Soul Emperor Awakening

"Lin Yunlong!"

Fang Feng clearly hadn’t expected the young man before him to be the Inner Hall’s recent rising star. He had completed his first objective several months ahead of schedule. As long as nothing went wrong, he should be able to complete the next one smoothly. After all, with eight months remaining, breaking into the top ten shouldn’t be much of a problem.

Especially considering his astonishing performance, a spot in the top ten was pretty much guaranteed. As for defeating Ling Tian, they felt that would be more difficult, but there was at least a chance. Who could say what the future held?

Consequently, Lin Xuan was marked as a person of interest by the major families. If they encountered him, it was best to build a good relationship.

But now, Fang Qingyu had ruined everything. He knew exactly what his son was made of; the boy must have been the one to start trouble. But he was just so fiercely protective of his own that he would never apologize. Not now, not ever!

Now that this incident had blown up, he still wouldn’t apologize, but at the very least, he didn’t dare do anything more to Lin Xuan. If Qing Piaoyun came knocking, he would be the one to suffer the consequences. Qing Piaoyun was also famous for being protective of his own.

Fang Qingyu’s heart dropped. ’This is bad,’ he thought. He hadn’t expected to provoke someone from Qingcheng Mansion. No wonder the guy was abnormally strong.

’It’s over now. I was told that building a relationship with Lin Xuan was the best course of action, and now I’ve completely messed it up.’ A chill ran down his spine, and he didn’t dare to look at his father’s expression.

"So you’re the recent rising star. No wonder you’re so arrogant! But this time, you must give me an explanation!" Fang Feng sneered. He had no intention of letting Lin Xuan off the hook. Since they had already fallen out, it didn’t matter anymore.

’Besides, there are plenty of other geniuses in the world, not just Lin Xuan.’

"An explanation? What kind of explanation?" Lin Xuan retorted with a sneer. "You don’t discipline your own son, letting him run wild in the streets and nearly trample people to death. If he had trampled a Princess of the Empire, how would you propose to clean up that mess?"

"A Princess of the Empire? Do you really think Princesses just wander around everywhere? Besides, with her guards around, anyone who got too close would be struck down. If that happened, I’d have nothing to say!" Fang Feng sneered. "As for anyone else, if they get trampled to death, so be it. They’re all just a bunch of trash anyway!"

His words were utterly heartless, causing the nearby guards to glare with fury. Many of them came from commoner backgrounds, and some had wives and children who were ordinary people, not Cultivators. Fang Feng’s words had undoubtedly ignited their anger, but they couldn’t curse him out loud.

In this world where strength reigns supreme, that was the reality. Those without power could only be trampled underfoot, forced to endure humiliation.

"’A bunch of trash,’ you say? In my eyes, your son is no different from trash!" Lin Xuan said coldly. "He can only throw his weight around a crowd of ordinary people. How is that any different from being trash?"

It wasn’t that he was overflowing with sympathy, but he despised the wanton killing of innocents. What was the point of acting arrogant in a crowd of unarmed people? ’If you have the guts, come to the Inner Hall. You’d be crippled in minutes.’

"Well said!" Liu Qing clapped his hands in approval and stood beside Lin Xuan, smiling. "I also started from scratch, as a commoner. If I recall correctly, the current reigning Great Emperor also rose from the common people, did he not? If you look down on ordinary people, aren’t you also looking down on the Great Emperor?"

"Don’t speak nonsense!" Fang Feng’s expression changed. If these words reached the Great Emperor’s ears, he really would face his wrath.

Just as Liu Qing said, the current Great Emperor had also started as an ordinary person and slowly risen through the ranks; he hadn’t been born with a silver spoon in his mouth. To put it bluntly, even Fang Feng’s own ancestors were probably born as commoners!

"Aren’t you two taking things a bit too far?" Fang Feng gradually walked toward Lin Xuan and said coldly, "I can’t just pretend I didn’t hear what you said! Even if you have Qing Piaoyun protecting you, I will make you pay a price!"

He wouldn’t kill Lin Xuan, but he would at least slap him a few times as a lesson to get his dignity back. If Lin Xuan had actually killed Fang Qingyu earlier, he really would have risked his own life to kill Lin Xuan.

"And what if you add me to the equation?" Liu Qing stepped in front of Lin Xuan, his face also wearing a cold sneer.

The two families were already on bad terms. Fang Feng’s visit this time was like a weasel wishing a chicken a happy new year—he definitely had ill intentions. If he hadn’t recovered, he really would have suffered a great loss.

"Clan Leader Liu, it seems you are determined to do this?" Fang Feng’s expression turned ugly.

"Of course. Setting aside principles of righteousness for a moment, Young Friend Lin has done me a great favor, and I cannot pretend I didn’t see this." Liu Qing smiled, but the aura emanating from his body showed he was ready for a fight.

Fang Feng stared deeply at Liu Qing for a moment before flicking his sleeve and snorting coldly. "In that case, I’ll be looking forward to your performance in the Pattern Master competition. I hope you don’t come in last place this time. If you do, there will be no place left for you in Vast Origin City!"

As he passed by Lin Xuan, he shot him a vicious glare, then left with his men, not even bothering to take the carriage.

When they were a good distance away, Fang Qingyu followed behind with his head hung low. Suddenly, Fang Feng slapped him, knocking him to the ground. Pointing at him, he roared, "You unfilial son, look who you’ve provoked! I have to clean up your messes every single time! Now get your ass back home and practice your patterns! If you don’t secure a rank in the Pattern Master competition this time, don’t even think about leaving the house again!"

Fang Qingyu covered his mouth, nodding through his tears. "I know, Father..."

"Damn it! That kid just wait. So what if Qing Piaoyun is protecting him? My hatred won’t be appeased until I kill him!" Fang Feng’s eyes turned cold, his face dark and menacing.

...

Lin Xuan and the others walked into the Liu Family’s living room. Liu Menghua patted her chest and took a breath. "That was terrifying. What would we have done if Fang Feng had really started a fight with Father?"

"He wouldn’t. He’s not that reckless. He might have dared to try something before I recovered, but now that I have, he wouldn’t dare!" Liu Qing also sat down, took a sip of tea, and then smiled at Lin Xuan. "So, you are Lin Yunlong. A true hero emerges from the younger generation. To suddenly return and charge into the 22nd rank of the Inner Hall... that achievement is truly astonishing."

"Yes, Young Master Lin, I thought you weren’t coming back... I even went to Qingcheng Mansion to report the news and got a lecture from Father for it." Liu Menghua said with relief, "Thank goodness you’re alright, Young Master Lin. Otherwise, I would have felt guilty for the rest of my life. By the way, didn’t you fall into the lake? That Cyan-Scaled Python..."

"I killed it," Lin Xuan said plainly.

Liu Qing and Liu Menghua exchanged a look. The latter’s eyes were filled with shock, while the former seemed less surprised. Liu Menghua had previously said that Lin Xuan, who was only at the Peak of the Body Refining Stage, had defeated the Cyan-Scaled Python, which was an incredible feat.

As for whether it was true, no one knew for sure, but at the very least, Lin Xuan had returned.

"Young Friend Lin, I truly have you to thank for this. On behalf of my daughter, I apologize for nearly getting you killed." Liu Qing gave a helpless, bitter smile. When he first heard the news, he had been furious. Dragging an Inner Hall Disciple from Qingcheng Mansion into such a predicament was a grave matter. If the other party had a powerful background, their Liu Family would have been finished.

"It’s nothing. It’s impossible to go out and train without encountering danger, so please don’t blame yourself." Lin Xuan smiled. "But more importantly, what is this Pattern Master competition?"

He was more concerned about that. From Fang Feng’s tone, it seemed he placed great importance on it.

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