The accusations against Zhi Xuan had been cleared, and the rumors about him peeping on Lin Xianyun while she was bathing had finally been set straight.
Now that the matter had been resolved, Zhi Xuan intended to bid farewell and leave.
However, a rather large hand suddenly landed on his shoulder.
Zhi Xuan turned around and discovered Lin Fan staring at him while holding a sword across both palms.
At first, Zhi Xuan did not understand what Lin Fan meant.
But after a brief explanation, he finally understood.
The sword was an heirloom that had been passed down through countless generations of the Lin Family. It was traditionally given to the family's son-in-law.
And since Zhi Xuan had now become one of the most talented sons-in-law the Lin Family had ever accepted, Lin Fan believed it was finally time to let the sword leave the family and accompany its new owner.
Naturally, Zhi Xuan accepted without hesitation and happily became the sword's new master.
The sword possessed a golden hilt, and a strange energy seemed to flow faintly from within it.
Zhi Xuan suspected that some sort of ancient rune was hidden inside the hilt.
Moreover, this sword had never once been mentioned in the original novel.
Could it simply be a low-quality weapon that was only considered valuable in the eyes of mortals?
When Zhi Xuan asked about the sword's name, Lin Fan merely shook his head.
Apparently, he knew very little about it as well.
The only thing he knew was that the sword had been passed down for thousands of years through countless generations of the Lin Family's sons-in-law.
...
Outside the Lin Family Estate.
Zhi Xuan walked along the street, passing several buildings lining both sides of the road.
His gaze calmly rested on the sheathed sword in his hand.
"It seems this sword was never part of the novel's storyline. Even Lin Xianyun and Patriarch Lin were never mentioned in the original plot."
As he muttered to himself, his mind filled with questions, a figure suddenly leaped down from the rooftop of a ten-meter-tall building.
The man landed calmly in front of him.
Zhi Xuan immediately stopped walking the moment he sensed the movement.
The man wore a mask that covered part of his face.
His eyes stared directly at Zhi Xuan as he extended his sword forward, the tip pointing straight at Zhi Xuan's chest.
"Brat surnamed Gu, prepare to die!" the man declared.
A powerful aura erupted from his body.
The pressure generated fierce winds that sent fallen leaves flying throughout the area.
"This guy..."
Judging by the man's build and voice, Zhi Xuan had already guessed who stood before him.
Suddenly, he chuckled.
"I defeated the son, and now the father has come to avenge him? Then if I defeat the father, will the grandfather show up next?"
Zhi Xuan burst into laughter, covering his handsome face with one hand.
"Hahaha! What a cliché plot."
As he spoke, he lowered his hand and slowly drew the sword from his left hand.
Hearing those words, the man's forehead twitched with rage.
His cold gaze pierced through the air and landed directly on Zhi Xuan.
At the same time, Zhi Xuan returned the stare with equally icy eyes.
The two silently locked gazes for a long time.
Meanwhile, the surrounding bystanders shivered and broke out in cold sweat.
Even though they were standing far away, the pressure radiating from the two combatants spread throughout a radius of over fifty meters.
Their robes fluttered wildly.
Their long hair danced in the wind.
Moonlight pierced through the dark clouds overhead, casting silver rays upon the place where Zhi Xuan and Zhou Yu's father stood facing each other.
Almost simultaneously, both men moved.
They leaped forward at the same moment and swung their swords toward one another.
The collision generated shockwaves resembling streams of lightning tearing through the air.
BOOM!
The explosion shook the surrounding space and blasted several nearby spectators off their feet.
Amidst the chaos, Zhi Xuan and his opponent remained suspended in midair.
Their swords clashed against one another.
Violent waves of energy spread outward, sweeping everything within a five-meter radius and pushing it as far as twenty meters away.
A bead of sweat appeared on Zhi Xuan's forehead.
The next moment, he noticed something strange.
His sword suddenly felt sluggish.
Its power seemed to be fading away.
"What kind of sword is that?" Zhi Xuan wondered inwardly. "Why does it seem to have a debuff effect against my weapon?"
On the other side, Zhou Yu's father grinned proudly.
"How is it? Don't you think the power of this sword is extraordinary?"
He raised the blade slightly.
"This is a Saint-Grade Weapon passed down through my ancestors. Its power can suppress the spirit and strength of its enemies!"
Zhi Xuan gritted his teeth.
Immediately, he thrust his right leg forward and kicked toward his opponent's chest.
BOOM!
The two were knocked backward simultaneously.
They crashed onto the ground and created several deep craters.
Zhi Xuan gripped his sword tightly.
The blade was embedded in the ground while he knelt on one knee.
A mouthful of blood spilled from his lips.
Silently, he assessed the situation.
Zhou Yu's father was at the Mid-Level Nascent Soul Realm.
Meanwhile, although Zhi Xuan possessed combat strength comparable to a Mid-Level Nascent Soul cultivator, he could clearly feel the gap between them widening because of that sword.
Furthermore, he lacked actual combat experience.
Up until now, he had mostly relied on overwhelming power to crush opponents weaker than himself.
But against an enemy whose strength was on the same level as his own, he was far less confident.
At the very least, if this battle continued for several incense sticks' worth of time, he would undoubtedly suffer severe injuries.
And his current situation...
Was an absolute mess.
Zhou Yu's father held a Saint-Grade Weapon in his hand.
Meanwhile, Zhi Xuan only possessed the inherited sword of the Lin Family.
It had no special abilities whatsoever.
It had never even appeared in the original novel.
Aside from its exceptional sharpness, it possessed neither unique effects nor any extraordinary powers.
At this moment, Zhi Xuan could only place his hopes in fate...
And in the mysterious sword resting in his hand.