The Nine Cauldrons

"It’s about Linlin," Zong Lu reported.

"About Linlin?" Teng Qingshan turned and exchanged glances with Li Jun and then took the pile of papers. "Uncle Zong, do what you need to do. We will read this very carefully."

Since it was about their daughter, Honglin, Teng Qingshan and Li Jun naturally prioritized this.

Two days later, in the East Flower Garden in the Xing Yi Sect, located in the Great Yan Mountain:

"Father! Mother!"

Honglin, dressed in exercising clothing, dashed in the courtyard and began shouting out loud when she was still far away. Her face was full of smiles. Even though the ground was covered with snow, Honglin still ran very rapidly and went into the courtyard.

"Linlin. You only acknowledge the presence of your parents. You didn’t even greet me," Teng Yongfan, who still appeared to be very energetic despite having some silver hair, laughed as he commented. Yuan Lan, who stood at the side, looked at her granddaughter dotingly as she said, "Linlin, we haven’t seen you for over a month. You have become even more pretty. I wonder which guy will be blessed enough to marry you."

"Grandfather! Grandmother!" Honglin immediately greeted.

Teng Yongfan and Yuan Lan both looked very happy and respond with a nod.

"Father," Teng Qingshan said with a smile, "Linlin has someone she likes now."

"Oh? Who?" Teng Yongfan and Yuan Lan were both very surprised and immediately directed their joyous and astonished eyes at Honglin.

Honglin rubbed her nose and glanced at Teng Qingshan. She then asked, "Father, did Brother tell you guys?"

"I even know who that lucky guy is! His name is Fan Anran. Linlin, am I right?" Teng Qingshan said with a smile. Li Jun, who stood at the side, said with a smile, "I heard that my daughter has held hands with this guy in public and even went sightseeing on a boat."

At this moment, Honglin’s face flushed redder.

"You guys even held hands?" Teng Yongfan was very astonished.

In the Land of the Nine Prefectures, boys and girls did not hold hands easily. Even in the Gui Yuan Sect, Teng Qingshan and Zhuge Qing never held hands privately, not to mention publicly.

The meaning of this gesture was significant.

"Where is this guy from?" Teng Yongfan, who couldn’t suppress his curiosity, asked.

"Anran is a disciple from the Gui Yuan Sect. He is now a Lieutenant in the Black Armored Army," Honglin answered honestly.

Teng Qingshan and Li Jun exchanged glances. They had an ominous feeling.

She called him Anran?

That was such an intimate way of addressing someone.

"Linlin," Teng Qingshan said with a smile, "Your mother and I, as well as your grandparents, want to meet this guy named Fan Anran. When are you bringing him back home?"

Honglin blinked and asked, "Bring him back home?"

"Yes. the Yearly Sacrifice is happening in two days. After the Yearly Sacrifice, bring Fan Anran home. We want to take a good look at him," Teng Qingshan said with a smile. "If Fan Anran really wants to marry my daughter, then he will have to go through me first. Otherwise, I will not agree to this. After all, I have raised you for about 20 years."

Honglin giggled.

She was well aware of her father’s temperament. He didn’t care about the person’s wealth or status. He just cared about the behavior, personality, and character of that person.

"Okay." Honglin nodded in response. "I will bring him here after the Yearly Sacrifice to meet my parents. You can teach him a lesson."

...

During evening, Teng Qingshan, and Li Jun both went to sleep.

"Qingshan, according to the intelligence agency, this guy named Fan Anran is a good guy, but his father’s identity is slightly ambiguous."

"Yea, his father only came to Yongan County 15 years ago. According to the investigation, his father was a horse bandit. The intelligence agency couldn’t find any other information about him."

The Land of the Nine Prefectures was too chaotic. It was difficult even for the intelligence agency of the Xing Yi Sect to find a destroyed gang of horse bandits.

"We don’t know very much about his father’s background, but nevermind. Let’s take a look at this guy named Fan Anran. Let’s see how he is as a person," Teng Qingshan said. "If he cab pass our test, then he should be pretty good for our daughter. We will allow him to be with Linlin then. In addition, Linlin has reached a marriageable age."

"Yes. When I was her age, I had already married you."

Teng Qingshan and Li Jun obviously viewed their daughter’s marriage as a matter of great significance.

The Yearly Sacrifice was soon over. Honglin had also left the Xing Yi Sect and arrived in Yong’an County.

...

In a teahouse located in Yong’an County, a young man was seen sitting by the window. He looked ordinary, but his eyes seemed very bright. He sat right opposite Honglin. At this time of the day, there weren’t a lot of customers in the teahouse. There were only 3-5 customers in the entire second floor.

"What?" the young man exclaimed in astonishment. "To your house?"

"Yes. My parents want to meet you," Honglin said, nodding.

The young man froze for a second and blinked a few times. "Your father?? I am going to meet your father?" The young man began breathing more rapidly, causing Honglin to burst into laughter. She knew that her beloved one respected Teng Qingshan greatly. Actually, most of the younger generation grew up listening to the legends of Teng Qingshan.

"Don’t worry. Anran, my father will not eat you up." Honglin covered her mouth as she laughed.

"Whew."

Fan Anran exhaled deeply and said, "Linlin, it’s your father. I am going to meet your father... This... Although I know that your father is Teng Qingshan, I have never met him and never really thought about meeting him. However, now that I have to think about meeting him, I just feel so nervous. I feel even more nervous than when I was competing for the position of Centurion."

"Don’t act so pathetic. You must be more manly when you are in front of my father. My father really looks down on people that act so weakly," Honglin said intentionally.

Fan Anran nodded and replied, "Don’t worry. When I meet your father, I will not embarrass you."

"Hmph, you must remember that if you can’t win my father’s favor, you won’t be able to marry me," Honglin said in a straightforward manner.

"Ah—" Fan Anran responded with a helpless expression.

When Honglin saw this, she couldn’t help but laugh.

While the couple was flirting with each other, a person who was drinking tea at the side frowned and glanced over. Soon, that person left and Honglin and Fan Anran were the only two left in the teahouse.

"Prepare yourself. We will be leaving on the day after tomorrow." Honglin had decided.

"Okay." Fan Anran nodded.

"You must prepare some gifts for this meeting. Let’s go see what we can buy," Honglin said as she got up.

...

The couple prepared some gifts and then arrived in front of the Xing Yi Sect in the Great Yan Mountain on the 21st of the month.

In the living room:

Teng Qingshan, Li Jun, Honglin, and Fan Anran, who had come with lots of gifts, sat around the table, eating lunch.

"Anran." Teng Qingshan smiled as he looked at the young man. "Why are you only eating rice? You don’t need me to help you get some food, do you?"

Fan Anran’s face flushed red. Drops of perspiration covered his forehead and the tip of his nose. Obviously, he was extremely nervous.

"No, there is no need." Fan Anran hastily took some food for himself.

"Father." Honglin glared at Teng Qingshan and said, "It’s Anran’s first time meeting you. He’s just not comfortable yet."

Teng Qingshan responded with a grin before he exchanged glances with Li Jun, who sat beside him.

For now, Teng Qingshan and Li Jun were both satisfied with this young man named Fan Anran.

After lunch:

"Anran, come with me." Teng Qingshan stood up and headed outside.

Fan Anran froze.

"Quick, go," Honglin hastily whispered, giving a push. Fan Anran then realized what was going on and hastily left with Teng Qingshan. Li Jun and Honglin were the only two left in the living room.

"Mother, it will be fine, right?" Honglin asked as she looked at Li Jun.

"It still seems fine for now." Li Jun smiled and nodded. "Wait a while. Your father will be talking with Fan Anran himself. If he can pass your father’s test, then you guys can get married. However, if he doesn’t pass the test, then there is nothing I can do."

Honglin humphed and said confidently, "Anran will definitely pass Father’s test."

Creak!

Teng Qingshan pushed the door opened and stepped into the study room. He headed towards an armchair and sat down, and Fan Anran then entered the study room. Teng Qingshan’s study room was rather spacious. The room had the width and length of 4-5 Zhang. When Fan Anran walked in, he appeared rather constrained.

"Anran," Teng Qingshan said.

"Sir." Fan Anran replied respectfully.

"What weapon do you use in the Gui Yuan Sect?" Teng Qingshan asked.

"I use a spear," Fan Anran hastily answered.

Teng Qingshan smiled and waved his right hand outward and the branch of a huge tree in the courtyard snapped and the twigs and leaves were cut off. With this, a wooden stick flew into the study room and fell into Teng Qingshan’s hands.

"Show me your most powerful technique. This place should be big enough for you to perform, right?" Teng Qingshan said with a smile before he threw the wooden stick over.

Fan Anran skillfully caught the stick. He took a deep breath and cupped his hands as he said, "Sir, please instruct me."

As soon as he finished his sentence, Fan Anran’s aura suddenly felt different. Immediately, his aura became as sharp as a sword. With a cracking sound, Fan Anran began performing. The moves of his spear art were very fierce, and each move was like the bite of a wild wolf. For a moment, numerous moves of spears could be seen in the study room.

"Yea." Teng Qingshan nodded slightly.

You could read someone’s character through the moves of his spear. Obviously, Fan Anran was determined. Otherwise, he wouldn’t display such powerful and fierce strikes.

One could only perform great spear art by practicing from the heart.

And so, you could see a person’s heart through the moves.

"Eh?" Suddenly, Teng Qingshan frowned.

Teng Qingshan could be considered the best spearmaster in the Land of the Nine Prefectures. And just now, he sensed a very obscure ruthlessness from the moves of Fan Anran’s spear art.

"Fan Anran has a sense of ruthlessness hidden deep down the bottom of his heart. Perhaps he has experienced some sort of torture and disaster when he was young?" Teng Qingshan thought to himself.

"Anran, use your most powerful technique." Teng Qingshan’s voice suddenly sounded strange. His voice seemed to bring along this weird wave of energy. In Teng Qingshan’s previous life, he was fairly proficient with the skills of hypnotism. In this life, because he had an extremely powerful Spirit, he understood the principle of hypnotism even better.

He could easily hypnotize anyone who had not reached the Innate Realm.

One should know that the God of Heaven from the God of Heaven Mountain could easily influence the 80,000 determined soldiers of Hong Tian City with his voice.

Although Teng Qingshan was not as good as the God of Heaven, he could easily hypnotize Fan Anran.

But for the sake of his daughter, he obviously had to do a very thorough check.