The Lin Family!
The Combat Platform.
Jian Sheng yawned boredly on the platform.
It was a deliberate yawn. His mouth opened wide, the sound dragged out for an eternity, and he smacked his lips when he was done. It was as if to say, ’Is this all you Lin Family people have got?’
Fortunately, the crowd of Lin Clan Members below the platform had thinned out considerably.
Those who remained weren’t the hot-tempered sort; otherwise, seeing Jian Sheng’s display would have sent them into a burning rage.
Ever since Uncle Jiu made his announcement three days ago, the entire younger generation of the Lin Family had been in an uproar. Several more people had taken the stage to challenge Jian Sheng that very day—people who had been in seclusion for a long time, trying to break through to the True Gang Realm.
Just when all the clan members thought they would finally be able to shut Jian Sheng’s incredibly foul mouth, those challengers were defeated as well.
Although they could clearly tell that Jian Sheng hadn’t won as easily as before, a loss was still a loss.
By now, the Lin Clan Members had no choice but to accept a harsh reality: when it came to attainments in the Sword Dao, no one in the clan could match the man on the platform.
It was for this very reason that the number of spectators had dwindled with each passing day.
Why bother coming here to watch that arrogant bastard’s swagger and just get angry, knowing full well that no one was a match for him?
"Lin Yan, are you sure you really want to go up there?"
Hundreds of yards from the Combat Platform, two figures were walking toward it.
"An insult to the clan is an insult to me. How could I not step up?"
When Lin Yan decided to return to the clan and challenge Jian Sheng on the Combat Platform, Lin Mingye had returned with him. Along the way, he had figured it out: Lin Yan was after Uncle Jiu’s reward.
However, he worried that Lin Yan had been blinded by the generous reward Uncle Jiu had offered and was overestimating his own strength. It would be incredibly humiliating to get on stage only to be defeated in a single sword strike.
"Tell me, are you really confident you can beat Jian Sheng?"
"If I were confident, I would have come on the first day."
Lin Yan’s expression turned serious as he looked at Lin Mingye. "Honestly, I’m not confident. That’s why I didn’t come at first. I was afraid of the shame of losing. But with a reward this generous from Uncle Jiu, I’m willing to take the gamble. If I win, I get fame and fortune. If I lose... well, the worst that can happen is getting mocked by the Fourth Branch."
Hearing Lin Yan’s explanation, Lin Mingye nodded in understanding. He believed Lin Yan was telling the truth.
If he had been confident, Lin Yan would have returned much sooner.
He definitely wasn’t confident. It was only because Uncle Jiu’s reward was so immense that Lin Yan was willing to take a risk. As for losing... the Fourth Branch and the Third Branch had a grudge, so they would surely seize the chance to mock Lin Yan for overreaching. But the other branches wouldn’t. Too many clan members had already lost to Jian Sheng, and Lin Yan wasn’t even the strongest of them.
"Be careful. His Sword Intent is bizarre. Many clan members who fought him were disarmed."
"I will."
Lin Yan nodded and walked toward the Combat Platform. Most of the people below were chatting among themselves. Some noticed Lin Yan and Lin Mingye but paid them no mind, not thinking they were there to issue a challenge.
That is, until Lin Yan reached the edge of the Combat Platform and started walking up the steps.
"Who’s that? I don’t recognize him. Is he going up to challenge?"
Many people finally took notice of Lin Yan, their heads turning to get a better look.
"A white sash... he’s from the Third Branch."
"The Third Branch has so few people. I’ve seen all of them who are in the Blood Exchange Realm, but his face is unfamiliar."
"His name is Lin Yan. He came from a branch family of the Third Branch. He reached the Blood Exchange Realm this year and supposedly cultivated Sword Gang. They say his talent in the Sword Dao is quite good."
"Sword Gang? Of all the clan members Jian Sheng has defeated these past three days, which one of them *didn’t* have Sword Gang?"
Once this was said, the crowd’s expressions toward Lin Yan became varied.
Some frowned, others raised an eyebrow, but most just looked blank for a moment before their faces settled into disappointment.
"And here I thought one of the clan members who was away had returned."
"If he wants to challenge, let him. So many of our clan have already lost; one more doesn’t matter."
The Lin Clan Members present didn’t have anything against Lin Yan personally. Their attitude stemmed from a prejudice against his status. In their eyes, a clan member from a branch family was inherently weaker than one from the main family.
"One more loss doesn’t matter, but Jian Sheng has been holding this open challenge on the Combat Platform for almost ten days. This Lin Yan could have come at any time, but he shows up only after Uncle Jiu announced a reward. He’s not here for the clan’s honor; he’s here for the prize."
The others who heard this glanced at the speaker. ’He’s from the Fourth Branch... no wonder.’
Still, quite a few people furrowed their brows. The man from the Fourth Branch had a point. If it were truly for the clan’s honor, he should have challenged much earlier, not dragged it out until now.
"Lin Mingxing, cut the sarcastic crap. Lin Yan has been on a mission in the East River Waters. I was the one who told him about this today, and he rushed over here the first chance he got."
Lin Mingye immediately refuted Lin Mingxing’s claim. After all, as long as he kept his mouth shut, no one would ever know that Lin Yan had known about this for a while.
He didn’t care about the feud between the Third and Fourth Branches, but Lin Yan was a good guy. He was willing to befriend him, so naturally, he wasn’t going to let Lin Mingxing tarnish Lin Yan’s reputation with words.
A flicker of barely perceptible shame and anger crossed Lin Mingxing’s eyes. He hadn’t expected Lin Mingye to speak up and vouch for Lin Yan.
Everyone in the clan knew about the grudge between the Fourth and Third Branches. Whenever people from these two branches argued, the other branches always remained neutral and didn’t interfere. For Lin Mingye to speak up now was tantamount to taking the Third Branch’s side.

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