Chapter 200

Chapter 200: Homecoming

The matter of marriage was something Zhou Luo had anticipated long ago; he knew it wouldn’t be as straightforward as it appeared.

That’s why later, he had proposed to Lin Xin the request for her to do three things for him.

Moreover, after marriage, it wasn’t he who would be suffering losses; the only thing needing worry was the Great Elder’s perspective.

Still, achieving Foundation Establishment wasn’t as simple as imagined; even with a Foundation Establishment Dan, success wasn’t guaranteed.

Otherwise, long-life families like the Lin Family wouldn’t have just a single Foundation Establishment ancestor presiding.

"I remember, don’t worry, I definitely won’t disturb you then," Lin Xin said with a serious expression.

About the marriage arrangement, she had no objections.

After all, they would only have the name of husband and wife, not the reality of it.

It happened to suit her plan of focusing solely on cultivation, conveniently saving her a pile of trouble.

"Good, but I have a condition—you cannot be the main wife," Zhou Luo stated.

The main wife was the mistress of Zhou Garden, a position of utmost importance.

A capable main wife aided the stability of his harem. He had no desire for the harem to be constantly raising a ruckus—disruptions like that were detrimental to Zhou Garden’s peace and his own cultivation.

"Does this count as one of those three things?" Lin Xin asked, blinking her beautiful eyes.

"What are you thinking?" Zhou Luo promptly dashed that notion.

Lin Xin felt a pang of disappointment inside, but after discussing their return home with him, she left.

According to the family’s assessment, the outside world was treacherous, with unknown numbers coveting them.

Therefore, they were instructed to return home under the escort of Eighth Elder Lin Guang Ming and his group.

Zhou Luo naturally had no objections to this.

He couldn’t wait to return immediately.

Three days later, Fifth Elder Lin Yan temporarily stayed in Jiang City to handle related matters. The rest, led by Lin Guang Ming, embarked on the journey home.

Although Lin Guang Ming’s cultivation was only at the eighth level of Qi Refinement, the presence of this giant flying boat guaranteed their safety unless a Foundation Establishment strong person attacked.

The flying boat had few rooms. Whether it was the family head’s instruction or Lin Guang Ming’s private arrangement,

Zhou Luo was assigned to share a room with Lin Xin.

This immediately caused a wave of envy among the other family cultivators.

After all, it was barely over a year since he had just married the family’s Fifth Miss.

And now he was about to wed the Third Young Lady.

It was utterly envy-inducing.

But given the talent Zhou Luo had demonstrated, this was hardly unreasonable.

In long-life families, essentially all women were tools of political marriage. Even an alchemy genius like Wang Yu Wei, possessing the dual cultivation body, couldn’t escape this Fate.

Though, part of the reason was also that the Wang Family hadn’t discovered her special physique.

Zhou Luo was undeniably guaranteed to advance to a second level Pill Master. To secure him, the Lin Family would stop at nothing.

Because a second level Pill Master could refine Foundation Establishment Dan, this meant that the family might give rise to many Foundation Establishment strong persons.

Especially recently, the Wang Family had connected with an Immortal Sect like the Biquan True Sect, which made the Lin Family feel even more urgent.

They certainly did not want the Wang Family to poach Zhou Luo away when the time came.

They could only rely on affection and favorable treatment to retain him.

“I’m sleeping on the bed.”

In the room, Zhou Luo sat on the bed and said seriously.

“Hey, I am the Third Young Lady of the family,” Lin Xin said discontentedly.

“So what? I am your shield,” Zhou Luo replied calmly.

During these days, because of Wang Yu Wei’s matter and their own marriage engagement, Lin Xin’s attitude towards Zhou Luo had improved tremendously.

Precisely because of this, Zhou Luo became bolder than usual.

Lin Xin glared at him resentfully, though displeased inside, but still obediently sat cross-legged on a nearby jade platform to cultivate.

It couldn’t be helped; who could blame her for being the one at fault?

The days aboard the flying boat passed quickly, and they drew nearer and nearer to Maple Leaf City.

On one particular day, Lin Guang Ming came very enthusiastically to the room and said cheerfully, “Zhou Luo, I’ve reported your deeds back to the family, and the family head is quite delighted, saying he wants to reward you.”

In truth, during this Jiang City trip, Zhou Luo hadn’t done anything truly important.

Nothing more than saving Wang Yu Wei and slaying those two formation masters of the Lu Family.

The former should logically be rewarded by the Wang Family, while the latter was known to no one except Zhou Luo himself.

So Lin Guang Ming’s talk of a reward was actually just a ploy to win him over.

“Then thank you for the family’s great favor,” Zhou Luo said politely.

If someone handed over money, only a fool wouldn’t take it.

Three days later, the flying boat smoothly appeared above Maple Leaf City and headed straight for the Lin Family, finally landing inside the family estate.

The flying boat’s arrival drew large crowds of family juniors watching eagerly.

When all the cultivators disembarked, Zhou Luo followed Lin Guang Ming’s lead and went directly to the core area.

The family head’s courtyard.

Lin Tian Xiong, rarely appearing personally for such welcomes, looked at Zhou Luo with a big smile and strode forward.

“It’s good you’re back.”

Zhou Luo bowed respectfully. “I apologize for causing the family head to worry.”

“Haha, on the path of cultivation, smooth sailing is rare—going through more trials is actually quite beneficial,” Lin Tian Xiong advised.

“The family head is right.”

Zhou Luo nodded outwardly, yet inside he entirely disagreed.

For someone like him, struggles like that didn’t exist.

As long as he had a long enough lifespan and focused on cultivation, he could achieve immortality without enduring trials.

If not forced into it, he would gladly spend his whole life avoiding such hardships.

Following Lin Tian Xiong back to the main hall, Lin Tian Xiong took his seat on the central throne and gestured for subordinates to bring out two storage bags.

“On this Jiang City trip, your performance was excellent. This storage bag is the family’s reward for you, and the other was specially sent by the Wang Family to express their gratitude.”

Zhou Luo accepted the storage bags, first looking at the Wang Family’s one and noticing that the cultivation resources inside weren’t few—spiritual pills and talismans, even magical artifacts—a truly rich haul.

It made sense when he thought about it.

If Zhou Luo hadn’t saved Wang Yu Wei, she wouldn’t have gained that opportunity to enter the Biquan True Sect.

On top of that, as the Wang Family wanted to win over this future second level Pill Master, they were naturally willing to spare no expense.

The Lin Family likely saw the Wang Family’s generosity and promptly found a reason to reward him handsomely as well.

“Thank you, family head. From now on, I shall serve the Lin Family with utter devotion unto death,” Zhou Luo declared solemnly.

Having gained this advantage, it was only natural he showed loyalty conspicuously.

Otherwise, he might miss out on such benefits later.

Hearing these words, Lin Tian Xiong’s smile broadened, and he praised repeatedly, “The Lin Family truly didn’t misjudge you—so when are you planning to marry Xin’er?”

“Please let the family head decide,” Zhou Luo deflected the question back.

“You’ve only just returned home—wait awhile longer, and I’ll have someone arrange it,” Lin Tian Xiong said with a faint smile.

“Alright,” Zhou Luo responded respectfully, making no refusal.

After that, Lin Tian Xiong encouraged him a bit more, subtly implying throughout that the family valued him greatly and even intended for him to live in the core area.

The family core area had always been reserved for the main family’s direct descendants.

Zhou Luo didn’t want to overstep, nor did he wish to side so clearly with the main family.

So he declined for the time being.

Lin Tian Xiong didn’t press the matter and simply let him depart.

Leaving the core area, Zhou Luo walked briskly toward Zhou Garden.

He was finally back home!