Chapter 8: In the next life, I hope to be born into a good family

But now, he never expected his grandson to offend Lin Che. This was something Teng Huayuan had never anticipated.

Teng Li looked at his grandfather kneeling before Lin Che and was stunned, but he still said fiercely, "Grandpa, why are you kneeling before this guy? You are a Nascent Soul Stage powerhouse! Quick, slap him to death!"

"Shut up!"

Teng Huayuan was enraged. He slapped Teng Li hard across the face, then repeatedly kowtowed to Lin Che, pleading bitterly, "Senior, for the sake of my Teng Family's loyalty to you, please spare Teng Li."

Facing Teng Huayuan's desperate pleas, Lin Che remained unmoved, merely giving him a choice.

"Teng Huayuan, there are numerous cultivation sects within Zhao Country, nearly thirty of them, and no less than ten sects possess Nascent Soul Stage cultivators. It's not just your Teng Family that can establish itself in Zhao Country. You should understand what I mean by this."

Teng Huayuan suddenly looked up, his heart filled with dread, clearly having understood the unspoken meaning in Senior Lin Che's words.

Either he personally kill his grandson, Teng Li, now, or the entire Teng Family would have no reason to exist in Zhao Country.

Teng Huayuan clenched his fists, his eyes bloodshot, and he pleaded unwillingly, "Senior, Teng Li is a rare genius in my Teng Family. Can we exchange the lives of other Teng Family members for Teng Li's survival?"

Lin Che frowned, looked at Teng Huayuan, and said calmly, "You are very noisy!"

Teng Huayuan was forced to stand up and walked towards Teng Li, saying with a lost voice, "I'm sorry, Teng Li. For the future of the Teng Family, only you can be sacrificed."

"Grandpa, why is this happening!" Teng Li roared unwillingly, "Who exactly is this guy? Why are you listening to him? I'm your most beloved grandson!"

"He is a Hengyue Sect powerhouse, hailed as the strongest prodigy on Suzaku Star a hundred years ago. He has cultivated for merely a century, yet his cultivation has already reached the Infant Transformation Stage. Even if all our Teng Family disciples were tied together, they would not be his match."

"Infant Transformation Stage!"

Teng Li's eyes widened in disbelief, his fingers trembling as he pointed in Lin Che's direction, his lips quivering as he stammered, "No, impossible. He's only a hundred years old; how could he possibly break through to the Infant Transformation Stage? Impossible!"

"Do not blame me, Teng Li. There is no old or young on the path to the netherworld. Your ancestor will personally send you off; it will not be in vain for your cultivation in this life."

Teng Huayuan instantly appeared before Teng Li, slamming his right hand onto his head. With his Nascent Soul Stage cultivation, he instantly caused Teng Li's limbs to separate simultaneously. With a thud, he fell to the ground, clearly no longer alive.

Seeing his grandson die before him, Teng Huayuan's heart bled, but for his own Spirit Transformation and for the Teng Family's achievements a hundred years later, today's sacrifice was inevitable.

Only this way could the true strength of the Teng Family be preserved.

Lin Che turned around expressionlessly, his finger moving slightly. All the treasures offered by various sects in Teng Huayuan's storage ring were collected by him. Then, he took Li Muwan's hand and disappeared from the spot.

Looking in the direction Lin Che left, Teng Huayuan let out a deep breath of hot air. Sweating profusely, he arranged for someone to collect Teng Li's body. Perhaps this was his destined calamity.

"Ancestor, what should we do next?"

A Teng Family powerhouse slowly walked over. They had all witnessed the previous scene. If the Ancestor had not killed Teng Li just now, the Teng Family would have been massacred today.

"Bring out all the Nascent Soul Stage magical artifacts in the family… and give them to the Hengyue Sect."

Teng Huayuan gave a bitter smile and arranged for his clansmen to bring out all the Nascent Soul Stage magical artifacts in the family, just to show more deference to Lin Che.

He understood in his heart that the path of cultivation was incredibly arduous, and breaking through to Spirit Transformation was even more difficult than ascending to the heavens. Without guidance from a powerful cultivator, it would take countless years to break through to Spirit Transformation in this lifetime.

Now that the opportunity was right before him, how could Teng Huayuan miss it? Even his most beloved grandson, Teng Li, could not deter his determination to achieve Spirit Transformation.

Teng Huayuan looked at Teng Li, whose life force had long been extinguished, and murmured to himself, "Teng Li, do not blame grandpa. Blame the unfairness of this world; this is cultivation."

"In your next life, be reborn well."

…Leaving Teng Family City, Lin Che and Li Muwan did not linger, but returned to the Hengyue Sect.

Li Muwan was not surprised by Teng Li's death. After all, the cultivation world had always been a place of deceit and the law of the jungle.

Only those with formidable cultivation were qualified to survive; as for those without strength, they would ultimately become mere ants.

Lin Che sat on a chair, and with a slight movement of his finger, two energy masses condensed from blood flew into his glabella, transforming into energy that merged into his Nascent Soul.

Although cultivators in the early Core Formation stage no longer had much effect on his strength, as the saying goes, even a small fly is still meat. Accumulating small amounts could still enhance his cultivation.

"The energy from Core Formation stage cultivators is still too little. To break through to the next realm, I need to kill cultivators above the Infant Transformation Stage."

Lin Che clenched his fists, feeling the energy flowing through his body, and thought to himself.

More than ten years had passed since his last cultivation breakthrough. Perhaps for others, this was a perfectly normal occurrence.

Each realm in cultivation was a watershed, trapping countless people, and breaking through often required countless years.

Especially after reaching the Spirit Transformation Stage, breaking through a minor realm could take decades, or even hundreds of years, which was perfectly normal.

Thinking of this, Lin Che slowly withdrew his right hand and turned to look at Li Muwan, who was washing her jade feet by the small boat.

Her jade feet were faintly visible beneath the silky nightgown, like dancing fairies in the moonlight, every movement stirring one's heart.

The delicate lines on her soles presented a charming posture on her skin, like flowing musical notes, intoxicating one.

Li Muwan seemed to feel someone watching her, so she turned her head and met Lin Che's gaze. When she saw Lin Che's eyes, Li Muwan's pretty face instantly flushed crimson.

Lin Che's finger moved slightly, and a golden beam of light shot out from his fingertip, then transformed into countless streaks of light that merged into the surrounding valley, forming a barrier that perfectly enveloped the bamboo forest.

Unless one's cultivation reached the Infant Transformation Stage, no one could rely on external force to break the barrier he had left there.

"Senior Brother, you also understand formations?"

Li Muwan wiped the water droplets from her jade feet, put on her shoes, and slowly walked to Lin Che's side, then looked at the indestructible formation in the sky.

"A little."

Lin Che replied, "Formations and alchemy are things I learned casually when I had nothing to do. Compared to true formation masters, I am still far behind."