Next Life, Be Born into a Better Family

But he had never expected that his own grandson would offend Lin Che. This was something Teng Huayuan had never imagined.

Teng Li stared blankly at his grandfather kneeling before Lin Che, then snarled, "Great-Grandfather, why are you kneeling before this bastard? You're a Nascent Soul Stage expert! Hurry, slap him to death!"

"Shut up!"

Teng Huayuan flew into a rage and viciously slapped Teng Li across the face. Then he repeatedly kowtowed to Lin Che, pleading bitterly, "Senior, for the sake of the Teng Family's loyalty to you, please spare Li'er."

Faced with Teng Huayuan's desperate pleas, Lin Che remained unmoved and merely gave him a choice.

"Teng Huayuan, there are countless cultivation sects throughout the Zhao Kingdom—nearly thirty in all. No fewer than ten possess Nascent Soul Stage cultivators. Your Teng Family is not the only one capable of establishing itself in the Zhao Kingdom. You should understand what I mean."

Teng Huayuan suddenly raised his head, his heart filled with horror. He had clearly understood the implication behind Senior Lin Che's words.

Either he personally killed his grandson, Teng Li, right now, or the entire Teng Family would have no need to remain in the Zhao Kingdom.

Teng Huayuan clenched his fists, his eyes red as he pleaded unwillingly, "Senior, Li'er is a once-in-ten-thousand-years genius of the Teng Family. Could the lives of other Teng Family members be exchanged for his?"

Lin Che frowned slightly as he looked at Teng Huayuan and said calmly, "You are very noisy."

Teng Huayuan was forced to rise and walk toward Teng Li. In a despondent voice, he said, "I'm sorry, Li'er. For the Teng Family's future, I can only sacrifice you."

"Great-Grandfather, why?!" Teng Li roared unwillingly. "Who exactly is this man? Why must you listen to him? I'm your most beloved grandson!"

"He is an expert of the Heng Yue Sect, hailed a century ago as the strongest genius of Vermillion Bird Star. He has cultivated for less than a hundred years, yet his cultivation has already reached the Nascent Soul Transformation Stage. Even if all the Teng Family disciples were tied together, they would still be no match for him."

"Nascent Soul Transformation Stage!"

Teng Li stared wide-eyed in disbelief. His finger trembled as he pointed at Lin Che, his lips shaking. "No... impossible. He's less than a hundred years old. How could he have broken through to the Nascent Soul Transformation Stage? Impossible!!"

"Do not blame me, Li'er. On the road to the underworld, there is no distinction between old and young. Your ancestor will personally send you on your way. Your cultivation in this life will not have been in vain."

Teng Huayuan instantly appeared before Teng Li and viciously struck the top of his head with his right hand. With his Nascent Soul Stage cultivation, he crushed Teng Li in an instant, forcing all four of his limbs apart. Teng Li fell to the ground with a thud, clearly beyond saving.

Seeing his own grandson die before him, Teng Huayuan's heart bled. But for his own chance at reaching the Spirit Severing Stage, and for the Teng Family's achievements a hundred years from now, today's sacrifice was unavoidable.

Only this way could the Teng Family's true strength be preserved.

Lin Che turned around expressionlessly. With a slight movement of his fingers, he took all the treasures offered by the major sects from Teng Huayuan's Storage Ring. Then he took Li Muwan's hand and vanished from the spot.

Looking in the direction Lin Che had departed, Teng Huayuan let out a long breath. Drenched in sweat, he ordered someone to collect Li'er's body. Perhaps this was simply the calamity destined for him.

"Ancestor, what should we do next?"

A Teng Family expert slowly walked over. They had all witnessed what had happened. If their ancestor had not killed Teng Li just now, the Teng Family would surely have been slaughtered today.

"Take out all the family's Nascent Soul Stage artifacts... and present them to the Heng Yue Sect."

Teng Huayuan gave a bitter smile and ordered his clansmen to bring out every Nascent Soul Stage artifact in the clan, all so that they could show more sincerity before Lin Che.

He understood that the path of cultivation was incomparably arduous, and breaking through to the Spirit Severing Stage was even harder than ascending to heaven. Without guidance from a powerful expert, who knew how many years it would take him to reach the Spirit Severing Stage in this lifetime.

Now that the opportunity lay before him, how could Teng Huayuan let it slip away? Even his most beloved grandson, Teng Li, could not stop his determination to reach the Spirit Severing Stage.

Teng Huayuan looked at Teng Li, whose life force had long since been extinguished, and murmured, "Li'er, do not blame Grandfather. If you must blame someone, blame the injustice of this world. This is cultivation."

"Next life, be born into a better family."

After leaving Teng Family City, Lin Che and Li Muwan did not linger for long before returning to the Heng Yue Sect.

Li Muwan was not surprised by Teng Li's death. After all, the cultivation world had always been filled with deceit and treachery, where the weak were prey to the strong.

Only those with formidable cultivation had the right to survive. Those without strength could ultimately only become ants.

Lin Che sat upright in his chair. With a slight movement of his fingers, two masses of energy condensed from blood flew into his glabella, turning into energy that merged into his Nascent Soul.

Although cultivators at the initial Core Formation stage no longer contributed even the slightest bit to his strength, as the saying went, even a fly was still meat. Small gains accumulated into greater ones, and could still raise his cultivation.

"The energy of Core Formation cultivators is still too little. If I want to break through, I'll need to kill cultivators above the Nascent Soul Transformation Stage."

Lin Che clenched his fist, sensing the energy coursing through his body as he thought to himself.

More than ten years had passed since his last breakthrough. Perhaps to others, this was perfectly normal.

Every realm for cultivators was a dividing line that trapped countless people, and breaking through each one required who knew how many years.

Especially after reaching the Spirit Severing Stage, breaking through even a minor realm took decades at the shortest and centuries at the longest. That was perfectly normal.

Thinking of this, Lin Che slowly withdrew his right hand and turned to look at Li Muwan, who was washing her jade-like feet beside the small boat.

Her jade-like feet were faintly visible beneath her silk-like nightgown, like sprites dancing beneath the moonlight. Every movement stirred the heart.

The delicate lines on the soles of her feet lent her skin a bewitching grace, like flowing musical notes that left one intoxicated.

Li Muwan seemed to sense someone watching her. She turned her head and met Lin Che's gaze. The moment she saw the look in his eyes, her pretty face instantly flushed crimson.

Lin Che moved his fingers slightly, and a golden beam shot from his fingertips. It then transformed into countless motes of light that merged into the surrounding valley, forming a barrier that perfectly enveloped the bamboo grove.

Unless one's cultivation had reached the Nascent Soul Transformation Stage, no one could break through the barrier he had left here by relying on external force.

"Senior Brother, you know formations too?"

Li Muwan wiped the water droplets from her jade-like feet, put on her shoes, and slowly walked over to Lin Che's side. She gazed at the impregnable formation in the sky as she spoke.

"A little."

Lin Che replied, "Formations and alchemy are both things I casually learned when I had nothing to do. Compared to true formation masters, I am still far behind."