Make a Move

In the blink of an eye, several more months passed.

"Little Chu Brother, I'm leaving Lin City. Will you come with me?"

That day, Lin Xueling came to the Scripture Pavilion in low spirits.

"What happened?"

Chu He frowned.

"The Old Ancestor is nearing the end of his life. My father said that when the time comes, those petty villains watching our Lin Family will no longer have any scruples. They'll pounce on us like mad. When that happens, our Lin Family may no longer be able to hold on, so Father said he'll arrange for us juniors to leave in secret over the next few days. They'll stay behind."

"Little Chu Brother, I promised you that I wouldn't reveal my cultivation or go out showing off my might until I reached the Half-step King Realm. But this time, I... Father and the others are staying behind. I know why. This is the foundation our ancestors built, and they're unwilling to abandon it so easily."

"I want to stay too. I'm about to reach the Innate Eighth Level. Little Chu Brother, you said before that, under your guidance, I at the Innate Seventh Level could fight someone at the Innate Ninth Level. Then once I reach the Innate Eighth Level, I'll be able to fight a Half-step King, right?"

Lin Xueling was somewhat incoherent, tears pattering down her cheeks. Something was wrong with her emotions.

The Lin Family had actually begun arranging escape routes for its younger members long ago. She should have left by now, but she had refused again and again. This was the final batch. No matter how unwilling she was, she would be forced to leave.

Once she left, it might be a farewell forever. She had seen the resolve to die in her father's eyes, and her heart was in turmoil.

And there was her mother, and her elder sister.

None of them would leave. They intended to live and die with the family.

She had begged her father and the others to leave with her. She did not want to be separated from them.

But her father said that the Lin Family was too large, and too many people had their eyes on them. When the avalanche came crashing down, it would be impossible for everyone to retreat unscathed.

Some people had to stay behind!

Chu He said nothing and listened quietly.

"Little Chu Brother, I've just figured it out. I'm not leaving this time. I'm staying to fight alongside Father and the others. The reason I cultivated to become a great expert was to protect Father, Mother, Sister, and my family. That is my goal. Little Chu Brother, please forgive me. I may not be able to keep our agreement not to act before reaching the Half-step King Realm."

As Lin Xueling spoke, the tears in her eyes halted. The apology in her gaze turned into determination.

The inner force within her boiled, and a martial artist's hot blood was ignited.

A strange light appeared in Chu He's eyes. He discovered that, in Lin Xueling's current state, she seemed to have touched upon a trace of the true meaning of martial arts. Though her cultivation had not changed much for now, her combat power had increased, and it would also greatly help her break through into the King Realm in the future.

Her prospects were limitless.

Late at night.

In the secret hall of the Lin Family's rear courtyard.

The Lin Family Ancestor lay on the bed, his body as thin as dry bones. The long hair on his head was like withered grass, sparse and scattered, while his face was covered in wrinkles.

Originally, although he was already close to two hundred years old, his strength made him appear only middle-aged. But after suffering grievous injuries, his hair had turned white overnight, and his body had rapidly aged. By now, he had reached the point where his oil was spent and his lamp had run dry.

The leading figures of seven generations of the Lin Family had gathered around the bed.

Even the weakest among them possessed Innate Third Level cultivation. Outside, each of them would have been a figure capable of suppressing an entire region. In people's eyes, they should have had no worries at all, able to cover the sky with one hand and have whatever they wanted.

Yet now, the entire secret hall was filled with helpless sorrow.

Panic, grief, resolve to die, unwillingness, and confusion about the road ahead.

They had even more troubles than ordinary people.

It was unimaginable!

Yet it had truly appeared in every person present.

Whether they were at the Innate Third Level or the Innate Ninth Level.

Tonight, their sky was about to collapse.

The Lin Family Ancestor was about to reach the end of his life.

Just as they held their breaths, their mouths slightly open, their emotions ready to burst forth, their eyes fixed on the Lin Family Ancestor, waiting for his breathing to stop so they could immediately let it all loose—

Suddenly.

The heavy doors of the secret hall slowly opened, and a figure with his hands clasped behind his back walked in step by step.

Every member of the Lin Family shifted their gazes, their eyes filled with shock.

The space around the person who entered seemed distorted. When they looked at him, golden light flashed before them, blurring their vision.

They were all Innate experts, among the Xia Clan's foremost existences, yet when facing a single person, they could not even look directly at him.

Unimaginable.

What terrified them most was this.

They had originally wanted to question him and assume offensive and defensive stances.

Yet they discovered that they could do nothing.

It was as though, in that instant, their bodies no longer belonged to them.

Who was this person?

What had he come to the Lin Family for?

Enemy or friend?

They were lost and helpless, with no way to respond.

The Lin Family Ancestor seemed to experience a final flash of life and regained some clarity. He opened his eyes, turned his head with difficulty, and looked toward the blurred figure whom no one could gaze upon directly.

"Senior, you should not be from the Incense Sect. May I ask what business has brought you to my Lin Family?"

The Lin Family Ancestor's lips moved, producing an extremely faint voice.

Though he was near death, his insight as a Half-step King remained.

He could see Chu He's extraordinariness.

That heavy, towering, powerful aura was not something an ordinary Half-step King could compare to. Even he himself would not have been a match.

If the Incense Sect had such an existence, their Lin Family would have ceased to exist long ago. They would not have lasted until now, when he was already at death's door and only one breath away from dying, while those petty villains still did not dare harbor the slightest thought. How ridiculous.

Though the Lin Family Ancestor's voice was extremely weak, Chu He heard it clearly. He said calmly, "I have an affinity with one member of your Lin Family. This time, I have come to extend your life once. However, your injuries are too severe. Even if I act, you will only live another five years. But I can seal a secret technique within your body. For these five years, you may fight with all your strength without harm."

"Thank you, Senior. Thank you, Senior."

The Lin Family Ancestor was extremely excited, but he was too weak. In his excitement, his eyes rolled back. Had Chu He not acted, he might have died on the spot.

"Already so old, yet your temperament is still so poor."

Chu He shook his head.

Then, with a wave of his hand, a drop of milky-white medicinal liquid flew out and landed on the Lin Family Ancestor's wrinkled forehead.