Chapter 219: A desire for adoption.

Chapter 219: 219: A desire for adoption.

An elder council was something foreign to the Lin clan, yet at the same time had grown too familiar.

During his father’s time, the Lin Family had enjoyed a relatively peaceful period. Although they were merely an unranked clan back then, the elders had remained united, working alongside the Patriarch to keep the family afloat.

With powerful families like the Zhao, Huang, and Pei dominating Azure Willow City, the Lin Family had always tread carefully, avoiding unnecessary conflicts whenever possible.

It was a time when the elders and the Patriarch stood together, bound by a common purpose.

Then, his parents disappeared without warning.

His father’s corpse was never found, but his life lamp had been extinguished, leaving little hope that he was still alive.

As for his mother, the Su Family had kept her situation strictly guarded, allowing only a glimpse of her life lamp, which still flickered faintly.

It did not take long for the carefully built Lin Family to collapse from within.

One after another, the elders began forming their own factions, each seeking to expand their influence within an already struggling clan.

Eventually, Lin Xuan stepped forward and united them once more under his Golden Core cultivation.

With his strength and leadership, he even managed to drive the Pei Family out of Azure Willow City, allowing the Lin Family to take their place among the city’s major powers.

However, the elders had already tasted power, and they were unwilling to surrender the influence they had accumulated.

That was how the Elder Council came into existence.

It was established as a counterbalance to the Patriarch, allowing the elders to share authority rather than leaving all decisions in the hands of a single individual.

But now, looking at the elders before him, Lin Xuan could not help but feel that the entire arrangement had become a joke.

Well, it seems this council has outlived its usefulness, Lin Xuan thought.

The hall remained silent after Lin Xuan’s words.

The elders lowered their heads, none of them willing to challenge him again. The atmosphere had changed completely, and everyone could feel that the balance of power within the Lin Family had shifted.

After several breaths, Lin Shuli stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

"Patriarch, may I make a request?"

Lin Xuan glanced at her.

"Go ahead."

Lin Shuli kept her head lowered as she spoke.

"Would you be willing to give the Elder Council one final opportunity to prove themselves useful?"

Lin Xuan’s eyebrows rose slightly.

Lin Shuli continued carefully, "I do not ask this on behalf of the elders who have acted improperly. I ask because the council was originally established to challenge the authority of the Patriarch and wish to correct the mistakes of the past."

She slowly raised her head and met Lin Xuan’s gaze.

"If the council continues to disappoint you, then I will personally accept whatever decision you make regarding it."

The other elders looked at her in surprise as Lin Shuli bowed once more.

"But before you decide its fate, I humbly ask that you allow us one chance to prove that the Elder Council can truly serve the Lin Family."

Lin Xuan stared at her and the two exchanged a knowing glance.

He gave a light nod before speaking.

"Alright. Show me that this Elder Council can actually be useful to the Lin Family."

His voice remained calm as he continued.

"If you fail to do so, I will disband the council and, according to our clan’s traditions, bring in stronger cultivators to replace you."

The elders’ expressions changed slightly.

Lin Xuan watched their reactions without saying anything.

There is no way I’m actually going to do that.

But these power-hungry elders won’t know and they certainly won’t want to lose their positions.

After all, the only people in the Lin Family who were stronger than this group of useless elders were the kids under Lin Zhaoyue’s command.

And that was the important part, they were kids.

Now that the stick had been established, Lin Xuan needed to offer them a carrot.

He reached into his spatial ring and took out twenty bottles of Golden Core Pills before placing them in front of the elders.

The elders stared at the bottles, their expressions changing immediately.

Lin Xuan looked at them calmly before saying, "If any of you show enough improvement in the task you are assigned, I will reward you with Golden Core Pills."

The elders audibly gulped, and the atmosphere in the hall seemed to change instantly.

A cultivator was, at the end of the day, still human. They were not so different from mortals, except that they had been fortunate enough to sense the spiritual qi in the world and use it to strengthen and evolve their bodies.

Their bodies might have changed, but their greed, desires, and excitement had never truly disappeared.

They were still human beings.

The only difference was that a cultivator had a weapon in his hands while a mortal did not.

One of the elders looked at the twenty bottles before cautiously asking, "Patriarch, can we really receive such a grand reward?"

"Yes," Lin Xuan confirmed before turning his attention toward Elder Shushu’s wife and her two children.

"You may leave us. Once we have finished our discussion, I will come and visit you."

The woman immediately bowed respectfully and gathered her two children before leaving the hall. She did not say anything else, quietly leading them away as Lin Xuan watched them disappear through the doors.

Once they were gone, Lin Xuan turned back toward the elders.

"We are currently in the middle of the Winter Harvest," he said, his tone becoming more serious. "As elders of the family, let us make sure the event proceeds safely and that conflicts within the city are kept to a minimum. If I see satisfactory results, I’ll reward those elders with a bottle."

The response following that was far more enthusiastic than ever.

"Yes, Patriarch!"

"We will make sure there are no unnecessary conflicts."

"We will handle the arrangements immediately."

With the threat of losing their positions and the temptation of Golden Core Pills now placed before them, the elders suddenly became remarkably cooperative.

One agenda after another was brought forward, discussed, and dealt with smoothly. Problems that might previously have taken hours of arguing were resolved within minutes.

Two whole hours later, Lin Xuan finally concluded the meeting and leaned back in his chair.

Wow. I can’t believe how efficient everything becomes when I’m the only one with absolute power.

Meanwhile, back in Lin Xuan’s private courtyard, the Empress of the Tianhe Empire was resting in the garden.

Mu Qingya sat beneath a tree, her beautiful face carrying a complicated expression. Every now and then, she sighed quietly.

"Only thirty-two..."

She lowered her head and muttered to herself, still unable to accept it.

"You’re young enough to be my son, yet somehow I’ve already made you my Junior Brother. What am I even doing?"

She sighed again, rubbing her forehead.

"Aunty, are you okay?"

A small voice suddenly came from nearby.

Mu Qingya’s body immediately stiffened.

She turned around quickly only to find a little girl standing nearby and staring at her curiously.

Mu Qingya’s eyes widened.

How did a Qi Refinement cultivator sneak up on me?

Her expression immediately changed as she repeat her own thought.

Wait. Qi Refinement?

She stared at the little girl for another moment before asking, "What’s your name, little girl?"

The child tilted her head innocently before smiling.

"Me? My name is Lin Zhaoxi. What’s your name, pretty aunty?"

Mu Qingya froze.

"Uh, I..."

For some reason, she suddenly found herself nervous in front of a child.

"My name is Mu Qingya," she finally replied instinctively.

The moment the words left her mouth, she blinked.

I’m nervous in front of a child?

Mu Qingya stared at Lin Zhaoxi in disbelief.

"Mu Qingya? Wow, that’s a beautiful name, Big Sister!" Zhaoxi exclaimed as she raised her little hand toward her.

Then she tilted her head and looked at Mu Qingya with wide, curious eyes. "Big Sister, why are you so pretty?"

Mu Qingya stared at her suspiciously for a moment.

Then again, what was the point of being suspicious of a child who clearly had no idea who she was?

"Thank you, Little Xi," Mu Qingya said with a small smile as she reached out and picked the little girl up. "Can you tell me about your mommy and daddy?"

"Mommy and daddy?" Zhaoxi repeated enthusiastically before shaking her head. "I don’t have any."

Mu Qingya’s smile immediately faded.

"Ah, I’m sorry," she quickly apologized, realizing that she had touched upon something she should not have asked about.

Zhaoxi, however, did not seem bothered. She simply smiled and continued, "But I have my granny and Uncle Xuan, so I’m good!"

"Uncle Xuan?" Mu Qingya repeated, her eyebrows lifting slightly. "You mean Lin Xuan?"

"Yes!" Zhaoxi giggled.

She leaned closer to Mu Qingya and sniffed curiously before smiling.

"Hehe, you smell good, pretty sister."