「Half a month later.」
Lin Yan reined in his horse, stopping on a high slope beside the official road.
Ahead, the Qing State Prefecture City spread out in Chen Xi, like a colossal beast crouching upon the earth.
The city walls were so high that even from a great distance, they looked to be over five zhang tall. They stretched on endlessly, their beginning and end out of sight. Chen Xi slanted down, dyeing the entire wall a dark gold.
Atop the walls, an archery tower stood every few hundred paces, with upturned eaves and fluttering banners.
Further in the distance, the city’s pavilions and towers were packed together, a sea of dark tiles, white walls, and intersecting eaves. A few tall buildings stood out like cranes among chickens.
Smoke from cooking fires rose from the rooftops of thousands of homes, so dense it looked like countless fine threads pulling at the morning clouds on the horizon.
This was the Prefecture City!
He had never been to Deng State Prefecture, so he didn’t know what it looked like, but Lin Yan had to admit that even with the memories of two lifetimes, he was still shaken by the sheer presence of the Qing State Prefecture City.
A heroic feeling couldn’t help but surge in his heart.
"A true man is born between heaven and earth; how can he remain stagnant for long..."
"Pah, that’s not how it goes."
After a long moment, Lin Yan withdrew his gaze. He squeezed his legs against his horse’s belly and slowly descended the slope, merging into the vast crowd heading into the city.
"Big Brother, is this Qing State Prefecture? It’s huge! Our Jimo County is nothing compared to this."
"Second Brother, Jimo is just a county. Under the Qing State Prefecture, there are forty-eight counties just like Jimo. And here in the Qing State Prefecture City, there are over ten lakes of various sizes. Three of them are larger than our entire Jimo County."
"It’s that big?"
The youth called ’Second Brother’ gaped in surprise, but his eyes flashed with excitement.
A young eagle does not long for its old nest, but yearns to soar in the highest heavens.
"In any case, the Prefecture City isn’t like a county. You need to control your temper here. Especially when we get to the main family’s estate, you absolutely cannot cause trouble. A Third-Time of Skin Smoothing cultivation is considered genius-level in a county, but it’s nothing in Qing State Prefecture. If you really stir up trouble, our family back home doesn’t have the power to clean up your mess."
Amid the crowd, Lin Yan had been leisurely listening to the two brothers’ conversation, but when he heard the words "main family," his eyes narrowed. ’What a coincidence.’
"Are you two gentlemen also heading to the Lin Family?"
The two brothers walking ahead stopped at Lin Yan’s words and both turned to look at him.
The older man sized Lin Yan up and asked, "Are you also from a branch of the Lin Family?"
"I am Lin Yan, a clansman from the Lin Family branch in Guangping County, Deng State Prefecture."
"So it’s Brother Lin. I am Lin Rong, and this is my second brother, Lin Wang. We’re from Jimo County in Dongping Prefecture. Since you’re also going to the main family, Brother Lin, why don’t we travel together?"
Lin Rong took the initiative to suggest they go to the Lin Family together, and Lin Yan agreed.
He had struck up the conversation with the thought of teaming up with the two brothers. It wasn’t that he was lonely, but rather that he wanted to learn more about the Lin Family before arriving.
His sister-in-law had given him a letter and almost nothing else about the Lin Family. He was going into this trip to Qing State completely blind.
After some conversation, Lin Yan learned the basic situation of the brothers, Lin Rong and Lin Wang.
Lin Rong was twenty-five this year. He had reached the Third-Time of Skin Smoothing back when he was twenty-one and was now at the peak of that stage. In a county, he would be considered a genius.
But his younger brother, Lin Wang, was even more impressive. He was only nineteen, and though he was also at the Third-Time of Skin Smoothing, he had already reached that level at eighteen.
In terms of potential, he surpassed his older brother.
When they heard that Lin Yan was over twenty and still only at the Third-Time of Skin Smoothing, Lin Rong’s attitude remained unchanged, but Lin Wang became a bit more distant and didn’t speak much.
When the three of them reached the city gate, Lin Yan noticed about thirty-some soldiers guarding it. They were lined up on both sides, their armor gleaming, and they exuded a stern aura.
’They’re all Second-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artists.’
Lin Yan only glanced at them briefly before quickly looking away. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a middle-aged man sitting with an imposing air on the steps just inside the gate, his gaze sweeping over the passing crowd like a falcon’s.
’This man’s gaze alone puts pressure on me. His strength must be above the Fourth-Time of Skin Smoothing. Could he be a Blood Exchange Realm powerhouse?’
He clicked his tongue in amazement. ’The Prefecture City truly lives up to its name. Not only are the guards all Skin Smoothing Martial Artists, but there’s even a Blood Exchange Realm Martial Artist presiding over them.’
"Big Brother, why did you pull me back just as we were entering the city?"
Just as they entered, Lin Wang had been curiously sizing up the city guards, and Lin Rong had immediately stopped his brother.
"You were gawking at everything. I was afraid those Martial Artist guards would stop us. It’s my fault, I forgot to tell you beforehand."
Seeing Lin Yan also look over curiously, Lin Rong explained, "Brother Lin, you might not know this, but the Qing State Prefecture has four main gates, and each is controlled by one of the Four Great Clans. South City is controlled by the Cui Family. If these Martial Artist guards from the Cui Family found out we were from a branch of the Lin Family, they might give us a hard time."
After hearing this, Lin Yan asked curiously, "The city gates are all controlled by the four families? Then why didn’t you choose to enter through the gate controlled by the Lin Family, Brother Lin Rong? Wouldn’t that have reduced the chance of complications?"
"The main family controls the gate in North City. To go around would take at least half a day. Brother Lin, before you came to the Qing State Prefecture, didn’t your family elders tell you about the situation in Qing State?"
Lin Rong looked at Lin Yan with a puzzled expression. Before he came, his family elders had specifically warned him about the situation in Qing State Prefecture, as well as some internal matters of the main family, precisely so he wouldn’t break any taboos or provoke someone he couldn’t afford to offend.
"To be honest, the elders in my family passed away early on. I don’t know much about Qing State, and we’ve had little contact with the main family."

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