Chapter Seventy-Two: Making a Name in the Northern Capital

Under the control of the artifact spirit Ling’er, Lin Yanghao’s body had transformed into a god of slaughter. Countless spirit beasts fell at his hands—or, more accurately, at Ling’er’s.

“Ling’er, are you alright?” Lin Yanghao’s face was pale as he anxiously looked inward at Ling’er’s spirit. He was at a loss when he saw that her spiritual form was gradually fading.

“I’m fine, I won’t die,” Ling’er replied, her voice weak and clearly struggling to hold on. With a final shout, she charged once more into the fray with the spirit beasts, gathering their essence blood as she fought. By now, Ling’er had collected enough for Lin Yanghao to cultivate the Divine Talisman Art.

“Look! Who is that? How is he so powerful? Why have I never seen him before?” It wasn’t long before others took notice of Lin Yanghao. With such a display of strength, it was impossible not to.

“This senior must at least possess a cultivation at the Integration stage, just like City Lord Ren. In fact, he seems to be even stronger. But how can he look so young, barely a few decades old?”

“In my opinion,” said another, “this senior must have mastered some art of preserving youth, which is why he appears so young.” In the world of cultivation, there were many techniques and rare elixirs said to maintain one’s youthful appearance. However, such elixirs were exceedingly rare, almost legend, and typically only female cultivators who prized beauty would practice such arts. While a few men did as well, it was uncommon, especially since these techniques were not particularly powerful compared to others. Preservation Elixirs themselves were all but mythical.

“Who is this man, possessing a cultivation equal to mine? That shouldn’t be possible. With such strength, I ought to know every such cultivator, yet I’ve never seen him before. Could he be a reclusive master?” City Lord Ren had, of course, already noticed Lin Yanghao. Observing his cultivation and movement techniques, Ren drew a deep breath before turning back to continue battling the spirit beasts at hand.

Indeed, the cultivation world had many who shunned worldly affairs and focused solely on their practice—these were the so-called recluses.

With Lin Yanghao, controlled by Ling’er, now joining the battle, the tide swiftly began to turn. The two sides were slowly reaching an even footing.

“Ling’er, how are you holding up?” Watching Ling’er’s spirit grow ever fainter, Lin Yanghao’s anxiety only deepened. After so much time together, an indescribable bond had formed between them, and he had gradually grown dependent on her.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. But after this, I’ll need a good long rest,” Ling’er answered weakly, then charged once more at the spirit beasts.

A chorus of beastly roars sounded from the horizon. The human cultivators, already tense, broke out in cold sweat. Just as the battle had begun to turn in their favor with Lin Yanghao’s help, it seemed the enemy was receiving reinforcements.

“What’s happening?” The human cultivators weren’t the only ones surprised—even the Moonlit Illusion Wolf was taken aback. The Beast Sovereign had already laid out the attack plans: four forces would strike the eastern, western, southern, and northern continents simultaneously, then converge upon the central continent of Kuangsheng. Unless the plan had changed, there should have been no more reinforcements.

“City Lord, that roar just now wasn’t the arrival of more spirit beasts—it was our own reinforcements!”

At that moment, high above the northern capital, a large group of sword-riding cultivators suddenly appeared in the sky.