Clan Immortal Cultivation: I Can See Hints

The grand competition began swiftly, taking place in front of the Treasure Pavilion at the Martial Arts Hall.

It was overseen by Lin Shijie as the referee, given that among the Lin Family's three outstanding Qi Cultivators, he had reached the Qi Cultivation Ninth Level, which meant that should a dispute arise, ordinary Qi Cultivators simply couldn't save each other at critical moments.

As for Lin Shiming, he was the Family Head.

At this moment, Lin Shijie, having no other pressing matters, began the drawing of lots directly.

The Lin Family had lost more than thirty cultivators due to the beast tide, and with the family reforms plus the aftermath of the beast tide, many cultivators had breakthroughs.

Now there were five Foundation Establishment cultivators, nine at the Qi Cultivation Ninth Level, thirty at the later stage, sixty at the middle stage, fifty at the early stage, and twelve Innate cultivators.

Compared to the last clan assembly, even after accounting for the cultivators lost, there were twenty more at the middle stage of Qi Cultivation. The numbers at the later stage and the Ninth Level of Qi Cultivation were not less than at the last clan assembly, which was significant considering the many later-stage cultivators who had fallen in the beast tide.

This was also the fruit of the Lin Family's implementation of the assessment system reform.

Among the Qi Cultivation Ninth Level eligible due to the fifty-year-old age limit for the clan competition were Uncle Thirteen, Lin Houwei, and fifteen-year-old Lin Houxuan. The other Qi Cultivation Ninth Level cultivators had all exceeded the age limit.

The most outstanding of the later-stage Qi Cultivators was Lin Shitao, who had recently broken through the eighth level of Qi Cultivation and, importantly, was only twenty-three years old. She was also a Second Rank Intermediate Grade Alchemist, and had nearly been confirmed as a Foundation Establishment seed for the Lin Family.

Beyond Lin Shitao, the other later-stage Qi Cultivators were significantly less notable. Among them were six of the later generation, including the chubby cultivator Lin Houyuan from Xing County who Lin Shiming had encountered before.

Besides Lin Shitao, there were three others of the Shigeneration at the later stage, with Lin Shiyi at the eighth level of Qi Cultivation, Lin Shiyun at the seventh level, and Lin Shiqi also at the seventh level.

All other later-stage Qi Cultivators were over fifty years old.

The grand competition of the middle-stage Artifact Refiners was the most lively with sixty participants, of whom thirty were eligible for the clan competition.

Besides three cultivators of the later generation, the rest were of the Shigeneration.

Forty early-stage Qi Cultivators participated in the clan competition.

The grand competition proceeded smoothly, divided into three battlefields and six platforms.

There was one platform for later-stage Qi Cultivators, two platforms for middle-stage Qi Cultivators, and three for early-stage Qi Cultivators.

Lin Shijie, as the protector Elder, supervised the later-stage Qi Cultivators' platform, acting as the protector who could call a halt at critical moments. The middle-stage platforms were overseen by the Law Enforcement Hall Master Lin Yuqing and the Demon Hunting Hall Master Lin Houyong as protector Elders.

The remaining Elders were protectors for the early-stage platforms.

Drawing lots for the matchups began immediately, with bouts on all three platforms starting almost simultaneously.

On the later-stage platform, Lin Shiyi faced off against Lin Shiqi, a seventh-level Qi Cultivator.

On the middle-stage platforms, Lin Shizhong at the fifth level of Qi Cultivation fought Lin Shifei at the fourth level, while Lin Shicheng battled Lin Shiyu.

The early-stage platforms featured Lin Shiyu against Lin Shiwei, Lin Shiqing against Lin Shicai, and Lin Shiwen against Lin Shiwu.

Lin Shiming hadn't expected that as soon as the combat began, two of the participants would be people he was familiar with.

Among them, Lin Shizhong was a Third Spirit Root Cultivator he had brought back from Qingtao Town. After twelve years of cultivation, he had reached the fifth level of Qi Cultivation—quite standard progress. But it's worth noting that he was also an Artifact Refiner who had broken through to become a Second Rank Intermediate Grade only half a year ago.

While not as naturally talented in Alchemy as Lin Shitao, his achievement was still quite impressive.

He was curious to see how far Lin Shizhong could go. After all, he had given the latter a Second Rank Superior Grade Magic Artifact not long before.

Lin Shiyi was even less worth mentioning; his second brother, a Body Refining Cultivator, who would undoubtedly have a chance at winning the top three!

As for the early-stage Qi Cultivators, even though they also belonged to the generation of the Lin family with names starting with "Shi", the bustling and flourishing generation had now expanded to the ninetieth branch. This time, the ones who participated in the competition were unfamiliar to him.

When the duel of spells began, it immediately defied everyone's expectations. The duels of late-stage Qi Cultivators turned out to be much quicker than those of the mid-stage Qi Cultivators, which in turn were quicker than the duels of the Qi Cultivators.

The first duel among the late-stage Qi Cultivators was won by Lin Shiyi, who triumphed in less than half a quarter of an hour by closing in on his opponent and securing a swift victory.

Lin Shizhong also defeated his opponent within a quarter of an hour. As a Second Rank Artifact Refiner, he possessed so many Spiritual Artifacts that he almost entirely suppressed his opponent throughout the fight.

It was only at the end that the early-stage Qi Cultivators determined the victor.

The ferocious battles continued one after another, and before long, the clan had identified a number of outstanding descendants.

Lin Shitao of the Qi Cultivation Eighth Level, with her dazzling mastery of the fire control spell, defeated even the more seasoned senior generation Qi Cultivators of the same level.

It goes without saying for Lin Houwei and Lin Houxuan; they also won against their opponents with ease.

The dueling platforms for late-stage and Ninth Level Qi Cultivators were the quickest to determine the winners; Lin Houwei, Lin Houxuan, Lin Shitao, Lin Shiyi, Lin Shiyun, and Lin Houyuan.

Shiming was very familiar with five of them. Lin Houwei and Lin Houxuan, his uncles numbered thirteen and fifteen, were both Ninth Level Qi Cultivators. He needn't mention how well-acquainted he was with Lin Shiyi and Lin Shitao.

As for Lin Houyuan, he too was well-known to Shiming, being the manager of the Lin Family's Xing County auction - the one who usually appeared fattish with an amiable look despite his beefy face.

But when it was time to act, he was exceptionally decisive and effective, defeating his opponent within just a few moves.

And then there was Lin Shiyun, the one who was a pleasant surprise.

Among the "Shi"-generation of the Lin Family, Lin Shiyun was ranked ninth, just half a year younger than Shiming and was at the Seventh Level of Qi Cultivation. His opponent was a "Hou"-generation Cultivator at the Eighth Level of Qi Cultivation.

Unexpectedly, he was a Second Rank Superior Grade Array Master, and in the clan competition, he instantly set up several Second Rank Intermediate Grade formations to achieve victory.

The clan was exceptionally satisfied with these six individuals, while the mid-stage Qi Cultivation platforms also saw a number of impressive younger members, such as Lin Shizhong, Lin Shiyan, and Lin Shike. Among them, Lin Shike and Lin Shizhong were both Fifth Level Qi Cultivators – one a Talisman Master, the other an Artifact Refiner.

The remaining top six were all Sixth Level Qi Cultivators.

These Cultivators were all around twenty-three or twenty-four years old and belonged to the "Shi"-generation. Moreover, they all had been part of the Demon Hunting Team and had experienced many battles and skirmishes, which endowed them with no small measure of combat experience.

The best Spirit Root among them was merely a Third Spirit Root. Reaching this level was already a testament to the thriving prosperity of the Lin Family.

It's worth noting that Shiming himself had only broken through to the late stage of Qi Cultivation in his early twenties.

On the contrary, his third sister, Lin Shiqi, at the Sixth Level of Qi Cultivation, was quickly eliminated. However, during these ten-plus years, she also became a Second Rank Superior Grade Spirit Plant Master, caring for many Spirit Plants in Fangmu Mountain's Spiritual Medicine Garden.

Seeing this, he couldn't help but think of his fourth brother, Lin Shiming, who always carried a coffin on his back. He wondered whether Shiming had achieved Foundation Establishment by now.

Had he not insisted on going his way back then, the Lin Family would now have plenty of Foundation Establishment Pills.

But as he thought then, the path one chooses sets the cause, and from that cause comes the effect of today.

Among the early-stage Qi Cultivators, the one who surprised Shiming the most was Lin Shilei, who emerged victorious not as someone else, but as a Second Level Qi Cultivator.

This twelve-year-old boy did not utilize thunder spells but instead wielded the Thunder Sword Technique. His speed far exceeded the ordinary, making him a rare match in the early stages of Qi Cultivation.