed and five injured by a servant with no cultivation? Yet, upon bringing him to the hall, they discovered his cultivation was nearly breaking through to the Cloud Flipping Realm, and his swordsmanship was ingenious, far surpassing peers of the same level."

"This... who taught him?" Shen Qingming was incredulous. A 10-year-old in the Cloud Flipping Realm would be considered a reincarnated celestial in today’s Xiangzhou, and even in the Jiuzhou Era, he would have been remarkably rare. Even geniuses require sects to invest heavily for them to achieve significant success, yet Wang Jiu was just a servant back then?

"Self-taught." Zhao Chenlu said, "Though he was a servant, he had daily interactions with ordinary disciples of the Sword Sect and occasionally observed them practicing swordsmanship and meditating."

"But... generally, isn’t cultivation methodology even within a sect not casually displayed for others to see? Outer Sect disciples leaking techniques to servants would be severely punished!"

"No one revealed techniques to him. He observed on his own. Through the casual sword postures of Outer Sect disciples, the rhythm of their breathing and muscle movements during exercises, he deduced a set of True Essence Refining Techniques and swordsmanship suited for himself, unknowingly completing steps like Breaking Wind Barrier and raising Cloud Mists. When this news was confirmed, the expressions of the Celestial Pool Sword Sect members were as shattered as yours right now, just having their worldview completely crushed."

Shen Qingming was truly having her worldview shattered.

Deducing a cultivation technique through observing casual gestures and breathing rhythms? Is Immortal Cultivation Techniques that cheap!? From the viewpoint of today’s Xiangzhou people, even the most superficial cultivation techniques are perfected over countless generations of cultivators’ research and practice, gradually improved bit by bit. Even the most brilliant of geniuses can only tweak what predecessors have laid down; making a major innovation is already worthy of being immortalized... However, deducing an entire set of Immortal Cultivation Theory solely by observation is simply a fantasy tale!

"Indeed, these matters, even when we became well-acquainted, were hard to believe when I went to the Celestial Pool Sword Sect to consult the records. And the elders of the Sword Sect, in order to test the authenticity, handed three scrolls of lower-level but mysteriously profound and hard-to-complete swordsmanship remnants to Wang Jiu, challenging him to make a breakthrough within a day, which was indeed an impossible task. However... after one day, Wang Jiu had already completed one scroll and discarded two."

"Discarded two?!"

"He said that the two scrolls were fundamentally flawed and had no value for further development."

"..." Shen Qingming was taken aback, staring at the pure white long sword quietly floating beside Zhao Chenlu, constantly reshaping her understanding of Wang Jiu. At the age of ten, although he was once regarded as intellectually challenged, he had already achieved feats that shattered perceptions. Meanwhile, at ten, she was still being criticized as a negative example in the Inner Sect...

Zhao Chenlu looked at Shen Qingming’s shocked expression with great satisfaction.

As expected, the little girl knew nothing about his greatness.

If it weren’t for such extraordinary skills, why would so many women chase after him one after another? Could it be that they were all lovestruck women who had never seen a man?

Unfortunately, people of the Xiangzhou Era can hardly witness the grandeur of his peak period.

"Ah Jiu, I didn’t expect you to be... so amazing." Shen Qingming couldn’t help but murmur.

Zhao Chenlu proudly exclaimed, "Of course, he is my daughter’s father!"

"How shameless can you be!" Shen Qingming immediately recalled the main topic and was furious again, "You took advantage of Ah Jiu’s non-retaliation with impunity!"

Zhao Chenlu laughed, "Aren’t you doing the same? Given your qualifications, what right do you have to keep the Celestial Divine Sword by your side?"

"I... I awakened him!"

"Even without you, he would have awakened eventually; it was just a matter of time. And if it weren’t for you... then the most likely person to awaken him would have been me, which is evidently a more favorable outcome for him."

Shen Qingming retorted uncomfortably, "You’re not the only one who has said that."

"But only when I say it does it hold significance."

Shen Qingming was left speechless.

Compared to rivals like Li Chaolu and Qian Yue, Zhao Chenlu... is overwhelmingly superior on every conceivable level.

"And after you awakened him, the benefits you gained from him were quite ample, weren’t they? Not only did you resolve your family conflicts, but also he helped streamline your cultivation techniques, paving your path to immortal cultivation. And what did you give back?"

"I..." Shen Qingming was once again rendered speechless.

Objectively speaking, the Li Family certainly provided Wang Jiu with plenty of returns, such as rebuilding many scarce resources of the Sword World, for which the Li Family exerted a lot of effort to collect for Wang Jiu... But compared to the Golden Jade City Lord, the Li Family’s financial resources appeared insufficient. Moreover, Zhao Chenlu, this woman, was willing to go to any lengths for Wang Jiu, while the Li Family could not exhaust all their resources for him.

"So, when it comes to taking advantage, at most I’ve taken an ethical advantage, whereas you have reaped real benefits. So how can you have the nerve to criticize me?"

Shen Qingming was once again at a loss for words.

Fortunately, she had a shameless little trick up her sleeve.

"Ah Jiu, after hearing so much, say something, won’t you?"

Wang Jiu responded, "Based on my personal experience, when others discuss overly complex and incomprehensible topics, it’s best to remain silent."

"This matter is related to you! She said she had a child with you, and you have no reaction?"

Wang Jiu paused for a moment, "What, do I need to name the child? But doesn’t she already have a name?"

"You... don’t take having a child seriously at all?"

Wang Jiu replied, "There’s no reason to take it seriously. Unlike ordinary humans, I have no need for reproduction."