"Lin Xuan!" Su Luo came to provoke Lin Xuan again, displaying his anger to the fullest.
Yes, it was supposed to be Su Luo who had arranged for someone to teach Lin Xuan a lesson, but it ended up becoming Lin Xuan's achievement.
It made Su Luo look like he was here to assist Lin Xuan, even assisting his enemy.
Nothing could be more frustrating than this, and anyone would be upset.
Of course, Su Luo had to act furious.
And this time, it was all about drawing out Qin San. After this, there wouldn’t be much plot for a while.
Lin Xuan, already accustomed to the outburst, calmly said, "You're here."
"Yes, this time, you won’t be so lucky. I’ll make you understand the consequences of offending me."
"Mm-hmm, so who is it this time?"
"Qin San."
Su Luo said proudly, as not just anyone could get Qin San to act.
"Are you sure?"
Lin Xuan was stunned. He never expected it to be this person.
One of the faces of the Seven Stars Sword Sect’s disciples, and he’s problematic?
The previous small fry were one thing, but even Qin San?
The demonic path was truly good at hiding.
Upon hearing the name, Lin Xuan couldn’t help but frown. This was going to be tough.
Su Luo found it strange. What was there to be unsure about? Did he think I couldn’t call someone like this? Who did he think I was?
"Of course, who do you think I am?"
"I see. Thanks for your effort."
"No problem."
Upon hearing "thanks for your effort," Su Luo naturally replied with "no problem," but then he realized something was off.
Wait, what do you mean you see? And what’s with thanking me? I’m here to have you beaten up, and you’re thanking me?
What kind of weird fetish is this?
Did the previous three beat you senseless? But that shouldn’t be the case. Lin Xuan, you’re not that weak.
"Lin Xuan, is your brain okay?"
"It’s fine. I’ve clearly received your message. Su Luo, only at this moment are you my brother. After this, we’ll have nothing to do with each other."
Su Luo, I thought with your current strength and status, finding a few small spies was already impressive, but you’ve exceeded my expectations.
You’ve even managed to reel in a big fish. You must have put in a lot of unseen effort.
At this moment, you are my brother, but on the surface, we must still act as enemies to conceal your undercover identity.
I understand that.
So, don’t worry, I won’t let you down.
I’ll take it from here. I’ll investigate Qin San, gather solid evidence, and then eliminate this spy.
Su Luo was even more confused. "Who’s your brother?"
What’s with Lin Xuan today? His attitude towards me seems to have subtly changed.
"I understand. So, as per the usual routine?"
"What routine? What routine do we have?"
Lin Xuan didn’t answer and instead launched an attack.
Su Luo, as usual, instantly fell.
So, this is the routine you’re talking about.
Well, with Lin Xuan’s intelligence, he probably already figured out that I’ve been pretending to be weak.
But he definitely doesn’t know my real strength, because Lin Xuan only recently broke through to Perfect Qi Cultivation.
Meanwhile, I’m a minor Golden Core cultivator, a whole realm above him. How could he possibly guess?
Still, the plot must go on.
"Damn it, just you wait. I’ll call for reinforcements."
"Sure, I’ll wait."
This is really strange. Lin Xuan should be impatient at this point, but now he’s acting all gentle.
It’s so gross. What’s going on?
Soon, Qin San arrived. He didn’t want to do this, but when Su Luo mentioned Elder Yan Xi, he agreed.
"Lin Xuan, do you remember what I said during the sect entrance exam?"
"You didn’t remember, or you wouldn’t have revealed Su Luo’s matter. It seems my warning meant nothing to you. In other words, you don’t respect me at all."
"So now, let’s have a spar. You don’t mind, do you?"
It was all just an excuse. Qin San simply wanted a reason to beat Lin Xuan up. During the entrance exam, he hadn’t cared at all.
But within the sect, he needed some pretext to cover his actions.
"Alright, let’s do it."
Lin Xuan had no objections. This was a good opportunity to gauge Qin San’s strength and understand the gap between them for future preparations.
Even if he lost, Lin Xuan didn’t think it would be a waste. Growth often comes from defeat.
"Good courage."
Qin San’s first move was his signature Heart-Ripping Claw.
His Golden Core strength was no joke, and the vicious angle left Lin Xuan no room to dodge.
Lin Xuan reacted a fraction too slow and couldn’t even defend himself. He was hit.
*Rip*—the sound of fabric tearing.
Not only that, but claw marks were now clearly visible on Lin Xuan’s body, with blood seeping out.
With just one move, Lin Xuan understood the gap. This was indeed beyond his current capabilities.
Su Luo, you’ve really given me a challenging task.
Su Luo didn’t care what Lin Xuan thought. Right now, he was just gleefully cheering.
"Hahaha, good, this is great! I love watching this."
Qin San had held back in that move, or else Lin Xuan would have been finished.
He couldn’t actually kill Lin Xuan. Qin San had worked too hard to hide his identity and rise to this position. He wouldn’t expose himself so easily.
"Still holding up? I haven’t even warmed up yet."
While bullying the weak gave Qin San some pleasure, Lin Xuan’s inability to fight back made him even more arrogant.
This Lin Xuan is nothing special.
Lin Xuan took a deep breath, focused his energy, and unleashed his strongest move—the Eight Extremes Collapse.
The result was as Lin Xuan expected: ineffective.
Qin San took the hit head-on and didn’t seem much worse for wear.
"That punch wasn’t bad. Too bad your cultivation level is too low. If you were at Golden Core, I might not have dared to take it. But as you are now, it’s nothing."
Qin San gave his assessment, then raised his hand again, transforming it into a dragon’s claw.
Just as he was about to strike, a voice stopped him.
"What are you doing here?"
Han Ying'er, dressed in white, happened to pass by.
"We’re just sparring," Qin San said, retracting his claws and reverting to his usual gentle demeanor.
It was this ability to switch faces that had allowed him to remain hidden in the Seven Stars Sword Sect for so long.
"Sparring? You’re just bullying Lin Xuan."
Though she said this, Han Ying'er’s tone wasn’t particularly harsh when she saw Qin San’s gentle appearance.
"Senior Sister, I’m fine."
"Fine? You’re injured. Let me take a look."
Han Ying'er gently examined Lin Xuan’s wounds with her delicate hands.
Su Luo watched from the side, muttering to himself, "Someone’s not going to sleep well tonight."
That someone was Qin San, whose eyes were now red with jealousy as he glared at Lin Xuan.
But neither Lin Xuan nor Han Ying'er noticed.
"Not bad, taking a hit from Qin San and only getting this injured. Junior Brother, you’re impressive."
Han Ying'er praised him while applying some high-quality medicine to his wounds.
"Hmph, if I hadn’t held back, he’d be dead."
"And you know you held back? Look at how badly you hurt him. That’s just too much."
"I..."
"You what? Apologize to Lin Xuan right now."
"Fine," Qin San said reluctantly. "Lin Xuan, sorry about that. I went a bit too hard."
"It’s fine. Injuries are part of sparring."
"Junior Brother, if you want to spar in the future, come find me. I won’t go so hard on you."
"Alright."
Han Ying'er’s admiration for Lin Xuan was unmistakable, which only made Qin San want to beat Lin Xuan up even more.
But he couldn’t do it in front of Han Ying'er. That would just make her dislike him even more.