After everyone was reborn, I was strictly disciplined.

"Marrow Cleansing Pill?"

Liu Qingwan paused slightly, a hint of surprise flashing across her eyes, her tone tinged with confusion, "What do you need this Marrow Cleansing Pill for?"

"With such poor aptitude, do you even need to wash it?!" Xie Xingran immediately scoffed. Then Liu Qingwan gently tapped her forehead.

Lu Chengyuan's lips pressed into a tight straight line, as if he had been holding back for a long time before mustering his courage. A hint of barely concealed awkwardness and embarrassment flashed across his eyes.

"I've heard that the Marrow Cleansing Pill can reshape spiritual veins and purify spiritual roots. It can not only improve the quality of spiritual roots but also reduce their quantity... I want to try it and improve my spiritual roots."

After he finished speaking, he lowered his head even further, his ears turning a faint red. The lingering arrogance of a young master in his eyes had long been replaced by deep humility.

During his time at the Lin family, the sudden setbacks and cold treatment he received had been like a dull knife, gradually wearing down his former pride and lowering his bottom line.

Back when he was in the outer sect of the Fire Marrow Mountain Holy Land, although his aptitude was not good, he was surrounded by people with mediocre aptitude, whose spiritual roots were mostly mixed with eight or nine spiritual roots, and they were not much different from him.

Back then, he never felt inferior because of his qualifications; on the contrary, he often considered himself superior to others.

After all, he was once the legitimate young master of the Lu family, living a life of luxury and privilege since childhood. He was not on the same level as those ordinary disciples who came from humble backgrounds and struggled to get into Fire Marrow Mountain.

During those years, he held himself in high esteem. His inherent pride and self-respect were like a hard armor, covering his vulnerability and resentment, and even a sense of innate superiority.

He felt that he had experienced more and seen a wider world than his other disciples.

He never lowered himself to associate with mediocre people, nor did he ever bow his head to ask for help, as if that were the most shameful thing in the world.

But all of this collapsed the moment he stepped into the Lin family's gate.

The Lin family is the number one cultivation family in the Northern Territory, with profound heritage and abundant talent. One can see people with extraordinary talent everywhere in the mansion.

Those Lin family disciples of similar age to him were at least three spiritual roots, many were prodigies with two spiritual roots, and some were even rarer, possessing a single spiritual root, a rare find in a century, with pure spiritual energy and a cultivation speed of a thousand miles a day.

He often stood in the Lin family's martial arts training ground, watching the flamboyant and dashing appearance of those young men and women.

They stood tall and straight, their eyes radiating innate confidence. When they wielded their swords, the sword light was sharp and the spiritual energy surged. Every move and every stance exuded agility and power.

Just by standing there, one exudes an aura of brilliance, easily becoming the focus of attention and attracting countless admiring glances.

In contrast, with his mixed spiritual roots, he found cultivation extremely difficult. Even drawing qi into his body required several times more effort than others, let alone flying on a sword or unleashing fierce sword techniques.

His former status as the young master of the Lu family, which he was so proud of, seemed so pale and powerless in front of a cultivation giant like the Lin family, and utterly worthless.

Those Lin family members never paid any attention to him, the outsider, and wouldn't even give him a second glance.

Compared to the dazzling scions of the Lin family, his pitiful young master background was like a firefly compared to the bright moon, utterly incomparable.

He was indeed a pampered young master of the Lu family, surrounded by servants and living a life of luxury and ease in his childhood. But what good did that do?

From birth, the Lin family members have been immersed in the spiritual energy of a family of cultivators. Fine clothes and delicacies are just the most common standard for them. In terms of honor and glory, they are even better than he was back then.

Moreover, what the Lin family scions possess is a talent and spiritual root that he could only dream of and never attain in his entire life.

They don't need to spend half their lives getting entangled with the chaotic spiritual energy; they can make rapid progress in a day simply by following the steps of cultivation.

They could easily comprehend profound sword techniques and draw upon pure spiritual energy to protect themselves, while he, despite his best efforts, could only barely maintain the most basic circulation of spiritual energy.

This stark contrast left Lu Chengyuan feeling incredibly frustrated and inferior.

He and they were never from the same world, and there was absolutely no comparison between them.

The Lin family is the number one family in the cultivation world of the Northern Territory. With a vast lineage and a far-reaching reputation, every word and action of the Lin family attracts the attention of countless cultivators in the Northern Territory.

Ironically, he, his mother, and his sister became the most glaring stain on the Lin family.

The three men's inferior aptitude was even worse than that of the most ordinary collateral descendants of the Lin family, causing the Lin family to suffer countless humiliations, both openly and secretly.

Fortunately, the Lin family was kind-hearted and did not punish the mother and her two daughters for the mockery.

They knew in their hearts that spiritual talent was predetermined by nature and could not be changed by human power. Even if they had grievances in their hearts, they never vented their resentment on them, nor did they ever do anything to humiliate them.

After all, their mother (maternal grandmother) Lin Shuyi was a legitimate member of the Lin family, and they could not bring themselves to kill or mistreat their relatives.

However, being lenient is not the same as accepting; ignoring someone is often more hurtful than being harsh.

The Lin family's dissatisfaction and resentment were never hidden too deeply. Occasionally, they would remain silent at a meal, deliberately avoid each other when passing by, and unconsciously furrow their brows when discussing spiritual root aptitude. All of these silently revealed their thoughts.

He is clearly of Lin Shuyi's bloodline, with the blood of the Lin family flowing through his veins, so why is his talent so poor?

Unwilling to treat them harshly, yet unable to accept them, the Lin family ultimately chose the most indifferent approach—ignoring them.

They treated Lu Chengyuan and her two daughters as distant, insignificant relatives who were staying at their residence. They were neither warm nor cold towards them, neither deliberately making things difficult for them nor taking the initiative to get close to them.

Everything they ate, wore, and used was of the highest quality; after all, it wasn't cultivation resources, just ordinary food and clothes.

In the eyes of the Lin family, Lu Chengyuan would never be able to break through the Qi Refining stage in his lifetime, and it was already a great blessing that he could live for more than a hundred years under the nourishment of spiritual energy.

For cultivators who can live for hundreds or even thousands of years, this hundred years is but a fleeting moment, a drop in the ocean, insignificant and not worth mentioning.

They only need to stall and ignore them for a few more days until the mother and her two children's lifespans are over, and then no one will bring them up again.

This seemingly harmless indifference became the final straw that broke Lu Chengyuan's back.

The daily neglect, the contempt of others, his own insignificance, the sight of his mother secretly weeping, and his younger sister's timid gaze that dared not meet anyone's eyes—all these constantly reminded Lu Chengyuan of his shortcomings.

He couldn't go on like this anymore, he couldn't let people ignore him anymore, and he couldn't let his mother and sister suffer because of him anymore.

An unprecedented obsession quietly took root and grew wildly in his heart.

He wants to change his aptitude, to cultivate it, and to become powerful enough.

He wanted to protect his mother and sister, and he also wanted to earn the recognition and respect of the Lin family through his own efforts.

After much thought, he concluded that the only thing in the world that could help him achieve all of this was the Marrow Cleansing Pill.

The Marrow Cleansing Pill is made from ancient spiritual herbs. It can reshape spiritual veins, remove impurities from spiritual energy, and completely change a cultivator's aptitude.

As long as he can obtain the Marrow Cleansing Pill, as long as he can consume the Marrow Cleansing Pill, all his desires and obsessions will be fulfilled one by one, and everything he wants will eventually be in his own hands.

Liu Qingwan nodded and replied, "The Marrow Cleansing Pill does indeed have this effect, but..."

"But it would be a waste for you to use it, so you might as well not use it at all!" Xie Xingran interrupted Liu Qingwan, speaking with a sarcastic tone.