"A fluke! That must be a fluke!'
"That ironstone stele must have rotten because of old-age. That's why this subdivision lad can break it in one blow!"
"Brother Lin Jian, we all regard you as the greatest swordsman of the prefecture. So, what do you think?"
Right now, those main division disciples were in complete chaos because they were afraid of losing their face.
They absolutely did not want to believe that Lin Han possessed such petrifying swordsmanship.
Lin Jian was also rather embarrassed. He glanced over at Lin Han, who was smiling faintly, with a trace of coldness flashed in his narrow eyes.
"Great swordsmanship is all about precision. Possessing explosive force is nothing worth gloating about," commented Lin Jian as if he was asked to set the world to rights.
"Brother Lin Jian is right; a good swordsman needs precision. Having merely explosive power only makes one reckless."
"Spot on! Brother Lin Jian is indeed our prefecture's greatest swordsman."
Soon, the rest of the main division disciples echoed suit.
At this moment, Lin Han suddenly approached one of the main division disciples that were ridiculing him.
"Lin Han, what're you doing?" asked the man cautiously. Perhaps, he was still in shock by Lin Han's earlier performance of breaking the stele into half with one strike.
"Didn't you say I'm not precise in my strikes?"
Lin Han's lips turned upward into a smirk as he removed his longsword out of its scabbard.
Clang!
A dazzling light appeared in the air once again.
"Screech!"
The sword was already back in its scabbard in the next second.
Lin Han turned around and walked away.
"You…" That enraged main division disciple had his mouth wide open as if he wanted to retaliate.
However, something unbelievable happened right at this second.
A strand of hair that fell over this disciple's brow suddenly broke into three tiny parts. Each part that fell onto the ground was of precisely the same length.
In other words, Lin Han had brandished his sword in the air three times within seconds.
Each brandish had cut off three tiny parts from one strand of hair in the exact same length.
Fast, strong and precise!
It was completely out of this world!
The surrounding main division disciples were taken aback.
They would never dare to look down upon this "useless disciple" from the subdivision ever again.
Lin Jian, the greatest swordsman in the prefecture, was in a daze once more.
He did not catch what had happened earlier, even with his eagle eyes.
Lin Han… Who actually was this freak?
The chaotic scene had attracted the attention of several talented young ladies.
Among the ladies, there was an absolute beauty dressed in a jade-green outfit.
She was wearing a thin bluish-green cotton dress. Her shoulders were slender and her waist tiny, she had smooth and glossy skin that smelled like orchids. At this moment, her charming eyes were looking at them with amused curiosity.
"Gosh! That's Lin Ruyan right in front of my eyes!"
"Lin Ruyan — the blessed girl from heaven. Not only does she look as beautiful as a flower, but her cultivation level is excellent too; she's a rare genius. She's competing to be the top three in the upcoming prefecture-level contest."
"I heard that she's been cultivating in secret for a while now and she has long advanced into the fourth tier of martial arts. She has concentrated True Element and has succeeded in becoming a master."
Each one of those main division disciples was obsessing over the beautiful girl in the green dress.
In their eyes, Lin Ruyan was indeed a blessed girl from heaven who acquired both beauty and talent.
"Art of the Ancient Dragon Emperor!"
Lin Han was also curious. He looked over at the lady and secretly circulated the power of the Art of Ancient Dragon Emperor in his body.
That powerful perception of his allowed Lin Han to pry into Lin Ruyan's boundary instantaneously.
He discovered that the True Element in Lin Ruyan's body was extremely powerful and was leagues beyond his.
'It seems that Lin Ruyan is probably the strongest out of all the masters. She might even have attained the martial arts fifth tier boundary,' thought Lin Han to himself after some consideration.
In the past, Lin Han was nothing but a lowly, useless thing from the subdivision. He would never have had the courage to look at a strong, powerful lady from the main division like Lin Ruyan in the eyes.
Today, his essence, energy, and spirit had been transformed by the Golden Spirit Fire. Besides, the Ancient Dragon Emperor had thrust upon Lin Han a kind of superior self-confidence.
Therefore, Lin Han did not avert his gaze but instead looked straight into the eyes of Lin Ruyan with appreciation and admiration.
After all, every gentleman fancied a fair lady.
At this moment, it seemed that Lin Han's unconcealed gaze had been noticed when a hint of annoyance flashed across Lin Ruyan's eyes.
'This lad from the subdivision really has some nerve.'
"Young lad, advanced sword skills are not important because we practice swordsmanship to kill, not to show off."
Suddenly, Lin Jian spoke.
He seemed as if he deliberately wanted to brag in front of Lin Ruyan in order to win over the blessed girl from heaven. He looked at Lin Han and posed him a question with a sarcastic tone, "The fight that you mentioned earlier… Is it still on the table?"
"Of course."
Lin Han retracted his gaze and turned towards Lin Jian. To be exact, he was actually looking at the eerie-looking sword in the man's hand. "What's the matter? Are you afraid?" challenged Lin Han.
"Me? Hahaha!"
A hint of coldness flashed across Lin Jian's eyes as he teased, "I've not fought someone else since advancing into martial arts fourth tier boundary because no one can handle my sword. It's a good day to engage in a fight. Besides, I can show you what real swordsmanship is, scum of the subdivision. This will teach you to not mess with the wrong people!"
As Lin Jian spoke, a sliver of murderous intent radiated from him. It was the kind of murderous intent that sent shivers down one's spine.
From afar, Lin Ruyan appeared to have realized Lin Jian's murderous intent. She frowned slightly as she thought it was a bad omen to kill someone within the periphery of the clan residence.
Prior to this, Lin Ruyan had never heard of this nobody called Lin Han. Now that she knew he was only a subdivision disciple, her pair of enchanting eyes looked at him with pity.
For him to challenge Lin Jian was equivalent to asking for his own death.
However, Lin Ruyan was suddenly reminded of how Lin Han had glared at her just a few minutes ago. Hence, she snorted and thought to herself that the rude young lad deserved to be taught a lesson by Lin Jian.
Lin Ruyan subtly released an imposing aura that showcased her impressive strength despite that disdainful thought in her mind. Although she was not acquainted with Lin Han, she somehow felt slightly disgusted by him.
Ironically, deep in her heart, she did not want to sacrifice a living member of her clan just like that. Lin Han was a member of the Lin clan, after all.
"I'll just allow that Lin Jian to torture you a little." Lin Ruyan decided that she would rescue that poor thing just before Lin Jian took his life.
There was still kindness in the young lady's heart.
Meanwhile, the surrounding disciples were already simmering with excitement, despite Lin Han having surprised them with his sword skills just a few moments earlier.
However, that was only swordsmanship skills. The deciding factor for a fight still came down to the strength and power of one's cultivation.
"When he fought and defeated Lin Shi a few days ago, his opponent was only a low cultivation level guy in martial arts second tier."
"Not only is Brother Lin Jian great with his sword, but he has advanced into the martial arts fourth tier with concentrated True Element. This poor lad Lin Han will definitely lose."
Lin Han was now surrounded by main divisions disciples who were glaring at him intensely.
This subdivision disciple made them feel threatened. If Lin Jian could take him down, then it would be so much easier for them to perform in the prefecture-level contest.
In their opinions, subdivision disciples were inferior and they held no sympathy towards these people, albeit that they were from the same clan. For some, all it came down to was if it would benefit their own interests.
Back in the days, when Lin Han was weak, they only regarded him with contempt and disgust.
Now that they had witnessed Lin Han's superb swordsmanship, what remained in their hearts was murderous intentions and a tinge of fear.
"Come, fight with me!" Right at this moment, Lin Han suddenly looked at Lin Jian who was standing not far away with a cold expression in his eyes.
He stood tall and upright, like a spear that wanted to pierce through the sky.
The shabby green clothes he was dressed in could not conceal his light. Lin Han declared fiercely, "I'd like to see if I can handle your sword moves!"
Fighting was imminent!