Forty: The Miraculous Destiny Point

This time, however, he really had to admit defeat. While he continued refining the remaining Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng, those Black Armored Guards somehow managed to follow him all the way without losing track of him. The group had followed his route into these mountains, but stopped when they crossed the ridge.

Looking at the enormous army below, the Gold-trimmed Black Armored Guard leading them waved for his subordinates to stop. He watched solemnly for a moment before speaking in a deep voice:

"Zhang Peng, Li Hun, return immediately and tell the General of Shanhaiguan Pass that foreign tribes are heading south to raid us. Have him prepare for battle."

The two Black Armored Guards who had been given the order hurriedly asked:

"My lord, aren't you leaving?"

The Gold-trimmed Black Armored Guard shook his head:

"His Majesty issued a secret decree. We must bring back the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng. I can't leave until the mission is complete."

Another subordinate said:

"But that Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng has already been eaten by that thief. I'm afraid completing the mission will be difficult."

"Then bring the man back and turn him into a medicine man."

He turned to his subordinates and said:

"Follow my orders and depart immediately. There must be no mistakes."

The two men accepted the order, quickly turned around, and left.

The Gold-trimmed Black Armored Guard whose surname was He watched his subordinates leave. Then he turned back to observe the seemingly endless procession below, let out a cold snort, and turned to leave.

But just as he turned around, he suddenly stopped. Looking sharply up, he saw a hawk circling at the very top of the sky. His expression changed at once, and he said grimly to his subordinates:

"Leave this place immediately."

But it was already too late. Several powerful, resonant howls suddenly rang out from the enormous army below. Three figures shot into the air and swept toward the mountain, followed closely by more than a dozen somewhat slower figures. Even more cavalrymen urged their horses up the slope.

Seeing this, the Gold-trimmed Black Armored Guard's expression shifted repeatedly before he quickly made his decision:

"Scatter and leave at once. I'll cover the retreat."

A Silver Armored Guard immediately objected:

"My lord, you go first. I'll cover the retreat."

"That is an order. Now, immediately!"

After a second of silence, all the subordinates respectfully cupped their fists in salute before turning and heading off in different directions without the slightest hesitation.

At the same time, another long howl rang out from the Haiger Khanate army that had halted below. The foreign experts surging up the mountain likewise split off a group to pursue the fleeing Black Armored Guards, while the three experts surrounded the Gold-trimmed Black Armored Guard.

He Zhou stood on the ridge and slowly drew his long saber. Facing the three foreign experts who had swept over, stopped nearby, and were now approaching step by step, he said in a deep voice:

"I've long heard that the Arturu warriors' martial prowess is unrivaled beneath heaven. I am He Zhou of Great Kang's Black Armored Guards. Please enlighten me!"

The three experts exchanged glances. One of them drew a long, curved saber and stepped forward:

"I am Banta, an eagle warrior of the Arturu. Please enlighten me!"

"Please!"

He Zhou tossed aside his scabbard and clasped the long saber in both hands, saluting with it. His figure blurred, and the two vanished from their original positions at the same time. A thunderous clang rang out across the ridge.

Inside the snow cavern, pale-red mist filled the air. The snow hole, originally only a meter across, had unknowingly melted into a two-meter-wide cavern, while the thick snow surrounding it had somehow turned into ice.

After who knew how long, Lin Xiao finally chewed and swallowed the last small piece of the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng's root, completely refining the entire Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng.

"Hiss!"

Lin Xiao opened his mouth and suddenly inhaled. He swallowed all the mist filling the small snow cavern in one breath. The icy sensation entering his abdomen suppressed the fiery feeling in his stomach, leaving him incredibly comfortable.

However, he had no time to savor it. Unable to wait another moment, he summoned the attribute panel and began inspecting it.

He had spent so long slowly digesting the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng. Of course he had to see what benefits it had brought him.

His gaze immediately fell on the Potential Points. When 784 Potential Points appeared before his eyes, the corners of his mouth involuntarily split into a grin.

But this situation lasted less than two seconds before his gaze was drawn to the streak of golden light beneath the Potential Points. In the attribute panel, beneath the Potential Points column, a new slot had appeared at some point in the place where a vortex had vaguely manifested earlier. Written in pure gold were two words—Destiny. After Destiny came a "1." If this Destiny Point were quantified in numbers, it meant he now possessed one Destiny Point.

Lin Xiao understood the word destiny. Put simply, it meant luck, or a character's fate.

To use a more vivid comparison, there was a film Lin Xiao had loved on Earth called The Storm Riders: The Conqueror. Whether it was the two protagonists, Nie Feng and Bu Jingyun, or Xiong Ba, the greatest villain in the early part of the story, all of them carried destiny.

Whether protagonist or supporting character, anyone who played an extraordinarily important role in history could be said to bear destiny.

Strictly speaking, the so-called Destiny that had newly appeared on Lin Xiao's attribute panel was the same as the destiny carried by those protagonists and supporting characters. The only difference was that the destiny of protagonists was bestowed by heaven at birth and came with certain limitations.

It was like Xiong Ba's limited destiny: he rose because of the Wind and Cloud, and fell because of the Wind and Cloud. Once his story ended, he would naturally be sent off to collect his boxed lunch.

But Lin Xiao's Destiny Point had no restrictions whatsoever. In other words, when he used this Destiny Point, he would gain the world's fortune, possessing the nearly invincible luck that protagonists or important supporting characters enjoyed during their destined periods.

Yet that was only one of its functions. This thing had another use. The "point" in Destiny Point was the same as the "point" in Potential Points. Its meaning was clear: he could add this one Destiny Point to a technique to enhance it, allowing the technique to break through the limits of the current world.

For example, the current world's upper limit of power was only Tier Two. Whether ordinary natives or Descenders, no matter how they cultivated, they could not break through the Grandmaster limit and enter the next level.

But if he used this Destiny Point on an unparalleled divine technique, he could push the technique beyond the two-star limit and deduce it all the way to a three-star technique. He would then be able to use that three-star technique to break through the world's restrictions, advance to Tier Three, and naturally become invincible beneath heaven.

Lin Xiao guessed that the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng had played some extremely crucial role in the course of this world's history. That was why, aside from the powerful medicinal strength inherent in the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng, it contained additional power. After he absorbed and refined it, his attribute ability had collected that extra power and converted it into one Destiny Point.

So now the question was: should he use this one Destiny Point?

This kind of question... didn't even need consideration. Of course he couldn't use it. How could he possibly waste something capable of breaking through the world's limits in this world?

This was merely a low-level martial world. With the attribute ability's enhancement and deduction capabilities, he could easily sweep across the world. Why go out of his way to break through the world's limits? Even if he wanted to break through a limit, he should save it for a stronger world in the future, or one that was extremely important to him. Using it in this world would be far too wasteful.

He had a full 784 Potential Points, enough to deduce several powerful techniques.

His gaze swept back and forth across the several techniques on the attribute panel. Lin Xiao decided to first raise the Three Rivers Heart Method to the Greater Mastery stage, then fuse it with the Yang Sha Scripture and Yin Sha Scripture, combining the strengths of all three internal cultivation methods while removing their flaws, and deduce an ultimate divine technique.