385: Chapter 395 We've managed to latch onto a powerful figure!

Su Ming took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the stormy waves in his heart. He knew his Master was avoiding the main point, but he also knew that since he was still alive, the crisis had been temporarily averted.

He didn't press for more details. There were some things his Master didn't say for his own good. Currently, he didn't even have the right to know the truth.

"Then... what was the result?" Su Ming asked.

"The result is that the two of us have now found ourselves a powerful backer," Lin Yu chuckled. "From now on, you can pretty much walk tall in the Sect, and most likely, no one will dare to cross you. Of course, that's provided you don't go provoking someone at the Sect Head's level."

Su Ming was stunned.

Found a powerful backer?

"Alright, stop standing here in the cold wind," Lin Yu urged. "Let's talk back inside. Although this play is over, we still need to align our stories so we don't get exposed later."

Su Ming nodded.

He took one last look at the old pine tree and turned to walk toward his Immortal Cave.

His steps were a bit light, as if he were walking on cotton. It wasn't until he pushed open the stone door and entered the secret room filled with a familiar aura, seeing the Array Patterns flickering on the surrounding stone walls, that he felt a true sense of security.

The stone door slowly closed, isolating him from the wind, rain, and gazes of the outside world.

Su Ming sat cross-legged on a prayer mat. Instead of immediately entering meditation, he pulled a pot of cold tea from his Storage Pouch and took a large gulp.

The ice-cold tea flowed down his throat and into his stomach, making him shiver, but his mind finally cleared a bit.

"Master," Su Ming put down the teapot, "can you tell me now?"

A faint light flickered on the xuantian ring.

Lin Yu's soul form didn't emerge; instead, his voice rang directly in Su Ming's Sea of Consciousness: "The person just now discovered that I am a 'Orphan of the Shen Family'."

Su Ming was startled. "The Shen Family? Which Shen Family?"

"The Shen Family, the clan of array masters that was wiped out a thousand years ago," Lin Yu explained briefly. "It's the same excuse Sect Head Yun Miao used when he protected you at the Heart-Questioning Platform."

Su Ming's mind raced.

The Heart-Questioning Platform, the Sect Head, the Grand Elder, the Shen Family descendant, the starfall soul nurturing ring... a clear thread of clues quickly connected in his mind.

"So..." Su Ming's eyes brightened slightly, "the Sect Head was... gambling before?"

"He was gambling on the Grand Elder's old feelings for the Shen Family," Lin Yu said calmly. "And just now, the Grand Elder came in person to verify it. Fortunately, we won the bet."

Su Ming fell silent.

He thought of Sect Head Yun Miao's calm and composed demeanor on the Heart-Questioning Platform, and of Peak Master of the Law Enforcement Peak Cui Yan's eventual compromise. It turned out that the old man in the grey robe was standing behind all of this.

"Master, are you..." Su Ming hesitated, "are you really a member of the Shen Family?"

Lin Yu rolled his eyes inside the ring.

Like hell I'm a member of the Shen Family. I'm an outstanding corporate slave from the 21st century, a true successor of the red flag.

But he couldn't say that.

"Your Master has amnesia," Lin Yu said righteously. "Remember, that's what I told the Grand Elder when he asked me just now. I don't remember if I'm from the Shen Family; I only remember some Formations. If the elder thinks I am, then I am."

Su Ming: "..."

That works too?

"This is called 'reasonable ambiguity'," Lin Yu instructed. "Sometimes, don't be too definitive. The more confused and uncertain you seem, the more others will use their own logic to fill in the blanks for you. And the things they imagine are often more perfect than anything you could make up."

Su Ming nodded thoughtfully.

He had used this trick before when dealing with the old foxes in the Repair Hall, but he had never imagined it could be used on a Body Integration Stage powerhouse.

"Then... will I be a member of the Shen Family from now on?" Su Ming asked.

"Yes," Lin Yu said. "In the future, if anyone asks about your Legacy or why your Formations are so exquisite and strange, just lead them to this. Use things like 'Awakening of family memories,' 'Bloodline instinct,' or 'dreaming about it'—all of them can be used."

"This is a universal protective talisman."

Su Ming took a deep breath.

He understood the weight of this identity. It wasn't just an excuse; it was a protective talisman, a free pass. With this identity, any talent or anomaly he showed in Formations would become perfectly logical.

Even his terrifying cultivation speed could be attributed to "accumulating over time and then breaking through" or "Bloodline Awakening."

"There's also some good news."

Lin Yu's tone held a hint of pleasure. "The Grand Elder promised to help me find Cultivation Techniques and Materials to repair my soul form. In a few days, void stone powder, world origin sand, and soul nurturing wood marrow will be delivered."

Su Ming's hand jerked, and the teapot nearly fell to the floor.

"Soul... soul nurturing wood marrow?"

Su Ming's voice was trembling.

He had read about this in the Records of Heaven And Earth Treasures. It was the essence grown in the heart of a ten-thousand-year-old gloomy wood tree. Just an inch of it would be enough for Golden Core Cultivators to fight to the death over, and it was priceless on the market.

"And void stone powder? world origin sand?"

Su Ming felt as if his breathing was about to stop.

"Master, did you... did you deceive the Grand Elder?"

"How can you call it deceiving when it comes to cultivators?" Lin Yu snorted. "This is called 'a gift from an elder cannot be refused.' This is a token of his feelings for an old friend. If we don't accept it, we aren't giving him Face. Do you understand?"

Su Ming swallowed hard.

He understood. But he still felt his heart pounding in fear.

Lin Yu's voice turned somber. "Since you've taken his benefits, you must bear his Karma. From today on, you, Su Ming, are a true 'insider' of the Cloud Hidden Sect. If the Sect is in trouble in the future, you really will have to step up."

"Furthermore, once this identity is established, more eyes will be watching you."

"Originally, you were just a talented true Disciple, but now you're a golden child carrying an 'ancient family Legacy.' Although you're protected by the Grand Elder and no one dares to touch you openly, there will certainly be no shortage of secret probing."

Su Ming nodded.

He understood.

One who wears the crown must bear its weight.

There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world, let alone free soul nurturing wood marrow.

"Are you afraid?" Lin Yu asked.

Su Ming was silent for a few moments, then suddenly smiled.

He stood up and walked to the formation platform in a corner of the Immortal Cave. There lay the seven pieces of star-patterned steel left over from when he had just reached Foundation Establishment, covered in cracks—marks from enduring the tempering of Star Power.

He reached out to touch those cracks, his fingertips feeling a rough hardness.

"I am."

Su Ming said softly, "I am afraid of death, afraid of pain, and afraid of trouble."

"But..."

He looked up, his gaze falling on the night-luminescent pearl at the top of the Immortal Cave, his eyes clear. "I am even more afraid of being crushed like an ant at someone's whim, like I was before."

"Since this hat can save my life, even if it's heavy enough to break my neck, I must wear it."

"Not only must I wear it, but I must also wear it steadily."

Inside the ring, Lin Yu watched Su Ming's straight back, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

This kid has truly grown up.

He was learning to weigh options, to make choices, and to find his own space to survive in the shadows of giants.