The Lin's Patriarch is weird.

Chapter 160: 160. pickpocketers.

The Su Family was based in Clearbrook City, a prosperous city located some distance from Azure Willow City.

Under ordinary circumstances, the journey from Azure Willow City to Clearbrook City would take roughly two weeks by caravan. The roads were long, and even cultivators had to account for the dangers scattered throughout the wilderness between the two cities.

For Lin Xuan, however, such a journey was hardly worth mentioning.

With the speed of a Nascent Soul cultivator, the distance that would take ordinary travelers half a month to cross was reduced to a mere three hours.

Thus, three hours later, the towering walls of Clearbrook City appeared before him.

Lin Xuan slowed down as he approached the city gates, concealing his cultivation and walking inside like an ordinary traveler.

The moment he entered, the atmosphere of the city greeted him.

The streets were bustling with activity, with merchants calling out to passing customers, cultivators moving between various shops, and carriages continuously entering and leaving the city.

The streets were considerably more crowded than those of Azure Willow City, and the city’s prosperity was immediately apparent.

Lin Xuan casually walked among the crowds, blending into the city without attracting the slightest attention.

Clearbrook City was governed by two major cultivation families.

The first was the Su Family, an eighth-rank clan.

The second was the Bong Family, a ninth-rank clan.

On the surface, the difference between the two was obvious.

The Su Family possessed a higher cultivation foundation and was unquestionably the stronger of the two families.

Yet the Bong Family was not a clan that could simply be dismissed because of its rank.

Their greatest strength did not lie in cultivation.

It lay in wealth.

The Bong Family possessed an astonishing financial foundation, with businesses spread throughout Clearbrook City and connections extending far beyond its borders.

Their wealth was so substantial that, if they were ever pushed into a desperate situation, they could potentially hire a seventh-rank clan to annihilate another clan entirely and still retain enough wealth to recover afterward.

Of course, no sensible family would casually provoke such a conflict.

Money alone could not replace generations of cultivation heritage.

But wealth could accomplish something almost as valuable.

It could buy strength.

And because of that, despite being only a ninth-rank clan, the Bong Family had maintained its position in Clearbrook City for many years.

Lin Xuan casually observed the surrounding streets as he walked deeper into the city.

Lin Xuan had not walked very far when a young girl suddenly rushed out from the crowd and collided directly with him.

The impact was enough to send her stumbling backward, causing her to fall onto the ground.

Lin Xuan glanced down at her and extended a hand.

"Are you alright?"

The girl stared at his offered hand for a brief moment before rudely pushing his finger away.

"I can get up myself."

She quickly rose to her feet, dusted off her clothes, and hurried into the crowd without even looking back.

Lin Xuan watched her retreating figure with a faint scoff.

It was obvious that she was a pickpocket.

He had noticed the subtle movement of her hand the moment she collided with him. Unfortunately for her, Lin Xuan did not carry a purse or any valuables on his person.

That was probably why she had been so rude.

Having failed to steal anything, she had no reason to waste another moment on him.

Lin Xuan shook his head with amusement.

"I thought things would be different after the Su Family rose to become a rank eight clan."

His gaze swept across the bustling streets.

"But it seems that becoming a rank eight clan isn’t enough to uproot all the criminals in the city."

A faint smirk appeared on his face before he continued walking toward the Su Family’s residence.

Meanwhile, the young pickpocket had already slipped through several narrow alleys before arriving at a secluded corner of the city.

Two young men were waiting there.

The moment they saw her return, one of them frowned.

"Did you get anything?"

The girl shook her head.

"Forget about that. The newcomer we saw isn’t someone we should mess with."

The two boys exchanged glances.

"What happened?"

"He’s a cultivator, a strong one at that," the girl said seriously.

The warning in her voice was obvious.

Unfortunately, neither of them seemed particularly interested in it.

Their eyes immediately lit up.

"A cultivator?"

"Then he must be carrying plenty of money!"

The girl stared at them in disbelief.

"That’s not what I meant."

She lowered her voice.

"I’m telling you, that guy is no joke. I could feel something was wrong the moment I touched him."

The taller boy snorted.

"You’re only at the second layer of the Body Tempering Realm. What would you know?"

He patted his chest confidently.

"I’m already at the fourth layer."

The second boy stepped forward with an arrogant grin.

"And I’m at the fifth layer."

He crossed his arms with an arrogant grin.

"With the two of us working together, I don’t think there’s anyone in this city we can’t handle."

The girl’s expression grew increasingly anxious.

"That’s exactly what I’m trying to tell you. He’s unlike everyone we’ve ever met!"

The taller boy’s face immediately darkened.

"Shut up, you stupid girl. If you weren’t so ugly, we would have lived a much better life with you working in the district."

The girl’s hands tightened into fists.

A flash of anger crossed her eyes, but she quickly lowered her head and remained silent.

There was no point arguing with them.

If they wanted to walk willingly toward their deaths, then she would not stop them.

She had already warned them.

More importantly, she could still vividly remember the sensation she had experienced when she collided with that stranger.

It was terrifying.

The instant she touched him, her instincts had screamed at her to flee.

To her senses, the man had not felt like an ordinary cultivator at all.

He was like a colossal dragon standing above the heavens, gazing down at a tiny human beneath its claws.

The disparity between them had been so overwhelming that she had not even dared to test it.

She had never been wrong about that feeling.

From the moment she was born, she had possessed a peculiar ability to sense the danger level of anyone she encountered.

It was not ordinary spiritual perception but something closer to instinct.

The stronger the threat before her, the more terrifying the sensation became.

Because of that ability, she had naturally become the group’s scout.

She could identify dangerous targets before the others approached them, allowing the group to avoid opponents they could not afford to provoke.

The girl silently watched the two boys disappear into the crowd.

"They are definitely going to die."

She turned around and began walking in the opposite direction.

She had no intention of following them.

After all, she had already survived this long by knowing when to run.

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