Chapter 397: Heading in the Worst Direction
“……”
At that moment, Su Ming fell completely silent.
His emotions were complex.
Yet regarding An Zijin’s situation, Su Ming harbored little doubt.
He recalled the peculiar sensations he had felt from An Zijin on several previous occasions, and how he had sometimes vaguely glimpsed faint, eerie patterns appearing on her body.
Looking back now, those patterns were likely the Vision Marks of a natural Awakening.
This undoubtedly indicated that An Zijin was a high-level Spirit Bearer.
“Our Qin Family has known of her existence since Zijin’s birth, aware that she was the high-level Spirit Bearer we had been seeking for so many years. Thus, we have always kept watch over her, even dispatching people to protect her by her side.”
Qin Qing’s words reminded Su Ming of what An Zijin had once told him.
It was something that happened during the Huaming Campaign.
At that time, An Zijin had told Su Ming that after leaving Longyao City for Yinze City, she would frequently encounter a mysterious Madam.
This mysterious Madam would not only appear before her from time to time to guide her or keep her company in conversation, but also gave her the Spirit Art of the extra-sequence 【Demon Binding】.
That extra-sequence Spirit Art was now in Su Ming’s possession.
Back then, Su Ming had worried extensively for An Zijin, concerned that the mysterious Madam might have ulterior motives toward her.
Now it appeared that mysterious Madam was likely someone dispatched by the Qin Family to protect An Zijin.
“Originally, the Qin Family planned to bring Zijin back to Tianfeng City after her graduation, around the age of twenty. However, Zijin suddenly expressed her desire to come to Tianfeng City over a month ago, so the Qin Family secretly brought her here a month ago.”
Qin Qing turned her gaze to Su Ming.
“Everyone was puzzled about why Zijin suddenly wanted to come to Tianfeng City.”
“It wasn’t until we learned of your existence and understood your relationship with Zijin that most people, including myself, finally realized the reason.”
“Zijin came here for you.”
Su Ming didn’t doubt this explanation in the slightest.
After all, he knew An Zijin better than anyone, fully aware that the silly girl was exactly the type of person who would do such a thing.
Thus, Su Ming closed his eyes.
An Zijin’s smiling face appeared vividly before him.
After a while, Su Ming reopened his eyes.
“I have two questions.”
Su Ming addressed Qin Qing thus.
“Go ahead.”
Qin Qing’s expression turned serious.
“First question.” Su Ming inquired directly: “Why are you telling me this?”
The Qin Family’s dual-profession Family plan to revive their Family and elevate it to greater heights was undoubtedly an extremely important secret.
If exposed, it would unquestionably cause an uproar, one that would sweep across the entire world.
The resulting impact would undoubtedly be greater than the commotion Su Ming had stirred up over the past few days.
The Qin Family had schemed for this over so many years, from ancient times to the present, spanning more than a thousand years, finally reaching this stage. If any misstep occurred, leading to complete failure, it would be more than just a case of “the gain not worth the pain” or “suffering a double loss” could adequately describe.Qin Qing suddenly divulged such detailed information to him. If this caused any issues with the Family’s plan, she would become the Family’s sinner.
Therefore, Su Ming was puzzled as to why Qin Qing was willing to share these matters with him.
In truth, the answer wasn’t particularly difficult to grasp.
“Because you, Su Ming, are also a Dual Professional—one with astonishing talent and potential.”
Qin Qing did not hesitate in the slightest as she explained the reason to Su Ming.
“What do you mean?”
Su Ming was taken aback.
“It means that our Qin Family not only does not oppose your relationship with Zijin but even wishes to support it,” Qin Qing elaborated. “The ultimate goal of the Qin Family is not merely to have a Dual Professional but to establish a Family capable of passing down the Dual Professional Legacy.”
“To achieve this, within the Family, Sorcerers marry Sorcerers, and Spirit Bearers marry Spirit Bearers. Generation after generation, this has been the practice, ultimately leading to Zijin’s birth.”
“Once Zijin becomes a Dual Professional, the Family will also require her to bear children, ensuring that her descendants are all natural-born Dual Professionals.”
“Given this, to maximize the likelihood of future generations inheriting this Physique, wouldn’t it significantly increase the probability if you, also a Dual Professional with exceptionally remarkable talent and potential, were to marry Zijin?”
If Su Ming were merely a Sorcerer—just a talented newcomer—the Qin Family would certainly not have disclosed this matter, nor would they have allowed Su Ming to come into contact with An Zijin.
To them, An Zijin was the key figure in the Dual Professional Family plan. For the sake of future generations, her partner, at the very least, had to be someone extraordinary—such as a Spirit Bearer or a Genius Hunter with a high-level Bloodline.
An ordinary Sorcerer with no hereditary traits, no matter how talented or full of potential, would not be within their consideration.
That was why they had kept An Zijin hidden for an entire month, undoubtedly imposing certain restrictions on her.
Otherwise, given An Zijin’s personality, having arrived in Tianfeng City, she would have undoubtedly sought out Su Ming at the first opportunity.
In fact, it was more likely that upon seeing the reports about Su Ming and learning that the team he formed consisted of highly attractive young women, she might have flown into a rage on the spot, rushing toward the Azure Mercury headquarters in a daze.
The fact that this didn’t happen was undoubtedly due to the Qin Family’s interference.
But now, things were different.
Now, Su Ming was a veritable Prodigy, soaring to prominence—the only individual since Old Ling, the Guardian Deity, with the potential to ascend to the very pinnacle, becoming humanity’s strongest, an unparalleled Dual Professional.
Based solely on his identity as a Dual Professional, the Qin Family had to change their attitude toward Su Ming. Moreover, with Su Ming’s potential to reach the apex, whether for the continued development of the Dual Professional Family plan or to secure the allegiance of a future supreme powerhouse, the Qin Family had every reason to embrace Su Ming.
It was likely that Qin Qing had disclosed everything to Su Ming precisely for this reason.
As she herself had said, after seeing the reports about Su Ming, she had guessed that he would eventually come knocking. The rest of the Qin Family undoubtedly thought the same.
Perhaps Qin Qing’s revelation of the Family’s plan to Su Ming was even authorized by the Qin Family’s higher-ups.
Besides that…”The fact that you’ve been chosen by Old Ling as his successor is something our Qin Family has somewhat anticipated.” Qin Qing spoke in an inexplicable tone, “Old Ling bringing you back, speaking up for you, and shielding you from all those with ill intentions—these things might be hidden from others, but they can’t escape the Qin Family’s notice.”
After all, the Qin Family remains the administrator of Tianfeng City, the true rulers of this land.
Old Ling didn’t deliberately conceal anything either, directly bringing Su Ming back and caring for him for two full days in his seclusion. What kind of signal this sent to the outside world was something any intelligent person could deduce.
That Old Ling had always wanted a sufficiently qualified successor was no secret either.
Su Ming’s identity as a Dual Professional had been exposed, and Old Ling had brought him back to care for him for two days—this was enough to explain many things.
Thus, the Qin Family naturally had to treat matters concerning Su Ming with extreme caution, no longer able to ignore his existence as they had before.
Otherwise, if they offended Su Ming, even the Qin Family might not withstand the combined pressure from the current Guardian Deity and the future Guardian Deity.
This ultimately came down to a matter of gains and losses.
For this reason, the Qin Family had instructed its members that if it became necessary, they could reveal some truths to Su Ming.
Of course, the Qin Family would never have imagined that Qin Qing would so straightforwardly disclose the entire plan’s details.
The Qin Family believed that even if disclosure was necessary, it should only happen when absolutely compelled, and even then only partial information needed to be revealed—there was no need to explain everything in such detail.
Yet after Su Ming sought her out, Qin Qing had directly revealed the family’s entire plan.
The reason was simple.
If Su Ming didn’t realize the seriousness of the situation and didn’t intervene quickly, that little girl who was under house arrest and nearly driven mad with longing to see her sweetheart might truly explode.
Remembering how the girl, repeatedly prevented from seeing Su Ming, had eventually erupted in listless fury and thrown the entire Qin Family estate into chaos, Qin Qing could only sigh bitterly in her heart.
“This is all I can do, Zijing,” Qin Qing sighed inwardly.
“I see,” Su Ming expressed understanding before continuing, “Then, the second question.”
This was the most important question.
“Since Little Jin has returned to the Qin Family, your family must be planning to have her take the Phantom Demon Potion, right?” Su Ming stared directly at Qin Qing, “My question is—what percentage of certainty does the Qin Family have that Little Jin can successfully adapt to the Phantom Demon Potion?”
This question made Qin Qing’s face cloud with bitterness.
She knew the most troublesome situation was finally about to occur.
This was also why she believed Su Ming would clash with the Qin Family.
There was no helping it.
“The probability of a Sorcerer successfully adapting to the Phantom Demon Potion to become a Dual Professional is truly far too low,” Qin Qing said quietly, “Even with all the preparations the Qin Family has made, the estimated success rate remains less than ten percent.”
The moment these words fell, Su Ming stood up.
“Take me to the Qin Family.”
Su Ming’s voice had become completely devoid of emotion.
Qin Qing immediately stood up as well, grabbing Su Ming’s hand.
“Calm down first,” Qin Qing urged quickly, “The Qin Family has already paid a great price for this, working diligently for a full thousand years. If you forcibly try to stop this, things will definitely develop in the worst possible direction.”Why did the Qin Family allow its members to reveal part of their plan to Su Ming?
There were two reasons.
The first was to tempt Su Ming.
If Su Ming were willing to assist and marry An Zijin, who had become a Dual Professional, his descendants might potentially become the world’s first and only Dual Professional Family. Their status in the human world would then be supreme and unrivaled.
The Qin Family believed Su Ming would be tempted by this prospect.
After all, who wouldn’t want their descendants to be Dual Professionals for generations, enjoying special treatment and status throughout the human world?
Su Ming should be no exception.
The second reason was to make Su Ming back down.
The Qin Family had strived for a thousand years, paying numerous costs and making many sacrifices, before finally having a hope like An Zijin. If Su Ming insisted on obstructing them, the Qin Family wouldn’t hesitate to fight him to the death.
By revealing part of the truth, they wanted Su Ming to understand how much the Qin Family had sacrificed and make him realize that, at this point, they would never give up.
Even if it meant offending Su Ming and Old Ling, so be it.
Qin Qing’s decision to disclose such detailed information also carried a hint of wanting Su Ming to understand the severity of the situation and make some compromises.
Under these circumstances, Qin Qing earnestly warned him:
“Although the Qin Family has lost its Bloodline Power, through centuries of expansion, we’ve not only developed many powerful Sorcerers outside Tianfeng City but also used our influence to recruit numerous strong individuals. The two protectors by my side were acquired this way.”
“The Qin Family even has two Grand Protectors recruited from outside Tianfeng City—both are Seven-Star Professionals.”Moreover, based on past contracts, many Hunter Families in Tianfeng City must uphold the Qin Family’s status and position.””
“If you act recklessly, you’ll be making an enemy of the entire Tianfeng City.”
Old Ling might be powerful, but he’s ultimately just one person.
The Qin Family respects him and reveres him like a deity, but if an irreconcilable conflict arises, the Qin Family isn’t without the means to resist.
In Tianfeng City alone, there are over a dozen Seven-Star Professionals, with countless Professionals of other star levels.
If the Qin Family requests support, based on former contracts, these major families and powerful factions would all intervene.
This collective force is something even Old Ling couldn’t ignore.
Not to mention, Old Ling is Tianfeng City’s Guardian Deity and cannot stand by while the entire city descends into chaos because of him and Su Ming.
Therefore, if the Qin Family truly reaches a point where they refuse to yield even at the cost of death, even Old Ling would find it troublesome, becoming restrained, and might even end up stopping Su Ming from causing trouble.
The Qin Family doesn’t want to offend Su Ming, but if they must, they’re not afraid either.
From a personal standpoint, Qin Qing also doesn’t want Su Ming and the Qin Family to have such a major conflict.
For this reason, she explained so much and clarified so many points.
Unfortunately, all of this must be based on one premise.
That is, An Zijin must be safe.
“With less than a ten percent success rate, do you think I’d let your Qin Family gamble with my childhood friend’s life?”
Su Ming laughed in extreme anger.”So I must oppose the entire Tianfeng City just to prevent little Jin from being harmed by your Qin Family?”
“Truly worthy of the Royal Family, speaking with such domineering tone.”
“Then bring it on.”
“I’d like to see if among the millions of Professionals in Tianfeng City, there’s even one who can stop me from taking little Jin away.”
When it came to escape, with the numerous Extraordinary Items in his Golden Finger backpack assisting him, Su Ming didn’t believe anyone could stop him.
Immediately, Su Ming shook off Qin Qing’s hand and prepared to leave.
Until a sigh emerged.
“Young friend Su Ming, please remain calm.”
Following this voice, an astonishing spiritual presence manifested.
(End of Chapter)