Bravely Storming the Litian Sect!

Li Yunlin walked toward the magnificent, jade-adorned buildings of the sect.

Although he had already broken through to the Foundation Establishment Early Stage, he still did not let his joy show on his face. His handsome, refined features remained as calm as if the past twelve years had never happened, making him look like a gentle, steady gentleman orchid.

"As expected of my descendant, even more composed than Yaozu. This temperament is just like mine."

Li Xiang felt immense gratification. He had been the one to agree to let Li Yunlin venture into the Litian Sect, and he had watched as Li Yunlin hit wall after wall.

Now, he had finally weathered the storm and seen the light of day!

[You have used 'Love from the Ancestor' on Li Yunlin, consuming 20 points of Incense!]

Li Xiang used the level 2 skill without a moment's hesitation.

"Ancestor!"

Receiving the Ancestor's grace again after so many years, the usually composed Li Yunlin still felt his throat tighten. He pulled the Ancestral Tablet from his robes, placed it before him, and kowtowed. "After seven years of arduous cultivation, not only did I achieve a breakthrough in the Spirit Pool thanks to my master, but once I break through to the Golden Core Stage, I will find a way to shatter the sect's restrictions!"

"This Litian Secret Canon, passed down through the Litian Sect for thousands of years, will be used by our Li Family!"

Hearing this, Li Xiang's expression grew even gentler.

He remembered that when Li Yunlin had insisted on joining the Litian Sect, Li Yaoqing had worried that Li Yunlin would forget his original intentions, but Li Yunlin had never changed!

It was just...

"Child, I have already received the Litian Secret Canon. Your heart... you have a good heart."

Li Xiang bestowed another wave of warmth upon him.

Soon, Li Yunlin rose to his feet.

As time flowed, Li Yunlin arrived outside a magnificent palace.

Here, one could see many disciples dressed in the same white robes as Li Yunlin, standing in a square formation. In the center was a spacious, raised square arena, with a light barrier extending from its edges straight up into the clouds.

Eight cultivators were fighting inside, with an elder acting as the referee on the sidelines.

[The Litian Sect is holding its decennial Outer Sect Martial Tournament, allowing elders to judge the potential of disciples and subsequently take them on as apprentices!]

"What is he doing here?"

Li Xiang furrowed his brows. Thinking of how Li Yunlin's master had died miserably outside and how Li Yunlin had been suppressed upon returning to the sect, Li Xiang's mouse cursor silently hovered over the Ancestral Tablet.

"Twelve years of tempering his heart—even Patrick Star would have had his edges smoothed out. Yunlin likely won't be impulsive."

Looking at Li Yunlin's still-calm eyes, Li Xiang chose to trust his descendant this time.

However, just to be safe, he had to be ready to use the Ancestral Tablet at any moment.

"Go ahead and do what you must; your ancestor is still here to back you up!"

Li Yunlin stroked the Ancestral Tablet in his robes.

In such a situation, and given what he was about to do, only the Ancestor could soothe his nervous emotions.

Immediately after.

Li Yunlin scanned his surroundings. At this Litian Sect martial arts ceremony, the Sect Master sat before the main hall, surrounded by elders.

The scene was incredibly lively, yet he felt completely out of place.

He suddenly remembered the days thirteen years ago when his master brought him to the Litian Sect. His master had been very good to him, teaching him almost everything he knew. Although he had joined the Litian Sect, his three-spirit-root aptitude could only be considered mediocre, but his master said that his temperament was the most suitable for inheriting the Nine Spirit Strange Fire.

A person's aptitude could change, but their true nature was the foundation.

Only now did Li Yunlin understand that perhaps his master had known back then that the battle against the Xuanwu Sect was a suicide mission.

"Master was right."

"I flow with the blood of the Li Clan, so I shall be a Li Clan Member for as long as I live."

"I have received the teachings of my master, so I must protect his legacy. Those who wish to destroy my mentor's inheritance—"

"DIE!!!"

His previous words were mere whispers, but when he reached the word "die," Li Yunlin's face twisted into a snarl as he shouted at the top of his lungs!

He summoned the Spirit Breath Flying Sword his father had gifted him thirteen years ago.

Under the gaze of everyone present.

The Spirit Breath Flying Sword struck directly toward a Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivator watching from the edge of the arena.

In that instant.

Nine palm-sized Flame Golden Lotus flowers emerged around him, his rage roaring as the air within a ten-meter radius became scorching hot.

"Who is that madman? Daring to resort to violence in front of the Sect Master and the elders—is he insane?!!"

"I recognize him. He's the apprentice that Elder Huo Lin brought back over a decade ago, named Li Yunlin. Hiss~ The person he's attacking seems to be his best friend, the inner sect disciple, Su Cheng. I heard that when Li Yunlin managed to bring back Elder Huo Lin's remains, it was Su Cheng who provided the information. This is biting the hand that feeds him."

"Hey, where are you going... What? You want to help Su Cheng to show off in front of the Sect Master? Wake up! If the Sect Master weren't stopping him, do you really think Li Yunlin would have been able to walk ten meters?"

A strange scene unfolded.

The Litian Sect's all-important martial arts tournament had been disrupted by Li Yunlin, yet no one dared to stop him—a situation that had never occurred in the ten thousand years since the Litian Sect was founded!

Li Yunlin had already engaged Su Cheng in battle.

That Su Cheng was truly extraordinary; he had likely been stuck at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage for many years, and his techniques were dazzling.

The boy had clearly cultivated puppet arts, using his Storage Ring to form a formation with the Twelve Bronze Men, then invoking heavenly lightning with the Thunder-Attracting Golden Scripture: Human Character Technique he had practiced within the Li Family.

Twelve bolts of heavenly lightning struck the bronze men, channeling the power of the grand formation to attack Li Yunlin.

And that was not all.

A hundred flying swords emerged from his Storage Ring, gathering above Li Yunlin's head to form a giant blade that descended, the sharp edge aimed directly at his life.

Su Cheng opened with a killing blow, not uttering a single word. He likely sensed that Li Yunlin's recklessness without any backup was suspicious; this battle was a matter of life and death, and Li Yunlin had to die quickly!

"Impressive."

Li Xiang's expression remained calm as he complimented Su Cheng, who was fighting Li Yunlin.

Looking at the screen.

The heavenly lightning channeled through the Twelve Bronze Men formation was already crashing toward Li Yunlin. Logically, the power of heavenly lightning should be a tier above flame power, and the game screen reflected this; the flames Li Yunlin burst outward could not consume the lightning, and arcs of electricity surged from the ground formation toward him.

It appeared as though Li Yunlin had been paralyzed.

With the sharp blade descending at high speed, Li Yunlin seemed to have become a sitting duck.

But Su Cheng, who was clearly about to kill Li Yunlin, suddenly widened his eyes, as if he had seen the King of Hell!

The heavenly lightning passed through Li Yunlin's body, leaving only a flame-patterned scorch mark where it struck. The blade from the sky cleaved Li Yunlin in two, yet there was no scene of blood and gore.

The blade shattered into a hundred pieces, weaving through Li Yunlin's body with a rhythmic clanging sound.

The flames on Li Yunlin's body scattered, but those flames quickly reformed into his physical shape.

At this moment, Li Yunlin was the fire itself!

Until Li Yunlin dashed to Su Cheng's side.

Every disciple at the sect's martial arts tournament watched in horror as Li Yunlin retracted the Nine Fire Lotuses, took up his sword with his true physical form, and ended Su Cheng's life with a single strike!

At this moment.

The Litian Sect was deathly silent!

But Li Yunlin wasn't finished.

Under the gaze of everyone present.

He unceremoniously picked up the Spirit Breath Sword and the artifacts from Su Cheng's body, placing them back into his Storage Ring. Then, as if nothing had happened, he put on a new set of clothes to replace the ones that had been destroyed, before strolling forward.

Upon reaching the main hall, he calmly bowed to the sect master and the many elders on the steps.

"Reporting to the Sect Master, this disciple Li Yunlin was so eager to purge a traitor from the sect that I disturbed your peace. I ask for the Sect Master's forgiveness!"

"Hmph."

The Litian Sect Master, a man with the appearance of a youth named Daoist Zhenyang, wore white robes embroidered with cloud patterns. He sat in a bold, imposing posture. Though he let out a cold snort, his voice was gentle, showing no sign of genuine anger. "Why did you kill him?"

Only then did Li Yunlin recount the events of the past.

It turned out that after Li Yunlin's master, Elder Huo Lin, passed away, the Spirit Fire Peak where Li Yunlin resided had been seized by Su Cheng's master!

Afterward.

Su Cheng had feigned friendship with Li Yunlin, hoping to discover the location of Elder Huo Lin's spiritual treasure, the 'Nine Spirit Strange Fire'. Li Yunlin remained tight-lipped. Because all sect disciples were under restrictions—where a talisman seal would appear on anyone who killed a fellow disciple—Su Cheng had intentionally revealed the location of Elder Huo Lin's corpse.

He then attempted to collude with disciples from the Xuanwu Sect to force Li Yunlin to reveal the location of the 'Nine Spirit Strange Fire'.

But he never expected that Li Yunlin's master had left behind a sliver of divine sense!

And that led to everything that followed.

"The disciple spent five years at the Cliff of Reflection to temper my heart!"

"For seven years, I remained unremarkable among the masses, while the Nine Spirit Strange Fire had long since entered my dantian, bonded to my soul. The Heavenly Pool Spirit Spring left by my master forged my physique, and before the age of thirty, I had already reached the Foundation Establishment realm with dual spirit roots!"

"Today, by killing the thief Su Cheng, I have not disgraced the spirit of my master and have purged a villain from our Litian Sect."

"I await the Sect Master's command; this disciple is ready to accept death to report back to my master!"

Once these words were spoken, the many elders grew anxious as they looked at Li Yunlin's resolute expression.

They began to plead with Daoist Zhenyang one after another.

"Sect Master, Li Yunlin may be a bit bold, but Elder Huo Lin served the sect with great merit. How could we execute his only disciple?"

"That is well said. Besides, what young person isn't hot-blooded? Yunlin was simply eager to purge a villain for the sect."

"If we kill such a loyal disciple, it will chill the hearts of all, Sect Master."

Watching the elders of unknown age pleading on the screen.

Li Xiang's mouth twitched.

"Fine, fine, fine. So we're all acting now, are we?"

In truth, he had seen through Li Yunlin's intentions long ago, which was why he had remained so unconcerned!

Li Yunlin had even specifically come to kill someone because of today's Martial Arts Tournament.

One must know.

Cultivators have lifespans; even with spirit pills, a Foundation Establishment cultivator only lives for a little over two hundred years. A Golden Core expert has a lifespan of five hundred years. Once they reach the Nascent Soul stage, they can live for two thousand years!

However, breaking through in cultivation is not that simple; otherwise, one would not have seen so many False Core cultivators during the great battle between the Silver Iron Forest and Tailin Town.

Therefore.

Whenever a person of exceptional talent appears, whether it be a family or a sect, they will treat them like a precious treasure, unable to tolerate even the slightest mishap!

Now, Li Yunlin was not even thirty years old, yet he had already broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage, while also displaying great skill and an excellent temperament.

One might ask, how could the elders of the Litian Sect, or even the Sect Master, bear to kill Li Yunlin?

Especially since...

Li Xiang searched through the event logs for the notification regarding Li Yunlin's breakthrough.

[Your descendant bathed in the Heavenly Pool Spirit Spring to achieve Foundation Establishment, leaving only Metal and Fire spirit roots!]

[Heavenly Pool Spirit Spring: Elder Huo Lin, nearing the end of his lifespan, spent a hundred years gathering spirit liquid using rare treasures. During the Foundation Establishment breakthrough, it was used to cleanse the marrow and wash the meridians, purging a large amount of impurities from the dantian and sea of qi!]

[Li Yunlin's Metal and Fire spirit roots, breakthrough 85 points!]

A twenty-nine-year-old Foundation Establishment cultivator with highly complete dual spirit roots was already a rare genius; breaking through to the Golden Core stage before his lifespan reached its limit would be a certainty!

[Your descendant Li Yunlin has obtained a spirit object, the Nine Spirit Strange Fire, and integrated it into his body, making his form like a flame. As long as the lotus fire is not extinguished, his physical body will not perish!]

[Nine Spirit Strange Fire: Nine lotus flames that can be nurtured with true qi and forged with the spirit of a Golden Core.]

This spirit object alone was comparable to a top-grade spirit artifact, and it was even symbiotic with Li Yunlin.

If he had the opportunity, Li Yunlin might even be able to break through to the Nascent Soul realm.

This was also the trump card that gave Li Yunlin the confidence to act recklessly at the Martial Arts Tournament!

Not only that.

Li Yunlin did this specifically for everyone in the Litian Sect to see, letting them know that he, Li Yunlin, was now the precious treasure of the Litian Sect!

He was doing it even more for the sake of Su Cheng's master.

Only by killing Su Cheng on the spot like this would those old codgers, who were eager to hold Li Yunlin up and cherish him, become wary of Su Cheng's master!

Never mind whether Su Cheng's master would move against him for the sake of his disciple; I fear that if Li Yunlin tripped while walking down the street, they would suspect Su Cheng's master.

Sure enough.

Amidst the pleas of many elders, Daoist Zhenyang glanced at Su Cheng's master, "Elder Qiu Ye, what do you think? Should we kill this boy?"

Elder Qiu Ye looked like a middle-aged man, appearing honest and simple at first glance.

At this moment, he forced a laugh, "Sect Master, you absolutely must not. Sigh, a wicked obstacle appeared under my tutelage; for Nephew Li Yunlin to clear the sect of such a person is actually a good thing for me."

"Hmph, regardless of his purpose, killing someone in public is a monstrous crime. How could this sect forgive him?"

Daoist Zhenyang let out a cold snort and looked at Li Yunlin with icy eyes.

"However, while the death penalty is unavoidable, the living punishment cannot be escaped. This sect sentences you to face the wall at the Cliff of Reflection."

"Five days!"