A Former Subordinate of the Lin Family

After being defeated, Luther stared at Lin Qi. However, Lin Qi did not panic at all. After all, he knew his opponent did not have any strength to fight back.

"Lin Qi!"

"Lin?" Luther was stunned and took a few steps back.

Lin Qi's guards also surrounded them and immobilized all the bandits.

"Young Master!"

The chief guard rushed over nervously. He looked up and down to inspect Lin Qi and asked, "Young Master, are you hurt?"

"Not at all!" Lin Qi smiled bitterly.

"Young master? You... You are the young master of the Lin Family?" Luther asked again.

Lin Qi felt that something was wrong from the tone of his voice. Was he related to the Lin family?

The chief guard seemed to recognize Luther and immediately asked, "You... Are you Luther?"

Luther nodded. "Yes, I am. Do you still recognize me?"

"It really is you!"

The chief guard instantly became excited and patted Luther's shoulder. "Luther! You really are Luther! Young Master, he was a former subordinate of the Lin family!"

If he was an acquaintance, then it should be easy to talk to him. Lin Qi followed up and asked, "Since you were a subordinate of the Lin family, why have you become a mountain bandit?"

"Sigh, it's a long story!"

Luther sighed bitterly and sat on the ground to explain. "We didn't want to be mountain bandits either. Originally, we were all subordinates of the Lin family, but because the previous young master failed the trial all those years ago, we were too ashamed to go home."

"Failed the trial? Does that mean I am destined to fail too?" Lin Qi said jokingly.

Luther raised his head and immediately teared up. He asked, "Young Master... Are you also taking part in the trial now?"

"Yes, we were heading to Black Wind Castle to complete the trial, but you captured all those trial participants up in the mountain, so I came to save them!"

Hearing that, Luther lowered his head and took a deep breath. "I'm really sorry, Young Master. As a former subordinate of the Lin family, I feel regretful for treating you that way..."

Seeing that he had realized his mistake, Lin Qi forgave him. Nevertheless, he was still a little wary of him.

"Forget it. We have nothing to lose anyway. However, a former subordinate of the Lin family became a bandit in the mountains. You have really ruined the image of the Lin Family!"

"I know!"

Luther gritted his teeth and placed his greatsword on his neck. He narrowed his eyes and said desperately, "I'm sorry, Young Master. I've embarrassed the Lin family. It is time to pay the consequences of my actions..."

"No, no!"

Lin Qi hurried over and stopped him. He did not know whether to laugh or cry at that ridiculous situation. "You don't have to go that far. I just want you to report back to the Lin family!"

"But... but we have already brought disgrace..."

"It's alright. I'm not someone who holds grudges. Furthermore, you are so strong. If you die, it will be a loss to the Lin family. How about this, join me in the trial!"

"Young Master..."

Luther's eyes were filled with tears. He looked at Lin Qi as if he was a golden star. He hugged him tightly in gratitude and burst into tears.

The young heirs who were rescued, as well as Yu Meng and Lewis, witnessed that scene, and their impression of Lin Qi changed.

It was unbelievable that a true grand swordmaster would instantly submit to Lin Qi.

"Enough, enough. It's too embarrassing for a man like you to cry. Tell your men to stop being bandits and put on their armor to become the guards of the Lin Family!"

"Yes, Young Master!"

Luther ordered his men to return all the items they had stolen. After organizing them for a while, they put on the armor of the Lin family and joined the rest of Lin Qi's guards.

Luther also became Lin Qi's personal guard. He was responsible for protecting Lin Qi with his life and helping him complete the trial.

The group set off from the mountain stronghold. Their destination was the Black Wind Castle. Based on a rough calculation, they would need another three days to reach there.

After the battle at the mountain stronghold, almost all the young heirs had developed an admiration for Lin Qi. The one who had changed their opinion of him the most was Yu Meng.

Although she was the one who defeated Luther, she knew very well that it was due to the candy that Lin Qi had given her. Without it, she would have stood no chance against Luther.

Why did he have so many strange artifacts on him? Could it be a special technique of the Lin family?

That could not be the case. That was because before they set off from Hope Valley, the participants were not allowed to bring any spare items, unless they were created by him on the way.

With that on her mind, Yu Meng could not hold back her curiosity. She slowly walked over to ask Lin Qi. "Lin Qi..."

"What's the matter?"

That was the first time Yu Meng took the initiative to talk to him, which surprised Lin Qi.

"What kind of candy did you give me last time?"

Sure enough, it was related to the system.

Lin Qi had expected her to ask that, but he could not tell her about the system, so he could only pretend to be mysterious.

"That is a secret!"

Yu Meng pursed her lips and said coldly, "What secret?"

"Haha, take your time to guess. In any case, that was the only one I had."

Their conversation was overheard by Lewis.

'Hmph! Only one he had? Who would believe that? This guy should still have a lot more on him.'

After seeing the enhancement property of the candy, Lewis wanted to try and see if he could become a real grand swordmaster after consuming it.

That kind of enhancement artifact was not common in the world of magic, and it was even rarer for it to directly increase mana or strength by one whole rank.

At that moment, Lewis wanted to get the candy from Lin Qi.

However, he did not know that Lin Qi was not lying to Yu Meng. He really did not have that candy on him, because it was a gift from the system after successfully upgrading it. He could not make it himself, so there was really only one of it.

On the way, they encountered many obstacles but they were all one-star demonic beasts. With Luther's help, those demonic beasts were nothing to be afraid of.

After walking for a day, it was finally night. They had all set up tents, lit the fire, and ate dry food to replenish their energy while resting.

Lin Qi prepared steaks and sweet potatoes for the guards. Afterward, he left to try making a new recipe.

After entering the system, he had completed the Stir-fried Bullfrog recipe. It was said that the dish could make a person's mana increase to the maximum amount in a second, but it would quickly weaken later on.

However, he was not a mage, so it did not matter if he ate it.

Just as he wanted to enjoy it, the guards exclaimed in surprise.

Lin Qi walked over and asked, "What's wrong?"

The chief guard scratched his head, and asked, "Well... Young Master, didn't you prepare steak and sweet potatoes for us? Why... Is it gone?"

"Gone?"

Lin Qi was confused. He had just taken a lot of steak and sweet potatoes from the system

Why was it suddenly gone?