I established the Eternal Immortal Clan by taming beasts.

Early the next morning, Lin Xuanfeng immediately went into the breakthrough room.

The figure was burly and imposing, yet his steps revealed a hint of eagerness.

The door slammed shut behind him with a dull thud, isolating the two worlds.

Unlike the usual clear skies with no clouds.

Today the sky is covered with dark clouds, and the layers of clouds hang low, almost touching the distant mountain peaks.

The spiritual energy flowing in the air seemed somewhat dull, as if it were being suppressed by something invisible, making its movement sluggish and slow.

The wildfire dog lay in the corner of the outer yard, whimpering softly.

Its body hair was all drooping, and it looked listless.

Lin Xuandong squatted down beside it and reached out to touch its soft mane. It still felt smooth, but it had lost some of its former luster.

"Big Black, are you feeling unwell?" he asked softly, his voice tinged with concern.

"Why don't we go back to the spirit beast pouch and wait there?"

The wildfire hound raised its head, its amber eyes looking at him, and let out a soft "whoosh," but made no move to get up.

It is a fire-attribute spirit beast, and in this gloomy and damp weather, it is indeed much more uncomfortable than usual.

Isn't Lin Xuandong the same?

He was a cultivator with a fire elemental root, making him far more sensitive to changes in the weather than others.

In these days of stagnant spiritual energy and a sense of oppression permeating the world, it felt as if something was blocked in his meridians, making it extremely difficult to circulate his true energy.

However, compared to his own discomfort, he was more worried about his third brother in the seclusion room.

Could something unexpected happen if I try to break through in this weather where spiritual energy is stagnant?

He couldn't help but look in his father's direction.

Lin Che was sitting at a stone table on the other side of the courtyard, calmly playing chess with his fourth brother, Lin Xuanyu.

He held a black piece in his hand, his brows furrowed slightly, as if he were seriously considering the game.

There was no trace of worry on his face; he was as calm as if today were just an ordinary day.

Lin Xuan felt inexplicably relaxed.

The father never joked about his children.

His lack of worry means that his third brother must be fine.

He laughed and vigorously stroked the mane of the Wildfire Dog, distorting the dog's face with his hands.

"The older brothers have all reached the Foundation Establishment stage, so we need to work hard too."

He stood up and patted the Wildfire Dog's head: "Come on, let's ponder this. Maybe this kind of weather will actually help us capture some inspiration!"

"Huh?" The Wildfire Dog tilted its head, its eyes full of confusion.

Can this kind of weather inspire you?

It seems...it might...makes some sense?

It blinked, then stood up, its tail wagging gently.

A person and a dog walked past the other side of the courtyard.

There, Lin Xuanjing was sitting on a stone bench, holding a small carving knife in her hand, intently carving the palm-sized piece of spirit jade.

She was so engrossed in her own world that she was oblivious to everything around her, not even noticing her brother and the wildfire dog making such a racket as they passed by.

……

At the stone table on the other side, a game of chess was in full swing.

Lin Che held a black chess piece in his hand, his brows furrowed, his gaze sweeping back and forth across the chessboard, he remained silent for a long time.

Today he is playing chess with his son.

The fourth brother, Xuan Yu, is usually quiet, expressionless, and not very noticeable, but he reveals his brilliance only on the chessboard.

Lin Che was completely absorbed in the game of chess before him, his mind filled with the intricate battles and schemes between the black and white pieces.

As for the third brother in the seclusion room?

He didn't worry about it at all.

He knew best about the third son's background and foundation.

That child was down-to-earth from a young age, and was very proactive in physical training, taking one step at a time and never being lazy or taking shortcuts.

He had perfected the Nine-Refined Golden Body, his true energy was powerful and solid, and his foundation was more stable than anyone else's.

There will absolutely be no mishaps.

The problem now is that this game is about to go wrong.

Lin Che stared at the chessboard, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.

To be honest, he didn't know how to play Go at first.

It was because the fourth son liked it that their whole family started to get involved in Go.

At first, he just played with his son, but gradually he began to appreciate the experience and would occasionally ponder it on his own.

But his chess skills are only slightly better than that kid Lin Xuanjing's.

So the person sitting opposite him at this moment is the one with the highest chess skill in the Lin family.

On the chessboard, the black pieces are already surrounded and struggling to defend themselves. It looks like they are about to be completely annihilated by the white pieces.

Lin Che narrowed his eyes slightly.

With keen insight, they launched their attack without warning.

The perspective suddenly changed.

On the chessboard, the black and white pieces are no longer static, but have transformed into trajectories of flowing spiritual energy.

Around each chess piece, intricate spiritual patterns faintly emerge; these are the veins of the chess moves, the key to victory or defeat.

He found the barely perceptible flaw in the white pieces' layout.

The black piece falls.

……

Lin Xuanyu was about to place a white piece when he suddenly realized something was wrong.

He looked up at his father.

Those eyes were emitting a very faint blue light.

Lin Xuanyu paused slightly in his hand as he held the chess piece.

A hint of helplessness appeared on that usually expressionless face.

Is that so?

When his older brother Lin Xuanjing played chess with him, he always had to resort to some underhanded tactics.

She would either secretly move the chess pieces, or switch pieces when he wasn't paying attention, and she even tried to cheat right under his nose using the speed of her wind spirit root.

He was used to it long ago.

But his father was even more ruthless.

He actually used supernatural powers when playing chess against him?

"Dad," he couldn't help but say, his tone tinged with helplessness, "why are you starting to cheat like your older brother?"

Lin Che held the chess piece, showing no embarrassment whatsoever.

"That's called skill."

"I call this playing chess by skill. This world has never been fair, and you have to learn to adapt."

His hand, which was holding the chess piece, paused for a moment, and after a long pause, he managed to utter a sentence:

"So what if it's a dirty trick? Dad, you sure know how to talk."

Lin Che finally couldn't hold back his laughter.

"Hehe, who told you not to give way to your old man a little bit?"

He picked up the last chess piece and placed it down, sealing the victory: "I'm showing you how treacherous the world can be!"

Lin Xuanyu looked down at the chessboard.

What was originally a sure defeat was miraculously saved by the old man, who even managed to win by a single point.

He stared at the chessboard, remaining silent for a long time before finally and meticulously putting the black and white pieces into the jade box, his movements precise and expressionless.

"Are you angry?" Lin Che turned his head to look at him.

"no."

Lin Xuanyu's voice was calm and even: "I lost the game because my calculations were not good enough and I made a mistake in my planning."

He didn't look up, continuing to collect the chess pieces.

Lin Che looked at his serious-looking son, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes.

He stood up, walked to Xuan Yu's side, and patted him on the shoulder.

Then, his gaze fell on the breakthrough room not far away.

"Man proposes, God disposes."

His voice was not loud, but it carried a hint of earnestness: "Sometimes, if you want to achieve something, you can't be too fixated on the rules and calculations in front of you."

"Some things are simply outside the bounds of the rules, and you need to consider more than just what's in front of you."

He paused, then patted his son on the shoulder.

"Let's go."

Lin Xuanyu raised his head and followed his father's gaze.

From the direction of the secluded cultivation room, an aura was rising.

That was the aura of a successful foundation building.

"The third brother has successfully completed his foundation building."