Chapter 30: Olaf Attacked, Tian Lin Isolated - Douluo's spirit bead sword

**Chapter 30: Olaf Attacked, Tian Lin Isolated** Three days have passed since the Olaf incident. Throughout these days, Tian Lin attended classes as usual. Now that his identity as the Sword Douluo's direct disciple was known across the academy, no one dared to provoke him without cause. He enjoyed the peace, uninterested in dealing with the spoiled brats. Instead, he often sought out practice bouts with the future members of the Royal Team. They, like Tian Lin, preferred not to associate with the spoiled, thus forming a small group of just seven. With Tian Lin joining, their number rose to eight — no, nine, as Gu Ran had recovered from his injuries and returned. At the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile School, Gu Ran had already acknowledged Tian Lin as his leader. There was no other choice, as Tian Lin had won over their leader, Ning Rongrong. Gu Ran's talent, while slightly behind the Royal Team's seven, wasn’t far off, and they were willing to accept him. To Tian Lin's surprise, despite being injured by Yu Tianheng, Gu Ran held no grudge and even admired him. After all, he was defeated in a fair face-to-face combat without any underhanded tricks. Gu Ran was utterly convinced by his loss. He understood the importance of a strong team and knew that following one would only make him stronger, whereas isolation would lead to eventual obscurity. Tian Lin greatly appreciated this understanding. Over the days of interaction, Tian Lin discovered that Yu Tianheng was indeed a decent person — strong and loyal, albeit somewhat arrogant. However, he had the abilities to back it up, and his arrogance never surfaced among his peers; otherwise, the Royal Team wouldn't have accepted him as their leader. Most importantly, Yu Tianheng was genuinely dedicated. Reportedly, on his first day at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, he was smitten by Dugu Yan. Rather than indulging in the many women he could have, given his status, he rejected them all. Even now, with Dugu Yan not yet accepting him, he showed no signs of straying, which countered the famed lust of dragons. This perhaps had to do with Dugu Yan's background. Yu Tianheng sought Dugu Bo's support, which Tian Lin could understand. Yet Tian Lin could tell that Yu Tianheng truly liked Dugu Yan, and his intent wasn't purely selfish—unlike the irresponsible lecherous tiger from Shrek Academy. Dugu Yan, the only woman in the original work who never showed affection for Tang San, spoke the least with Tian Lin. An ice beauty, yet from Tian Lin’s observation, she wouldn't hold out against Yu Tianheng's pursuits for long. Shi Mo and Shi Mo, the brothers who currently shared the best rapport with Tian Lin, were straightforward. They believed, despite Tian Lin’s genius, his young age meant they, as senior students, should look out for him. Such people, in Tian Lin’s previous life, were simply termed as kind-hearted. Ye Lingling didn’t need mention. She had only shown Tian Lin kindness and maturity. Despite Tian Lin's accumulated age nearing thirty, he felt inexplicably younger around her. The two Agility-type Spirit Masters, Yu Feng and Ao Si Luo, were also worth noting. Yu Feng was calm and unobtrusive, while Ao Si Luo was a flamboyant dandy, always grooming his hair. This was to be the future Royal Seven. They had already agreed, promising each other to participate and win the Continental Spirit Master Elite Tournament. Tian Lin and Gu Ran's arrival was warmly welcomed, as their talents filled the team’s shortages. Originally, the team only had Yu Tianheng as a Power Attack Spirit Master. The addition of Tian Lin and Gu Ran significantly increased the team's versatility, addressing its offensive weaknesses. Even the original Shrek team, to cope with the complex tournaments, had prepared four substitutes, indicating the insufficiency of a mere seven-member team. That day, after his morning theoretical class, Tian Lin intended to leave. Unexpectedly, the students instinctively distanced themselves as he stood, as if frightened by him. "What on earth?" Tian Lin was bewildered, baffled by the reactions. Furthermore, as he walked, all students seeing him dispersed like they’d seen a ghost. Only the Royal Seven appeared unafraid when he arrived at the training grounds. Shi Mo and Shi Mo hurried over, concerned, "Little Tian, your Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan is going too far, don’t you think?" "Far? Brother Shi, what do you mean?" Tian Lin was utterly confused. "You haven't heard? Just a couple of days ago, Olaf and Aldo dropped out and, on their way back to the Barak Kingdom, were ambushed by unknown powerful individuals. Aldo was gravely injured, and Olaf had his only remaining ear cut off. There's a rumor outside that your Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan is avenging itself," Ye Lingling explained. Tian Lin immediately denied it, "Impossible. Our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan seeks immediate retribution, never employing such underhanded methods." "I also believe it wasn't you," Yu Tianheng speculated, "The fact that they survived, and only an ear was taken, is proof enough. The attacker clearly wanted to avoid escalating things to a full-scale conflict." "Given this incident, the Ao family isn't justified, and with no solid evidence proving that your Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan was behind the second attack, the Barak royal family can only let it go but..." "But the seeds of hatred and suspicion have been sown, haven't they? Because the only ones with motive and ability to strike at Olaf are us at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan," Tian Lin interjected, "And since the method involved cutting off an ear, we couldn’t wash ourselves clean even if we jumped into the ocean!" A frown crossed Tian Lin’s face as he ran through possibilities in his mind. The attack on Olaf followed too closely after the original incident, suggesting the perpetrator was well-informed about the situation at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Besides the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, others fitting this scenario included the three education committee members, Dugu Bo, and the Blue Electric Tyrannosaurus family. But he quickly ruled them out one by one. The committee members had no reason to incite a conflict between the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan and the Barak Kingdom. Dugu Bo and the Blue Electric Tyrannosaurus family wouldn’t meddle in such trivial matters. "Wait, her!" Tian Lin swiftly locked onto the target, Xue Qinghe, or rather, Qian Renxue. She had both the motive and the strength. Moreover, the act served her multiple purposes: one, fueling animosity between the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan and the Barak Kingdom; two, leaving Emperor Xue Ye with a poor impression of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan's vengeful nature; and three, instilling fear of Tian Lin among the academy’s students, leading to his isolation. Tian Lin wouldn’t be surprised if she came to console him shortly. After all, when he felt isolated, she would be the only one showing concern. Her actions were likely intended to make the immature him deeply grateful and perhaps even indebted to her. Regrettably, Tian Lin wasn’t as immature as she believed. While biologically seven, his mental age was at least twenty-seven. Furthermore, Tian Lin speculated that the Spirit Hall would likely make moves against the Ao family in the Barak Kingdom. He remembered that in the original story, the Spirit Hall Empire’s first conquest was the Barak Kingdom. Achieving victory over such a militaristic powerhouse likely involved not only the Spirit Hall's impressive strength but also other factors, such as internal assistance. This meant, in the future, Tian Lin might even use this situation to his advantage. Despite the Ao family’s strength, they were merely a duke, not royalty, within the kingdom — a critical difference that granted Tian Lin ample opportunity to counterattack.