Chapter 9: Is Patriarch Lin Really This Brutal?

"Father!"

Lin Fan cried out in great joy.

"Greetings, Patriarch!"

Seeing Lin Xuan, the others immediately cupped their fists and bowed.

According to the Lin family rules, within the estate, everyone could address Lin Xuan by his seniority, but outside, they were all required to address him as Patriarch—with the exception of a few, such as Lin Wen and Lin Wu...

Lin Xuan nodded slightly, his expression calm and composed. As he looked at Qian Yao, a trace of killing intent flickered in the depths of his eyes.

"Qian Yao, your Qian family truly doesn't want to survive in Cloud Mist City anymore, do you?"

Lin Xuan's words were very flat, like a pool of stagnant water.

However, to the ears of those present, they carried immense deterrent power.

Supported by others, Qian Yao staggered to his feet, his eyes filled with terror as he looked at Lin Xuan.

That sword strike just now could have truly taken his life!

Seeing Qian Yao with that look on his face, Lin Xuan gave a disdainful smile. He was just a small fry; when the opportunity arose, he would pull him and the Qian family behind him up by the roots!

Lin Xuan turned his head toward the stage.

Yang Chen looked at Lin Xuan with deep, inscrutable eyes; Lin Xuan's sword strike just now was no simple feat.

Ba Tong maintained his usual arrogant and overbearing demeanor, his eyes forever filled with contempt for others.

As for Wu Yifan, his face looked ugly. After all, many in the city now knew that Qian Yao was his man; Lin Xuan’s sword strike hadn't just hit Qian Yao—it had slapped Wu Yifan across the face.

Lin Xuan glanced at them casually until his eyes landed on Gong Ling. Decades of self-cultivation were almost undone, causing Lin Xuan to lose his composure.

*[Damn! Why is this woman here?!]*

Gong Ling was sitting in the seat reserved for the Tongtian Chamber of Commerce, which naturally meant she was the President of the Tongtian Chamber of Commerce.

For the past six months, Lin Xuan had lived in seclusion, and he hadn't known who had replaced the previous president. He never expected it to be this woman!

Seeing Lin Xuan looking at her, Gong Ling did not shy away in the slightest. She stared at him with eyes like lightning, a strange, inexplicable smile playing on her lips.

Lin Xuan shivered slightly.

As Lin Xuan's eldest son, Lin Fan keenly noticed that his father looked a bit strange when he glanced toward the Tongtian Chamber of Commerce.

Then, recalling how President Gong had helped him block a palm strike earlier...

There was something going on between these two!!!

"Ahem, I have arrived. You two, are you ready to fight?!"

Lin Xuan tapped his feet and leaped, landing directly on the Cloud Mist battlefield.

Above, Ba Tong and Yang Chen exchanged glances.

Ba Tong flew out first.

"Hmph! I alone am enough to kill you!"

The two stood on the stage, pitted against each other!

The crowd below was already stirred up.

In a small city like Cloud Mist City, there were only about ten Great Yuan Dan realm experts in total. A battle between Great Yuan Dan realm experts was a rare sight, seen only once every few years.

The last time had been four years ago, when Lin Xuan had forcefully killed the Great Elder of the Wu family.

"Wait."

Suddenly, Lin Xuan held up a hand.

"What? Are you regretting it now?" Ba Tong grinned disdainfully.

"But it's too late for regrets. Today, you must die, and I will gladly accept the women of your Lin family!"

Ba Tong had always been extremely arrogant when outside. In his eyes, the Lin family was already within his grasp.

Furthermore, Ba Tong had already made an agreement with the Wu family and others: once Lin Xuan was killed, half of the Lin family's assets would belong to him and Yang Chen.

Half of a family's assets—that was bound to be a significant amount.

More importantly, it was suspected that Lin Xuan possessed a Spirit-grade martial art!

"No, I heard that the odds for me are as high as twenty to one, so I’ve come to play a little."

"Patriarch Wu, is that allowed?"

Lin Xuan looked at Wu Yifan and said with a chuckle.

Wu Yifan was stunned and frowned slightly, then said with disdain

"Patriarch Lin is naturally welcome to play. You had best bet on yourself to lose; that way, you might at least win some Yuan stones for your Lin family!"

"Hahaha!"

Everyone burst into laughter at these words.

Lin Xuan was not angry; there wasn't even a hint of expression on his face. He simply tossed out a storage bag.

"I bet ten thousand Yuan stones that I will win!"

Ten thousand Yuan stones!

The crowd gasped.

As expected of a Patriarch; he was truly wealthy.

Generally, one only used Yuan stones upon reaching the Kaiyuan realm. A typical ninth-stage Kaiyuan cultivator might have a net worth of only a few hundred Yuan stones, and a Yuan Dan realm cultivator’s assets were likely only a few thousand.

Now, Lin Xuan had just thrown out ten thousand.

"Hahaha, then I shall gratefully accept!"

Wu Yifan was overjoyed and immediately pocketed the storage bag.

This was practically a gift being handed to him.

Ba Tong was unhappy; half of these Yuan stones were supposed to be his!

Ten thousand Yuan stones was a very considerable resource even for him.

Gong Ling watched Lin Xuan's actions quietly. As an "old friend" of Lin Xuan, she considered herself quite familiar with him.

Lin Xuan was a man who generally only did things he was certain of.

How could the ninth disciple of Wine Master be a fool!?

"City Lord Xiao, can the life-and-death battle begin now?"

Wu Yifan was impatient; he couldn't wait for Lin Xuan to die!

Xiao Lingyun sighed inwardly.

"According to the Great Desolate Laws, once a life-and-death battle is agreed upon, the Great Desolate will not interfere!"

No sooner had Xiao Lingyun finished speaking than Ba Tong’s body erupted with golden light.

"Old thing, I've been annoyed by you ever since I was at your Lin family!"

"Die for me!"

"Golden Heaven-Suppressing Palm!"

He struck out with a palm toward Lin Xuan, moving with great speed.

The crowd gasped; the battle had started without a word of warning!

The Cloud Mist stage was large, covering ten acres—enough for two Great Yuan Dan realm experts to spar.

Moreover, there was a Yuan energy light barrier at the edge of the stage to block the shockwaves.

Lin Xuan’s expression remained unchanged. Ba Tong’s move was a Mortal-grade eighth-tier martial art; it seemed Ba Tong was getting serious right from the start.

"Boom!"

The palm strike landed, but Lin Xuan dodged it easily, leaving the palm print etched into the stage.

"The power is passable, but the speed is too slow. This is truly boring."

Lin Xuan shook his head slightly.

At this level, even if he hadn't broken through to the late stage or cultivated the Profound Desolate Battle Body, he could have easily avoided it.

Could it be that this was the true level of a Spirit Martial Sect manager?

"Ahhh, you old thing!"

Lin Xuan’s insult enraged Ba Tong, who continued to lunge at him.

After a dozen exchanges, Ba Tong hadn't even touched the hem of Lin Xuan's clothes, while Lin Xuan had kept his hands behind his back the entire time.

"This..."

The crowd below wasn't stupid; they could clearly see that Lin Xuan was completely at ease, while Ba Tong looked like a teased bull, knowing only how to strike wildly.

On the stage, Wu Yifan’s face was as dark as the bottom of a pot.

Yang Chen’s heart skipped a beat—this Lin Xuan was much stronger than he had imagined!

Gong Ling, meanwhile, smiled slightly. This guy actually had a few tricks up his sleeve; it seemed he wouldn't need her help after all.

As for Xiao Ya'er, she kept shouting, "Uncle Lin is so amazing!"

Xiao Lingyun sat to the side, feeling quite helpless.

"Ahhh, old thing, is all you can do is dodge?!"

Ba Tong roared in impotent rage, glaring at Lin Xuan.

"You are truly too weak. So weak that I’m starting to doubt if you really are a manager of the Spirit Martial Sect. Could it be that all the managers of the Spirit Martial Sect are at this level?"

Lin Xuan asked indifferently, endlessly provoking Ba Tong’s pride.

"You're courting death!"

Ba Tong pulled a long saber from his storage bag—a Mortal-grade eighth-tier weapon.

"Bang!"

The slash missed again. Lin Xuan no longer intended to play; this Ba Tong had disappointed him greatly.

"Shadow-Stepping Footwork!"

"Earth Fiend Palm!"

Lin Xuan shouted, teleporting directly toward Ba Tong.

In the blink of an eye, covering dozens of meters, Lin Xuan was already behind Ba Tong.

Ba Tong was terrified, his hair standing on end.

"Boom!"

A sword beam struck out, slashing directly toward Lin Xuan’s side. Lin Xuan had no choice but to abandon Ba Tong, flipping back to stand firmly at the edge of the stage.

It was Yang Chen who had attacked.

"I actually underestimated you, Manager. You are stronger than I imagined."

Yang Chen’s eye sockets were sunken, and his gaze toward Lin Xuan was filled with killing intent.

Since they had already offended him, putting him to death was the best choice!

"Heh, you’ve finally made a move. I can see that you are much stronger than this piece of trash."

Lin Xuan smiled calmly, showing no tension at being one against two.

The crowd below was stunned.

"Patriarch Lin is actually this strong? He was playing with the Spirit Martial Sect manager like a toy!"

"Too strong! As expected of Patriarch Lin, truly amazing!"

"It’s mostly because that Ba Tong is useless."

"Heh, he’s at least a Great Yuan Dan realm expert—you try going up there and see!"

"Patriarch Lin actually possesses such powerful strength; the outcome of this battle is now uncertain!"

The crowd buzzed with discussion.

Seeing Yang Chen join the fray, Wu Yifan felt a surge of joy, for he knew that Ba Tong was only at the mid-stage of the Great Yuan Dan realm.

However, Yang Chen was different. Yang Chen was a peak Great Yuan Dan realm cultivator, and a top-tier one at that, having studied martial arts for over thirty years!