Meeting the Head of the Family

'This Seven Scorching Sword Style has seven sword movements. With my current cultivation, I can only execute the first movement, Burning Sword.' Fredrinn didn't expect the sword technique he found to be this strong. Just the first sword movement alone was already so profound. If he hadn't upgraded his sword talent and fire affinity, he wouldn't understand anything no matter how long he studied the book. 

"To think that there is actually a powerful sword technique like this in our household library. This is probably something left behind by our ancestors, but why is it left gathering the dust on top of the bookshelf?" Fredrinn was puzzled by this. 

Techniques and cultivation methods were classified into five categories. The weakest and most common are called ordinary-rank techniques. These techniques don't require Qi and they are mostly used by mortals and cultivators with low-grade spirit roots. Next to this were the rare-rank techniques. Only cultivator clans and some rich merchants possessed techniques and cultivation methods at this level. After that was the arcane-rank. They were incredibly rare and only the big clans and households had them. The strongest techniques owned by the Firecrown Household were also at this level. The fourth type was the transcendent-rank technique. These techniques were so domineering that cultivators who learned them could control the life and death of millions. Moreover, they were so hard to find that only a few old clans possessed them. These techniques were also strongly regulated to prevent outsiders from learning it. The last type was the apex-rank technique. There was almost no information about them and they were only briefly discussed in historical books. They were so obscure that many people believed that they didn't exist. 

At this moment, Fredrinn had already read the practice method for the first movement of the Seven Scorching Sword Style. "Too bad I can't bring this book with me. If I'm not wrong, this should be a transcendent-rank sword manual. I should report this to my father. Maybe he will allow me to bring the book or make a copy of it if I hand this over to him." 

As a former top player, he knew how valuable a transcendent-rank technique was. If word gets out, Red Sun City would most likely become a battlefield and his Firecrown Household would be attacked on all sides. 

He stood up and kept the book in his inventory. "Will I trigger the alarm array if I leave the library with this book?" To prevent someone from stealing the techniques in the library, multiple alarm arrays were installed. 

Fredrinn chuckled as he thought of this. 'This is the perfect time to test if my inventory can hide against the prying eyes of others.' 

He headed down to the first floor. 

"Lord Fredrinn!" Upon seeing him, the people studying the techniques on the first floor greeted him. Although he was untalented, Fredrinn was still the son of the family head so they had to respect him. 

"Cousin, I didn't expect to see you here!" A surprised voice drifted into his ears.

Fredrinn turned around when he heard this familiar voice. It was Kristine, one of his cousins. According to his knowledge, her mother was a distant cousin of his father. She was extremely talented so she was taken to the main household to be trained. At the young age of eighteen, she was already at the 10th Layer of Qi Gathering. She was way ahead of him in terms of cultivation. Furthermore, she also possessed the superior-grade spirit root! "Cousin, how are you?" He smiled at her.

Kristine was taken aback. 'Why is this guy acting so friendly with me?' Every time she greeted him, he would just pretend to be deaf and ignore her. 

Looking at her surprised expression, Fredrinn smiled bitterly. The former Fredrinn Firecrown used to bully Kristine for being born into a branch family. He used his status to cause trouble for her. 'Fredrinn Firecrown is truly a garbage of a man. He even bullied this innocent girl.' He thought.

"I-I'm fine," Kristine responded while lowering her head. She didn't dare look at him in the eyes, afraid that she might anger her elder cousin. 

"I still have something to do. Let's chat another time." Fredrinn wanted to apologize to this woman but now wasn't the time. 

He didn't wait for her to respond and left right away. 

"Are my eyes playing tricks? Did Lord Fredrinn smile at us?" 

"I also thought that I was dreaming. What's more surprising is that he is actually in the library." 

Kristine stared at Fredrinn's back with a trace of confusion in her eyes.

Meanwhile, Fredrinn who had just stepped out of the library was ecstatic. 'I didn't trigger the alarm arrays!' 

Bringing out a book from the library without the librarian's seal would trigger the alarms.

Although he wasn't afraid to trigger the alarms, it would have caused him some trouble. People might think that he had stolen something from the household library.

Roland Firecrown's office was on the topmost floor of the main mansion. 

Fredrinn greeted the servants and guards he encountered along the way. 

"Lord Fredrinn changed a lot in the past year. He no longer causes trouble outside the estate and he no longer visits the brothel. He even greets us now. I hope he doesn't return to his old ways." 

"Even if he tries to become a good person, he couldn't change the fact that he has a low-grade spirit root." 

"Hey! Don't say that! Lord Fredrinn might hear you!"

Hearing their words, Fredrinn could only smile wryly. There was still a long way to go before everyone's perception of him would change. 

Not long later, he finally arrived at his father's office.

He adjusted his clothes before he knocked on the door.

"Come in." 

Fredrinn felt nervous when he heard the calm voice. After taking a deep breath, he pushed open the door.

The first thing he saw upon entering was his father's collection of books. Most of them were related to the history of the Great Vemune Continent. 

Fredrinn turned his head and saw a middle-aged man sitting behind the desk. At this moment, he was staring at him with a scrutinizing gaze. As if he had sensed something unusual, Roland Firecrown raised his eyebrows. 

"When did you break through the Qi Gathering Stage?" He asked while looking at his son with a hint of surprise.

'Did he sense my cultivation? It looks like hiding my cultivation from him will be difficult.' Fredrinn thought to himself.

"I just broke through not too long ago." He replied while smiling awkwardly.

Hearing this, Roland Firecrown nodded. He then pointed at the seat in front of his desk. "You may sit." 

"Thank you, Father." Fredrinn obediently took his seat. It felt a bit awkward to call this man his father, but with the memories he inherited from his predecessor, it naturally came out of his mouth.

"You've changed," Roland muttered calmly, but his words alarmed Fredrinn. 'Did he sense that I'm no longer the real Fredrinn? That shouldn't be possible. We met a few times this past year, but he didn't say anything about it.' 

"I'm just trying to correct my mistakes. I realized that I needed to change. I don't want to bring shame to the family anymore." Fredrinn lowered his head to hide his nervousness. 

Roland was silent for a moment before he asked. "So why did you decide to visit me? I don't think you came here to repent for your mistakes." 

Fredrinn smiled bitterly at his words. "Actually, I came here to report about something I discovered in the household library." While saying this, he took out the book of the Seven Scorching Sword Style from his inventory.