East Sea City.
The second-largest coastal city in the East Sea of the Sun-Moon Federation is an important hub for ports, maritime transport, and oceanic resource development.
The city had a permanent population of over three million. Thanks to its utilization of ocean resources, it was very wealthy. Even within the entire Sun-Moon Federation, it could be considered a second-tier city.
East Sea City had a long history, and much of its architecture retained an ancient, traditional style. In recent centuries, the Federation had paid particular attention to the preservation of historic buildings. As a result, visitors to the city could see numerous structures over a thousand years old.
It was summer, and East Sea City, being a coastal city, was naturally no stranger to typhoons.
But this typhoon was unlike any previous ones. Compared to this storm, earlier typhoons seemed like mere trivial disturbances.
The sky shifted quickly from deep blue to leaden gray, signaling the approaching tempest. Waves began to churn, changing from calm blue to violent white, crashing against the shore one after another, accompanied by thunderous roars.
The wind intensified, transforming from a gentle breeze into a fierce gale, tossing umbrellas and flags along the coast in every direction. Leaves swirled wildly, as if dancing an untamed aerial ballet.
As the typhoon drew near, rain began to pour down in sheets, striking windows with a crisp, clattering sound. Water ran along the streets in rivulets, transforming the city into a misty, mysterious scene. Low-lying areas began to flood, and soul-guided vehicles splashed through, sending up high sprays.
But amidst the typhoon and torrential rain, the storm inside the central villa district of the Xu family was even more violent.
"Go outside and kneel!"
The thunderous command, brimming with fury, struck the young boy in front like a hammer, leaving him momentarily stunned.
In the pouring rain, amid the raging storm, a teenage boy stood at the doorway outside, enduring the full force of the tempest.
Rain soaked his thin clothes. The wind tore through his body. He seemed as fragile as a piece of paper, ready to be swallowed by the storm at any moment.
Raindrops fell upon his handsome face, leaving the once-proud youth looking a bit dishevelled.
Yet, beneath the rain and darkness, his bright eyes remained steadfast and resolute, utterly unaffected by the chaos surrounding him.
His determined gaze was fixed squarely on the people standing at the doorway inside.
"I told you to kneel, don't you understand?"
The voice of authority and anger came from a middle-aged man wearing the blue standard attire of government officials. This was Xu Junwen, head of the Xu family and Finance Director of East Sea City, a man of high rank and power. Normally commanding by presence alone, his fury now radiated an almost oppressive force.
Beside him stood a young man and a young woman. The male appeared seventeen or eighteen, while the female seemed roughly the same age as the boy standing in the rain.
The young woman, Xu Xiaoyu, glared at the boy outside with a cold, disdainful expression.
Behind her was another girl, her hair tied into two braids, dyed light blue. She looked delicate and lovely, but worried. Several times, she glanced at her father, Xu Junwen, as if to speak but Xu Xiaoyu's icy gaze forced her to retreat, swallowing her words.
Despite the roaring storm and baseless scolding, Lin Xiuran still refused to kneel. No matter how furious Xu Junwen became, he could not break the boy's resolve.
In fact, Xu Junwen's anger today was not entirely baseless. However, for Lin Xiuran, it was completely undeserved.
The Xu family had invested heavily in cultivating Xu Xiaoyan, spending a fortune to secure three beginner cards for the Spirit Awakening Platform, allowing her entry. Lin Xiuran and Xu Xiaoyu were tasked with protecting her. Yet, due to Xu Xiaoyu's arrogance, her journey on the platform ended prematurely.
During the mission, because Xu Xiaoyan was timid and dared not hunt soul beasts, Lin Xiuran and Xu Xiaoyu took the brunt of the work. Xu Xiaoyu, being strong, acted the most. Spirit power from slain beasts was distributed randomly among the nearby participants.
Xu Xiaoyu, disdainful of Lin Xiuran's weaker strength and minor contributions, refused to share spirit power. She separated from him, taking Xu Xiaoyan with her. Later, due to carelessness, they were eliminated from the class.
That was the situation. Yet now, the one being scolded and punished was Lin Xiuran—because upon returning, Xu Xiaoyu told Xu Junwen that Lin Xiuran had acted independently, causing their elimination.
Hence the scene now unfolding.
"If you do not kneel, never come back to this house!" Xu Junwen bellowed. Having failed to force Lin Xiuran into submission, he uttered only this warning before returning indoors with Xu Xiaoyu and Xu Xiaoyan.
"House?"
Lin Xiuran gave a bitter smile, tinged with sadness. He would rather have no home at all.
It wasn't that he refused to explain or argue; it was that Xu Junwen would never believe him.
He had lived in this family for many years. Nominally, Xu Junwen and Xu Xinran were his parents. Yet he had never once received a fraction of the care or treatment a child should expect in such a home.
Parental concern? Never.
His older brother Xu Xiaoyu needed practice partners, and despite the obvious disparity in strength, Lin Xiuran was forced to go. His younger sister, Xu Xiaoyan, possessed extraordinary talent, and countless accommodations were made for her.
He was excluded from meals, given no new clothes, and his room was smaller than even the servants'. This had been his lot for years.
And how many times had Xu Xiaoyu tried to pin the blame on him?
Countless times, the Spirit Pagoda had real-time monitoring. Every participant was tracked by staff. Even if Xu Junwen wasn't present, an investigation could easily reveal the truth.
But he would not investigate.
Not only did Lin Xiuran understand this clearly, but Xu Xiaoyu knew it as well—hence her brazen false accusations.
Buffeted by rain, Lin Xiuran could not comprehend why his parents were so biased.
He had no parents in his previous life, so he had always treated his current parents with respect from a young age. He was mature beyond his years due to memories of his past life, yet the Xu family still did not accept him.
After awakening his martial soul at six—a seemingly ordinary Wind Element Spirit Bird—their treatment worsened.
He thought it was due to his martial soul, but no matter how hard he trained afterward, he could not change Xu Junwen and his wife's opinion of him.
Eventually, Lin Xiuran guessed the truth: he was not their biological son. His martial soul inheritance came from neither Xu Junwen nor his mother.
Moreover, he was never allowed to take the Xu family name. When he asked Xu Junwen why, he was met only with baseless scolding. Only later did he learn that the family elders had chosen his name for him.
Had he been a biological child, perhaps the favoritism would not have been so extreme…
The rain continued to pour. His heart, soaked by the relentless downpour, had grown as cold as a mountain river. Any warmth or expectation he once had for the Xu family had been completely washed away.
From now on, no matter how harsh the world, no matter who was sincere, he would no longer expect—and thus could no longer be hurt.
He had no blood relation. Later, it will be explained why his foster parents treated him with such disdain—it was not merely because of a lack of blood relation.