Chapter 7

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Chapter 7: Lin Baohua

Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa

“Boom.”

At the sound of the loud explosion, the laborers working in the fields anxiously looked up and scanned their surroundings, while the estate guards hurried toward the manor.

Lin Jiang was roused by the noise, and he sprang out of bed with an angry shout.

“Lin Baohua, what are you doing?!”

After shouting, he immediately jumped out of bed and ran toward a nearby building. By the time Lin Jiang arrived, guards had already dragged a boy from a smoking building.

At first, the boy stood there, stunned with fear. Then he began to struggle, trying to rush toward the smoke-filled house, shouting, “My Pill Furnace, my elixirs, don’t stop me!”

Seeing this, Lin Jiang stepped forward and slapped him, knocking him to the ground. He demanded, “What are you doing? Do you want to blow up my Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa?”

“Sixth Uncle, my Pill Furnace… wu wu, my elixirs…”

The boy burst into tears immediately, sorrowful to the point of shaking Lin Jiang’s head in disbelief.

This was a pitiful child named Lin Baohua, the fifteen-year-old son of Eldest Brother Lin Shan. Three years ago, it was discovered that he had no Spiritual Roots, which meant he was destined to be an ordinary person.

However, Lin Baohua refused to accept his fate. He somehow learned about a miraculous pill called the Wisdom Arousing Pill, which could awaken Spiritual Roots in ordinary people. He had been tirelessly practicing alchemy in pursuit of this.

Inside the mountain gate, as if under a spell, he sought advice from everyone about alchemy, even though he had no special abilities. Because of this, Lin Shan had sent him to Lin Jiang. Lin Shan’s only condition was: don’t let Lin Baohua starve to death.

Lin Jiang believed that no one would starve under his care, so he didn’t think much of it and allowed Lin Baohua to stay. Who could have predicted that he would cause such trouble?

“Young master, what should we do?”

“Take him outside to cool off, check if there’s a fire, and put it out if necessary.”

Lin Jiang waved his hand, and a few guards took Lin Baohua outside to calm him down. Other guards checked the room, but found no fire, only the remnants of an exploded Pill Furnace.

An hour later, the guards returned with Lin Baohua. He wasn’t as frantic now. He bowed deeply to Lin Jiang and said, “Sixth Uncle, I was rude earlier. Please forgive me.”

“It’s alright. Just don’t cause any more trouble in the future. I know about the Wisdom Arousing Pill. It’s a sixth-grade pill. Do you know what sixth-grade means? In theory, only a Soul Changing Ancestor could refine it. But our father is only at the Golden Core stage. There isn’t a single Soul Changing Ancestor in all of Yun State.”

Lin Jiang continued, “The sixth-grade Wisdom Arousing Pill is a legendary thing. It doesn’t even exist in Yun State. For an ordinary person to try to make a Wisdom Arousing Pill is nothing but a foolish fantasy.”

“Sixth Uncle…”

Lin Baohua’s face turned sad as if he was about to cry. Lin Jiang suddenly felt a headache. No wonder he couldn’t stay at the gate any longer. This child’s temperament was problematic.

“Even if you call me Sixth Uncle, I am still just a low-level cultivator at Qi Refining Stage 2.”

Lin Jiang immediately covered his mouth. If he could live for tens of thousands of years, when Lin Jiang reached the Soul Formation stage, he might be able to help refine a Wisdom Arousing Pill. But right now, he was powerless.

Lin Jiang signaled to the guard, who understood and took Lin Baohua away to avoid further disturbance.

A month later, Lin Ying brought Lin Die to beg for food and drink again. This time, Lin Baohua appeared once more, and this time he chose to pester Lin Die. At first, he wanted to discuss alchemy with her, but upon learning that Lin Die had no knowledge of alchemy, he instead asked her which alchemist was powerful and if she could introduce him to them as an apprentice.

This annoyed Lin Die, and in the end, Lin Jiang had the guard forcibly remove him—out of sight, out of mind.

“Poor Baohua, his mother is just a mortal. She dreams of giving birth to a child with a Spiritual Root. But alas…”

“Spiritual Roots are innate and cannot be changed. Our aunties are cultivators, and yet some of them have siblings without Spiritual Roots, right?”

“Yes, that’s why he is pitiful. He was born into a family of cultivators, so he has these desires.”

Lin Ying and Lin Die watched as Lin Baohua walked away, continuing to converse. Now, with more and more members of the Lin family, cultivators, and ordinary people, it seemed as if they were living in two completely separate worlds despite sharing the same sky.

Lin Jiang didn’t care about this. He himself was just a small shrimp at the second stage of Qi Refining, unable to change anything. Besides, he had seen many ordinary people in this world. Who said that ordinary people must be unhappy? It was better to accept reality and live a happy life.

In this regard, Lin Baohua was lucky. With the support of the Lin family, he would never have to worry about food or drink for the rest of his life. His starting point was already the endpoint for most ordinary people.

“I heard that the father has given names to the younger generations, right?”

Lin Jiang changed the subject, no longer talking about Lin Baohua, so as not to ruin the atmosphere. He wanted to say something cheerful.

“Yeah, it’s been decided. Starting from Bao Hua’s generation, the given names for the next fifteen generations will be Bao, Chang, Chao, Cheng, Cun, Ding, Dong, Fu, Gong, Guan, Guang, Guo, Han, Hong, Hua.”

“What about the people before that? Isn’t the eldest brother already having several children?”

“They will change their names. Lin Ke Wen is now called Lin Bao Wen.”

“That works too. Fifteen generations will last a long time.”

“It can last a long time, because Dad gave an order to split the family tree into two books, one for immortals and one for ordinary people. People without Spiritual Root can only be recorded in the book for ordinary people, and they can’t use their own names. Lin Baohua is over by the mountain gate, not only being removed from the family tree, but also being called Lin Hua instead of Lin Baohua.”

“Is it really so cruel? Dad doesn’t show any father-son affection at all?”

Lin Jiang sighed, this was really too cruel. Lin Batian also had several sons without Spiritual Root. Did that mean there was no love without Spiritual Root?

Now he finally understood Lin Baohua’s obsession. If he, Lin Jiang, had grown up in this environment, he would have been obsessed too.

“It is cruel, but Dad has no choice. Now we Lin family members have already exceeded a hundred people. We need to concentrate our resources and prioritize taking care of the family members with better aptitude. Only by doing this can we protect the family. All the families in Yun State do the same.”

“Sixth Brother, you’ve been living peacefully at Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa all these years. Do you know how it happened? It’s all thanks to the protection of our family. Otherwise, the thieves from outside would have completely raided Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa.”

“So you should work harder on your cultivation. Our Lin family has been in Yun State for only fifty to sixty years. Dad has established such a vast territory and offended many people. Without advanced cultivation, how can you protect your spouse and children…”

“Cough, understood, Third Sister.”

Lin Jiang helplessly sighed. Here went Third Sister again. She was great in every other way, but a tad bit too talkative, just like an old lady, always seizing the opportunity to educate him.

“Don’t think Third Sister is annoying, it’s the truth. Our family is now relying solely on Dad. I’m the only one in the Lin family who is building the foundation. After building the foundation, I understood the difficulties Dad faces.”

Lin Die looked serious. After establishing her foundation, Lin Batian loved her very much and allowed her to have some power in the family. She realized how many external threats the Lin family had. Lin Batian had been conquering and expanding the family’s territory for years while also angering many cultivators. There were countless people who wanted the Lin family to be destroyed.

“I understand. I can’t rely on it anymore, Lin Ying. You need to work harder.”

Lin Jiang nodded. Even if he worked all day, it was useless. He had the weakest Five Spiritual Roots, which meant his cultivation speed would be slow. It would be better to rely on Lin Ying instead.

“Third Sister, I will work hard. In at most two, no, three years, I will be able to build the foundation.”

Lin Ying raised her little fist and said firmly. After spending a long time with Lin Die, she had also been influenced by her. She deeply felt the heavy responsibility of her family. In the future, she would bear the burden of protecting her family.

Lin Die shook her head in disappointment at Lin Jiang, her Sixth Brother. He truly was slow to understand, unresponsive no matter what she said, just like a dried fish. But when she carefully thought about Sixth Brother’s inner potential, she let out a silent sigh.

Never mind, never mind, forget about it. Thinking too much will make you age faster.

Lin Jiang noticed Lin Die’s change in expression and understood her current emotions. But he didn’t explain too much. He remembered the kindness and protection of the Lin family. He believed that no matter how long it took, whether it was thousands or tens of thousands of years, he would definitely be able to build the foundation and form a Nascent Soul. When he became strong, he would naturally be able to protect them.