Lin Yan said nothing, yet he said everything.
Five people!
Lin Mingyuan began to laugh as well. Zhao Zixuan had entered the mountains with a group of five. Lin Yan had gone in a day earlier than them. If he hadn’t run into Zhao Zixuan’s group, how could he possibly have known the number ’five’?
"You little rascal... Something happened at Eagle’s Beak Gorge. You should head back to the clan. I’ll explain things to the Task Hall for you."
Lin Mingyuan stepped forward and patted Lin Yan on the shoulder. Since Lin Yan wasn’t spelling it out, he wouldn’t expose the truth either.
"Alright."
Lin Yan nodded. The reason he had given Brother Yuan this small piece of information was to put him completely at ease, so he wouldn’t have to worry about Zhao Zixuan and the others being found.
The seasons turned, summer giving way to winter.
Six months drifted by like smoke.
For the six months since returning to the clan, Lin Yan had stayed in the Disciple’s Quarters, focusing entirely on his Martial Arts practice.
The height of his Martial Arts Tree grew from four feet five inches, to four feet seven, four feet eight, four feet nine, and finally to its current height of four feet, nine and nine-tenths inches.
These peaceful, well-funded days of practice were what he liked most.
If he could, he would have liked to just keep practicing like this forever, without getting involved in the killing and fighting outside.
He didn’t ask about the fallout from the Yantian Mountain Range incident. However, Brother Yuan returned once, and later, when Lin Yan went to the Martial Arts Vault to exchange for Elixirs, he discovered he had an extra three thousand Contribution Points.
Brother Yuan never mentioned it, and neither did Brother Hai. But Lin Yan knew in his heart that these three thousand Contribution Points were a reward from the Third Branch.
By killing Zhao Zixuan and his men, he had prevented the Fourth Branch from finding any on-the-spot evidence, thus securing the Third Branch’s right to guard the Yantian Mountain Range.
The fact that it wasn’t announced publicly was for his own protection.
Back then, the Law Enforcement Hall had brought back more than just him from the Yantian Mountain Range. There were several other teams, totaling over a dozen people.
At most, Lin Mingchuan could only list him as one of the suspects. But if Brother Hai and the others were to reward him with great fanfare, it would be as good as blatantly telling the Fourth Branch that he was the one who had killed Lin Chengji, Zhao Zixuan, and the others.
’My Qi Blood has peaked. It’s time to start thinking about the Blood Exchange Realm.’
Lin Yan prepared to go find Brother Hai to learn the details about breaking through to the Blood Exchange Realm.
He left his courtyard and hadn’t gone far when Lin Yu’s voice called out from behind him.
"Lin Yan, you’ve finally decided to grace us with your presence?"
Lin Yu hurried up from behind, clucking his tongue. "And here I thought you could handle anything with composure. So you’re getting antsy now, too?"
"What do you mean, ’antsy’?"
"You don’t know?"
Lin Yu seemed a bit disbelieving, his eyes studying Lin Yan’s face. Once he was sure Lin Yan wasn’t lying, he pursed his lips and said, "Lin Yu successfully broke through to the Blood Exchange Realm today."
"You?"
Lin Yan looked Lin Yu up and down.
"Not me, the Lin Yu from the Second Branch. Our names might sound the same, but our fates are different. I wish it were me, though."
Seeing Lin Yan sizing him up with a questioning look in his eyes, Lin Yu sighed.
"The Second Branch’s Lin Yu is very talented, but you’re not bad either. A breakthrough is just a matter of time for you."
The moment Lin Yu spoke, Lin Yan knew he was talking about the Lin Yu from the Second Branch. He was just deliberately teasing him.
Lin Yu was the most talented of their group of branch clan members. He had already achieved the Fourth-Time of Skin Smoothing before he was nineteen and was only twenty-two this year.
’In terms of talent,’ Lin Yan thought, ’among everyone I’ve met, he’s second only to Junior Brother Zhao.’
In the past six months, Lin Yan hadn’t actually been completely absorbed in his Cultivation, oblivious to everything. He was more or less aware of the goings-on in the clan, especially concerning the branch members.
When these branch clan members first arrived at the Lin Family, many of them were restless and impatient. But as time went on, everyone settled down and began to cultivate like mad.
Besides their talent, none of the branch clan members who were allowed to stay were lazy when it came to Martial Arts.
In the last two months, Lin Yan had learned that ten branch clan members had broken through from the Third-Time of Skin Smoothing to the Fourth-Time of Skin Smoothing. The Third Branch, besides himself, had also produced its second Fourth-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artist.
"Even if I manage to reach Blood Exchange, I won’t be able to surpass Lin Yu. I’ll be twenty-four after the new year. You, on the other hand, still have a chance. You’ll only be twenty-one."
Hearing Lin Yu’s words, Lin Yan paused for a moment. He seemed to have forgotten his own circumstances.
’My Qi Blood is now approaching Perfection, so I’ll definitely be attempting to break through to the Blood Exchange Realm this year. If I succeed... it seems my talent, in the eyes of others, might actually be even greater than that Lin Yu’s.’

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