Ever since the Lin Family had been kicked out of the ranks of prominent families, they had moved their residence out of Profound Gold City's Outer Circle and relocated to a small town more than twenty li east of the city.
Such residences were not their true foundation to begin with. Whether it was the Jun Family, Qin Family, Luo Family, Gongsun Family, Chu Family, or the like, the villas and residences these forces maintained within Profound Gold City were mostly just temporary footholds. Their actual foundations lay elsewhere.
Families like the Jun Family had directly carved out entire mountain ranges, enclosing rolling peaks as their family strongholds. Though the Luo Family and Qin Family were not quite so extravagant, their headquarters were likewise built amid isolated mountains, no different from the other first-rate major sects of today. Their Sect Tokens were correspondingly established at their family headquarters.
Back when the Lin Family had still been among the prominent families, they too possessed a Sect Token. But under suppression from many sides, the family gradually declined and weakened, until they had no choice but to relinquish it.
Even at its worst, the Lin Family had once stood on par with a second-rate force. Yet because its operations differed from those of sect forces, and because it had risen through trade, over sixty percent of the soulmasters within the family had been hired from outside.
With their foundation shaken and resources scarce, those hired soulmasters had naturally chosen to leave out of self-interest.
Even if they had stayed, the Lin Family could no longer afford to employ them.
And without enough top-tier experts, no force could possibly hold its ground. Under such circumstances, the title of prominent family was jointly stripped from them by the other forces.
Lu Feng headed straight