As the sky grew dark and the number of pursuers increased, Lin Hao had yet to escape the Congyun Mountains.
Carrying Yuyao on his back, he could not reach his peak speed, and it was doubtful that he could escape the mountains in a few more hours.
In the distance, several young men and women stood on a plain.
All of them had some injuries, and a dead ferocious bear lay on the ground.
"Lin Bai, we get seven parts of the resources from this ferocious bear, and you get three," said a black-clad youth, his body incredibly sturdy and full of strength, looking proudly at the man and woman opposite him.
Upon hearing this, Lin Bai raised an eyebrow. He and Lin Yan'er had contributed the most to killing the ferocious bear, yet they were to receive the smaller share.
However, there were three of them, all elite disciples from the Yu Family's main branch. If they insisted on fighting, they would likely suffer a loss.
This time, when they came to the Congyun Mountains from Liuyun City for training, Lin Bai and Lin Yan'er had not expected to encounter disciples of the Yu Family.
"Yu Long, this seems a bit unreasonable," Lin Bai said after a moment of thought.
"Reason? What I say is reason. If you don't agree, you won't get a single bit of the ferocious bear," Yu Long sneered.
Before Lin Bai could respond, a shadow flashed by, and he immediately called out, "Lin Hao?"
Lin Hao paused, then looked at Lin Bai.
They were both disciples of the Lin Family's main branch and belonged to the outer gate. Their relationship had been quite good in the past.
"Lin Bai, I didn't expect to meet you here," Lin Hao nodded at Lin Bai as a greeting.
"Haha, who would have thought? Aren't you Lin Hao, the outer gate disciple of the Lin Family? I heard your spirit root was broken in the sect world, and yet you dare to come to the Congyun Mountains?" Yu Long, though unfamiliar with Lin Hao, had heard of him.
Lin Hao did not respond, as the situation was not in his favor, and he did not want to complicate matters further.
Swoosh!
Swoosh!
Swoosh!
In an instant, several shadows flashed by, and Yu Huang and the Lin Family members finally arrived.
"Lin Hao, surrender now!" The two elders of the Lin Family's branch did not pay attention to the people in front of them, focusing only on Lin Hao.
Lin Bai and Lin Yan'er glanced at the branch members, and then Lin Yan'er said, "Elders of the branch, don't tell me you are hunting down disciples of the Lin Family's main branch."
Upon hearing this, the two branch elders were startled and quickly turned to look at Lin Bai and Lin Yan'er.
"You... You are?" the elder was surprised.
"Main branch disciples!" Lin Yan'er and Lin Bai reached into their robes and pulled out their main branch tokens, showing them to the group.
There were many main branch disciples, over a hundred, and the branch elders could not possibly recognize all of them.
They might not recognize the people, but they could not mistake the main branch tokens.
"We are... we... this..." The two branch elders stammered, panicking. The main branch disciples were of high status, far above Lin Hao, who had a broken spirit root.
"They want to take Lin Hao's spirit root and transfer it to the branch's young master, Lin Tong!" Yuyao spoke up before the two elders, revealing the truth.
What!
Upon hearing this, Lin Bai and Lin Yan'er looked at each other in disbelief. A mere branch of the main branch dared to attack a main branch disciple!
"You are audacious!" Lin Yan'er said angrily.
"Hehe... I remember you are from the Fenglin Town branch... Now you have the audacity to take the spirit root of a main branch disciple," Lin Bai said coldly.
"He... this..." The branch elder did not know how to respond. They dared not say it was the main branch grand steward's idea.
"Get out of here!" Lin Bai waved his right arm and shouted angrily.
Though the branch elder was angry, he did not dare to act rashly. After all, Lin Hao was also a main branch disciple, and they had already violated the clan rules by trying to take his spirit root.
"We are leaving!" The branch elder gritted his teeth and led the branch officials away.
Seeing the branch of the Lin Family retreat, Yu Huang felt somewhat awkward.
"Yu Huang, why are you following the Lin Family branch and causing trouble?" Yu Long stretched his neck and looked at Yu Huang.
"We... we were just helping the Lin Family branch..." Yu Huang knew Yu Long, an elite outer gate disciple of the Yu Family's main branch, and he was no match for him.
"Hmph, even if that boy's spirit root is damaged, he is still like an ant to us in his prime. Do you really need to work so hard to capture him? Get out of here!" Yu Long shouted angrily.
"We are leaving..." Yu Huang sighed, not daring to oppose someone like Yu Long, and immediately led the branch members away.
...
"Hmph!"
Yu Long coldly snorted, pulled out a red firestone from his robe, and threw it onto the ferocious bear.
Swoosh!
In an instant, the black ferocious bear, several meters tall, turned to ashes.
"Yu Long... you!" Lin Bai and Lin Yan'er were furious. They had risked their lives to kill the ferocious bear, but Yu Long had burned it to ashes with a firestone!
"I'm in a bad mood today! I don't want this ferocious bear, but neither do you," Yu Long coldly snorted, seemingly annoyed by the disgraceful actions of the branch.
"Damn, how can you be so arrogant!" Seeing Yu Long and his group leave, Lin Bai finally dared to shout angrily.
"Forget it, Yu Long's spirit body realm has reached the peak of the sixth level. We are no match for him," Lin Yan'er said, looking at the burned ferocious bear with regret.
"Forget it, let's go," Lin Bai shook his head. With Yu Long and his group in the Congyun Mountains, they would not get any benefits. It was better to leave early to avoid trouble.
Lin Hao, carrying Yuyao, walked with Lin Bai and Lin Yan'er toward Liuyun City.
On the way, Lin Bai was quite friendly, asking many questions about Lin Hao and the Lin Family branch.
However, Lin Yan'er seemed uninterested in talking to Lin Hao. In her eyes, even if Lin Hao's spirit root was not broken, he was just average.
Everyone said Lin Hao had good talent and could pass the sect's examination, but in Lin Yan'er's view, it was just a fluke. If his talent was truly excellent, why would he only be an ordinary outer gate disciple in the Lin Family's main branch?
Seeing Lin Yan'er's attitude, Lin Hao understood and did not say much more.
In the past, when they were both outer gate disciples in the Lin Family's main branch, they had a close relationship and often went on expeditions together. But that was in the past.
Now, Lin Yan'er believed that Lin Hao and she were not on the same path, so they had no further interaction.
The next morning, the three of them left the Congyun Mountains and finally arrived at Liuyun City.
Liuyun City was an ancient city with a history of thousands of years, and the four major families were located within it, with immense power.
The three of them entered the city and headed straight for the Lin Family's main branch.
"Lin Hao, the branch head, Lin Zhan, has a brother who is a grand steward in the main branch. I think it's best not to cause trouble. When you return, pretend nothing happened," Lin Bai said, looking at Lin Hao.
"This time we helped you, and you are lucky. Although the branch was wrong, I advise you not to offend the grand steward. Let this matter end here," Lin Yan'er said coldly, glancing at Lin Hao.
Lin Hao did not say much, as he had his own thoughts.
A massive mansion came into view, the headquarters of the Lin Family, where countless talented disciples resided. Even the most ordinary outer gate disciple had opened the second earth gate!
In the Lin Family's main branch, Lin Hao was just an ordinary outer gate disciple, not particularly significant.
Branches like the Lin Family's could not be compared to the main branch. A single elite outer gate disciple from the main branch could easily destroy a branch.
...
"I can only rely on the resources of the main branch to rebuild my earth gate spirit body," Lin Hao's eyes glowed with a fierce light.
In his previous life, he was the Nine Heavens Emperor, nearly at the pinnacle of the pyramid, but he could not break through the final realm restriction.
Since he had a second chance, he would reach the peak of martial arts, break through the heavens, and become a transcendent being, exploring a higher and more distant world.
"Brother... can I go with you?" Yuyao looked at Lin Hao, unsure of what to do.
"No problem," Lin Hao nodded, taking Yuyao into the main branch mansion.
Lin Hao bid farewell to Lin Bai and the others and headed straight for the Bamboo Garden.
The Bamboo Garden was where the outer gate disciples lived. Being a major family, the environment was quite good.
After arranging for Yuyao to stay in his room, Lin Hao left the Bamboo Garden and headed for the training ground.
At the training ground, it was bustling with activity. Today, Elder Lin Chen was giving a lecture, and many outer gate disciples had already returned early.
Lin Hao arrived at the training ground and walked straight toward an old man in a white robe.
"Hmm... that person looks familiar, it's Lin Hao."
"How did that guy come back? Didn't he get demoted to the Fenglin Town branch?"
"Who knows, it doesn't matter."
Several outer gate disciples were surprised to see Lin Hao approaching.
"Disciple greets Elder Lin Chen!"
Suddenly, Lin Hao spoke, interrupting the old man's lecture.
Upon hearing this, the old man in the white robe looked at Lin Hao, "You are Lin Hao."
"Disciple is Lin Hao," Lin Hao nodded.
For ordinary outer gate disciples like them, it was rare to see an elder, so it was normal for the elder not to recognize him.
"Lin Hao, why are you disrupting my lecture when you should be listening?" The old man in the white robe was puzzled.
"Elder, the disciple has a complaint to make," Lin Hao said seriously.
"Who are you complaining about?" Lin Chen's eyes flashed with a sharp light.
"Disciple was in the Fenglin Town branch a few days ago, and the branch officials dared to take my spirit root..." Lin Hao recounted his experience in Fenglin Town in detail.
...
"You say that the branch head, Lin Zhan, and the grand steward conspired to trick you to the branch and use an altar to forcibly take your spirit root?" Elder Lin Chen frowned deeply after hearing Lin Hao's story.
"Every word is true," Lin Hao nodded.
At this moment, Lin Bai was sweating coldly for Lin Hao.
The grand steward of the main branch had immense power, second only to the elders and the family head. Lin Hao was daring to accuse the grand steward.
Lin Yan'er felt a surge of anger. If she had known Lin Hao would be so disrespectful, she would have left him in the mountains to be captured by the Lin Family branch.
...
"You say that the branch head, Lin Zhan, and the grand steward conspired to trick you to the branch and use an altar to forcibly take your spirit root?" Elder Lin Chen frowned deeply after hearing Lin Hao's story.
"Every word is true," Lin Hao nodded.
At this moment, Lin Bai was sweating coldly for Lin Hao.
The grand steward of the main branch had immense power, second only to the elders and the family head. Lin Hao was daring to accuse the grand steward.
Lin Yan'er felt a surge of anger. If she had known Lin Hao would be so disrespectful, she would have left him in the mountains to be captured by the Lin Family branch.