Lin Xuan

Great Yan Dynasty, Great Yan Prefecture!

Great Yan Prefecture was the foremost prefecture of the Great Yan Dynasty and was also known as the Imperial Prefecture, because the Imperial City stood in the eastern part of Great Yan Prefecture.

Yet today, the liveliest place in all of Great Yan Prefecture was not the Imperial City in the east, but Lin City, another major city in Great Yan Prefecture that faced the Imperial City from east to west!

Lin City was home to the Lin Clan. The fact that Lin City could stand alongside the Imperial City showed the Lin Clan's status.

Naturally, today's bustle in Lin City had also been caused by the Lin Clan, for today was the day of the Clan Gathering of the Lin Clan, one of the Four Great Clans of the Great Yan Dynasty!

As one of the Four Great Clans, the Lin Clan naturally invited countless factions to witness its Clan Gathering. This time was no exception; in fact, it was even livelier than previous years.

That was because the strongest contender for this year's Clan Gathering Champion was named Lin Langtian. Many Lin Clan elders hailed him as an unparalleled genius rarely seen in centuries, while some even called him the Lin Clan's greatest genius!

At this moment, this year's Clan Gathering was in full swing within the enormous and imposing Colosseum at the very center of Lin City.

The Colosseum's layout was rather unusual. It resembled a funnel overall, with the spectator stands stretching outward and gradually rising.

Meanwhile, the competition grounds in the center were arranged like stacked plates into a cone, narrow at the top and broad at the bottom. The lower one went, the more arenas there were; the higher one went, the larger and fewer they became. At the very top, there was only one.

That would be the site of the final battle. Under the gaze of countless spectators, the victor would ascend to the champion's throne and become famous throughout Great Yan!

At this time, the vast Colosseum was already packed with figures. Surging Origin Power fluctuations flickered everywhere, accompanied from time to time by strange ripples of Mental Energy.

"Lin Langtian of the Lin Clan!"

"Lin Xiao of the Qingyang Town branch!"

As the referee's voice fell, an uproar immediately erupted throughout the Colosseum. Countless gazes turned toward the figure in green standing in the VIP seats.

Lin Langtian—an incomparably dazzling name. At just twenty years old, he had already broken through to the Core Formation Realm. One had to know that in the Great Yan Dynasty, anyone who broke through before the age of twenty-five was already considered a genius!

In the eyes of the Lin Clan elders, Lin Langtian was practically the Lin Clan's future. His prospects were boundless!

To build momentum for Lin Langtian, who had reached the Great Perfection of the Core Formation Realm, the rules of this Clan Gathering had even been specially changed to prohibit all clan members in the Creation Three Realms from participating.

After all, Lin Langtian was only in his early twenties. Some of the previous generation's geniuses in the clan, nearly thirty years old, had already reached the Shaping Realm or even the Qi Creation Realm. They could easily defeat Lin Langtian at the Great Perfection of the Core Formation Realm.

At this moment, Lin Mu, who was presiding over the Clan Gathering, listened to the elders beside him praise Lin Langtian and could not help turning to glance at the young man standing quietly at his side.

Compared with the lavishly dressed Lin Langtian, the young man wore only a simple coarse-cloth robe. His long hair was merely tied behind his back, and he held a black, blunt-edged sword upside down in his hand, making him appear exceedingly casual.

Yet this seemingly inconspicuous man would immediately draw the eye of anyone with true discernment.

Unlike Lin Langtian's flashy ostentation, the young man seemed ordinary, yet he was like a true divine sword—concealed and unissued, with all his sharpness drawn within the blade. Like a divine sword sealed within its Sword Sheath, once drawn, its edge would surely astonish the world!

However, few had seen the young man make a move, and there were likewise few within the Lin Clan who possessed such discernment.

Lin Mu was one of them. As one of only two people who had seen the young man draw his sword, Lin Mu had only one assessment of him—he was not someone Lin Mu was qualified to judge!

The young man's name was Lin Xuan. Though he had only just come of age, his strength was extraordinarily formidable.

Lin Xuan was not a member of the Lin Clan—at least not by blood. Lin Fan had found him outside and brought him back.

According to Clan Chief Lin Fan, after breaking through to the Nirvana Realm and emerging from seclusion, he had happened to sense the birth of a spiritual treasure and followed it there. Upon approaching, he found a black, blunt-edged sword stuck in the ground.

Having already broken through to the Nirvana Realm, Lin Fan naturally intended to bring such a fortuitous treasure home. Yet he discovered that even with all his strength, he could not make the divine sword budge in the slightest.

Just as Lin Fan was about to give up, he noticed that an infant was lying beside the divine sword.

Lin Fan had intended to bring the infant back to the Lin Clan to raise him, lest he be devoured by demonic beasts. Yet as Lin Fan held the infant and prepared to leave, the divine sword that he had been unable to move at all strangely flew into his hand.

After his shock, Lin Fan vaguely realized that this divine sword might belong to the infant, and that the child might have an unusual origin. Thus, he accepted him as his adopted son and raised him within the clan.

Because of the divine sword's mysteries and the strange circumstances surrounding it, Lin Fan named the infant Lin Xuan.

Perhaps sensing Lin Mu's gaze, Lin Xuan turned to look at him as well. Seeing Lin Xuan look over, Lin Mu smiled and asked.

"Lin Xuan, what do you think of Lin Langtian's strength?"

Lin Xuan did not answer Lin Mu immediately. He watched Lin Langtian leap gracefully from the VIP seats into the arena before softly speaking.

"This man possesses remarkable talent and immense strength. He is no weaker than I am!"

Upon hearing Lin Xuan's words, Lin Mu's cheek twitched involuntarily.

Lin Mu still remembered sparring with Lin Xuan once before. He had suppressed his cultivation to Lin Xuan's level and asked how strong he was and whether he could defeat Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan's answer had been the same.

But the result that time was that, at the same realm, Lin Mu had not even been given the chance to use advanced martial arts before Lin Xuan suppressed him from beginning to end with a single sword.

And this time, Lin Xuan had once again said, "He is no weaker than I am," making Lin Mu's expression turn rather strange.

Weren't geniuses supposed to be immensely proud and look down on everyone else? Like Lin Langtian, who practically had his eyes on top of his head.

After speaking, Lin Xuan ignored Lin Mu's expression and fixed his gaze on the high-spirited man walking onto the arena.

The man looked to be around thirty. Though his strength was ordinary, his face was full of vigor.

Lin Xiao!

"Hm? What, do you think highly of that junior from the branch family?"

Seeing that Lin Xuan had remained silent and turned his attention to Lin Xiao, Lin Mu could not help asking. Lin Xuan merely shook his head slightly, a trace of dazed recollection flashing through his eyes.