Chapter 1382 Times Have Changed

The first ray of dawn beamed down from the sky, illuminating the sleeping Forbidden City.

For many ordinary people, this new day was no different than usual.

But for the upper society in the Forbidden City...

This new day was the beginning of the storm!

At first, only the top major forces were aware of the events that occurred last night, but soon, the clans and sects of varying sizes also became aware of them.

The Zuo and the Qin Clans, two high clans, met with catastrophe last night, and the patriarchs of nineteen aristocratic clans were killed. It was impossible to cover up this series of earthshaking news. Like the build up of volcanic magma, it completely erupted on the new day.

Even the slowest of people would know that the situation in the Forbidden City was about to change!

All this was because of Lin Xun’s return!

......

At this moment, everyone of the Lin Clan was anxiously waiting for news.

Dawn broke.

In the main hall of Mind Cleansing Peak, the senior members of the Lin Clan had been waiting all night.

This was because Spirit Vulture and Lin Zhong had ordered the clansmen of the Lin Clan to sit inside. They seemed to be isolated from the rest of the world that night and heard nothing.

However, Lin Xun’s return dispelled the cloud of gloom in everyone’s heart like a light of hope.

Over the past years, the Lin Clan had been on the brink of collapse.

Lin Xun’s return gave all Lin Clan members hope again!

Someone couldn’t help asking, “Would the clan leader be okay by himself?”

Someone calmly analyzed the situation, “The clan leader must have gone to the imperial palace to find the third prince. Only the third prince has the power to curb the arrogance of the Zuo and Qin Clans.”

“No matter what, the clan leader’s return is a joyous event worth celebrating. Even if our situation is bad, we can all face it together.”

Spirit Vulture and Lin Zhong kept quiet as they listened to everyone’s discussion. Only they knew about Lin Xun’s plan.

“Clan Leader!” Someone cried out

Lin Xun was standing outside the hall.

Everyone sprang up, a gleam of hope flashing across their faces. Their gazes all shifted onto Lin Xun who was bathed in the glow of the morning sun.

“Everyone, no need to worry anymore. Everything is settled,” Lin Xun reassured them with a smile.

Everything is settled?

Everyone was taken aback for a moment, and then the Mind Cleansing Hall erupted with all sorts of sounds.

Some people danced with excitement.

Some people clapped their knees and cried with joy.

Some people laughed and some were in tears.

In the past few years, the Lin Clan had been in a precarious situation that grew worse day by day. They were at risk of being annihilated every moment. The members of the Lin Clan always felt as if a heavy boulder was pressing its weight down at their chest, almost suffocating them.

But one sentence from Lin Xun fully released all those emotions accumulated in everyone’s hearts!

Soon, everyone calmed down a little.

“Clan Leader, don’t laugh.”

Lin Huaiyuan and the others reddened with embarrassment.

Lin Xun reassured, “I understand how everyone is feeling.”

Lin Huaiyuan couldn’t help asking, “Clan Leader, are the Zuo and Qin Clans really not going to target us again?”

Everyone else pricked up their ears.

Lin Xun smiled and shook his head. He did not conceal anything and concisely told them about what happened last night in an indifferent manner.

But when he finished, there was a long silence in the hall.

Everyone’s face was a mix of shock, confusion, and disbelief.

Even the faces of Lin Zhong and Spirit Vulture went stiff and the emotions in their hearts were like the waves of an ocean!

“Can I ask you all to take care of the rest of the matters? I want to go to the ancestral temple to have a look.” Lin Xun got up and drifted away in the air.

“If what the clan leader said is true then doesn’t it mean that...the Zuo Clan and the Qin Clans will disappear from the Forbidden City from now on?” Once Lin Xun was gone, Lin Beiguang spoke aloud, breaking the silent atmosphere in the hall.

“But why does it...not feel real?”

Everyone else felt the same. They were so shocked that they couldn’t use their brains.

It wasn’t until several hours later, when the outside world learned about what happened last night, that the Lin Clan finally believed it.

Everything was true!

The Lin Clan of Mind Cleansing Peak was buzzing like never before.

......

......

More than ten years ago, a youngster called Lin Xun came to the Forbidden City and embarked upon the path of a rising star.

In just three years, he became a renowned rune founder.

He taught at the imperial Qinglu Academy.

He became the head of the Lin Clan of Mind Cleansing Peak.

At that time, he was already one the leading figures among the younger generation of the empire. His brilliance swept the capital, and he was regarded as unparalleled in the world!

Who could forget such a legendary young man?

Today, more than ten years later, the young man returned and reappeared in the most shocking and spectacular way.

Overnight, he launched a bloodbath, beheaded multiple prominent figures, and turned the Forbidden City upside down!

Everyone was aghast.

It also made everyone clear that, after so many years, the young man who only dominated the younger generation back then, had completely changed!

......

“What? Lin Xun is really back?”

At the headquarters of the Rune Master Association, Chief Rune Grandmaster Yu Beidou raised his eyebrows and exclaimed excitedly, “Does that mean the Lin Clan can be saved?”

Chu Feng laughed, “Haha, the crisis in the Lin Clan was already resolved last night!”

Yu Beidou looked bewildered. “What’s going on?”

Chu Feng tossed him a bamboo slip. “Everything that happened last night has been written on that. Take a look.”

Yu Beidou took the bamboo slip and looked at it. His eyes went wide with astonishment and he was stunned. After a good while, he suddenly burst into laughter, “The Zuo Clan and the Qin Clan finally got what they deserved! I have said it before, as long as Lin Xun is in the Lin Clan, those who touch the Lin Clan will suffer a disaster!”

Both Yu Beidou and Chu Feng had a deep friendship with Lin Xun back then. Over the years, the two had secretly assisted the Lin Clan whenever it was in trouble.

Unfortunately, although the two were rune masters, they still lacked the power to go against the mighty Zuo Clan and Qin Clan.

When they learned that Lin Xun had returned to the Forbidden City and caused carnage in the Zuo and Qin Clans in one night, they felt so satisfied and happy in a way they had never felt before.

“Let’s go! Let’s go for a drink!” Yu Beidou shouted.

“Did you not need to craft a batch of treasures today?” asked Chu Feng.

“Who says! Let’s go drink!” Yu Beidou shouted again, skipping out of the Rune Master Association.

Chu Feng couldn’t help chuckling and quickly caught up with him.

......

Qinglu Academy, Rune Department.

A girl as beautiful as a painting and had an icy demeanor was attending class. From time to time, people darted glances at her, expressing admiration, jealousy, and amazement.

In everyone’s eyes, the girl was the pride of heaven.

Her appearance, intelligence and knowledge were all top-tier, and she was currently the youngest advanced rune master in the Rune Department!

But while the girl was listening to the lecture, she would occasionally wrinkle her brows as if something was weighing on her mind.

“Yang Jingyao, pay attention.”

On the podium, rune master Shen Tuo reminded her in a gentle tone.

“Yes.” Yang Jingyao nodded and inhaled deeply.

Suddenly, a clamor outside the classroom interrupted the lecture. “Yang Jingyao, Fan Zhiqiu...” Dozens of names were shouted in succession.

At the end, the voice shouted almost like a roar, “Little Instructor Lin is back!”

Thud!

Desks were flipped over, and under astonished gazes, Yang Jingyao, Fan Zhiqiu and other top advanced rune masters of the rune department rushed out of the school!

“Those guys have no manners! This is a school and class hasn’t ended yet...” someone muttered in dissatisfaction.

Many gazes turned to Shen Tuo who was standing on the podium.

However, to their disbelief, Shen Tuo, the well-respected rune master, looked incredibly excited and emotional, muttering to himself, “Lin Xun is back? Fantastic...fantastic...”

As he muttered, he dropped the book in his hand and darted out of the classroom. “Class is over, class is over, there is no class today.”

He vanished before his voice faded, leaving a group of dumbfounded students in the classroom.

“Little Instructor Lin? Who’s that?” someone muttered.

“It’s him! The young rune founder who crafted a rune armament back then. Fan Zhiqiu and Yang Jingyao were his students!” someone suddenly exclaimed.

The whole class seemed to explode, remembering a legendary figure who emerged from the rune department more than ten years ago.

That man’s name was Lin Xun, and he was a rune founder well known throughout the empire.

In the earliest days, he was the teacher of Class 9C!

The news of Lin Xun’s return caused a sensation in Qinglu Academy.

Similar scenes were happening in various areas across the Forbidden City.

As the news spread, more and more people, clans, and sects came to know that the young master who was known all over the Forbidden City was finally back!

......

On the same day.

Observant people would notice that almost all clans and sects in the Forbidden City sent envoys to Mind Cleansing Peak, bearing valuable gifts.

People were heading to Mind Cleansing Peak from every direction. It was quite a spectacle.

Someone spotted the carriage of Chi Lingxiao, the head of the Chi Clan, appearing in front of Mind Cleansing Peak.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Some also saw princes, marquises and nobles from the imperial family visiting Mind Cleansing Peak in person.

Suddenly, the Lin Clan of Mind Cleansing Peak had become the center of attention in the Forbidden City, with influential figures arriving in droves.

However, the Lin Clan refused all visitors!

This seemed very rude. Many powerful forces who were secretly paying attention to all the developments were also shocked and in disbelief about their actions.

But it was also because of this that many forces realized that the Lin Clan was indeed different from before because of Lin Xun’s return.

Otherwise, they would never be so unyielding and refuse the visit of even Chi Lingxiao, the clan head of a high clan!

However, no one dared to express their grievances and instead became more and more humble.

The Zuo and Qin Clans were terribly powerful, but they were still trampled by Lin Xun overnight!

If anyone acted wrongly, they might follow in the footsteps of the Zuo and Qin Clans.

“From now on, we must change our attitude towards the Lin Clan!”

This was the consensus reached by all major forces.