First Arrival

"Ugh, my head hurts..."

When Lin Dong struggled to open his heavy eyes, a tidal wave of pain crashed into his mind, making him clutch his head and let out groans of agony.

Ten minutes later.

"But where exactly is this?"

The pain gradually faded. Lin Dong, who had been lying on the bed, slowly sat up and stared blankly at the antique room. After a long while, he muttered, "No, I think I transmigrated. Seriously? I transmigrated just from looting a corpse? Um, let me sort this out first..."

Just as this boy from Earth, who happened to share the same name as the protagonist of our story, was about to delve into his memories, the door was slammed open with a bang. Then, a round creature rolled in.

"Lin Dong, Lin Dong, your father is about to die!!"

A childish yet anxious cry rang out beside Lin Dong's ear.

"Bullshit! Your father is the one about to die!"

Still confused, Lin Dong instinctively looked up and retorted. The newcomer was a boy of around seven or eight, slightly chubby and so round he looked like a ball.

For some reason, the boy's name surfaced in Lin Dong's mind—Lin Changqiang. He was the son of Lin Dong's Fifth Uncle and a childhood playmate with whom he had once been close.

Wait, my grandfather only had my father as a son. Where did this Fifth Uncle come from?

Before Lin Dong could think any further, the boy named Lin Changqiang grabbed him and hauled him off the bed. As he anxiously pulled Lin Dong outside, he muttered nonstop, "It's true. Uncle Lin Xiao came back from the Clan Grand Competition at the Inner Clan in Great Yan Prefecture. Not only did he lose, he was severely injured in a single move. I heard he might not even survive. My father told me to hurry and get you. There's no time, come with me!"

Thus, a bewildered Lin Dong was dragged by Lin Changqiang into a spacious yet simply furnished room packed with grim-faced clansmen.

They were gathered around a bed, upon which lay a handsome young man. His face was pale, his eyes tightly shut, though traces of sharpness could still be seen between his brows. He had clearly suffered grave injuries.

Once there, Lin Changqiang, who had been exceptionally lively along the way, did not dare act up at all. He pulled Lin Dong into a corner of the room, pointed at the heavily injured unconscious man on the bed, and whispered, "There, look. That's your father."

"My father?"

The baffled Lin Dong focused his gaze and saw the man on the bed, the delicate woman keeping vigil beside him, and the imposing old man dressed in brocade.

"Father, what exactly happened to Brother Xiao? He is a Heavenly Origin Stage Expert. Weren't you all going to the Inner Clan in Great Yan Prefecture together to take part in the Clan Grand Competition?"

The delicate woman suppressed her grief as she looked in shock at the imposing old man beside her—the Patriarch of the Lin Family and her husband's father.

"During his first match, Third Brother encountered a genius youth from the Inner Clan named Lin Langtian and was defeated in a single move. Lin Langtian not only utterly crushed Third Brother, but he was also extremely vicious. His violent Origin Energy ravaged Third Brother's body."

"Third Brother's internal injuries have accumulated badly, and his meridians are blocked beyond recognition. Not only has his cultivation fallen from the Heavenly Yuan Stage back to the Earth Origin Stage, but he will never be able to make another breakthrough for the rest of his life."

The imposing old man's face darkened. He pursed his cracked lips and explained in a hoarse voice.

"S-So Brother Xiao has become crippled?"

The delicate woman froze upon hearing this and murmured in a daze.

How had things come to this?

Her husband, Lin Xiao, had been the first among the five brothers to break through Body Tempering Layer Nine and enter the Earth Origin Stage. Then, in just four short years, he had broken through the Earth Origin Stage once more and stepped into the Heaven Yuan Stage, becoming the Lin Family's second Heaven Yuan expert after the family head, Lin Zhentian.

Even their father, who was usually stern and unsmiling, often showed an exceedingly satisfied smile at that rate of cultivation.

When the once-every-ten-years Clan Grand Competition arrived, Lin Xiao had confidently told her before departing, "Ayan, I will definitely enter the top ten of the Clan Assembly and bring the Lin Family of Qingyang Town back into the Inner Clan."

Back then, Lin Xiao had been so high-spirited. Yet now, he had not only been defeated in a single move, but had also become a cripple whose cultivation would never advance again.

Liu Yan knew her husband's temperament well. She knew the torment her proud husband would face upon awakening, and how deeply he would blame himself.

"Crippled? Not quite. As long as the Lin Family stands behind him, Third Brother is not a cripple. Third Brother should wake up tomorrow. Take good care of him."

After a brief silence, the imposing old man gave his instructions. Unwilling to remain any longer, he turned and left.

His finest son had fallen to such a state. His hopes of this branch returning to the Inner Clan had been shattered. He... all of it was something this old man could not accept.

"Lin Family, Lin Xiao, Lin Clan, Lin Langtian..."

Huddled in the corner, Lin Dong heard this and immediately understood where he had arrived. The light in his eyes grew brighter and brighter as he muttered excitedly, "I know now. This is Tianxuan Continent. This is Qingyang Town of the Great Yan Dynasty. This is..."

"Boom!"

Before Lin Dong could finish, his vision went dark. Countless memories surged wildly from the depths of his mind like a flood, and he fainted.

The memory fusion had begun!

"Lin Dong, Lin Dong, what's wrong, Lin Dong? Father, look! Lin Dong fainted from overwhelming grief..."

Lin Changqiang, standing beside Lin Dong, caught him the moment he collapsed and shouted in panic.

Lin Zhentian, who had already reached the doorway, stopped in his tracks. Looking at Lin Dong, who had suddenly fainted in the corner, he let out a long sigh. "Sigh, Third Brother gave birth to a good son. Take good care of Dong'er."

After saying that, Lin Zhentian shook his head and quickly left the room with grief on his face. He did not want to remain in this place of sorrow for even another minute. As the family head, he absolutely could not show weakness before his clansmen. Absolutely not.

"Dong'er..."

Liu Yan, who had been watching over her husband, saw that her son had fainted as well. Tears immediately streamed uncontrollably from her beautiful eyes.

What was she supposed to do? Her husband was gravely injured and unconscious, her son had fainted from grief, and her daughter was too young for her to dare tell her the news yet. As a frail woman, she could only bear it all alone. What was she supposed to do?

"Liu Yan, it's all right. Dong'er has only temporarily fainted. Come, Changqiang, hurry and help Dong'er up..."

The women from the other four branches immediately began comforting Liu Yan.

In an unknown place, changes quietly began to take place. The wheels of history slowly started turning, rolling toward an unknown future.

That year, Lin Dong was eight years old, and Lin Xiao was twenty-six.

P.S. The new book is setting sail! Please recommend and bookmark it~