The Banquet

North of Yan City, a vast and imposing manor stood in quiet splendor. This was the Lin Family's estate, the home of one of Yan City's newly risen Four Great Powers.

Three or four months ago, the Lin Family could hardly have been considered a major force in Yan City. Ask around, and anyone could point out several different families named Lin.

But things had gradually begun to change a little over two months ago.

A little over two months ago, a young man named Lin Dong had nearly single-handedly wiped out the Blood Robe Sect, a notorious force in Yan City.

From then on, the Lin Family of Qingyang Town—a small, obscure power—had caught the attention of many of Yan City's influential forces.

Yet what truly transformed the Lin Family, and the balance of power throughout Yan City, was the life-and-death duel a little over half a month ago.

At first, everyone had thought it was simply a clash between an established Yan City family and a rising one, where the winner would reign and the loser would be crushed.

But who could have guessed that the duel would not only erase the Song Family, an old-established Yan City clan, from the city entirely, but also trigger a new reshuffling of its powers?

Lin Dong had slain Song Cheng with his own hands, enraging the Blood Wolf Gang. Then Yue Shan himself had entered the fray, only to be cruelly crushed in a single hand, without the slightest ability to resist.

And so, the Blood Wolf Gang, one of Yan City's Four Great Powers, was erased overnight as well.

The names of the Lin Family and Lin Dong had become famous throughout Yan City after that life-and-death duel. Though the Lin Family was the weakest of the Four Great Powers, it was also the one no one dared provoke.

Everyone knew that behind the Lin Family and Lin Dong stood a mysterious powerhouse whom all of Yan City could only look up to.

Now, more than half a month had passed since the duel, and the buzz about the Lin Family in Yan City had died down considerably.

But today, the Lin Family was unusually lively. Though night had already fallen, the entire Lin Family Manor was still abuzz.

Over the past half month, the Lin Family had taken over all of the Blood Wolf Gang's territory and smoothly established itself in Yan City, rising to become one of the Four Great Powers.

A few days after the handover was completed, Lin Zhentian invited every force in Yan City to a banquet today, formally welcoming the Lin Family into the city.

Sitting on a rooftop and admiring the bright moon, Cang Wu spotted Lin Dong below. He chuckled and called out, "Kid, come up here and have a couple of drinks with me."

At the sound of his voice, Lin Dong looked up, then leaped onto the roof beside Cang Wu. With a sheepish grin, he scratched his head and asked, "Senior, why aren't you in the main hall?"

Naturally, the Lin Family's banquet had included Cang Wu, who was staying with them.

At his question, Cang Wu said nothing. He simply gazed up at the moon, tipped back his head for a long drink, then turned to Lin Dong with a smile. "Kid, your family doesn't need you worrying over things anymore. You'd be better off putting more of your energy into cultivation. This time, I'll let you off the hook since you woke me up. But if you still haven't made any progress next time..."

He gave Lin Dong a faint smile. There was no need to finish the sentence.

The second great war between the two worlds would begin before long. Cang Wu had confidence in himself, but he would never let his guard down or grow careless.

It was fine to look down on an opponent strategically, but tactically, one had to take them as seriously as possible!

Especially that bunch of demonic bastards. Every last one of them was unbelievably hard to kill. Who knew what would happen if, near the end of the battle, the Demon Race realized they were about to lose and resorted to some desperate measure, leaving the war impossible to bring to a true end?

After all, their enemy was the Demon Emperor—a peerless evil fiend who had once driven even his teacher, the Symbol Ancestor, to burn his Reincarnation. No matter how confident Cang Wu was in himself, he wouldn't blindly assume that he could easily wipe out his opponent.

That was why it was essential to have a backup plan.

In a sense, Lin Dong's acquisition of the Ancestral Stone had been one of his teacher, the Symbol Ancestor's, choices. If Lin Dong became the Ancestral Stone's true master, he would be the ninth of the Eight Ancient Lords, and Cang Wu's junior apprentice brother.

That was why Cang Wu had flown into a rage and crushed Yue Shan.

If his junior apprentice brother had been roughed up or beaten, Cang Wu honestly wouldn't have minded, as long as he wasn't killed. Who hadn't failed a few times in life? Who hadn't fallen?

Besides, those who never fell at the beginning often suffered the worst falls later on.

Lin Dong was stunned at first, unable to follow Cang Wu's sudden change of subject.

But as soon as he realized what Cang Wu meant, his face lit up.

"Don't worry, Senior. I'll work hard. I won't let you down!"

As he spoke, Lin Dong thumped his chest with great determination, like a student making a promise to his teacher.

Clearly, Lin Dong had misunderstood. He thought Cang Wu's talk of this time and next time referred to tests of whether he was qualified to become Cang Wu's disciple.

As for being of the same generation as the Eight Ancient Lords, Lin Dong didn't dare even imagine it.

"Keep working hard, kid. My standards are a lot higher than those other fellows'."

Cang Wu patted Lin Dong on the shoulder and smiled. Then, with a carefree grin, he changed the subject. "By the way, this is your family's banquet, and you're supposed to be the star. How about you go have a nice chat with some of those young ladies?"

"Huh? Well, um... Heh, I think I'd rather have some peace and quiet."

Lin Dong scratched his head awkwardly and replied with a sheepish laugh. He simply couldn't handle the enthusiasm of all those young ladies, so he'd had no choice but to slip away.

Cang Wu burst out laughing at the sight of him. He shook his head, then seemed to remember something and asked quietly, "By the way, that young girl named Qing Tan from last time—she isn't your biological younger sister, is she?"

"Hm? Senior, why do you ask? Did you figure out a way to deal with Qing Tan's constitution?"

Lin Dong froze, as if he'd thought of something, and hurriedly asked. Cang Wu rolled his eyes. "What do you take me for? Do you really think I'm all-knowing? Back in my prime, if there was a problem in the whole world that I couldn't solve, then no one else could have solved it either.

"Unfortunately, my current strength is less than one ten-millionth of what it was at my peak."

As he spoke, Cang Wu couldn't help but sigh. Back then, in terms of skill, no one among the powerhouses of the Heavenly Profound Continent could match him. Even among the Demon Race, there was no one who could rival him.

His title as the greatest genius in the Heavenly Profound Continent hadn't been empty bragging.

But now, even a dragon in shallow waters and a tiger on level ground could be bullied!