Chương 63: Rejection

In front of the Zhan Family Residence. Zhan Sheng, who had been busy with work, suddenly felt a premonition. He looked up and scanned the area. Not seeing his daughter anywhere, his heart skipped a beat. In Old Man Zhan's heart, Xiaoxiao was his absolute darling, the treasure of his life. In his eyes, his daughter was the cutest, most beautiful, obedient, and capable girl in the world—like a fairy descended from the heavens.

Therefore, any little punk who dared wander too close to Xiaoxiao was inevitably punished by him. As a result, to this day, his daughter hadn't even befriended a single man. The old man didn't think there was anything wrong with this; he considered it perfectly natural. As an experienced man, didn't he know exactly what those animals, governed entirely by their lower halves, were thinking?! Want to get close to my treasure? Dream on! Zhan Sheng spent his days constantly guarding and protecting his daughter.

So how was it that the moment he looked away for a split second, it was as if she had been kidnapped?! Panicking, Old Zhan hastily dropped what he was doing and rushed out to check. Approaching the door, he caught a glimpse of his daughter talking to a man, looking incredibly shy and bashful. His heart instantly soured. Then, he heard his precious daughter actually say the words "need to get to know each other better"! She's already thinking about a lifelong commitment?! How could he possibly endure this?!

Zhan Sheng's blood boiled, and he let out a furious roar:"You little brat! You must have a lot of nerve to dare tease my daughter!" Song Que stared dumbfounded at the wrathful Zhan Sheng, whose fury seemed to pierce the heavens. He then glanced to the side at Zhan Xiaoxiao, who was still looking down shyly. Song Que felt incredibly mentally exhausted. He cursed inwardly: How are the thought processes of this father-daughter duo so bizarre?! They are completely different from normal people!

He originally just wanted to deliver a gift and ask to learn martial arts. How did it escalate into acting like mortal enemies who couldn't share the same sky? With a belly full of grievances, he didn't even know how to begin explaining. Swallowing down the string of curses threatening to spill from his lips, Song Que forced a smile and began to explain himself to the Zhan family duo.... Inside the Zhan family courtyard.

After talking until his tongue was practically dry, Song Que finally managed to lay out the whole story from beginning to end for Old Zhan and his daughter. Only then did the half-believing Old Man Zhan warily step aside to let him into the courtyard. When Zhan Xiaoxiao realized she had been overthinking and being completely narcissistic, her face turned bright red with embarrassment. Wanting nothing more than to find a hole to crawl into, she had long since fled inside the house to hide.

This left only Zhan Sheng and Song Que standing in the courtyard, staring at each other. Old Zhan's vigilance was incredibly high; he absolutely refused to let a strange man inside his actual house. Standing in the courtyard was dangerous enough! Didn't he see the state his daughter was in? The old man's heart tightened. Staring deeply at the young man across from him, he asked suspiciously:"You truly just came to learn martial arts?" It's more real than pure gold! Song Que felt so wronged he could cry.

Why is it that every time I deal with this father-daughter pair, everything becomes so convoluted? In Grandee Song's eyes, Miss Xiaoxiao was simply pretty and cute. She certainly wasn't at the level of "drop-dead gorgeous," breathtaking beauty! Having only met her a few times, where would any romantic feelings come from?! Gritting his teeth, he said solemnly:"That is the absolute truth. Senior Zhan, I implore you to teach me the techniques of An Jin.

If you have any requests, this junior will do his utmost to fulfill them." But Old Zhan was deeply wary of all males approaching his daughter. Pouting his lips in suspicion, he asked:"You want to learn An Jin? How old are you? Have you even achieved perfect tendon refinement yet?" Seeing the disbelief in Zhan Sheng's eyes, Song Que didn't waste words; he used facts to prove it. He raised his hand, kept his arm completely still, and simply gave his wrist a light flick.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Bang! Following the movement of his hand, the muscles and tendons inside Song Que's body rippled. Ming Jin surged alongside the action, leaving a crisp popping sound in the air. Being able to unleash Ming Jin without moving the arm muscles—that was the hallmark of grand completion in tendon refinement! Having gone through this stage himself, Zhan Sheng instantly understood upon seeing it.

"This junior is fifteen this year. I reached perfect tendon refinement half a year ago. However, lacking a master's guidance, I am completely clueless about An Jin to this day. I beg Senior for your instruction." Hearing Song Que's words, Old Zhan was inwardly shocked. He was astonished by the youth's age and simultaneously stunned by his aptitude. To reach the peak of the Third Grade at fifteen without a master guiding the way... An absolute monster!

This was exactly what Song Que was most confident about using to convince Old Zhan. With his aptitude, he believed that as long as he expressed the desire to take a master, any sect would open their doors to welcome him and pour resources into nurturing him! Although Zhan Sheng was just an independent martial artist, if he had even the slightest thought of taking a disciple, Song Que was confident he would be the prime candidate. But who could have known that in Old Zhan's mind, Xiaoxiao was everything?

Toward all males—especially dangerous targets like the handsome Song Que—the old man had long since stamped a massive "CANCELED" in his mind. After a long internal struggle, despite his appreciation for talent, his daughter remained number one. Zhan Sheng had no choice but to refuse:"Brat, I'm sorry. This old man has decided to retire and will not get entangled in the matters of the martial world again. You should seek out another brilliant master."

"Senior Zhan, could you perhaps reconsider? This junior is extremely sincere in wanting to learn martial arts from you. If there are any conditions, please just say the word." My condition is that you never appear in front of my daughter again! Looking at the handsome youth's face, Old Zhan muttered jealously in his heart. Outwardly, his expression grew resolute:"There's nothing else. I simply don't want my current life to be disrupted. Brat, I'm sorry."

Seeing the old man so resolute, although Song Que had mentally prepared himself, he still felt slightly disappointed. It seems this will require 'water wearing away stone'. You can't eat hot tofu in one bite! Having already decided to pester the old man, Song Que quickly recovered his normal demeanor. Smiling, he said:"Senior Zhan, I hope you will reconsider. I won't give up. This junior will take his leave for now, but I will come visit you again next time."

Seeing Song Que turn and leave so cleanly and decisively, Old Zhan inwardly praised him. But he immediately snapped out of it, shaking those dangerous thoughts from his head, and resolved himself, shouting:"Brat, there's no need to come back later! This old man won't change his mind! Furthermore, take this gift back with you!"

"Senior, there is no logic in taking back a gift once given. Just treat it as a greeting gift from a new neighbor."

"Hmph! In this place, this old man has the final say!" The old man was extremely stubborn, determined not to have any entanglements with him. He slapped the gift box hard with his hand. The box shot out from the shelf like a cannonball, hurtling straight toward Song Que. Walking away, Song Que sensed the object flying toward him and hurriedly turned to catch it. He reached out to grab the box, fully expecting it to shatter upon impact.

But unexpectedly, the moment the box made contact, the kinetic force within it instantly dissipated, and it landed softly in his palm like a piece of cotton. Feeling a fleeting, sharp stinging sensation in his palm, Song Que froze. Is this An Jin? What terrifying control! No wonder it has the power of 'striking a cow across a mountain'—inflicting damage through barriers and striking opponents from afar! Looking at the perfectly intact wooden box in his hand, Song Que sighed in admiration.

Although he wouldn't agree to take Song Que as a disciple, Old Zhan still highly appreciated him. Therefore, he took the opportunity to display a tiny bit of An Jin technique as a return gift. Constantly replaying the sensation of the force hitting his palm in his mind, Song Que frowned, nodded at Old Zhan, and then turned to walk away in a daze, analyzing the feeling as he went. Watching the 'dangerous element' walk far away, Zhan Sheng finally locked the door with satisfaction.

Still feeling uneasy, he planned to sternly warn his daughter today to heighten her vigilance.... Back home. Seeing Song Que return with a dazed expression and the gift box still perfectly intact in his hand, Zhong Hong shook his head, patted him on the shoulder, and comforted him. Lost in thought, Song Que was startled awake by the pat on the shoulder. Seeing it was Brother Hong, he said sheepishly:"Brother Hong, what did you just say? I wasn't paying attention."

"A'Que, I said, 'loss is the mother of success'! We lose this round, we set up another! There's always a way." Shaking his head, Song Que smiled:"I'm fine. I was just busy thinking about something else just now. Being rejected was within my expectations anyway."

"Haha, that's the spirit! At worst, you just whip out the honey trap! I refuse to believe that old man won't throw in the towel then!" Afraid he had taken a blow to his pride, Zhong Hong found a joke to tease him with. The incident from earlier was already behind him, and Song Que didn't dwell on it. Since he hadn't figured out any solid clues yet, he decided to drop it for now. His mood quickly recovered, and he joked back:"I'll wait and see if I run into some princess in the future!

Then I'll unleash it and capture a royal beauty! Wouldn't that be a massive profit?" The group laughed and joked together. The minor setback passed like a breeze, quickly forgotten.... Having suffered a minor defeat in the morning, Song Que quickly came up with a temporary workaround. He couldn't place all his hopes solely on Old Zhan. Having no better options right now, he turned his attention toward finding a high-level energy source to advance the Tesseract.

Even if he couldn't find one, he could at least find some medicinal herbs to strengthen his body. Although the red energy was currently nearing saturation for his overall physical strength, Song Que could still focus the energy to reinforce specific parts of his body. For example, enhancing his five senses, or fortifying his internal organs and bones. Think it, do it. After finishing lunch, Song Que called Zhong Hong, and the two headed out together to visit Yun Jiu.

He wanted to see if the Yun Family Chamber of Commerce could give him a pleasant surprise. They didn't have to walk far. In the center of the county city, a towering five-story pavilion stood majestically, appearing before the two of them. The Sea of Clouds Pavilion. He had heard that in the Yangnan Circuit region, the Yun Family built one such pavilion in every major county city to serve as a branch, essentially acting as a commercial trading center.

The first and second floors displayed all sorts of goods and treasures for sale. The third floor and above were living quarters for important members. Standing at the entrance and announcing their purpose, Song Que didn't wait long before seeing Yun Jiu walk out from inside with a beaming smile.