The two white-haired, white-bearded elders of the Lin family stared with eyes as wide as saucers, simply unable to believe what they were seeing.

It completely overturned their understanding of the world.

The shock Lin Hao had given them with his actions was simply too immense.

Lin Hao’s full attention was on Lin Tianxiao, so he had no idea that the two elders were so stunned by his methods that they nearly went senile.

The True Qi traveling up Lin Tianxiao’s right arm was refined by Lin Hao from the essence of the sun. It was the purest, most righteous energy in the world—the bane of all evil forces.

The moment the sinister, yin-aspected energy in Lin Tianxiao’s head encountered this True Qi, it crumbled almost instantly.

And while the True Qi traveling up the left arm was also yin-aspected, it was refined from the essence of the moon. The remnants of the sinister energy, retreating in panic, had no time to rejoice before they were devoured by it.

These two types of True Qi were incredibly tyrannical, far too much for Lin Tianxiao’s body to withstand. Lin Hao was prepared; he quickly withdrew both streams of energy, then merged them into one in Lin Tianxiao’s Dantian.

That mysterious new True Qi then surged back into Lin Tianxiao’s mind, repairing his damaged sea of consciousness.

A quarter of an hour later, Lin Hao concluded the technique and opened his eyes, staring nervously at Lin Tianxiao.

Before long, Lin Tianxiao’s once-vacant eyes began to move. After glancing around in a daze, he fixed his gaze on Lin Hao, his eyes filling with joy. A hoarse voice escaped his lips, "Hao... Hao’er."

"Third Uncle..." Lin Hao’s eyes instantly turned red.

"Hao’er, you’re alright! This is wonderful, just wonderful," Lin Tianxiao said, his face alight with joy.

He still remembered it clearly. That day he had gone to Lin Hao’s residence to look for him, but the place was empty. He had assumed Lin Hao was just out playing and hadn’t paid it any mind.

But when he returned the next day, and then the day after that, and still found no one, he realized the gravity of the situation.

Just as he was about to go search for him, he ran into a panicked Aunt Yun. The news she gave him nearly drove him mad with rage.

And then, he saw his nephew at the Patriarch’s residence.

His normally lively and adorable Hao’er was lying on the cold ground, on the verge of death, his eyes lifeless as someone drained his blood...

"Lin Wei! Where is that old bastard Lin Wei?!" Lin Tianxiao seemed to remember something. He pulled Lin Hao behind him and frantically scanned the surroundings.

The two elders, realizing the truth might be exactly as Lin Hao had said, asked Lin Tianxiao with ashen faces, "Tianxiao, tell us, what happened?!"

"You are... Third Uncle, Fourth Uncle, you’re still alive?! That’s great! We can’t let Lin Wei get his hands on Hao’er! He’s lost his mind—he’s worse than a beast!" Lin Tianxiao recognized the two elders, and the memory of Lin Wei’s actions brought a surge of hatred to his face.

Lin Hao could no longer hold back his tears as they streamed down his face. "Third Uncle, Hao’er is fine now. Hao’er is better."

"Hao’er, Tianxiao, tell us in detail what happened back then!" The elders’ faces swirled with a mix of shock, grief, and other emotions.

"Yes, Elders..."

Lin Hao remembered every single scene from three years ago with perfect clarity.

"That monster! That monster! To think we’ve been helping a tyrant all this time. Hao’er, Tianxiao, we two old fools have wronged you..." After hearing their story, tears streamed down the two elders’ aged faces.

"Third Uncle, Fourth Uncle, Lin Wei and his son are incredibly cunning. You were also deceived, so there’s no need to blame yourselves." Despite everything, Lin Tianxiao couldn’t bring himself to resent them.

"So three years have already passed. It truly feels like a dream." Only then did Lin Tianxiao realize three years had gone by, and he couldn’t help but feel a wave of emotion.

"Hao’er, it’s good that you’ve recovered. As for your bloodline... our two uncles will definitely get justice for you!" The thought that Lin Wei had laid his vicious hands on a mere twelve-year-old child made Lin Tianxiao want to go berserk.

The two elders were currently consumed by guilt, making it the perfect time to stir their emotions.

How could Lin Hao not know what his third uncle was thinking? He shook his head and said, "There’s no need. Lin Wu’s family has already joined the Lin family of Imperial City. Besides, what they owe me, I will take back with my own two hands!"

Lin Hao’s voice wasn’t loud, but the three others present were all shaken. They could hear the confidence in his words—absolute confidence.

"Hao’er, have you been practicing some kind of powerful Cultivation Technique? Though my consciousness was muddled just now, I distinctly felt a strange True Qi. It was faint, but it contained a terrifying amount of energy."

Lin Tianxiao recalled the hazy memories from moments before.

"Third Uncle, I had a fortuitous encounter not long ago, which is why I was able to break the seal and recover," Lin Hao didn’t deny it. Then he smiled and said, "But you, Third Uncle, you reached the Elemental Realm long ago. Why did you keep it from me?"

Just after he had lifted the seal for Lin Tianxiao, he had sensed the vast True Essence within his body. That kind of aura fluctuation was something only an expert of the Elemental Realm would possess.

"Back then, the Lin family had your father, and that was enough. Why would a Spirit Body like me join the fray? Comparatively, I preferred that life of drunken indulgence." Lin Tianxiao gave a carefree smile.

Three years ago, Lin Tianxiao had been a famous romantic in War Dragon City, a total playboy. He had several wives and spent his days frequenting pleasure houses.

So, although he was very good to Lin Hao, Lin Hao had never particularly liked him.

Recalling his own shallowness, Lin Hao scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Oh, right, what about the others? Let them out quickly, I’ll help undo their seals!" Lin Hao suddenly remembered that many of his relatives were imprisoned here because of him.

"You can still save more people?" The two elders’ eyes went wide in an instant.

One had to understand that lifting these seals consumed a huge amount of True Qi. Never mind someone in the Blood Coagulation Realm; even an expert at the Elemental Realm would need time to recover their True Essence.

"No problem!" Lin Hao checked his condition. Although his True Qi had been depleted, it had already been replenished. The sinister energy he had devoured from Lin Tianxiao’s mind seemed to have had a nourishing effect.

In the stone chamber carved from the cliff, Lin Hao worked without stopping. When he was truly exhausted, he would circulate his energy to recover, and then get back to it...

Five hours later, the seals on everyone imprisoned in the stone chamber had been lifted.

The stone chamber, once a quiet place of secluded cultivation, instantly became lively.

Overwhelmed with guilt, the two elders’ attitudes became exceptionally gentle.

"Elders, Lin Wei’s faction is utterly depraved! We implore you both to come out of seclusion and serve us justice!" someone in the crowd called out.

The two elders looked troubled. "We swore an oath back then. Unless we break through to the Elemental Realm, or the Lin family faces a crisis of life and death, we will never leave this place." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The people of this continent took oaths very seriously. Hearing the elders say this, the stone chamber fell silent.

"For now, you all stay here. Hao’er and I will go out," Lin Tianxiao spoke up, a fire blazing in his eyes.

Three years ago, with Lin Wei around, he was no match for him. But now, with Lin Tianhao in charge of the Lin family, it was anyone’s guess who would come out on top.

Besides, Lin Wei’s faction had imprisoned his family for three years. It was time to settle that score.

No one objected.

「Late that night」

Lin Hao returned to his courtyard, accompanied by Lin Tianxiao.

The methods of an Elemental Realm expert were astounding; even after Lin Hao entered the room, no one was able to detect their presence.

"Young Master, you’ve returned." The room was a complete mess. After Lin Hao entered, Yi Mingcheng scrambled up from the floor.

Seeing Yi Mingcheng’s bruised and swollen face, Lin Hao was both secretly amused and deeply moved.

’He really went all out with his acting for my sake.’

Yi Mingcheng smiled humbly, but he didn’t receive a reward. What awaited him was the threat of death.

A large hand, like an iron pincer, suddenly clamped around Yi Mingcheng’s neck. Then he heard an ice-cold voice, "You’re courting death!"

Yi Mingcheng had just gotten up from the ground when Lin Tianxiao recognized him.

Lin Tianxiao remembered the events of three years ago clearly. Back then, all the servants who had supported his branch of the family, including the steward, had been brutally killed by Lin Wei with a single palm strike. Right in front of him.

For Yi Mingcheng to still be alive, there were only two possibilities.

First, he had been on Lin Wei’s side all along.

Second, his attitude during the incident had been ambiguous, and he had been slick enough to stay out of trouble.

’And now he’s appeared at Lin Hao’s side? Does he really think I’m that easy to fool?’

Therefore, the moment he saw Yi Mingcheng, Lin Tianxiao was filled with killing intent.

Yi Mingcheng felt his breathing become incredibly difficult and was terrified.

"Third Uncle, he swore a Blood Oath to me. He’s one of my own," Lin Hao said, not having expected Lin Tianxiao to strike so suddenly.

The strike of an Elemental Realm expert was incredibly fast.

"Hm?" Lin Tianxiao grunted, and his grip loosened.

A Blood Oath. Of course, he knew of it; it was the most solemn oath on the continent.

The oath was incredibly vicious. No one would willingly swear such a thing unless they were a complete fool.

Yi Mingcheng was obviously no fool, so why would he...

In the next moment, Lin Tianxiao found his answer.

The moment he felt Yi Mingcheng’s pulse, Lin Tianxiao froze.

He sent a stream of True Essence into Yi Mingcheng’s Dantian. Lin Tianxiao’s expression changed drastically. After checking again and again, he was utterly dumbfounded!

Yi Mingcheng had actually advanced to the Blood Coagulation Realm Fourth Layer!

How was this possible?!

He was someone with an ordinary body, whose cultivation was destined to be stuck at the Third Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm for his entire life!

But the fact was right before his eyes: Yi Mingcheng truly possessed the cultivation of the Blood Coagulation Realm Fourth Layer.

What did this mean?

It meant he had awakened a bloodline!

If a Martial Artist failed to awaken their bloodline before the age of sixteen, it meant they had forever lost the chance to awaken one and the right to strive for the peak of power!

But now, a middle-aged man with an ordinary body had awakened a bloodline?!

Lin Tianxiao felt his very Divine Soul tremble, shaken to his core by this unprecedented miracle.

"Third Master, the Young Master performed a miracle unheard of in all of history! He created a bloodline for this old servant! To me, such a kindness is like being given a new life. Swearing a Blood Oath to him was the single most correct decision I have ever made in my life!"

His breakthrough to the Blood Coagulation Realm Fourth Layer was all thanks to Lin Hao. Even though some time had passed, Yi Mingcheng still felt a thrill of excitement just thinking about it.

"What?!" Lin Tianxiao cried out in shock. Although he had guessed it had something to do with Lin Hao, he never would have imagined that Lin Hao had actually *created* the bloodline.

"Create a bloodline." It was simple to say—just three words—but to actually accomplish it? In Lin Tianxiao’s eyes, the difficulty was equivalent to creating the heavens and the earth...

As he thought about it, Lin Tianxiao suddenly clutched his chest.

He was afraid that if he didn’t, the shock would make his heart leap right out of his chest...