Secret Art

Qing Lin's figure disappeared completely into the Inheritance Passage. The Myriad Beast Hall returned to deathly stillness, with only the lingering motes of energy on the stone pillars drifting down like fireflies, illuminating the solemn faces of Lin Ming and the other two.

The remnant soul of Yu Cang, the Beast Taming Sect Master, had completely dissipated. To open this final Gate of Hope, he had burned away the last trace of his existence in this world.

However, just as Lin Ming thought everything had settled and was preparing to wait in quiet vigilance, another change occurred!

In the empty space above, where nothing should have remained, an exceedingly faint glimmer of soul light—almost impossible to detect—flickered stubbornly like the last spark within dying ashes. Then, a transparent figure, more illusory than ever before and seeming as though it would shatter the next instant, slowly condensed once more.

It was Yu Cang!

But he was no longer a remnant soul. He was more like an echo of consciousness on the verge of utter annihilation, his outline blurred and his aura so weak it was almost nonexistent.

"Senior...?"

Lin Ming's pupils contracted, shock surging through his heart. He had never expected Yu Cang to forcefully gather this final sliver of consciousness. What kind of unyielding will did that require?

The blurred phantom of consciousness slowly turned its "gaze" toward Lin Ming. That gaze was filled with endless exhaustion, yet it carried a final trace of persistence and an emotion too complex to decipher.

"Young man..." Yu Cang's voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz, ringing directly within Lin Ming's soul as though it might cut off at any moment. "That girl Qing Lin has obtained the sect's orthodox inheritance... I... have no more attachments. But... seeing you... with a soul