The Thing to Protect

"This... this... one... two... three... a total of six...?" Zhang Wei stared at the burning corpses, his gaze dull as he counted with difficulty.

"If I remember correctly, those enemies from just a moment ago were also six people!" Zhang Mo struggled to recall for a long time, confirming that his memory was not mistaken.

Although the six corpses had been burned beyond recognition, they still retained a human shape. The crackling flames carried an inexplicable charred stench, reminiscent of roasted meat, yet it was incredibly nauseating.

Lin Chuan wrinkled his nose in disgust, quietly using chakra to form a thin film inside his nostrils to block out the smell.

As for Zhang Leyang and the other two, they were completely stunned by the scene before them. How could they even care about the smell? Their hearts were filled with nothing but infinite shock and horror!

"Lin Chuan, this... did you kill all those people just now?" It took a long while for Zhang Leyang to regain his senses, and he turned to look at Lin Chuan, who stood expressionless by his side.

He could not believe that the seemingly frail, white-haired youth standing right next to him had spent less than ten minutes killing six people whose cultivation levels were higher than his own, with one of them even being three levels higher.

This completely overturned their understanding of the entire cultivation world, as if someone had played a massive joke on them.

They had previously assumed that Lin Chuan possessed some hidden trump card that could achieve a result similar to mutual destruction, intending to use it to scare the six men away. But now, it appeared that was not the case at all.

Lin Chuan truly possessed the strength to kill the six, and it wasn't just killing—it was a complete crushing, for there wasn't a single scratch on Lin Chuan, nor even the slightest sign of him being out of breath.

Killing six people while heavily injured versus killing them with such nonchalance were two completely different concepts. This meant Lin Chuan's strength was far beyond this; his cultivation must be higher than the strongest among the six to achieve such a feat.

"At least the ninth level of the Qi Refining Stage, or even the tenth level Grand Perfection!"

Gulp! That was the sound of the three of them swallowing their saliva. They were truly frightened by their own conjecture, because no matter how they sensed it, Lin Chuan's spiritual energy cultivation was only at the fifth level of the Qi Refining Stage. They couldn't imagine any method that would allow Lin Chuan to instantly kill these six in such a short time, not even with a legendary protective treasure!

"Lin Chuan, don't tell me you've already broken through the Qi Refining Stage and reached the Foundation Establishment Stage? You're just in here for fun, right?" Zhang Leyang asked, as he thought of a possibility—the most likely possibility at this moment.

And it wasn't just Zhang Leyang who thought of this; Zhang Wei and Zhang Mo thought of it simultaneously.

Lin Chuan's surname is Lin!

This detail, which they had consistently overlooked, became the best explanation for all possibilities at this moment.

"My cultivation is indeed only at the fifth level of the Qi Refining Stage. The reason I was able to kill them is because I have special methods!" Lin Chuan explained. He didn't go into specifics, but he didn't intend to lie to Zhang Leyang and the others either.

Zhang Leyang and his companions nodded with strange expressions, not pressing for more details. Some things were better left unknown, but all three had tacitly categorized Lin Chuan as a core disciple of the Lin Clan.

In their view, someone with Lin Chuan's status coming to Hunting Ground No. 44 was purely for amusement. The six men who provoked Lin Chuan were simply courting death. No wonder Lin Chuan never showed the slightest hint of fear from start to finish. What a joke—even if Lin Chuan's own cultivation wasn't enough, was there anything a core disciple of the Lin Clan couldn't accomplish on Lin Clan territory?

"Let's go! We should leave here quickly!" Lin Chuan beckoned the three to leave and handed the three Crimson Flame Lotus he had scavenged from the six men to Zhang Leyang.

Zhang Leyang did not refuse. After all, a core disciple like Lin Chuan was only here for fun; picking Crimson Flame Lotus and passing the assessment meant nothing to him.

Thinking this way, Zhang Leyang and the others felt a sense of clarity, especially regarding some things they hadn't been able to figure out before.

For instance, Lin Chuan's hidden trump card—if it were merely to scare off the six, why would he have needed the three of them to retreat? Now it seemed clear that Lin Chuan's intention was to kill the six, and what he truly wanted to hide was his identity as a core disciple of the Lin Clan.

The more the three thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed, and their gazes toward Lin Chuan grew increasingly fervent. With a core disciple like Lin Chuan as their backer, what was there to fear about failing the assessment?

Although Lin Chuan was walking in front, his exceptional intuition made him sensitive to the gazes of others. The moment he activated his Byakugan, he felt a shiver run down his spine; the intense, eager stares of the three behind him gave Lin Chuan a chill.

"What kind of three weirdos have I gotten myself involved with..." Lin Chuan's mouth twitched.

After reaching the fork near the ground with Zhang Leyang and the others, Lin Chuan parted ways with them and headed toward the cave where Qin Lang and Bu Lianshi were resting.

I wonder if that sleeping Ant Queen has been affected by the movements of the cultivators in the cave. If it suddenly wakes up, no one here will survive! Lin Chuan thought to himself, then stopped after turning a corner.

The next moment, he closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his original white pupils had transformed into sky-blue eyes, with silver light radiating from around the deep blue irises.

"Tenseigan!"

The moment the Tenseigan was activated, Lin Chuan narrowed his focus. Instead of checking the 360-degree field of vision as before, he concentrated his ocular power in one direction and looked deep into the ground.

Last time, due to the presence of Zhang Leyang and the others, and because the sight he saw was truly too terrifying, he had only taken a very rough look. Many details seemed strange upon reflection, so Lin Chuan decided to examine it carefully once more.

As the surrounding rocks became increasingly transparent and ethereal, Lin Chuan's vision traversed a distance of about seven or eight kilometers, seeing the giant, sleeping Ant Queen once again. Even with mental preparation, Lin Chuan was still deeply shocked to see this behemoth again. Its massive body and astonishing aura were unlike anything he had ever seen in his life; it felt like a mountain pressing down on his chest, making even breathing feel suffocating.

As Lin Chuan shifted his gaze, he focused on the massive magma lake beside the Ant Queen. At this moment, Lin Chuan indeed discovered something unusual.

The Ant Queen's curved body resembled a half-moon, wrapping around half of the magma lake, and a portion of its body was even submerged in the magma. Seeing this scene, Lin Chuan subconsciously thought of a possibility—it was guarding something!