Counterattack

The vast forest, with its lush greenery, resembles a green ocean, stretching as far as the eye can see.

Before a mountain peak deep in the mountains, Black-robed Youth stood on the ground, his face solemn, the Star Dragon Saber held tightly in his clenched hands as he gazed into the distance.

"Boom!"

As Lin Ming raised his sword above his head, strange ripples spread from the lush Mountain Forest.

The vast land trembled slightly and rapidly at this moment, and ripples spread wildly from Lin Ming as the center point at a speed visible to the naked eye.

As that fluctuation spread, the land immediately became barren at an alarming speed. The once lush mountains quickly turned yellow and withered, and an aura of desolation gradually emanated from them.

A desolate scene unfolded within a radius of several miles, centered on Lin Ming. Beneath that desolation, terrifying energies converged from all directions, ultimately pouring into the Star Dragon Saber in Lin Ming's hand.

As this energy converged, the black blade of the Star Dragon Saber instantly emitted a pale yellow light.

"Slay the Eight Desolations!"

Sensing the terrifying energy contained within the blade, Lin Ming's deep gaze was accompanied by a loud shout as he angrily swung the blade down.

As the blade cleaved down, a massive, pale yellow energy beam suddenly appeared in the sky, accompanied by a terrifying sound of wind being torn apart, and slammed into the mountain wall with unparalleled destructive force.

"Bang!"

Suddenly, with a violent explosion, the entire mountain peak trembled violently.

At this moment, thick, rope-like knife marks and cracks were deeply etched into the mountainside. Then, they spread out like a spider web, completely covering the entire mountainside in a short time.

"Boom!"

Another loud crash followed, and the cracked mountain collapsed with a deafening roar, sending countless flying rocks hurtling towards the ground.

Standing before the mountain peak, Lin Ming, his face pale, gazed at the mountain that had been cleaved in two by a single strike, but his dark eyes immediately revealed an undisguised ecstasy.

After more than half a year of countless practices, he finally mastered the rhythm and truly demonstrated the power of the Earth Tier High-grade Dou Skill "Eight Desolations".

After taking a few deep breaths and seeing that he had almost destroyed several nearby mountain peaks, Lin Ming shook his head with a wry smile. Immediately, tender Yellow Flame wings appeared on his back, propelling him into flight.

After flying for a short while, Lin Ming immediately landed in the valley.

"Lin Ming, you're back!" Zi Yan exclaimed as soon as she saw Lin Ming return.

"Yes, that's about it for today." Lin Ming nodded in response to Zi Yan's words.

"Hey!"

Just as Lin Ming and Zi Yan were talking, a bird's cry suddenly rang out from the sky. Seeing the bird circling overhead, too afraid to come down, Lin Ming immediately reached out and a suction force surged out, pulling the messenger bird circling in the sky down.

Lin Ming took a small bamboo tube from the foot of the messenger bird, unfolded it, and took out a folded piece of paper. After scanning it with his eyes and reading the information inside, he flicked his finger, and the paper immediately burned automatically, turning into a cloud of ashes that fell down.

"The Great Elder sent word that Vice Dean Hu Gan has successfully advanced to the Dou Zong. The academy is preparing to counterattack, and we should head back as well." Lin Ming's words drifted out as he watched the ashes fall from the paper.

"Let's go then!" Zi Yan replied after Lin Ming finished speaking.

Afterwards, Lin Ming and his companion greeted the Snow Demon Sky Ape, then each flapped their wings and flew away from the valley.

Inside a room in the Inner Academy, several elderly people with white hair were talking.

"This time, I owe it all to Lin Ming. If he hadn't refined the Sect Breaking Pill and given it to me, I don't know how long I would have had to wait to reach the Dou Ancestor Realm."

"Haha, Lin Ming is the academy's lucky star! Now this Fallen Heart Flame is so obedient, it only needs to be fed with fire-attribute energy occasionally, and we no longer have to be on guard against it all the time, afraid that it will erupt." Hearing Hu Gan's words, Qin Xuan immediately laughed and said.

"So Old Huo really has a sharp eye! He snatched Lin Ming away the moment he entered the academy."

"Alright, that's about it! Lin Ming will be here soon." Su Qian's voice came from the group as they chatted.

As Su Qian finished speaking, two black dots immediately appeared on the distant horizon. Then, in everyone's eyes, they gradually magnified.

"Great Elder, Vice Dean, Elder Huo, and all elders," Lin Ming greeted them immediately upon landing. At the same time, another voice followed. "Congratulations to the Vice Dean on advancing to the Dou Ancestor Realm."

"Haha, you rascal!" Hu Gan laughed immediately in response to Lin Ming's congratulations. Then, with a hint of surprise, he exclaimed, "Eh, Lin Ming, you've made quite a bit of progress lately! Your cultivation has reached the Peak Dou Emperor!"

"Haha, just a few odds of success." Lin Ming replied with a smile in response to Hu Gan's question.

Over the past six months, after stabilizing his cultivation, Lin Ming not only practiced Dou Technique but also completely refined the Earth Fire Lotus Seed.

After refining the Earth Fire Lotus Seed, not only did the Flame Gold Earth Heart Fire take another big step forward on its path to evolving into Heavenly Flames, but Lin Ming's own Dou Qi also advanced from One-Star Dou Emperor to a two- Dou Emperor.

After stabilizing his Dou Qi, Lin Ming also refined the Magic Core left behind by the Flame Lizard.

After refining the Magic Core of the Flame Lizard, Lin Ming's Dou Qi didn't directly advance to the Three-Star Dou Emperor, but it reached the Peak Dou Emperor level. Afterward, he spent half a month cultivating and naturally advanced to the Three-Star Dou Emperor level. Then, while simultaneously practicing Dou Technique and cultivating, his Dou Qi has now reached the Peak Dou Emperor. He only needs a trigger to break through to the Four-Star Dou Emperor.

Hearing that Lin Ming's Dou Qi had almost reached the three-star level in just over half a year, the elders could only shake their heads. Even the fastest among them had taken more than half a year to advance just one star, and that was at the Dou Wang stage. Compared to Lin Ming, they were simply no match!

Seeing the reactions of the elders, Lin Ming could only smile helplessly, and then asked Great Elder Su Qian, "Great Elder, regarding the counterattack you mentioned in your letter, when does it begin?"

As Lin Ming finished speaking, Great Elder Su Qian's deep voice followed. "Now that you're back, Lin Ming, let's launch a counterattack first thing tomorrow morning!"