One embodiment of the present invention provides a computing system. The computing system includes a processor and a memory. The memory stores instructions which when executed by the processor cause the processor to perform a method. The method comprises identifying a first vertex and a second vertex in a graph as candidates for a link between the first and the second vertices. The first and second vertices represent elements in a data set. The method further comprises determining a link indicator based on a first link count, which indicates a sum of respective weights of links of a vertex, associated with the first vertex and a second link count associated with the second vertex. The method also includes determining whether to connect the first and second vertices with a link based on the link indicator's conformity with a link threshold, which determines whether to connect two vertices using a link.