Chapter 4203: A Second Life

"Young Master Huai, hurry and pay your respects," Lu San reminded the young man in a low voice.

Only then did Lu Huai return to his senses. He hastily bowed. "Lu Huai pays his respects to..."

For the moment he did not know what else to say. Publicly, he had always referred to Lu Yin as Seventh Bro. Despite being from vastly different generations of the Lu family, Lu Huai believed that he deserved to refer to Lu Yin as “brother.” However, upon actually meeting Lu Yin face to face, Lu Huai found himself unable to say such a thing.

"Young Master Huai!" Lu San urged.

Lu Huai’s eyes flickered. He gritted his teeth. "Pays his respects to Seventh Bro."

Lu Yin calmly stared at the man. "Seventh Bro? Why are you calling me that?"

Before Lu Huai could answer, Lu Yin continued. "Who gave you permission to address me in that manner?"

Lu Huai’s face went pale.

"Tell me, what gives you the right to address me in that way?"

Being challenged three times in a row threw Lu Huai’s thoughts into chaos. He had no idea how to respond.

Lu San understood that misfortune was about to fall on Lu Huai. No one else could truly rein the young man in, not even Ancestor Lu Yuan, who seldom interfered in the affairs of his descendants. Lu Yin was different; he alone was able to determine the Lu family’s destiny.

"Kneel." Lu Yin took a single step forward, sweeping past Lu Huai while walking away.

Left behind, Lu Huai’s eyes trembled.

Here? Kneel here?

There were constantly people coming and going. Just ahead of him was the main gate to the Lu Sanctum. It was a location that countless outsiders could see.

Kneel here?

He did not want to kneel, yet an unseen pressure forced him down. This pressure did not come from any sort of suppression or power from Lu Yin, but merely from his words and the man himself.

There was no need for Lu Yin to do anything at all. His mere existence created sufficient pressure.

Clenching his fists, Lu Huai slowly sank to his knees.

Lu San sighed. He had always known that this day would come. Young Master Huai’s behavior was completely different from the young master’s. There was no chance of Lu Yin tolerating such things, and no one could save Lu Huai from his fate.

Nearby, the young members of the Lu family who had been born during the last two centuries started to stir. Each one who heard what was happening grew excited. They did not dare to openly mock Lu Huai, but they did point and whisper behind the scenes.

News quickly spread, sweeping across the Perennial World and even the entire Tianyuan.

At the moment, Lu Yin was sitting with Ancestor Lu Yuan, asking about Lu Huai.

The old man sighed. "This is due to my failure to teach him properly. The boy does not have a truly evil personality, but he is simply far too arrogant. From the moment he was born, he has been given everything, far surpassing even you in the past. Immortals, who others cannot even see, he can meet with whenever he wishes. Resources that others can only obtain by risking their lives and exhausting every means available, or relying on pure luck to obtain, are his for the asking. That is how he ended up like this."

Lu Yin asked, "Has he done anything truly heinous?"

Lu Yuan replied, "No. Rest assured, if he had, I would not have tolerated it."

Lu Yin nodded. "What does Third Uncle say?"

Third Uncle was Lu Buzheng, who was Lu Huai’s father.

Ancestor Lu Yuan rubbed his temples. "We have wronged him. He initially wanted to discipline his son himself, but when the child awakened the innate gift of teleportation, humanity was sent into a frenzy of joy, and everything related to the boy was taken out of Lu Buzheng’s hands. Furious, he simply stopped involving himself, which also contributed to the current situation."

Lu Yin understood. Lu Buzheng was not really someone suited to raising children.

"What about Ancestor Tianyi?"

"He went into seclusion long ago."

"And my father?"

"He is also in seclusion. They’re all hiding to escape the pressure of the matchmakers."

Lu Yin could not hold back a chuckle. "I understand. Leave this to me."

Ancestor Lu Yuan hesitated. He wanted to say something, but held himself back.

"Ancestor, are you unwilling?"

Ancestor Lu Yuan sighed. "We have all watched him grow up. Everyone treats him as the apple of their eye. Greater Sancti Green Lotus and Blood Tower have both met him. The fact that he managed to awaken this innate gift proves that our civilization may truly inherit the ability to teleport. He represents the hope of humanity. That makes him different in everyone’s hearts. Can you understand that?"

Lu Yin mildly stated, "If his conduct is not upright, then there is no hope. Just being an ordinary person is fine."

With that, he vanished.

Lu Huai had truly been fortunate. As the first descendant of the Lu family to awaken the innate gift of teleportation, the significance of what he represented far outweighed his actual worth, which had made humanity place him on a pedestal.

The next person to awaken the innate gift would never receive even close to the same treatment.

But no matter how great Lu Huai’s symbolic importance was, it could not hide his flaws.

Lu Huai remained on his knees for ten entire days.

During that time, countless people stopped by to see his humiliation. Passersby kept visiting the Lu Sanctum, peering in the Lu family’s gate. Many had schadenfreude in their eyes.

Lu Buzheng learned what was happening early on, yet he never made an appearance.

His head bowed, Lu Huai stared at the ground. His reputation had been completely trampled, thrown into the dust, and yet he did not dare to stand back up. That man’s words weighed upon Lu Huai like a mountain.

He might be arrogant, but he was not stupid. He knew that everything of his had come from that same man.

That man could raise him into the heavens or squash him in the dust.

At the moment, Lu Huai was in the dirt.

A shadow entered his sight. Lu Yin looked down at the young man. "How does it feel?"

Staring at Lu Yin’s shadow, Lu Huai replied, "I was wrong."

"You were not wrong."

Startled, Lu Huai raised his head to look at Lu Yin.

There he stood, his hands clasped behind his back. "The ones at fault are the Lu family and those who raised you into the sky. From the moment you were born, you were given everything, which served as the foundation of your arrogance. When a person has absolutely everything, it is the same as having nothing. A child can’t hide their true heart.

"Your symbolic meaning is too great, but in comparison, you as an individual are not nearly as valuable. You are pitiful, and what is even more pitiful is that you fail to see any of this."

Lu Huai felt lost. He truly did not understand what Lu Yin was saying.

Lu Yin stared off into the distance. What Greater Sancte Green Lotus and the others held in high regard was what Lu Huai represented, rather than the boy himself. Once the reality of what Lu Huai represented appeared, treatment matching his value was only a matter of course. What happened to the person behind everything was not something that Immortals needed to consider, nor did they see any need to. That was why the fault lay primarily with the Lu family.

It was a mistake that could only be corrected by the Lu family.

Lu Yin had used karma to examine Lu Huai’s past, and he could only describe the young man’s life as sad.

Some people were born with nothing and were forced to fight daily with everything that they had just to survive. Anything that they gained would truly be theirs. Others were born with everything, and because of that, they lost their greatest motivation. Their lives had no meaning.

Lu Huai was of the latter.

Being given everything was the same as having nothing.

Cultivation was a circle, life was a circle, and so was possession.

Everything in existence was a cycle, like the orbits of the stars.

Was it possible that the Aevum Inch itself was also a cycle?

Could all laws and patterns form cycles?

Lu Yin looked beyond the Lu Sanctum. People would occasionally pass by, and any who saw him hurried to bow.

The members of the Lu family who had been watching Lu Huai had dispersed long ago. Only Lu Yin and Lu Huai remained.

Lu Yin looked back at Lu Huai. "Because of you, I have gained a deeper understanding of the word ‘circle.’ I hope that you can gain something from this as well."

Once Lu Yin finished speaking, his Champions' Stage Purgatory appeared, and Lu Huai was thrown right in.

Life can be lived twice, so I will give you a second chance at life. We’ll see what you make of it.

The Champions' Stage Purgatory slowly started to churn.

Ancestor Lu Yuan watched with a complicated expression. He knew how the Champions' Stage Purgatory would torment any human who entered it, yet if Lu Huai wanted to continue growing, he needed to experience such suffering. Otherwise, he would end up living as an ordinary person.

The old man glanced to the side, where Lu Buzheng’s fists were clenched. Grief was plain on the man’s face.

Lu Huai was his child; how could Lu Buzheng’s heart not ache? Even so, he understood that Lu Yin was already giving the boy a chance.

Child, you must seize this opportunity!

Shortly thereafter, Qing Yun arrived at the Lu Sanctum. She stepped through the gate and saw the Champions' Stage Purgatory.

"His heart is not truly bad."

Lu Yin calmly replied, "Pain is a tonic that everyone needs to experience. A life that is too smooth proves to actually be the hardest road of all to walk."

Qing Yun glanced sideways at Lu Yin. "Mr. Lu, if Lu Huai had done something even worse, would you still have given him a chance?"

"No."

"He is a member of your Lu family, and because he has awakened the ability to teleport, he represents your clan’s reputation."

"The Lu family’s reputation is earned by the family itself. It does not need to be held up and protected."

"Your actions might cause outsiders to believe that you are doing this for the sake of your own reputation," Qing Yun said.

Granny Yin could not hold herself back. "Young miss, mind your words."

Lu Yin turned and smiled at Qing Yun. "That’s possible."

Qing Yun was surprised. "Do you not care, sir?"

Lu Yin smiled faintly. "Lu Huai has been punished, allowing the people that he has bullied to receive redress. I have also upheld my own reputation. Everything has turned out well. Why should I care?"

"But Lu Huai..." She had wanted to say that he was the unlucky one, yet he also deserved to be punished. There was nothing wrong with what he was receiving.

Lu Yin said nothing more.

Qing Yun stared at him. Some people’s way of thinking had long since broken free of all restraints. They simply did what was needed to reach their goals. To them, things were as simple as that.

Many people made things far more complicated than was necessary.

Greater Sancte Green Lotus and the others had protected what Lu Huai represented, which was enough. What happened to the man himself was the Lu family’s concern, not that of the Immortals.

What the Lu family needed to do was similarly simple: correct Lu Huai. The significance of the fact that he had awakened the ability to teleport would not change, and that was enough.

There was no need to overthink things.

"Perhaps I am better suited for that peaceful land of seven colors..." Qing Yun murmured to herself.

Lu Yin’s eyes sharpened, and he instantly turned to look at the woman. "What did you just say?"

Qing Yun’s expression shifted slightly. "Nothing."

Lu Yin stared at her, yet as he opened his mouth to speak, Granny Yin spoke up. "Mr. Lu, we should be going. We will take our leave."

As she spoke, she moved to lead Qing Yun away.

Lu Yin’s eyes never left Qing Yun. "What did you just say?"

Granny Yin turned around and bowed to Lu Yin. "Mr. Lu, we..."

A single glance from Lu Yin killed the words in Granny Yin’s throat. She did not dare to say anything further.

Qing Yun said, "It’s all right, Granny. Mother told me not to tell anyone, but Mr. Lu is no outsider."

She turned back to Lu Yin. "That peaceful land of seven colors, the home of the Seven-Treasure Anuras, is a place I yearn for. No matter how those creatures might treat outsiders, they treat their own kindly, as family.

"That is why I often try to witness life in all its facets in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. The truth is that I am searching for that same kind of familial warmth. It is something that my mother cannot give me, and I have no father."

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Qing Yun. "How do you know what the Seven-Treasure Anuras are like? How do you know they live in a seven-colored land?"

Lu Yin had never made any of this public. The seven colors of the toads’ home was nothing more than a geographical trait, and it was unrelated to the Seven-Treasure Anuras themselves.

Qing Yun said, "I saw it."

Lu Yin eyebrows shot up. "You saw it?"

Qing Yun nodded.

"Do you have any idea how far their home is from us?"

"And yet I can see it."

Lu Yin remembered that Greater Sancte Awe Gate had mentioned a civilization that focused on eye techniques. He scrutinized Qing Yun. "Is that your innate gift?"

She nodded.

Lu Yin quickly understood. Qing Yun’s father had to be a member of that civilization with the vision techniques. How else could she have such an innate gift?

Greater Sancte Awe Gate’s attitude when Lu Yin had asked her about that civilization also became easy to understand.

Granny Yin felt completely helpless. Her young miss had already spoken, which meant that there was nothing that the old lady could do about things. When they returned, she would simply have to beg Greater Sancte Awe Gate for forgiveness.