The Top Ten, Confirmed!
After exchanging a few words with Lin Mingxi, Lin Yan left with Lin Mingsong and the others from the Third Branch.
Tomorrow’s battle for the top ten was the real main event.
The spectating clan members all began to disperse. They had thought the final day would be the most boring, but it had turned out to be unexpectedly full of twists and turns.
As the departing clan members spread the news of what happened on the Combat Platform that final day, a sensation swept through the entire Lin Family.
The shock wasn’t that Lin Mingsong had defeated Lin Mingchuan. It was that Lin Yan, who had only recently been crowned the top rookie, had stormed into the top ten—and he’d done it in a devastating fashion, defeating his opponent with a single sword strike.
Bai Family.
"Miss, good news."
The Bai Family steward rushed into the courtyard and spoke before his miss could even say a word. "I’ve just received word, Young Master Yan has defeated Lin Mingjian of the Lin Family’s Fourth Branch and entered the top ten!"
"Oh?"
Bai Ruo’s eyes lit up. The Lin Family’s Grand Competition wasn’t open to outsiders, so the specific details of the fights were unknown. However, the Lin Family didn’t conceal the final rankings, so their vassal families were able to find them out.
"Only a few days ago, Young Master Yan took first place in the rookie competition. I thought we’d have to wait until the next Grand Competition for him to truly shine, but I never expected him to charge into the top ten this time around."
The steward remarked with feeling. Before Bai Ruo could respond, a laugh came from outside the courtyard gate.
"Hahaha, Ruo’er, I have some good news to share with you!"
Bai Jingxing’s hearty laughter echoed as his figure appeared at the courtyard entrance a moment later. However, upon seeing the steward standing in the yard, he immediately said, "It seems you already know, Ruo’er."
"Mm."
Bai Ruo nodded. "I was quite surprised myself."
"It’s more than just surprising. When the news spread, it sent shockwaves through all of us vassal families."
Although the Lin Family’s Grand Competition wasn’t public, vassal families like the Bai Family paid extremely close attention, trying to get news the moment it was available.
Before he came, Bai Jingxing had been drinking tea and chatting with the patriarchs of several other vassal families. They were all waiting for the Lin Family’s top ten list to be finalized.
Don’t be fooled by the fact that the younger generation’s Grand Competition is held only every two years. A person can participate twice, so in every competition, aside from one or two who have aged out, most of the faces remain the same.
Therefore, entering the top ten means becoming a future pillar of one’s branch.
They might not be the ones handling day-to-day clan affairs, but they are the kind of people who can mobilize their branch’s Martial Arts Resources with a single word. That has an even greater impact on vassal families like them.
Bai Jingxing’s mood was euphoric as he recalled the envious looks the other family heads gave him after their initial shock at the news of Lin Yan entering the top ten.
Back then, plenty of old geezers had mocked his family. They laughed at the Bai Family for losing its sense and sponsoring Lin Yan with the full strength of the clan.
And now...
’Now they’re all praising my judgment, my foresight, my boldness.’
’Thank goodness Ruo’er has such a good eye; she recognized Lin Yan’s potential from the very beginning.’
But when he saw the extraordinary glimmer in his daughter’s eyes, a new worry surfaced in Bai Jingxing’s heart.
’Lin Yan comes from a branch family. Even though he now has the status of a main family member, which seemingly puts him above our Bai Family, he’s ultimately all alone. The Bai Family, on the other hand, is an entire clan. If Ruo’er were to marry him, it wouldn’t be a case of her marrying up; they would be a perfectly matched pair.’
’But now... Lin Yan is revealing more and more potential, and he was starting to worry for Ruo’er.’
’As Lin Yan’s potential grows, he feared the Lin Clan Elders might have their own plans for Lin Yan’s marriage.’
’Furthermore, even if the Lin Family had no say in Lin Yan’s marriage and let him decide for himself, from what I know, most Martial Arts Powerhouses are largely indifferent to beauty and romance. As the Patriarch of the Bai Family, I naturally want my family to prosper, but I’m also a father who wants his daughter to be happy.’
’Forget it.’
’I’ll let Ruo’er decide for herself regarding her and Lin Yan.’
Third Branch.
Lin Minghai paced around Lin Yan, sizing him up from every angle as if trying to unravel a profound mystery.
"Brother Hai, what are you doing?"
"You kid, you quietly spring such a huge surprise on me, and you expect me not to take a good long look?"
"Minghai, stop with the ’kid’ stuff. With Lin Yan’s strength, he’ll probably step into the True Gang Realm in just a few years. When that happens, you’ll have to call him Uncle Thirteen."
Lin Mingyuan chuckled from the side. At his words, Lin Minghai went completely silent.
’Uncle Thirteen?’
’Calling Lin Yan that?’
"I’d dare to call him that, but we’ll have to see if Lin Yan dares to respond."
Lin Minghai pursed his lips but didn’t pursue the topic.
"Alright, stop bothering Lin Yan. The top ten battles are tomorrow. Let Lin Yan rest and conserve his strength so he’s in peak condition."
Lin Mingyuan dragged Lin Minghai straight out of the courtyard. Lin Yan saw them to the gate, then closed it and went back inside.
’I don’t really need to rest and conserve my strength. Making it into the top ten was nothing special.’
’By now, I have a rough grasp of my own strength. The Three Perfect Sword Intent generated by the Sword Pill, combined with the Blood Gang of the Blood Exchange Third Transformation, is enough to handle an ordinary Blood Exchange Fourth Transformation Martial Artist.’
’I said I used twenty percent of my strength, but that was just an estimate based on the numbers.’
’In reality, a strike condensing all eleven strands of Sword Intent isn’t as simple as being merely four times as powerful as my strike today.’
’And that’s not even counting the bonus from the Stone Waist Thunder Ridge!’
’In that case, if I go all out, I can fight anyone below the True Gang Realm.’
’As for True Gang...’
’Thinking of the oppressive feeling from the abyss behind his master, Lin Yan felt he should probably wait until he himself had entered the True Gang Realm before fighting someone in it.’

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