The Lin's Patriarch is weird.

The silver Wolf let out a deep, guttural growl.

The sound reverberated through the snowy forest before the beast suddenly charged.

Zhaofeng took a long deep breath and narrowed his eyes as he steadied his stance and tightened his grip around his sword.

The next instant, he swung it straight towards the massive beast.

Clang!

The silver Wolf’s claws collided with his blade, sending sparks flying through the air.

Zhaofeng was forced several steps backward, but he quickly regained his footing and stepped forward again.

His sword flashed through the falling snow.

The silver Wolf twisted its enormous body and narrowly avoided the blade before snapping its jaws toward Zhaofeng’s neck.

Zhaofeng immediately used the Cloud Chasing Movement Technique.

His figure shifted like a passing cloud, disappearing from the wolf’s attack before appearing at its side and swung his sword.

But the silver Wolf having already noticed him and raised its claw to block the incoming attack.

Boom!

The sword and claw collided with enough force to shake the surrounding snow from the trees.

Zhaofeng’s expression became increasingly solemn.

This was no ordinary silver Wolf.

The beast before him was a Silver Wolf Beast King, a terrifying existence comparable to a cultivator in the Nascent Soul Realm.

If it was a normal Golden Core cultivator in his shoe, there was no way they could ever fight toe to toe against a beast on that level. It was an instant death for anyone else.

But Zhaofeng himself was unlike any ordinary cultivator.

He was a reincarnator.

In his previous life, he had walked the path of cultivation for many years and had experienced countless battles.

Among the techniques he had mastered in that life was a powerful sword technique known as the Heaven-Splitting Sword Art.

This technique allowed him to be able to face a cultivators realm above him.

Zhaofeng released the sword in his hand having it hovering in the air.

Next, a strange spiritual fluctuation emerged from within his body and a sword-shaped Martial Spirit slowly manifested behind him.

The spirit possessed a sharp and imposing presence, its entire form resembling a divine sword forged from condensed spiritual energy.

This was Zhaofeng’s Rank Two Earth-Grade Martial Spirit.

The moment it appeared, his aura instantly soared.

He reached backward and his hand grasped the manifested sword.

The instant his fingers closed around it, the sword seemed to become an extension of his own body.

His spiritual energy surged.

The Silver Wolf immediately sensed the change and charged once more, not giving him any more time to prepare himself.

But it was too late.

This time, with newfound confidence, Zhaofeng stepped forward, and the Cloud Chasing Movement Technique carried his body through the snow.

The Silver Wolf’s enormous claw swept toward him.

At the same time, the beast opened its jaws and spat a stream of poisonous liquid toward him.

Zhaofeng’s eyes narrowed.

His body shifted like a drifting cloud, effortlessly avoiding the claw before the poisonous spit could reach him.

He then raised his sword and swung it down.

The blade descended toward the back of the beast’s head in one clean motion.

At a glance, the attack appeared very simple, just one normal downward swing.

However, the moment Zhaofeng swung his sword, the spiritual energy surrounding him began to surge toward the blade.

The spiritual qi within the surrounding forest was forcibly drawn toward a single point.

Everything gathered at the tip of his sword.

The enormous amount of spiritual energy was compressed until it reached an extreme density.

Then it exploded.

The power contained within that single point erupted through the blade as Zhaofeng completed his downward slash.

The Silver Wolf sensed the danger and immediately twisted its body, raising one of its claws to block the attack.

BOOM!

The sword collided with its claw.

A terrifying shockwave erupted through the forest, sending snow flying in every direction.

He had gathered the spiritual qi around them, compressed it into a single point, and released all of that accumulated power through one decisive slash.

This was one of the fundamental principles behind the Heaven-Splitting Sword Art.

With his Rank Two Earth-Grade weapon-type Martial Spirit supporting him, the power of the technique became even more terrifying.

The Silver Wolf Beast King’s enormous body was forced downward by the impact.

Its claws sank deep into the snow.

Zhaofeng did not stop there.

With the Cloud Chasing Movement Technique, he ran around the beast as his sword flashed repeatedly.

Each strike connected to the previous one, with his movement and swordsmanship flowing together as naturally as clouds drifting across the sky.

The Silver Wolf roared and desperately swung its claws at him.

Zhaofeng avoided each attack, and every time he did, he made sure to land a few more hits.

For a moment, the Golden Core cultivator was suppressing the Silver Wolf Beast King without giving it any chance to fight back.

Still, despite having the upper hand, Lin Zhaofeng knew he could not maintain this pace for much longer.

His cultivation was still too weak to bring out the full power of Heaven-splitting sword-technique

His attacks were barely getting through the beast’s defenses.

The wounds he inflicted were already beginning to heal at an astonishing speed, with its flesh knitting back together almost as soon as his sword cut through it.

If he stopped even for a moment, the Silver Wolf would immediately tear him apart.

After all, Silver Wolves were known more for their terrifying healing abilities than their combat prowess.

Zhaofeng landed another clean slash across the beast’s shoulder before immediately retreating.

"Clan Head, now would be a good time to show up."

———————————————————

"Patriarch, you’ve finally come."

General Xiang Haoti’s face immediately lit up when he saw Lin Xuan approaching.

"I came as soon as I heard you were visiting. How has your stay here been?"

Lin Xuan politely cupped his hands.

Xiang Haoti immediately broke into a hearty laugh.

"Comfortable! Very comfortable!"

He gave Lin Xuan a broad smile and happily patted his shoulder.

"I was even speaking with your daughter the other day. That little girl is something else. She is so mature for her age that I almost forgot I was speaking with a child."

He laughed again, his voice carrying openly through the room.

"She managed to talk me into investing in her pill business. Hahaha! I still don’t know how she managed it but I suppose we’re business buddies now."

Lin Xuan awkwardly laughed and said, "Haha, yes. She can be quite eccentric when it comes to those things."

Xiang Haoti laughed heartily at his response before his expression gradually became more curious. "By the way, I heard the Patriarch went into seclusion after losing to Wei Rong the other day. Is that true?"

"It is," Lin Xuan confirmed with a calm nod.

Xiang Haoti’s smile disappeared as he frowned and asked, "Did you let him win?"

Lin Xuan was taken aback.

Does this man really have that much confidence in me?

"No. He won fair and square," Lin Xuan replied nonetheless.

Xiang Haoti frowned even harder and asked, "But you are in the Nascent Soul Realm. How does it make sense for you to lose?"

Lin Xuan immediately understood.

Ah.Didn’t I reveal my cultivation to Wei Rong just earlier? News certainly travels fast.

"I only entered the Nascent Soul Realm during my seclusion," Lin Xuan explained calmly.

Xiang Haoti stared at him for a moment before suddenly bursting into laughter. "Hahaha! Patriarch Lin, you certainly have a sense of humour!"

"Ahem. But since you say so, I will have to take your word for it," Xiang Haoti said, clearing his throat as he settled back into his usual cheerful expression.

Lin Xuan sighed as he immediately realized what had happened.

The cat is already out of the bag.

And no, it had nothing to do with him revealing his cultivation to Wei Rong.

It had likely happened much earlier, likely when General Xiang had first visited the Lin Family as the royal envoy for their promotion to Rank Eight.

Lin Xuan sighed again as he realized just how careless he had been.

"And I thought I did such a good job hiding my cultivation base," Lin Xuan said with a helpless laugh.

Xiang Haoti immediately burst into another jolly laugh and placed a hand on Lin Xuan’s shoulder. "Hahaha! So that’s what you were doing! You know, you had both me and the King saying, TheLin’s Patriarch is weird."