I established the Eternal Immortal Clan by taming beasts.

It was still that familiar seclusion room.

Lin Che deactivated the formation and slowly pushed open the door to walk out.

Sunlight streamed through the eaves, casting warm patches of light on the bluestone floor.

The backyard remains as beautiful as ever.

Scattered lake rocks and lush flowers and trees, a few transplanted seedlings of Misty Heart Tea sway gently in the morning breeze, their leaves still adorned with glistening dewdrops.

Vines climbed all over the pergola, hanging down strands of green ribbons, decorating the entire courtyard like a traditional Chinese ink painting.

The difference is in the sound.

Unlike the noisy, playful days of the past, the main house is now remarkably quiet.

There was no loud laughter from Lin Xuanjing, no whistling sound from Lin Xuanfeng practicing his sword, no footsteps from Lin Xuandong chasing the Wildfire Hound all over the yard—nothing at all.

the reason is simple.

The eldest, second, third, and youngest seventh sons are all married.

After that social gathering years ago, and after repeated discussions among Lin Che, Wang Lingsu, and the other mothers, they finally arranged marriages for the three boys together.

The wedding was also held together. On that day, the lakeside of Broken Star Lake was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and guests flocked to the area. The festivities lasted for three whole days.

A year later, the seventh brother, Lin Xuandong, also successfully established his foundation.

Lin Che found him a suitable marriage partner. The other party was the eldest daughter of a mid-level Qi-refining family in Chuyang City. She was gentle and mild-mannered, which complemented Lin Xuandong's lively personality.

Over the next six years, the four of them took several more wives.

Thus, the third generation of the Lin family, whose names begin with the character "Xin," was born one after another.

With more people, the place felt crowded.

So Lin Che had them all move out of the main house and built a separate courtyard for each family on the island in the middle of the lake.

Each house is spacious and bright, enough to house a large family.

In this way, each of them can have a large family, including their children, and even their grandchildren can live together when they get married and have children in the future.

Lin Che roughly calculated that the island could accommodate about 1,200 people if it wasn't overcrowded.

That's all for now. We'll consider this issue again when the Lin family's population exceeds this number.

Besides the four of them, only the fourth brother Lin Xuanyu, the fifth brother Lin Xuanqing, and the sixth brother Lin Xuanjing still live in the main house.

Two of the daughters live here, and it's because of their personalities that the main house is so secluded.

Lin Xuanjing is immersed in his own world of carving year-round, sitting in front of spirit wood and spirit jade for an entire day, almost oblivious to the affairs of the outside world.

Her skillful hands could carve an ordinary piece of wood into a lifelike mythical beast, and polish a rough piece of jade into something warm and smooth.

Asking her to go on a blind date is harder than asking her to carve a top-quality magical artifact.

Lin Che tried a few times, introducing her to several young men with good character and family background.

The results of it?

For every ten sentences the other person says, she replies with only one, and even that reply is completely irrelevant.

After several attempts, Lin Che gave up.

In addition, the Lin family doesn't really need a son-in-law to live with them right now, so they simply don't insist.

With those four boys strengthening the family, that's enough.

As for Xuanqing, the reason is even simpler.

She is the Lin family's biggest secret.

Once the secret of the Azure Emperor's Longevity Body is exposed, all the forces in the Southern Region will be mobilized.

It can be said that, so far, apart from her master Qin Yulin, no one outside of her knows of her existence.

She never shows her face, never attends any public events, and even the guest elders in the clan don't know that the Lin family has such a young lady.

As for the fourth son, Lin Xuanyu...

Lin Che's gaze paused slightly.

He has never married.

The reason is quite unique.

Lin Che still remembers the day he came to find him.

…………

Night had fallen, and the surface of Shattered Star Lake shimmered with light.

The moonlight, like water, spilled onto the lake's surface, shattering into countless silver scales that rippled gently in the breeze.

In the distance, the Fulong Mountains resembled a sleeping behemoth in the night, their outlines blurred yet exuding a chilling sense of oppression.

Lin Che stood with his hands behind his back by the lake, his gaze fixed on the distant mountains swallowed by the night.

The noisy meetings, receptions, and social engagements of the day have all faded away, leaving only the sound of the wind, the water, and his own breathing.

He didn't turn around, but he had already sensed the approaching presence.

"You've arrived. Your tone in the message is serious. What is it you wish to discuss with me?"

The footsteps stopped three zhang behind them.

"Father."

Lin Xuanyu's voice was not loud, carrying his unique coolness and calmness.

Lin Che turned around.

Under the moonlight, Xuan Yu wore a dark-colored casual dress, his hair was neatly styled, and his face appeared even more stern in the night.

Those eyes were calm as still water, revealing no emotion whatsoever.

"Sit down." Lin Che pointed to a flat blue stone by the lake and sat down next to it first.

Lin Xuanyu did not sit down.

The moonlight stretched his slender figure long.

He stood there, silent for a moment, then slowly spoke:

"Father, I also want to do something for the family."

Lin Che sensed something, raised his eyes, and looked at him.

His cold, stern face remained calm and composed, but his eyes held a seriousness that Lin Che had never seen before.

"I have plans for you."

"But I suppose you've already made your choice. Tell me about it."

Lin Xuanyu nodded slightly, her voice remaining steady.

"Over the years, I have watched my eldest brother manage the family's affairs, my second brother command the garrison, and my third brother train the family guards. They have all been working openly to expand the Lin family's territory and uphold its reputation."

He paused, his gaze falling on the lake, where the moonlight was reflected.

"But the Lin family needs someone working in the shadows."

His voice lowered slightly.

"Intelligence, spies, infiltration, and stealth—these things can't always be left to Father to worry about alone. The Lin family needs a true intelligence system of its own, a force hidden in the shadows."

He turned his head and looked at Lin Che, his gaze unwavering.

"This organization needs someone who is unknown to outsiders and whose weaknesses cannot be exposed to run it. He cannot have too many concerns, too many constraints, and cannot be exposed to the light of day."

"I'm willing to be that person."

A night breeze blew across the lake, stirring their clothes and ruffling the moonlight on the entire lake.

Lin Che did not answer immediately.

He turned his gaze back to the lake, his thoughts churning, and remained silent for a long time.

So long that Lin Xuanyu thought her father would no longer respond.

"Do you know what this means?" Lin Che finally spoke, his voice low.

"I know," Lin Xuanyu replied without the slightest hesitation.

"I will live in anonymity, unable to show myself as the young master of the Lin family, unable to be close to my family in public, and even more unable to marry and have children to leave any clues. I will become a person who does not exist."

His voice remained calm, as if he were talking about something that had nothing to do with him.

"Have you thought it through?" Lin Che asked again.

"I've thought it through."

Lin Xuanyu lowered his eyes slightly, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

"From childhood to adulthood, all I've ever known is chess."

He looked up, and the moonlight fell on his face, softening his cold and stern features.

"But isn't playing chess all about setting up a strategy? Isn't it about placing pieces in the shadows and waiting for your opponent to fall into a trap?"

He paused, his voice unusually sharp.

"My father taught me that to achieve something great, you can't be fixated on the present. This applies to the chessboard, and it applies to the family as well. The Lin family has already made enough progress in the open, but our enemies in the shadows are also watching us. We need someone who can make moves from the shadows."

He looked directly into his father's eyes.

"I want to be that person."

Lin Che listened quietly.

Looking at his son, who had never spoken much since childhood and always fiddled with the chessboard by himself, he suddenly remembered that afternoon many years ago when the boy first beat him.

At that time, Lin Xuanyu was still very young, not even ten years old, but on the chessboard he already showed a meticulousness and calmness far beyond his peers.

He never felt frustrated or complained after losing a game; he would simply review the game silently, identify his mistakes, and then avoid them in the next game.

He was never flamboyant or competitive, but Lin Che knew that this child knew better than anyone else what he wanted.

"Have you thought this through? Once you embark on this path, it's hard to turn back."

"I don't need to look back."

Lin Xuanyu's voice finally showed a slight ripple, not from excitement, but from determination.

A kind of unwavering determination that has been building up over many years, finally finding its direction.

"My father is fighting on the front lines, and my elder brothers are supporting the family business in the open. I should do something."

He paused, then said softly:

"I want the Lin family to be able to see the road ahead even in the darkness."

Lin Che remained silent for a long time.

Then, he stood up, walked up to Lin Xuanyu, and patted him on the shoulder.

The force was neither too light nor too heavy, yet it startled Lin Xuanyu slightly.

"What do you need?" Lin Che asked with a smile.

There was no refusal, no dissuasion.

Lin Xuanyu was taken aback, then lowered his head, a smile appearing on his cold face.

"Spirit stones, resources, and... the intelligence sources Father currently possesses."

"I need time. Within ten years, I will weave a net for the Lin family."

As he spoke, Lin Xuanyu slowly raised his lowered head, and a black and white mask covered his face.

The mask was exquisitely crafted, with a pure black left side and a pure white right side, divided in the middle by a smooth arc, like the intersection of yin and yang.

He was clearly prepared.

"From now on, my code name will be 'Zhi Hei'."

In Go, the player with black moves first. The first player cannot see the opponent's strategy, but must still make moves to create an opening. One wrong move, and the whole game is lost.

He paused, his voice unusually sharp, like a sword drawn from its sheath.

"I want every move I make in the shadows to be a preemptive strike by the Lin family in the open."

Lin Che looked at his son, who had been quiet and reserved since childhood but was more opinionated and thoughtful than others, and at the only pair of eyes visible beneath the black and white mask.

In those eyes, there was calmness, determination, and a resolute confidence born of deep thought, as well as a glimmer of light that Lin Che had never seen before.

That's the kind of brilliance a chess player shines when they finally find their own chessboard.

A smile slowly crept onto Lin Che's lips as he patted his shoulder again.

"Okay, it's a deal!"