The year-end had passed, winter gave way to spring.
The temperature remained cold, and there was still no sign of the snow melting.
Eighteen-year-old Li Qing, dressed in new clothes, paid visits to his neighbors.
Because of his martial arts training, his physique was robust, and his face appeared somewhat more mature. He did not look eighteen at all.
Of course, that might also have had something to do with Li Qing spending a year in the Eternal Night World. In truth, his physical age was already nearing nineteen.
The turmoil at Little Cui Ridge had completely come to an end a few days ago, but the specific news had yet to spread.
Thus, Li Qing had been frequenting taverns these past few days, gathering information.
At last, on the afternoon of the first day of the new year, someone brought news of what had truly happened at Little Cui Ridge into the tavern.
"Madness! Corpses covered all of Little Cui Ridge, and the earth was dyed red with the blood of Martial Arts Masters."
"Gasp!"
As soon as these words were spoken in the tavern, everyone inhaled sharply, as though they could see the snow blanketing Little Cui Ridge stained crimson.
"This is truly strange. What kind of Martial Arts Master's tomb could have drawn so many people into fighting over it?"
"Exactly. It was merely the tomb of an Internal Energy martial artist from the previous dynasty, not the inheritance of a Grandmaster martial artist."
"Even if it were the inheritance of a Grandmaster, there was no need for the Nine Lotus Sect to fight Prince Yu to the bitter end. Wasn't the Nine Lotus Sect's sect master a Grandmaster himself?"
"..."
A Grandmaster!
Hearing those four words, Li Qing's heart tightened slightly, and even his drinking motion became a little unnatural.
In the martial world, on the path of martial arts, Transforming Energy Grandmasters could already be considered the pinnacle of existence, revered by countless people.
As long as such a person did not wish to die and focused solely on escaping, even an encirclement by tens of thousands of troops would find it difficult to kill him.
Therefore, even the imperial court was unwilling to offend a Grandmaster Realm expert to the death. Once such a person sought revenge, the consequences would be extremely severe.
Not only Li Qing—the others in the tavern also showed envy and reverence in their eyes upon hearing the word Grandmaster.
Yet there were other informed people present who sneered at that moment.
"heh, what do you know? Compared to that man's inheritance, even Grandmaster Realm martial arts may not hold much attraction."
The speaker was an unrestrained man in a corner of the tavern. He sat with one leg crossed over the other, leisurely resting his foot on the table, a jug of wine still in his hands.
"Brother, may I ask what inheritance it is? It actually surpasses even a Grandmaster's secret teachings!"
"Yes, tell us quickly. These past few days, others and I have been guessing what exactly was buried in the tomb at Little Cui Ridge."
"Brother, this round of wine is on me."
Someone generous with money spoke boldly.
The unrestrained man had an exceedingly handsome face, sword-like brows and starry eyes, his sharply defined features as if carved by a blade.
He gave a soft laugh, lifted the wine jug with a flourish, and took a swig.
"Ha, the owner of that tomb was called Lin Yi!"
Clang!
Someone in the tavern heard that name and failed to hold onto his wine cup, letting it fall to the ground.
Li Qing narrowed his eyes. The name was unfamiliar to him, but judging by everyone else's reaction, this Lin Yi should have been quite famous.
"Lin Yi... It was actually him."
"Of course. I should have thought of it earlier. Among the Internal Energy experts of the previous dynasty, only Lin Yi could have possessed such appeal."
"Gasp! How could that be? Wasn't Lin Yi said to have vanished in the end? How is it possible that he was buried at Little Cui Ridge?"
"It was said that Lin Yi, the Martial Arts Master of the previous dynasty, was merely an Internal Energy martial artist, yet even Grandmaster experts could not keep him."
Besides that, there were also some newcomers to the martial world in the tavern, like Li Qing, who did not know what the name Lin Yi meant.
"May I ask... who is this Lin Yi? Was he very formidable?"
Someone soon answered his question.
"This Lin Yi entered the martial world, and in his first year, he had not even become an Outer Strength martial artist. His name was unknown."
"In his second year, he stepped into the ranks of Outer Strength experts."
Reaching Outer Strength in a year was indeed very fast, but it was not something certain martial arts prodigies could not accomplish.
Yet the next sentence made those who did not know Lin Yi, Li Qing included, draw in a sharp breath.
"In his third year, Lin Yi was already an Internal Energy expert."
"In the fourth year after entering the martial world, his martial arts realm had already neared the Grandmaster Realm!"
That was far too exaggerated!
Only those who had personally practiced martial arts knew how difficult it was to make progress on this road.
Even an unrivaled martial arts genius could not possibly go from not even possessing Outer Strength to becoming an Internal Energy expert in just three years.
Even with a pig's brain, one could tell that this Lin Yi clearly carried some secret.
That was right. The martial arts experts of the previous dynasty had thought the same. Even some Grandmaster powerhouses at the time had set their sights on Lin Yi, wanting to uncover the secret on him.
Thus, a bloody storm swept through the martial world of that time. People throughout the land sprang into action, all to hunt down this martial artist named Lin Yi.
Once this pursuit began, it became endless.
Because everyone knew that if Lin Yi were given another year, then in the fifth year, he would likely be able to establish himself in the Grandmaster Realm.
Three years to Internal Energy, five years to Grandmaster.
What the hell, did they think this was the college entrance exam?
The corners of Li Qing's mouth could not help twitching as he mocked inwardly.
A Martial Arts Grandmaster in five years—anyone who heard it would feel dizzy. No wonder even the Grandmasters of that era could not restrain themselves.
Compared to that, they had practiced martial arts their entire lives before reaching Grandmaster, while someone else could attain that level in five years. How could they possibly bear it!
Later, Lin Yi vanished without a trace amid the pursuit of the entire martial world.
Some said he had been captured alive by a Grandmaster expert. Some said he had ultimately entered the Grandmaster Realm and swept across the four directions. Others said he had traveled far abroad and concealed his name.
No one knew his exact whereabouts. At the time, it became an enormous mystery.
Now that news of his tomb had emerged, no wonder the martial world of the entire Feng Kingdom had been stirred into action. Even a dignified prince could not remain seated.
"Phew!"
"So what happened to Lin Yi's tomb? Who obtained the inheritance?"
"Yes, was that tomb real or fake? Could there truly be a martial arts inheritance that let someone enter Internal Energy in three years?"
Whether it existed or not, it should have been an extremely scalding hot potato. Even if someone obtained it, they likely could not keep it for long. Even Prince Yu might not be able to hold onto it.
That was what Li Qing thought.
bang!
Someone who knew the recent inside story of Little Cui Ridge set down his wine cup and said mockingly:
"Fake! It was reportedly fake! Prince Yu and the Nine Lotus Sect got nothing. They all returned defeated, and a pile of people died for nothing!"
"The tomb was very deep. After it was excavated, there was not a coffin inside, but a Tomb Mansion. It seemed that someone had even lived there in recent years. Even if there had been any inheritance, it had likely been taken away long ago."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone looked stunned.
It had actually been a fake tomb, yet so many people had died. It was simply terrifying!
In the tavern's corner, the handsome unrestrained man shook his head disdainfully, wiped the wine from the corner of his mouth, and muttered softly to himself, "heh, fake?"