Chapter 7

"No, it's impossible... the power behind her... there can't be any more contact... and she couldn't possibly know about Lin Nan's accident... sigh... why am I scaring myself?"

"Hmph, no matter what, Xiao Qian and Xiao Jie must not be outshone by Lin Nan! Otherwise, all my years of hard work will be in vain!"

In some major families, the position of family head is generally passed down through alternate generations. Even though Lin Jianqiu is the strongest of his generation, second only to the family head, and holds the financial power, he cannot obtain the position of family head. This is because the current family head, Lin Zhen Tian, is still in his prime and can continue to lead for another thirty years. This means that if he wants to obtain the cultivation resources and the supreme martial arts of the Lin family, he must become the "Supreme Elder" of the Lin family, which means his children must gain the right to inherit the family head position. This is what he must achieve!

From the beginning, Lin Nan was seen as the strongest competitor to his daughter, Lin Qian. In fact, he was very clear that over the years, if it weren't for the various schemes he had played, Lin Nan would not be at his current level. A tiger does not give birth to a dog, and Lin Jianhao was once the number one genius of the Qianyuan Kingdom, the youngest to reach the peak of the Fourth Stage Ninth Level. To this day, no one has broken his record. Moreover, Lin Nan's mother is an even more terrifying existence. With such a bloodline, how could Lin Nan's talent be poor?

Therefore, over the years, his suppression of Lin Jianhao and Lin Nan has been extreme. He has withheld cultivation resources, framed them, and imposed various punishments. If it weren't for the family head, Lin Zhen Tian, warning him privately to rein in his actions, it would be questionable whether Lin Jianhao and Lin Nan would have survived until today. After Lin Nan unexpectedly broke through his cultivation realm and became a waste, he thought he could finally breathe a sigh of relief. No one in the Lin family could compete with Lin Qian and Lin Jie, and with his son's achievements, becoming the "Supreme Elder" would be stress-free.

But he never expected that the waste, Lin Nan, would turn things around overnight!

...

In front of the Lin family ancestral hall, Lin Nan knelt on the ground, his expression extremely devout. He bowed his head with a loud thud, and with each bow, he murmured, "Thank the ancestors for their great kindness." After finishing breakfast, he came directly here.

To play the role of a divine being, one must do it thoroughly. After all, the excuse of the ancestors' manifestation is impressive, but it is too absurd to be completely believed. However, Lin Nan did not intend to make everyone truly believe it. As long as he insisted that it was the ancestors' manifestation, the appearance was enough. Whether they believed it or not was irrelevant.

A group of onlookers gathered behind Lin Nan, discussing and half-believing.

"Refining the meridians, purifying the marrow, rebirth, and enlightenment!"

Not long after Lin Nan knelt in front of the ancestral hall, a figure quietly appeared on the hill behind, where he could overlook the hall. He gazed at Lin Nan from a distance and muttered to himself. This figure was none other than the family head, Lin Zhen Tian.

"Similar, truly similar..."

Lin Zhen Tian, for the first time, looked at Lin Nan and saw the image of his beloved son, Lin Jianhao, from years ago, sighing deeply. Back then, almost all the resources of the Lin family were used to cultivate Lin Jianhao. He thought Lin Jianhao would bring the Lin family to its strongest era since the ancestors, but an accident occurred.

All of this was because of a woman, a woman whom even the Qianyuan Kingdom dared not offend, and Lin Nan's birth was the trigger, turning Lin Jianhao into a waste. All his efforts and hopes were destroyed, and the Lin family suffered a severe blow. They almost lost their status among the five major families and have not fully recovered even after eighteen years.

Deep love turned to deep hatred. After that, Lin Zhen Tian never looked at Lin Jianhao again, and he ignored his newly born and surviving grandson, Lin Nan, without any care or attention.

...

"Thud!"

No one noticed that Lin Nan's ears moved slightly, and then he bowed his head even harder, the sound so loud that it could be heard clearly from hundreds of meters away. Blood trickled from his forehead, and he murmured again, "Thank the ancestors for their great kindness! I know it is difficult for the ancestors to manifest, but I boldly request the ancestors to manifest again!"

"Hmm?" Lin Zhen Tian was slightly surprised.

The onlookers were also surprised.

"My father, Lin Jianhao, was severely injured eighteen years ago and became a waste. In the family, he was bullied and suppressed, and anyone could treat him like dirt! He was once the pride of heaven, the pride and hope of the Lin family, the number one genius of the Qianyuan Kingdom! His cultivation was destroyed, and the pain was unbearable! But I never expected that the family would treat him like trash, trampling him and rubbing salt into his wounds!"

Lin Zhen Tian frowned.

The onlookers were in an uproar!

"The warmth of human relationships, the coldness of the world! The greatest sorrow is the death of the heart, what is there to live for? Not yet forty, but already with white hair! I know that if it weren't for me, my father would rather die than live! But for my sake, he has endured hardships for eighteen years, using his blood and sweat, even his life, to earn medicinal herbs to cultivate me! The family bullied us, withheld our monthly salaries, suppressed us, deprived us of cultivation resources, and inflicted pain on my mind and body, hindering my cultivation! My father had to risk his life in the training arena to win me meager cultivation resources! Unfortunately, I was foolish and dull, only realizing my father's hardships after being severely injured! My tendons and meridians were shattered, and the family abandoned me, as did my close relatives and even my grandfather. Only my father used his life to save me with the Hundred Herbs Decoction! Father's love is like a mountain!"

"Father's love is like a mountain!"

Lin Nan's voice grew more intense and louder as he spoke. Scenes of his father's past flashed through his mind, and his heart ached with a bitter sorrow, tears streaming uncontrollably.

The onlookers, who had been discussing, now fell silent, their expressions shocked as they gazed at the tear-streaked Lin Nan.

"The warmth of human relationships, the coldness of the world! The greatest sorrow is the death of the heart... Father's love is like a mountain..."

Lin Zhen Tian watched Lin Nan, tears streaming down his face, and repeated Lin Nan's words, his lips twitching. Lin Nan's sharp words, each one piercing the heart, were thought-provoking.

He thought of Lin Jianhao, his once beloved son, and the image of Lin Jianhao breaking the Qianyuan Kingdom's record at the age of twenty-three, ascending to the peak of the Fourth Stage Ninth Level. How vibrant and full of life he was! Now, not yet in his forties, he had white hair and looked older than his father! Sealed memories of the happy times they spent together, countless nights of hand-in-hand guidance, flashed through Lin Zhen Tian's mind, and his heart, as hard as stone, felt a mysterious pain.