Chapter Six: The Mysterious Master

The reason he killed only that old hag and helped Lady Liang Yuyan clear her name was because he didn’t want his father to fall out with the Liang family on his account. Now that the old master had secluded himself and the Lin family was surrounded by enemies, should a rift occur, the Lin family would be facing imminent destruction.

Moreover, he had already recovered memories from his previous life and, with the assistance of the Ascension System, would soon rise to power. There would be no need to turn against anyone until he was strong enough. In the meantime, having someone who constantly provided him with negative emotional value to accelerate his cultivation progress was a win-win. Besides, when he killed that old hag, he’d already stated that his own revenge must be carried out by himself.

“Purchase a Body-Tempering Fruit and see if it still works!” Lin Fan exhaled deeply, dismissing further thoughts. He opened the system shop and saw his negative emotion value had reached 4,486. Satisfaction filled him; earning negative emotion points was so easy, why should he worry about rising quickly?

Yet a faint unease lingered in his heart. These people he’d killed would become his future enemies in the upper realm. Lin Fan clenched his fists, feeling an oppressive weight. He truly didn’t know how long it would take him to ascend, nor how quickly those who died because of him were advancing in the upper world. If, upon his arrival, they’d already become mighty figures...

However, Lin Fan didn’t know that not everyone he killed would ascend. Only those with strong enough obsessions could be drawn up; those with weaker resolve would have their souls destroyed in the passage, vanishing like smoke.

“Purchase Body-Tempering Fruit!” Lin Fan issued the command in his mind. The fruit condensed in his palm; he’d experienced this over twenty times already. Once it appeared, he popped it into his mouth.

Boom!

As before, the Body-Tempering Fruit dissolved into a torrent of energy that surged through his limbs, bones, and then his organs.

And then... nothing more.

“That’s it?” Lin Fan blinked, a few black lines appearing in his mind. It had no effect at all!

He felt no strengthening, no increase in power. If anything, the only “effect” was the comfortable warmth, like soaking in a hot spring, as the energy coursed through his body.

“Forget it. Seems I’ll have to rely on myself to break through.” Lin Fan sighed, suddenly realizing he’d grown dependent on the system. He frowned, closed his eyes, and sat in meditation for a long time before opening them again.

“The system is only an aid—I must not forget my true self. Since I have to rely on myself, I’ll start cultivating the techniques from my previous life. Although the Divine King’s Formless Art can’t be practiced here due to different rules, blade techniques and combat skills are still usable.”

“But first, I need to forge a blade—a blade that belongs to me.”

Lin Fan stood, then began moving around the room. His movements started slowly, then quickened, until his entire figure filled the room, shadows everywhere.

To the untrained eye, it would seem he was simply practicing footwork. But those who understood would notice not just the footwork, but the flashes of cold light whenever his wrist turned.

If only he had a blade suited to him at this moment...

“Roaming freely as the winds and clouds, thunder roaring for ninety thousand miles!”

Unconsciously, Lin Fan practiced all afternoon. He didn’t just work on footwork and blade techniques, but also some combat skills from his previous life. Anything he could cultivate now, he revisited and familiarized himself with.

When he finally executed the Wind and Thunder Force, the countless shadows vanished, revealing his true form.

Knock, knock, knock!

A knock sounded at the door, followed by a voice: “Young master, the family head requests your presence!”

“I understand. I’ll be right there!” Lin Fan responded, then paused, opening the Ascension System in his mind to check his earnings. In just one afternoon, Lady Liang Yuyan and Lin Yu had contributed over two thousand negative emotion points.

Combined with the three thousand left from before, he now had exactly six thousand.

“I wonder what effect the Body-Tempering Fruit would have if a Lin family guard took it?”

He knew his father, Lin Xiong, had probably dealt with Lady Liang Yuyan’s matter. Although Lin Fan had defended Liang Yuyan, his father wouldn’t let her off easily; neither of them were fools, and the truth was clear. His previous actions had merely provided his father with an excuse to spare her.

Now that his father had dealt with Liang Yuyan and summoned him, it was likely to ask how he’d survived. Lin Fan also had questions for his father.

He purchased five more Body-Tempering Fruits from the system shop, storing them in his ring, then opened the door and headed to the Lin family’s main hall. Upon entering, he saw his father seated in the main position and bowed respectfully. “Father, I have come.”

“No need for formality. Sit.” Lin Xiong waved his hand and spoke, “Your second mother, failing to properly manage her people, has had all those who came with her from the Liang family sent back. From now on, when I’m not here, Uncle Fu will be in charge. Are you satisfied?”

“Yes, that removes all her influence from the Lin family,” Lin Fan nodded. Now, if Liang Yuyan wanted to cause trouble for him, it would be much harder; she had no one left. Guards could help her with purchases or protection, but harming him? That was out of the question.

Previously, when Lin Fan had been taken away by Liang Yuyan’s guards, the Lin family hadn’t intervened because it was a family matter—he had injured Lin Yu, after all. The guards were servants and had no authority to interfere, nor did they imagine Liang Yuyan would go so far as to try to kill him.

But after his disappearance for six or seven days, though things seemed calm on the surface, there was an undercurrent stirring among the guards. They whispered about the incident, feeling that Liang Yuyan had gone too far, bullying Lin Fan as if the Lin family had no one to stand up for him.

Now, his father’s actions not only removed the Liang family’s influence but sent a message to the guards and other families: the Lin family was still strong, its temper still intact.

“By the way, Fan’er, how did you survive? According to the guards, you fell into the Lava River. You must know, Xiao North City is covered in snow year-round, but the Lava River never ceases. Anyone who falls in, not even a powerful Meridian expert like your father, could survive…”

Lin Xiong asked, clearly puzzled.

“I was rescued, Father. You’ll never guess—there’s a peerless expert cultivating in seclusion within the ever-flowing Lava River. I was saved by this expert, who also changed my aptitude. Then…”

Lin Fan grinned and began recounting the story he’d prepared.

Hearing Lin Fan’s account, Lin Xiong was shocked, murmuring, “Such an expert? Cultivating within the Lava River? Absorbing all its energy in one breath?!”

Hiss—

Lin Xiong’s face was full of awe, taking a sharp breath. Even the sect master of the Sky-Supporting Sect, where his eldest son Lin Ya was, surely lacked such power.

“Yes, when I fell into the Lava River, it was just as the expert emerged from seclusion. Thanks to this coincidence, he not only saved me, but changed my aptitude and gifted me several fruits. Father, look—these are the fruits. Because Second Mother was present, I didn’t take them out before.”

Lin Fan immediately took the Body-Tempering Fruits from his ring and handed them to Lin Xiong.

Half an hour later, Lin Fan left the main hall, smiling. When he gave the fruits to Lin Xiong, his father summoned a loyal guard and had him consume one. The guard, already at Body-Tempering Stage Eight, broke through to Stage Nine and soon after, advanced to the early stage of Qi Induction.

The scene nearly stunned Lin Xiong; he quickly stored the rest of the fruits, wanting to return them, but Lin Fan assured him he’d already taken his share, so Lin Xiong kept them.

Returning to his own courtyard, Lin Fan frowned. The guard’s cultivation had advanced rapidly after taking the fruit, but he hadn’t experienced Lin Fan’s unique situation. Most notably, the guard took just one fruit to reach Qi Induction, while Lin Fan had consumed twenty-one, only to reach Body-Tempering Stage Nine.

Lin Fan pondered the difference.

Eventually, he realized the most significant distinction was that he was the system’s host…