When Feng Jingyu heard this, he burst out, “Don’t say ‘match made in heaven’! If you use those words randomly outside, you’ll be beaten to death. That Yuan Tianwen will definitely scold you.”

　　Yan Tianhen thought for a moment and hesitantly asked, “Then how about … two pieces of filth allying together? In cahoots? In collusion?  Like-minded? Oh, it’s all almost the same anyway, just choose one. “

　　Feng Jingyu: “….”

　　Feng Jingyu chirped with a big smile, “Ah Hen, Ah Hen, you’re so talented. Does your Dage know?”

　　“He must know it by now.” Yian Tianhen touched his nose with some embarrassment and smiled, “You also think that I am talented and brilliant?”

　　Feng Jingyu told him, “Yes, yes, of course.”

　　Yan Tianhen was really convinced. Where the fuck did he get such confidence?

　　Although Feng Jingyu spoke about his matters lightly, Lin Xuanzhi knew that the Western Lands managed to maintain peace for many years precisely because of this phoenix’s presence, the king of birds.

　　If news got out of Feng Jingyu’s disappearance or death, the Western Lands would surely fall into chaos sooner or later.

　　Besides, according to Feng Jingyu’s description of Ling Chigu, the Nine Lands have already begun a fierce battle for the throne. It was impossible for the Western Lands to be unaffected by their affairs, so someone had to return and preside over the entire situation soon.

　　Now, however, Feng Jingyu followed Yan Tianhen without hesitation. It seemed like he had no intention of finding a way back to the Nine Lands, which made Lin Xuanzhi uneasy.

　　This phoenix had said some truth and lies earlier that weren’t easy to distinguish. Born to be king… how could one easily reveal his own purpose?

　　Although phoenixs were natural kings, one needed to be of sound mind, wise, resourceful, and well-behaved in order to command the Western Lands. Lin Xuanzhi couldn’t trust this phoenix’s simple and straightforward performance.

　　He suppressed the doubts in his mind and decided to wait a while longer to see the bird’s intentions. What was his true purpose?

　　“After a while, Ah Hen and I will be going to Profound Sky Sect. What are your plans?”

　　Feng Jingyu chirped out a cry and spoke without thinking, “Of course, this king wants to be with Ah Hen. But alas, this king is too powerful and has too many pursuers so I can’t expose myself freely. Otherwise, I would definitely be able to stir up trouble in Profound Sky Sect!”

　　Lin Xuanzhi looked profoundly at Feng Jingyu, “You can go up the mountain but you have to keep a low-profile and act like an ordinary bird. You can’t arouse anyone’s suspicion.”

　　Feng Jingyu held out his chest, “This bird … no, this king has always been a high-profile bird and a low-key man!  “

　　Lin Xuanzhi shook his head disapprovingly, “From now on, it will be the reverse.”

　　Feng Jingyu: “…..”

　　“It’s wrong of you to bully birds like this!”

　　The bird was furious. I want to dump a piece of precious phoenix shit on your head!

　　In Madam Bai’s room.

　　Bai Ling looked at her son, who had become particularly unfamiliar to her, with cold, lofty eyes.

　　Lin Zezhi’s scalp grew numb when he saw this. After thinking about it, he reluctantly smiled, “Why is mother looking at me like this?”

　　Bai Ling struck the table and coldy answered, “During the Hundred Families Gathering, Third Elder and I had high hopes for you. Unexpectedly, instead of showing off at the mountain, you let that Lin Yan kid get ahead of you and also became obedient to Lin Xuanzhi, that little bastard. Have you ever put me and Third Elder in your eyes?”

　　In the face of Madam Bai’s accusations and doubts, Lin Zezhi inwardly smiled bitterly.

　　He had listened to Madam Bai’s many complaints before so he had felt resentful towards Lin Xuanzhi. It was only with great difficulty that he jumped out of that close-minded view. He finally looked at Lin Xuanzhi from a more objective perspective and correctly understood his position. Unexpectedly, Madam Bai didn’t want to let him go.

　　Lin Zezhi was a little tired, “Mother, whether you want to admit it or not, only Lin Xuanzhi in this generation can bear the weight of the family. He’s now proficient in both the sword and craftsman paths and his accomplishments on both are beyond human reach. He is graceful and elegant, and free from dust and vulgarity. No matter where he goes, he’ll become the focus of public attention. This is incomparable to anyone else; he’s the darling of heaven.”

　　“Nonsense!”  The more Madam Bai listened, the uglier her face grew. At last, when she heard “the darling of heaven”, she slapped the table so hard it nearly cracked the teapot.

　　Lin Zezhi was startled.

　　“What makes him the darling of heaven? He’s just an illegitimate bastard!” Madam Bai gnashed her teeth, “On the issue of inheritance, the Lin family should belong to you. Did you forget that when you were a child, your mother was oppressed by Lin Zhan everywhere and was nearly expelled from the family?”

　　Lin Zezhi thought of his childhood and immediately felt a bit guilty.

　　A long time ago, Lin Zhan and Madam Bai couldn’t stand each other. Although everything looked fine on the surface, there was a lot of cynicism and infighting going on secretly. Lin Zezhi could only remember what had happened when he was seven or eight years old so he didn’t know the entire situation. Lin Zhan had actually wanted to drive Madam Bai out of the Lin family’s gate. If it were not for the persuasions of Fifth Elder and Third Elder, he would have lost his mother since childhood.

　　From then on, Lin Zhan had banned Madam Bai from leaving the gates of the Lin family, disallowing her to take even one step out. It was only lifted after Lin Zhan’s death, with Lin Xuanzhi’s dismissal and Madam Bai taking charge of the stewardship’s power.

　　Madam Bai naturally hated Lin Zhan so much that she wanted to cut him to pieces.

　　However, although Lin Zezhi felt ashamed of his ‘surrendering to the enemy’, he still fairly said, “Mother, Lin Zhan is Lin Zhan and Xuanzhi is Xuanzhi. During the time when your son and him were advancing and retreating together, Lin Xuanzhi acted calmly and tactfully. He doesn’t seek revenge on those who offend him and he doesn’t blindly yield when things happen to him. I…”

　　Lin Zezhi paused, then said in a low voice, “I really admire him.”

　　However, Madam Bai grew more enraged as she listened. She stood up and spat out, “Lin Xuanzhi, that little bastard! What kind of magic potion did he give you to make you want to die for him? You won’t even listen to your own mother!”

　　“Mother, think about it from another angle. What good will it do if we oppose him?”  Lin Zezhi now really admired Lin Xuanzhi in his heart. After all, because of Lin Xuanzhi’s performance, his cousin directly got the chance to enter Profound Sky Sect and even avoided the selection and competition!

　　Madam Bai laughed with a sneer, a pair of cold eyes gazing sidelong at her weak son, “Childish. Stupid!”

　　“Mother…”

　　“Do you know that there are many wonderful cultivation methods in the ancestry of the Lin family that only the heads of past generations are qualified to practice?” Madam Bai was very overbearing and hated iron for not producing steel. “If you don’t snatch the head position of this family, from now on, all those powerful techniques and magical pills will be out of your reach!”

　　Speaking of which, Madam Bai told him with a heart full of hate, “Lin Xuanzhi is really more popular than his disorderly father and will win over the people’s hearts. He will give you some benefits and let you work for him. He will let you see that those who follow him will prosper and those who disobey him will perish. Lin Yan followed him. Not only did he gain great magical weapons and secrets, but he emerged brilliantly in Hundreds Families Gathering and was taken away by Heavenly Fire Sect. However, I wonder if Lin Xuanzhi did it deliberately or not! Now, do you think that, as long as you do not oppose him and sincerely assist him from the sidelines, you can be looked at differently and benefit from him?”

　　As a mother to her own son, Lin Zezhi’s careful thoughts were immediately seen through by Madam Bai at a glance.

　　Lin Zezhi felt a little ashamed. He was a big man but he was thinking about gaining benefits from a teenager younger than him. It was really shameful.

　　However, Lin Zezhi still stuck with his original intentions. He nodded and spoke in a low voice, “After all, Cousin Lin Xuanzhi is so powerful that all he needs to do is reveal something from his fingers. To me, it’s a good encouragement to practice my cultivation. I’m no longer his opponent, so why not change our ways and have a good relationship with him instead?”

　　“No ambition!”  Madam Bai wanted to slap Lin Zezhi on the face but she couldn’t bear to.

　　Madam Bai took a deep breath and changed her angle, “Since Lin Xuanzhi’s rise, you are not his closest and most trusted ally. In the future, you’ll have people like Yan Tianhen, who is ugly, vulgar, and unrefined stepping all over your head. There will also be side branches like Lin Zhantian who will throw their weight around. You are clearly the legitimate heir for the head position. Can you stand the shame of being forced by such things?″

　　Madam Bai’s remarks hit a sensitive spot in Lin Zezhi.

　　He had some regrets before. When Lin Xuanzhi was seriously injured, he had waited for an opportunity to take advantage of the situation and made himself feel complacent. So far, although his relationship with Lin Xuanzhi had eased, it was impossible for him to be a part of his cousin’s inner circle.

　　Even if Lin Xuanzhi were to become head of the family in the future, he would definitely not become his right-hand man.

　　After all, Lin Zezhi was a legitimate son since birth. Among his deep-rooted ideas, the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate was particularly important. Therefore, once he thought of Lin Zhantian and Lin Yan, who were supported by Lin Xuanzhi, riding on his head, his heart would naturally not be comfortable with it.

　　As for Yan Tianhen … Lin Zezhi dared not despise this young man now.

　　Although he was lame in one foot and had an ugly appearance, Yan Tianhen’s talent for alchemy had been revealed in the Hundred Families Gathering. What’s more, everyone knew that Yan Tianhen had the Hepta-Brilliant Sacred Fire and Lin Xuanzhi’s absolute attention, bias, and magical weapon blessing. What would develop in the future, no one could easily say.

　　In Lin Zezhi’s eyes, Yan Tianhen had become an existence that was hard to fathom. Human beings are always in awe of the unknown.

　　With this in mind, Lin Zezhi composed himself, calmed his fluctuating heart, and looked at Madam Bai’s beautiful young face, “Mother, I naturally don’t want those people riding on my head.”

　　As soon as Madam Bai breathed a sigh of relief, she heard Lin Zezhi continue, “But each man has his own destiny made by the heavens. Now, I just want to practice hard, improve my cultivation as soon as possible, and speak with my strength.”

　　At the Hundred Families Gathering, Lin Zezhi deeply felt that although family was important, personal cultivation was the ultimate way to determine everything.

　　Madam Bai was so infuriated that, instead, she calmed down.

　　She looked coldly at Lin Zezhi, who seemed to already be detached from the world, “You will think so because you have not yet left the house and don’t understand how important your status is in the family.”

　　Lin Zezhi was puzzled, “Mother, cousin Xuanzhi doesn’t seem to have ever offended you. Apart from the fact that he received most of the family’s magical pills, which made others feel was unfair, there was nothing wrong with him. Besides … he is indeed worthy of the Lin family’s treatment. Why are you always unhappy with him?”

　　This was a point Lin Zezhi never understood.

　　—