Emily Grant’s calling him “brother-in-law” made Charles Baker feel a bit uncomfortable. In the past, Emily Grant had always called him Young Master Baker like everyone else; this was the first time she addressed him as brother-in-law.

Chapter 12: Invitation

There were seven or eight people with Emily Grant, and to Charles Baker’s surprise, he recognized almost all of them. Nearly all were elite members of the younger generation of the The Grant Family, including Michael Carter, who had been promoted to scholar on the same day as Charles Baker and received the top-grade Azure Lotus True Fate Dao Seal.

“Brother-in-law, you’re here at the Secret Arts Pavilion to choose a technique, right?

I’ve worked in the Secret Arts Pavilion before, so I’m quite familiar with the secret arts inside. Brother-in-law, which floor do you want to go to?

What kind of technique are you looking for?

Maybe I can help a little, so you don’t have to take so many extra steps.”

Emily Grant came up to Charles Baker, speaking with a bright and charming smile.

“Oh, thank you, Miss Emily, but I haven’t decided yet. I’d like to take a look first.”

Firstly, Charles Baker truly hadn’t decided which technique to choose, and secondly, he didn’t have a good impression of Emily Grant, so he didn’t want to get involved with her.

Although Emily Grant was strikingly beautiful—only Susan Grant in the entire The Grant Family could slightly surpass her—Charles Baker knew well that she was calculating and scheming, so he didn’t like her.

“Brother-in-law, why are you being so distant? I’m Susan’s younger sister, so I can also be considered your little sister. You can call me ‘little sister’ or just Emily.”

Seeing that Charles Baker had no intention of chatting, Emily Grant continued on her own: “Brother-in-law, a few of us are planning to go to the island in the center of Mirror Lake to hunt monsters. Why don’t you come with us? That way, we can look out for each other.”

“I don’t have any plans to go out recently,” Charles Baker refused.

“Ah, brother-in-law, you don’t know?

Our The Grant Family has a rule: within half a month after a The Grant Family member is promoted to scholar, they must go out and hunt a monster, and offer the obtained sacred token to the family. It’s a kind of ceremony for our The Grant Family.”

After saying this, Emily Grant pointed at Michael Carter and said, “Michael is also going to hunt monsters to complete this ceremony.

Right now, the closest place to Qingyun City where monsters appear is the island in the center of Mirror Lake. If you don’t plan to go to Mirror Lake, any other place would take at least three or four days’ travel, which would waste a lot of time.”

“I see. All right, count me in for Mirror Lake then. Sorry to trouble everyone.”

Only then did Charles Baker remember that, in the memories of the previous Charles Baker, there was indeed such a thing.

After hesitating for a moment, he accepted Emily Grant’s invitation. After all, he wasn’t very familiar with the surroundings of Qingyun City, and it would be too troublesome to find the place on his own.

“It’s us who should be troubling you, brother-in-law. You’re a saint-grade scholar, so you’ll have to take care of us more when the time comes.”

Emily Grant said with a beaming smile.

Charles Baker waved his hand and went up to the second floor on his own, not in the mood to deal with this little fox of the The Grant Family.

“Acting all high and mighty—he just happened to get lucky with a poem. If he really had any skill, he wouldn’t have failed to obtain the top-grade True Fate Dao Seal four years in a row.”

Michael Carter, young and hot-blooded, had always held a grudge against Charles Baker for stealing his thunder in the Scholar’s Garden that day.

“Michael is right. If he wanted to hide his abilities, he could have just skipped the Sacred Dao Tablet trial. Why would he lose four times in a row? I think this saint-grade title was mostly just luck.”

Harvey Grant said slowly, fanning himself with a paper fan.

“So what if he lucked into a saint-grade? He’s just a scholar. If his foundation is weak, when it comes time to advance to True Person, he’ll still be nothing. Without luck, he might not even make it to top-grade True Person.”

Henry Thompson chimed in.

“If you want to see if he’s really capable, you don’t have to wait until he advances to True Person. On this trip to Mirror Lake, we can test how much he’s really worth.”

Harvey Grant said, squinting his eyes.

“Haha, Harvey, you’re really wicked. He just became a scholar and hasn’t even had time to practice any techniques. If you really make him fight monsters, he might wet his pants in fear.”

As soon as Henry Miller said this, everyone burst out laughing.

“Isn’t that a bit much?

After all, he’s my brother-in-law. If you all mess with him, I won’t be able to explain it to Susan.”

Emily Grant frowned slightly.

Unlike Henry Miller and the others, Emily Grant would be going to Nanli Academy with Charles Baker in the future. She wanted to build a good relationship with this saint-grade scholar. If Charles Baker really soared to great heights in the future, it would be very beneficial for her.

“We’re doing it for his own good, giving him more real combat experience. Otherwise, when he gets to Nanli Academy, he might embarrass our The Grant Family. I think Miss Susan won’t blame us—in fact, she’ll probably thank us.”

Henry Miller said with a mocking tone, making everyone smile knowingly and agree in unison.

The people of the The Grant Family had always looked down on Charles Baker, often ridiculing him. Now that Charles Baker had suddenly turned his life around, their sense of superiority felt challenged, making it hard for them to accept. They hoped Charles Baker would be knocked back to his original state—the loser beneath their feet, not the exalted favored son of heaven.