Chapter 63: Little Brother Wansan, Big Brother Lin Chuan

Inside the gilded carriage, the tension had largely dissipated.

Young Master Wan put away his priceless tea set and instead retrieved a jade jar, green as emerald, from his storage ring. The jar was little more than a foot tall, yet it emitted a soothing, delightful medicinal fragrance.

"Brother Lin, I overstepped just now. I will punish myself with three cups."

Saying this, Wan San produced several crystal-clear wine cups from his ring.

The cups appeared to be made of crystal, but they were actually crafted from a rare material known as "Spirit Pith Jade," with a single cup alone worth ten million lower-grade spirit stones.

Jiang Yan transformed into her human form, took the wine jar, and personally poured drinks for the two men.

Moving with elegance, her fiery red sleeves brushed lightly as the amber-colored liquid poured from the jar, creating shimmering ripples of spiritual light within the cups.

Lin Chuan's nostrils twitched slightly; as the wine aroma drifted into his nose, it actually caused the spiritual energy within his body to circulate on its own.

To have such an effect merely from smelling the aroma meant this wine was extraordinary.

"This is the 'Myriad-Herb Spirit Brew,' unique to my Wan family."

Wan San held the cup with both hands, presenting it respectfully to Lin Chuan.

"This wine requires nearly ten thousand types of spiritual herbs, refined using my family's secret techniques for a hundred years before it is ready. A single jar is worth a billion lower-grade spirit stones, and it is priceless even if you have the wealth to buy it."

Lin Chuan took the cup, a flash of surprise crossing his eyes.

A billion per jar?

This Wan San was truly a super-rich second-generation heir of the Cangxuan Continent; his spending was undeniably extravagant.

"This younger brother will drink first as a toast."

Wan San tilted his head back and drank three cups in succession, his complexion quickly flushing with color.

Lin Chuan did not stand on ceremony either, raising his cup and draining it in one gulp.

The wine slid down his throat, tasting first as sweet as honey, before transforming into a torrent of heat that rushed straight from his throat down to his Dantian, where it burst forth, surging toward his limbs and bones.

"This is—"

Lin Chuan's pupils shrank. This sensation was remarkably similar to when he had previously been refined by Fatty using the "Human Pill Art"!

The spiritual energy in his body churned like boiling water, his meridians were forcibly widened, and the spiritual energy vortex in his Dantian spun at a dizzying speed.

In less than a moment, Lin Chuan shuddered all over, and his cultivation realm broke through directly from the late stage of the first-level Profound Martial Realm to the late stage of the second level!

"Brother Lin need not be surprised."

Seeing this, Wan San laughed. "The Myriad-Herb Spirit Brew inherently possesses the effects of cleansing the marrow, altering the bones, and boosting cultivation. For an ordinary Profound Martial Realm cultivator, a single cup is enough to break through a minor realm."

With that, he took out four more jars of the same spirit wine from his storage ring, lining them up neatly:

"This wine is difficult to brew, and my Wan family's annual output is limited, mostly reserved for the core figures of the clan. Though lacking, this younger brother currently has only these five jars left today. I am willing to drink with Brother Lin until we are thoroughly intoxicated!"

Lin Chuan caught the subtext in those words.

Wan San was attempting to close the distance through alcohol, unwilling to address him as a master or servant, preferring at most to be a sworn younger brother.

He smiled inwardly; he had never truly intended to take Wan San as a servant anyway, and having a super-rich second-generation younger brother wasn't a bad deal.

"Fine! Then today, we shall address each other as brothers!"

Lin Chuan gave a hearty laugh and proactively filled a cup for Wan San. "Come, Brother Wan, accompany your big brother for a proper drink!"

Overjoyed upon hearing this, Wan San quickly raised his cup. "Brother Lin is magnanimous! This brother toasts you!"

Just like that, Lin Chuan—whose combined age across past and present lives was less than fifty—kept calling "younger brother" to Wan San, who was over a hundred years old.

Yet this third young master of a super-family whose businesses spanned hundreds of cultivation cities and whose assets exceeded ten billion upper-grade spirit stones was not angered in the least. Instead, with an excited expression, he shouted "Brother Lin," making for a rather comical scene.

After three rounds of drinks, the first jar of spirit brew was scraped bottom.

Even with Wan San's peak Venerable Martial Realm cultivation, he was somewhat intoxicated in the face of such potent spirit wine.

His handsome face flushed red, and suddenly abandoning his usual demeanor as a refined young master, he leaned crookedly against Lin Chuan's shoulder like a child who had finally found something to lean on.

"Brother Lin... you don't know..."

Wan San's voice was slurred, tinged with a hint of drunkenness. "On the surface, I look glorious... but in reality, I am suffering..."

Lin Chuan was currently following Fatty's instructions, guiding the wine's potency through his meridians to practice the second layer of the *Heavenly Universe Dragon-Transforming Art*.

Hearing Wan San pour out his grievances while in the middle of cultivation, Lin Chuan raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You have hardships as well, brother?"

"My mother... died long ago..."

Wan San's eye sockets turned red. "My father... fought for the family... and had his cultivation crippled by others... now he's just clinging to life purely on medicinal pills..."

At the side, Jiang Yan looked as though she were on the verge of tears, her fiery red dress fluttering without wind.

"Sanlang's father... cannot hold on much longer... Once he is gone... those people will no longer hold back..."

Wan San abruptly downed another cup of wine, his voice choking.

"What third young master... what heir... it's all fake! Once my father is gone... who will still acknowledge this good-for-nothing young master?"

Lin Chuan fell silent.

He had long since guessed that the pair were playing the sympathy card, but hearing it now, there was indeed a genuine layer of true emotion within it.

In a behemoth family like the Wan clan, internal strife was bound to be fierce. With Wan San's father losing power, his status as the third young master was genuinely precarious.

"Because her bloodline is mottled, Yan'er suffers endless scorn within the Undying Heavenly Phoenix clan as well..."

Wan San continued to vent. "Just because her bloodline isn't pure... those clansmen of hers... make things difficult for her at every turn..."

The proud Undying Heavenly Phoenix lowered her head at this, crystal-clear tears rolling down her cheeks and landing on her fiery red dress, producing faint sizzling sounds as they turned into wisps of green smoke.

Lin Chuan sighed inwardly.

On the surface, these two appeared glamorous, but in reality, they were birds of a feather sharing the same misfortune; no wonder they had come together.

"Brother Lin..."

Wan San suddenly grabbed Lin Chuan's hand, his bleary, drunken eyes filled with a glimmer of hope.

"If you truly can help Yan'er transform her bloodline... I, Wan San... will give you this life of mine!"

Jiang Yan also raised her head, tears shimmering in her phoenix-like eyes. "B-Brother Lin, as long as you are willing to help the two of us, Yan'er and Sanlang are willing to follow you unto death!"

Feeling the surging medicinal power within his body, Lin Chuan knew the operation of the second layer of the *Heavenly Universe Dragon-Transforming Art* had reached a critical juncture.

He took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Rest assured, both of you. Since you have acknowledged me as your big brother, I naturally will not treat you unfairly."

The moment his words fell, a series of crisp cracking sounds suddenly erupted from his bones, and under his skin, faint patterns of dragon scales and phoenix feathers flashed past.

The second layer of the *Heavenly Universe Dragon-Transforming Art*—perfection!

Though Wan San and Jiang Yan were somewhat intoxicated, they still sensed the change in Lin Chuan, and shock flashed through their eyes.

"Brother Lin is truly extraordinary!"

Wan San praised from the bottom of his heart. "Half a jar of spirit brew and you've achieved such a breakthrough!"

Lin Chuan smiled without a word.

This *Heavenly Universe Dragon-Transforming Art* had been imparted by Fatty. Although it was a super-grade cultivation technique capable of advancing one to the Realm Lord level, its initial tiers were still foundational after all. With the assistance of the Myriad-Herb Spirit Brew worth half a billion lower-grade spirit stones, making rapid progress was only logical.

The carriage rolled slowly down the streets of Heavenly Fortune City, the fragrance of wine lingering thick inside.

The more he drank, the more drunk Wan San became, until he finally slumped over the table and fell into a deep sleep. Jiang Yan also resumed her small bird form, curling up on Wan San's shoulder and occasionally emitting soft, dream-like chirps.

Looking at this pair of "tragic mandarin ducks," Lin Chuan gave a slight shake of his head.

He could naturally tell there was a degree of performance in their act, but there was plenty of genuine sentiment mixed within as well. In this cultivation world governed by the law of the jungle, finding someone to genuinely accompany one through life was already a rarity.

"Fatty, what do you think?"

Lin Chuan asked in his mind.

"Hehe, this Wan San is quite the clever fellow."

Fatty's voice carried a hint of appreciation. "Knowing that a forceful approach wouldn't work, he resorted to a soft one—first acknowledging you as a big brother, and then asking for help."

"Should I agree?"

"Of course!"

Fatty said with absolute certainty. "The resources and connections in the Wan family's hands will be immensely beneficial to us right now. Besides..."

He paused for a moment. "The aptitude of these two is far better than those few pieces of trash you found previously. If you're going to build a faction, these two are much better suited to become the core."

Lin Chuan naturally knew that the "pieces of trash" Fatty referred to were Zhang Lin's couple and Wang Tiefu. However, those three were the very first people Lin Chuan had encountered upon arriving in this world, and they were utterly sincere toward him; he was still very much willing to help them change their destinies.

Even so, Wan San and Jiang Yan were indeed superior cultivation prospects; both their abilities and innate talents made them better suited to form the core of his faction.

Nodding, his gaze fell back upon the sleeping Wan San.

This third young master of the Wan family looked delightfully drunk; where was there any trace of the arrogance he had displayed upon their first meeting?

Presumably, he had suppressed himself for too long and was simply using alcohol to vent today.

The carriage suddenly came to a halt, and the respectful voice of the Earth Dragon echoed from outside: "Young Master Lin, your apothecary has arrived."

Lin Chuan gently straightened Wan San's posture, covered Jiang Yan with a silken scarf, and then rose to step out of the carriage.

Before leaving, he glanced back at the two slumbering figures, the corners of his lips curving upward.

This younger brother, he had accepted.