The power structure in Lei City was actually much simpler than in other cities of Bei Zhou.

Lin Qinghen could see it clearly. In this downtrodden small town, the Yin family was indeed the top clan, with Yin Hengxie and four other Heavenly Tier members in its ranks. Among these, if things ever got truly desperate, Yin Hengxie had the highest combat strength, though his old injuries held him back considerably—a rather unpredictable factor. Yin Miao was slightly weaker, but judging by the last family conflict, he was firmly on Yin Hengxie’s side.

Yin Miao was quite clever. Lin Qinghen had interacted with him before; he was actually a bit sharper than Yin Hengxie and was pretty loyal. As long as Yin Hengxie was held in check, Yin Miao, this Heavenly Tier, would also be under control.

Xu Yaoyang was the only person in the family who could go toe-to-toe with Yin Hengxie, but with Yin Miao around, he wouldn’t dare act recklessly on his own. Then there was an Elder surnamed Ye who rarely showed his hand and didn’t take sides—a sly old fox.

Besides the Yin family, only the Alchemist Association had any sway in Lei City. After the city suffered catastrophic destruction, it was left with many shortcomings. The Craftsman Association didn’t have much influence, and no other group held any real power.

The Alchemist Association had two combat-class Heavenly Tier envoys on its side.

Before Yu Yinyin came, these six Heavenly Tier experts held the peak combat strength in Lei City, and the Alchemist Association also controlled the supply of medicines. Xu Yaoyang had managed to get this group on his side, which is why he dared to stand up to Yin Hengxie openly.

Heavenly Tier experts indeed had a unique influence. Breaking through to Heavenly Tier was a huge leap for any Spirit Master, allowing them to crush anyone below that level.

In other words, with a few Heavenly Tiers on his side, there wouldn’t be anyone in Lei City who could stand in Lin Qinghen’s way.

Yin Hengxie was never truly strong-willed; he was the kind of person who needed someone to guide him. With Yin Jiuxiao here, along with the current situation, Lin Qinghen wasn’t afraid that he wouldn’t follow along.

The Alchemist Association had signed a one-day alliance vow, so naturally, Yu Yinyin would follow Lin Qinghen’s lead. Five out of the seven Heavenly Tiers were on his side, so Lin Qinghen wasn’t concerned about how the other two from the Yin family felt—nor did he need to be.

He only needed one day.

There wasn’t even a need for Yin Hengxie to summon anyone, as many people had already arrived, alerted by the commotion.

A fair number of younger Yin family members had bullied Yin Jiuxiao before, and people under Xu Yaoyang and that Elder Ye had also been taken away.

That Elder Ye, true to his slippery nature, stoked Xu Yaoyang’s anger along the way, prompting others to make the first move.

Sure enough, when those two arrived, their voices could be heard before they appeared.

“Who did this? Let me see who dares to cause trouble here!”

Xu Yaoyang immediately activated his spirit essence. His essence was also a sword. Lin Qinghen stood there, watching as two silver sword beams came flying toward him, but Yu Yinyin wasn’t just there to stand around—she stepped forward and blocked them.

However, one Yu Yinyin wasn’t enough to completely stop Xu Yaoyang; she could only hold him off temporarily. The Alchemist Association’s envoys were busy suppressing the others below and couldn’t intervene.

Lin Qinghen turned to look at Yin Hengxie, who was visibly flustered.

Unsure of what to do, Yin Hengxie froze in place until he felt Lin Qinghen’s gaze on him. He muttered, “Qinghen, Lin Qinghen, please stop causing trouble in the family.”

“If I don’t finish what I came here to do today, I won’t stop,” Lin Qinghen replied, pulling Yin Jiuxiao closer to him so they stood side by side, nearly touching each other. “Yin Hengxie, Clan Leader Yin, my relationship with Jiuxiao is what it is. What I do, he’s part of it. If I get hurt, he won’t be at ease; if I die, he won’t live either.”

With those words, Lin Qinghen threw a meaningful glance at Xu Yaoyang.

Yin Hengxie couldn’t afford to be an ostrich now; he had to make a decision.

His impression of Lin Qinghen had always been favorable; he’d thought of him as gentle and virtuous. He never imagined that this impression would turn on its head so thoroughly.

“Are you threatening me with Jiuxiao?”

“Interpret it however you want,” Lin Qinghen said. “Now, between Xu Yaoyang and Yin Jiuxiao, make your choice.”

Lin Qinghen was quite confident that he could handle Yin Hengxie’s character, but he didn’t expect Yin Jiuxiao to speak up at this moment.

“It’s not a threat. Qinghen’s intentions are my intentions,” he said. “Uncle, you’re aware of my past experiences in the family. I wasn’t capable enough to protect myself, and I don’t blame you—you had your own challenges as Clan Leader. But now, someone’s finally willing to stand up for me, and you still want to stop him? Do you want me to keep suffering, being bullied and tormented where you can’t see? Is that really what you wish for?”

Yin Jiuxiao knew exactly what was most important to Yin Hengxie deep down.

Standing there, his lifeless gaze fixed on Yin Hengxie’s direction.

“How will you explain this to my father and to our late grandfather?”

Yin Hengxie’s mind was buzzing.

He remained rooted in place, but there was no time for hesitation. As he watched Yu Yinyin struggle to hold on, Xu Yaoyang’s sword beam was nearly upon them. In a heated moment, Yin Hengxie rushed forward to intercept it.

Lin Qinghen saw this move and knew his gamble had paid off.

He hadn’t expected Yin Jiuxiao to say those words, though they were similar to what Lin Qinghen himself had planned to say.

The one thing Yin Hengxie was adamant about was keeping Yin Jiuxiao in the position of Young Master, unwilling to let anyone else have it.

His nature was indecisive, yet he had his obsessions and his guilt. As long as Lin Qinghen grasped onto this point, he could easily manipulate him.

When Xu Yaoyang saw Yin Hengxie step in, he realized he couldn’t win and stopped, his expression incredulous. “Is the Clan Leader really going to let them run wild?”

“I… I owe Jiuxiao, and I failed my father and brother’s trust. The fault is mine,” Yin Hengxie murmured, finally confirming, “Qinghen, you’re not going to take their lives or cripple their abilities, right?”

Lin Qinghen nodded. “Of course not.”

There were plenty of ways to make people suffer.

Yin Hengxie closed his eyes briefly and sighed. “Every grudge has its instigator. Lin Qinghen, I underestimated you. Today, I can’t control you.”

Fighting Lin Qinghen now was indeed not a good choice. Lin Qinghen knew how he would choose—he would step aside and do nothing.

Sure enough, just as Lin Qinghen had anticipated, Yin Hengxie made his decision.

In such a situation, doing nothing was effectively giving Lin Qinghen free rein.

Xu Yaoyang, seeing that the situation wasn’t in his favor, ceased his attacks and stood there, breathing heavily, glaring at Lin Qinghen as if he wanted to slice him to pieces.

He probably never expected someone with such low spirit power to dare to tread on him.

“What’s the rush?” Lin Qinghen’s bet had paid off, and he was now calm, looking down at Xu Yaoyang with a faint smile. “It’s not your turn yet.”

His last words were so quiet that only Xu Yaoyang could hear them.

The Discipline Hall gradually filled with people, many of whom were disgruntled. But after witnessing the previous events, no one dared to make a move.

With the Heavenly Tier experts standing on Lin Qinghen’s side, who would dare act recklessly?

The scene took on an eerie silence, with almost everyone staring at Lin Qinghen on the platform.

A gust of wind blew.

With the large blue scar on his face and the two strands of hair swaying across his forehead, paired with that faint smile on his face, Lin Qinghen looked somewhat terrifying.

Although his spirit power was weak, at this moment, he radiated an intense sense of menace, like some kind of malevolent ghost.

“I’m not causing trouble without reason.”

Lin Qinghen’s voice rang out, slightly louder so everyone could hear.

“Justice must be served, and family rules must be upheld. Jiuxiao was named Young Master of the Yin family, officially designated in the ancestral hall, yet he’s been bullied constantly since he was seven, barely surviving on multiple occasions,” Lin Qinghen declared. “The Yin family is in chaos, with no rules. Ten years of unchecked behavior have emboldened some people, allowing subordinates to defy their superiors and disrespect the rightful heir.

“Today, in front of the Discipline Hall, in front of the ancestors of the Yin family, I will settle every score and restore the rules.”

The Discipline Hall was located right across from the Yin family’s ancestral hall. From where Lin Qinghen stood, he could see the grand yet slightly dilapidated doors of the hall, still vaguely majestic.

“First order of business: I’m going to ask everyone kneeling up front, and I expect someone to answer me honestly.”

“There’s a burn scar on Jiuxiao’s neck. Who caused it back then?”

“If no one owns up, then I’ll just punish everyone. I’ve got all day, and I’m only worried you won’t last.”

“So everyone, answer truthfully when I ask.”

Lin Qinghen didn’t know exactly how much Yin Jiuxiao had endured in the past; Yin Jiuxiao himself probably couldn’t remember it all. But these people would tell him.

Under such pressure, there was no alliance too strong to break. Sooner or later, they would confess.

And these young ones were still so young. Finding them too slow to speak, Lin Qinghen even had the two inattentive guards from Yin Jiuxiao’s yard dragged out to kneel with the others and gave them a thorough lesson.

A major reason why Lin Qinghen chose to work with the Alchemist Association was that one of the envoys’ spirit essence was a whip with barbed tips. Spirit Masters might have strong recovery abilities, but the pain remained just as intense, making that whip particularly useful.

With each lash, pain radiated from the spine to the whole body, leaving flesh torn and bloodied, so excruciating that not even a sound could escape.

After a few lashes, everyone in the hall was staring at Lin Qinghen with looks reserved for a demon.

He had indeed promised Yin Hengxie not to take their lives or harm their spirit potential. And those envoys from the Alchemist Association had taken an oath and wouldn’t dare to overstep today without facing penalties.

So with a single word from Lin Qinghen, that whip came down, stripping flesh from bone. Even if they begged for mercy, he wouldn’t stop until he was satisfied.

This unexpected reckoning left everyone in cold silence.

Lin Qinghen looked like he’d gone mad, carrying out his plan recklessly. At first, some people contemplated revenge, but by the end, they were too terrified to even think about it.

Lin Qinghen had Heavenly Tier experts by his side, the Alchemist Association envoys obeying his every word, and even the Clan Leader wouldn’t dare interfere.

The number of people receiving punishment in front of the Discipline Hall quickly grew, from the initial dozen to nearly a hundred as more were dragged out to kneel through their confessions.

Yin Hengxie watched and listened, hearing about all the ways Jiuxiao had been mistreated and how much he hadn’t known. His heart ached, yet seeing the blood pooling on the ground, staining the floor beyond recognition—even though he knew they were mostly superficial wounds—he knew it would take at least a year for them to recover.

He tried to pull Lin Qinghen aside, whispering, “Qinghen, Qinghen, that’s enough. The Yin family is already in this state. I…”

Involuntarily, he used a pleading tone with this young man.

Lin Qinghen turned and looked at him.

He had almost finished his thrashing, laying out every grievance Yin Jiuxiao had suffered for all to see, proving his reasons for action. Yet everyone present thought he had gone mad out of spite, including Yin Hengxie.

Only now did Yin Hengxie finally see that Lin Qinghen’s eyes had been calm and rational the whole time.

“Yin Hengxie, do you think I’m doing this simply out of anger? Do you think this is all just personal revenge for me and Jiuxiao?” Lin Qinghen asked him coldly. “Is that really all you can see?”

Lin Qinghen continued, “The Yin family, even the whole of Lei City, is full of issues. It’s your lack of ability that allowed these deep-seated problems to fester without any remedy. Without drastic measures, suffering that brings resolution, and the establishment of new rules, there won’t be a single day when the Yin family can rise again. Do you understand?”

Yin Rongyu and those other juniors—they were nothing.

Lin Qinghen’s target today was never them.