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**
To be honest, Xiao Lin had initially thought that during his participation in the Sky Serpent Empire's Founding Ceremony, someone might be blind enough to provoke him.
Since he was a stranger and yet sat in a position superior to so many Dou Zong powerhouses, he expected a chance to show off and slap some faces. After all, in Xiao Lin's eyes, this kind of situation was standard operating procedure!
However, to his relief, none of that happened!
Aside from a few individual Dou Zong powerhouses grumbling a bit at the very beginning, once they learned he hailed from the Jia Nan Academy, not a single person dared to have an issue with him anymore.
You have to be joking—the Jia Nan Academy and the Sky Serpent Empire were both renowned as overlord-level factions of the Northwestern Region!
Even though the academy's prestige had declined somewhat over the years because the Headmaster, Mang Tianchi, was away year-round, it wasn't something these first-rate empires and sect forces could mess with.
Moreover, because the Jia Nan Academy was an academic institution by nature, it naturally didn't have many conflicts of interest with these first-rate empires and sects. In fact, among these first-rate empires and sects, there were even people currently studying at the Jia Nan Academy.
Therefore, unlike those desperate outlaws roaming the Black-Corner Region, the first-rate empires and sects of the Northwestern Region would naturally not choose to foolishly offend the Jia Nan Academy.
It brought them no benefits whatsoever!
Thus, Xiao Lin didn't bother much with the discussions these Dou Zong powerhouses were having about him and the Jia Nan Academy. They could discuss all they wanted; it had nothing to do with him.
Xiao Lin wasn't so overbearing that he would forbid others from talking about him.
Just as Xiao Lin was minding his own business, sipping the fine wine before him while waiting for the official start of the Sky Serpent Empire's Founding Ceremony, a person directly opposite him who had been observing him spoke up.
The person directly across from Xiao Lin was none other than the current Mansion Master of the Sky Serpent Mansion—Jin She!
"Mr. Lin, I have heard of your great name for a long time."
As soon as the Sky Serpent Mansion Master spoke, the corners of Xiao Lin's mouth couldn't help but twitch.
Heard of his great name for a long time? Heard of my "great name" my foot!
His name was fake, and at this Founding Ceremony hosted by the Sky Serpent Empire, he didn't recognize a single soul.
Who could have possibly heard of his great name for a long time? It was pure nonsense!
However, Xiao Lin also knew that this was merely the Sky Serpent Mansion Master's polite way of making small talk.
"Mansion Master Jin She is too kind. The Sky Serpent Mansion is the strongest force in the entire Sky Serpent Empire and even controls a Spatial Wormhole. It is I who have heard of your great name for a long time."
Complimenting each other—he knew how to do that too.
Of course, by comparison, Xiao Lin's words were much more believable.
The name of Jin She, the Mansion Master of the Sky Serpent Mansion, was certainly more well-known across the Northwestern Region than the name "Lin Xiao." The moment Xiao Lin first saw the Sky Serpent Mansion Master, Jin She, he had already seen through the other party's cultivation.
Eight-Star Dou Zong, the same as his current cultivation.
In this Founding Ceremony, the three people with the highest Dou Qi cultivation were Xiao Lin, the Sky Serpent Mansion Master Jin She, and the Sky Serpent Empire's Emperor, Tian She, who was intentionally hiding his strength!
The cultivation they exposed to the world was Eight-Star Dou Zong, which was the peak among the thirty or so Dou Zong present. The remaining Dou Zong powerhouses were either mid-level or low-level.
In the Northwestern Region, the strongest individuals in first-rate empires and sects were generally mid-level Dou Zong at best. As for his impression of the Sky Serpent Mansion Master Jin She, Xiao Lin couldn't say it was good, but it wasn't bad either.
Compared to the Sky Serpent Imperial Family's ambiguous and unclear attitude toward him, he actually felt more comfortable with the Sky Serpent Mansion's approach—maintaining politeness while keeping a faint sense of distance.
Because at the very least, this proved the other party wasn't secretly plotting against him behind his back.
Regardless of how the people of the Sky Serpent Mansion conducted themselves normally, on this point alone, Xiao Lin's favorability toward them already surpassed that of the Sky Serpent Imperial Family.
At this moment, as the Sky Serpent Mansion Master Jin She struck up a conversation with him, memories of the Jia Nan Academy's intelligence regarding the Sky Serpent Mansion surfaced in Xiao Lin's mind.
One could tell just by the name that the Sky Serpent Mansion had some kind of connection with the Sky Serpent Empire. Otherwise, with one being the Sky Serpent Empire and the other the Sky Serpent Mansion, how could it be such a coincidence?
Look at the Jia Ma Empire; the strongest sect there was named the Yun Lan Sect.
One could tell at a sound that it had no direct link to the Jia Ma Empire.
The situation was the same in the Chu Yun Empire, where the strongest sect was named the Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate. Therefore, without even looking, it was obvious that the Sky Serpent Mansion and the Sky Serpent Empire had a tangled and complicated relationship.
According to the investigations of the Jia Nan Academy's intelligence system, that was indeed the case!
It was said that eight hundred years ago, the first-generation Mansion Master of the Sky Serpent Mansion and the founding Emperor of the Sky Serpent Empire were a pair of fellow disciples. The two brothers joined forces to conquer the vast territory of the Sky Serpent Empire.
In the end, the elder disciple established the Sky Serpent Mansion, while the younger disciple became the ruler of the Sky Serpent Empire, eventually giving rise to the imperial bloodline. One could say that the Sky Serpent Imperial Family and the Sky Serpent Mansion shared the same origin.
However, as time passed and the two fellow disciples passed away one after another, conflicts naturally began to brew between the Sky Serpent Mansion and the Sky Serpent Imperial Family.
The Sky Serpent Imperial Family wanted to completely unify the entire Sky Serpent Empire, but the Sky Serpent Mansion naturally wouldn't let them have their way.
In fact, as things developed, the strength of the Sky Serpent Mansion gradually surpassed that of the Sky Serpent Imperial Family!
Consequently, it became even more impossible for the Sky Serpent Imperial Family to control the Sky Serpent Mansion. Seeing that its strength had completely eclipsed the imperial family, the Sky Serpent Mansion was even less willing to be ruled by them.
As time went on, the bond of brotherhood from centuries ago had long since vanished between the Sky Serpent Mansion and the Sky Serpent Imperial Family, replaced by deepening conflicts!
Coming down to several hundred years later—to the present day—the friction between the Sky Serpent Mansion and the Sky Serpent Imperial Family had reached a critical threshold. All that was missing was a catalyst for this conflict to explode completely!
If nothing unexpected happened, this catalyst would be this very Founding Ceremony. It was precisely because the Sky Serpent Mansion and the Sky Serpent Imperial Family had this kind of relationship that their internal systems appeared so similar.
For example, the members of the Sky Serpent Imperial Family determined their strongest four based on the "Tian, Di, Xuan, and Huang" rankings, with the ultimate winner, Tian She, ascending as the Emperor.
Similarly, the Sky Serpent Mansion chose its strongest five based on the "Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth" elements, with Jin She becoming the current Mansion Master.
This was also why the Dou Zong powerhouses of both the Sky Serpent Imperial Family and the Sky Serpent Mansion had such similar titles.
However, based on the original story, the conflict between the Sky Serpent Mansion and the Sky Serpent Imperial Family should eventually end with the Sky Serpent Mansion as the victor.
Afterward, the Sky Serpent Imperial Family would be completely reduced to a puppet of the Sky Serpent Mansion.
**
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