"That… that can't be true, right?" Endymion Lin was stunned. "This family trial has existed for years, hasn't it? But I've never heard of anyone dying from it!"
"You..." Yu Xue'na gently caressed his cheek with her soft, delicate hand. The warmth and tenderness of her touch made him feel inexplicably at ease. "Xiao Lin, many things in this world aren't as simple as they seem."
"Auntie… you mean, people have died in the trial before?" Endymion's heart trembled. He wasn't cunning, but he wasn't a fool either—he could understand the unspoken truth behind her words.
"You think the glory of a thousand-year-old knight family is so easily maintained?" Yu Xue'na shook her head. "The Lin family has paid a price to uphold that reputation—one outsiders can't even imagine."
She sighed softly and changed the subject. "Let's not talk about this now. Xiao Lin, you should rest. I'll make arrangements for you to leave here immediately."
She began to get out of bed, but Endymion gently pushed her back down.
"No need, Auntie. Lin Qingming wasn't wrong—when the Lin family wants to find someone, there's nowhere to hide." He looked at her with steady resolve. "What must be faced… will be faced. I'll return to the Lin family and take part in the trial."
The decision came quickly, but it wasn't impulsive. Endymion didn't want to drag Yu Xue'na into this. Even if he didn't know all the Lin family's secrets, he knew they were as cold-blooded as they were prestigious. In a family like that, kinship meant very little.
So despite Yu Xue'na being related to the family, if she helped him escape, the Lin family might not let her off easily. To protect the one person dearest to him, Endymion chose to go back. Besides, he wasn't going back to die. He may not have been strong yet, but he refused to believe that he was doomed.
But Yu Xue'na was strongly against his decision.
"Xiao Lin, don't you understand? The family trial is extremely dangerous. The locations are usually undeveloped planets filled with unknown threats. Worse, other participants might even turn on you. With your current strength, it's suicide!" Yu Xue'na had never experienced the trial herself, but she had heard plenty about it from her sister—Endymion's mother.
"Auntie, trust me. I can protect myself." Endymion's voice was calm but resolute. It wasn't just about not implicating Yu Xue'na—he wanted to live with dignity. Running now would only leave him as a coward, hiding like a stray dog. That was not a life he wanted.
"But I'm really worried…" Yu Xue'na looked heartbreakingly fragile. Gone was the confident mech designer the world knew. At that moment, she looked more like a helpless, vulnerable girl.
"I promise, I'll come back safe. That's my vow to you." Endymion gently embraced her. A strange ache welled in his heart. He could only hope he would survive to see her again.
Endymion left Notting Tower quietly. He left Aquamarine City without saying goodbye to anyone—not even Yu Xue'na.
She had fallen asleep. The night before, she had spent the whole night explaining everything she knew about the trial.
Though she couldn't stop him, she had at least given him the best chance of survival. Most of the night was spent analyzing the young members of the Lin family. The trial wouldn't be solo—it would be conducted in small teams. The stronger the team, the higher the chance of survival.
But there was a catch: only if the team didn't turn on him.
So all night, Yu Xue'na helped him strategize whom he'd be safest grouping with. Unfortunately, these were only guesses—participants formed their own teams, and he could only join a group if others were willing to accept him.
Standing before the dense forest ahead, Endymion felt a surge of mixed emotions. He had come home. Though it felt alien to him now, this was still the place where he had lived for over a decade.
Towering trees surrounded the city at the center. From the air, the whole place looked like a primitive enclave swallowed by wilderness. The buildings were dwarfed by ancient trees, and someone unfamiliar with the area might mistake it for some tribal settlement on an undeveloped planet.
But this was no backwater. This was the famed Lin Family stronghold of the Galactic Union. Almost everyone here bore the Lin surname. Once called Lin City, it had since been renamed—Millennium City.
As the biological son of the family head, Endymion should have held a lofty status. But clearly, that title meant nothing. Here, he was only known as the family disgrace.
As he stepped into the city, scornful voices rose around him.
"Well, well! Look who it is—the trash is back!"
"Unbelievable. I thought he'd died out there!"
"Would've been better if he had. Save us all the embarrassment…"
Mocking voices floated into his ears, but Endymion ignored them and walked directly toward the manor in the city center—the residence of the family head, and his childhood home.
Thanks to Yu Xue'na, he knew the truth: he wasn't the first failure the family had produced. Others had simply vanished without a trace. No one ever talked about them.
His reputation as a 'waste' was public knowledge, but maybe that was exactly why he was still alive.
Yu Xue'na hadn't confirmed this outright, but she hadn't denied it either—and that said enough.
By then, Endymion had lost all affection for this so-called noble family. But he also understood that he couldn't change his lineage. The only thing he could change was his strength.
If he wanted the ridicule to stop, he had to rise.
He might not like this family.
But he would conquer it.
The doors to the manor stood open. No one stopped him as he entered. The hallways were empty.
He returned straight to his old bedroom. Everything was exactly as he remembered.
The room was clean—clearly maintained. Nothing had been moved. It was as if someone had been waiting for him to return all along.
"Second Young Master." A soft voice came from behind.
Endymion turned around to see a girl, no more than fifteen or sixteen years old. She was tall—at least 170 centimeters—but so thin she could be called a walking stick. Her complexion was pale and sickly, though her features were delicate and pleasant.
"You are…?" Endymion frowned. Her face felt vaguely familiar, but he couldn't quite place her.