"The more I see what you're capable of, the more I question if your body constitution is really just ordinary."
"You jest, Senior Lu." An Ling smiled. "We lowly cultivators can only marvel at small special things. But in the eyes of ancient cultivators out there, it's nothing worth mentioning."
"Hahaha! I know, I know. I'm just trying to boost your ego so you'll have more confidence when building your foundation in the future."
Lu Bao waved his hand, and a knife appeared in his grasp.
"Let's start butchering this thing so we can head back. I'm dying for some rest. How about we split everything evenly?"
Lu Bao looked at him for permission. After all, An Ling was the one who slew the beast, so he had the final say.
"Go ahead, Senior Lu. We'll split it even," An Ling replied.
"Alrighty then!"
Lu Bao's hands moved swiftly and precisely. Having lived as a loose cultivator for nearly a hundred years, he had learned countless arts from different people—and one of them was butchering.
He separated everything—the bones, blood, and hide—keeping anything that was valuable and could be sold in the markets.
It took him half an hour to finish, as the beast's body had already been deformed. He carefully cut away the usable parts, ensuring they stayed in good condition to fetch a higher price. After all, no one wanted to sell cheap if they could earn more.
"Here's your share. Take a look."
Senior Lu had already separated the items neatly, side by side.
"Thanks." An Ling stored his share in his storage ring but left a few items aside. "Senior Lu, this is just a small token of appreciation—please, take it."
What he left was a small vial of beast blood, two pieces of bone, and a sheet of hide.
An Ling might have been the one who killed the beast with his Great Ox's explosive power, but Senior Lu's contribution in holding it down was crucial—it gave the Great Ox the time it needed to charge its attack, and with him nearby, the charging process accelerated even further, leading to the beast's swift demise.
As the host and employer of Lu Bao under the name of the An Clan, An Ling also had to show generosity and proper manners. After all, if the clan ever faced extinction during the Beast Tide, he would need someone experienced and trustworthy to help navigate the perilous cultivation world—especially if he ever had to rebuild the clan.
"Hmmm."
Senior Lu nodded in satisfaction and accepted the gifts without hesitation.
"It seems Brother Shu wasn't wrong choosing you as the next clan leader." He patted An Ling's back. "By the way, have you given any thought to my offer about Lu Wanqing?"
He was referring to his granddaughter. Since he and An Yuanshu were close, the two often discussed many things over drinks. Whenever An Ling was around, Lu Bao would play matchmaker, often mentioning his granddaughter—something An Yuanshu always frowned upon.
Both An Ling and Lu Wanqing were still young in their cultivation paths, and no one could tell how far they'd go in pursuit of the Dao. That was why An Yuanshu disliked any talk of marriage cornerning An Ling.
"Senior Lu, I'm still in my twenties, and the clan has high expectations for me. Sister Qing is indeed beautiful and talented—she'll surely reach heights I can't even imagine. It would be unfair for her to stop pursuing the Dao when she's thriving in a great sect like the Green Sword Sect."
Thankfully, An Ling was a smooth talker and easily steered the conversation elsewhere.
"Isn't she though?" Senior Lu's face lit up. "You don't know, little Ling, my granddaughter caught the attention of a senior in the Green Sword Sect after reaching the late stage of the 7th-level Qi Refinement Realm! Even Brother Shu doesn't know about this yet—it wouldn't be far-fetched to think she's already been accepted as that senior's direct disciple!"
Senior Lu's voice brimmed with pride as he spoke of Lu Wanqing's recent achievements.
She was about the same age as An Ling—only a year older—and shared a similar cultivation level.
As a disciple of the Green Sword Sect with three spiritual roots, she had advanced quickly. But being the granddaughter of a loose cultivator, she struggled to find a foundation establishment master. If not for Lu Bao's determination—and his willingness to spend his entire fortune on her—she would have never reached her current level and attracted a powerful backer who could help her secure a Foundation Building Pill.
Lu Bao matchmaking intentions were simple—he wanted both of them to have bright futures and form a connection that could benefit them both. If fate allowed and they accepted each other, the Lu family could start anew through their union. And if some of their future children turned out to be mortals, the An Clan would surely have no issue allowing them to carry the Lu name. Then, if one of those descendants were ever to awaken a cultivation talent, it would mark the true beginning of the Lu Family—a clan born from the bloodline he helped connect.
Having the An Clan as a backer, even a small one, was a great opportunity—a chance for those future descendants to one day establish the Lu Family and build a clan of their own under the An Clan's protection.
Whether that future would ever come to pass, only the heavens knew.
The two returned to town afterward. Senior Lu immediately entered closed-door cultivation to recover his depleted mana, while An Ling made arrangements with the mayor—donating three-quarters of the hunt's yield and leaving the rest for the workers at the sacred mountain.
"Hmmm..."
An Ling paused before leaving, then turned in another direction—toward the town orphanage.
When he reincarnated in this world and regained the memories of his past life, he found himself an orphan. His mother had died during childbirth, and his father perished while hunting in the mountains.
The only person he considered family aside from those on the sacred mountain was Sister Yao—the caretaker of the town's orphanage.
"Mom! Mom! Look at these flowers! Aren't they pretty!?"
"Hmhm!"
Two young girls ran past An Ling, entering the orphanage courtyard. They proudly showed a small bouquet to a woman in a simple green dress.
"Wow! Yes, they are!"
Sister Yao sniffed the flowers before kissing the girls' foreheads. Their faces bloomed with joy.
"Oh, little Ling! You finally visited after ten years!" Sister Yao's eyes brightened as she approached him at the gate. "Why aren't you coming in? Are you just here to check on the construction?"
An Ling smiled faintly. "No, Sister Yao. I came to check on the children too—to see if there's anything the orphanage needs."
"What are you saying?" She motioned for him to enter, her tone half-chiding but warm. "If not for you, this courtyard wouldn't have been a priority in the mayor's construction plan. It was your help that made the orphanage's reconstruction a main focus after the relocation."
"It's thanks to you that the children now have a proper home where they can grow up decently, after years of the orphanage struggling with poor budgets and not being able to properly feed them."
Sister Yao remembered the poor conditions of the orphanage when An Ling was still in their care. But that was all in the past. Now, in a new location, they had a brand-new house where the children could grow up safely and properly.
To An Ling, the town's orphanage was the only home he had ever known. While other clan members focused on the prosperity of their mortal families, his concern was solely for the well-being of the children it had taken in.
This care meant that when the Spirit Awakening Ceremony arrived, they would be robust enough to have a fair chance at revealing their cultivation potential. Even for those without talent, they would at least grow into healthy adults who could strengthen the clan's mortal descendants.
An Yuanshu and the other elders never opposed his idea. They were grateful that someone had taken the initiative to sponsor the orphanage's expansion.
"It's nothing much, Sister Yao," An Ling said with a gentle smile. "It's just a small token of gratitude. If not for you and your parents' sacrifices, I'd have starved ti death on the streets instead of stepping onto the path of immortality." He bowed slightly, his eyes filled with gratitude.
"Mom, who's this big brother?"
One of the young girls beside sister Yao looked up at him curiously.
"Little Ling, these are my daughters, An Xuan and An Yue," Sister Yao introduced. "Girls, this is your Big Brother Ling. Come and say hello."
An Ling had only visited Sister Yao once after he left for the sacred mountain, back when the clan was still in Qingfeng County. After that, the clan's strict expectations forbade him from leaving, reducing their contact to the silver funds he sent. A decade had passed, and he was now realizing that during those years, she had started a family. This was his first time meeting her daughters.
"We greet Big Brother Ling!"
"Big Brother Ling!"
One of them was cheerful and lively, while the other was shy and soft-spoken.
An Xuan's eyes sparkled. "Big Brother Ling, are you an immortal!?"
"Yes, I am."
"Really!?" An Yue gasped, stepping closer too.
An Ling smiled and summoned his Divine Dogs.
"Eek! Monsters!"
The two girls screamed and hid behind their mother.
"Hahaha! Don't be scared—they're my companions. They won't hurt you," An Ling said, laughing softly.
"That's good," Sister Yao sighed in relief, remembering that An Ling was an immortal.
"What's going on!?"
The startled screams drew a crowd from the courtyard. Sister Yao quickly soothed their worries, explaining that the visitor was none other than An Ling, the orphanage's generous sponsor.
The commotion died down. The workers, now reassured, returned to their tasks, while the children stayed behind and curiously surrounded the two Divine Dogs, petting their fluffy fur with fascination.
An Ling also met Sister Yao's husband—the person who had shouted earlier. He was a sturdy figure in his thirties, already at the Body Strengthening Realm, and his eagerness for friendship was immediately clear to An Ling, who understood its source perfectly.
He knew the man saw the immense benefit in befriending an immortal; even an immortal's discarded items could be treasures to mortals like him.
The mayor himself was proof of that, being the son of a cultivator from the Yuan generation.
An Ling politely declined the man's offer for lunch, instead preparing to take his leave.
"Brother, please accept this small gift," An Ling said.
"I owe Sister Yao much for her kindness when I was a child. As her husband, it's only right that I give you something in return. Here—some beast meat and blood for you and Sister Yao and the children to enjoy." He handed over a first-level early-stage beast meat and blood.
The kilogram of spirit-rich meat and a vial containing a few precious drops of its blood were trivial to him, but to them, it was a fortune. Consuming the meat would not only nourish them for weeks but also fortify their resistance to illness and enhance their overall vitality, benefits which could last a lifetime. And the blood, for a martial artist, was especially valuable; even a single drop used in a medicinal bath could temper the body and break through stubborn physical bottlenecks.
"Thank you for your generosity, Master Ling!" The man beamed gratefully.
"Don't worry, Master Ling," he continued, placing a hand on his chest. "As long as I live, my wife and the children's safety will be my top priority. You can count on me!"
He had clearly understood the hidden message behind An Ling's words.
"Then, I'll be off."
An Ling gave him a few warnings on how to handle the beast meat and blood before disappearing and leaving the town.
An Ling ascended to the mountain lake flowing river, his feet carrying him across the water's surface.
The innate skill of his Water Beast Shadow allowed him to sprint toward the small island at the center, and swiftly delivered the remaining meat from the morning's hunt to the chief overseeing the construction.
The moment his task was complete, he turned to depart for the sacred mountain. But a frantic shout froze him in his tracks.
"Senior Brother Ling!"
An Lingqi sprinted toward him, his face as pale as a sheet.
"The Clan Leader's signal stone," he blurted out, his voice shaking with unrestrained panic. "It's pulsing!"