Chapter 82

Chapter 82: Surging

Chen Ling Han’s brows tightened as she moved to punish the rude youth. Then a hand pressed lightly to her shoulder.

“Insolent—” She whirled to curse, but the moment she saw who it was, her expression snapped into reverence. “Holy Son. Your Highness.”

Shen Yu Han had just stabilized his position as Holy Son. He looked worn around the edges, but the aura rolling off him was steady and powerful—nothing like the weakness he’d shown when Lin Zhao had forced him back before.

He pressed Chen Ling Han down with a gesture. “Withdraw the pressure. Let the Lin Family stand.”

Then he bowed toward Lin Mang, who sat at the far edge of the hall, and spoke evenly. “This junior has offended you.”

Lin Mang let out a cold laugh and turned his head away. “Lin Mang can’t accept a ‘junior’ from the Holy Son.”

The youth who had spoken earlier surged to his feet and charged, fist swinging straight into Shen Yu Han’s face. “I, Lin Yuan, was stupid as hell to try to match you with the Young Lord back then! How could you ever be worthy of the Young Lord?!”

Shen Yu Han took the punch without dodging. His eyes darkened, starry depth turning heavy. “I’m truly sorry for the harm done to the Lin Family. But I must see her.”

He believed—foolishly, desperately—that if he explained everything, then with the patience and gentleness Lin Zhao had once shown him, it could still be salvaged.

“Stop disgusting people!” Lin Ya stood and spat the words like blood. “When the Young Lord fell, you wavered and flirted around. You were already unworthy of her. Now the Young Lord can even defeat Ji Xiao of the Ji Family—what do you amount to?”

Lin Mang didn’t speak, but he didn’t stop them either. Letting the juniors curse Shen Yu Han was already his stance.

Seeing their Holy Son insulted, Chen Ling Han drew her sword and pointed it at Lin Yuan. “You want to die? That’s easy!”

Before the blade could fall, a cold voice rang through the hall—quiet, certain, and sharp enough to cut bone.

“Whichever hand dares touch my Lin Family, that hand will stay with the Lin Family forever.”

The Lin Family members who could still stand jolted, disbelief flooding their faces.

Shen Yu Han’s pupils shrank. His heart slammed against his ribs as he turned toward the Lin Family Teleportation Array.

Two figures slowly emerged.

But every gaze locked onto the graceful woman in sky-blue.

“Zhao Zhao?!” Lin Mang’s voice cracked. “Why did you come back? Nonsense!”

Yao Chi Sacred Land had come with such ferocity—was it really only for Lin Zhao?

He feared his daughter was bait. Their true target was likely whatever Yu Er had left behind.

Lin Zhao stepped out of the Teleportation Array.

At her side, Instructor Han Yan’s eyes swept the city like blades. “The highest cultivation inside Lin Family City is Nascent Soul Great Perfection. Outside the city, three Spirit Transformation-level battles are happening. One should be your Old Ancestor fighting Immortal Venerable Yun Ding.”

Her gaze sharpened. “The other two involve people from Yao Chi Sacred Land, Ten Thousand Swords Sect’s Ao Lai Peak, and Thunder Hall. But there’s one more presence. Its aura is unfamiliar.”

Lin Zhao lowered her eyes. Thunder Hall should be the help Su Bai had invited. Ao Lai Peak had likely been pulled in by Senior Sister Xiao Le Le.

So the top fighters on the Lin Family side were barely holding a draw. And Yao Chi Sacred Land had brought an extra Nascent Soul Great Perfection expert—someone who suppressed the remaining strength inside the city and pushed the Lin Family into this state.

She looked at Han Yan. “Instructor—can you restrain that Nascent Soul Great Perfection?”

Han Yan nodded.

She didn’t seem to move at all, yet somewhere in Lin Family City, a scream tore through the air. The next instant, an old man—bones shattered in all four limbs—was dragged forward and thrown to the ground before them.

Lin Ya’s eyes went red the moment she saw him, hatred so fierce it seemed to burn.

Lin Zhao’s voice tightened. “What happened?”

Han Yan said, “It’s better if I show you.”

With a flick of her fingers, the Restriction Seal on the old man shattered and fell away.

A greasy, big-eared face was revealed.

Lin Zhao recognized him instantly. Understanding struck like a nail driven through her spine. “Wan Le—the Buddha Venerable.”

Lin Ya surged forward, trembling with rage, and hefted her hammer. “Ever since the Old Ancestor was drawn away, this bastard has been hunting pretty common girls in Lin Family City to use as furnaces. He’s already killed dozens—including my maid! Damn it… we were no match for him!”

Lin Ya’s cultivation was only at Foundation Establishment. Wan Le didn’t even bother to fear her.

These days, he had been hunted relentlessly by people from the Yin Yang Palace and Thunder Hall. He’d nearly died. Though he survived, his cultivation had fallen to Nascent Soul Great Perfection.

That was why he had no power to resist Han Yan. Now his cultivation was sealed, his bones were broken, and his body lay limp beneath Lin Ya’s shadow.

Even so, he still clung to one smug certainty: a Nascent Soul Great Perfection body was something a Foundation Establishment cultivator could never truly break.

That certainty collapsed the moment Lin Ya’s hammer came down.

“Aaaah!”

Han Yan withdrew the sliver of spiritual power she’d attached to the hammer. Her face didn’t change, as if she’d never helped at all.

Wan Le screamed until his voice broke, the pain dragging clarity back into his mind. His eyes went wide, horror blooming as he realized he could no longer feel anything below.

Regret hit him like a wave.

Why had he accepted Yun Ding’s invitation to come on this suicidal trip?

Lin Ya wasn’t satisfied. She smashed down again and again until every man present flinched on instinct.

When Lin Ya finally ran out of strength, Lin Zhao stepped forward and called softly, “Sister Ya Ya…”

Lin Ya’s hammer slipped from her hands. She rushed to Lin Zhao and collapsed into her arms, sobbing until her whole body shook.

She was barely past twenty. The Lin Family had been struck by disaster overnight. She had been forced to watch her maid violated in their own home.

If not for her status as a direct Lin Family member—enough to make Yao Chi Sacred Land wary, enough to keep Wan Le from touching her—she might not have escaped either.

Holding on until now meant she had already reached her limit.

Lin Zhao wrapped her arms around her and held tight.

After a moment, she lifted her gaze to Lin Mang. “Father. We can start striking back.”

Lin Mang had been thinking the same. He bowed deeply to Han Yan. “Thank you for stepping in, Immortal Venerable.”

The bow was gratitude—and a question: how far would she go for the Lin Family?

Han Yan understood without being told. “Do what you need to do. I’ll handle anyone who gets in your way.”

“On behalf of the Lin Family,” Lin Mang said, voice rough, “I thank you, Immortal Venerable.”

Shen Yu Han watched, lips parting as if to speak to Lin Zhao.

Chen Ling Han grabbed his arm.

A Teleportation Talisman flared.

The two of them vanished.

“They won’t get far,” Han Yan said, expression ice. “I’ve placed a Spatial Lockdown over all of Lin Family City. Unless a Spirit Transformation cultivator helps them, they can’t leave.”

With a powerhouse holding the line, the Lin Family’s direct line exchanged glances. Their eyes filled with fierce, hungry fight.

In the span of a single day, the Lin Family estate reeked of blood.

By evening, the direct line had reclaimed full control.

Only then did Lin Zhao and Han Yan sit down with Lin Mang and the elders to piece together what had happened.

“It’ll take a few more days to clean up the remaining Yao Chi lackeys in Lin Family City,” Lin Zhao said.

“That’s not a problem.” Lin Mang’s voice was steady. “We’ve already released the You Lan Empire troops Yao Chi Sacred Land had imprisoned.”

Lin Zhao blinked. “The You Lan Empire is sending troops to help us?”

Lin Mang nodded. “Thanks to you—when you went to You Lan and resolved the feud between our two families.”

A bitterness rose in Lin Zhao’s throat. “This was my fault. I brought disaster on the Lin Family.”

Lin Mang hesitated, but the Grand Elder sighed and cut her off. “Young Lord—why speak like that among family? Don’t blame yourself for what happened to the Lin Family. What worries us is that you came back.”

His eyes softened. “If we can’t protect you, then the Lin Family truly has no future.”

Even Lin Mang—usually hard as iron—couldn’t stop his eyes from reddening.

He had already lost two sons.

Could he not even protect his only daughter?

The other elders wiped their eyes and nodded. “When we heard the Young Lord became the South Sea’s Top Freshman, the Old Ancestor said you were the Lin Family’s last hope to rise again. Whether the Lin Family can return to the lands of the noble houses depends on you. We old bones can die—but the Young Lord cannot!”

The emotion built so thick it nearly drowned the room.

Han Yan’s mouth twitched. She couldn’t help cutting in. “Did you all forget about the South Sea Academy?”

Why were they acting like this was a farewell?

On the Heavenly Phoenix Continent, there wasn’t a single force the South Sea Academy couldn’t protect.