Chapter Twenty-Five: The Boundless Sea Can Also Clean

“These ginseng fruits weren’t grown by you?” Linley sat on the grass, his hands full of fruit. “If you’d said so earlier, I wouldn’t have been so tense.”

Since the fruits weren’t cultivated by the two earth sprites, Linley relaxed and began to eat them without restraint. The sprites kept their distance, afraid to approach him—what kind of creature was this? The plant’s strength was that of an ox, yet he could grab it so easily! No, he was definitely not an elf; he was the embodiment of something far more terrifying.

“Do you want some?” Linley wiped the crimson juice from the corner of his mouth and offered a ginseng fruit to the two earth sprites.

They shook their heads frantically—too frightening. Linley devoured the fruits one after another, his mouth stained red, resembling a monster feasting on flesh.

The white, humanoid plant in Linley’s grip let out a horrifying scream. The leopard, covering its ears, crouched nearby, while Linley remained unbothered. “Are you sure you don’t want any?”

“No—no…” The sprites were filled with terror; the plant’s dreadful cries had no effect on him.

“Tastes like watermelon, quite delicious.” Linley reached out and handed a fruit to the leopard. “Little White, want to try?”

The leopard hesitated; it was rather disgusting. Who could have invented such a plant? Yet, seeing Linley enjoy it so much, it tried a bite—indeed, it tasted like watermelon.

“Not bad at all.” The leopard licked its tongue.

“Then have some more.” Linley finished his fruit and casually grabbed another from the air. These ginseng fruits were impressive—they appeared on their own. “How much does this villa cost?”

“One thousand gold coins.”

The shorter earth sprite, desperate to leave this man-eating demon, hurriedly pulled out the deed scroll from his pocket.

“This deed seems genuine.” The leopard examined it; magical traces were visible on the scroll, and it didn’t look fake.

Should I buy it? Linley mused. Suddenly, the earring spoke, “Buy it.”

Oh heavens, the earth sprites grew more alarmed—the earring could talk! This monster was truly terrifying.

“Young master, we’ll sell it to you for eight hundred gold coins—just let us go, please?” The sprites’ legs were trembling; they could barely stand.

Linley picked up the scroll, puzzled. Were these sprites not swindlers, but good-hearted beings?

No matter—even without the castle, the ginseng fruits alone were worth the purchase!

“All right, I’ll buy this deed.” Linley handed over eight hundred gold coins for the scroll, and the two sprites fled in panic.

Why are they so afraid of me? Linley wondered. He didn’t find the ginseng fruits frightening at all.

But something else intrigued him now. “Teacher, why did you ask me to buy this castle?”

The earring didn’t answer, but asked in return, “Last night, after using the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth, your true energy was depleted. Why is your body still so strong?”

It had been observing Linley closely. The ginseng fruits he ate were no ordinary fare—each possessed the strength of a small magical beast, yet they were powerless against him, as if his true energy hadn’t diminished at all.

“My true energy has recovered,” Linley replied, unconcerned. “It came back a few hours ago.”

“Recovered!” The earring was astonished. Such immense magical power—royal mages would need two days to recover, yet he managed it in mere hours.

Linley’s internal energy circulated smoothly, and just like in cultivation novels, he absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth constantly.

At Linley’s recovery rate, using the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth twice a day would pose no problem.

“...Would you like to cultivate in Snow City?” the earring asked.

“I’d love to,” Linley said as he chewed another ginseng fruit. With prices so low here, his pocket money could buy him a comfortable life. “But if I stay here, Brother Wang definitely won’t agree.”

He knew his elder brother well. If he didn’t return to the palace for several days, Wang Wen would personally come and drag him back.

“That’s easily solved,” the earring said with a smile. “Hand over the technique for the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth. I’ll arrange for a teleportation array between here and the palace. You’ll be able to travel back and forth every day.”

It had considered the matter—teleportation arrays required vast energy, but Linley could handle it. By adapting the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth into a two-location teleportation array, only Linley would be able to use it.

And more importantly, Linley’s cultivation was becoming increasingly destructive; better to move the trouble out of the palace.

“To cultivate in Snow City…” Linley finished his last ginseng fruit. It was a fine idea, but since the earring had brought it up, surely he could bargain for something more. “Let me think about it.”

He stood up, intending to explore the castle.

“The earth sprite forgot to give me the key.” Linley kicked open the castle’s main door. Dust-laden air rushed out to meet him; he coughed for a moment, then covered his nose and entered.

“The earth sprite said it was beautiful inside—clearly a lie. There’s nothing here.”

The castle was utterly empty. Everywhere he looked, plants and cobwebs dominated the scene, though the earring had expected this.

“I’ll send some royal mages tomorrow to help you clean up,” it said.

Linley nodded. “Let me take a look around first. There’s too much dust; let’s air the place out!”

“Airing it out?” The leopard had a bad feeling.

Inside the castle, several enormous plants were in a panic.

“He’s coming in—what do we do?”

“Oh heavens, what kind of monster is he? Why doesn’t our power affect him?”

“He’s terrifying. He actually ate our clones! If our true selves are so large, will he find us even tastier?”

“Definitely. He might string us up and eat us!”

The plants frantically debated how to deal with Linley.

“We can’t let him near our rooms. We can use plenty of clones to block him.”

“Yes, as long as there’s spring water here, we can create endless clones to attack him!”

“If he keeps eating, he’ll eventually burst. As long as we hide, he can’t harm us!”

The plants decided to use clone fruits to wear Linley down.

Having made their decision, they turned their eyes to the spring. “Let’s act now—wait, what pose is he making?”

Linley crouched, gesturing with both hands.

“Behold, Boundless Sea!”

Suddenly, a whirlwind swept through the castle.

“Ahhh!” Explosions echoed from afar. The noise was so loud, Linley didn’t even hear the cries.

“Little White, bet you didn’t expect it—my Boundless Sea can clean house, too.”

He boasted to the leopard, who looked at the whirlwind-swept walls, his expression dark.

“It doesn’t look quite clean.”

“No worries, I can keep going—”

Linley, full from his meal, was eager to exercise. He struck his pose once more.

“Boundless Sea!” “Boundless Sea!” “Boundless Sea!”

At noon, a colossal tornado shot up from the castle atop the mountain, reaching the sky. The skies over the Paladin Academy turned pitch black.

“What’s happening to the weather?” The paladins looked up; white limbs, accompanied by crimson rain, splattered across every street and alley of Snow City...