Ten Years

"Dad? What do you want to say?"

Lin Chan's face showed confusion, but he had a guess in his heart—it could only be about the mystery of his origins.

"Chan'er, do you remember how I've mentioned the Lin Family Main Line many times?"

Lin Fangzheng spoke slowly.

"I do."

"You're not my biological child. You were adopted from the main line."

Lin Fangzheng finished, feeling a sense of relief. He had kept this secret for nearly ten years, and now it was finally out.

"What!?"

Lin Chan feigned shock, but he had known this secret for a long time.

"When you were born, you didn't have a Spiritual Root, so your biological father struck your name from the main line's genealogy. I brought you back to Yulin City and raised you ever since."

Lin Fangzheng explained the reason.

Lin Chan was silent for a long time, then said, "Since the main line didn't want me, I won't bother with them either. I only have Yulin City as my home, and only you, Dad, as my father."

Hearing this, Lin Fangzheng was deeply gratified. Lin Chan hadn't let down all these years of upbringing.

But Lin Fangzheng couldn't let Lin Chan resent the main line, so he said, "Chan'er, don't hold a grudge against the main line. They are cultivators; with a wave of their hand, they can decide the life and death of mortals."

"Dad! I understand. I have no complaints. I just want nothing more to do with the main line from now on. They gave birth but didn't raise me—a severed finger can repay that."

Lin Chan said resolutely.

A severed finger wasn't literal; it meant paying back with only a minimal cost.

The debt of raising was greater than the debt of birth.

But Lin Fangzheng shook his head and said, "No! Chan'er, this is your chance. As a blood descendant of the Lushan Lin Family, even without a Spiritual Root, if you can break through to the Innate Realm before you turn twenty, you'll have a chance to return to the main line for cultivation and reclaim your ancestry. The treatment might be poorer, but if you train diligently, Chan'er, your future will be bright."

"Dad! I don't need to go begging to them!"

Lin Chan refused without hesitation. Since the Lushan Lin Family didn't want him, he wouldn't shamelessly go back.

What reclaiming his ancestry? He didn't need it.

"Chan'er, don't act on impulse. You've always wanted to seek the path of immortality—this is your opportunity."

Lin Fangzheng said sternly.

Those cultivators weren't so easy to approach. When Lin Fangzheng was young, a friend of his had died on the road to seeking immortality.

The Lushan Lin Family, this Foundation Establishment Immortal Clan, was the easiest cultivator faction for Lin Chan to reach now.

"Dad! I want to go to Shu Mountain! I'm not going to some main line. The immortals of Shu Mountain are definitely far more powerful than those in the main line!"

Lin Chan said.

"Do you know how vast the Shu Mountains are? Endless tens of thousands of peaks, and the Shu Mountain Sword Sect is hidden among them. Without immortal fate, it's impossible to enter the sect and train."

Lin Fangzheng shook his head, not believing Lin Chan's path could succeed.

"Dad! While you were away, I met an immortal from Shu Mountain. He said Little Li and I have considerable immortal fate and told me to follow him in training. I thought since you hadn't returned, I should tell you before I left, so I agreed to find him at Shu Mountain within a year."

Lin Chan fabricated a half-truth, half-lie. But Little Li receiving the teaching—that part was true.

No matter what, Lin Chan was never going back to the Lushan Lin Family. They had abandoned him—why should he force a smile and warm their cold faces?

In his past life, Lin Chan was an orphan. He hated the feeling of being cast aside.

Besides, the Lushan Lin Family placed extreme importance on Spiritual Roots. Without one, even if he returned, he wouldn't be valued.

Hearing Lin Chan's words, Lin Fangzheng was too shocked to speak. He hadn't expected such a big thing to happen while he was away.

At the same time, Lin Fangzheng was deeply moved that Lin Chan wanted to say goodbye to him.

It wasn't for nothing that he had raised Lin Chan all these years.

Seeing Lin Fangzheng silent for a long time, Lin Chan thought he didn't believe him, so he continued to explain:

"That immortal said I haven't started training yet, so he didn't teach me any immortal arts. But his spiritual pet didn't care about that and taught Little Li the 'Golden Flower Cat Moon Drawing Method,' letting Little Li Absorb Moon for cultivation."

"Chan'er, you've been clever since childhood. It's only natural that an immortal would value you. My son has the bearing of an immortal."

Lin Fangzheng excitedly picked up Lin Chan.

Mortals train in martial arts, reaching the Innate Realm, and then it's extremely hard to go further. Who doesn't long to become a cultivator?

If he couldn't do it himself, having his son succeed was like fulfilling the wishes of his youth.

Lin Chan smiled on the surface, but inside, he felt a hint of pressure.

The immortal was all made up. If he never found the path to immortality, would he even have the face to come back?

Lin Chan quickly put the matter out of his mind.

Even if he failed to take a master, he would still gain a new talent every year.

These talents would only grow stronger over time, no less formidable than an immortal's divine abilities or spells.

To celebrate Lin Chan's opportunity to enter Shu Mountain, Lin Fangzheng specially sent someone to buy beef.

As for the exact departure time, accounting for delays along the way, the father and son decided to set out next spring.

By then, the weather would be warmer, the roads easier to travel, and the chance of encountering bandits would be smaller.

During this period, Lin Chan trained in martial arts diligently, never slacking off.

Finally, before turning ten, Lin Chan successfully broke through to the Xiantian realm.

Feeling the faint Inner Qi flowing through his meridians, Lin Chan was immensely excited.

Through this Inner Qi, he could also sense the thin spiritual power gathering within his body.

Normally, Lin Chan could only feel this spiritual power nourishing his flesh and witness his body's growth, but he couldn't truly perceive the presence of Inner Qi.

Now, with Inner Qi and spiritual power intermingling inside him, Lin Chan experienced it all vividly.

He had no idea whether this amount was much or little.

As Lin Chan progressed, Little Li's cultivation also showed some results.

The most obvious change was that Little Li had grown much smarter, now knowing to actively practice Absorb Moon on its own, without Lin Chan having to force or urge it.

The other cat underlings had also changed to some extent, becoming more intelligent, which saved Lin Chan a lot of trouble compared to before.

Because of the earlier incident with Xiao Mengli, Lin Chan had sent out a large number of underlings to gather information about the Xiao family.

Aside from showing off among a few Xiantian martial artist friends, Xiao Ming never revealed to mortals that Xiao Mengli had joined the Lingjing Sect.

Thus, Lin Chan only knew that Xiao Mengli was currently not at home, and he couldn't dig up any more details about the Lingjing Sect.

The only thing he could confirm was that the Lingjing Sect was located in the complete opposite direction from Shu Mountain.

In the bitter cold of the twelfth lunar month, Lin Chan welcomed his tenth birthday.

At the same time, he faced an important choice.

[Having survived for ten years in the world of immortal cultivation, you may select one talent from the following.]

[Karma Eye: Allows you to see the causal Karma of living beings—Good Karma, Bad Karma, and Neutral Karma.]

[Corpse Dwelling Dragon Sight: When remaining still, wisdom, influence, and the like manifest automatically, while strength and pressure continuously grow.]

[Bone Curse Blooming: Carve curses into white bones, causing them to bloom with demonic flowers.]