Painful Enough?

"Urgh!"

Inside the cave, Lin Suchou's face was twisted in pain, and cries of agony kept spilling from his throat.

The spiritual energy entering his body was pure and surging, remolding every inch of Lin Suchou's skin, bones, and blood.

He had gone through this pain just days ago, but this time, it was several times worse.

Lin Suchou clenched his teeth, veins bulging across his arms and neck as if his blood had begun to boil.

Wave after wave of spiritual energy ravaged his meridians, widening the originally narrow channels considerably. Yet the pain within was enough to make someone bite off their own tongue and end their life!

"Since Heaven has allowed me to live another life, I will never give up!"

As this thought arose in Lin Suchou's mind, fiery red specks of light suddenly lit up within his body, gathering into a strange meridian.

This was his Seven Spirit Meridians!

"Divine Meridian, open!"

Lin Suchou roared, and the rate at which his body absorbed spiritual energy increased severalfold.

Only after all the spiritual energy had been absorbed did this meridian dim once more.

"Whew!"

Lin Suchou let out a long breath of stale air, rose to his feet, and casually stretched his body.

At that moment, he felt endlessly energetic. With a light jump, his head touched the cave ceiling.

As he walked out of the cave, Luo Li, who had been standing guard, came over to him with delight. "You broke through?"

"Yes. Thank you, Empress, for protecting me while I cultivated."

Lin Suchou pulled her into his embrace, his face full of joy.

"Then let's hurry. It'll be dark soon."

Luo Li glanced westward, where the crimson clouds were already beginning to darken.

"You're not going to break through?"

"I'll do it after we return to the Guardian Land. Nighttime is too dangerous."

Luo Li pondered for a moment.

"Alright. Then, Empress... allow this servant to carry you. We'll travel faster that way."

Lin Suchou crouched in front of Luo Li and smiled.

"Mm. Then let me see how much you've improved after your breakthrough."

Luo Li wrapped her slender arms around Lin Suchou's neck, her small jade-like feet curling around his body from behind.

"Hold on tight. We're setting off!"

Lin Suchou supported Luo Li's soft rear with both hands, then forcefully kicked off with his right foot. He transformed into an afterimage and raced through the dense forest.

At that moment, he was the very image of speed and passion. Before long, he had covered dozens of miles.

Feeling the evening breeze brush against her face, Luo Li narrowed her eyes with a smile.

For some reason, she always felt happy when she was with Lin Suchou. Even while being carried on his back, she felt the same way.

At the gates of the Fourth Guardian Land.

More than thirty people had gathered there. At their head stood a pair of burly brothers and a White-Clad Youth.

"Yang Hong, why are you here too?"

A bald youth with cold, sharp eyes asked the White-Clad Youth beside him.

"I owe Ji Xuan a favor. I have no choice but to repay it."

Yang Hong stroked the pair of Iron Maces in his hands and answered quietly.

"I heard Ge Hai say that Lin Suchou is also at the peak of Level 2 Spirit Body. I just don't know how strong he really is in battle."

Another youth with long black hair and an indifferent face stroked the Battle Saber in his hand. With a light flick, the blade immediately gave off a humming sound.

It was clearly a fine saber.

"Don't worry, Second Brother. Are the three of us really going to lose to just one man?"

The bald youth drew a pair of Wolf-Tooth Maces, revealing his clean, sharp teeth.

"Shi Jingtian, you brothers are known as the Shi Family Brothers. Later, I'd like to see whether you truly live up to that reputation."

The White-Clad Youth called Yang Hong looked curiously at the two brothers.

"Rest assured. My second brother and I can deal with that Lin Suchou ourselves. You won't even need to lift a hand."

Shi Jingtian, holding the Wolf-Tooth Maces, looked arrogant. In his eyes, Lin Suchou was merely an ant he could crush with a flick of his finger.

"Really?"

"Absolutely!"

Shi Jingtian reaffirmed it.

"Then he's here. You and Shi Hao can go."

Yang Hong raised one of his Iron Maces and pointed into the distance, smiling.

"Hmph, don't try to provoke me. The Shi Family Brothers could have handled this anyway. It seems the credit will fall to my second brother and me."

Shi Jingtian first scraped his Wolf-Tooth Maces together until sparks flew, then said to his second brother Shi Hao, "Let's go!"

The moment his words fell, the two of them rushed out at the same time, charging toward the youth approaching from afar.

"Hmm?"

Lin Suchou, who was racing toward them, frowned slightly as he watched the two men charging fiercely from beneath the city gates.

After setting Luo Li down, Lin Suchou drew the Shou Luo Sword with a backhand motion.

"Luo Li, wait here for a moment."

Lin Suchou's pace steadily quickened as he charged toward the two men as well.

Once he drew close, Lin Suchou suddenly slashed forward. A sky full of sword shadows swept forth like an overwhelming tide.

Clang! Clang!

The burly youth wielding the Wolf-Tooth Maces raised them horizontally before him and barely deflected the attack.

The tremendous force drove both his feet deep into the ground.

Fortunately, Shi Hao came to his aid. His Battle Saber danced through the air as he slashed out several saber lights of his own.

Lin Suchou turned to deal with the saber-wielding youth.

"Goddess Luo's Water Strike!"

Gripping his sword with both hands, he leaped into the air and came crashing down upon Shi Hao's head.

Clang!

Shi Hao had no choice but to raise his saber above his head to block. But when the sword collided with the Battle Saber, he could not withstand the force and dropped to one knee!

"Big Brother!"

Hearing Shi Hao's cry, Shi Jingtian swung his Wolf-Tooth Maces from both sides, intending to smash Lin Suchou's waist apart.

Yet with a flash of his footwork, Lin Suchou appeared behind Shi Hao, causing Shi Jingtian's attack to miss.

Pfft!

Lin Suchou's sword pierced through Shi Hao's chest from behind. The crisp sound of steel entering flesh reached Shi Jingtian's ears.

"Second Brother!"

Watching his second brother cough up blood and stare at him in disbelief, Shi Jingtian roared and entered a berserk state.

The Wolf-Tooth Maces in his hands swung tirelessly, whipping up one sandstorm after another.

"I'll help you!"

At that moment, Yang Hong beneath the city gates also rushed in to support him, lashing an Iron Mace toward Lin Suchou.

Clang!

Lin Suchou blocked it with a backhand swing. Seeing more and more people gathering around him, he no longer held back.

He charged directly into the crowd of people at the peak of Level 1 Spirit Body. With Luo Ling Roaming Steps beneath his feet, he moved like a cunning fish, evading the crashing waves around him.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!—

With every strike of Lin Suchou's sword, another life was lost.

As Shi Jingtian and Yang Hong watched Lin Suchou vanish into the crowd, they found it difficult to attack for the moment.

By the time there was enough room to approach him, Lin Suchou had already slaughtered all those insignificant minions.

"L-Level 3 Spirit Body?!"

Seeing the aura radiating from Lin Suchou, Yang Hong's heart filled with regret.

Had he known, they should have swarmed him all at once. Though even then, they likely would not have been able to defeat Lin Suchou after he entered Level 3 Spirit Body.

The best choice would probably have been not coming here at all just to repay Ji Xuan's favor!

"Ge Hai, fuck your mother."

Ge Hai's words still echoed through Yang Hong's mind.

"Brother Yang, you and the Shi Family Brothers will definitely return in triumph. Lin Suchou is only at the peak of Level 2 Spirit Body. How could he possibly handle the three of you at once?"

"To hell with your peak Level 2!"

At that moment, Yang Hong watched as Lin Suchou attacked him like a ghost, while he could not even touch a single hair on his opponent's head.

The gap was simply too great!

Pfft!

Before long, Shi Jingtian, exhausted from overexertion, died beneath Lin Suchou's sword.

Now, only he remained alive...

Watching Lin Suchou slowly walk toward him, Yang Hong gritted his teeth and cupped his fists. "Brother Lin, I only came to repay a favor to Ji Xuan. As long as you're willing to let me leave today, I guarantee I'll never trouble you again!"

"Heh. Then if I hadn't reached Level 3 Spirit Body today, do you think you would have spared me?"

Lin Suchou looked at him as though he were an idiot, making Yang Hong's face flush red.

"Then... just give me a quick... urgh!"

Before Yang Hong could finish speaking, Lin Suchou's sword had already pierced his heart.

"Painful enough?"

Lin Suchou asked with a smiling face as he looked at Yang Hong's stunned expression.