Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 560 - 554: Unparalleled Seven

Chapter 560: Chapter 554: Unparalleled Seven

Lin Yaoyang walked ahead, with Lin Xin closely following behind.

The two quickly made their way through the mountain forest and soon arrived in front of a white statue.

The statue depicted a woman holding a Purifying Bottle, draped in white gauze, but without a face.

The entire sculpture lay askew in the grass, neglected, with fine moss visible on the edges of its stone base.

The two stopped nearby.

Lin Yaoyang waved her hand, casting a beam of white light that fell to the ground without any reaction.

After waiting a while and seeing no change, she cast another white light.

Only then did a milky white cubic barrier slowly rise around them.

"Still not proficient..." Lin Yaoyang said, shaking her head helplessly.

"Alright. You brought me here, so what do you want to say?" Lin Xin asked in a low voice. "You are the Family Head now; you can’t leave the guests for so long. With father gone, everything depends on you."

Lin Yaoyang opened her mouth to speak but ultimately remained silent.

After a short silence, she began to speak slowly.

"Little brother, what father worried about the most before he passed was you."

Lin Xin did not respond; he knew Lin Yaoyang had more to say than just that.

Lin Yaoyang fumbled in her sleeve and quickly produced a tiny silver sphere, handing it to Lin Xin.

"This is something father asked me to give to you."

"What is it?" Lin Xin took it, a metal ball with some kind of special mechanism inside, it did not seem to be solid.

"I don’t know. But it’s likely something to save your life."

Lin Yaoyang walked up to the statue and touched it.

"Now in the family, it’s only you, mother, and me left. So if you encounter any troubles in the future, come to me."

"I can protect myself," Lin Xin said indifferently.

"It was you who killed the Imperial Clan’s man, right?" Lin Yaoyang did not argue the point but switched to the matter at hand.

"You killed the Imperial Clan’s guard, which is akin to slapping their face; this won’t be easily let go."

"Then what can they do?" Lin Xin asked casually, considering that in Qiushi, the strongest entity he estimated was the one sealed away, he truly did not regard any other powers there as threats.

"They left early to make a statement. But rest assured, I’ll handle this matter," Lin Yaoyang answered, shaking her head. "Don’t be so impulsive next time. You’re still young. If it had been a stronger guard, what if you had been hurt?"

Lin Xin smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Now that you’ve become the Family Head, do you have any plans?"

"Business as usual, no rush..." Lin Yaoyang’s gaze grew more profound. "Some people can’t help themselves from making moves. Now is my period of adaptation, when I’ve not yet perfectly mastered the power, and also when I am at my weakest. If I get past this stage, they’ll have no more chances."

"So they are bound to make a move," Lin Xin followed up.

"Yeah... I just need to wait," Lin Yaoyang said no more.

Having obtained the power of the Family Head, she seemed to have matured a lot compared to before.

*********************

Soon, everything was back on track.

Lin Xin continued to return to his small courtyard for arduous cultivation practice, while Lin Yaoyang officially started the busy and tense life of taking over the Family Head’s rights. Every day she dealt with the ambitious members of the branch families, with their deceit and intrigue, and as time passed, she suffered a few losses.

However, due to her formidable power, she also quickly began to wrestle control back.

Yuan Wanqing became increasingly silent and reserved, but fortunately, she had raised a dog — snow-white and half the height of a person, lively and bustling about the attic each day.

With Lin Yaoyang and Lin Xin also spending more time with her, her face gradually held more smiles.

And as time went on, after several months, certain hidden undercurrents could no longer be contained and began to stir.

***************

The mountain forest where the Lin Clan resided was the highest among the nearby range of peaks.

But now, on a mountain peak nearby, a tall figure dressed in dark green tight clothing with his head and face entirely wrapped, was watching the Lin family attics from afar.

It was the middle of the night, and the figure almost merged with the darkness, standing still as if he did not exist at all.

Several rabbits, known for their alertness, hopped past his feet without the slightest inkling that a person was standing beside them.

"This time’s target is quite well-guarded, hence we did not hesitate to pay a high price for your services. Lin Yaoyang is currently not on clan grounds, and aside from a manager and a few guards, it all depends on the Sect Master’s barrier for safety," another voice explained from the darkness.

"What’s the plan?" the dark green figure asked in a deep voice.

"You go for Yuan Wanqing, I will go for Lin Sherie. These two are the ones Lin Yaoyang values the most. We must seize them," the voice from the darkness spoke softly.

"They trust the barriers too much, hence overlooked that flaw. However, we only have this one chance."

"That’s enough," the dark green figure replied softly.

"Move out."

"Mhm."

Two breaths of energy shot out towards a distant peak in an instant.

****************

In the small courtyard, within the cultivation practice room.

Inside the darkness, a pair of slightly glowing eyes suddenly opened.

It had been a long time since Lin Xin only needed three hours of sleep, which translated to an hour and a half in terms of hours; the rest of the time, he spent almost exclusively on cultivation practice.

It had become instinctual, as natural to him as eating, drinking, and sleeping.

In the darkness, Lin Xin’s eyes narrowed slightly. In a flash, he vanished from the spot.

Shortly after his disappearance, a breath swept past the outside of the room, paused for a moment, and then continued moving, as if searching for something.

**********************

Yuan Wanqing gently covered the candle with a white embroidered lampshade.

She took the towel passed by the maid beside her and softly wiped her hands.

"Xiaoying, you go to sleep first. I don’t need you to stand guard here,"

she whispered to the maid.

"There’s no need, madam, I am not sleepy yet, and I still have some books to read before I go to bed after you fall asleep," the maid Xiaoying answered with a smile.

"Good child," Yuan Wanqing said with a smile, tenderly pinching Xiaoying’s cheek.

She sat back at the table again and picked up the silk cloth and needlework she hadn’t finished embroidering.

Hu...

Suddenly, a breeze blew through the window, making a soft sound.

Xiaoying hurried over to close the window and fasten the bolt, not noticing the vague silhouette standing on a tree branch outside in the courtyard.

As the window closed, but in that brief moment, it was enough for the shadow outside to clearly see inside the room.

"This is the place..."

The shadow slowly reached out, gripping the handle of a blade on its back.

But quickly, a group of patrolling guards strolled by below.

"Looks like a heavy rain is coming."

One of the guards yawned and said.

"Seems so, it’s still so muggy in the middle of the night. I just hope it doesn’t rain, or else we’ll have to patrol in the rain, tiring or what?" another casually remarked.

"Sigh... I miss the days when the old master was around, everything was in order, not like now where everything is a bit of a mess."

"Keep your voice down, the lady’s room is right beside us."

A group of more than ten guards slowly walked away, their torches soon disappearing into another corner.

The silhouette in the tree branch waited silently for the people to leave before looking again towards Yuan Wanqing’s room. With a light tap of his foot, he floated toward the second-floor window like a feather, as if weightless.

But just as he was about to reach the window, a swift sword light soundlessly shot up from below.

Shi!

The sword light was fast, much faster than ordinary swordsmanship, with a surface that seemed to induce numbness. Before even approaching the shadow, a tingling sensation pricked his skin.

"Rushing Thunder Sword! I must engage and resolve quickly!"

His mind racing, the handle of his blade instantly unsheathed, transforming into a black streak as it met the sword light below.

Ding ding ding ding.

The pair exchanged dozens of blows in the blink of an eye, their swords and knives clashing, sending out faint sounds. Yet strangely, all noise seemed to be blocked by some inexplicable force, preventing it from carrying far.

Another shadow shot out from the darkness.

"Bold! How dare you trespass on Lin Clan territory!"

This person, like the first, rushed toward the shadow, wielding the Running Thunder Swordsmanship, evidently also possessing a cultivation level above fifty layers, capable of matching the shadow evenly.

He was already having difficulty defending against one, let alone two now.

The sound of their engagement had already alerted the patrolling guards.

In just a few moments, several strong cries rang out as they rushed towards the commotion.

The infiltrating shadow grew anxious, deflecting a few more lightning-quick moves before his chest was sliced by a sword.

Due to the paralysis and speed of the Running Thunder Sword, the wound caused his body to immediately slow down, his movements not as swift as before.

"An assassin! Kill him!"

A person clad in black emerged from the shadows, his face frosted with anger as he glared at the intruding shadow.

"Be careful not to disturb the lady’s rest."

Shi shi shi!

Sword light flickered in the dark.

Suddenly, three more individuals joined the fray, each of them possessing the cultivation of Running Thunder Swordsmanship above fifty layers.

The infiltrator barely held his own for a few more exchanges before he was quickly dismembered by several longswords, his throat pierced, falling dead.

But none of the black-clad guards noticed that another shadow had already slipped into madam Yuan Wanqing’s room unnoticed.

Taking advantage of the distraction outside.

The shadow crept through the curtains, suddenly shooting out from the darkness below, landing not far behind Yuan Wanqing, silently drawing a dagger, and walking forward.

"Who sent you here?"

Suddenly, a voice came from behind him.

The shadow froze, realizing that no matter what, he couldn’t take another step forward. Right in front of him was Yuan Wanqing, still embroidering, but he just couldn’t get any closer.

"A barrier?"

He instantly knew he had been silently enclosed in a mysterious barrier.

Turning around, the maid called Xiaoying was smiling at him, her green eyes faintly tinged with bloodlust and cruelty.

"I’ve waited so long, finally, an occasion comes for a feast..."

"A wolf demon...!" his heart sank.

In the shadows outside the room.

Lin Xin looked up at Yuan Wanqing’s bedroom, his gaze seemingly piercing through obstacles to see Xiaoying and the assailant furiously fighting inside.

The attacker was no match for maid Xiaoying, being utterly overpowered in just a few exchanges, and in a careless moment, he was dismembered.

Tightening his clothes, he turned and retreated, silently vanishing into the darkness. He was no longer needed here.