Public Square

Inside the meeting hall, Lin Wen, the current patriarch of the Lin Family, banged the table with a strong fist. His hands were trembling, and his face was quite dark. It was as if something had enraged him to this extent.

Elders sat next to him. On top of their elderly faces, they had pensive and tense expressions. They were all staring at the naked couple kneeling in the center with anger.

"Father, please believe me...When I arrived at the clan's treasury, there was no one there. The guardians can verify my words...I'm not lying!" Lin Qiu endured the pain on his knees and clenched his teeth. After passing out, he awoke to find out that his relationship with his cousin had been exposed. What startled him even more was the fact that the clan's treasury had been looted! The only thing that remained was the garbages. This time, he realized he was in big trouble.

As he stared at his son, Lin Wen's hands trembled uncontrollably. His eyes were burning with anger. The mature ginseng...The ginseng that he had painstakingly nurtured was stolen! When this happened, Lin Mingyue was in the hidden spot, having sex with her cousin, Lin Que.

This was all because of this two! It was because of them that his chance to advance in the next realm was stolen!

"You were in the clan's treasury before this BITCH! UNFILIAL SON! You actually dared to violate the Ancestor's teaching and have a secret relationship with your cousin! No wonder she was suddenly pregnant last year, so it was because of you, you trash!"

Lin Wen's yell froze everyone in the room...

The patriarch was actually enraged beyond repentance. Even if they spoke, this incest couple would not be able to escape punishment!

Lin Mingyue knelt down on the ground. Although the servants and elders were scrutinizing her naked body, she did not speak a single word. She looked to her father, who was staring at her with a cold expression, and she trembled. She knew her father was upset with her behavior this time, so she could only hang her head in shame and resentment.

Lin Wen inhaled deeply to calm his raging heart. He glanced at the naked couple for a moment before shifting his focus to the guardians. Lin Wen blamed the guards as well, but he couldn't punish them because they had contributed to the clan. The guardians had relaxed this time, knowing that there were two clansmen within the treasure, so they couldn't be blamed.

Lin Wen gave the command, "Lock these pair up in the cell for a month! Allow them to reflect, bring them food only once a week!"

Lin Wen was eager to kill these two bastards, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. The former was his only son, and the latter was a promising disciple and the Grand Elder's daughter. Even if he despised them, he could only impose a light punishment on them.

The attendants instantly carried out his orders and escorted the naked pair out the meeting hall.

Lin Wen said, "Guardians, since this happens, I want you to find this thief right now. If you can't find him in a month, you don't need to exist!"

The guardians bowed and exited with a bitter smile. Although they were upset with the order, they knew it was their duty to apprehend the thief who had ransacked the clan's treasury.

"Patriarch, this is really odd. The treasures were looted after Lin Xueqin escaped. Is there a possibility he was the one who raided the Treasury?" An elder proposed this theory.

"I used to think so, but I changed my mind. That guy's dantian was destroyed, and there was no hope of recovering it. How can a crippled bastard bypass the guardians without them knowing?" The fourth elder stated. "I assume that after Lin Xueqin escaped, a spy relayed this information to other clans. Then, taking advantage of the chaos, plundered our Treasury."

The elders all agreed with the fourth elder, and Lin Wen thought it was plausible. Grand elder paused for a moment before casting a gaze towards Lin Wen. "Patriarch, why don't we seek assistance to your daughter?"

"Her?" Lin Wen's face was hesitant as he considered this suggestion.

The Patriarch's eldest daughter was the reason the Lin Family had dominated the majority of the clans in Mulberry Town. She was a genius in both cultivation and divination. She entered the foundation realm at the age of 13 and became renowned as the town's number one younger generation. When her fame was at its peak, the local sects learned of her presence.

After she was tested to have tremendous talent in divination, the Divine Oracle Sect accepted her as an inner disciple at the age of 14.

It had now been two years. Since then, the Lin Family had reaped the benefits of her achievement. Everyone in town feared to provoke them. Lin Wen made it to the golden core realm... Long story short, if it had not been for his daughter, the Lin Family would not have gotten this achievement.

"She said she'd return to the clan in two days. I'll ask her when the time comes," Lin Wen responded. "Anyway, since we didn't discover that trash, let's stick to the plan. Even if the townsfolk are insignificant to us, we must respect their views. We'd be in big danger if the local sects found out we'd fallen into depravity...even the Divine Oracle Sect might not be able to save us."

The elders nodded and practiced the plan they devised. After a few minutes, They stood up and followed Lin Wen out of the meeting chamber.

——

Mulberry Town's public square.

At the moment, a sea of people was forming beneath the stage. The sun was hot and oppressive, making the crowd feel uncomfortable and hectic.

On stage, the Supervisor was in mediation with eyes closed, seemingly unconcerned about his surroundings. The crowd was enraged by this act because they knew the old man was acting haughtily and arrogantly in front of them. It was as though the Supervisor didn't regard them as anything else than ants.

Lin Xueqin, dressed strangely, went around the square, looking for a suitable victim for his plan. At that point, he observed a short-tempered man in the crowd.

His eyes widened as he moved closer to him. As he got closer, he could hear the guy cursing.

"This god damn Lins!" How long do I have to stay here? That Lin Wen even leave the platform because of a serious matter? Important matter my ass, this shit is simply lying through his ass!"

"How come you say that, my friend?"

The short-tempered man sneered as he looked at the stranger. "Brother, they said they'd be executing the goddamn monster first thing in the morning. Look at the time; it's late afternoon. I haven't eaten anything yet, just so I can see this beheading. Who would have imagined these Lins could still be arrogant."

'This guy is great.' Lin Xueqin's mouth opened, and he grinned as he spoke to him. Whenever the short-tempered guy denounced the Lins, Lin Xueqin would just nod his head.

While chatting for about a cup of tea, Lin Xueqin had learned this young man's name. His name was Xin Wuque. Surprisingly, he belonged to the Xin clan, a run-down clan that had collapsed. Lin Xueqin was even more convinced that this man was ideal for his experiment after learning this.

The Xin Family had fallen many years ago. Their reputation had suffered tremendously, and business was difficult for them. They had despised the Lin Family ever then but had surrendered to them since they realized they were no match for them. The ambition in their hearts, however, may have been extinguished, but it had never disappeared. If Lin Xueqin could spark that ambition, Mulberry Town would undoubtedly fall into disarray.

Lin Xueqin's eyes twinkled, but he continued to converse normally with Xin Wuque. When Lin Xueqin realized it was time, he cleared his throat and raised his voice, saying, "That's right, Brother Xin. These Lins are conceited and arrogant."

When the crowd heard that, they all turned to look at Lin Xueqin. Even the Supervisor had opened his eyes to cast a chilly glance at him.

Lin Xueqin, on the other hand, was unconcerned by the attention. He only came to cause trouble. No matter what the reason, the Lin Family could never kill him in public.

Otherwise, the crowds would not hesitate to confront them in a furious struggle. After all, if the Lin Family crossed the line and killed someone in the street, it would be slapping and dismissing their existence. The crowd would never let them do everything they wanted.

"This guy is far too daring!" The crowd's interest was immediately piqued. The Lin Family had suppressed all of them. Even though they despised the Lins, they lacked the guts that Lin Xueqin possessed.

"What do you mean, Brother Meng? Xin Wuque whispered on Lin Xueqin's ears. The supervisor's looks on the stage made his head sweat. Even though he despised the Lins, he never dared to curse them aloud. The Supervisor on the platform was itching his face now that Lin Xueqin had called his name. That meant he'd been dragged into the mess!

Lin Xueqin did not respond, instead mockingly saying, "Brother Xin, you mentioned they would cover the head for a specific reason. How is that possible? Isn't this...outright lying?"

"Are you from the Xin family? Keep your mouth shut, young man." As he glanced at Xin Wuque, the supervisor yelled coldly. Then, with a frigid glare, he examined the masked middle-aged man. After the execution was said and done, he would undoubtedly kill the man who had provoked them.

Hearing the supervisor's threat, Xin Wuque's heart shook. He was, nevertheless, well-known for being a short-tempered youngster. He was enraged to hear that he, the young master of the Xin Family, had been openly threatened by a deacon of the Lin Family. He refuted, "So what, old man? In any case, it's the truth. Hide the face so you can fool us?! If I don't see Lin Xueqin's face in person, I'll file a complaint with the local sect and tell them you all are colliding with the demons!"

"What did you say?!"

The Supervisor was enraged. His aura erupted, terrifying the minority of the crowd. The stronger ones, however, released their auras at the same time. The Supervisor's aura immediately shattered, and he staggered a few steps backward with his lips slightly bleeding.

The veteran cultivators who had unleashed their auras sneered.

"How daring of you, a mere deacon, to threaten the weak in public? What he said is correct. We're not children that can be fooled. Stop lying, you bald geezer!"

"That's correct. If you weren't from the Lin Family, I would have smashed your head like popping a watermelon. How daring of you to provoke us; you think you can openly provoke us with your backing?"

"This guy is inexperienced. With his audacity, how did this dog even join the Lins? The Lin Family possessed both arrogance and strength, as opposed to this old geezer, who simply possesses arrogance but lacks strength. To think he treated us like we were stupid. Hmph, consider being a dog to be your luck!"

"You...You!" The Supervisor trembled as he looked at the audience. He was, however, startled at the same time. He thought he was invincible after joining the Lin Family. To think these ants would provoke him? He was enraged!

"You...what? Do you want to fight?"

"Haha, this old geezer is so funny. You're no match for us, so go back and suck your mother's tits. A half-foundation old geezer wants to have a spar with us? This is the funniest thing I've ever heard."

The experienced cultivators mocked him. The weaker cultivators also followed and laughed at him, making the old geezer the topic of the joke.

"Enough!"

A resounding yell could be heard. Almost instantaneously, tremendous pressure descended on the crowd, hardening the audience to the ground. An old man in the crowd, though, sneered and dispersed the aura. "Stop bullying the weak, Lin Wen. Haha, to think you're still so arrogant."

"Hmph. This isn't bullying, but condemning our reputation!" Lin Wen appeared on stage and stared at the audience. "We're covering Lin Xueqin's head during the execution since he honed a wicked eye technique. When you look into his eyes, your vitality will be sucked away, leaving only your bones. You can confirm my words because you saw that just the skeleton remained after the murder, which happened in the last few weeks."

The audience listened and agreed that it was plausible. However, the crowd would never believe the Lins totally, knowing how presumptuous and arrogant they were.

Lin Wen made a clapping motion with his hands. The elders following him immediately executed his command and pulled a man on the stage with his head wrapped in a sack.

"This is Lin Xueqin. Please move fifty meters away from the stage. This is required to protect everyone. If you don't value your life, you can stand in your current position." Lin Wen addressed the audience. Despite his noble intentions, he was concealing a different meaning beneath his words. Lin Wen was openly threatening them, telling them the message, "If you don't value your life, you can provoke us."

Lin Xueqin instinctively understood what this old geezer had meant to say, so he went fifty meters away from the stage. His strength was still low at the moment, so he couldn't publicly provoke Lin Wen or the Lin Family's elders.

They were not the same as the supervisor. Lin Xueqin could provoke the supervisor because he was not a legitimate Lin Family member. However, it was a different case to the elders of the Lin.

Lin Wen was lawless who treated people like grass. Even in public, there was a chance that he would kill anyone who posed a threat to him.

Lin Xueqin had already accomplished his goal. He had caused a commotion in the square and dragged the Xin Family. The Supervisor would undoubtedly report Xin Wuque to Lin Wen after the execution.

After that, the Xin Family would have no choice but to fight with the Lins or surrender to them. Either way, he would have to come up with another plan to make the Xins courageous to go against the Lins in the following days.

After having this thought, Lin Xueqin lowered his head, blended in with the crowd, and used the invisibility function of the concealment technique as he exited the public square.