Two days later, in Keren City.
Keren City was a medium-sized city located in the northwest of Star Luo Province. It lacked the grandeur of a major metropolis, yet it possessed its own unique prosperity.
Lin Yang walked along the street cradling a plump orange cat named Aura in his arms, glancing at the shops on both sides. Stores lined the streets, bustling with pedestrians. After observing for a while, he noticed that most ordinary citizens here made their living by cultivating and selling medicinal herbs. Countless pharmacies of every kind could be found.
He also discovered that the Ye Family had a branch pharmacy here.
Lin Yang entered the Ye Family pharmacy. The shop assistants all wore standard business smiles.
"How may I assist you, sir?"
Lin Yang took out the Ye Family token and handed it over. "I'm looking for your boss."
The young waiter's expression changed slightly upon seeing the token, and his attitude instantly became respectful.
"Please wait a moment."
Soon a wealthy-looking middle-aged man hurried out from the inner hall. Upon seeing Lin Yang, he immediately clasped his hands and bowed deeply, his posture extremely humble.
"Greetings, Young Master Lin Ruo. My name is Ye Liang. How may I be of service?"
"No need to be nervous," Lin Yang said, waving his hand. "I'd like information about the Breaking Clan. Do you have anything?"
"The Breaking Clan?"
Ye Liang looked slightly surprised, then quickly understood. "You mean the Yang Family?"
He guided Lin Yang to a seat and spoke carefully.
"The Yang Family enjoys considerable reputation in Keren City. They usually only associate with our Ye Family and have lived peacefully for many years. However, the Yang Family is extremely xenophobic and rarely interacts with other families in the city, so gathering important information is difficult."
"That's enough," Lin Yang said, showing no concern. Ye Liang nodded, turned, and soon returned with a stack of documents.
Lin Yang casually placed Aura on the table and picked up the documents, examining them carefully. The information was only surface-level, but it was detailed enough.
After finishing, Lin Yang closed the documents, feeling a surge of emotion.
The Breaking Clan truly lived up to its reputation as the most successful of the four single-attribute clans. More than ten years ago, after suffering heavy losses in the Spirit Hall's surprise attack, the entire clan had relocated to Keren City. At the time they were unfamiliar with the area and had almost nowhere to settle. Yet not only had they established a firm foothold, but numerous shops connected to the Breaking Clan had also appeared throughout the city—specialized herb-purchasing stores, clinics, and pharmacies selling the Yang Family's secret medicines.
It might not seem like much, but these were the foundations the Breaking Clan had painstakingly built over the years. Even this alone made them far superior to the Speed Clan.
Few people had seen the clan leader, Yang Wudi, and there was little information about him. All that was known was that he had a very violent temper. Moreover, he had always ruled the Breaking Clan as a dictator.
After returning the documents to Ye Liang and thanking him, Lin Yang picked up Aura and left the pharmacy.
After passing two main roads, the Breaking Clan's estate came into view. It was a large mansion surrounded by high walls, with numerous watchtowers—both overt and hidden—stationed everywhere. The gate was tightly shut, and above it hung a simple, crude plaque bearing the large, flamboyant character "破" (Break). The Breaking Clan's emblem was also carved in the lower left corner.
This was no ordinary mansion. It was a fortress ready to defend against powerful enemies at any moment.
Two guards stood at the entrance, looking alert. The Yang Family members carried no weapons, but to them the martial spirit itself was the greatest weapon.
"Does the Yang Family suffer from some kind of PTSD?" Lin Yang muttered to himself, then stepped forward.
"Halt! Who goes there?"
Both guards raised their hands to block him, eyeing him warily. Their gazes were cautious, but their tone remained polite.
Lin Yang stayed calm. "Please inform your clan leader that Lin Yang from the Butterfly House has come to visit and wishes to discuss cooperation."
"Butterfly House?"
One guard paused, as if recalling something. His expression shifted slightly.
"The Butterfly House in Heaven Dou City?"
Lin Yang nodded. "Not bad."
The guard took a deep breath. His expression toward Lin Yang suddenly became strangely complex. The other guard's gaze wavered, his face unnatural.
"Um… please wait a moment. I'll report immediately."
With that, one guard hurriedly turned and walked into the mansion as though Lin Yang were some kind of monster.
Lin Yang turned his gaze to the remaining guard, who tried to appear calm but could not hide his unease under Lin Yang's stare.
Lin Yang asked curiously, "Judging from your expression, does the Yang Family hold some grudge against our Butterfly House?"
"No… no!"
The guard looked momentarily stunned, then quickly waved his hands and said nothing more.
Lin Yang's lips curved slightly. "Interesting," he murmured. Holding Aura in his arms, he stood quietly before the gate and waited.
...
Inside a heavily guarded secret room in the Yang Family mansion, Yang Wudi held a medicinal herb in his hand, brows furrowed in thought. In front of him sat a large cauldron filled with bubbling medicinal liquid. Several empty medicine bottles were scattered beside it.
If Lin Yang had been present, he would have immediately recognized those bottles as containing the Butterfly House's Soul-Returning Medicine and Soul-Burning Medicine.
From this, it was easy to imagine what Yang Wudi was doing—he was attempting to decipher the formulas for these two medicines.
Knock knock knock!
Urgent knocking suddenly sounded from outside the secret room.
At first Yang Wudi paid it little mind. But the knocking continued, growing more insistent.
Finally reaching his limit, Yang Wudi hurled the herb in his hand and stormed out of the room, cursing loudly.
"What the hell are you doing? Are you announcing a funeral? I told you not to disturb me while I'm making medicine—how many times do I have to say it?!"
The guards who had been shouting earlier could barely breathe now. They waited until Yang Wudi finished yelling before speaking cautiously.
"Clan leader, it's the Butterfly House. Someone from the Butterfly House is knocking on our door."
Yang Wudi's face darkened instantly.
Butterfly House?
When he heard that Butterfly House people had come knocking directly on his door, his first thought was that the person in charge had discovered he was secretly trying to decipher the medicine formulas and had come to demand an explanation.
It was true that he wasn't the only one researching medicine, but why had they come straight to the Yang Family? Did they think the Yang Family was some weak clan that could be easily bullied?
"Who is it?"
"He said his name is Lin Yang."
"Lin Yang?"
Yang Wudi was shocked. That name was far too familiar to him. After all, the Soul-Returning Medicine and Soul-Burning Medicine were his inventions. He had heard that before turning twenty, Lin Yang was already a level-48 Soul Master. Furthermore, he had led those spoiled brats from Heaven Dou Academy to deliver a heavy blow to the Spirit Hall. On top of that, he had the backing of the Ye Family and Poison Douluo.
Yang Wudi already knew all of this.
And now the man had come alone?
He was even carrying a cat!
Yang Wudi glanced at the guard, then waved his hand.
"Go. Bring him to the reception room!"
The guard bowed and quickly departed.
...