Xiangshui Li Clan

Xiangshui Li Clan, Zhao Calendar 5013, seventh month.

Xiangshui Prefecture, Changqing Mountain.

This was the Li Clan Ancestral Land, home to five Micro Spirit Veins.

Li Qianqing slowly opened his eyes, ending his long cultivation session.

"Three years already. My cultivation has progressed faster than expected—I'm almost at the Peak Qi Refining Third Layer," he murmured.

Having returned to the beginning with a shattered bead on his person, he was now completely certain that he had been reborn, rather than entering an illusion of memories.

Even at the height of his former life, he had never deciphered this treasure. He had never expected it to possess such miraculous power.

The bead was shattered, and he could not sense even the slightest trace of power from it, but he still kept it as his most important possession.

Given another chance, Li Qianqing would certainly make up for his regrets. He would not allow his Lineage to perish. More than that, he would manage the Lineage and lead it to grow.

However, all of this rested on one premise: he had to become part of the Lineage's core, someone capable of steering its future.

He believed that becoming the Lineage's patriarch was as certain as a nail hammered into a board. The only problem was that before he could become patriarch, the Lineage would be destroyed. He had only thirty years.

Thirty years later, the Li Clan would be exterminated by the Upper Sect, Clear Wind Valley, for choosing the wrong side.

Knock, knock—

A burst of knocking pulled Li Qianqing from his thoughts.

Then, a young girl's voice, crisp as an oriole's song, drifted in from outside.

"Qianqing-ge, come out quickly. My father wants to see you."

"I'm coming, Yinyin," Li Qianqing replied.

The door opened, revealing a girl in the bloom of her youth.

Li Qianyin was four months younger than Li Qianqing and was his cousin.

Among the Li Family's eleventh-generation Qian Generation, Li Qianyin, who possessed Dual Spiritual Roots of water and earth, had the best talent.

"Let's go."

The girl tightly wrapped both arms around Li Qianqing's arm and smiled at him, her eyes curving into crescents. It was as though every moment proclaimed a younger sister's fondness for her elder brother.

In his previous life, Li Qianyin's relationship with him had been rather ordinary. They had even clashed once, and she had directly beaten him flat on the ground, causing him, as her older cousin, to lose a great deal of face.

When the Lineage had been destroyed, as the most talented seedling of the Li Family's eleventh generation, she had naturally been the first target. She fought with all her might, and her death had been exceedingly brutal.

In this life, with Li Qianqing's experience, building a good relationship with a little girl was simply too easy.

Calling the current Li Qianyin his little fangirl would not be an exaggeration.

The day he had been reborn to, the day of the Spiritual Root test, he had already formulated his plan for Li Qianyin. This was the first step toward the center of Lineage power.

Getting along well with Li Qianyin was important, because her father oversaw the distribution of Lineage affairs.

Li Qianqing could use this to carry out the next step of his plan: have himself assigned to Changle Mountain for development. This was very important to him.

"By the way, Qianqing-ge, when will you take me out to play again?" Li Qianyin asked expectantly, shaking Li Qianqing's arm as her eyes sparkled.

Every time Li Qianqing took her out to play, it left a deep impression on her and made this younger cousin admire him all the more.

"You're already this old and still thinking about playing? Look at you—you haven't even reached Qi Refining Fourth Layer yet. What a waste of your talent."

Li Qianqing's feigned sternness was seen through at a glance by Li Qianyin.

"Qianqing-ge, stop pretending to be a little adult. You definitely dote on your little sister, don't you?"

"Go away. I'll never be fooled by your cute appearance again. Every time we go out, you make me take the blame. Don't think I'll foolishly let you trick me again."

"Hehe, thank you for the compliment."

"I wasn't complimenting you." As he spoke, Li Qianqing pinched Li Qianyin's little nose.

That pinch immediately got Li Qianyin fired up.

"You're asking for a beating!"

Just as Li Qianyin was about to make a move, Li Qianqing ran far away.

"Hahaha, you can't hit me, can you?"

"Why were you pretending to be an adult just now? Let's see who the child really is!"

Li Qianyin stamped her feet in anger, then immediately chased after him.

After frolicking and bickering all the way, the two little ones were nearly at the residence of Li Lilong's family.

Suddenly, Li Qianqing stopped in his tracks.

"Ow, Qianqing-ge, what are you doing?"

Li Qianyin's head had bumped into Li Qianqing's back, making her ache sharply.

She had originally wanted to say something more, but she sensed that something was wrong. Looking closely, she discovered that her father was standing ahead.

In Li Qianyin's impression, her father had always been a very stern man. In the entire Lineage, he was also the person she feared most.

"Fourth Uncle." Li Qianqing looked at Li Lilong ahead and performed the etiquette of a junior greeting an elder.

Among the cultivators of the Li Generation, Li Lilong ranked fourth in age.

Since Li Qianqing's father was a Mortal Realm man without Spiritual Roots, he addressed all elders of the preceding generation as uncle.

"Father." Li Qianyin, hiding behind Li Qianqing, reluctantly called out only after shifting half a step away from behind him.

Li Lilong glanced at his daughter before quickly returning his gaze to Li Qianqing.

"Qianqing, come with me."

"Yes."

Li Lilong walked ahead, while Li Qianqing obediently followed behind.

Li Qianyin stood where she was, kicking little stones in boredom. She seemed to want to follow and listen to their conversation, but did not dare.

"Qianqing, have you decided where you want to go? What will you do in two months?" After exchanging a few simple words, Li Lilong asked the reason he had summoned Li Qianqing.

After testing their Spiritual Roots, the juniors would all cultivate on Changqing Mountain for three years, with the Lineage ensuring their most basic cultivation resources.

The main purpose of those three years was to raise the juniors' strength and familiarize them with the basics of the cultivation world, so that they could find their proper places in the Lineage and serve it in the future.

There was also a secondary reason: three years of cultivation was enough to test the juniors' actual cultivation talent.

Spiritual Root talent could be divided into Five Spiritual Roots, Four Spiritual Roots, Three Spiritual Roots, Dual Spiritual Roots, Single Spiritual Roots, and certain Variant Spiritual Roots. Among them, Five Spiritual Roots were also called Mixed Spiritual Roots and possessed the poorest cultivation talent, while Single Spiritual Roots were also known as Heavenly Spiritual Roots and possessed the finest cultivation talent.

The number of Spiritual Roots could be tested simply, but the precise quality of those roots could not be directly measured by the methods of the Mortal Realm. It could only be determined through long-term observation.

In Li Lilong's eyes, Li Qianqing was an exceptional Three Spiritual Roots cultivator, with cultivation talent close to that of the poorest Dual Spiritual Roots cultivators.

Three Spiritual Roots cultivators with exceptional talent were rare. Spiritual Root quality and quantity also shared certain regular patterns. Generally speaking, the Spiritual Root quality of Five Spiritual Roots cultivators was mostly at the middle-to-lower level, while the quality of Heavenly Spiritual Roots was mostly at the middle-to-upper level.

The proportion of Five Spiritual Roots cultivators possessing top-quality Spiritual Roots was roughly the same as the proportion of Heavenly Spiritual Roots cultivators possessing the poorest-quality Spiritual Roots among their respective types.

"Fourth Uncle." Li Qianqing had been waiting for Li Lilong to say this. "I want to go to Changle Mountain. It's also close to where I was born."

"Changle Mountain..." Li Lilong looked at Li Qianqing. Based on his observations of him, this answer was within his expectations. "You aren't ready yet. To go to Changle Mountain, you must at least reach Qi Refining Fourth Layer."

"How about this?" Li Lilong took a Jade Bottle from his Storage Bag and poured out a pale white medicinal pill that gave off waves of fragrance. "This is a Rank 1 Low-Grade Qi Gathering Pill. It can help you reach the Peak Qi Refining Third Layer faster. As long as you break through to Qi Refining Fourth Layer within two months, I'll arrange for you to go to Changle Mountain."

"Thank you, Fourth Uncle." Li Qianqing's face lit up with delight as he happily accepted the Qi Gathering Pill.

Li Lilong slowly nodded, thinking, No matter how mature Qianqing is among those his age, he is still just a child. Still, he is already outstanding. Besides cultivating diligently, what matters most is that he is mature, steady, and responsible.