Chapter 34: Could He Be of the Profound Rank?

The Xiao family mansion.

On this day, all of Xiao Tianxiong’s old friends had come to offer their congratulations.

In the whole of Binhai, there weren’t many people in the martial arts world.

Old Master Wang from the Wang family, Wang Defa, was one.

Liu Shanzhang from the Liu family was another.

Ma Yun from the Ma family was yet another.

“Old Xiao, I heard from Old Wang that your Dragon-Tiger Technique was completed by a young man. Is that true?” Ma Yun sounded skeptical.

“It’s unbelievable, I know, but it’s true. My daughter can vouch for it. The young man’s name is Lin Yuan. Despite his youth, he has already reached the peak of the Yellow Rank!” Even as Xiao Tianxiong spoke, there was a note of awe in his voice.

One who has attained mastery is a teacher, and for the truly powerful, even someone like Xiao Tianxiong—who ruled over the Lingnan underworld—could not help but feel respect.

Liu Shanzhang was astonished. “Is this Lin Yuan the same one who cured Old Master Jin of lung cancer?”

“Yes, that’s him,” Xiao Tianxiong nodded.

“A true prodigy.” Liu Shanzhang couldn’t help but admire him.

“He completed a martial technique, cured cancer, reached the peak of the Yellow Rank, and he’s only eighteen. To have achieved such feats at such an age... It’s impossible to imagine what his future holds.” Wang Defa was full of wonder.

Truly, each new generation surpasses the last.

Ma Yun laughed, “Old Xiao, if you ask me, marrying your daughter to Lin Yuan would be far better than marrying her to that Xiao family boy.”

“That’s right. I heard the Xiao family boy barely reached the late Yellow Rank just last month, and he’s already twenty-five,” Wang Defa agreed.

Xiao Tianxiong gave a wry smile. “The Xiao family boy is indeed no match for Lin Yuan, but his clan has a Xuan Rank expert. Since he’s taken a liking to my daughter, how could I refuse?”

He, a man who had conquered the underworld, had never imagined trading his daughter’s happiness for the family’s benefit.

Yet the Xiao family was so powerful, they could wipe out the Xiao family overnight.

He had no choice but to compromise.

...

Xiao Dai’er sat on the sofa, bored out of her mind.

Her delicate hand propped up her cheek, her thoughts already wandering far away.

“Miss, here’s the latest report from the darknet from last night,” her subordinate handed her the compiled information.

Xiao Dai’er glanced at it, her eyes curving as she smiled.

“It seems even the Assassin’s League has backed down.”

Her female bodyguard said, “Miss, I can’t believe Lin Yuan actually eliminated a diamond-level assassin. According to the report, Zero is especially skilled with throwing knives, able to kill in the blink of an eye. That means Lin Yuan’s strength must be at the peak of the Yellow Rank!”

At this, even the bodyguard couldn’t help but click her tongue in amazement.

It was truly terrifying.

At only eighteen, he had already attained such mastery.

In the future, advancing to the Xuan Rank was only a matter of time!

Xiao Dai’er mused, “I think there’s more to it than that. It’s a pity the Assassin’s League was scared off. Otherwise, my precious little brother would’ve shown even greater skill.”

“Miss, you mean...?” The bodyguard’s breath caught, her eyes wide with shock.

From her words, it sounded as if Lin Yuan might already have the early Xuan Rank level of power!

If that were true, it would be almost unimaginable!

Such a person must be won over at any cost.

Miss truly has foresight, recognizing him as her brother from the start and thus avoiding any potential conflict.

“All right, you may go,” Xiao Dai’er waved her hand, dismissing her.

She needed to call Lin Yuan.

“Yes, Miss.” The bodyguard departed.

...

At that moment, Lin Yuan was at home.

He and Lin Shanshan were sitting face-to-face.

He sat cross-legged.

Lin Shanshan, like an octopus, had her legs wrapped tightly around his waist and her lotus arms clinging to his neck.

“Country bumpkin, I haven’t rewarded you these past few days. Have you been missing me to death?” she pouted, her forehead pressed to his, her cheeks aglow as she smiled sweetly.

“No,” Lin Yuan answered, holding her by the waist.

“Liar.” She snorted, and then pressed her lips to his in a fragrant kiss.

But in this position, the kiss couldn’t last long.

After a few moments, she broke away, whimpering softly.

Suddenly, Lin Yuan’s phone rang.

“Hello, Sister Dai’er,” Lin Yuan answered the call.

“Little brother, what are you up to?” Xiao Dai’er’s alluring voice came through the phone.

Lin Shanshan, hugging the man’s head and pressing her cheek to his, could clearly hear that bewitching voice.

Fuming, she snatched the phone away.

“We’re playing cards. If you have business, wait until we’re done. Goodbye.”

With that, she hung up for him, wrapped her arms around his neck again, and grumbled, “If we’re playing cards, focus! Who told you to answer the phone? You’re not sleeping until you’ve taken good care of me tonight!”

“Miss Shanshan, have you fallen for me?” Lin Yuan smiled inwardly; all his efforts these past few days hadn’t been in vain.

She had grown to love this feeling.

No wonder she had come running back after only a few days, dragging him upstairs in a rush just to play cards.

“Pff, who would like a country bumpkin like you? At best, we’re just card-playing friends. Once I find true love, I’ll kick you to the curb,” Lin Shanshan said, resting her chin on Lin Yuan’s shoulder, her cheek pressed against his, a look of bliss on her face.

...

The next morning, when Lin Yuan woke up, Lin Shanshan was still fast asleep.

They had played cards together until dawn, nine rounds in all, and she had finally begged for a truce before they could rest.

After freshening up, Lin Yuan went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

Because Lin Shanshan couldn’t eat any industrial additives, he simply cooked some plain congee with a bit of seafood.

While the porridge simmered, Lin Yuan found himself deep in thought.

“After a while, I should go out and look for the opportunity to break through to the Heaven Rank.”

“But what surprises me is that ever since I got together with Lin Shanshan, my bottleneck started to loosen…”

“But it only worked the first night. Could it be because of her Primordial Yin Blood?”

He recalled waking up that morning to find the crimson blossom on the sheets dried and blackened.

At first, he thought his own yang energy was too strong and had dried it up.

But thinking back, it must have been because he absorbed her primordial yin, leaving the blood drained of all energy, charred and black.

“Could she have some special constitution?”

No matter how he pondered it, he couldn’t figure it out. Perhaps his master, who had arranged for him to come here, knew something?

But he had never told him.

At nine o’clock, Lin Shanshan finally woke up.

She went to the kitchen, ladled a bowl of porridge, and drank it happily.

“It smells so good, and there’s seafood too. I feel so lucky.”

She found that not only was Lin Yuan full of yang energy and extremely powerful, but he was also incredibly self-disciplined.

A man like that seemed pretty great—much better than that Jiang Shang fellow.

“Country bumpkin, will you come with me to a party later?” she asked after finishing her porridge.

“What kind of party?” Lin Yuan wasn’t interested.

“A class reunion. I wanted to get out of it, but Xiaoyu agreed to go. She promised another friend, so she has to go, and since Xiaoyu is my friend, I have to look after her. She’s so naive, I’m afraid something might happen,” Lin Shanshan explained.

Lin Yuan nodded. “All right then. Where is it?”

“A picnic in the countryside. Honestly, I don’t like it much—the food and condiments they bring are all full of industrial additives,” Lin Shanshan said helplessly, recalling a picnic from a few years ago that left her miserably ill because of all those additives.