The Third Branch’s territory.
"Brother Song, are you really leaving tomorrow?"
"Yeah. The team’s already assembled. We head out first thing in the morning."
"Tsk, tsk. The patriarch is really working you like a mule, Brother Song. He doesn’t even let you rest."
Lin Mingsong looked at Lin Minghai, speechless. "Watch your mouth. Say that to the patriarch if you have the guts."
"Heh heh, my mistake. The more capable one is, the more one works."
Lin Minghai shrank back and quickly corrected himself, opting to play it safe.
"Minghai, those branch family members are still from our Third Branch, after all. We can’t just ignore them. They traveled a great distance to join us; we can’t let them feel alienated."
Hearing this, Lin Minghai curled his lip. "Brother Song, I just wanted to give them the cold shoulder for a while, to see if they could keep their composure. But I didn’t expect them to be so spineless. Look at what they’ve been doing these past few days! They’re getting crushed by the Fourth Branch and can’t even hold their heads up. All they do is huddle together, complain, and hide in their shells like turtles."
"They’re from the branch families. Their perspective, resources, and foundation are all inferior to the main family’s. It’s normal for them to panic when they face a setback." Lin Mingsong shook his head and said, "If you were thrown into a faction where even the novices are at the True Gang Realm, you’d be just as lost."
"Alright, I’ll listen to you, Brother Song. I’ll meet with them in a few days."
Lin Minghai’s expression finally softened. In the entire Third Branch, Brother Song was the person he admired most. He would listen to his words.
"Good. Try to see things from their perspective, and rein in that foul mouth of yours..."
Lin Mingsong trailed off, his gaze shifting to the front left. A servant was running toward them in a hurry.
"Young Master Song, Young Master Ming, great news! Lin Yan defeated Lin Wang, a Fourth-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artist from the Fourth Branch, on the Combat Platform! All the clansmen from the branch families are stunned!"
The servant was very excited. The moment he saw Lin Yan defeat Lin Wang on the Combat Platform, he had run straight here.
"W-with one strike! Young Master Lin Yan defeated him with just one strike..."
Lin Minghai and Lin Mingsong exchanged a glance, both seeing the surprise in the other’s eyes.
They knew that Lin Yan had reached the Fourth-Time of Skin Smoothing. Defeating another Fourth-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artist from the Fourth Branch wasn’t a huge deal, but to do it in a single strike meant it was a complete and utter domination of skill.
"Tell us exactly what happened."
The servant took a breath. "Before I left, I heard them saying that Young Master Lin used the Flowing Cloud Thirteen Techniques and had even developed Sword Momentum."
Upon hearing "Flowing Cloud Thirteen Techniques," a sharp glint flashed in Lin Mingsong’s eyes. "It’s only been a few days since Lin Yan came to report his breakthrough to the Fourth-Time of Skin Smoothing. Minghai, take Lin Yan to the ancestral hall to see Uncle Qi later."
"To the ancestral hall to see Uncle Qi?"
Lin Minghai was still reeling from the shock of Lin Yan developing Sword Momentum with the Flowing Cloud Thirteen Techniques. Hearing this, his expression turned solemn. "Brother Song, you think that highly of Lin Yan?"
"Minghai, some things cannot be allowed to happen again."
"I understand."
「The Third Branch, Lake Heart Pavilion.」
Lin Yan felt very uncomfortable. He had just collected his Contribution Points and was about to leave the estate when, before he could even reach the gate, he was summoned by Brother Hai.
And now, he was being sized up by Brother Hai for what felt like an eternity.
That gaze...
’I’m tempted to point out that even though yours is a bit thicker, Brother Hai, I have one of my own.’
’A skinny dog is still a dog, after all.’
After a long silence, Lin Minghai finally spoke. "How long?"
"How long for what?"
"The Flowing Cloud Thirteen Techniques."
"Less than half a month, I guess."
"How many days, exactly."
"Six days."
The corner of Lin Minghai’s mouth twitched. ’Six days, and you tell me ’less than half a month’? If I didn’t know you were the type to hide your true abilities, I might have actually fallen for that.’
Although Lin Yan hadn’t officially registered any Saber Technique, Minghai had heard from the servants that he wore a saber sheath at his waist.
Lin Yan was speechless.
"Brother Hai, I haven’t actually practiced any Saber Technique. I just wear the saber to look the part. I’d never touched a sword before this."
’Lin Yan had no intention of revealing anything about the Jinghong Sword Technique.’
’The only ones who knew he practiced the Jinghong Sword Technique were the members of the Tang Family, and now that the Tang Family had relocated and vanished, not even the Lin Family would be able to find anything if they investigated.’
’Keeping the Jinghong Sword Technique a secret was his ace in the hole.’
’Revealing the Flowing Cloud Thirteen Techniques was to showcase his talent. Keeping the Jinghong Sword Technique hidden was not only his trump card but also a way to avoid suspicion when he needed to get things done.’
’Different swordsmanship styles leave subtly different wounds.’
"Never touched one, huh... Hmm... In that case, your talent for swordsmanship... or to be precise, your talent for the Flowing Cloud Thirteen Techniques, is quite good."
Lin Minghai said it casually, but Lin Yan could somehow hear a hint of grinding teeth in his tone.
"I called you here to take you somewhere. Follow me."
Lin Yan nodded and followed behind Brother Hai. The two walked along the main path before stopping in front of a tall, imposing building.
Lin Yan also stopped, his eyes fixed on the structure before him.
It was an ancestral hall.
It was built of blue bricks and black tiles. A simple, ancient plaque hung above the door, inscribed with four words: Lin Clan Ancestral Hall.
The lacquer on the plaque was mottled and peeling, but those four words were written with powerful, vigorous strokes, as if they had been carved directly into the wood.
The area around the ancestral hall was surprisingly quiet, with the faint, almost imperceptible scent of sandalwood drifting in the air.
’Is this the Third Branch’s own ancestral hall?’ Lin Yan wondered to himself, recalling the map he had seen when he first arrived at the estate. It had also marked an ancestral hall, but in a different location.
"The clan has a main ancestral hall that honors our founding ancestors and the clansmen who brought great glory and made significant contributions to the family," Lin Minghai explained. "The ancestral halls of each branch, however, are for honoring our own branch’s predecessors. The ancestors of our Third Branch are enshrined here."

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