As Xiao Lin stepped out of his courtyard, his original cultivation of a Four-Star Dou Huang instantly dropped to the peak of a Nine-Star Dou Ling.
With Xiao Lin's Heaven Realm soul power, hiding his cultivation was not a difficult task. At this moment, unless a mid-level Dou Zun or higher stood before him, or if Xiao Lin chose to expose himself, anyone who saw him would only mistake him for an ordinary Nine-Star Dou Ling.
Of course, those weaker than a Nine-Star Dou Ling might not even be able to see through his hidden cultivation. The reason Xiao Lin chose to hide a portion of his strength was mainly based on his own considerations.
One had to know that in the Jia Ma Empire, a situation like his—advancing from a Four-Star Dou Ling to a Four-Star Dou Huang in just six years—would cause a massive sensation if it were ever publicized.
When that happened, everyone would likely suspect he was hiding a great secret. Although he no longer feared anyone in the entire Jia Ma Empire, was he truly only afraid of the various factions within the empire?
The answer was obviously no.
After all, with his Heaven Realm soul power combined with a Four-Star Dou Huang cultivation, he could absolutely steamroll anything below the level of a Dou Zun!
It could be said that if the rest of the Jia Ma Empire's forces, including the neutral Alchemist Association, joined hands, they still wouldn't be enough to fight him.
Even looking at the entire Northwestern Region, Xiao Lin currently only lacked confidence when facing the overlord of the Northwestern Region, the Sky Serpent Empire. As for the rest of the small fry, Xiao Lin didn't truly hold them in high regard!
However, Xiao Lin didn't dare to be so high-profile.
The reason was actually quite simple: the Hun Clan!
That's right, the only entity Xiao Lin truly dreaded was the Hun Clan!
One had to know that even though Xiao Xuan of the Xiao Clan performed a desperate maneuver a thousand years ago that caused the clan's strength to plummet and lose its title as an Ancient Clan.
But no matter what, under normal circumstances, it shouldn't have weakened to its current state. Even if the clan had no Dou Sheng or Dou Zun, shouldn't the number of Dou Zong and Dou Huang still be significant?
Such strength would have been enough to maintain a foothold in the Central Plains. But look at the current state: from top to bottom, the Xiao Clan truly only had a few stray cats and dogs, with the strongest being only a Dou Ling.
In the original story's beginning, the Xiao Clan was even weak enough to have only a single Da Dou Shi holding up the front!
This was simply beyond ridiculous!
If someone claimed the Xiao Clan had weakened to this point under normal development, Xiao Lin wouldn't believe it even if he were beaten to death. Clearly, there was a giant black hand behind the scenes, constantly pushing the Xiao Clan toward decline.
That giant Black Hand could only be the Hun Clan.
Therefore, Xiao Lin did not want to prematurely expose his strength to the Hun Clan before he had the power to protect himself. After all, as everyone knows, the Hun Clan operates like an outsourcing company...
Whatever strength you show, the person the Hun Clan eventually "outsources" to deal with you will only be slightly stronger than you. For example, if the strength you expose is at the Dou Ling level, then the person the Hun Clan sends will likely be a Dou Wang or a Dou Huang.
If Xiao Lin were foolish enough to expose his Heaven Realm soul power and Four-Star Dou Huang cultivation, the Hun Clan might just send a Dou Zun or even a Dou Sheng to slap him in the face.
Against powerhouses of that level, the boost that Heaven Realm soul power could provide Xiao Lin was actually limited. If that happened, Xiao Lin might as well prepare for death. It was precisely considering that the Hun Clan might be watching the Xiao Clan at all times.
Plus the "outsourcing" nature of the Hun Clan, that Xiao Lin used his Heaven Realm soul power to mask his Four-Star Dou Huang cultivation. During this period, the strongest external combat power the Xiao Clan displayed was only at the Dou Ling level.
Thus, it was absolutely impossible for the Hun Clan to dispatch anyone above the level of a Dou Zun to watch the Xiao Clan. Furthermore, Xiao Lin knew the Gu Clan also paid some attention to the Xiao Clan.
The Gu Clan was also keeping an eye on the Hun Clan. Consequently, according to Xiao Lin's guess, the Hun Clan would at most send a Dou Zong to keep watch near the Xiao Clan. Facing a Dou Zong, Xiao Lin was confident he could handle it now.
Because of these considerations, Xiao Lin intentionally only exposed a Nine-Star Dou Ling cultivation. This level of strength was definitely enough for current affairs within the Jia Ma Empire.
When Xiao Lin arrived at his family's reception hall, he saw a young man of about twenty-seven or twenty-eight talking with the Xiao Clan's Clan Leader, Xiao Dongcheng.
That young man was clearly Mu Chen of the Mu Clan.
"Clan Leader."
After entering the reception hall, Xiao Lin bowed to Clan Leader Xiao Dongcheng.
"Xiao Lin, you've come. The guest from the Mu Clan is here to see you, so I'll leave you two to talk."
After saying this, Xiao Dongcheng rose and left the reception hall, leaving it to Xiao Lin and Mu Chen.
Once Xiao Dongcheng had left, Xiao Lin immediately took a seat. Mu Chen, meanwhile, had been sizing up Xiao Lin. Seeing this, Xiao Lin was in no hurry, simply waiting quietly for the other party to speak.
Finally, after an unknown amount of time, Mu Chen spoke.
"Brother Xiao, it seems you have finally recovered from the passing of your late wife. That is truly wonderful."
Over the past six years, because Xiao Lin had stayed cooped up at home, his excuse to the outside world was that he was mourning his wife. It was no wonder Mu Chen said such a thing. Hearing Mu Chen's words, Xiao Lin only smiled faintly.
"I appreciate Brother Mu's concern. I cannot stay immersed in the past forever, can I? From now on, I will forget the pain of the past and begin a new life."
Xiao Lin perfectly acted the part of someone who had just stepped out of the grief of a wife's death, leaving no room for suspicion.
"I suspect it's more than just that? Brother Xiao has turned grief into strength; your cultivation has truly progressed even further!"
"I assume you have already broken through to the Nine-Star Dou Ling level? One more step forward and you'll be a Dou Wang. The Xiao Clan will then become the newest Dou Wang Clan in the capital!"
Mu Chen said this with absolute certainty.
This was because he himself was currently at the Eight-Star Dou Ling realm. Naturally, anyone he couldn't see through would be at the Nine-Star Dou Ling level. As for why he didn't suspect Xiao Lin had already reached the Dou Wang realm?
Firstly, six years ago, he, Xiao Lin, and Nalan Jie were all at the Four-Star Dou Ling level.
Now that he had broken through to an eight-star Dou Ling, even if Xiao Lin cultivated a bit faster, he would at most be a Nine-Star Dou Ling. Furthermore, if Xiao Lin had become a Dou Wang, how could the family not make even the slightest noise?
One must realize that in the Jia Ma Empire, a Dou Wang clan and a Dou Ling Clan were two different concepts. The help a single Dou Wang could bring to a family far exceeded that of ten Dou Ling!
In Mu Chen's traditional understanding, he didn't think anyone would intentionally suppress their own cultivation. However, he didn't realize that Xiao Lin was exactly such an "Old Six" (a gamer term for a sneaky/hidden player).
Of course, the main reason Xiao Lin did this was to guard against the Hun Clan, which was understandable.
However, Mu Chen didn't know that!
So, naturally, after being unable to see through Xiao Lin's cultivation, he simply treated him as a Nine-Star Dou Ling. Stronger than himself, yes, but still within the realm of logic.