Black Wind Mountain Range and the Unexpected

The Black Wind Mountain Range is located in the northern part of the O'Brien Empire. The terrain is rugged, the forests are dense, and the area is shrouded in a cold, gloomy atmosphere year-round. It is said that the depths of the mountain range connect to the edge of the even more dangerous Dark Forest. Following his mission map, Lin Qin quickly locked onto the activity area of the Golden-Eyed Thunder Eagle.

The Golden-Eyed Thunder Eagle is a standout among level-nine Magic Beasts. Its speed is incredibly fast—in terms of pure velocity, even average Saint Realm experts fall short. It is particularly adept at lightning attacks, and the golden light from its eyes can release paralyzing rays, making it quite troublesome. However, for the current Lin Qin, it no longer posed much of a threat.

He entered the mountain range and expanded his spiritual energy, which swept through the forest like invisible ripples. His Saint Realm-level perception allowed him to easily avoid unnecessary trouble as he headed directly toward the core of the target area.

A day later, he discovered his target on a steep cliff. The Golden-Eyed Thunder Eagle was massive, with a wingspan exceeding ten meters. Its feathers shimmered with a cold, metallic luster, and a cluster of golden feathers sat upon its forehead. Tiny arcs of electricity danced between its eyelids as they opened and closed. It stood beside its nest at the summit, vigilantly patrolling its territory.

Lin Qin did not hide his aura; he flew straight up and landed on the other side of the cliff top.

The Golden-Eyed Thunder Eagle discovered him immediately and let out a sharp, piercing cry. The golden light in its eyes flared, and two paralyzing rays as thick as a child's arm shot toward Lin Qin instantly! At the same time, it flapped its wings, whipping up a violent gale as countless wind blades mixed with crackling blue electric snakes descended like a torrential rain!

Facing an attack that would have sent an ordinary level-nine warrior into a panic, Lin Qin simply raised his right hand calmly and pressed it forward into the void.

"Freeze."

His words carried the power of law! The surrounding space seemed to solidify instantly! Those two paralyzing rays fell into an invisible quagmire meters away from Lin Qin's body; their speed plummeted until they finally dissipated. As for the sky-filling wind blades and electric snakes, they were forcibly suppressed and smoothed out by an invisible, mountain-heavy force field, unable to stir even a ripple.

This was the absolute suppression of the Saint Realm over those below it! The gap at the level of laws cannot be made up by the sheer quantity of energy.

The Golden-Eyed Thunder Eagle's eyes revealed anthropomorphic terror; it sensed an aura from this human that made its soul tremble. It shrieked and flapped its wings to flee without hesitation, pushing its speed to the limit as it transformed into a bolt of lightning, charging toward the sky.

"Stay."

With a thought from Lin Qin, the rocks on the cliff below seemed to come alive. Countless thick stone chains rose into the sky like giant pythons, instantly binding the Thunder Eagle's talons and wings! Earth-yellow law runes flowed across the chains, and no matter how it struggled or released lightning, it could not break free in the slightest.

Lin Qin pressed his fingers together like a sword and made a light sweeping motion toward the bound eagle in the air.

A condensed, razor-thin blade of earth-yellow light appeared out of thin air and silently swept across the eagle's neck.

The eagle's struggle came to an abrupt end. Its massive head separated from its body, and blood spilled down like a waterfall. The enormous carcass was pulled by the stone chains and crashed onto the cliff top.

From start to finish, the battle lasted only a few breaths. A powerful level-nine Magic Beast had no power to resist before a Saint Realm expert.

Lin Qin stepped forward and skillfully removed the eagle's magic core, the golden eyes containing lightning power, and several of its toughest feathers—all of which were required for the mission or were valuable materials. He was just about to leave when his brow furrowed slightly, and he cast his gaze toward the deeper reaches of the mountain range.

In his perception, the trace of Saint Realm aura leaked during the battle had seemingly attracted some uninvited guests. And it wasn't just one aura.

Soon, two figures appeared in the distant sky like ghosts, rapidly approaching the cliff where he stood. One was dressed in a gray ascetic's robe with a withered face, but his eyes were as sharp as an eagle's, and he radiated a fierce sword intent—he was clearly a Saint Realm expert! The other was an old man in a magnificent blue mage's robe, holding a staff embedded with a massive blue magic crystal. He was surrounded by dense water element fluctuations and was also a Saint Realm expert—a water-element Saint Magus!

The two landed on the cliff, forming a triangle with Lin Qin. The gray-robed Sword Saint swept his gaze over the eagle's carcass on the ground, then looked at Lin Qin, his voice raspy: "A stranger of the Saint Realm, not bad. We've been tracking this feathered beast for half a month; I didn't expect you to beat us to it."

The blue-robed Magic Saint smiled and said, "Friend, the magic core of this Golden-Eyed Thunder Eagle is of some use to us. Would you be willing to part with it? We are willing to exchange it for items of equal value." His tone seemed polite, but the spiritual energy subtly locking onto Lin Qin carried an undeniable sense of coercion.

Lin Qin understood instantly. These two had likely accepted a similar mission or simply needed the materials from the Golden-Eyed Thunder Eagle. They had tracked it here, sensed the fluctuations of the battle, and arrived to snatch the spoils.

"Mission items. Not for trade." Lin Qin was concise and put away the magic core and other items. He didn't want to cause trouble, but he wasn't afraid of it either. The Saint Realm had its own dignity; he would not allow others to rob him by force.

The gray-robed Sword Saint's expression darkened: "Does your Excellency not intend to give face to the Ice Blue Blade?" He stated his affiliation, which seemed to have some fame within the O'Brien Empire.

Lin Qin had never heard of it, and even if he had, he wouldn't care. "Respect is earned by oneself, not given by others."

"Arrogant!" The gray-robed Sword Saint shouted angrily. The long sword on his back unsheathed itself with a "clang" and fell into his hand. The blade was narrow and long, shimmering with a cold, icy light. A fierce, peerless sword intent soared into the sky, as if it would tear the heavens apart! What he had comprehended was clearly a profound law leaning toward attack and penetration.

The smile on the blue-robed Magic Saint's face also faded. He struck his staff against the ground, and the surrounding temperature plummeted. Countless ice crystals condensed in the air, and a powerful water-element law domain spread out, echoing the Sword Saint's sword intent and pressing down on Lin Qin. The two clearly had a tacit understanding and intended to use a two-on-one approach to seize the items by force.

Lin Qin's eyes turned cold. He had just broken through to the Saint Realm and needed suitable opponents to hone himself and consolidate his cultivation. These two Saint Realm experts—one with fierce attacks and the other with powerful control—were excellent whetstones.

He did not draw his broadsword, standing instead with his hands behind his back, his earth-yellow Saint Realm force field naturally expanding. Unlike the sharp or bone-chilling domains of his opponents, his field was calm and heavy, like the eternal earth, absorbing all the incoming sword intent and cold air, dissolving them into nothingness.

"Hmph! Playing god! Take my sword—Sky Splitter!" The gray-robed Sword Saint struck first. His body merged with the sword light, transforming into a gray lightning bolt that tore through the sky, stabbing straight at the center of Lin Qin's brow! This strike was fast to the extreme, containing a profound penetration law that seemed capable of piercing through any defense.

At the same time, the blue-robed Magic Saint waved his staff: "Extreme Cold Imprisonment!" Countless cold blue chains extended from the void, winding toward Lin Qin's limbs. The chains radiated a chill capable of freezing the soul, attempting to restrict his movements.

Facing the joint attack of two Saint Realm experts, Lin Qin finally moved. He took a light step forward with his right foot.

"Thud!"

It was as if a giant god had stomped on the earth; the entire cliff—no, the mountain for several miles around—shook violently! A visible earth-yellow ripple centered on him erupted and expanded!

"Boom!"

The gray sword light that had been stabbing forward collided with this heavy ripple, and its speed plummeted. The fierce sword intent felt like a clay ox entering the sea, layered and neutralized by the endless power of the earth! The gray-robed Sword Saint's expression changed; he felt as if he were fighting the weight of the entire mountain range!

As for those cold blue chains, the moment they touched the earth-yellow ripple, they shattered inch by inch, dissipating into the purest water elements! The blue-robed Magic Saint groaned as his spiritual energy suffered a backlash, his face filled with horror!

Lin Qin's step, while seemingly simple, contained his understanding of the "heaviness," "bearing," and "pulsation" within the profound mysteries of the Earth Element. Using the earth as a foundation, he drew upon the power of the ley lines to form an absolute defense and a wide-area shockwave!

He raised his hand toward the slowed gray-robed Sword Saint, spread his five fingers slightly, and then slowly closed them.

"Trap."

The cliff rocks beneath the gray-robed Sword Saint's feet instantly softened, swallowing his feet like quicksand and binding him! At the same time, earth elements from all directions gathered frantically, forming a massive palm made entirely of rock. The five fingers closed, intending to crush the Sword Saint in its palm!

"Not good!" The gray-robed Sword Saint was terrified, frantically erupting his battle qi and sword intent in an attempt to break free from the binding at his feet and the terrifying rock palm.

Seeing this, the blue-robed Magic Saint rushed to rescue him: "Wrath of the Sea God!" He released a level-nine single-target attack spell, and a massive water tornado roared toward the rock palm.

Lin Qin didn't even look at the water tornado; he simply flicked his finger toward the blue-robed Magic Saint.

A fist-sized, yet extremely condensed earth-yellow ball of light appeared before the blue-robed Magic Saint's protective water shield as if it had teleported.

"Pfft!"

There was no earth-shattering explosion. The earth-yellow ball of light was like a red-hot iron meeting ice; it easily pierced through layers of water shields and then, under the horrified gaze of the blue-robed Magic Saint, imprinted itself onto his chest.

"Boom!"

The blue-robed Saint Mage was struck as if by a meteorite, sent flying backward while vomiting blood. His protective magical artifact shattered instantly, and he slammed heavily into the mountain face in the distance, losing all signs of life in an instant.

The giant rock palm had already closed! The gray-robed Saint Sword Saint's roar and sword light erupted from between the fingers, barely holding on for a moment, but the terrifying power and Laws of the Earth contained within the giant palm continued to crush down, causing his sword light to rapidly dim.

Lin Qin remained expressionless, his palm gently pressing downward.

"BOOM!"

The giant rock palm closed completely, pinning the gray-robed Saint Sword Saint firmly beneath its center, leaving not a shred of sound behind.

The battle was over.

Two Saint Realm powerhouses who were somewhat well-known in the O'Brien Empire had been defeated cleanly and decisively.

Lin Qin dispersed the giant rock palm, revealing the mangled corpse of the gray-robed Saint Sword Saint beneath it. He walked over to the deceased blue-robed Saint Mage, taking his spatial ring and staff as spoils of war.

He cleared the battlefield, erased his tracks, then hoisted the corpse of the Golden-Eyed Thunder Eagle and vanished into the depths of the Black Wind Mountain Range in a flash.

This encounter gave him a clearer understanding of his own strength. Having initially grasped the profound mysteries of the Earth Element, he was already at the top tier among early-stage Saint Realm experts. Combined with the solid foundation brought by Heaven Rewards Diligence and his ultimate control over power, he was enough to crush most at his level.

Yet, he did not grow complacent. He knew that within the Saint Realm, there were many experts who had grasped multiple profound mysteries or had reached an extremely deep level of understanding in a single one. For instance, the Rock Sword Saint Hedereson was said to have gone very far in the profound mysteries of the Earth Element.

He needed more battles and more insights.

Carrying the mission items, Lin Qin left the Black Wind Mountain Range and returned to Red Flame City to turn in his quest. Although there had been some unexpected twists during this mission, the gains were significant; not only did he complete the objective, but he also tested his strength and obtained extra loot.

Back in Red Flame City, he successfully turned in the mission and received a generous reward in gold coins. He also sold the useless magical items he had obtained from the blue-robed Saint Mage, exchanging them for a large amount of gold and some rare ores that would aid in his Earth-style cultivation.

He sensed that the atmosphere in Red Flame City seemed even more tense than before. In the streets and alleys, discussions regarding the movements of several Saint Realm powerhouses had increased, as if some major event were about to occur.