Chapter 69: Chapter 67: Only Unburdened Affection Can Endure

Almost as soon as Butcher Zeng handed in the token, a slender and beautiful maidservant approached him. "Lin Zhenchuan will see you. Follow me."

The maidservant, priding herself on her looks, was arrogant and wouldn’t even deign to look Butcher Zeng in the eye.

Butcher Zeng, however, didn’t dare say a word. He was all meek agreement, nodding and bowing with a fawning smile as he followed her into the cave residence.

Though the cave residence wasn’t large, it possessed a majestic air. It was filled with all manner of strange flowers and exotic plants, rare birds and Exotic Beasts, like a garden belonging to an Immortal.

Butcher Zeng didn’t understand the difference between the Demon Sect and the Profound Sects Orthodox Sect, so he saw nothing out of place.

It was just that the sheer, awe-inspiring grandeur of the place made him afraid to look around, so he could only fix his gaze on the maidservant guiding him.

Soon, his eyes were stuck, practically glued to the beautiful maidservant. He stared with relish at her perky rear as it swayed with her hips.

However, when the maidservant turned her head in annoyance and shot him a harsh glare, he hurriedly bowed his head and fixed his gaze downward, feigning contemplation.

He had no idea how he’d made it the rest of the way. In a daze, Butcher Zeng found himself before an exquisitely embroidered door.

Without needing a warning from the maidservant, he threw himself to the ground in a full kowtow. "Greetings, Great Mistress! Auspicious tidings to you! The man from the portrait you gave me... he came looking for me today. He asked me to relay a message to you."

A voice, so melodious it sent a tingle from his ears straight to his core, spoke up. "Is that so? What did he say?"

Of course, Butcher Zeng didn’t dare tell the truth. ’If I tell her the young master just urged her to hurry up and then left after a few words, I’ll never make it off this mountain alive.’

"That young master said... he misses you. He misses you terribly and hopes you’ll go to him soon," Butcher Zeng said, his tone even yet brimming with emotion.

"Hmph. A lie. He would never say he misses me. He’s never said it in his life."

’And yet... even knowing it’s a lie, why does it make me so happy?’

"Enough. You may rise. I am in a good mood. Tell me, what reward would you like?"

Butcher Zeng had rehearsed this moment in his mind countless times, but now that it was here, he was trembling uncontrollably. He tried to stand and speak, but his legs were so weak he couldn’t get up.

So he just stayed on the floor, babbling, "I... I was thinking, Great Mistress, I have three daughters. They’re all pretty, take after their mother, not me. Great Mistress, I was wondering if you could show your great mercy and pick one to keep by your side? To serve your tea and water, to wash your clothes and sweep—anything!"

"Hehehe. You really know how to press your advantage. I had intended to give you some gold and jewels to settle our connection, but I didn’t realize you were so ambitious. Fine. Since I’m in a good mood, I’ll grant your request! Oh, that’s right. I recall your wife passed away and you haven’t remarried? A home needs a woman. You can have this cleaning girl of mine."

The moment Lin Sha finished speaking, the color drained from the face of the maidservant who had led him in. She shot Butcher Zeng a hateful glare but didn’t dare utter a word to plead her own case.

She was all too familiar with the cruelty of the Demon Sect; how could she dare invite disaster upon herself by speaking out?

’Marrying this ugly Mortal would be, at worst, a physical ordeal. I’ll just have to pretend a dog is biting me every night.’

’But if I were to offend Lin Zhenchuan, my fate would be worse than death. There would be no peace even after I died; my very soul would be unable to reincarnate!’

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After completing the Divination, Du Youqian stood by a small stream, watching the fish flick their tails in the crystal-clear water.

As he did, he mulled over what kind of attitude he should adopt toward Lin Sha.

He didn’t consider himself a heartless person.

Or rather, he could *be* heartless when he was in a position that required it, when he had to shoulder a specific duty.

For instance, when he served as Prime Minister of the Wu Kingdom, he could send tens of thousands to their deaths without batting an eye, all to achieve his strategic objectives and save the kingdom’s hundreds of millions of people.

But without the constraints of responsibility, Du Youqian preferred to be a man of feeling.

To feel, but not to be encumbered—only then can one endure.

This was what Elder Tao had taught him.

He didn’t know if this was correct. After all, Elder Tao was only a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, hardly an authoritative expert on Cultivation.

But he planned to live by it nonetheless.

Besides, he had endless chances for trial and error.

If he discovered he was wrong, he could just start over from a reincarnation. No big deal.

’To feel, but not to be encumbered...’ How, then, should he handle this connection with Lin Sha? 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

He had already decided to go for another reincarnation.

But before reincarnating, he needed to do something big to raise his evaluation score.

So, should he team up with Lin Sha to take down her master, Helan Ruojin?

’Killing a Foundation Establishment Cultivator... a battle like that, fighting far above my weight class, should raise my evaluation score a little, right?’

He reviewed his first and second reincarnations.

In his first reincarnation, he was a Mortal, yet he turned the tide of history and saved the Wu Kingdom. As Prime Minister, he brought harmony to the state, allowing the people to live and work in peace. For that, he received an A Level evaluation.

In his second reincarnation, even though he became a Cultivator, he only received a C+ evaluation.

Clearly, the evaluation wasn’t based on raw power; otherwise, his first life couldn’t possibly have received such a high score.

Nor was it based entirely on the number of major events he caused. Otherwise, given how cautiously he’d played it and how much of a hermit he’d been in his second life, he never would have reached C+. He’d probably have gotten a D Level.

Du Youqian had a theory: what if the evaluation was based on achievements relative to one’s own strength?

It judged whether you could accomplish things that were considered difficult for someone at your level of power.

If that were the case, the evaluations for both lives made perfect sense.

In his second reincarnation, he’d been born a Mortal and only entered the path of Cultivation in his fifties. Yet, as a mere Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer, he had managed to train two Cultivation Techniques to Tier Two.

That was something an ordinary person could not achieve.

That was why, even though he’d laid low for most of his life, his evaluation still reached C+.

’Thinking about it that way,’ he mused, ’perhaps lying low isn’t a bad strategy for getting a good evaluation and more Spirit Root Points.’

At this thought, Du Youqian felt a sudden urge to turn around, return to the Sect, and continue lying low.

But after weighing his options more carefully, he restrained the impulse.

In this life, his Spirit Root aptitude was simply too poor.

Even with the Sect sparing no expense to cultivate him, he was only projected to reach Qi Cultivation Perfection around age fifty. And while he would be supplied with a Foundation Establishment Pill, who could guarantee that a single pill would ensure a successful breakthrough to Foundation Establishment?

With his Lower Grade Spirit Root, even with a Foundation Establishment Pill, his chances of a successful breakthrough were only thirty percent, not even forty percent.

If he failed, the Foundation Establishment Pill would prevent his meridians from shattering, but it would still place an immense burden on his body. He would need a long time to recover before he could attempt another breakthrough, and the failure would lower his chances of success the next time.

In other words, with his aptitude in this life, Du Youqian had at most two shots at Foundation Establishment.

His first attempt would have a thirty to forty percent chance of success. If that failed, his second attempt would likely only have a twenty percent chance.

If he couldn’t break through to Foundation Establishment, his Cultivation Techniques could never reach Tier Three—and even if he did succeed, reaching Tier Three with his techniques was hardly a guarantee.

For the Sect, a twenty percent chance of cultivating someone who could elevate the Sect’s status was a gamble worth taking.

But for Du Youqian, it wasn’t worth wasting his life on those odds. He’d rather take his chances, fight above his station, and try to kill a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.