Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Tianyun Market, Yunhai Courtyard.

In the seventh year since Lin Zhao came to the market, even the wind above the sea of ​​clouds carried a lazy warmth.

Lin Zhao lay on a bamboo recliner under a tree, holding a newly acquired cultivation manual in his hand, flipping through it idly.

He's forty this year, but he looks no different from twenty—the lifespan of a Foundation Establishment cultivator is often over two hundred years, and he far exceeds the lifespan of an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, not far from the limit of three hundred years. Forty years old, according to the calculation of mortals, is just the beginning.

The courtyard gate creaked open, and two figures walked in one after the other.

Lin You was walking in front.

The fifteen-year-old girl had fully grown in stature. She wore a simple, bright red outfit, her ponytail tied high, and her spirited and dashing demeanor was impossible to hide.

Having reached the seventh level of Qi Refining, perhaps due to his long-term contact with the Fire-Breaking Magic Artifact, his personality has also been affected, and he speaks and acts with a decisive and energetic spirit.

Ye Xiaoxiao, who was following behind her, was much quieter.

She was still dressed in apricot-colored clothes, her aura was calm, and her cultivation had reached the eighth level of Qi Refining, which was a step higher than Lin You's.

Both of them had storage bags hanging from their waists—each containing a complete set of fire-removing magical artifacts, a unique privilege in the Lin family.

"Uncle!" Lin Youren's voice arrived before he even got close, "Today is your 40th birthday, and Xiaoxiao and I have discussed it and decided to throw a feast for you!"

Lin Zhao didn't even look up: "The lifespan of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, when converted to the mortal age, is about the same as that of a young adult. What's the point of celebrating a birthday?"

"I don't care!" Lin You had already walked up to him and reached out to snatch the book from his hand. "Forty is the age of no longer being confused for ordinary people. It's time to live it! Besides, Xiaoxiao and I have been busy all day, and the dishes are all prepared!"

Lin Zhao flicked her wrist, and the scroll gently tapped the back of her hand: "You have no manners."

The force was very light, but Lin You cried out "Ouch!" and pulled her hand back, shaking it exaggeratedly while smiling.

Ye Xiaoxiao stood to the side, pursing her lips, her eyes also filled with a smile.

In the end, unable to resist, the three of them simply set out a few spiritual foods and several pots of warm spiritual wine on the stone table under the jade tree.

The dishes were brought by Lin You from Tianyun Market, and some of them were even the market's signature dishes.

After a few rounds of drinks, they started talking more.

Lin You started by chattering about herself—she had reached the seventh level of Qi Refining and was now using the Fire Cauldron more skillfully.

She then talked about the troubles in her family, her little face scrunched up.

"The five branches of the family are not as united as they used to be. They argue fiercely over a little bit of resources."

She picked up a piece of venison with her chopsticks, chewing until her cheeks were bulging, "Our Fifth Clan has few people, and we're always being squeezed out."

My father is the kind of person who doesn't like to argue, so he pushes everything onto me. Every few days he sends me a message asking me to return to Shaoyang Market to "uphold justice"—who listens to me, a junior? In the end, it still comes down to using fists to settle things.”

Ye Xiaoxiao smiled gently, but didn't say anything.

The fifth lineage is Master's lineage. With Master still alive, would anyone dare to bully Master and Mistress?

It's just an excuse to get Lin You to go back and interact more with the family, participate in family affairs, and gain experience.

As she spoke, she said somewhat angrily, "You don't care about anything, and Grandpa the clan chief turns a blind eye... So all I can do is beat up those who are not convinced one by one."

"Now, the younger generation in Shaoyangfang are all afraid of me, and they call me 'Little Demon King' behind my back."

Lin You added, "Some things are perfectly reasonable, but some people insist on fighting to prove them right..."

Lin Zhao leaned back in his chair, listening to his niece's complaints with little expression on his face, only occasionally taking a sip of his wine.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves of the jade tree, casting dappled shadows on his face.

He knew exactly what was going on.

The Lin family has grown significantly, with over a thousand members, and their relationships have become more complex, making conflicts of interest inevitable.

But the real pillars of stability are him and the clan leader.

Although he stayed in Tianyun Market all year round and did not care about worldly affairs, more than half of the mid-grade spirit stones mined from the Lin family's spirit stone mine were delivered to him.

There are also various second-tier spiritual materials, pills, and even rare cultivation manuals. As long as he needs them, the family will provide them with priority—even the patriarch himself is put on the back foot.

After Lin Zhao returned, he did a lot for the family, fighting against Qingming Shangren, killing the head of the Liu family, seizing the market, and waging war in the wilderness.

He had long since repaid the family's investment in his upbringing.

This continued and unwavering allocation of resources is both an investment and a constraint, a way for the Lin family to hold him in place.

The old fox clan leader understood perfectly: the Lin family needed Lin Zhao far more than Lin Zhao needed the Lin family.

In a few decades or a hundred years, when the older generation passes away and the new generation grows up, how much of the blood ties and affection between Lin Zhao and the Lin family will remain?

Take advantage of the present moment to invest more resources and get younger generations like Lin You closer to him, strengthening this connection so that it will be easier to ask for his help in the future.

Lin Zhao understood these calculations, but she was too lazy to point them out.

Some things are better left unsaid.

Lin You then brought up another matter, her tone tinged with regret: "At the beginning of this year, the Grand Elder failed to establish his foundation... What a pity to waste a Foundation Establishment Pill."

Lin Zhao didn't even lift her eyelids: "As expected."

He had already met that elder.

After the war of pioneering, the other party did indeed lower themselves to visit him, adopting a very humble attitude.

Lin Zhao could tell that although this person had been tempered by war, his pampered habits had not changed, and his character had not undergone a true transformation.

Even the chance of achieving a low-grade Foundation Establishment is less than 30%.

How could the clan leader not know? But that was, after all, his own brother; he had to give him a chance, just to put his mind at ease.

Lin Zhao didn't say much at the time, only saying "I will do my best".

The results came out, and as expected, it was a failure.

"And then there's the spirit stone mine," Lin You changed the subject, "there are quite a few people watching it. I escorted them there a couple of months ago, and we encountered two groups of spying people on the way."

The clan chief later flew into a rage, purging a group of people, even taking down a Foundation Establishment cultivator who had come to join them from the market town, as a warning to others.

As she spoke, she looked at Ye Xiaoxiao and said, "Sister Xiaoxiao, why don't you come along next time I escort you? Your spiritual sense is stronger than mine, it'll be much safer with you here."

Ye Xiaoxiao nodded: "Okay."

Lin Zhao listened without saying a word, but his gaze was fixed on the surging sea of ​​clouds outside the courtyard.

He only learned about that spirit stone mine later.

Looking back now, the reason the clan leader took the lead in reclaiming the land and chose that area was probably mostly for the mine—the cleared and safe path would allow the mined spirit stones to be transported back to the market without anyone noticing.

It can be said that the Lin family really outmaneuvered those Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Those Foundation Establishment cultivators and various forces who participated in the land reclamation and obtained second-tier resource points thought they had gotten a great deal from the Lin family.

Little did they know that the biggest piece of the pie had already been quietly swallowed up by the Lin family.