This martial saint is too cautious.

Chapter 79 Genius

three days later.

This was Lin Yan's first time stepping into the three-bedroom area.

The Lin family mansion is very large. The central area contains functional spaces such as the library, armory, and mission hall, while the descendants of each branch of the family live in different areas, including the belts of each branch, which are also divided according to their location.

The main house is located in the southeast area, with a blue belt around its waist.

The second room is located in the northeast area, with a yellow belt.

The three bedrooms are located in the northwest area, with a white belt.

The fourth house is located in the southwest area, with a brown belt.

The five houses are located in the south-central area, with a black belt around the waist.

"Young Master Lin Yan, Young Master Hai is at the pavilion in the middle of the lake."

The servant who was leading the way brought Lin Yan to a lake in the third house area and stopped. Lin Yan could see two figures in the pavilion in the middle of the lake from a distance.

An hour earlier, he had sent a servant to the third branch of the family to inform them that he wanted to see Brother Hai. The servant received a reply and then led him here.

"What are you dawdling about by the lake for? Come here!"

Lin Minghai's rough voice came from the pavilion in the middle of the lake. Upon hearing this, Lin Yan stepped onto the approach bridge and walked over.

"Lin Yan, why are you back at this time instead of guarding the Yangtian Mountains?"

Before Lin Yan could even step into the pavilion, Lin Minghai frowned: "You should know the clan rules: during a mission, you are not allowed to leave your post without permission."

"Minghai, what's the rush?"

Lin Mingsong, leaning against the railing, smiled slightly: "Even if Lin Yan doesn't know the clan rules, surely Mingyuan does?"

Lin Yan explained, "Brother Hai, I came back three days ago. I wanted to come back to try to get four skin-smoothing treatments. Brother Yuan knows that too."

"Four rounds of skin retouching?"

Lin Minghai wasn't surprised. Four skin-smoothing tests at the age of twenty would be considered an outstanding genius in a county, but in Qingzhou Prefecture and within the Lin family, it was nothing special.

"You came to see me to ask about your experience of passing the four skin retouching tests?" In Lin Minghai's view, this was the only possibility.

"no."

Lin Yan shook his head, not waiting for Hai Ge to continue guessing, otherwise it would seem like he was showing off.

"I successfully reached the fourth level of skin smoothing today, and I came here specifically to let Hai-ge know."

"etc!"

Lin Minghai interrupted Lin Yan, his face showing neither surprise nor joy. He looked Lin Yan up and down, his eyes filled with suspicion.

After four skin resurfacing sessions, the effects of skin rejuvenation and blood circulation will become apparent.

He did not see any signs of four skin resurfacing procedures on Lin Yan's body.

If Lin Yan had already been in the fourth stage of skin refining for a long time, it would be fine if he could control his qi and blood. But Lin Yan has just broken through. Any martial artist who has just broken through will find it difficult to control his qi and blood precisely because of the surge in qi and blood. His qi and blood will be exposed, and anyone with a little insight can see the clues.

"Lin Yan, are you serious? You're not joking with me?"

"Brother Hai, how could I joke about something like this with you?"

Suddenly!

Lin Minghai swiftly and accurately gripped Lin Yan's arm with his right hand. A terrifying force emanated from his fingertips, directly impacting Lin Yan's entire right hand. In just a brief moment, Lin Yan felt his blood surging and becoming somewhat uncontrollable.

Lin Minghai released his grip, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes: "It really has been skin smoothed four times, not bad."

Lin Mingsong smiled to the side. Lin Yan would never lie about his cultivation level, so Minghai's test was unnecessary.

"Now that you've gone through four skin-sharpening stages, the next step is blood transfusion. How much do you know about the Blood Transfusion Realm? What are your plans for the future?"

"I learned some things from Brother Yuan and plan to continue increasing my Qi and blood in the fourth skin-smoothing stage."

Lin Yan felt a sense of regret; he still wanted to see what Hai Ge's martial arts tree was like, whether it was thicker or thinner than Yuan Ge's.

Unfortunately, although Hai Ge had just had physical contact with him, the other party was not in a relaxed state, and the Martial Arts Tree was unable to read Hai Ge's martial arts situation.

"Yes, you made the right choice."

Lin Minghai nodded, then pointed at Lin Mingsong: "Let me introduce you, this is Brother Song. Brother Song is one of the best in our third branch of the family."

"Brother Song," Lin Yan greeted him quickly.

Lin Mingsong nodded and smiled, "Don't listen to Minghai's nonsense. There are plenty of capable people in our third branch. I've heard Minghai mention you. You've mastered the fist techniques and have now undergone four skin-sharpening sessions. That's quite impressive."

A twenty-year-old martial artist who has undergone four skin-sharpening techniques and has mastered fist techniques would rank in the middle even within the main Lin family. Moreover, Lin Yan came from a branch family, whose martial arts resources cannot compare with those of the main family. He deserves the title of "not bad".

"You're the first person from this branch to break through four levels of skin smoothing. Tell me, what reward do you want?"

After confirming that Lin Yan had used the skin-smoothing technique four times, Lin Minghai knew why Lin Yan had come to him—he was looking for a reward.

However, he gave this reward willingly.

Lin Yan smiled shyly. Although she had come to find Brother Hai with this intention, Brother Hai was really straightforward and directly pointed out her thoughts.

Lin Mingsong, standing to the side, shook his head helplessly. Minghai was good in every way, except that he was too straightforward, and his mouth—sometimes it was a bit foul.

"Lin Yan, don't be embarrassed. The Third Branch has already prepared martial arts resources for you branch members to encourage and reward you."

Lin Mingsong interjected, and Lin Yan then spoke up: "Brother Hai, I want to contribute points."

He could buy pills with silver from the Lin family's armory, but he could only exchange them with contribution points in the library. He only had seventy contribution points left. The contribution points for the Yangtian Mountain Range guard mission would only be issued after three months. He didn't know if he had enough contribution points to exchange for the cultivation techniques on the second floor of the library.

"You've gone from three skin smoothing sessions to four, so you'll get a reward of 200 contribution points as usual. Plus, since you're number one, you'll get another 100 contribution points, for a total of 300 contribution points. I'll add them to your account later."

"Thank you, Brother Hai."

"This is what you deserve. It would be the same for other branches of the clan. It's not like you're being given any special treatment."

Lin Minghai waved his hand: "You've already done four skin-sharpening missions. After this mission to guard the Yangtian Mountains is over, you can take on other missions, and your contribution points will be higher."

"Okay." Lin Yan replied, "Then I won't disturb Brother Hai and Brother Song any longer. I'll be leaving now."

"Go ahead," Lin Minghai waved his hand.

Lin Mingsong maintained a smile throughout, watching Lin Yan's departing figure, and said with a smile, "Lin Yan has managed to maintain such composure even after breaking through the skin-sharpening barrier four times; he has a good temperament."

"He will definitely be able to stay calm."

Lin Minghai snorted when he heard this, and when he saw Lin Mingsong's curious eyes, he explained, "Brother Song, this kid is hiding his true strength. The density of his blood and qi doesn't seem like someone who has just broken through to the fourth level of skin polishing. It's at least 20% of what one would expect after the fourth level of skin polishing."

Both of them had gone through the fourth stage of skin refining. Lin Yan's blood and qi far surpassed those of martial artists who had just entered the fourth stage of skin refining. The moment Lin Minghai sensed it, he understood what was going on.

Lin Mingsong sat up straight, a thoughtful look in his eyes: "Perhaps Lin Yan made some kind of discovery in the Yangtian Mountains and obtained some kind of precious medicine."

"Is this kid really that lucky?"

Lin Minghai pondered for a moment, then shook his head: "Brother Song, even if you were lucky enough to obtain a precious medicine, and not only did you break through but your qi and blood also increased significantly, it shouldn't be so obvious from your appearance that you wouldn't notice it at all."

"Who told you that Lin Yan said he broke through today, so it must have been today?"

"Song-ge, you mean Lin Yan lied, and that he broke through in the Yangtian Mountains?"

"That's possible."

Lin Mingsong stretched out his arms again with ease, casually resting them on the railing: "I'm starting to think more and more highly of Lin Yan now. He broke through early, but only came back today. That's quite a character. Maybe he's still hiding some trump cards."

"Is it necessary? Does he think we, the third wife's family, would harm him?"

"It has nothing to do with whether our third branch of the family harms him or not. Lin Yan went to Qingzhou alone. Although he comes from the same source as us, in reality, our Lin family is no different from a sect. It's a good thing to hide our talents, keep a low profile, and act cautiously."

In the end, Lin Mingsong's tone became somewhat meaningful, and Lin Minghai fell silent, understanding that Brother Song's words were implied.

"Brother Song, back in the day, the fourth wife—"

"Minghai, there's no need to bring up the past."

Lin Mingsong raised his hand to stop Minghai from continuing, even though it was just the two of them there.

Some things can only be done, not said.

Some hatred can only be kept in the heart.

Seeing the somewhat silent atmosphere, Lin Minghai changed the subject: "Brother Song, the second branch of the family proposed a branch clan competition at the end of the year a few days ago. Do you think Uncle will agree?"

Lin Mingsong clapped his hands as he scattered the fish food into the lake: "Uncle won't object."

"That's true. Uncle is just a kind-hearted person. In his eyes, the members of other branches of the clan are also members of our Lin family, and there's no need to object."

Lin Minghai pursed his lips and sighed, "It's a pity that even if Lin Yan hides his talents, his strength is still limited. If there is a branch competition, it will have nothing to do with our third branch."

Library.

"Senior, I would like to go up to the second floor."

"Four rounds of skin smoothing? Not bad."

Lin Qinghe looked at Lin Yan. He still had some impression of this young man. It was his first time in the library. He didn't take anything else but the Thunder Sound Technique and also inquired about the situation on the second floor.

He is an ambitious young man.

However, the Lin family is not afraid that its members lack ambition; what they fear is having ambition without the talent and strength to match it.

"A lucky breakthrough."

Hearing Lin Yan's answer, Lin Qinghe remained noncommittal. Lin Yan was not a member of his main branch of the clan, and he would not pry into the matter.

He no longer needed to verify whether Lin Yan's strength had truly undergone four rounds of skin polishing. After the pavilion closed, someone would come to collect the records of the day he had made and verify them one by one.

"The second floor is full of high-grade cultivation techniques, each with different power. Don't just focus on the most powerful ones; the more powerful they are, the harder they are to cultivate. You should choose a cultivation technique that suits you."

Lin Qinghe offered a suggestion, not as a special consideration for Lin Yan, but as a reminder to every member of the fourth-generation skin-grinding tribe who came from the branch before they went up to the second floor. Whether they listened or not was up to them.

"Thank you for your guidance, senior. I'll go up now."

After expressing his gratitude, Lin Yan headed towards the second floor.

Under normal circumstances, one would naturally choose a cultivation method that suits them, but since they have a martial arts tree, there is no cultivation method that doesn't suit them.

The second floor.

As Lin Yan stepped onto the last step, her steps unconsciously became lighter.

The entire second floor was unusually quiet.

Unlike the first floor, the second floor has a more open layout, with bookshelves spaced about ten feet apart. Each row of bookshelves is made of fine sandalwood, the dark brown wood gleaming with a restrained luster.

Lin Yan stood at the top of the stairs, his gaze slowly sweeping across the entire floor. Rows of bookshelves stood there neatly, the bamboo slips on them arranged meticulously, but there was no one in sight.

On second thought, he understood why it was so quiet.

The main members of the Lin family have been practicing high-level cultivation techniques since the first stage of skin-grinding; they have already learned what they needed to learn and do not need to come here again.

As for the clansmen from these branches, those who had already undergone four skin-refining processes had already come immediately. There must be others like myself who broke through after arriving at the Lin family, but it's impossible for there to be many in one day. The chances of them all coming to the library at the same time on the same day are very small.

"Why think so much? There's no one better. I can take my time to choose."

Lin Yan smiled and stopped analyzing, starting to browse the bamboo slips on the bookshelf.

Compared to the first floor, the second floor has far fewer cultivation techniques, but the descriptions of each technique on the bamboo slip are much more detailed than those on the first floor.

Burning Heaven Palm

Rank: Superior Description: Using Qi and blood as a guide, this technique unleashes the yang energy within the body. The palm strike is like the blazing sun in the sky, burning everything in its path. This palm technique is fierce and domineering, requiring a very high level of Qi and blood strength from the practitioner. It is easy to learn but difficult to master.

Contribution points required for redemption: 200.

Lin Yan glanced at it a few times and shook his head slightly.

Palm techniques were not his first choice. He put the bamboo slip back in its original place and walked to the next square.

"Dragon Steps" and "Mountain-Shattering Fist" —

Each martial art technique had a detailed description, which Lin Yan picked up, read, and then put down.

These superior cultivation techniques all require the same contribution points, both being 200 contribution points.

Passing through the fists and palms, Lin Yan arrived at the third row of weapon and martial arts racks.

"Wildfire Spear," "Star-Shattering Hammer," "Twin Dragon Overlord Mace," and "Nine Moon-Chasing Slashes" —

Each weapon and martial art is incredibly powerful.

Finally, Lin Yan stopped at the sword technique level, where there were six bamboo slips.

Sky-Splitting Sword Technique

Rank: Superior Description: Tears through the air at extremely high speed, each strike producing a whistling sound, each strike faster than the last, leaving the opponent overwhelmed.

This sword technique emphasizes speed; the act of drawing the sword, retracting the sword, and changing moves all happen in the blink of an eye. When mastered, one can unleash nine sword strikes simultaneously, with overlapping sword shadows that make it difficult to distinguish between the real and the fake.

Contribution points required for redemption: 200.

Shadowless Sword

Rank: Superior Description: Formless and invisible, the sword strikes without leaving a trace, targeting the opponent's blind spots and vital points. This sword technique does not pursue the ultimate in power and speed, but emphasizes concealment and cunning. The sword's edge does not stir up air currents or reflect light, making it impossible to defend against.

When cultivated to its highest level, one can unleash seven sword strikes in quick succession without the opponent noticing, each strike aimed at a fatal spot, requiring an extremely high level of perception from the cultivator.

Contribution points required for redemption: 200.

Chongyue Sword Technique

The Serpent Sword Technique

After reading all six sword manuals, Lin Yan only had one left: "The Thirteen Forms of Flowing Clouds".

The Thirteen Forms of Flowing Clouds

Rank: Superior Description: Sword technique, consisting of thirteen moves. The sword movements are continuous and flowing like clouds and water, with each sword strike linked to the next, making the opponent exhausted and revealing weaknesses.

The first to ninth moves emphasize seamless transitions, while the tenth to thirteenth moves contain sword intent and possess immense power.

This sword technique is not difficult to learn, but to master it requires a strong understanding of swordsmanship. Choose carefully.

Contribution points required for redemption: 200.

Careful selection is the essence of rigorous selection!

-

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Without much hesitation, Lin Yan decided to choose the "Thirteen Forms of Flowing Clouds," as it was the most suitable sword technique for him.

"I have a selection slot on the first floor, which only requires half of my contribution points. I currently have 280 points left, so I won't choose any other cultivation methods for now. I'll save these contribution points to buy pills."

Originally, Lin Yan wanted to choose another main cultivation technique, but to his surprise, there were none on the entire second floor, so he had to give up for the time being.

Returning to the first floor with the bamboo slips, Lin Qinghe looked surprised when he saw the bamboo slips handed to him by Lin Yan.

"The Thirteen Forms of Flowing Clouds, while incredibly powerful, ranks among the top three in difficulty among all high-grade martial arts techniques. If you can't master the ninth form, its power is inferior to the other five sword techniques, and it's even at the bottom of the list of martial arts techniques. Have you thought it through?"

He wouldn't normally interfere when his clansmen were choosing cultivation techniques, but considering that Lin Yan had recently learned the Thunder Sound Technique and had already achieved some success, and had even undergone four rounds of skin-sharpening, he was quite promising. Especially since the third branch of the family had few members, it would be a loss for the third branch if their talents were wasted like this, so he spoke up to remind him.

"I've made up my mind, I'll choose this one."

Hearing Lin Yan's unwavering and resolute words, Lin Qinghe said no more. He registered Lin Yan's name and technique according to the rules, and then took out a sword manual from the cabinet behind him.

"The rules are the same as before, so I won't repeat them."

Lin Yan nodded, took the sword manual, and walked out of the library. Lin Qinghe watched Lin Yan's departing figure, a subtle look in his eyes. Over the years, the clan members who chose the Thirteen Styles of Flowing Clouds were either truly confident in their abilities or foolishly confident.

The former soared into the sky.

The latter is utterly foolish.

yard.

Lin Yan spent the time it takes to drink a cup of tea memorizing the sword techniques and moves of the "Thirteen Styles of Flowing Clouds," then picked up his longsword and walked into the courtyard.

He began by thrusting his sword forward.

The sword's edge sliced ​​through the air with a smooth trajectory, without the slightest hesitation.

He paused for a moment, then thrust out a second and a third sword, each strike faster and more natural than the last, as if he had practiced this sword technique a thousand times over.

Getting started in one go?

It seems this is the benefit of mastering a perfect-level sword technique.

While it's not true that mastering one method leads to mastering all others, at least the fundamentals of swordsmanship are the same.

Pull, swing, stab —

Lin Yan sheathed his sword and looked inward into his mind.

On the martial arts tree, a new bud has sprouted.

"They actually grew from the same branch."

Looking at the tender shoots growing from the Thirteen Styles of Flowing Clouds and the green leaves of the Startling Swan Sword Technique on the same branch, Lin Yan had a thoughtful look in his eyes.

My martial arts tree is becoming more and more like a real tree.

From the condition of Yuan Ge's martial arts tree, Lin Yan knew that as his cultivation level improved in the future, the martial arts tree would continue to grow taller and thicker. In addition, new buds were now sprouting from the same branch, which was completely in line with the natural growth pattern of trees.

"Then we'll wait until we've mastered the Thirteen Forms of Flowing Clouds before heading to the Yangtian Mountains."

Having broken through the skin-grinding stage four times and learned the cultivation technique from the library, I was not allowed to take the technique out of the clan according to the rules. Therefore, the delay of several days to go to Yangtian Mountain Range was not considered a violation of the rules.

In the days that followed, Lin Yan focused on practicing the Thirteen Forms of Flowing Clouds, and his progress was rapid.

This rapid progress, which wasn't aided by the Martial Arts Tree, greatly boosted Lin Yan's confidence.

In just four days, the tender buds of "Thirteen Forms of Flowing Clouds" had turned into mature green leaves. Lin Yan was even confident that if given another ten days, he would be able to master the Flowing Clouds Sword Style.

Early that morning, Lin Yan was practicing his sword as usual when a knock came at the door.

"Young Master Lin Yan, someone is looking for you at the gate of your residence."

"Did the person who contacted me give their name?"

"He says he's Luo Feng from the Seven Star Escort Agency and has urgent business with you."

"Thank you for your letter, I understand."

Lin Yanshi changed into fish-themed clothes and left the disciples' quarters, heading towards the entrance of the Lin residence.

Beneath the massive archway of the mansion, Yu Dao paced anxiously back and forth. Upon seeing Lin Yan, his eyes lit up and he immediately ran over: "Young Master Lin, I am Luo Feng, a镖吴吴 (镖吴吴吴吴), from the Seven Star Escort Agency. I have come to see you urgently because Zhu镖头 (镖头) has been beaten and is still unconscious."

"Brother Zhu was assaulted and harassed. What exactly happened?"

Lin Yan also remembered Luo Feng. When he met Zhu Xiao at the banquet, Luo Feng was standing not far from Zhu Xiao, so his identity was correct.

"Actually, when Shangmu met Young Master Lin, our cargo shipment had already run into trouble. It was seized by the Qingfeng Village people. Chief Escort Zhu brought us to the banquet, hoping to ask someone to intervene and negotiate with the Qingfeng Village to see if the cargo could be returned—"

Although Luo Feng spoke in a hurry, Lin Yan still understood.

This time, the Seven Star Escort Agency had been terrified on the escort route for several days. In the past, they had always had safe and sound journeys, but this time, they were stopped by the people of Qingfeng Village on Qingfeng Village's territory. Considering that the two leaders of Qingfeng Village were at the Four Eyes Skin Polishing Realm, Zhu Xiao did not fight them head-on. Instead, he left the goods behind and took Luo Feng and others to Qingzhou Prefecture. He found a Four Eyes Skin Polishing Realm martial artist who was acquainted with Yu Jin and the chief escort, hoping that the man would intervene and make Qingfeng Village release the goods.

The other party agreed to help mediate, with the Seven Star Escort Agency paying the fish pen fee to Qingfeng Village in exchange for the seized goods.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Xiao followed that four-eyed, skin-sharpening martial artist up the mountain to Qingfeng Village. In the end, he was covered in blood and was taken down the mountain by the same martial artist. The four-eyed, skin-sharpening martial artist only said one thing: he couldn't resolve this matter, and then left on his own.

Where is Brother Zhu now?

"The Li Family Medical Clinic at the banquet."

"I understand. You go back first, and I'll go visit Brother Zhu right away."

Hearing Lin Yan's words, Luo Feng's eyes showed a hint of disappointment, but he didn't dare to say anything more: "I'm sorry to have bothered you, Young Master Lin. I'll take my leave now."

Lin Yan could clearly see the disappointment in Luo Feng's eyes. He knew that Luo Feng must think that he didn't want to get involved in this matter and was just trying to get rid of him so easily.

Qingfeng Village?

After pondering for a while, Lin Yan turned and headed towards the third-floor area.

Before visiting Brother Zhu Xiao, he needed to understand the background of Qingfeng Village so that he could decide how to proceed after meeting Brother Zhu Xiao.

Any bandit who can occupy the mountain and block the road is not someone to be trifled with, let alone with two powerful and sharp-eyed strongmen in charge.

After thinking it over, the only person who could find out about the details of the deal was Brother Hai.

Although Hai Ge's tone was a bit harsh, he was still a very kind person. It was definitely the right way to find out about He Xi from Hai Ge.

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