Years Drifted By, and the Fourth Level of the Spirit Martial Realm

Dark clouds blanketed the sky, dimming the day.

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

Boom!

A moss-covered rock wall to his left suddenly exploded. Amid flying stone, a crimson streak shot toward him like lightning.

It had a triangular head and bone-white fangs dripping venom. It was a Red-Striped Demon Snake comparable to a Spirit Martial Realm cultivator, and it had hidden its nest in a shallow hollow in the rock wall.

In the time it took lightning to flash and flint to spark, Lin Chen's eyes narrowed. Rather than retreat, he advanced.

Clang—

His sword left its sheath like thunder breaking across flat ground, drowning out the wind in the trees.

There was no elaborate technique. Lin Chen turned his wrist, and his sword raced forth like thunder, cleaving straight at it.

With a soft pfft, Lin Chen withdrew his sword and stepped sideways 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!

A demon snake comparable to a Spirit Martial Realm cultivator had died just like that.

Lin Chen stepped forward with practiced ease, removed an egg-sized, dull-colored gallbladder from the snake, placed it in a jade box, and put the box into his storage bag.

"Three years ago, I'd have had to avoid this snake's attack and fight a grueling battle to bring it down."

"But now, it couldn't withstand a single strike."

A faint smile touched Lin Chen's lips. His eyes shifted as he glanced at the Character Panel out of habit.

[Character]: Lin Chen

[Age]: 21/196

[Life-Bound Divine Artifact]: Greenedge Sword (Tier 2, ordinary)

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

[Martial Arts]: Evergreen Art, Fourth Layer; 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 Spirit Stones, Spirit Herbs, Pills...]

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

Three years had passed.

Since arriving at the Herb Garden, he had quietly cultivated.

During that time, the experience he gained from farming monsters through idle training, together with the Azure Spirit Ginseng supplied by the Herb Garden each year, had allowed him to break through three levels in succession, rising 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. Such speed placed him among the best of Kaiyang City's younger generation.

No, perhaps not only the younger generation. Lin Chen now even had the standing to rival older martial artists.

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

His cultivation had advanced three levels in succession, and Lin Chen had also made considerable progress in comprehending martial arts.

Perhaps because his realm had risen, comprehending Spirit-Grade Martial Arts was now much easier for Lin Chen than it had been during Body Tempering.

He had not only brought the Thunderlight Sword Technique to minor mastery, making his strikes as swift as lightning, but had also grasped the basics of the mid-tier Spirit-Grade Swimming Body Step. His movements were elusive and hard to predict.

As for why he was in the Vast Mountains—

On one hand, Lin Chen had come to clear out stronger demon beasts nearby so they would not trouble the Herb Garden; on the other, he wanted to temper himself and gain combat experience.

Thanks to this, Lin Chen was no longer the boy who had kept his head down and cultivated a few years ago. He was now a seasoned fighter, hardened by countless battles.

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 li of its outskirts.

"Time to head back."

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

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

A blue-robed youth of about seventeen or eighteen stumbled through the trees. His clothes were torn in several places, his breathing was ragged, and his cultivation was roughly at the First Level of the Spirit Martial Realm.

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

The leader's aura was strong, putting 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 destined to die here today."

"Huff... huff..."

The youth panted, his gaze sharp. "Gentlemen, I'll hand over the Scarlet Sun Grass if you let me go. How about it? Otherwise, the fish dies and the net breaks. You won't come out unscathed either."

Though the youth seemed to be offering a concession, he was actually stalling for time while quietly steadying his breathing.

"Trying to buy time? Hmph. Think I can't tell? Once I kill you, the Scarlet Sun Grass will be mine anyway."

The leader was about to strike and kill him for the treasure.

Just then, one of the other men swept his gaze across the surroundings and spotted Lin Chen in the distance.

At the sight of Lin Chen's blue-patterned brocade robe, an idea flashed through the man's mind. It was a bold one.

"Boss, we've hit the jackpot."

He leaned close to the leader's ear and whispered:

"There's someone else in the woods over there. Judging by his clothes, he comes from money. He's young, so his cultivation probably isn't high... Most likely some lineage scion training in the Vast Mountains. Why don't we..."

He drew a finger across his throat.

Hearing this, the leader glanced that way without giving himself away.

The stranger looked barely over twenty, and his cultivation aura seemed to be only at the first or second level of Spirit Martial. The leader was immediately tempted.

"Bodhisattva must be looking out for us. Two fish in one net!"

He licked his lips and lowered his voice:

"Damn, he's a sly one. After spotting us, he hid over there and concealed his aura. If you hadn't pointed him out, he might've slipped away without us noticing."

"Second, Third, this kid's already badly wounded. You two take him. I'll go grab that one and make a little extra!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he spun and sprang forward like a leopard. In a few bounds, he reached the place where Lin Chen stood.

"Friend, they're ruthless! Be careful!"

Before the youth could say more, the other two men charged him again, forcing him back step after step. He could no longer spare any attention for Lin Chen.

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

"Kid, bad luck running into me while I'm at work. You had your chance to hide. It's too late now!"

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

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

Then again, martial strength ruled this world. The strong preyed on the weak, and people killed for treasure everywhere, all the time.

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

But... they'd clearly gotten the wrong idea. When had he been hiding?

The thought passed in an instant. Lin Chen moved.

He pressed the index and middle fingers of his right hand together like a sword and jabbed once at the air beside him.

Clang!

Invisible Sword Qi struck the blade with precision, ringing like clashing metal. A tremendous force surged through the man's arm. Pain tore through the web of his hand, and his curved blade nearly flew from his grip!

His pupils shrank. That much spiritual power—from someone at the first or second level of Spirit Martial? What the hell?

The leader knew something was wrong.

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

"Young master, please, let me explain..."

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

But the only answer he received was a flash of sword light.

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