"Is this... a slave? Such a cute elf girl."

A beautiful woman with dark purple hair looked with interest at Mercedes, revealing a soft smile.

"Looks like pure bloodline as well."

"Where did she come from?"

"She was left spare after we defeated a demon lord in the Breeze Mountain range."

"I have seized so many superior DemonKinds but haven't seen any decent slaves in their treasury. How come you found such a cute slave after merely slaying a low-ranked DemonKind in the Breeze Mountain range?"

"It's just luck, I guess."

Lu Lin sat at the dining table with a somewhat awkward expression, since he was quite embarrassed by what had just happened. Especially when he glanced at his younger sister who was arranging dishes. His sister gave him a resentful look, which made him feel even more helpless.

The woman in front of him was his unreliable mother.

Age had left no trace on her face. She looked exceedingly young, unbelievable for a mother of two children.

"Little girl, don't be scared, no one is going to hurt you here. If Lu Lin dares to bully you, next time we will directly throw him to the core forbidden area of Breeze Mountain range for training."

"Am I really your biological child..."

She gently touched Mercedes' head, the girl originally showed a hint of resistance, but then calmed down.

The woman's touch seemed to have a healing effect. The girl's uneasy heart calmed down as if being washed by running water.

Not only her, but even the elements moving irregularly in the air around her quietly calmed down. The invisible domain smoothed all disharmony.

"Domain, huh..."

Lu Lin watched the scene in front of him and smiled faintly. In terms of strength, his mother was one of the top in the empire.

Lia, one of the three Divine Dominion strongmen in the Cloud Empire, his mother, mostly known as the ‘Ice Empress’ due to her extreme cold ice territory.

The Ice Empress vanished mysteriously for 16 years, during which her loss brought sighs to the world.

But Lu Lin knew the Ice Empress did not disappear because she was weakened.

In his past life, when he learnt that his mother was a Divine Dominion powerhouse, he asked her why she had disappeared, her answer was simply: "Too annoying."

When she was the Ice Empress in the past, every action could be over-interpreted so she had played it missing and lived a casual life.

"Dinner time."

The purple-haired girl served dishes on the table. The hint of disgust that crossed her face when she looked at Lu Lin was not missed.

His sister, Eludi, always gentle toward him, until a while ago when she had witnessed something startling.

"Eludi, let me explain..."

Lu Lin couldn’t help but speak when Eludi served food on the table.

"Hmm..."

Eludi coldly huffed and ignored Lu Lin.

But then she served another dish.

"Thank..."

"Who said it’s for you?" Eludi passed by him and put the dish in an empty seat.

"Miss Elf over there... would you like some food?"

Mercedes finally realized that Eludi was calling her.

"Really... can I?"

She quietly asked Eludi, sounding unconfident in her voice."Of course."

"But... I'm just a slave, I'm not qualified to sit with Master and eat... And Master doesn't have anything... "

"Brother, stand up for a moment."

"Oh, okay... Wait, what are you doing?!"

As soon as Lu Lin stood up, he was forcefully pushed away by Eludi, hitting his face hard on the wall.

"All right, now that your unreliable Master is no longer at the table, you can sit down and eat."

"But... Master still has nothing... "

"It's okay, your Master won't starve if he misses a meal."

Eludi glared at Lu Lin again.

Then, Mercedes looked at Lu Lin.

"Ahem, it's fine... I'm okay not eating this meal. You sit down quickly."

Lu Lin's face was a bit red, and he looked away as soon as his eyes met Mercedes'.

"Yes."

So Mercedes obediently sat down in Lu Lin's seat, clumsily picked up a knife and fork, carefully cut the food into small pieces, and then put them in her mouth.

"Is it delicious?" Eludi asked, eyes sparkling as he leaned in towards Mercedes.

"It's... very tasty. Master's sister is an excellent cook." Although a bit unused to this sudden care, Mercedes still mustered the courage to express her thoughts.

"Really?! Then from now on, that portion for animal Lu Lin is all yours!"

"Hey! Like I said, I didn't... "

"Shut up, scum. Don't you see that the elf girl is eating... Or do you want to become a meal for the stray cats and dogs outside?"

Eludi's expression completely collapsed when he looked at Lu Lin, as if he would throw him into the pot if he said one more word. At this point, Lu Lin wisely closed his mouth.

"......"

Nevertheless, he still smiled when he saw the three of them laughing and talking.

It was the most comforting smile from the bottom of his heart since his rebirth.

"Lu Lin, your smile is disgusting... "

"You shut up!"

...

Soon, the night quietly fell.

Lu Lin stood on the rooftop, enjoying the evening breeze, something he had always loved to do.

At the beginning of dusk, the dark sky and the last traces of the sunset merged in the endless distance, creating overlapping layers of light brown, like a veil, or a continuous mountain range. In the twilight, lights were lit in each household in the small town, contrasting with the twinkling stars in the distant sky.

"That girl isn't actually a loot from killing wild monsters, is she?"

Behind him, a lazy female voice sounded. Lia approached Lu Lin and leaned on the railing.

"She is said to be the elf slave with the highest blood purity on the entire continent, making her debut at the Empire's auction two days ago, and ultimately taken by the Chixiao Empire at a sky-high price."

"Yes." Lu Lin smiled noncommittally, thinking that his tough mother must have also been to the auction.

"How did she end up with you?"

"I saved their princess, and as a reward, they gave her to me."

"You demanded her, didn't you?"

"Mmm...you found out."

"I'm your mother. I know all about what you're thinking and doing."

"Why did you want that elf girl?"

"Don't you think...she's adorable?"

"Adorable?" Lia suddenly laughed, "This is the first time you've ever called a girl adorable."

"Is... Is it?"

"Do you want to fall in love?”

“How could that be, I am only fourteen.""Oh?" Lia leaned closer to Lu Lin, eyeing his gradually reddening face.

Lu Lin turned his head away.

"However, the elf girl who is exceptional both in appearance and heritage in your hands will surely draw lots of attention. I can't always step in to help you out."

"It's okay, I'll protect her well."

"Hmm." Lia nodded, a slight satisfaction faintly appearing, "Continue."

Then, the spatial ring flickered and she threw the crystal she obtained to Lu Lin.

"What is this?" Lu Lin looked at the rustic crystal in his hand. When his consciousness fell on it, he could vaguely sense the chanting of a dragon.

"【Breath of Dragon Vein】, it's from the imperial auction, and inside it contains the spirit of an Ice Dragon. This normally helps you enhance your perception of the ice elements, it will be somewhat helpful to your Incarnate Spirit when you're about to break through the Spirit Realm," Lia explained, seemingly a bit annoyed, "Such a shame that we were just lucky with this piece, those damn royalties...those noble families are too damn rich! When the time comes, I'm going to find an excuse to suppress a noble family!"

"…Calm down, mom!" Lu Lin repeatedly tried to placate her, but he felt warmth in his heart. Even with a windfall, his mother had undoubtedly spent a large sum of money on him.

"I'm going to check on Eludi and the elf." Lia calmed herself down and made her way towards the exit.

"Speaking of which, mom, do you know the story of the Ice Phoenix Bloom?" Lu Lin asked suddenly as Lia was about to leave.

"Ice Phoenix Bloom?"

"It's a flower that blossoms only in extreme coldness, and it comes and goes in the blink of an eye. But it does not bloom when everything is frozen solid. Instead, it blossoms when sunlight hits the snowy grounds, and the first drop of thaw falls. Because the coldest thing melts on its coldest day."

"Melts…on the coldest day…" Lia murmured repeatedly in contemplation, as if she had gained new insight.

"Boy, your snide remarks are not unlike your useless father." She looked back at Lu Lin and laughed, but something new glimmered in her eyes.

"..." Lu Lin touched his nose and smiled back at his mother.

Since the beginning, he had sensed the heavy presence of ice elements around his mother. Just like before his reincarnation, she was still pursuing the limits of coldness, striving to make her own sphere of influence an eternal land of extreme cold. But the path to godhood had long vanished. No one could succeed now; it's too risky and too extreme, and his mother had been backlashed because of it.

But now, Lu Lin had showed her an alternative pathway. It's still about extreme cold, but not an eternal one, just a fleeting moment. It's far more probable than her initial choice.

However, Lia hadn't asked Lu Lin about it. Because he was her son, no matter what marvels befell him, they were all his possessions. His words were merely taken as a new way of thinking.

…

Only Lu Lin was left on the rooftop.

“I should begin practicing the 'Thousands Stars Formula' here.”

He gazed at the night sky full of stars, whispering.

His mother hadn't disappeared yet, his sister hadn't been abducted and mistreated due to his inheritance, and Mercedes was still alive. The course of history had been altered; he met Doru and encountered Mercedes earlier. However, that was but a minuscule part in the grand scheme of time.

He had to become strong enough to protect everything he cherished.

He was going to overthrow this era!

— Things had already changed.

He muttered to himself in his heart.

— From this moment on, everyone's fate, everyone's future, will be rewritten by him.