Chapter 102: The Greatest Trial

“Whoosh—” A clear whistle pierced the air as Azure Song descended from the sky.

“Huh? Where are the birds today?” Lin Lei, holding a kettle of hot water ready for plucking feathers, frowned when he saw that Azure Song had brought no birds back. “Where’s my breakfast?”

Azure Song trembled slightly, expressing apology.

“Forget it, forget it…” Lin Lei sighed helplessly. After eating birds every day for a week, those foolish creatures had probably grown wise. “Let’s just eat at the restaurant today.”

He whistled to recall Azure Song, then headed toward the dining hall.

“No, no, no, this won’t do… the power is too great, it’ll blow up!”
“This spell is too dangerous; more animal testing is necessary…”

In the dining hall, several mages of the Wang family were discussing their new spell. Lin Lei’s ears perked up, eyes gleaming as he ran over. “What are you talking about? A new cultivation spell?”

“Your Highness!” The mages were startled. How did this little tyrant end up in the dining hall? Wasn’t he supposed to be out catching birds today?

“You heard wrong; we’re talking about magic!”

“Yeah, I’m full, I’m off first!”
“Me too.”

In no time, the mages had all cleared out. Lin Lei sat alone in the empty dining hall, finishing his breakfast and deciding not to sneak out with his sword today.

“Those guys must be hiding something interesting.”

Filled with anticipation, he ran to the mage tower and saw a large cage inside. Two monkeys were locked within, engaged in utterly indescribable activities.

“…What is this?” Lin Lei demanded of the guilty-looking mages.

The mages hesitated to answer, but the guardian stepped forward. “This spell is called Pillar of Heaven.”

Anger began to boil within Lin Lei’s chest.

“Unbelievable!” His teeth clenched with a grinding sound. “I told you not to mess around, but you all just ignored me!”

The mages expected Lin Lei to be angry, but not to this extent.

Everyone was stunned. As their initial passion cooled, they suddenly realized how contemptible their spell was—something that could even damage many people’s perception of cultivation.

The mages lowered their heads in shame.

“Your Highness, you have to understand, after all, we mages have weak bodies…”

“My first love ran off with a warrior, and I’ve always wanted to get her back.”

“Enough! Shut up, all of you!” Lin Lei shouted furiously. These old men were far too old to be caught up in such nonsense.

“I’m so disappointed in you!”

With a stern gaze, he glared at the mages. “Such a promising spell, and you didn’t even share it with me, secretly working on it behind my back!”

Huh? What—The mages were speechless.

“Your Highness, you mean…”

Wasn’t he supposed to be scolding them for recklessly inventing spells?

“Fools! This is such a magnificent spell, and you didn’t tell me!” Lin Lei raged, frustrated beyond words. “Don’t you want to make money from it?”

The mages’ hearts skipped a beat as a gleam lit their eyes.

“Your Highness, what’s your plan?”

“Hmph, simple.” Lin Lei snorted coldly. “We’ll put this spell into the system. Anyone who wants to learn it must pay one hundred gold coins first!”

The mages’ faces changed drastically.

“Your Highness, you… you…”

“Genius!”
“I’m scared out of my wits!”

They suddenly realized their previous folly. How did they not think of this before? This spell could actually be sold!

Good heavens, they were so foolish. The little prince’s reprimand was justified!

“Then, Your Highness, this Pillar of Heaven…”

“I’ll personally lead the charge. Hurry up and perfect this spell!” Lin Lei waved his hand decisively, commanding the mages to conduct animal testing.

“…”

The guardian silently watched this band of fools. Cultivation was supposed to be a noble profession, but if they kept this up, it would soon become infamous!

“How can I stop them?”

The guardian pondered, feeling a headache like never before—as if something were piercing through its very being.

“Yiyaah! Azure Song!!” The guardian cried out in alarm.

Hearing the call, Lin Lei turned around—strange, when did Azure Song latch onto the guardian?

“Whoosh—” He whistled, and Azure Song flew out from the guardian, returning to Lin Lei’s body.

After a week of training, Lin Lei had begun to grasp Azure Song’s movement patterns.

“Teacher, are you alright?” Lin Lei looked at the guardian with concern.

The guardian quickly checked the system—it seemed fine—but it was thoroughly shaken.

“Lin Lei, keep a close watch on your Azure Song. If it keeps acting out, it’ll destroy me sooner or later.”

The guardian warned him. Azure Song was a very special weapon. Though now powerless, its very material could annihilate the guardian.

Lin Lei scratched his head. “It’s not my fault; it always runs wild. I can’t control it.”

“Don’t make excuses,” the guardian snapped. “Azure Song itself has no will. It’s your embodiment; whatever it does is connected to you.”

“Huh?” Lin Lei was puzzled. “How could it have no will?”

“It does have a will, but it’s instinctive, different from the guardians’ level.”

A Wang family mage stepped forward to explain. Azure Song was unlike other weapons. It lacked a strong will and changed its behavior according to its master’s nature.

Since Azure Song entered Lin Lei’s body, it obeyed his will entirely. All its actions were essentially reflections of Lin Lei’s personal preferences.

“So it flies when I whistle because…”

“You think it’s fun,” the mage said.

“No, no way!” Lin Lei refused to admit it. “This guy is so mischievous and disobedient; it can’t be my embodiment.”

The mages exchanged strange looks.

“Your Highness, don’t you just like this kind of gameplay?”

They thought Azure Song’s behavior perfectly suited Lin Lei’s tastes, especially its inexplicable rebellious streak.

“Impossible! Absolutely impossible!” Lin Lei vehemently denied it. “Why would I want to poke the teacher?”

The mages looked at him with disdain. They could bet he definitely wanted to poke the guardian. This little devil loved hearing about others’ misfortunes—last time the guardian wailed, Lin Lei’s face lit up with delight.

Lin Lei wanted to act but dared not; Azure Song took the initiative to do the deed for him.

This weapon was truly a weapon. The master’s inner sense of good and evil determined the weapon’s nature. That was why the spirits trusted Azure Song’s master and regarded him as their leader.

The king’s decision to entrust Azure Song to Lin Lei was, in fact, the greatest test of all.