His sharp eyes only showed a trace of warmth when his gaze landed on the Fifth Branch, specifically on Lin Mingxi. The corners of his mouth even curved upward in a slight arc.
Lin Mingxi gave a slight nod in response.
"Still such a snob."
Lin Minghai’s voice was hushed, so low that only Lin Yan, who was standing beside him, could hear.
The corner of Lin Yan’s mouth twitched slightly.
’Brother Hai’s mouth is really something else...’
’He even dares to throw shade at an elder?’
However, on second thought, when Lin Yan considered what kind of elder would provoke Brother Hai into being so snide, his smile vanished.
"Brother Hai, is that elder from the Fourth Branch?"
"Yeah. He’s part of the Law Enforcement Hall, but he’s from the Fourth Branch. Still, with so many eyes on this match, he won’t dare pull any tricks. Don’t worry."
Lin Minghai seemed to know what Lin Yan was worried about and offered a word of reassurance.
"The branch competition has been underway for three days. Today are the finals. Contestants of the Blood Exchange Realm, to the stage."
After Lin Shouhe spoke, Lin Yan walked toward the stage. At the same time, a person from each of the other three branches—excluding the First Branch—also stepped forward.
Lin Yu, Lin Xiao, and Lin Wang, along with Lin Yan, made their way onto the stage.
Lin Yan felt the hatred in Lin Wang’s gaze, but his expression remained unchanged. However, when his eyes swept over Lin Xiao, a thread of vigilance rose in his heart.
Although he hadn’t made eye contact with Lin Xiao just now, with the enhanced Perception granted by the Black Cicada Heart, he had clearly sensed two hostile gazes on him. One was from Lin Wang, and the other was from this very Lin Xiao.
’There’s no feud between the Third Branch and the Fifth Branch, and I don’t think I’ve ever crossed paths with him. Where is this hostility coming from?’
He could ignore Lin Wang, but Brother Hai had warned him. He had to be wary of this Lin Xiao.
Once Lin Yan and the other three were in position, Lin Shouhe continued, "These four hold the top four spots. If anyone from yesterday’s top ten is unsatisfied with this ranking, you may step forward to issue a challenge now. A victory will allow you to take their place."
Hearing Lin Shouhe’s words, the crowd below once again erupted into a noisy clamor. They clearly hadn’t expected the finals to follow such rules.
’The top four are already decided? And if you don’t like it, you just challenge them?’
"This old man, however, finds these rules quite fair. It saves time. Aren’t we all here to watch the matches between Lin Yu and the others anyway?"
An old man on the left-hand stands spoke with a smile. They hadn’t come in the previous days, naturally because the battles between Skin Smoothing Martial Artists held no attraction for them. They were here today specifically for the Blood Exchange Realm cultivators like Lin Yu.
"Patriarch Zhao makes a good point. There’s no need to waste time with match after match."
Soon, the noisy chatter in the arena died down as everyone realized there was nothing wrong with the rules.
Making the top ten fight Lin Yu and the other three one by one was completely unnecessary. In contrast, these rules were more flexible. Those confident enough could step up and challenge, while those without confidence could give up and compete for the single remaining fifth-place spot.
All the branch clan members in the arena turned their gazes to Lin Yujing, one of the top ten. He was the only one who might have the strength to issue a challenge.
A Fourth-Time of Skin Smoothing Martial Artist who had refined eighty percent of his Qi Blood and even developed Spear Intent. He might actually be able to fight someone in the Blood Exchange Realm.
However, Lin Yujing remained as still as a statue, showing no reaction whatsoever. It was as if he couldn’t feel the many gazes on him. In the end, he simply shut his eyes and began to meditate.
’They want me to go up and challenge them? In their dreams.’
Lin Yujing cursed internally. He’d have to have a hole in his head to challenge Lin Yu and the others. The gap between the Blood Exchange Realm and the Fourth-Time of Skin Smoothing was not comparable to the gap between the Third-Time and Fourth-Time of Skin Smoothing. He had already witnessed the power of a Blood Exchange Realm powerhouse from his own branch. So what if he had developed Spear Intent? Even a spear thrust with his full power couldn’t break through their Blood Gang.
’Anyway, of the five spots, the rewards for second through fifth place are all the same.’
’If I really go up there, challenge someone, and get injured, the other nine would probably be overjoyed. It would be much better to preserve my strength for the other nine guys later and secure that fifth spot. Isn’t that a sweeter deal?’
The other nine from the top ten were left somewhat speechless when they saw Lin Yujing close his eyes. Of course, they had no intention of challenging Lin Yu’s group. They were actually hoping Lin Yujing would go up. If he got injured, the fifth spot would be up for grabs. They just hadn’t expected him to be so unshakably cautious.
Seeing that no one stepped forward, Lin Shouhe’s expression remained unchanged. His gaze returned to the stage. "You four... will fight in pairs. The winners will then fight each other to determine first place."
For this branch competition, the clan offered rewards for the top five, essentially a handout to ensure each branch got a piece of the pie. If a branch failed to secure a spot, they couldn’t blame the clan for being unfair.
Only first place would receive an additional reward.
Otherwise, if the rewards for the top five were identical, there wouldn’t be much point to the competition.
"Lin Yan, I challenge you!"
Lin Wang stepped forward immediately, his eyes fixed coldly on Lin Yan, making no effort to hide the venomous hatred in his gaze.
Lin Yu and Lin Xiao also turned to look at Lin Yan at once. Lin Yu was curious, while Lin Xiao’s eyes held a gloating expression.
"Fine."
Lin Yan’s expression was calm. Lin Wang challenging him was within his expectations.
"Since the opponents are decided, which of you two pairs will go first?"
"Since I was the first to break through to the Blood Exchange Realm, I should be the one to start us off. What do you say, Brother Lin Xiao?"
Lin Yu spoke first. Lin Xiao inwardly pursed his lips in displeasure. ’This Lin Yu never stops talking about being the first to break through to the Blood Exchange Realm. So what if he was first? If I hadn’t been focused on accumulating more Qi Blood, I could have broken through earlier too.’

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