The atmosphere in the restaurant suddenly grew quiet.
The name Lin Cangxue was renowned throughout the entire East Spirit Realm. Everyone knew of her downfall, but none knew why or how it had happened.
Due to weighing the balance of power among various factions, Lin Beichen had never deeply investigated the underlying cause.
But this did not mean Lin Huang didn’t care.
When Lin Cangxue had barged into the Eastern Palace with her sword, she had already been at the Half-Step Celestial Element Realm. The person capable of shattering her Martial Soul had to be in the Celestial Element Realm.
Martial Artists in the Celestial Element Realm could be counted on one hand within the Great Xia Dynasty. Even with their strength and higher realms, it would still have been difficult for them to shatter her Martial Soul.
After racking his brains, Lin Huang could only think of the Celestial Thunder Sect.
Hann Shan furrowed his brows. He shook his head seriously and said, "I truly do not know about this matter. Two years ago, I was in secluded cultivation!"
Lin Huang pondered for a moment, not bothering to distinguish the truth or falsehood of Hann Shan’s words. Instead, he turned his head to look at Crown Prince Lingyun, grinning as he said, "Crown Prince, what do you say? I’m sure you must know."
Crown Prince Lingyun’s expression changed. He shook his head vigorously, feeling a strong sense of foreboding in his heart.
"Not going to talk? Then I might as well avoid the tribulation of a life-and-death battle and simply slay you right here." Lin Huang smiled coldly. He then stood up, walked toward Crown Prince Lingyun, and drew a dagger from his sleeve, adding, "You painstakingly orchestrated all of this—instructing Lin Haoran to put a Gu worm in the Hundred Spirits Soup to usurp my position as Young Master, having Crazy Cui ambush me, and colluding with the Celestial Thunder Sect to burn down the Divine General’s Mansion. Today, I might as well get my revenge and settle everything once and for all!"
Lin Huang squatted down and looked at Crown Prince Lingyun. Before the latter could even speak, the sharp dagger had already pierced into his palm.
"Whenever you finish talking is when I’ll stop!"
A heartwarming smile appeared on Lin Huang’s face as he pulled the dagger out, only to plunge it back in again. With Xiao Yishan here today, he could entirely rely on the man’s prestige to act fearlessly and without restraint.
"HISS..."
Crown Prince Lingyun gritted his teeth, letting out a painful hiss. When he looked up and met Lin Huang’s cold, ruthless eyes beneath that smiling facade, his heart sank.
"I truly do not know who was behind this matter. Back then, after Lin Cangxue charged into the Eastern Palace and chopped that Earth Element Martial Artist into pieces, she was already preparing to leave." Crown Prince Lingyun spoke rapidly. Looking at the bloody holes in his arm, he had no choice but to speed up his words even more, "But just as she was about to leave, a man in black suddenly appeared in the Eastern Palace. He wore a blood-red crow mask and blocked Lin Cangxue."
His face was drained of color and dripping with cold sweat as he continued, "That man in black had absolutely no connection to my Eastern Palace. After exchanging fewer than ten moves with Lin Cangxue, he shattered her Martial Soul with a single palm strike.
"I really don’t know anything else!"
Crown Prince Lingyun looked incredibly weak. Seven bloody holes had already appeared on his arm.
"The characteristics of that man in black!" Lin Huang demanded bluntly.
Crown Prince Lingyun shook his head, but upon seeing Lin Huang raise the dagger again, he blurted out, "He’s about as tall as I am and uses a sword with his left hand. After his clothes were sliced open by Lin Cangxue’s sword, a cross-shaped scar was visible on his back."
"Uses a sword with his left hand? A cross-shaped scar?" Lin Huang paused his movements, frowning as he stood up. He didn’t have much knowledge of the various experts in the East Spirit Realm and couldn’t think of any prominent figure who wielded a sword with their left hand at the moment.
"It seems I’ll have to investigate this!" Lin Huang clenched his fists. From the very first day Lin Cangxue’s Martial Soul had been shattered, he had resolved not to let anyone involved off the hook.
That applied to Crown Prince Lingyun, and it equally applied to that man in black.
"Alright, I’m full. Let’s go. What is there to interrogate over such a trivial matter? When you become stronger in the future, just kill every single Martial Artist in the East Spirit Realm above the Celestial Element Realm. Then you’ll naturally have your revenge!" Xiao Yishan wiped his mouth off to the side, speaking with disdain.
Lin Huang’s expression froze. He didn’t know how to respond to that.
"You two, pay the bill for me," Xiao Yishan ordered, pointing at Qii Lie and Hann Shan. Afterward, he led Lin Huang out of the Tianxiang Tower.
After the two left, the rest of the people in the room stood up in grief and indignation, remaining silent for a long time. Then, two stifled roars of frustration echoed from within the tower.
"Fourth brother, there are quite a few suckers in this city. It’s almost like eating for free. When are you going to get the people from the Piaoxue Palace and the Qianying Valley here so we can have another feast?" Xiao Yishan said while picking his teeth.
"Let’s pass on that." Lin Huang shook his head. The Elder who had come from the Piaoxue Palace was Shen Diexin; even if he were given ten times the courage, he wouldn’t dare.
"Coward!" Xiao Yishan said with a look of disdain. "Fourth brother, you need to improve your strength as quickly as possible. The Celestial Thunder Sect, Fengyu Tower, the Great Xia Dynasty... you can’t afford to provoke any of these factions. Anyone they randomly send out could chop you into pieces."
"Don’t I already know that?" Lin Huang sighed. Compared to the Fengyu Tower and the Celestial Thunder Sect, the Divine General’s Mansion was indeed far too weak. How could they possibly contend against them by relying solely on a discarded Array Puppet?
Only by growing stronger as quickly as possible—growing to a level where everyone looked up to him—would he be able to protect the Divine General’s Mansion.
By the time the two returned to the Divine General’s Mansion, it was nearing dusk.
"Young Master, Young Master Bai and Young Master Qin have arrived. They are currently in the inner courtyard!" the gatekeeper of the Divine General’s Mansion informed him.
"Young Master Qin? Which Young Master Qin?" Lin Huang asked.
"I’m not sure. He introduced himself as Qin Xuance, the adopted son of the Minister of the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs. He’s a sickly fellow!"
"Qin Xuance?" Lin Huang was slightly startled. His mind flashed back to his previous life, recalling that man who had been hailed as the Divine Calculation, the guy who had plotted the deaths of countless experts... Qin Xuance!
In the backyard of the Divine General’s Mansion, the setting sun hung obliquely against the sweeping eaves of the pavilion. Fragments of golden light spilled down, stretching the pavilion’s shadow.
Inside the pavilion, Lin Beichen looked at the sand table in front of him. His expression was calm, a faint smile gracing the corners of his lips. Flanking him on his left and right were Fatty Bai and a young man in white clothes.
Fatty Bai’s entire body was draped over the sand table, his face filled with anxiety. His tiny eyes looked as if they were ready to pop out and drop into the sand table, desperately searching for a way to survive for even just a moment longer.
The young man in white appeared rather quiet. Sitting in a wheelchair, his handsome but pale face wore a faint smile. His long, slender fingers were intertwined and twiddling, as if he were deep in thought.
The young man simply sat there quietly. Alongside his sickly pallor, there was a trace of ethereal tranquility and indifference.
Behind him stood Qin Lie in silence. Staring at the entangled situation on the sand table, he felt incredibly dizzy.
"Wildman Brother!"
Just as Lin Huang walked into the courtyard, a quirky little girl suddenly leaped out from the flower bushes. She made a terrifying grimace, but couldn’t suppress the bright smile on her face.
"Little Ling’er, what brings you here!"
Lin Huang scooped the little girl up into his arms and rubbed her head. This little girl was none other than Qin Lingxuan, whom he had met in the Qinglong Mountain Range a few months ago.
"I came to accompany my Brother Ce!" the little girl spoke with a giggle, blinking her eyes in an unspeakably playful and adorable manner.
"Wildman Brother, how did you get so good-looking? Have you been taking baths every day these past few months?"
The little girl asked in confusion. Her chubby little hands pinched Lin Huang’s face repeatedly, and she gave his hair a hard tug, finally confirming that Lin Huang had indeed become more handsome.
Lin Huang smiled dotingly, watching helplessly as the little girl messed up his hair until it looked like a chicken’s nest.
"Look, that’s my Brother Ce over there!" Riding on Lin Huang’s shoulders, the little girl pointed at the young man in white sitting in the distant pavilion. "My Brother Ce is super amazing! Every time Ling’er gets stuck on a Divination problem, Brother Ce can solve it with just one glance."
Lin Huang looked up. Following the direction of the little girl’s finger, his gaze extended until it landed on the figure in the pavilion.