Chapter 16: A Prestigious Family, the Mu Family?
[Fortunately, according to Azure Garb Tower’s investigation, the Wang family does not have any supreme experts at the peak of the Master realm or higher. Although the family has more than ten Masters, most are in the early stage of the Master realm. Only four have reached the mid-stage, and merely two are in the late-stage, both of whom are currently absent from the Wang family. Azure Garb Tower estimates the Wang family has a total of about fifteen Masters.]
[Additionally, Azure Garb Tower discovered a critical piece of information. Before the Wang family targeted the Lin family, the young master of Qingfeng City’s Wang family had accompanied a mysterious man to the Wang family in Wutong County. Later, the main branch’s young master also left with this mysterious man. Through a stroke of luck, Azure Garb Tower learned that this man hails from the Mu family in Qingzhou City. Lin Zichen suspects this mysterious man is the true culprit behind the Lin family’s downfall.]
The Mu Family?
The Mu Family, one of the four prestigious powers of Qingzhou City?
Lin Zichen’s eyes narrowed slightly at this revelation.
Qingzhou City is a prominent metropolis, ranking among the top in the entire Qianyuan Country.
The city is home to numerous first-rate powers with formidable strength, and the Mu family is one of them.
In addition to the Mu family, Qingzhou City houses three other powers that are equally prestigious:
The Lin family
The City Lord’s Mansion
The Qingyue Sect
Yes, the Lin family.
“Legend has it that over two hundred years ago, our Lin family ancestor single-handedly established a vast foundation in Qingfeng City, which led to the rise of today’s Lin family. However, during the peak of the family’s development, he abruptly left. A few months later, he returned to Qingfeng City gravely injured. He left behind a twelve-word maxim urging the family to develop quietly, then locked himself in a secret chamber and hasn’t been seen since.”
“Given the Mu family’s terrifying strength, if they truly wanted to destroy the Lin family, it would require no effort at all. They could simply dispatch a few Masters to crush us. But this mysterious man’s actions…”
Murmuring to himself, Lin Zichen seemed to grasp something.
Based on the current intelligence, it is highly likely that their Lin family is somehow connected to the Lin family of Qingzhou City, possibly even a branch of it. However, since even he had no knowledge of this connection, it suggests that their founding ancestor, Lin Juntian, might have had a falling out with the Qingzhou Lin family.
Lin Zichen’s mind raced while his gaze remained fixed on the glowing screen before him. He was deeply curious about what had transpired in the past.
[Lin Family Year 228, May 22: After learning about the Wang family’s approximate strength and the existence of the Mu family, Lin Zichen instructed Azure Garb Tower to continue their investigation. However, not long after, they received an inexplicable warning. Ultimately, Lin Zichen decided to halt the investigation into the Mu family but continued infiltrating the Wang family.]
[Lin Family Year 229, June 3: After years of cultivation, Lin Zichen’s strength advanced to the mid-stage Master realm, significantly boosting his power. By chance, he subdued a wandering cultivator at the ninth level of the Prenatal Realm. After rigorous testing, Lin Zichen allowed him to join Azure Garb Tower.]
[Lin Family Year 232, February 8: Under Lin Zichen’s guidance, the wandering cultivator, named Liu Qing, finally broke through to the Master realm. With this, Azure Garb Tower entered a period of rapid development.]
[Lin Family Year 235, April 2: Lin Zichen advanced to the late-stage Master realm. Azure Garb Tower also welcomed its third Master, and its intelligence network expanded throughout Wutong County.]
[Lin Family Year 244, June 27: Lin Zichen’s strength reached the peak of the Master realm. Azure Garb Tower gained three more Masters, and Liu Qing advanced to the mid-stage Master realm the following month. Believing the time was ripe, Lin Zichen began covertly targeting the Wang family.]
[With the assistance of agents planted within, the Wang family suffered immense losses in just one month, losing a Master and over a hundred Prenatal Realm family members. Enraged and alarmed, the Wang family mobilized all its resources and eventually traced the attacks to Azure Garb Tower. Consequently, Lin Zichen’s identity as a remnant of the Lin family was exposed. The Wang family launched an all-out assault to eliminate him.]
[However, the Wang family underestimated Lin Zichen’s strength. Several Masters were slain, and even the late-stage Master clan leader sustained severe injuries. Just as Lin Zichen believed he could annihilate the Wang family to avenge his hundreds of fallen Family members, an elder from the Wang family suddenly emerged. This elder’s cultivation had reached the Peak of the Master realm. Overwhelmed, Lin Zichen met a tragic end.]
[Detected: All direct descendants of the Lin family have perished. This family simulation has concluded.]
Peak Master realm?
The Wang family of Wutong County possesses such terrifying strength?!
Seeing the final results of the simulation, Lin Zichen couldn’t help but click his tongue in amazement. As expected, one must never underestimate any long-established power. Until the critical moment arrives, you can never know what terrifying hidden cards they might hold.
“The first family simulation is over. I wonder what kind of rewards the system will generate?”
After sighing for a moment, Lin Zichen turned his attention to the rewards for completing the simulation. During the family simulation, he had noticed a system notification.
The first family simulation would slightly increase the value of the reward.
Just as Lin Zichen was thinking about this, the system’s mechanical yet pleasant voice suddenly sounded in his ears:
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! Simulation successful. The following rewards have been generated, and you may choose one.]
1. All members of the Lin family will have their cultivation speed tripled, effective until they reach the cultivation level at the time of their simulated demise.
2. Randomly summon a Master from Azure Garb Tower (summoned individual is 100% loyal).
3. Lin Zichen’s accumulated life experiences.
Looking at the three choices displayed on the glowing screen, Lin Zichen fell silent.
Each of these rewards was highly tempting to him.
The first option was self-explanatory. It would significantly boost the cultivation speed of his family members until they reached the cultivation levels they had attained in the simulation before their demise.
For example, between the simulated years 212 and 220, the Lin family faced no major crises for a span of eight years. This meant that selecting the first reward wouldn’t grant them the cultivation levels they had in eight years directly, but it would drastically reduce the time needed to reach those levels. The benefits of this were self-evident.
The second option was even more enticing. It would directly grant him a subordinate at the Master Realm, someone who would be completely loyal to him. In terms of value, this was no less significant than the first reward.
As for the third option, it didn’t directly enhance Lin Zichen’s cultivation. However, the simulation spanned over thirty years. Such an extended period of life experience would substantially improve his combat skills, knowledge, and understanding of various realms of cultivation. Life experience, at times, is an incredibly valuable asset.