Chapter Sixty-Eight: The Joy of Parents

For five whole days, little time was actually spent on healing injuries. The crucial part was devoted to refining his own nine Dao Foundations and fully absorbing the effects of the original spiritual energy.

When Lin Qingyun finally emerged from seclusion, his butler—who had previously welcomed him—had already prepared living quarters for him, complete with clothing tailored perfectly to his needs.

Upon entering the living room of this grand and solitary estate, Lin Qingyun no longer felt the slightest sense of unfamiliarity, as if he had truly returned home. In the very center of the living room hung a family portrait of the three of them, crafted from seeds, just like before.

Home.

That was Lin Qingyun’s first feeling upon seeing the family portrait. In that instant, he no longer felt like he was simply dwelling in another’s house. There was a sense of familiarity, of warmth and kinship.

Just then, footsteps sounded behind him. Turning around, he saw the Desert Wind King, Nangong Aoshi, striding toward him in a suit of golden armor.

It was clear the footsteps were intentional, much like a knock on the door to announce one’s presence.

“This is your home as well. In my palace, there will always be a place reserved for you. Your parents used to stay here when they visited. The construction and decoration—your mother chose it all herself,” Nangong Aoshi said, his gaze lingering on the family portrait.

“Uncle.” Lin Qingyun did not stand on ceremony as one might before a powerful lord, but greeted him as if he were a close uncle, then turned back to the portrait.

“Mother always loved decorating and designing. Every house we had around the world, she would personally design and arrange. It was her greatest passion besides alchemy,” Lin Qingyun said, recalling his mother’s hobbies with a sigh.

“Come, let’s take a walk outside and see my palace,” Nangong Aoshi suggested, clearly not wishing to dwell on the portrait, and led the way toward the backyard.

Since Nangong Aoshi had offered, Lin Qingyun naturally followed.

“After your parents disappeared, I spoke with Lin Kunshan and tried to bring you here, but he refused. I’ve been investigating your parents’ disappearance all along, as has the Alliance, but unfortunately, there are no leads.”

With that, Nangong Aoshi turned to look at Lin Qingyun.

“Do you know why I’m telling you this first?”

“I do,” Lin Qingyun nodded. “You’re letting me know there’s no need for me to search for them. Your power and resources far surpass mine, and you’re already doing everything possible to find them. My own efforts would be meaningless.”

Lin Qingyun’s answer caught Nangong Aoshi by surprise.

“You truly understand, then? If so, why did you skip school for a year, stir up so much trouble, and insist on going to the Eighteenth Ruin, hmm?” Nangong Aoshi snorted coldly.

“I thought with Lin Kunshan being your second uncle, you’d be well cared for—yet so much happened. If he hadn’t set his sights on Yueyue and even tried to involve me in his schemes, I would never have known things were so dire over there.”

He had originally meant to say that Lin Qingyun’s situation had been dire in the extreme.

He had skipped his final year of high school, failed to get into university, caused a great deal of trouble, and even ventured into the ruins...

But on the other hand, recently he had publicly slapped Zhang Baole, auctioned off alchemy formulas, cooperated with universities, suddenly enrolled, and during the field trials, defeated every opponent he faced, ultimately taking first place...

“I was young and reckless before, but haven’t I improved lately?” Lin Qingyun replied with a smile.

“Indeed.” Nangong Aoshi nodded approvingly. “You can be a bit flamboyant at times, but that’s nothing. Men should stand tall in the world, and petty fools are easily dealt with. You have changed for the better—so long as you have clear self-awareness, that’s what matters. Focus on your studies and come to me with anything you need.”

The Desert Wind King before him was wholly unlike the figure others knew—more like an overprotective uncle, fussing that his nephew might not be dressed warmly enough. Though his words were few, his meaning was clear.

Even though Lin Qingyun had achieved first place in the new students’ field trials and had shown such remarkable capability, to Nangong Aoshi, he was still the adorable child he remembered visiting at Brother Lin’s home.

Had he not lived another lifetime, Lin Qingyun would no doubt be obsessed with searching for his parents. But now, knowing that Nangong Aoshi and the Huaxia Alliance had spent decades searching as well, and having been in a position of great power himself, utilizing every conceivable method to investigate, he realized that the answer likely lay beyond conventional means—perhaps in the mysterious flame seed.

“I understand. I’ve come to terms with it. I’ll focus on living my life well so that my parents can have peace of mind,” Lin Qingyun said, having already made his own plans in this new life, unwilling to entangle Nangong Aoshi further in this matter.

“As long as you’ve thought it through. Your second uncle... hmph.” Mentioning Lin Kunshan riled Nangong Aoshi. “If my position allowed it, I’d have handled him myself. The Lin family’s pharmaceutical group is a major industry with great influence. If I intervened in the inheritance, it would look like I was interfering in Alliance affairs, which would be troublesome.”

“But you needn’t worry about them. If they dare to act out of line, come straight to me and see how I deal with them. Still, it’s good that you’ve reclaimed your shares. If you have to spar with your uncle as a kind of tempering, so be it—I’ll always have your back.”

“Don’t worry. My second uncle has his schemes, but it’s nothing serious for now. I’ll focus on my studies and other things—should anything arise, I’ll let you know,” Lin Qingyun replied calmly.

His composure and steadiness surprised Nangong Aoshi once again.

“Impressive. No wonder Yueyue was willing to cooperate with you even when she was so headstrong. As the top-ranked new student, you’re even more outstanding than I imagined...”

“Wait—what do you mean, top-ranked new student?” Lin Qingyun was taken aback.

“Haha...” For a while, Lin Qingyun’s calm had made Nangong Aoshi feel a bit out of sorts. Now, seeing a flicker of youthful surprise, he laughed and pointed to Lin Qingyun’s unopened communicator.

Turning it on, Lin Qingyun was bombarded by countless messages, calls, and news bulletins.

A quick glance was enough for him to understand the situation. Yet he had to shut off his device almost immediately, as new calls flooded in.

With a wry smile, he said, “Honestly, the beasts and beast king I defeated in the ruins shouldn’t even count toward my ranking. I never expected to come in first.”

“First place is excellent! Why not show your abilities? Ignore those who resent you—you’ve already bested them all,” Nangong Aoshi said, his delight evident even through his golden armor.

First place was first place—Lin Qingyun didn’t care much about rankings, as his goals had lain elsewhere, and he hadn’t sought any particular achievement beyond besting his opponents. Yet, even so, he had ended up at the top.

He might not care, but Nangong Aoshi was overjoyed. After all, Lin Qingyun took first, and Nangong Lingyue took second—he could not have felt more proud.

As he showed Lin Qingyun around the palace, he spoke at length about the various reactions their achievements had sparked. Occasionally, he would mention the children of other prominent figures, and, when particularly pleased, would pull out his communicator to boast to those same dignitaries, many of whom ended up ignoring him out of exasperation.

In his previous life, when Lin Qingyun saw Nangong Aoshi again, he himself had already grown into his own power and never witnessed this side of Nangong Aoshi—a gleeful, childlike pride as if he could not contain his joy over his “children’s” successes.

Lin Qingyun had never imagined that his victory in the field trials would bring Nangong Aoshi such happiness. After accompanying him around the palace for an hour, and chatting all the while, Lin Qingyun finally found an opportunity to broach other topics.

He focused mainly on the recent events within the ruins, using the Ice Dragon—who had chosen Nangong Lingyue at the critical moment—as an entry point for the conversation.

As one of only two who had entered the new ruin, Lin Qingyun knew that after the dire events—the blood sacrifice and rampage of the Nine-Life Lynx, the Ice Dragon, and the Zhen—the entrance might not open again for years. This made it the perfect time to share certain stories and information he wished to reveal.

“That White Wolf King, while not the strongest, is exceedingly cunning and unpredictable. It managed to resist the control of the other kings and never went near the exit, no matter the circumstances.”

“I never intended to go so deep at first, but I noticed how strange this White Wolf King was. It seemed to be investigating the origins of the Earth Qilin, and so it kept hunting me, assuming I knew its secret.”

Lin Qingyun seized the right moment to steer the conversation toward the ruins.

“The Earth Qilin isn’t native to the ruin? There’s more to it?” Apart from Lin Qingyun, no one else knew this—many of these secrets were only revealed years later.

Of course, the ruin had only ever been considered C-rank, so it never garnered much attention. Had Lin Qingyun not been caught up in it, Nangong Aoshi wouldn’t have bothered, leaving it to subordinates, and high-level officials like Minister Feng or General Qin wouldn’t have been involved at all.

It was only by chance, due to the field trials and the sudden opening of the ruin in the war zone—with the resulting catastrophe affecting so many new students—that it drew their attention.

Still, upon hearing that the Earth Qilin was not native to the ruin and that there were further secrets, Nangong Aoshi’s curiosity was piqued.