Heroes Return

"Hehe! I don't deserve that." Lin Jie scratched his head and said, "But I think I made my brother angry."

"Hmph! With such a powerful older brother like you, he can only be happy! How could he dare to be angry?" The patriarch snorted coldly at this moment, and then his tone became friendly again when he looked at Lin Jie: "I heard from Changping that you have been away all these years, is that right?"

“Oh, I’ve always lived in H City,” Lin Jie said.

"Is that so?" the Lin family patriarch said with some emotion, "I really feel sorry for your family."

"There's nothing to apologize for," Lin Jie said. "We're very happy, and that's enough."

"Is that so?" After hearing Lin Jie's words, the patriarch said, "Even so, it was one of the mistakes Changping made by driving your family out of the Lin family. In that case, why don't I, the patriarch, give your family some compensation?"

"Huh? Compensation?" Lin Jie said in surprise, "That's not necessary."

“Compensation is a must, and you don’t need to refuse,” the Lin family patriarch said. “At the same time, I also plan to give your sister Lin Wan and that little girl named Lin Mumu some considerable benefits.”

"Oh? Really, it's not necessary," Lin Jie said.

“I am the father of your great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, how could I mistreat a junior?” the patriarch said. “So you just obediently accept the compensation I’m giving you.”

"Oh, then tell me what kind of compensation you'd like," Lin Jie said. This person in front of him was practically his ancestor by blood, and since the other party had already brought it up, Lin Jie couldn't say anything more.

"Before that, I'd like to ask you a question, and I hope you can answer me honestly," said the Lin family patriarch. "Is it true that you possess the sword cultivation legacy of Senior Qingxuanzi?"

Upon hearing the words of the Lin family patriarch, Lin Jie couldn't help but recall scenes from his past.

At that time, Lin Jie did not understand swords. He had just become Zero. It was raining heavily that day. In the suburbs of H City, there was a strange alternate dimension. A wordless stele stood there, and an ancient sword stood in front of the stele.

When he touched the ancient sword, he saw a sight that shocked him for the first time in his life.

A man was fighting. But his opponent was neither human, nor demon, nor god, devil, or monster. He was fighting against the heavens! At that time, Lin Jie craved power, so he witnessed scene after scene.

That was the demeanor of a righteous and upright swordsman who wielded his sword across the land.

Seeing Lin Jie fall silent, the Lin family patriarch assumed that Lin Jie was unwilling to speak, so he said, "You can rest assured, I have no interest in the opportunity you obtained, and those inheritances are simply beyond my ability to learn. What I am truly interested in is only to carry forward the family's glory."

"So that guy's name is Qing Xuanzi," Lin Jie said, coming back to his senses.

“I’ve seen that strike you used today before,” said the Lin family patriarch. “That wasn’t a sword technique, but a saber technique. Am I right?”

“You’re the first person to recognize the sword technique ‘One Sword Cold Light’,” Lin Jie said.

"The sword energy stretches across 30,000 miles, and the cold light of a single sword shines across nineteen provinces! I was fortunate enough to see that senior wield this sword when I was young," the ancestor said. "I never imagined that after a hundred years, I would have the honor of seeing it again."

"Hehehe, this was actually an accident," Lin Jie said.

"So you've inherited the legacy of that old sword immortal, is that right?" the Lin family patriarch asked.

"Yes, that's how it is," Lin Jie said.

"Alright, now I'll tell you about the compensation I'm going to give you," the Lin family patriarch said to Lin Jie. "I've decided to hand over the entire Lin family to you!"

Hearing the ancestor's words, Lin Jie was completely stunned. "Huh? Could it be that I've finally unleashed my domineering aura? Like in those novels, once I release my domineering aura, my underlings will bow down. But this doesn't make sense! It's not like my underlings are bowing down; it's like my ancestors are bowing down to me after I release my domineering aura!"

While the neighbor was lost in a jumble of thoughts, Lin Changping, standing nearby, wore an expression that said, "I knew it."

"I think your decision was a bit too hasty," Lin Jie said in surprise.

“It’s nothing,” Lin Changping said. “Do you know how many members of the Lin family are hidden in the World Government? There are even high-ranking officials among them. At the same time, the Lin family secretly controls quite a few giant companies. Do you know what you can get by sitting in the position of the head of the Lin family? You can immediately get countless amounts of money and power.”

"But why are you giving me these things?" the Lin family member asked in surprise.

"Because you are a sword cultivator!" the patriarch said. "That one identity alone is enough. Sooner or later you will become a true sword immortal, a being that surpasses all our ancient clans. I can give you everything you didn't have when you lived in H City! But I have only one request."

"Ok?"

"I demand that you transform the Lin family into a colossal clan that can truly rival the Holy Land," said the Lin family patriarch. "I hope you can make my Lin family a clan that will last for millennia."

"I say, your request is way too troublesome!" Lin Jie said with a look of disgust.

"Troublesome?" The patriarch snorted coldly: "Throughout history, how many people who achieve great things have not encountered trouble? Now you have the world's most unparalleled sword cultivation lineage, and sooner or later you will have the opportunity to challenge Zero! As long as you use the power of my Lin family as a foundation for development, I believe you will be the first person in the history of my Lin family to rule the world. In other words, you now have a real chance to become the king of the world."

"Damn! Another one trying to rule the world." Lin Jie sighed as he looked at the old ancestor whose chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) had resurfaced. He had finally eradicated their chuunibyou years ago, but this old ancestor had somehow managed to relapse into it again. "Don't even think about it. I have no interest. I'm perfectly content with my current life. Why would I want to try to rule the world? Isn't it good that the world is so peaceful now? Everything is developing. If I were to rule the world, I wouldn't have time to play Overwatch anymore. To be honest, I really don't understand why you guys are so eager for a completely meaningless, tiring profession. Isn't it better to just stay home and happily play games?"

"You're wasting your life on frivolous pursuits!" Lin Changping couldn't help but say. "A true man should wield a three-foot sword and build an unparalleled empire!"

"I didn't expect Grandpa's chuunibyou to be so severe." Lin Jie looked at Lin Changping and said, "If we really went to war over something like this, a lot of people would die, right? And the game would have to shut down because of it, right? What if some excellent comic artists or game producers died? Wouldn't that be a pity? I think the world should be more peaceful, and isn't it good for you to stay here and live a good life?"

"You seem to know nothing!" said the Lin family patriarch. "And why are you bothering with the affairs of those ants?"

"No one in this world is an ant!" Lin Jie's expression suddenly turned serious. "Everyone is a unique being! How could anyone be an ant? All lives are equal! There is no need for distinctions of high or low, noble or base, nor is there any need to further divide people into different classes. Therefore, I cannot agree with your views."

"Hmm?" The old man raised an eyebrow and said, "Looks like you've really gone mad trying to be a hero! Come to think of it, you're a complete idiot trying to be a superhero!"

"Hero? I stopped being one a long time ago." Lin Jie looked at the old man and said, "But even if I don't plan to be a hero anymore, it doesn't mean I'll become an ambitious, delusional villain! So I won't agree to your request! All I want now is a happy life."

At that moment, Lin Jie's aura immediately overwhelmed Lin Changping and the Lin family patriarch.

Chapter 19

"Hmph! What a naive idea." The Lin family patriarch sneered and said, "Even if you do nothing, someone will step forward to challenge this matter sooner or later."

“They have no chance of succeeding,” Lin Jie said calmly. “But doing such boring things in this era is not as good as playing games at home for me. Because these things are just too troublesome.”

"Is that so?" The old ancestor stared at Lin Jie and said, "Is it simply because you're afraid of trouble?"

“Okay, actually I have absolutely no interest,” Lin Jie said. “Besides, what I despise most are those people who fight and even resort to unscrupulous means for power, money, and interests. Why be so attached to things that you can’t take with you when you die? They clearly don’t have a single day of peace and happiness, so why are they unwilling to let go?”

“Because those represent a person’s achievements,” Lin Changping said to Lin Jie.

"I don't understand, does that kind of thing really represent any achievement?" Lin Jie said. "Does a person's achievement necessarily have to be measured by money and strength? That's ridiculous."

“Naive boy,” the Lin family patriarch said, “It seems you haven’t given up on those so-called superhero ideas! Speaking of which, there seem to be many more people as foolish as you these days. They’re all influenced by that guy named Zero.”

“But don’t I think this kind of world is very interesting?” Lin Jie said, “The world would be better as it is now, so you should put aside all this boring chuunibyou.”

"It seems I can't persuade you," said the Lin family patriarch. "In that case, I'll preside over your return ceremony after the clan meeting tomorrow. We can discuss this matter later. But I must remind you of something: even if you possess great individual strength, without a powerful force, it will be difficult for you to protect those you want to protect. After all, you are all alone."

"Then I just need to become stronger, strong enough to protect everyone by myself." Lin Jie replied to the Lin family patriarch, "If I can't protect the people I need to protect, it only shows that I'm too weak. In that case, I will at least try my best to become stronger, strong enough to solve all dangers with power!"

"Do you really think so?" the Lin family patriarch asked.

"Of course I think so." Lin Jie looked at the Lin family patriarch and said, "In addition, there is something else I need to make clear to you. I have no intention of returning to the family genealogy."

"What did you say?" Lin Changping said angrily, "You don't even plan to acknowledge your own ancestors?"

"How should I put it?" Lin Jie stood up. "I don't like it here. I feel like this isn't a home at all, but more like a company. Since my parents called me Lin Jie even when they died, I don't plan to change my name to Lin Yingjie."

As he spoke, Lin Jie walked towards the door: "After the clan meeting ends, my sisters and I will leave the Lin family. To be honest, we don't want to have anything to do with you. I only came here to see my brother, nothing more."

After saying that, Lin Jie walked out of the room.

After Lin Jie left, Lin Changping angrily said to the Lin family patriarch, "I never thought that Lin Jie would be such an arrogant and rebellious son! He's really a worthless person! Just like Shunshan, he's hopeless."

“That was within my expectations,” Lin Changping said. “After all, sword cultivators have always been like this: they don’t care about fame or fortune, and they always think about solving everything with the sword in their hands.”

"In that case, then we..."

“Since he is unwilling to accept the Lin family’s offer, then let him become a sword cultivator.” A glint flashed in the eyes of the Lin family patriarch: “To tell you the truth, even I am not confident that I can withstand the sword strike that Lin Jie used earlier. No one in the Lin family can withstand it.”

"What!" Lin Changping stood up in shock.

“But even so, we are not entirely without a way to subdue him,” the Lin family patriarch said. “It’s just that the price would be too high. So I don’t want to do it until the very end. Right now, I still hope that he still has some sense of family and is willing to hand over the sword cultivation inheritance voluntarily.”

"Hmph! This is his ancestral home, after all. His ancestors for eight generations have been worshipped here." Lin Changping said, "Since that kid speaks so righteously, I want to see if he would do something so outrageous as to disown his ancestors."

“Let’s wait until after the clan meeting to discuss this,” said the Lin family patriarch. “After the clan meeting, I will wait for his reply. It’s not impossible for him not to return to the clan, but he must bring out the sword cultivation inheritance.”

"Understood, I'll get started on the preparations right away," Lin Changping said.

"Alright, Changping, you can go back now." The Lin family patriarch said to Lin Changping, "By the way, I guess Shunren and Shuntian will do something tomorrow. I'll leave it to you to handle then."

"Understood, I've already made preparations." Lin Changping said, then walked towards the door. He disappeared from the room in a short while.

……

After leaving the grove, Lin Jie started running, but after running for a short while, he saw a scene that he found interesting.

At this moment, a boy and a girl were looking at each other. The boy was Lin Bai, and the girl was Lin Qian, who had been following Lin Yingnan earlier.

"Um, Sister Qian, how have you been lately?" Lin Bai looked at Lin Qian with some concern, his gaze constantly observing her.

Seeing Lin Bai's expression, Lin Qian tilted her head, thought for a moment, and then asked, "May I ask who you are?"

"What!" Upon hearing Lin Qian's answer, Lin Bai froze for a few seconds, then said in a trembling voice, "Sister Qian, can you please stop making jokes like this?! This joke isn't funny at all!"

"Hmm?" Lin Qian tilted her head and looked at Lin Bai, saying, "I'm not joking. In fact, I don't have any memories of you."

"What did you say?" Lin Bai trembled slightly; the girl's sudden words made him feel as if he had lost all strength to stand. He stared at the girl with horrified eyes and suddenly roared, "Don't joke like that! Sister Qian! This joke isn't funny at all!"

"Hmm..." After hearing his words, the girl tilted her head and thought hard for a while before saying to Lin Bai, "I'm sorry, I really can't remember where we met before."

"Are you kidding me?!" Lin Bai was almost in tears. He couldn't understand why the kind Sister Qian in front of him had become so cold. "We grew up together! We lived in the same orphanage and were adopted by the Lin family together! Sister Qian, we've lived together for more than ten years! How could you just forget me like that?!"

As he spoke, Lin Bai grabbed Lin Qian's shoulders with both hands and shook her, saying, "Tell me quickly, you're joking! Tell me you're joking with me!"

But the next second, he was sent flying by a heavy blow.

"Please don't touch me," Lin Qian said to Lin Bai. "My master forbids me from having too close contact with other people, so please don't touch me easily."

Lin Bai struggled to his feet, looking at the expressionless girl opposite him. Her current appearance was so different from the gentle, smiling Qian-jie of the past: "Why is this happening? Why have you lost your memories?! Why have you forgotten me?! What did Lin Yingnan do to you? Why have you even forgotten me?!"

"Ah! I remember now!" Lin Qian suddenly slapped her forehead, and then, under Lin Qian's somewhat excited gaze, said, "I remember now, most of my memories were deleted by my master. Maybe we really did know each other in the past."

"What did you say! Why would that guy Lin Ying do this to you?" Lin Bai said angrily.

"It seems Master said that he deleted useless memories." Lin Qian said to Lin Bai with a smile, "Because those useless memories might affect my future battles and emotions, they were all deleted. Perhaps the memories with you are among those that were not there."

"What did you say! How could memories we shared be useless?!" Lin Bai exclaimed, unable to believe it. "Those are our most precious memories!!!"

"I'm sorry, but the memories we share are definitely useless," Lin Qian said calmly. "What Master says must be right, and the decision Master makes is naturally the most correct choice."

"Are you kidding me?!" Lin Bai clenched his fists angrily. "How could something like this be right! Who would conduct such an experiment on someone for no reason? Do they mean to you..."

Lin Bai clearly wanted to say something more, but he held back and clenched his fist instead.

“Master must be right,” Lin Qian said. “Alright, I have things to do now, goodbye.”

After saying that, Lin Qian walked away into the distance.

Watching Lin Qian's departing figure, Lin Bai leaned against the wall and sat down. Looking at his clenched hands, he unconsciously said, "What a joke! How could all the little things between us become useless memories! It seems that Sister Qian must have been... Damn it! Why am I so incompetent? No, it's all that scumbag Lin Yingnan's fault! I can't believe he could do such a damn thing to his fiancée."

"Looks like you got dumped." Lin Jie's voice came to Lin Bai's ears, and Lin Bai subconsciously looked up. There he saw Lin Jie squatting on the wall, looking at him.

"Lin Yingnan..." Upon seeing Lin Jie's face, Lin Bai instinctively threw a punch at Lin Jie.

"Hey, I'm Lin Jie, not Lin Yingnan." Lin Jie caught Lin Bai's fist with his hand: "Looks like you need a couple of drinks right now."