Clan Assembly

The arena was divided into an outer and inner section. The outer section admitted ordinary people, while the inner section was reserved for members of the Lin Clan, as well as renowned powerhouses and influential factions from across the Great Yan Dynasty.

Stand No. 62. Judging from its number alone, this was hardly a good spot in the inner section, with a rather distant view of the arena's fighting platforms.

Strength determined one's treatment. The Elder Tao Ke'er spoke of was merely at the minor completion stage of the Core Formation Realm.

Looking across the entire Lin Clan, elders of this level stood at the very bottom of the elders' seats. Though they bore the title of Elder, they could not be mentioned in the same breath as elders at the Three Creation Realms. The difference in status between them was as vast as heaven and earth, so naturally, they could not obtain particularly good seats.

Even so, these ordinary elders of the Lin Clan still had the right to preside over a stand in the inner section. If ordinary members of the Lin Family wished to witness such a grand event, they could only build good relations with these elders. Otherwise, it would be difficult for them to secure a seat in the stands.

The two hurried forward and, after several breaths, arrived at Stand No. 62. At that moment, this inconspicuous stand in the inner section was already packed with over a hundred people.

At the center of the stand, a gray-robed elder sat in the seat of honor. His gaze was fixed tightly on Lin Chen and Lin Ke'er, as though waiting for an explanation.

"Elder Tao, I brought Lin Chen here..."

Whether because she was embarrassed about holding Lin Chen's hand or because she was out of breath from hurrying over, Lin Ke'er's little face was flushed red, making her especially adorable. As she spoke, she hurriedly released Lin Chen's hand.

"Greetings, Elder Lin Tao..."

Lin Chen gave the gray-robed elder a slight bow and solemnly offered his greeting.

Lin Chen had always held Elder Lin Tao, who had cared for him in every possible way since childhood, in high regard. Therefore, he did not wish to offer some perfunctory explanation. The reason he had not attended the Clan Assembly or come to watch was because there was a matter in his heart that he could not decide.

Should he save Lin Xiao or not? Should he go to Qingyang Town or not...?

Over his fifteen years in the Tianxuan Continent, Lin Chen had struggled with these questions countless times. As a transmigrator, he did not seem to possess any cheat ability. If he had to name one, apart from his foreknowledge, it was perhaps the cultivation constitution forged by his bizarre experiences, granting him a cultivation speed far beyond that of ordinary geniuses.

What had happened to him fifteen years ago had been far too strange, too inexplicable, too terrifying—entirely different from the usual transmigrators he had imagined.

He was not Lin Chen, some insignificant supporting character who had originally existed in this world. He was a pure outsider from another world, appearing in this land out of thin air.

The sense of release at the instant he personally experienced death; his soul leaving his body and drifting endlessly amid the stars; that journey through some unknown place resembling a Black Hole in the cosmos; being carried to the Tianxuan Continent by a crimson beam of light; being reshaped step by step with the Origin Energy of heaven and earth as his foundation, with bloodline, muscles, and bones formed anew, until he finally became an infant barely a month old...

Each event, each scene—some memories had already become eternal within Lin Chen's mind.

Yet despite possessing cultivation talent far beyond ordinary people, Lin Chen did not believe that he could laugh until the end, ascend to the pinnacle of this world, leave the Tianxuan Continent and even the Great Thousand World, and return to that azure planet.

The Tianxuan Continent possessed a planar seal. Without a medium, even Heavenly Sovereigns from the Great Thousand World found it difficult to enter. Yet that crimson beam of light had seemingly broken this rule for him. Because of this, Lin Chen had once suspected over the past fifteen years that the Tianxuan Continent's planar seal was no longer secure.

Relying on oneself was better than relying on others. Rather than placing his hopes on Lin Dong to save this world and open the planar passage, he would rather act personally and eliminate as many unknown dangers as possible. Only then could he truly rest at ease.

Over the years, as Lin Chen's strength increased, this notion had become ever more deeply rooted. Although he did not regard himself as a savior, deep in his subconscious, only a transmigrator could be the true protagonist favored by heaven and earth.

Whether Lin Dong would be given a glorious, legendary future or a happy and stable childhood depended on a single thought from Lin Chen. Yet over that single thought... Lin Chen had struggled greatly and had been unable to make a decision.

But now that this world had reached its beginning, Lin Chen seemed to have no reason left to keep delaying. Hatred was indeed a source of strength, but sometimes it was entirely unnecessary, nothing more than tormenting pain...

"You brat, I don't know why you've been so listless today, but you were actually so late to an important event like the Clan Assembly. Forget it, forget it. Since you're here, hurry up and take your seats with Ke'er. Don't block everyone else's view."

Seeing that Lin Chen remained silent and unmoved, Lin Tao did not pursue the matter any further. He could only suppress his curiosity, casually reprimand Lin Chen a few times, and wave toward the seats reserved for the two of them.

At those words, Lin Chen nodded and walked toward the seats Lin Tao had reserved for him and Lin Ke'er. Lin Ke'er followed beside him.

"Zhentian, young people can be a little lazy. Please forgive the embarrassment..."

After watching Lin Chen and Lin Ke'er take their seats, Lin Tao turned and jokingly spoke to the brocade-robed elder beside him.

"It is nothing, nothing..."

Lin Zhentian said so, but his eyes were unable to meet Lin Tao's. His gaze was filled with anticipation as he stared straight at an area below in the arena.

So this is Lin Dong's grandfather, Lin Zhentian. I had forgotten that Elder Lin Tao and Lin Zhentian were extremely close when they were young.

Lin Chen looked toward the brocade-robed elder beside Lin Tao and muttered to himself. Although the old man had a head of white hair, he still gave off a remarkably hardy impression.

Behind the elder sat a woman in green robes and two middle-aged men in yellow robes. The two men were rather lean, and their features bore some resemblance to Lin Zhentian's. The woman was quite beautiful, but it was the gray-robed child standing before her who drew all of Lin Chen's attention.

"Brother Lin Chen, what's wrong..." Noticing that something was unusual about Lin Chen's gaze, Lin Ke'er could not help asking softly.

"Nothing..."

Lin Chen answered Lin Ke'er in a low voice, then withdrew his gaze and glanced toward the arena.

The central grounds of the arena were especially unusual. Rather than an ordinary plaza, they formed an enormous conical battleground designed specifically for combat.

The battleground was narrow at the top and broad at the bottom, covered with several hundred enormous plazas arranged in a crisscrossing pattern. These plazas were clearly divided from one another. The higher one went, the fewer plazas there were. At the very top, nearly level with the massive arena itself, there was only a single plaza.

It was clear that members of the Lin Family participating in the Lin Clan's Clan Assembly had to charge upward from the lowest plazas, all the way to the final plaza at the top, where they would fight their last opponent to determine the victor.

Not long after Lin Chen and Lin Ke'er took their seats, figures continuously flashed and crossed through the arena's strange battleground. Waves of powerful Origin Energy erupted one after another. Clearly, this Clan Assembly had already entered its most intense stage.

"Jiangcheng Branch, Lin Zhan wins."

"Lin Clan, Lin Qianyu wins."

"..."