Could this bloodline be this world's magical power?
Lin Ke couldn't help pondering it.
There had been no cleansing of his meridians and marrow, no three heads and six arms, and no fire breathing.
Receiving the system's reward had been practically the same as receiving nothing, except he'd gained a curse.
At least, that was how it looked on the outside.
Still, the latest quest was a little different from the previous ones. At least it listed the reward.
"Forget it. I'll find a few books to read first, then start physical training."
Six years old!
He was six now. According to the traditions passed down in Azan, every child, boy or girl, had to begin a brand-new life after turning six!
"Maybe... I should ask Mother and Uncle Billy what counts as starting a new life. Am I supposed to undergo magical training? Or awaken that bloodline thing?"
Lin Ke climbed out of the water as he thought and began drying himself.
He was only six, so the people here often treated him like a little child.
Except Uncle Billy. And the first lady.
As for the four middle-ranking supervisors, including the head maid, Lin Ke was strict with them because it effectively prevented corruption, loss of authority, and overindulgence. Those four therefore knew how precocious he was.
They all considered his precociousness perfectly normal, though, calling it something like "Azan's outstanding bloodline."
Still, to avoid being seen as some sort of monster, he had always tried not to be too "exceptional."
That included reading books and training his body.
As a result, before today, he had known absolutely nothing about this world and could only make the most basic judgments from the little clues around him.
Fortunately, under his mother's and Uncle Billy's instruction, he had now learned the most commonly used characters and could do some simple reading.
And once his sixth birthday had passed, he would be allowed into the study!
There was no time to lose.
Once Lin Ke had dried himself, he called a servant to dress him, then prepared to find the captain of the guards and ask him a few questions.
Questions about how to train his body.
Although he had often gone to the gym in his previous life, that had only been simple muscle training.
After meeting that so-called god, he thought this world might have other training methods.
In a Western-style fantasy world, there might be magical meditation, battle aura training, or something like that.
That was how all the novels on Qidian wrote it, anyway.
But when he left the bathroom and saw the person in front of him, he immediately ground his teeth in irritation.
"John!" Lin Ke shouted.
Standing before him was a thin, small boy with black hair and large, bright, lively eyes.
Black hair, black eyes.
The reason Lin Ke had chosen this boy in the first place was his hair.
"Y-young master!" Lin Ke startled John, who hurried forward to feel him all over, anxiously asking as his hands moved up and down:
"Young master, are you hurt anywhere? Does anything feel wrong? I heard Steward Billy say you went to see the first lady. Did she spank you...?"
Lin Ke had intended to tease Little John, but at this sight, his anger vanished. He pushed him away helplessly. "All right, all right, stop touching me. If we weren't both so young, I'd definitely kick you. Hurry up and help me get dressed. Pick whatever's easiest to exercise in."
Only after confirming that Lin Ke was unharmed did John breathe a sigh of relief.
He immediately went outside to direct the other servants to fetch clothes from Lin Ke's dressing room, then clumsily helped him put them on.
Even clothes suitable for exercise had an outer appearance layer, a dustproof layer, a cooling layer, a quick-drying layer, and finally a close-fitting anti-chafing layer. They were very difficult to put on.
A noble's clothes, a servant's duty.
Once he was dressed, Lin Ke gave John's ear a twist. "Come on, we're going to the ground floor!" With that, he prepared to head downstairs.
John didn't ask why. He immediately lowered his head and followed Lin Ke.
As they walked, Lin Ke asked, "Little John, why did you suddenly come and tell me my mother had been taken away today?"
Little John bowed slightly. "Little Sophie came and told me, but then Little Vivi told me the second lady had actually only gone to have tea..."
As he spoke, Little John quietly lifted his head to sneak a glance at Lin Ke, only to find Lin Ke looking at him with a smile.
He gave a sudden start and hurriedly said, "It was all Little Bush's fault! He reported it to you before I could find out what was going on!"
"It's fine. I believe you."
Lin Ke and Little John were about the same height, but he still rose slightly onto his toes to pat John's head. "Would you like to train with me?"
Feeling the warmth of Lin Ke's palm, John was actually rather moved.
He knew Steward Billy was probably whipping Little Sophie or Little Bush right now, but Steward Billy wouldn't let him tell his young master.
"Train... train in what?" John's voice came out a little choked.
My young master is so kind!
He never put on airs. Every servant in the castle, apart from John himself, had been subjected to all sorts of harsh treatment.
Only because he was the young master's personal valet had no one ever dared mess with him. Instead, he was the one who got to bully the other young servants.
And the young master always thought of him, whatever he was doing. Even now, he was inviting him along to exercise.
Sob, the young master really is so kind.
As John thought about it, he wiped his eyes again.
Lin Ke noticed and didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "What are you crying for? I just want to exercise a little. Do you want to join me?"
"Exercise? Oh, all right... but aren't you supposed to become a great class-holder someday, young master?"
John looked up blankly and rubbed his large, bright eyes, which were wet with tears.
Click.
Lin Ke abruptly stopped, his boots of some unknown beast's hide striking the stone floor with a crisp sound.
John also stopped short, then immediately began wondering which of his words had been wrong.
"You said... a great class-holder?" Lin Ke's voice was rather calm, but there was a probing note to it.
John seemed to recall some of Steward Billy's teachings in an instant and hurriedly blurted out, "No, no, no! However great a class-holder may be, they cannot match even one ten-thousandth of your glory, young master!"
What the hell? What clumsy flattery.
Lin Ke didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"You're my friend. A good friend, understand, John? Not just a servant. There's no need for this." He shook his head and patted John's shoulder. "Tell me about that 'class-holder.' What does it mean?"
He had actually heard people mention the term "class-holder" before.
But he had been younger then and hadn't paid much attention to it. After all, he had been working hard to absorb knowledge of the writing system and language.
Today, however, after dealing with that old man he'd talked to death with his vocal tricks, he had finally begun paying attention to these things.
Once he started looking, he noticed plenty of clues that had been there all along.
Class-holders, for instance. And bloodlines.
"Class-holders? They're really, really powerful!" John immediately grew a little excited at the mention of them. "Our lord is a really, really powerful class-holder!"
"What do you mean by really, really powerful? Can you describe it more specifically?" Lin Ke was genuinely intrigued. How had he not known about this before?
"Um..." John frowned in thought, unconsciously putting his thumb in his mouth and sucking it as he pondered.
Normally, Lin Ke would slap his hand away. It wasn't hygienic.
Today, however, to let John think properly, Lin Ke did nothing. He held his breath and waited intently for an answer.
After a long while, John shook his head. "I don't know how powerful, either. Just really, really powerful!"
Lin Ke: (ㅍ_ㅍ)
Fine. I might as well ask Steward Billy instead of you.
Lin Ke smiled. "All right, come on, let's go back! Where's Uncle Billy? Let's go find him!"
Since these class-holders existed, he would learn about them before discussing exercise.
PS: Many thanks to Mianbao, Qingcha, Lan, Yang, Hongbo, He Weijun, and Weilai for the monthly votes and tips!!
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