"Pfft!"
Lin Xiao's body shook with increasing violence. He opened his mouth and spat out a large mouthful of black stagnant blood. The unnatural flush on his face faded, replaced by a healthy rosiness.
"Brother Xiao, what's wrong? Brother Xiao, don't scare me!"
Stunned by the change before her eyes, Liu Yan went pale and lunged forward, gripping her husband's wrist.
"A-Yan, I'm fine."
Lin Xiao patted his wife's hand, then closed his eyes to examine his injuries. He could clearly feel the permanent wounds Lin Langtian had inflicted a few days earlier had mostly healed in an instant.
"My injuries..."
Lin Xiao glanced at the Celadon bowl on the table. Quick to react, he looked at his wife. "A-Yan, what medicine did you give me to drink?"
"It was medicinal liquid brewed from an ordinary First-grade spiritual medicine. What's wrong, Brother Xiao?" Liu Yan stared at her husband, shock still lingering on her delicate face.
"Nothing's wrong. My injuries are healed, that's all. Haha, my injuries are healed, hahaha..."
Lin Xiao pulled his wife into a tight embrace and laughed wildly.
He had thought he would remain in decline for the rest of his life. Who would have guessed that his injuries would be completely restored on the second day after his return? Heaven bless Lin Xiao! Heaven bless the Lin Xiao family!
"Brother Xiao's injuries have healed? Is this—this true?"
Held tightly in Lin Xiao's arms, Liu Yan burst into tears of joy. Heaven knew how she had endured the past few days and how much pressure she had borne.
Lin Dong smiled as he watched, tightening his grip on Qing Tan's small hand. My father can wallow in despair for only one day—now it's time to strive, Father!
"Dong'er, starting tomorrow, your father will begin giving you personal instruction in cultivation. At eight years old, it's time for you to set foot on the path of cultivation."
Lin Xiao's face glowed with health as he looked at his only son. The confidence he had lost after his crushing defeat had finally returned.
"Yes, Father."
Lin Dong suppressed his joy and replied respectfully.
In the original storyline, he had not begun cultivating until he was thirteen and a half. After cultivating for about half a year, he had reached the Body Tempering Second Stage at fourteen. Now he could finally begin cultivating ahead of schedule.
As the saying goes, "one step ahead, every step ahead"—nothing described it better.
.....
Night fell.
In Lin Xiao and his wife's room, the couple were preparing to rest.
"Brother Xiao, that bowl of medicinal liquid today wasn't ordinary. When Dong'er brought it over, it looked as though he added something to the bowl. Perhaps that was the key to your recovery."
After a moment's hesitation, Liu Yan decided to tell him what she had seen during the day.
Lin Xiao's hands froze in the middle of undressing, then he said softly, "Let's just pretend this never happened. Dong'er is growing up—it's normal for him to have some secrets of his own."
After a brief silence, a soft, gentle voice came from the darkness: "Alright, Brother Xiao."
In a room near Lin Xiao and his wife's, a youth with a somewhat youthful face lay wrapped in a quilt, asleep. A glimmer of light began to bloom from his chest. It was the Ancestral Stone Lin Dong had retrieved during the day.
The light from the Ancestral Stone grew brighter, drawing Lin Dong's consciousness into a Mysterious Space.
"Hum~"
The void rippled, and a hazy, illusory figure slowly emerged in the dim Space.
"Wasn't I sleeping? Hm, no wait, is this the Stone Talisman Space?"
Lin Dong looked down at his translucent body and quickly understood what had happened.
"But I haven't started cultivating yet. I'm not even at the First Stage of Body Tempering, let alone capable of using a Martial Art. I can't deduce or perfect a Martial Art, either. So why did I come here? Oh right, I've got it..."
After surveying the Mysterious Space for a while, Lin Dong's eyes lit up. He began searching the area carefully, determined not to miss a single corner.
Once, twice, three times...
On his seventh pass through the Mysterious Space, Lin Dong finally noticed something unusual.
"What is that? Come out!"
Lin Dong's hand suddenly shot toward a patch of darkness, and a black rat about the size of a palm instantly appeared in his hand.
"I say, kid, are you crazy? Of all the things you could do with your young life, you chose to stare at an empty Space seven times. Are you an idiot? Are you trying to mess with Lord Marten?"
The moment the pitch-black rat appeared, it unleashed a torrent of curses at Lin Dong.
Although Lin Dong had already braced himself for this, he still put on a look of great astonishment and said in feigned surprise, "A rat?"
"Bullshit, you're the rat, your whole family's a bunch of rats!"
The black rat's eyes went wide as it glared at Lin Dong in fury.
"Huh, a talking rat?"
Lin Dong's eyes were full of amusement as he continued teasing his future "Second Brother."
"I'll say it again, Lord Marten is not a rat, Lord Marten is a Heavenly Demon Marten! Heavenly Demon Marten, do you understand?!!!"
The black rat shrieked and struggled, but it seemed extremely weak. No matter how hard it tried, it could not escape Lin Dong's palm.
"Oh, a talking rat with a name."
Lin Dong suddenly seemed to understand, slapping his forehead.
"......"
The black rat shuddered after struggling a moment before. It had lost all will to resist and went limp in Lin Dong's palm. "Kid, you win. Lord Marten admits defeat. Is that good enough..." it muttered.
"Alright, alright, I was teasing you. Get up. A Heavenly Demon Marten, huh? I know—one of the Four Hegemonic Clans of the Demon Region. Are you from the Heavenly Demon Marten clan?"
Lin Dong laughed as he watched the Heavenly Demon Marten surrender completely.
"Huh, you country bumpkin know about the Four Hegemonic Clans of the Demon Region?"
The Heavenly Demon Marten, which had gone limp in Lin Dong's palm, immediately stood up, looking at Lin Dong with sheer delight, feeling a sense of recognition that was truly thrilling.
"Mm, I read about it in an ancient text within my clan."
Lin Dong nodded, then narrowed his eyes. "But what did you call me—a bumpkin?"
"Ahem, ahem, you must have misheard, little brother. Oh right, allow me to introduce myself—this Lord Marten's name is A-Diao. Of course, if you'd rather call me Lord Marten, I wouldn't mind that either."
The Heavenly Demon Marten's bright, jet-black eyes turned cunning as it changed the subject and began ingratiating itself with Lin Dong.
"Hm, then your proper name will be Lin Diao. I'll call you Little Marten, and you'll be my Second Brother. I, Lin Dong, will look out for you." Lin Dong nodded.
"Why should I be the Second Brother? Bah, no—who wants to be sworn brothers with you? Don't call me Second Brother!"
The Heavenly Demon Marten shook its head in frantic refusal.
He was a mighty expert at the Peak Death Profound Stage and the Young Clan Chief of the Heavenly Demon Marten clan, one of the Four Great Overlords of the Demon Region. Yet some country bumpkin with no Cultivation was calling him a sworn brother. Did Lord Marten have any dignity left?
"Alright, Second Brother."
A thoroughly perfunctory voice drifted into the Heavenly Demon Marten's ears.
Little Marten: "......"