Chapter 21: A Great Harvest, Sword-Shaped Grass!

Early the next morning,

Cloud Mist City was shaken to its core. The estates of the Jia and Fang families had unexpectedly become empty mansions, while the Wu family estate now bore the prominent inscription of the Lin residence. As for the former Lin estate, it had been reduced to a pile of ruins!

"Have you heard? The three great families—Wu, Jia, and Fang—colluded with the enemy and attempted to launch a sneak attack on the City Lord's Mansion last night. Fortunately, City Lord Xiao and Head of the Lin Family joined forces to repel them and exterminate the three families!"

"The City Lord's Mansion issued a notice: the Wu, Fang, and Jia families have been executed!"

"That means from now on, only two great families remain in Cloud Mist City!"

"Hiss—the Lin Family Head actually turned defeat into victory and defeated the three great families!"

The cultivators of Cloud Mist City were buzzing with discussion.

One news report after another spread throughout the entire city, all under the control of City Lord Xiao. Regardless, any disgusting labels could be slapped onto the three great families.

As for the Cui family of Huaqing Prefecture, setting aside the fact that they were being watched by the Shangguan family and couldn't spare the effort, the Cui family simply had no evidence to prove that Lin Xuan was the one who killed their Fourth Master.

Cui Yongdi had intended to go to the Cui family's No. 6 mine anyway, and now that he had mysteriously disappeared, Lin Xuan could easily insist that he had never even seen Fourth Master Cui.

***

The Lin Estate

"Patriarch, the assets of the Wu and Jia families have been inventoried. However, in just one day and night, we could only complete a rough tally because there is simply too much."

Inside the Lin residence—which had been converted from the Wu family estate—Lin Xuan sat in the head seat of the Lin family, with several accountants positioned below him.

"Hmm, let's hear it. I want to know how many good things the Wu and Jia families left for me."

Lin Xuan took a sip of the large jade green tea scavenged from the Wu residence; it was truly refreshing.

"Yes, Patriarch."

The lead accountant bowed respectfully before beginning to recite the findings to Lin Xuan.

"Upon inspection, the Jia family treasury contains 80,000 essence stones, seven weapons of the Mortal Grade 7th rank or higher, forty-three weapons ranging from Mortal Grade 4th to 6th rank, and two hundred and thirty-one weapons of the 3rd rank or below."

"Furthermore, the Jia family's assets include one mine, three restaurants, two teahouses, three casinos, one brothel, and even two escort agencies and a weapon-refining workshop..."

"In addition to these, many martial arts manuals were discovered within the Jia residence, along with numerous strange medicinal pills that have yet to be meticulously cataloged."

The accountant's voice grew dry from the sheer amount of recitation.

"Hahaha!"

Suddenly, a vigorous burst of laughter came from outside the door. It was Lin Wen and Lin Wu.

"Third Brother, you have no idea! We even found Jia Ling's private stash! There are 20,000 essence stones, even a 9th-rank weapon, a 9th-rank Mortal Grade martial arts manual, and some high-quality pills. It's fantastic!"

Lin Wu appeared particularly excited, laughing loudly.

Lin Xuan could not help but crack a smile. The Jia family's assets, when all added up, exceeded 200,000 essence stones. This was a massive windfall, one that the Lin family likely did not possess in such quantity.

"Big Brother, Second Brother, please sit down first. We still have the Wu family's assets to discuss. The Wu family has been in Cloud Mist City for over two hundred years; they surely have even more good things."

Lin Xuan said with a faint smile.

Hearing this, Lin Wu and Lin Wen immediately sat down, looking extremely eager.

"Indeed. Reporting to the Patriarch and the two Elders, the Wu family's assets are indeed far greater."

The accountant swapped for a ledger that was half as thick as the previous one.

"As for the Wu family, we recovered 130,000 essence stones, thirteen weapons of the 7th rank or higher, seventy-three weapons from the 4th to 6th rank, and three hundred and eighty-nine weapons of the 3rd rank or below. Then there are the assets: two iron mines, one small refined iron mine, three medicinal herb fields, one restaurant, four gambling dens, and three teahouses..."

It was too much—simply too much. Lin Wu was so excited that he snatched the ledger to flip through it himself. Lin Xuan could only laugh and shake his head at his second brother's behavior.

"Wonderful! This is enough to sustain our Lin family's development for fifty years!" Lin Wu exclaimed joyfully.

Lin Xuan merely shook his head slightly. Forget fifty years; according to his plans, these resources would likely be exhausted in three years, and they might not even last that long.

However, the Wu family's offerings were indeed immense, especially the iron and refined iron mines. These were precious assets; he hadn't expected the Wu family to possess them.

"Oh, right, Patriarch. Previously, some Lin disciples discovered the private stash of the Wu family head, Wu Yifan. We are currently waiting for you to open it," the accountant continued.

Lin Xuan nodded calmly, then rose and walked toward the Wu family's backyard. At this moment, the backyard appeared vibrant and full of life, looking nothing like a place that had recently undergone a massacre.

When the three of them reached the residence of the Wu family head, they indeed found an iron wall. Lin Xuan took the key from Wu Yifan's storage bag, unlocked it, and the contents within were suddenly revealed.

The cabinet was not large, and there were not many items, but everything inside was undeniably high-quality.

"Is this... a 9th-rank Mortal Grade Treasure Armor!?"

"Holy crap, is this a Small Broken Essence Pill!?"

"Is this an Opening Essence Pill!?"

"Is this a Quasi-Spirit Grade martial arts manual?!"

"What kind of grass is this? Why does it look so strange?"

Suddenly, Lin Wen's remark piqued Lin Xuan's interest.

Lin Xuan took the jade box and stared at the herb lying inside, startled.

Sword-Shaped Grass!!!

It was a heavenly treasure used to comprehend the Intent of the Sword!

Such a thing was a rarity that could not be sought even in the Great Desolation Imperial Capital, let alone in Cloud Mist City.

Lin Xuan remembered participating in an auction once where a single stalk of Sword-Shaped Grass was sold for the staggering price of 2.2 million essence stones! Several powerhouses in the Spirit Communication Realm had fought tooth and nail for it!

However, the stalk in Lin Xuan's hand was somewhat imperfect. Even so, it was a treasure worth millions!

Lin Xuan had not expected that a fellow like Wu Yifan would possess such a treasure. Lin Xuan would dare to say that even if the entire Wu family were sold, they wouldn't be worth a single leaf of this treasure!

"It seems you are in great need of it, Third Brother. Then it is yours."

Seeing Lin Xuan's loss of composure, Lin Wen and Lin Wu clearly understood that this was an extraordinary treasure, but neither of them raised any objection.

"Then, Big Brother, Second Brother, I shall take this."

Lin Xuan was not being polite. He practiced the Way of the Sword, and the most profound realm of the Way of the Sword was the comprehension of Sword Intent. Lin Xuan felt he was only half a step away from that realm; now, all he truly lacked was this single stalk of Sword-Shaped Grass!

After securing the Sword-Shaped Grass, the three of them cleared out everything else in the cabinet. While the three of them might not all be able to use these items, they could be used as rewards for the younger generation of the Lin family. Following this great battle, many members of the Lin family had seen advancements, even reaching the third generation.

Of particular interest to Lin Xuan was his eldest brother Lin Wen's grandson, Lin Ao, who had actually reached the fourth level of the Opening Essence stage. There was a high chance he could break through to the Essence Pill stage before the age of twenty-five. Because of Lin Xuan, his future was limitless!