Chapter 23: Great Grandfather Comes Chasing

"Big Brother, I'm back." Su Jin shouted loudly and walked into the main hall.

"Xiao Jin is back?" Su Jian, hearing that Su Jin had returned, immediately turned around with a smile. "Xiao Jin, I rented a Spirit-Gathering Array for Xiao Hua. Do you need one? Should Big Brother rent one for you too?"

Su Jin quickly waved her hands. "No need, no need. The academy gave me one."

"So you're now in the top ten of your class?" Su Jian asked happily at once.

"No, no. Isn't the top ten ranking only determined after the final assessment?"

"I just broke through to Qi Refining Layer One. I can only be considered to have taken a small step ahead of others," Su Jin said.

"Big Brother remembers that you broke through to Qi Refining Layer One on the very first day you started cultivating, right? Then your class ranking should be very high. What place were you in the class when you broke through to Qi Refining Layer One?" Su Jian suddenly asked. He thought: The next day, he told me that the eleven strands of magic power he had condensed had become ten and a half. And he asked me what the reason was.

Isn't this breaking through to Qi Refining Layer One?

"Third place," Su Jin said calmly. There was nothing to hide, as the students and Master Liu all knew.

"Actually, my breakthrough on that day was the result of my parents giving me medicinal baths since childhood; it probably has little to do with my own potential," Su Jin guessed. Since she was little, she had taken medicinal baths every day, eaten various spirit foods made by her mother, and occasionally eaten spirit fruits brought by Great Grandfather.

Life had been very good.

Over time, her foundation had been built extremely solid.

That is why she broke through to Qi Refining Layer One on the very first day she started cultivating.

"Xiao Jin. If you think like that, you are being too self-deprecating. Our Su family is a cultivation family; which family's children don't take medicinal baths and grow up eating spirit rice and spirit meals since childhood? Ask Xiao Hua; since she started eating, our family has never missed a single meal of spirit rice and spirit meals for her.

Everyone prepares for their children in the same way. But when it comes to starting the path of cultivation, the results are worlds apart.

Like you, just starting cultivation, you could break through to Qi Refining Layer One on the very same day.

Whereas Xiao Hua worked hard for twenty days before breaking through to Qi Refining Layer One.

This shows that your cultivation talents differ greatly."

Xiao Hua thought to herself, Father, you're talking about Auntie's matter, don't drag me down to make a point.

"So, Xiao Jin, you must have great cultivation talent. In the future, you must cultivate diligently and not disappoint your parents and your Great Grandfather's hard work."

Su Jin nodded.

She would definitely find a way to earn more spirit stones from the family academy to bring home.

"I..." Su Jian wanted to say a few more words.

But then, a tall, sturdy figure in a long robe with wide sleeves appeared quite abruptly in the main hall.

"You what..." A voice full of spiritual energy, carrying a hint of grievance, thundered like a clap of lightning.

"Grand... Great Grandfather?" Su Jian instantly stood up and ran frantically towards the courtyard outside.

But he was immediately grabbed.

Then, several whacks landed on his buttocks.

Pain made him scream loudly.

"Spare me, Great Grandfather, spare me!"

"Spare you? Spare what life? You little rascal, how impressive you are, directly tarnishing your Great Grandfather's reputation without even saying a word beforehand.

My old friend sent a Thousand-Mile Sound Transmission Talisman directly to mock me for not disciplining my children and grandchildren well, spreading my name everywhere.

How awesome do you think you are?

Run... what are you running for?

This time, I will definitely beat your buttocks until they are swollen."

"Great Grandfather, just spare Big Brother; his buttocks are already swollen. Look, they are swollen very high," Su Jin hurriedly shouted.

The middle-aged man, wearing a deep purple long robe with wide sleeves and a magic robe, a tall crown on his head, with an aura that was both majestic and ethereal like an immortal, dropped his stick, grabbed Su Jian by the collar, and dragged him back to the main room like a dead chicken.

"Granddaughter-in-law, go brew a pot of tea so I can have a good talk with this big rascal."

"Great Grandfather, my husband was only worried about delaying Xiao Hua's cultivation, so he rashly decided to act first and report later. He had no bad intentions," Liu Yunniang said with tears in her eyes.

"Granddaughter-in-law, go brew the tea and don't worry about anything else. If this rascal had any bad intentions, would I just beat him? I would have long ago picked up a big stick and broken his legs," the middle-aged man said with suppressed anger.

Liu Yunniang could only helplessly go to brew the tea.

She dared not act recklessly in front of the person before her. This was a great cultivator of the Venerable Purple Palace Realm.

He was not at Foundation Establishment, but at the Purple Palace, which is above Foundation Establishment.

"Tell me, what exactly were you thinking, you fool? Don't we have Spirit-Gathering Arrays in our family? Did you need to go rent one?

Do you think that old fellow waiving the deposit was doing you a favor?

Later, he will use a Thousand-Mile Sound Transmission Talisman to mock me for failing to discipline my children and grandchildren properly."

Since Great Grandfather had said this, Su Jian understood that it was the old senior presiding in that shop who had tricked him.

"It is all because Su Jian is stupid and foolish, causing Great Grandfather to lose face."

"You indeed don't use your brain much. Your grandfather was a Foundation Establishment cultivator back in the day. A mere Spirit-Gathering Array, where did you need to go out and buy or rent it? You should have just sent me a message via a Thousand-Mile Sound Transmission Talisman, and I would have had my disciples deliver it to you.

Doesn't renting a Spirit-Gathering Array cost money?

The Spirit-Gathering Array your grandfather originally kept with me, I have already brought it for you.

The one you borrowed, return it to that old man tomorrow.

Remember to ask for the prepaid rent back."

"Understood, Great Grandfather," Su Jian knelt before his Great Grandfather, looking extremely obedient and well-behaved.

Su Hua: So my family actually has a Spirit-Gathering Array.

Su Jin's Great Grandfather, Su Jian's Great Uncle, named Su Changying, had always had an extremely close relationship with Su Jian's biological grandfather, Su Changhao.

Su Changhao died in battle back then to save Su Changying, who had fallen into an enemy trap.

Su Changying then adopted Su Changhao's only young son with a spiritual root, Su Yan. He also ranked him as the fourth son according to his own son's birth order.

Su Changhao had four children in total.

The eldest was a mortal with no spiritual root. Su Jian was his eldest son.

The second and third daughters are girls, also mortals. They married early.

The fourth is Su Yan, who is Su Jin's current father; he lost his father at the mere age of five. Fortunately, Su Changying was a domineering personality who loved him, allowing him to grow up carefree.

Su Changying treated him extremely well, and Su Yan treated Su Changying with a filial piety even greater than that for a biological father.

Su Changying not only treated Su Yan extremely well but also treated the family of his cousin's eldest son very well, arranging the livelihood of the entire household clearly and thoroughly. After Su Jian was detected to have a spiritual root, he has always provided support and subsidies.

Otherwise, Su Jian's cultivation path would absolutely not have been as smooth as it is now.

Su Jian took the array disk pouch Su Changying handed him and discovered that both the pouch and the array disk inside were new. It seemed they had just been bought.

Su Jian's heart was instantly overwhelmed with emotion.

He almost shouted: Great-uncle, hit me again!