Returning Home to Discuss the Dao

Lin Feng stored the Eight Spider Lances in his Soul Tool and said to Han Ping, "Uncle Han, it's getting late. Let's have dinner here, rest for the night, and head home first thing tomorrow morning."

Han Ping said, "All right. Get some rest while I prepare dinner."

Lin Feng sat on the ground and called toward the distance, "Dad, come have dinner with us. Aren't you lonely eating by yourself?"

Han Ping glanced at Lin Feng in surprise. Lin Feng could tell from his expression that Han Ping was not surprised Lin Lan was there, but that Lin Feng had actually known he was there.

Lin Lan emerged from the distance, nodded to Han Ping, then sat beside Lin Feng and rubbed his head. "Not bad, son. How did you know I was here, and when did you find out?"

Lin Feng said, "I knew the moment I left home!"

Lin Lan was surprised. "You knew when you left?"

Lin Feng said, "Yeah. Was that hard to figure out? I was coming to train in a place as dangerous as the Star Dou Great Forest. With my combat strength, running all over the Mixed Zone—even with Uncle Han following me, his strength as a Soul King would only be enough to handle ordinary soul beasts under thirty thousand years old. If the two of us had bad luck, wouldn't we end up dead here? So Mom wouldn't be at ease. But she wouldn't be willing to come to the Star Dou Great Forest and suffer for this long either. That meant this dirty, exhausting job could only fall to you. So the moment I left, I knew you had to be following behind me.

"Besides, Uncle Han and I had been here for so long. Even though he had been cautious the whole way, I could clearly sense that he wasn't nervous at all. Did that make sense? It could only mean that Uncle Han knew someone was protecting us. The only people at home who could make Uncle Han feel safe were you and Mom. Going back to my earlier deduction, Mom wouldn't come, so it could only be you."

Lin Lan smiled and ruffled Lin Feng's "dog head." "Brat, you think you're so clever."

What Lin Feng did not say was that he had only dared to take out the Man Faced Demon Spider's soul bone in front of Han Ping because he knew Lin Lan was there. Han Ping was a follower of Lin Lan and Hua Jieyu. Although they trusted Han Ping's loyalty, Lin Feng did not dare gamble on human nature before a treasure like a soul bone. For now, the only people in this world he trusted completely were his parents.

Lin Lan was quite satisfied with his son's performance over the past ten months. Whether it was his mastery and integration of his own skills or his temperament, Lin Feng had been bold yet cautious, and not bloodthirsty. Though killing was only natural for soul masters, Lin Lan did not want Lin Feng to become a soul master who disregarded life.

Lin Lan asked, "Feng'er, aren't you planning to absorb that External Soul Bone? When I saw you put it into your Soul Tool, you didn't seem to care much about it."

Lin Feng said, "That's right, Dad. I really don't want this soul bone very much. Although it's an External Soul Bone second only to a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone, it honestly isn't worth that much to me. First, a Poison attribute soul bone doesn't suit my cultivation. Second, if I use it in battle, those eight Spider Legs are far inferior to my Heavenly Sword, and I don't really need them to boost my combat strength. I can't think of what use it would have after I absorbed it. If it were wings, that would be fine—growing a pair of wings on my back and flying around would look pretty cool. But eight spider legs growing from my back... tsk, tsk. It's a little disgusting just imagining it."

Lin Lan said, "Fine, then don't absorb it. It really isn't an External Soul Bone of particularly high quality. You'll have plenty more chances to obtain soul bones in the future. You're not lacking this one."

Lin Feng said, "Exactly. That's what I thought too. I'll keep it for now, and if the opportunity arises, I can trade it for something useful."

Lin Lan was even more satisfied with his son's attitude. He truly had not expected his son to remain so clear-headed before a supreme treasure of the Soul Master World. No matter how clever Lin Feng was, he was still only a low-level soul master and not very old. For him to possess such restraint made Lin Lan quietly proud. As expected of my son.

The three rested where they were for the night and set off for home the next day. Nothing happened along the way to delay them, and they soon arrived home.

The moment he entered the house, Hua Jieyu pulled Lin Feng into her embrace. Though she knew her son would not be in danger outside, she had not seen him for ten months and missed him terribly. After all, Lin Feng was not even nine years old yet. Hua Jieyu pulled him inside and examined him from head to toe while stroking his face. "You've grown taller, and you're a little darker too. But you've become much sturdier."

Lin Feng spent two days at home enjoying his mother's affection. Sure enough, days at home were what real living felt like. Bitter cultivation really was bitter.

After resting for two days, Lin Feng went to find Hua Jieyu. He wanted to have another proper talk with his mother about the path of cultivation.

Lin Feng said, "Mom, there's something very serious I want to talk to you about."

Hua Jieyu said, "It's about sword practice, isn't it? Your father told me that although you've integrated all your skills very well, it seems you've run into a bottleneck in the way of the sword."

Lin Feng said, "Yes, Mom. When I first began learning the sword from you, I said a lot about my views on the sword. I still don't think I was wrong, but I seem to have no idea where to go next."

Hua Jieyu asked, "Feng'er, then tell me—what do you think of the way of the sword now?"

Lin Feng said, "From what I understand, Mom's sword dao is the path of ultimate offense, or perhaps the path of destruction. Wherever my sword passes, those who submit prosper, and those who resist perish. Mom also said before that some people cultivate an undefeated fighting spirit, forging an unshakable Dao Heart through victory after victory, becoming invincible beneath the heavens. Everyone has a path suited to them. As for me, I think I could walk Mom's path. My Heavenly Sword is well suited to the path of ultimate offense. I could also walk other paths, such as using the Dragon Slaying Saber to forge an undefeated Dao Heart. I believe that path would work too. Mom said these great paths require talent, but I have confidence in my own talent. Still, after thinking it over and over, none of these seem to be the path I want to walk. I don't know how my sword dao should proceed. It feels like I've lost my way."

Hua Jieyu said, "All right, Feng'er. Then let me ask you something else. Setting sword dao aside, have you ever thought about how you want to live your life?"

Lin Feng said, "If we set sword dao aside, I actually want to be a wealthy idler. I want to ride at full gallop and roam freely through this world. But the prerequisite for that is strength enough to dominate the world. I don't need to be unrivaled beneath the heavens, but at the very least, no one should dare provoke me. Although I joked with you before that I seemed to understand those spoiled young masters, I never wanted to become one. What I want is to roam the world through my own strength. The reason no person or faction would dare provoke me would be because they feared me personally. That is also why I want to cultivate so diligently. But as I kept walking the way of the sword, my path in life began to grow unclear. I don't know which one has been influencing the other."

Hua Jieyu said, "Feng'er, you've actually gotten the relationship between the two backward. It isn't that sword dao comes first and your path in life follows. Your path in life comes first, and then comes the way of the sword. Your sword dao is born from your convictions in life, and it serves your path in life. You keep thinking you must first embark upon sword dao and only then live your own life. That is putting the cart before the horse."

Lin Feng suddenly felt as if a veil had been lifted. "Mom, I understand now. I always felt that your sword dao was powerful enough, so sword dao should be like that. When I tried to follow your path, I could keep going, but deep down, I was never happy, because it wasn't my sword dao."

Hua Jieyu rubbed her son's head. "That's right, Feng'er. You must first walk your own path in life. You've been intelligent since you were young, and I often treated you as a mature child, teaching you swordsmanship and showing you my sword dao. But I overlooked something. No matter how clever my son is, you've only been on the path of cultivation for three years. No matter how gifted you are, you're still a child under nine. At your current age and cultivation, it is far too early to discuss the Dao. Feng'er, over the past few years, you've built an extremely solid foundation, and your cultivation speed has been remarkable. At under nine years old, you already possess level twenty-seven Soul Power. Looking across the entire continent, you are a top-tier genius. In the days ahead, it's time to slow down a little. The path of cultivation should always have balance between tension and relaxation. Everyone outside knows the Lin Family has produced a genius with Innate Full Soul Power, but no one has seen him yet. My son should go out and meet some people too."

Lin Feng actually still wanted to cultivate at home, but he knew perfectly well that when it came to cultivation, listening to his mother was the right path. After thinking about it, perhaps he could use this time to do something else. "Mom, I understand. I want to open a medical clinic in Heaven Dou City. We've studied the Divine Medicine King Chapter for so long. Doing something to heal the sick and save lives seems only natural."