Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 575 - 570 Support Four

Chapter 575: Chapter 570 Support Four

The shore was dotted sporadically with teams from various sectors arriving to offer their support.

A multitude of ships began to steadily deploy large, spiked nets along the fixed defenses, driving stakes engraved with intricate runes into the seabed near the shore.

Shangnuo was specifically in charge of hosting Lin Xin and his party, while representatives from several other families also came forward to greet them.

A tidy array of white stands was quickly prepared on the shore, and the Gongshang House and others swiftly ushered their guests to the stands for a rest.

Lin Xin and his companions were allocated to a viewing stand in a relatively forward position, where they settled down upon arrival.

"Is that Young Master Lin Sherie from the Lin Family over there?"

As soon as he was seated, a clear and gentle male voice came from the side.

Lin Xin followed the voice and saw a group of young men and women dressed in yellow robes sitting on the right, accompanied by people from the Gongshang House. The leading young man had a gentle expression and seemed to be good-tempered.

"Who might you be?"

Lin Xin asked indifferently in return.

"I am Kong Ruyi from the Kong Family,"

said the young man softly, stating his own name.

"Ruyi of the Azure Phoenix?" Lin Youke whispered in shock near Lin Xin’s ear.

"So, it is Brother Ruyi, the top expert of the Kong Family," Lin Xin said politely, but all he did was cup his hands in greeting, which was polite enough.

He was merely there to farm attribute points, and he had little to say to these youngsters. A gesture of courtesy was already more than sufficient.

"I’ve long heard of the Lin Family’s Rushing Thunder Sword Technique being as swift as thunder. When the opportunity arises, I would indeed like to learn from it," another slightly cold voice joined in from the opposite side.

Lin Xin looked over and saw, separated by Kong Ruyi’s viewing stand, a group of men and women in white robes sitting casually and eating. The speaker was none other than Duanqing Long, one of the top four young experts.

The Duanqing Family was also in the top ten of the annihilation meeting, flourishing with a large population and producing many experts, a famously powerful family.

However, the so-called top four young experts meant nothing to Lin Xin. He glanced at the other party indifferently and then turned his gaze away, no longer paying attention.

Suddenly, he seemed to sense someone sneaking glances at him. Scanning backwards, he caught sight of a familiar figure on a small stand.

"Shen Luo Mansion?" His brows furrowed slightly.

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

Duanqing Long slammed his wine cup down on the table with a thud.

"What a grand show of presence!"

He let out a cold snort.

Seeing that Lin Xin couldn’t even be bothered to speak to him, his annoyance grew even more.

"Without Secret Blood, he’s so arrogant—probably spoiled by his sister at home, right? Just a kid who hasn’t seen the world. Why should Big Brother Long bother with him?" another young woman advised softly.

"What this lady says is true."

Another voice came from not too far away.

"Prince Duanqing Long of the Duanqing Family, would you mind if we came over to visit?"

Lin Shangxiu, along with several clan masters from her branch families, had approached the edge of Duanqing Long’s viewing stand at some point.

"It turns out to be Family Head Shangxiu, my apologies!" Duanqing Long and the others quickly stood up to greet her.

"No need for formalities," Lin Shangxiu said with a brisk, spirited manner as she walked in and seated herself.

The group vacated the two main seats, offering them to Duanqing Long and Lin Shangxiu.

Although Duanqing Long’s status was not quite on par with Lin Shangxiu’s, he was still a holder of Secret Blood and bloodline of the Duanqing main family, so it was only natural for him to be treated almost equally. This arrangement was normal.

"May I know why Family Head Shangxiu has graced us with her presence?"

He knew that Lin Shangxiu had come with the Crown Prince Yun Kai and that she had always been at odds with the main family, so his tone became somewhat warmer.

Once Lin Shangxiu was seated, she chuckled lightly. She looked towards the silent Gongshang House members accompanying them at the side.

They promptly understood and voluntarily stood up to leave the stand.

After the others had walked away, Lin Shangxiu slowly began to speak.

"Prince Long, I presume you came here mainly for training and advancement in cultivation?"

"Of course," Duanqing Long nodded casually.

"I just wonder which island Prince Long plans to be responsible for guarding?" Lin Shangxiu continued.

"Number five, but why does Family Head Shangxiu ask?" Duanqing Long’s expression shifted as he asked in return.

"Number five? The original name of the fifth island is Chongxian Island. It was only after the Gongshang House cleared out a group of pirates that they sent people to repair the various dock facilities. It’s surrounded by numerous coral reefs and shoals, which have made it easy to defend yet hard to attack over the years, with the biggest fear being adjacent battles..."

"Family Head Shangxiu seems quite knowledgeable," Duanqing Long nodded slightly. "We also obtained various reports about this island from the Gongshang House, aside from the coral reefs, the most abundant thing on Chongxian Island are the highly poisonous plants in the central forest..."

After they chatted back and forth for a while, Lin Shangxiu got up to take her leave.

After descending from the stand and walking a short distance, her expression suddenly darkened.

"It isn’t on him either."

"And it’s not with Kong Ruyi," a sullen voice penetrated her ears. "Damn it, where has that boy hidden the item? It’s nowhere to be found!"

"If it comes to that, I’ll arrange for someone to act," Lin Shangxiu responded coldly.

"No, you can’t expose yourself now!" the voice continued. "I will arrange for someone to capture the brat first and then talk."

"His master is none other than an Immortal of Shen Luo Mansion. Would you dare to strike him directly?" Lin Shangxiu said impatiently.

"Of course, I wouldn’t confront him directly. But what of Shen Luo Mansion? Far off in Tiancheng, their reach is limited; here, nobody can protect him," the voice said coldly.

"The defensive positions of several teams are clear now, just handle it yourself. We must find the thing before making a move, or it will be too late, and things will change. The plan must not fail; it’s your item, you figure it out," Lin Shangxiu added, speaking no further as she quickened her pace and led her people away.

Not even the Gongshang House’s Family Head, who was on guard nearby, noticed her exchange of whispers with that person.

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

"Hey, hey."

On the stands a little further back, Gongshang Baiyu, the young princess of the Gongshang House, opened her eyes wide and scanned the surroundings, while whispering to a guard behind her.

"What is it?" The guard’s gaze wandered, one second peeking at the open collar of the princess’s blouse, the next second he immediately looked up and puffed out his chest in a heroic pose.

"Song Danhao, did you see?" Gongshang Baiyu had fine skin with some baby fat on her small face, making her look chubby and adorable.

Dressed in a goose-yellow long gown, she had a pair of outrageously exaggerated huge weapons on her slender waist, which swayed continuously as she slightly turned her body.

"See what?" Song Danhao, masquerading as a guard, looked toward the distance along her line of sight.

"That, that Lin Shangxiu of the Lin Family, she’s talking to people on the front row of the stands," Gongshang Baiyu said softly.

"So what?" Song Danhao responded, confused.

"She smells annoying," Gongshang Baiyu whispered. "You’re the one who stole those people’s belongings; better be careful yourself."

"I know," Song Danhao’s expression slightly stiffened.

"However, here in our Gongshang House, with so many reinforcements from other great families present, I figure they wouldn’t dare to act as blatantly as they did on the road," Gongshang Baiyu’s eyes roved thoughtfully.

"Look, I’ll arrange a safe place for you, considering you saved me," she added.

"Where?" Song Danhao touched his nose and chuckled.

"Our Gongshang household will surely be the main target of the Demon Spirit’s assault. Although these supporting families claim lofty ideals, when it comes to putting their lives on the line against Demon Spirits, that’s another matter. In a critical moment, they’ll definitely have arrangements to withdraw safely. So..."

"So, what you mean is, let me join these supporting forces from other families and head to the island?" Song Danhao picked up on the faint and peculiar tone in Gongshang Baiyu’s voice.

"Correct," Gongshang Baiyu nodded.

"Among these reinforcements, the most important are the four young hotshots who rushed here this time. Each one has an extremely strong background and identity, all are worth their weight in gold, so, you see, choose one to join."

Hum!!

Just then, the ground shook thunderously.

All the people on the stands stood up and looked out to sea.

They saw, not far from Gongshang Family Head’s floating platform, tens of miles away, a white line slowly pressed this way.

As the white line drew nearer rapidly, the crowd let out shocked cries.

"They’re here!" the Gongshang Family Head leaped up, suspended in mid-air, his limbs casting afterimages as he fiercely launched four rays of blue light in an instant.

Ssssssss!

The four rays of blue light fell harshly, drilling into the sea’s surface.

In an instant, a faint layer of ice-blue film appeared right before the crowd.

"Yuan Jing Solidification..." Lin Xin sat in his seat, his eyes slightly narrowed.

For him, the so-called other masters present and the multitude of Demon Spirits hidden within the white waves in the distance were no more than ants.

What he was truly concerned about was how to avoid detection and harvest the most Demon Spirit attributes.

"Lin Sherie? You little rascal have actually come too!"

A deep female voice came from a nearby stand where someone had just stood up.

Lin Xin followed the voice and saw it was Lin Shangxiu.

She was flanked by two people in black, their faces hidden.

This old woman was now staring at him with a cold gaze, for some unfathomable reason.

"Mrs. Lin Shangxiu, please show some respect when addressing Young Master Sherie!" Lin Xin didn’t speak, but a member of the Lin Family immediately couldn’t help but speak up.

Since the time Lin Yaoyang reprimanded Lin Shangxiu, this branch had almost turned against the main family and instead drawn closer to the Imperial Clan.

’Ill-mannered brat, do you really think you’re someone?’

Lin Shangxiu’s eyes were cold. ’If it weren’t for Lin Yaoyang arriving in time, I could have crippled you alive last time, and that bitch Lin Yaoyang would have been heartbroken then.’

Unfortunately, she had a mission now, otherwise she could have made use of the Demon Spirits...’

Her mind was on one set of thoughts, but what she said aloud was quite different.

"Lin Sherie, aren’t you going to stop your dog from barking?"

Lin Xin frowned slightly, Lin Shangxiu’s hatred seemed peculiarly intense, and though he had been cultivating in seclusion and certainly hadn’t offended her, she seemed to bear a teeth-clenching grudge against him.

What he didn’t know was the extent to which Lin Yaoyang had acted against branch member Lin Shangxiu from behind over the years, and the friction and secret battles between the two sides had nearly escalated to open hostility.

But it didn’t matter now that they had encountered each other.

Lin Xin reached for his sword, his expression indifferent.

"Lin Shangxiu, I bet you’re not going back to your branch this time. Believe it or not?"