Zichuan Yuanxing nodded to Zichuan Xiu.
With Zichuan Yuanxing's consent, Zichuan Xiu breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Lin Junyu.
"Adoptive Father!"
"Yes!"
Delighted, Lin Junyu pulled Zichuan Xiu close and lifted him into his arms.
He had gathered all three of the Three Heroes of Zichuan. All he had to do now was raise them well.
Then he could sit back behind the scenes and take it easy.
All three were born for their times, with boundless potential.
Put any one of them in any previous era,
and he would have shone brilliantly.
"You've called me Adoptive Father, so I can't leave it at that. Come to Manor No. 9527 in the Imperial Capital tomorrow. I'll give you something good."
Zichuan Xiu carried the blood of the Lin Clan, the same lineage as his own. Holding the boy, Lin Junyu felt especially close to him.
Zichuan Xiu, too, sensed something deeply familiar and comforting about his new adoptive father.
It made him want to draw closer without even thinking.
It was a call that came from their shared blood.
When he faced Zichuan Yuanxing, he felt only awe and respect.
When he faced Lin Junyu, he felt a reliance and peace he could not put into words.
Lin Junyu exchanged a few more words with Zichuan Yuanxing. Every question the man asked was an attempt to probe him.
No wonder he was capable of becoming Chief Executive. He was sharp.
"All right, it's late and I'm sleepy. I'm off!"
"Take care, little A-Xiu. I'll be waiting for you tomorrow!"
Lin Junyu set Zichuan Xiu down, patted him on the head, and said goodbye.
Watching Lin Junyu leave after making the arrangements, Zichuan Xiu felt a sudden reluctance to part.
It was as though he were being separated from a master he had known for years.
Yet he felt that way about a stranger he had met only once.
He was certain he would never have felt the same if it had been Zichuan Yuanxing.
"Well, A-Xiu, it's late. Stay here tonight."
"There are plenty of empty rooms. Pick one and get some sleep."
"Tomorrow I'll arrange a place for you to live, then have someone take you to the manor."
"I'll also find someone to teach you. You're six now. It's time you began your lessons."
With that, Zichuan Yuanxing left.
A great deal had happened that night, and he still had orders to give.
Once the adults were gone, little Ning took Zichuan Xiu by the hand and showed him around her home!
The night passed without incident. Early the next morning,
Zichuan Xiu got up and washed.
He had only just found a place in someone else's family, so he had to be careful and make a good impression.
A guard took him to a two-story villa on the family estate.
It would be his home from now on, a far cry from the wooden hut where he had lived before.
The interior was bright, filled with all kinds of clear, gleaming glassware.
The living room was downstairs, while the bedrooms and study were upstairs.
"Sir, where is Manor No. 9527 in the Imperial Capital?"
"Young Master A-Xiu, the Chief Executive gave us instructions. I'll take you there now!"
The captain of the guards called for a carriage and took Zichuan Xiu to the Golden River Manor District.
As the carriage rolled along the main road, Zichuan Xiu peered through its curtain at the streets outside.
Crowds filled the streets, and the buildings everywhere had an artistic flair.
"So this is the greatest city on the continent? It really is magnificent!"
The splendor of the Imperial Capital left Zichuan Xiu awestruck.
"We're here, Young Master A-Xiu. This is Manor No. 9527!"
After a long ride, the carriage stopped before a quiet, secluded manor.
Its iron gate stood open, revealing a path into the grounds.
"Young Master A-Xiu, you can go in. The Chief Executive ordered us not to disturb that gentleman!"
"We'll come back for you this evening!"
Having brought Zichuan Xiu to his destination, the guards drove away.
Zichuan Xiu looked around curiously, then entered the manor.
Past a garden path, a fountain came into view.
Behind it, a young man lay on the lawn in front of the house, basking in the sun.
Zichuan Xiu crept toward him.
"You're here?"
"Mm!"
Though his eyes were closed, Lin Junyu had sensed Zichuan Xiu from a hundred meters away.
"Good timing. Let me show you the gifts I prepared!"
Lin Junyu tossed a pile of things to Zichuan Xiu.
Light Ripple Art Plus
Shadow Moon Step
Six Harmonies Seven Killings Berserk Blade
Berserk Gene Initial Release
Besides the martial arts manuals, there was a long blade.
Flame patterns were engraved on one side, and ice patterns on the other.
One side of its hilt bore the shape of the sun, the other the shape of the moon.
Lin Junyu had bought it from the system shop.
[Sunflare Moonshine Blade: It can absorb the radiance of the sun and moon, filling its blade with blazing and freezing blade energy while strengthening and sustaining its wielder's internal power. As long as sunlight and moonlight shine, it can draw in power without end.] [Under specific conditions, its wielder can enter Sunflare Form or Moonshine Form, increasing his strength tenfold.]
Anything from the system was bound to be top quality.
"What do you think? Do you like it?"
Seeing Zichuan Xiu caress the long blade, unwilling to put it down, Lin Junyu asked with a smile.
"I love it. Thank you, Adoptive Father!"
"I'm glad. Those manuals are for you to practice from now on. If there's anything you don't understand, ask me. I can teach you."
"With your talent, you should grasp the basics in three years. After that, you'll just need to practice diligently!"
"Yes, Adoptive Father. I won't let you down!"
Zichuan Xiu knew how rare martial arts manuals were. Only a few families with long-standing traditions possessed such things.
Yet his adoptive father had given him so many manuals as soon as he took him in.
Clearly, he thought highly of him. Zichuan Xiu could not let him down.
Besides teaching Zichuan Xiu martial arts, Lin Junyu taught him a great deal about military strategy.
He passed on everything from his previous life, including The Art of War and the Thirty-Six Stratagems.
How much Zichuan Xiu learned and understood was up to him.
But Lin Junyu believed in Zichuan Xiu's military talent.
As long as he planted those ideas in the boy's mind,
Zichuan Xiu would surely put them to good use one day.
More than anything, though, Lin Junyu spent time with him.
Every seven days, Lin Junyu took Zichuan Xiu around the Imperial Capital and to Snow Moon Tower.
After raising Di Lin and Sterling, Lin Junyu had plenty of experience looking after children.
During the day, once Zichuan Xiu had finished the work assigned by the teacher Zichuan Yuanxing had found for him,
he would run to Lin Junyu's manor for lessons.
At night, he returned home to review what he had learned and play with little Ning.
When Zichuan Ning grew a little older and turned six, Zichuan Yuanxing gave his permission.
Zichuan Xiu then began bringing little Ning to his adoptive father's manor.
Once she had been there, little Ning fell in love with the place.
Lin Junyu had filled the manor with all sorts of strange toys he had made himself.
Little Ning loved them and often dragged Zichuan Xiu into her games.
And so three years flew by.
After three years together, Zichuan Xiu had come to think of little Ning wholly as his younger sister and vowed to protect her forever.
When Zichuan Yuanxing saw that Zichuan Xiu had completed all his studies in just three years,
he was even more delighted by the boy's intelligence and considered him a born prodigy.
As it happened, the Far East Military Academy, which Zichuan Yuanxing had spent three years preparing, was ready to open.
He would send Zichuan Xiu there for further training.
In the year 769, under the direction of the family's Chief Executive, Zichuan Yuanxing, the Far East Military Academy opened.
Its headmaster was Ge Yingxing, a man of outstanding service to the family who had long held the front line.
As commander of the Far East Army, he had stopped the Demon forces at Valen Fortress.
When Zichuan Xiu learned he was to enter the Far East Military Academy, he hurried to say goodbye to his adoptive father and Ning.
"Study hard once you're there. Don't grow arrogant. There are plenty of talented people inside, and I hope you'll make friends you can count on!"
Lin Junyu had no objection. In three years, Zichuan Xiu had learned everything he could teach him.
The Far East Military Academy would give him more chances to put it into practice. That was where he belonged.
Zichuan Ning, however, hated to see him go. She did not know when her brother would return.
Though Zichuan Xiu comforted her, she accepted it unhappily.
After all, her father had ordered it, and it was a chance for her brother to grow. She had to be understanding!
Lin Junyu cooked a farewell meal himself, and the three of them ate together at the manor.
Then Zichuan Xiu shouldered his pack and entered the Far East Military Academy.
Lin Junyu watched him go with a mischievous grin.
The boy probably had no idea his two older brothers were at the academy too!
Before you continue