Lin Fan was just about to set out for the Kun Sect...
But a crisp notification suddenly rang in his ears: [Ding! Legendary Son of Fortune Tang Yin detected. He is on his way to the Lin Clan and is expected to arrive in fifteen minutes!]
Hmm?
A Son of Fortune was delivering himself right to his doorstep?
Lin Fan stopped, raised an eyebrow, and slowly curled his lips into a villain's signature smile. "Uncle Fu, let's not leave just yet."
"Another blind fool has come knocking."
Uncle Fu froze at his words, then gave a knowing look, thinking to himself, Is the Imperial Scion about to start slaughtering again?
"Xiao Huohuo can wait..."
Entirely unhurried, Lin Fan simply turned around and sat back down on the courtyard's stone stool, crossing his legs as he leisurely waited.
He wanted to see just what this Tang Yin was all about.
Lin Fan arranged for two Sage elders to head to the Kun Sect and work with them to capture Xiao Huohuo and bring him before him.
Before long, a noisy commotion came from outside the Lin Clan's mountain gate.
A young man in blue-and-white robes strode brazenly at the front, his handsome face bearing a measure of arrogance.
An old man in gray robes with a deep, unfathomable presence followed behind him.
The old man respectfully requested an audience and explained their purpose.
Seeing that the old man was a holy land ancestor, a Lin Clan disciple took the pair to wait in a side hall.
The old man's brows were tightly knitted, unease showing on his face as he repeatedly whispered, "Tang Yin, think three times before you speak! This is the Lin Clan, a supreme imperial clan, not some ordinary sect!"
"If you cause trouble, even I won't be able to protect you!"
Tang Yin merely snorted, his eyes blazing. His lowered voice carried anger. "Say no more, Ancestor!"
"She took the blood essence of my mother's Blue Silver Emperor Grass lineage, and my mother died on the spot!"
"If I don't avenge this, how can I, Tang Yin, have the face to stand in this world?!"
The old man opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing more.
He was a holy land ancestor at the peak of the Sage King realm, a major figure who could swagger around unchallenged in the outside world.
But what was the Lin Clan?
A supreme imperial clan! They even had several Great Emperors!
Before coming, he had warned Tang Yin a thousand times not to cause trouble!
He was supposed to properly fulfill the three-year pact, take the item, and leave. But the moment Tang Yin heard the words "Lin Clan," his eyes went red. How could he listen to anything else?
Buzz!
A moment later, a coldly beautiful figure emerged from within the Lin Clan.
It was Lin Fan's older clan sister, Lin Yanran.
She was tall and slender, her features cool, her eyes holding a trace of indifference, like the snow and ice atop the heavenly mountains that never melted.
"Lin Yanran!"
"Three years ago, you took my mother's blood essence and caused her to die a horrible death!"
Tang Yin's thunderous voice made the entire hall tremble slightly. "Today, I, Tang Yin, will make you repay your blood debt in blood!"
"You?"
At the sight of Tang Yin, she frowned slightly, as though only just remembering who he was.
Lin Yanran's tone was flat, even carrying a hint of nonchalance. "Three years ago, I did take blood essence from your mother, that stalk of Blue Silver Emperor Grass... but she refused to give it and burned her blood essence to destroy herself. I didn't force her."
"You!"
Tang Yin's eyes turned crimson, veins bulging on his forehead as his clenched fists cracked. "You didn't force her?! If you hadn't taken her blood essence, would she have died? Your Lin Clan bullies people with its power!"
Lin Yanran frowned more deeply, her tone cold. "I told you, I didn't force her. She willingly burned her blood essence, and I only took a wisp of it."
"Besides..."
She paused, her voice as indifferent as if she were discussing something inconsequential. "You were right there watching her burn her blood essence. Didn't you also fail to step forward and stop her? What, now you're blaming me?"
At those words, Tang Yin jolted, his pupils abruptly contracting.
Among the onlookers, a Lin Clan disciple sneered, "Holy shit, so he was there at the time? Why didn't he stop her, then?"
"Wasn't he just being a coward..."
The Lin Clan disciples burst into laughter.
Tang Yin's face alternated between green and white, as though someone had jabbed a sore spot.
He abruptly raised his head, pointed at Lin Yanran, and roared, "Nonsense! I... I was pinned down by your pressure! I was only in the Qi Refining Realm, and you were in the Purple Mansion Realm. What could I have done?!"
Lin Yanran said coolly, "Then what can you do now that you're here?"
Tang Yin stared fixedly at her and said, enunciating every word, "The three-year pact! Today, I'll make you kneel before my mother's grave and beg forgiveness!"
"A three-year pact? What pact?"
The surrounding Lin Clan disciples immediately erupted in an uproar. "Spirit Sea against Purple Mansion Realm? How's he supposed to fight that? This young fellow certainly has a temper..."
After all, the Lin Clan was an imperial clan!
Every disciple who ventured out was a heaven's chosen capable of sweeping through a region, not someone comparable to the random nobodies outside!
"Tang Yin! Enough!"
The holy land ancestor behind Tang Yin was sweating profusely with anxiety, tugging repeatedly at his sleeve. "This is the Lin Clan, not our holy land! Let's go back first and discuss this at length!"
"You've all misunderstood!"
The holy land ancestor hurriedly offered respectful apologies.
But Tang Yin seemed possessed as he roared, "I'm not leaving! If she doesn't kneel today, I'll fight the Lin Clan until one of us is dead!"
The ancestor nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.
A brat in the Spirit Sea Realm was telling a supreme imperial clan... that he would fight them to the death?
Did he think he had lived too long?!
Just then, a mild voice came from outside the hall. "Oh? Until one side is dead? Such big words."
The voice was not loud!
Yet it seemed to carry some profound power of laws, making every disciple's heart tighten.
Everyone turned to see nine true dragons pulling a carriage from the great hall!
A white-robed youth walked out leisurely, his hands clasped behind his back, his feet treading on a Chaos Azure Lotus and Chaos Qi swirling around him.
His steps were unhurried and his lips held a smile, but his eyes were as deep as an abyss, as though he had seen through everything.
It was Lin Fan.
At the sight of him, Lin Yanran and the other disciples bowed in greeting. "Imperial Scion! What brings you here?"
Tang Yin frowned. Who is this man? Why does he give me such a strong sense of danger...?
Lin Fan smiled. "Sister Yanran, I heard someone came to cause trouble? I came to have a look..."
Lin Yanran paused, then gave a helpless smile. "Just a small matter... please sit, Imperial Scion!"
"No matter!"
"Let me hear it!"
Lin Fan entered the hall and naturally took the seat of honor, casting a glance down at Tang Yin and the holy land ancestor. Quite the Son of Fortune, daring to cause trouble in my Lin Clan! With a thought, he brought up Tang Yin's panel.
[Ding! Legendary Son of Fortune Tang Yin detected!] [Name: Tang Yin] [Identity: Bloodline of the Holy Spirit Imperial Clan, orphan of the maternal Blue Silver Emperor Grass lineage, Holy Son of Haotian Holy Land.] [Cultivation: Peak ninth level of the Spirit Sea Realm.] [Life script: After his mother, a Blue Silver Emperor Grass, died following Lin Yanran's extraction of her blood essence, he believed the Lin Clan had killed her and vowed revenge. After three years of arduous cultivation and obtaining a great opportunity, he has now come seeking vengeance. Before her death, his mother had already infused him with the Blue Silver Emperor Pill condensed from all her blood essence, awaiting nirvana and rebirth in the future!]
"Interesting!"
As Lin Fan read this, a sharp gleam flashed through his eyes, and he could not stop the corners of his mouth from rising.
So Tang Yin's mother had willingly given her blood essence to her own son, then burned her blood essence to fake her death and fool everyone?
What the fuck was this supposed to be?
Lin Fan looked at Tang Yin's grief-stricken, furious expression and could not help finding it somewhat amusing. That maneuver was truly something else!
"Greetings, Imperial Scion!"
The Haotian Holy Land ancestor trembled all over and respectfully recounted what had happened...
Lin Fan glanced at Lin Yanran.
Lin Yanran nodded. "That is indeed what happened..."
Tang Yin straightened his back and said, "That's right. Could it be that you intend to shield your own clanswoman, Imperial Scion? Your Lin Clan bullies people with its power. You took my mother's blood essence and caused her horrible death! You must give me an accounting for this!"