Lin Tianheng

Stepping onto the deck, Yang Ning's gaze sharpened. He spotted a Gilded Dragon Flag, three hundred meters high and four hundred meters long, stretched across the bow of the ship. Hundreds of golden dragons of various colors were embroidered on the flag, seemingly fighting over a pearl.

It was this flag that had stopped their ship.

A hundred-meter-tall flag, with a flagstaff nearly five meters in diameter, stretched across the sky, appearing like a heavenly chasm that blotted out the sun and obscured the heavens.

Standing on the flagstaff were three youths: one man and two women.

The man had narrow, long eyes, a high-bridged nose, and thin lips. He looked handsome yet somewhat sharp.

He wore a moon-white robe with his hair loose, but he did wear a purple-gold headband. The overall look was rather unappealing, yet combined with his handsome face, it gave him an air of unrestrained elegance.

He had his arms around the waists of the two women, one on his left and one on his right. The woman on the left wore a green dress, and the one on his right wore a purple dress. They looked identical, but their temperaments were as opposite as could be – the green-dressed one was lively, while the purple-dressed one was cool and aloof.

"Inner Disciple Lin Tianheng? So handsome!"

"Those two women must be Thousand Illusions Sect disciples Wang Luo and Wang Yi? I heard they willingly submitted themselves to Lord Tianheng to break through the Qi Refining Realm."

"That's too awesome, I wish I could be in their place."

"Watch your words. Lord Tianheng is a Golden Core True Person. Do you think he can't hear you?"

"If it's Lord Lin Tianheng, then the flag at his feet must be the Dao Artifact Myriad Dragon Flag, right?"

Before Yang Ning could ask, passersby had already spilled all the information about the three individuals above. Yang Ning immediately felt much more at ease.

Since they were disciples of the Taiheng Sect, they shouldn't be enemies, right?

The flag at his feet was called the Myriad Dragon Flag? I think I've seen it before?

"The Myriad Dragon Flag is a sacred artifact of the Myriad Dragon Cult in the Western Regions. It can summon myriad dragons and establish a Myriad Dragon Formation, integrating offense, defense, and sealing. Later, the Myriad Dragon Cult was destroyed, and the Myriad Dragon Flag went missing!" Deep Blue said.

"What a treasure." Looking at the large flag before him, Yang Ning was filled with curiosity. This was the first Dao Artifact he had seen since arriving in this world.

To be honest, he hadn't even seen a treasure artifact, one level below a Dao Artifact. He had only seen spirit artifacts in the artifact refining room.

The spirit artifacts in the artifact refining room had already captivated him. How powerful must this Dao Artifact be?

As his thoughts raced, Lin Tianheng on the flag had already spoken, "Who is leading this ship? Come out and see me!"

"Ascension Academy Elder Wei Daocheng greets Lord Tianheng!" Wei Daocheng, at some unknown time, had already appeared before Lin Tianheng. "May I ask why you have stopped our Ascension Academy's ship?"

"I need your help with something!" Lin Tianheng said coldly. "Now, bring the ship down!"

"What?" Wei Daocheng was stunned and quickly shook his head. "That's not possible! There are still four days left, it's against the rules. Besides, some people haven't even begun their Breathing Technique!"

"If they haven't begun their Breathing Technique in twenty-six days, what are they even cultivating!" Lin Tianheng said. "And four days more or less won't make a difference. Do you think giving them four extra days will make them awaken their Innate Divine Abilities? Bring it down!"

"But..." Wei Daocheng shook his head, a bitter expression on his face. "It's against the rules!"

"I am an Inner Disciple, and you are merely an External Affairs Elder. Obeying me is the greatest rule!" Lin Tianheng's voice remained calm, carrying an air of composure.

"It's also an honor for these Immortal Seedlings to serve Inner Disciples before even entering the sect!" Wang Luo, standing beside Lin Tianheng, chuckled. "Or do you intend to disobey?"

Wei Daocheng was speechless and could only shake his head, ordering the ship to begin its descent.

Listening to their conversation, Yang Ning caught on to something and quickly asked Deep Blue, "What is an Innate Divine Ability?"

"It's an ability that living beings are born with, characterized by high mastery, low consumption, few restrictions, and the ability to spontaneously advance. When cultivators in the Body Refinement Realm break through to Qi Refining, they have a chance to receive a blessing from heaven and earth, obtaining an Innate Divine Ability!" Deep Blue replied.

"Then what's the connection between these four days and Innate Divine Abilities?" Yang Ning asked again.

"When humans first begin to cultivate and spiritual energy enters the body, it forms the Primordial Chaos Qi embryo. This embryo can absorb the Primordial Chaos Qi from heaven and earth. This Qi is born of the primordial chaos and nurtured by the Great Dao, making it the foremost spiritual energy in existence. It normally integrates with the body, but when breaking through the Qi Refining Realm, it can be induced by the laws of heaven and earth to transform into an Innate Divine Ability!" Deep Blue explained. "The optimal period for absorbing Primordial Chaos Qi is the thirty days upon entering the sect!"

"So, this guy is making me absorb four fewer days of Primordial Chaos Qi?" Yang Ning hadn't felt any ill will towards Lin Tianheng for stopping the ship initially, but upon realizing it involved his own cultivation, Yang Ning immediately felt disgusted. Thinking about how he might have gained an Innate Divine Ability, only to have it potentially lost because of this, he even felt murderous intent.

After all, in worlds with a "black-hearted cultivator" theme, a single spirit stone could be enough to kill someone. What he was losing now could be something like the Innate Five-Colored Divine Light or True Sun Fire!

"Yes!" Deep Blue responded. "However, according to the Vast Universe Records, even after absorbing Primordial Chaos Qi, the probability of an Innate Divine Ability manifesting is less than one in ten thousand!"

"What if it's one in ten thousand? What if I'm just short those four days!" Yang Ning's expression remained calm, and his heart showed no outward anger. But he was indeed very angry. However, he had encountered too many idiotic clients and bosses, so he had become quite good at controlling his temper.

Furthermore, someone at the peak of the Body Refinement Realm could sense movements dozens of kilometers away with their five senses. Not to mention Lin Tianheng was in the Qi Refining Realm. If he exposed even a hint of killing intent, he would be discovered!

"Huu, exh," Yang Ning circulated his Breathing Technique a few times and felt much more relaxed.

But as soon as he saw Lin Tianheng again, his stomach churned with anger.

Fortunately, Zhao Bu was nearby, so he quickly shifted his gaze.

But he didn't know that Lin Tianheng, looking down from above, saw through everyone's reactions. However, he didn't care.

There were plenty of people who hated him – tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, in the inner and outer sects. To him, a mere Immortal Seedling, someone who wasn't even an Outer Disciple, was no different from an ant, not even worthy of being remembered.

Even Wei Daocheng, who was in the Qi Refining Realm before him, was just a dog in his eyes.

"My lord, may I ask why you have summoned us?" Wei Daocheng asked. "The highest cultivation on my ship is mine, so I doubt I can be of much help to you!"

"How can you not be of help!" Lin Tianheng said with a cold laugh. "I was pursuing Tuo Buchuan of the Myriad Saint Demonic Cult here. He was someone I could have killed with a flick of my wrist, but he cultivated a Breath Concealment Secret Art and burrowed into Qin Mountain like a pangolin, and now I can't find him. You happen to be nearby, so I want you to seal the mountain and search it inch by inch!"

"Tuo Buchuan?" Wei Daocheng was startled and quickly shook his head. "I know that Tuo Buchuan. Isn't he a master in the Fourth Level of Qi Refining, the Mana Realm? He also possesses the treasure artifact World-Ending Sky Spear. Even I am no match for him. How dare these Immortal Seedlings go after him?"

"World-Ending Sky Spear?" Wang Luo chuckled, then took a black hairpin from her head. "Isn't it right here!"

Wei Daocheng looked closely. The hairpin was no more than three inches long, but its design was unique. It truly was a miniature spear.

Lin Tianheng said, "Tuo Buchuan has already been heavily injured by me, and I've even placed a curse on him. He can't use his mana at all. I will give each of them a talisman. Once they find that person, if they crush the talisman, I will arrive!"

"But..." Wei Daocheng quickly said, "Even if the person has no mana, their physical body is still something these Immortal Seedlings can't withstand!"

"No matter, my talismans will send a signal if they detect the host's death!" Lin Tianheng casually tossed down a stack of talismans. "Enough talk, let's begin!"

"This..." Wei Daocheng was utterly despairing. Wasn't this clearly sending the Immortal Seedlings to their deaths?

But Wei Daocheng knew very well that with the Taiheng Sect's usual practices, no matter how important an Immortal Seedling was, it couldn't be more important than an Inner Disciple of the Golden Core Stage.

After all, Immortal Seedlings appeared every year, but there were only about a hundred Inner Disciples of the Golden Core Stage in the entire sect!

Even if he took this matter to the Sect Master, it would be useless.

He could only hope that the ones who died weren't among the more promising Immortal Seedlings.

The two men's conversation wasn't even kept private. Every Immortal Seedling on deck heard it. They had initially felt some hope seeing Wei Daocheng argue, but as the talismans were handed out, they knew all hope was lost.

"Lord Lin Tianheng, my brother is Zhao Yang, an Outer Disciple. Do you happen to know him?" Zhao Bu suddenly shouted. "Can I..."

"Zhao Yang? Never heard of him. What kind of stray dog's name are you bringing up to annoy me!" Lin Tianheng flicked his finger. Zhao Bu was sent flying dozens of meters as if hit by a truck, crashing heavily onto the mast before sliding to the ground.

He didn't get up again!

Deep Blue: "Impact force is 56.4 kN!"

Equivalent to being hit by a car traveling at 200 km/h.

Even if Zhao Bu practiced martial arts, he couldn't withstand this blow.

Yang Ning hadn't expected that Zhao Bu, whom he had been trying to contend with just a few days ago, would be killed so casually before his eyes. Zhao Yang, who had once seemed like a towering mountain, was nothing more than a toy in front of a true powerhouse, utterly lacking any dignity.

"The strong prey on the weak!" Yang Ning had long known the laws of this world, but only when he witnessed this scene firsthand did he truly understand it.

I must become stronger, I absolutely must become stronger!

Even if it's just to control my own destiny!

As for any grudges, or the Innate Divine Abilities that had vanished.

Without strength, everything must be hidden in his heart, and it must be hidden in his heart!