Chapter 62: Such Are the Sons of the Li Family!

Just moments ago, he was still fighting in the Su family estate.
Now, Li Xiang was back in his familiar room. Although he had spent less than five minutes in the game world, he felt an inexplicable sense of having lived through another lifetime, and his emotions were deeply conflicted.
There was a sense of lingering loss and desolation.
He felt like an aging, lonely man whose children were out striving in the world, leaving him at home to receive only phone calls through which he learned distant news of them.
He longed to meet them again, to gather under one roof with these descendants he had never lived alongside, to chat about everything under the sun and discuss the great matters of life. Ideally, they would share a meal together, each given a cup of milk tea by his hand.
Perhaps some things in this world are simply destined to be this way: despite never having met face-to-face, deep affection has long since been poured out between them, connecting them across the boundaries of space and time like an invisible thread.
"Alas, it feels just like a real world. My descendants, even if they are characters in a gaming world, truly exist."
Li Xiang let out a long sigh.
Suppressing the urge to return to the game world immediately, his eyes suddenly widened.
He caught sight of the inscription above Li Yundou's head in the game—"Rest in Peace, Ancestor"—and came within a hair's breadth of returning just to thrash the brat.
"You little punk, I've got my eye on you. Just you wait until I go over there next time!"
......
Thanks to Li Yundou's interruption, Li Xiang finally snapped out of his reverie.
As for returning, that was a matter for another day; what he needed to do right now was observe the battlefield.
With all the Golden Core masters eliminated, the Su family's doom was sealed.
As Li Dalong smashed a pseudo-Core expert to death with a single coffin, the battle turned into a total rout.
The twenty-odd thousand residents of Su Family Town could not withstand the collective onslaught of the Blood Spirit Fruit tree, nor the endless wave of zombies and flying corpses.
The restorative elixirs sent back by Li Yaoqing also allowed the members of the Li family to continuously replenish their spiritual energy.
[You have used 'Ancestor's Wrath', consuming 500 Incense.]
Even though he had returned, Li Xiang was still participating in the battle; the ancestral spirit tablet continued to slaughter enemies under his control!
"Brother Su, you backed the wrong side."
Half a day later, Su Family Town had been reduced to ruins. All the corpses of the Su family were retrieved into the Direct Death Heavenly Coffin, and the Blood Spirit Fruit tree retreated back into its picture-scroll artifact—
[Top-grade Dharma Artifact: Spirit-Hiding Scroll]
[Contains spirit beasts, treasures, harbors peak Foundation Establishment spiritual energy, and nourishes the entities within the painting.]
The members of the Li family stood before Su Jinming. The head of the Su family was already bound in chains that sealed his spiritual cultivation.
"Sigh."
True to being the head of a clan, even as he witnessed the defeat and destruction of his family, with seven centuries of heritage reduced to ashes in a single day, he uttered no curses, nor did he display the slightest remorse for his erroneous choice. He merely let out a long sigh that encompassed the vicissitudes of life.
Sensing Li Dalong's purpose in keeping him alive alone, he smiled bitterly. "Brother Dalong, I will tell you the locations of all our secret techniques, martial arts manuals, and treasury vaults, but you must grant me one condition."
"My Su family, and the children within Su Family Town, are innocent. They are too young to know better—spare them."
"And our branch families scattered across various cities and towns know nothing of this matter either."
Hearing this, Li Dalong glanced toward the young children huddled in the corner of the Li compound.
They had been plotting for two months and had made thorough preparations. While they were tasked with eradicating the Su family and Elder Qiuli's faction, the Yunshu Wanghai Tower and the Qingping Gu family were responsible for eliminating all future troubles.
He frowned. "My apologies, Brother Su, but your branch families in various cities and towns are already finished. As for these children... I will not harm them. I shall use a technique to seal away their memories. As for their future, it will depend entirely on whether they can survive."
"Ah, very well then."
Watching this scene, Li Xiang had nothing to say. Although Li Dalong was ruthless to his enemies, he ultimately possessed a benevolent side.
Besides... killing children would stir compassion in anyone's heart. No one wished to face such a cruel dilemma. Even if it were put before Li Xiang, whether to show temporary mercy or slaughter them all to prevent future troubles—he would find such a choice agonizingly difficult.
Yet Li Xiang still respected Li Dalong's choice. If these children grew up and sought vengeance, then let them come.
Isn't that simply how the affairs of the mortal world work?
However, just as Li Dalong's voice trailed off, Li Xiang swallowed hard as a message flashed across the event log.
It happened right as Su Jinming revealed all the valuable assets of the Su family.
[Your descendant Li Yaowen, knowing the benevolent nature of her family, anticipated that the Su family might use their secret techniques and valuables as bargaining chips, causing your father Li Dalong to hesitate and ultimately spare the children out of compassion.]
[To eradicate all future threats, she has issued an order: the Dawn assassins are currently en route to the Su family estate.]
......
Li Xiang was momentarily speechless. This young woman had been formidable since childhood; not only did she thoroughly probe the enemy's intelligence, but she also anticipated the thoughts of her own family members.
Yet his heart also felt somewhat heavy for Li Yaowen.
That was simply how the Li family operated. Time and again, Li Dalong and the others would succumb to compassion and kindness, for that was human nature. Whenever such moments arose, Li Yaowen would secretly make the starkly different choice—the one most beneficial to the clan.
Some walked firmly in the light with hearts dedicated to benevolence, while others walked the path of heavy burdens within the shadows.
Li Yaowen had always lingered in the darkest corners behind the scenes, performing the dirtiest deeds in absolute obscurity.
Perhaps the profound karmic backlash she bore, which kept her from stepping onto the path of scholarly cultivation, was precisely because she shouldered such immense sins.
Soon enough, the members of the Li family gathered their spoils of war and began their journey back home.
[Congratulations, your clan has completed a special event—Eliminate Elder Qiuyue's Minions.]
[Obtained 10,000 Incense points!]
[You displayed divine might in this battle, instantly killing a Golden Core expert. Your mysterious posture of manipulating the Yin-Yang Diagram to slay foes appeared godlike in the hearts of your descendants, and they sing your praises!]
[Obtained 5,000 Incense points!]
"Fifteen thousand Incense points from a single battle."
Watching the sharply rising Incense tally, a look of joy crept across Li Xiang's face.
However, to his regret, another notification popped up.
[Your two Heavenly Star Spirit Trackers have been destroyed.]
[Heavenly Star Spirit Tracker: Possesses a physical body with Golden Core strength, fears no pain, immune to soul attacks. The moment it is activated, upon detecting a target's scent or visual aura, it will lock onto them as a hostile target, fighting to the death. Once the mission is completed, the Heavenly Star Spirit Tracker becomes useless.]
These were the very puppets he had sent to the Li family back then.
Boss Qi had brought them back from an extremist organization. They had been researched long ago, and because countless VIPs had been assassinated by them, they were eventually classified as contraband items.
No matter; Boss Qi possessed vast connections and should be able to acquire more, though they were rather expensive.
Still, the rewards from this venture far outweighed the costs!
[Your clan has obtained a Grade-7 formation diagram—the Hundred Spirits Blue-Bird Totem Array, along with nine top-grade totem artifacts, the Blue-Bird Totem Pillars!]
[Your clan has obtained low-grade spiritual artifacts: the Wind-Fire Halberd, the Heavenly Sand Gourd, the Imprisoning Red Silk, the Great River Dragon General Scroll, and the Formation-Inscription Spirit Brush!]
[Obtained Grade-8 medicinal herbs...]
War was forever the finest means of accumulating wealth!
Following this battle, Li Xiang could sense that the Li family was about to undergo a heaven-shaking transformation!
A Grade-7 formation possessed the power to resist Golden Core experts.
As for spiritual artifacts, those were items only qualified to be wielded by Golden Core powerhouses. A single low-grade spiritual artifact allowed a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator to fight a pseudo-Core expert, and true mastery of them belonged strictly to the Golden Core realm.
In the past, the Tailin Wang family had kept a single low-grade spiritual artifact tightly guarded, using it as their clan-鎮族 (foundational treasure).
Securing five low-grade spiritual artifacts at once was tantamount to instantly granting the Li family five pseudo-Core-level combat strengths!
Furthermore, various elixirs, spiritual herbs, and mystical treasures were continually enriching the Li family's heritage. Not to mention the spirit stones filling an entire storage ring and the various mineral ores discovered beneath the peach tree...
"Directly striking it rich!"
As time accelerated, the members of the Li family had returned home. Everything in the estate was well, and a group of them crowded into the ancestral hall.
Li Yunlin, a child who had not returned home for many years, looked around the familiar yet strange surroundings. Suppressing the feelings he had always hidden deep within himself while at the Litian Sect, his eyes finally grew misty with tears.
As he knelt before the spiritual tablets, feeling the familiar ritualistic solemnity of his family and recalling the days of his past, he could no longer hold back his tears, weeping openly just like the child who had once cried in this very ancestral hall.
"Ancestors, this child..."
"Has returned!"
......
Just as in the past, following this great battle, Li Dalong resembled an elderly guardian of a village temple, receiving a chorus of praise and adulation that left the family members even more devout and admiring.
When the matters were finally settled, Li Yaozu looked at Li Yunlin, the child who had now grown into a man. He took a deep breath, hesitated for a moment, and raised his hand to pat Li Yunlin's shoulder, only to pull it back. With a placid expression, he simply stated:
"Since you're back, don't return to the Litian Sect."
Seeing this, Li Bingyun chimed in to persuade his elder brother, "That's right, Big Brother. This time when you came out, you brought out over a dozen disciples of the Litian Sect, along with Elder Qiuli. Now that they are all dead and the Su family is destroyed, if you go back, they will surely grow suspicious. Stay home! What can the Litian Sect do about it? We now have the backing of the Yunshu Wanghai Tower, and Tailin Town is also within the territory of the Xuanwu Gate!"
"Well said."
Li Dalong looked at Li Yunlin with satisfaction. "Grandson, vast though the Litian Sect may be, my Li family's heritage is no mere trifle. Under the protection of our ancestors, the day will come when even the Litian Sect must bow its head to us."
Yet, no matter how everyone persuaded him, Li Yunlin stubbornly shook his head.
"I must return to the Litian Sect."
"What kind of utter nonsense are you spouting?!"
Li Yaozu flared up on the spot. He had already raised his hand to strike, but looking into Li Yunlin's stubborn gaze, and thinking of the estrangement between them over the years, the slap ultimately failed to land.
Gritting his teeth to mask the lingering heartache in his eyes, he demanded, "In your eyes, is my Li family really so inferior to the Litian Sect? Does the identity of a direct disciple hold that much weight for you?"
Li Yunlin bowed deeply to his elders.
His voice rang resolute and clear.
"I must return to the Litian Sect, but this child knows forevermore that this—right here—is my true root, and the safest home for Li Yunlin."
"Yet I have already brought enough trouble upon the family. Even if I die, I will never bring the troubles of the Litian Sect back home to endanger my people!"
"I am a man, and I will never forget that day when the adults of my Li family marched toward Tailin Town, and none of us knew whether we would win that battle. Yunbing and I waited at home, and I kept turning over in my mind what Fourth Aunt and Father had told me: if none of them returned, what would become of Yunbing and me?"
"Ever since that day, I refuse to wait passively anymore, nor do I want the past deeds of my mother to weigh heavy upon my heart."
Hearing Li Yunlin's words, the members of the Li family who had lived through those events let out long sighs.
They all understood that both Li Yunlin and Li Yunbing carried deep emotional scars from the tragedy of their past.
With fists clenched tightly, Li Yunlin's expression hardened with determination.
"As long as I, Li Yunlin, am a son of the Li family, I will not hide like a coward."
"I want to face all hardships just like my grandparents, my father, my Second Aunt, and my Fourth Aunt!"
"I have my own goal as well. I told the ancestors that I will become the sky of the Litian Sect, and I will return to the family wrapped in honor and achievement. I will accomplish great things to make my family proud, and I will let the people of Zhier Village know that I, Li Yunlin, am a true son of the Li family!"
No one tried to persuade him further. In the eyes of all present, there was only admiration and pride.
This was a child of their Li family!
Only Li Yaotie scratched his head, wondering if the boy had forgotten to praise him as well.
"I hear that Third Uncle has practiced blacksmithing for decades without giving up; this child can endure for decades, or even a hundred years!"
"Respected elders, please let me go."
Li Yaotie instantly puffed out his chest, lifting his chin high.
"Hmph! If you want to go, then go!"
Li Yaozu let out a cold snort and turned to leave.
Li Dalong smiled, shaking his head as he helped Li Yunlin up, though a trace of worry still lingered in his eyes. "Yunlin, when you return to the Litian Sect, do you have a cover story ready?"
"I do."
Li Yunlin nodded, though his lips remained pursed as he looked in the direction his father had departed.
Sensing his thoughts, Li Dalong remarked, "That punk of a father of yours just talks that way; don't hold it against him."
"This child understands."
Moments later.
Amidst the farewell gazes of his family, Li Yunlin set off once more toward the Litian Sect.
Li Yaozu suddenly stepped into the crowd, gazing at his son's resolute figure. His eyes instantly turned red, yet the corners of his mouth curled upward in a grin even prouder and more joyful than when he had achieved mastery in his swordsmanship.
"Yunlin has grown up. He takes after me."