Chapter 742: Sky-Patrolling Mirror (II)

Time flew by, and nearly half a year passed. Lin Zheyu settled into a relaxed and carefree cultivation life within the Evilheart Sect. On Yao Island, at the Evilheart Sect's training grounds, a hundred young men and women stared fervently toward the entrance. The entire area was utterly silent.

More than four hours went by, yet they remained standing ramrod straight, the fervor in their eyes undiminished, as though they were awaiting the arrival of some great figure they revered like a god.

Soft footsteps came from outside. Everyone's bodies trembled slightly, and the fervor in their tired eyes instantly blazed anew.

The moment Lin Zheyu stepped into the training grounds, a perfectly synchronized shout rang out. "Greetings, Sect Master!"

Lin Zheyu smiled as he slowly walked to the front of the group. After sweeping his gaze over everyone, he nodded slightly.

Lin Zheyu smiled encouragingly. "Your strength is improving at a decent pace. You've done well, so keep working hard. Line up and come forward one at a time."

These young disciples had been recruited at Lin Zheyu's instruction because they possessed fairly good natural talent for the Yao Dao. Cultivating the Yao Dao did not demand much in terms of a cultivator's physical natural talent, but it placed much greater demands on their comprehension and strength of will.

In just half a year, these disciples had progressed at an astonishing pace. With Lin Zheyu's help, they did not need to worry about erosion from yao will or demonic qi. All they had to do was cultivate relentlessly and raise their strength. As a result, in less than half a year, nearly 30% of them had already reached the peak of the Qi Refining realm. This was an astonishing rate of progress.

An hour later, Lin Zheyu had finished using golden energy to resolve the erosion caused by yao will and demonic qi during their cultivation. He waved his hand and sent them back to continue cultivating, then stepped into the void and disappeared between heaven and earth.

Waves rolled across the Eastern Sea. Lin Zheyu strolled leisurely through the void, enjoying the sea breeze carrying a faint salty tang. He greatly enjoyed wandering around like this between cultivation sessions. All sect affairs had been handed over to Cao Hongchang, leaving Lin Zheyu with nothing to do apart from cultivate. He thoroughly enjoyed this carefree, leisurely life.

Suddenly, he felt a buzz from his Spirit Resonance Sphere.

A message from Bai Lin. Has he returned to the Martial Alliance? Lin Zheyu wondered curiously as he flipped his right hand and brought out the communication device.

He swept it with his spiritual sense, and after reading Bai Lin's message, his brows could not help but furrow slightly.

"Fellow Ziliang is dead?" Lin Zheyu frowned and could not help letting out a soft sigh.

Xia Ziliang was a junior of Senior Xia Ping. Although Lin Zheyu was not particularly familiar with him, he would always try to help when possible for Senior Xia Ping's sake. He had never expected Ziliang to die so soon.

Fellow Xiao, you must be extremely careful for the time being. The Woo Family has gone mad. No, all three ancient martial esteemed families have gone mad. They've joined forces and begun secretly targeting martial artists from the Martial Alliance. Even Fellow Qiu Kun and I nearly died at their hands.

Fellow Bai Lin sent several more messages, specifically warning Lin Zheyu to be wary of the three ancient martial esteemed families.

Lin Zheyu frowned and sent a reply, What happened? Isn't the Vermilion Bird Sect backing us? How dare they act so recklessly?

Woo Jin is dead. He was killed by a mysterious martial artist. Afterward, Woo Tianlei persuaded an expert from the Wei Family to intervene, claiming that the mysterious martial artist who killed Woo Jin was a cultivator from the Martial Alliance. I don't know what they did, but even the divination performed by the Directorate of Celestial Observation pointed toward the Martial Alliance.

After that, the situation spiraled out of control. On the surface, everyone is still maintaining a semblance of harmony, but behind the scenes, the three ancient martial esteemed families have begun taking action with the Wei Family's tacit approval. As long as they don't make things too blatant or act too recklessly, both the Wei Family and the Vermilion Bird Sect will turn a blind eye.

Bai Lin quickly replied, You must be careful. If you have nothing important to deal with, you'd better return to the Martial Alliance and avoid going out alone for the time being.

Woo Jin? Lin Zheyu was momentarily stunned when he read Bai Lin's message. He had never expected that merely killing one Woo Family martial artist comparable to the Nascent Soul realm would lead to such a situation.

No, this isn't simply because of Woo Jin. The three ancient martial esteemed families probably wanted to move against the Martial Alliance long ago, but the Vermilion Bird Sect's support kept them from daring to act. Woo Jin's death merely gave them an excuse, Lin Zheyu thought.

What surprised him was how formidable the Directorate of Celestial Observation's abilities were. They had actually managed to divine that the culprit who killed Woo Jin came from the Martial Alliance. Fortunately, both Lin Zheyu's publicly known realm and his true martial cultivation realm were only at the Shackles realm. It was merely his combat strength that far surpassed his cultivation realm, reaching a level comparable to the mid-stage Nascent Soul realm.

Moreover, he had the Heaven-Deceiving Art concealing him, and he normally cultivated inside the Primordial Chaos Pool, which shielded him from heavenly divination. Otherwise, the Woo Family might very well have begun suspecting him.

"Should I go back for a while...? This matter did start because of me, after all..." Lin Zheyu murmured softly as he sank into thought.

His right hand rubbed the bracelet around his left wrist. Over the past half year, the bracelet had never issued a warning. Either he had happened to be inside the Primordial Chaos Pool whenever the other side tried to divine information about him, or the Woo Family had never considered him a target in the first place.

Lin Zheyu suspected it was the former. The Woo Family believed he was connected to Woo Yiyan's death, and now that relations had completely broken down, they should be eager to kill him.

Lin Zheyu sighed softly and shook his head. I should go back and take a look. So much for my carefree life. It barely lasted at all.

He paused briefly, changed direction, and returned to the Evilheart Sect. After giving a few instructions and warning the hundred young disciples not to push their cultivation too hard while he was away, he departed.

Although life here was leisurely and carefree, it did little to improve Lin Zheyu's strength. After breaking free of the third shackle, his strength had once again reached a bottleneck. Over the past half year, while accumulating Origin Force, Lin Zheyu had mainly focused on consolidating the gains from breaking the third shackle. He had originally planned to rely on the Shamanic Clan Ruins, hoping to obtain substantial gains related to the Shamanic Dao. Unfortunately, Woo Jin's appearance had ruined those plans.

[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]

[Name: Lin Zheyu]

[Origin Force: 305]

[Skills: Seven Absolute Sabers (Seventh Stage: 100%), Martial Dao True Scripture (Fourth Stage: 100%), Heaven-Deceiving Art (Second Stage: 100%), Ten-Thousand-Miles Divine Travel Art (Third Stage: 100%), Martial Divine Pattern Secret Manual (Second Stage: 100%)]

Lin Zheyu looked at the data in his consciousness. After nearly half a year, he had accumulated 305 units of Origin Force, while his other techniques had not improved in the slightest. For experts at the Nascent Soul realm, half a year passed in the blink of an eye. Without several years or even several decades, it was almost impossible to see any obvious increase in strength.

Of course, monstrous geniuses like Mu Jianli and Lei Xiyuan were exceptions. Those two had been capable of advancing to the Nascent Soul realm before the age of sixty. Even Lin Zheyu couldn't help but marvel at their natural talent.

I don't need to worry about the Evilheart Sect for the time being, and I won't be able to return to the Shamanic Clan Ruins anytime soon. It's about time I returned to the Martial Alliance. I wonder if Senior Xia has discovered anything from his research about the divine repositories? Lin Zheyu thought.

His figure transformed into a blur as he sped through the void toward the Martial Realm. Lin Zheyu did not use a teleportation formation. Doing so would leave traces of his movements, and the three ancient martial esteemed families might already have people specifically watching the teleportation formations.

Although Lin Zheyu was not afraid, he had no desire to invite trouble. The stronger he became and the more he learned, the more cautious he grew. Within Great Wei, he always kept as low a profile as possible. He was careful not to reveal his true strength, quietly building himself up without taking unnecessary risks. Great Wei possessed not only Heaven-Monitoring Formations that guarded its cities, but also a nation-protecting dharma treasure that covered the entire realm, the Sky-Patrolling Mirror.

According to legend, the Sky-Patrolling Mirror could reflect every corner of Great Wei and even possessed the terrifying ability to trace events backward through time. Any action within Great Wei could leave traces the Sky-Patrolling Mirror might detect.

Fortunately, although the Sky-Patrolling Mirror was tremendously powerful, the cost of activating it was equally terrifying and far beyond what ordinary people could bear. Only when a major incident occurred, or when an important figure or powerful expert died, would they be willing to pay the enormous price required to unleash its power.

This year's Ascension Assembly should be starting soon, right? I don't have anything else to do anyway. Maybe I should go take a look and see if I can win the right to use the Sky-Patrolling Mirror while I'm there, Lin Zheyu thought.

He had long coveted the Sky-Patrolling Mirror and was extremely curious about this supreme treasure. Although there was no chance he could hold the treasure itself in his hands and examine it, obtaining permission to use it was still possible. Back then, Woo Yiyan had likewise won the right to use the Sky-Patrolling Mirror at the Ascension Assembly.