Five Years

Time flew like a shuttle, spinning by in the blink of an eye. Another five years had passed.

Chu He had stayed in the Library Pavilion for a full fourteen years.

He was already twenty-eight years old.

His frame was broad and well-proportioned, while his features remained refined and handsome, untouched by the dust of the mortal world, like an exiled immortal descended among men.

Over these five years, his cultivation had also risen to the Third Rotation, Fifth Layer.

He had already discovered that the further he progressed, the slower his cultivation advanced, even with ample resources.

But he did not care.

He had all the time in the world.

Cultivating, reading, living at ease.

Still, with Lin Xueling now in the Library Pavilion, it was no longer quite so deserted.

In recent years, the Lin Family's situation had steadily worsened, to the point that she had practically lived in the Library Pavilion throughout these five years, without anyone coming to check on her.

Lin Xueling truly wished to share her family's burdens.

After discovering that Chu He's guidance truly worked, beyond her shock and wild delight, she cultivated with even greater diligence.

In just five short years, she had become an Innate Seventh Level expert.

From the Fifth Layer of Acquired to the Innate Seventh Level, she had crossed a full twelve minor realms and one major realm.

If such speed got out, who knew how many heavenly prodigies would be eaten alive by jealousy.

Of course, the reason Lin Xueling cultivated so quickly was not only because she was hardworking and talented. Chu He had also given her plenty of special treatment.

His system space held countless treasures gained through check-ins. Many of them had become useless at his current realm; after taking them out and swallowing them, other than leaving a trace of fragrance in his mouth, they produced no reaction once they entered his stomach.

So he simply took them out, dissolved them with a casual palm strike, and sent them into Lin Xueling's body.

The two had spent more than seven years together. It was impossible to say there was no affection between them.

Besides, he still needed to check in at the Library Pavilion. If the Lin Family were destroyed, he would inevitably be caught up in the fallout. He was not afraid, but it would still be troublesome.

Trouble was what he feared most.

So nurturing an expert for the Lin Family could also help ward off potential trouble for himself.

It was an effortless matter. Why not?

"Little Chu Brother, Old Ancestor can barely hold on anymore. He's aging so quickly—he looks different every day."

Lin Xueling entered the Library Pavilion with red-rimmed eyes. She looked as though she had just been crying.

"Birth, aging, sickness, and death are the common lot of mankind. Even though your Old Ancestor is a Xia Clan King and has a lifespan of three hundred years, accidents can still happen. No one can predict something like fate."

Chu He sighed.

Once martial artists reached the Innate Realm, they possessed a lifespan of two hundred years. Reaching the Half-step King Realm added another hundred years.

As far as he knew, the Lin Family Ancestor was only a little over two hundred years old. Given his cultivation, under normal circumstances, he should have been able to live another hundred years.

But that was only if nothing unexpected happened.

Once an accident occurred, no amount of lifespan would be of use.

"Little Chu Brother, you have a way, don't you?"

Lin Xueling looked at Chu He with eyes shimmering with tears, her voice full of hope.

In merely five years at the Library Pavilion, her cultivation had risen from the Fifth Layer of Acquired to the Innate Seventh Level. Such speed was unbelievably fast.

She knew her own aptitude. Though it was good, it only counted as genius-level; she was not even a monster among geniuses.

Yet the Lin Family was now in dire straits, and cultivation resources for its disciples were becoming scarcer and scarcer. Under such circumstances, for her cultivation to advance at this speed could not possibly be explained by Chu He merely saying she worked hard enough.

Her sister, who was two years older and equally talented, worked even harder than she did, yet was only at the Acquired Ninth Level. When she would reach the Innate Realm was still uncertain.

The gap was simply too great.

She knew that Little Chu Brother was probably the reason behind all of it.

She had even once guessed that Little Chu Brother must be an unfathomably powerful expert.

Although Chu He had always said that his ability to teach her so well came entirely from his vast reading and knowledge of both ancient and modern times, and that his own cultivation was ordinary and not high at all.

But Lin Xueling did not believe such words meant to fool children. If it were truly that easy, Innate experts would already be everywhere in the Xia Clan, Half-step Kings would be as common as dogs, and there might even be genuine King Realm experts.

Meeting Lin Xueling's hopeful gaze, Chu He could not help but soften inwardly.

Man was not grass or wood. How could he be without feeling?

He could remain utterly indifferent toward anyone else in this world.

But toward this little girl who had lived with him for several years, he truly could not harden his heart.

"Little girl, I'm only a minor servant of the Library Pavilion. Your Old Ancestor's body has suffered grievous wounds, his martial foundation has been destroyed, and his allotted fate has run its course. How could I possibly have the ability to defy heaven and alter fate?"

Chu He shook his head with a sigh.

The Lin Family Ancestor's injuries could be treated by the means of an ordinary King, if they were willing to pay the price of expending their own martial origin.

But Chu He specialized in the physical body. Every movement he made was meant for slaughter; saving people was not his forte.

Of course, even if he could save him, Chu He would not expend his own martial origin to do so.

If it were something he could do in passing, he would not mind. But if it required real effort—

His relationship with the Lin Family Ancestor had not reached that point.

Otherwise, he did possess treasures that could extend the Lin Family Ancestor's lifespan somewhat.

Though they could not cure him at the root, they could at least let him live a few more years.

Lin Xueling looked deeply disappointed, but she said nothing more.

She had actually considered that even if Little Chu Brother truly was some reclusive, peerless expert, he probably still could not save her ancestor from such terrifying injuries!

The reason she had run over to beg for help was merely that, in the depths of despair, she had been searching for a sliver of hope.

For the period that followed, whenever Lin Xueling came to the Library Pavilion, she would bury herself in cultivation. She worked even harder than before, to the point of madness, refusing even to rest. Even when facing Chu He, the smile that so often graced her face had become a rare sight.

It was not that Chu He's refusal had made her angry. Rather, the Lin Family Ancestor's injuries had worsened, and his days were numbered. The atmosphere throughout the Lin Family grew increasingly oppressive, and the stifling pressure of an approaching storm had infected her as well.

Watching it all, Chu He could not help but sigh.