Martial Dao: I Can Enhance My Talents

"The Lin Family... you mean the one that deals in mining and furs?"

Xiao Tiannan mused for a moment, his fingers tapping gently on the armrest of his rosewood chair as he slowly asked.

"The very same."

Elder Fang Yuan replied.

"I’ve heard the Lin Family has dealings with several merchant guilds in Celestial Wind City. They might have property here, or a secret hideout."

Xiao Tiannan nodded, his expression turning solemn.

"In that case, we certainly shouldn’t delay. Nephew, rest assured, my Xiao Family has some influence in Celestial Wind City. I will give the order at once to mobilize our people and conduct a full-scale search for these six."

He spoke decisively, without a hint of hesitation. The reason for his immediate cooperation was, of course, the potential Fang Han had displayed.

"Thank you, Uncle Xiao!"

"Thank you, Patriarch Xiao."

Fang Han and Elder Fang Yuan rose to their feet in unison, cupping their fists in a gesture of formal thanks.

"There’s no need for such formalities."

Xiao Tiannan waved his hand and called out.

"Someone, attend me!"

An elderly man who looked like a steward answered the call and entered.

"Relay my orders: investigate all shops, warehouses, and residences connected to the Lin Family of Liangshui City. Look for newcomers to the city with the surname Lin, or any suspicious strangers. The priority is to find groups of six traveling together. Report any and all clues immediately!"

Xiao Tiannan commanded in a deep voice.

"Yes, Master!"

The steward bowed to acknowledge the order and quickly departed.

The vast machine that was the Xiao Family began to operate with high efficiency, far exceeding the expectations of Fang Han and Fang Yuan.

Just one day later, a steward from the Xiao Family arrived at the inn where Fang Han and his companion were staying.

"Elder Fang, Young Master Fang, there is a residence in the western market of Celestial Wind City housing six people. All six are surnamed Lin. They arrived in Celestial Wind City before the new year. They should be the ones you’re looking for."

The steward said with a smile.

"The time, place, and number of people all match. It’s almost certainly them!"

A look of pleasant surprise appeared in Elder Fang Yuan’s eyes.

"Please thank Uncle Xiao for me. After we’ve dealt with these six, I will visit him personally to express my gratitude!"

Fang Han said gratefully.

...

In the western market of Celestial Wind City, on the second floor of the Drunken Immortal Inn, at a private table by the window.

Lin Jiao sat alone at the table, on which were several delicate side dishes and a pot of warm yellow wine.

His face still held a trace of boyish immaturity, but his brow carried the arrogant air common to disciples of the Lin Family. At this moment, however, that arrogance was mixed with an inescapable sense of frustration and unease.

Before the new year, he and five other clansmen had been secretly sent by the family to Celestial Wind City, ostensibly to expand their business and for the younger generation to gain experience.

But he always felt that the family was hiding something; the expressions of the clan’s elders had seemed far too grave.

This arrangement, which felt almost like an escape, left him with a faint sense of unease.

Feeling utterly stifled today, he couldn’t help but slip out to the Drunken Immortal Inn for a few drinks to chase away his worries.

The inn was bustling with noise, filled with all sorts of patrons talking loudly and causing a din.

Lin Jiao had no heart for the idle chatter of others. He poured his own drinks and sipped them alone, his gaze drifting to the bustling street market outside the window. His thoughts, however, had long since flown back to the distant Liangshui City, wondering about his family’s current situation.

Just then, at a neighboring table, several men dressed as traveling merchants, flushed and boisterous from drinking, began to speak more loudly. Snatches of their conversation drifted into Lin Jiao’s ears.

"...Have you heard? Something big happened in Liangshui City!"

"Oh? What is it? Don’t tell me the Fang and Lin Families are fighting again?"

"Fighting? It’s much more than that! The Lin Family... heh, they’re gone! Completely wiped out by the Fang Family in a single night!"

"What?! Is that true? The Lin Family is a major clan in Liangshui City. How could they just be... gone?"

"It’s absolutely true! Happened just a few nights ago. I heard that Fang Han, the Fang Family’s Qilin’er who joined the Qingxuan Sect, is already a Seventh Grade Martial Artist! Incredibly powerful! The Lin Family didn’t stand a chance..."

"Seventh Grade?! My heavens! How old is that Fang Han? He only joined the Qingxuan Sect a year ago, at most, right? That... that’s just monstrous!"

"Tell me about it! I heard everyone in the Lin Family, from the Patriarch and Elders down to the guards and Martial Artists, were all killed... Tsk tsk, what a tragedy..."

BOOM—!

It was like a thunderclap erupting in his mind!

The wine cup in Lin Jiao’s hand fell to the table with a CLATTER. Wine splashed out, soaking the front of his robes, but he didn’t even notice.

His face instantly turned ashen, completely drained of color.

His body began to tremble uncontrollably. His eyes were wide with utter shock, confusion, and a terrifying fear, as if the sky were falling.

’No... Impossible! Absolutely impossible!’

He screamed frantically in his mind, his lips trembling, but not a sound escaped.

’The Lin Family... is gone?’

’Wiped out by the Fang Family?’

’That Fang Han, who I once fought and wasn’t that much stronger than me... is already a Seventh Grade Martial Artist?!’

’From Ninth Grade to Seventh Grade... in one year?!’

Every piece of news was like a heavy hammer, smashing violently against his chest, shaking his very soul and leaving him breathless.

He lurched to his feet and walked stiffly to the neighboring table. His voice was hoarse and trembling as he asked, clinging to a final shred of hope.

"Gentlemen... what you just said about the Lin Family of Liangshui City... is it true?"

The traveling merchants were startled by his pale face and dazed appearance. One of them sized him up for a moment before nodding.

"Of course it’s true. News of it has spread all over the area around Liangshui City. How could it be fake? Young man, are you perhaps from Liangshui City?"

His last shred of hope was utterly shattered.

Lin Jiao felt the world spin as darkness clouded his vision, and he nearly collapsed to the floor.

He barely managed to grab the corner of the table to steady himself. Caring for nothing else, as if he had lost his soul, he staggered out of the inn and broke into a mad dash toward the secret residence in the corner of the western market.

The wind howled in his ears, and the streetscape blurred before his eyes.

A few words echoed endlessly in his mind—"The Lin Family is gone."

Fear, grief, anger, disbelief... a torrent of emotions gnawed at his heart like venomous snakes.

He sprinted all the way back to the residence and violently slammed the main gate open.

Inside the courtyard, an elderly man in a long brown robe, with a gaunt face and sharp eyes, was instructing four young disciples as they practiced their Fist and Foot Techniques.

This was Lin Yuan, the Instructor Elder leading the group from the Lin Family this time.

This man was about fifty years old, with high, bulging temples and a steady aura. He was a Late Ninth Grade Martial Artist.

The four young disciples were Lin Ao, Lin Hu, Lin Feng, and Lin Qing, all top-ranking disciples from the Lin Family’s Inner Hall.

Seeing Lin Jiao burst in in such a distraught state, all five of them were startled and stopped what they were doing to look at him.

"Lin Jiao, what has you so flustered? What is the meaning of this behavior!"

Elder Lin Yuan frowned and scolded in a deep voice.

"El... Elder! It’s over! The Lin Family is finished!"

Lin Jiao threw himself in front of Lin Yuan, his voice choked with sobs as he cried out incoherently.

"Our Lin Family... has been wiped out by the Fang Family! The Patriarch... the Elders... they’re all... all dead! It was Fang Han! He’s already broken through to the Seventh Grade!"

"What?!"

The stern look on Elder Lin Yuan’s face froze instantly, replaced by a sense of utter bewilderment and absurdity, as if he had just heard the world’s most unbelievable joke.

"Nonsense! Lin Jiao, where did you hear such crazy talk?!"

he roared, utterly unconvinced.

Lin Ao, Lin Hu, Lin Feng, and Lin Qing also looked at each other, their faces etched with shock and disbelief.

"It’s true! Everyone in the inn was talking about it! The Fang Family of Liangshui City made their move a few nights ago! The Lin Family... the Lin Family doesn’t exist anymore!"

Lin Jiao screamed out everything he had heard at the inn, tears and snot streaming down his face.

Seeing Lin Jiao’s despairing, shattered expression, which clearly wasn’t an act, and recalling the family’s unusual decision to secretly send them away before the new year...

The color drained from Elder Lin Yuan’s face. He swayed and took an involuntary half-step back. The sharp light in his eyes rapidly dimmed, replaced by an immense horror and emptiness.

"Fang Han is a Seventh Grade Martial Artist... How is that possible?"

he murmured to himself, his voice dry and hoarse, filled with disbelief.

From Ninth Grade to Seventh Grade in one year? This completely overturned his decades of understanding of the Martial Dao!

’But if that weren’t the case, how could the Fang Family, whose strength was only on par with the Lin Family, have annihilated them overnight?’

Lin Ao, Lin Hu, Lin Feng, and Lin Qing finally processed what was happening, realizing that this was likely not a rumor.

The faces of all four instantly turned deathly pale, their eyes filled with fear and confusion.

"The family... is really gone?"

Lin Hu slammed a fist into the nearby wall. His knuckles split open instantly, but he seemed to feel no pain, only boundless rage and despair.

Lin Feng bit his lip so hard it nearly bled, his body trembling slightly.

Lin Ao’s eyes flickered, full of terror.

The youngest, Lin Qing, couldn’t stop himself from sobbing softly.

Immense grief and hatred flooded the small courtyard like a tidal wave.

"Fang Family! Fang Han!"

Elder Lin Yuan snapped his head up, his eyes burning with blazing fury and bone-deep hatred. But just as quickly, the fire was replaced by a profound sense of powerlessness.

’They have a Seventh Grade Martial Artist, a power far beyond ours. We’re like stray dogs now, unable to even protect ourselves. How can we possibly get revenge?’

"Elder! What... what should we do?"

Lin Ao asked, his voice trembling, his face a mask of helplessness.

Elder Lin Yuan’s chest heaved, his breathing ragged. The look in his eyes shifted erratically, a whirlwind of anger, despair, indignation, and madness.

Suddenly, a viciously venomous glint flashed in his eyes, as if he had just grasped at a final, life-saving straw. He snarled in a hoarse voice.

"Revenge. We will have our revenge. We may not be able to kill Fang Han or destroy the Fang Family, but we can borrow a knife to kill him!"

His gaze swept over the five bewildered disciples before him, his teeth grinding together audibly.

"Fang Han killed a fellow sect member, Zhao Qianjun. That is a major taboo in the Qingxuan Sect! Now that the Lin Family is no more, we no longer need to worry about the family being implicated for hiring an assassin!"

"We just need to find a way to leak this information to the Qingxuan Sect: ’The Lin Family bribed Zhao Qianjun to assassinate Fang Han, but Zhao Qianjun failed and was killed by Fang Han in return’!"

"When that happens, under the laws of the Qingxuan Sect, Fang Han will surely be punished!"

As soon as he said this, Lin Jiao, Lin Ao, and the others were stunned for a moment, then an almost crazed look of hatred and glee erupted in their eyes.

’That’s right, we still have this path!’

’Even if we die, we’ll drag Fang Han to hell with us!’

"Yes! Expose him! Let the Qingxuan Sect deal with him!"

Lin Hu snarled, his face a mask of savagery.