The Pursuit

Lin Chen watched the chaotic battlefield, his eyes fixed on Hao Youcai.

The man kept retreating farther and farther into the fray.

He was always trying to hide somewhere no one else was.

And judging by the path he took, he was clearly searching for something.

"Senior Brother, Hao Youcai's trying to run..." Before he could finish, Hao Youcai suddenly stamped his foot down hard.

A tremendous boom rang out across the battlefield, followed by flames soaring into the sky.

Boom, boom, boom, boom...

Explosions rang out one after another.

The earth shook and mountains trembled. Shock waves blasted outward, as if the whole world were about to topple.

Lin Chen and Ming Bufan were both knocked to the ground.

"Ha ha ha... Die, all of you!"

Amid the explosions, Lin Chen heard only Hao Youcai's mad laughter.

"Today, I'll wipe you all out. That'll count as a great deed for the Raksha Sect, ha ha ha..."

"One day, when my Raksha Sect returns to the Western Region, your Green Mountain Sect will be reduced to ashes!"

At that moment, Hao Youcai showed his true colors.

Perhaps he felt victory was already in his grasp, which was why he had let everything slip.

After the explosions, he transformed into a streak of black light and shot straight into the sky.

"Master!" Ming Bufan rushed into the battlefield to rescue him, heedless of his own safety.

Lin Chen swept his Spiritual Sense across the battlefield and saw that Zhao Qingshan had already summoned a magic treasure to suppress the space.

There shouldn't be any serious trouble.

He immediately looked to the sky. Hao Youcai was flying unsteadily, spitting blood as he went. From the looks of it, he had been badly injured.

"He's very likely one of the leaders." Lin Chen's gaze turned icy, and a flash of escape light flickered beneath his feet as he gave chase.

His reasoning was simple: Hao Youcai had to be the one who killed He Yiliang.

He definitely knew more secrets.

If Lin Chen could uncover the real reason the Lin Family had been wiped out, and who was behind it...

Then one day, once he grew strong enough to avenge them, he could finally lay this burden to rest.

He followed from afar, watching Hao Youcai spit blood again and again as he flew unsteadily out of the Green Mountain Sect before suddenly plunging downward.

Lin Chen knew the man was cunning and experienced, so he didn't follow him down right away.

Instead, he landed ahead of him, swept the area with his Spiritual Sense, and quietly followed.

A hundred meters away, Lin Chen stopped.

He saw Hao Youcai sitting cross-legged on the ground, swallowing handfuls of pills as he healed his wounds.

Unfortunately, he seemed to be badly hurt. He spat out a mouthful of blood, pills and all.

The man didn't even care about the filth. He picked the pills out of the bloody mess and stuffed them back into his mouth.

Lin Chen stayed hidden, not moving.

The old fox was full of tricks and a gifted actor. For all he knew, he was just trying to lure Lin Chen out.

As an experienced angler, Lin Chen had plenty of patience.

After half an hour of deadlock, Hao Youcai was the first to lose patience.

He ripped off the disguise covering his face, revealing his true appearance.

With a swish, he sprang to his feet and spat on the ground.

"Damn it! I'm in this state, and no one even comes after me? The Green Mountain Sect is full of useless fools."

Lin Chen saw him clearly: beneath the mask was a gaunt, pale face.

At a glance, he looked like a frail scholar.

But a vicious gleam shone in his eyes.

The front of his robe was torn, revealing the distinctive mark of the Raksha Sect.

"So he really was faking it."

Lin Chen secretly wiped away a bead of sweat.

He had managed to escape that chaotic battlefield.

That alone proved he was strong and sharp-witted.

Most importantly, he had set up an ambush in advance...

Holy crap!

At the thought, Lin Chen's eyes flew wide open.

He was the one who had led the Sect Master and the others there.

Now that this had happened...

Setting aside the Green Mountain Sect's losses, even if they pieced together how everything had unfolded, they could suspect him.

And then he had disappeared right afterward.

It would be easy to conclude that he had conspired with the Raksha Sect to bring down the sect's higher-ups.

"Isn't this a mess?"

Lin Chen's face changed dramatically.

"I'm screwed. If yellow mud gets in your pants, even if it isn't shit, it looks like shit."

Lin Chen's heart raced. He accidentally stepped on a dry twig and snapped it.

Hao Youcai instantly grew alert in the distance, his poisonous snake-like gaze shooting toward Lin Chen.

Lin Chen felt as if he had fallen into an icy cellar.

Hao Youcai was no longer the Outer Sect Elder he had pretended to be.

His cultivation and strength pressed down on Lin Chen with tremendous force.

Lin Chen even felt death looming over him.

He threw everything he had into retreating.

Lin Chen had barely dodged when the ground where he'd been standing was smashed into a massive crater.

The violent shock wave slammed into him, sending him flying on the spot.

Bang, bang, bang...

He smashed through five trees in a row before finally coming to a stop.

He spat out a mouthful of blood, his face turning pale.

He circulated his cultivation to suppress the surging blood and qi.

Before he could even check his injuries, his Spiritual Sense sounded an alarm.

A streak of black light shot toward him once more.

Honestly, if he hadn't had Spiritual Sense, that first attack would have killed him.

Lin Chen dodged again, only to be blasted away once more.

Hao Youcai's attacks were far too fast.

The moment Lin Chen sensed one, it was already right in front of him.

And that streak of black light was no ordinary object. It was at least a Spirit Artifact-grade treasure.

"Little bastard, I planned for everything, but I never thought I'd be exposed by you."

Hao Youcai darted forward and reached Lin Chen in an instant.

He looked down at Lin Chen, his eyes filled with mockery.

Lin Chen stood up, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his left hand, and secretly crushed the Jade Slip Qi Ruming had given him behind his back with his right.

At this point, fear was useless. He met the man's gaze directly. "Who are you, really?"

"Me?"

Hao Youcai chuckled. "I'm with the Raksha Sect, and I'm also a Soul Supervisor."

His gaze swept up and down Lin Chen. "You must be a newly recruited Soul Examiner.

"Were you the one who suspected I'd killed He Yiliang?"

He licked his lips. "That's right. Though, more accurately, he was purged. An unqualified soul had no right to keep taking part in the Soul Test."

"What is the Soul Test?" Lin Chen tensed.

Hao Youcai looked surprised and asked in return, "You're a tester, but you don't even know what the Soul Test is? How did you get in, then?"

How the hell should I know?!

Lin Chen grumbled inwardly.

It seemed that after he transmigrated, he hadn't completely fused with the original owner's memories.

Some of them were missing.

Hao Youcai was a little curious. "Could you have lost your memories when you signed the contract?"

He looked Lin Chen up and down with interest. "Never seen anything like that before. It's interesting, but..."

Hao Youcai paused, a hint of killing intent appearing in his eyes. "Now that you've discovered me, you can't continue the test. So it's time for you to die!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a streak of black light shot from his mouth straight toward Lin Chen's face.

A sense of mortal peril descended.

Just as the Thousand-Mile Escape Shuttle was about to activate, the Small Mirror in Lin Chen's arms suddenly flew out and blocked his way.

With a loud crash, the Small Mirror bounced back into Lin Chen's arms, while the streak of black light flew backward.

Then He Yiliang, inside the Small Mirror, materialized. He looked at Hao Youcai in utter despair.

"You... you deceived me—"

His cry of rage rang out like a wail, shaking everyone's hearts.

Even Hao Youcai was stunned for a moment.

But the next instant, greed appeared in his eyes. "Is that the Soul Origin Mirror? Ha ha ha... It fell right into my lap! Hand it over!"

Hao Youcai reached out to grab it.

Lin Chen moved faster. With a pull of spiritual power from his left hand, he snatched the Soul Origin Mirror into his grasp, while his right hand formed a sword seal.

The Flying Sword shot out like lightning.