The battlefield gradually fell silent.
The smell of scorched earth and burnt flesh lingered heavily in the air.
The once-crowded plaza before the Scripture Pavilion had become a sea of shattered stone and blackened corpses.
Lightning still crackled faintly across the ground.
At the center of the devastation stood Lin Sheng.
In his left hand, he casually held an unconscious man by the collar.
The assassin's body hung limply, his cultivation completely sealed by Gang Qi.
Behind Lin Sheng, Lin Yan slowly stood up.
The seven flying swords around her gradually returned to their sheaths.
Her cold gaze swept across the remaining cultivators.
Those who met her eyes instinctively lowered their heads.
No one dared speak first.
The fear brought by the eleven thunder pearls had already been engraved into their hearts.
Lin Sheng calmly looked around before speaking.
"This person..."
He slightly lifted the unconscious assassin.
"...is the one who spread the rumors."
His calm voice carried throughout the silent courtyard.
Several cultivators immediately frowned.
Lin Sheng continued.
"Think carefully."
"If he truly knew my Senior sister possessed the Heaven Mending Fruit..."
"Why didn't he personally attack her while she was injured?"
His words caused many expressions to change.
"He could have attacked when she was fighting Qin Fenxing."
"He could have attacked while she was recovering."
"He could even have secretly followed her and ambushed her."
Lin Sheng's eyes swept across everyone.
"So..."
"Why didn't he?"
Silence.
Many cultivators subconsciously looked toward the unconscious assassin.
Someone suddenly widened his eyes.
"...Because..."
Lin Sheng nodded.
"He wanted someone else to do the dirty work."
"He spread the rumors."
"He used your greed."
"He wanted all of you to exhaust my sister."
"And after both sides suffered..."
"He would harvest the final reward."
The realization spread through the crowd like wildfire.
One Foundation Establishment cultivator clenched his fists.
"So..."
"We were being used?"
Another's expression became ugly.
"Damn it..."
"He treated us as disposable pawns."
Several surviving cultivators suddenly remembered how strangely the rumors had spread.
No source.
No evidence.
Only endless whispers.
Yet they had all believed them.
Because they wanted to and Lin Sheng was giving them a way out.
Lin Sheng calmly watched their changing expressions. He didn't think it would fully work and would have had to resort to slaughtering.
"It's fortunate."
"You people hesitated."
His tone remained indifferent.
"Otherwise..."
He pointed toward the charred corpses scattered across the battlefield.
"You would've died just like them."
Many people swallowed nervously.
Then Lin Sheng spoke another sentence.
"And even if you had survived..."
"What if you searched her storage ring..."
"...and found no Heaven Mending Fruit?"
The surrounding cultivators froze.
Only then did they fully realize the consequences.
They would've attacked the foremost genius of the Lin Family.
Killed countless Lin Family disciples.
And gained...
Nothing.
They would've made an enemy of a Rank-4 power for absolutely no benefit.
Cold sweat immediately appeared on many foreheads.
One middle-aged Foundation Establishment cultivator hurried forward.
Without hesitation, he released the bound Lin Family disciples.
The restraints shattered instantly.
He clasped his fists respectfully.
"Young Master Lin."
"This... this was entirely a misunderstanding."
"My companions acted out of greed."
"They deserved their fate."
"We never intended to become enemies with the Lin Family."
The remaining cultivators immediately followed.
One after another.
They hurriedly released every remaining hostage.
Several even apologized repeatedly.
Lin Sheng looked at them for a few moments before smiling faintly.
"Don't worry."
"You weren't among those who rushed in first."
"They paid for their own choices."
"As long as you don't seek trouble with the Lin Family again..."
"...then today's matter ends here."
The surrounding cultivators visibly relaxed.
They had feared retaliation.
Instead...
Lin Sheng had given them a way out.
One elderly cultivator immediately took out several jade boxes.
"Please accept these."
"Just a small token of apology."
Others quickly followed.
Spirit herbs.
Healing pills.
Spirit fruits.
Various cultivation resources were respectfully presented before the rescued Lin Family disciples.
Nobody dared keep them.
Compared to offending the Lin Family...
Such compensation meant nothing.
After exchanging several respectful bows...
The surviving cultivators quickly departed.
Nobody wished to remain near the terrifying siblings any longer.
Within moments...
Only the Lin Family group remained.
Lin Sheng finally released the unconscious assassin onto the ground.
Behind him...
A fist suddenly struck his shoulder.
BANG!!
It wasn't heavy.
Lin Sheng turned around.
Lin Yan stood there with her arms folded.
She looked at him suspiciously.
"Where did you get those Thunder Pearls?"
Her tone remained calm.
Yet curiosity filled her eyes.
Eleven Rank-2 Peak Grade Thunder Pearls...
Even many Purple Palace cultivators couldn't casually produce such a fortune.
Lin Sheng scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"That's..."
"...a secret."
Lin Yan narrowed her eyes.
"A secret?"
Lin Sheng nodded repeatedly.
"A very important secret."
She stared at him for several breaths.
Finally...
She snorted lightly.
"Fine."
"I won't ask."
"But don't do anything dangerous."
Lin Sheng smiled.
"I know."
Although he answered casually...
His thoughts had already drifted elsewhere.
Thunder Pearls...
Interesting.
From the reactions of the surrounding cultivators...
This world already possessed something similar.
However...
Those Thunder Pearls clearly differed from his Magnetic Thunder Pearls.
The cultivators only recognized the lightning explosion.
None mentioned magnetic force.
Meaning...
Either the magnetic aspect didn't exist...
Or nobody had ever successfully incorporated it.
Lin Sheng leaned toward the former possibility.
After all...
His version relied heavily upon Chip calculations and modern scientific understanding.
Ordinary artifact refiners probably only focused upon explosive lightning.
Not magnetic compression.
His thoughts quickly shifted toward another topic.
The Hundred Paths.
Most cultivators only knew the Four Great Auxiliary Paths.
Alchemy.
Formation.
Talisman.
Artifact Refining.
Yet...
Those merely represented the most widespread.
The remaining paths were equally mysterious.
Spirit Farming.
Beast Taming which includes both yao beasts and insects.
Spirit Wine Brewing.
Puppet Creation.
Mechanical Engineering.
Poison Dao.
Music Dao and many others.
Even obscure inheritances lost throughout history.
Each possessed astonishing depth.
Some paths had simply become too difficult...
Or too resource-consuming...
Gradually fading from the world's attention.
As Lin Sheng pondered...
Several familiar auras rapidly approached.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Several figures landed nearby.
Lou Han.
Lin Xiaolu.
Qian Feng.
Lin Shou.
Each of them still carried traces of recent battles.
The moment they arrived...
They instinctively entered combat stances.
Then...
They looked around.
The scorched battlefield.
The countless corpses.
The unconscious assassin.
Finally...
Their gazes landed on Lin Sheng and Lin Yan.
Silence.
Lou Han slowly lowered his fists.
"...Looks like..."
"...we're late."
Lin Xiaolu blinked.
"I thought Sister Lin was surrounded."
Lin Yan smiled faintly.
"I was."
"But my little brother arrived first."
Lin Sheng looked at the group before him.
For a brief moment...
His usually calm heart warmed slightly.
The moment they heard Lin Yan was surrounded...
Every one of them had immediately rushed over.
Without hesitation.
Without questioning the danger.
True companions.
He smiled sincerely.
"Thank you."
The group looked slightly surprised.
Qian Feng scratched his head.
"What are brothers for?"
Lin Shou grinned.
"We would've been ashamed if we didn't come."
Lou Han merely nodded.
"Naturally."
Lin Sheng looked toward the unconscious assassin.
His expression gradually became serious once more.
"This person..."
"...belongs to an organization."
"One whose goal is to assassinate geniuses."
"They intend to ignite conflict throughout the surrounding provinces."
The smiles on everyone's faces disappeared.
Lin Shou suddenly remembered something.
His eyes narrowed.
"...That reminds me."
"We also encountered an assassin."
"He nearly ambushed me."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"And..."
"...Lin Jinyun died."
Everyone became silent.
No matter how unpleasant Lin Jinyun had been...
He was still a Lin Family disciple.
If assassins had already begun targeting even ordinary geniuses...
Then nobody here was truly safe.
Lin Sheng slowly nodded.
"It seems..."
"We'll all need to be much more careful from now on."