Chapter Sixty-Nine: Lin Fan's Brutal Beating

Liu Chuanzhi’s bodyguard gave a helpless smile and said, “Anyone who moves against the Lin family is making an enemy of the Jiang family—it’s a fight to the death!”

In truth, the bodyguard was inwardly shocked. He knew well that being protected by a powerful clan merely meant handing over half the family’s annual profits, and in return, one could ask for help when necessary. For example, if they were attacked by outsiders, or vying for territory with other families, resources might be provided. However, if a family was wiped out unexpectedly, the powerful clan wouldn’t intervene. As long as the conqueror continued to pay half the profits, the arrangement remained unchanged. The larger clan cared only for its interests and rarely involved itself beyond that.

Yet, no powerful family had ever publicly declared that harming their protégés was tantamount to a death feud! Every word and action of those great families was carefully measured; to make a threat and not carry it out would be disastrous for their reputation. Thus, such families always followed through on their promises, unless faced with extraordinary circumstances.

What’s more, this was the Jiang family—the number one family in the entire Qingxue County!

“How could this be?” Liu Chuanzhi’s eyes widened in disbelief at the bodyguard’s words.

“Could it be that the Lin family has been handing over all their yearly profits to the Jiangs?” Doubt flashed through his mind, but he quickly dismissed the idea. Impossible! If the Lin family truly gave away everything, how could they survive? And even then, it wouldn’t warrant such an extreme promise from the Jiangs.

Liu Chuanzhi muttered to himself, then suddenly his eyes brightened as if he’d grasped a crucial point. Raising his voice to the bodyguard, he ordered, “Go investigate Lin Fan immediately—find out if he’s been in and out of the Jiang residence recently. Also, check on Jiang Beicheng’s current condition!”

There were no fools among the great families—indeed, each was shrewder than the last. Liu Chuanzhi’s mind quickly turned to the deadly poison afflicting Jiang Beicheng. In his estimation, only if Lin Fan had brought the inner core of a nine-headed serpent, or at least news of it, as a bargaining chip, would the Jiangs be so protective.

If Lin Fan were present, he would have realized Liu Chuanzhi’s guess was remarkably close to the truth. However, Liu Chuanzhi could not have imagined that Lin Fan had not brought the serpent’s core or any information, but had instead suppressed Jiang Beicheng’s poison using the Meridian Severing Technique.

“That was a poison my elder brother obtained with great difficulty years ago. If that little brat really found the nine-headed serpent’s core or some clue, then all the old and new grudges with the Zhang family would be settled at once. Even if the Jiangs suspect a thing or two, I must kill him!”

When the bodyguard left, Liu Chuanzhi’s eyes were cold as ice with murderous intent. If anyone knew what was in his heart, they would be shaken—who would have thought that the poison tormenting Jiang Beicheng came from the Liu family?

Yet, leaving Liu Chuanzhi’s schemes aside, once the news spread through Qingxue County that the Jiang family had made this declaration, it was like a tornado, leaving everyone bewildered and astounded.

No one could understand what was so special about Lin Fan that he could call the Jiang family’s eldest and second young masters his sworn brothers. Nor could they fathom why, even so, the Jiangs would go so far to shield the Lin family.

The factions that had planned to move against the Lins broke out in cold sweats—fortunately, they had only been investigating the family and not acted yet. Had they provoked the Jiang family’s wrath, death would have been a mercy.

The Jiang family’s reputation as Qingxue County’s top clan was no empty boast; even the second most powerful family was vastly inferior. The intricacies of the power structure meant there were higher authorities above, from the county seat to the royal capital, which kept things in check. Still, with the Lin family now occupying an entire city under such protection, their rise would be swift and unstoppable.

In less than ten years, their true strength would likely place them among the top thirty. In under thirty years, perhaps even the top twenty.

For the moment, those who had once eyed the Lin family as prey now scrambled to forge connections, hoping for business ties and perhaps, in time, to lean on the Lin family’s growing influence.

Indeed, the Lin family had become the brightest new power in all of Qingxue County.

The momentum of their rise was unstoppable.

In Xiaobeicheng, within the city lord’s mansion, Xiao Jianhao was trimming a bonsai pine sculpted like a coiling dragon. He worked with careful hands, shaping the tree bit by bit.

When the Lin family left Xiaobeicheng, they had informed him, but had not mentioned their intent to seize Panlong City. From his conversations with Lin Fan, Xiao Jianhao knew that Lin Fan’s master had appeared and subdued Zhang Yi and his followers. He was also aware that Lin Fan, using Zhang Yi’s base within the Zhang family, had joined forces with the Mo family of Panlong City to destroy the Zhangs, making the Lins’ occupation of Panlong City inevitable.

But he never imagined the Mo family would voluntarily withdraw from Panlong City, handing over such rich territory to the Lins, and that the Jiang family would go so far as to protect the Lins, linking their fates together.

Such developments truly surprised him. The Xiao family, strong as they were, only ranked sixth in Qingxue County. Only the top ten families knew the true, terrifying strength of the Jiangs. If one really wished to destroy the Jiang family, it would take at least five of the top ten families acting together, and the recruitment of a Flowing River Realm expert, to stand even a fifty percent chance. Even then, victory would come at a tremendous cost.

Such was the might of the Jiangs. And yet, for all their power, they were protecting a minor family—one not even an official vassal.

“What an interesting young man!” Xiao Jianhao shook his head with a smile. Why bother pondering further? Regardless of how Lin Fan had formed ties with the Jiangs, he was a true friend to Xiao Jianhao’s son, and that was enough.

Besides, his son had already been out training for three days, working harder than ever before, which pleased him greatly.

“Go find out if Jiang Beicheng’s poison has been cured,” he instructed, still trimming the pine. His bodyguard bowed and withdrew from the courtyard.

“Really, over fifty years old and making sworn brothers of boys in their teens—doesn’t that make me a generation younger?” Xiao Jianhao laughed aloud. Everyone in Qingxue County called him a genius, and he acknowledged it—his cultivation advanced the fastest, and his insight was unmatched.

Yet he knew of someone nearly twenty years his senior whose progress was no slower and whose happiness was greater. Because this man kept a low profile and had been mired in grief for eight or nine years, his cultivation had lagged behind. Even so, he had already reached the Stream Realm.

That man was Jiang Beicheng—once, the very target Xiao Jianhao had always chased.

Time slipped by unnoticed, and more than ten days passed. Yet the news of the Lin family’s sole occupation of a city did not wane, but grew ever more fervent.

Every day, countless cultivators of the Qi Gathering and Meridians realms came to the Lin family gates, hoping to join their ranks. Leaders and influential figures from countless factions arrived bearing gifts, seeking friendly ties.

“Fan’er, are you really leaving?” Lin Batian sat in the patriarch’s seat, looking at Lin Fan to his right, his face still brimming with pride.

Though the Lin family still only had seven Meridians Realm experts, the number of Qi Meridians Realm cultivators had grown by several hundred, and the Qi Gathering experts had surpassed fifteen hundred—a hundredfold increase compared to their previous strength.

All of this was thanks to his most outstanding grandson, Lin Fan.

“Yes, with less than a month until the Academy of the Heavenly Book’s admissions, I must leave soon or I won’t make it. Besides, I need to temper myself on the journey,” Lin Fan replied. With the Lin family now securely established in Panlong City, few dared threaten them. Even the most powerful factions would think twice, considering the Jiang family’s backing.

Moreover, over these past days, with the Lin family under the Jiang family’s protection, and himself an honored guest of the Jiangs and sworn brother to Jiang Beicheng and Jiang Beihu, countless people looked on with envy, jealousy, and hatred.

As a result, his negative emotions value had grown like a snowball, surpassing all previous records—over 4.6 million in just ten days. He had spent 2.6 million drawing prizes before finally obtaining the Life Essence Pill to heal his injuries.

Thanks to these draws, he had also obtained the maximum number of Divine Ballistae—each costing two hundred thousand negative emotion points. In addition to the two he had reserved for the Lin family, he bought eight more, making a total of ten.

Each Divine Ballista, when fired, could unleash an attack equivalent to a full-force blow from a beginner Meridians Realm expert—unmatched by anyone in the Qi Meridians Realm. Each came with ten bolts, so ten ballistae meant one hundred full-strength attacks.

If any family dared attack the Lins with comparable Meridians Realm strength, the ballistae would annihilate their forces. Confident in his family’s security and his own recovery, Lin Fan was resolved to set off for the Academy.

“All right. Be careful on your journey. I have every confidence in you, but before you go, there’s something I need to tell you,” Lin Batian said solemnly. “Come here.”

“What is it? Could it be about… that matter?” Lin Fan wondered if his grandfather was finally about to reveal his parentage. Nonetheless, he obediently leaned in.

“I’ll teach you a lesson, you rascal!” The instant Lin Fan came close, Lin Batian’s smile vanished. His face darkened, and he smacked Lin Fan on the back of the head, sending him staggering. Then, with a forceful kick, he sent Lin Fan flying.

“Ow!” Lin Fan cried out, tumbling across the floor.

Bang! Thud! Boom! Crack!

Lin Batian was on him in a flash, raining down blows with hands and feet, giving Lin Fan no chance to react, let alone resist. The beating was so severe that even two of the family’s solid wooden chairs were smashed to splinters.

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