8

"As I said... Without permission from the patriarch or elders, no scholar can enter the martial library. Even if it is you, young master."

In front of the Martial Library, an old man in his sixties shook his head in refusal.

"Oh come on." Even though Lin Kai knew it wasn't going to be simple to get the information, he never expected it to be this hard. Much less reading inside the Library, he wasn't even allowed to enter it.

"NO." It was a clear and direct rejection.

"These are the rules of the family. Only practitioners and scholars working for the family can access the Martial Library." Still unmoved, the old man shook his head decisively. "Unless of course, you have the permission."

'Damn oldie.' Looking at the old man who has now closed his eyes, completely ignoring him, Lin Kai cursed loudly in his mind. If not for the fear of family rules and the bulging muscles on the old man's body, he would have loved to punch him in the face.

"Can I ask why?" Even though wild thoughts were running through his mind, Lin Kai still asked with a smile. It was one thing for the normal members to require permission but for the son of the current patriarch to face these issues...

"It's so that you can focus on your studies." However before he could think about it further, a flat voice came from behind.

"Patriarch..." The old man who was still sitting with his eyes closed a moment ago stood up instantly before giving the owner of the voice a respectful bow.

"Uhhh..." Stunned by this sudden turn of events, Lin Kai didn't know how to react. How was he going to explain his sudden interest in practicing?

"How about we both go for a walk? There are some things that I would love to discuss with you." Ignoring the old man, Lin Xun signaled Lin Kai to follow him as he turned around before walking away slowly.

"Sure." Even though there were some doubts in his mind, Lin Kai didn't dwell on them too much as he ran, trying to catch up with Lin Xun.

Throughout their journey, both of them remained silent. Only Lin Kai would frown occasionally, trying to come up with an answer for this sudden meeting.

'Exam.' As soon as this word came to his mind everything suddenly became clear.

'But why would the patriarch of the Lin family care about the scholar exams of his son? Especially the son with whom he had little to no interaction.'

The more Lin Kai thought about it, the more he found the situation to be weird. However, no matter how many questions he had, at this moment, he could only keep them to himself.

The journey lasted for more than fifteen minutes. It wasn't until both of them were standing in front of Lin Kai's hut that they stopped.

Lin Xun looked around for a bit before walking towards the small patch of green grass in the middle of the garden just below the peach tree.

"Come, sit beside me."

Sitting down, Lin Xun patted the grass beside him as he signaled Lin Kai to take a seat.

Nodding his head, Lin Kai walked beside him before sitting down. At this moment, numerous thoughts were rushing through his head, but he just kept quiet. He wanted to see what the father of this body was going to do.

After all, in the limited memories that he received and these past few days that he spent here, he never once saw this father of his having such an interaction with him.

Both of them sat there silently, just looking around them.

Sitting in the shade under the sun with a gentle breeze, Lin Kai almost wanted to fall asleep, but looking at the man beside him, he could only squish that thought in his mind.

"How was your exam?" It was Lin Xun who spoke first. Even though he knew the answer, he wanted to hear it from his own son.

'Sure enough, it is about the exam.'

With a sigh, Lin Kai just shook his head. "It wasn't good. I just couldn't remember anything during the exam."

"Why didn't you tell me the situation was this bad? You said it was only some memories which you were going to recover soon." With a frown, Lin Xun spoke in a displeased voice. The more he thought about it, the more irritation he felt. If only he knew how severe the memory loss was, he might have done something about it.

But alas! No matter what his thoughts were. There was almost nothing that he could do right now. The situation of the Lin family didn't even let him notice the problems of his own son.

"I..." Opening his mouth, Lin Kai wanted to speak, but he just couldn't come up with words. He can not just tell the man beside him that his son is dead and he is from another world.

"Forget it... It was my fault too." Seeing his son's hesitation, Lin Xun spoke further. "I was so preoccupied with other things that I ignored your situation."

"It can't be helped." Shaking his head, Lin Kai spoke further. "Even though I failed this time, I will work hard for the next year."

Even though he spoke with great determination and passion, he had no intention of preparing for the exam.

What a joke... Wouldn't be a shame to work as a scholar from morning till night in this new world.

This was a new world, a new beginning for him. The last thing he wanted to do was to sit in a small room all day long, writing schemes and papers.

Wouldn't it be better to take advantage of your family to live in peace without having to worry about anything? Especially in a time like this when there are people dying everywhere.

The more he thought about it, the more he found this was the perfect plan. He wouldn't have to worry about anything and could focus on exploring the book in his mind.

"Well... About that." Listening to his son talking about trying next year, Lin Xun sighed helplessly as he spoke in a grim tone.

"I am afraid it is not going to be possible."

"Huh!?" Looking at Lin Xun who was shaking his head, Lin Kai narrowed his eyes. The more he saw his expression, the more he found something was wrong.

Throughout the years, this was perhaps the first time Lin Xun sat with him to have a conversation. Coupled with their interactions a few days ago, Lin Kai had a hunch that the situation wasn't good for him.

Without waiting for Lin Kai to speak, Lin Xun slowly raised his head, looking at the mountains on the horizon as he began to speak.

"I am afraid things have changed son." Speaking till here, his voice almost became sore. This was perhaps the first time in years that he called Lin Kai 'son'.

'!?'

Listening to Lin Xun, Lin Kai felt the sense of dread becoming heavier and heavier. There weren't many times in life that he had such a feeling. And every time he felt something like this, things always went beyond his control, sometimes even turning ugly.

"You might be aware of the situation of the Lin family as well the Qingyun city."

As Lin Xun spoke further, Lin Kai listened with his eyes narrowed.

"You already know about the killer, but do you think it is all we have to worry about?" With these words, Lin Xun looked at his son.

"Let's just say there are dangers and enemies that we three great families have to face at every turn. And only by sticking together, do we have the power to face them."

"Some time ago, the Wei family came to us with a proposal."

Speaking till here, Lin Xun went silent. But the more Lin Kai listened, the more the sense of dread became heavier. He was clear in his heart that the father of the so-called body wasn't here just to reminisce about their past or to catch up with their father and son time. He was here to tell him about the decision that he had agreed on.

"To strengthen the bond of our major families, the Wei family wants you to marry their eldest daughter."

As soon as Lin Kai listened to these words, his eyes narrowed into slits. It should be a matter of great celebration for a guy like him who never had a girlfriend to suddenly marry someone. But instead of excitement or nervousness, his heart was filled with fear.

Throughout both of his lives, he wasn't very educated. Getting a college degree from a third-rate university was already his biggest achievement.

But if there was one thing he was good at, it was observing people and his surroundings along with the awareness of his situation.

Listening to Lin Xun, he could already see many problems at a glance. Even if there is a marriage to strengthen the bond between the two families, it should not be his turn so soon. After all, he is the tenth son of the current patriarch. There should be nine more before him.

Another problem was the person he was being married to... The eldest daughter of the Wei family.

Lin Kai hasn't seen her, but if the situation of the Wei family was similar to their Lin family, then she should be the same age as the oldest son of Lin Xun, approximately twenty-six years old.

Marrying someone who is younger than her by ten years... No matter how he saw it, even by the standards of this new world, it was not simple.

"Why me!?" The more Lin Kai realized things were not simple, the more he wanted to avoid this situation.

"What about elder brothers? They are much more talented than me. Compared to me, they are much more suitable for the eldest lady of the Wei clan."

Lin Xun didn't immediately reply but looked at his son for a long time. It looks like whatever this son of his drank had an effect on his personality as well. Were it in the past, then he would have just silently accepted his orders without questioning.

"Sigh..." Shaking his head with a sigh, Lin Xun opened his mouth to speak further but found himself at a loss for words.

Lin Kai on the other hand wasn't overly anxious. He was waiting silently for the answers.

"Just don't ask too many questions." In the end, Lin Xun just could not tell him the truth. He could only shake his head, dismissing his questions.

"You will find your answers in due time. But till then, you just have to be quiet."

"Heh." With a scoff, Lin Kai looked into the distance towards the mountain range. He was sure the so-called marriage contained plans deeper than what he could think of. But what they were, he had no idea.

Both of them sat there in silence, each with their own thoughts and ideas. For a moment, Lin Kai even thought of straight up saying 'No' to the marriage. But the moment this thought came to his mind, he discarded it.

What a joke... The decision has already been made. Even if he cried his lungs out, there were not going to be any changes.

'Run away!?' This idea came to his mind too before he shook his head with a bitter smile. Even if he was somehow lucky enough to escape from the Lin family, he would undoubtedly die outside once the killer finds out about him. And even if the killer doesn't find him, how is he going to survive? God knows what kind of things were out there in the wild. Not to mention he wasn't even familiar with the area outside of town.

As Lin Kai thought about his next course of action, Lin Xun opened his mouth to speak.

"By the way, why were you outside the Martial Library?"

As soon as Lin Kai listened to these words, his thoughts about escaping from the family paused as he looked at Lin Xun.

"If you have any questions, you can ask me. I am sure I can answer some of them."

"Then..." Gulping his saliva, Lin Kai thought about the various questions that were plaguing his mind. Now that the patriarch of the Lin family himself was here, it would be a waste to not ask the questions. As for the matter of marrying the Wei family's eldest lady, he could care less about it now.

"Can you tell me more about the Resurgence Realm?"

As soon as Lin Kai asked his question, his eyes were filled with expectation.

Lin Xun on the other hand was surprised. But this only lasted for a second before he nodded his head. Since his son wanted to know more about practicing, there was no harm in telling him. It is the least he could do for him.

"Before that...

How much do you know about the roots?"

Lin Kai thought for a moment before replying with what he knew from the guard.

"I know that there are five types of roots, fire, earth, metal, water, and air." Speaking till here, he paused momentarily before speaking further. "At the age of eight, one is tested for roots and if they have roots, they can then walk the path of the practitioners."

"Go on... Continue." Listening to Lin Kai, Lin Xun nodded his head as he signaled him to continue with his speech.

"Then with the help of treasures, one is able to form their marks and thus step into the realm of Resurgence."

"And that is all I know about it."

Lin Kai then went silent, his eyes stuck on Lin Xun, waiting for him to speak further.

"Hmm... Shallow knowledge, but you are correct." With a nod, Lin Xun slowly exhaled a mouthful of air.

"Let me begin from the very start.

You see, there are numerous energies scattered in our surroundings. And roots are what let us harvest these energies for our personal use.

Just like you said, there are five different types of roots found in someone's body. Fire roots let one harness fire elements, the water roots let one harvest water elements, and so on.

Take Qingyun City for example. Every year an annual test is held to test the roots of children aged eight or above. And those with spirit roots then join the families according to their roots."

Speaking till here, Lin Xun took a short pause as his expression slowly turned serene. At this moment his appearance was that of a wise teacher imparting knowledge.

"When Qingyun City was established, one of the main problems we faced was the distribution of forces. People joined our city not only because of protection, but because of getting a chance to break away from the mundane and step into the realm of warriors.

We can not let only one family accept all the disciples, thus after a long discussion, the council came up with a plan.

And that was to distribute the young ones according to their roots."

Lin Kai was listening to everything quietly. Talking with the guard only gave him a rough idea about the power structure of this world. But since Lin Xun was explaining to him in detail, he was listening with great attention. Who knows how much time it would take him to learn this all by himself?

Looking at Lin Kai who was paying attention, Lin Xun nodded as he spoke further.

"The most common roots found in people are the Fire roots. Thus every person who has fire roots outside of the core members of the three great families could only join our Lin family.

Those with Water roots and Wind roots can only join the Wei family. And similarly, those with Earth roots and Metal roots can only join the Wu family."

"I see." Lin Kai nodded his head in understanding.

Lin Xun took a deep breath as he continued further, "This was all done to maintain fairness. So that no one would have a monopoly.

Only the direct members of the three families do not need to join others in case they have different roots.

The practice methods too are shared accordingly. Like, you can not find any other element exercise methods in our family's Martial Library except the fire element ones."

The more Lin Kai listened, the more he found that everything was extremely well planned. From the distribution of the forces to the distribution of practice; everything was kept in mind.

"Since we know that everyone is either born with a root or not, is there anyone who is born with two or more roots?" This was the question that was bugging him the most since his meeting with the guard. "And if there are people with two or more roots, then how are they different from the others?"

"Heh..." Listening to his son, Lin Xun did not immediately reply but looked at the mountain in the distance.

Minutes passed, and just when Lin Kai thought he wasn't going to reply, Lin Xun opened his mouth to speak slowly.