Lin Mansion, Council Hall.
"Twenty-three years old, Third-Time of Skin Smoothing, and he has the gall to come here?"
"You think that’s bad? I’ve got a thirty-two-year-old at the Third-Time of Skin Smoothing over here. What’s someone his age even doing here? Did his family run out of food, so he came to the clan to beg for a meal?"
"Count your blessings. At least he’s at the Third-Time of Skin Smoothing. I’ve got someone even more ridiculous—a twenty-three-year-old at the Second-Time of Skin Smoothing showed up. Now that’s what I call just trying to get by."
"Sigh. Perhaps that branch has fallen on hard times. The strongest in their clan are only at the Second-Time or Third-Time of Skin Smoothing. Even the most gifted housewife can’t cook without rice. They must have already sent the strongest of their young disciples."
"Outrageous. Do these branches think this is some kind of charity hall? They’re shoving all sorts of people at us."
"I’ve been saying it for ages. Picking talent from the branch families is like panning for gold in the sand. It’s exhausting, and after all that work, you usually end up with nothing."
"Lin Mingtang, this was a procedure set by the Elders. If you have a problem with it, go tell the Elders yourself," the burly young man on the left said mockingly.
Lin Mingtang pursed his lips but didn’t complain any further. If word got back to the Elders, he’d only be making things difficult for himself.
The clan Elders had set the rules for recruiting outstanding young disciples from the branches. "Outstanding" had its standards: one had to have reached the Third-Time of Skin Smoothing to be qualified, and secondly, they had to be under the age of twenty-four.
The five of them were responsible for selecting from the disciples sent by the branches this time, keeping those who met the requirements and weeding out the rejects.
The first round of preliminary screening was over.
"A total of six hundred forty-two people. Two hundred sixty-four meet the requirements. Fourteen are at the Fourth-Time of Skin Smoothing, and the rest are at the Third-Time of Skin Smoothing."
Lin Mingshen compiled the list of those who passed the verification and then looked at the other four. "If there are no objections, let’s unseal the names and register them."
For this selection, the names of all the branch clan members, including which branch they belonged to, had been sealed. This was to prevent the five of them from seeing clan members from their own branch and loosening the standards.
RUSTLE RUSTLE!
It took the time to drink a cup of tea to unseal the information for all two hundred sixty-four people. Lin Minghai’s expression immediately darkened.
"Oh, someone’s not happy. Tsk tsk... Out of two hundred sixty-four people, his branch didn’t even get twenty."
Seeing Lin Minghai’s foul expression, Lin Mingtang grinned with glee. ’So, Lin Minghai, you have days like this too!’
"So what if I have fewer people? I can still beat you up. Lin Mingtang, if you’re not convinced, you can challenge me again anytime. But this time, it won’t be as simple as you lying in bed for three days."
"Hmph. I was just careless last time. You think you can still beat me?"
"If I can beat you once, I can beat you a second time."
"Alright, that’s enough from both of you. Hurry up and organize this. The Elders are waiting for our report."
Lin Mingshen stepped between the two, blocking them, while the other two men watched the drama unfold with leisurely amusement.
It was well-known that the Third Branch and the Fourth Branch did not get along.
Lin Minghai had a fiery temper, and Lin Mingtang was the same. If the two of them met and didn’t start fighting, it was considered a show of restraint.
"My side has two Fourth-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artists and seventy-three Third-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artists. The rest of you, report your numbers."
Lin Mingshen of the First Branch wrote down the number of clan members from his branch who had passed, then looked toward another person.
"For our Second Branch, we have three Fourth-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artists and sixty-two Third-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artists."
The man from the Second Branch reported his numbers. Everyone’s gaze then fell on Lin Minghai. A sneer played on Lin Mingtang’s face; he had noticed just now that there weren’t many slips of paper in front of Lin Minghai, and he was just waiting for the punchline.
As the other four stared at him, Lin Minghai’s face was as black as charcoal. He hadn’t expected that so few clan members from the Third Branch would make it through.
"For the Third Branch... one Fourth-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artist and seventeen Third-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artists."
He practically spat the words out through clenched teeth. And just as he expected, the moment he finished, Lin Mingtang snorted with laughter.
This time, however, Lin Minghai didn’t rise to the bait.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but with numbers like these... he didn’t have the face to argue anymore. He just wanted the matter to be over with quickly.
Lin Mingtang, however, remained deliberately silent, clearly not wanting it to be over so quickly.
"Ahem. Mingtang, it’s your Fourth Branch’s turn."
Lin Mingshen couldn’t bear to watch any longer. He was mainly afraid that Minghai wouldn’t be able to hold back and a real fight would break out right there.
"Our Fourth Branch didn’t do so well either. The numbers are just so-so. Only two Fourth-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artists, and just fifty-eight Third-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artists. We can’t compare to you guys."
It sounded modest, but it was pure mockery, aimed squarely at Lin Minghai.
"Lin Mingtang, you’re asking to die!"
This time, Lin Minghai couldn’t hold back any longer. Before the words had even faded, his body erupted into motion. He stomped his left foot on the ground, launching himself toward Lin Mingtang like a cannonball.
His right fist was clenched, a faint sound of thunder rumbling from his knuckles.
Thunder Sound Fist!
Lin Mingtang had been prepared from the moment he started taunting him. Facing Lin Minghai’s punch, he didn’t dodge or evade, but met it with a palm strike of his own.
BANG!
As fist and palm collided, Lin Minghai didn’t move an inch, but Lin Mingtang’s arm went numb, and the impact sent him stumbling back three steps.
"Is that all you’ve got? I don’t see any improvement from you over the past year!"
Contempt filled Lin Minghai’s eyes. Lin Mingtang’s face twisted in fury. "That was just a sneak attack! Again—"
"Enough!"
Lin Mingshen flickered and reappeared between them, his face like ice. "That’s enough from both of you. The Elders are waiting for the results. If you delay official business, you can go receive your punishment and spend a month at Reversed Lake."

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