The Lin's Patriarch is weird.

Chapter 151: 151. Winds of change.

Lin Xuan had only just returned to his office when the system message suddenly appeared before him.

[Congratulations! One of your clan members has successfully ascended into the Golden Core Realm.]

[Reward: 5x Small Pristine Spirit Stones.]

"Huh..."

Lin Xuan stared at the notification for a moment.

His first thought, however, was not about the reward.

Then where was the reward when Zhaoyue entered the Golden Core Realm?

The system simply fell silent as though it had never heard his question.

A moment later, five small pristine spirit stones appeared before him.

Lin Xuan looked at the five stones floating in the air before casually reaching out and collecting them.

"Well, this is nice."

He put the matter aside.

There was little point dwelling on a question the system clearly had no intention of answering.

Lin Xuan entered his office and resumed the mountain of work that awaited him.

By the time the sun reached its highest point in the sky, a knock sounded on the office door.

"Come in."

The door opened, and Su Qinglan walked inside.

She approached without haste before taking the seat opposite him. There was a faint smile on her face as she looked at Lin Xuan.

"What is this, Clan Leader? I heard that there is talk of constructing another hall within the clan."

"Ah, yes."

Lin Xuan put down the document he had been reading.

"It all happened so quickly that I forgot to have someone brief you about it."

Su Qinglan laughed softly.

"Looks like someone in the clan has finally realized how overworked I’ve been."

Lin Xuan could only give an awkward laugh.

"Ha ha..."

Her words were delivered lightly, but Lin Xuan knew better than to mistake them for a simple complaint.

The Lin Family had grown too quickly.

After pushing the Li family out of Azure Willow city, he aggressively expanded the businesses of the family and new responsibilities continued to pile onto the existing elders.

Most of the elders who held important positions within the family possessed enough talent to eventually enter the Golden Core Realm.

Their greatest problem was not talent.

It was resources.

Pills were scarce during those days and time itself was a resource.

Every hour they spent handling clan affairs was another hour they could not devote to cultivation.

As the Lin Family continued expanding, the workload placed upon these elders had become increasingly severe.

They were not merely lacking resources for cultivation.

They were being worked to the bone.

Lin Xuan looked at Su Qinglan for a moment before sighing inwardly.

Perhaps constructing another hall was not merely a matter of expanding the clan’s facilities.

It was time to give the people carrying the Lin Family on their shoulders a chance to breathe.

Lin Xuan leaned back slightly in his chair before looking at Su Qinglan.

"Elder Su, how do you feel about having to give up some of your authority?"

Su Qinglan raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you ask? It actually felt great."

Yet the moment she lowered her gaze, the smile on her face faded.

"Your mother would have loved this."

A faint sadness surfaced within her eyes.

For a moment, she remained silent, lost in memories that had been buried for many years.

Lin Xuan said nothing.

His mother had been born into the Su Family, and to Su Qinglan, she had never merely been the daughter-in-law of the Lin Family.

She had been like an elder sister whom she had deeply respected.

Within the Lin Family, if Lin Zhenghai had once been the wings supporting his father, then Su Qinglan had been the wings supporting his mother.

The two of them had been among the people his parents trusted most.

Yet the paths they had eventually taken could not have been more different.

Lin Zhenghai had allowed greed to corrupt the trust placed in him.

Su Qinglan, however, had spent all these years proving through her actions why Lin Xuan’s mother had entrusted the clan’s affairs to her.

She had never betrayed that trust.

Lin Xuan’s expression softened.

"I agree."

He suddenly laughed.

"Mother would probably have scolded me terribly if she found out I had been making you work this hard."

"Hahaha!"

Su Qinglan laughed as well.

Her eyes carried a trace of nostalgia.

"Little Xuan, you’ve truly grown up splendidly."

The words were simple, but there was genuine warmth behind them.

Then, as though realizing that she had allowed the conversation to drift toward a painful subject, Su Qinglan quickly added,

"Don’t worry, little Xuan. Sister Su’s lamp is still ignited within the Su family. There is still hope that she will return one day."

Lin Xuan merely gave a small nod.

He knew that was a lie.

It was a lie that the Su Family had used for years to squeeze resources and money out of the Lin Family.

His mother was almost certainly dead but Su Qinglan did not know that.

As far as she was concerned, the woman she revered as an elder sister was still somewhere in the vast world, waiting to return.

At this point, it was nothing short of a false hope yet Lin Xuan could not bring himself to destroy it.

"You’re right."

He gave her a faint smile.

"We can’t lose hope."

His expression gradually became serious.

"But I also believe the Lin Family should join the search."

Su Qinglan’s eyes widened slightly.

"However, our current strength is still too weak."

Lin Xuan leaned forward.

"So how about this? You take leave from your current duties and hand them over to someone you trust."

"What?"

Su Qinglan immediately shook her head.

"But the talented ones need time to grow. We can’t allow them to become entangled in clan responsibilities so early."

She looked at him seriously.

"It’s fine, Patriarch. I’m perfectly capable of handling several positions at once."

Her tone became somewhat firm.

"Don’t let the younger generation take over these responsibilities. They should be focusing on cultivation instead."

Lin Xuan listened quietly, then he shook his head.

"Elder Su, I think it’s time we stop allowing cultivation strength to determine who is qualified to lead.

I’ve encountered quite a few people within the clan who possess excellent judgment, organization, and leadership ability, yet because their cultivation is insufficient, they are never given the opportunity to make use of those talents."

He placed his hands on the desk.

"Strength is important for the Lin Family, but it isn’t the only thing that matters.

If we continue assigning authority only to those with high cultivation, then we will eventually waste countless talented people simply because they were born with weaker cultivation talent."

Su Qinglan stared at him, unable to comprehend what he had just said. After a moment, she finally asked, "You mean to say you intend to place those weaker cultivators in positions of authority?"

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