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86.02% Learning To Live As A Cultivator / Chapter 277: Chapter Seventy Seven - Everyone knows of our relationship

Chapter 277: Chapter Seventy Seven - Everyone knows of our relationship

A silence fell over the group.

Tong Fang were a type of servant, girls who had been chosen to 'educate' young Masters in the matters of the bedroom and later warm their beds and service their needs. They were not concubines, who would still generally marry into the house by some means or other, but they could be elevated to a concubine's status should the young Master and his parents agree to it. So they were lower than a concubine and they still had to go about other servant duties. They could also more easily be reassigned to other parts of the house, effectively being 'demoted' from their position.

So despite Tong Fang being told it was an honour to serve their Male masters in that manner, if they displeased their Masters or if their Masters no longer wanted them, they had less hope of a future than an actual concubine, who might at least be able to rely on their children. Servant girls still had hope of elevation beyond their status, however, so would seldom deny the position if offered, despite its dubious nature. Tong Fang were acknowledged by all, but quietly, behind shut doors. They should not be seen or mentioned in public and certainly, young unmarried misses should not openly discuss those matters at all.

The General frowned with disapproval, Leon paled and Maimai became angry, while Sun flushed pink and green, his complexion as myriad as his thoughts. His friends relationship was much deeper and real than a master and tongfang, but husband and wife would share intimacy... how did two men share a bed?

Merylin looked horrified and her hand itched to slap Carmen, but she could not do so in front of the girl's elder so could only curl fingers into a fist at her side. "You... you... this girl never thought of insulting seniors nor fellow students with such low accusations! I merely wished to remind others that the Institute does not recognise Master-servant relationships! I feared Jin Li's reputation would be damaged should others believe he treated Leon as a mere servant within the Institute! Such could have him suspended or expelled!" She turned to the elder, General Ramas and bowed slightly. "Please believe me, sir General, I intended no ill will to your grandson!"

"No need to apologise," the General said, still unhappy with his granddaughter's behaviour. He would have to speak to his wife about getting her a Teacher of etiquette and oversee teachings regarding the cultivation world himself. She was far too spoilt and wild!

He glanced over at the pale youth he'd become interested in and the tall man beside him. It was too easy for others to assume that they were indeed Master and servant, due to Leon's submissive, obedient nature and Jin Li's arrogant elegance. But he had long since been aware that their relationship was not so simple. Even now, Jin Li's arm curled about the smaller man, protectively. And just as he was thinking how he should entice Jin Li to clarify the situation between himself and the alchemist, Jin Li began to speak;

"Leon is neither servant nor tong fang," he seemed to spit the latter word with heavy disdain, clearly his own stance on such a servant woman. His eyes then softened slightly and his lips curled upward a little as he declared; "He is my Dao Companion."

Several loud breaths were drawn in sharply. Jin Li moved much more quickly and decisively than anyone of his friends had imagined! They were torn between congratulating him and calling him an idiot! Dao Companionship was a lifetime matter! And who were Jin Li and Leon but two teenaged youths?!

The General also looked a little worriedly at the young men, happy in one sense that Jin Li was not the sort to mess around his future adopted grandson and unhappy that Leon's fate had been tied to the other at such a young age. They were not like mortals, the years ahead of them were fathomless. And even if Leon became unable to Cultivate beyond core formation, he would no longer be able to retreat and experience a simpler life.

But the rice had been cooked, if he wanted to acknowledge Leon as an adopted grandson, he would have to support this, he could only complain otherwise in his heart.

Only Jin Li's two circling admirers and one Maimai did not hold such torn expressions. Maimai grasped Leon's hands and congratulated him with no other thoughts conflicting her joy. On the other hand, her sister was frozen pale by shock, her hopes shattered into a million pieces and her heart pained. What was this?! She felt humiliated! All this time, all her efforts trying to get him to look her way and she'd not succeeded because of a man!?

"Senior!" She blurted out, unable to maintain her usual posture and demure appearance. "How could you!?" She clasped her hands over her rose lips, realising she'd damaged her image with her outburst, feeling a million eyes staring at her in disappointment. Actually, this last part was in her mind. What had many of her seniors not witnessed in their family's backyards or since being in the Institute and coming face to face with those girls they'd once placed on unreachable pedestals? Plus, other teams were looking over just a bit curious without any idea of what was currently occurring.

Carmen on the other hand was frowning, but not at Jin Li. "What is the big deal?" She said, dismissively. "Men are allowed three wives and four concubines, so Jin Li gongzi has given his servant a status, but marriage is a matter decided by one's parents and grandparents! Have Jin Li's parents approved of this arrangement? And what of Jin Li's grandfather?" She paused, not liking the odd looks that Sun's fellow students were giving her... that her own grandfather was giving her.

"Approved what?" Speak of the devil and he shall appear; Jian Juren had come to see what all of the fuss was about.

"Carmen!" The General warned, but she refused to heed it.

"Jin Li's Grandfather," Carmen turned to him seeking hope and to her relief, there was no disdain in his eyes, just his usual amused and amicable expression. "This girl is confused, is matters of Jin Li's future happiness not a matter settled by his parents and your honoured self?" She said this even while knowing it really was little to do with a maternal grandparent unless the parents themselves wished otherwise.

His eyes flickered upward and saw quickly through the nature of his grandson and the youth beside him. They then filled with a mischievous glint and he pulled off a pained and hurt show. "Aya, this unfilial grandson, whenever has he turned to this old man for such advice and support! Just goes and does things his own way... I matter so little in his heart."

Leon looked confused and glanced up at Jin Li, tugging at his sleeve. "The n-n-new t-teacher is your G-Grandfather?" He whispered.

Jin Li didn't answer him, just clicked his tongue and voiced his dissatisfaction with a word; "Grandfather."

"Alright, alright," the youthful looking elder said, dismissively before muttering; "always so serious." Then he glanced down to smile sympathetically at the General's out of luck granddaughter. "When it comes to marriage matters, it is true that we parents and grandparents seldom allow our descendants to be wilful, yet still willingly often try help them realise their hearts desires where possible.  However that is for children born without the ability to cultivate. Did you know that my daughter was almost four hundred years old before she finally settled down? That is how seriously my bloodline takes such matters of Dao Companionship."

Merylin noticed Carmen's face still filled with confusion and sneered. Although she was as deeply unhappy as the other girl, at least she was not so stupid to dig a pit beneath herself to fall into. She decided to enlighten her, expelling her bitterness while drawing a firm line under this horrible matter. Four hundred years old? She felt that she was more likely to reach four thousand before she could be relieved of the sourness in her heart.

"You, girl, I will express a kindness and teach you something you are clearly not aware of," she held her head high as she spoke in icy tones. "A Dao Companionship is not on the same level as a marriage, in this, you could be said to be correct. But that is because it is much more than a marriage. Within it, there is no room for secondary wives and concubines, there is no room for mistresses or tong fang. And there is also no divorce. One's children must come from one's companion or not at all. Affairs would likely cause heart demons or cultivation to stagnate or even cause deviation. One's fate is tied to one's Dao Companion until death."

Seeing Carmen's face pale due to the immensity of Merylin's words somewhat satisfied the other and she turned to the General and seniors in turn before bidding them farewell and leaving with a straightened spine.

"Grandfather..." Carmen turned to the General with tears glimmering in her eyes as if wronged. The General's expression didn't alter, still dissatisfied with her.

"This old man let you see a joke," he expressed to Jian Juren, who urged him otherwise. The General then called to his servant and told him; "Take the young miss back to our quarters to reflect."

"Grandfather...?" Carmen pleaded but to no avail. She was led away.

The General sighed, before speaking to his grandson, who looked as if he was feeling awkward; "Have fun with your friends... I'll sit in the stands."

"Allow me to accompany you," Jian Juren offered, offering Jin Li a sly expression as he left.

Leon rubbed his temples, his forehead wrinkled due to a frown as he tried to digest everything that had just happened, before he blushed in realisation; Jin Li just openly revealed their relationship to everyone. He couldn't help but grip the other's hand shyly. Jin Li was quite smug, on the other hand. Now everyone knew that his small alchemist, Leon, belonged to him alone.


Chapter 278: Chapter Seventy Eight - Our scores are tallied

Somethings were settled and seemed resolved; two young maidens had their hearts broken and would deal with their own unwillingness in different ways, while the relationship between two young men simply became a little sweeter (at least beneath the acidity of a certain 'lord's' tongue).

However, not everything was clear.  "G-Grandfather?"  Leon questioned once more of his lover.

"En," Jin Li replied and appeared about to clarify when he was interrupted.  Fortunately, Pike was immune to the glares of the other, though the broad youth vowed in his heart to cultivate more industriously once this all over thanks to the increased pressure he was feeling from Jin Li.  He would not be the only one to vanish into closed cultivation for a few months, inspired by the nearly eighteen year old man, who'd broken all known barriers in this realm and amazed them by forming his core so young.

"It's time," was all Pike said, regardless.  They didn't need to question what he meant, the arena was now filled full of bodies; competitors in the lowest stands, other students in the highest, while guests lingered about the middle.  Pike's whole team as well as Bowyer's had now congregated and the judges were entering the arena to announce the scores.  Jin Li was forced to retreat with Sun and Maimai, while Leon remained by Pike's side.

Jin Li felt the sourness of vinegar, but he left his lover's side this time.  It would only be for a couple of hours at most.

The competition scores were a combination of three different things; how well the team worked together, how long they 'survived' in the other realm and lastly on the spoils they returned to the Institute with.  To clarify a little better by example; Ari, the highest ranked Martial Artist in the inner school, was not a team player, relying on his 'second in command' to deal with team stuff, while he ran around on his own and collected spoils.  This caused him to have a low team score, despite the numerous trophies he and his team separately found.  His team did manage to make it through to the end, therefore they lost no points on 'survival skills'.

In contrast, Bowyer's team worked fairly well, despite most of them having never worked together nor having socialised before, he also made it through to the end, making his scores for team work and survival skills higher than Ari's.  However, everything could change depending on the items they brought back.  Cultivation treasures, rare materials or even crude wealth, all had their worth to a Cultivator seeking the ultimate goal of immortality.  It was up to the judges to decide their worth in terms of the competition.

Unlike what Leon expected, as the scores were announced, the spoils were not listed and displayed for all to see.

"It's not that that was never the case," Pike advised him.  "Historically, the teams would need to reveal their items to everyone else.  But once, a team lead by a mage returned with the intact beast core of a fifth level beast that they'd had the luck to defeat."

A beast core was not unlike the spirit core of a Cultivator, it was still formed through the tempering of spiritual energy through the body and soul sea.  It was said that a fifth level beast was stronger than an ordinary fifth stage Cultivator, though, as one would also need to be at the peak of a similar stage in martial arts or magic to truly match the natural instincts of a beast.

Unlike the core of a Cultivator, which only demons dabbling in the dark arts would steal and use, a beast core was fair game to all Cultivators and would not cause a Cultivator to fall from the righteous path if absorbed.  A beast core was also sought after by blacksmiths wishing to forge certain types of spirit weapons. The source of beast cores was not uncommon, but retrieving one from the corpse of a beast in tact was difficult. Often, dying beasts would destroy or even detonate their cores, preventing others from stealing it away freely. At best, most beast cores recovered held some cracks and would not produce good results when used. If an intact one had appeared in the treasures of students in a competition such as this, one could only imagine the envy it caused.

Leon mentioned this and naturally Pike agreed; "It was rumoured not just to be sought after by other students, but a Teacher or two threw their weight around in an attempt to have the team gift it. Also, some of the team came from cultivation families and sects..."

"Oh," Leon sighed. "W-What if t-teams q-question the scores?"

"Teams have the right to question their own scores, indeed," Pike replied, "A judge will give an explanation to them. However, questioning others scores would be considered ill-mannered and just reveal weakness. Even so, I suspect there will always be teams that mutter about it in their hearts. That is where the Interschool auctions come in..."

Leon held his breath for a moment as their team's score was announced. Leon didn't know whether it was good, but Pike looked very satisfied, Velana even had tears in her eyes, her lips curved to a gratified smile. Bowyer congratulated them, his own team's score was not as impressive, but it was still a good improvement on the previous year. He was still pleased that he'd managed to beat the incorrigible Ari by a single point, however.

Out of the twenty martial arts teams, Pike's team came third, another teams stole away first and second. The martial artist's team that stole the top slot celebrated loudly; their leader had not made the top ten of the Standings, so they couldn't help but rejoice the unexpected victory.  Sure enough, Leon noticed glances of envy and doubt cast their way, just as Pike had predicted.

Through the mirrors came the scores for the mage led teams and beast tamer lead teams; Pike's placement fell to sixth and the first and second placed martial artists fell to second and fifth. Two beast tamer led teams stole third and fourth, while it was a mage led team who won first. Leon even vaguely recognised her name; Mute from the Cygnus clan. She was known to be the strongest mage in the inner mage school at the present time.

"Not surprising," Bowyer crossed his arms, a little displeased. "Her team was filled with undeniably excellent talents."

Pike slyly grinned and glanced over at his friend. "Still disappointed that you failed to entice her cousin, Cynus to join your team?"

"Absolutely....not, no... why would I?" Bowyer denied, loudly, not being threatened by his team's scholar or anything; who asked that person to be the one of the best, yet most likely to hold a grudge, exorcist's in the inner scholar school...


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