Before the Inheritance

"Alright, let's go."

With an order from Yu Yuanzhen, the nine people behind him directly followed him to soar into the air, then vanished at the edge of the sky.

"Jiang Lin, is it? Though I don't know why you wanted to drag things out for three days, you can forget about pulling any tricks in front of me. While my strength cannot compare to Uncle Xuanhai, dealing with the few of you is more than enough."

As she finished speaking, eight soul rings instantly materialized at Yu Yuanqing's feet. Although her soul ring configuration was slightly weaker than Yu Yuanpo's, the aura emanating from her still made Jiang Lin feel a massive gap akin to an uncrossable chasm.

"Rest assured, Senior. This junior merely has some words to share with Dragon Sister. With you here, this junior will definitely not harbor any other thoughts."

Jiang Lin hurriedly defended himself, his voice filled with sincerity.

"Hmph. It's good that you know. Little girl, you better think this through clearly. Just relying on the lot of you makes it impossible to refuse the Sect Master's demand!"

With those words, Yu Yuanqing's figure directly vanished from before the eyes of Jiang Lin and the others, evidently having no intention of lingering by Jiang Lin's side the whole time. She was, after all, a powerhouse at the Soul Douluo realm; how could she possibly waste time on a few ants like Jiang Lin?

Even if Little Dragon Girl's martial soul was infinitely important to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Sect, she held not a shred of interest in it. Now that she had finally managed to come out for a trip, she naturally intended to properly relax and unwind.

"Th-this, she just left?"

Seeing Yu Yuanqing's figure completely disappear, looks of surprise appeared on the faces of all three members of Jiang Lin's group. However, just to be safe, they didn't dare make a single rash move, terrified that this might be Yu Yuanqing playing a game of catch and release.

"Jiang Lin, do you have a way to deal with her?"

After a long while, once Yu Yuanqing's aura could no longer be sensed at all, Little Dragon Girl spoke softly.

"Dragon Sister, don't worry. I will definitely not let her take you away!"

Jiang Lin placed Little Dragon Girl's hand in his own palm, his face full of confidence.

"Mm. Jiang Lin, I believe you."

"Jiang Lin, are you certain you have a grip on this?"

Hesitation appeared on Xiao Wu's face. She was debating whether or not to call Er Ming out. With Er Ming's strength, he could naturally handle that Yu Yuanqing with ease, but once her identity as a beast soul was exposed, would her relationship with Jiang Lin still remain as good as before?

"Xiao Wu, rest assured. I need to cultivate for a bit now. You and Dragon Sister stand guard for me."

Compared to his outward composure, Jiang Lin's heart was filled with helplessness and a lack of confidence.

The only method available now to rapidly increase his strength was the inheritance of the Ancient God Art. Although this inheritance was extremely incomplete and far from comparable to a true ancient god inheritance, the system's labels indicated it could correspond to the God King tier of the Douluo God Realm!

Although Jiang Lin's cultivation had now reached the Soul King realm, this was merely the minimum requirement to bear the inheritance. Therefore, regarding accepting this inheritance of the Ancient God Art, Jiang Lin truly did not have the slightest shred of certainty.

In truth, Jiang Lin had also considered directly exposing Xiao Wu's identity and then having Xiao Wu summon Da Ming and Er Ming.

Admittedly, while this approach could resolve the immediate crisis, what about afterwards?

As overlords of the Star Dou Forest, once Da Ming and Er Ming made a move, they would undoubtedly shock the world. Moreover, there were also two Titled Douluo, Yu Yuanzhen and Yu Xuanhai, within this Star Dou Forest. While they were far from being matches for Da Ming and Er Ming, Da Ming and Er Ming would likewise have no way to stop them if they set their minds on escaping.

And once they truly managed to escape, they would undoubtedly spread far and wide the news of Xiao Wu's identity as a soul beast and her relationship with Da Ming and Er Ming. In that case, it would definitely draw a massive wave of powerhouses to make a move against Xiao Wu.

Although Da Ming and Er Ming would be by Xiao Wu's side, countless ants can kill an elephant. There were still plenty of Titled Douluo powerhouses across the entire continent, and once they arrived, Da Ming and Er Ming would absolutely be unable to hold them off.

They might even be hunted down and killed themselves!

Once they died, Jiang Lin and the others would become complete lambs to the slaughter. Even with the system backing him, an underdeveloped Jiang Lin would not have a single shred of a chance to escape!

Then what about taking a direct gamble right now to escape with Little Dragon Girl and the rest?

Jiang Lin was not that naive. No matter how far they ran, Yu Yuanqing was a powerhouse at the Soul Douluo level and could catch up to them in the blink of an eye. And once they had this experience, Yu Yuanqing would keep an even stricter watch over them!

Under such circumstances, that nine-deaths-and-one-life inheritance of the Ancient God Art was Jiang Lin's only choice now.

After taking a few deep breaths, Jiang Lin moved his thoughts.

The Ancient God Art—Incomplete inside the system inventory instantly appeared before Jiang Lin's eyes, and he then clicked to use it.

Yet unexpectedly, this time Jiang Lin did not appear directly inside the Inheritance Space; he remained lingering right where he was. Just as Jiang Lin felt puzzled, the system's prompt sounded beside his ear.

[Ding!] [Host, please note: The inheritance card "Ancient God Art—Incomplete" is an extremely high-risk inheritance. Although the host has now reached the minimum requirement for the inheritance, the success rate through the inheritance is only one in ten thousand. Should failure occur, the host will immediately perish. Please consider the matter carefully before deciding whether to proceed with the inheritance.]

"One in ten thousand? How could it possibly be this low!"

"Isn't this a hundred percent death sentence?"

Hearing this success rate, Jiang Lin's expression instantly turned pitch-black, his eyes filled with struggle.

After remaining silent for a long time, Jiang Lin cast one final look at Little Dragon Girl, his face then filling with a resolute determination to face death!

"Jiang Lin, what is it?"

Seeing the expression on Jiang Lin's face, Little Dragon Girl's face immediately welled up with deep worry. Although she did not know what Jiang Lin intended to do, that matter was bound to be extremely dangerous.

"Dragon Sister, it's fine. Don't worry, I will definitely keep my word. After all, I promised you earlier that I would take you to see Everplain City deep within the Death Desert."

A smile appeared on Jiang Lin's face, and he then replied to the system's previous statement within his mind.

"System, I've decided. Even if it's one in ten thousand, I'll carve a path to survival from the jaws of death. I will definitely succeed!"

[Ding!] [According to Article 231 of the system's hidden regulations, when the host faces a crisis of nine deaths and one life, 3,500 Collapse Points may be expended to purchase a rare card named Goddess of Fortune's Favor. The effect of this card allows the host to retain a 50 percent survival rate when facing any crisis.]

[Host, please note: With every purchase of this card, the price in Collapse Points will double based on the previous amount.]

"Goddess of Fortune's Favor?"

"A 50 percent survival rate?"

A sliver of hope instantly arose in Jiang Lin's previously despairing heart.

"System, I'll buy it. I'm buying it!"

[Ding!] [Collapse Points -3,500. Collapse Point balance: 1,130.]

The next moment, an exquisite card shimmering with colorful micro-light materialized inside Jiang Lin's inventory.

Without the slightest hesitation, Jiang Lin directly clicked to use it.

The next moment, the figure of a divine goddess dressed in colorful feather robes, with white gauze over her eyes and holding a purple crystal in both hands, appeared before Jiang Lin's eyes.

Before Jiang Lin could examine her closely, the goddess extended a slender, delicate hand and gave a gentle, distant flick towards the center of Jiang Lin's brows. Following that, a strand of purple light imbued with a mysterious aura instantly flew out from the purple crystal and merged into Jiang Lin's body.

Once she finished doing this, the goddess's figure directly transformed into colorful micro-light and dissolved away before Jiang Lin. Only, perhaps it was merely his imagination, but at the moment the goddess vanished, Jiang Lin actually caught a faint smile on her face.