Chapter 16 Who Should I Choose as My Disciple?
"Chen'er, are you all right?"
Lin Zhantian fed him two healing pills, watching with worry.
For some reason, he felt his son had changed. Changed into someone less pleasing to the eye.
"Father?"
Lin Chen slowly awoke and saw he was back in his room. Grabbing his father's hand, eyes red with urgency, he asked, "Where is my giant plank sword? Did you bring it back?"
"No."
"Does that sword hold some hidden mystery?" Lin Zhantian frowned.
In his eyes, the plank sword was nothing but a useless lump—heavy, sturdy, but worthless. If not for Lin Chen's fondness for it, he wouldn't have bothered asking Gu Qing to return it. Yet Lin Chen's reaction now made it seem as though it was a treasure.
"No."
"No time to explain, Father, you must fetch it for me at once," Lin Chen urged.
That sword was forged from the Mother of Samsara Iron, a complete divine metal. In the entire Ancient Wasteland Realm, nothing was more precious. If Gu Qing discovered its true nature, he would never see it again.
"..."
All this fuss over a single sword?
But Gu Qing was no man to trifle with.
Lin Zhantian's brow furrowed. "You focus on healing. As for the sword, I will get it back for you."
"No, Father, you must take it now. That sword is too important to me."
"Is it a treasure or just scrap?"
"It's not a treasure. I simply like it."
Lin Chen had no intention of telling anyone the sword was the Mother of Samsara Iron—not even his own father.
If he admitted it was a divine material, Lin Zhantian would have gone immediately to reclaim it. But calling it worthless meant his father would never waste the effort.
Lin Zhantian's patience snapped. "You want me to beg for a piece of junk iron? Who do you take me for? If you want it, get it yourself."
"Father…"
"Silence!"
"You've already caused enough trouble. I haven't even begun to settle accounts with you."
The thought of their current plight gave Lin Zhantian a pounding headache. The clan elders would not be placated easily. If he failed to satisfy them, his position as patriarch would be finished. How could he waste time on a useless sword?
Lin Chen suddenly felt as if he had struck his own foot with a stone. Regret welled up. He should have lied.
"Master, why didn't you help me?"
Resentment toward He Ni surged in his heart.
If she had acted, he would not have lost. The Mother of Samsara Iron would never have been taken.
"Master… master… master…"
"Senior!"
"How could I possibly intervene?" He Ni's ethereal voice was calm, revealing neither anger nor pity.
"Of course you should have helped me defeat Gu Qing. He shattered my invincible Dao heart and stole my supreme treasure. How could you not act?" Lin Chen vented his hatred.
Anything else he could endure. But the Mother of Samsara Iron was vital to him. How could He Ni just stand by?
"Invincible Dao heart?"
He Ni sounded as though she had heard the most absurd joke in the heavens.
"Your so-called invincible Dao heart is relying on others to fight your battles?"
"Master, my circumstances were unique…"
"Enough. You are not my disciple. How many times must I say it?"
He Ni's tone was cold, devoid of the slightest emotion.
Faced with the shameless Lin Chen, she had completely lost patience. Once she found a suitable successor, she would leave at once. Lin Chen was not worth even a moment of her time.
"Mas… senior, forgive me, I was too rash just now," Lin Chen stammered, jolted into realizing He Ni was angry. He quickly apologized.
But his resentment toward her had not lessened in the slightest. In his heart he swore that if she still refused to help him in the future, he would find a way to refine and control her. He did not need a master with divided loyalties.
"I will ask chuqing to accompany you for a while. Take the chance to build a bond with her. If you can win her support, your future fortune will be assured," Lin Zhantian said earnestly, seeing his son's gloomy expression.
He intended to use Lin Chen's recovery period to nurture a closer connection between the two. If Lin chuqing helped him, Lin Chen's path would be much smoother.
"Father, since you also oppose this marriage, why don't you cancel it outright?"
The thought of Lin chuqing made Lin Chen momentarily forget the sword. His mind was full of her unrivaled beauty.
"Fool. Do you think I wouldn't if I could? chuqing refuses," Lin Zhantian snapped, his patience fraying. This son was becoming more disappointing by the day—he couldn't even see what was right before his eyes.
"Impossible. Since ancient times, marriages have always been decided by parents and matchmakers. You are patriarch—if you speak, even if they don't agree, what can they do?"
Lin Chen, ignorant of Lin chuqing's identity as the successor of the Hidden Immortal Palace, still thought Lin Zhantian's authority could control all matters within the Lin family. To him, the Lin family belonged to father and son alone.
"Sigh." Lin Zhantian shook his head, unwilling to waste more words on such stupidity.
"Father…"
"I love my sister. I will marry no one else. If you don't want the Lin bloodline to end, you must cancel this engagement," Lin Chen said with all seriousness, even threatening his father.
This made He Ni within the broken sword feel her scalp go numb.
For the sake of beauty and wealth, he even wanted to marry his own sister?
What kind of successor had she chosen?
She didn't know Lin Chen and Lin chuqing were not related by blood. But even if she did, she could not accept it.
Her soul was fading fast—she needed to find a successor soon.
Her divine sense swept toward the two eavesdropping outside.
"Though both already have inheritances, I no longer have a choice. Should I choose Gu Qing or Lin chuqing?"
"Gu Qing's blood energy is terrifying. The Stellar Divine Body that awakened recently must be his. Unfortunately, he does not follow the sword path."
"Lin chuqing is also exceptional. The Heavenly Spirit Dao Body is better suited for my inheritance… but the Stellar Divine Body is also fitting…"
He Ni wavered, torn between them.
"No…"
Lin chuqing shuddered, goosebumps covering her skin. With a scream, she vanished in panic, unable to accept such a shattering revelation.
She could not imagine how to face Lin Zhantian and Lin Chen in the future. All she wanted was to escape, far away from the father and son.
Gu Qing could only shake his head helplessly. He hadn't even taken action, and yet the matter had resolved itself.
"Truly, if you don't court disaster, you won't die."
He followed after her. His goal was achieved—the father and son were of no further use. With Lin Chen's talent for self-destruction, it was only a matter of time before he ruined himself.
"What happened?"
Lin Zhantian and Lin Chen heard the scream and knew something was wrong. They rushed out at once.
"Was that my sister's voice?" Lin Chen asked uncertainly.
The two exchanged glances, each seeing panic reflected in the other's eyes.
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