Chapter 548 - 546: Divine Copper Array

This was an utterly unreasonable demand from Lin Wanhao. Asking a junior whose cultivation was so much lower than theirs to do something they themselves couldn’t—it was practically a setup.

"You don’t need to say another word, Sir. I will do it, no matter what. He is my father!" Lin Xuan’s reply was resolute. His main goal now was to wake his father. He had to wake him, no matter the cost!

"But that will be a very long process, and I am not capable of that just yet. Right now, the Lin Clan is in peril, and the situation outside is growing more dangerous by the day. It’s only a matter of time before the Yan Family and Su Family find us here. If we don’t form an alliance and they actually attack, our Lin Clan will be doomed!" Lin Xuan had never witnessed the Yan Family’s power for himself, but since they had managed to destroy the Lin Clan once, they could certainly do it again!

"Oh, we admit you have a point, but are you certain the Bu Family is trustworthy?" Lin Wanhao retorted with a sneer. He simply felt that Lin Xuan was too young, too green, and acting purely on impulse.

Everyone knew an alliance was a good thing, but what if they stabbed you in the back?

"I never said the Bu Family was trustworthy, but at least they offer some hope." Lin Xuan said in a solemn voice, "I don’t intend to trust the Bu Family completely, but I do plan to build a good relationship with them and at least bring information from them back here. I will handle all the negotiations personally. I won’t bring them here to negotiate; I will just be responsible for relaying messages."

"To the outside world, I am seen as a disciple of the Bu Family, so it will be easy for me to relay messages and stay hidden. If they really mean me harm, I won’t tell them about this place, so what do you have to worry about? I will act as a representative and negotiate with them. It’s that simple," Lin Xuan added.

It was a reasonable compromise: talk about an alliance first, and worry about the rest later.

"That’s easy for you to say. But what if they deceive you?" Lin Wanhao said mockingly.

"Just let him do it this once. Let him negotiate, just as he said. A representative is precisely what we are lacking right now, and an alliance is ultimately a good thing. The Lin Clan’s current situation is much better than before, but we still lack sufficient combat strength. I hope you all are self-aware enough to realize that," Long Yuwei replied nonchalantly.

Lin Wanhao was stunned. None of them had expected Long Yuwei to say such a thing; she was completely on Lin Xuan’s side, choosing to put her full trust in him.

Just because Long Yuwei believed in Lin Xuan didn’t mean they were willing to; they didn’t understand the situation at all. ’Who the hell knows if what Lin Xuan said was true or a lie? And even if it’s true, so what? If his ability is too low, he could easily mess things up and make matters worse.’

"Patriarch Long, we understand that you trust your own son, and we respect that, but it doesn’t mean we will choose to trust him!" Lin Wanhao stated bluntly, his gaze sharp. "The real question is, is he truly competent enough for this position as representative? I feel that many of the Lin Clan disciples here could go in the Young Master’s place!"

"So you’re questioning Xuan’Er’s ability?" Long Yuwei’s eyes narrowed, but she didn’t flare up in anger.

"Yes. Anyone can talk. When it comes to actual negotiations, we would rather send another Lin Clan disciple. We are confident that they wouldn’t leak a single thing!" Lin Wanhao chose to trust one of his own over Lin Xuan, whom he was meeting for the first time.

"First place in the Empire’s Grand Battle—is that not ability?" Long Yuwei retorted.

"It counts, of course it counts... But we have no proof of what that means. The geniuses in the Empire’s Grand Battle have been getting weaker and weaker. It’s not so surprising to win it nowadays," Lin Wanhao challenged without holding back.

"So, what you elders are saying is, you want to test my ability? To see if I’m worthy of the position of Young Master?" Lin Xuan had long since understood their underlying meaning.

They were making it clear that there were many in the Lin Clan who could replace the Young Master, especially one they found so untrustworthy.

"No, I never said that. I was just stating a fact," Lin Wanhao replied with a calm smile, though that was exactly what he meant.

"Then send out the disciple you consider a genius to exchange a few moves with me. We’ll compete using only the Lin’s Staff Technique, and nothing else!" Lin Xuan drew his Chi Dragon Heavens Rod and slammed it on the ground. A domineering aura erupted from him, stunning the entire room.

Seeing him hold that familiar weapon, he had the same commanding presence as the Patriarch of old!

"Very well!" Lin Wanhao laughed. "Then you will enter the Divine Copper Array and challenge it on the highest difficulty. Do you dare accept?"

"Of course I accept!"

’In the end, it always comes down to strength. If you want to be convincing, you have to display enough power to shock everyone into submission.’

The Divine Copper Array was specifically used for practicing the Lin’s Staff Technique. Its difficulty could be adjusted according to one’s ability, with the maximum setting designed to handle experts within the Spirit Pill Stage.

It was a fitting test for Lin Xuan, but the difficulty was absolutely terrifying—it could easily kill a Spirit Pill Stage expert in an instant.

"Good!" Lin Wanhao said with a smile. "If you lose, you will remain here. We won’t ask anything else of you. If you win, then we will recognize you as our representative!"

Long Yuwei said nothing. She knew that to win their respect, such a display was necessary, so she could only silently agree.

They immediately moved to another area of the Crystal Palace, a vast and empty martial arts arena. Upon entering, they saw what looked like the Copperman Array. It resembled the Copperman Array, but it wasn’t. A normal Copperman Array used only basic attacks, but this version could execute the Lin’s Staff Technique, and its power was terrifying.

There were seven Divine Copper Men, all forged from extremely precious materials. ’I wonder if they’ll attack together?’

"Be careful," Long Yuwei reminded him.

"I know, Mother..." Lin Xuan nodded, then walked up to the Divine Copper Array. Lin Wanhao unceremoniously cranked the difficulty to the maximum, and the entire array lit up.

The onlooking disciples all sucked in a sharp breath and couldn’t help but start discussing it.

"The Divine Copper Array on its highest difficulty? He’s practically asking to be killed... Even our strongest, Lin Hui, couldn’t handle it. Now it’s his turn? He’s definitely doomed..."

"Yeah, this is absolutely lethal! It’s terrifying just thinking about it. If he actually pulls this off, I’ll worship him! I’ll recognize him as the Young Master!"

"Are you bullshitting? If he can really beat the Divine Copper Array with a Fourth Layer of Spirit Pill Stage cultivation, I’d worship him too!"

...

In the hearts of the many disciples, the Divine Copper Array was an absolute nightmare. No one ever activated the highest difficulty during their normal cultivation.

Lin Xuan gazed at the seven Divine Copper Men, a faint smile playing on his lips. ’The Divine Copper Array, eh? I’m actually looking forward to seeing what this authentic Copperman Array can do!’

The Lin Family’s original Copperman Array was just a modified and greatly weakened version of this one, built with far cheaper materials. This Divine Copper Array, however, was equivalent to seven Divine Artifacts, with every single attack unleashed at maximum power!