In a high-level martial arts game, a wife is given to you at the start.

Five days after Lin Xi was born, Qingyin also gave birth.

It was a daughter, named Lin Yao.

Then, on the seventh day, Manji gave birth to a daughter, named Lin Lan.

Then came Shuang'er, who gave birth on the tenth day and had a son named Lin Chen.

In the following two weeks, the remaining maids also gave birth one after another, all successfully, and both mother and child were safe.

The Lin family mansion suddenly had over a dozen newborns, their cries echoing throughout the residence, turning the once quiet mansion into a bustling nursery. Luo Sheng, Shuang'er, Man Ji, and Qing Yin were constantly busy, feeding babies, changing diapers, and taking care of their eldest daughters' emotions. The entire mansion was filled with the sounds of babies crying, women calling out, and servants hurrying around.

Lin Qiye stood beside the artificial hill in the second inner courtyard, looking at the diapers and baby clothes drying all over the yard, and listening to the cries of babies rising and falling. A rare look of bewilderment appeared on his face.

He had faced the strange beasts of the Bone Tower, Yin He's traps, Luo Song's crystal core, and even the inheritance of the Candle—he had never felt lost.

But the sight of more than a dozen babies being born at the same time made him feel a sense of helplessness for the first time.

He stood silently in the inner courtyard for a moment, then turned around, silently walked into the cultivation chamber, and closed the door.

In the cultivation chamber, Lin Qiye sat cross-legged on a futon, closing his eyes to regulate his breathing.

The bloodline feedback from the birth of those infants flowed into his body more clearly than before. The birth of each new life was like a new force entering his bloodline, propelling his cultivation to new heights. The feeling was not a violent impact, but a gentle, continuous nourishment, like countless tiny streams flowing into a river, gradually raising its water level.

Driven by that power, his cultivation broke through several minor realms again, reaching a level that even he himself found difficult to accurately assess. The dark golden source energy within his body became more condensed and more restrained, no longer as flamboyant and outward as before, but rather like a light that had been restrained to its extreme, only to erupt when needed.

He opened his eyes and looked down at his hands.

His fingers were long and slender, with distinct knuckles, and his skin was covered with an extremely faint layer of dark golden light—a protective aura that naturally formed after his power was contained to its extreme. He clenched his fist, then relaxed it, feeling the power that lay dormant deep within his bloodline, ready to erupt at any moment.

His current strength has reached a level that even he himself finds somewhat unfamiliar.

He stood up, walked to the weapon rack in the corner of the training chamber, and picked up the black iron spear.

The spear came into his hand; it was heavy and cold. The iron-gray patterns on the shaft slowly lit up under the infusion of dark golden source energy, like dormant blood vessels awakening. He gripped the spear, feeling a connection with it that was stronger than before—not the connection between weapon and master, but a deeper, more intimate one, like flesh and blood.

He wielded his spear, practicing in the cramped training chamber. Each move was extremely simple, without any fancy variations, but with each thrust, a highly refined dark golden spear light would condense at the tip, leaving a lingering trail in the air.

Lin Qiye put away his spear, stood in the center of the cultivation chamber, and remained silent for a moment.

He walked to the wall, pushed open the heavy stone window, and the night breeze carried the cries of babies and the whispers of women in the courtyard. He stood by the window, gazing at the sparse stars in the night sky, his eyes deep and calm.

He made his decision.

After Luo Song's death, the Array Master Guild descended into chaos. While the arena's higher-ups maintained a facade of calm, he could clearly sense the undercurrents swirling beneath the surface. Although Shangguan Lin had temporarily suppressed his hostility towards him, it was only because Luo Song's displayed strength deterred Shangguan Lin from making any rash moves. Once the arena found a way to restrain him, or if he showed even the slightest weakness, Shangguan Lin and Mo Shan would not let him go.

More importantly—that fragment.

He had already begun to decipher some of the information sealed within the crystal core fragment he brought back from Luo Song's laboratory during his recent period of meditation. The fragment sealed contained coordinates for a "Gateway to Realms"—coordinates leading to a forgotten, ancient realm. That realm was older than the era in which the Candle was born, and its structure was far more profound than the myriad worlds; it was a domain that even the Candle had never set foot in.

He had a strong intuition that the answer to all his questions was hidden in that realm.

The fall of the candle, the true identities of those traitors, why that drop of blood fell on this land, and where the power within him, which originated from the candle, will ultimately lead him.

He has to go.

But he couldn't bring his family with him.

He couldn't predict the dangers of that realm. He couldn't let his wife and children go on that adventure with him. He needed to settle them in a safe place first, far from the power struggles of the arena, far from those undercurrents, before heading to that realm alone.

He needs to leave the arena.

But leaving is not an easy thing.

Although Shangguan Lin treated him with great courtesy on the surface, he never relaxed his surveillance behind the scenes. The secret guards around his residence were nominally there to "protect" him, but in reality, they were there to monitor him. His every move was under Shangguan Lin's control. If he suddenly left the arena with his entire family, Shangguan Lin would absolutely not stand idly by—a special-grade deacon with the bloodline of the Candle and unfathomable strength leaving the arena with his entire family was, in Shangguan Lin's eyes, tantamount to treason.

He had to come up with a way, a way that Shangguan Lin couldn't stop, and wouldn't dare to stop.

He stood by the window, gazing at the night sky, and remained silent for a long time.

Then, he turned around and walked out of the cultivation chamber.

……

The next morning, after breakfast, Lin Qiye summoned Luo Sheng, Shuang'er, Manji, and Qingyin to the reception room in the second inner courtyard.

Four women sat in chairs in the reception room, their gazes all fixed on Lin Qiye. Their expressions varied—Luo Sheng remained calm as always, Shuang'er frowned slightly, Man Ji casually crossed her legs, and Qingyin lowered her head, her hands clasped on her knees, appearing somewhat nervous.

Lin Qiye stood before them, and without any further preamble, went straight to the point: "We want to leave the arena."

There was a moment of silence in the reception room.

Luo Sheng put down her teacup, her voice calm: "Where to?"

"Leave the arena first and find a safe place to settle down." Lin Qiye's voice was not loud, but every word was clear and powerful. "The arena is no longer safe. Luo Song's death is just the beginning. The purge by the Array Master Guild, the undercurrents within the Supervisory Council, and those who were infected and purified but may still pose a threat—there are too many secrets buried beneath this city, and these secrets will explode sooner or later."