In the courtyard, a pathway paved with bluestone led toward a cluster of exquisite pavilions. Verdant bamboo groves and artificial rockeries were dotted throughout, lending the space a highly elegant atmosphere.
The most prominent among them was the building situated right in the center.
Towering and grand, its entrance was guarded by two stone lions, and its walls were carved with intricate patterns. At a single glance, one could feel its extraordinary presence.
Zhou Luo could clearly perceive that this building was enveloped by a certain formation.
Even with its doors wide open, nothing could be seen of the interior from the outside. One had to step across the threshold to see within.
The moment he entered, he spotted Lin Qinghan. Clad in a long white dress, she sat upright toward the front left of the grand hall, as radiant and eye-catching as ever.
Directly ahead of him sat a middle-aged couple.
Both wore opulent robes, radiating wealth and noble status.
“Are you Zhou Luo?”
Just as he entered the hall, a voice brimming with authority exploded in his ears like a clap of thunder.
His body trembled. Could this be Qinghan’s father?
He hurriedly bowed and greeted, “Greetings, Father-in-law.”
“Hmph! A mere ninth-grade spiritual root is allowed to become Qinghan’s husband? Does the main branch look down on us that much?” the man barked in anger.
As a Longevity Family, the Lin Family possessed countless collateral branches aside from the main branch.
Lin Qinghan’s father’s lineage was merely one of these many collateral branches.
Unfortunately, their branch had failed to produce a single prominent expert. As a result, their standing within the family had plummeted, to the point where even their only daughter had to be sacrificed as a tool to continue the lineage.
If that were all, it might still have been bearable.
But when Lin De discovered that Zhou Luo possessed only the lowest ninth-grade spiritual root, he flew into a rage.
He knew all too well that this was the main branch’s way of suppressing them.
With such a low-grade spiritual root, even if he had children with Lin Qinghan, how much cultivation potential could those offspring possibly inherit?
Below, Zhou Luo felt his heart skip a beat.
He had assumed he was simply lucky, never imagining there were so many schemes at play behind the scenes.
He could not help but sigh inwardly. In a massive clan, power struggles and intrigue truly lurked around every corner.
“Forget it.”
Lin De sighed suddenly. He cast a look of tender affection at his beloved daughter, before snapping his gaze back to Zhou Luo with a harsh, fierce glare.
“From this day forth, you must keep the Lin Family’s rules in mind at all times. Focus entirely on producing descendants. If you show any negligence, you will face our family’s punishment immediately,” Lin De said coldly.
He deliberately emphasized the words “family’s punishment,” his tone dripping with killing intent.
Originally, he had planned to speak properly with his new son-in-law.
But upon learning of Zhou Luo’s ninth-grade spiritual root, he lost all interest.
Flinging his sleeve in irritation, he turned and left the hall.
Once Lin De had departed, the dignified, elegant woman in opulent robes sitting beside his empty seat finally spoke. “Sit.”
After Zhou Luo took a seat, she spoke in a measured tone, “Since the two of you are now husband and wife, you must support one another. Strive to bear exceptional descendants so that the lineage of our Lin Family may flourish.”
“I understand, Mother,” Lin Qinghan replied, nodding.
This had always been her destiny.
The woman then turned her gaze to Zhou Luo, her eyes softening. “Good child, you must treat my daughter well. Otherwise, let alone her father, even I will not let you off lightly.”
Generally, the higher a cultivator’s realm, the lower their chances of conceiving.
Thus, Lin Qinghan was the sole descendant of Lin De’s line.
No wonder Lin De had been so furious to see his daughter married to a matrilocal husband with only a ninth-grade spiritual root.
After a few more brief words of conversation, Zhou Luo and Lin Qinghan excused themselves from the hall.
Before they departed, however, Lin Qinghan’s mother bestowed some cultivation materials upon Zhou Luo, hoping he would settle down contentedly within the Lin Family.
As they stepped outside, Lin Qinghan said softly, “My father only wants what is best for me. Do not hold a grudge against him.”
“I understand,” Zhou Luo agreed, nodding.
He could easily empathize with Lin De’s perspective.
If he were in the older man’s shoes, forced by family pressure to sacrifice his beloved daughter and marry her off to some kid with a measly ninth-grade spiritual root, he wouldn’t look kindly on the groom either.
“That is good. Our family has many rules. For instance, those of us from the collateral branches are forbidden from entering the core territory. I will have Xiao Lan explain all these regulations to you later.”
“Also, if you ever encounter someone from the main branch, you must show them absolute respect. Whatever they command, simply obey.”
“And if you ever run into any difficulties with your cultivation, you can always come and ask me.”
Along the path, Lin Qinghan patiently went over these crucial matters, clearly worried that Zhou Luo might stubbornly run afoul of the clan’s rules.
Zhou Luo committed every word to memory.
This conversation gave him a deeper understanding of his new wife.
Beneath her cold exterior, she was actually quite warm-hearted.
Her gentle explanations felt like her own quiet way of making up for her father’s harsh attitude earlier.
Before long, they arrived in front of a sprawling courtyard.
This was the place where the Lin Family bestowed techniques.
Standing near the entrance, Zhou Luo could see several of the familiar faces from yesterday.
Although they had been lured into becoming matrilocal husbands, the Lin Family had kept its word; the promised cultivation techniques were indeed being handed out.
Inside the courtyard, the middle-aged man who looked like a steward appeared once again.
His name was Lin Fu, and he was specifically in charge of training this batch of matrilocal husbands.
After delivering Zhou Luo to the gates, Lin Qinghan took her leave.
The tense, solemn atmosphere of the training grounds kept Zhou Luo and the other matrilocal husbands standing perfectly still, not daring to make a single stray movement.
Lin Fu summoned his subordinates and began having the men sign their matrilocal contracts, which also served to prevent them from fleeing.
Though reluctant, everyone remembered Lin Fu’s ruthless methods from the day before. They obediently signed their names, receiving their identity tokens and their introductory cultivation manuals.
When Zhou Luo received his cultivation manual, a tremor ran through him. He could barely contain his excitement.
Although he possessed a system, its rewards only granted him a longer lifespan; it did not inherently give him the means to protect himself.
Longevity did not mean immortality. To cultivate and grow powerful in this world, having proper techniques was absolutely essential.
However, aside from this initial manual, the Lin Family provided no other cultivation materials.
“Steward Lin, didn’t you say earlier that we would be allowed to cultivate in the spiritual vein’s blessed land?”
Someone mustered the courage to ask.
To succeed in cultivation, one required four essentials: techniques, companions, wealth, and a suitable location.
Now that they had the first two, the remaining two were naturally just as critical.
“If you wish to enter the spiritual vein, you certainly can. But that will depend on your own hard work,” Lin Fu replied, staring back at them with a cold, indifferent expression.
For this group of matrilocal husbands,
“hard work” meant fathering children.
According to Lin Fu, as soon as a pregnancy was confirmed, they would be granted one month of cultivation time in the blessed land of the spiritual vein, alongside other cultivation rewards.
The more descendants they produced, the more rewards they would receive.
The courtyard instantly erupted into an uproar.
Those who had harbored grand hopes for their cultivation paths looked completely crestfallen, their faces washing over with despair.
To advance their cultivation, they had to have children.
Yet fathering numerous children without the aid of dual cultivation techniques would only deplete their essence and damage their cultivation.
At this rate, it would be virtually impossible for any of them to make significant progress in their cultivation for the rest of their lives.
Of course, Zhou Luo was the exception.
Equipped with his system, as long as he worked hard to “sow his seeds,” he could earn lottery draw opportunities, and his lifespan would continue to stretch endlessly.
As for damaging his cultivation? He only possessed the lowest-grade spiritual root anyway. What cultivation path did he have to lose?
In the endless years to come, he would eventually find a way to reach the peak!
With this thought, Zhou Luo felt a massive surge of motivation.