Making a Move

A few more months passed by in the blink of an eye.

“Brother Lil Chu, I’m leaving Lin City. Do you want to join me?”

Lin Xueling was in a depressed mood when she arrived at the book depository that day.

“What’s wrong?”

Chu He frowned.

“The end of the family elder’s life will be coming soon. Father said the bandits who have been spying on us will have nothing to be afraid of and they’ll pounce on us. The Lin family won’t be able to hold on when that happens. Thus, Father said that he’ll arrange for us younger ones to leave in secret while the rest of them stay behind.”

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“Brother Lil Chu, I know I promised that I wouldn’t reveal my cultivations and show off before I became a demi-king. But I… I know why Father and the rest will stay behind this time. I know it’s because they refuse to let go of the foundation the family elders built without putting up a fight.”

“I would like to stay behind too. I’ve almost mastered the Precelestial Eighth Erudition now. Brother Lil Chu, you once said that if I mastered the Precelestial Seventh Erudition under your guidance, I would be able to take on someone who has mastered the Ninth Erudition. That means I can fight a demi-king once I’ve mastered the Eighth Erudition, right?”

Lin Xueling was speaking almost incoherently as tears trickled out of her eyes. Her emotions were all over the place.

The Lin family had long since started arranging for the younger ones to escape, and she should have left a long time ago. However, she kept on refusing to leave. This current batch would be the last to leave. She would be forced to join them even if she did not want to.

This goodbye may very well be the last she ever said. She was beyond distraught after she had seen the unwavering death wish in her father’s eyes.

The same was for her mother and sister.

They were not going to leave either and had decided they would perish along with the clan.

She did not want to be separated from them and had begged Father to leave with her.

However, Father had said that the Lin family was too large, and far too many people had their eyes on them. They would not be able to escape swiftly when the avalanche of an onslaught occurred.

Someone had to say back!

Chu He did not speak and merely listened.

“Brother Lil Chu, I’ve thought it through. I won’t be leaving this time. I want to stay back and fight with Father. The reason I’m training to become a master is so that I can protect Father, Mother, my sister as well as the rest of my family. That is my goal. Please forgive me, Brother Lil Chu, I might not be able to keep my promise of not making a move before I become a demi-king.”

Tears shone in Lin Xueling’s eyes as she spoke, and the apologetic glint in her eyes turned into one of steely determination.

The blood in her body was boiling, and her passion as a martial artist had been ignited.

Chu He’s eyes glinted with curiosity. He realized that Lin Xueling seemed to have touched on the true meaning of martial arts in her current situation. Nothing much had changed in her cultivations, but her combat effectiveness had increased. This would help her greatly in the future when she wanted to break through to become a genuine king.

There was no limit to her future.

……

Late night.

The Lin family’s secret temple.

The Lin family elder laid on the bed. His body was skeletal, and his hair was like dry, sparse grass spread across his scalp. His face was wrinkled all over.

Before this, even though he was nearly two hundred years old, he still had a middle-aged appearance because of his martial skills. However, after suffering such a serious injury, his hair had turned gray overnight and his body had weakened drastically. He was like a lamp that was running out of oil.

The leaders of seven generations of the Lin family were gathered around the bed.

Even the weakest among them had mastered the Precelestial Third Erudition and could defend themselves in an attack. To others, it seemed that these people should not have any worries as they could easily cover the sky with their hands and take whatever they wanted for themselves.

However, helpless sadness permeated through the air of the secret temple.

Panic, grief, death wishes, resignation, and confusion about their future.

They had a thousand more worries than the average person.

This was unimaginable!

However, it had happened to every person present then.

It did not matter if they had mastered the Precelestial Third or Ninth Erudition.

Their world was going to fall apart tonight.

The Lin family elder was reaching the end of his life.

They held their breaths and opened their mouths slightly as they stared at the Lin family elder. The minute he took his last breath, they would release the emotions they had been holding in.

All of a sudden.

The heavy doors to the secret temple opened slowly. A figure approached them at a slow pace, his hands behind his back.

Every member of the Lin family shifted their gaze as a shocked expression appeared on each of their faces.

The space around the newcomer seemed to twist and warp. As they looked at it, the space seemed to glow and blur their vision.

They were all Precelestial masters and the best of the best amongst the Xia clan. Despite that, they found that they could not even stare directly at this person.

It was unfathomable.

What struck even more terror in their hearts, though, was…

They wanted to make inquiries or erect a defense or attack formation.

However, they realized they could not do anything.

It was as if they no longer had control over their bodies in that instance.

Who was this person?

What did he want with the Lin family?

Was he an enemy? Or was he an ally?

They were confused and clueless.

The Lin family elderly seemed to regain some life in him as he regained consciousness. As he opened his eyes, he turned his head with difficulty to gaze towards the blurred figure.

“You don’t seem to be part of the Xianghuo faction, Senior. May I know what brings you to the Lin family?”

The Lin family elder’s lips fluttered slightly as he croaked softly.

He might be nearly dead, but he still had the sight as a demi-king.

He had spotted what made Chu He different from everyone else.

His heavy, powerful aura was incomparable to that of a typical demi-king. They might not even be any competition for him.

If someone like that existed in the Xianghuo faction, the Lin family would have been destroyed ages ago. That was certainly not the situation now, where common bandits still did not dare launch their attack even though the elder was just one breath away from death. It was ridiculous.

The Lin family elder’s voice was weak, but Chu He could hear him clearly. He replied calmly, “I have a connection with a member of the Lin family, which is why I have come to aid in extending your life. However, your wound is so severe that even with my help, you will only be able to live for another five years. What I can do though, is seal a secret technique within your body. You will be able to attack at full power without any consequences for the next five years.”

“Thank you, Senior. Thank you, Senior.”

The Lin family elder was inconceivably excited, but he was so weak that his eyes rolled behind his head in his excitement. If Chu He had not given him a hand in time, he might have passed away right then and there.”

“Alright, you’re already so old but you’re still not mindful.”

Chu He shook his head.

Then, he waved his hand. A drop of milky-white medicine flew and landed on the Lin family elder’s wrinkled forehead.