Chapter 158: Xie Qiushan’s Secret

Upon hearing Xie Jiuling’s words, Lin Le was momentarily taken aback.

“Speak. What are your terms?” Lin Le asked coldly.

“My condition is this: only when your Lin family is qualified to stand on equal footing with our Xie family will I allow Qiu Shan to truly return to your Lin family,” Xie Jiuling said with a dark expression.

Originally, Xie Jiuling had intended to propose that Lin Le, a grandmaster at the transformation stage, become their family’s guardian, protecting the Xie family’s safety. But now, with Lin Le’s momentum so strong, to present such a demand would only serve to inflate his arrogance further.

Moreover, Xie Jiuling had suddenly realized the importance of his daughter, Xie Qiu Shan.

At present, Xie Qiu Shan was the only link between the Xie family and Lin Le. If she were to be sent away, then all ties between them and Lin Le would be completely severed.

But as long as Xie Qiu Shan remained in the Xie family, the connection between Lin Le and the Xie family could never be said to be truly broken. If the Xie family ever faced hardship, even considering Xie Qiu Shan’s situation, Lin Le would never stand idly by and watch them suffer.

Xie Jiuling, a man of deep scheming, thought of all this and thus put forward a condition that Lin Le could never fulfill.

Upon hearing Xie Jiuling’s words, Xie Jingguo and Xie Xinglong sneered inwardly. They knew that this condition was no real condition at all but rather a form of disdain toward Lin Le and the Lin family.

Even at the height of the Lin family’s Lin Corporation, there was an immeasurable gap between them and the Xie family, utterly incomparable. Especially now, with Lin Corporation having completely gone bankrupt.

They believed that the current Lin family father and son might barely manage to put food on the table; dreaming of reaching the same heights as the Xie family was akin to reaching the heavens.

Xie Jiuling hoped to use such words to salvage some face for the Xie family today.

“You, Lin Le, may be a grandmaster at the transformation stage, but in the end, you are but a mere commoner. Our Xie family is the foremost great family of China; you, a small Lin family, are simply not in the same league.”

Beside him, Xie Qiu Shan’s face immediately showed deep bitterness upon hearing her father’s words.

She naturally understood that Xie Jiuling was merely mocking the Lin family. The concept of social rank ran deep in Xie Jiuling’s bones, permeating the entire Xie family’s mindset.

Xie Qiu Shan sighed inwardly. Lin Le was still just a child—why must her father humiliate him in such a way?

Her thoughts drifted back to the scene three years prior when Lin Corporation went bankrupt.

At the time, when Lin Corporation collapsed, Xie Qiu Shan had pleaded with the Xie family, but as the head of the family, Xie Jiuling was unwilling to lend a hand.

Later, when Lin Corporation truly went bankrupt, a sum of two billion yuan went missing. In fact, this missing two billion yuan caused Lin Corporation’s financial chain to break, leading to its ultimate bankruptcy.

However, the blame for the missing funds fell squarely on Lin Tenghui, chairman of Lin Corporation, with all evidence pointing to him, suggesting he had embezzled the two billion yuan.

Of course, Lin Tenghui had nothing to do with the missing money; otherwise, he wouldn’t have watched helplessly as the company he founded was destroyed.

But all clues and evidence implicated Lin Tenghui, who was unable to defend himself despite numerous accusations.

As the economic investigation closed in on the missing two billion yuan, if the charges fell on Lin Tenghui, he would face decades in prison—a catastrophe for both him and the Lin family.

Xie Qiu Shan certainly did not want such a disaster.

With no other options, she had to steel herself and plead once more with Xie Jiuling, for she could not think of anyone else capable of coming up with two billion yuan to help them through this crisis.

After her desperate appeals, Xie Jiuling finally relented, agreeing to provide the two billion yuan to cover the massive shortfall.

However, he imposed a condition: Xie Qiu Shan must immediately divorce Lin Tenghui and sever all ties with the Lin family forever.

With no other choice, Xie Qiu Shan agreed to Xie Jiuling’s demand.

This was why she so adamantly refused to leave the Xie family.

Of course, Xie Qiu Shan had never told anyone this, not even Lin Tenghui, who thought the two billion yuan discrepancy was just an accounting error. Given the chaos at the time, Lin Tenghui was overwhelmed and had no time to dwell on such matters.

All the burden fell solely on Xie Qiu Shan’s shoulders.

Now, seeing that Xie Jiuling set an impossible condition for Lin Le to lift the agreement, Xie Qiu Shan felt deeply pained. The last thing she wanted was for her son to be dragged into these matters, yet it seemed her wish would not be granted.

“Qualified to stand on equal footing with your Xie family?” Lin Le muttered quietly.

“Exactly!” Xie Jiuling’s voice was low and resolute.

“Very well, I accept your condition,” Lin Le said coldly, locking eyes with Xie Jiuling. “I hope you won’t go back on your word.”

At this, everyone present was stunned.

Most thought Lin Le had gone mad. Given the Lin family’s current predicament, how could he possibly achieve such a feat? It was sheer hubris.

Only Xie Jiuling’s expression darkened.

When Lin Le spoke, Xie Jiuling saw a look of reverence in his eyes that made him doubt his own words.

A startling thought flashed through Xie Jiuling’s mind.

Perhaps, one day, Lin Le truly could turn this seemingly impossible promise into reality. After all, so many impossibilities had already manifested in his life.

The thought sent a chill down Xie Jiuling’s spine.

“Furthermore...” Lin Le continued.

The previously noisy crowd fell silent, all turning to look at him.

“For now, my mother will stay with your Xie family. But if you dare to continue marginalizing her, or if I find anyone who dares to seek personal vengeance against my mother...”

Lin Le’s expression hardened. With a thought, the mysterious Dao Sword hidden at his wrist suddenly appeared in his hand.

With a loud “Bang!” Lin Le struck out with a single sword, releasing a massive golden sword energy that howled through the air, striking an empty villa not far off.

“Is this how you treat a guest?” Lin Le said coldly as the Dao Sword was retracted.

The crowd was bewildered, but the next moment, a tremendous rumbling shook the air. The villa Lin Le had struck split horizontally in the middle. The entire upper half collapsed with a crash, and the lower half was crushed beneath the rubble.

In an instant, the entire villa crumbled into ruins, dust billowing everywhere.

“Ah!”

Everyone there was horrified, their faces ashen, eyes wide in disbelief.

One sword destroyed a whole villa—what immense divine power was this!

If Lin Le’s previous feats could be explained by his profound martial cultivation, this display surpassed all imagination.

Xie Xinglong and Xie Dong instinctively touched their necks, feeling a cold draft as if a deadly wind had brushed past.

They thought grimly: if such a sword had struck their own necks, what a terrifying scene that would have been...