4700-Year Fire Elemental Sprite, Skysea City

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Inside the Forging Room.

Lin Jin's heartbeat remained violently loud.

However, compared to before, it had become much more regular.

A full six hours passed.

Only then did the violent pounding of his heart gradually subside.

During that process, the burst blood essence was gradually drawn away by an unusual power.

The cracks across his body were quickly repaired.

Within his heart, the Blood-Colored Lotus Mark became brighter, more intricate, and more exquisite.

To put it in the simplest terms.

The former Blood-Colored Lotus Mark had possessed only a single layer of lotus petals.

Now, it had become two layers.

This clearly meant that Lin Jin's attempt had succeeded.

"I was still too impulsive."

Lin Jin's face was filled with lingering fear.

At the moment the Blood-Colored Lotus Mark had activated and erupted within his heart.

It was not only his body.

His heart, too, had already become covered in cracks.

Had the lotus flower not bloomed at the critical moment, wrapping around and firmly protecting his entire heart.

Then this time, he truly might have died.

"Without absolute certainty, I will never attempt the third layer of the Blood Lotus again."

Lin Jin swore.

After calming himself and adjusting once more, he opened the door to the Forging Room.

What followed was a furious dressing-down from Mu Chen.

Lin Jin did not get angry and quietly endured it.

In the end, Mu Chen grew tired of scolding him and shot Lin Jin an irritated glare.

Then he said fiercely:

"If you dare pull something like that again, I'll break your legs!"

Mu Xi panicked and actually kicked Mu Chen.

"You old fool, what are you saying?"

Mu Chen's eyes widened, his face filled with the sorrow of realizing his padded jacket had sprung a leak.

Still, she was his own daughter.

And the other was his most beloved disciple.

In the end, he did not flare up and merely sighed helplessly.

"Three days from now will be the Skysea Feast."

"There will be quite a few competitions this time."

"As for forging, A Jin, you won't need to participate."

"Xi'er and Wulin have both advanced to Level Four now. The championship is already in the bag."

"I've already discussed it with Yu Zheng and registered you separately for the Spirit Master Individual Competition."

"Go meet the guests from Shrek."

Lin Jin nodded, battle intent surging in his eyes.

He also wanted to see just how far his current strength had reached.

Over the past half year.

He and Mu Xi had participated without fail in every monthly Spirit Ascension Platform session, as well as one Riot Spirit Ascension Platform event in between.

Moreover, although the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear, the Guardian of the Primary Spirit Ascension Platform, had been killed.

A new Guardian had already appeared.

However, the Spirit Pagoda had clearly fixed that bug. They had directly gone further and sent a nearly ten-thousand-year Spirit Beast to stand guard.

But because this disrupted the balance, they had imposed strict limits on its range of movement and would warn participants about it.

The bad news was that there were no Soul Bones left to harvest.

The good news was that killing this Guardian would grant a reward of a thousand years of spiritual power cultivation.

Although Lin Jin had never killed it, over the course of six months, the Fire Elemental Sprite's spiritual power cultivation had still increased by nearly three thousand years.

That was right.

The age of both his Spirit Rings had now reached a terrifying four thousand seven hundred years!

His two Spirit Skills had improved once more.

The number of lotus flowers produced by his First Spirit Skill, Crimson Lotus Flame Fury, had reached an astonishing nine.

The range of his Second Spirit Skill, Orange Lotus: Samadhi Fire Domain, had reached an equally astonishing radius of fifty meters—a full hundred meters across.

These were only his first and second Spirit Skills!

It could be said.

Lin Jin's strength had undoubtedly received another tremendous boost.

The only imperfection was.

The Soul Power consumption of both Spirit Skills had also become much greater.

However, his Soul Power reserves were equally astonishing. Compared to before, the proportion of consumption when using the same Spirit Skills had not increased by much.

Three days later.

Skysea City.

Although Lin Jin was participating under Eastsea Academy's name, he naturally had not come with Eastsea Academy's team.

Nor did he need Eastsea Academy to handle his food or lodging.

At that moment.

He held Mu Xi's hand and watched as she stepped forward one stone post at a time, a faint smile on his face.

Mu Xi was a Three-Ring Spirit Venerable, after all. She certainly did not need to hold his hand for support to maintain her balance.

But pointing that out would have been far too unromantic.

Lin Jin was also willing to lose himself in it.

After wandering around Skysea City for quite some time, they casually found a popular roadside restaurant and sat down.

"Boss, your signature dishes for two."

Mu Xi called out to the owner.

"Coming right up!"

The busy owner responded enthusiastically. Catching a glimpse of their faces, he was instantly stunned by how striking they looked.

He hurriedly complimented them.

"Oh my, you two are such a pleasing sight. A handsome young man and a beautiful young lady—what a blessed pair."

Mu Xi's face instantly flushed red, and she pinched Lin Jin's arm.

Lin Jin froze for a moment before laughing helplessly, yet he did not explain anything and simply allowed that youthful innocence to drift away with the wind.

The owner saw the scene, and the smile on his face grew even broader.

When he brought out their dishes, he even included a complimentary dessert.

As Mu Xi blushed and said that they had not ordered it, asking whether it had been served to the wrong table.

The owner chuckled, gave Lin Jin a meaningful look, and said:

"It's not wrong! Why don't you ask your boyfriend, young lady?"

With that, he turned and left.

Lin Jin laughed awkwardly. This time, he did not remain silent.

"It's a gift from the owner. Let's try it."

Mu Xi nodded with a flushed face, looking more like the younger one between them.

Suddenly.

"Hey, Senior Brother, why are you here?"

Tang Wulin's delighted voice rang out.

Lin Jin was startled and turned to look. It was Tang Wulin and Gu Yue.

Mu Xi, meanwhile, gave the two of them an unfriendly glance.

Gu Yue had clearly noticed Lin Jin and Mu Xi long ago, and there was a hint of reluctance on her face.

At that moment, she quietly pinched Tang Wulin.

She had told Tang Wulin to spend less time with Lin Jin, but clearly, this idiot had not listened at all.

"Gasp!"

Tang Wulin sucked in a breath, but he managed his expression well.

He quickly sped up, breaking free from Gu Yue's claws.

After approaching them, he called Mu Xi Senior Sister as well.

Mu Xi nodded without saying anything.

Lin Jin shook his head with a laugh.

"It's my first time in Skysea City, so I was just looking around."

"I didn't expect we'd run into each other here."

Tang Wulin said in surprise:

"Senior Brother, have you never traveled before? You've been studying under Teacher since childhood."

Lin Jin shook his head.

"I grew up in an orphanage. Although my Martial Soul was decent, my health was poor."

"Early on, I had to focus on recovering my health. Later, I had to make up for the cultivation I had fallen behind on, so naturally I had no time to travel for leisure."

Mu Xi's eyes were full of heartache.

"Your senior brother hasn't had things as smooth as you imagine."

Tang Wulin and Gu Yue were both stunned upon hearing that.

It was the first time either of them had heard about Lin Jin's background.

An orphanage...

Senior Brother's childhood seemed to have been even worse than mine...

Tang Wulin silently thought this, while another figure flashed through his mind.

A flicker of longing passed through his eyes.

Na'er, where are you?

A flash of complexity appeared in Gu Yue's eyes.

Just then.

Another voice full of appetite rang out.

"Wow, that smells amazing!"