Rotation Duty

"Not bad—a King at thirty! She had to be the only one in the Xia Clan!"

Chu He said with a smile.

From what Chu He currently knew of the Xia Clan, he had not found any true King Realm martial artists. At most, there were Invincible Half-step Kings capable of fighting an ordinary newly advanced King.

Whether any experts were hidden away was unknown.

But at least openly, other than him, Lin Xueling was the only one.

"Not at all! There is an Old Ancestor in the Imperial City who is now an Invincible Half-step King. When he was young, he entered the Half-step King Realm at twenty-eight. Compared to him, I am still a little lacking."

Lin Xueling did not become smug from Chu He's praise.

Yet she did not know that the one in the Imperial City was merely a Half-step King, while she was a true King.

Otherwise, if she had only been breaking through to the Half-step King Realm, she could have done so years ago, without the slightest risk. Why would she have needed to accumulate strength for so long?

"By the way, Little Chu Brother, when did you break through to the Half-step King Realm?"

Lin Xueling blinked and asked curiously.

She had long since determined that Chu He was an expert.

More than once, she had suspected that the five punches ten years ago that instantly killed five foreign-race Half-step Kings, as well as the person who had extended her Old Ancestor's life by five years, had been the Little Chu Brother before her.

"I have never broken through to the Half-step King Realm!"

Chu He said.

He was telling the truth. The moment he broke through, he had reached Third Turn, a true King. As for the misshapen path of the Half-step King, he had no need to walk it.

Lin Xueling's face was full of disbelief.

Chu He could provide the Pills she needed for her breakthrough and guide her into the Half-step King Realm in such a short time. How could his own strength possibly be low?

However, since Chu He would not say, she obediently did not ask any further.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, another ten years had passed.

Winter Solstice.

Heavy snow fluttered down, promising a bountiful year.

When the doors of the Book Repository opened, silver-white snow drifted endlessly outside, and the ground was blanketed in a thick layer.

Dressed in a thin azure robe, Chu He walked out with his hands behind his back, allowing the cool snowflakes to fall upon his face.

"The weather is quite nice today!"

Chu He exhaled a breath of warm air.

He was in a good mood today.

So no matter the weather, it felt pleasant to him.

More than ten years had passed!

After accumulating strength for over a decade, then spending a month in Secluded Cultivation, he had successfully broken through to Fourth Turn just moments ago.

Though an increase in cultivation was a natural matter, as inevitable as water flowing into its channel, it still lifted one's spirits considerably.

"Little Chu Brother, you've come out of Secluded Cultivation?"

From the neighboring courtyard, Lin Xueling, who had kept watch for a month, leaped over in a single step, delight written across her face.

Chu He did not need anyone to watch over him during Secluded Cultivation.

There was no point.

Nor had he told Lin Xueling that he was entering Secluded Cultivation. He had merely asked her to help inform the other members of the Lin Family that the Book Repository would be closed for a time.

Then, he directly set up layer upon layer of arrays inside and began his Secluded Cultivation.

As for why Lin Xueling knew that Chu He was in Secluded Cultivation—

There was no special reason.

She was simply clever enough to guess.

"Mm!"

Chu He smiled and nodded.

Though he had never taken the initiative to reveal his cultivation, and his words had always concealed half of what they meant, by this point, there was no longer any need for him to act furtively!

With his current strength, in the Xia Clan, he was no longer afraid of others learning part of his capabilities.

As long as they did not know all of it.

It was like fencing with words—there was no need to lay everything bare. It was enough to keep things hazy and leave others unable to fathom him!

Now that he had Fourth Turn cultivation, corresponding to the Emperor Venerable Realm of the Great Wilderness, if he needed to act before others, he could reveal the strength of an Invincible Half-step King.

That was nothing.

Of course, he would not take the initiative to show off. Only if someone came looking for trouble would he reveal strength at that level at most. If no one caused trouble, that would be even better.

With no trouble, nothing could be better than living a leisurely life.

"Little Chu Brother, I'm going to Annan for a while again!"

Lin Xueling said.

"Be careful. If anything happens, open the brocade pouch I gave you."

Chu He nodded without saying much, merely giving his usual reminder.

Ten years ago, when Lin Xueling broke through to the King Realm, Chu He had not stopped her from revealing it before others.

Not long afterward, the Lin Family members had basically all learned that she had broken through to the Half-step King Realm.

Every one of them believed Lin Xueling was a Half-step King. No one had ever imagined, nor dared to imagine, that she was a true King.

Although her combat strength was monstrous, everyone believed she was a freak even greater than a prodigy.

Her formidable combat strength was only natural.

Afterward, as the Lin Family's strongest fighter, an additional responsibility fell upon her shoulders: she had to hold up the sky for the Lin Family.

Annan Land was the borderland of the Xia Clan.

It was the defense zone of the Lin Family, Ji Family, and Tianshan Sword Sect.

In the past, the Lin Family Ancestor had been severely injured and the Town South Army had been wiped out. With only the Ji Family and Tianshan Sword Sect left in the defense zone, they had found things extremely difficult.

After Lin Zhennan's death, the Lin Family had only a Half-step Invincible King whose whereabouts were unknown. Even if they wanted to come looking for him, they could not find him, nor did they dare speak too harshly, so the matter had been dragged on.

But once Lin Xueling's strength was revealed, they refused to let the matter rest!

Annan Land had always had a share belonging to the Lin Family.

The Lin Family occupied the vast Lin Commandery, so they naturally had to contribute!

Their three commanderies jointly guarded one place. This was both responsibility and obligation.

The Lin Family had lost the Town South Army, and Lin Commandery had also gone through a period of turmoil. Its mid-level fighting strength had withered away and needed time to recover and replenish, which they could understand to some extent.

But if the Lin Family had two top experts at the Half-step King Realm, yet still refused to send out even its high-end combat strength to stand guard, that could not be justified.

In the past, Annan Land had always operated on a rotation of three Half-step Kings.

Two Half-step Kings remained stationed there, while one rotated back.

After Lin Zhennan's accident, for nearly twenty years, the two Half-step King Old Ancestors of the Ji Family and Tianshan Sword Sect had been stuck in Annan Land, and naturally they were very displeased.

Afterward, following discussions, Lin Xueling began taking turns being stationed in Annan Land.