Inside the main hall of the Su Manor, the atmosphere was heavy.
Su Zhen, the head of the Su family, sat in the high seat, flanked by several family elders.
Lin Yuan stood in the center of the hall. Su Qingyue tried to stand by his side, but a maid gently pulled her back.
“Lin Yuan, I called you here today to discuss the matter of your marriage contract with Qingyue,” Su Zhen said, getting straight to the point. His voice was devoid of emotion.
“Please speak, Uncle Su,” Lin Yuan replied, his manner neither humble nor arrogant.
Su Zhen looked at him deeply. “Your parents set this contract years ago, hoping our families would maintain a friendship for generations.”
“But circumstances have changed. Qingyue has awakened an S-rank ability and is destined to walk the path of the powerful. Whereas you...”
He didn't finish the sentence, but the implication was clear.
An elder chimed in, “Lin Yuan, we aren't snobs. But you must understand what an S-rank user means to the family and the entire Human Alliance. Qingyue’s future shouldn't be shackled by a piece of paper.”
“So, what is the Su family’s intention?” Lin Yuan asked calmly.
Su Zhen’s expression turned somber as he said coldly, “The engagement is annulled!”
Lin Yuan wasn't surprised in the slightest. He continued, “You can annul the engagement, but you must hand over the items my parents left with the Su family.”
Su Zhen’s face shifted instantly. “How do you know about that?”
“My father mentioned it in a letter he left behind,” Lin Yuan lied.
In reality, he had no idea what his parents had deposited with the Su family; he was merely guessing based on fragments of memory.
The hall fell into a dead silence.
After a long pause, Su Zhen spoke again, his voice still cold. “No. In your current state, those things would be useless even if you had them.”
Hearing this, Lin Yuan’s expression turned frigid.
“Then the Su family intends to embezzle what my parents left behind?”
Su Zhen stared at Lin Yuan silently, as if seeing the shadow of Lin Yuan’s father in him. He eventually sighed.
“Fine. For the sake of Brother Lin, and to give you a chance, I will propose a solution.”
He paused before continuing, “Ten days from now, at the Donghai Arena, you and Qingyue will have a public match. If you can hold out against her for ten minutes without being defeated, I will give the items to you. If you can't...”
“Father!” Su Qingyue couldn't help but interject. “That’s not fair! I’m an S-rank, and Lin Yuan is...”
“Qingyue, be quiet,” Su Zhen said coldly. “This is the family’s decision.”
Seeing Su Qingyue’s anxious look, a surge of warmth rose in Lin Yuan’s heart.
At least this girl was sincere toward him.
“I accept,” Lin Yuan suddenly said.
Everyone in the hall was stunned.
“What did you say?” an elder asked in disbelief.
“I said, I accept the challenge.” Lin Yuan’s gaze swept across everyone present.
“I'll see you at the arena in ten days. However, the conditions need to change slightly.”
He looked at Su Zhen and said, word by word, “There’s no need for the ten-minute limit. If I lose, the contract is dissolved, and you can keep the items. I, Lin Yuan, will have nothing more to do with the Su family from then on. But...”
At this point, a sharp glint flashed in Lin Yuan’s eyes. “If I win, the contract is still dissolved, but the Su family must return the item my parents left here.”
The elders exchanged looks before Su Zhen slowly nodded. “Fine, I agree. But Lin Yuan, think carefully. While Qingyue won't strike too hard, the power of an S-rank ability—even at one percent—is not something an F-rank can withstand.”
“I understand.” Lin Yuan turned to Su Qingyue and gave her a gentle smile. “See you in ten days.”
With that, he left the Su Manor without looking back.
Ten days from now, the entire city would be shaken.
...
The gates of the Su Manor slammed shut behind Lin Yuan.
He didn't turn around; his steps were even lighter than when he had arrived.
Having a match with an S-rank ice user in ten days would make anyone else’s legs turn to jelly, but Lin Yuan was thinking about something else.
He didn't actually care if the Su family wanted to break the engagement.
Originally, he had planned to agree to Su Zhen’s proposal to annul it, but doing so would have simply played into Su Zhen’s hands.
He wouldn't have been able to get his parents' belongings back. But since Su Zhen had proposed this ten-day agreement...
Then let it begin!
As Lin Yuan walked home, he muttered to himself, “Now that I have the system and the S-rank Space-Time Ruler ability, I don't think I'll lose, even against Su Qingyue.”
He wouldn't let anyone dictate his life, not even a marriage contract his parents had made!
Yet they had chosen the stupidest way possible—trying to humiliate him with a public match.
“We’ll see who ends up humiliated.”
The corners of Lin Yuan’s mouth curled up as he quickened his pace toward the old city district.
...
It was already nine in the evening by the time he reached home.
Grandma Wang had already gone to bed, leaving a bowl of braised pork covered on the table.
Feeling a surge of warmth, Lin Yuan finished the meal in a few bites and went to his room to sit cross-legged.
The space-time fluctuations he had felt at the Awakening Square were exceptionally clear now.
It wasn't like the lightning element—a crackling, restless energy on the surface.
The space-time ability was more like a hidden river deep within his body: quiet, profound, yet containing a power that could make one's heart skip a beat.
Lin Yuan closed his eyes and tried to guide this power.
It was indeed difficult at first.
The space-time energy was like an elusive mist; every time he tried to touch it with his consciousness, it would scatter, vanish, and then reconvene elsewhere.
But Lin Yuan wasn't in a hurry.
In his previous life, he had understood one truth—truly great power never surrenders easily.
One hour passed.
Two hours passed.
Fine beads of sweat broke out on his forehead.
It wasn't until two in the morning that the "mist" finally stopped dodging and began to flow slowly along with his consciousness.
Buzz—
A soft sound erupted within his body.
It wasn't a sound, but a deeper kind of vibration.
The air around Lin Yuan distorted for a moment. The water cup on the table moved three centimeters to the left out of thin air, and the sound of insects outside suddenly slowed down, as if someone had pressed a 0.5x speed button.
Then, everything returned to normal.
【Detected Host has comprehended the space-time ability and the lightning ability has broken through to Tier 1, Level 1. System rewards have been issued.】
【Congratulations, Host has obtained: 7th-tier spear technique 《Thunder Walk Through Nine Heavens》】
【Detected Host is a novice. A newbie bonus is now being issued.】
【Newbie Bonus: The difficulty of increasing proficiency in 《Thunder Walk Through Nine Heavens》 has been drastically reduced!】
Lin Yuan was stunned.
“Wait.” He opened his eyes, his expression a bit subtle.
“I'm an F-rank lightning user, and you give me a 7th-tier lightning technique?”
Was this system serious?
But the moment he opened the purple-glowing manual and his consciousness touched the first page, all his doubts vanished.
《Thunder Walk Through Nine Heavens》—on the surface, it was a lightning spear technique, but in reality, it was in harmony with the Dao of Heavenly Thunder.
It didn't just use lightning energy to drive spear moves; it used the spear’s momentum to call down heavenly thunder. Every strike was like a bolt of lightning—a spear strike was a heavenly punishment.
Most importantly, the requirement this technique had for lightning ability rank was simply "must have lightning."
F-rank? That was enough.
Lin Yuan took a deep breath, suppressing his excitement.
He was currently lacking two things: a spear and Ability Points.
The weapon would be easy to handle.
Early the next morning, Lin Yuan pulled out the bankbook his parents had left under the bedboard.
There wasn't much money in it—an emergency fund his father had saved up, totaling about thirty thousand Huaxia coins.
In the northern part of Donghai City, there was an ability user trading market. It was a chaotic place where everything from low-level monster materials to discarded standard-issue equipment was sold.
Lin Yuan circled the market for a long time before finally stopping in front of an old man’s stall.
A long spear was stuck in the corner of the stall. The shaft was a dusty grey and looked quite old.
Faint, dense patterns could be seen on the shaft, and the spearhead was well-maintained, glinting with a cold light.
“Good eye, kid.” The old man looked up at him.
“E-rank Tier 1, tungsten steel alloy spear. The head is infused with a bit of monster bone powder, giving it an armor-piercing effect against low-level monsters. Three thousand five hundred.”
Lin Yuan didn't haggle.
It wasn't that he was generous, but the moment the spear was in his hand, he knew—this was the one.
The spear felt slightly heavy. The 2.1-meter-long shaft perfectly matched his height.
The patterns on the shaft weren't for decoration; they were anti-slip grooves that provided a solid grip, ensuring it wouldn't slip during combat.
“Deal.”
After paying, Lin Yuan bought some basic wilderness supplies, leaving his balance in the double digits.
So poor.
But with the spear in hand, the next step was simple—kill monsters and earn Ability Points.
Rate on N.U.
