That night passed by exceedingly slowly.
Lin Yan did not wait for the unconscious people to wake. He descended the mountain ahead of schedule.
He slowly made his way toward Lin Jiang Ward.
He had no Willow Branch Night-Illuminating Lamp in his hands at that moment, yet he could still see the road ahead clearly.
But Mr. Jing, who had been carrying the Willow Branch Night-Illuminating Lamp on the mountain, was probably no longer able to see the road ahead.
"This evil spirit isn't powerful, but it is indeed extremely terrifying for Gao Liu City."
Lin Yan gazed into the distance and thought to himself, The threat of the entire city being wiped out...
On the city wall, lamp after lamp brightly illuminated the boundary, frightening away demons and evil spirits.
If the evil spirits lurking in the darkness were all unafraid of Willow Venerable's majesty, what kind of scene would that create?
Last night, only some Wandering Spirits had slipped through the net, but tonight, they had already thrown the entire city into unrest.
He drew a deep breath and glanced back, seeing that the figures on Ox Horn Mountain had gradually increased in number.
The reinforcements from Qing Shan Ward had arrived.
Moreover, the six temple envoys, the city-defense soldiers, and the Night Patrol Envoys seemed to be waking up one after another as well.
"After tonight, a storm will surely be stirred up."
Lin Yan thought, The sooner this grows into a major disturbance, the better it is for me!
That new-army drill instructor and that clerk had merely been acting on orders, intending to use him as "material."
If they had targeted an Impermanence Banner Bearer who had no family or allies, it would have been easy enough to handle.
But they had specifically targeted the Lin Family's Third Son, Lin Yan!
One careless move, and his family would be dragged into the disaster. How could he tolerate that?
"I have to find them as soon as possible and wipe them all out!"
Having come to this conclusion, Lin Yan already knew that the person behind this inevitably held a high position in Gao Liu City.
Moreover, there might be more than one mastermind behind the scenes.
Although Lin Yan was already a martial artist of the Essence Refining Realm, it was indeed difficult for him to drag out all the masterminds hiding in the shadows by himself.
Therefore, this matter had to cause a storm throughout the city!
"To create an evil spirit capable of ignoring Willow Venerable—for that alone, the entire city should be shocked and terrified."
"Zhao Jing from last night was probably one of them as well. That was why they secretly ambushed those guarding the city defenses, replaced the temple lamp oil, and quietly let demons and evil spirits into the city in an attempt to destroy the city defenses!"
"If not for Zhao Jing last night, there would not have been such a huge breach in the city defenses. So many demons and evil spirits would not have entered the city, and tonight's events would never have happened."
"These people have stolen high positions and are plotting something that endangers the entire city. They even harbor the delusion of destroying Gao Liu City!"
Lin Yan thought this over and said inwardly, "Furthermore, they are now targeting my true identity."
He slowly closed his eyes and sensed what he had gained that night.
He had slain the new-army drill instructor, who possessed Inner Strength Cultivation, destroyed the baleful energy of twelve Wandering Spirits, and finally exterminated the evil spirit.
He had obtained a total of sixty-six wisps of Killing Intent.
The largest share had come from that evil spirit, which had nearly sent the situation spiraling out of control.
"By the looks of it, I've profited handsomely."
Thinking this, Lin Yan put all the Killing Intent he had gained into his cultivation.
--
Cultivation: Essence Refining Realm (651/3650) Divine Ability 1: Devour Baleful Intent! Divine Ability 2: Demon Suppression! Techniques: Thunder Blade, First Stage (100/100) Paper Cut into Horse (100/100) Disguise Technique (67/100)+ Breath Concealment Technique (31/100)+ Killing Intent: 0
"It's only been a few days since I reached the Essence Refining Realm, yet I've already made such progress. If I could receive such a rich harvest of Killing Intent every day, I wouldn't even have to wait until winter... I could reach the peak of the Essence Refining Realm."
Lin Yan thought, But to obtain more Killing Intent, I'll have to find these people and kill them one by one... That won't be easy!
He estimated that if he worked harder—hunting demons and evil spirits, slaying powerful enemies, and increasing himself through Devour Baleful Intent—he might reach the peak of the Essence Refining Realm before winter next year.
If he found a cultivation method suitable for him during that time, it might shorten the period even further.
The cultivation methods for the Essence Refining Realm in Gao Liu City could currently be counted on one hand.
They were all controlled by the Prefectural Governor's Mansion, the Six Great Clans, the Heavenly Supervision Department, and the temples.
Aside from them, Duke Lu's side was probably the only other place where he could find a cultivation method for the Essence Refining Realm.
"At the Heavenly Supervision Department, exchanging for a cultivation method requires three thousand Merit Points. I'm still far short."
"Moreover, that would directly expose my cultivation at the Essence Refining Realm. Commander Han is trustworthy, but the people from the Heavenly Supervision Department in the Inner City cannot necessarily all be trusted."
"As for Duke Lu..."
Lin Yan rubbed his brow.
He had met Duke Lu twice in total, at most.
To this day, Duke Lu had always been helping him. By now, he had already incurred quite a debt of gratitude to Duke Lu.
If he took the initiative to ask for an Essence Refining Realm cultivation method now, he would inevitably seem somewhat insatiably greedy.
"As the saying goes, favors should flow both ways. There must be mutual respect. If one only asks and takes advantage of others, no one would be willing to put up with it."
"Besides, there are countless varieties of cultivation methods, and the ones in Duke Lu's hands may not necessarily suit me."
"I'll have more choices through other channels."
Lin Yan stroked the blade in his hand and could not help thinking, If the Essence Refining Realm cultivation method of Zhou Kui, the Banner Commander of the Outer Southwest Division, happens to suit me... then my luck would be incredible.
With that thought, Lin Yan returned to Lin Jiang Ward.
He had not yet reached the Lin Jiang Department when someone came running toward him.
Lin Yan recognized this person.
Yesterday, he had still been under Liang Hu's command, one of the original Twelve Junior Banners of the Lin Jiang Department.
But last night, he had not left with Liang Hu. Later, he had even drawn his blade and taken the lead in assassinating the man named Fang Yang.
That was because Fang Yang had intended to report the crime of this newly appointed Banner Bearer abandoning his post!
This already counted as presenting his allegiance!
"Fifth Master!"
The young man approached, his expression still somewhat nervous.
After all, yesterday afternoon at the Lin Jiang Department, the twelve of them had displayed open hostility toward this newly appointed Banner Bearer under Liang Hu's instructions.
Now that he had changed allegiance, let alone whether he would be trusted, it was still unknown whether he would even be accepted again.
"Feng Hui?"
Lin Yan's tone remained calm as he said, "I already know what happened with you people. Clerk Yang also spoke on your behalf today. From now on, do your work properly and learn when to advance and when to retreat. Otherwise..."
Feng Hui's heart trembled. Recalling the reputation of this Killer Star, he could not help feeling a chill.
He drew a deep breath and immediately said solemnly, "Yesterday, Liang Hu abandoned Lin Jiang Ward and abandoned us at the same time. From this day forth, the three of us have nothing more to do with Liang Hu!"
"And last night, we personally witnessed Fifth Master wielding a blade to slay demons, fearless even in the face of death, peerlessly brave and martial, doing everything in his power to protect the inside and outside of the city without ever abandoning us... We all admire and submit to you from the bottom of our hearts. From now on, we will serve at Fifth Master's command, with absolutely no ulterior motives!"
Feng Hui said solemnly, "If I violate this, please let Fifth Master draw his blade and sever my head!"
"Remember the oath you made today."
Lin Yan's tone remained calm. He then asked, "Earlier, I had Clerk Yang order you to report to the Outer South Prefecture Yamen. What was the result?"
"This..."
Feng Hui's expression shifted, and a hint of fear appeared in his eyes. "The four runners handling Liu Guangding's funeral arrangements are all dead..."
"When did it happen?"
"Half an hour ago."
"How did they die?"
"Suicide."
"Oh?"
"They kept kowtowing toward the ground... until they smashed their heads to pieces."
Feng Hui's face was pale, and he spoke with a trembling voice. "Even their skulls were shattered. Their blood and brains were smashed into a pool of muck."
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