Not long after, a shout came from outside the door, breaking Lin Hao's deep thoughts.
Lin Hao stood up, opened the door, and saw several outer sect disciples standing in the bamboo garden.
"Lin Hao, come with us," a young man said arrogantly.
Hearing this, Lin Hao was puzzled. These people had asked him to go with them without any explanation.
"Where to?" Lin Hao asked.
"Brother Lin Tian wants to see you," the young man replied, somewhat annoyed.
Lin Tian?
Lin Hao was slightly taken aback. Lin Tian was a recognized strong disciple of the outer sect, ranking first in the outer sect, with a strength reaching the Eighth Level of the Spirit Body Realm. Why would he want to see him for no reason?
"What for?" Lin Hao asked.
"Hehe, Brother Lin Hao, this is Brother Lin Tian's wish. As for what for, we don't know either. Why don't you go and ask him?" The young man laughed coldly, thinking that Lin Hao was being disrespectful. Lin Tian had called him, yet he was still asking questions.
"If Lin Tian wants to see me, let him come himself," Lin Hao said calmly.
It wasn't as if he was seeking out Lin Tian; rather, Lin Tian had something to do with him and wanted him to come over. If it were the old Lin Hao, it might have been different, but now it was impossible.
At this moment, the faces of the several outer sect disciples were not pleasant. Lin Hao was so arrogant that not only did he refuse to go when Lin Tian called him, but he also asked Lin Tian to come personally.
Lin Hao didn't have a good impression of Lin Tian either. He and Lin Tong, Lin Xiurui, and others were all cousins. Lin Hao had crippled Lin Tong, severely injured the branch family head Lin Zhan, and even reported to the grand steward. What good could come from Lin Tian seeking him out?
"Hehe... Lin Hao, I advise you not to be too presumptuous. Brother Lin Tian is the first in the outer sect. If I were you, I would obediently go to meet him," a young man said coldly.
However, Lin Hao was unmoved and repeated, "If Lin Tian wants to see me, let him come himself."
With that, he slammed the door shut, leaving the several outer sect disciples with gloomy faces.
They had been given a cold shoulder and were not happy, but they still had to report back and couldn't keep Lin Tian waiting.
At this moment, Lin Hao was in the room, and soon fell into meditation. His divine soul had already soared to the nine heavens, far away to an unknown place.
Memories and insights deep in his mind surged like a flood, recalling the youth of the Nine Heavens Emperor.
In his youth, he was not a peerless genius, but he had appeared on a grand stage in another domain. His companions and enemies were both admirable and hateful, but none of them were not super geniuses that the entire continent looked up to.
He had lost to many people and ultimately defeated many as well. It was an era that made one's blood boil, though it couldn't be compared to the era of the ancient immortals, it was still something to look forward to.
If those geniuses hadn't died young, Lin Hao thought, many of them should have at least opened the fourth or fifth Heavenly Gate, and a few might have even reached the supreme level of the ninth or tenth Heavenly Gate.
Unfortunately, he had been reborn, starting over, and couldn't meet those people on the same stage.
However, the Yellow Wasteland Continent also had such grand stages. Perhaps the changes in the continent's layout over the years had brought more fortune to the Yellow Wasteland Continent, creating many peerless geniuses.
Perhaps, in this life, he would meet and compete with those nearly legendary peerless geniuses.
In theory, as the Nine Heavens Emperor in his previous life, Lin Hao should have been indifferent to these things, but he was still Lin Hao, with a youthful heart and a bit of anticipation.
...
At the back mountain.
Lin Tian's face was gloomy. The several outer sect disciples he had sent had not brought Lin Hao back, but instead asked him to go and invite Lin Hao.
Lin Yan'er and others stood behind, not saying much, thinking that Lin Hao was too disrespectful and daring to defy Lin Tian's will.
After a moment, the corners of Lin Tian's mouth curled up, and he said coldly, "If he doesn't come, then so be it, but the rules of the outer sect cannot be broken. The distribution of the benefits from the elite disciples' external training cannot be changed by anyone."
Hearing this, Lin Yan'er volunteered, "Brother Lin Tian, let me convey your message."
Lin Bai glanced at Lin Yan'er but did not speak. Those who opposed Lin Tian would not have a good end. From Lin Hao's attitude, it seemed he would have to pay a price this time. If Lin Yan'er conveyed Lin Tian's message and Lin Hao compromised, perhaps Lin Tian would not hold it against him.
The Lin family had twenty elite disciples, who were ranked in the outer sect. There were also many elite disciples who were not on the ranking list, at least fifty to sixty.
Once one reached the elite level, external training could not be done casually. They needed to consult Lin Tian, who would allocate the number of elite disciples. Naturally, all the benefits obtained during training would also be allocated by Lin Tian.
This was a relatively complete system, the elite disciples' training system.
For example, if a group of elite disciples went out for training and obtained a million taels of silver, Lin Tian would take 200,000 taels, and the remaining 800,000 would be allocated by him to the group.
In Lin Bai's view, the reason Lin Tian did not enter the inner sect was that he had already discussed it with Lin Xiurui. He could gain huge profits in the outer sect, and with these profits, he could support the supply of elixirs for himself and Lin Xiurui.
Many outer sect disciples understood this but did not dare to say much. After all, Lin Tian had a great reputation and was the first in the outer sect. Handing over one-fifth of the profits and having Lin Tian decide the training locations and numbers was still convenient, so no one questioned it.
In the Lin family's outer sect, there was an anomaly, Lin Hao. He came and went alone, and his training was always done alone, without needing anyone to accompany him. When Lin Xiner and others tried to find him, he had refused.
Moreover, asking Lin Hao to hand over profits was like a pipe dream. Others handing over to him was more likely.
To describe it, Lin Hao was like an iron rooster, not giving a single feather. He could benefit from others, but others could not benefit from him, especially someone like Lin Tian, who shouldn't even think about it.
In the end, Lin Yan'er overestimated herself. She stood outside Lin Hao's courtyard, and Lin Hao didn't even open the door.
Though Lin Yan'er was angry, she held back and loudly told Lin Hao about the elite training system outside the door.
She knew that Lin Hao must have already known, but how he would act was up to him. If he was disrespectful and opposed Lin Tian or Lin Xiurui multiple times, he would face severe punishment.
"Lin Hao, don't be too presumptuous. If it weren't for our childhood friendship, I wouldn't have come here myself," Lin Yan'er said coldly, her voice full of disdain, and then turned and left.
Lin Hao heard everything clearly inside the house. What nonsense about the elite training system! He would go where he wanted to train, and it had nothing to do with others. Wanting him to hand over benefits was a joke.
The next day, Lin Hao went to the Tianrang Mountains again and obtained several ten thousand taels of profit. This matter was known by Lin Tian and others, who sent people to collect the money, but they were given a cold shoulder again.
This time, Lin Hao's actions finally angered Lin Tian. His face was gloomy, and his eyes occasionally showed a fierce light, but due to his status, Lin Tian could not personally go to find Lin Hao.
...
A few days later, the outer sect ranking tournament was about to begin, and Lin Hao's cultivation progress was also hindered.
The "Heavenly Gang Divine Technique" and "Cloud Wind Step" and other martial arts techniques progressed slowly, with no significant improvement. Instead, the "Star Breaking Palm" and "Five Wind Chasing Swords" techniques had brought Lin Hao to the peak of the Great Success realm.
In this outer sect ranking tournament, Lin Hao was determined to win and enter the inner sect. He could not miss this opportunity.
Lin Hao tidied himself up, feeling spirited, and then walked out of the bamboo garden.
Now, he was like a peerless divine weapon, but sheathed, not showing its sharpness, yet not ordinary.
A short while later, Lin Hao arrived at the training ground. Today, it was bustling with many Lin family disciples who had returned from external training. After all, the outer sect ranking tournament was tomorrow, and whether they could leap the dragon gate depended on this battle.
Lin Hao stood at a distance, scanning the entire area. A few men and women had long-lasting auras, with more powerful and pure true qi, giving Lin Hao a slight sense of pressure.
...
"Lin Hao?!" Someone recognized Lin Hao, looking somewhat strange.
"How did that kid return to the clan? Didn't they say he made a big mistake in the sect world, was crippled, and demoted to a branch family?"
"Strange, did the Lin family give him a chance to return? But with his broken spirit root, he's no different from a cripple. The higher-ups of the Lin family are hard to fathom."
Some elite disciples who had just returned from external training were slightly stunned and puzzled when they saw Lin Hao.
In theory, a minor character like Lin Hao, ranked in the nineties in the outer sect, should not be known by these elite disciples, but Lin Hao was somewhat special. He could find treasure-grade spirit bodies in the Earth Gate and pass the sect world's examination...
It sounded good, and there was no such genius in the entire Flowing Cloud City. If following the norm, with a treasure-grade spirit stone, entering the sect world for cultivation, his strength should be formidable.
But Lin Hao's strength had not progressed at all, not even ranking among the Lin family's elite. Otherwise, a sect that valued talent like the sect would not have punished him severely for a mistake.
Genius disciples had certain privileges. As long as it wasn't a principle-breaking mistake, no sect would stifle their own geniuses. Unfortunately, Lin Hao was an exception. He had a powerful treasure-grade spirit body, but his strength did not progress at all, wasting many elixirs from the sect. What was the point of keeping him?
"Hehe, you don't know, that kid's spirit root has been reshaped," an outer sect youth laughed.
"Reshaped spirit root? Did the higher-ups of the Lin family really get the 'Spirit Root Reshape Pill' for a disciple ranked in the nineties? That's quite a price!"
"Indeed, what merit does Lin Hao have for the higher-ups to value him so much? If he were an inner sect genius, that would make sense!"
A few elite disciples looked skeptical. They didn't believe the higher-ups of the Lin family would be so foolish.