Volume 1 Chapter 11: Lin Yuan City, Little Sister Xu Yu

  Linyuan City, backed by mountains and facing the sea, is a large city in Donglai State.

  In this golden age, the strength of a Xuanzhe determines everything. With strength, status, wealth, beauties... all come rushing in. The lord of this city is surnamed Li, with the strength of a Xuanjun, and was appointed as a marquis by the Lord of Donglai.

  Under the city master Lin Yuanjun, there are three deeply rooted and long-standing families in Lin Yuan City, namely Xu Shi, Yu Shi, and Ge Shi. The heads of the three major families are all strong men at the peak of the Xuanzong boundary.

  Xu Yang slowly withdrew his thoughts and gazed at the majestic city gate in front of him.

  The gatekeeper checked his identity, and after Xuyang showed him the ascetic proof, he gave up the idea of extorting benefits and waved his hand impatiently to let Xuyang in.

  "What bad luck, it's actually a poor ascetic monk, can't even pull out a single hair." The small soldier at the city gate muttered. In the cognition of the small officials at the city gate, ascetic monks are the poorest. Coming from a scattered household, spending three months in the wilderness, it is impossible to carry any money, and even if some medicinal herbs were found, they would be eaten on the spot.

  Xu Yang didn't have the mood to care about these things, he followed the path in his memory and walked quickly towards the southwest of Lin Wan City. That was where his residence was.

  The Xu, Yu, and Ge families have been passed down for hundreds of years in Lin Yuan City, and can be said to be deeply rooted. Among them, the Xu family occupies the south of the city, while the Yu and Ge families are located in the east and west respectively. The three families, except for the area north of the city where Lord Lin Yuan is located, have been involved in many open and secret struggles with each other.

  Of course, with competition comes cooperation. Whenever one of the three families produces a genius, the other two will secretly join forces to counterbalance the powerful family. This triangular balance is very stable and has existed for hundreds of years, with the three major families of Lin Yuan City standing together.

  For example, fifteen years ago, the Xu family had a genius named Xu Qingyuan. At the age of twenty, he reached the peak of Xuan Shi's cultivation and was invincible under Xuan Zong. With the three old patriarchs balancing each other, the addition of Xu Qingyuan to the Xu family naturally gave them an advantage, suppressing the Yu and Ge families to the point where they could hardly lift their heads.

  Later, the Yu and Ge families secretly joined forces to counter the Xu family in various markets and martial arts schools, thus turning the tide. The Xu family also did not dare to pressure too much, lest the Yu and Ge families truly join hands, at which point it would be possible for them to destroy the Xu family.

  After all, Xu Qingyuan was only a peak of the Mystic Sect, not the Mystic Ancestor! The old patriarchs of the Yu and Ge families were both at the peak of the Mystic Ancestor realm. Once they joined forces, the Xu family would be no match for them, relying solely on their family head, Xu Changling.

  Later, the Xu family encountered a change in circumstances. Xu Qingyuan angered a powerful force for some reason. This powerful force was more than a hundred times stronger than the three families of Lin Yuan, and even an elder who came out casually had a cultivation level of Xuanzong! The force did not exterminate the Xu family but instead sent someone to issue a warning.

  After this incident, Xu Qingyuan disappeared without a trace.

  That major force clearly expressed its dissatisfaction with the Xu family, and many families and forces that had dealings with the Xu family stopped cooperating with them, causing the Xu family's status to plummet.

  Xu Yang has these memories because he and his sister Xu Yu are the children of Xu Qingyuan.

  Xu Yang and his sister were ostracized in the Xu family because many of the Xu family's children believed that it was Xu Qingyuan who caused the decline of the Xu family's power, which had already become inferior to either the Yu or Ge families.

  "Hmph... A group of people who don't think about their own strength, always relying on the power of their family background, actually attributed the decline of their family to my cheap father..." Xu Yang let out a breath and stopped thinking about those Xu family brats.

  "After returning home, I properly settled my sister and severed the last tie to this body," Xuyang thought silently, "From now on, I will be unencumbered and can focus on impacting higher realms, climbing to the peak of the mysterious."

  The route in memory, led Xusun to a dilapidated old mansion with green tiles. The gatehouse of this mansion was tall and grand, the intricate paintings on the wall of the shadow screen at the entrance seemed to be telling its former prosperity.

  But the house was in disrepair, with one section after another of the wall crumbling, and a profusion of dogtail grass growing luxuriantly on the walls and the green-tiled roof. The patterns on the shadow wall were mottled, having been washed by rainwater for many years, and had long since lost their former brightness, becoming indistinct.

  This is a dilapidated annex of the Xu family, and just across the street is the prosperous main house of the Xu family, with high gates and luxurious decorations, forming a stark contrast.

  Xu Yang gently pushed open the large door and found that the rusty copper nail wooden door was ajar.

  "That little girl is only ten years old, and indeed doesn't know how to take care of herself. She's alone at home, and I don't even know if she can open the door." Xǔ Yáng thought to himself. He couldn't quite put into words his feelings towards the deceased Xǔ Yáng's younger sister - Xǔ Yú, possibly due to the influence of merged memories. Towards this little girl whom he had never met before, he always felt a thread of concern, though he wasn't even aware of it himself.

  Going around the screen wall, behind it was a courtyard overgrown with weeds. Xu Yang had good eyesight and immediately discovered a small figure squatting behind the weeds, trying to weed.

  "Sister... Xuyu, I'm back." Xu Yang opened his mouth and said.

  That small figure suddenly stood up, "clang" a small shovel fell to the ground, and a voice of surprise shouted out.

  "Brother—"

  The voice had barely fallen when the little figure collapsed.

  Xu Yang was shocked, the horse galloped uncontrollably and brought up a whirlwind, arriving beside the little girl. Seeing her pale face and weak breathing, he quickly squatted down and used his fingers to check her nasal pulse.

  "Brother, I'm fine," Xǔ Yu said, not fainting, still with her eyes open, staring tightly at Xǔ Yáng, filled with joy, "You've finally come back...... Little Yu has been having nightmares these days, dreaming that brother encountered danger...... I thought you'd never come back again......"

  Xu Yu's small hands grasped Xu Yang's arm tightly, as if she would vanish into thin air the moment she let go.

  Feeling Xu Yu's deep attachment, Xu Yang's heart warmed up. He checked Xu Yu's condition at close range and was determined in his heart.

  After squatting for a long time, suddenly standing up can easily cause dizziness due to lack of blood in the head. Xu Yu's physical condition is too poor, and her situation is more severe than usual. Just now, she suddenly heard the news of Xu Yang's return, and in the midst of joy, she fell down, but it's not because of any illness.

  He gently helped Yu up, and Yang said with some reproach, "Why didn't you eat well? You've lost a lot of weight."

  Xu Yu smiled shyly and didn't make any excuses, pulling Xu Yang's hand and saying: "Brother, you just got back, you must be hungry, let me cook some rice for you to eat..."

  Xu Yang's nose slightly turned sour, pretending to look at the sky, sniffled, before lowering his head and smiling: "I'm not hungry..."

  "Right!" Xǔ Yuè suddenly exclaimed with joy, "Brother, come with me."

  Xu Yu jumped and skipped back into the house, like a happy little deer. For the past two months, she had been worried and fearful, but now that her brother was back, she felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders, and her mood had improved greatly.

  Xu Yang looked at Xu Yu's back and felt a strange sensation in his heart. He shook his head and quickly followed up.

  The room was somewhat dim, and in the large house, there were only two beds of different sizes, a low table, and two broken stools. It would not be an exaggeration to describe it as "bare walls".

  Xu Yu ran to the head of the bed and carefully took out a red cloth wrapped object from the bedside cabinet, handing it to Xu Yang: "Brother, look!"

  Xu Yang was somewhat curious, what kind of treasure could be given by Xu Yu that would make her offer it up so readily?

  Slowly opening the red cloth package, Xu Yang saw a yellowish pill.

  "What is this?" Xu Yang was somewhat stunned, he had read extensively in later life and understood many elixirs of the Golden Age, but this pill had stumped him.

  It's not that this Dan medicine is precious, but Xu Yang judged its appearance and color, and found that it was actually a waste "Tempering Body Pill" with at least three conflicting medicinal materials added, the fire time was poorly controlled, and it wouldn't be discarded if there was no heavenly principle.

  Xu Yu seemed to have not seen Xu Yang's expression, and happily said: "Brother, this is the 'Fire Wheel Spirit Pill', you can take it now to remove impurities from your body, and in the future, the success rate of condensing the Fire Xuan vortex will increase by 30%!"

  Xu Yang smiled bitterly and didn't say a word. What kind of Firewheel Spirit Pill was this? It was clearly just a waste pill, a poisonous pill! If he took this pill, he would at least get seriously ill.

  "How did you get this Dan medicine?" Xu Yang asked, he thought Xu Yu was deceived.

  "It's the horse boss of the Jizheng Medicine Shop, and to say that the horse boss is really a good person. This Huolun Spirit Dan, in the Qianbao Pavilion in Beicheng, at least sells for 100 Xun Bao coins. But the horse boss sold it to me for only 50 Xun Bao coins, and even allowed me to owe...” Xu Yu said more and more excitedly, a sickly red flush appearing on her pale little face.

  Xu Yang shook his head and said with some blame: "50 Swift Leopard coins, not a small amount, you're so young, how did you think of buying something so expensive?"

  "There's only a month left until the family competition," Xu Yu looked at her brother timidly, "Brother didn't you always think that the family competition is very important?"

  Xu Yang came back to his senses and indeed had a strong obsession with the family's grand comparison in his incomplete memories.

  For family juniors, the family is their root. Relying on the family, they can avoid being bullied and have good conditions for self-cultivation.

  Apart from external things, this is a sense of belonging in one's blood.

  For the former Xu Yang, one of the main motivations for his hard work was to be recognized by his family again and return to his family, no longer being ostracized.

  Xu Yu said softly: "Little Yu can't help brother with anything, can only try to create conditions for brother... So, Little Yu used the ancestral house as collateral to buy this 'Firewheel Spirit Dan'... As long as brother can advance to Xuan Shi, even if there's no house to live in, Little Yu will be happy..."

  A warm current rose in Xu Yang's heart, he no longer blamed his sister, and let out a low sigh.

  Originally, Xu Yang thought of giving up on this relationship, and after settling down with Xu Yu, he would be free to roam the world. But now, Xu Yu's affection for him has touched his heart, loosening his original thoughts a lot.

  "Brother, what's wrong?" Seeing Xuyang woodenly silent, Xuyu asked somewhat anxiously.

  Xu Yang smiled slightly: "Nothing, Xiao Yu... Let's go back to the house, I'll cook some porridge for you to eat."

  Xu Yu felt a bit strange, her brother returned from the Giant Python Mountains and seemed somewhat odd. However, she still smiled with narrowed eyes: "Okay... Brother, let little Yu cook porridge for you, you still need to practice your skills, can't be delayed."

  In the past, Xu Yang was very diligent and spent all his time studying hard, never thinking about any way to make a fortune. As a result, the ancestral house became more and more dilapidated, and things that were worth some money were basically pawned off.

  "Xiu Xuan, Xiu Xuan, after cultivating to the point of having an empty home with only four walls, one can only drink the northwest wind. Nutrition cannot keep up, how can one temper their body and increase their strength?" Xu Yang sighed, thinking that his past self was completely misguided, no wonder his initial cultivation as a Xuan Master had physical strength of only two or three jin, not even comparable to an ordinary healthy man.

  It's time to think about ways to make money, as the saying goes "the poor are literate and the rich are martial", the young masters of large families eat the flesh and blood of fierce beasts or exotic beasts for every meal, which contains a lot of energy, only in this way can they temper their bodies and lay the foundation for the path of Xuan.

  As for making money, Xu Yang was still very confident. He came from a later generation and had all sorts of ingenious methods in his mind, not to mention the knowledge of alchemy, equipment refinement, and talisman crafting that were ahead of this era by 10,000 years. If he couldn't make money with these, then Xu Yang might as well not live.

  Just as the two siblings were returning to their room, a low, ambiguous voice suddenly came from behind the screen:

  "Has Master Xu returned? It's about time we settled our debt, isn't it?"

  PS: Second update today, brothers recommend collecting and starting ~