Chapter 54: Gaining Another Advantage

After Lin Xuan took Lin Chang'an from Shangguan Chan's arms, a faint trace of worry still lingered in her eyes.

Carrying Lin Chang'an back to the Lin family private booth, Lin Xuan directly stuffed a high-grade healing pill into the boy's mouth.

As expected of a high-grade healing pill, Lin Chang'an's injuries were completely relieved in less than the time it took to burn an incense stick.

Lin Xuan had scavenged all these healing pills from the Dragon Sovereign's tomb; there were so many left that he could practically eat them like candy.

"Patriarch, Chang'an did not lose face for you, nor did he lose face for the Lin family."

As Lin Chang'an opened his eyes, the first words he spoke moved and comforted the members of the Lin family.

To have such a son was a blessing and a stroke of fortune for the Lin family!

Yuan Ying looked at Lin Xuan and then at Lin Chang'an. For some reason, even though the Lin family was currently surrounded by enemies, she felt a great sense of confidence in this currently weak clan.

On the Heavenly Ladder, Lin Fan was already in first place. Cui Wu and Qiu Chen had reached their limit at the ninth step, while Jian Shiyi had given up. Shangguan Chan also struggled to climb past the tenth step and eventually gave up as well.

Thus, even if Lin Fan gave up now, he would still be first. Just as Lin Xuan expected, Lin Fan indeed did not continue moving forward.

It wasn't that Lin Fan was unwilling to proceed, but rather that he wanted to keep something in reserve—which was also Lin Xuan's inner thought.

Back at the Jixia Academy, the only reason Lin Xuan dared to fully display his talent was because his master was the renowned Wine Sovereign of the Great Desolation; otherwise, Lin Xuan would certainly have held something back as well.

"Haha, the winner of the first round is Lin Fan of the Lin family!"

Xia Yi announced the results with a smile.

Everyone was extremely surprised by this result; it was truly unpredictable.

They had thought this round would be the home turf for the two from the Spirit Martial Sect, but they hadn't expected those two to fail to even reach the ninth step.

The ultimate victor turned out to be the "useless" young clan leader of the Lin family. Furthermore, it was truly admirable that a branch member of the Lin family possessed such strong willpower, risking death to reach the tenth step.

"Next is the Stability Test. You will be placed within an illusion. The first person to exit the illusion will be the winner of this round," Xia Yi said calmly.

Everyone proceeded to an area near the edge of the combat stage that resembled an altar.

This was also a creation of the Great Desolation; cultivators could enter an illusion by sitting cross-legged within it, though this was only applicable to cultivators in the Kaiyuan Realm.

"Patriarch, I am fine now. I will go first."

With the efficacy of the healing pill, Lin Chang'an's injuries had mostly recovered, and he returned to the combat stage.

At this moment, the way people looked at Lin Chang'an had completely changed.

Fighting across levels and reaching the tenth step—even in the entire Eastern Province, he would not be considered a weakling.

The crowd arrived at the illusion altar and found positions to sit cross-legged.

"Hehe, this round is mainly testing a martial artist's inner resolve and their personal stability," Shangguan Jian said with a faint smile.

"Mhm, this round should be quite interesting," Hu Ya grinned widely.

Ba Li, however, remained silent. He had lost all his dignity during the previous Heavenly Ladder round!

Lin Xuan yawned nonchalantly. He felt that this round would once again be the main stage for Lin Chang'an and Lin Fan.

He couldn't see through his own son; as for Lin Chang'an, his stability was extremely high, and he possessed a martial conviction that was unimaginable to ordinary people!

The light screens on the altar activated, and the youths in the arena fell into their respective illusions.

The illusionary worlds were extremely realistic. Some people already showed distressed expressions, clearly encountering terrifying illusions.

"Everyone, how about we place a bet? Whoever is the first to exit the illusion, we bet five thousand essence stones. What do you say?" Hu Ya of the Dragon-Tiger Gang laughed loudly.

"Hehe, there's no need to discuss anything else. I bet on my Cui family's Cui Wu," Cui Yongzhou said with a smile.

"I bet on Yin Jun of the Spirit Martial Sect," Bai Lao said.

As for why he bet on Yin Jun, firstly, Yin Jun was a disciple of the Spirit Martial Sect; even if he lost badly on the Heavenly Ladder, he surely had his merits. Secondly, it was to curry favor with Ba Li. After all, Ba Li was an elder of the Spirit Martial Sect. Although his daughter had backing there, having Ba Li look out for them wouldn't hurt.

"I bet on Qiu Chen!"

"I bet on Yang Hong!"

"Hahaha, how about this—I'll bet on Lin Chang'an!"

To everyone's surprise, Shangguan Jian actually placed his bet on Lin Chang'an.

Even Lin Xuan was somewhat taken aback.

Hou Mingyu also spoke up calmly, "Since the various Patriarchs are so interested, this Prince shall participate as well. I bet... Lin Fan of the Lin family."

As soon as Hou Mingyu spoke, the expressions of the Cui family, the Bai family, and Ba Li all shifted. They hadn't expected Hou Mingyu to place such high value on this Lin Fan!

"I'll bet on Lin Fan as well," Gong Ling added.

The crowd was shocked once more. This mysterious branch president of the Tongtian Chamber of Commerce, who had barely spoken since arriving, had actually placed a bet on Lin Fan. Could it be that the Tongtian Chamber of Commerce also saw potential in him?!

The faces of Cui Yongzhou, Bai Lao, Bai Rong, and Ba Li instantly darkened.

If the Tongtian Chamber of Commerce truly valued Lin Fan, they really wouldn't dare touch the Lin family.

After all, the overall strength of the Tongtian Chamber of Commerce was not only not weaker than the Spirit Martial Sect, but was actually a few degrees stronger.

Lin Xuan glanced at Gong Ling. This little girl looked cold on the outside, but her heart wasn't much different from that cute little girl from before; she was just as lovely.

"Hehe, since everyone has bet, I, as the Patriarch, naturally cannot be absent. I shall, of course, bet on my son," Lin Xuan said with a chuckle.

Just as Lin Xuan finished speaking, someone actually emerged from the illusion on the altar—in less than the time it took to burn an incense stick!

The person standing up was none other than Lin Fan!

"Hahaha! Essence stones! It seems I shall accept everyone's essence stones!" Lin Xuan laughed wildly.

The others had grim faces, but they could only accept their loss.

After all, this was happening in front of the entire Huaqing Prefecture.

With thirteen families, three sects, the Tongtian Chamber of Commerce, and Hou Mingyu participating, there were a total of ninety thousand essence stones in the pot. Those who bet on Lin Fan winning were Lin Xuan, Hou Mingyu, and Gong Ling. The ninety thousand essence stones were split equally among the three, giving them thirty thousand each.

Holding the heavy storage bag, Lin Xuan felt incredibly joyful.

He realized that essence stones were actually quite easy to earn. In such a short time, thirty thousand essence stones had already come into his possession.

His family worked themselves to death for a year just to earn a pittance; these few tens of thousands of essence stones were equivalent to several years of their previous meager earnings.

"Hehe, I didn't expect this young master to break even after all," Hou Mingyu said as he took the essence stones and tossed them onto the table without a second glance, acting as if money were dirt. His eyes couldn't help but flicker toward Lin Xue'er, though Lin Xue'er didn't give Hou Mingyu a single glance.

(End of Chapter)