I am Ling Luochen, the eldest young master of the Ling family's direct lineage. My Ling family is the foremost among the five great aristocratic families of the Tianwu Kingdom on the Ancient Spirit Continent, and my father has just ascended to the position of patriarch.
My father has no concubines, not even bed companions, so I have no half-siblings. My only sister is also born of my mother, my full sibling. However, my father has four younger brothers. Except for the youngest, Fifth Uncle, who is unmarried, the other three are married and have children. Thus, while I have no half-siblings, I have many cousins.
My family is different from other families; we are harmonious. Although my four uncles are direct descendants like my father, they had no objections to Grandfather choosing my father as the family head. Our family remained very harmonious until that day, the darkest day in our family's history.
That day was three months after the full moon celebration for my third uncle's youngest son and daughter, my seventh cousin and seventh cousin. At that time, my fourth aunt was over six months pregnant with my eighth cousin, due to give birth in about three months. My second aunt was also diagnosed with a three-month pregnancy. My entire family was joyfully awaiting the arrival of these two children.
It was supposed to be the happiest and most blissful time for my family, but overnight, our family was plunged into darkness.
The Wei family, one of the five great aristocratic families alongside the Ling family, joined forces with a group of first-rate, second-rate, and third-rate families to attack my home, engaging in burning, killing, and looting. We never expected the Wei family to make such a move, leaving my family completely unprepared and caught off guard.
That night, my family suffered countless casualties, including my parents who died that very night, right before my eyes.
Before I could recover from the shock of losing my parents, that same night, I dreamt of my sister bidding me farewell. She said she was leaving and told me not to be sad, as she had prepared a gift for me.
At the time, I didn't know what this gift was. Upon waking, I slapped myself hard, thinking this dream was a curse upon my sister's life. However, after that, I never saw my sister again.
The blow to my family that night was immense. All of our family's cultivation resources were plundered, leaving nothing behind. We were left to merely survive.
I couldn't understand why they didn't simply annihilate us. Much later, I learned that it was because Grandfather's close friend, President Chen of the Artifact Refiners Guild, had made a deal with the Wei family head, the main culprit. In exchange for sparing my family's lives, he would provide the Wei family with weapons free of charge. Only then did I realize the Wei family intended to use us to obtain a large quantity of free weapons while simultaneously humiliating us.
However, I didn't know this at the time, nor did I consider the Wei family's act as sparing us out of kindness. After things calmed down, my father, the patriarch of the Ling family, was dead. I should have naturally succeeded him as the next patriarch, but I was only fourteen and had just lost my parents. I had no inclination to be the patriarch. Grandfather, not wanting to cause internal strife within the Ling family at this time, resumed the position of patriarch himself.
The first thing Grandfather did upon resuming his role as patriarch was to hand over all Ling family affairs to Second Uncle. Then, he took Third Uncle, Fourth Uncle, and a group of hidden guards to search for my sister, as she had been missing for three days. According to my fourth cousin, my sister had led the pursuers away to protect her and ran into the Falling Sunset Forest, most likely dying by now, though no one dared to say it.
My family is indeed different from other families. No one opposed Grandfather's actions, nor did anyone stop him. Yet, I felt a vague sense of unease. For some reason, I recalled that dream again, and my heart felt inexplicably heavy.
Many families that were friendly with mine did not offer any assistance that night, including my maternal aunt's husband's family, the Song family. I knew it wasn't their fault, but whenever I thought of that night, it was hard not to hold a grudge. If they had intervened, perhaps my parents wouldn't have died. Because of this, I ceased all contact with them.
Three months later, my fourth aunt gave birth to my eighth cousin after a difficult labor. The delivery was extremely challenging, nearly costing both mother and daughter their lives. Fortunately, with the help of Princess Qiao, they were both safe. My second aunt also nearly miscarried, but it was the medicinal herbs secretly sent by my maternal aunt that saved my ninth cousin, which lessened my resentment towards her somewhat.
Three years later, something significant happened in the Ling family. The dean of the Ancient Spirit Academy, the foremost power on the Ancient Spirit Continent, announced that our family would be granted five admission slots to the academy each year!
Everyone who heard this news found it unbelievable, including ourselves. The outside world was rife with speculation, and we ourselves were very confused. Although we didn't understand the reason, the dean had offered it, and we couldn't refuse, as it was our family's only chance to rise again. Moreover, we couldn't afford to offend the Ancient Spirit Academy.
At that time, we didn't know the reason. Later, we learned it was because of her.
The Tianwu Kingdom is a lower-tier country and does not have an Ancient Spirit Academy within its borders. Therefore, we had to go to the outer court of the Ancient Spirit Academy in the Dragon Qing Kingdom along with the winners of the annual genius selection.
As I had guessed, our reason for admission was not well-received at the outer court of the Ancient Spirit Academy. Although we enjoyed the same treatment as other disciples, we were often bullied. The elders and teachers also disliked disciples who entered through the back door, so their punishments for us were not severe.
I knew that the only way for us to earn respect was through our cultivation. Our talent was actually not bad, but we lacked resources. In the path of cultivation, talent, resources, and effort are all indispensable. Therefore, we could only strive with all our might, yet we remained the weakest existence in the academy.
Life continued in this manner. Another year passed, and while I was cultivating, I suddenly dreamt of my sister again. This was the first time I had dreamt of her since that initial dream. This time, she was again bidding farewell, saying we would never meet again. I understood; she was truly dead. I wished her a long life in her next reincarnation and for her family to treat her well. Then, she dissipated.
Our family had five disciples admitted to the outer court of the Ancient Spirit Academy each year, but we still did not receive respect. Later, perhaps finding it tiresome, they stopped bullying us. Eventually, an elder took notice of my talent and effort, and my status improved. From then on, no one openly bullied us.
Ten years had passed since that night. We returned to the Ling family. Knowing our journey was long, the elder lent me a small cloud boat. We did not wish to attract attention, so we landed near the closest town to Yunyuan City. As dusk approached, we decided to rest there for the night. Little did we expect that this brief overnight stay would lead to further trouble.
I was dining with my other cousins in the inn's main hall, also wanting to know the current situation in Yunyuan City. My fourth cousin, feeling unwell, was resting in her room with my second cousin accompanying her.
As we were eating peacefully, suddenly, my fourth cousin's room erupted with her scream. We rushed over and found Yuan Chengjie of the Yuan family impaled through the chest by my second cousin's sword. Seeing the onlookers, I knew the situation had escalated.
We immediately returned home, preparing to find a way to resolve this matter. On the way, we kept asking my second and fourth cousins for the reason, but they refused to say. Even when Second Uncle and Second Aunt personally questioned her, my second cousin only stated that she stood by her actions and regretted nothing.
I knew my second cousin was not a bloodthirsty person, but this matter was indeed grave. Before we could devise a plan, the Yuan family patriarch arrived. Without a word, he demanded to take my second cousin away. Naturally, I refused, but I was no match for him. I was sent flying with a palm strike and had my legs broken.
The pain caused me to faint. I was carried back to my room, and in my daze, I felt something had happened to my dantian.