Chapter 252 - 44: Drawing the Sword

Chapter 252: Chapter 44: Drawing the Sword

Several more days passed.

"Lin Yan, I have some good news and some bad news for you."

Lin Mingye had shown up in Lin Yan’s courtyard again. Ever since the Water Bandits disappeared from the river, his favorite thing to do was come over to Lin Yan’s place to kill time.

"You’re here at the East River with me. Where are you getting so much news?"

Lin Yan wasn’t curious about the news Lin Mingye had to share, because he knew the other would spill it all on his own soon enough. What he was curious about was how Lin Mingye was getting news from the clan.

Even for a Blood Exchange Realm Martial Artist traveling at full speed, the trip back to the clan from here would take the better part of a day.

"Someone from the clan comes every few days to deliver supplies, including the Elixirs everyone wants to trade for. I heard it from the clansmen who came over."

Since Lin Shouzhi was the one in charge of guarding the East River Waters, the people sent to deliver supplies were also from the main branch. It was easy for Lin Mingye to ask around for information.

"I see."

Hearing Lin Yan’s simple "I see" and nothing more, Lin Mingye couldn’t help but ask, "Aren’t you curious about the good news and bad news I have?"

"I am."

"If you’re so curious, why aren’t you asking me?"

"You’re already here, so you’ll tell me eventually. All I need to do is listen quietly."

Lin Mingye fell silent for a moment. Lin Yan’s answer seemed to be flawless.

"The bad news is, there are a lot of rumors going around the clan lately. They say you’re using your strength to bully the weak. I did some asking, and the rumors are coming from the Fifth Branch. It’s probably Lin Minghao’s doing. He’s saying you forced Lin Xiao to give up the mission of guarding the fish farm. Now, a lot of people in the Fifth Branch are unhappy with you, including Brother Mingshan and his lot." ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

A worried look appeared on Lin Mingye’s face. "When your mission guarding the East River is over and you return to the clan, I’m afraid someone from the Fifth Branch will challenge you."

"Challenge me? What would be the reason?"

"The same reason you challenged Lin Xiao, of course."

"Lin Xiao and I are both from branch families. If someone from the Fifth Branch wants to challenge me, what kind of status do you think they’d need?"

Faced with Lin Yan’s counter-question, Lin Mingye was stunned. A few breaths later, he suddenly slapped his forehead and started laughing.

"Lin Yan, you’re pretty devious! You calculated that the only people in the Fifth Branch qualified to challenge you aren’t as strong as you are."

Lin Mingye had figured it out. For a member of the Fifth Branch to challenge Lin Yan, they would have to be, like Lin Yan, someone who broke through to the Blood Exchange Realm this year. But the key was that Lin Yan had already reached the Blood Exchange Second Transformation. These people would be no match for him.

If the Fifth Branch sent a clansman at the Blood Exchange Second Transformation to challenge Lin Yan, he could simply refuse the challenge.

Lin Yan was naturally in an invincible position.

"I was originally going to tell you the other piece of good news, but it seems like it’s not much use to you now."

"Let’s hear it."

Hearing Lin Mingye say this, Lin Yan’s curiosity was genuinely piqued. He looked up from the Abyssal Sword Body he was wiping.

"The Fifth Branch has a guest lately, supposedly a friend of Uncle Jiu. The man brought a disciple with him whose Realm is only the Blood Exchange First Transformation, but his Sword Dao talent is extraordinary. Among the sword users in the Fifth Branch, everyone has lost to him except for Sister Mingxi, who hasn’t fought. Now, finding someone to defeat that guy and save the Fifth Branch’s face is their top priority. Those Fifth Branch elders don’t have time to bother with the squabble between you and Lin Minghao."

"A Sword Dao genius?"

Lin Yan’s eyes showed surprise. "Since he’s a friend of Uncle Jiu, it shouldn’t have escalated to the point where the Fifth Branch feels their honor is at stake."

"The problem is that guy’s mouth is unbelievably foul, rivaling Brother Minghai’s. He directly said the people of the Fifth Branch are unworthy of practicing with the sword, that they’re just defiling it. If you were from the Fifth Branch, wouldn’t you be furious?"

"That is pretty foul."

Brother Hai was famous throughout the clan for his foul mouth. By using Brother Hai as an example, Lin Mingye made Lin Yan understand just how foul this person’s mouth must be, and how punchable his words were.

"So it’s because this person has a foul mouth and provoked the Fifth Branch that the situation developed like this?"

"It’s not just his foul mouth. He’s also said to be... barely human-looking. And despite being ugly, he has grand ambitions. The moment he arrived at the estate and saw Sister Mingxi, he directly announced he wanted to marry her. That’s what triggered the public outrage..."

From Lin Mingye’s story, Lin Yan finally understood the whole sequence of events.

Sister Mingxi was a person of high standing, a goddess who couldn’t be profaned in the eyes of the Fifth Branch. For an incredibly ugly fellow to have such ambitions was like a toad lusting after a swan’s flesh. The younger generation of the Fifth Branch was enraged and began launching verbal attacks. But the visitor was no slouch with words either. After both sides exchanged a round of ’greetings,’ the war of words evolved into a physical brawl.

You say I’m a toad lusting after a swan’s flesh? I say you Lin Family members aren’t even as good as this toad.

For a Martial Artist, strength does the talking!

Unexpectedly, this guy’s skill in the Sword Dao was truly high, and all the clansmen from the Lin Family’s Fifth Branch were defeated.

Normally, a loss would have been the end of it. But this guy, after every victory, would verbally mock his opponent, grinding the faces of the Fifth Branch clansmen into the dirt.

As for why Sister Mingxi hadn’t stepped in, it was because the visitor had specifically challenged the men of the Lin Family by name.

In fact, every member of the Lin Family could imagine that if Sister Mingxi did fight and win, given how foul-mouthed the guy was, he would probably just say something like, "The great Fifth Branch of the Lin Family has no real men, needing a woman to come out and save face."

"The situation has been escalating. I heard it’s not just the Fifth Branch anymore; even people from the other branches can’t stand it and want to step up. But I don’t think... it’ll work."

Lin Mingye shook his head. He didn’t claim to know the strength of every clansman, but he paid special attention to the ones who used swords. In the clan, the strongest sword practitioners were from the Fifth Branch—after all, they had Uncle Jiu, a Sword Dao powerhouse.