Chapter 8 Taking Over Family Duties_1

Lin Family's Miscellaneous Hall.

A five-story tall pavilion, built of a large number of boulders, more than ten zhang high, where many family members received clan tasks.

Lin Tianming was one of the many family members.

On the first floor of the Miscellaneous Hall, a giant gold screen showed rows of clan tasks in bold red characters.

Every once in a while, a task or several tasks would disappear at the same time, evidently taken on by a member of the Lin Family.

Looking closely at the screen, there were densely packed hundreds of family tasks.

"Find two Golden Yuan Grass within six months, reward thirty Merit Points upon completion, minimum requirement of Sixth Level of Qi Refinement."

"Guard the Clan Spiritual Herb Garden for one year, reward fifteen Merit Points upon completion, no cultivation level requirement."

"Accompany the Enforcement Hall to clear the Demonic Beasts from the Luoyun Mountain Range, duration one year, reward eighty Merit Points upon completion, minimum requirement of Seventh Level Qi Cultivation."

"Defend Qingfeng Town for three years, reward sixty Merit Points upon completion, minimum requirement of Third Level of Qi Refining."

After watching for half an hour, he had looked through all the family tasks.

He could take on most of them, but either they were too time-consuming or extremely risky.

In his several years of cultivating, Lin Tianming had mastered the Five Elements Spell and Technique Secret Arts, and had sparred with his peers in the family, but he had never been in real combat.

The task of clearing the Demonic Beasts in the Luoyun Mountain Range would not only let him practice all sorts of spells and secret techniques but would also increase his combat experience, harden himself, and besides, he was extremely longing for the outside world.

Unfortunately, the task of clearing out the Demonic Beasts required a minimum cultivation level of Seventh Level Qi Cultivation, and he was only at the Fifth Level, thus he couldn't take on this task.

The task of defending Qingfeng Town wasn't bad either. Although three years was a long time, he could return to the family for half a month each year to visit relatives and refill cultivation resources.

Determined, Lin Tianming decided to take on the task of defending Qingfeng Town.

Collecting his thoughts, he walked towards the front desk of the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall, had a few words with the Executive Officer, and smoothly took on the task of defending Qingfeng Town.

For tasks like defending clan grounds or guarding assets, one could receive the task rewards in advance, since they were long-term and not very dangerous, allowing the use of these rewards to exchange for resources and continue cultivating at the new location.

Having received the task rewards in advance, he planned to exchange them for some cultivation resources to take with him to Qingfeng Town for continuing his alchemy and cultivation.

One year was neither long nor short, but he had only one Spirit Essence Pill, forty Spirit Stones, materials for ten Fasting Pills, and materials for five Spirit Essence Pills, which might not be enough to last the year.

After previously purchasing a Pill Furnace and alchemy materials, he had ten Merit Points left, plus the sixty Merit Points from the task reward, totaling seventy Merit Points, allowing him to buy some more alchemy materials, striving to produce Spirit Essence Pills.

Lin Tianming pondered silently, and soon arrived at the Hall of Merit.

He found Grandpa Shi, Lin Shixin, and successfully exchanged for ten sets of Spirit Essence Pill materials, costing a total of eighty Merit Points.

Although there wouldn't be much danger in defending Qingfeng Town, it was still best to prepare some means of fighting the enemy, and he exchanged for two First Order Superior Attack Talismans for a total of thirty Merit Points, spending a total of one hundred and ten Merit Points.

After using all his Merit Points, his Family Token balance was zero, and he also had to add forty Spirit Stones to his expenses. With exactly forty Spirit Stones left, he replenished everything and then took the Spiritual Medicine and talismans to leave the Hall of Merit.

Lin Tianming's current assets, aside from ten sets of Fasting Pill materials and fifteen sets of Spirit Essence Pill materials.

Besides those, he also had two First Order Superior Attack Talismans and one Spirit Essence Pill, with neither Spirit Stones nor Merit Points left. Excluding these cultivation resources, he could be considered utterly impoverished.

The task required him to arrive at Qingfeng Town within ten days to replace the previous Lin family member in charge. There was still plenty of time, and he could still refine his Five Elements Spell and secret techniques to enhance their proficiency and strengthen himself.

He summoned his Green Bamboo Sword, leapt onto it, and flew toward a valley partway up Green Bamboo Mountain.

Half an hour passed.

Lin Tianming appeared in a valley, dense with jungle and large trees everywhere, with wild animals often appearing in the valley, and a small river about three zhang wide running through it.

This ravine was a natural training ground Lin Tianming found while practicing his spells, scarcely visited by people.

When he first started cultivating, he liked to practice his Five Elements Spell and secret techniques here, using the wild animals as targets. After practicing, he could enjoy roasted meat, with a small part of his cultivation time spent here.

Lin Tianming sat on a boulder several zhang in size and skillfully ran his Fire Origin Decision through a Grand Circulation.

After adjusting his state, he started to use a secret technique that came with the cultivation technique.

"Huoyuan Slash!"

A giant sword made up of thousands of fierce flames hung above Lin Tianming's head. Within several zhang of the surrounding vegetation, it all withered instantly, clearly scorched to death by the heatwave.

Lin Tianming shouted:

"Go!"

The giant sword composed of thousands of flames appeared a hundred zhang away in an instant, slashing towards a large tree from high above.

The tree, as thick as a water bucket, split in two in an instant, its severed area blackened, its moisture evaporated away, leaving only a dead stump.

"Hiss..."

Despite performing the technique multiple times, Lin Tianming was still awed by its immense power.

However, this technique consumed too much Spiritual Power. His entire reservoir of Spiritual Power could barely perform it a few times before becoming exhausted. In combat, he dared not cast it lightly, keeping it as a trump card.

In the following several days, after more than ten attempts using the Huoyuan Slash until all his Spiritual Power was depleted each time.

After such arduous training, Lin Tianming was now able to execute the technique in half a breath, which could give him an advantage over his opponent.

Five Elements Spells could also be cast instantly, greatly increasing speed. During this time, several wild beasts became victims, inexplicably burned by fire swords or bound by tendrils formed from spiritual power.

In the past few days, Lin Tianming had also indulged his appetite for good food, enjoying black bear paws, white tiger meat, and even the unfortunate large flying birds, such as the eagle.

More than half of the ten days had passed, and before leaving, he still had to say goodbye to his grandfather and mother.

Although he had followed his father to Luoyun Market twice before, he was always restricted and never left his father's sight.

As this would be the first time Lin Tianming left the clan grounds alone, he started to look forward to the outside world.

Gathering his thoughts, he took the remaining uneaten meat and left on his sword.

Within the small courtyard of the Lin family home.

Grandfather Lin Shigong managed the Alchemy Hall. There were too few alchemists in the clan and the alchemy tasks were heavy. Learning that Lin Tianming had accepted the task of guarding Qingfeng Town, he rarely came back to this small home for a family reunion.

His father, Lin Xingrong, had also just returned from Luoyun Market to the clan and would rest for a few days before setting out again to guard Luoyun Market.

The three generations sat under the maple tree in the courtyard, drinking tea, while Lin Tianming's mother and sister were rinsing beast meat, preparing dinner.

At this moment, Grandfather Lin Shigong wore a worried expression, feeling somewhat concerned.

Lin Tianming had been brought up by him since childhood. With his dual spiritual roots talent and his alchemy talent that far exceeded his own, he really did not want him to venture out alone away from the clan lands.

Although Qingfeng Town was not far from Green Bamboo Mountain, just over six hundred li away, it was indeed not too far, as one could reach it on a flying sword in just two days.

Besides that, Qingfeng Town was located in the inland area. Although the demonic beasts of the Luoyun Mountain Range were numerous, they would find it difficult to cross the Lin Family Clan Grounds and attack the town situated behind them.

However, the opponents of the Human Race were not just demonic beasts. It was not uncommon among humans to kill for treasures. There were many who would head to Luoyun Mountain Range or deep into the Demon Race territory to seek fortune and experience.

If one were to encounter evil cultivators, odds would likely be against them. His grandson, new to the world, had no experience in survival, making it truly difficult to feel entirely at ease.

Lin Shigong, with a look of concern, solemnly said,

"Tianming, I have been an alchemist for the clan for over sixty years, and the majority of the clan's elixirs come from my hands."

"I can speak to your twelfth uncle and ask for a different clan task for you. I suppose he would give me that courtesy."

Hearing Lin Shigong's words, Lin Xingrong, his face red with embarrassment, said,

"Father..."

"If everyone were like you, how would the Clan Leader manage the family? Although you have worked hard and made great contributions, you cannot abuse your power for personal gain. We shouldn't give people reason to speak ill of us."

After listening, Lin Tianming also spoke righteously,

"Grandfather, a flower in a greenhouse cannot grow tall. You cannot always stand behind me."

"The Cultivation World is filled with experts, with over a thousand great clans and families. The Lin Family is merely one of many small families. Without enduring the trials of real fire, how can one become strong?"

Seeing his grandfather's expression softening a bit, Lin Tianming continued to speak, seizing the opportunity to persuade him further.

"Qingfeng Town is not too far from the family's residence, and being situated inland, as long as I don't actively seek trouble, there won't be any danger."

"For this experience, I've exchanged for two First Order Superior Attack Talismans. I have more than enough to protect myself, and I will take good care of myself. You don't have to worry!"

Having said this, Lin Tianming looked up at Lin Shigong with big eyes.

Hearing these words, Lin Shigong felt they were quite reasonable.

Too much protection indeed makes it hard to achieve anything. Thinking of this, his facial expression improved significantly.

"Take these two First Order Superior Defense Talismans, two bottles of Lingshen Pills, three Huiyuan Pills, one Huadu Pill, and twenty sets of Spirit Origin Pill ingredients," he said as he pulled out quite a few items, not forgetting to give detailed instructions.

"Remember, you must not neglect either cultivation or alchemy. After one year, you must return for a few days, so I can verify your progress in alchemy."

"Yes, I will follow Grandfather's decree!"

Lin Tianming replied firmly, feeling moved and also reflecting.

Luckily, his grandfather was an alchemist with an abundance of elixirs, which further solidified his determination to work hard in his cultivation, to become an alchemist himself, to make his grandfather proud, and to bring honor to the family.

Taking the items from his grandfather and regaining his composure, Lin Tianming began to instruct Lin Shigong,

"You must also look after your health and not overwork yourself..."

Lin Xingrong, who managed the family's business in Luoyun Market, was well-traveled and skilled in dealing with people. He passed his experience on to Lin Tianming piece by piece.

He didn't provide any resources but instead gave Lin Tianming a map of Qingzhou and Jizhou, advising,

"Remember to stay calm and composed, humble yet not servile, and always think thrice before acting!"

"Thank you, Father..."

Afterward, the three generations talked for a while, and dinner was also ready.

The family gathered together, a rare occasion, with Grandfather bringing out his long-cherished Spiritual Wine. They enjoyed a joyful family meal to celebrate Lin Tianming's departure.