Xia He was brought back from outside about four or five years ago. Strictly speaking, she is the illegitimate daughter his son had outside the family.

Ever since she was young, she had always lived in the lower realm. Her personality was fiery and aggressive, always eager to show off her strength, overconfident and obsessed with justice. But in truth, such a personality was completely unfit for survival in the cultivation world—a world where it was all too easy to offend others. Yet, what could be done? Xia He was simply too talented. Her spirit source surged like a torrent, and naturally, she was deeply favored.

Even when Xia He, out of pure defiance, secretly enrolled in a second-grade Dao sect, he didn’t feel even a hint of guilt about it. Now, having heard that Lin Mo had managed to make Xia He completely obedient, and even taught her the logic of surviving in the cultivation world, Lin Jingtao could only say—he was thoroughly satisfied with Lin Mo. Originally, the Lin and Xia families were well-matched in terms of status. Not to mention Lin Mo’s strength and talent.

Now, witnessing Lin Mo’s mindset—how he made the Chen family suffer and even pay up with just a few words—Lin Jingtao was so impressed he nearly wanted to adopt Lin Mo as his godson.

At this point, Lin Nantian said, “These are matters of the younger generation. They should be the ones to decide for themselves.” He knew that his grandson likely had feelings for the woman standing next to him—that same woman who was Jiang Yanran’s senior sister. Naturally, it wasn’t appropriate for him to make decisions for Lin Mo on such matters.

Gu Qingxue, having listened to the conversation between Lin Nantian and Xia Jingtao, lowered her head slightly. She was just an ordinary mortal—without memory, without strength—how could she possibly be a match for her Brother Lin Mo?

“Don’t overthink it.” Lin Mo noticed her emotional state and gently ruffled her hair.

At that moment, the feline deity-form of Qu Rumian also spotted Xia He. “Xia…” Just as she was about to pounce on her eagerly, she was yanked back by Lin Mo, who also covered her mouth.

“If you still want candy, don’t go exposing your identity like that.” Lin Mo reminded her.

“There’s no need for Lin Mo to cover my mouth,” Qu Ruyan had already raised her little paw and covered her own mouth.

Xia He glanced at Lin Mo’s spiritual pet, and somehow felt as if that little thing had been about to greet her just now? Was that… an illusion?

Xia Jingtao turned to Lin Mo and asked, “Little one, what do you think?”

Lin Mo replied bluntly, “I have absolutely no interest in your granddaughter. I only looked after her because she’s my junior sister. That’s all.”

Everyone present was stunned. They thought even if Lin Mo didn’t like Xia He, he would at least say something polite. No one expected him to be so direct. Refusing to marry Xia He like this was practically a slap to the Xia family’s face.

Upon hearing Lin Mo’s words, Xia He only felt emptiness in her heart. Strangely though, the truth didn’t hurt as much as she thought it would. Thinking about it… perhaps it was actually better to keep this kind of relationship with her senior brother.

As she remembered the relationship she had agreed upon with her senior brother, she suddenly felt… uncomfortable. What was happening to her? Even she didn’t understand. Could it be that deep down, she was truly that hopelessly pathetic kind of person?

If Lin Mo could hear Xia He’s inner thoughts, he would surely tell her: You’ve developed a servant’s mindset—you’ve already started treating him as your master.

But this servant mindset was different from that of Qu Ruyan. Even if she obeyed Lin Mo physically and emotionally, she would never place herself on equal footing with him.

“Uncle Lin Mo, even if Xia He is a bit wild outside, she’s totally obedient to you, isn’t she? She’s a real beauty practically delivering herself to your door, and you’re turning her down?” Lin Tian popped up beside them, shaking his head in pity.

In his heart, he couldn’t help but sigh—why hadn’t he ever had such luck in his life? To meet a high-quality woman who actually liked him?

If Xia He had been obedient to him like she was to Lin Mo, he’d probably smile in his dreams—he definitely wouldn’t have refused such a marriage.

“Mind your own business,” Lin Mo said coldly, giving Lin Tian a kick that sent him flying.

But even after being kicked, Lin Tian didn’t seem angry. Instead, he found Lin Mo’s reaction amusing and was immediately delighted. Maybe, just maybe—this kind of charm was exactly why Uncle Lin Mo was so well-liked?

Lin Qingqing saw Lin Tian acting all cocky after being kicked, and stepped forward to ask, “You alright?”

Lin Tian, mimicking Lin Mo’s earlier expression, put on a cold face and said, “Mind your own business.”

“Idiot.” And with that, Lin Tian was kicked again.

Right after that, Lin Tian was kicked several more times by Lin Qingqing. With his nose bruised and his face swollen, Lin Tian still hadn’t figured it out. Last time, whether it was slapping Xia He or telling Lin Qingqing “Mind your own business” this time—he was clearly imitating Lin Mo’s way of doing things. So why was he still so unwelcome?

This time, Xia Jingtai thought of how bluntly Lin Mo had rejected him before, but instead of getting angry, he smiled and said, “Then, are you interested in becoming my god-grandson?”

Lin Nantian didn’t like that one bit. With a dark face, he said, “Old man Xia, what are you trying to say? I’m not dead yet.”

“If you’re not dead, does that mean I can’t take your grandson as my god-grandson?” Xia Jingtai laughed teasingly. In his view, even if this marriage match didn’t go through, he still had to pull closer ties with Lin Mo.

“I don’t care! In any case, you’re not allowed to target my grandson!” Lin Nantian snorted coldly.

“Oh, is that so?” Xia Jingtai looked toward Lin Zhan and said, “You…”

Lin Zhan trembled all over and quickly cut in, “I don’t want to be your grandson either.”

Gu Ningxin rolled her eyes at her husband and said, “He’s trying to take you in as a godson.” Why hadn’t she realized before that her husband actually had such a comedic side?

Xia Qianqiu stepped out, bowed slightly to Lin Mo, and said, “Brother Lin, do you still remember what you said in the secret realm?”

Lin Mo smiled and replied, “I said quite a lot. Which sentence are you talking about?”

Xia Qianqiu smiled. “You said that if I didn’t mind what you did later, you’d be willing to befriend me—right?”

Lin Mo thought for a moment. He did seem to recall saying something like that. He found Xia Qianqiu to be a decent person. Befriending him wouldn’t be a bad thing. Most importantly, it would bring the Lin and Xia families closer. If something happened in the future, the Lin family might have more support.

Seeing Lin Mo agree, Xia Qianqiu smiled again and added, “But I don’t just want to be friends with you.”

Lin Mo looked at him with confusion, waiting for him to continue.

“I want to become sworn brothers with you.”

That caught Lin Mo completely off guard. He hadn’t interacted much with Xia Qianqiu—their only major encounter ended with him seriously injuring the guy. Could it be that the Xia family people… all had a bit of a masochistic streak?

Xia Jingtai laughed and said, “That’s a great idea. Kid, are you willing?”

Over on Xia He’s side, she also thought it was a great idea. If her elder brother became sworn brothers with Lin Mo, she’d have more reason to see him again. And it would be easier to get slapped by Lin Mo again too. Thinking about that, Xia He couldn’t help but reveal a silly smile.

In the end, Lin Mo agreed to become sworn brothers with Xia Qianqiu. Xia Qianqiu was very tactful. Even though he was a year older than Lin Mo, he still insisted that Lin Mo be the elder brother. With this, the Lin and Xia families basically became half-relatives—they’d be able to support each other from now on.

With that settled, Lin Mo finally felt at ease. It was time to return to the sect and handle the unfinished matters.

Just as Lin Mo was preparing to fly his sword back to the sect, Xia He said, “Senior Brother, can I go back with you…?”

Lin Mo asked, puzzled, “What would you go back for?”

From his earlier conversation with Xia Qianqiu, he’d learned that the Xia family didn’t want Xia He joining Qingling Sect.

At this moment, Xia Jingtai said, “You don’t need to return. The cultivation resources and techniques in our family are no worse than what Qingling Sect has.”

Lin Nantian agreed with this view. “Mo’er, why don’t you just quit the sect?”

Lin Zhan and Gu Ningxin also urged Lin Mo to stay. He had joined Qingling Sect as a child to give himself a backer for his parents. Now that things were better, Lin Nantian was reluctant to let this grandson of his stay far away in Qingling Sect.

After all, he could cultivate just fine at home. More importantly, Lin Mo could teach the younger generation of the Lin family. The younger ones were happy to follow him and gain more real experience. They had also heard—Lin Mo was now the Senior Brother of Qingzhu Peak.

Every day, he have to bring along junior brothers and sisters—it’s utterly exhausting. They can’t even wear their robes properly, and resources are scarce. Honestly, it’d be better to just return to the Lin family.

Besides, with his grandson’s aptitude, if he’s going to join a sect, it should be one of the top-tier immortal sects. That Lingjian Sect sounds perfect—his grandson is quite good with the sword, after all.

At this point, this wasn’t just Lin Nantian’s opinion—everyone in the Lin family thought the same way.

Lin Mo is an outstanding talent. Everyone knows Qingling Sect isn’t the final destination. The Qingling Sect is always external; the Lin family is the real foundation. If Lin Mo stays with them, it wouldn’t be hard at all for the Lin family to return to their main house in the Upper Realm.

Lin Mo could also feel that the people of the Lin family genuinely didn’t want him to stay. He smiled. “This time, I’m going back to Qingling Sect… to withdraw from the sect.”

Xia He exclaimed in surprise, “Senior Brother, you’re going to quit the Qingling Sect?” But after saying it, she realized—it didn’t sound all that strange. With his talent and insight, he indeed had better paths for his future development.

Besides, in Qingling Sect, the other senior brothers all seemed to hold grudges against Lin Mo. At first, she hadn’t had a good impression of Lin Mo either, mostly because of the gossip she had heard—that he was cold and unapproachable, violent in temperament, and unfriendly to his fellow disciples.

But after spending time with him, she realized that Lin Mo’s aloof demeanor was just an act. He needed to enforce discipline and do things by the rules. That so-called violent personality was only directed at enemies. And the claim that he mistreated his fellow disciples was absolute nonsense.

Even when they made plenty of mistakes, Lin Mo never ignored or abandoned them. She really didn’t understand why there were so many negative rumors about Lin Mo in the Qingling Sect. Maybe there were petty people deliberately spreading them.

Rather than staying in the sect and being bullied, Lin Mo leaving was truly the right choice. Xia He didn’t say anything more. Since Lin Mo wouldn’t be staying in Qingling Sect with her, there was no need for her to remain there either. After all, she had only joined the Qingling Sect out of spite back then. Now, there was nothing in that place that made her want to stay.

“Oh, right,” she added, “Senior Brother, after you go back, you might want to ask Fan Yan and the others if they want to leave with you.”

Lin Mo gave Xia He a surprised look. “I’ll ask them.”

Xia He blinked—her senior brother’s tone just now sounded a little gentler than usual?

Qu Ruyan, in her cat-like obedient state, also liked Xia He very much. She nearly bounced up and blurted out, “I want to leave the sect with Senior Brother too!”—but just barely held herself back.

Family matters were now settled. Xia He wouldn’t return to the sect—the Xia family would explain things on her behalf.

As for Lin Mo, he had to return to the sect one last time. Because he was the senior brother of Qingzhu Peak, he was responsible for all matters, big and small. If he was going to leave, he needed to cleanly hand over his responsibilities and personally explain things to the Peak Master.

If he vanished without a reason, he’d be labeled a traitor by the sect and would face a bounty from Qingling Sect.

Moreover, he had to provide a reason for leaving Qingzhu Peak. Otherwise, what qualifications would he have to hand things over? After all, his relationship with the Qingling Sect was already strained. If there were things that truly belonged to him, he had every right to take them with him.

Most importantly, there were still a few people on Qingzhu Peak who genuinely cared about him—bonds built over many years. It was necessary to say goodbye.