Switching Allegiance II

After a long while, Dragon Snake withdrew his gaze and senses, then nodded with slight satisfaction.

"You use a sword?"

"Yes, Senior." Lin Xin nodded.

"You are skilled in formations?"

"Yes."

"You have once connected with the Qilin, Thunder Emperor, and Ba Cow deep in the void? Hmm, and all sorts of other messy auras..."

Lin Xin suppressed the shock in his heart and still nodded in confirmation.

The smile on Dragon Snake's face grew broader and broader.

"You have even created your own cultivation art. You possess the Purification Light bloodline of the Fifth Order Star Singer Race, and you have even awakened memories of your previous life."

He spoke that final sentence flatly.

Yet it sent a chill through Lin Xin's heart.

"Senior..."

"None of that matters!" Dragon Snake waved a large hand. "Reincarnation is nothing unusual in Azure Lake Mountain. You cultivated all sorts of messy things before, and you even have traces of the Demon God Saint Body. Primal Battle Mother? Hmm... no, that is not right. Why does your physique seem somewhat off? I cannot see any body-refining art..."

For a moment, Lin Xin felt as though every inch of him had been thoroughly seen through.

Apart from his attribute ability, everything else had been laid completely bare before this old man.

Just as it had been when he stood before Xiya.

A chill rose in his heart, but he forcibly suppressed it and quietly waited for Dragon Snake to continue.

Tier Five and Tier Six were separated by merely one tier, yet the difference could actually be this enormous...

"Forget it. It does not matter. This is enough." Dragon Snake smiled, baring most of his sharp black metallic teeth.

"You reincarnated into Autumn Stone. After being born, you proved yourself loyal and righteous, saving your Lineage from fire and water several times. You even clashed with Shadow City and Cocoon because of it. Your character is sound."

He paused, then suddenly barked.

"Lin Xin! Lin Sheri!"

"This disciple is here!" Lin Xin hurriedly dropped to one knee.

"Are you willing to enter my Dragon Snake Realm and become my Dragon Snake Disciple?! Never to betray one another, never to abandon one another?!"

Lin Xin froze. That wording was rather interesting.

"I am willing!!"

He answered decisively, every word ringing like iron.

He had always been that kind of person—clear in gratitude and grudges, repaying straightforwardness with straightforwardness.

Life in the Dragon Snake Realm was dull and tedious.

The four of them found a hill near the Dao Palace, some distance from the lava, and settled there.

They built several stone houses themselves.

Every three shichen, enormous pillars of fire erupted from beneath the ground throughout the Dragon Snake Realm.

Each one rivaled a Tier Six Earth Immortal's strike, carrying terrifying power and incomparably dangerous force.

Even Lin Xin, after trying several times, could only remain where he was obediently and wait for the Dragon Snake Elder's arrangements.

After suffering such severe injuries this time, the hidden wounds within his body, coupled with the Heavenly Demon Warlord's intimidation, had left his spirit not yet fully recovered.

This was the perfect chance to rest and recuperate properly.

At the same time, he gave Lin Youke and the others another round of cultivation guidance.

Lin Youke and the others were not qualified to cultivate the Azure Origin Art. Instead, they cultivated the lower-grade Azure Sun Art, specifically intended for servants and attendants.

It was equivalent to a simplified Azure Origin Art, with effects in every aspect roughly one-third as strong.

Thus, Lin Xin was qualified to guide them in this regard as well.

Day after day passed.

Just as they were beginning to feel bored.

The Dragon Snake Elder finally made a move.

At dusk.

Lin Xin stood beside a river of lava practicing his swordsmanship when his hand suddenly paused. In the distance, he saw a golden humanoid figure of lava rise from the lava river.

The lava humanoid stood over five meters tall. It possessed distinct human facial features, while its eyes were two clusters of burning black flame.

"Junior Brother Lin, Teacher wants to see you."

"Junior Brother? May I ask who you are?" Lin Xin asked, somewhat puzzled.

"I am Teacher's ninth disciple, Lava Giant Ouro." The lava humanoid introduced himself. "This will count as your formal transmission of teachings. Come meet everyone."

"Alright."

Without delay, Lin Xin sent a voice transmission to Lin Youke and the other three, then rose into the air with the lava humanoid and flew toward the spherical Dao Palace in the sky.

Upon entering the Dao Palace, he found a man and woman already standing on either side of the great hall, their bodies covered in red patterns.

Together with Lin Xin and Lava Giant Ouro, there were four people in total.

With a swish, the Dragon Snake Elder appeared upon the throne. His complexion looked good, and he seemed to be in an excellent mood.

During this period, he had carefully investigated and verified every aspect of Lin Xin's circumstances—his character, the causes and consequences behind his killing of Qiao Yu, and so on.

The final assessment result was fairly satisfactory to him.

"These are the three senior brothers and sister who visit the Dao Palace most often. Lin Xin, from today onward, your Dao name shall begin with Lie. You left the Azure Mountain Realm midway and changed allegiance to my sect. How about calling you Lie Shan?"

Teacher really does not spare even the slightest chance to disgust the Azure Mountain Realm...

The several disciples all muttered inwardly.

Once this Dao name was chosen, every time someone asked about it, it would disgust the Azure Mountain Realm once. His heart was truly vicious enough.

"Thank you, Master, for bestowing this name!"

Lin Xin immediately dropped to one knee and respectfully bowed to Dragon Snake.

"Today, I formally accept you into my school." Dragon Snake said in a ringing voice, "There are not many rules under my Dragon Snake Realm. Respect your master and honor the Dao, and that will suffice. For everything else, simply follow the rules of Azure Lake Mountain's main sect."

"Yes, Master."

Lin Xi nodded respectfully.

"Alright, introduce yourselves. From now on, this will be your junior brother."

Dragon Snake waved his hand, indicating for them to speak.

The other three included Lava Giant Ouro, who had already introduced himself.

There was also the man and woman.

The man had a powerful build and was covered from head to toe in strange red patterns. Hearing this, he stepped forward.

"I am Teacher's first disciple, He Xingzhu, Dao name Blazing Sun. Greetings, Junior Brother."

His expression was mild. His skin was dark, yet his gentle voice was utterly at odds with his powerful, savage physique.

Lin Xin hurriedly returned the greeting.

The woman wore a string of golden ornaments across her forehead. She was beautiful, with a fiery figure, dressed in a tight black gown. She too stepped forward.

"I am Teacher's second disciple, Tianlu Jia, Dao name Lie Jin. Greetings, Junior Brother."

Lin Xin returned the greeting once more.

"I am Lava Giant Ouro, Teacher's third disciple, Dao name Lie Bing. Junior Brother, we will have plenty of chances to meet in the future, so do not be restrained." The lava humanoid grinned, spraying flames from his mouth.

"You also have two martial uncles, my sworn brother and sworn younger sister. They are not here at present, so it is inconvenient for you to meet them. There will be chances later." Dragon Snake said with satisfaction.

"You three, go back and deal with your recent affairs. If there is nothing important, do not come bother me."

"Yes, Teacher."

The three were all speechless. Though they had long grown used to their teacher's chaotic manner of interacting with others, being chased away in front of their new junior brother still made them lose some face.

After exchanging jade talisman contact methods with Lin Xin, they each departed.

Only the Dragon Snake Elder and Lin Xin remained standing alone in the great hall.

Dragon Snake looked at Lin Xin with a trace of expectation in his eyes.

"You are the youngest, but your aptitude is also the best. That Azure Mountain Old Man was your master in name before, but there was never a formal ceremony of apprenticeship face-to-face, so it did not truly count.

Nor did he pass on the later portions of the Azure Origin Art to you. Heh heh, that old man is becoming more and more foolish."

"What does Teacher mean?" Lin Xin's heart stirred as he vaguely guessed one of today's purposes.

"Come with me." Dragon Snake smiled, slowly rising to his feet and waving a large hand.

Boom!!

Red light immediately spread around them, and countless flames enveloped everything in sight.

Moments later, the flames dispersed. Lin Xin suddenly discovered that he and the Dragon Snake Realm Lord were standing atop a pitch-black cliff.

The sky was a muddy crimson, with enormous meteors dragging dazzling golden tails as they fell from time to time.

Across the vast plain beneath the cliff, translucent pale-red flames burned like wild grass. One glance revealed no end in sight.

Scorching wind blew across Lin Xin's face, leaving his mouth dry and tongue parched. The air was thick with the pungent scent of sulfur and metal.

"You can cast aside your other cultivation arts." Dragon Snake stood slightly ahead of him. He slowly turned around and faced him directly.

"Take the Azure Origin Art as your core. All those miscellaneous sword arts and sword forms of yours can be integrated into the profound art I will teach you."

"What does Teacher mean?" Lin Xin's brows furrowed.

"You still do not understand?" Dragon Snake laughed. "Heaven and earth, the universe, time and space, before and after—all cultivation arts are merely the choice of a perspective, through which one discovers and pries loose the mighty power of nature, then contains it within oneself. Thus one grows stronger and gains longevity.

But you have too many perspectives..."

That final sentence instantly struck Lin Xin like a colossal bell, nearly shaking his mind apart.

It was deafening and enlightening, like an evening drum and a morning bell.

Perhaps that was precisely his state at this moment.

He suddenly recalled every cultivation art he had learned in his life, every art and sword form he had created.

Everything, every last thing, truly could not escape the words Dragon Snake had spoken.

And indeed, among his cultivation arts, some understood and pried at the world through the power of slaughter; some through the power of Dao intent; some through his own bloodline.

Others came from the understanding he had possessed in his past life on Earth, using pure frequency fluctuations to comprehend the world.

All kinds of cultivation arts had given Lin Xin all kinds of different perspectives and angles.

Yet the drawback of having too many perspectives was that, because there were too many choices, he could not see clearly the strengths and weaknesses that lay deeper within any one of them.

Every perspective was, in truth, a Great Dao.

But Lin Xin had too many choices, broad but not refined.

This was the drawback of having no teacher to guide him.

Because a teacher had walked far along a path, he could turn back and correct the direction for his disciples.

As for Lin Xin, he had always relied only on his attribute ability. It had been so in the Netherworld, and it remained so after he came to the Human Realm.

Though he had always wanted to break free from his reliance on his attributes, circumstances had still unknowingly forced him back onto this road.

"Thank you, Teacher..."

Having understood everything, Lin Xin was completely convinced. With genuine reverence born from the depths of his heart, he gave the Dragon Snake Elder a deep bow.

"As teachers, it is our responsibility to transmit the Dao, impart knowledge, and resolve doubts." Dragon Snake could see Lin Xin's pure gratitude.

"It seems you have thought it through?"

"This disciple understands now." Lin Xin nodded.

Things such as the Red Flower Sword Dao were acceptable; they were merely practical combat moves. Yet the inner cultivation arts and powers they invoked were a chaotic mess—unfit for higher stages and lacking the strength to continue.

Whether it was the Primal Battle Demon Art from his past life or the Returning Origin Art of Pine Forest Swordplay, all manner of techniques, divine abilities, and spells were the same.

Chaotic and unrefined.