Mind Cleansing Peak was protected by a great array, making it impossible for any outsider to enter without first notifying them.

Hence, everyone in the hall instinctively concluded that an ignorant servant had disturbed them.

“You guys continue, I’ll go have a look.”

Xiaoke used this opportunity to go open the door. She could not bear to stay a second longer because the faces and mouths of the people inside utterly disgusted her.

Creak.

The tightly shut doors opened.

“Is something the matter?”

Xiaoke peered outside only to instantly shut her mouth as disbelief flashed in her clear eyes.

“Instructor, do you not recognize your student anymore?”

Outside the hall, Lin Xun wore a warm smile as he looked at his pretty Instructor Xiaoke.

“Eh…you…”

Xiaoke was stunned by the sight of his familiar face as unprecedented emotion, surprise, and elation surged in her heart. He was alive!

Although Xiaoke had appeared strong for the past half a year, how could she not worry about Lin Xun, especially on Mind Cleansing Peak, where they were plagued by internal and external problems?

She had been in a state of constant worry for the past few months, and her brows had been constantly furrowed. When she saw Lin Xun today, she nearly thought she was dreaming.

Lin Xun walked forward and gently hugged Xiaoke as he said in a low voice, “Instructor, it’s been tough on you guys. You can leave everything else to me and just watch. Your student is no longer the same as in the past.”

His gentle, soft, spring-water-like voice and his firm, reliable shoulder swept away all the frustration, worry, and anxiety in Xiaoke’s heart, finally giving her peace of mind.

She acknowledged him with a soft grunt.

Lin Xun chuckled and walked past Xiaoke. The instant he stepped into the hall, his smile was replaced by an almost emotionless look of indifference as his black eyes turned cold and deep.

“Elder Brother! You cannot hesitate any longer. How could we have fallen into such an embarrassing state if Lin Xun didn’t offend so many factions? Worst of all, he’s young and ignorant. Even after dying, he gave Mind Cleansing Peak’s authority to a bunch of outsiders. What a troublemaker!”

In the hall, glib words continued to roll off Lin Huaitang’s tongue. “If you continue to stay passive, our Mind Cleansing Peak Lin Clan might no longer be called ‘Lin’!”

He looked around at the other North Light Lin Clan members as he spoke, signaling them to also speak up to force Lin Zhong and the others to hand over the clan authority.

However, when his gaze swept past the hall’s entrance, his body immediately stiffened and his originally excited expression froze as if he had been struck by lightning.

“You you you…”

His eyeballs nearly popped from their sockets, and he was so shocked that he could not speak.

“You what you? What is going on?”

Lin Huaiyuan frowned and glanced at the door. When he saw Lin Xun, he also shuddered violently as his tea cup fell from his hand, spilling boiling hot tea on his clothes. However, he seemed completely oblivious to it as he stood there with a rapidly changing expression.

By this juncture, everyone else in the hall also noticed the strange situation and puzzledly looked over. When they saw Lin Xun, all of them were dumbstruck as if something had scared them.

The originally noisy atmosphere had turned completely silent.

The only noise to be heard was tea cups crashing onto the ground, which sounded especially piercing at this moment. The noise somehow felt almost mocking and cursing as numerous people’s expressions began to look interesting.

Thud!

One of the North Light Lin Clan higher-ups even fell from his chair as if his ass was on fire, creating an embarrassing and sorry sight.

The other higher-ups were doing no better and couldn’t care less about his disgraceful and shameful posture.

Lin Xun!

After disappearing for half a year, the backbone of Mind Cleansing Peak and a young heaven pride who was worshiped by countless cultivators in the Forbidden City had returned!

However…wasn’t it confirmed that he had died in Spirit Burial Sea?

News of his death had been acknowledged by numerous powerful factions in the Forbidden City. They had all said that he had committed a grave crime in Spirit Burial Sea and was chased by a group of Life Death Stage Kings. Everyone believed that he had died, so who could have expected that he would survive and return?!

Everyone’s minds were blank as they stood there like statues.

Someone whom they had believed dead had suddenly appeared before them. The shock and impact of such a scene were nearly impossible to put into words.

Worst of all, the North Light Lin Clan members had been trying to seize power in the Lin Clan just moments ago.

But now, the rightful master of Mind Cleansing Peak had returned…

The hall was deathly silent and the atmosphere was so suffocating it was almost impossible to breathe.

“Mister Spirit Vulture, Uncle Zhong, I’m back.”

Lin Xun ignored the North Light Lin Clan members as he walked forward and nodded to Spirit Vulture. He then looked at Lin Zhong as a sliver of tenderness flashed deep in his eyes.

Uncle Zhong had originally looked rather old, but he now had substantially more white hair, his wrinkles had deepened, and his eyes were more sunken, making him appear quite haggard.

It was easy to imagine the tremendous pressure the loyal senior had been under recently due to the internal and external woes of the Lin Clan.

“Great! Great! Great! It’s good that you’re back, it’s good that you’re back.”

Lin Zhong was almost incoherent due to emotion. His lips trembled as tears began to slide down his wrinkly face from his murky eyes.

The Young Master had returned!

Miss Xia Zhi was right. How could the Young Master have died?

Lin Zhong had indeed been under unimaginable pressure recently, but the moment he saw Lin Xun, he felt that everything was worth it!

The fact that a mighty Heaven Ascension expert who was once famous in the Forbidden City was reduced to this crying old man made Lin Xun feel indescribable guilt and heartache.

It also made the killing intent and hatred in his heart grow.

He had only been away for half a year and so many nasty events had occurred. It looked like he had been far too soft in the past!

Amidst the stifling silence, Lin Huaiyuan took a deep breath, forced himself to smile, and asked, “Clan Leader, you…thank the heavens that you survived. This old man is genuinely happy that you made it back, but didn’t they say that you encountered grave danger in Spirit Burial Sea? Was it merely a rumor?”

“Yeah! Surviving after being chased by a group of Life Death Stage Kings is truly…” Lin Huaitang also spoke up, but quickly caught himself before he said too much.

Although the others did not say anything, they were all extremely puzzled. News of Lin Xun’s death had been repeated and acknowledged many times, and even they had initially not believed the news.

However, as more and more factions began to target the Lin Clan, they were finally convinced that something unfortunate must have happened to Lin Xun.

Hence, it was astonishing to find out that Lin Xun had survived and returned.

“We can talk about that later.”

Lin Xun’s expression was calm, but his words seemed to contain a force that made everyone’s hearts shiver and realize that they were in trouble.

Sure enough, Lin Xun looked at Lin Huaitang, causing his expression to change as his heart began to beat wildly.

“I heard everything that happened in the hall earlier. I do not care who is right or wrong, but I have a single question for you.”

A strand of iciness abruptly shot out from Lin Xun’s black eyes as an invisible pressure spread, causing everyone’s expressions to change indeterminately.

Too powerful!

Even Lin Zhong, Lin Huaiyuan, Xiaoke, and the others instinctively tensed up upon feeling the indescribable pressure.

Evidently, Lin Xun had grown much stronger compared to half a year ago!

He had been at the Spirit Sea stage half a year ago, but now, even Lin Zhong and the others could not gauge the extent of Lin Xun’s cultivation. However, he had undoubtedly stepped into the Heaven Ascension stage!

As the target of Lin Xun’s gaze, Lin Huaitang was feeling the worst of it. He felt as if he was facing a majestic mountain which made him feel extremely tiny.

“Tell me if everything you did today was planned in advance after secretly colluding with certain factions.”

Each word boomed like thunder in Lin Huaitang’s ears, causing him to tremble uncontrollably. He was almost unable to meet Lin Xun’s eyes as his expression rapidly changed countless times.

Everyone in the hall gasped. Lin Xun was questioning if Lin Huaitang had betrayed Mind Cleansing Peak!

𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

“I…”

Before Lin Huaitang could answer, Lin Xun indifferently said, “There will be only one chance to answer, so choose your words wisely and think about the consequences.”

The atmosphere immediately grew increasingly stifling.

Lin Huaitang’s entire body went cold, feeling as if every inch of his skin had suddenly become rigid. He swallowed with some difficulty and tried to speak.

However, when he looked into Lin Xun’s cold and black eyes, his heart suddenly shivered, realizing that if his answer did not satisfy Lin Xun, the latter would kill him without any hesitation!

The intense feeling nearly made Lin Huaitang collapse. He never imagined that facing a youngster would make him feel such terror and pressure.

Everyone watched as Lin Huaitang turned pale and began to sweat as he internally struggled to speak.

The sight made their hearts tremble. A single sentence from Lin Xun could produce such pressure? How had this young man gained such astonishing power in half a year?

“Clan Leader, Mind Cleansing Peak is in a precarious situation where we’re facing both internal problems and external pressure. Talking about such matters at this critical juncture might cause unrest among the people.”

Another North Light Lin Clan higher-up spoke up as if unhappy to see Lin Huaitang being accused.

“Unrest among the people?”

A mocking smile rose from the corners of Lin Xun’s lips. “To me, it seems that you North Light Lin Clan members are the ones who are feeling uneasy!”

All the North Light Lin Clan higher-ups, including Lin Huaiyuan, immediately began to feel uncomfortable.

“My patience has its limit. If you do not reply, prepare to bear the consequences!”

Ice-cold killing intent rose in Lin Xun’s eyes and locked onto Lin Huaitang. He did not plan to show even the slightest trace of mercy today!