Years Passed, and the Fourth Level of the Spirit Martial Realm

Dark clouds gathered, dimming the sky.

In a branch of the Vast Mountains, ancient trees towered and vines hung low. Lin Chen walked through years of fallen leaves, sword in hand.

Boom!

A moss-covered rock face to his left exploded. Amid the flying stone, a crimson shape shot toward him like lightning.

It had a triangular head and white fangs dripping venom. This was a Red-Striped Demon Snake as powerful as a Spirit Martial Realm cultivator. It had hidden its nest in a shallow hollow in the rock face.

In that split second, Lin Chen's eyes sharpened. Rather than retreat, he advanced.

Shing—

His sword left its sheath like a thunderclap, drowning out the wind in the trees.

There was no elaborate technique. Lin Chen turned his wrist and sent his sword racing forth like thunder in a straight slash.

With a soft pfft, Lin Chen withdrew his sword and stepped past the snake, not a drop of venom touching his clothes.

Behind him, the snake's massive body fell in two pieces onto the dead leaves and lay still.

One strike!

The demon snake, a match for a Spirit Martial Realm cultivator, was dead.

Lin Chen stepped forward and deftly extracted an egg-sized, dull-colored gallbladder from its body. He placed it in a jade box, then put the box into his storage bag.

"Three years ago, I'd have had to avoid a direct clash with this snake and fight hard to bring it down."

"Now it can't withstand a single strike."

A faint smile touched Lin Chen's lips. Out of habit, he glanced at his character panel.

[Character]: Lin Chen

[Age]: 21/196

[Bound Divine Artifact]: Greenedge Sword (Tier 2, Common)

[Realm]: Fourth Level of the Spirit Martial Realm (0/950)

[Martial Arts]: Evergreen Art, fourth level; Thunderlight Sword Technique, minor mastery; Swimming Body Step, beginner

[Idle Training]: Miasma Forest (in progress)

[Idle Training Rewards]: 46–51 experience points per month; very small chance of obtaining Spirit Stones, spirit herbs, pills...

Satisfaction flickered in Lin Chen's eyes as he studied the panel.

Three years had passed.

Since arriving at the Herb Garden, he had devoted himself quietly to cultivation.

With the experience gained from defeating monsters through idle training, along with the Azure Spirit Ginseng supplied by the Herb Garden each year, Lin Chen had broken through three levels, advancing from the first to the fourth level of the Spirit Martial Realm.

At twenty-one, he had reached the Fourth Level of the Spirit Martial Realm. That rate of progress placed him among the best of Kaiyang City's younger generation.

No, perhaps not just the younger generation. Lin Chen could now stand alongside the older cultivators.

After all, even in the Lin Family, the threshold for becoming a family elder was only the Fifth Level of the Spirit Martial Realm.

His cultivation had advanced three levels, and he had also made considerable progress in martial arts.

Perhaps because his cultivation had risen, comprehending Spirit-grade martial arts was now much easier for Lin Chen than it had been during Body Tempering.

He had brought the Thunderlight Sword Technique to minor mastery, making his strikes swift as lightning. He had also grasped the basics of the mid-grade Spirit-level Swimming Body Step, giving him elusive, unpredictable footwork.

There were two reasons he had come to the Vast Mountains.

For one, Lin Chen wanted to clear out the stronger demon beasts nearby before they could threaten the Herb Garden. For another, he wanted to hone his skills and gain combat experience.

As a result, he was no longer the boy who had spent his days buried in cultivation. He was now a seasoned fighter.

Of course, for safety's sake, Lin Chen had never ventured deep into the Vast Mountains during those three years. He hunted only within a few hundred miles of the outskirts.

"Time to head back."

Lin Chen put away the jade box, got his bearings, and set off toward the Herb Garden.

On his way back, hurried footsteps and ragged breathing suddenly came from the distant woods.

A blue-robed boy of seventeen or eighteen was fleeing in a stumble. His clothes were torn in several places, his breathing was ragged, and his cultivation appeared to be at the first level of the Spirit Martial Realm.

Three masked men in black pursued him. They closed in from three sides and soon had him surrounded.

Their leader had a powerful aura, placing him around the third level of the Spirit Martial Realm. The other two were both at the first level.

"You run pretty fast, kid!" the leader sneered. "Too bad you're going to die here today."

"Hah... hah..."

The boy panted, his gaze sharp. "Gentlemen, I'll hand over the Scarlet Sun Grass if you let me go. Otherwise, I'll fight to the death, and you won't come away unscathed."

Though the boy appeared to be bargaining, he was buying time to regulate his breathing and restore his inner energy.

"Trying to stall? Hmph. You think I can't tell? Once I kill you, the Scarlet Sun Grass will be mine anyway."

The leader was about to attack and seize the treasure when one of the other masked men swept his gaze over the surroundings and spotted Lin Chen in the distance.

At the sight of Lin Chen's embroidered robe, an audacious idea struck him.

"Boss, we've hit the jackpot."

He leaned close to the leader and whispered:

"There's someone else in the woods over there. Judging by his clothes, he's rich. He's young, so his cultivation can't be high... Probably some family's young master training in the Vast Mountains. Why don't we..."

He drew a finger across his throat.

The leader glanced in that direction without making it obvious.

The man looked barely past twenty, and his cultivation seemed to be only at the first or second level of the Spirit Martial Realm. The leader was tempted at once.

"Bless our luck. Two fish in one net!"

He licked his lips and lowered his voice:

"Damn, he's a slippery one. He saw us and hid out there with his aura suppressed. If you hadn't noticed him, he might've slipped away."

"You two take care of this kid. He's already badly wounded. I'll grab that fellow and make us a little extra!"

Before his words had faded, he spun and sprang forward like a leopard, reaching Lin Chen's position in a few bounds.

"Friend, they're ruthless! Watch out!"

Before the boy could say more, the other two masked men rushed him again, forcing him back and leaving him no attention to spare.

By then, the leader had landed behind Lin Chen, cutting off his retreat.

"Bad luck, kid. You saw something you shouldn't have. Too late to hide now!"

With a vicious grin, he lunged. His curved blade traced a dark blue arc toward Lin Chen's neck.

Lin Chen had not expected to encounter such a scene on his way back, much less become a target himself.

But that was the way of the world. Martial might ruled, the strong preyed on the weak, and people were killed for their treasures everywhere, all the time.

He had rarely encountered it only because he spent most of his time cultivating at the Lin Residence or training quietly at the Herb Garden, seldom going out.

Still... the man had clearly misunderstood something. When had Lin Chen tried to hide?

The thought flashed through his mind. Lin Chen moved.

He held two fingers of his right hand together like a sword and tapped the air beside him.

Clang!

An invisible burst of sword energy struck the blade with a metallic ring. A tremendous force slammed through the masked man's hand. Pain tore through the web between his thumb and forefinger, and his blade nearly flew from his grip!

His pupils contracted. That much spiritual power? From someone at the first or second level of the Spirit Martial Realm? Bullshit!

A chill ran through the leader.

He suddenly realized he might have provoked someone he could not afford to cross.

"Sir, please, let me explain..."

The masked man's face stiffened as he forced out a smile.

A flash of sword light was his only answer.

Now that the fight had begun, Lin Chen had no intention of letting him go.