Chapter 7: Parents in a Strange World
Translated by algoo | Proofread by algoo
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Within the closed-off room, Lin Xiu wore only a shirt, a faint chill swirling around him.
This chill emanated from Zhao Lingyin’s body, causing the room’s temperature to plummet. Lin Xiu found it quite comfortable. Initially, he suspected Zhao Lingyin had ulterior motives, but now he realized she was creating a cultivation environment for him.
The Ice Art, to awaken a second time, required prolonged exposure to extreme cold, stimulating the body’s potential. However, it was the hottest part of summer, and Lin Xiu couldn’t find such an environment.
Unless, someone with the same ability artificially created one for him. His future sister-in-law was truly going to great lengths for him.
Lin Xiu stopped his wandering thoughts, focusing entirely on the changes in his body.
He couldn’t afford to be distracted. The room’s temperature had dropped drastically, so low that he could barely stand it. He had to circulate the power within him with all his might to resist the extreme cold.
In this process, Lin Xiu could feel the power surging within him slowly increasing.
Although the growth was slow, almost imperceptible, it was undoubtedly happening.
People called this power “Yuanli.” It was the foundation for performing mystical arts. Any technique required Yuanli. When Yuanli accumulated to a certain extent, a qualitative change would occur, triggering the next awakening of one’s mystical art.
An hour later, two figures emerged from the room.
Zhao Lingyin’s face was pale. Prolonged use of her ability had greatly depleted her Yuanli.
Lin Xiu’s steps were unsteady. The cold environment had rapidly drained his strength. Zhao Lingyin had continuously lowered the temperature, leaving him utterly exhausted.
However, the benefits were evident. With her help, his Yuanli had noticeably increased. He had just tried, and he could now condense a thin layer of ice on his hand. Although this was currently his limit, it was far from the limit of this ability.
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History recorded that when the Ice Art was cultivated to its peak, a wave of the hand could freeze mountains, rivers, and lakes, even an entire city. It was rumored that within the Great Xia army, there was an expert who had awakened this art six times.
Furthermore, in the northern Great Luo Dynasty, a legendary figure had reportedly awakened this ability seven times, possessing Heaven-tier strength.
The climates of the Great Luo and Great Xia Dynasties differed. Much of the Great Luo Dynasty experienced long, harsh winters. Some extreme regions were even covered in ice and snow year-round, making it the ideal training ground for those with abilities like Lin Xiu and Zhao Lingyin’s.
Based on the number of awakenings, people classified ability users into nine levels.
From Yellow-tier lower realm, Yellow-tier upper realm, Profound-tier lower realm… to Heaven-tier lower realm, Heaven-tier upper realm, and the legendary Supreme realm, each corresponded to the first, second, up to the ninth awakening.
Zhao Lingyin had already awakened four times, reaching the Profound-tier upper realm. This already marked her as a genius among geniuses. Her sister, the celebrated prodigy, seemed to have undergone five awakenings. Five awakenings before the age of twenty—Lin Xiu felt he didn’t deserve her.
Thinking of his fiancée, Lin Xiu felt a surge of curiosity. “Lingyin,” he asked, “what ability has your sister awakened?”
Zhao Lingyin remained tight-lipped. “You’ll find out eventually,” she said indifferently.
Lin Xiu,Wanting to annul the engagement and galloping forward, wouldn’t have a “later,” and his curiosity was simply a fleeting interest in his unseen fiancée.
Twenty years ago, both the Zhao and Lin families were declining aristocratic families. But after the birth of that girl and her subsequent awakening, Zhao Lingyin’s father, Lin Xiu’s nominal father-in-law, rose from Third Rank Baron to First Rank Marquis, all because he had a daughter.
Just how special was this Zhao family legitimate daughter to bring such glory to her family?
Curious as he was, Lin Xiu knew these matters ultimately had nothing to do with him. Once the engagement was dissolved, they would be strangers again.
In the courtyard, Sun Dali watched Lin Xiu and Zhao Lingyin emerge from the room, both looking exhausted. His eyes widened in surprise.
However, he then looked up at the sky, nonchalantly turned around, and ran off.
Sun Dali bolted. Zhao Lingyin also left the Lin residence.
Lin Xiu walked to the corner of the courtyard, where Sun Dali usually trained his strength. He effortlessly lifted a small stone lock.
It seemed that with the increase in his Yuanli, his strength had also slightly improved.
This meant the Yuanli cultivated from different methods was essentially the same. As long as Yuanli increased, all mystical abilities would improve in tandem.
This gave him an additional path of cultivation. Even without Lingyin’s help, he wouldn’t have to wait until winter to cultivate. If he could acquire other mystical arts, his path of cultivation would become even broader.
This was a path no one had ever taken, and it was Lin Xiu’s only way to surpass those geniuses.
At this moment, Lin Xiu’s strength had been completely drained by Zhao Lingyin. He leaned against a stone bench in the courtyard, slowly recovering.
Not long after, Sun Dali slipped back in. He looked around furtively, then asked, “Where’s Second Miss?”
Lin Xiu said weakly, “She went home.”
Sun Dali then ran up to Lin Xiu, pursed his lips, and asked incredulously, “Young Master, are you aiming for both sisters?”
“Nonsense!” Lin Xiu stood up from the bench. “Such words from a dog’s mouth! Is your Young Master that kind of person?”
He and Lingyin had been in the room for a long time, and this fool must have misunderstood. “Lingyin was helping me cultivate,” Lin Xiu explained.
Sun Dali grinned, winking at Lin Xiu. “I understand, I understand…”
Then he asked again, “So, Young Master, do you actually like Second Miss?”
Lin Xiu did like Zhao Lingyin, but not in the way Sun Dali understood.
It was a bit bittersweet. In both his lives combined, no one else had treated him as well as she had. Helping him enter the Mystical Arts Academy, expending her own Yuanli, sacrificing her time to help him cultivate, all because of that marriage contract with her sister.
Who wouldn’t like such a girl?
Not to mention she was so beautiful, with such a great figure…
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Seeing that Lin Xiu didn’t confirm, Sun Dali took it as tacit agreement. He thought for a moment, then offered his advice, “Actually, Young Master, if you really like Second Miss, it’s not impossible. When the engagement was first arranged, it didn’t specify it had to be the eldest Miss. They’re both daughters of the Zhao family, marrying one is the same as marrying the other, no difference…”
“Get out, get out, get out…”
Lin Xiu waved Sun Dali away. He had no intention of marrying, so he wouldn’t marry anyone. But then again, if it really were Lingyin…
Recalling the potential beating, he quickly banished the terrifying thought. If he really married Lingyin, he might end up at the very bottom of the family hierarchy…
Lin Xiu continued to imagine such a scenario, surprisingly finding it somewhat blissful. Although his family status would be low, at least he would have a family. The word “family” had become quite foreign to him.
After a while of daydreaming, Lin Xiu shook his head self-deprecatingly and prepared to return to his room to rest. Just then, a flurry of footsteps came from outside the courtyard. Soon, two figures hurriedly entered.
A beautiful woman, running in front, immediately grabbed Lin Xiu’s hand, her face filled with worry. She looked him up and down, asking, “Xiu’er, where are you hurt?”
A middle-aged man followed behind her. Seeing Lin Xiu standing safely in the courtyard, the tension on his face eased somewhat.
Lin Xiu looked at the couple, puzzled. “Who are you…?” he asked.
The man’s expression changed slightly. The woman stared at Lin Xiu in disbelief. Then, with a thud, Sun Dali suddenly knelt before them, his face filled with guilt. “I’m sorry, Master, Madam. I failed to protect Young Master!”
…
A short while later, at the Baron Ping’an’s residence.
“You’re saying, Young Master was knocked unconscious by the meteorite, and then lost his memory?”
“He also awakened a mystical art?”
“A Heaven-tier Ice Art?”
The middle-aged man and beautiful woman, who had rushed back to the capital upon hearing the news, stared at Lin Xiu in astonishment.
In just a few days away, so many changes had occurred in their family.
First, their son nearly died from the meteorite. After waking up, he lost all his memories. Then, having shown no mystical talent for eighteen years, he suddenly awakened the Ice Art. Baron Ping’an and his wife didn’t know whether to be happy or worried.
Finally, the woman wiped her tears, gripping Lin Xiu’s hand tightly. “It doesn’t matter whether you awakened a mystical art or not, as long as you’re alright…”
Lin Xiu felt awkward. He now knew that this couple was Baron Ping’an and his wife, who had rushed back to the capital after learning of their son’s accident.
They were the parents of the other Lin Xiu, but not his.
Although he felt an inexplicable closeness to them, he couldn’t bring himself to address these strangers as “father” and “mother.” He excused himself, claiming he had matters to attend to, and hurriedly left the residence.
On the streets of the capital, Sun Dali followed behind Lin Xiu, asking curiously, “Young Master, you haven’t been to the government office much, why do you suddenly want to go today?”
Lin Xiu replied, “It’s precisely because I haven’t been there often that I need to go. This position wasn’t easy to come by. What if I lose my job? What will I do then?”
Sun Dali nodded in agreement. “That’s true…”
He looked at Lin Xiu curiously, feeling that Young Master seemed to have become more sensible after losing his memory.
The position of clerk in the Ministry of Records had been obtained through great effort and cost by his father.
After all, Master and Madam couldn’t protect Young Master forever.
The titles of nobility in Great Xia were divided into three ranks and nine grades, from the highest First Rank Duke to the lowest Third Rank Baron. Master held the title of Third Rank Baron Ping’an. After his passing, Young Master would become a commoner.
For the sake of Young Master’s future livelihood, Master had pulled many strings and spent a considerable amount of silver to secure him a clerk position in the Ministry of Records.
A clerk was responsible for recording and organizing documents, staying within the government office all day, with minimal danger. It was a job one could hold for a lifetime.
However, Young Master was indolent. He only went for a few days initially, then found the clerk work boring and never returned.
Fortunately, the head of the archives had some connections with Master and turned a blind eye to Young Master’s absences. Otherwise, his hard-earned position would have been lost long ago.
Although Lin Xiu had been at home these past few days, he hadn’t been idle. Using his amnesia as an excuse, he gradually gleaned a great deal of personal information about the original Lin Xiu from Sun Dali.
Including his relationships, frequently visited places, living habits, and so on…
It was then that he learned that since the title of Baron Ping’an couldn’t be inherited, his family had prepared a backup plan for him: the clerk position in the Ministry of Records. This position was safe, requiring only that he sit in the archives and organize documents. Clerks received a government salary, so even if the Lin family completely declined, he wouldn’t starve.
Baron Ping’an and his wife had put so much thought into their mediocre son. This made Lin Xiu somewhat envious. These were things he had never had…
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