Martial Ascent to Divinity-Chapter 686 - 665: Ordinary

Zhou Leng and the others walked out the door, looking at the women standing at the entrance.

Each one was well-behaved and reserved, even Zhao Nandi had a smile on her face. She bowed her head and bent over to greet, "Hello, Grandpa Li, Grandpa Shiji..."

She greeted each one.

The others behind her all bowed their heads and bent over in unison.

The elders around Zhou Leng mostly wore smiles, while a few had a calm yet serious look.

Many of them were distant relatives, from subordinate families, or from the disciples’ families.

They instantly understood what was happening, but most of them didn’t interfere with the affairs of the younger generation and family. They were all preparing for the final battle and were too lazy to say anything.

Li Tianyuan smiled and said, "You young people should hang out more, we’ll leave Zhou Leng in your care."

The Martial Saints turned and left, and the women bowed again, respectfully saying goodbye.

They stood there until the elders gradually got into their cars and left, or disappeared from sight. No one dared speak.

"Sister Nandi," Zhou Leng said.

The others finally breathed a sigh of relief.

They looked at Zhou Leng, their expressions faintly mixed with how they looked at the Martial Saints, unable to hide it no matter how hard they tried.

The way their fathers or even grandfathers behaved in front of these Martial Saints was all too clear to them.

Zhao Nandi glanced at them, half-jokingly asked, "What, now that he’s here, don’t you dare ask for Martial Faith?"

Everyone laughed awkwardly.

Zhou Leng immediately understood what was going on, and with a swipe of his Demon Brain, displayed his Martial Faith QR code, and said, "Since you’re Sister Nandi’s... and Xiao Baiyin’s friends, let’s all add each other, and we’ll hang out sometime."

Liang Baiyin heard that Zhou Leng added her, and her expression, which had stiffened in fear of the Martial Saints, brightened up.

"Brother Zhou Leng!" Liang Baiyin sweetly ran over and stood by Zhou Leng’s side.

"Innate already? Not bad," Zhou Leng complimented.

"I heard you’re a Grandmaster now?"

"Yes."

"Really impressive," Liang Baiyin sincerely admired.

The others added Zhou Leng as a friend and introduced themselves briefly before leaving.

The scene of Zhou Leng walking out earlier shattered all their fantasies.

After seeing everyone off, Zhou Leng and Liang Baiyin got into Zhao Nandi’s luxury car and headed to her home.

All three of them were familiar, and as they chatted, they became more and more lively.

Arriving at Zhao Nandi’s house, the table was filled with cakes, fruits, and dishes prepared by an aunt. The three sat together, eating and chatting.

Both of them were interested in Zhou Leng’s recent experiences, and Zhou Leng spoke about his experiences over the past few months while eating.

Zhao Nandi could still remain calm, but Liang Baiyin was already a complete fan girl, listening intently.

After the meal, Zhao Nandi glanced at Liang Baiyin.

Liang Baiyin blushed and said, "I’m going to the bathroom."

With that, she stood up, and walked away along the corner of the wall.

Zhao Nandi stood up and said, "Let’s go talk on the balcony."

Zhou Leng wasn’t sure what she wanted to say but got up and walked onto the balcony together, and Zhao Nandi casually closed the floor-to-ceiling windows on the balcony.

In the deep night of Xiong City, many places were still brightly lit.

"Your Divine Text skills must be particularly impressive now, Master Zhou."

"It’s alright, at least a bit stronger than Master Zhao, for sure."

"Make sure to hurry up with the translation of the new fragment from Ancient River Sect; so many people are eagerly waiting for you."

"I’ll have it solved in a couple of days," Zhou Leng said.

Zhao Nandi said, "I met with you this time mainly to talk about your lifelong matters."

"Huh?" Zhou Leng thought of those women, remembered that Liang Baiyin kept blushing today, and how her gaze at him was different from before.

"You’re going to be a man of the Martial Saints. As your... former teacher, I still want to oversee your future marriage prospects. I know you have your own ideas, but listen to me first..."

Zhao Nandi spoke earnestly, almost like an older sister at home.

Back then, Zhou Leng was taken care of by her, and even the Tiger Talisman was given to him by her, so he said nothing and continued listening.

"I have long known that the giants and the giant dragons, and even the dwarves, have their eyes on your bloodline. Our Dragon Country is a place that overly emphasizes rules, but some rules have been broken in the world war and the new Martial Arts Civilization..."

"In fact, before the Martial Arts Civilization, no bloodline could maintain its heritage; there were plenty of unworthy descendants, often worse than their predecessors. The merits of their fathers and ancestors could not compensate for the damage they did to the country and its people..."

"But the Martial Saint is different, the bloodline of the Martial Saint can indeed form a heritage of power. If it were a time of peace, many things might be unnecessary, but during humanity’s crisis, continuing the bloodline of the Martial Saint is a very important task..."

"This is different from extending privileges in the past; it is about extending the power, extending the possible hope. So now, some younger Martial Saints have many descendants and even seek help from Demon Spirit Masters..."

"I do not oppose you and Xu Qingjin; I even hope the two of you can have several children. However, your marriage is destined to be different..."

"A clan that is too high may not be good; those people are accustomed to putting themselves at the center. After several generations, they no longer see people as people, which will eventually slow you down..."

"But a background that is too low will also cause various problems. In my view, Liang Baiyin is very suitable for you, with a clean family background, Demon City Army origins, from a prestigious family, a true noblewoman, and the pride of Yunhua; she can handle social occasions with ease and also be down-to-earth..."

"Your future wife is not just your wife, but she also needs to manage your entire household, and even the future Martial Clan. Liang Baiyin, having been influenced from a young age, understands society, interpersonal relations, resources, interests, power, and even various implicit rules better than many people..."

"I have no intention of belittling Xu Qingjin; to the contrary, you can see that I really like this child. She is suitable to be your wife, but far less suitable than Liang Baiyin to be the matriarch of the Zhou family..."

"Moreover, Liang Baiyin not only has advantages in terms of family and personal ability but also in terms of martial arts. With her current progress, she is sure to become a Grandmaster, and even has the potential to reach sainthood in the future..."

"A couple both becoming saints is unprecedented in human history; it is very important for both your bloodline and humanity."

Zhao Nandi turned around, looking at Zhou Leng, continuing to speak.

"The most important thing is, Liang Baiyin’s heart is full of you. You occupy the most dazzling moments of her maiden years, and her feelings for you are as pure as those of Xu Qingjin..."

"The great war of the Ten Realms is upon us, and in the coming years, you should consider the issue of offspring. Your offspring are more important than ancient thrones..."

"For you, a marriage of matched social status is especially important."

"Xu Qingjin is too ordinary." Zhao Nandi gently placed a stone.

Zhou Leng sighed softly; such an extraordinary woman, yet suddenly speaking about domestic trivialities, would never do this unless it was for his own good.

"Sister Nandidi, I know you mean well for me," Zhou Leng said.

"I’m not asking you to get married immediately. You two should take the time to get acquainted; it’ll work out slowly. As for Xu Qingjin, I’ll handle it personally to help you reconcile."

Zhou Leng said, "Are all people from your large families so rational?"

"Sometimes, it must be this way."

"What about you? If someone told you to marry me now, saying it’s for all humanity, would you willingly agree?"

Zhao Nandi was startled for a moment, her eyes showing a hint of an unexpected expression, her mouth slightly curled up, staring closely at Zhou Leng’s face, and frankly said, "If it’s you, willingly."

Zhou Leng laughed with tears.

Zhao Nandi said, "Well, I’ve finished speaking; tell me your thoughts."

The two stood side by side, Zhou Leng holding the railing, gazing at the deep night of Xiong City.

"Do you know where my initial expectations of marriage come from?" Zhou Leng asked.

Zhao Nandi shook her head.

Zhou Leng continued, "When I was a child, Xu Qingjin and I often played together. I was there because I was alone; Xu Qingjin was there to accompany me. There was another friend who often tagged along because he was lonely too. Even though he moved away later, I still remember his nickname, Xiaotao."

"One day, Xiaotao talked about his family. His dad was a middle-level manager in the Martial Mansion, his mom was a company manager. He said a lot that day; I’ve forgotten most of the specifics, but it was mostly about how his dad treated the family like the Martial Mansion, very sullen and stern, constantly losing his temper..."

"His mom treated the family like a company, almost the same as his dad, constantly yelling when things didn’t go her way. At home, he was like an employee until he saw how other classmates interacted with their families and realized that something seemed amiss in his home..."

"He said he was not better off than me; although no one was there to take care of me, at least I was free. He was like a robot at home. Of course, we later realized that his parents... loved him; it was just that they had a unique way of showing it..."

"After Xiaotao left, Xu Qingjin suddenly said, ’When we get married and start a family, we mustn’t be parents like that.’ At the time, we were not even ten."

Zhou Leng couldn’t help but smile as he said this.

Zhao Nandi’s gaze was exceptionally tender.

"Do you know how powerful was that sentence for me? For a child whose parents both died, suddenly hearing such words, what would you think? So Xu Qingjin’s words and that event laid the foundation for my understanding of marriage, family, and life..."

"From a young age, my understanding of marriage and family was based on happiness and love between Xu Qingjin and me. In retrospect, it’s one of the most important things in my life, and it’s the only thing that a genius like Zhang Xinglie envies about me."

Zhou Leng turned to look at Zhao Nandi.

"Then what about your concept of marriage, family, and life with Liang Baiyin? What is it based on?"

"Based on what you said, it’s inferred that your concept of marriage and family is built on two premises."

"One premise is that marriage and family are like the Martial Mansion or a company, a ’profitable’ organization; one must utilize the family to gain greater benefits, that is, to acquire resources, whether material, social, power, money, and all sorts of resources. Love is not mentioned, nor is happiness."

"The second premise is that you fundamentally believe ordinary people, ordinary abilities, ordinary wealth, ordinary appearances, ordinary height, ordinary everything, are not worthy of having marriage, family, and life."

Zhao Nandi paused for a moment.