The Li Family Had a Son: Li Yunlin

Half a month had passed since Li Yaoqing left Zhien Village.

Sitting in his room, Li Xiang took a deep breath.

He could feel Taiqing County growing more and more chaotic as the two sects' war raged on. That was also why Li Dalong, usually so cautious, had risked going to the Thunder-Fire Demon Cave.

Everyone in the Li Family knew it.

Only by growing stronger without pause and increasing the family's strength as quickly as possible could they keep the war between the two sects from dragging them down!

"As the old ancestor, it's about time I put in some effort, too."

Keeping an eye on the game's progress, Li Xiang saw that only one day remained until the Li Family's fiftieth-anniversary grand sacrifice. He let time in the game world flow as usual.

Then he called Boss Qi.

"Boss Qi, can you come to my place within an hour? This time, I'll give you 200 Beast Blood Fruits, plus something new. But I hope you can bring what I asked for."

Not even five minutes later, the doorbell rang.

Li Xiang left his room and opened the door. Boss Qi stood there, panting. "Two hundred? Quick, there's a customer who wants them! And something new, too? It won't be worse than the Beast Blood Fruits, will it? My customers are picky."

"Don't rush. Come in and have some milk tea first."

Li Xiang smiled and shook his head. What did Boss Qi mean, picky?

He could tell that Boss Qi's customers were quite fond of Beast Blood Fruits.

But in truth, the Beast Blood Fruits didn't amount to much to the Li Family!

Li Xiang brought Boss Qi inside and poured him some milk tea, then held out his hand. "Show me what I asked for first."

"Hey, Young Master Li, let me make one thing clear first. I managed to get the stuff, but don't go using it recklessly. If you want to mess with some classmates, just tell me. And if you want to mess with Old Lady Ling, once we've earned enough Spirit Stones, we can take her down in a heartbeat, can't we?"

As he spoke, Boss Qi still took out a Storage Ring and tossed it to Li Xiang.

Ignoring Boss Qi's warning, Li Xiang checked what was inside the Storage Ring, then frowned. "Only two?"

"Yep, two." Boss Qi shrugged. "This stuff isn't easy to get. Besides, where am I supposed to find it for you at short notice? I had to ask an extremist group for these."

"How many more can you get?"

Li Xiang realized he'd been a little unrealistic. It was already impressive that Boss Qi had managed to get contraband at all, and yet he'd wanted even more.

Boss Qi thought it over. "I'll ask around again. You know this kind of thing can't be arranged in advance. But I'm sure I can get at least as many next time."

"Good."

Li Xiang didn't press him. He smiled and said, "Have some milk tea, Boss Qi. I'll go get your things from my room."

With that, Li Xiang went into his room.

He immediately sped up the flow of time in the game.

On the screen, the Li Family's descendants gathered in the Ancestral Hall and knelt before his memorial tablet. The offerings they had prepared for the ceremony were already set out before the incense burner on the altar!

[The Li Family's fiftieth year: the once-in-a-decade grand sacrifice has begun!]

[Your descendants offer you sacrifices—]

[First-tier Beast Blood Fruits, 200!]

[Golden Spirit Powder, 20 portions!]

[Yang-Increasing Powder, 10 portions!]

[You choose to collect them!]

Soon, the offerings appeared on Li Xiang's desk.

Li Xiang didn't waste a moment.

He placed the Storage Ring directly into the copper furnace, and it clinked inside.

[It has been detected that you are using Bestowal on your descendants. You bestow—]

[Heavenly Star Spirit Seeker ×2!]

After the items had been sent over, Li Xiang immediately left the room. Boss Qi was still waiting outside!

"What Young Master Li gave me is medicine?" Boss Qi blinked. "A new product from the Li Group?"

"That's right."

Li Xiang pointed to the Golden Spirit Powder. "It increases your Metal Spiritual Root by 1–8 points."

"What?!"

Boss Qi's eyes widened. If he weren't speaking to Li Xiang—and if the Li Family hadn't already produced miraculous medicines—he wouldn't have believed it. "Does it have any side effects? Is it as incredible as your Heavenly Secret Spirit-Replenishing Pill?"

He knew about the Li Family's Heavenly Secret Spirit-Replenishing Pill. A single one was nearly impossible to find on the market.

And though the Golden Spirit Powder wasn't as potent as the Heavenly Secret Spirit-Replenishing Pill, it was still an incredible treasure!

It specifically benefited those with Metal Spiritual Roots. He could already imagine how wild the wealthy young men with single Metal Spiritual Roots would go for it.

"That's right, no side effects. I'm giving you twenty portions. I hope you can sell them for a good price."

Li Xiang was quite pleased with Boss Qi's reaction. The bigger the reaction, the more aggressively Boss Qi would sell it.

"Twenty portions?" Boss Qi's face lit up again. "And the other ten portions..."

"Yang-Enhancing Pills."

Seeing Boss Qi's expectant gaze, Li Xiang gestured in the air with his hand.

His expression grew a little lecherous. He indicated a size of roughly one centimeter, then made it bigger and bigger under Boss Qi's astonished stare. Then he gestured at the diameter...

"This effect is permanent, and there are no side effects. I'm sure you have friends who could use it, Boss Qi."

At that, Boss Qi swallowed. After hesitating, he asked solemnly, "Young Master Li, I want to ask you something. If I had a friend... Well, I really do have a friend. He can't last very long to begin with. If he used this, could he..."

"Yes. It'll last at least that much longer."

Li Xiang held up three fingers.

Boss Qi's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Three hours?!"

"What are you thinking? In three hours, an ox would plow the field to pieces!" Li Xiang's face twitched. "At least three minutes."

"That'll do, I suppose."

Boss Qi looked a little disappointed, but soon broke into a smile. "Young Master Li, I guarantee these will sell like hotcakes."

Li Xiang nodded slightly. "We'll have plenty of business together in the future. But you know my family isn't suited to showing its face in public, so I'd like you to set up a company under your name. That'll solve my problems with storing Spirit Stones and paying taxes. With your connections, you should be able to handle it."

"I'll give you an extra 3%."

Li Xiang held up three fingers again, and the brief hesitation that had flickered across Boss Qi's face vanished.

Li Xiang continued, "After that, the company's day-to-day expenses can be deducted from the accounts. Oh, and here's a list for you. I hope you can use the company to help me find these things."

Boss Qi took the long slip of paper.

His brow furrowed again. "Medicinal pills, cultivation techniques, talismans, War Puppets... And all of them are extremely rare."

But Boss Qi didn't dare ask too many questions. These were things a powerful family like the Li Family wanted. He even suspected that the Li Family had secretly left Earth and found a new habitable planet, where they were building a new world.

"Can you manage it?" Li Xiang asked.

Only then did Boss Qi snap out of it. After thinking for a moment, he said, "For the things Young Master Li wants, I think we'll have to start with ancient civilizations. I have plenty of friends who study ancient eras. Some of them are even in the deep sea or on extraterrestrial planets, excavating relics left behind by past civilizations. I'll see if I can get my hands on items of this caliber, though it may take a long time."

"Thank you."

Li Xiang nodded slightly.

He knew that this world's rapid development after the Spiritual Energy Revival a thousand years ago was largely thanks to the relics of ancient civilizations that had been unearthed.

As Boss Qi was leaving, he suddenly called out to Li Xiang. "Young Master Li, I saw your teacher in your villa district. It seemed like he was asking Uncle Chen at the gate to find you. He said something about asking you to take part in the school competition. I looked into it, and the other side seems to be at the False Core Stage..."

"He came all the way to my doorstep?"

Li Xiang rolled his eyes. "Tell him to stop pestering me. I'll help, all right?"

Boss Qi grinned. "That makes sense. Against someone at the False Core Stage, Young Master Li shouldn't have any trouble."

"Who said I was going to fight? I don't even want to leave the house."

Li Xiang shrugged. "Do me a favor, Boss Qi. Grab that False Core cultivator before the competition starts, and let him go after it's over."

"..."

Boss Qi left Villa No. 1 at Jixian Manor speechless. He suddenly felt that he was still a very straightforward man.

[The Li Family's fiftieth-anniversary grand sacrifice has ended!]

[Congratulations! Your descendants have gathered together and received your Bestowal. They are deeply grateful.]

[Incense +300!]

Looking at the nearly 30,000 Incense on his balance, Li Xiang estimated that if he kept helping the Li Family prosper, he would reap some rewards after another twenty years or so in the game.

Of course, that was assuming he didn't spend a large amount of Incense in the game.

[Special Event]

[Li Yaozu and the Black Blood Hall are sneaking out under cover of night, preparing to intercept the Heavy-Gathering Sand ore materials being escorted by the Qingping Lan Family alongside the Qingping Gu Family.]

The grand sacrifice had barely ended, and the Li Family was already making a move.

Li Xiang had looked into the Qingping Lan Family before. They had been the Gu Family's mortal enemies for years. Now, however, the Gu Family, which had once helped the Li Family save the Silver Iron Forest, had become its ally. The two families worked together often.

The Qingping Gu Family was now looking to advance its interests amid the turmoil, too.

"Even a cautious family like the Qingping Gu Family is fishing in troubled waters now?" Li Xiang felt the growing chaos in Taiqing County more and more keenly.

Fortunately, he had just sent the Li Family some items. He could lend them a hand.

In the game, Zhien Village hadn't run into any trouble. It was still using up the resources it had acquired before, and Li Yaozu's cooperation with the Gu Family was going smoothly.

Li Xiang decided to check on the two descendants who were away from home.

Li Yaoqing had already arrived at Litian Sect's gathering point and was assembled at Tingfeng Town, where Li Dalong had once wiped out Tingfeng Martial Pavilion. There were now over fifty people gathered, but they hadn't set out yet. They were waiting for more people to join the demon-slaying party.

Li Yaoqing was the sort to avoid trouble and keep a low profile. He was perfectly safe for now.

Li Xiang clicked on Li Yunlin's portrait.

The map changed.

[Litian Sect]

The scene appeared inside a mountain cave. A milky-white pool, its thick liquid swirling with spiritual energy, looked extraordinary at a glance, and mist filled the entire cave.

Li Yunlin had left the Cliff of Reflection only seven years ago.

Now he was meditating in midair above the Spirit Pool!

Li Xiang opened his past experiences and learned that for the past seven years, Li Yunlin had lived in Litian Sect as an outer disciple. He had been utterly unremarkable, yet had never stopped cultivating.

He had been waiting all along for the day he reached the peak of Qi Refining.

Then he could claim the Spirit Pool his master had left behind, break through to Foundation Establishment, and astonish everyone!

Boom!

Suddenly, an explosion of energy burst beneath Li Yunlin, blasting the Spirit Pool's liquid into the air. All the spiritual energy in the cave poured into his body.

He opened his eyes, and flames flared in his pupils!

Most astonishingly, Dantian Fire emerged from his body at his dantian.

Roaring flames burst around him, evaporating the Spirit Pool until it was completely dry. Soon, only blazing fire remained in the cave!

Foundation Establishment, achieved!

"Twelve years."

Li Yunlin murmured, "It's been twelve years since my master died. I was just a boy when I came here. Now I'm nearly thirty."

"And now the two sects are at war."

His voice grew cold, his gaze blazing like a torch. "Today, I leave seclusion with the Nine Spirit Strange Fire in my body. I'll enter the inner sect again and take back everything that belonged to my master. I'll make everyone in Litian Sect know that the Li Family has a son—"

"Li Yunlin!"