Donghai City Is Unloved.
The second largest city on the East Sea coast of the Sun Moon Federation. An important port, maritime transport, and marine resource development city.
The city has a permanent population of over three million and is very wealthy thanks to its utilization of marine resources. Even within the entire Sun Moon Federation, it can be considered a second-tier city.
Donghai City has a long history, and its urban landscape still retains its ancient style. In recent centuries, the Sun Moon Federation has paid special attention to the protection of ancient buildings, so many thousand-year-old structures can be seen in this ancient city.
It was summer, and Donghai City, being adjacent to the coast, was naturally susceptible to typhoons.
But this typhoon was different from previous ones; compared to this one, previous typhoons seemed like minor disturbances.
The sky rapidly changed from deep blue to leaden gray, as if foreshadowing the approaching storm. The waves began to churn, changing from a calm blue to a raging white, crashing against the shore wave after wave, accompanied by thunderous roars.
The wind gradually intensified, turning from a gentle breeze into a gale, tossing the parasols and flags along the beach to the side. Leaves danced wildly in the wind, as if performing a wild dance in the air.
As the typhoon approached, the rain began to pour down, striking the windows with a crisp sound. Rainwater flowed along the streets, forming small streams, making the city scene hazy and mysterious. Some low-lying areas began to flood, with soul-guided vehicles splashing high into the air as they drove by.
In the central villa area, amidst the typhoon and torrential rain, the Xu family's internal turmoil was even more intense than the downpour.
"Go outside and kneel down!"
A stern voice, filled with overwhelming anger, rang out, striking the young man's mind and causing him to freeze in shock.
In the pouring rain and drenched by the storm, the teenage boy stood outside the door, feeling the ravages of the storm.
Rain soaked his thin clothes, and the howling wind swept through his body. He seemed like a piece of paper, as if he could be swallowed up by the storm at any moment.
Raindrops fell on the young man's handsome face, making the once spirited boy look somewhat disheveled.
But beneath the rain and in the darkness, his bright eyes remained stubborn and resolute, unaffected by the external environment.
His unwavering gaze was fixed on the people standing at the doorway inside the house.
"I told you to kneel down, don't you understand?"
The one who spoke angrily at the head of the group was a middle-aged man in a blue government uniform. His name was Xu Junwen, the head of the Xu family and the finance minister of Donghai City. He held a high position and wielded great power, so his face was imposing even without anger, and when he was angry, it was extremely oppressive.
Standing beside him were a man and a woman. The man was older, appearing to be a young man of seventeen or eighteen, and the woman was about the same age as the boy standing in the rain.
Xu Xiaoyu's face was full of gloom, and her gaze towards the boy in the rain was extremely cold.
Behind him stood a young girl with two braids and light blue hair. She was exquisitely beautiful, but seemed anxious and reluctant, glancing several times at her father, Xu Junwen, as if she wanted to say something.
However, under Xu Xiaoyu's cold gaze, she could only timidly withdraw her head and swallow her words.
Despite the raging storm and the unwarranted accusations, Lin Xiuran did not kneel. No matter how raging Xu Junwen's anger was, it never overwhelmed him.
In fact, Xu Junwen's anger today was not entirely unfounded, and Lin Xiuran was completely innocent.
The Xu family had spent a huge sum to cultivate Xu Xiaoyan, finally obtaining three entry cards to the Spirit Ascension Platform during the turbulent period, and sending Xu Xiaoyan there. Lin Xiuran and Xu Xiaoyu were there to protect her, but because of Xu Xiaoyu's momentary arrogance, their journey to the Spirit Ascension Platform was ended.
In the early stages of this journey, Xu Xiaoyan was too timid to hunt spirit beasts, so Lin Xiuran and Xu Xiaoyu did most of the hunting. Xu Xiaoyu, being stronger, was the one who did the most. However, the spiritual energy from killing spirit beasts was randomly distributed among those closest to them. Xu Xiaoyu disliked Lin Xiuran's weakness and didn't want to share her spiritual energy with him. So she left him and acted alone with Xu Xiaoyan. Later, due to carelessness, they were eliminated from Class Zero.
That's the story, but now Lin Xiuran is the one being scolded and punished because Xu Xiaoyu told Xu Junwen after returning that Lin Xiuran's departure without permission led to his elimination.
Hence, the current scene.
"If you don't kneel, never come back to this house!" Seeing that Lin Xiuran still refused to yield, Xu Junwen left only these words before taking Xu Xiaoyu and Xu Xiaoyan back into the house.
"Home?"
Lin Xiuran gave a bitter laugh, his eyes revealing a hint of bitterness. He would rather not have this family!
It wasn't that he didn't want to explain or refute, but that Xu Junwen simply wouldn't believe him.
He had been in this family for so many years. In name, Xu Junwen and Lin Xinran were his parents, but he had never received the slightest treatment that a child in this family should receive.
His parents never showed him any concern. When his older brother, Xu Xiaoyu, needed sparring, his parents, disregarding the vast difference in their abilities, sent Lin Xiuran instead. His younger sister, Xu Xiaoyan, was exceptionally talented, leading to countless problems.
He wasn't allowed to eat at the table, received no new clothes, and had a room smaller than the servants'—this was his treatment in this family for so many years. How many times
had Xu Xiaoyu framed him?
The Spirit Pagoda was under real-time surveillance. Everyone inside had their movements recorded by dedicated staff. Although Xu Junwen wasn't present, if he wanted to investigate, everything would easily come to light.
But he wouldn't!
Not only did Lin Xiuran know this clearly, but Xu Xiaoyu knew it even better, which is why she so brazenly framed him.
Letting the rain wash over him, Lin Xiuran still couldn't understand why his parents were so biased.
He had no parents in his previous life, so he had always been respectful to his parents in this life. Because of his memories from his previous life, he was precocious and sensible from a young age, yet the Xu family still didn't treat him well.
Especially after awakening his martial soul at the age of six, his martial soul was just a very ordinary wind element martial soul, the Wind Bird. After that, his family's attitude changed drastically.
He originally thought it was because of his martial soul, but no matter how hard he cultivated afterward, he couldn't change Xu Junwen and his wife's opinion of him.
Later, Lin Xiuran roughly guessed that he wasn't the Xu family's biological son, since his martial soul inheritance was neither Xu Junwen's nor Xu's mother's.
Moreover, he was not allowed to have the surname Xu from birth. He had even asked his so-called father, Xu Junwen, why he wasn't allowed to have the surname Xu, but he was met with unwarranted scolding. Later, he learned that his name was given to him by the Xu family elders.
But if they were all biological children, they probably wouldn't be so biased...
The rain continued to fall, and his heart had long been drenched by the torrential rain, turning it as cold as a river. All the warmth and expectations he had for the Xu family had been washed away by the merciless rain.
From then on, no matter how difficult the world was, no matter if it was sincere or not, as long as he stopped expecting, he would no longer be hurt.
Although there is no blood relation, the reasons why the protagonist's adoptive parents disliked him so much will be gradually explained later, and it's not just because they are not related by blood.
(End of this chapter)