Chapter Fifty-Two: Return to the Sect

“Big brother, that brat took the spiritual weapon—what should we do?” After capturing Tan Zhuo alive, one of the three finally remembered that the high-grade spiritual weapon had already been handed off by Tan Zhuo to Lin Yanghao, who had taken it away.

“Haven’t you realized? This kid is the second young master of the Tan family. With him in our hands, do you really think the Tan family won’t obediently hand over the spiritual weapon? Hahaha!” The eldest among the three laughed.

“You really are clever, big brother! Hahaha, in that case, we’ve got nothing to worry about.” Hearing this, the other two relaxed completely.

Even as they spoke, the Tan family’s leader had already arrived, flying on his sword with Lin Yanghao, circling high above the three.

“Child, I recognize these three. They’re infamous in the cultivation world as the South Martial Bandits, notorious for pillage and robbery. Because they come from South Martial, people call them the Three Bandits of South Martial.” The Tan leader placed Lin Yanghao to the side and explained briefly, not daring to waste any time, then charged toward the three bandits, riding his sword.

“Damn you, Wang Shaohui! I’ll never forgive you!” It turned out that exterminating the South Martial Bandits was Lin Yanghao’s second sect mission. There was no doubt in his mind that Wang Shaohui had arranged this, and the disciple responsible for issuing the mission was surely one of Wang Shaohui’s cronies. Lin Yanghao silently cursed his luck; if not for this unexpected turn, he would have died without even knowing how.

“It seems I’ll need to be more cautious in the Seven Luminaries Sect from now on. I was too careless this time—never again.” With his mind made up, Lin Yanghao turned his gaze to the South Martial Bandits.

“What! Those three were slain by a Core Formation cultivator in the blink of an eye? The gap between Core Formation and Foundation Establishment is truly staggering!” Lin Yanghao marveled.

As he approached, he saw that Tan Zhuo was badly wounded.

“Brother Tan, are you alright? You’ve suffered such severe injuries.” Lin Yanghao asked with concern.

“Don’t worry, Brother Lin. These are just minor wounds,” Tan Zhuo forced a faint smile, enduring the pain so as not to worry Lin Yanghao.

“That’s good. Brother Tan, may I take the heads of these three?” Lin Yanghao considered for a moment and decided to take the three heads as proof for his mission.

“Brother Lin, why do you want their heads?” Tan Zhuo was puzzled.

With a sigh, Lin Yanghao recounted the entire story to Tan Zhuo.

“What! Wang Shaohui dared to do such a thing? Brother Lin, don’t worry. Our Tan family has an insider in the inner sect of Seven Luminaries. I’ll instruct him to look after you. His faction within the sect is surely no weaker than Wang Shaohui’s,” Tan Zhuo said in anger, immediately devising a plan for Lin Yanghao.

After storing the three heads in his storage pouch and bidding farewell to Tan Zhuo, Lin Yanghao departed.

Having learned his lesson last time, Lin Yanghao wasn’t foolish enough to charge in blindly again. He resolved to scout out the enemy situation thoroughly first.

His third mission was to find an Ice Orchid in Mount Twilight. He’d learned that Ice Orchids, a low-grade spiritual herb, grew there, but the Ice Beasts were uniquely obsessed with them; wherever an Ice Orchid grew, one or more Ice Beasts would be guarding it. This was why so many Ice Orchids still existed on Mount Twilight. Fortunately, these were low-grade spiritual beasts.

In the past, Lin Yanghao wouldn’t have been confident in defeating an Ice Beast. But now, he was fully assured.

In the days spent traveling, he had tirelessly practiced the Fireball Technique, its power increasing daily—all thanks to the fire-element beast core he’d acquired. In just a few days, he’d cultivated the Fireball Technique to the minor accomplishment stage.

As the saying goes, “there’s always a counter to everything under heaven.” Ice Beasts were ice-type, perfectly countered by Lin Yanghao’s Fireball Technique. Although his mastery was limited, it was more than enough to handle a low-grade Ice Beast. Lin Yanghao felt his luck was extraordinary—if he hadn’t chosen to practice the Fireball Technique, who knew how long it would have taken to gather the required Ice Orchids!

Unlike his previous missions, this one awarded sect contribution points based on the number of Ice Orchids collected—ten points per flower. Lin Yanghao was delighted; this way, he could quickly accumulate the thousand points he needed.

He calculated, “I’ve already earned about three hundred points from the previous two missions. If I can gather around seventy Ice Orchids, that’ll make up the thousand.”

Arriving at a patch where Ice Orchids grew, Lin Yanghao wasted no time—he unleashed a Fireball straight at the Ice Beast.

The Fireball didn’t kill the beast outright, but it was close to death. Not wanting to waste spiritual energy, Lin Yanghao finished it off with a Savage Tiger Claw and collected his prize.

He repeated this process, moving from place to place, gathering several more Ice Orchids until his spiritual energy was depleted. With no other choice, he sat down to recover.

Half a month passed in a flash. During this time, Lin Yanghao repeated the same routine. At last, he had gathered seventy-six Ice Orchids—but anyone looking at him now would notice he had grown noticeably thinner.

For half a month, he had barely slept, only resting briefly while meditating to recover his spiritual power; as for food, he survived on the flesh of slain Ice Beasts.

Once everything was packed, Lin Yanghao set out for the sect.

“Lin Yanghao? Why are you here?” As soon as he entered Seven Luminaries Sect, he was greeted by a startled voice. Turning, he saw Zhou Wei—the very man who had tried to have him killed. Anger surged in Lin Yanghao’s heart at the sight.

“You’re surprised I’m still alive, aren’t you? Zhou Wei, you’re lucky I survived this time. Just wait—the debt you owe me will be repaid with interest!” With those harsh words, he strode off without looking back.

“Did he not complete the mission? Yes, that must be it! No, I’d better follow him and see for myself.” Zhou Wei trembled in fear, not daring to hesitate, and hurried after Lin Yanghao.